George Tenet: At The Center Of The Storm
Former CIA Director Breaks His Silence
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George Tenet Interview Pt. 1
Former CIA Director George Tenet tells Scott Pelley that he thought the U.S. should attack Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks and he knew Iraq was not involved in the attacks.
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George Tenet Interview Pt. 2
Ex-CIA Director George Tenet tells Scott Pelley that the Bush Administration acted dishonorably when it used his famous "slam dunk" remark about WMD in Iraq to ruin his reputation and his career.
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Tenet: 'Slam Dunk' Misused
George Tenet says the Bush administration's use of his "slam dunk" comment as the reason America went to war was deceitful and ruined his reputation. Scott Pelley reports.
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Former CIA Director George Tenet (CBS)
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After 9/11, CIA-run secret prisons like this one photographed by GeoEye Satellite Imaging in Afghanistan were set up. (GeoEye Satellite Imaging)
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Former CIA Director George Tenet, left, speaks to correspondent Scott Pelley. (CBS)
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Timeline
Tenet At The CIA
George Tenet's reign as the director of America's premier spy agency.
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Special Report
War On Terror
Complete coverage of the military's battle against terrorism.
He told 60 Minutes in 2003 terrorists were in the U.S. prepared to attack the New York City subways, when bin Laden’s number two called them back.
"By 2003, the intelligence tells you that Zawahiri has called off an attack against the New York City subway system, in favor of something larger. What is that larger thing?" Tenet says.
One clue, Tenet says, is that bin Laden has been trying to get his hands on nuclear material, since 1993. "Are these people gonna have a nuclear capability? This confers superpower status on a networked organization that is not a state. Is it gonna happen?" Tenet wonders. "Look, I don't know. But I worry about it. Because I've seen enough to tell me that there's intent. And when there's intent, the question is, when does the capability show up? If al Qaeda were to acquire nuclear capability, the thousands of weapons we have would be irrelevant."
In the midst of the al Qaeda threat, Tenet says he was astonished and mystified when the White House turned its aim to Iraq.
Tenet told 60 Minutes the war in Iraq is "a national tragedy." He says he realized it was the end of his career when he picked up The Washington Post and saw that he was being blamed for the decision to go to war. In classic Washington fashion, someone had leaked a story suggesting that the president decided to attack after Tenet said the evidence against Iraq was a "slam dunk."
In our interview, Tenet admits the CIA's mistakes and his own. But what makes him angry now is how the White House ignored CIA warnings, cooked the books on intelligence, and then used "slam dunk" to brand him with the failure.
"The hardest part of all of this has just been listening to this for almost three years. Listening to the vice president go on 'Meet The Press' on the fifth year of 9/11, and say, 'Well, George Tenet said, slam dunk.' As if he needed me to say slam dunk to go to war with Iraq," Tenet tells Pelley. "And they never let it go. I mean, I became campaign talk. I was a talking point. You know, 'Look at what the idiot told us, and we decided to go to war.' Well, let's not be so disingenuous. Let's stand up. This is why we did it. This is why, this is how we did it. And let's tell, let's everybody tell the truth."
(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.)
The truth of Iraq begins, according to Tenet, the day after the attack of Sept. 11, when he ran into Pentagon advisor Richard Perle at the White House.
"He said to me, 'Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday, they bear responsibility.' It’s September the 12th. I’ve got the manifest with me that tell me al Qaeda did this. Nothing in my head that says there is any Iraqi involvement in this in any way shape or form and I remember thinking to myself, as I'm about to go brief the president, 'What the hell is he talking about?'" Tenet remembers.
"You said Iraq made no sense to you in that moment. Does it make any sense to you today?" Pelley asks.
"In terms of complicity with 9/11, absolutely none," Tenet says. "It never made any sense. We could never verify that there was any Iraqi authority, direction and control, complicity with al Qaeda for 9/11 or any operational act against America. Period."
