Foggo of War by digby http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/ Oh what a bunch of crap. All of CNN is parroting this stoooopid Snow job about Goss resigning with no notice to turf wars between him and Negroponte. Right. Paul Begala pointed out that if this is true then Goss is unpatriotic for abruptly stomping off in a huff instead of waiting for Bush to find a replacement. After all, these are troubled times in the American intelligence community. You'd think that he and Negroponte could have contained their pissing match for the good of the country. Why does Porter Goss hate America?
It's pretty funny to watch the backstory to this thing get generated after the fact. Right now CNN has finally took the poor drunken kennedy off the stage and is talking about "swirling rumors" of fierce tensions between him and negroponte. LOL, Hey, look, over there, it's a diversion!
Good one. Did you use this same approach in evaluating evidence presented by Administration as justification to go to war with Iraq?
How geeky am I that I recognized right away that that was a photochop of Emma Peel from the Avengers?
He encouraged death squads in Honduras? I did not know that. I understand how you would get upset over criticism of dirty cold warrior Negroponte. On the other hand if Odom was involved in the death squads, strange that you don't like him now since I think you have stated that you approved of that tactic and the whole US backing of Contras. After all from your point of view those peasants were allegedly communists (read evil doers) and only two days from the Texas border as Reagan said. Info on Negroponte that should not be forgotten. ******** Not only has Negroponte declined to acknowledge the obvious; when he was ambassador, the State Department rigged its Honduras human rights reports to Congress. As a 1995 Baltimore Sun series noted, "A comparison of the annual human rights reports prepared while Negroponte was ambassador with the facts as they were then known shows that Congress was deliberately misled." The Sun reported, "Time and again...Negroponte was confronted with evidence that a Honduran army intelligence unit, trained by the CIA, was stalking, kidnapping, torturing and killing suspected subversives." But this didn't make it into State Department reports. Had Honduras been found to be engaging in systematic abuses, it could have lost its US aid--thwarting the Reagan Administration's use of Honduras to support the contras. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=2203
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/05/goss.resignation/index.html -- Officials: General to head CIA Negroponte aide to replace Goss after apparent power struggle WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush has settled on Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden as his choice for CIA director, and an announcement is planned for Monday, senior administration officials told CNN late Friday. Hayden, 61, is the principal deputy to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. If confirmed by the Senate, Hayden would replace Porter Goss, who abruptly resigned the CIA post earlier Friday after losing what intelligence sources described as a power struggle with Negroponte. Hayden was director of the National Security Agency in 2001 when Bush authorized a controversial program allowing the agency to monitor the communications of people inside the United States who were in contact with suspected terrorists overseas without first obtaining a warrant. Critics charge the surveillance program is a violation of law and an assault on civil liberties. Hayden has defended the program, insisting that it is a necessary tool to thwart terrorists and that the process of obtaining warrants is too slow and cumbersome to deal with "a lethal enemy." Intelligence sources told CNN that Goss' resignation was triggered by differences with Negroponte over plans to move staff, including analysts from the CIA's counterterrorism center, to other intelligence agencies. Goss was worried about too many people being taken out of key roles, the sources said. (TIME.com: The Incredible Shrinking CIA) Also, requests for information by Negroponte's office, which was created in December 2004 to oversee all U.S. intelligence efforts, were overtaxing CIA employees to the point that their work was being interfered with, the intelligence sources said. "There's been a steady encroachment on what we do," one intelligence official said, and Goss felt he needed to resign rather than accept it. 'Mutual understanding' An intelligence source with detailed knowledge of the discussions surrounding Goss' departure told CNN that after Goss resisted the changes, Negroponte sought White House backing to resolve the impasse. A mutual decision was then made that Goss should go, and Hayden was involved in those discussions, the source said. A senior administration official said Goss' resignation was based on a "mutual understanding" between Bush, Goss and Negroponte. "When you ask somebody to do very difficult things during a period of transition, it often makes sense to hand off the reins to somebody else to take the agency forward," the senior administration official said. An intelligence official told CNN that while there were differences of opinion between Goss and Negroponte, suggestions of any harsh exchanges between the two men were "just ridiculous, not remotely true." In April, a senior administration official told CNN that Goss would likely be out of the CIA post before the end of the summer. Goss and other senior intelligence officials have recently been interviewed by the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which is looking into concerns that change was happening too slowly at the CIA. Goss said he would remain at the helm of the CIA for the "next few weeks" to oversee the transition to a new director. Former critic led shake-up Goss, 67, a former CIA officer and Republican congressman from Florida, was