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[quesarah]

Purging the disloyal at the CIA

You'd think achieving the best possible intelligence would be tops on the president's to-do list now that he's looking ahead to a second term. But this article from Newsday gives us a chilling glimpse into how Bush is handling the CIA -- "purges" of the disloyal.

"The White House has ordered the new CIA director, Porter Goss, to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President George W. Bush or of leaking damaging information to the media about the conduct of the Iraq war and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, according to knowledgeable sources."

"'The agency is being purged on instructions from the White House,' said a former senior CIA official who maintains close ties to both the agency and to the White House. 'Goss was given instructions ... to get rid of those soft leakers and liberal Democrats. The CIA is looked on by the White House as a hotbed of liberals and people who have been obstructing the president's agenda.'"

"One of the first casualties appears to be Stephen R. Kappes, deputy director of clandestine services, the CIA's most powerful division. The Washington Post reported yesterday that Kappes had tendered his resignation after a confrontation with Goss' chief of staff, Patrick Murray, but at the behest of the White House had agreed to delay his decision till tomorrow."

Meanwhile, the Pentagon, House Republican allies, and the White House are among the chief obstacles to getting intelligence reform, based on the 9/11 commission's recommendations, through Congress before the end of the year. "We have a critical window in the next few days to try and pass these recommendations," 9/11 commission member Tim Roemer said. "These recommendations are bipartisan. They're unanimous, without dissent." And yet, they'll likely die with this Congress. Good thing those political purges at the CIA are underway, though. We're feeling safer already.

Comments

[king-ghidorah.livejournal.com]

I'm scared of a world where the president can consider the CIA a hotbed of liberals. What next, the threat of those commie John Birchers?

Of course, it's important to the Prez' agenda to make sure the CIA functions more like a secret police if he is going to thrive in his world of preemption and black-ops dirty tricks. Man, Arbusto sometimes makes his dad look like a Bolshevik.

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

And since when has an intelligence office had to tow the line on the Prez' agenda? Isn't that counterproductive?

All the more reason to sic a pack of hungry lawyers on his ass; let 'em bite and slash at him until he falls. Meanwhile, given Darth Cheney's stellar health (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041113/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney), I'm sure we could count on the stress from such a sustained legal assault to force a retirement from him too.

[king-ghidorah.livejournal.com]

Intelligence is known for its tendency to have a higher agenda than the president, if only for purposes of plausible deniability. Besides, even an idiot knows that a bunch of yes-men make for bad intelligence. You want your spooks to tell you things you don't want to hear, but need to know. They should be the nasty cousins you call when you need something unpleasant done that no one wants to acknowledge.

Of course, we are talking a president who purged Christie Todd-Whitman because she was too environmentally friendly, so maybe my sense of absurdity isn't in tune with the drugs the Prez is taking.

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

They should be the nasty cousins you call when you need something unpleasant done that no one wants to acknowledge.

True, but I think Bush actually has nasty cousins to call on those occasions....

OK cheap shot, I admit. But I couldn't resist.

It seems crazy and short-sighted to expect the CIA to be yes men. If they're not going to do their job then why are they there? And who is doing their job?

[king-ghidorah.livejournal.com]

I think Bush actually has nasty cousins to call on those occasions....

Actually, he has a brother in Florida for that kind of thing....

If they're not going to do their job then why are they there? And who is doing their job?

Of course, one could argue that they haven't done their job terribly well in the first place, but I think that the real blame is on the FBI for bad counter-intelligence and both agencies for inter-agency communication.

I wonder what Papa Bush has to say to his son, having been a CIA head and a president....

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

The loss of Powell seems to be a very serious blow. Powell was about the only member of the Bush camp that the world could talk to. Certainly, over here, the loss of Powell is seen as an utter disaster for there being any hope of Britian having any sort of moderating influence over Americas actions.

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

Powell was a token from the beginning. He had no power or influence over anything the administration did. He was lied to, manipulated, and hung out to dry on multiple occasions. I'm not surprised he's leaving, he's been fucked so vigorously by the rest of the Cabinet.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Hi. I've said this to a couple of people now. But I'll say it to you now too. If I go missing for more than a week, can you send out search parties please?

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

Yep. Will do.

[among-the-waves.livejournal.com]

I have to wonder if he voted for Bush this time around!

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

That's a very interesting point. I too wonder who he voted for!

[madenglishbloke.livejournal.com]

just a pity he didnt work for the CIA - cos then, we'd know...

[zazuomgwtf.livejournal.com]

This is just too scary for words.