"The president, in October of 2002, quote: 'We need to think about Saddam Hussein using al Qaeda to do his dirty work.' Is that what you're telling the president?" Pelley asks.
"Well, we didn't believe al Qaeda was gonna do Saddam Hussein's dirty work," Tenet says.
"January '03, the president again, [said] quote: 'Imagine those 19 hijackers this time armed by Saddam Hussein.' Is that what you're telling the president?" Pelley asks.
"No," Tenet says.
The vice president upped the ante, claiming Saddam had nuclear weapons, when the CIA was saying he didn’t.
"What's happening here?" Pelley asks.
"Well, I don't know what's happening here," Tenet says. "The intelligence community's judgment is 'He will not have a nuclear weapon until the year 2007, 2009.'"
"That's not what the vice president's saying," Pelley remarks.
"Well, I can't explain it," Tenet says.
Tenet says he sometimes warned the White House its statements were false, but he admits that he missed a big one in the 2003 State of the Union address, when the president said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Produced by Graham Messick, Michael Radutzky and Michael Karzis
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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See all 478 Comments"We don't torture people," he says.'
Does anyone remember when it was the Soviet Union who used the "Big Lie"?
My friends, sometimes the most difficult thing about fighting evil is realizing that it actually exists, and then unambiguously and forcefully calling it what it is.
History shows time and time again that one of evils greatest strengths is its ability to disguise itself as good, or at least a temporary necessity, until that last fatal moment when its revelation becomes clear, indisputable, and inescapable.
So today let us take a clear and unadulterated look into the mirror at ourselves.
Just six years ago we were one of the most respected and admired defenders of democracy and human rights in history. Respected not only by our friends, but even begrudgingly by most of our enemies. In fact, even the fantastic power of our military paled in comparison to the overwhelming might of our moral authority.
Today we are a nation that operates secret prisons occupied by anonymous inmates, illegally abducted and held indefinitely without charge or representation. We are guilty of torture. We are guilty of murder. We are guilty of preemptive war of conquest. We are guilty of the wholesale surveillance of our population, suppressing all hope of privacy and free dissent. And we are guilty of disgracing our nation through the abandonment of even our most basic precepts of morality.
If this is not evil, then nothing we have ever fought against is evil, and nothing we have ever fought for is good.
Excerpt from A Future of the Brave
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
"What profit it a man to gain the whole world if he loseth his own soul." JC
This administration is evil.
I would confess to subversive activity if you water board me. So would you.
Actually bribery works better, but it's not foolproof either.
Well, that's good enough for me. I really don't care about a terrorists rights if it's saving innocent lives. I really don't.
I don't care ab't terrorists either; but, when they define you as a terrorist I won't be sitting on the sideline yelling "Go for it!"
Tenet was a CLINTON appointee!!!!!! He may have gotten slam dunk wrong, but to say its because he's allied to Bush is idiotic - he owed his career to Bill Clinton (who coincidentally, in one person who has NEVER said George Bush lied or cooked the books on the Iraq intelligence, and he has it all).
Well, that's good enough for me. I really don't care about a terrorists rights if it's saving innocent lives. I really don't.
Posted by bellaL
You're certainly easy to convince. Kind of like accept it like religious faith. Wow what a critical thinker!!
Posted by bellaL
Wow, does "gullible" come to mind? What about the FBI intel that was found to be inappropriate and illegal recently? God you remind me of Americans of the 30's-40's, trust the gov't! I love my country, I fear my gov't. Especially with Bush II.
Remember that the initial intelligence report on Iraq given to Bush was rejected as "not good enough" by Bush. Tenet then went back and returned with the "slam dunk" statement. Slam dunk sure played out nicely as a benchmark propaganda talking point. Those two words coming from the chief of the CIA..that's powerful stuff. I would say that Tenet's actions since Bush has taken the office proves beyond a doubt that he is now an official loyal Bushie.
Put down the Kool-Aid and come to your senses.
