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Kristol: Goss Resignation a 'Total Surprise'
The announcement came on a Friday afternoon and seemed to catch many Washington pundits by surprise: Porter Goss, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, had resigned. Bill Kristol, executive director of The Weekly Standard, told Fox News Channel that there had been "no rumblings” of such a departure. "I don’t think the White House was expecting this,” Kristol said. "It comes as a total surprise. I may be overly suspicious here, but this one just has a real element of surprise and suddenness that makes me wonder if something popped in the last few days that led to this announcement.” Goss joined President Bush for a brief media announcement of his resignation, but no further details were given. A successor has not been named.
Story Continues Below White House sources, quoted by several news outlets, suggested this was a continuation of the overall shakeup of the Bush administration staff that also included a change at Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Director of the Interior and Office of Management and Budget. Goss became Director of the CIA in April 2005 and pledged to reform the agency with an aggressive approach to stopping leaks and improving overall operations. He made several changes that "ruffled some feathers” within the agency, Kristol said, which may have led to more leaks from disgruntled government employees reluctant to change. Kristol said he was suspect of the timing of the resignation. "This seems to be a rather sudden development, not part of a plan,” Kristol said. "Goss says the agency is ‘on an even keel and sailing well’ but I have my doubts, what with the recent leak by Mary McCarthy and other leaks within the agency. I think the CIA may be improving, but I don’t think it’s on an even keel.”
Editor's note:
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