Report: Negroponte to become Deputy Secretary of State

Now United States Director of Intelligence, Negroponte's service as Ambassador to Honduras under Reagan was said to include support for the infamous Honduran death squads. He was America's first Ambassador -- and highest ranking civilian -- to Iraq following the transfer of 'sovereignity' in June 2004. In early November, Negrponte made a surprise visit to Iraq to urge Prime Minister Maliki to take action against Moqtada al-Sadr.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 — John D. Negroponte, whom President Bush installed less than two years ago as the first director of national intelligence, will soon leave his post to become the State Department’s second-ranking official, administration officials said Wednesday.

Mr. Negroponte will fill a critical job that has been vacant for months, and he is expected to play a leading role in shaping policy in Iraq. But his transfer is another blow to an intelligence community that has seen little continuity at the top since the departure of George J. Tenet in 2004 as director of central intelligence.

Read the rest at the NY Times