Out with the old, in with the old?
Monday, May 8, 2006 at 6:41PM ARTICLE: “CIA Chief Goss Abruptly Resigns: Surprise Exit Follows Time Of Scandal, Influence Drop, Adds to Bush Team Shakeup,” by Christopher Cooper, Scot J. Paltrow and Robert Block, Wall Street Journal, 6-7 May 2005, p. A4.
ARTICLE: “Concern voiced over CIA choice: Hayden’s military ties seen as hurdle,” by John Diamond and David Jackson, USA Today, 8 May 2006, p. 1A.
ARTICLE: “Hayden admired for directness, but resume has holes: Lacks experience working with Mideast issues, spies in field,” by John Diamond, USA Today, 8 May 2006, p. 5A.
I never thought Goss would be much of a DCI. Choosing him reminded me too much of Aspin moving from his House committee to become SECDEF: in general, I think legislators who become department heads do badly--they’re just not CEO material. Plus they bring all their staffers and they usually piss off all the locals from the get-go, assuring a non-record of success.
Boy, his legacy will certainly be near-zero. His entire time he was overshadowed by the DNI creation and Negroponte and his agency’s own string of scandals and leaks. Chalk up his meaningless reign to Iraq, I guess.
As for picking Hayden, it’s a tone-deaf pick, given the recent tumult over the listening program at NSA plus he’s military. Too bad, because he’s a very sharp guy who’d actually probably do a great job--if allowed. I don’t think the lack of Mideast focus or experience handling spies matters much. His time at NSA was good, and CIA needs a good bureaucratic operator right now more than anything else.
Reader Comments (1)
Dennis Hastert commented that he thought pushing Hayden seemed like a power play by Negroponte to place his #2 as CIA head. Is getting all the same team cronies in place at the top the real goal here? Didn't the whole intelligence community fail miserably on 9/11? Have there been any sweeping changes since then? We seem to travel this endless loop of agency scandals and reorganization, which doesn't seem to yield any new intelligence. Are we destined to rely on sources with vested interests like Ahmed Chalabi for intelligence while the politicos consolidate their power?