[Lou Dobbs, Cnn Anchor:] Tonight, CIA Director Porter Goss has resigned suddenly and without explanation after less than two years on the job at a critical time in the war against Islamist terrorists.
[Announcer:] This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for Friday, May 5th. Live in New York, Lou Dobbs.
[Dobbs:] Good evening, everybody. CIA Director Porter Goss today abruptly resigned from the CIA. Goss gave no reason for his departure and President Bush did not announce a replacement. An announcement is expected early next week. Goss's resignation comes at a time of wide dissatisfaction within the CIA about his leadership. Many senior CIA agents and analysts have quit or been forced out. There are also reports that one of Goss's top lieutenants at the CIA may be linked to the bribery scandal involving former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Elaine Quijano reports from the White House on Goss's sudden resignation. John Roberts reports from Washington on one possible reason for the Goss resignation. We begin with Elaine Quijano at the White House Elaine.
[Elaine Quijano, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Lou, as you mentioned, during that Oval Office announcement, there was no explanation given by either President Bush or Porter Goss about the reason for his resignation. Now, President Bush did praise Porter Goss' tenure at the CIA as director of the CIA, less than two years, saying that he was there at a time of transition. Mr. Bush also said that Goss helped the agency become integrated into the intelligence community and that he led ably. And although the president did not have a successor at the ready, he tried to send a signal about the importance of the CIA in fighting terrorism.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] I am confident that his successor will continue reforms that he's put in place. And as a result, this country will be more secure. We've got to win the war on terror, and the Central Intelligence Agency is a vital part of that war.
[Quijano:] Now, intelligence sources close to the discussions of the future of the CIA say that Goss had differences with the man he reported to, John Negroponte, the director of National Intelligence. An intelligence source says that Negroponte and his deputy wanted changes, like moving operations and CIA functions out of the CIA and to the DNI, and that Goss pushed back vigorously. Now, a senior administration official here says that that Porter Goss's boss, John Negroponte, did in fact raise the possibility of Goss leaving, and this official saying that ultimately the decision was based on a "mutual understanding" between Negroponte, Goss and President Bush. And as you mentioned, Lou, this official also saying that a successor could be named as early as Monday Lou.
[Dobbs:] Is this a firing or is it a resignation?
[Quijano:] It is a resignation. This is what the president was careful to point out first thing in that Oval Office announcement, saying that in fact his resignation had been submitted and that he accepted it. So, the White House is calling this a resignation.
[Dobbs:] Elaine Quijano from the White House. Thank you. Porter Goss's leadership at the CIA was highly controversial from the beginning. Goss brought in several political aides from Congress to help him run the agency. Goss also promoted an old friend to the number three position at the CIA, and it turns out this old friend may have been involved in the corruption scandal involving former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. John Roberts joins me now from Washington. John, tell us more about the possible links between the CIA executive and the Cunningham scandal.
[John Roberts, Cnn Sr. National Correspondent:] Well, let me, first of all, preface this, Lou, by saying that anybody who has any knowledge of this case is denying that it has anything do with Porter Goss's resignation today. But here's what we know. A man who he plucked out of relative obscurity to become the director of the CIA, Kyle Dusty Foggo, is now under investigation by the FBI, and as well the investigator general of the CIA, looking into contracts that were awarded to a man who was described as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Duke Cunningham investigation. That man's name is Brent Wilkes. He ran a number of companies, one of which got a contract from the CIA worth about $2 million or $3 million to deliver bottled water and other household goods to CIA personnel in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. It also turns out that Wilkes is a long-time friend of Dusty Foggo's, and that the two of them on occasion would play poker together at hospitality suites that Wilkes was hosting poker nights in, in either the Watergate or the Westin Grand hotels in Washington, D.C. It's also been alleged by another person involved with this case that Wilkes was involved in procuring prostitutes and limousines for Duke Cunningham. So the FBI is looking into what possible connection Foggo may have with the Cunningham investigation, and as well, the inspector general of the CIA looking into whether or not the contracts that were awarded to Wilkes company were done appropriately. We have heard from a CIA spokesperson on that front. They say absolutely there was nothing inappropriate with any of the contracts that were awarded under Foggo's tenure Lou.
[Dobbs:] John, thank you. John Roberts from Washington. Former White House adviser Scooter Libby today went to federal court in Washington in the latest stage of the CIA-White House leak investigation. A federal judge held a hearing to discuss what evidence the federal government can use against Libby. Libby's attorneys said they planned to call presidential adviser Karl Rove as a defense witness. Libby faces charges of lying to investigators and a grand jury. The Bush White House is facing a rising insurgency in Iraq. Insurgents have killed seven more of our soldiers and our Marines. Three of them were killed in a roadside bomb attack today, 2,415 of our troops have now been killed since this war began. Jamie McIntyre reports from the Pentagon.
