2006年VOA标准英语-Shakeup at CIA Follows Stormy Period

By Gary Thomas
Washington
08 May 2006

 
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte briefs the media at the White House about President Bush's choice of Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to replace outgoing CIA Director Porter Goss, Monday, May 8, 2006 
  
President Bush moved quickly to fill the vacancy¹ left by the surprise resignation of Central Intelligence Agency director Porter Goss, nominating General Michael Hayden as his replacement².

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With less than two years on the job, CIA director Porter Goss tendered his resignation to President Bush on Friday. No reason was given for the surprise departure.

But officials sought to dispel³ any notion that Goss had been fired. Briefing reporters Monday about the nomination⁴ of General Michael Hayden as the new CIA chief, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte said Goss had seen his tenure⁵ as limited.

"I think that Porter himself had talked about being a transitional leader from the old setup prior to intelligence reform to the new one. And the president just felt that this was a good time to appoint new leadership to carry the agenda forward and consolidate⁶ the reforms that Mr. Goss had initiated," he said.

But by most accounts Goss' tenure at CIA was stormy. Several top CIA officers quit or retired⁷ after clashing with Goss's handpicked staff, most of whom came from the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. The CIA and the White House were also at odds⁸, particularly over intelligence on Iraq.

In a VOA interview, former CIA chief of European operations Tyler Drumheller says Goss' staff came across as abrasive⁹, and the conflicts cost the CIA some of its most experienced people.

"I think his staffers had some personal conflicts. They had some ideas when they came in. There was an idea afoot that people in the agency were not loyal to the president. And I think that some of that was related to the fact of some of the stuff that I've been talking about that they [Goss' staff] in fact interpreted being told things that they didn't want to hear was in fact disloyalty. That caused some bad feelings, and there was a group of people that left," explained Drumheller.

Drumheller, who worked under Goss for three months before retiring himself, says he was surprised only by the timing¹⁰ of Goss' departure.

"You could sort of feel the negative pressure building on Porter over the months. I expected him to go. I expected him to stay until after the election [next November] for a variety of reasons - one, so he could be there at least two years plus, just to have a round number. And then they also wouldn't have to go through confirmation¹¹ hearings before the elections," he added.

Goss presided over an era of change at the CIA, including a change in his own job. Until 2004, his true job title was "director of central intelligence," which made him the nominal¹² chief of all government intelligence agencies. But in an effort to better coordinate¹³ the 16 agencies dealing¹⁴ in intelligence, Congress passed an intelligence reform bill in 2004 creating a new "director of national intelligence," and Goss was relegated¹⁵ to being just head of the CIA. Some analysts¹⁶ believe he was disappointed that he did not get the new DNI job, which went to John Negroponte.

Analysts say there is likely to be some initial suspicion at CIA headquarters about General Michael Hayden, nominated to be the new agency director. In keeping with the CIA's civilian¹⁷ character, most directors have not been active duty military officers. Plus, says Tyler Drumheller, General Hayden's forte¹⁸ is not in clandestine¹⁹ operations, which is the CIA's primary job.

"It would be better not to have a military officer if you're going to try, like I said, to define what the civilian intelligence service is. And General Hayden's experience is all in signals intelligence [electronic eavesdropping] and administration. But he is a good administrator²⁰. I think he's a better administrator than Goss was. At least he'll be better organized. I don't know how it [CIA] will be as an operational service, though," commented Drumheller.

But national intelligence chief John Negroponte defended the choice, saying that General Hayden, who is currently his deputy, has experience in more than just technical intelligence. In what may a bid to soothe²¹ fears among CIA staffers, he added that the administration is trying to get former CIA deputy director of operations Stephen Kappes to come out of retirement²² to be General Hayden's deputy.

"His skill sets, together with General Hayden's background, will form a very nice balance, if you will, of the leadership team at the CIA," said Negroponte.

A veteran officer, Kappes headed all clandestine operations at CIA and negotiated with Libya to renounce²³ its weapons of mass destruction. He and his deputy resigned in November 2004 after reported clashes with Porter Goss and his staff.

1 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

2 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

3 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

6 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

9 abrasive   

adj.使表面磨损的；粗糙的；恼人的

参考例句：

• His abrasive manner has won him an unenviable notoriety.他生硬粗暴的态度让他声名狼藉。
• She had abrasions to her wrists where the abrasive rope had scraped her.她的手腕有多出磨伤，那是被粗糙的绳子擦伤的。

10 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

11 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

12 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

13 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 relegated   

v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

• She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。
• I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

18 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

19 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

20 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

21 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

22 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

23 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。