Two masters for CIA station chiefs
The CIA is steadily losing its clout within the bureaucratic pecking order of Washington's beltway. First, CIA Director Porter Goss was supplanted as the president's daily briefer by newly installed National Director of Intelligence John Negroponte. Then Goss was disinvited from the National Security Council meetings, again replaced by Negroponte. That may be all as intended by the legislation last fall, which created the NDI position to coordinate intelligence across the branches of government.
But the latest shift appears to cut directly into the heart of Goss's authority over his own agency: U.S.News has learned that CIA station chiefs located in embassies around the world will report not only to Goss but also to Negroponte. That opens up the prospect for some second-guessing by Negroponte or at least a challenge to Goss's management of his top field lieutenants. The next shoe to drop may be the role that the National Counterterrorism Center will play in overseeing or coordinating the day-to-day operations of both intelligence and military personnel engaged in the war on terrorism. Right now, the fledgling NCTC is still trying to get itself organized. Says one officer detailed to work there: "They can't find their [rear ends] with both hands."