The Goss Resignation

The other big news of the day was the resignation of Porter Goss:

CIA chief Porter Goss resigned Friday to the surprise of many in Washington, although some sources say there have been rumblings of Goss’ departure and that his move is just another part of the recent White House shake-up.

“I appreciate his integrity, I appreciate the honor in which he brought to the job,” President Bush said in making the announcement.

And having had a chance to check out the blogosphere a bit there seem to be a few schools of thought.

Number one being a power struggle between Goss and Negroponte: (Captain’s Quarters)

Negroponte as DNI allowed the new bureaucracy to grow into a 700-employee behemoth, robbing its subsidiary agencies of its talent and further frustrating agency heads such as Goss. The new CIA chief essentially got demoted to a position that no longer exercised the kind of authority that Goss needed to make the changes required of the agency. Under these circumstances, it isn’t difficult to see why Goss would want out — assuming he did.

Or that he had ruffled some feathers by shutting the traps of those CIA rogue agents:

[Goss] had particularly poor relations with segments of the agency’s powerful clandestine service. In a bleak assessment, California Rep. Jane Harman, the Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, recently said, “The CIA is in a free fall,” noting that employees with a combined 300 years of experience have left or been pushed out….

Goss has pressed for aggressive probes about leaked information.

“The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission,” he told Congress in February, adding that a federal grand jury should be impaneled to determine “who is leaking this information.”

Or finally the conspiracy theory that I’m sure the DummiesU crowd is all a-twitter about: (via Wizbang)

Goss’s sudden departure might be related to the investigation into the CIA’s executive director, Kyle “Dusty” Foggo. Foggo was tied to the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal via his close friendship with San Diego businessman Brent Wilkes (see this Union Tribune piece), and was the subject of an investigation by federal prosecutors. It’s possible that Goss may have gone to the mat to save his job. Of course it’s possible he just wanted to “spend more time with his family.”

I believe the conpiracy theories are just that, far-fetched theories. Could be true but not likely. My take on this whole thing is that he may not have been doing enough to get rid of the liberal thinktank culture residing in the CIA. Big Lizards has made some of the best points I have found so far in the blogosphere:

Goss was fired because he was not aggressive enough in ferreting out the leakers. We’ve known George W. Bush for give years now; and the one thing that is clear is that when he decides something is important for the country — such as the Iraq war — he never lets go of it; he hangs on like a bulldog to a beefbone.

Bush has clearly decided that the conspiracy culture within the Agency, the Bush Derangement Syndrome, has gone so far that it now endangers national security. Goss was brought aboard in the first place by President Bush in 2004 in order to plug those leaks by any means necessary.

[…]I suspect Bush, Negroponte, Goss, and other concerned officials probably discussed the departure of Goss some time ago; but since they knew he was closing in on Mary O. McCarthy — two weeks and still no personal proclamation of innocence from St. Mary of Langley — they decided to let him nab her first, and then resign.

[…]I’m sure they’re correct that there was a power struggle; but Bush has never minded that in the past… recall the Rumsfeld vs. Powell steel-cage death match. I strongly doubt that Bush would have allowed the NID to fire the DCIA unless the president personally agreed that Goss should go.

Nor do I believe, as Babbin, Gaffney, Harman, and Obey all think, that Goss is going to be replaced by a meek staffer who can be easily confirmed and won’t rock the boat. I think that’s absurd. If that’s how Bush operated, crawling to Congress to save his administration, then he would have fired Donald Rumsfeld, which would have thrilled the House and Senate (though it would have neutered his second term).

Yes, the conpiracy theories are more sexy to talk about but think about it. We all know Bush pretty well by now and does anyone think Bush is going to put a weak-kneed talking head into that position now? If anything he wants someone stronger then Goss who will really shake things up. It’s time to right this sinking ship we call the CIA:

Although he worked hard to improve the CIA, Goss found much resistance from the agency’s “establishment” and devoted an enormous amount of time investigating leaks emanating from his own people.

An anti-war heckler on Thursday amply illustrates what passes for an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency these days. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, during a speech, was confronted by a former CIA analyst who accused him in a question-and-answer session of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence.

An anti-war heckler on Thursday amply illustrates what passes for an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency these days. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, during a speech, was confronted by a former CIA analyst who accused him in a question-and-answer session of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence.

“Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?” asked Ray McGovern, the former analyst.

“I did not lie,” shot back Rumsfeld, who waved off security guards who were ready to remove McGovern from the hall at the Southern Center for International Studies.

Three other protesters were escorted away by security as each interrupted Rumsfeld’s speech by jumping up and shouting anti-war messages. Throughout the speech, a fourth protester stood up in the middle of the room with his back to Rumsfeld in silent protest.

Rumsfeld has been interrupted by anti-war demonstrators in congressional hearing rooms as he has delivered testimony to lawmakers in recent months. However, reports indicate that these “protesters” have been allowed into the hearing rooms by Democrat staffers.

When security guards attempted to remove McGovern, the CIA analyst, during his persistent questions of Rumsfeld, the defense secretary told them to let him stay and the two continued to spar.

“You’re getting plenty of play,” Rumsfeld told McGovern, who is an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq.

Once upon a time, the CIA recruited men and women from the US military or law enforcement, at least for covert or clandestine operations; now they recruit on university campuses where students have been deluged with Marxist-Stalinist propaganda for four or five years — perhaps more if they have advanced degrees. Catch terrorists? These fools couldn’t catch a bus without help, let alone a terrorist or terrorist conspiracy. In a nutshell: They got no street smarts.

One complaint often heard privately within law enforcement circles is that the Central Intelligence Agency over the years has morphed into a Liberal think-tank rather than maintaining its role as a strategic and tactical intelligence agency. Police commanders, who’ve always dreaded dealing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, find the FBI preferable to dealing with over-educated policy wonks who’ve forgotten what they’re supposed be doing.

My favorite quote so far comes from MacRanger at Macsmind:

If the rogues thought Goss was a ball-buster, they haven’t seen anything yet, as the CIA will most likely now come directly under the DNI, John Negroponte.

And I think this is where it’s headed. Let the ball busting begin!

Air Force General Michael Hayden is likely to be named Porter Goss’s successor.

President George W. Bush stunned Washington on Friday by accepting the resignation of CIA Director Porter J. Goss, and Republican sources told TIME that the White House plans to name his replacement on Monday: Air Force General Michael V. Hayden, who as Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence has been a visible and aggressive defender of the administration’s controversial eavesdropping program. His nomination is sure to reignite the battle over the program on Capitol Hill, where one House Democrat promises “a partisan food fight” during the confirmation process.

Hate to tell you I told you so. Bush wants to get tougher, and boy will Hayden be tougher.

Other’s Blogging:

• The Belmont Club
• JustOneMinute
• The Strata-Sphere
• Decision ’08
• Ace Of Spades HQ
• Hot Air
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