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Thu 3 Jun, 2004 06:03 pm
Nine years ago when I became the deputy director, a wonderful young man sitting in the front row was in the second grade. He came right up to my belt I just saw a picture of the day Judge Freeh swore me in and he's grown up to be . . .
Anyway, the point is, John Michael is going to be a senior next year. I'm going to be a senior with him in high school.
We're going to go to class together. We're going to party together. I'm going to learn how to instant message his friends that would be an achievement!
You've just been a great son, and I'm now going to be a great dad. Thank God you look like your mother. You're damned good looking.
What a bunch of bull. What kid in high school wants their dad to come to class with him...party with him, instant message friends. Heck, GT could have stayed at the White House and done all those things with his boss, GWBush. LOL.
Tenet leaving is just the beginning. Anybody want to guess who will be the next Bush cabinet member to resign?
Tenet's departure could spark struggle over intel. apparatus
Posted on Thu, Jun. 03, 2004
Tenet's departure could spark struggle over intelligence apparatus
By Warren P. Strobel
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - George Tenet's sudden resignation as CIA director could hardly have come at a worse time for the U.S. intelligence community and President Bush.
Tenet's departure deprives Bush of a trusted senior partner in his war on global terrorism. And it comes as the CIA and its sister agencies face demands for far-reaching reform after being rocked by disclosures of intelligence lapses in Iraq and elsewhere, U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers said Thursday.
The exit by Tenet, the CIA's second-longest-serving director, is likely to touch off a bruising struggle over the future of the $40-billion-a-year U.S. intelligence apparatus, the officials and lawmakers said.
That apparatus, with tools ranging from human spies and analysts to powerful code-breaking computers and eavesdropping satellites, has been thrust ever more onto the public stage as Bush has launched a struggle against terrorism and opted for a war in Iraq waged largely on the basis of intelligence, much of it faulty.
Though highly praised by Bush, Tenet leaves a decidedly mixed record.
In the near term, Bush loses a confidant who helped plot the war on terrorism as a ranking member of his national security team.
"He's really been the glue that held a lot of this activity together," said Richard Kerr, a former deputy CIA director who still advises the agency. "That worries me a little bit."
Tenet's deputy, John E. McLaughlin, who will serve as acting director, hasn't been involved "to the degree that George has been," Kerr said.
It was disclosed late Thursday that another top CIA official, deputy director for operations James Pavitt, who oversees the CIA's human spies, also is leaving. Pavitt had decided to retire before Tenet's decision became known, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Most observers give Tenet high marks for attempting to rebuild an agency that was devastated by cuts in personnel and funding after the Cold War ended and was largely marginalized during the Clinton years. Tenet fought for, and won, large budget increases to expand the agency's cadre of human spies in the Directorate of Operations.
But the changes didn't go nearly far enough, senior intelligence officials say. The CIA and 14 other U.S. intelligence agencies remain mired in a Cold War structure ill-suited for a 21st-century battle against far-flung cells of Islamic militants.
As Tenet himself acknowledged this spring, the CIA never penetrated the upper levels of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
The CIA and military were slow to get a handle on the dual Sunni and Shiite Muslim insurgencies in Iraq, which have frustrated American troops' attempts to stabilize the country.
This week it was reported that the United States had lost a crucial source of intelligence on Iran, a would-be nuclear power, when former Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi told Tehran that Washington had broken its codes. Chalabi denies he did so.
Beyond that, there are brewing Washington scandals over American troops' abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the leak of the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame, the wife of Bush critic Joseph Wilson.
One senior official close to Tenet, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while Tenet's resignation was timed to minimize the political impact on the president, the CIA chief also had little good news to look forward to in the months ahead.
A Senate Intelligence Committee report due out next month is expected to be highly critical of the CIA's handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq.
Tenet "brought many good things to the agency: restored morale, rebuilt the clandestine operations ... but also on his watch, there were major intelligence failures, 9/11, the WMD (weapons of mass destruction) progress in Iraq, the failure to predict the insurgency in Iraq that has led to this colossal prison scandal," said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
"I think this is an opportunity for President Bush to make a fresh start," she said.
Harman said reform should begin immediately, because "any more intelligence failures put U.S. security at risk."
Others say the reform debate is unlikely to begin before next January's presidential inauguration and could involve costly turf battles between the CIA and the Pentagon.
While the CIA chief also holds the title of director of central intelligence and in theory coordinates all U.S. spying, the Pentagon controls roughly 90 percent of the intelligence budget. Under Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the Pentagon has sought to expand its control of intelligence and covert action.
Many reform proposals, citing the CIA's and FBI's inability to cooperate to piece together hints of the Sept. 11 plots, revolve around establishing a Cabinet-level "director of national intelligence." The individual would be separate from the CIA and would control all civilian and military intelligence agencies.
Critics see it as a simplistic solution that could weaken the CIA and would take years to implement.
"We know we're going to get reform," said Frederick Hitz, a former CIA inspector general who served under five agency directors. "What I worry about is rather than keeping our eye on the ball and saying, `What do we want to come out of this process?' ... it'll get into the typical Washington turf struggle and not necessarily improve things."
