While I don’t much care for tell-alls from people who didn’t do all when in office …
Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 8:51AM COLUMN: “George’s tenets: The former CIA director’s book has been rightly slated. It is worth reading nonetheless,” by Lexington, The Economist, 5 May 2007, p. 42.
BOOK EXCERPT: “'A Slow-Motion Car Crash': Spy boss George Tenet has received his share of the blame for Iraq. His new book makes the case that others on the Bush team should too” by Michael Duffy, Time, 14 May 2007, p. 40.
Actually, blaming Tenet on Iraq is childish. Bush didn’t go into Iraq looking for WMD and he didn’t particularly sell the invasion on that point and the American public didn’t particularly buy it on that point.
No one cares about WMD until the insurgency springs into action and casualties start pilling up. Then, all of a sudden, WMD is EVERYTHING.
Tenet and the CIA got that wrong. Big surprise.
But Tenet didn’t botch the planning for the postwar, nor did he run it. He’s a minor figure, really, in that whole drama.
No botched postwar and nobody gives a damn about WMD. Instead, we’re all rightfully proud about toppling a horrific dictator and liberating a people--three actually.
Where Tenet’s book is worth reading is exactly on everything except “slam dunk,” like the fact that no one every seemed to seriously discuss or argue through what comes after capturing and/or killing Saddam. And that Bremer kept the CIA in the dark on both disbanding the army and de-Baathing the government. Or that Rice basically abdicated her honest broker role in the NSC, a point nobody bothered to raise in her SECSTATE confirmation hearings (ah, but there’s so much to admire in her “grit and grace” that her stunning incompetency in her previous job need not have been examined. I mean, it’s not her fault the interagency process didn’t wo . . . wait a minute, it’s exactly her fault.). Or how “nobody wanted to give Bremer specific marching orders” and that “Rice felt she could not order changes.” Or how everyone fell in love with Chalabi and let him call way too many of the big shots by proxy.
The last bit provides a stunning example of Condi’s non-role:
“What the hell is going on with Chalabi?” the President asked me at a White House meeting that spring. “Is he working for you?” [Senior CIA officer] Rob Richer, who was with me at the meeting, piped up, “No, sir, I believe he is working for DOD.” All eyes shifted to Don Rumsfeld. “I’ll have to check what his status is,” Rumsfeld said. His Under Secretary for Intelligence, Steve Cambone, sat there mute. “I don’t think he ought to be working for us,” the President dryly observed.
A few weeks later the President again raised the issue. “What’s up with Chalabi?” he asked. Paul Wolfowitz said, “Chalabi has a relationship with DIA and is providing information that is saving American lives. CIA can confirm that.” The President turned to us. “I know of no such information, Mr. President,” Mr. Richer said. The President looked to Condi Rice and said, “I want Chalabi off the payroll.”
At a subsequent meeting, chaired by Rice, DIA confirmed that they were paying the [Iraqi National Congress] $350,000 a month for its services in Baghdad. We knew that the INC’s armed militia had seized tens of thousands of Saddam regime documents and was slowly doling them out to the U.S. government. Beyond that it was unclear to me what the Pentagon was getting for its money. Somehow the President’s direction to pull the plug on the arrangement continued to be ignored.
Paging Dr. Kissinger! Could Rice have been more of a doormat?
I don’t know what’s sadder: Bush having to figure this out on his own and then telling Rice to finally do something about it or Rice not being able to follow his direct order--or the American people having to wait for Tenet’s tell-all to find out.
Tenet was clearly, in the words of the Economist, a total “time server.”
Problem is, so is Rice.
Following Powell’s empty-suit performance prior, this has been the worst pair of SECSTATES in a row in my lifetime.
Reader Comments (3)
Maybe the contempory business principles taught in business schools these days don't really seem to apply to governments, but are being applied nonetheless.
Just a thought
vinny
In other words his decision making process was always about how he could make himself look better to his superiors. He cared little about whether the solution was good for the Navy or national defense. I subsequently came to see that there were many officers who thought like him........very self serving and politically oriented. Not the best way to make decisions about military matters IMO.
