Bush Personnel Announcement at 1:45 EDT (Porter Goss Resigns from CIA)

CNBC-TV

[Rutles4Ever]

Press conference at 1:45

[Wolfstar]

CNN now asserting quite firmly that unnamed "senior administration officials" (plural) are confirming that the nomination of General Michael Hayden will be announced on Monday!!!

Despite the claim in the CNN article you posted that Goss resigned "abruptly," this apparently has been in the works for awhile. Simply because no one leaked his pending resignation to the MSM in advance of the actual event doesn't mean it was "abrupt."

Seems to me the only thing abrupt about this story is the instantaneous leap some people made into a yarn about scandal and other bad things.

[Txsleuth]

My problem with this is....for some reason, I don't really trust Negroponte...and I was not happy when Congress set up his job to have overarching power over the CIA and other agencies...

I thought that Bush, unlike Clinton, wanted every day contact with the CIA Director...but the way it is set up now, I heard that Goss doesn't have the access that he would have had under the "old" system.

Re: Negroponte...he is a career diplomat...which means "getting along" with people...instead of getting "rid" of people...and I know I read that he did not want Bush to release the documents and tapes from Iraq...

Why??

[Enchante]

Exactly - there's no reason to call it abrupt just because the Bush administration doesn't do everything through the MSM rumor mill (thank heaven). As I've said above, the most plausible story (from what we know right now) is that this has been coming since Negroponte and Hayden began working on reorg and reform of the entire intel community a year ago. I'm not saying Hayden was always tagged for CIA, who knows, but there were going to have to be more major changes at CIA and Goss was just an interim figure. Hope he made some good progress, but now it's time for new leadership and a real shakeout there.

[Wolfstar]

Porter Goss will be 68 in November. He has been in almost continual government service since 1960 when he joined the Army. He joined the CIA in 1962, left in 1972 and briefly went into private life in Florida before going into politics and winning a seat on his City Council in 1974. He ran for and won a seat as a county commissioner in 1983 where he served until he ran for Congress in 1988. He served in Congress for 16 years until he was named CIA Director in 2004.

Nearly 46 straight years in public life is a lot for anyone. He had been talking about retiring before the President named him CIA Director, and it was understood at the time that Goss didn't want the job for a long time.

[FreeReign]

I thought that Bush, unlike Clinton, wanted every day contact with the CIA Director...but the way it is set up now, I heard that Goss doesn't have the access that he would have had under the "old" system.

Consider the DNI to be the new big cheese. The DCI position isn't what it used to be. The DCI reports to the DNI.

Re: Negroponte...he is a career diplomat...which means "getting along" with people...instead of getting "rid" of people..

No way is he a get along guy. The following National Review opinion piece excerpt says it all.

National Review | February 24, 2005 | Jay Nordlinger | Excerpt:Central America is one of the great democratic success stories of the last quarter-century. This story is seldom told, though, because, when you tell it, much credit falls on Ronald Reagan. That president and his men — including Negroponte — steered a democratic course in Central America. They beat back both the undemocratic Left and the undemocratic Right. This can be seen most starkly in El Salvador, where they did everything they could to support the democrat Duarte, against the Communist guerrillas and the extreme Right. Duarte actually kissed the American flag, at the White House, which gave liberal Dems the vapors. Today, all the countries in Central America are democratic — and that was no sure thing, 20, 25 years ago. In fact, you would have been prudent to bet against it.

and I know I read that he did not want Bush to release the documents and tapes from Iraq... Why??

Wait a second. I thought you said Negroponte was a get along guy. Anyway Negroponte did say why.

Negroponte:These documents have provided, and continue to provide, actionable intelligence to ongoing operations. . . . It would be ill-advised to release these materials without careful screening because the material includes sensitive and potentially harmful information."

[FreeReign]

Nearly 46 straight years in public life is a lot for anyone. He had been talking about retiring before the President named him CIA Director, and it was understood at the time that Goss didn't want the job for a long time.

I'm guessing Goss wouldn't have taken the DNI job if offered.

I saw a quote earlier where Goss said the DCI job was more than one person could handle.

[Txsleuth]

When I said he was a "go along guy"...I didn't say he was that way with Bush...

Besides, you know what I meant...the State Dept., with the Ambassadors and the diplomats...like Negroponte, rarely last very long...if they battle with foreign governments TOO often or hard.

Bolton is doing great now...but, I can't see him being able to continue like he is for decades...without a backlash in Washington...in fact, it may still be difficult for him to get on with the UN permanently..even if Voinivich doesn't cry....LOL

I get your points...and they are very valid...I will withhold my thumbs down on Negroponte...