"There's no instant solution, no matter what anybody says," said Richard Best, a specialist at the Congressional Research Service, part of the Library of Congress. Proposals to wrest agencies such as the Defense Intelligence Agency away from Pentagon control "would be highly controversial," he said.
Within the CIA, officials said, more must be done to create a group of highly trained spies who can crack terrorist cells or weapons-smuggling rings. Tenet said in April that it would take five years to complete the process.
Hitz said that what was needed was more spies operating under "nonofficial cover" - posing as businessmen and the like - rather than the traditional route of posing as diplomats. That involves more risks, and individuals willing to take them.
"These people don't grow on trees," he said.
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(Knight Ridder Newspapers correspondents John Walcott, Jonathan S. Landay and Sumana Chatterjee contributed to this report.)
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The Deputy Director just quit.
Guesses are flyin' 'round as to WTF is really going on.
Does anyone remember that old 80's 70's (?) song, something like, "Another one bites the dust, and another one gone..." I think that should be the republicans theme song for the republican convention.
How long will it take for George Tenet to write a book? Maybe it's already written and will be at your bookstore before November? Gingrich was on the Today Show and asked about the resignation. He said it could help the administration as they could put in a new man who will clean up the intelligence gathering force. Huh?
If that means before the election, it can be read before or after watching the DVD of "Fahrenheit 9/11." I think they are running out of nail holes in that coffin.
The scenario that I like: Tenets departure is just the first of many IMO.
Cheney announces he will not be on the ticket as VP for health reasons------Giuliani replaces him as VP.
Cheney and his staff have become big big anchors for Bush and Giuliani is needed to push Bush over the top in several states-----plus Giuliani would be in great position to beat Hillary in 2008.
Rumsfeld announces he is leaving and taking Wolfy with him into retirement ------Colin Powell replaces Rummy because he likes overwhelming force which is just the opposite of Rummy . Rummy must go because the generals no longer have any confidence in him.
Paul Bremer replaces Powell at State as a reward for service above and beyond in Iraq---
Condi rice moves to an office just outside the oval office to keep the pres more informed on every issue.
Rice is just not mean enough to manage NSA.
Newt Gingrich would replace Rice at NSA ---- Newt is smart and mean as a snake which is what is needed at NSA.
Michael Moores Bush bashing movie will cause a severe backlash against the Left, which is out of control in civility department, and will help Bush get re-elected.
IF Tenet writes a book and IF he has anything bad to say about Bush the book will come out After the election.
Bush has been extremely loyal to Tenet and Tenet has got to show appreciation for that.
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Rumor has it that Crazy King George had one of his siezures and a vision where God commaned him to fire Tenet and his Deputy because these two were traitors to the Mission.
Radical
Speaking of psychos-----check out your avatar and the bombs you throw.
Here is The Economist's take - I paste in full, cos I think you have to subscribe - it could not be more different from BBB's last paste post's take on it!
I guess nobody has any idea!
Was he pushed?
Jun 4th 2004
From The Economist Global Agenda
George Tenet has resigned as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, citing personal reasons. But speculation is rife that the Bush administration wants to make him a scapegoat for failures in Iraq and elsewhere. Whether he jumped or was pushed, Mr Tenet will not take all the blame with him
GEORGE TENET told President George Bush on Wednesday June 2nd that he was stepping down as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), citing ?personal reasons? for his decision. Mr Bush said that Mr Tenet had ?been a strong leader in the war on terror, and I will miss him.? But both Mr Tenet?s stated reason for going and Mr Bush?s sorrow came under immediate suspicion. America's intelligence services, of which Mr Tenet is the most prominent member, have overseen enormous intelligence failures, most famously the lack of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq and the failure to ?connect the dots? of the September 11th plot. Many have called for his resignation in the past three years.
So why did he oblige now? The political calendar is sure to be central to speculation on the subject. The presidential elections are just five months away, and continuing violence in Iraq is making Mr Bush?s signature foreign-policy achievement look to more and more voters like a big mistake. Yet there has not been a high-profile resignation yet, fuelling criticism of pigheadedness in the administration. After the Abu Ghraib prison-abuse scandal there were calls for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary. But for Mr Bush to sack Mr Rumsfeld would be highly embarrassing, as the defence chief is closely associated with the president and his administration?s style.
The White House posts Mr Bush's statements and information on the war on terror. The CIA posts statements by George Tenet and publishes reports on Iraq. See the Department of Justice, the FBI, the National Security Agency and the US State Department's counter-terrorism information. The 9-11 Commission was critical of the intelligence services. The Federation of American Scientists' intelligence resource programme analyses intelligence-gathering policies.
