GATES CONFIRMED TO HEAD CIA

The United States Senate confirmed Robert Gates to be the 15th director of the Central Intelligence Agency despite a cloud of allegations that he knew more than he admitted about the Iran-contra scandal and that he twisted intelligence to support cold-war policies.Mr. Gates was confirmed Tuesday by a vote of 64 to 31. Senate supporters said they were confident the allegations against Gates had been disproved and said he had the expertise and vision needed to reorganize the US intelligence community in response to the Soviet Union's breakup. Senate opponents, including Senate Democratic leader George Mitchell, said they still had doubts whether Gates told the whole truth about the Iran-contra scandal.