CIA or CYA?

The Iraq occupation has proven far more difficult than the rose-colored glasses wearing types in the Bush administration seemed to expect. Though not any more surprising than what was predicted by those of us with a moderate appreication of history who were treated at the time like Chicken Little.

You'd think the administration would've learned its lesson about the danger of too many Yes Men and the value of Devil's Advocates. A little forethought can save a lot of problems later.

Except the administration doesn't think it did anything wrong in Iraq. Anywhere. At any time. Its collective Messiah Complex prevents them from acknowledging mistakes, and misjudgements and from fixing them. To acknowledge an error is to show a "lack of resolve."

And this is the biggest problem I have with the Bush administration. It's not just its bad policies. It's the fatally flawed decision making process which naturally leads to... fatally flawed decisions. And because the decision making process is inherent, it leads regularly to poorly thought out decisions based on dubious or overly optimistic assumptions.

In other words, the Bush administration believes in figuring out a course of action and then making sure the "facts" fit the pre-determined conclusion.

So the solution to this problem (which they won't admit is a problem)? One less independent voice.

The new CIA chief Porter Goss is a former conservative Republican congressman. He issued a memo to employees which said, "We do not make policy, though we do inform those who make it. We avoid political involvement, especially political partisanship,"

Yet in the same memo he wrote, "We support the administration and its policies in our work," and "As agency employees, we do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies. We provide the intelligence as we see it — and let the facts alone speak to the policy-maker."

The CIA is to "avoid political involvement" and "support the administration."

"If Goss is asking people to color their views and be a team player, that's not what people at CIA signed up for," said a former CIA official.


note: CYA is short for cover your own [behind]