C.I.A. Shenanigans Over That 9-11 Report

Bush's politicized choice for the C.I.A. -- Porter Goss - is already hard at work doing a terrible job. (Hey, he's only got a few weeks to get things down, so who can blame him? :))

The C.I.A.'s director general was ordered by Congress to deliver a report about the C.I.A.'s performance surrounding 9-11 and specifically to determine who if anyone should be held accountable for its gross errors. The Bush people aren't too fond of accountability so no wonder Goss has objected -- he wants them to get rid of the section that names names and actually puts people's foot to the fire who let this president and this country down with their shoddy performance.

"The draft report was completed in July, but it has not yet been shared with the individuals named in the document. That step has been delayed for the last 90 days to allow time for Mr. Goss, who took office in September, and his predecessor, John E. McLaughlin, to review the document. In recent weeks, members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have complained to Mr. Goss about the delay. The disclosure of the request from Mr. Goss represents the first indication of how he intends to approach the issue," reports the New York Times.

"An intelligence official said that Mr. Goss had requested only that Mr. Helgerson "consider" making changes in the "formatting and presentation" of the draft report as he believed appropriate. "Ultimately, it is the call of I.G. to decide how to proceed,'' the intelligence official said.

"Congressional officials critical of Mr. Goss's request said they saw it as inconsistent with Congress's intent that the inspector general, not an internal board, determine who, if anyone, should be held responsible for errors related to the Sept. 11 attacks. Among the actions highlighted in previous inquiries by Congress and an independent commission have been the failure of C.I.A. and F.B.I. personnel to share information in summer 2001 that should have put some of the hijackers on a government watch list."