George Tenet

Last updated

George Tenet's voice
Tenet testifies on coordination between the intelligence community and a proposed homeland security department
Recorded June 27, 2002
George Tenet
George Tenet portrait headshot.jpg
18th Director of Central Intelligence
In office
December 16, 1996 –July 11, 2004
Acting: December 16, 1996 – July 11, 1997 [1]

George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is an American intelligence official and academic who served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.

Contents

Tenet held the position as the DCI from July 1997 to July 2004, making him the second-longest-serving director in the agency's history—behind Allen Welsh Dulles—as well as one of the few DCIs to serve under two U.S. presidents of opposing political parties. He played a key role in overseeing intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in advance of the Iraq War. A 2005 Inspector General's report found that Tenet bears "ultimate responsibility" for the United States intelligence community's failure to develop a plan to control al Qaeda in the lead-up to 9/11. [2] Tenet has been criticized for personally authorizing the CIA's use of brutal and ineffective torture techniques during his tenure, in contravention of international law, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] something which he has repeatedly denied. [10]

In February 2008, he became a managing director at investment bank Allen & Company.

Early life and education

George John Tenet was born on January 5, 1953, in Flushing, New York, the son of Greek immigrants Evangelia and John Tenet. [11] [12] His father was from the ethnic Greek community of Himara, in Albania, and worked in a coal mine in France before arriving in the United States via Ellis Island, just before the Great Depression. His mother was from Epirus, Greece, and had fled from the communists by stowing away on a Royal Navy submarine. [13] [14]

Tenet was raised in Little Neck, Queens, where as a teenager, he and his older brother Bill worked as busboys in their family's diner, the Twentieth Century Diner. Despite Bill and George being fraternal twins, both had different personalities; in his book Ghost Wars , Steve Coll described Bill as "reserved, precise, and studious" (he would later become a cardiologist) and George as "loud, sloppy, and boisterous". [13] Because of his tendency to talk constantly he was known as "the mouthpiece". Sol Winder, a family friend and later owner of their diner, said he was "the type of guy who could never keep a secret". [15] He was also interested in the news; the host of a local current affairs host sent him an autograph in response to Tenet's letters, calling him "the future editorial page editor of The New York Times ". [13] He played basketball and softball for his Greek Orthodox church, where he was also an altar server. [15]

He attended Public School 94, where he was president of his sixth grade class; [15] Junior High School 67; and Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. [16] [17] In high school he played soccer and edited the school newspaper, graduating in 1971. [15] After studying at the State University of New York at Cortland, [18] Tenet graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.) and received a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University in 1978. [16] [19]

Early career

For his first job after graduating, [20] Tenet became research director of the American Hellenic Institute from 1978 to 1979 and worked for the Solar Energy Industries Association as Director of International Programs from then until 1982. He then began working for the Senate, first as a legislative assistant and later as legislative director to then–Pennsylvania Senator H. John Heinz III from 1982 to 1985. He was a staff member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from 1985 to 1988, then Staff Director of the SSCI from 1988 to 1993. [21] Later, Tenet joined President-elect Bill Clinton's national security transition team in November 1992. [22] Clinton appointed Tenet Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council, where he served from 1993 to 1995. [21]

Tenet was implicated in an illegal wiretapping case brought by Richard Horn. The CIA invoked the state secrets privilege to force dismissal of the case. It was later reopened and settled out of court, but the sentence claimed that several people including Tenet committed fraud on the court. [23]

CIA career

Tenet was appointed Deputy Director of Central Intelligence in July 1995. After John Deutch's abrupt resignation in December 1996, Tenet served as acting director. This was followed by the reluctant withdrawal of Anthony Lake, after it became apparent to Lake that his nomination had been successfully blocked by Republicans in Congress. [24] Tenet was then officially appointed Director on July 11, 1997, after a unanimous confirmation vote in the Senate. While the Director of Central Intelligence has been replaced by an incoming administration since Jimmy Carter replaced DCI George H. W. Bush, Tenet served through the end of the Clinton administration and well into the term of George W. Bush. In 1999 the Director declined to reveal the overall budget for intelligence operations (including the CIA) which was a departure from his release the previous two years. This led to criticism from government transparency advocates. [25]

Tenet embarked on a mission to regenerate the CIA, which had fallen on hard times since the end of the Cold War. The number of agents recruited each year had fallen to an all-time low, a 25% decline from the Cold War peak. Tenet appealed to the original mission of the agency, which had been to "prevent another Pearl Harbor". The trick was to see where danger might come from in the post–Cold War world. Tenet focused on potential problems such as "the transformation of Russia and China", "rogue states" like North Korea, Iran and Iraq, and terrorism. [26]

