Gossed Wrong

I have a secret, and I’m certain you do too. The CIA wants to know it. Well, at least they used to. Apparently secret stealing was the mission of the CIA. Not any more. Stealing of course is amoral, and the current Administration would be loath to commit any amoral acts. So, that must be why the new CIA director, Porter Goss has instructed employees via email that the new mission of the agency is to support the Administration and its policies.

National security concerns alleviated. The terrorist threat level lowered. It is comforting to know that the new mission of the CIA is simply administrative support for White House policies and theories. This is troubling. Trouble compounded by the departure of five high-ranking agency officials. This includes two members running the agency’s covert operations division.

Republican spinmeisters have valiantly argued that past overhauls of the agency have caused similar departures. It is merely a clashing of cultures, the nation’s spymasters refusing to buckle under to Republican committee staffers now directing them. John Deutsch assumed control of the CIA during the second Clinton term, and departures soon followed. Deutsch brought with him staff from the defense department. Similar departures occurred in previous administrations as well.

It is not the departures themselves that are troubling, but the new mission of the CIA. The mission of the CIA is to gather and analyze intelligence. The new mission would not have stopped the intelligence failures highlighted by the tragedies of 9/11. The old mission appears to have been lost in a fog. The new director has referred to the agency as a secret stealer. This appears to miss the mark as well.

The nation has many tools for intelligence gathering. To be sure, the post-9/11 hiring spree has added many needed tools to the agencies assets. It is also true the number of human intelligence gatherers is insufficient, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Once this issued is rectified the agency will be able to accomplish what its mission should be.

The new mission of the CIA should be information analysis and policy recommendation. The agency should be a voice of truth and information. The Bush Administration, or any future administration, should never ask the agency to twist its finding to fit a political policy. The Administration should set its policies based on untainted analysis.

Information abounds in today’s world. Simple computer manipulation readily reveals many secrets. Brave souls hiding in dark corners uncover others. Finding the secrets isn’t as hard as it once was. The impediment is deciding where the secrets lead. Intelligence officers have a duty to make that determination. They have the most direct and complete access to the information. They should be guiding the Administration. The Administration would be wise to follow their professional guides. Intelligence officers giving the wrong advice did not cause the mistakes of 9/11; it was the advice not getting to those who could act on it.

Everyone hires experts to do a job. Those that hire them have an obligation to listen. If they do not want to listen they should stop wasting taxpayer dollars by hiring them. Otherwise listen to them.