(2007-04-30) — Former CIA Director George Tenet said today that he was not included in discussions about key portions of his book that have been called into question by eyewitnesses to the events recounted.
“There was no serious debate at the publisher’s office, at least none that included me, about whether to retain certain questionable assertions in my book,” Mr. Tenet told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. “And yet, as usual, it looks like I’m going to take the heat for what appears in those pages just because I happen to be the author.”
Mr. Tenet’s book, “At the Center of the Storm“, explains that during his tenure as the nation’s leading intelligence officer, he was intimately involved in many decisions that turned out well, but left “out of the loop” by White House officials on most situations that, in hindsight, have turned out badly.
Among the problematic passages in the book, Mr. Tenet claims that former Pentagon adviser Richard Perle said, on September 12, 2001, that Iraq must pay for the 9/11 terror attacks. Mr. Perle denies making the remark, and says he was out of the country at the time that Mr. Tenet claims he talked with him at the White House.
Publisher HarperCollins has issued an “author’s intelligence estimate” that the book is based on information from a usually reliable source, and that its case against former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is “a slam dunk.”
47 responses so far ↓
1 Scott Ott // Apr 30, 2007 at 6:55 am
Former CIA Boss Out of Loop on Parts of His New Book…
by Scott Ott(2007-04-30) — Former CIA Director George Tenet said today that he was not included in discussions about key portions of his book that have been called into question by eyewitnesses to the events recounted.“There was no serious debate a…
2 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 30, 2007 at 7:00 am
God Bless America
3 Hawkeye // Apr 30, 2007 at 7:09 am
It’s the old Washington “two-step”… shall we dance?
(:D) Regards…
4 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 30, 2007 at 7:15 am
Something about Tenet always did rub me the wrong way.
I wouldn’t waste my money on this CYA book and wouldn’t read it if somebody gave it to me.
Anyway, I thought it was all my “fault” that we went to war in Iraq; I was all for it, even without the WMD, from the get-go.
And I’m glad, GLAD I tell ya, that we went. So, there.
5 Len Peracchio // Apr 30, 2007 at 7:30 am
Wonder if Tenet got his “oily” persona from oILY Clark!!
His CYA is pathetic…
6 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 7:41 am
Just one more Democratic liar, George Tenet. Though he does supply a lot of exculpatory information which gives us an inside look at the reasonableness of the Bush Administration in accepting much of the CIA’s analysis about the state of Saddam’s regime with respect to WMD and WMD secret projects that were continuing in direct violation of sixteen different U.N. Resolutions, being a Democrat he still can’t help himself by throwing in some lies.
In order to damn the “neo-cons”, Democrat George Tenet makes up out of whole cloth an encounter with Richard Perle that is revealed for the lie it is here - that is the Bush Administration had already decided to go after Saddam’s shortly after 9/11.
Of course all the kool-aid swilling moonbats on the left will believe anything negative that anyone has to say about “neo-cons” (i.e. Administration Jooooooooooos).
7 Hawkeye // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:14 am
Darth,
C’mon now… Tenet’s account is “fake but accurate”.
(:D) Regards
8 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:17 am
I stand corrected, Hawkeye.
From the NYT. Bad news for Democrats:
Anbar Province, long the lawless heartland of the tenacious Sunni Arab resistance, is undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing and the insurgency appears to be in retreat.
“Many people are challenging the insurgents,” said the governor of Anbar, Maamoon S. Rahid, though he quickly added, “We know we haven’t eliminated the threat 100 percent.”
Many Sunni tribal leaders, once openly hostile to the American presence, have formed a united front with American and Iraqi government forces against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. With the tribal leaders’ encouragement, thousands of local residents have joined the police force. About 10,000 police officers are now in Anbar, up from several thousand a year ago. During the same period, the police force here in Ramadi, the provincial capital, has grown from fewer than 200 to about 4,500, American military officials say.
At the same time, American and Iraqi forces have been conducting sweeps of insurgent strongholds, particularly in and around Ramadi, leaving behind a network of police stations and military garrisons, a strategy that is also being used in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, as part of its new security plan.
9 tomg // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:21 am
Karl Rove uses HarperCollins to out Tenet as CIA director. VP Cheney suspected as original source. Sandy Berger congratulated for adding documents to support the claims.
10 Shelly // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:32 am
Shortly before he left the CIA, wasn’t everyone in Washington asking what does Tenet have to do to get fired? And how about that Richard Perle, being in France and Washington at the same time?
11 Shelly // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:49 am
Reformed Chicks Blabbing, near the top of Scott’s blogroll, has a great video of the Dems weighing in on the non-debate before the war and after it started. Looks like Tenet was left out of the loop on that as well, and he’s a Democrat! Did anyone who was actually in Washington speak to this man?
12 mig // Apr 30, 2007 at 9:16 am
Double Speak, Double Time, Double Mint… Two. Two. Two sides in one.
13 Shelly // Apr 30, 2007 at 9:42 am
It appears Mr. Tenet also has trouble distinguishing between a DIA analyst and a naval reservist. I wonder if he’s one of those people who think mission=war?
14 Hawkeye // Apr 30, 2007 at 10:00 am
Darth #8,
I reported the same thing on my “VAT” web site back on April 21. Click HERE and scroll down to “Iraqi Tribal Chiefs Forming An Anti-Insurgent Party”.
Regards…
15 Ms RightWing, Ink // Apr 30, 2007 at 10:58 am
Ho hum, yawn, another book from the dollar bin at Barnes and Knobles
16 GnuCarSmell // Apr 30, 2007 at 11:20 am
Tenet is coming across as a crybaby, but that’s not the biggest problem I have with him. I fault him for allowing an anti-Bush cabal within the CIA to operate with impunity. In effect, Tenet allowed left-wing activists within government to work against the government. I submit Exhibit A, the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson fiasco, and Exhibit B, the many leaks meant to damage the Bush administration
An intelligence agency is no place for hyper-partisan political activists, and Tenet did nothing to purge the agency of them.
17 gafisher // Apr 30, 2007 at 11:22 am
tenet: a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof.
18 Libby Gone // Apr 30, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Comments on this subject by Libby Gone™ may or may not be based on information or disinformation. I feel out of the loop.
19 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 12:31 pm
You beat me to it, gafisher.
I don’t think it’s a case of George Tenet (D-Moon) being “out of the loop”, rather he’s out to lunch.
20 Old War Dogs // Apr 30, 2007 at 1:02 pm
2007.04.30 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup …
See previous: 2007.04.29 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup Below the fold (newest items at the top): Former CIA Boss Out of Loop on Parts of His New Book But I won’t question his patriotism Video: Tenet says Iraq…
21 tomg // Apr 30, 2007 at 1:19 pm
The CIA controls Time and Space.
Tenet speaks the truth - but he can’t reveal how the truth is possible…
22 conserve-a-tips // Apr 30, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I think that the news media is missing some really ironic things here:
•In the book Tenet states that intelligence reports show that Al Quaida is planning an even bigger attack on the US via nuclear device.
a. So if his intelligence on Iraq was wrong, why should we believe that his intelligence on Al Quaida is correct?
b. Since he never found Bin Laden, why would we accept anything that he has to say about the plans of Bin Laden?
•If there is a terrorist threat against the US from Al Queida as outlined in Tenet’s book, and if the left accepts his book as an indictment against the Bush administration, then they must also accept that there is a need for a “War on Terror” so that we might avoid this nuclear attack.
a. If there is terror and a need to fight it, then that is a War on Terror and John Edwards is an idiot.
b. If there is no War on Terror, as John Edwards says, (because you can’t have a war against an action, just against nations), then there can be no War on Poverty, or War on Civil Rights, or War on Hunger, or War Against Aids or War against Illiteracy or War Against Drugs or War against the Unethical Treatment of Animals….my the looney left will be all out of wars to fight and victims to exploit. Sigh.
23 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 2:50 pm
FROM SLATE.COM. Christopher Hitchens wades in:
A Loser’s History:
George Tenet’s sniveling, self-justifying new book is a disgrace.
That just about says it.
24 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Oh, and because Tenet’s books is a “sniveling, self-justifying … disgrace”, it should be a big hit with the LibDonks.
25 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 3:03 pm
George Tenet used to work for the CIA … now it looks like George Tenet is spending most of his time in CYA.
26 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 3:04 pm
… Tenet stole my post!
27 The Great Santini // Apr 30, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Tenet’s Cheney
Hit-piece shrieks
South end
Of the donkey speaks
Burma Shave™!
28 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 30, 2007 at 4:33 pm
BZZZZZzzzzz…..
29 Darthmeister // Apr 30, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Gene Tenet’s sequel to his NY Times bestseller:
From CIA to CYA: An American Patriot
By Gene Tenet
Acknowledgements: I would like to personally thank Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame for providing information that was not contained in my diary.
