On Wednesday, President Barack Obama introduced former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel and former Oklahoma Sen. David Boren as co-chairmen of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

The goal of the board, Hagel said Wednesday, is to provide "thoughtful, informed and independent advice" to the president regarding America's intelligence-gathering agencies and how they can best work effectively to collect and share information to make critical decisions.

In a phone interview from his Georgetown University office, he said intelligence directs America's security efforts, informs policy and ultimately protects the country from not only terrorist and militaristic threats, but also energy and economic crises.

While it may sound daunting, Hagel said, "I'm looking forward to an opportunity to serve the president and the country in ... more of a focused way (since leaving the Senate)."

Before the announcement Wednesday, Hagel said he told Obama, "If you can get a Nebraskan and Oklahoman to work together on this board, everything else will be easy."

Hagel, a Republican; and Boren, a Democrat who is now president of the University of Oklahoma; and the rest of the as-yet-announced board will be given unfettered access to the inner workings of the nation's intelligence community while remaining independent of it.

Hagel said intelligence-gathering and sharing has improved between agencies since Sept. 11, but he said he will look at how they can integrate better, and how U.S. intelligence as a whole can be better integrated with its allies.

"You need relationships with your allies around the world to stop terrorist plots and to stop these ideas and plans before they develop into an operation," he said.

Hagel said the board chairmen have historically been filled by people with extensive experience in shaping foreign policy.

He will not be an exception.

"(Hagel) served for many years ... on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and six years on the Senate Elect Committee on Intelligence," Obama said Wednesday in Washington when announcing the two co-chairmen of his board.

"And I came to appreciate his sound judgments in our travels together overseas, including to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He also understands, from personal experience, the need to protect our troops and provide them with the best possible intelligence. During Vietnam, Sergeant Hagel served as an infantry squad leader, along with his brother, where they were wounded twice."

Hagel said the board, created during the Eisenhower administration, has historically been a place where conservatives and liberals both have seats and voices.

He said he and Boren's abilities to tackle issues in a a nonpartisan way will be key to their efforts.

It is an unpaid position. The board has a full-time staff at the White House, and Hagel said 10 more potential board members are in the process of being vetted.

"Our work is clear," Obama said Wednesday. "The organizations represented here have made real progress in recent years. But we all agree that more needs to be done -- to improve the collection of intelligence, to ensure that analysis reaches senior decision-makers in a timely way and to provide strong oversight to ensure our intelligence activities are consistent with our democratic values and the rule of law.

"I think (Hagel and Boren) are going to be an invaluable resource to all of us sitting around the table."

Reach Cory Matteson at 473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com.