tapped by Bush in June 2004 to come in and shake up the agency at a time when its performance was under intense scrutiny due to intelligence failures prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the invasion of Iraq. Some of the most blistering criticism came in a report from the House Intelligence Committee -- which Goss then chaired -- that called the CIA "dysfunctional." But two months after Goss was nominated, Bush asked Congress to implement a recommendation from the 9/11 commission to create an overall national intelligence director, which would oversee the CIA and 14 other intelligence agencies -- a change that diluted the authority of the CIA director. Negroponte, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, was confirmed as national intelligence director in April 2005. After the restructuring, Bush began receiving his daily intelligence briefings from Negroponte rather than Goss. Goss made good on his promise to shake up the CIA, bringing in his own management team to implement changes. A number of top CIA officials left during the transition, after personality and policy clashes with Goss' lieutenants. However, in October, the White House decided to make Goss the manager of all U.S. human intelligence-gathering operations, which was widely seen as a way to restore some of the prestige the CIA lost after Congress created the post of national intelligence director. (Full story) Former intelligence officials told CNN that many people inside the CIA are "relieved" that Goss and his aides -- called "the Gosslings" by CIA insiders -- are going, a reflection of the ill will that still persists over the earlier departures of senior officials. 'Bizarrely sudden' Goss' abrupt resignation Friday took Washington by surprise. Reporters were summoned in early afternoon to the Oval Office, where Bush -- with the CIA director seated next to him -- announced the change. No reason was given for Goss' resignation, but the White House has been in the midst of an administration shakeup since Josh Bolten took over as chief of staff. "[Goss] offered his resignation as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I've accepted it," Bush said. "Porter's tenure at the CIA was one of transition, where he's helped his agency become integrated into the intelligence community," the president said. "That was a tough job, and he's led ably." (Watch Bush's Oval Office announcement -- 2:38) Goss thanked Bush for the "very distinct honor and privilege" of serving as director of the CIA, and he described the agency as now being "on a very even keel." "It's sailing well," Goss said. "I honestly believe that we have improved dramatically your goals for our nation's intelligence capabilities, which are, in fact, the things that I think that are keeping us safe." Negroponte was in the Oval Office when the resignation was announced, but he did not speak. A senior staffer on the Senate Intelligence Committee told CNN that lawmakers and congressional staffers were caught off guard by the "bizarrely sudden" resignation.
I think this is another manifestation of the inner turmoil roiling the government of the United States. We should all be very concerned about who is really running things... a small clique centered around Bush and Cheney. There is no telling what this government will do. No telling at all. I think it's capable of just about any act, and that is frightening. They are unchecked by Congress, with it's Republican majority. Let's hope nothing drastic happens before a Democratic majority returns to Congress, and puts a check on Bush's abuses of power. Keep D&D Civil.
Doesn't upset me at all. Its just interesting that you'd criticize one 'dirty cold warrior' and sing the praises of another. Again you put functionality above your 'principles.'
WOW!!! The Daily News gets a scoop? CIA boss Goss is cooked Tied to contractor's poker parties - hints of bribes & women BY RICHARD SISK and JAMES GORDON MEEK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Outgoing CIA Director Porter Goss shakes hands with President Bush yesterday at surprise White House announcement of Goss' resignation after only a year. WASHINGTON - CIA Director Porter Goss abruptly resigned yesterday amid allegations that he and a top aide may have attended Watergate poker parties where bribes and prostitutes were provided to a corrupt congressman. Kyle (Dusty) Foggo, the No. 3 official at the CIA, could soon be indicted in a widening FBI investigation of the parties thrown by defense contractor Brent Wilkes, named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randall (Duke) Cunningham, law enforcement sources said. A CIA spokeswoman said Foggo went to the lavish weekly hospitality-suite parties at the Watergate and Westin Grand hotels but "just for poker." Intelligence and law enforcement sources said solid evidence had yet to emerge that Goss also went to the parties, but Goss and Foggo share a fondness for poker and expensive cigars, and the FBI investigation was continuing. Larry Johnson, a former CIA operative and a Bush administration critic, said Goss "had a relationship with Dusty and with Brent Wilkes that's now coming under greater scrutiny." Johnson vouched for the integrity of Foggo and Goss but said, "Dusty was a big poker player, and it's my understanding that Porter Goss was also there \[at Wilkes' parties\] for poker. It's going to be guilt by association." "It's all about the Duke Cunningham scandal," a senior law enforcement official told the Daily News in reference to Goss' resignation. Duke, a California Republican, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty in November to taking $2.4 million in homes, yachts and other bribes in exchange for steering government contracts. Goss' inability to handle the allegations swirling around Foggo prompted John Negroponte, the director of National Intelligence, who oversees all of the nation's spy agencies, to press for the CIA chief's ouster, the senior official said. The