The Demise of the Diplomat
CIA Director Porter Goss said an interesting thing in his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee recently. He was talking about upcoming elections in South America and I don’t know what he really meant. I suspect the committee didn’t either . . . always a problem when cameras are on and participants are more interested in posing than listening. He said the elections ‘demand close coverage’ by the CIA, which ought to send a chill through the process, in light of our past CIA meddling in South and Central American politics. Then, he went on;
“We’re talking about meddling in sovereign affairs of different countries by state actors.”
What the hell did he mean? Why didn’t the usually-but-not-always-focussed John McCain say, “Porter, what the hell do you mean?” Is it useful to anyone to see such a statement in the paper without modifying explanation? This is the Director of the CIA talking, arguably the greatest meddler in the sovereign affairs of different countries on the …