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2004-11-13 Home Front: Politix

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Posted by Dan Darling 2004-11-13 12:21:00 AM|| || Front Page|| [11129 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 When intelligence officers have publicists, the agency has a problem.

Posted by JAB 2004-11-13 12:51:09 AM|| 2004-11-13 12:51:09 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 It's troublesome when the Washington Post acts as the outlet for disgruntled spooks during a time of necessary change.

Goss has a tough job ahead.

Posted by Capt America 2004-11-13 1:16:53 AM|| 2004-11-13 1:16:53 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 check out wapo today--big leak by company weenies about how they can't get along with goss's underlings--they suck--when you read bob baer's books you realize how ineffectual and risk averse the spook operations culture is--let's cry seethe and quit--they were feckless ninnies--btw whatever happened to phillip agee--should be a floater

Posted by SON OF TOLUI 2004-11-13 1:39:38 AM|| 2004-11-13 1:39:38 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Let me guess - he's not headed for Leavenworth, he's going on the lecture circuit.

This paragraph says it all:
"Scheuer said in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday that he believes the agency silenced him after CIA officials realized he was blaming the CIA, not the administration, for mishandling terrorism. 'As long as the book was being used to bash the president, they gave me carte blanche to talk to the media,' he said. 'But this is a story about the failure of the bureaucracy to support policymakers.'"

CIA mgmnt and assholes like Scheuer deserve time in the hole or a bullet in the head. It's called sedition.

Posted by .com 2004-11-13 3:18:19 AM|| 2004-11-13 3:18:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 He's supposed to be on "60 Minutes" tomorrow night.

Though given all the heads that Goss seems to be rolling, they should have enough material for years on end by the time he's done ...

Posted by Dan Darling 2004-11-13 3:36:20 AM|| [http://www.regnumcrucis.blogspot.com] 2004-11-13 3:36:20 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Thanks, Dan - that would, indeed, be the first stop for a dedicated Camelot II Klintoony... sans justice and living up to one's oath and obligations, something his ilk doesn't fathom.

And, amongst the ex and soon to be ex CIA employees, I'll bet there are some excellent sad puppy, lost kitten, and dead baby duck tear-jerkers to come, too. SeeBS's 60 Minutes is the Jerry Springer of MSM "news" shows - so they'll be interviewing and digging, looking for whatever they can spin into a hit piece.

Posted by .com 2004-11-13 3:44:56 AM|| 2004-11-13 3:44:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 It's been time for a purge at CIA to get rid of the politicized wienies.

Posted by SR71 2004-11-13 7:49:27 AM|| 2004-11-13 7:49:27 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 According to a few friends of mine, there is some serious housecleaning going on in the CIA. Several entire directorates left over from the 50's are being eliminated (why do we still need a directorate to keep track of Greek communists, for instance), and dozens are being reorganized. Expect a LOT of whining and carrying on. Most of my friends are in NIMA, or whatever it's been renamed to this time, but they keep their ears open. Blood will continue to flow inside the Langley building for months to come.

Posted by Old Patriot 2004-11-13 4:00:26 PM|| [http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2004-11-13 4:00:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 (why do we still need a directorate to keep track of Greek communists, for instance)

So we'll know what Aris is up to?

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-11-13 4:05:03 PM|| 2004-11-13 4:05:03 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 NIMA? Home of Dirk Pitt? oops - that's NUMA, and fictional

Posted by Frank G 2004-11-13 4:12:55 PM|| 2004-11-13 4:12:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 No, it's not:

http://www.numa.net/

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-11-13 4:23:40 PM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-11-13 4:23:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 RC - welllllll, OK, but a non-profit org can hardly support Dirk and Al's destructive efforts and supply Sandecker's custom cigars... :-)

Posted by Frank G 2004-11-13 4:26:25 PM|| 2004-11-13 4:26:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 True. But it found the Hunley.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-11-13 4:28:32 PM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-11-13 4:28:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 yeah that was kewl too ;-)

Posted by Frank G 2004-11-13 4:47:36 PM|| 2004-11-13 4:47:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Raze it to the ground. Start over.

Also, this time around we might recruit some Indian- and chinese- and pakistani-americans instead of politicized WASP mediocrities.

Posted by lex 2004-11-13 5:12:52 PM|| 2004-11-13 5:12:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 Well, lex's response is supported whole-heartedly by the PowerLine folks...

Posted by .com 2004-11-13 10:59:12 PM|| 2004-11-13 10:59:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 I trust the PWL guys more than the opposite - purge time

Posted by Frank G 2004-11-13 11:09:50 PM|| 2004-11-13 11:09:50 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 The CIA needs more people who speak Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashto and less book writers.

Posted by True German Ally 2004-11-13 11:19:58 PM|| 2004-11-13 11:19:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 What TGA said. Ridiculous to think that we're still heavy with blue-eyed fair-skinned spooks when all of our security challenges come from the near and far east and when we have a deep and broad talent pool comprising thousands of brilliant, dedicated young asian-americans.

Get rid of all those Leverett "Buzzy" Saltonstall jokers and start recruiting asian-americans at MIT, CalTech, Berkeley etc. Thousands of these superbly talented kids are heading into Wall Street and Silicon Valley and the top business schools each year, and almost none end up in Foggy Bottom or Langley. Long past time that our foreign policy establishment started mining this reserve of talent.

Posted by lex 2004-11-13 11:31:04 PM|| 2004-11-13 11:31:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 I think they try to recruit them there but the pay just isn't competitive.
Of course nobody gets into the CIA just for the pay but if you want to attract the best you need to offer them somewhat more than the standard fare.
The CIA probably needs a lot less people than in the Cold War but it needs the best.
But with the current image it won't attract them. And many of those it attracts are put off by the bureaucratic ways of recruiting. FRom what I heard it takes about 2 years from the "first contact" to a full employment. Most smart people will have a well paid job by then.

Posted by True German Ally 2004-11-13 11:41:24 PM|| 2004-11-13 11:41:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 TGA - pt made PLUS - you have to pay them well enough to not allow them to be susceptible to outside whiles

Posted by Frank G 2004-11-13 11:44:40 PM|| 2004-11-13 11:44:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 That too... Of course loyalty is always an issue with muslims. This means you need to start with education. Encourage and finance Oriental studies. Let a bright non-muslim woman or man study Middle Eastern Languages for free at an excellent college and take over from there.
How many non muslim people perfect in Arabic (let alone the dialects) does the CIA (and the FBI) have.
I bet it's a short list.

Posted by True German Ally 2004-11-13 11:57:06 PM|| 2004-11-13 11:57:06 PM|| Front Page Top

00:06 True German Ally
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00:02 mojo
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23:45 Frank G
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23:41 True German Ally
23:36 lex
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23:19 True German Ally
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23:15 Dishman
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22:59 Dave D.
22:59 .com
22:57 Robert Crawford
22:50 Sherry
22:45 .com