1999 bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade

On May 7, 1999, during the Kosovo War, U.S. bombers struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia with five JDAM precision guided bombs, killing three Chinese reporters and injuring 20 others. [27] The United States claimed the attack was accidental. In testimony before a congressional committee, Tenet later admitted the strike was the only one in the campaign organized and directed by his agency, though he still claimed it was not deliberate. [28] [29] Later analysis has suggested that a 100-yard (91 m) error in a military targeting database maintained by the Pentagon was not corrected or updated in a timely manner and that other systems intended to prevent such incidents failed to perform as expected. As a result of this and other incidents, systematic changes were made to pre-strike Rules of Engagement (ROE) for U.S. pilots, including checklists verifying target information and coordinates. China has never accepted the United States' version of events, although Tenet in a published work noted in a bit of black humor that in the prelude to the bombing of Iraq, China had, through unofficial channels, provided the Agency with the exact GPS coordinates of their Embassy in Baghdad so as to ensure the CIA knew the precise location. [30]

Israeli–Palestinian cease-fire

In 2001 Tenet brokered a short-lived Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire. [31] [32]

Opposition to release of Pollard

Tenet strongly opposed releasing convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, going so far as threatening to resign if then President Clinton pardoned him. [33] [34]

Al-Qaeda and the War on Terror

By 1999 al-Qaeda had emerged as a significant terrorist threat. The 1998 bombings of two U.S. African embassies were the latest in a string of attacks on American interests in the west Indian Ocean region. And in 2000 the USS Cole was bombed in Aden in an attempt to sink her, killing 17 naval personnel.

Bin Laden Plan

In 1999 Tenet put forward a grand "Plan" for dealing with al-Qaeda. In preparation, he selected new leadership for the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC). He placed Cofer Black in charge of the CTC, and Richard Blee (a "top-flight executive"[ citation needed ] from Tenet's own suite) in charge of the CTC's Bin Laden unit. Tenet assigned the CTC to develop the Plan. The proposals, brought out in September, sought to penetrate Qaeda's "Afghan sanctuary" with U.S. and Afghan agents, in order to obtain information on and mount operations against Bin Laden's network. In October, officers from the Bin Laden unit visited northern Afghanistan. Once the Plan was finalized, the Agency created a "Qaeda cell" (whose functions overlapped those of the CTC's Bin Laden unit) to give operational leadership to the effort.

The CIA concentrated its inadequate financial resources on the Plan, so that at least some of its more modest aspirations were realized. Intelligence collection efforts on bin Laden and al-Qaeda increased significantly from 1999. "By 9/11", said Tenet, "a map would show that these collection programs and human [reporting] networks were in place in such numbers as to nearly cover Afghanistan". (But this excluded Bin Laden's inner circle itself.) [35] [36] [37] [38]

Contrary to the 2005 Inspector General's report, George Tenet had in fact reported the potential threat to then national security advisor Condoleezza Rice during an urgent meeting on July 10, 2001, in which his team informed her that "There will be significant terrorist attacks against the United States in the coming weeks or months." [39]

Predator drone

The CIA also experimented with a small remote-controlled reconnaissance aircraft, the Predator, to try to spot Bin Laden in Afghanistan. A series of flights in autumn 2000, overseen by CTC officials and flown by USAF drone pilots from a control room at the CIA's Langley headquarters, produced probable sightings of the al-Qaeda leader. [40] [41]

Black and others became advocates of arming the Predator with adapted Hellfire anti-tank missiles to try to kill Bin Laden and other Qaeda leaders in targeted killings. But there were both legal and technical issues. Tenet in particular was concerned about the CIA moving back into the business of targeted killing. And a series of live-fire tests in the Great Basin Desert in Nevada in summer 2001 produced mixed results.

