J. Cofer Black, the U.S. State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, resigned, the State Department said.Somehow I missed this earlier. I wonder if Black was purged for leaking damaging stories, quit out of disgust a la Clarke, Beers et. al, or, as this Reuters article mysteriously states, that he quit because of a "botched terrorism report."
Black "informed the department several weeks ago that a transition between administrations would be the right time for him to explore new professional opportunities,'' State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said. Black did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
Black was the one who wowed Bush after 9/11 by telling him that "When we're through with (al-Qaida), they will have flies walking across their eyeballs," but apparently was also one of the guys who leaked that the Pentagon let Bin Laden get away. Rumsfeld fired him and the State Department picked him up, but it looks like nobody is protecting him anymore. Welcome to round two.
