Reply #88: In any and every agency,

[H2O Man]

the people at the top set the tone. It doesn't matter if we are discussing a city agency, a state agency, or a federal agency. I'm not being disrespectful to the people within the bureaucracy, but it's the leaders that set the tone.

For example, there were progressive people within the FBI when Hoover ruled. But they were "exiled" to insignificant positions if they didn't cow to his madness.

There are good men and women in the Department of Justice. But if they don't cow to Ashcroft's madness, they will not be given the opportunity to move ahead. No chance of being listened to or taken seriously at that staff meeting -- much less promoted when there is a brown-nosing person who joins the Attorney General's prayer meetings looking to take that same promotion.

Goss will not openly try to hurt any Plame-related trials. No, it will be the subtle things, like not acting on requests for information, or refusing to included needed documents in the name of "national security."

Any time you bring in a political appointee to run an agency, that appointee is being brought in for the sole purpose of doing the appointer's will. We know, for example, that VP Cheney spent many hours at CI HQ, pressuring analysts to "interpret" Iraq information in a way that favored the administration's call to invade Iraq. So we know exactly what this administration wants out of the IC.

Does this make sense? Does it answer your question?