When President George W. Bush accepted CIA director George Tenet's resignation, the president said, "George Tenet is the kind of public servant you like to work with." You have to wonder if the President knew at that point that he was going to publish a rather contentious memoir, alleging (among other things) that the Bush Administration -- particularly Vice President Dick Cheney -- was determined to attack Iraq no matter what the intelligence showed. Today, White House counselor Dan Bartlett called Tenet "a patriot" but went on to say his allegations were incorrect. He's not the only one critiquing the former CIA director as self-serving... we'll talk to Mike Scheuer, founding head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit, about how he sees Tenet's claims. Others in the intelligence community have criticized him too, (check this out). What do you think of Tenet? Willing scapegoat, or "patriot?"
Blog of the Nation
Tenent was a complete jerk on 60 Minutes. All of these guys are just trying to deny their part in selling an illegal and unnecessary war. They sold their souls for access power, hopped on what they thought was the train to fame, fortune and glory. Now that that things are falling apart, they just want to run from their responsibilty.
Even if everything Tenent says is true, he should have said something at the time - not 6 years later when public opinion has turned. That makes him a coward as well as a toady.
I really enjoy Talk of the Nation, but for the first time ever I am turning off the program today (4/30/07, "Tenet-cious G"). The simple reason: I don't want to waste my time listening to someone offer analysis on topics in a book THAT THEY HAVEN'T EVEN READ! Surely you could find an analyst that had time to do more than "thumb through" Tenet's book to offer comments and questions about Tenet's tenure and the situations he dealt with.
O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder in the criminal case, but found responsible in the civil case for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Outcry over his attempt to cash in with a book deal led to the book being withdrawn. George Tenet has been complicit in the marketing of an unnecessary war that has precipitated the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and what will before it is over be a trillion dollars. Where is the outrage and demands that that this book be withdrawn??
re: the caller who just suggested that Bill Moyer report on the spin being put on Iran right now, so that he can avoid doing a documentary on THAT war two years from now...
Damn straight, lady!
But let's stay on George Tenent.
I just have to say that Neil Conan can really be pompous. The way he treats some of his guests is ridiculous. He needn't speak to his guests in such a patronizing tone when they briefly mention a point other than the exact one at hand.
President Bush and Vice-President Cheney continue to get away with their illegal deeds by pawning them off on some other guy; then they add insult to injury by having an administration official(Rice) go on Sunday TV to spread discredit of the Johnny-come-lately truthteller(Tenent).
I hope You read from the letter to Tenet by Ray McGovern and others, and from McGovern's key article in truthout yesterday, especially the following:
"I immediately thought back to former Secretary of State Colin Powell's response when he was asked if he regretted the lies he told at the UN on February 5, 2003. Powell said he regretted that speech because it was "a blot on my record."
So we've got ruined reputations and blots on records. Poor boys. What about the 3,344 American soldiers already killed in a war that could not have happened had not these poor fellows deliberately distorted the evidence and led the cheering for war? What about the more than 50,000 wounded, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis whose deaths can be attributed directly to the invasion and its aftermath? There are blots, and there are blots. Why is it that Tenet and Powell seem to inhabit a different planet?"
Proof that the executive branch is not able to make the decisions of when, and when not to go to war. If Congress cannot say no, and even the intelliegnce agencies cannot go against Presidential policy, then the office of the President is way too powerful. Time to go back to Congressionally declared wars where at least the doves can give the hawks some order of peer review with a public microphone. Instead we have yet another Presidential war since Korea that we've lost because it was bumbled into and bungled by a bunch of executive branch know it alls.
Whatever happened to pride, dignity, and responsibility. The fact is George Tenent presided over the two biggest intel failures in the history of the CIA, 9/11 and WMD. He should link away. I recall the quote of Bill Mulholland with the failure of the St. Francis damn, "The only people I envy in this thing are the dead." He accepted his failure, resigned and left the public eye. Tenant is cashing in the mistakes (likely honest) that led to the death of thousands.
Regardless of whether you think tenet has the (ethical) right to accept money for a tell all book, it is a story that needs to be told.
The executive branch effectively blocked the Silberman/Robb Commission to get to the bottom of what they knew prior to their (not American) invasion of Iraq.
We need to subpeona the principals involved to answer to the anecdotes told in the books written by Tenet, Woodward, Naylor, Schuer, and others.
Tenert says he warned Condi before 9/11; she says he didn't; the 9/11 report seems to confirm Condi. So the questions Henry Waxman (and everyone else) should ask Tenet: Do you stand by what your book says? Are you calling Condi a liar? Did the 9/11 report mischaracterize your testimony before the committee? If so, why didn't you say so at the time?
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