The blogosphere is also abuzz about Porter Goss’ resignation. It was unexpected, that’s for sure.
Here’s the story:
WASHINGTON – CIA Director Porter Goss resigned unexpectedly Friday, nudged from the helm of a spy agency still reeling from intelligence failures before America’s worst terrorist attack and faulty information that formed the U.S. rationale for invading Iraq.
The decision was the latest in a series of moves by
President Bush to shake up his team and reinvigorate his second term. A successor to Goss could come as early as Monday, a senior administration official said.Making the announcement from the Oval Office, Bush said Goss’ tenure had been one of transition.
“He has led ably,” Bush said, Goss at his side. “He has a five-year plan to increase the analysts and operatives.”
Goss said the trust, confidence and latitude that Bush placed in him “is something I could have never imagined.”
“I believe the agency is on a very even keel, sailing well,” Goss said. “I honestly believe that we have improved dramatically.”
The president said Goss’ replacement would continue his reforms.
It’s obvious this was not a planned changed. No one was already chosen as his replacement.
Jeff Goldstein at protein wisdom offers his thoughts:
Could be that there is a scandal ready to break–in which case, we’ll know soon enough. Or it could be that the Bushies are looking to completely defang the CIA by completing the transition of its major responsibilities to Negroponte’s DNI, and Goss was no longer part of the plan.
Allahpundit at Hot Air has a good round up of updates and says that Fox News’ Brett Baier reported the Pentagon is surprised as well.
Reports have been circulating about the FBI’s investigation of the Watergate/Cunningham/Foggo/prostitute scandal & it has been suggested that a former congressman now holding a high level intelligence post (read that Porter Goss) may be one of the targets.
The rush resignation on dead-end newsday Friday w/ no explanation or as you called it “unplanned” seems to wreak just a little.
Orchestrated as well as the master of spin Himself El schleekmember could ever perform..if Your hunch is right?
Michael,
You may be right, but sounds a little premature to guess that. I’d wait a little while before such speculation.
Besides, the announcement was made before 2:00pm. If you want to wait for the news cycle to end, you wait a little later than that. This will be fodder for the evening news and the weekend talk shows.
It’s strange that Bush is removing none of the people who would really make the next few years better for America. He could start with Rumsfeld, move on to Cheney, then complete hat trick by handing in his own resignation.
I really can’t understand why Goss resigned now. Apparently, neither can anyone else.
Joel
That speculation has been all over the web for the past several days. You sure as hell don’t buy that Negropnte v Goss WH boilerplate BS! That kinda crap is Faux Network News, straight from WH talking points.
It’s likely already ensnared Foggo, Goss’s #3 toady that he moved up from the bowels of the CIA & it involves former & current GOP Congress members according to insiders familiar w. the FBI investigation.
They had a “multi-bedroom” hospitality suite at the Watergate & a limo company that got a juicy CIA contract thst was reputedly the transporter of the GOP whores brought to this “hospitality” suite.
Yessir, good ole GOP/K Street Family Values celebrated w/ limousine delivered whores. According to inside sources the FBI was investigating a former congressman now (until this afternoon) holding a high intelligence post. One thing for sure, the already entangled CIA #3, Foggo, is not a fomer congressman.
Sorry Joel, it might not ultimately snag Goss, but its going to show America what Republicans mean by “Famil Values”: cavorting w/ whores paid for by the lobbyists who are buying legislative favor.
Hypocrites is what comes to mind.
BTW Remember the good ole Clinton days when you righties loved to dub everything as: White Water-gat, travel-gate, Monica-gate, Foster-gate, Hillary-gate etc?
So now we have the Gossling either directly ensnared or indirectly ensnared via his #3 at the CIA in a Republican Family Values scandal at the locale, of all places, the Watergate Towers. Poor Tricky Dick was too much of a Quaker Puritan & too asexual to ever have gotten embroiled at The Watergate in a whore scandal.
But today is a New Age.
How about the GOP Forni-gate scandal?
