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George Tenet
served as the Director of the CIA from 1997-2004, longer than all but one of the Agency's directors. While he may not have been appointed by President Bush, George Tenet still served at the discretion of President George W Bush. In his book, George Tenet describes what it was like to be At the Center of the Storm. He didn't know, or rather, chose not to acknowledge, that he did more than simply join President Bush at the center of the storm. George Tenet helped President George Bush engineer it.
George Tenet, along with President Bush and the rest of his administration, received a great deal of criticism for the "failed intelligence" that many people believe is the root cause of the 9/11 attacks. He can also share responsibility with President George W Bush for the ongoing war in Iraq - and the principle reason President Bush gave for his preemptive strike - because it was George Tenet who insisted on the existence of WMDs. To quote him directly, Mr. Tenet told President George W Bush that the evidence for going into Iraq (and convincing Americans of the need to do so) was a "slam dunk case." To the chagrin of both George Tenet and President Bush, however, the supposed WMDs are yet to be found. As a result, the only things to be slammed and dunked are the favorability ratings of President George Bush.
This weapons controversy is likely the reason George Tenet presented his resignation as CIA director to President George Bush in 2004. President Bush expressed sadness over the resignation, said he was thankful for the work George Tenet did in the CIA, and even awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This was just another example of the tendency of President George W Bush to make hasty, politically-motivated, decisions. Senator Carl Levin went on record as saying that George Tenet did not serve President Bush well, and other critics speculated that the actions President Bush took in response to the resignation were a result of his desire to free the administration from any claims of wrongdoing in Iraq. President George Bush has always sticks by every decision he makes, no matter how erroneous it proves to be, and has yet to accept personal defeat. President Bush, or rather, President George W Bush, exemplifies this flaw in his support for Mr. Tenet.
In an attempt to separate himself from President Bush, George Tenet criticized the administration during many of his book tour appearances. The attacks come as too little, too late, however. When he was still in the CIA and in a position to exert influence over President George W Bush, George Tenet chose to turn a deaf ear to the truth about Iraq and only furthered the debacle. Like President Bush, George Tenet made what was likely a conscious decision to do the wrong thing. Therefore, George Tenet shares as much responsibility as President Bush, President George W Bush, for the current turmoil in Iraq.
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