by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 17, 2002
All Rights Reserved.

kating on thin ice, CIA Director George J. Tenet faced a joint House and Senate Intelligence Committee one more time, adroitly tap dancing, while congressional investigators finish their report about intelligence lapses on Sept. 11. Watching Tenet in action, few doubt his prodigious schmoozing ability but some question his expertise to transform the CIA into a lean-mean terrorist-fighting machine. "I think he's doing a fine job," said Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.), ignoring critics and expressing reluctance to call for Tenet's resignation. Despite grave concerns before 9/11, Tenet did little to beef up airport security, which might have spoiled Bin Laden's plans. "This has Bin Laden's fingerprints all over it," said Tenet, after learning terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center. Following Bin Laden's 1998 attack on U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Ethiopia, Tenet declared a toothless "war" on Al Qaeda. "I want no resources or people spared in this effort," he wrote in a memo to CIA officials.

      Knowing Bin Laden was up to no good, Tenet failed to direct proper resources and personnel to ending his 10-year terror campaign against the U.S. Tenet "got it" in 1998 but kept a straight face telling Congress that Sept. 11 wasn't an intelligence failure. Under Tenet's watch, Bin Laden blew up U.S. embassies in East Africa, exploded the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen and planned and executed the most deadly terror attack in world history. "When a ship runs aground that many times, the captain should step down," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressing disbelief that Tenet doesn't have the shame to resign. Back in June, Tenet told Shelby's committee that the CIA didn't drop the ball, but, in fact, intercepted other terrorist attacks. "It's impossible to judge him now," said Thomas Powers, an expert on intelligence, defying all common sense, watching the U.S. pummeled by Bin Laden since Tenet took over the CIA in 1998.

      Grading Tenet's performance isn't rocket science, especially after Bin Laden's unremitting rampage since 1993. No one expects Tenet to get out and push, but he must take the heat for failing to deploy adequate resources to contain growing terrorist threats. Sending conflicting signals about Iraq, Tenet discounted Saddam's threat, suggesting he wouldn't attack unless provoked. Within hours, he flip-flopped, restating the White House view that Saddam represents an immediate threat. Tenet's inconsistency proves that his heart isn't in his job. "George is not a visionary, he's an operator—a skilled almost hyperactive operator," said an unnamed former CIA official, suggesting that Tenet spends far too much time at cocktail parties—not commanding the troops at the CIA. Fair or not, Sept. 11 was a rude awakening for intelligence and law enforcement communities, badly out foxed by Bin Laden. Four years after declaring "war" on Bin Laden, Tenet watched—with all other Americans—the most shameful intelligence meltdown in U.S. history.

      Without military, criminal justice or spy experience, Tenet got his start through the back door, working for former Sen. David Boren (D-Okla.). Given a job on the Intelligence Committee, the 32-year-old Tenet schmoozed his way to the top. "Every time I go in a room with him, I was impressed by his quickness of mind," said Boren, dazzled by Tenet's ability to work a crowd. When the job of intelligence director opened up in 1988, Boren pushed Tenet into the position. After Clinton took office in 1993, Boren helped Tenet move to the CIA. In 1996, CIA John Deutch resigned after a one-year stint. Clinton then nominated National Security Advisor Anthony Lake who hit a brick wall in Congress. Tenet, then a deputy director, won the position by default, making overtures to former CIA directors to solidify his position. "George is arguably the most popular CIA director we've ever had," said former Moscow station chief Jack Downing, attesting to Tenet's uncanny ability to talk the talk.

      Playing the right set of cards, Tenet renamed the expansive CIA Langley campus the "George Bush Center for Intelligence," after President George Herbert Walker Bush, a former CIA director. While Tenet has no crystal ball, he shows uncanny survival instincts and political skills. But political savvy didn't save New York and Washington from 9/11. Delegating spy biz drudgery to underlings, Tenet consumes himself with sound bites and public relations. Since declaring "war" on Bin Laden in 1998, there's no evidence that Tenet ever allocated money or personnel to deal with the gathering threats. To that extent, he must be held responsible for failing to give necessary intelligence to appropriate agencies involved in national security. While Tenet worried about his job, he let the nation go undefended, leading up to Sept. 11. No one, other than Tenet, believes that 9/11 was any other than a shameful intelligence failure. While problems are no doubt systemic, CIA department heads must be held accountable.

      Tenet must accept responsibility for Sept 11 and step down for the good of the country. No matter how he glad-hands the White House or members of Congress, the country can't afford another intelligence breakdown. Lame excuses about unreported successes don't make up for the decimation on 9/11. When the World Trade Center came tumbling down, he knew immediately Osama bin Laden was at fault. His toothless declaration of "war" in 1998 proved he comprehended the growing threat to national security, yet did nothing. CIA directors must have more than social skills to meet the formidable demands of collecting sound intelligence and intercepting dangerous threats. "The problem was not George Tenet," said former Clinton CIA Director R. James Woolsey. "It was that the country was on a beach party from the end of the Cold War Until Sept. 11," giving Tenet a free pass. Claiming ignorance now only increases the dangers and pretends that Tenet didn't have a clue. Tenet knew the threat in 1998 and chose to do nothing.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's a consultant and expert in strategic communication. He's the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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