Uncle Walter

If you have ever seen the reporter for the Washington Post who covers the Spook community, I think you would agree that he is almost a caricature of the world he writes about. Old School, that is. Tweedy jacket, wild gray intellectual hair, a sly smile that covers piercing eyes. He looks like a man you could tell things to, a fellow who knows how the game is played.

The last time I saw him, he was wearing a trench-coat. I was too, since it was raining, but on the whole I have to say I have never seen so many trench-coats in one place in my life. The affair was a desperate rear-guard action by the old Spooks to derail the change that was coming, and the reporter from the Post was happy to serve as the moderator of the discussion.

His name is Walter Pincus, and he has a special pass to the Spookocracy, a sort of honorary uncle to the Spooks.

He has had it for years, since a friendly ear in the Post can solve a multitude of problems, when it is necessary to speak on “deep background,” and explain something that is too sensitive to talk about. Normally, the Spooks speak in self-defense, when they are being dragged through some bogus “intelligence failure” that is intended to cover some politician’s ass, or carve someone up.

Uncle Walter got two scoops this week about the continuing re-organization, one informing us it was coming, and the other after the official announcement from the President. The dominoes continue to fall in slow-motion.

The latest change is calculated to be profound but non-threatening, which is a difficult balance to maintain. The announcement was made late in the week, so as to slide into the weekend news cycle and make the fewest possible waves.

Walter claimed on Thursday that “The CIA will retain its role as chief coordinator of overseas spying by U.S. intelligence agencies.” That is intended to be a comfort, I think, but there was more.

The real Spooks at CIA- not the economists and country analysts and scientists- worked for a thing called the Directorate for Operations, or “DO,” as it is known in the trade. If there was a heart in the Central Intelligence Agency, and I am not sure there is, it would be located in the newer of the two towers at Langley .

Apparently, sources in the Spookocracy whispered to Walter on what was coming. Maybe it was a last minute attempt to spin the inevitable, but when it popped out under the Hand of the President, it needed to be explained to the city.

Walter said a thing called the National Clandestine Service (NCS) within the CIA under Porter Goss. He will continue to “supervise” and “coordinate” intelligence operations. Those are two of the most dangerous words in Washington . In the old days, the Chief of the CIA station in whatever country it existed owned all clandestine operations conducted there.

Apparently, no more. The “coordinate” word filled me with a certain apprehension. It means that that other entities in the Community are getting an expanded charter for clandestine operations. I I know how I treated “coordination” when I was working things in a fast-breaking environment. Shoot ‘em a blind copy and keep moving.

It was probably the best deal that could be cut by Director Goss. The tide is moving against the CIA. The FBI, DIA and particularly the Special Operations Command are the beneficiaries of the disintegration of the old monolithic DO.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has been a continuing thorn in the side of the CIA. The Republicans on the Committee had been adamant that the overall lead on spying- human intelligence is the euphemism- should be moved to the office of the Director of National Intelligence.

I’m just a retiree, so I don’t have much of an opinion. It is a new world, and there are a lot of new actors on the stage. The biggest unknown is the role of the Sepcial Operations Command, the burly fellows who wear uniforms, sometimes, and who have been entrusted with conducting the war on terror world-wide.

The old CIA was considered to be a para-military organization, even if that made some of the people at Langley nervous. The new kids on the block are not para anything. They are the Real Deal.

The NCS is supposed to headquartered at Langley , which is a victory for Director Goss. But the old leadership of DO saw the handwriting on the wall, and most of them quit or retired. Walter Pincus says the new service will probably be led by an officer who does not use his True Name.

His cover name is Jose, and he is supposed to report to Porter Goss, but be supervised by the DNI’s Director for Collection, Mary Margaret Graham.

She is a former CIA operations officer, who is comfortable enough to use her true name. She is supposed to “oversee all human intelligence collection overseas” and “set broad requirements” for human intelligence collection.

Jose will have two deputies. One will run the clandestine operations for the Agency, and the other will be in charge of “deconfliction.” That would be the process of keeping the spies from stumbling over each other in the field. It would also include uniform training and tradecraft, and the uniform evaluation of the value of human sources.

Walter was in the audience when two senior Spooks briefed the press on the new structure. One was from the DNI’s office, and the other from the CIA. They declined to be named, on conditions of deep background, and Walter and the rest of the journalists were OK with that.

After all, there is still an investigation going on about the last time a CIA agent was outed in the press. I would hate to have to stop at the grand jury on the way to the office, or having a personal attorney as a condition of service.

The two representatives of the Spookocracy agreed that Jose will not be able to tell the FBI or Defense Department what they can do. Although the Chief of Station in a country overseas will be “fully briefed” on operations, disagreements will be worked at the local level.

I’m happy we are marching forward, and that the stranglehold on clandestine operations that the DO had has been broken. But this new system is a result of compromise and ambiguity. I hope it will be more effective than the old system, which had a boutique operation at CIA managing what has become an industrial law enforcement and military business. So it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

If it doesn’t work as advertised, I can assure you that someone will be on the phone to Walter Pincus.

Copyright 2005 Vic Socotra

www.vicsocotra .com

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