Once a Hack….The news that CIA director Porter Goss has resigned after less than 20 months on the job ? announced by the White House at prime news-burying time, Friday afternoon ? may or may not be an indication that Goss will soon be enmeshed in the cigars-and-hookers scandal now swirling about Dusty Foggo, Goss’s number 3 man at the agency.
But the fact that Goss hasn’t turned out to be the guy to reform the CIA isn’t surprising. Though he was a CIA case officer in the ’60s, it’s long been clear, as we noted before he took over as director in September ’04, that Goss is first and foremost a political hack. As House Intelligence committee chair, Goss consistently used his position to stifle investigations that could embarrass the White House, and showed more concern for his own career advancement than for national security.
Looks like we’ve got another candidate for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
