Larry Johnson :House Intel Chief Misses the Boat

[cal04]

Today's news from Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane that the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Peter Hoekstra, sent a nasty gram to the White House complaining of being kept in the dark on intelligence matters is significant, but misleading. It is significant because Hoekstra is staunch defender of the Bush Administration and yet is now willing to insist that his committee must be briefed on intel operations. So far, so good. What the reporters missed is the underlying message in Hoekstra's letter--that the Bush Administration is being too soft on the intel community, particularly the CIA, and that the CIA is a rogue political actor.

Marcy Wheeler, Emptywheel, offers a good overview of Hoekstra's craziness on this issue. What caught my eye is Hoekstra's outrage over news that Steven Kappes, the former Director of Operations at the CIA who resigned because of a dispute with Porter Goss, was coming back to the Agency as the Deputy Director. Once you understand how extreme and venomous Hoekstra's world view toward the CIA is, we can begin to understand why many intelligence officers, regardless of political persuasion, have lost confidence in Congressional oversight of the intelligence community.

(snip)
What was Kappes' sin? He stood up for his subordinates who were being bullied by political hacks that Porter Goss installed in management positions at the CIA. Goss wanted to appoint a former CIA officer, Michael Kostiw, as the Executive Director of the CIA. Kostiw had a secret, however--he left the CIA in the 1980s after being accused of shoplifting.

(snip)
Once you understand these details then you will realize that Peter Hoekstra's definition of politicization is a CIA officer who speaks out against corrupt cronyism. Hoekstra and the rest of the extreme right believe fervently that Kappes was part of an old guard committed first and foremost to protecting CIA's bureaucratic perks and undermining Bush's policies. Whenever the CIA dared to disagree with a pet Bush Administration claim, such as the now discredited reports that Iraq was trying to acquire uranium yellowcake from Niger, the right interpreted this as rank insubordination rather than sound advice. Intelligence officers like Kappes found themselves labeled as disloyal simply for trying to ensure that the President had the right information and the best people working for him.


more
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/jul/09/house_intel_chief_misses_the_boat

[TacticalPeek]

1. K&R.

"I guess in a Republican Congress it is a status symbol to have someone accused of criminal activity on your staff."

:patriot:

[EST]

2. I was wondering how long it would be before someone

recognized the real import of Hoekstra's missive. I wonder if that paranoid schizo wingnut checks under his bed with a broom.
Recommended.

Incidentally, on a lighter side, if you run Hoekstra's through DU's spell checker, it suggests "Jockstrap's" as an alternative-heheh.

3. Rubber stamp CIA = jeopardized security

""The Bush Administration continues with its plan to convert the intelligence community into clerks with rubber stamps, eager to embrace rightwing fantasies.

Fortunately, there are still professionals inside the CIA and other intelligence organizations resisting this madness.

If they fail and Bush succeeds our nation's very security is in jeopardy.

With guys like Hoekstra continuing in power, the future is bleak.""

4. Hoekstra running against Kotos in 2006 - so can boot him

out. This is Michigan, Muskegon, Ludington area.

2006 Election
Hoekstra has no primary opponent. In November he will be opposed by the Democratic candidate Kimon Kotos, who was also the '04 nominee.


http://www.kotosforcongress.com

[DemReadingDU]

5. Larry Johnson & Marcy Wheeler

always have great insight
K&R

edit to add links...

Larry Johnson
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/07/house_intel_chi.html


Marcy Wheeler
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2006/07/hoekstras_threa.html