He settled on Judge Webster - who likes to be addressed as "judge" to this day despite the raft of titles he has acquired.

"We're always open to reassessment," said Judge Webster, adding judicially, "but I haven't seen enough yet to get me exercised."

He has made the right move in selecting Judge Webster to review all procedures in the F.B.I., to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

And now, the Senate willing, Judge Webster will succeed the disabled William Casey.

In all those things, Judge Webster's instincts will be the opposite.

Because requests to the F.B.I. can sometimes become lost in their bureaucracy, a call from you to Judge Webster would be appropriate.

There's been a number of improvements in Judge Webster's tenure and they need to be accelerated to meet the challenges of the coming decades.

Mr. Hanssen "wouldn't have taken the chance, I don't think," Judge Webster said.

"I was the first one to raise this," Judge Webster said.

Since leaving the C.I.A. in 1991, Judge Webster has moved effortlessly into the role of Washington "wise man."