John Brennan (CIA officer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Brennan
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Official portrait, 2013
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| 5th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | |
| In office March 8, 2013 – January 20, 2017 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Avril Haines David Cohen |
| Preceded by | David Petraeus |
| Succeeded by | Mike Pompeo |
| 5th United States Homeland Security Advisor | |
| In office January 20, 2009 – March 8, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Ken Wainstein |
| Succeeded by | Lisa Monaco |
| Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center | |
| In office August 27, 2004 – August 1, 2005 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | John Scott Redd |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Owen Brennan
September 22, 1955 North Bergen, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Spouse | Kathy Pokluda |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Fordham University (BA) University of Texas at Austin (MA) |
John Owen Brennan (born September 22, 1955) is a former American intelligence officer. He was the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from March 2013 to January 2017. Before that, he was a top advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama on keeping the country safe from threats. He also helped Obama with foreign policy and intelligence during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Brennan decided not to be considered for CIA Director during Obama's first term. Instead, he became the Deputy National Security Advisor. This job did not need approval from the Senate.
Brennan worked for the CIA for 25 years. He was an analyst for the Near East and South Asia. He also led the CIA office in Saudi Arabia. Later, he directed the National Counterterrorism Center. After leaving government in 2005, he worked in security consulting. He also led a group for intelligence professionals.
Brennan served in the White House from 2009 to 2013. He was the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. President Obama nominated him to lead the CIA in 2013. Some groups, like the ACLU, wanted the Senate to check his past actions. The Senate Intelligence Committee approved him on March 5, 2013. He became the Director of the CIA after a vote of 12 to 3.
In 2018, President Donald Trump said he would take away Brennan's security clearance. Brennan had often criticized Trump. He said his beliefs were more important than his clearance. Brennan now works as an expert for NBC News and MSNBC.
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Early life and education
Brennan was born in North Bergen, New Jersey. His parents were Owen and Dorothy Brennan. His father came from County Roscommon, Ireland, in 1948. Brennan went to Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary School. He then graduated from Saint Joseph of the Palisades High School.
Brennan studied at Fordham University. He earned a degree in political science in 1977. While in college, he once voted for a third-party candidate. He later said this was to show his unhappiness with the political system at the time. After Fordham, he went to the University of Texas at Austin. He earned a master's degree in government in 1980. He focused on Middle East studies and learned to speak Arabic fluently. He also studied Arabic in Cairo, Egypt.
Brennan saw an ad for the CIA while riding a bus. He thought working for the CIA would be a good way to serve the public. He applied in 1980. During his application, he told them about his college vote. He was surprised but happy that the CIA still accepted him. He felt it showed the CIA valued freedom of speech.
Career highlights
Brennan started his CIA career as an analyst. He worked for the agency for 25 years. He gave daily intelligence briefings to President Bill Clinton. In 1996, he was the CIA station chief in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 1999, he became chief of staff to George Tenet, who was then the Director of the CIA. Brennan became the CIA's deputy executive director in 2001. From 2003 to 2004, he directed the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. This office collected and organized intelligence for President Bush.
Brennan left government service for a few years. He led the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. He also became CEO of The Analysis Corporation, a security company. He returned to government in 2009. He became the Homeland Security Advisor for the Obama administration.
On January 7, 2013, President Obama nominated Brennan to be the Director of the CIA. His time as CIA Director ended on January 20, 2017. Mike Pompeo replaced him. In 2017, Brennan became a scholar at The University of Texas at Austin. He also advises on world events for Kissinger Associates.
Advisor on national security
Brennan was an early national security advisor to Barack Obama. In 2008, he was considered for CIA Director. However, he withdrew his name due to past work under President George W. Bush. President Obama then made him his chief advisor on keeping the country safe. This job did not need Senate approval. He helped oversee plans to protect the country from threats. He also helped plan responses to natural disasters. He met with the president every day.
