George Tenant should come out with his reasons why he thinks we went into Iraq. I am sure he knows it was for oil. He is pulling a Wolf Blitzer here, not getting to the root of the matter and getting run over just like Wolf got run over by Cheney.

It is time these guys stand up!

http://pub35.bravenet.com/forum/2973085091/show/622636

I really don't care. If Tenet wants to appologize for his role in this fiasco and return the trinket that Bush gave him, that is entirely up to him.

Tenet should keep his Medal - it was really for service dating before Bush, and in fact the sheer aggravation factor of putting up with Bush and Cheney should get him the Oak Leaf Cluster to go along with it. Powell should get one too, and a Purple Heart for the reaction after his U.N. speech, when he "took one" for the team.

I have something in mind for Cheney; but I doubt that you'd call it a "medal".

The old saying .... Lie down with dogs, and you get fleas. Tenet clearly became the scapegoat for doing what Bush asked him to do.

It's very clear to me (and no doubt others) that when Bush wants your opinion, first he TELLS you what it's going to be.

The real shame in all of this is that Bush misused our patriotic instincts post-9/11 to pursue a truly disconnected agenda in Iraq, based on his own feelings about Saddam - and in effect, told us a lie. Cheney, having no shame and a bloated ego, continues to lie. His latest is stating that the Iraq Study Group report 'justified the surge'.

Hamilton of the ISG clearly stated that the report was a 'collective' group of actions, NOT to be cherry-picked amongst. That makes Cheney a liar, if not in words, then in intent, and the Dem's should charge him and drag him into Congress to explain himself.

Not only will this administration let him keep his medal, they're probably planning to give out more medals to the likes of Gonzo, Scooter, Wolfie and "heckova job" Brownie.

After invasion of Iraq, I myself call Mr. George Tenet, a slam dunk director of Central Unintelligent Agency due to the fact Iraq had no such weapons. In addition, Mr. Tenet choose to keep his mouth shut and reveived a slam dunk medal through his throat by President George W. Bush. Then he got two negative slam dunks attached to his name. If he does not forceful to reclaim his good name, good reputation, then history would be on my side. Certainly, he is a slam dunk director of Central Unintelligent Agency. One of co-defendants of Bush administration in the world history book. You need to clear your name, and do it now Mr. George Tenet.

So Tenet is saying that every time Cheney and the President say Tenet said 'slam dunk', they're lying to the American people. Thank goodness it's about a war and not sex!

Tenet should return his Medal. It is the only way to reclaim even the slightest degree of dignity. His failure to do so will make his book look like retaliation for hurt feelings and still leave him culpable for his part the deception.

So Tenent got used .Why wait 2 years to speak out.I guess he had to waite for the book deal.He did Bush and Cheneys dirty work,and they used him.Suck it up Tenent,they gave you a chance to make a few bucks.

Mr. Tenet needs to come clean and clear his name and the only way to do that is to tell the American people all he can on the intelligence that led us rush into a war with Iraq who was no immediate threat to the United States at that time. Just look at the cost of this war in dollars and in lives Mr. Tenet was all the scare tatics used by President Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and yourself worth it? Shouldn't we have gone after Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan instead of after his enemies in Iraq?
Your exit from the C.I.A. showed me you are a quitter and don't deserve any medal until you come clean, then and only then you may clear your name.

So what did he really mean by "slam dunk" then? I think the thing Tenet is upset about is that Bob Woodward reported what he said and not anything else.

I'd love him to return the medal. He was a huge part of the global intelligence failure that led to this war. I never understood why he deserved any medal in the first place.

People are dying. American troops and Iraq people. They are dying by the thousands while medals are being handed out and dinners given. Frankly it seems that no one cares. Debates go on, hearings are held, and into a limbo of American politics goes the fact that people are dying. We have failed; not the leaders, not George Tenet, not the Congress, not the President. We the American people have failed. We took on a task of changing the regime under which the people of Iraq lived and have not lived up to our responsibility of making sure that the most fundamental of rights, the right to life, is secure.
We, the American people, will not be taxed, will not be drafted, will not sacrifice a single minute of American Idol, to make the possibility of life better for the sacrifice of our troops and the Iraq people. As a people we just don't care.
And that is the true American tragedy.

He should return the medal of honor. Watching this administration dissolve is scary, watching the self-serving enablers scurry away is disgusting. The real medal of honor winners should be those that challenged the Bushies and got fired, slimed and harrassed for being right.

Not only will this administration let him keep his medal, they're probably planning to give out more medals to the likes of Gonzo, Scooter, Wolfie and "heckova job" Brownie.

Posted by: Former Rightist | Apr 27, 2007 1:29:46 PM

Hey John E./Chimpy McFlightsuit/Seig Hiel
Another new monicker for you ... Gee I never would of known, your very clever Johnny E. Now get back to your post and keep an eye out for boogeyman.

A not-very-impressive performance by Mr. Tenet.

