Report: Clinton CIA had no plan to deal with bin Laden
posted at 6:51 pm on August 21, 2007 by Bryan
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The report comes from the CIA itself. It’s the Executive Summary of the CIA’s Inspector General’s look into 9-11. You can read it here for yourself. It contains several interesting nuggets.
# U.S. spy agencies, which were overseen by Tenet, lacked a comprehensive strategic plan to counter Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11. The inspector general concluded that Tenet “by virtue of his position, bears ultimate responsibility for the fact that no such strategic plan was ever created.”
# The CIA’s analysis of al-Qaida before Sept. 2001 was lacking. No comprehensive report focusing on bin Laden was written after 1993, and no comprehensive report laying out the threats of 2001 was assembled. “A number of important issues were covered insufficiently or not at all,” the report found.
Let’s halt at that last one for a sec. It doesn’t jibe with what former Secretary of State Madeline Albright testified before the 9-11 Commission.
Albright told the 9/11 commission the Clinton administration did everything it could to defeat al-Qaeda and would have killed Osama bin Laden if officials had better intelligence.
“President Clinton and his team did everything we could, everything we could think of, based on the knowledge we had, to protect our people and disrupt and defeat al-Qaeda,” Albright said.
Tenet was a part of that team; he was appointed DCI by Clinton himself. But Tenet’s CIA didn’t write up a comprehensive plan to get bin Laden and drafted no comprehensive report on bin Laden. Evidently even such bureaucratic paperpushing wasn’t among the things that Albright et al thought of.
If they didn’t even think to come up with a report on bin Laden, if only to cover themselves later by being able to brandish such a report and say “See, I told you so,” what were they doing?
They didn’t have Central Intelligence analyze the threat. And they didn’t draft a plan for dealing with the threat.
They did, however, build a wall between law enforcement and intelligence-gathering. So there’s that. And according to the CIA report, that wall didn’t really contribute much to 9-11 at all.
The summary concludes: “Informing the FBI and good operational followthrough by CIA and FBI might have resulted in surveillance of [the "UBL associates"]. Surveillance, in turn, would have had the potential to yield information on flight training, financing, and links to others who were complicit in the 9/11 attacks.”
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Why just drop the ball when you can hurl it forcefully to the ground?
Blacklake on August 21, 2007 at 6:53 PM
Nothing to see here…move along now!
stonemeister on August 21, 2007 at 6:59 PM
Sandy Burgler had a plan, but he kept it in his shorts.
pedestrian on August 21, 2007 at 6:59 PM
None of this is going to matter. Bush is still going to get the blame. I can’t see anyone in the MSM addressing the failure of the Clinton administration. It just won’t happen.
mimi1220 on August 21, 2007 at 7:00 PM
… well, there’s your problem.
yo on August 21, 2007 at 7:05 PM
True, but everyday the MSM gets 1mm weaker. For most of us here, we don’t know or care much what they say. Their day is coming…
JiangxiDad on August 21, 2007 at 7:06 PM
Clinton had 8 years to prepare for 9/11, Bush had 8 months.
Historical facts are just so inconvenient to the left.
infidel4life on August 21, 2007 at 7:08 PM
mimi1220 on August 21, 2007 at 7:00 PM
What she said. At best it’ll be “oh yeah? so what?”
JWS on August 21, 2007 at 7:08 PM
9/11 happened on Bush’s watch. You can’t spin that.
sandman on August 21, 2007 at 7:09 PM
9/11 could’ve been stopped numerous times on Clinton’s watch. Can’t spin that, either.
amerpundit on August 21, 2007 at 7:11 PM
9/11 happened on Bush’s watch. You can’t spin that.
sandman on August 21, 2007 at 7:09 PM
…The CIA’s analysis of al-Qaida before Sept. 2001 was lacking. No comprehensive report focusing on bin Laden was written after 1993, and no comprehensive report laying out the threats of 2001 was assembled. “A number of important issues were covered insufficiently or not at all,” the report found.
Don’t have, General Inspector sort lays it on the line.
Topsecretk9 on August 21, 2007 at 7:14 PM
Anyways – no we know why Sandy Berger was willing to go to jail to supress, I guess.
Topsecretk9 on August 21, 2007 at 7:15 PM
It was merely a culmination of attacks on the WTC, the bombing of American embassies in Tanzania and Nairobi, the Khobar Towers, the USS Cole. Clinton was asleep at the wheel for eight years. I’d like to say you can’t spin that but the media and the Democratic party have spun it very successfully.
aengus on August 21, 2007 at 7:15 PM
[Blacklake on August 21, 2007 at 6:53 PM]
You can’t drop what you never pick up.
As for what was on the docs Sandy stuffed in his shorts, I’d like to buy an “E” please, Bryan, and take a guess:
WH-R-’S TH- -FFIN’ PL-N?
Dusty on August 21, 2007 at 7:16 PM
Dont forget they also felt it was wrong for the military to have anything to do with collecting itel on Foreign suspects.