In 2009, Brennan spoke about some past anti-terror policies. He said the Obama administration focused on "extremists." In 2010, Brennan wrote a report. It said U.S. intelligence agencies needed to improve their focus on threats to the U.S.
Brennan was in the Situation Room in May 2011. This was when the U.S. military operation killed Osama bin Laden. He called Obama's decision to go forward with the mission very brave.
Drone program discussions
In 2012, Brennan was the first Obama official to publicly talk about CIA drone strikes. These strikes happened in places like Pakistan and Yemen. He explained why the program was legal and effective. Some groups, like the ACLU, disagreed. He also helped change how targets for drone strikes were chosen. A former official said Brennan had a lot of power in this role.
In 2011, Brennan said that U.S. counter-terrorism operations had not caused any civilian deaths in the past year. He said this was because of the "precision" of the technology. Later, he clarified that they had "no information" about civilian deaths. However, some journalists disagreed. They reported that their research showed civilians had been killed.
CIA Director (2013–2017)
Nomination and approval
President Obama nominated Brennan twice to lead the CIA. On March 5, 2013, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved his nomination. The vote was 12 to 3. The Senate was set to vote on his nomination. However, Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky started a long speech. This is called a filibuster. He spoke for 13 hours. Senator Paul was concerned about the government's use of drones against Americans. He said that no single politician should decide to charge and execute someone. After the filibuster, Brennan was confirmed by a vote of 63 to 34. He became CIA Director on March 8, 2013.
Time as Director
As CIA Director, Brennan made some changes. He created new "mission centers." These centers focused on threats in cyberspace. Analysts and hackers worked together on specific global issues. He also created the Directorate for Digital Innovation (DDI). This group worked on improving the CIA's skills in information technology. It also created new tools for cyber-espionage.
In April 2014, Brennan visited Kyiv, Ukraine. He met with Ukrainian leaders. They reportedly talked about sharing intelligence.
In 2014, Brennan faced questions. It was found that some CIA employees had improperly looked at Senate computer servers. This happened during a review of the CIA's past actions. Brennan apologized to Senators. He said he would work for change at the CIA.
In December 2014, Brennan defended some past CIA interrogation methods. He said they had provided "useful" information. He admitted that some actions by CIA officers were "abhorrent." He also said they sometimes went beyond legal limits. But he stated the CIA had done many things right to keep the country safe.
In June 2016, Brennan spoke to the Senate Intelligence Committee. He warned about the threat from ISIL. He said they had many Western fighters. He also talked about the danger of "lone wolf" attackers. He called them a big challenge for intelligence.
In September 2016, Congress passed a law called JASTA. This law allowed families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. President Obama tried to stop the law, but Congress disagreed. Brennan warned that the JASTA bill could have "grave implications" for U.S. national security.
In January 2017, Brennan met with President-elect Donald Trump. He briefed Trump on intelligence findings. These findings were about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
A British teenager, Kane Gamble, was sentenced for hacking. He pretended to be the CIA chief. He accessed Brennan's private email and iCloud accounts. He also made fake calls to his family. The judge said Gamble was involved in "politically motivated cyber terrorism."
Before leaving office in January 2017, Brennan shared his concerns about incoming President Trump. He said Trump might not fully understand Russia's actions and intentions.
Personal email hack
In October 2015, someone hacked Brennan's personal AOL email account. The contents were then posted on WikiLeaks. The emails did not have secret government information. But they did include sensitive personal details. Brennan expressed his "outrage" about the hack. He also said that security needed to "evolve" to deal with new threats. In 2017, a college student pleaded guilty to charges related to hacking Brennan's email. Two men from North Carolina pleaded guilty to working together to hack Brennan's email. They also committed identity theft and telephone harassment. Other people involved were in the United Kingdom.
Personal life
Brennan is married to Kathy Pokluda Brennan. They have three children.
Books
(Available 10/06/2020)
See also
In Spanish: John O. Brennan para niños
