All’s well that ends well. After much huffing and puffing by the neocons — from an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal to blog pontification at the Weekly Standard, the Middle East Forum, and elsewhere on Planet Perle — the appointment of Chas Freeman as chairman of the National Intelligence Council is a done deal. (See my earlier post.)

Here’s the text of a release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:

“Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair has selected Charles W. Freeman, Jr. to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC). As Chairman, Ambassador Freeman will be responsible for overseeing the production of National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) and other Intelligence Community (IC) analytic products. ‘Ambassador Freeman is a distinguished public servant who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in defense, diplomacy and intelligence that are absolutely critical to understanding today’s threats and how to address them,’ Director Blair said. ‘The country is fortunate that Ambassador Freeman has agreed to return to public service and contribute his remarkable skills toward further strengthening the Intelligence Community’s analytical process.’

“As a former United States negotiator, Freeman has worked with more than 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. He has served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires in Bangkok and Beijing, Director of Chinese Affairs at U.S. State Department, and Distinguished Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and the Institute of National Security Studies. Freeman received his J.D. from the Harvard School of Law. Ambassador Freeman will report to DNI Blair and the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis, Dr. Peter Lavoy.”

The campaign against Freeman was both ignorant and unrelenting.

The Weekly Standard, which had quacked about the appointment finally surrended to it, aghast, but called it “a disgrace,” in a moronic article entitled “It’s Official: Saudi Puppet to Head NIC.”

It’s nice to win one, now and then.