Casey's Well-Groomed Successor

New CIA Chief Robert Gates must restore the agency's image

The frail old man sat in a wheelchair, his emaciated right arm hanging limply in his lap, his eyes staring vacantly overhead. His lip was curled, as if he had lost control of his facial muscles, and his bald pate bore the green marks that are used for radiation treatments. As a nurse guided his wheelchair out of a hospital elevator, only the presence of an escort with an official- looking radio suggested that this was a special patient: William Casey, until last week the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Casey's resignation followed increasingly widespread rumors in Washington about his...

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