Goss Gets Senate Approval as DCIA

Congressman Porter Goss (R-FL) received Senate approval as the next Director of Central Intelligence. A former CIA officer himself, an ex-Army intelligence officer, his current committee assignments in the House are Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, member of the Rules Committee, the new Select Committee for Homeland Security. In short, he’s a legislator who knows the intelligence community as well as anyone can. Democratic opposition to him stemmed from concerns that he would be too partisan to be effective as DCIA. This was a stupid battle for them to pick, and even dumber to have lost it having chosen to fight it.

With 15 intelligence agencies to coordinate (something no DCIA has ever really done well), Congressman Goss is faced with an intelligence community that has been embarrassed badly since September 11, 2001. Whether asleep at the wheel or ignored as wrong or irrelevant, the US intelligence community needs a leader to help restore its credibility. This is going to require both an understanding of the reality of intelligence (there is very little jamesbonderie in it) as well as some legislative experience and contacts. On these scores, the congressman from Florida’s 14th district is perfectly qualified.

As for being a partisan in Congress, Mr. Goss certainly has been that. Will he continue to be partisan as DCIA? Suppose he were. That raises the questions of “how” and “why?” If Mr. Bush gains a second term, how could having a GOP partisan in the DCIA job hurt the nation? And if Mr. Kerry should be president next, precisely how could having a Republican DCIA hurt him? Would the CIA and the other 14 agencies in the intelligence community start giving the White House bad intelligence? Would the reforms of the intelligence community that must get through both houses of Congress be any different for having Mr. Goss as DCIA? All of these questions pre-suppose that there is a Republican policy on reforming the intelligence community and a Democratic one. The national committees of each are invited to send this journal their policy papers that prove they have such a policy let alone one distinct from the other side’s.

And even if there were opportunities for mischief by the DCIA, why would he engage in them? Undermining the security of the nation to score political points is a rather severe undertaking, and no matter how partisan Mr. Goss may be, a former member of the military is unlikely to willfully risk American security. Yes, he has attacked Senator Kerry’s record on intelligence matters – if he truly believes that the Senator has been wrong, he owes it to the nation to say so. And if it turns out he’s wrong, so what?

While Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) led the fight against Mr. Goss, the House-Senate conference committee approved an extension of tax cuts -- $145.9 billion that America cannot afford. That is where the fighting should have been taking place. But it’s far easier in an election year to fight a losing, and symbolic, battle than resisting irresponsible tax cuts. Shame.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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