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Moves Signal Tighter Secrecy Within C.I.A. By SCOTT SHANE and MARK MAZZETTI WASHINGTON, April 23 — The crackdown on leaks at the Central Intelligence Agency that led to the dismissal of a veteran intelligence officer last week included a highly unusual polygraph examination for the agency's independent watchdog, C.I.A. Inspector General John L. Helgerson, intelligence officials with knowledge of the investigation said on Sunday. The special polygraphs, which have been given to dozens of employees since January, are part of a broader effort by C.I.A. Director Porter J. Goss to re-emphasize a culture of secrecy. As the inspector general, Mr....

On Aug. 2, Dafna Linzer of the Washington Post reported that "a major U.S. intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years." On Dec. 5, the Jerusalem Post reported that Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, "confirmed Israel's assessment that Iran is only a few months away from creating an atomic bomb. My, how time flies. It hasn't seemed as if 10 years have elapsed since last summer.

When Porter J. Goss took over a failure-stained CIA last year, he promised to reshape the agency beginning with the area he knew best: its famed spy division. Goss, himself a former covert operative who had chaired the House intelligence committee, focused on the officers in the field. He pledged status and resources for case officers, sending hundreds more to far-off assignments, undercover and on the front line of the battle against al Qaeda.[snip]Some of the struggles that have dominated Goss's first year stem from a massive reorganization that stripped the CIA of its leadership role in the intelligence community...

The most dangerous moment in any transition is halfway through, when the old structure is badly weakened but the new one isn't yet strong enough to carry the load. That's where the Bush administration stands in its incomplete effort to restructure the intelligence community. The intelligence reshuffle was the product of two warring impulses that have been apparent in this administration's foreign policy from the start -- a "realist" support for strong, independent spy agencies and a "neoconservative" mistrust, bordering on outright hatred, of the CIA as a supposed obstacle to the president's goals. The intelligence-reform impulse led President Bush,...

CIA's spooks are in turmoil. Fights between top CIA managers and Goss' inner circle are spilling into public view. Veterans are retiring early... Goss...is making waves as he fulfills promises to the White House and Congress that he would make the CIA respond better to terrorism and other modern threats. Goss said the CIA will bring in recruits who have traveled abroad and "more recent arrivals to the United States." Historically, such backgrounds would make it difficult to get a CIA job because of security risks and other concerns. Goss also plans to reduce the bureaucracy at headquarters, send more...

The only good thing about taking over an organization that's hit rock bottom is that the only direction to go is up. This thought may have crossed CIA Director Porter Goss' mind as he looked back over his first year in office at Langley this past weekend. The plucky Goss is fervently trying to reinvigorate the embattled CIA, stung by monumental intelligence failures in recent years. But in contrast to the public bellyaching of some disgruntled agency employees (complaints shamelessly played out in the press), Goss is making progress. Goss, the former House Intelligence Committee chairman, is in the midst...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA and the FBI have for the first time in two decades reached a new wide-ranging agreement on how to coordinate their intelligence activities in a post-Sept. 11 world of increasingly blurred divisions of duty, officials say. A classified memorandum of understanding, which is under review by senior Bush administration officials, redefines the relationship by which the two agencies have operated worldwide since the Cold War era of the 1980s, officials said. The document, which was jointly negotiated several weeks ago, is expected to be submitted for approval to the new director of national intelligence, John...

A disgruntled former CIA operative hoping to hurt President Bush was likely Newsweek's source on the fake Quran-in-the-toilet story, says geopolitical expert Jack Wheeler, and his action now means journalists will no longer trust the ex-Langley agents forced out by chief Porter Goss. In a column on his intelligence website, To the Point, Wheeler writes of this "silver lining" to the Newsweek story penned by reporter Michael Isikoff.

Bush to Visit CIA After Director Goss Says He's Not Sure of His Future Role By Tom Raum Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House spoke supportively of CIA Director Porter Goss Thursday despite his suggestion that his job had "a huge amount of ambiguity in it" because of a law reorganizing the intelligence community. Goss and John D. Negroponte, Bush's nominee for a new national post with sweeping oversight responsibilities, "have a good working relationship. I think everybody understands the importance of the reforms we're working to put into place," presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said. President Bush,...

WASHINGTON - The CIA has told Henry Kissinger to kiss off, saying his services as an informal adviser to Director Porter Goss are no longer needed. The pink slip came in the form of a terse communiqué from Goss to Kissinger - the vaunted diplomat and counselor to Presidents - and other members of an intelligence advisory board that meets several times a year, Newsweek magazine reported yesterday. The council of wise men recently sacked by the new CIA honcho includes 9/11 Commissioner and ex-Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), who heads New School University in New York; former Sen. Sam Nunn...

