8A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
THURSDAY, MARCH 3. 2005
GOVERNMENT
New director finds CIA position daunting
BY RYAN PEARSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — In a rare public appearance yesterday, CIA Director Porter Goss said he was overwhelmed by the many duties of his job, including devoting five hours out of every day to prepare for and deliver intelligence briefings to President Bush.
"The jobs I'm being asked to do, the fives hat that I wear, are too much for this mortal," Goss said. "I'm a little amazed at the workload."
Goss praised Bush's choice for the new job of national intelligence director, John Negroponte. The career diplomat, who is expected to be confirmed by the Senate, will take over several of the duties currently assigned to Goss, including the presidential briefing.
Goss, who has made few public comments beyond congressional testimony, also said the legislation creating the position of director of national intelligence left him unclear on his future role.
"It's got a huge amount of ambiguity in it," he said. "I don't know by law what my direct relationship is with John
Negroponte," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld or other top officials involved with intelligence.
Despite the confusion, Goss praised Negroponte's selection.
"I hold him in the very highest regard," he said, noting that the two attended Yale at the same time. "The intelligence community is going to be strengthened and unified and more effective than it has ever been."
Goss' remarks came during an hourlong address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, before an audience of more than 200 that included former first lady Nancy Reagan. Tickets to the event were sold to the public for $45.
Goss, a CIA clandestine officer for 10 years who retired in 1972, said it took him five hours every day to prepare and deliver the president's daily briefing, calling Bush "a voracious consumer of intelligence."
Legislation signed by Bush in December created a national intelligence center and the powerful new position Negroponte was nominated for. He will oversee the nation's 15 separate intelligence agencies.
Goss will remain head of the CIA but under the legislation loses his title as director of central intelligence. He said his role under the overhauled system would likely depend on Bush.
"Any president ... is going to pick the way he or she wants the intelligence community to serve him or her," he said.
Even after the nation's intelligence overhaul, he said, "the CIA is going to continue to be the flagship of the intelligence community."
Goss succeeded George Tenet, the CIA chief for seven years who was criticized for intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq war. Tenet also reportedly assured Bush there was "slam dunk" evidence showing Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons have not been found.
Since Goss arrived at the CIA in September, more than a dozen senior officials have left and some critics complain he has politicized the agency by hiring Republican aides.
Goss said reforms were needed and the "agency is pretty much around the corner." He said the CIA was "substantially increasing" its number of analysts and field officers.
Charit-a-bowl
Erin Droste/KANSAN
Kate Hosack, Harlan, Iowa, senior, Kelly Abrams, Mission junior, and Kate Schmidt, Seattle senior, admire a handmade bowl. Abrams purchased the bowl of chill from the Center for Community Outreach for $5.The money raised will go to support the homeless. The fundraiser was part of the Into The Streets Week sponsored by the center.
WORLD
Explosion in China kills 20 children
BEIJING — A cache of explosives at the mine manager blew up in a town in northern China, killing at least 20 children at a nearby grade school, news reports said earlier today.
The explosion occurred yesterday in Kecheng, a town in Shanxi province, one of China's biggest coal-mining regions, newspapers-reported.
"Grade school students who were in class were buried," the Shanxi Commercial News said. "At least 20 people are dead."
The mine manager, identified as Lu Maolin, was among the dead and his wife was injured, the Commercial News and the Shanxi
Evening News reported. They said an unspecified number of injured children from the Beixin Village Elementary School were hospitalized.
A man who answered the phone at the county government office said he had no additional information and calls to local fire and other offices weren't answered.
The Associated Press
PAGE
MEN
In wasn't 72-65 Most Wayne and K fans w game.
Wayne Fieldh
In senior about
Abo K-Stat the ba Big D enorm
As an ou and s Miles defen ted u court.
The blue pally ing r amou vE bay.
Th Athle 50,00 capitis style
As Athle sellin