Obama Taps Former Senators to Serve on Intelligence Board

President Obama named former Sens. Chuck Hagel and David Boren to co-chair the President's Intelligence Advisory Board that oversees the intelligence community, Fox News confirmed Wednesday.

The President's Intelligence Advisory Board, which consists of 16 members appointed by the president and not employed by the federal government, was created in 1956 to counsel the commander-in-chief on intelligence matters.

The nonpartisan board assesses issues related to the "quality, quantity, and adequacy of intelligence activities" and "performance of all agencies of the federal government engaged in the collection, evaluation, or production of intelligence or the execution of intelligence policy," according to the White House's Web site.

Hagel, a two-term Republican senator from Nebraska, left office in 2008 and is chairman of the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C., think tank and public policy group.  Hagel is also a professor at Georgetown University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Boren, a former Democratic senator from Oklahoma and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is president of the University of Oklahoma.

"Since Dwight Eisenhower, presidents have relied on the advisory board for advice on intelligence matters, and under Chuck and Dave's leadership, I will be looking for the board to provide me with objective, independent, and non-partisan counsel as we work to strengthen our intelligence community and our national security," Obama said Wednesday.