Talk:Porter J. Goss

Reworking page
Moving a large section of text to discussion area while I root out dead links --Avelino 17:38, 25 July 2008 (EDT)

Neither Goss nor Bush "explained why Goss was leaving and no replacement was announced." Bush’s new chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten, "has made several changes since taking over" in April 2006. 

Goss served as the 19th Director of Central Intelligence from September 24, 2004. A former Congressman and member of the CIA, Goss was nominated August 11, 2004, by President George W. Bush to replace George J. Tenet. 

Terrorist Connections
Goss had been on the radar of the International Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11 since September 11, 2001, and "If the 9-11 Commission is really looking for a smoking gun, it should look no further than at Lieutenant-General Mahmoud Ahmad, the director of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) at the time. In early October 2001, Indian intelligence learned that Mahmoud had ordered flamboyant Saeed Sheikh - the convicted mastermind of the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl - to wire US$100,000 from Dubai to one of hijackers Mohammed Atta's two bank accounts in Florida.

"A juicy direct connection was also established between Mahmoud and Republican Congressman Porter Goss and Democratic Senator Bob Graham. They were all in Washington together discussing Osama bin Laden over breakfast when the attacks of September 11, 2001, happened." 

The Pakistan / ISI / Porter Goss connection is described here and here.

Profile
Goss (R-FL) is the former Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Goss spearheaded the "investigation on possible intelligence gathering failures prior to the attacks. He is also leading the effort to revitalize the nation's intelligence network to better meet the terrorist threat by strengthening our human intelligence and analytical capabilities. ... He also serves on the House Rules Committee, which is responsible for how legislation is presented on the Floor, and the new Select Committee for Homeland Security." 

Goss, a "29-year resident of Southwest Florida, was elected to Congress in 1988 with 72 percent of the vote. Since that time, voters have returned him to Washington with overwhelming support. In 1990, he was one of only three first-term members to run unopposed. In 1992, he earned distinction as the top vote getter of any Republican House member in a contested race winning 82% of the vote. Goss again ran unopposed in 1994, and in 1996 Goss was reelected with 74% of the vote. In the 1998 election cycle, for the third time in his career, Goss ran unopposed." 

Goss is a "former Central Intelligence Agency Clandestine Services Officer." He is currently "serving his second term as Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, making him one of only two Florida House members among the 20 full committee chairmen. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 1995 as the senior member of the committee's four new Republican appointees and also served on the Subcommittee on Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counter Intelligence. In addition, Goss served as a member of the Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the United States Intelligence Community, a temporary panel that issued a comprehensive report on the future of the intelligence community. ... In 1998, Goss also served as Vice-Chair of the bipartisan Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, whose final report addressed the highly complex issues of compromise to U.S. national security resulting from transfers of sensitive technical information to China." 

"In the area of foreign affairs, Goss has translated professional experience and a longstanding interest in Central America into legislative initiatives to further the democratic process in Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador. Goss has been a guiding voice for U.S. - Haiti foreign policy, offering concrete solutions to both Congress and the White House to help Haitians in their continued drive toward democracy. In 1998, Goss served on the Speaker's 'War on Drugs' task force. He also continues to play an active role in curtailing the flow of illegal drugs from the Andean nations." 

Goss, "a native of Waterbury, Connecticut," was an honors graduate from Yale University in 1960. He "served two years in the United States Army as an intelligence officer. He moved to Sanibel in 1971 after an illness cut short his 10-year career as a Clandestine Services Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency." 

Goss is also "the Vice-Chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee and Chairman of its Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process. ... For the 106th Congress, Goss served as the leadership appointed conferee in the House/Senate negotiations on patient protection legislation. In 1998, Goss served on the House's Working Group on Health Care Quality to find common-sense solutions to make health care more affordable and accessible."