BTW Remember the good ole Clinton days when you righties loved to dub everything as: White Water-gat, travel-gate, Monica-gate, Foster-gate, Hillary-gate etc?
So now we have the Gossling either possibly directly ensnared or indirectly ensnared via his #3 at the CIA in a Republican Family Values scandal at a locale, of all places, a so-called “Hospitality Suite” at the Watergate Towers. Poor Tricky Dick was too much of a Quaker Puritan & too asexual to ever have gotten embroiled at The Watergate in a whore scandal.
But today is a New GOP Age.
How about the GOP Forni-gate scandal?
Michael,
Gloat all you want. We’ll see come November. Flawed individuals do not invalidate sound ideas. If you want to get into a contest comparing Republican scandals to Democrat scandals, we could go on all week. But you hear more about Republican from the antique media. Abramoff is a Republican scandal according to the MSM, lets see how many Dems get caught up in it.
I seem to remember this as being a creature of the MSM, not the Republicans. The media seems to attach -gate to everything.
The gotcha politics has got to stop. Both sides are guilty. Right now, I don’t know why anyone would want to enter politics. It’s going to attract the slime, on both sides. Honest, clean people wouldn’t want to be dragged through the mud, having their character and integrity questioned and their families tortured.
Joel
Check Drudge or Raw Story or go directly to Saturday’s NY Daily News. The line is that it is Forni-gate that got Goss.
It is the utter hypocrisy of the Repubs & Family Values & all the Bush “God Blesses” that is infuriating. This wasn’t just one man; it likely involves a number of Repub congresspeople sleazing, courtesy of lobbyists & bribers for contract favors.
During Bush, the K Street popoulation has roughly doubled from 16K or 17K to about 33K. This wasn’t happening because Democrats held the strings in Congress. It happened specifically because of the GOP control of Congress & their willingness to play for pay w/ any corporate interest out there.
That’s not to say that lobbyists don’t have influence w/ Democrats, but under this corrupt Republican control af all 3 branches of government, the concept of Checks & Balances has been completely trumped.
The 21st century Republicans have totally shredded everything that was decenbt about our form of government.
If the Dems get at least one house this Fall the slime that will be uncovered in hearings will flood the streets of this nation in torrents.
Then everyone will see what many of us already know: this Republican/Bush government has been the sleaziest & most corrupt that has ever been experienced in US history.
Rolling Stone is 1000% correct: The Worst President in History.
Joel
It’s all about the Duke Cunningham scandal,” the unnamed official tells the Daily News.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/05/AR2006050501738_pf.html
At the very least, Goss is a perfect example of a tragically inept Bush appointment that has left the CIA virtually paralyzed & demoralized at a time when Iran is such a looming threat.
Bush is worse than mediocre. Whoever designed to foist this Incompetent-in-chief on this nation should be hung as a traitor. Bush isn’t fit to be in charge of the Bedpan Brigade, let alone the greatest power of the 21st century.
Fat chance that the CIA could ever protect this nation in the condition that Bush/Goss has left it.
This is supposed to be a leader who can defend the nation? It would be hysterical if it was not absolutely frightening.
Michael,
Geez. Go ahead and make all your corrupt accusations. I’m not going to get into a pissing contest of corruption of Republican vs. Democrat leaders. I’m sure that we can get a tit-for-tat comparison. In fact I know it. Just go ahead and fire away with your “culture of Republican corruption” talking points. Like I say, we’ll see what the results are in November.
If the folks in his district were so turned off with disgusting Republicans, how did the 14 [out of 18] candidates that ran for his seat in the replacement primary get 53.5% of the vote? Granted, it may go Democrat on June 6th, but were all of these folks duped by those evil Republican candidates?
I’d rather live in the realm of ideas. Yours vs. mine, rather than the value of the messenger. I stand by my statement that clean people wouldn’t want to be dragged through the mud, having their character and integrity questioned and their families tortured. That is, most wouldn’t.
Leftist, socialist ideas have and continue to fail around the world. But I guess there’s always hope…