Tenet advised cautiously on the matter at a meeting of the Cabinet-level Principals Committee on September 4, 2001. If the Cabinet wanted to empower the CIA to field a lethal drone, Tenet said, "they should do so with their eyes wide open, fully aware of the potential fallout if there were a controversial or mistaken strike". National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice concluded that the armed Predator was required, but evidently not ready. It was agreed to recommend to the CIA to resume reconnaissance flights. The "previously reluctant" Tenet then ordered the Agency to do so. The CIA was authorized to "deploy the system with weapons-capable aircraft". [42] [43] [44] [45]

September 11 attacks

George Tenet on September 11, 2001 CIA Director George Tenet Listens to President Bush's Address in the President's Emergency Operations Center (PEOC).jpg
George Tenet on September 11, 2001

After the September 11 attacks, many observers criticized the Intelligence Community for numerous "intelligence failures" as one of the major reasons why the attacks were not prevented. [46]

Tenet testified before a public hearing of the 9/11 Commission investigating 9/11, that he did not meet with Bush in August 2001, the month before the September 11 attacks. The same evening after the hearings, a CIA spokesman corrected Tenet's testimony, stating that Tenet did indeed meet with Bush twice in August. [47] Tenet in his memoir writes of his memorable visit to Bush at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, in August 2001. [24]

In August 2007, a report written by the CIA inspector general was made public (originally written in 2005 but kept classified). The 19-page summary states that Tenet knew the dangers of Al Qaeda well before September 2001, but that the leadership of the CIA did not do enough to prevent any attacks and that Tenet personally "bears ultimate responsibility" for the intelligence community's failure to develop a plan to counter al Qaeda. [2] Tenet reacted to the publication of this report by calling it "flat wrong", citing in particular the planning efforts of the past two years. [2]

Tenet immediately increased the size and capability of the CIA's special operations component housed in the Special Operations Group of the Special Activities Division. This force had been allowed to diminish under the early Clinton administration. These paramilitary officers were the first to enter both Afghanistan and Iraq. Once in these countries these officers organized and led the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Kurds against Ansar Al-Islam and Saddam's forces in Iraq. The rebuilding of this capability and the successful employment of these elite commandos is considered one of Tenet's greatest achievements in the Global War on Terror. [48] [49] [50] The increased use of paramilitary officers led to fatalities in their ranks. The first of these was Johnny Micheal Spann, a former Marine Corps officer killed during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi on 25 November 2001. Tenet personally informed CIA staff of Spann's death. [51]

Worldwide Attack Matrix

Tenet considered that his Al-Qaeda plan had placed the CIA in a better position to respond after the September 11 attacks. As he put it,

How could [an intelligence] community without a strategic plan tell the president of the United States just four days after 9/11 how to attack the Afghan sanctuary and operate against al-Qa'ida in ninety-two countries around the world? [52]

Tenet (left, in pink tie) briefs President George W. Bush in the Oval Office along White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Vice President Dick Cheney (with back to camera). George Tenet gives a briefing to George W. Bush.jpg
Tenet (left, in pink tie) briefs President George W. Bush in the Oval Office along White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Vice President Dick Cheney (with back to camera).

This was at a meeting of the restricted National Security Councilor "war council"—at Camp David on September 15, 2001. Tenet presented the Worldwide Attack Matrix, a blueprint for what became known as the War on Terror. [46] He proposed firstly to send CIA teams into Afghanistan to collect intelligence on, and mount covert operations against, al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The teams would act jointly with military Special Operations units. "President Bush later praised this proposal, saying it had been a turning point in his thinking." [53]

Waterboarding and enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs)

During Tenet's directorship, President Bush authorized the CIA to use waterboarding and other forms of torture (euphemistically referred to as "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques") during interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, all suspected Al Qaida members. [54] [55] The CIA's directors (George Tenet, Porter Goss and Michael Hayden) provided inaccurate and misleading information to members of the U.S. Congress, the White House and the Director of National Intelligence about the program's effectiveness and the number of prisoners that the CIA held. [56] [ page needed ]

Iraq WMD controversy

According to a report by veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward in his book Plan of Attack , Tenet privately lent his personal authority to the intelligence reports about weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq. [57] At a meeting in December 2002, he assured Bush that the evidence that Iraq had WMDs amounted to a "slam dunk case". After several months of refusing to confirm this statement, Tenet stated that it was taken out of context. He indicated that it was made pursuant to a discussion about how to convince the American people to support invading Iraq. [58] The search following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led Coalition forces yielded no significant WMDs.[ citation needed ]

