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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by zeugma on April 25, 2006, at 20:00:39
Porter Goss is the CIA Director, appointed by President George Bush after former Director George Tenet resigned due to... well, there are any number of ways to complete that sentence, and yet civility forces me to refrain from doing so. There may be perfectly civil ways to construe the events that led to Mr. Tenet's resignation, but I can't think of any at the moment.
Mr. Goss published an article in my local paper in December titled "Loose Lips Sink Spies." How true. A spy becomes, to use the industry term, 'radioactive' once his or her identity os divulged. i.e., colleagues of said spy now bear the taint of association with outed individual in question, and CIA practice is to do damage assesments, whose results are necessarily secret (the damage has to stop somewhere!). The CIA, prior to Mr. Goss' ascension, conducted one on Valerie Plame's outing, and the results were deemed serious enough for the CIA to request, of the judicial branch of the U.S. Government, prosecution of highly placed members of the executive branch of the U.S. Government, a most unusual configuration of the balance of power the U.S. Constitution provides so well for us. An unprecedented one, too, I might add. President Richard Nixon, however [word deleted, I dislike adjectives as you will see] he may have been,restricted his illegal activities, in the main, to wiretapping the Watergate Hotel (I am glad I did not spend my honeymoon there),and did not to my knowledge divulge the identity of a covert member of the nation's intelligence service. President Clinton, no leaker but a [word omitted for civility's sake, omission ruins alliteration but I do not seek to offend anyone, even if I have to maim my text and your patience]did not spill state secrets, though he did run up the dry cleaner's bill (that is an impeachable offense in the U.S. by the way, though Democrats disagree, and while I think them wrong, I can see their point. The U.S. Constitution mentions dry cleaners only once, and reasonable people disagree on what they mean.).
anyway, I am so flabbergasted at this configuration- perhaps I am a poor student of history- I have a source in mind, extremely reputable, that provides information of keenest interest to Constitutional scholars and judicial minds, and poor students of history like me- but sadly I cannot link to it, because it will contain testimony that implicates... I cannot say, but it implicates someone of being a [word deleted]- it is a matter of public record, if you are a determined seeker of incivility, or simply someone who reads the papers (I would recommend the one in which Mr. Goss denounced leakers so vigorously, yet President Bush is, I hear, bringing a criminal case re some other leak that I cannot concern myself with now- President Bush, too, a vigorous denouncer of leakers!- Don't read the paper. What isn't a lie, is guaranteed to be a leak) you may learn the identity of this individual whose actions I strive to interpret charitably. Regrettably I am unable to do so at the moment, so I will move on to my point.
Mr. Goss is no hypocrite. He has fired a CIA analyst, Mary McCarthy, allegedly for leaking- I cannot say more because
[quoted from AP, 4/25/06]
<<
It is not yet clear precisely what McCarthy did that led to the firing. In a statement to CIA employees, Goss said that "a CIA officer has acknowledged having unauthorized discussions with the media, in which the officer knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence, including operational information."Last week, government officials indicated McCarthy was involved in providing information to reporters that included material used in The Washington Post's award-winning report on a covert network of CIA [word omitted, not for civility's sake, but because it is just not a nice word to to use during a dinner conversation. I have found this out through bitter experience, and you will appreciate my consideration if you are reading this over dinner. Those AP correpsondents! Must they use the English language as they found it? Why should they not shoot holes in words, as I am so kindly doing, to make the news more palatable to their audience?]. Allegations of a [adjective deleted, I think adjectives are a criminal class of word myself- let the facts speak for themselves, I say! You will perhaps drain the color from your writings, but you will never be made a pariah for leaving this sad class of words far behind when discussing politics]-style [I shoot a hole in yet another word, a Russian borrowing in fact, and one that does not help the digestion I assure you] in Eastern Europe and other facilities sparked international condemnation and investigations.]]>>
One can see that Mr. Goss is no hypocrite.
And more:
<<Goss and others have said leaks have done dramatic damage to U.S. relationships with allies. He told Congress in February that his counterparts ask: "Mr. Goss, can't you Americans keep a secret?"
But McCarthy's attorney, Ty Cobb, defends her actions and says she was not the source for the Post story. "She did not leak any classified information, and she did not have access to the information apparently attributed to her by some government officials," Cobb said.>>>
No comment on this defense tactic, a common one in any case. I do not refer you to any links, because the ones i have visited say... well, finish your dinner and thank me later. I should add that the story Mr. Cobb is referring to won a Pulitzer Prize.
I resume:<<<
Cobb said she announced her retirement from the CIA and hoped to practice public service law, working on adoptions.The accusation of media contacts, however, has tainted a career that ended in the CIA inspector general's office, where her work included investigations into allegations of agency involvement in [perfectly civil word, but I do not recommend the video] at Iraqi [yet another word, a perfectly reputable one- unless they appear in an article about leaks, in which case they are rather upsetting].
The National Whistleblower Center says McCarthy could have a strong case to contest her firing. House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., sees her actions differently.
"This person in the CIA thought that they were above the law," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "They have put America at risk. They have put our troops on the front lines at risk."
[Is it uncivil of me to quibble over Mr. Hoekstra's grammar? I was taught at school that singular subjects do not become plural, ie. 'this person' cannot be pronominalized 'they.' Unless Mr. Hoekstra (interesting name btw) has others in mind?? who could those POSSIBLY be??? If I say more I will leak something!]
