Kicking over the hornet's nest
At the CIA, the new boss has the spies and analysts in an uproar
Goss also warned in his memo of further personnel changes. Next on the chopping block, say insiders, are officials at the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence, responsible for analysis and under fire for their flawed reports on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Some veterans fear that a politically tinged purge is in the offing, despite denials from Goss backers. If a political hit is coming, veterans say, a key place to watch is the National Intelligence Council, which oversees the intelligence community's weighty estimates on major issues.
The conflict over the CIA, meanwhile, is playing out amid a broader debate over reform of the entire intelligence community, a sprawling $40 billion complex of 15 agencies. Reformers have pushed hard to create a new post of national intelligence director. Until now, they argue, no one has really been in charge. But many were chagrined to watch opposition from the Pentagon (which controls roughly 85 percent of the intelligence community's budget) undercut the chances for legislation to create the post. The Pentagon's allies on Capitol Hill opposed giving a new national intelligence director control over the budgets of key agencies the military runs now.
Even if the position is eventually created, real reform will depend on the backing of the White House and the personality of the new director, veterans warn. "It all comes down to whom they pick," says one reformer. Among the leading candidates for the job: Porter Goss.
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