Looks like Porter Goss is not twiddling his thumbs. Hopefully, many good patriots will step up and serve their country. If I were younger, I would. God Bless all who serve. CIA Employment Site Maybe Uncle Sam wants you?

WASHINGTON — The head of the CIA's analysis unit is resigning next year, the latest top official to step down since Porter Goss became the agency's director. Jami Miscik, deputy director for intelligence, told her staff Tuesday she will be resigning, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official didn't comment whether she resigned voluntarily or was asked to step down.

c By DOUGLAS JEHL ASHINGTON, Dec. 28 - The head of the Central Intelligence Agency's analytical branch is being forced to step down, former intelligence officials say, opening a major new chapter in a shakeup under Porter J. Goss, the agency's chief. The official, Jami Miscik, the agency's deputy director for intelligence, told her subordinates on Tuesday afternoon of her plan to step down on Feb. 4. A former intelligence official said that Ms. Miscik was told before Christmas that Mr. Goss wanted to make a change and that "the decision to depart was not hers." Ms. Miscik has headed...

Her name is maybe Nancy, Susan, or Ann, and she lives in a modest home in Virginia. Appointed to her post by President Bill Clinton, it was a “thank you” for her work on his campaign, a customary tactic of all Presidents. The only problem is her job. It is at the CIA Headquarters at Langley, Virginia, and she actually decides what some independent contractors and Agency operatives will do overseas to gather intelligence or conduct direct action missions. Most of these men are former Special Forces officers and NCO’s, a few former Navy SEALs, and a couple ex-Marines. This...

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Bin Laden not 'admirable'Published November 28, 2004 Former CIA senior analyst Michael Scheuer offered little in the way of insight on the mentality of the nation's top intelligence agency. "I think without question we're losing the war on terror, sir," Mr. Scheuer said last Sunday on "Meet the Press." Fair enough, especially coming from one in the know. But this former chief of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit, and anonymous author of "Imperial Hubris," a book that criticizes the administration's handling of the war, has some bizarre ideas that we hope don't become administration policy any...

WASHINGTON - When former CIA (news - web sites) Director George Tenet said his farewells at a two-hour ceremony this summer, a deputy noted that 40 percent of the agency's staff had worked for just one chief. AP Photo It was a symbol of Tenet's endurance, seven years on the job, the second longest tenure of a director. It also was a mark of agency's growth during a hiring spree that began in 1998 and accelerated after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. With Tenet's successor, former Rep. Porter Goss (news, bio, voting record), in charge and making changes, one...

WASHINGTON -- When former CIA Director George Tenet said his farewells at a two-hour ceremony this summer, a deputy noted that 40 percent of the agency's staff had worked for just one chief. It was a symbol of Tenet's endurance, seven years on the job, the second longest tenure of a director. It also was a mark of agency's growth during a hiring spree that began in 1998 and accelerated after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. With Tenet's successor, former Rep. Porter Goss, in charge and making changes, one of the longer periods of leadership stability in the CIA's...

Porter Goss' initial moves as CIA director appear to herald a post-election purge at the already troubled spy agency, according to current and former top U.S. intelligence officials. Goss, a former Republican congressman, has put at least four former Capitol Hill Republican staffers into top positions in his CIA office and has given them broad authority to make personnel and restructuring decisions, the current and former intelligence officials said. One of the aides, whose identity Knight Ridder is not disclosing because he served under cover, has been "going around telling people they are to fire 80 to 90 people" in...

PORTER GOSS was confirmed as director of central intelligence on September 22, 2004. That day, acting CIA director John McLaughlin said, "I know I speak for my colleagues at CIA and throughout the intelligence community in congratulating Porter Goss on his confirmation by the Senate as director of central intelligence." It was a gracious statement from a man who had wanted the job. But in terms of accuracy it should go down as the latest in a long line of bogus CIA assessments. McLaughlin was not speaking on behalf of many of his colleagues at the CIA when he congratulated...

2 Top Officials Are Reported to Quit C.I.A. By DOUGLAS JEHL ASHINGTON, Nov. 24 - Two more senior officials of the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service are stepping down, intelligence officials said Wednesday, in the latest sign of upheaval in the agency under its new chief, Porter J. Goss. As the chiefs of the Europe and Far East divisions, the two officials have headed spying operations in some of the most important regions of the world and were among a group known as the barons in the highest level of clandestine service, the Directorate of Operations. The directorate has been...

President Bush has ordered CIA Director Porter J. Goss to increase by 50 percent the number of qualified CIA clandestine operators and intelligence analysts, an ambitious step that would mean the hiring and training of several thousand new personnel in coming years. Bush also ordered the doubling of CIA officers involved in research and development "to find new ways to bring science to bear in the war on terrorism, the proliferation of WMD [weapons of mass destruction] and against new and emerging threats." In the presidential order, dated Nov. 18 and released by the White House yesterday, Bush also called...

