Reply #102: Possible letter to members of congress.

[merh]

Dear _____________:

I write this letter as a concerned citizen of the United States of America. Our president has named a man to be director of the CIA who, by his own admission, is not qualified to hold the post. "I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified...". Mr. Goss made this admission when interviewed and the link to the video of this recorded interview is http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/goss.php.

How disconcerting it is to have the president nominate a man that is lacking technical skills that are necessary to perform his duties and to administer his office and the agency. We live in a technical society and it has been reported that the terrorists that threaten our nation are technically savvy. They use the internet and their various computer skills to communicate and plot against our nation, yet the man nominated to the post of CIA, in his own words, lacks the skills necessary to function as an agent of the CIA. “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.”

This is preposterous. Mr. Goss has been in the Senate long enough to have learned how to effectively operate a computer, but instead he basks in his ignorance and apparently allows others to perform for him. If he were to submit an application to the CIA for the position as an agent or an officer worker he would not be interviewed for the position because he lacks the necessary computer skills, yet this is the man our president wants to head the CIA? How does a man who is happy to remain ignorant of technology "lead the agency through the challenges and threats of the dangerous new century"?

The Acting Director of the CIA, John E. McLaughlin, is more than competent to continue as the director of the CIA. The failure to affirm Mr. Goss' appointment will not result in our nation being left with an unqualified person overseeing the post. As Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, Mr. McLaughlin assisted Director George J. Tenet in overseeing the operational, analytic, scientific, and technical activities of the Intelligence Community. He is not technically challenged and he is more qualified than Mr. Goss to serve the nation, which after all, is the ultimate goal of the position.

Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has publicly opined that Goss was not right for the job (prior to the appointment). Senator Roberts specifically advised "My only message to the White House is if they do this, make it an extraordinary person that will get bipartisan support." He added, “We do not want a partisan fight right before the election.” The appointment of Goss is partisan. Mr. Goss objected to the 9/11 commission investigation; has said that he does not believe the investigation into the outing of a covert CIA agent is necessary or legitimate; has publicly opposed the investigation into the prison tortures in Iraq (and elsewhere); and, has openly opposed any investigation into the claims of Ms. Edmund. How can he be the director of our intelligence community when he has no concerns relative to the safety and behavior of our intelligence agents, let alone the nations security and the abuses of power that weaken our reputation and render us vulnerable?

In closing, I simply wish to remind you that it was Mr. Goss that said he lacked the necessary skills and experience to be a CIA agent, let alone the director of the CIA. To quote Mr. Goss, “Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have."

With the greatest of concern and sincerity, I am,

__________________
Name



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For your reference please see the list of quotes from others that oppose the Peter Goss nomination.

"This is the worst appointment that's ever been made to the office of Director of Central Intelligence, because that's an office that needs to be kept above partisan politics."
Retired Admiral Stansfield Turner

"There's one thing Goss really didn't do for the past several years—he didn't chair the House Intelligence Committee, in spite of what his resumé claims. Instead, he did the dead man's float."
Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson

"Goss has never been very distinguished, but he's protected. He's a Bush loyalist and has been in the forefront of those who have tried to place the major blame for the 9-11 attacks on the Agency." Former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro

"This whole appointment is a cheap political trick,"
"One of the recommendations of the <9-11> Commission is that no political appointee be made Director. But this is so clearly political. If Goss isn't a political appointee, than I don't know what is." "This will do nothing but cause more disarray at Langley," Judith Yaphe, former CIA analyst

"I strongly urge the President to look for an individual with unimpeachable, nonpartisan national-security credentials and the stature and independence to bring about much-needed reform of our intelligence agencies." Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W. Va), ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee