Posted on 05/11/2007 5:26:11 AM PDT by advance_copy
George Tenet sets the stage in his memoir by recalling a conversation he claims to have had with me on Sept. 12, 2001: "As I walked beneath the awning that leads to the West Wing[, I] saw Richard Perle exiting the building just as I was about to enter. . . . Perle turned to me and said, 'Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday. They bear responsibility.' I looked back at Perle and thought: Who has [he] been meeting with in the White House so early in the morning on today of all days?"
But I was in Europe on Sept. 12, 2001, unable to get a return flight to Washington, and I did not tell Tenet that Iraq was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, not then, not ever. That should have been the end of the story: a faulty recollection, perhaps attributing to me something he may have heard elsewhere, an honest mistake.
So I was surprised when, having been made aware of his error, Tenet reasserted his claim, saying: "So I may have been off on the day, but I'm not off on what he said and what he believed."
On "Meet the Press" last Sunday, Tenet argued that his version "seems to be corroborated" by a comment I made to columnist Robert D. Novak on Sept. 17 and a letter to President Bush that I signed, with 40 others, on Sept. 20. But my 10-word comment to Novak made no claim that Iraq was responsible for Sept. 11. Neither did the letter to the president, which said that "any strategy aiming at the eradication of terrorism and its sponsors must include a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
An important comment that leaves much to think about. I believe we're still paying a terrible price for the Carter-Turner-Church Committee decision to de-emphasize human intelligence in favor of "technical means.
Getting Senator Frank Church "unelected" in Idaho?
“don’t know if you have an intel background, Badeye. The failures of the Agency are ballyhooed in the press, and certainly they should be. However, their many successes over the years simply cannot be trumpeted openly.”
I find that to be a dodge from reality. What a racket - ‘hey, we’re doin a great job, but we can’t tell you about it!’
Wish I could get away with that in my line of work, don’t you?
‘And, just because you haven’t heard the stories, it doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, and aren’t still happening’
Fair enough.
Just because they claims success, doesn’t mean they enjoy it.
As I previously noted, what a racket. Wish my professional life was given such a great ‘dodge’.
“We are supposed to believe a federal agency that can’t keep its mouth shut about a host of top secret programs....can keep its mouth shut for decades about ‘successes’?”
“I’m inclined to agree. No “government” agency is going to downplay success, especially at appropriations time. I used to believe maybe they kept their coups to themselves. Then I woke up.”
Thats what I’m saying. Leaks to the NYT, leaks to the WaPo....I’ve concluded the ‘special expertise’ at Langley has much more to do with interferring with domestic politics than it does protecting us from outside our borders.
It WAS my line of work.
“”Can anyone cite a CIA ‘success’ in the last four decades?”
Getting Senator Frank Church “unelected” in Idaho?”
(chuckle)
There’s an ‘inside baseball’ observation thats very funny.
Thanks.
‘Wild Bill Donovan is rolling over in his grave.’
For the umpteenth time, but yep.
‘It WAS my line of work.’
Then you know all to well the political nature, domestic political nature, of CIA.
I have no doubt there are thousands of honest to God good people working there trying to protect the country.
But I have ZERO faith in middle management and above.
One example of why. Where is the investigation into who leaked there was a DOJ investigation into Phlameoutgate?
As I said way up above, I’d tear down Langley, defund CIA, and buy a Magic Eightball.
At least that childs toy doesn’t do lunch with Dana Milbank and company.....
Afghanistan was one.
‘Afghanistan was one.’
I can’t dispute they did a good job in Afghanistan. I don’t give them credit for all of it, however.
“Can anyone cite a CIA ‘success’ in the last four decades?
Valarie Plame no longer works there!”
Pssst. They hired her, they choose her husband to run to Niger and drink heavily, and then they let him write an Op Ed we know was a complete and total fabrication.
Pardon me if I don’t sing their praises about a wayward employee they HIRED and her ridiculously self important husband.
We do not need a CIA. It is like running a marathon in leg-irons.
fair enough. Have you read “Charlie Wilson’s War”?
Great book on the agency and pretty much it’s only major success that has been halfway documented.
‘Don’t disagree with you but the question was name a CIA success in the last 40 years and it was the best I could do.’
(chuckle)
Sorry, wasn’t intentionally being ‘harsh’ with ya. Its just we spend untold billions on this federal entity, and from where I sit, we aren’t getting anywhere near the performance we should from such a ‘secret expenditure’ annually.
And I simply can’t take into consideration the Public Relations campaign theme ‘our success’s must remain secret’....especially in light of the fact they can’t keep anything ‘secret’ as we’ve seen the past few years.
How is it they can leak NSA programs, they can leak ‘opposing recommendations’ but not leak a single ‘success’?
I can’t buy it any longer. They ask us not to believe our own eyes and ears, routinely.
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