In September 2002, the Senate Intelligence Committee met with Tenet in a closed-door session. Sen. Bob Graham requested a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq. Tenet responded by saying "We've never done a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq" and resisted the request to provide one to Congress. Graham insisted "This is the most important decision that we as members of Congress and that the people of America are likely to make in the foreseeable future. We want to have the best understanding of what it is we're about to get involved with." Tenet refused to do a report on the military or occupation phase, but reluctantly agreed to do a NIE on the weapons of mass destruction. Graham described the Senate Intelligence Committee meeting with Tenet as "the turning point in our attitude towards Tenet and our understanding of how the intelligence community has become so submissive to the desires of the administration. The administration wasn't using intelligence to inform their judgment; they were using intelligence as part of a public relations campaign to justify their judgment." [59]

Congress voted to support the Iraq war based on the NIE Tenet provided in October 2002. However, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Prewar Intelligence released on July 7, 2004, concluded that the key findings in the 2002 NIE either overstated, or were not supported by, the actual intelligence. The Senate report also found the US Intelligence Community to suffer from a "broken corporate culture and poor management" that resulted in a NIE which was completely wrong in almost every respect. [60]

Resignation

Citing "personal reasons," Tenet submitted his resignation to President Bush on June 3, 2004. Tenet said his resignation "was a personal decision and had only one basis—in fact, the well-being of my wonderful family—nothing more and nothing less." [61] He officially left on July 11, exactly seven years after being appointed by Clinton. [62] Former DCI Stansfield Turner said, "I think the president feels he's in enough trouble that he's got to begin to cast some of the blame for the morass that we are in in Iraq on to somebody else and this was one subtle way to do it." [63] However, Bush voiced support for Tenet's efforts, stating, "I'm sorry he's leaving. He's done a superb job on behalf of the American people." [62]

James Pavitt, his Deputy Director for Operations at the CIA, announced his resignation the following day. That led to speculation that the exit of both senior intelligence officials was related to the controversy over the September 11 attacks, alleged Iraqi WMDs, and the decision to go to war with Iraq. [61] After Tenet left, John E. McLaughlin served as acting director [61] until Porter Goss was sworn to the position in on September 24, two days after the Senate approved him. [64] Tenet's seven-year term as Director of Central Intelligence was the second-longest in US history, after Allen Dulles. [65]

Human Rights Watch and The New York Times Editorial board have called for the prosecution of Tenet "for conspiracy to torture as well as other crimes." [8] [9]

Later life

President Bush awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tenet on December 14, 2004 Tenet bush presidental medal of freedom.png
President Bush awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tenet on December 14, 2004

On December 14, 2004, President George W. Bush awarded Tenet the Presidential Medal of Freedom, along with Tommy Franks and Paul Bremer. Bush said that Tenet "was one of the first to recognize and address the growing threat to America from radical terrorist networks." [66] However, Bush's decision was met with some criticism: Democratic Senator Carl Levin said, "I don't think [he] served the president or the nation well." Democratic Senator John Kerry said through spokesperson David Wade, "My hunch is that George Bush wasn't using the same standard when honoring Tenet and Bremer that was applied to previous honorees." [67]

Tenet spent three years as Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and Senior Research Associate in the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at his former university the Georgetown School of Foreign service. His official teaching began in the Fall term, 2005. [68]

In October 2006, Tenet joined British defense contractor Qinetiq as an independent non-executive director. Chairman John Chisholm noted Tenet's "extraordinary track record and experience in the fields of intelligence and security." [69] He stepped down from the board in October 2007 (his old position was taken by retired U.S. Navy Admiral Edmund Giambastiani) [70] as well as the board of forensic software company Guidance Software in November. [71] He joined Qinetiq's North America board as well as becoming managing director of investment bank Allen & Company. The secretive bank did not announce Tenet's appointment, and it was unknown until it was leaked in February of the following year. [70] Tenet is also on the boards of directors of L-1 Identity Solutions, a biometric identification software manufacturer. [72] Along with a number of other notable Greek Americans, he is a member of the advisory board of The Next Generation Initiative, a foundation aimed at teaching students public affairs skills. [73]

Memoir

In April 2007, Tenet released his memoir titled At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA which was written with Bill Harlow. He appeared on 60 Minutes on April 29, 2007, offering much criticism of the Bush administration. The book was the top-selling book in sales in the first week after publication.

The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of its Enemies since 9/11 (2006) by Ron Suskind claims that Abu Zubaydah, once said to be al-Qaida chief of operations, was a low-level functionary and mentally ill. [74] In his memoirs, Tenet commented as follows: [75]

A published report in 2006 contended that Abu Zubaydah was mentally unstable and that the administration had overstated his importance. Baloney. Abu Zubaydah had been at the crossroads of many al-Qa'ida operations and was in position to—and did—share critical information with his interrogators. Apparently, the source of the rumor that Abu Zubaydah was unbalanced was his personal diary, in which he adopted various personas. From that shaky perch, some junior Freudians leapt to the conclusion that Zubaydah had multiple personalities. In fact, Agency psychiatrists eventually determined that in his diary he was using a sophisticated literary device to express himself. And, boy, did he express himself.