Contrary to Tenet, no one in the Bush camp has claimed or implied that Tenet alone, Tenet's "slam dunk" comment alone, or even WMDs alone, were the sole reason to go to war. His absurd interpretation is an attempt to get on the "good side" of history with those who oppose the war--an act of contrition that will get him invited to talk shows, get him free publicity in the "Swamp", and guarantee good reviews for the book he's trying to flog.

I wish he could have stood up and said something at the ceremony when he received it, but no.
I wish Powell had also shown a spine and resigned in protest.
But alas, it was not to be.
These guys all serve loyally to the end, then verify what everyone suspected all along.

Paul,
Well, actually, it looks like Tenet was lying for Cheney when he said it.

Mr. Tenet deserves more medals, having to contend with 25% cuts to the CIA's Bin-Laden task force every budgetary cycle. I heard where Mr. Tenet had to go to Speaker of the House Gingrich to get supplementary money for the project. Yes sir, the Dems' are the people you want in '08, looks like it's back to serving these head choppers with arrest warrants again. That will make them throw the towel in. Me thinks Catherine is really a Tribune spy !!

Medals, it should be understood, are time sensitive and go bad over time. They gave medals for fighting Germans, enjoy your Bimmer. also for fighting the Japanese, ditto your Honda. Not to mention Viet Nam and *Communist* China. If you live long enough you see the same thing with flags, national emblems, and the like. Better to say that was a good guy, and leave it at that. Wars do come and go.

It's a bigger issue than returning the Medal of Freedom. Considering on whom Bush has bestowed the Medal (Tenet, Paul Bremmer), the Medal has been cheapened.

So what did he really mean by "slam dunk" then?

Posted by: Jeff | Apr 27, 2007 2:53:41 PM

SUPPOSEDLY, the "slam dunk" referred to SELLING THE PUBLIC on a need for going to war, not on the evidence in favor of an invasion.

I feel insulted, either way.

B-b-b-but Clinton had sex with an intern! A-a-and he committed our troops to Kosovo!

I will watch Mr. Tenet this Sunday on 60 Minutes and see how he justifies his actions. But given what I have already read about what he is going to say, I doubt I will come away with any respect for him. If he was really concerned about the misuse of his intelligence briefings he had a duty to speak up 4 years ago. But he decides to do so now, when, by sheer coincidence I am sure, he has a book to sell.

And hell yes, he should return that medal.

Tenet cannot return the medal.

The White House would accuse him of "demoralizing the troops" by returning a medal given by the CIC. Remember Kerry, and giving back medals after Vietnam.

They'd probably say he's "emboldening the enemy" as well ... as if people who've been fighting for 1300 years need encouragement.

Remember Cheney's meeting with the energy industry leaders way back when ... do you really believe these guys thought the Iraq war would result in a democratic state or that Iraq was a source of terrorism ... what they knew for sure was that they and their croneys in the energy industry where positioned to become rich beyond their wildest dreams. Guess who has reaped the 100s of billions of dollars of wind fall profits from seventy dollar oil. The price of which is driven by energy speculators purseptions of unstable supply. Follow the money if you are interested finding the truth. Discover the biggist heist in the history of the world. Money stolen from each and every US citizen, man, woman and child. Two hundred and thirty million Amercan victims. Talk about organized crime. These guys are so cold they are willing to sacrifice the lives of brave men and women in our military not to mention the collateral death and injury that ranks in the hubdreds of thousands. When will the guys who have special constitional protection to be truth seekers stand up. The truth is near ... if it where a snake you'd be dead. Or are you already.

Of course not. Throw it over Chain Bridge into
the Potomac River, near CIA Hdqrs.
Ditto incompetent Generals Franks and Myers,
and other Cheney-Bush political operative puffers.

DonB,

I think with all his new posting names,JohnE.is getting ready to call it quits in Iraq.Must have been too tuff posting by the hot water heater in his mommy's basement.
Those spider webs are torture!

Paulo

He should return the Medal Of Honor. Not because of whether or not he deserved it, but because George W. Bush is not honorable enough to bestow such medals on anyone. He should be impeached.

George Tenet was not smart enough to be head of the CIA and both Clinton and Bush Jr. erred in appointing him to run that institution. His skills were in apple-polishing not in intelligence. Thus, although he certainly was not the only person responsible for the war, his lack of brains and self-awareness did contribute to our country's entry into this disastrous war.

"You don't throw people overboard."

G Tenet

Clearly Tenet was not qualified to be the CIA director.

If, with all his access to information, he was not atuned to the Bush modus operandi, then he clearly was incapable of diciphering the intricacies of international terrorism.

"Don't throw people overboard"? That's exactly what these people were about from day one. ...Use you like a tissue and then toss you into the waves of worshippers, desperate for "victory" at any cost.

Contrary to Tenet, no one in the Bush camp has claimed or implied that Tenet alone, Tenet's "slam dunk" comment alone, or even WMDs alone, were the sole reason to go to war.
Posted by: Inconvenient Truther | Apr 27, 2007 3:

But it was the only reason that would get the support of the American people. This country would not have backed his desire to invade Iraq if they couldn't put a little fear in the mix. No way in hell would the American people have supported a regime change or any of the other nonsense they came up with unless they could provide a threat to us.