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 108th Congress - 2nd Session as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the SenateVote Summary Question: On Passage of the Bill (S. 2845, As Amended ) Vote Number: 199 Vote Date: October 6, 2004, 05:01 PM Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Bill Passed Measure Number: S. 2845 (National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 ) Measure Title: A bill to reform the intelligence community and the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, and for other purposes. Vote Counts: YEAs 96 NAYs...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republican leaders unveiled sweeping legislation on Friday that they said reflects Sept. 11 commission recommendations for reforming U.S. intelligence operations. But critics said their proposal for a new national intelligence director would have far less authority than the panel suggested and raised concerns that some law enforcement and immigration provisions could bog the measure down. The bill also includes far-reaching proposals on law enforcement, immigration, border security and foreign policy, going beyond legislation the Senate is to consider next week. "Our bill is the most comprehensive effort yet introduced that deals with the...

Kissinger Opposes U.S. Intel Czar, Is 'Optimistic' About Mideast Peace Wednesday, September 15, 2004 By David S. Hirschman Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (search) said Monday he was "uneasy" about uniting all of the country's intelligence operations under a single chief, he worried about the possibility of a nuclear Iran and he's "optimistic" the disputed security fence in Israel might eventually result in a negotiated solution to the Middle East conflict. Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation in Manhattan, Kissinger, who served as secretary of state under presidents Richard Nixon (search) and Gerald...

US President George W Bush is to give the CIA director new powers, including some control over other intelligence agencies, the White House says. Mr Bush is expected to sign executive orders on Friday, and will also launch a national counter-terrorism centre. Spokesman Scott McClellan said the CIA chief will have temporary authority to act as national intelligence director. The announcement follows calls for an intelligence overhaul after inquiries into the 11 September 2001 attacks. But correspondents note there is also a political angle to the timing of the executive orders, which do not need Congressional approval to be implemented....

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Washington In September, Congress will reconvene with a common goal at the top of its collective to-do list: reform our intelligence services in order to better protect the country from terrorist threats. Republicans and Democrats bring the best of intentions to their national security responsibilities. But too often, Congress and the American people lack the best information - in the form of declassified intelligence and national security materials - to ensure that the job is done right. Thomas H. Kean, the chairman of the 9/11 commission, said that three-quarters of the classified material he reviewed for the commission...

White House Drafts Intel Reform Orders 12 minutes ago Add White House - AP to My Yahoo! By KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The White House has drafted executive orders aimed at implementing the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations for a more powerful intelligence director and a new national counterterrorism center. Bush administration and congressional officials said Thursday drafts of executive orders are circulating among an interagency group for approval. One of the officials said the White House is floating three proposals, and asking for feedback by Friday. The orders would: _ Enhance the powers of the government's...

...Mr. Roberts... would dismantle the CIA into three separate agencies responsible for operations, analysis and technology. He then would bring them, and the intelligence agencies now in the Pentagon, under the control of the new national intelligence director. All of that and presumably keep fighting al Qaeda at the same time. We'll want to learn more, but our first reaction is to be skeptical of any plan that takes well-run intelligence assets away from the Defense Department, especially with troops currently fighting around the world.... We'd give Mr. Roberts more credit if his 139 pages of reform proposals addressed the...

Tenet blasts proposal to strip CIA of powers [snip] In a statement issued to the press, Tenet said the proposal "would undermine years of effort to integrate disciplines — hard-won steps that have led to some of the most significant intelligence successes in our history. The proposal runs totally counter to the concept of the collaboration among disciplines — a concept that has proven so effective against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups since 9/11." [snip] Tenet, who resigned earlier this year amid criticism of the CIA before and after the Sept. 11 attacks, disagreed, calling the proposal "yet another episode...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 - The Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee said Sunday that he would propose legislation to break up the Central Intelligence Agency and divide its responsibilities among three new spy agencies. The plan would eliminate the Pentagon's direct control over the National Security Agency and create a post of national intelligence director with virtually complete control over the government's $40 billion annual intelligence budget. The sweeping proposal, by Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, which would also provide the national intelligence director with budget authority over counterterrorism and counterintelligence programs of the F.B.I., goes far beyond the...

The aging CIA is badly in need of streamlining and reforms, according to more than a half-dozen former and current agency officials interviewed by United Press International. quot;You want some really good changes made, not just a rearrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic,quot; said former State Department and CIA counter-terrorism official Larry Johnson. The sharpest criticisms center on faulty analysis, too many layers of bureaucracy, too much movement between quot;accountsquot; or assignments and too many managers. The criticisms come as the Senate and House intelligence committees gear up for a single joint review of U.S. intelligence operations-focused on...