Critics pointed out a factual error in Tenet's book. On the book's first page, Tenet tells of a conversation with then-Pentagon advisor Richard Perle on September 12, 2001, in which Tenet claims Perle told him in person that "Iraq had to pay for the attack". But the conversation could not have occurred on that day, because Perle was stranded in Paris, France, on September 12 and did not return to Washington until three days later. Perle later stated that the two men indeed crossed each other one morning, as claimed by Tenet, but only later in the same week and not on September 12. But Perle insisted that he and Tenet exchanged no words in that encounter. [76] [77]

Personal life

Tenet is married to A. Stephanie Glakas-Tenet. [a] They have one son, John Michael. [18]

Recognition

In 1998, Tenet received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. [79]

In 2018, Tenet received the Washington Institute's Scholar-Statesman Award. [80]

See also

Footnotes

Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ She is also referred to without a first initial. [78] Her maiden name is Glakas.

Citations

  1. 1 2 "George John Tenet". Central Intelligence Agency – Library. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "CIA criticises ex-chief over 9/11". BBC News. August 21, 2007. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
  3. ↑ Usborne, David (December 12, 2014). "George Tenet profile: The CIA's former head and torturer-in-chief". The Independent . London. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  4. ↑ Ackerman, Spencer (June 15, 2015). "CIA torture appears to have broken spy agency rule on human experimentation". The Guardian . London. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  5. ↑ "George Tenet in 2007: 'We don't torture people'". CBS News. December 9, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  6. ↑ Aceves, William (2015). "United States v. George Tenet: A Federal Indictment for Torture". New York University Journal of International Law and Politics . California Western School of Law Research Paper No. 16-02. 48 (1). SSRN   2714647.
  7. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Lichtblau, Eric (December 13, 2014). "Ex-Chief Leads Vocal Defense of C.I.A." The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "No More Excuses: A Roadmap to Justice for CIA Torture". hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. December 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Prosecute Torturers and Their Bosses". The New York Times . December 21, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ "George Tenet in 2007: "We don't torture people"". www.cbsnews.com. December 9, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  11. ↑ "George Tenet Fast Facts". CNN. December 25, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  12. ↑ Carlisle, Rodney (2005). Encyclopedia of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Routledge (published 2015). p. 641. ISBN   978-1-317-47177-6. George John Tenet was born on January 5, 1953, in Flushing, New York, the son of Greek immigrants.
  13. 1 2 3 Coll 2005, p. 355.
  14. ↑ Moskos, Peter C. (July 5, 2017). Greek Americans: Struggle and Success. Routledge. p. 121. ISBN   978-1-351-51669-3. George Tenet—whose father came from Northern Epirus (present-day Albania) and mother from Epirus
  15. 1 2 3 4 E., Anne; Kornblut, James; Rutenberg, Jere; Hester (March 21, 1997). "A Hungry Kid May Lead CIA". Daily News . New York. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Atkins 2011, p. 402.
  17. ↑ Bamford, James (2005). A Pretext For War: 9/11, Iraq, And The Abuse Of America's Intelligence Agencies. Anchor Books. p. 121. ISBN   1-4000-3034-X.
  18. 1 2 SSCI 1997, p. 7.
  19. ↑ Hines, Janet (2003). Inside America's CIA: The Central Intelligence Agency . The Rosen Publishing Group. p.  17. ISBN   978-0-8239-3811-7.
  20. ↑ Atkins 2011, p. 403.
  21. 1 2 SSCI 1997, p. 8.
  22. ↑ Diamond, John (October 14, 200). "CIA director's allies outrank his enemies2". USA Today . Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Judge rules CIA committed fraud in court". NBC News. July 20, 2009.
  24. 1 2 Tenet & Harlow 2007, pp. 6–8.
  25. ↑ Ackerman, Spencer (June 20, 2012). "Washington's Five Worst Arguments for Keeping Secrets From You". Wired. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  26. ↑ Coll 2005, pp. 317, 354, 359–62.
  27. ↑ Lee, Peter (January 29, 2011). "The tearful origins of China's stealth". Asia Times Online . Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  28. ↑ Tenet, George (July 22, 1999). "DCI Statement on the Belgrade Chinese Embassy Bombing House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Open Hearing". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
  29. ↑ Schmitt, Eric (July 23, 1999). "In a Fatal Error, C.I.A. Picked a Bombing Target Only Once: The Chinese Embassy". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  30. ↑ "Strong Protest by the Chinese Government Against The Bombing by the US-led NATO of the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Yugoslavia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. November 17, 2001. Archived from the original on October 19, 2003. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  31. ↑ Ephron, Dan (June 13, 2001). "US Brokers a cease-fire in Mid-East 11th hour Deal Spells Out Steps; Disputes Remain". The Boston Globe . ProQuest   405392064.
  32. ↑ "The Tenet Plan: Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire and Security Plan, Proposed by CIA Director George Tenet". Avalon Project. Yale Law School. June 13, 2001. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  33. ↑ https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2012-12-14/jonathan-pollard-spy-case-cias-1987-damage-assessment-declassified In 1998, in an attempt to facilitate his release, the Israeli government publicly acknowledged (Document 15) Pollard's role as an Israeli asset. And, former Director of Central Intelligence, George J. Tenet reports that the subject was raised by the Israeli government in 2006, and he threatened to resign if Pollard was released.
