Shadow Spy

Chapter 358 Independent Intelligence Agency

Hoover was also interested in Brigadier General Panson, but after briefly exploring the other party's background, he immediately stopped all investigations because he knew that this young man was not something he could touch!
Of course, for him, he would not object to making friends with Pan Sen. On the contrary, he was willing to establish a good personal relationship with him.Therefore, at the end of the meeting and leaving the White House, he extended a dinner invitation to Li Junhao.

Li Junhao really wanted to go to the appointment, but Ayres was asking him to come over, and he could only make an appointment to see the time later. This attitude was enough for Hoover, and there was still a long time!
Ailes called him into his office and asked him about his views on intelligence work, especially whether he had any constructive opinions on the Intelligence Coordination Bureau that the president decided to establish.

Li Junhao smiled and said directly: "Uncle, if this bureau is only used as a coordination agency, there is actually no need to establish it separately. Since Mr. Roosevelt has decided to establish an intelligence agency directly controlled by the president, it should be decided at the beginning. Lower its goals and scale, take the path of formalization and independence, and enable it to have the ability to independently collect and analyze intelligence, plan and execute covert operations, and make reasonable suggestions on the development of the situation, instead of waiting until it is really needed to make additional additions. Complete……"

Ailes listened to this passage seriously and asked another question: "Ogg, do you think Donovan has the ability to complete the establishment of the organization?"

"This..." Li Junhao hesitated and decided to tell the truth, "Donovan is a good executor, but he lacks sufficient background support and the ability to establish horizontal relationships. In particular, it is difficult for him to gain the trust of powerful military figures. Trust, it is even more difficult to fight against the FBI, which already has a large amount of intelligence resources under the current conditions... In other words, Donovan is no match for Hoover!"

"You mean that if you want to complete the establishment of this independent intelligence agency, you should choose someone as director who has a stronger background, has military support, and can stand up to Director Hoover of the FBI?" Al Si thought about it.

"Well, yes." Li Junhao said, "I think you or General Leahy are more suitable to be the director."

Hearing this, Ayers's eyes lit up. It was not that he wanted to be the director, but that he felt that General Leahy was very suitable for this position. However, Leahy was currently serving as a military representative and military advisor, so it might be difficult for him to serve as the director at the same time! ——
That night, at the meeting of the four advisers convened by Roosevelt in the President's Office, National Security Advisor Ayers talked about his exchange with Li Junhao and suggested that he change the simple establishment of an intelligence coordination agency into one controlled by the president. The vision of an independent intelligence agency was expressed.

This suggestion was endorsed by military adviser General Leahy and legal adviser Tosh Pena. However, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who is the ex-officio diplomatic adviser to the president, has some different opinions. He believes that the current domestic military and various government agencies have different opinions. There are enough intelligence agencies in China, and even the State Department has a separate Bureau of Diplomatic Security!In this case, there is no need to establish an independent intelligence service that will obviously be a large organization.

Roosevelt was obviously tempted. The idea of ​​this independent intelligence agency suited him so well. He had long been unwilling to report to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), DSS (Diplomatic Security Service), or ONI only after encountering an emergency. (Office of Naval Intelligence) and other intelligence agencies asked if they had intelligence information. This was also his original intention to establish the Intelligence Coordination Bureau.

But now, after listening to Panson's opinions conveyed by Ayers, he felt that establishing an independent intelligence agency that was only responsible to him personally was more in line with his expectations.Yes, this Pantheon is really good!He's happy with it now.

Roosevelt said: "Everyone, if we are to establish a new intelligence agency based on this goal, do you think Mr. Donovan is suitable to be the leader of the new agency?"

Ayers thought for a moment, then turned what Li Junhao had said into his own words and said it.

Legal Advisor Pena is a tenured law professor at Harvard University. He wears glasses and has a very gentle appearance. Although he is only 48 years old and the youngest among the people in the room, his rich legal work experience makes him very accurate in judging people. , so he very much agrees with Ayers' evaluation of Donovan.Admiral Leahy nodded, agreeing with this statement.

Secretary of State Hull did not know Donovan well, but he knew Ayers well and knew that his words would never be without purpose. Since he said that Donovan was not suitable, it should be right.

Of course, President Roosevelt knew this. He had only chosen Donovan to build a coordination agency. Now the situation has changed, and naturally he is not the most suitable candidate.

After unifying this understanding, the next step was to naturally choose a new candidate - because of the special requirements of the intelligence department, the person in charge must be absolutely loyal and reliable. This time, he must also have a good personal relationship with President Roosevelt, and have a good relationship with each other. Can communicate effectively.As a result, there are not many options to choose from.

Roosevelt asked four advisers to propose candidates. While Pena and Hull were still thinking, Ayers and Leahy pointed at each other almost at the same time and said: "I think William (Nelson) is the most suitable!"

Seeing them like this, everyone else couldn't help but laugh and nodded. Indeed, these two people are very suitable candidates.

Ayers also smiled and raised his hand: "Franklin, from some perspectives, I admit that Leahy is the No. 1 choice, and I can barely be considered one. In addition, Professor Tosh is also suitable, and Cordell's current The position is very important, so I will not consider it; but the three of us have a common weakness, that is, none of us have experience in intelligence work, which is a huge problem for building a highly independent intelligence agency!"

This view is of course correct, everyone can only think of others.

Roosevelt suddenly felt something in his heart and said, "I think Ogg is good!"

Ogg?Everyone immediately thought of Ognyan Lee Pantheon. They all saw how he took control of the concession situation within two years after arriving in Shanghai. He even took care of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the 400 million residents in the concession, and he presided over He has established military forces such as the Joint Command and the Civilian Self-Defense Corps, and has experience in the Naval Intelligence Agency. He has provided a large amount of important intelligence to the country in a short period of time...

From these aspects, there should be no problem at all for Panson to preside over the formation of a new intelligence agency.

(End of this chapter)