[Jamie Mcintyre, Cnn Sr. Pentagon Correspondent:] In the first five days of May, 11 Americans have died in combat in Iraq. The latest deaths coming when a roadside bomb hit a U.S. Army convoy in Babil, about 35 miles south of Baghdad. That puts May on track to be just as deadly for U.S. troops as April, when 76 Americans died, the highest number in one month since last November. Even so-called up-armored Humvees offer little protection from terrorist bombs that military sources say are not just bigger, but better and more widespread. But at least the U.S. military has armored Humvees. Most Iraqi troops drive around in unarmored trucks. And one U.S. commander told the Pentagon briefing that despite more than $6 billion spent last year to arm Iraqi troops, many units are still not properly outfitted.
[Maj. Gen. Thomas Turner, Commander, Multinational Division North:] A major inhibitor to independent operations is lack of equipment, manpower, their inability to sustain themselves, and a lack of systems or policies in place to manage the organization.
[Mcintyre:] The Pentagon insists the equipment is in the pipeline. It can't come too soon. A strategy document captured by the U.S. military shows that the insurgents are increasingly targeting Iraqis over Americans in an effort to fan a Sunni-Shia civil war. "The losses of American forces in Baghdad are hardly worth mentioning," it reads. "The priority is the Shia, the guards and the rest of the auxiliary forces." It goes on to say, "Reduce the attacks on Sunni areas and drive away the Shia and expel their businesses from our areas." As long as the violence continues, and until Iraqi troops can pull their own weight, U.S. plans for withdrawal of up to 30,000 troops this year will have to stay on hold Lou.
[Dobbs:] Jamie, thank you very much. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon. President Bush today renewed his threat to veto a massive emergency spending bill that the president says is full of unnecessary spending. President Bush said Congress must be wise about the way in which it spends the people's money. His veto threat follows the Senate's overwhelming vote to support a spending bill of $119 billion, $14 billion more than the president had asked for to support the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and hurricane relief. Also tonight, the Congress is finally coming to the realization that there is no national security without strict port security. The House has passed a $7.5 billion port security bill that is being called an important step in homeland security enforcement. Kitty Pilgrim reports.
[Unidentified Male:] I will not yield. I did not interrupt you.
[Kitty Pilgrim, Cnn Correspondent:] The debate in Congress rages over the best way to protect container ports from attack. And does the bill approved 421-2 in the House go far enough to fix the problem?
[Unidentified Male:] It does what's real. It does what can be done.
[Rep. Ed Markey , Massachusetts:] This bill has a loophole big enough to drive a cargo container filled with nuclear weapons material through it.
[Pilgrim:] Only 5 percent of freight coming into U.S. ports is inspected. The prospect of a nuclear bomb in a container in a U.S. city is a very real fear. The House bill wants electronic radiation screening equipment at domestic U.S. ports by the end of 2007. The bill also calls for document checks of all containers in overseas ports before the containers come to the United States. But Representative Ed Markey wants overseas ports to electronically scan all containers before they come to U.S. ports. His amendment calling for that was defeated.
[Markey:] The fatal flaw in the bill is that all of the rest of the security is for the most part paperwork.
[Pilgrim:] Security analysts say at best the bill is halfway there.
[John Pike, Globalsecurity.org:] It's a step in the right direction. It's not sufficient because the containers that are not going to be inspected I think are the containers that you are most worried about.
[Pilgrim:] The bill comes just months after the Dubai ports deal raised a firestorm of criticism. Conscious now that public attention remains focused on port security, many in Congress are responding.
[Rep. Daniel Lungren , California:] This bill moves us forward tremendously, and we've got an unbelievably good vote that is a bipartisan vote. So it wasn't a Republican bill or a Democratic bill. It was truly a bipartisan bill.
[Pilgrim:] Bipartisan interests likely tied to the fall elections. Now, the White House issued a statement backing the bill, but it says the cost is high, the new domestic screening technology cannot be put in place by September 2007 Lou.
[Dobbs:] Kitty, thank you very much. Kitty Pilgrim. Still ahead here, federal government efforts to coordinate the hunt for terrorists and criminals are being slowed by one of the biggest federal government agencies. We'll have that special report. And border security advocates demanding the United States enforce our borders as effectively as other countries. We'll have that report. And a public admission by Congressman Patrick Kennedy one day after his car accident on Capitol Hill. We'll have that live report for you from Washington. Three of the country's top political analysts join me to talk about the abrupt resignation of CIA Director Porter Goss and tumbling poll numbers for not only President Bush, but also for Congress. Stay with us. More coming up next.