The Foggo of War

Are we sure that George Bush is really the progeny of George H.W. and Barbara Bush? Any chance he is the long lost grandson of Joseph Stalin, sent to destroy the CIA from the inside? How else to explain the debacle underway with the Hookergate/Duke Cunningham bribe fest, the resignation of Goss, and the nomination of General Mike “What Fourth Amendment” Hayden?

So, how much trouble looms on the horizon for Dusty Foggo? The FBI is swarming over his house. If you have seen the pictures on TV you should notice that it is a relatively modest spread in Vienna, Virginia. If Dusty was on the take he certainly did not sock away the profits in any real estate transactions that have come to light.

How about the hookers and the water deal? Friends tell me that when Dusty went to Germany in 2000 that his participation in the poker parties ended. I don’t know if he played any poker in 2004 after returning to the United States. The same cannot be said for key Goss staffers, like Pat Murray and Brant “Nine Fingers” Bassett. They reportedly attended the poker parties and are being looked at for other shenanighans.

What are reporters missing?

Dusty Foggo

Porter Goss

Pat Murray

Brant Bassett

For starters, most reporters seem unaware that both Murray and Bassett are former CIA case officers. In fact, the personnel bloodletting that occurred in the early days of Goss’s reign was confined largely to the European Division of the Directorate of Operations. Murray and Bassett, I’m told, did some score settling. Case officers in other parts of the CIA kept their heads down and steered clear of the battle. Most of those folks were generally very receptive to the renewed emphasis that Porter Goss brought to trying to revive a vibrant human collection capability.

Dusty’s biggest jeopardy at this point appears to be the water deal. Folks familiar with the deal tell me that the contract with the Brent Wilkes company was signed and executed by people who worked for Dusty, but that Dusty had no overt role in the matter. What did he do behind the scenes? I’m willing to bet that the CIA IG and the FBI are interviewing the COTR (i.e., the contracting officer responsible for this contract) to determine if Dusty directed or influenced the contract in anyway. The next element is to determine whether Dusty personally profited from the deal. My friend who knows Dusty is betting that nothing criminal will emerge from this “dust up”. As I said in a previous posting, Dusty’s main fault was in keeping Brent Wilkes as a friend. Unless Dusty has a secret Swiss bank account or has hidden property assets somewhere, he may be a sexy diversion in a story that will ultimately focus on bribery and corruption that occurred in Washington, DC while Dusty was away in Europe.

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Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder
of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm
that helps corporations and governments manage threats posed by
terrorism and money laundering. Mr. Johnson, who worked previously
with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s
Office of Counter Terrorism (as a Deputy Director), is a recognized
expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, crisis and risk
management. Mr. Johnson has analyzed terrorist incidents for a variety
of media including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio,
ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s Today Show, the New York Times, CNN, Fox News,
and the BBC. Mr. Johnson has authored several articles for
publications, including Security Management Magazine, the New York
Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has lectured on terrorism and
aviation security around the world. Further bio
details.