  34. ↑ Hersh, Seymour M. (January 10, 1999). "The Traitor". The New Yorker.
  35. ↑ Coll 2005, pp. 436–37, 451–52, 455–56, 466–72, 485, 646 note 42, 654 note 7.
  36. ↑ 9/11 Commission 2004, pp. 357, 142–43, 204.
  37. ↑ Tenet, George (October 17, 2002). "Written Statement for the Record of the Director of Central Intelligence Before the Joint Inquiry Committee". Federation of American Scientists . Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  38. ↑ Tenet & Harlow 2007, pp. 119–20.
  39. ↑ Whipple, Chris (November 13, 2015). "What the CIA knew before 9/11: New details". Politico . Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  40. ↑ Coll 2005, pp. 527, 532.
  41. ↑ 9/11 Commission 2004, pp. 189–90.
  42. ↑ Coll 2005, pp. 580–81.
  43. ↑ Tenet, George (March 24, 2004). "Written Statement for the Record of the Director of Central Intelligence Before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States" (PDF). pp. 15, 16. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  44. ↑ Gellman, Barton (January 20, 2002). "A Strategy's Cautious Evolution". The Washington Post .
  45. ↑ 9/11 Commission 2004, pp. 210–14, 513.
  46. 1 2 Porch, Douglas; Wirtz, James J. (September 2002). "Surprise and Intelligence Failure" (PDF). Strategic Insights . I (7). Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  47. ↑ Powell, Stewart M. (April 16, 2004). "CIA's Tenet did speak to Bush before 9-11, spokesman says". The Salt Lake Tribune . Archived from the original on June 16, 2004. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  48. ↑ Woodward, Bob (November 18, 2001). "Secret CIA Units Playing a Central Combat Role". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  49. ↑ Woodward, Bob (2003). Bush at War. Simon & Schuster. ISBN   978-0-7432-0473-6.
  50. ↑ Woodward, Bob (2004). Plan of Attack. Simon & Schuster. ISBN   978-0-7432-5547-9.
  51. ↑ Harnden, Toby, "First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11. Little, Brown, 2021. p. 271
  52. ↑ Tenet & Harlow 2007, pp. 121–22, cf. p. 178.
  53. ↑ 9/11 Commission 2004, p. 332.
  54. ↑ Tran, Mark (February 8, 2008). "CIA admit 'waterboarding' al-Qaida suspects". The Guardian . London. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
  55. ↑ Ross, Brian; Esposito, Richard (November 18, 2005). "CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described". ABC News.
  56. ↑ "Intelligence report" (PDF). senate.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  57. ↑ Goldberg, Jeffrey (May 21, 2007). "Woodward vs. Tenet: The New Intelligence War". The New Yorker . Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  58. ↑ Shane, Scott; Mazzetti, Mark (April 27, 2007). "Ex-C.I.A. Chief, in Book, Assails Cheney on Iraq". The New York Times . Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  59. ↑ Graham, Bob (January 31, 2006). "Interview: Sen. Bob Graham". Frontline (Interview). PBS.
  60. ↑ United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (July 7, 2004). "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq" (PDF).
  61. 1 2 3 Malveaux, Suzanne; Barrett, Ted; Schuster, Henry (June 4, 2004). "Tenet: Resigning with head 'very, very high'". CNN . Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  62. 1 2 Warner, Margaret (June 3, 2004). "CIA Director George Tenet's Resignation". PBS NewsHour . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  63. ↑ "Quotes on Tenet's Resignation". The Wall Street Journal . June 3, 2004. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  64. ↑ "Porter Goss Fast Facts". CNN. August 20, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  65. ↑ Stout, David (December 14, 2004). "Bush Honors 3 Ex-Officials Instrumental to Iraq Policy". The New York Times . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  66. ↑ Bush, George W. (December 14, 2004). "President Presents Medal of Freedom" (Press release). The White House. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  67. ↑ Gerhart, Ann (December 15, 2004). "Bush Gives Medal of Freedom to 'Pivotal' Iraq Figures". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  68. ↑ "George Tenet to join the School of Foreign Service". The Georgetown Voice . October 21, 2004. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  69. ↑ Brodie, Sophie (October 25, 2006). "US spymaster joins QinetiQ". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  70. 1 2 Waterman, Shaun (February 18, 2008). "Tenet gets job at secretive N.Y. bank". United Press International . Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  71. ↑ Tenet, George (November 30, 2007). "Letter of Resignation". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  72. ↑ Shorrock, Tim (May 7, 2007). "George Tenet cashes in on Iraq". Salon . Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  73. ↑ Atkins 2011, p. 406.
  74. ↑ Gellman, Barton (June 20, 2006). "The Shadow War, In a Surprising New Light". The Washington Post .
  75. ↑ Tenet & Harlow 2007, p. 243.
  76. ↑ Kristol, William (April 4, 2007). "George Tenet's Imaginary Encounter..." The Weekly Standard . Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  77. ↑ Shrader, Katherine (April 30, 2007). "Tenet Memoir Draws Heat From Key Players". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  78. ↑ "Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: About the Author". HarperCollins. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  79. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  80. ↑ "Institute Honors Former CIA Directors as Scholar-Statesmen". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. December 4, 2018.

