Michael Kostiw goes down - blood on the floor at the CIA as the long knives come out

The old guard of the CIA, threatened and beleaguered as they haven't been since the disclosure of "the family jewels" by the Rockefeller Commission in 1975, is striking back.

Stung by relentless criticism of its "failure" re: Iraqi WMD, the agency is now under withering fire from politicos, with the recent appointment of Representative Porter Goss as the new director followed immediately by the announcement that Goss was bringing with him - to the very top level of the CIA - his "crew" from the House intelligence committee.

Michael V. Kostiw, staff director of the terrorism subcommittee of the House intelligence committee chaired by Goss, was slated for CIA executive director, the third-ranking position in agency.

There he would be responsible for day-to-day operations involving budget and personnel, including disciplinary action.

Won't be happening.

On Sunday, October 3, Walter Pincus, the Washington Post's superb investigative reporter, published an exclusive story about a little problem Kostiw had 23 years ago.

It seems that back in 1981, when he was a CIA case officer with 10 years of experience, Kostiw was arrested and charged with shoplifting a $2.13 package of bacon from a supermarket in Langley, Virginia, near the CIA.

In a subsequent CIA polygraph test, his responses to questions about the incident and his past tours abroad led agency officials to place him on administrative leave for several weeks.

Kostiw decided to resign from the agency while he was on leave, and the agency arranged to have the misdemeanor shoplifting charge dropped and his police record expunged in return for his resignation and an agreement to seek counseling.

Subsequently, Kostiw joined the Army Reserve military intelligence unit at the Pentagon and worked as a lobbyist for Chevron Texaco before becoming staff director for Goss' committee.

OK. That's all well and good.

But if the police record was expunged, that means it doesn't exist, and the event never happened as far as applying for anything, right?

Not if you've abrasively confronted CIA veterans in your role as intelligence committee staff director, it doesn't.

Four separate sources dished to Pincus all about Kostiw's not-so-excellent pork adventure in Langley.

On October 4, the day after Pincus' story in the Post appeared, another story by Pincus about Kostiw appeared in the Post.

This one was headlined,

Goss Pick Withdraws From CIA Consideration

Like I said: the long knives - and memories - are out at the CIA, wielded by experts, and the result will be much more blood shed as the agency strikes back.