There is no question George Tenet more than failed as an American, as Director of the C.I.A. and as a man. His willful breach of his responsibilities as Director is at the very least shameful and disgraceful. More directly, criminal. By making a conscious decision and taking deliberate steps to “go along to get along” with the Bush/Cheney plan to lie to the world regarding Iraq’s WMD program, the links between Sadaam Houssein and Al Queida, and much more, Mr. Tenet has betrayed us all.
George Tenet:
You are fully aware of the importance of HUMINT to any Nation’s National Security. Additionally, you are aware of how painstaking , frustrating, and dangerous fieldwork is. Developing effective relationships requires highly skilled, dedicated, and very responsible people on both sides of every bridge irrespective of the Countries involved. You simply sold us all out. The fact you were threatened to go along or else is no excuse. Consider the careers and efforts of all the analysts, supervisors and other personnel that did the best they could to resist the Criminally Maniacal Frenzy with which Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others have bullied their way to a baseless war with IRAQ for power and personal monetary gain just to start with. Face the facts – you are a thief, you are a coward, a proven risk to our National Security, and you tarnished the office of Director of Central Intelligence. Moreover negatively impacting the integrity, faith and confidence the world intelligence community previously placed in the office of the Director of the C.I.A. Hence essentially abrogating an important asset once available to all field personnel, more significantly to anyone working on a critically sensitive matter. Mr. Tenet you made your own decision to stand with and be part of a group of “Men Without Honor”. You all have gone way too far. I am confident you will all be held accountable.
You and all others involved in this “Treasonous Scheme” have the blood of more than 3,750 dead U.S. Military Personnel, more than 26,000 wounded United States Military Personnel. American sons, daughters, moms and dads. Additionally, the blood of several hundred thousand Iraqis. Our country has yet to realize the psychological effects this will have on Military Personnel fighting in Iraq. You have debased the United States and everything it stands for. Shame on you.
Mr. Tenet it is abundantly clear that you are looking for cover and will find nowhere to hide, in what amounts to an ill-fated exit strategy. You have faced off with everyone in the Intelligence sector in a fight over not only our Professionalism, our National Integrity and National Pride but also our Personal Integrity and Personal Pride as well. Accept the obvious. You state that you value your reputation. Actions mean something, your words mean nothing. Your only chance to redeem any morsel of dignity or self respect is to submit your personal request to the F.B.I. for an immediate appointment so the Bureau can fully debrief you regarding all crimes you may have played a role in, also the identities and details of all who committed any other criminal acts you have knowledge of, including a particular Country Club on Long Island where you have had meetings, again the identities of all attendees and the nature of those meetings. Next the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence so that the process to properly assess the damage done to our National Security can begin. On one particular trip in1999 I landed in Eastern Europe and was picked up by my contact; his driver proceeded to take us to a pre-agreed location for an early dinner meeting. I realized within minutes we were heading in the wrong direction. My contact then told me they knew what I wanted. The contact told me what it was. They were specifically correct. I had been intentionally compromised. Not a good situ. Due to the relationship being very mature and reliably effective for all concerned, I am still here. I learned how I may have been compromised that day and qualified the information over the next several months. Of further insult, some people tried to convince me that the F.B.I. was responsible for the compromise. Who could they be? You do know, George, I know you do.
I strongly suggest that you come forth with all of the information you are aware of regarding the damage that has been done to our National Security by you and others. If you have any sense of what is right left in you, that is. Perhaps you should start with why you resigned so abruptly in June of 2004. Coincidentally, it was at about this time that I was briefed on a potential deal between Rudolph Giuliani and President Bush, which included appointing Bernard Kerik as Head of Homeland Security. You were amongst us who knew that the destruction that would come of that simply could not be tolerated. You also knew why.
By the way, how is it that you were a Clinton install, and President Bush kept you on – what was the nature of this phenomenon? It is essential you step forward and brief the FBI on the multinational Matrix project.
Appalled,Larry Ray