George Tenet: At The Center Of The Storm

Former CIA Director Breaks His Silence

(CBS)  (Editor's Note: In his book, "At the Center of the Storm," and on Sunday's broadcast of 60 Minutes, George Tenet said he encountered Pentagon advisor Richard Perle outside the White House on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the 9/11 attacks. Perle disputes Tenet's account, saying the encounter never happened because he was stranded in France that day, and was not able to return to the country until September 15. George Tenet told Tom Brokaw Monday, April 30, 2007, "I may have been off by a couple of days," but says the conversation did happen.)

As director of the CIA, George Tenet has kept America's most important secrets. And until now, his lips were sealed.

Tenet's CIA has been blamed for failing to stop 9/11, praised for the fall of the Taliban, and vilified for predicting that Iraq held chemical and biological weapons.

Now, three years after leaving the CIA, Tenet has written a book, aptly named, "At the Center of the Storm." This month, correspondent Scott Pelley sat down with Tenet. 60 Minutes wanted to know how he got "weapons of mass destruction" wrong. Are we using torture in the war on terror? And who was it at the White House who finally put the knife in his back?

60 Minutes found him passionate, combative, apologetic, defiant, and fiercely loyal to the people of the CIA and their fight against terrorism.

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"People don't understand us, you know, they think we're a bunch of faceless bureaucrats with no feelings, no families, no sense of what it’s like to be passionate about running these bastards down. There was nobody else in this government that felt what we felt before or after 9/11. Of course, after 9/11, everybody had that feeling. Nobody felt like we felt on that day. This was personal," Tenet tells Pelley.

His story erupts after a silence of three years. 60 Minutes spoke with Tenet at Georgetown University.

In a sense, his career began and ended there. He's a professor now, but he first came as a student from Queens, New York. After college, he worked on Capitol Hill and in the Clinton White House, rising to lead the CIA at the age of 44. Tenet served seven years, all that time hunting Osama bin Laden.

"I still lie awake at night thinking about everything that could have been, that wasn’t done to stop 9/11. To the 9/11 families, I said, you deserve better from your entire government. All of us," Tenet says.

If he lies awake, men like Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar, two of the 9/11 hijackers, are among the reasons. Before 9/11, Tenet’s CIA headquarters knew that they were al Qaeda and in America. But the information was filed, not passed to the FBI.

"Two of the 19 hijackers, in your files, in Langley, Virginia, a year and a half before 9/11 … they don't get on a watch list. They don't get on a no-fly list. You know these are bad guys," Pelley remarks.

"Scott, they don't. And honest people doing honest work, for whatever you know, all of these people who are doing the best that they can, and understand this in great granularity, understand all of this and feel this pain, we all know this. I can't dress this up for you," Tenet replies.

What happened?

"People were inundated with data and operations. And they missed it," Tenet acknowledges. "We're not trying to intentionally withhold—human beings made mistakes."

But the 9/11 Commission accused Tenet’s CIA of being bureaucratic and failing to recognize al Qaeda for the threat that it was.

"All these commissions, and all these reports never got underneath the feeling of my people. You know, to see us written about as if we're idiots. Or if we didn't understand this threat. As if we didn't understand what happened on that day. To impugn our integrity, our operational savvy. You know, the American people need to know that's just not so," Tenet says. "We're the ones that stand up and tell you the truth about when we're wrong. It's a great thing about this government. The only people that ever stand up and tell the truth are who? Intelligence officers. Because our culture is, never break faith with the truth. We'll tell you, you don't have to drag it out of us. You didn't have to serve me a subpoena to tell me I didn't watch list Hazmi and Midhar. We knew right away; and we told everybody. Truth matters to us."

[bapriddy]

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.

[bapriddy]

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.

[glxyent]

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

[mosoj-2009]

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...!!!

[leon0001-2009]

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

[zosorubberso]

i,ve seen the interveiw and george tenet just seems to get arrogant every time he speaks.

[soldierdeath]

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!!!

[cyesq]

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."

[t30231]

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.

[t30231]

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.

[t30231]

Chaney's Haliburton had a huge oil contract with Iraq I believe it was back in 1999 that fell right through the loop holes once Saddam began selling oil for another currency during the food for oil trade. So a lot of money went down the drain for Chaney Haliburton before 911 even occurred. Voices say there was a alot of anamosity over a contract that never matured. If I remember right it was like 200 million dollar contract. It was a huge contract that fell through.

[genghis1025]

The professionalism of the CIA, according to Tenet, is unquestionable, but had he remembered past blunders of not anticipating major events, perhaps he may have been less forceful in the arguments he presented on 60 Minutes.

Here are a few examples:

The CIA failed to predict Egypt and her ally%u2019s intentions to attack Israel in the Yom Kippur war.

