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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Aug 11, 2004 19:02:01 GMT -5
www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=5944517Wiggling his way out of some of these quotes will take an extraordinary amount of flip-flopping... Here are a few nuggets: ""I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified," the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore's production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11.""""I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably," Goss is quoted in an interview transcript.
"And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.' Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have." "
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Aug 12, 2004 12:34:14 GMT -5
I really don't see what the issue is. He's saying that if he wanted to be a spook today (as opposed to 30 years ago), he wouldn't be qualified because the type of people that the CIA is recruiting have to be technologically saavy and know arabic (or some other language).
I'm not sure how this disqualifies him from being the CIA director. What does he need to wiggle out of here? I think you're really reaching.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Aug 12, 2004 13:21:29 GMT -5
I really don't see what the issue is. He's saying that if he wanted to be a spook today (as opposed to 30 years ago), he wouldn't be qualified because the type of people that the CIA is recruiting have to be technologically saavy and know arabic (or some other language). I'm not sure how this disqualifies him from being the CIA director. What does he need to wiggle out of here? I think you're really reaching. The first quote about how he couldn't get a job is the one I have a problem with more than the languages issues because the CIA director gets the intel in translated form rather than the raw intercepts in Pashtu, Hindi, Spanish, or whatever the case may be. Saying that he couldn't get a job there is bad practice because it would send a message to folks under him that he has limited qualifications. In an organizational setting, this is dangerous in my view because it opens the door for underlings to take more risks and to sweep things under the carpet because of a view that the superior is unable to detect such things and is not qualified to pass judgment on his inferiors because of his inferior qualifications. It also brings into question his ability to modernize the CIA for the war on tecord because he does not have technical skills. Apart from not having technical skills, many, possibly including Porter Goss, may not be able to understand/comprehend important skills that he does not even know about because he is still learning about computers. Not sure if that made sense, but my problem more or less has to do with folks who ask to be in a position of authority who themselves project a sense of their limited ability to be in a position of authority. I also think it is going to take some wiggling for him to articulate a defense, similar to the one that you have put forth. Taken on its own, the first quote is one that is vague and leaves a little too much for the public to imagine and seems to be a pretty strong self-indictment. All of this said, Kerry/Edwards have called for a quick confirmation. Chances are, however, that maybe they and other Dems are going to suggest more of an in-depth confirmation process. |
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Post by PushyGuyFanClub on Aug 12, 2004 13:45:30 GMT -5
Ridiculous. He's making decisions, not doing field work. Micro-managing--which is what you're suggesting he do if you want him translating Pashtun (why don't we just throw the director out into the field in Iraq while we're at it?)--has long shown itself to be the WORST form of managing. I have full confidence in Goss' ability to call the shots.
Taking Michael Moore's bait is something to be avoided. The man long ago proved himself to be no more than an egoist. (See also McCarthy, Joseph.)
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Aug 12, 2004 14:03:08 GMT -5
I never suggested that he should micromanage, and I said the opposite of what you accused me of saying regarding languages. I am just saying that conveying one's lack of expertise is dangerous when one wants a position of authority in an organization. I view it as (i) poor leadership, (ii) dangerous in an organizational setting, and (iii) injurious to national security when one considers (i) and (ii) in the context of the CIA.
As for Michael Moore, the first quote that I cited comes from Fahrenheit 9/11 and an interview that he had with Goss. It is not part of Moore's editorial diatribes with which I sometimes disagree, i.e. regarding the importance of the pipeline in the context of the war in Afghanistan.
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Post by PushyGuyFanClub on Aug 12, 2004 14:46:32 GMT -5
Apologies for misreading your thought. Agree with you and think the same can be applied to technology. The information may come over a blackberry, but it's still information. Information hasn't changed in days, months, even years.
These are Moore's clips. Who knows what the question was, what else was said, etc. Goss is one of the few Reps that's worth a damn, IMO.
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