Team Bush: Spooks Everywhere You Look
I’m a little shocked at Defense Secretary Gates’ candid admissions to congress that he’s “no expert on Iraq” and “no expert on military matters.”
Begging the obvious question… what is Mr. Gates an expert on?
The answer, for the old CIA hand, is intelligence.
It’s no secret that Rummy wanted the Pentagon to own intelligence gathering. Gates’ rise to the top ranks of the military seems to cement that peculiar transformation. And his history is that of a man who serves up intelligence to order.
Now comes news that John Negroponte, the nation’s intelligence czar, has shifted over to become the number two behind the charismatic but feckless Condi Rice at State.
Does this many spooks spoil the intelligence soup?
Or is this part a larger effort to cook the soup to administration specifications?
Thoughts?