The News-Press August 11, 2004
CIA chief's life under spotlight
By Larry Wheeler
WASHINGTON - Experts are split on how much Rep. Porter Goss' life will change if the Senate confirms him as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
As chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Goss already is privy to the nation's top secrets and receives protection not afforded rank-and-file lawmakers.
"You probably won't see much of a difference," said Elizabeth Bancroft, executive director of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers.
Unlike the president, who is protected by a very visible team of Secret Service agents, the CIA chief is accompanied by bodyguards who are less obvious.
"Usually, the security is so well done, you don't notice it," Bancroft said. "There is an appearance of considerable freedom but they are carefully guarding him."
Capitol Police currently provide personal security for Goss, but if he wins Senate confirmation to the CIA post, that agency would take over those security duties, intelligence experts said.
David MacMichael, a former CIA analyst, said Goss' life will change dramatically if he is confirmed.
"His wife won't be driving him to Capitol Hill anymore," MacMichael said. "He will get a whole lot more security. What form that security takes, whether it is helicopters flying over his (Sanibel) beach house or having an official food taster, I don't know."
A spokeswoman for the CIA declined to answers questions about security precautions taken to protect the agency's top officer. She also wouldn't discuss whether the CIA director flies on commercial airlines or on government planes.
As a congressman, Goss often takes commercial flights between Washington and his home in Sanibel.
That will change, too, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity, an organization that specializes in defense and intelligence information.
Goss will be flying on a CIA jet, Pike said.
Former CIA Director William Casey was well-known for flying in an agency jet that was painted black, Pike said.
"These days, that would be considered ostentatious. It would draw too much attention," Pike said.
If they aren't already in place, extra security measures will likely be installed at the homes Goss and his wife Mariel own. In addition to their Sanibel home, the Gosses own a townhouse in Washington and a large home in rural Virginia.
"The director's residence is under guard and I presume there are other security procedures put in place," said Steven Aftergood, who directs the Project on Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists.
© Copyright 2004, The News-Press
