Thursday, November 18, 2010

Is Morale Up At the CIA?

CIA Director Leon Panetta. Photo from Reuters

Under Panetta, Morale Up At CIA -- Washington Times

'Very good job' converts skeptics.

CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, after nearly two years in office, has emerged as a fierce protector of the agency's people and its role in capturing or killing terrorists under an administration that shuns the words "war" and "Islamic terrorist."

Mr. Panetta, 72, a bookish Northern California liberal known for crunching budget numbers as a congressman, arrived at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., as a Democratic Party man loyal to President Obama and with a bit of a mystery on the subject of waging war.

Read more ....

My Comment: I hope that this Washington Times report is right. After being continuously criticized by many in the Obama administration .... and threatened by the Justice Department .... morale did sink to a new low for the CIA.

Has it improved .... for the moment the impression that I have is that the morale is better, and that the focus is on fighting Al Qaeda and identifying terror threats .... not on hiring lawyers to protect oneself from Congressional investigations or Justice Department subpoenas.

But politics is always fleeting, and while the CIA is now experiencing a respite from Washington politics, this can all change with a major terrorist strike in the U.S., a CIA drone missile strike that goes terribly wrong, or a massive intelligence failure that undermines U.S. national security.

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