Michael Hayden

Former Director of the CIA and NSA

With a prolific career in national security, from serving 39 years in the U.S. Air Force to directing the NSA for six years, General Michael Hayden has overseen nearly every branch of the intelligence community. Once the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the country, Hayden later became the Director of the CIA in 2006, gaining unprecedented access to the collection of information concerning the plans, intentions, and capabilities of America’s adversaries. His remarkable list of senior positions includes Commander of the Air Intelligence Agency, Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center, and Chief of the Central Security Service. He is currently a principal at The Chertoff Group, focusing on global political and terrorist risk analysis.

Debates Featuring Michael Hayden

It's Time To End The War On Terror

With Peter Bergen, Richard Falkenrath, Michael Hayden, Juliette Kayyem

September 7, 2011

Days after 9/11, President Bush declared a War on Terror that would “not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.” Is America in a state of perpetual war, or has the threat of terrorism justified its position as the organizing principle behind our foreign policy? In 10 years we’ve been in 2 wars, witnessed the Arab Spring and the death of Osama bin Laden—is it finally time to end the War on Terror?

It's Time To End The War On Terror

With Peter Bergen, Richard Falkenrath, Michael Hayden, Juliette Kayyem

September 7, 2011

Treat Terrorists Like Enemy Combatants, Not Criminals

With David Frakt, Michael Hayden, Stephen Jones, Marc Thiessen

September 14, 2010

In 2009 the Justice Department announced that 9/11 plotter Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would be tried in New York City, setting off a firestorm of protests. Besides the cost and safety concerns, at issue are whether terrorists should be tried in criminal court or whether national security requires the use of military commissions. Likewise, issues like the closing of Guantanamo, the reading of Miranda rights, and enhanced interrogation all center on the same question: How should the U.S. treat captured alleged…