CIA director Porter Goss has resigned.
No reason was given. Goss has been mentioned as being somehow involved in Hookergate with former Rep. Randy Cunningham, but that connection looks tenuous. So unless there's more there than has come out publicly, let's look for less prurient reasons for the resignation. Like, say, his ongoing alienation of much of the senior staff at CIA, which have been resigning in droves. Or his reduced stature thanks to the ascension of John Negroponte as Director of National Intelligence. That raises other questions: Did Negroponte push him out?
More as it develops.
Update: The Washington Post's take.
Update 2: Another good question is what this means for the CIA's intelligence-gathering efforts. It's not a good sign that there remains so much turmoil at the agency 5 years after 9/11; It's still caught up in internal problems when we really want it to be focusing its efforts outward. Reform takes time, and will be distracting. The question is, were Goss' reforms the right ones? If so, will they be carried forward by his successor? Or will his tenure turn out to have been a year of spinning wheels that cost us momentum as well as a number of senior operatives?
CIA, Goss, politics, midtopia
Friday, May 05, 2006
Porter Goss resigns
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2 comments:
Its cause of HOOKERGATE!!!
Horny little bugger this dude was
Could be. The abrupt nature of the resignation suggests its something serious. It might also be relevant that Bush was a) not expecting this and b) quickly accepted the resignation.
On the other hand, Goss has complained before about the workload. Maybe he just got tired.
Lots and lots of speculation out there. The most interesting one I've heard thus far is that Goss is heading back to Florida to challenge the unhinged Kathleen Harris for the Senate seat.
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