ROBinDALLAS
Men like Tenet have deeply disgraced himself and our country, by thumbing his nose at our Constitution and the rule of law. His apologist efforts on behalf of State kidnapping and murder are despicable.
The CIA is little more than a U.S. tax funded terrorist organization, and the enforcemnt arm of mutli-national corporate greed.
Tenet was a top-level terror agent, no better than your average mobster. History will not look kindly on him. I look forward to George Tenet on the receiving end of the gavel.
It%u2019s a %u201Cslam-dunk%u201D.
Reality check.
Tenet is Clinton's fault, but the warmth with which DickNBush embraced him speaks volumes. He helped choreograph their war dance. They offer Bushshit, "this has saved lives, trust us." Unfortunately, this administration has done nothing to inspire trust. The evidence against their trustworthiness continues to amass. They, themselves have provided the proof that they simply CAN'T be trusted.
They don't say how many people they've questioned with these methods or how many of those didn't have the information to give them, no matter how enhanced the interrogation became. Torture is ineffective; people say whatever they think the questioner wants to hear, but these guys won't address why their "non-torture," but enhanced techniques don't yield similar results. If the methods were applied to questioning one of their parents or children, would it be torture, then? That's silly, their family aren't the "kind" of people questioned.
Whenever one of these slime-balls says, "we don't use torture," it's "enhanced interrogation," a wink and a nod like the one after a racist says that he'd never, ever discriminate, should punctuate that statement. Nobody believes it, but that's their story and they're sticking to it.
Maybe, WE WILL save lives and treasure down the road if we GIVE nukes to Iran.
See: NoWarForIsraelDOTcom
I worked in the Aluminum Industry for 12 years and read many industry journal articles about Paul O'Neill. If Paul says Bush is a liar, then you can bet the farm, Bush is a liar.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/main592330.shtml
Looks like we got a lot of our techniques from the known play books of torture it's just that our DOUBLE STANDARD SAYS it is evil, wrong and bad when it is done to us--but justified when we do it. We would do better to admit that yes, we do torture and there is nothing anyone can do about it--instead of playing word games that are obvious LIES.
Posted by bigjayny82 at 05:48 PM : Apr 25, 2007
You believe lives were saved because the same group that has consistently lied since day one says so? The philosophers are right..YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID.
I voted for this moron, now i wish i could vote to impeach him
Posted by bigjayny82 at 05:48 PM : Apr 25, 2007
You believe lives were saved because the same group that has consistently lied since day one says so? The philosophers are right..YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID.
Posted by toldyouso21 at 08:31 AM : Apr 26, 2007
SORRY POSTED TO THE WRONG PERSON:
the program saved lives and allowed the government to foil terror plots."
Well, that's good enough for me. I really don't care about a terrorists rights if it's saving innocent lives. I really don't.
Posted by bellaL at 08:25 PM : Apr 25, 2007
You believe lives were saved because the same group that has consistently lied since day one says so? The philosophers are right..YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID.
Posted by toldyouso21 at 08:31 AM : Apr 26, 2007
Tenet along with Rummy, Darth Cheney, & Dubya should be investigated for their collusion in the initiation of war crimes.
My problem is that I always trusted that America had the moral authority to do them.
Sadly, this administration has squandered our reputation throughout the world such that we no longer can even pretend to stand on the moral high ground.
This is the price we pay for a messianistic president who can only see the world through his us-or-them prism.
although he ultimately deserves the responsibility for the cia's failures ... he did 'ring the bell' in the summer of 2001 w/ cofer black in an emergency meeting w/ the nsa director ms. rice.
although she gave them the time in the meeting ... and despite their concern and urgency that something big was about to occur ... she did nothing.
recall that in august of 2001 there was a pdb that all but told them when and where it was going to occur ... and they did nothing ... absolutely nothing.