>>>I, like Mr. Goss, loathe leakers, and wish them to find employment suitable to their characters (in Ms. McCarthy's case, public service law-? That assumes, of course, that she is blameless, since I concur with Mr. Goss (and Mr. Hoekstra) that leakers put numerous troops at risk while engaged in "public service." ). I do not have Mr. Goss' phone number, otherwise I would call Mr. Goss myself and let him know of some other leakers that have come to my attention. My local paper contains the names of enough leaky faucets to keep Mr. Nixon's plumbers busy for years.
-z
Posted by zeugma on April 25, 2006, at 20:22:40
In reply to Porter Goss, loather of leaks, posted by zeugma on April 25, 2006, at 20:00:39
about the need for secrecy and loathing of leaks. There are too many these days. We see that even the choice of a replacement for the tight-lipped Scott McClellan must take into account our executive detestation of leaks- our President loathes them, true patriot that he is-
AP too, this excerpt is tame enough for the most sensitive digestion (i.e. No Leaks, No Lies, Plain American Straight Speech):
<<WASHINGTON - Fox News commentator Tony Snow is the front-runner to become White House press secretary and a decision on his appointment is near, Republicans close to the White House said Tuesday.
Snow has told associates he would like to take the job and he has had serious discussions with White House officials, the Republicans said on condition of anonymity because of President Bush's dislike of news leaks.>>I would gladly go hunting with Mr. Cheney, and I would be even more eager to build a dike with Mr. Goss and Mr. Bush.
-z
Posted by AuntieMel on April 28, 2006, at 12:48:14
In reply to Porter Goss, loather of leaks, posted by zeugma on April 25, 2006, at 20:00:39
I laughed my lower digestive system off.
Posted by zeugma on May 5, 2006, at 16:52:16
In reply to I meant what I said, posted by zeugma on April 25, 2006, at 20:22:40
because Mr. Goss is gone.
President Bush had these comments:
<<AP, Washington
"He has led ably," Bush said, Goss at his side. "He has a five-year plan to increase the analysts and operatives."
Neither Bush nor Goss offered a reason for his departure.
"I believe the agency is on a very even keel, sailing well," Goss said. "I honestly believe that we have improved dramatically."
"As a result, this country will be more secure," Bush said. "We've got to win the war on terror, and the Central Intelligence Agency is a vital part of the war. So I thank you for your service."
>>Mr. Goss' legacy, of course, is one of leaks stopped up at the source. Thus:
>>Goss has pressed for aggressive probes about leaked information.
"The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," he told Congress in February, adding that a federal grand jury should be impaneled to determine "who is leaking this information."
Just two weeks ago, Goss announced the firing of a top intelligence analyst in connection with a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a network of CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. Such dismissals are highly unusual. >>
Some unkind souls in Washington have perversely delighted in his departure (character assasinations are so unbecoming these days- unlike the frequent actual assasinations that take place among Iraqi politicians, which are civil by comparison). I give you a sanitized version of what someone said of Mr. Goss' departure, which was motivated SOLELY by partisanship and nastiness (don't worry, I will edit it out so you can have a restful afternoon, and besides, we are assured by President Bush that Mr. Goss' replacement will hunt out leaks with enough zeal to put a whole bookcase of Pulitzer Prizes in the dock):
>>Rep. David Obey , D-Wis., said Goss' resignation was [ungenerous words]. "His management style has been [unkind verb, present tense progressive] the country's most important intelligence agency," Obey said. "I hope that whoever is selected to take his place will rebuild agency [positive word-but this noun following 'rebuild' takes on uncivil connotations] and [a word that has been more responsive for more blocks than any other on this board. It is a word that begins with C and has three syllables. As far as I am concerned, it is the nastiest word in the English language.]."
>>I would like to defend Mr. Goss from Rep. Obey's scandalous charges, but find that it can be done only by defaming Rep. Obey himself. And this is a sad dilemma, but a frequent one, and it illustrates a point.
Leaks are bad for agency morale. They make it difficult for agents to perform [an adverb I hate- it gets everyone blocked around here]. By now the CIA is in need of FEMA to rescue it from the rising flood of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, but a Senate probe has recommended that FEMA should be abandoned, itself. Which no doubt added to Mr. Goss' zeal in stopping leaks at all costs. He knew that loose lips sink ships, and all FEMA has left in its coffers is duct tape, and not entirely waterproof duct tape, at that (no-bid contracts do not always ensure optimal quality control).
I hope Mr. Goss' successor has some Krazy Glue in his or her pocket. He or she will need it.
-z
Posted by zeugma on July 25, 2008, at 22:19:02
In reply to President Bush needs another finger in the dike, posted by zeugma on May 5, 2006, at 16:52:16
I read Valerie Plame's book "Fair Game" recently, and she has quite a bit to say about Porter Goss. Her book is also extensively redacted, because of CIA regulations. The redactions in this post are simply an attempt to stylistically imitate her work.
I recommend the book highly, redactions and all. (Roland Barthes would call it a very "readerly" text, and classical critics would say the effect is sublime, because the author is literally trying to say the unsayable.) And it is true that some things must be removed from [REDACTED]texts in order to retain faith in the [REDACTED].In any case Porter Goss now is on a House Ethics panel, an appointee of Nancy Pelosi, our [REDACTED] Democratic Speaker, as an ethics watchdog for our well-loved, popular, but sometimes [REDACTED], Congress. Or as Plame herself would have said, and her redactors blotted out, as an [REDACTED][REDACTED].
This is the end of the thread.
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