[NinoFan]

What proves it is not scandal-related is the fact that both President Bush and John Negroponte were with Porter Goss in the Oval Office to announce the latter's resignation

That doesn't prove it. What better way to cast doubt on a soon-to-be scandal than to play it cool?

[ScaniaBoy]

I came so late to this thread (and I don't have time to rush through its 1000+ posts at the minute) so you may well have discussed this before, but on another thread on Goss's resignation I noted this:

However there have also been rumblings of discontent at the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Several high-level CIA staff have resigned recently.

CIA boss in surprise resignation ~ Mr Goss said: "I believe the agency is on a very even keel

So I asked if anyone else had heard about this but got no answers. Could it be that Peter Goss, below the radar of the MSM, has been able to come much farther with his house-cleaning, and the firing of McCarthy was just a final touch?

I know I may be desparately looking for good signs. Anyone here able to shed some light on this?

[ImpBill]

Was your reply meant for me? If so, I don't get it.

[maica]

Will I be able to say "I knew Enchante when...!"

Thanks for including me on your pings

[Grampa Dave]

Lewis Libby defense lawyer Theodore Wells told a federal judge a short time ago that the Libby defense team has located “five witnesses who will say under oath that Mr. [Joseph] Wilson told them his wife worked for the CIA.”

We have a friend who retired from the farm a couple of decades ago. His wife said that Libby's Lawyers should subpoena every neighbor of Plame/Wilson, store owner where Plame/Wilson shopped, her beautician, and the bank/finance source of the mortgage on their home with the mortgage application forms. Then put everyone of these people in court as potential hostile witnesses and tell them about the perjury laws. Then swear them in and ask them when they knew that Plame work for the Farm.

[Grampa Dave]

The link below will give us good insight to General Hayden. This link provides us with a speech General Hayden gave about NSA earlier this year.

http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2006/01/hayden012306.html

REMARKS BY
GENERAL MICHAEL V. HAYDEN

PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
AND FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

WHAT AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE & ESPECIALLY THE NSA HAVE BEEN DOING TO DEFEND THE NATION

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
WASHINGTON, D.C.
10:00 A.M. EST
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2006

http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2006/01/hayden012306.html

[Grampa Dave]

Many of us might familiar with General Hayden.

[ASA Vet]

Dave, There's a fairly good summary on the thread I pinged you to early this morning.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks. I was off most of the day yesterday, and I haven't gotten through all of my pings.

[ASA Vet]

I was off most of the day yesterday

Only yesterday?
Heck, I'm a few degrees askew of plumb most every day.

[Grampa Dave]

"Heck, I'm a few degrees askew of plumb most every day."

So am I, which is probably why we get along so well.

Yesterday was a double off, besides my normal few degrees askew of plumb, I was out of here, gone, away, and lost in another fun endeavor.

[beyond the sea]

Yes, he went to school here in my lifelong city, Pittsburgh. I never met him in my time in A.S.A. though.

****

General Hayden entered active duty in 1969 after earning a bachelor's degree in history in 1967 and a master's degree in modern American history in 1969, both from Duquesne University. He is a distinguished graduate of the university's ROTC program. General Hayden has served as Commander of the Air Intelligence Agency and as Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center. He has been assigned to senior staff positions at the Pentagon, Headquarters U.S. European Command, National Security Council and the U.S. Embassy in the People's Republic of Bulgaria. The general has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff, United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea. Prior to his current assignment, General Hayden was Director, National Security Agency, and Chief, Central Security Service, Fort George G. Meade, Md.

EDUCATION --- 1967 Bachelor of Arts degree in history, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa.

1969 Master's degree in modern American history, Duquesne University

****

Prayers for his strength.

[Marine_Uncle]

As you commented, who ever gets the job will have one heck of a tough mission. For me at least it is hard to envision how one weeds out people. If the CIA is anywhere as bad as some have suggested, e.g. infiltrated to the hilt by commies, far left usefull idiot types, hard core demorats, and many are in middle and upper managment as well as lower positions, how does one find the right people to work with who will help out in weeding themselves out.
This type activity is far different then say a corporation having to downsize, where one can use peformance reviews, curves of where someone is in a percentile salary range over a period of time and other methods to evaluate less performing people. One needs people on the inside that truely are neutral. And perhaps the real neutral ones are at the bottom of the heap, and therefore have little influence.
Meanwhile one must somehow encourage all CIA employees to work together within their areas of responsibility, with new rules being put into effect etc.. People must feel they have a future. Threatened employees often will just go along with things to keep their jobs. But in effect not adhere in principal to what the top man ask them to do.
But surely if at least the rule goes down that anyone that leaks anything will not only lose their job but be prosecuted, perhaps things will improve somewhat.