[DB]

The CIA needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up.

[Publius6961]

But intelligence analysts should never undermine the policy of their elected governments, either through unlawful leaks or posing as in-the-know loud public critics privy to classified information.

I always assumed that this was the raison de etre for having an intelligence service in the first place.
I suppose that only made sense until the concept of treason and sedition became a useless historic artifact.

Moreover, the CIA is not the only agency which has degenerated into a liability rather than an asset; the premium foreign agency, the State Department, is equally rotten from the inside out. Ms. Rice is the only SOS in my experience (and I'm a lot older than I look) to act in her official capacity as if her first and foremost role is to represent her country, albeit somewhat lukewarmly.

Not being particularly interested in the Macchiavelian workings of government, I am not sure that our UN ambassador works under the State Department also, being a cabinet post and all, but here we have a different story, that in the last 40 years we have had some excellent professional representatives of the interests of the United States of America: Stevenson, Moynihan, Kirkpatric and now Bolton. Professionals all, and bearing the full weight of knowing what country the represent (and work for).

[Leisler]

Take what the Army is doing in Afghanistan. Sending hundreds to the Defense Language School, hiring hundreds of local scouts/interps, running their own SF out in Indian territory, flying it's own air observation, buying out the enemy with cash or killing them. Where does the donut eaters of CIA fit in? They don't.

[Eagles6]

save

[Tolik]

    Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! 

       Let me know if you want in or out.

Links: FR Index of his articles:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson 
His website: http://victorhanson.com/     NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp

[Democratshavenobrains]

I think all these ex-CIA morons have watched too many James Bond and Oliver Stone movies and think they have saved the world dozens of times and think themselves above any law as long as they speak "truth to power".

[AZLiberty]

They should relocate the CIA to a red state, like Texas or Oklahoma. Massive attrition would be immediate, and the new hires would probably be people who actually think the U.S. deserves to win the War on Terror.