

CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell Retires - zwtaylor
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/12/191061035/cia-deputy-director-michael-morell-retires

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zwtaylor
_In his statement, Morell said he knows how that sounds but, "when I say that
it is time for my family, nothing could be more real than that."_

It's difficult not to be immediately skeptical at this retirement considering
the timing and circumstances surrounding the announcement. His kids are
college-aged and this is quite an unusual time to resign. The fact that he is
being replaced with White House lawyer Avril D. Haines (Obama's deputy council
in charge of national security), seems to indicate that this is either in
light of the Benghazi 'scandal' or that the Obama administration is purging
intelligence officials who may not be entirely loyal in the wake of the NSA
leaks. There is without a doubt far more to this story.

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sami36
Morell was passed over for promotion after the Petraeus debacle. He might have
just come to the realization there are no more ladders to climb in government,
it's time to sell your rolodex & skills to the highest bidder in the private
sector.

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zwtaylor
Also a very plausible scenario. For someone with no opportunities for
promotion this is probably a great time to exit any of the intelligence
agencies, it's going to be a long hot summer.

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inzax
Love how you put that... Long hot summer.

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Alex3917
Actually the government has a long history of releasing news they don't want
covered on really hot days (especially before air conditioning), so that way
the press is less likely to show up. That's how we got school desegregation.

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LoganCale
Also interesting in this is that he's being replaced by Avril Haines. This is
interesting to me for several reasons.

\- Avril Haines is the first woman to be appointed to the Deputy Director
position or higher within the CIA.

\- She's from the White House council's office, and is a lawyer, with no
apparent prior experience in the intelligence community. Michael Morrell, by
contrast, had worked in the CIA for 33 years. Why appoint a lawyer with
intelligence community experience to the second highest role in the CIA?
Perhaps because she'll be loyal to the White House?

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jonstewart
Not just the counsel's office, she worked for Brennan at the White House,
i.e., the legal side of counterterrorism. Morrell was indeed an old hand, and
was elevated to the #2 spot to assist Panetta when he was appointed. In
contrast, Brennan himself began his career at the CIA, so he already knows the
place pretty well.

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temp453463343
The timing makes a lot of sense. With all the shit hitting the fan over the
past few days he probably is now flooded with paperwork and hearings and sorts
of madness.

Maybe it made him reevaluate his priorities and look for an easier job.

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SCAQTony
Perhaps Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH)?

As a CIA director I bet he was in a position to influence the outsourcing of
duties to private companies. It would not surprise me if he at one time chose
BAH for some particular project and now it is time to cash out!

Sorry, I am very cynical

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temp453463343
Cynical and not very likely =). If you work for an org for 30 years I assume
that creates a lot of loyalty.

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malkia
Some people can give a lesson, even when they fail - Groupon CEO

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evolve2k
What was that old saying about rats and ships?

