president trump to lead this workforce and to continue the work that mike pompeo and i began a little more than a year ago. ensuring that c.i.a. is postured to meet the complex challenges our nation faces. those challenges include a changing but still lethal threat from terrorist groups, a nuclear threat against the continental united states from a rogue state, destabilizing iranian adventureism and aggressive and sometimes brutal russia. and the long-term implications of china s ambitions on the global stage. while these challenges are daunting and offer few easy answers, i m confident the united states and the american people have the resolve to meet them head on. if i m confirmed as director,
continuing on that path if i am confirmed as director. our strategy starts with strengthening our core business, collecting intelligence that helps policymakers protect our country and advance american interests across the globe. it includes raising our investment against the most difficult intelligence gaps, putting more officers in the foreign field where our adversaries are, and emphasizing foreign language excellence. finally, it involves investing in our partnerships both within the u.s. government and around the globe. we must do everything we can to follow through on these investments and to make c.i.a. as effective as it can possibly be. because the american people deserve no less than c.i.a. s best effort. this is especially true when it comes to confronting threats
democrats. the other thing i thought was interesting about mark warner s statement noted her broad support that gina haspel has inside the c.i.a. and inside the intelligence community which is an important thing to put into context and remember her serving potentially under donald trump. the second thing it wasn t enough she followed the law. i thought it was an interesting argument. you can see that democrats will like to pick up on that argument. it s a primary defense she has made of herself in private meetings with them and certainly defense that others have made on her behalf. i m interested to see where democrats take that argument. i think it s a pretty good defense. they seem not to. bill: marc, you re watching from your location as well. what do you make of the impression gina haspel at age 61, 33 years in the agency is about to make on these men and women? she will blow them away. if you read her opening statement she talks about being
public and declassified. that has never happened in the history of the c.i.a. and it is not going to happen with gina haspel s nomination. if this is allowed to go forward as what i have called a secret confirmation process, it sure as heck won t be the last one. my own reporting on then c.i.a. director mike pompeo i know it was a major priority for him to try to lay the ground work to secure the release of these three americans in north korea and he was joined and supported in that mission by his then deputy gina haspel. my intelligence contact said before the hearing that any kind of progress on this issue could only help haspel at today s confirmation hearing. julie. julie: thank you very much. bill: you are about to see an impressive woman. she has been with the agency for 33 years, entered in 1985 and will stay in part of her opening remarks this has been
treatment required by law and just as importantly, i will keep c.i.a. focused on our collection and analysis missions that can best leverage the expertise we have at the agency. like i said, we learned important lessons following 9/11, as both a career intelligence officer and as an american citizen i am a strong believer in the importance of oversight. simply put, experience has taught us that c.i.a. cannot be effective without the people s trust and we cannot hope to earn that trust without the accountability that comes with congressional oversight. if we cannot share aspects of our secret work with the public we should do so with their elected representatives. for c.i.a., oversight is a vital link to the open society we defend. it is a defining feature of the u.s. intelligence community. and one of the many things that