That Porter Goss, now theres a leader you can work with

The Rats are jumping ship at Langley. Apparently there has been some friction born of disrespect. Resignations include the Deputy director of the CIA, and the Deputy Director of Operations.

Deputy Chief Resigns From CIA
Agency Is Said to Be in Turmoil Under New Director Goss

By Dana Priest and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, November 13, 2004; Page A01

The deputy director of the CIA resigned yesterday after a series of confrontations over the past week between senior operations officials and CIA Director Porter J. Goss's new chief of staff that have left the agency in turmoil, according to several current and former CIA officials.

John E. McLaughlin, a 32-year CIA veteran who was acting director for two months this summer until Goss took over, resigned after warning Goss that his top aide, former Capitol Hill staff member Patrick Murray, was treating senior officials disrespectfully and risked widespread resignations, the officials said.

It seems that there are more to follow. maybe the CIA can take a page out of the CPA playbook and replace these departing spooks with politically pure, Heritage Foundation rejects. I think Ledeen's kid might be looking for a job.

Yesterday, the agency official who oversees foreign operations, Deputy Director of Operations Stephen R. Kappes, tendered his resignation after a confrontation with Murray. Goss and the White House pleaded with Kappes to reconsider and he agreed to delay his decision until Monday, the officials said.

Several other senior clandestine service officers are threatening to leave, current and former agency officials said.

Just what we need, an agency wide breakdown, in the midst of the global war-profiteering on terror. Lets take a look at what is on the agency plate.

The disruption comes as the CIA is trying to stay abreast of a worldwide terrorist threat from al Qaeda, a growing insurgency in Iraq, the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan and congressional proposals to reorganize the intelligence agencies.

Did someone say Taliban, I thought that them was dead, thats what the War profiteer in chief told me. I don't know about the average bush appologist, but this doesn't sound good at all.

"It's the worst roiling I've ever heard of," said one former senior official with knowledge of the events. "There's confusion throughout the ranks and an extraordinary loss of morale and incentive."
........
Goss's arrival has been especially tense because he brought with him four former members of the intelligence committee known widely on the Hill and within the agency for their abrasive management style and for their criticism of the agency's clandestine services in a committee report.
Three are former mid-level CIA officials who left the agency disgruntled, according to former colleagues. The fourth, Murray, who also worked at the Justice Department, has a reputation for being highly partisan. When senior managers have gone to Goss to complain about his staff actions, one CIA officer said, Goss has told them: "Talk to my chief of staff. I don't do personnel."

The overall effect, said one former senior CIA official, who has kept up his contacts in the Directorate of Operations, "is that Goss doesn't seem engaged at all."

That sounds like someone else who is charged to run something big, oh yeah, the president. Arrogent and disengaged, those are the pillars of leadership my friends, or rather something I like to call leadertude (OK I just invented the word-and will hit up a thesaurus to find a synonym that is a better match for the tude suffix) no dice. this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. I is likely down hill for a while.