official said Goss is not an FBI target but "there is an impending indictment" of Foggo for steering defense contracts to his poker buddies. One subject of the FBI investigation is a $3 million CIA contract that went to Wilkes to supply bottled water and other goods to CIA operatives in Iraq and Afghanistan, sources said. In a hastily arranged Oval Office announcement that stunned official Washington, neither President Bush nor Goss offered a substantive reason for why the head of the spy agency was leaving after only a year on the job. "He has led ably" in an era of CIA transition, Bush said with Goss seated at his side. "He has a five-year plan to increase the analysts and operatives." Goss said the trust Bush placed in him "is something I could never have imagined." "I believe the agency is on a very even keel, sailing well," he said. The official Bush administration spin that emerged later was that Goss lost out in a turf battle with Negroponte, but Goss' tenure was marked by the resignations of several veteran operatives who viewed him as an amateur out of his depth. White House officials said Bush would announce early next week his choice to succeed Goss. Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, Negroponte's top deputy, heads the list of potential replacements, with White House counterterror chief Fran Townsend also on the short list. Negroponte "apparently had no confidence" in Goss, and Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board was also "very alarmed by problems at the CIA," said a congressional source involved in oversight of U.S. spy agencies. "Supposedly the \[Cunningham\] scandal was the last straw," the source said. "This administration may be on the verge of a major scandal." http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/415304p-350961c.html
saw this on drudge this morning...a frightening consolidation of power, if this guy gets in. didnt rummy tell us that he isnt in the intellegence buisness the other day? rumsfeld, bush and cheney have been blaming faulty intellegnce for our attacking iraq, and yet they are the ones controlling 80% of the intellegence budget? "If Hayden were to get the nomination, military officers would run the major spy agencies in the United States, from the ultra-secret National Security Agency to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The Pentagon already controls more than 80 percent of the intelligence budget." http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060507/D8HF00R00.html House Intel Panel Chief Opposes Hayden Email this Story May 7, 10:12 AM (ET) By NEDRA PICKLER (AP) Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., left, talks with reporters as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, listens in... Full Image Google sponsored links Krav Maga Central Austin - Just Results Fitness & Self Defense Krav Maga Official Training Center www.justresultstexas.com Fear No Man - Discover What The Martial Artists And The Army Don't Want You To Know www.TopSecretTraining.com WASHINGTON (AP) - A leading Republican came out against the front-runner for CIA director, Gen. Michael Hayden, saying Sunday the spy agency should not have military leadership during a turbulent time among intelligence agencies. Members of the Senate committee that would consider President Bush's nominee also expressed reservations, saying the CIA is a civilian agency and putting Hayden atop it would concentrate too much power in the military for intelligence matters. Bush was expected to nominate a new director as early as Monday to replace Porter Goss, who abruptly resigned on Friday. But opposition to Hayden because of his military background is mounting on Capitol Hill, where he would face tough hearings in the Senate Intelligence Committee. (AP) Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in... Full Image Despite a distinguished career at the Defense Department, Hayden would be "the wrong person, the wrong place at the wrong time," said the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich. "There is ongoing tensions between this premier civilian intelligence agency and DOD as we speak," Hoekstra said. "And I think putting a general in charge - regardless of how good Mike is - ... is going to send the wrong signal through the agency here in Washington but also to our agents in the field around the world," he told "Fox News Sunday." If Hayden were to get the nomination, military officers would run the major spy agencies in the United States, from the ultra-secret National Security Agency to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The Pentagon already controls more than 80 percent of the intelligence budget. "You can't have the military control most of the major aspects of intelligence," said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The CIA "is a civilian agency and is meant to be a civilian agency," she said on ABC's "This Week." A second committee member, GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, added, "I think the fact that he is a part of the military today would be the major problem." Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., mentioned fears the CIA would "just be gobbled up by the Defense Department" if Hayden were to take over. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he would view a Hayden nomination as a way to get information from the Bush administration about its secretive domestic surveillance program, undertaken by the NSA when Hayden led that agency. The warrantless monitoring covered electronic communications between people in the United States and other parties overseas with suspected terrorist links.
Holy cow! Is congress actually living up to its obligation to provide checks and balances to the executive branch? That is a good sign if it works out like that.
Rumsfeld has responsibility for the Department of Defense. Your standard is the same as saying 'Bush is in the intelligence business' since he's in charge of the Executive Branch.
