George Tenet: At The Center Of The Storm

By: Daniel Schorn

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California's second-in-charge tries out Project Glass, but isn't allowed to touch the specs. (Screenshot by Eric Mack / CNET)

But the CIA had something else in mind. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others were swept up in the "high value detainee" program. Secret prisons were set up, and several suspects were questioned under new, so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques," said to include sleep deprivation, extreme cold and water boarding, which causes a severe gag reflex, as water is continuously poured over the face.

"The image that's been portrayed is, we sat around the campfire and said, 'Oh, boy, now we go get to torture people.' Well, we don't torture people. Let me say that again to you. We don't torture people. Okay?" Tenet says.

"Come on, George," Pelley says.

"We don't torture people," Tenet maintains.

"Khalid Sheikh Mohammad?" Pelley asks.

"We don't torture people," Tenet says.

"Water boarding?" Pelley asks.

"We do not – I don't talk about techniques," Tenet replies.

"It's torture," Pelley says.

"And we don't torture people. Now, listen to me. Now, listen to me. I want you to listen to me," Tenet says. "The context is it's post-9/11. I've got reports of nuclear weapons in New York City, apartment buildings that are gonna be blown up, planes that are gonna fly into airports all over again. Plot lines that I don't know – I don't know what's going on inside the United States. And I'm struggling to find out where the next disaster is going to occur. Everybody forgets one central context of what we lived through. The palpable fear that we felt on the basis of the fact that there was so much we did not know."

"I know that this program has saved lives. I know we've disrupted plots," Tenet says.

"But what you're essentially saying is some people need to be tortured," Pelley remarks.

"No, I did not say that. I did not say that," Tenet says.

"You're telling me that… the enhanced interrogation…" Pelley says.

"I did not say that. I did not say that. We do not tor…. Listen to me. You're, you're making…," Tenet says.

"You call it in the book, 'enhanced interrogation,'" Pelley remarks.

"…an assumption. Well, that's what we call it," Tenet says.

"And that's a euphemism," Pelley says.

"I'm not having a semantic debate with you. I'm telling you what I believe," Tenet says.

Asked if anyone ever died in the interrogation program, Tenet says, "No."

Asked if he's sure of that, the former director tells Pelley, "Yeah. In this program that you and I are talking about? No."

"Have you ever seen any of these interrogations done?" Pelley asks.

"No," Tenet replies.

"Didn't you feel like it was your responsibility to know what's going on?" Pelley asks.

"I understood. I'm not a voyeur. I understand what I was signing off on," Tenet says.

Asked if he lost any sleep over it, Tenet tells Pelley, "Yeah, of course you do! Of course you lose sleep over it. You're on new territory. But that's not the point! What's this tension? The tension is, 'I've just lived through 3,000 people dying. This is not a clinical exercise.' Maybe for you guys it's a clinical exercise. Not for me! 3,000 people died. Friends died. Now I'm gonna sit back, and then everybody says, 'You idiots don't know how to connect the dots. You don't have imagination. You were unwilling to take risk to protect this country,'" Tenet says.

"Let me ask the question this way: why were enhanced interrogation techniques necessary?" Pelley asks.

"'Cause these are people that will never, ever, ever tell you a thing. These are people who know who's responsible for the next terrorist attack. These are hardened people that would kill you and me 30 seconds after they got out of wherever they were being held and wouldn't blink an eyelash," Tenet says. "You can sit there after, you can sit there five years later, and have this debate with me, all I'm asking you to do, walk a mile in my shoes when I'm dealing with these realities."

Tenet says the interrogations uncovered networks and broke up plots in the U.S.

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by bapriddy May 3, 2007 9:07 PM EDT: Let's find someone else to blame. How about Saddam? Anyone remember March 16, 1988. This was the day Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists. On March 16, 1988 Iraqi troops, on orders from Saddam to stop a Kurdish uprising, attacked the Kurdish town of Halabjah with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents killing 5,000 people, mostly women and children.

Do you think that between August 1990 and March 2003 Sadaam might have disposed of these weapons? Maybe "our" problem is that "we" don't think at all. Of course the CIA thought he had WMD because he did have them and used them.; Reply to this comment


by bapriddy May 3, 2007 4:24 PM EDT: Lets find someone else to blame. How about Saddam? Anyone remember March 16, 1988. This was the day Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists. On March 16, 1988 Iraqi troops, on orders from Saddam to stop a Kurdish uprising, attacked the Kurdish town of Halabjah with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents killing 5,000 people, mostly women and children.

Do you think that between September 1990 and March 2001 Sadaam might have disposed of these weapons? Maybe "our" problem is that "we" don't think at all. Of course the CIA thought he had WMD because he did have them and used them.; Reply to this comment


by glxyent May 3, 2007 5:46 AM EDT: Truth is an entity that defies permanent suppression no matter the guile of the perpetrator. Bit by bit, the truth shall be told about the sinister tale that is the Iraq war.

