This morming George Tenet was interviewed by Tim Russert on Meet The Press. In that interview Tenet said repeatedly that although he had opportunities to counter false data or skewed interpretation he did nothing to stop it.
"I should not have allowed my silence to imply acquaissance" with the information that was being disseminated.
Tim Russert pointed out various times Tenet's sins of ommission, by not speaking up to the President & Vice-President, led them and the American people astray. In each instance he admitted that he did not correct the President and he did not establish the truth because he was unaware of what the President said. However, the truth is. as Russert pointed out, he or his office approved every fact in every speech and every position the White House took in every speech during his tenure. Tenet's silence or lack of correction of the facts is not just a sin of ommission, it is in fact lying to the American People!
What gets me angrier, if that's possible, is that in one breath he charges that the Bush Administration was gung ho in going to war in Iraq in one breath, while in another he admits all the intelligence was flawed and he kept his silence. So which is it Tenet? What is the truth? Or perhaps the truth is that you're incapable of telling the truth! And since you're incapable of telling the truth it means you're incapable of recognizing the truth as presented by the French, the British and Italian intelligence agencies!!!
What I see now is a man backpeddling over intelligence where he either repeatedly lied or failed to provide evidence to the White House staff of exactly what was going on prior to 9/11. Tenet should never have been allowed to remain in office as long as he did.
Each time Russert confronted Tenet with key statements in his book, Russert showed that Tenet lied in those passages. His explanation... he either didn't know or he never read the speech or press reports on what the White House said or reported.
THIS MAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CREDIBILITY OF OUR LEADERS AND OF OUR COUNTRY BEING TARNISHED BEFORE THE WORLD STAGE TIME AND AGAIN. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LYING REPEATEDLY THROUGH OMMISSION DURING CONGRESSIONAL AND SENATE HEARINGS. HIS RESPONSE - "I MADE A MISTAKE" IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.
In retrospect, Tenet admission that by August 2001, "we weren't giving the President more intelligence, and more of the types of information he needed" to make the correct assessment on the impending Al Qaeda attack is enfuriating.
Tim Russert did an exceptional job at pointing out each time he lied at important moments in history and in his book and though I'm grateful, I still believe Tenet's failures are border on treason.
To say that I'm angry, is to say very little. I have always believed that the intelligence failures and the cuts in funding to the CIA in the 90's caused the deaths of 9/11. Tenet's (gov't lacky) attitude failed us through out his term, but especially when he relied and gave inexperienced operatives and individuals like Valerie Plame and her husband the opportunity to obtain intelligence.
Tenet is right in one thing - when you don't get the right type of intelligence, you're at risk. He still believes we as a nation are at risk; so do I. Folks, that's the ony thing he and I will ever agree on.
Posted by Michele at May 6, 2007 09:55 AMYou are entirely right! I have followed our intelligence community since the February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and found it totally lacking. The United States began in the late 1980’s to depend on technological intelligence moving further and further away from on the ground Human Intelligence (HT) even to the point of discounting much HI information. Tenet’s book is as much an indictment of Tenet as it is the entire United States intelligence community.
Posted by: Edd at May 6, 2007 04:36 PMIt must have been pretty bad if even Russert was on his case.
Posted by: Cappy at May 6, 2007 07:48 PM