General bibliography

Government offices
Preceded by Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
1995–1997		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Central Intelligence
1996–2004
Acting: 1996–1997		Succeeded by

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Zubaydah</span> Saudi Arabian Guantanamo detainee (born 1971)

Abu Zubaydah is a Palestinian citizen born in Saudi Arabia currently held by the U.S. in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He is held under the authority of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF).

Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi was a Libyan national captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 after the fall of the Taliban; he was interrogated by American and Egyptian forces. The information he gave under torture to Egyptian authorities was cited by the George W. Bush administration in the months preceding its 2003 invasion of Iraq as evidence of a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. That information was frequently repeated by members of the Bush administration, although reports from both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) strongly questioned its credibility, suggesting that al-Libi was "intentionally misleading" interrogators.

<i>Against All Enemies</i> 2004 book by Richard A. Clarke

Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror (ISBN 0-7432-6823-7) is a 2004 award-winning book by former U.S. chief counter-terrorism advisor Richard A. Clarke, criticizing past and present presidential administrations for the way they handled the War on Terrorism. The book focused much of its criticism on President George W. Bush, charging that he failed to take sufficient action to protect the country in the elevated-threat period before the September 11 attacks and for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which Clarke feels greatly hampered the War on Terrorism. The book's title comes from the oath of office taken by all U.S. federal officials, in which they promise to defend the Constitution "against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

James L. Pavitt was Deputy Director for Operations (DDO) for the CIA from June 23, 1999, until July 12, 2004, when he resigned a day after George Tenet. The CIA said the resignations was for personal reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cofer Black</span> US intelligence officer and diplomat (born 1950)

Joseph Cofer Black is an American former CIA officer who served as director of the Counterterrorism Center in the years surrounding the September 11th attacks, and was later appointed Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department by President George W. Bush, serving until his resignation in 2004. Prior to his roles combatting terrorism, Black served across the globe in a variety of roles with the Directorate of Operations at the CIA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations</span> Conspiracy theory originating from the US

The Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations were based on false claims by the United States government alleging that a secretive relationship existed between Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the Sunni pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda between 1992 and 2003. U.S. president George W. Bush used it as a main reason for invading Iraq in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jose Rodriguez (intelligence officer)</span> American spy

Jose A. Rodriguez Jr. is an American former intelligence officer who served as director of the National Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He was the final CIA deputy director for operations (DDO) before that position was expanded to D/NCS in December 2004. Rodriguez was a central figure in the 2005 CIA interrogation videotapes destruction, leading to The New York Times editorial board and Human Rights Watch to call for his prosecution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Intelligence Agency</span> National intelligence agency of the United States

The Central Intelligence Agency, known informally as the Agency, metonymously as Langley and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.

