WASHINGTON, Sept 15: CIA operatives will be encouraged to take more risks and expand their spying and counter terrorism networks abroad, says President Bush's nominee to lead the world's premier intelligence agency.

"I believe that the message is out that nice spies is not the formula right now, that risk will be rewarded," Porter J. Goss, a Republican congressman from Florida told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr Goss, who is appearing before the committee for confirmation hearing which will continue throughout this week, urged CIA officials in the field to have "full confidence" in the assurance that "risks will be rewarded".

Because of their experience before 9/11, when the CIA and other intelligence agencies worked under strict congressional oversight, US spies in the field are not yet willing to trust orders from their headquarters when they are asked to take risks.

President Bush has nominated Congressman Goss to replace George J. Tenet who had to quit last month following the Bush administration's failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

"What will I do? I will try and put confidence behind those words," said Mr Goss when asked how would restore the confidence of US spies working abroad. Most Americans have undergone a drastic change in their attitude towards the CIA after 9/11.

Before the terrorist attacks, most Americans opposed clandestine CIA operations and wanted the US administration to avoid involvement in the internal affairs of other countries.

But recent opinion polls show that as many as 70 per cent Americans now want their agencies to do whatever they need to do to counter terrorism. Aware of this change, the Bush administration is already working on a plan to enhance the presence of its intelligence agencies abroad.