George Tenet is not the first nor will he be the last to unscroll the mighty plot to invade, occupy and control the political and economic landscape of the Middle East. Never mind the rhetoric about the spread of democracy among the region's unwilling converts.

When all the pieces come together, America will realize that while asleep with apathy, the country has been high jacked and is being held hostage by neo-cons who are slowly bleeding the country to death.

Don't intimidate nor silent the man, George Tenet that is. Please, let him speak because the nation is yearning for the truth. Next, enter Colin Powel and so on and so forth till lastly, Mr. President. Did I hear impeachment?

Wordtodawise; Reply to this comment


by mosoj-2009 May 2, 2007 4:53 PM EDT: As the wheels of the war lies are falling off Mr. Tenet seeks to distance himself from this tragic page of world history; it is just another sample of his self serving attitude that he chooses to speak now, an hour late and a penny short. One can't help it but think that if the course of events would not not have ended unmasking the real murky background of the US plunge into a senseless war, Mr. Tenet would have elected to remain mum. Where was his demouncing spirit at the time when it would have really counted....at the moment when an effort was needed to avert this catastrophic mistake....at the time when his duty was to stand for reason and not calculation...? And, where does this sudden desire to level with history come from...? Where was it when he accepted the prize for his sheepishness as Bush hang a medal around his neck...? When real men make mistakes they live with them and save whatever dignity they have left and remain silent; loosers try to justify themselves and, if possible, to make a profit in the process. Shame on you, George Tenet...!!!; Reply to this comment


by leon0001-2009 May 2, 2007 1:30 PM EDT: I think this story was great at least one person is being honest and is taking blame for his part thats more than I see the others doing mobody wants to admits they are wrong or they make mistakes I did not like the way the guy did the interview he was not very professional; Reply to this comment


by zosorubberso May 1, 2007 11:53 PM EDT: i,ve seen the interveiw and george tenet just seems to get arrogant every time he speaks.; Reply to this comment


by soldierdeath May 1, 2007 11:01 PM EDT: An editor may be skilled in his/her ability to dissect writings of an author in an effort to capture audiences that are abstract in its thinking on certain issues; however, any publisher will be hard pressed in finding one (editor) skilled enough to exploit the fact that Mr. Tenet should be jailed along side that of Mr. Bush, Chaney, and the late Sec. Def. for the thoughtless and careless perpetrators of loss of the lives of loyal patrons unto the American way of life and its people (Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors).

OEF/OIF Veteran %u2013 Proudly Serving Our America!!!; Reply to this comment


by cyesq May 1, 2007 5:44 PM EDT: George Tenent should have been fired on September 12, 2001. Leaving him as the head of the CIA was a slap in the face of all Americans. He failed at his job. His agency failed to protect America. It was a public embarrassment to allow him to keep his job as the Twin Towers burned. Now he takes the high road in an effort to clear his name and make us believe that he was not responsible for what happened on his watch. At this point, he sounds very much like Bart Simpson, "Ieeee didn't do it."; Reply to this comment


by t30231 May 1, 2007 5:30 PM EDT: Then another interesting observation is this. I know Bush Jr is suppose to be educated, but he does not act as if he is. First of all when you compare his ability to speak like most Presidents we have had in the past, he appears unable to do so. He stutters around, repeats things over and over as if he can't think for himself. He also has this bully attitude with the nations and other countries and their leaders, unwilling to talk and he was not selected by popular people paper vote. He was selected in by machine manipulated votes. Like as if he was placed in that position because he lacks to some degree any appearace of education. It's as if he was a puppet whom would be the perfect fit to get a lot over on without him being intellegent enough to see through it. He just followed orders coming from another voice or voices.

it's just odd to me.; Reply to this comment


by t30231 May 1, 2007 4:21 PM EDT: The only thing I get out of this guy is that he doesn't want to be held responsible for a failed Iraq policy. Well what the heck is worried about that for?! It isn't his job to declare war! Its the President's!

I think they knew exactly what would happen in Iraq. All the carnage? All the instability with Saddam Hussein gone? THEY KNEW IT! And they did it anyway. Because the wanted the war on terror off american soil.
Posted by booyaw_77 at 01:10 AM : May 01, 2007
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They did it anyway because the longer we are at war in a different country and they have financial ties, the money will continue to roll in. Plus you have to look at it this way too. In order to get PNAC and Agenda 21 to work you will need to bleed the Nation of it's funding. That fits the remark that Bin Laden made about attacking us through our infastructures. If we blled out all out money, destroy the middle class and infiltrate it with forgeiners, causing problems with immagration issues, you have a thrid world country. There will be rich/poor and our society will be dumbed down by this no child left behind law; where they teach classes such as math over their head, rush them through and then make the Taks tests so easy they pass. Moving an uneducated student to a higher grade.; Reply to this comment