Is really the best person for the job? I Think not. Another terrible Bush decision? I think so. On Tuesday, August 10th, 2004, George W. Bush nominated Florida Rep. Porter Goss to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Rep. Porter Goss, appeared briefly in Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' But part of his March 3, 2004 interview for the movie, which did not make it into the film, has suddenly taken on major significance. The following is an excerpt from the interview: INTERVIEWER: [Y]ou come from intelligence. This is what you did, this is what you know. REP. GOSS: Uh, that was, uh, 35 years ago. INTERVIEWER: Okay. REP. GOSS: It is true I was in CIA from approximately the late 50's to approximately the early 70's. And it's true I was a case officer, clandestine services office and yes I do understand the core mission of the business. I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified. I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably. And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day, "Dad you got to get better on your computer." Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have. -- Rep. Porter Goss, March 3, 2004, Washington, DC These statements directly contradict President Bush's comments on Mr. Goss. Pointing to his CIA experience, Bush said, "He knows the CIA inside and out" and "He's the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation's history."
Whether or not this is true, I don't know. If it is, in defense of this hiring, when you are intent on overhauling and changing an organization, it is usually best to bring in someone who is unattached to the people within that organization. They don't have any allegiances and are more likely to take an objective viewpoint and be more willing to shake things up when they see a problem. He has prior experience, so he should understand how the organization is supposed to work. It is a wait and see situation.
And one more thing on the foreign language, one of the basic requirements of the CIA for new recruits is proficiency in Arabic or Eastern European languages. In other words, groups that pose threats to the US. I don't think you can hold the fact that this guy can't speak Arabic or hack computers against him. He is there to lead and oversee, not do field-work for the agency.
And how do you defend Bush telling us "He knows the CIA inside and out"? The man was a CIA agen 35 years ago. You need to admit that either this was a blatant lie, or that Bus believed his statement to be true and is too stupid to do his homework. I'm not trying to say whether or not he will be a good director. I am just trying to make a point that Bush has once again mislead us.
I don't doubt that he knows the CIA infrastructure, chain of command, policies etc. They probably haven't changed much in 35 years. That is why there needs to be change. What I mean is he doesn't know the people as individuals and doen't have ties to them, which can often cloud judgement when making changes. If you want to call Bush a liar over this, go ahead. You are stretching this one pretty thin. If I were you I'd go barking up another tree. There really is nothing to argue here. Maybe Michael Moore will make a movie about it, though. I'm sure with a little creative editing he could come up with something.
man, this is stupid. this is like saying that the commissioner of baseball is not qualified because he cant hit home runs.
No, its like taking Nolan Ryan and making him commisioner of baseball. He may or may not be successful at it, but is he qualified? No. And even he will tell you that, and in this case, has told us that.
your logic: of course nolan ryan isnt qualified to be commissioner. i bet he couldnt get a job pitching for the blue jays! and they are terrible! cant you understand anything? the director of the cia is an administrative position where you direct others. you dont sit in an office and translate and research secret documents in arabic. you dont run computer programs processing intelligence. that is what the people who work for you do. that is what a new hire to be a researcher or field op does. can you understand that the director doesnt do the actualy day to day research with computers and languages. would you say goerge patton is not qualified to be a soldier because he is too old to run around a battle field?
The anti-Bush types don't have anything to hype Kerry over, so all they can do is bash. I say let 'em keep bashing. All they're doing w/ these shrill, obnoxious attacks is pissing off the middle-of-the-road demographic that they need to win.
Elvis, Get real. Think about what you said, then go back and read a few threads. You don't see any threads on here slamming Kerry? You're BLIND.
