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Goss wouldnt investigate cia name leak { August 11 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Bush taps Fla. republican to head CIA
By Rebecca Carr, Ken Herman
Cox News Service
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
WASHINGTON — President Bush picked Florida Republican Rep. Porter Goss to run the CIA on Tuesday, saying the former clandestine officer knows the beleaguered agency "inside and out," but inviting criticism from some who say Goss is too tight with the administration and the agency to enact major changes recommended by the Sept. 11 commission.
"He is well prepared for this mission," Bush said during a Rose Garden announcement flanked by Goss. "He's the right man to lead and support the agency at this critical moment in our nation's history."
Bush cited Goss' extensive experience as House Intelligence Committee chairman as a major plus in selecting him to run the CIA, which has come under attack for a host of intelligence failures leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and prior to the war in Iraq.
Goss, an eight-term House member who is not seeking re-election this year, said Bush "outlined a very strong challenge."
"The essence of our intelligence capability is people, and we have some wonderful Americans doing a great job. I used to be part of them when I worked for CIA," Goss said.
Bush has been looking for a new CIA director since George Tenet's surprise resignation in June amid heavy criticism of the way the agency gathered intelligence on Iraq before the war.
Reaction was mixed as critics debated whether Goss' resume was a positive or a negative and whether he is too partisan for the job.
"Today is a very good day for the CIA in terms of putting forth someone who understands the integrity of intelligence world, knows our stations and the people who work there," said Jack Devine, who served as both acting director and associate director of the CIA's operations abroad during his 32 years at the agency. "There is no ramp up time here. He understands the business and now he can get on with the new."
Florida Democratic Sen. Bob Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, praised the president for quickly tapping Goss.
"Particularly at this time when there is a heightened awareness of the importance of sound intelligence in protecting our security, the nation would not be well served by a lack of permanent leadership at the top of the CIA," Graham said.
But other Democrats and analysts questioned whether Goss is too close to the CIA and the White House to make the necessary changes at the agency.
"I have often said that reliable and unbiased intelligence is our country's first line of defense in the war on terrorism," said Sen. Richard Durbin. D-Ill., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee that will conduct hearings on Goss' nomination. "I am therefore concerned about the president's decision today to nominate a partisan politician in a role that demands a nonpartisan professional."
Michael S. Swetnam, founder of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a nonpartisan intelligence policy think tank, said Bush erred by first proposing a national intelligence director without budget power and then tapping Goss to lead the CIA.
"This is not a step forward," said Swetnam, who also advises the Senate Intelligence Committee. "If anything the situation is worse than it was before. We still don't have anyone in charge."
The Goss nomination also drew inevitable election-season suspicion.
Florida Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox, while praising Goss an "an able public servant," said Bush "is grasping at straws here and he knows it is gong to be a very close election in the state of Florida and he will try to get an advantage wherever he possibly can."
Maddox said the pick "possibly" could sway some undecided Floridians toward the Bush column.
Retired Adm. Stansfield Turner, who was CIA chief during the Carter administration, told the Associate Press that Goss' selection marked "a bad day for the CIA." Goss was chosen simply "to help George Bush win votes in Florida," he said.
"This is the worst appointment that's ever been made to the office of director of central intelligence because that's an office that needs to be kept above partisan politics," Turner said.
Bush touted the nomination during a Tuesday campaign stop in Pensacola, Florida, saying he had nominated "a fine Floridian."
"And we'll work with Congress to
create a position of the National Intelligence Director so that one person is in charge of coordinating all our intelligence efforts overseas and at home," Bush told the crowd.
Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who worked with Goss on the House Intelligence Committee before joining the Senate, said it was unfortunate that some people were trying to read politics into the appointment.
"If they try to politicalize this it would be a mistake," Chambliss said. "This is one of the most important issues facing our country."
Goss has impeccable credentials, Chambliss said, offering experience from within the agency as well as outside.
Some Democrats began grumbling about the appointment of Goss to the CIA post weeks ago. West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, said the CIA job should not go to "any politician from either party."
At that time, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said that Rockefeller's opposition likely would kill a Goss nomination.
On Tuesday, Rockefeller reiterated his belief that picking a politician from either party "is a mistake," but he also vowed to work with Roberts to "move the process forward."
Roberts said he told the White House "that the president has made an excellent choice."
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, in tune with the approach taken by other Democrats, worked to turn the nomination into a discussion about adopting the Sept. 11 commission recommendations. Though Bush backs the call for a national intelligence director, he does not want the post to be as powerful as the commission recommended.
"This is a key position in fighting the war on terror and should not be left vacant," Kerry said of CIA director. "The most important thing we can do right now is reform and strengthen our intelligence services as the 9/11 commission has recommended. I hope that congressman Goss shares this view and will now support creation of this important post."
Kerry's muted tone about Goss stood in sharp contrast to comments Goss has made about Kerry.
On the House floor on June 23, Goss held up a sign with a 1997 quote in which Kerry questioned why the nation's "vast intelligence apparatus continues to grow" after the Cold War. He has drawn fire from Democrats for mocking the suggestion that the outing of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame be investigated.
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Though Bush said Goss would be a "reformer" at the CIA, some have questioned Goss' commitment to sweeping change.
Last week, as he convened his committee's hearings on the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations, Goss urged a cautious approach to the recommendations.
"Changes will come. They are needed," Goss said. "We cannot afford to make changes blindly or in unnecessary haste. We can ill afford to rush to judgment."
It was that sentiment that caused concern for some. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Goss "a fine man and the fact that he's a Republican congressman doesn't bother me."
But Schumer added, "I would find it very hard to support any nominee who did not endorse the 9/11 commission recommendations."
Among the recommendations from the national commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, and one now embraced by Bush, was the creation of a national intelligence director to oversee the myriad of federal agencies engaged in that kind of work. The post has yet to be created, and Bush has not said who he would appoint.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Goss would not be ruled out as a candidate for the new post.
Like Bush, Goss was born in Connecticut and graduated from Yale. After two years with Army intelligence, he joined the CIA. Serious illness forced him to retire in the early 1970s. He moved to Sanibel, Fla., became mayor and won a House seat in 1988.
On the campaign trail on Tuesday in Pensacola, Fla., Bush told a crowd that he had picked "a fine Floridian" to lead the CIA.
"And we'll work with Congress to create a position of the national intelligence director so that one person is in charge of coordinating all our intelligence efforts overseas and at home," Bush said. "These reforms aren't going to be easy. Reform is never easy in Washington."
On the Web:
White House: www.whitehouse.gov
Rebecca Carr's e-mail is rcarr(at)coxnews.com
Ken Herman's e-mail is kherman(at)coxnews.com
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