WASHINGTON - It's no secret that the CIA's spooks are in turmoil. To some, the intelligence agency's future looks bleak under the leadership of Director Porter Goss. Fights between top CIA managers and Goss' inner circle are spilling into public view. Veterans are retiring early. Report after report is critical of the CIA's performance.
In a town hall-style meeting late last month, Goss endured some uncomfortable moments when agency employees criticized his leadership, demanding more details about where Goss intends to take the CIA.
One worker politely asked for more detail after Goss' opening remarks, which she deemed rather "vanilla." Goss returned to that word in responses to later questions: "Is that too vanilla for you?" he asked.
Goss, a former Republican congressman from Florida who replaced George Tenet in September 2004, is making waves as he fulfills promises to the White House and Congress that he would make the CIA respond better to terrorism and other modern threats.
Supporters say it is exactly what is needed at an agency wanting to looking ahead, not back. Detractors hope he'll retire.
Goss curried some favor among the rank and file when he announced Wednesday that he would not form review boards to consider punishing individuals for failures before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
President Bush has directed the CIA to hire 50 percent more analysts and officers over the next several years. That could mean the addition of several thousand people.
At the staff meeting, Goss said the CIA will bring in recruits who have traveled abroad and "more recent arrivals to the United States." Historically, such backgrounds would make it difficult to get a CIA job because of security risks and other concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment