In Hearing, Hayden Distinguishes Himself From Goss

CIA Nominee's Testimony May Have Been for Agency as Much as for Lawmakers

Porter J. Goss, who was forced aside as CIA director, owns a home in Florida's wealthy, waterfront community of Sanibel and is fond of sailing metaphors. In meetings with visitors at the CIA, he sometimes described himself as a ship's captain coasting in calm seas.

Two weeks ago, when he was summoned to the Oval Office and told that he would be resigning after what others viewed as a rather choppy 18-month tenure, Goss once again referred to still waters. "I believe the agency is on a very even keel; it's sailing well," he told President Bush.

Gen. Michael V. Hayden, an Air Force man, not a sailor, borrowed the nautical metaphor nonetheless when senators asked him Thursday to name his first priority if he becomes Goss's successor. His answer turned Goss's assessment on its head.

"I think most important is to just get the agency on an even keel, just settle things down," Hayden said.

In more than six hours of questioning during his confirmation hearing last week, the four-star general and veteran intelligence officer spent much of his time framing himself as the anti-Goss. The strategy seemed designed to restore confidence at the CIA, where veteran officers revolted against what they saw as Goss's distant leadership and partisan staff.

Plagued by infighting and low morale, more than three dozen intelligence experts, many with expertise in al-Qaeda, the Middle East and Arabic, chose to leave the CIA rather than continue their work for Goss. Some openly complained to Congress that under Goss the agency seemed adrift at wartime.

In his opening statement, Hayden paid tribute to Goss, noting his years of public service as a CIA case officer and then a Republican congressman. Calling Goss a "friend," Hayden said he was "not going out, you know, there repudiating him or what he was trying to do."

But as he went on, Hayden seemed to highlight the ways in which his style and priorities would differ from Goss's. He talked about spending time walking the halls at Langley, "just getting around and seeing and being seen."

That kind of schmoozing was a hallmark of George J. Tenet, the longest-serving CIA director until his resignation in 2004. Tenet was beloved by agency employees for popping into offices, bouncing a basketball down the halls and having an uncanny knack for remembering people's names.

Goss, by contrast, preferred to spend his hours behind a desk, ate lunch in his office and attended fewer meetings. Staff said they experienced little interaction with him and began to consider him distant and unavailable.

Hayden's sharpest break with Goss came in his choice of deputy. The first senior official to depart during Goss's tenure was Stephen R. Kappes, deputy director of the clandestine service, who clashed with Goss's chief of staff. Kappes's departure marked the beginning of an exodus of top officials. But Goss allies told reporters and Congress members the agency was better off without them, asserting that the CIA needed change and could not achieve it with the old guard in place.

With Goss gone, Kappes appears set to return as Hayden's deputy.