Chapter One: “Slam Dunk”
What I actually meant by “slam dunk” was I could forsee a day when I was going to get a book deal out of all this and point the finger of blame at the Bush Administration.
Chapter Two: “Bush”
It’s all Bush’s fault.
Chapter Three: “Rove”
Bush is Rove’s puppet … so it’s all Rove’s fault, too
Chapter Four: “Rumsfeld”
See Chapter Two and Three
Chapter Five: “Clinton”
President Clinton’s faith in me was not misplaced when he appointed me Director of the CIA and I transformed it according to his wishes into the progressive organization it is today. That is, when in the name of national security progressive CIA agents will anonymously leak false and misleading information to the media in order to embarass the Republican Administration which claimed I meant that Iraq having WMD was a “slam dunk”.
Chapter Six: “Victory”
The fact that I’m not being arrested and shot for lying about my real role in sending bad CIA intelligence to the Bush Administration, I consider it a major victory that at least half of Americans actually believe what I’m saying and that I can live comfortably for the rest of my life on the money I make from this book.
30 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 30, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Is he any kin to George Tenet?
31 camojack // Apr 30, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Publisher HarperCollins has issued an “author’s intelligence estimate”…
Hey, can I do one o’ those?
32 conserve-a-tips // Apr 30, 2007 at 7:46 pm
James, re #28:
♪ ♪ I’m bringing home a baby bumble bee
Won’t my mama be so proud of me
I’m bringing home a baby bumble bee
Ouch!!!! That bumblebee stung me!
I’m smashing up the baby bumblebee
Won’t my mama be so proud of me
I’m smashing up the baby bumblebee
Yuck!!!! It’s all over me!!!!
I’m wiping off the baby bumblebee
Won’t my mama be so proud of me
I’m wiping off the baby bumblebee
Uh Oh!!!!!! Here comes mommy!!!!! ♪ ♪
33 GnuCarSmell // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:37 pm
The “D.C. Madam’s” client list has 12,000 phone numbers. George Tenet will reveal in his next book that 11,235 of those phone numbers have been traced to disposable cell phones owned by former President Bill Clinton.
Tenet is asking the public to help pick a working title for the upcoming book.
34 Hawkeye // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Camo #31,
Allow me… Ummm, I estimate that the intelligence of the author who wrote George Tenet’s book is… below average.
OK. How’d I do??
(:D) Regards…
35 camojack // Apr 30, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Hawkeye:
I think you nailed it…
36 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 30, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Here’s a really cool idea.
37 conserve-a-tips // Apr 30, 2007 at 9:55 pm
GnucarSmell re #33: How about “765 Johns and 1 Bill”?
38 EXT // Apr 30, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Bill? Pay for sex? When interns provide it for free? Ridiculous. Amazing only that he didn’t offer them rental on The Lincoln Bedroom rather than that harsh Oval Office carpet. But that would depend on your definition of “harsh”. Or even “carpet”. So many words - so little time!
39 Liger // Apr 30, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Greetings Scrapplers!
Show of hands: how many of you are still behind Georgie?
Could he be any more of a joke? Sheesh.
Anyway, love you all…
Liger
40 Darthmeister // May 1, 2007 at 6:02 am
JL3rd, Gene Tenet is the same person as George Tenet in the Online Beat forum at The Nation. My tribute to the moonbats.
41 JamesonLewis3rd // May 1, 2007 at 6:12 am
You’re the joke.
Keep your filthy love to yourself.
42 Darthmeister // May 1, 2007 at 6:20 am
NEWS WITH A VIEW:
POLL: One in two Mexicans has family in USA…
And they’re all staying with some compassionate liberal who welcomes them with open arms into the Democratic Socialist Republic of Amerika.
Clinton shows soft side to South…
That ought to be against the law! Hugh Hefner must be one of her consultants.
Tenet Denies He Misled Powell Before Iraq Invasion…
That was Bush’s fault too, just ask liger.
Rosie O’Donnell: You’ll Hear My New Plans Soon…
I’m sure we’ll smell them, too. She is what passed for intellectual brilliance in progressive circles.
‘Epidemic’ of sleep deprivation spreads…
The Rovian Mind Control Machine is stuck in “Torture Mode”!
Alarming rates of unsafe sex among HIV-infected British gays: study…
If Christians would have allowed gay marriage like Jesus bravely commanded two thousand years ago, none of this would be happening because married people never cheat. But ultimately it’s all Bush’s fault.
