Posted on 06/03/2004 7:30:15 AM PDT by cyncooper
Breaking News on Fox
I'll just note you cite Tenet's job performance of the past three years...and mention he's been in that post for almost eight, and leave it at that.
Agreed.
The first years of Tenet's tenure were engaged in, from reports of FReepers here who have intel-community connections, a successful attempt to rebuild the intel community and the morale of CIA. That recognition is the reason President Bush chose to keep him in the job.
The 'Toon had one good appointment - like the pig who can find an acorn once in a while. Personally, I applauded that appointment when it came years ago, and have never found reason to be disappointed. Before Tenet, CIA was a true disaster.
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Only time will tell what the true story is, maybe it's just what he said. I think most of the intel jobs are thankless ones and you're the goat when something happens. Thankfully for us there are those who are willing to serve to protect us as best as they can.
Rumsfeld said the terrorists only have to be right once, we have to be right 100% of the time.
Heck, we still haven't ruled out the possiblities that there are massive stockpiles in Iraq! That Sarin and mustard gas may not have come from Syria... There were about 140 ammo dumps in Iraq averaging the size of Manhattan, for crying out loud. I do believe Syria, by the way, and CIA has revealed detecting convoys to there after the Axis of Weasels created UN-1441 to give Saddumb the time to do that.
And thank you for recognizing in print, as many do not seem to, that intel is a thankless job.
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Well, they are correct that CIA and State Department--I mean the careerists who sabatoged the invasion from Turkey--have never been on board. Will we ever be rid of the Ivy Leagers who wear the stripped pants?
Well, they are correct that CIA and State Department--I mean the careerists who sabatoged the invasion from Turkey--have never been on board. Will we ever be rid of the Ivy Leagers who wear the stripped pants?
Well, they are correct that CIA and State Department--I mean the careerists who sabatoged the invasion from Turkey--have never been on board. Will we ever be rid of the Ivy Leagers who wear the stripped pants?
Short answer: NO. Bill Casey sure wasn't. His operations complemented the DOD's efforts, and led directly to the downfall of the USSR. Not to say there was never any blow-back, but that is always a risk in covert ops.
All basically analytical and from the legislative...i.e., policy side...of things. With NO operational experience at the field levels. No trade-craft understanding. No proven record of actual performance in the field. Not a real 'spook' by any defintion. Hence, NOT QUALIFIED.
"...About that next CIA director
There was joy on both Left and Right when the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet was announced June 3rd. Leftists were pleased that a supporter of the war in Iraq had bitten the dust. Many on the Right were delighted that a Clinton administration holdover had finally gone over the side.
As is customary with that job and the catty nature of Washington, there was much speculation that Tenet's resignation was not for the reason he gave: that he wanted to spend more time with his family.
The timing of the resignation was convenient in one sense. The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected soon to release a lengthy report that will be savagely critical of the CIA. The 9/11 Commission is expected to take shots at the Agency, too. With Tenet's resignation already announced, those criticisms will lose some of their sting.
George Tenet is the second longest serving CIA director, after Allen Dulles. He presided over the Agency during its most prominent intelligence failure since the Bay of Pigs (which cost Dulles his job). But while it's clear there is a lot that's wrong with the CIA, the Agency's flaws predated Tenet's arrival, and he may have done much to ameliorate them.
The difficulty outsiders have in judging an intelligence agency is that it's successes are kept secret, while its failures sprawl across the front pages. We are only beginning to learn the bare outlines of the clever and daring things the CIA did to defeat the Soviet Union.
Much of the CIA's problem today is that it was geared to defeating the Soviet Union, and was sluggish in changing gears. Shifting gears was made all the more difficult because Congress drastically reduced intelligence budgets at the end of the Cold War (though not —thank G-d! —by as much as John Kerry sought). Intelligence networks in Moscow aren't of much use in finding out what's going on in Tehran or Damascus. And we can't replace Russian linguists with Arabic and Farsi linguists unless there is money to recruit and train them.
These problems were compounded by political correctness. John Deutch, Clinton's second CIA director, forbade field operatives from recruiting as informants anyone who had committed a criminal offense. This directive made it all but impossible to penetrate Islamic terror networks..."
...snip...
The more I learn about details on Tenet's time in the CIA, the more I come to admire his gumption for staying the course. As I have said before, say again and will hold true to in the future, Tenet stood tall even when his enemies sought to destroy our CIA (as they smiled platitudes swearing to the opposite when facing the news cameras...).
Mr. Tenet, I sincerely hope that some NSA software picks up your name in this posting, so that you may read the following:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY! THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT A GOOD CAPTAIN IS NOT HE WHO BLITHELY KEEPS HIS SHIP OUT OF HARMS WAY, BUT HE WHO TAKES THE HELM DURING THE SEVEREST OF STORMS EVEN WHEN OTHER CREW WANT TO ABANDON SHIP!!!
God Bless you, Sir.
CGVet58
Thanks for posting Jack Kelly's words
Thank you for posting that. I agree with you.
Thank you for the ping.
It is GOOD to see your
thoughts validated. I
knew you were spot on
originally.
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