Tenet, the former CIA direction, was blamed for the sixteen words in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address in which he boldly asserted that Iraq was seeking uranium for a weapons of mass destruction program. He resigned shortly thereafter.
"The report, delivered to Congress this week, recommends punitive sanctions for Mr. Tenet, former Deputy Director of Operations James L. Pavitt and former counter-terrorist center head J. Cofer Black," Roberts writes. "Mr. Tenet's response to the report is a 20-page, tightly knitted rebuttal of responsibility prepared with the aid of a lawyer, according to the friendly source."
"Mr. Tenets decision to defend himself against the charges in the report poses a potential crisis for the White House," Roberts adds. "According to a former clandestine services officer, the former CIA director turned down a publishers $4.5 million book offer because he didn't want to embarrass the White House by rehashing the failure to prevent September 11 and the flawed intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Tenet, according to a knowledgeable source, had a "wink and a nod" understanding with the White House that he wouldn't be scapegoated for intelligence failings. The deal, one source says, was sealed with the award of the Presidential Freedom Medal."
It looks like the New Orleans levees are not the only devastating leaks coming Bush's way. I hope like hell that Tenet stands up for himself and tells America exactly what kind of backroom deals and outright lies the Bush administration orchestrated before deciding to attack Iraq.
With all of this terrible news coming out of New Orleans bringing to the fore the unforgivable mistakes this administration has made, it would just be the final nail in the coffin to hear Tenet tell everybody that the information was fabricated and that the National Guard are fighting an illegal war instead of saving lives at home.
(Don't forget to hit the link to the left and give.)
