[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E85]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF MR. CHARLES E. ALLEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SILVESTRE REYES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 14, 2009

  Mr. REYES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the 
unsung heroes of the Intelligence Community. Mr. Charles E. Allen, who 
has ably and admirably served our Nation over the past fifty years, 
will soon retire from a long and legendary public service career.
  Charlie began his career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) 
back in 1958 and climbed the ranks from analyst to liaison to program 
manager and beyond. He was assigned to the Department of Defense in 
1982 and became a senior adviser on strategic mobilization planning for 
the Secretary of Defense. He returned to the CIA in 1985 to take on the 
responsibility of National Intelligence Officer for Counterterrorism 
and, a year later, was appointed the first Chief of Intelligence for 
the CIA's Counterterrorist Center.
  Charlie's depth of expertise and dedicated professionalism led to the 
position of National Intelligence Officer for Warning, where, in July 
1990, he made his mark as the guy who accurately predicted Saddam 
Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Dismissed as a contrarian 
by others within the CIA, the conclusions in Charlie's ``warning of 
war'' memorandum bore out his sharply analytic judgment.
  In recent years, I have had the pleasure of working with Charlie as 
he undertook the Herculean challenge of organizing and integrating the 
Department of Homeland Security's intelligence programs and 
coordinating these activities with the Intelligence Community writ 
large. When he first came to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
as the Chief Intelligence Officer and the Department's then-Assistant 
Secretary for Informational Analysis, Charlie worked tirelessly to 
focus resources on counterterrorism and find a new way to move forward 
in the aftermath of 9/11. For all of his efforts, Charlie was rewarded 
with an elevation to Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, 
where he continued to--and will continue to--mold, shape, and guide the 
identity of DHS's intelligence operation. He created the foundation for 
all who will come after him.
  On one occasion in August 2007, Charlie came down to the University 
of Texas El Paso's Border Security Conference to speak on the critical 
area of diversity in the intelligence workforce. I was really excited 
to hear him speak, because I understood that he is a great speaker, and 
he certainly always has something of substantive importance. As it 
turned out, though, I never got to hear his speech, because my daughter 
went into labor with my third grandchild. Charlie was gracious and 
understanding about it, since he's a grandfather himself. Every time I 
see him, he remembers to ask about that grandson.
  I would be remiss if, outside of his exemplary resume, I didn't honor 
Charlie for his singular commitment to our country. Charlie has proved 
himself a dedicated public servant with a reputation as a workaholic, 
intent on giving America his best. While he has been honored time and 
time again for his service, receiving the CIA's highest and most 
coveted award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, he neither seeks 
recognition nor expects accolades.
  Charlie is a straight-shooter. He will always give you the truth. And 
I will deeply miss his leadership in the Intelligence Community.

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