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Senate Approves Goss As Head of CIA
The Republican-led Senate approved President Bush's choice to head the CIA, Rep. Porter Goss, over protests from some Democrats who said he has too many Republican ties for a job that requires independence. The nomination of the Florida congressman was confirmed Wednesday by a vote of 77-17. A former CIA and Army intelligence officer during the 1960s, Goss would be only the second congressman to take over the helm of the CIA, following former President and House member George H.W. Bush.President Bush, who nominated Goss to the post, called him ``a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in the fight against terrorists'' and ``the right man'' to take over the agency as the administration implements intelligence reforms. During six hours of debate, West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the senior Democrat on the intelligence panel, questioned whether Goss would be politically objective and outlined a series of Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., rejected suggestions that Goss is too political and said he would be an appropriate intelligence chief during a tumultuous time. As Congress considers significant changes to the intelligence community's structure, Goss may be taking a job that soon won't exist, Roberts noted. Congress is considering creating a more expansive job of national intelligence director, and Goss has been named as a possibility for that post should it be created. ``Porter Goss's confirmation ... represents perhaps the most important changing of the guard for our intelligence community since 1947,'' when Congress created the CIA, Roberts said. ``He will be the first director of central intelligence in a new, and hopefully better, intelligence community.'' Should Kerry be elected president, he would be expected to pick a different CIA director. Neither Kerry nor his running mate, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., voted on the confirmation.
Posted by: Steve White 2004-09-23 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=43981 |