This article is a chronological listing of allegations of meetings between members of al-Qaeda and members of Saddam Hussein's government, as well as other information relevant to conspiracy theories involving Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

<i>The One Percent Doctrine</i> Nonfiction book by Ron Suskind

The One Percent Doctrine (ISBN 0-7432-7109-2) is a nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ron Suskind about America's hunt for terrorists since September 11, 2001. On July 24, 2006, it reached number 3 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Musab al-Zarqawi</span> Jordanian jihadist (1966–2006)

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, born Ahmad Fadeel Nazal al-Khalayleh, was a Jordanian militant jihadist who ran a training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia–Sunni civil war". He was sometimes known by his supporters as the "Sheikh of the slaughterers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bin Laden Issue Station</span> CIA unit tracking Osama bin Laden (1996–2005)

The Bin Laden Issue Station, also known as Alec Station, was a standalone unit of the Central Intelligence Agency in operation from 1996 to 2005 dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden and his associates, both before and after the 9/11 attacks. It was headed initially by CIA analyst Michael Scheuer and later by Richard Blee and others.

Hassan Ghul, born Mustafa Hajji Muhammad Khan, was a Saudi-born Pakistani member of al-Qaeda who revealed the kunya of Osama bin Laden's messenger, which eventually led to Operation Neptune Spear and the death of Osama Bin Laden. Ghul was an ethnic Pashtun whose family was from Waziristan. He was designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the Security Council in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counterterrorism Mission Center</span> Central Intelligence Agency unit founded 1986

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Mission Center forCounterterrorism is a division of the CIA's Directorate of Operations, established in 1986. It was renamed during an agency restructuring in 2015 and is distinct from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which is a separate entity. The most recent publicly known Assistant Director for Counterterrorism Mission Center was Chris Wood who led the organization from 2015 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International counter-terrorism activities of the CIA</span>

After the Central Intelligence Agency lost its role as the coordinator of the entire United States Intelligence Community (IC), special coordinating structures were created by each president to fit his administrative style and the perceived level of threat from terrorists during his term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIA activities in Afghanistan</span>

The Afghanistan conflict began in 1978 and has coincided with several notable operations by the United States (U.S.) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The first operation, code-named Operation Cyclone, began in mid-1979, during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. It financed and eventually supplied weapons to the anti-communist mujahideen guerrillas in Afghanistan following an April 1978 coup by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and throughout the nearly ten-year military occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan, supported an expansion of the Reagan Doctrine, which aided the mujahideen along with several other anti-Soviet resistance movements around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Soufan</span> Lebanese-American former FBI agent (born 1971)

Ali H. Soufan is a Lebanese-American former FBI agent who was involved in a number of high-profile anti-terrorism cases both in the United States and around the world. A 2006 New Yorker article described Soufan as coming closer than anyone to preventing the September 11 attacks and implied that he would have succeeded had the CIA been willing to share information with him. He resigned from the FBI in 2005 after publicly chastising the CIA for not sharing intelligence with him which could have prevented the attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interrogation of Abu Zubaydah</span> Interrogation of a Saudi Arabian in U.S. custody

Abu Zubaydah is a Saudi citizen who helped manage the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan. Captured in Pakistan on March 28, 2002, he has since been held by the United States as an enemy combatant. Beginning in August 2002, Abu Zubaydah was the first prisoner to undergo enhanced interrogation techniques. There is disagreement among government sources as to how effective these techniques were; some officials contend that Abu Zubaydah gave his most valuable information before they were used; CIA lawyer John Rizzo said he gave more material afterward.

Pakistan's role in the War on Terror is a widely discussed topic among policy-makers of various countries, political analysts and international delegates around the world. Pakistan has simultaneously received allegations of harbouring and aiding terrorists and commendation for its anti-terror efforts. Since 2001, the country has also hosted millions of Afghan refugees who fled the war in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Central Intelligence Agency</span>

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) dates from September 18, 1947, when President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 into law. A major impetus that has been cited over the years for the creation of the CIA was the unforeseen attack on Pearl Harbor, but whatever Pearl Harbor's role, at the close of World War II government circles identified a need for a group to coordinate government intelligence efforts, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the State Department, the War Department, and even the Post Office were all jockeying for that new power.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.