43 Darthmeister // May 1, 2007 at 6:36 am
Like I’ve said many times before, there is such a thing as atheist fundamentalists. The American courts also recognize atheism as a religion and books have been written about the various “denomination” of atheism. It’s just another religion, admittedly an irreligious religion. This is what happens one one supplants one philosophical orthodoxy with a neo-orthodoxy. One is simply trading masters.
Everybody has a god whether its themselves, their minds, their parents, some human authority, corporate humankind, the Supreme Court, government, a rock, a tree, a car, money, a philosophy of life, human law, an impersonal cosmic force, or a transcendant Creator. A person’s god is essentially that which is the ultimate repository of truth and enlightenment in their lives. Some people have many gods despite saying they don’t believe in any god! What irony. Can your god give you the gift of eternal life?
44 JamesonLewis3rd // May 1, 2007 at 7:13 am
Breaking down the word “atheist”, it is a person who has no God (capital G); that is, a person who chooses to disbelieve in Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth. This is not, in and of itself, a “religion” (a widely misused word).
I say that “religion” is often misused because it has come to be synonymous with a person’s core beliefs and that is contrary to its actual definition. Christianity, for example, is not a “religion”.
Nevertheless, using that definition of “religion”, the “religion” of an atheist is, in fact, paganism.
45 Darthmeister // May 1, 2007 at 8:27 am
…nihilistic paganism. Of course I was using the vernacular understanding of “religion”.
The Bible only mentions religion one time: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27.
No where in the Bible does it say “religion saves you” or “religion makes you righteous before God.” The term “religion” as it is used in the book of James simply means the practice which comes from ones faith … a codex of behavior consistent with being redeemed. Jesus didn’t die to establish religion, but rather to redeem humanity and establish a RIGHTEOUS RELATIONSHIP with God for those who believe. Religion as it is normally practiced by humanity boils down to one of two things: 1) What a person can do to ingratiate themselves with God, 2) or what a person can do to enlighten themselves … i.e. make themselves a better person.
True historical Christianity makes it plain there is nothing you can do to either save yourself, ingratiate yourself, or enlighten yourself because all is vanity in the grand scheme of things. We are sheep without a shepherd adrift in a universe of infinite possibilities so who’s really right … blah, blah, blah. My pitch to spiritual anarchists and relativists.
It’s not from the bottom up but rather from the top down. It is what Creator God has accomplished through Messiah on the Cross that saves poeple and makes them better people, not what you can do to try and impress God with your religiosity. But it will always remain true even for the most ardent atheist, the default position of all humanity is belief in some kind of religious or religiously irreligious system of thought and every man is right in his own eyes.
46 Pros and Cons » George Tenet feels sorry for himself // May 1, 2007 at 10:37 am
[…] UPDATE: Scott Ott links to a TIME magazine article that conveys a wonderfully false impression: The debates generally broke down along familiar lines: State, CIA, and NSC favored a more inclusive and transparent approach, in which Iraqis representing the many tribes, sects, and interest groups in the country would be brought together to consult and put together some sort of rough constituent assembly that might then select an advisory council and a group of ministers to govern the country. […]
47 Pros and Cons » More on George Tenet’s little book // May 2, 2007 at 5:19 pm
[…] “UPDATE: Scott Ott links to a TIME magazine article that conveys a wonderfully false impression: The debates generally broke down along familiar lines: State, CIA, and NSC favored a more inclusive and transparent approach, in which Iraqis representing the many tribes, sects, and interest groups in the country would be brought together to consult and put together some sort of rough constituent assembly that might then select an advisory council and a group of ministers to govern the country. The vice president and Pentagon civilians, however, advocated a very different approach. Rather than risking an open-ended political process that Americans could influence but not control, they wanted to be able to limit the Iraqis’ power and handpick those Iraqis who would participate. In practice, that meant Ahmed Chalabi and a handful of other well-known, longtime exiled oppositionists, along with the leaders of the essentially autonomous Kurdish areas. The differences in approach were clear and starkly articulated. The vice president himself summed up the dilemma: The choice, he said, was between “control and legitimacy.” [Undersecretary of Defense] Doug Feith clearly stated his belief that it would not be necessary for the Iraqi exiles to legitimize themselves: “We can legitimize them,” he said, through our economic assistance and the good governance the U.S. would provide. They never understood that, fundamentally, political control depends on the consent of the governed. No consensus was ever reached, and no clear plan ever devised. […]
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