Goss Makes Huge Strides Towards Alienating Himself at CIA

[Nbadan]

Four Fear New Chief Is Isolating Himself

By Walter Pincus and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, November 14, 2004; Page A06


Within the past month, four former deputy directors of operations have tried to offer CIA Director Porter J. Goss advice about changing the clandestine service without setting off a rebellion, but Goss has declined to speak to any of them, said former CIA officials aware of the communications.

The four senior officials represent nearly two decades of experience leading the Directorate of Operations under both Republican and Democratic presidents. The officials were dismayed by the reaction and were concerned that Goss has isolated himself from the agency's senior staff, said former clandestine service officers aware of the offers.

The senior operations officials "wanted to talk as old colleagues and tell him to stop what he was doing the way he was doing it," said a former senior official familiar with the effort.

Last week, Deputy Director John E. McLaughlin retired after a series of confrontations between senior operations officials and Goss's top aide, Patrick Murray. Days before, the chief of the clandestine service, Stephen R. Kappes, said he would resign rather than carry out Murray's demand to fire Kappes's deputy, Michael Sulick, for challenging Murray's authority.

Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48254-2004Nov13.html)

I mean, it's not like we need a cohesive CIA fighting a war on terrorism or anything.

[Hook Dem]

Is there anything you like about this country Dan????????

[Yonivore]

Is there anything you like about this country Dan????????
Goss is cleaning house...who gives a fuck if he's liked at the CIA? I care if he's effective.

[exstatic]

Yoni - I was watching one of the talking head programs yesterday, and even GOP congressmen are now expressing concern over thowing the baby out with the bathwater.

It can't always be that the Bush administration, and anyone they appoint are defacto correct. You are the anti-Dan, defending everything they do as right.

[Yonivore]

Yoni - I was watching one of the talking head programs yesterday, and even GOP congressmen are now expressing concern over thowing the baby out with the bathwater.

It can't always be that the Bush administration, and anyone they appoint are defacto correct. You are the anti-Dan, defending everything they do as right.
Well, since Goss serves at the pleasure of the President, I say it's the President's perspective that matters; not the GOP Congressmen that like to talk.

By the way, I disagree with this administration's immigration policy and I disagree with this administration's continuance of the so-called "war on drugs," just to mention a couple of areas over which I disagree with President Bush. But, I'm not going to disagree with internal, administration personnel decisions; that's for Monday morning quarterbacks.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I know people who work across the river (that's spook speak for the CIA), and they think what Goss is doing good.

Apparently a lot of the people being told to get with the program or get out are those who still think we're fighting the Cold War, and have yet to come around to the idea that we are at war with radical Islam.

Why are people so upset that a couple of spooks who think we can apply the same policies of containment that helped beat communism to the likes of Osama and Al Qaeda and win got canned?

There's a lot of problems up at that organization, mainly at the top, that from the looks of it Goss is taking care of. Let's see what the end result is before we string him up.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

BTW, here's a read from a former CIA guy, probably required reading IMO from anyone on either side who is watching Goss do a little needed housecleaning.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/299qznfy.asp


Under this system, thousands of agents were recruited abroad neither for their intelligence-reporting potential nor their operational utility. They were put on the books--case officers often referred to the sport as "collecting scalps"--because that is how CIAoperatives earned promotion.

[Yonivore]

I know people who work across the river (that's spook speak for the CIA), and they think what Goss is doing good.

Apparently a lot of the people being told to get with the program or get out are those who still think we're fighting the Cold War, and have yet to come around to the idea that we are at war with radical Islam.

Why are people so upset that a couple of spooks who think we can apply the same policies of containment that helped beat communism to the likes of Osama and Al Qaeda and win got canned?

There's a lot of problems up at that organization, mainly at the top, that from the looks of it Goss is taking care of. Let's see what the end result is before we string him up.
I thought "Spook Speak" for the CIA was "Foggy Bottom."

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

That's a new one. I think Foggy Bottom refers to State Dept.

This friend used to work at the CIA, now works at the NSA, he refers to the CIA as "across the river."

He says half the CIA's problem is that it and its leaders from the end of the Cold War through the last year or so were totally risk averse, something that is not conducive to winning the espionnage battle.