How can we be so quick to judge what means are necessary to ensure our freedom? How can you know that given the same information and circumstances, you wouldn't do the very thing you say you oppose? Do you really think we are privy to enough information to pass judgment? It must have been very frustrating for Tenet to sit through an interview and answer questions, only able to divulge 2% of the information he has... and this, because he cannot in good conscience shatter the pseudo-reality that we Americans have conjured in our own minds of a safe and terrorist-free Nation. What if Tenet had told us that there were six separate nuclear weapons scares on our very own soil just last year? %u2026 and that because of these %u201Ctactics%u201D you so loudly oppose, you were spared from death, along with millions of others in your city? We don%u2019t know and that is my point. If we were told everything, it would undermine the very freedom our leaders fight to preserve. I hope that Tenet and those under him continue to do what is necessary to keep us safe, despite your negative endorsements.
Posted by booyaw_77 at 11:22 PM : Apr 25, 2007"
I'm guessing that you are not one of the 93% of Americans who call themselves 'Christian'? We can't biuld anything if we are willing to resort to the tactics of barbarism... isn't that why we claim the 'terrorists' are so bad? It isn't a slippery slope here. Doing bad this really does make you a bad person! Who would Jesus bomb?... I'm not a christian, but having been raised Catholic, know that he ALLOWED his persecutors to cruxify him! Are actions do have consequences!
All true. But its wrong to assume that attacking the vatican ain't gonna git ya back the devil. Thats a weakness of your's, and not their's.
There's real life, and then there's hollywood.
i would assume that this is all crystal clear in YOUR head.
Of course! I go to the movies, ya know. This sorta thing happens all the time. People say "Abu Ghraib" not knowing, nor even caring its your average american prison.
What people who say that this stuff is wrong gotta figure is that war is the time when diplomacy failed. And not when it succeeded. War is war.. not some "PG rating". Its ugly? And its homosexual.
in the movies ... or for real?
or is it all just one big movie?
America needs to ask Mr. tenet for salary back for failing to act when our touche was on the line. Way to go, now take your money and go away.
America needs to ask Mr. Tenet for his salary back for failing to act when our b**** were on the line. Way to go Mr. Tenet, now take your money and go away.
I would ask whose side is the left on in this war, anyway? The likes of Rosie O'Donnell have made it painfully clear they support the islamo-fascists. Maybe it was the CIA that flew those planes into the WTC? The CIA is at fault for not knowing and then again, at fault for knowing all. Which is it, you Leftist Wackos?
Oh pleeeze! Why is he whining about being made a scapegoat?? He knew perfectly well that Saddam had no WMD. And to continue to say he did, long after other members of the CIA have said, for years, that the CIA knew Saddam was a toothless tiger, is just plain stupid.
If Tenet truly believes that Saddam had WMD, he is the only CIA person who did!!! For years the CIA has admitted that they knew Saddam had no WMD.
Geo Tenet was bought by Cheney. When no weapons were found and the war started going badly, someone had to come forth and say "We knew Saddam had WMD", and that someone was Tenet. Cheney bought him with a Medal of Freedom and retirement.
What a miserable piece of *** he is. Just like all the other neocons, he is turning on the whitehouse.
What a pathetic spectable the Bush presidency is.
Posted by JEGibbons
Maybe it's Satan trying to infiltrate up through Mexico like the Rightist wackos tell us? If you want to talk extreme, JEGibbons, how about the extreme Right, who talk about burning all Arabs and eating the bodies, or "nuking all those savages"?
You may be under the impression that all "Lefties" are wacko, but seriously, both extremes are REALLY extreme, not just one side.
Words for Wolfowitz, Gonzales, Rove, Rice, Bush, and Cheney to consider very seriously.
JEGibbons, tow which war are you referring? WWI, WWII, Vietnam?
You surely are not referring to the illegal invasion of Iraq, which had nothing to do with 911, where hundreds of thousands of Iraqs have been killed, a country destroyed, 3,335 American soldiers killed and by official count, but probably untrue, 24,764 soldiers have been maimed for life.
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