Obama spy chief choice: U.S. intel should try to work with Iran

President Barack Obama's choice for spy chief, Dennis Blair, said Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies should seek ways of working with Iran on issues of mutual interest, underscoring the new administration's interest in engagement with elements in the Islamic state.

"While policymakers need to understand anti-American leaders, policies and actions in Iran, the intelligence community can also help policymakers identify and understand other leaders and political forces, so that it is possible to work toward a future in both our interests," retired Admiral Blair said on Thursday in a prepared statement for a Senate hearing on his nomination as Director of National Intelligence.

Blair also backed Obama's decision to close Guantanamo prison and said humane treatment standards for terrorism suspects must apply throughout the government, breaking with the Bush administration's insistence on an exemption for the CIA.

"I agree with the president that the detention center at Guantanamo has become a damaging symbol to the world and that it must be closed," Blair told the Senate hearing,

"There must be clear standards for humane treatment that apply to all agencies of U.S. government, including the intelligence community," Blair said.