The CIA did not anticipate the overthrowing of the Shah and the eminence of Ayatollah Khomeini.

The CIA misjudged the Soviet intent and ignored preparations to invade Afghanistan.

The CIA was equally surprised at the fall of the Berlin Wall as well as the Soviet Union.

During the Cold War the CIA's method of estimating the Warsaw Pact's military strength has been found to be flawed.

The world knows the strength of the CIA was in organizing successful coup d'etats against democratically elected governments during the Cold War and installing murderous, kleptomaniac and puppet regimes in developing countries.

George Tenet's regime at the CIA was just another brick in the wall of CIA's history.

[tell7]

Here's a new one.. the US invaded Iraq because the media said that Saddam had WMD and to get terrorists that were not there.
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), said last week "The whole idea of weapons of mass destruction was never the issue, yet they keep trying to bring this up... The media made that the issue because they knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction. So we knew that they were there. But that was incidental to the fact we were going after terrorist camps."
So, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, Rice, Powell, and Tenet had nothing to with the WMD case for war! "Slam dunk" was invented by the media, not Tenet! Powell and Tenet appeared before the UN with info given to them by the media, but the real reason to go to war was terrorism!
To justify the war, Bush informed Congress on March 19, 2003 that acting against Iraq was consistent with %u201Ccontinuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
And yet in 2006.. Bush, in a televised news conference, was asked what Iraq had to do with the attack on the WTC. His answer "Nothing!"
"and nobody in this administration has suggested that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack."
The NeoCons will never stop trying to shift blame and resort to flip flopping when caught in lies!
Wait in the truck , "Inhofe the Idiot."

[t30231]

I don't believe at that time George Tenets voice would have even been heard by the public then... specially when everyone was ready to attack someone. The idea to attack someone was the facet to War even for the public at that time. George tenets voice then would have been like tenets voice is now.... worthless to anyone who would listen. Back then you had twice the power, you had Powell and others who's voice would have walked all over what Tenet would have been trying to say and his resignation wouldn't have meant a hill of beans. It has been this long and it is still hard to wake up the kids in Dorthy's sleeping poppy patch. There are those who still believe that the 911 distaster was an outside job and that is their choice. So when you look at the reality of who actually listens and who actually hears and who acts or investigates on what they hear.... again that is another story.

[norcalruss]

The bloodiest month for US GIs this year, bloodiest month for the coalition in two years, and tomorrow is the 4th anniversary of MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. It looks like all that has been accomplished is more bloodletting and chaos. What bothers the most isn%u2019t so much the lies, recklessness, and arrogance that got us into this mess, but the almost cavalier way that Bush uses the lives of military personnel to try to save face for his legacy in the history books. GB43 is sending thousands more young Americans to become sniper and IED bait so that he can punt his failed war to the next president just so he can claim that he didn%u2019t LOSE Iraq. If Bush would have listened to any number of knowledge people, including his father and Colin Powell, instead of the hugs-and-flowers nonsense from people like Paul Wolfowitz we wouldn%u2019t be in this mess. How many more must die for Bush%u2019s lies? If Bush gets his way, many more.

[booyaw_77]

Ya can't have world trade. Its too corrupt. All our politicians are in some fat cat's pocket. And there's too much money for patriotism. There's too much money for freedom anymore. Ya gotta stop global trade. And ya gotta get these companies where their pocketbooks are, and bring back corporate mandated responsibility. This is unbelievable.. WE GOT NO BUSINESS THERE REPUBLICAN!

[booyaw_77]

Republicans needs to put on a massive MASSIVE public relations effort. To show, not just americans, but the whole world they ain't no crooks! They got a lot of explaining to do. And democrats too. Because they're the ones sit'n in there smell'n republican farts. They were the only ones who coulda stopped them. And they didn't.

[booyaw_77]

The Christian Right condemned that country to hell. And they did it? Because its all a part of God's plan. Because their schizophrenic hallucinations told them to. Because they KNOW WHAT AL QUEDA IS! THEY KNOW WHY THEY'RE PISSED AT AMERICANS! And they want to keep them busy! An ocean away! Instead of a global cooperative civilian's effort to fight terror. They don't need no high iq'd cops for this war. They need soldiers! They need people who follow orders and don't ask questions!

This is unbelievable!

[booyaw_77]

The war in Iraq is a terrible.. terrible! Precedent! Place a genocidal maniac in charge of an Islamic country. Call him a madman. Come back and kill him under the "pretext" of a broken word. And BAM! Ya got an american led police force. Complete with all the richest of oil companies backing them up.

Our country has been hijacked by rich CEOs and stock brokers. To fight wars like slaves to them, and not like patriots.

The Constitution has long been shredded!

[booyaw_77]

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.