Perhaps Mr Tenet was a more appealing scapegoat. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997, and the CIA?s problems under him did not begin on September 11th, 2001. One of its most prominent early fiascos was the complete failure to anticipate nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998. Another came with the targeting of a pharmaceuticals plant in Sudan, which Mr Clinton?s administration bombed in retaliation for al-Qaeda attacks on American embassies in Africa; the CIA had told the president that the factory was making chemical weapons, but that is now widely believed to have been wrong. Then came September 11th. The official commission investigating the attacks sharply criticised the CIA (as well as the FBI and others) for failing to foresee them. And finally, perhaps most dramatically, Mr Tenet told Mr Bush that the case for saying Iraq had WMD was a ?slam dunk?, according to a book by Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.
Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, was confident on Thursday that Mr Tenet was ?taking one for the administration?. She alluded to the alleged misdeeds of Ahmed Chalabi, the former Iraqi exile once favoured by the administration as a possible leader of Iraq after Saddam Hussein. Mr Chalabi now stands accused of passing sensitive intelligence to Iran, and the administration has begun investigating him. But Ms Pelosi?s implicit hint that Mr Tenet?s resignation had something to do with that rings hollow; the CIA was hostile all along to Mr Chalabi, who was known as the Pentagon?s man.
Mr Tenet's departure leaves the CIA shaken at a time when the nation is vulnerable: last month John Ashcroft, the attorney-general, said he had credible information that al-Qaeda was preparing new attacks on the United States over the summer. And Mr Tenet's departure was also quickly followed by that of James Pavitt, the deputy CIA head directly in charge of the agency's spies. This has fuelled talk of an organisation in crisis. Mr Pavitt's exit was spun as a retirement, not a resignation under fire, but it is ?human intelligence?, ie, Mr Pavitt's main responsibility, that is seen as being at the heart of the CIA's recent failings.
The agency's temporary new head will be John McLaughlin, currently the deputy director, who will become acting director in mid-July. Mr McLaughlin's task is unenviable?if no terrorist attacks occur on his watch, the credit is unlikely to go to him. If they do, he will be among the first to be blamed, as Mr Tenet has been.
Mr McLaughlin's tenure may also coincide with a major shake-up of the intelligence services. Numerous proposals have been mooted. Richard Clarke, the former Bush counter-terrorism chief turned fierce critic of the administration, has suggested creating a special domestic intelligence agency, like Britain's MI5. FBI directors past and present have defended their turf, saying merely that their own intelligence capabilities should be better funded. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has backed another suggestion: the creation of a ?director of national intelligence? who would sit above the CIA, FBI, Defence Intelligence Agency and others, to co-ordinate their work and deliver coherent analysis. Mr Tenet himself has criticised such a plan, saying an intelligence boss needs a personal departmental connection to his troops. The September 11th commission will make its own suggestions when it reports in late July.
Recently, the Senate delivered yet another blow to the CIA, a 400-page report on the WMD intelligence before the Iraq war, which showers plenty of criticism on the agency. Some suggest that the report was the last straw for Mr Tenet. Or perhaps he really was shoved out by a calculating administration for one of the reasons above.
Exactly why Mr Tenet stepped down may not become known for some time. But a few things are already clear. Even after he leaves, the mistakes with which he is associated, and which have greatly embarrassed the Bush administration, will not magically disappear. Mr Tenet has been accused of being an eager-to-please operator, seeking the intelligence that his political masters want to hear. But the other side of that equation is an administration that has been portrayed as demanding exactly that from its spies. Mr Kerry has taken advantage. After praising Mr Tenet, he said: ?There is no question, however, that there have been significant intelligence failures, and the administration has to accept responsibility for those failures.? A self-serving swipe, to be sure, but one that will be widely shared even after the departure of the hapless CIA boss.
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The CIA is a scapegoat for the bungle of Iraq, period.
Go to your fave search engine and type in "The Office of Special Plans". You will know why the CIA is being scapegoated and nuetered.
dlowan -- thanks for the c&p from The Economist.
Excerpt from the Economist article:
"George Tenet has resigned as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, citing personal reasons. But speculation is rife that the Bush administration wants to make him a scapegoat for failures in Iraq and elsewhere. Whether he jumped or was pushed, Mr Tenet will not take all the blame with him"
<speculation is rife that the Bush administration wants to make him a scapegoat for failures in Iraq and elsewhere. Really---now why should anyone believe this headline grabbing jerk?????
Mr Tenet will not take all the blame with him. This is not just naive presumptuousness-----it is more headline grabbing crystal ball stuff. When stuff like this is in the first paragraph I stop reading and move on to something more substantial. I thought the economist was better than this.
I expect to see a great deal of Mr Tenet answering questions on both floors of Congress throughout the month of Sept.
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Tenet and Deputy were fired to get the American people to buy the lie that the CIA gave bad intell about Iraq. This is to cover up the bogus intell that The Office of Special Plans sold to the UN, mainly supplied by Chalabi's cons, delivered by bootlicker Powell. The American public will prolly buy into this because the Media is helping BushCo sell this false notion.
dyslexia wrote:I expect to see a great deal of Mr Tenet answering questions on both floors of Congress throughout the month of Sept.
Mr. Tenet probably takes the position that he has answered all the questions that he intends to answer from self serving, partisan jerks that don't deserve to represent a herd of cows let alone citizens of the US. He may be very difficult to find.
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