Trust was broken.

G Tenet

The trust was broken when Tenet told the president "slam dunk" and not "three pointer" or "half court shot."

For Tenet to claim his quote was taken out of context (how the hell else can you interpret "slam dunk"?) is a joke.

Gary Anderson has it right. Tenent needs to say, "This is why I said 'slam dunk.' This is what it meant. This is why I encouraged the president to invade Iraq. We just didn't realize we were a bunch of plumbers trying to do an electrician's job. We had no idea what kind of problems would ensue. That's why we all got zapped!"

He's already said publicly he regrets getting it.

He should go all the way now, and throw it over the White House wall and tell Bush, Cheney and Condi to stick it where the sun don't shine.

I like spies!!!!

tie me up!! tie me up!!!!! tie me up!!!

I tell no secrets!!!!

Paulo

Paulo,

You should hook up with Andy... er, I mean, "Ann" Coulter.

Actually, as the leftie NY Times (usually one of Frank james' favorite sources) has reported, Tenet has already admitted to at least one error in his book, and anotehr key account is conradicted by Tenet's own writings:

"Mr. Tenet also directs scorn at the Pentagon intelligence analyses by Douglas J. Feith, then undersecretary of defense for policy. He describes his fury in August 2002 as he watched a slide show by Mr. Feith’s staff at C.I.A. headquarters suggesting “a mature, symbiotic relationship” between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

He said C.I.A. officers came to call such reports, in a play on words, “Feith-based analysis.” In an interview on Friday, Mr. Feith said Mr. Tenet’s account distorts the facts of the Pentagon effort and obscures Mr. Tenet’s own public statements before the war. Mr. Feith noted that Mr. Tenet, in October 2002, sent the Senate intelligence committee a letter that said, “We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda going back a decade.” Mr. Tenet describes Tina Shelton, who presented part of the Feith slide show at the C.I.A. in 2002, as a “naval reservist” and quotes her as saying in introductory remarks, “It is an open-and-shut case.”

But Ms. Shelton said Friday she was never a Navy reservist and never said such a thing. She was a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst for 22 years before retiring in October, she said.

Bill Harlow, Mr. Tenet’s spokesman and co-author, said they apologized for misidentifying Ms. Shelton’s job. No one transcribed the meeting, Mr. Harlow said, but Mr. Tenet remembered her remarks as he describes them."

Any guesses why Frank James omitted this from his article?

Re: "But Ms. Shelton said Friday she was never a Navy reservist and never said such a thing. She was a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst for 22 years before retiring in October, she said."

----------

To paraphrase Mae West, "Is that all you've got?".

Bush makes bigger errors every time he opens his mouth. Cheney said that the "surge" was recommended by the Iraq Study Group, completely bypassing Hamilton's statement that the 79 or so "recommendations" were meant to be taken "inclusively"; not cherry-picked.

Put the tweezers away, and use your brain, biased as it might be. If the Bushies actually THOUGH about the outcome of their policies, before committing to a totally mistaken course of action, we'd all be better off.

Tenet should give his to Paul Bremer if he doesn't want it. One medal of freedom isn't enough to cover all of Bremer's achievements with the CPA:

- Disbanding the Iraqi army, creating a huge recruiting pool of jobless men with military training for the insurgency.
- Firing most of the Baath party people who managed the majority of Iraq's government and industry, creating more chaos and another group with a grudge against the US occupation.
- Shutting state-run industries as part of the plan to move Iraq to a free-market economy which alienated more of Iraq's middle class.
- Misplacing 10 billion dollars.

Since Bush turned the medal of freedom into a booby prize, no one has deserved it more than Bremer. He was a key factor in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq.

WOW !!!

Mr. Tenet should of listened to his speech at Georgetown in 2004 before writing his book, he wouldn't sound soooo duplicitous now.

Anotehr lie in George Tenet's book, courtesy of the New York Times and the Weekly Standard:

"According to Michiko Kakutani's review in Saturday's Times,

"On the day after 9/11, he [Tenet] adds, he ran into Richard Perle, a leading neoconservative and the head of the Defense Policy Board, coming out of the White House. He says Mr. Perle turned to him and said: "Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday. They bear responsibility."

Here's the problem: Richard Perle was in France on that day, unable to fly back after September 11. In fact Perle did not return to the United State until September 15. Did Tenet perhaps merely get the date of this encounter wrong? Well, the quote Tenet ascribes to Perle hinges on the encounter taking place September 12: "Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday." And Perle in any case categorically denies to THE WEEKLY STANDARD ever having said any such thing to Tenet, while coming out of the White House or anywhere else."

"Did Tenet perhaps merely get the date of this encounter wrong?"

Bruce

That's as good an explanation as any coming out of the White House for all of the misdeeds and misquotes over the past 6 years.

I saw it on TV.

-Fogherty

Bruce is correct.

Tenent admitted he may have gotten the dates wrong. In which case, it's pretty stupid to start out a major work of art with such a glaring error.

It proves once again that the man was unqualified for the job. Facts. That should be the focus of a CIA chief.