Ex-agent nominated to take reins of CIA

WASHINGTON – President Bush on Tuesday nominated a former CIA agent, Florida Rep. Porter Goss, to head the troubled spy agency, but critics questioned whether Goss is too close to the CIA to reform it at a time when a sweeping overhaul of America’s intelligence agencies is an urgent national priority.

As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Goss is considered a CIA defender despite his occasional criticism of it.

Even so, Republicans rallied behind his appointment. But while many Democrats in Congress voiced reservations about Goss, they seemed unlikely to block the Senate from confirming him, lest Bush accuse them of obstructing the war on terror at a time when the nation is on high alert – and Election Day is near.

“He knows the agency inside and out,” Bush said during a brief appearance with Goss in the White House Rose Garden. “He knows the agency, and he knows what is needed to strengthen it.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Goss, 65, would take control of the CIA at one of the most difficult times in its 57-year history. Former CIA Director George Tenet stepped down on July 11 amid growing criticism of the agency’s prewar intelligence on Iraq and its failure to uncover the terrorist plot that led to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Less than two weeks after Tenet turned the CIA over to acting director John McLaughlin, a bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks called for an overhaul of the nation’s intelligence network. Bush has endorsed the panel’s call for the appointment of a national intelligence director to oversee intelligence operations at the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Department and a dozen other agencies with intelligence-gathering arms.

The proposed overhaul, which requires congressional approval, would diminish the job of CIA director and make the agency head subordinate to the national intelligence director. Goss supports the appointment of a national intelligence director and publicly advocated the idea two years ago.

Even so, critics questioned Goss’ reform credentials. Even administration officials were divided on Bush’s selection.

As recently as three weeks ago, one senior administration official ruled out Goss as a candidate for the CIA job. The official, who insisted on anonymity in discussing a sensitive personnel issue, said Bush and his advisers wanted someone who would be widely hailed as a reformer.

Several former senior CIA officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were surprised by the nomination because White House officials had been quashing rumors for weeks that Goss would be Bush’s choice.

In the end, Bush may have decided that it was more important to fill the CIA slot quickly, while focusing on potential candidates for the still-to-be-created job of national intelligence director.

“As serious as the current threats are, now is not the time to have an acting director of the CIA,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Roberts said he hopes to hold a hearing on the nomination later this month, although Senate confirmation can’t occur until after lawmakers return from their August vacations.

Some Bush detractors accused the president of using the CIA appointment to curry favor with voters in Florida, a battleground state in the presidential election. Hours after announcing the nomination, Bush held a campaign rally in Pensacola, Fla., where he told supporters that he had selected “a fine Floridian” for the CIA job.

Significantly, Goss’ critics stopped short of vowing to block the nomination.

“I still believe that the selection of a politician – any politician – is a mistake,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Porter Goss will need to answer tough questions about his record and his position on reform.”

But Rockefeller added that he would work with Republicans to “move the (nomination) process forward.”

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential candidate, withheld judgment, but said he’s more concerned about establishing the job of national intelligence director.

“The most important thing we can do right now is reform and strengthen our intelligence services,” Kerry said. “I hope that Congressman Goss shares this view.”

Goss picked up endorsements from both of Florida’s Democratic senators, Sen. Bob Graham and Sen. Bill Nelson. Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was working the phones Tuesday on Goss’ behalf.

“I don’t expect it to be a hard sell and that he will be confirmed and as quickly as possible,” Graham said. “There is a sense of urgency to get somebody in that job.”

Goss is hardly a doctrinaire Republican or an unabashed cheerleader for the CIA. He angered officials at the CIA and the White House last year by questioning the intelligence that led to the war against Iraq. In a joint letter to Tenet, Goss and Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said they found “significant deficiencies” in the agency’s work in Iraq. Harman is the ranking Democrat on Goss’ House Intelligence Committee.

Goss, a graduate of Yale University, spent 10 years with the CIA before health problems forced his retirement in 1971. He settled in Sanibel Island, Fla., where he founded a weekly newspaper and became active in local politics as an opponent of unbridled development.

He won election to Congress in 1988 and earned a reputation as a reformer with an interest in environmental issues. As a member of the House Ethics Committee, he led the investigation that ended in a reprimand and a fine against then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

More recently, Goss has served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a role that could work against him in Senate confirmation hearings. Without mentioning any member of Congress by name, the Sept. 11 commission was harshly critical of congressional oversight of the CIA.

“Congressional oversight for intelligence – and counterterrorism – is now dysfunctional,” the commission concluded, calling for a much more streamlined monitoring structure.

Goss disputes the commission’s conclusion on that point and has urged a cautious approach in dealing with the panel’s other recommendations.

“We can ill-afford to rush to judgment, any more than we can tolerate needless delay,” he said at an Aug. 4 hearing on the commission’s final report. “These issues are too critical. We must pay attention to the details.”