Washington Post: Goss forced out for incompetence

[BobcatJH]

Alternative title: "The Incompetence of the President"

First Harriet Miers, now Porter Goss. From the Washington Post:

Porter J. Goss was forced to step down yesterday as CIA director, ending a turbulent 18-month tenure marked by an exodus of some of the agency's top talent and growing White House dissatisfaction with his leadership during a time of war.

Goss must have been some kind of incompetent for President Bush to make a move during wartime. Either that or, as I recapped earlier, there's far more to the story.

But senior administration officials said Bush had lost confidence in Goss, 67, almost from the beginning and decided months ago to replace him. In what was described as a difficult meeting in April with Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte, Goss was told to prepare to leave by May, according to several officials with knowledge of the conversation.

"There has been an open conversation for a few weeks, through Negroponte, with the acknowledgment of the president" about replacing Goss, said a senior White House official who discussed the internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity. Another senior White House official said Goss had always been viewed as a "transitional figure" who would leave by year's end. His departure was accelerated after Bush launched a shake-up of his White House staff in hopes of beginning a political turnaround.

Still, why now? Why this week? Why today? Why like this? Why? Simple inability to do one's job couldn't have been the deciding factor. Because, if it was, there wouldn't be a single person working for the president today.

"It just didn't click," one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The former congressman's reserved personality and inability to master details of intelligence activities dampened the atmosphere of the president's morning intelligence briefing, which had been a central feature of the close relationship between Bush and Tenet. In one of his early interviews, Goss complained that he was spending hours preparing for the Oval Office sessions.

...

Internally, Goss struggled to articulate a vision for an agency reeling from the intelligence failures of 9/11 and Iraq before the March 2003 invasion, current and former colleagues said. And Goss could not overcome a reputation as a partisan politician who worked congressional hours and appeared disinterested in his overseas intelligence counterparts.

As has been pointed out, Goss, if you'll remember, told Michael Moore's production company during the filming of "Fahrenheit 9/11" that "I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified." Taking that into account, if the unofficial administration spin is true, I fail to see how this doesn't fall squarely at the president's feet.

He's the Decider, remember? Goss didn't stumble upon the job by winning "CIA Idol". Someone chose him for the job. And that someone was Bush. If the president can't be trusted to put competent people in such crucial posts, I'm not sure what we can trust him to do. He owns this.

[Ecumenist]

1. No kiddin'? Like that's a surprise to anyone with

2 brain cells to rub together.

[BobcatJH]

2. No doubt

Fired for being an idiot in the Bush administration must be the new hired for being an idiot.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. Death squads roaming the halls of the CIA?

If Negroponte is involved you know Goss is lucky to get out alive... :rofl:

We've already guessed the truth behind things- I wonder if it will ever really reveal itself in any measure to the world. Prolly not.

[wisteria]

4. I don't buy it, the whole administration is incompetent and none of

them have been left go. Bush never fires anyone.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. Well-so much for the notion that the WaPo was gonna feed us

any useful info. Guess we'll have to put this piece of White House stenography up against whatever Pincus geves us out of the CIA next week & try to read between the lines.

The only useful information here is that Bushco is suddenly pedaling furiously to put distance between themselves & the Goss-Hawk. The notion that his ouster has been in the works for any length of time is preposterous.

[BeFree]

6. I figure Goss stood up to Rummy, Rice and Rove

Goss most likely planted himself on the CIA's side and told the white house they were full of shit. He did if he listened to the rank and file of the CIA, who are all quite pissed about Plame and the dumping of 9/11 in their laps.

Tenent was let go because he stood up to the white house, and Goss probably did the same.

[fooj]

7. He owns all of this!

Rat bastard.

[enough]

8. morning k&r

[Justice]

9. No dice. Rumsfield's incompetency seems irrelevant to Bush, so

how are we to believe Goss' incompetency is relevant.

[Totally Committed]

10. I believe he was incompetent, but also

that this is being floated as the reason to keep people from linking him to Hookergate. Another Republican freakoid nabbed. Color me surprised! :sarcasm:

TC

[Supersedeas]

11. Incompetence and cronyism prevails with the *

[OneTwentyoNine]

12. Hell if thats all it takes then Bush should be gone by 6:00am Monday...

Jesus...who the hell is less competent that Bush Jr?!?!?

[pauldp]

13. Incompetent at covering up his carousing. n/t

[Spazito]

14. This is pathetic, imo....

There is NO way this was simply a firing, no way. All administrations prepare the groundwork for situations like this well ahead of the public announcement. One only had to look at the faces, listen to the pundits during and immediately after the announcement to see this came as a complete shock to the bush admin and all those who are normally in the know, the insiders.

An aside, perhaps, is that Cheney was overseas and not scheduled to return until Monday but, suddenly, is returning home early because "he just wants to go home". Interesting coincidence, no?