William Amos on August 21, 2007 at 7:18 PM
Why worry about some guy in a cave when there are bimbos at your beck and call? Priorities…..
bbz123 on August 21, 2007 at 7:20 PM
I think seeing the towers falling, the Pentagon on fire and a large hole in Pennsylvania was more than enough evidence they had no plan.
SouthernGent on August 21, 2007 at 7:20 PM
Has everyone forgotten about the Presidential Daily Briefing that warned that Bin Laden was determined to attack–by plane? How soon we forget.
sandman on August 21, 2007 at 7:20 PM
President Clinton refused to meet with Tenet for years, so much so that when that guy who almost flew a plane into the White House Clinton staffers joked it was Tenet trying to get an audience with Bill. The fact is that Clinton gutted the CIA and the military, ignored al-Qaeda and dumped it all on Bush’s plate to the detriment of America and its allies.
aengus on August 21, 2007 at 7:21 PM
True it did happen on Bush’s watch however, the Timeline started in 1996.
F15Mech on August 21, 2007 at 7:22 PM
You’ve certainly dusted off your talking points.
Did the report say when this attack would happen? Or, .. uh .. where? Airline(s)? Targets?
How many terrorists did Clinton send to Allah? How many has Bush?
Granted, Bill had his prized baby food factory out of the way, but other that that, what did he do?
yo on August 21, 2007 at 7:31 PM
Good Hell.
Troy Rasmussen on August 21, 2007 at 7:31 PM
The problem is dems still want to focus on the past and ignore the realities of the present.
I find it ironically tragic that they are lamenting that we couldnt stop Osama in 2001 yet make little or no plans to stop him now
So before you point fingers at Bush there Obama or Hillary give us your plan to stop Osama NOW instead of second guessing what happened years ago
William Amos on August 21, 2007 at 7:35 PM
MSM sweeps stuff like this under the carpet every morning before coffee. (Does a tree actually fall when there’s no one in the forest to hear it fall?)
petefrt on August 21, 2007 at 7:37 PM
sandman on August 21, 2007 at 7:09 PM
The first WTC attack took place on Clintons watch. Can’t spin that.
jdawg on August 21, 2007 at 7:41 PM
Didn’t Clinton say something about his being the only person trying to find Saddam?
Spc Steve on August 21, 2007 at 7:43 PM
Quoting Michael Scheuer from the October 1, 2006 interview with Chris Wallace:
“SCHEUER: Mr. Wallace, my opinion is not all that important. I went to a little Jesuit school in Buffalo called Canisius, and the priests taught us never to lie, but if you had to lie, never lie about facts. Mr. Richard Clarke, Mr. Sandy Berger, President Clinton are lying about the opportunities they had to kill Usama bin Laden. That’s the plain truth, the exact truth.”
Scheuer was chief of the Bin Laden Issue Station at the CIA from ‘96 to ‘99. He knew and should know what happened.
Sergei on August 21, 2007 at 7:47 PM
Unfortunately, there’s Albright’s out right there. Our intelligence community apparently didn’t do squat. Therefore they had little knowledge.
PatrickS on August 21, 2007 at 7:47 PM
If I remember correctly, the briefing stated that Bin Laden intended to hijack planes, with no info on when, which continent, how, etc.
PatrickS on August 21, 2007 at 7:51 PM
The Dhems stike again…I fell much safer now.
Sgt. Khe Sahn
1GooDDaDDy on August 21, 2007 at 7:53 PM
The chickens are finally starting to come home to roost. Too bad slick Willie and she-who-shall-not-be-named will be supported by their minions in the MSM to bury this story. Just once I would like to see the “anointed one” get her butt handed to her along with her witless horn-dog husband finally destroying her chance at doing some real damage to this country.
KC-135A on August 21, 2007 at 7:54 PM
If Hillary were to win the White House, history will repeat itself. We will be attacked again, watch another trial on TV, afford the terrorists lawyers and protection under American laws, all the while facing more attacks from those who don’t believe in the ‘rules of war’. What a joke.
No wonder the Dumbs want a total pullout from Iraq before the presidential election. They had no plan before, they have no plan now.
madmonkphotog on August 21, 2007 at 7:55 PM
I disagree.
The timeline started way before 1996. 9-11-2001 was “Plan B”, if you will. “Plan A” failed in 1993. Al-Queda is very patient and in the end succeed in their goal of bringing down the twin towers.
Now, does anyone doubt that Al-Queda also has a goal of using Nuclear weapons against the United States (even if it’s “just” a dirty bomb)? The horror of 9-11 was nothing compared to the horror of atomic weapons going off in one or more cities.
I distinctly remember on 9-11-2001, as soon as the second plane hit, that this is a modern-day Pearl Harbor. The war didn’t end there, it didn’t even start there (yes, go back to the embassies in Tanzania and Nairobi, the Khobar Towers, the USS Cole, etc.). 9-11-2001 is just the day that sane Americans realized that we had an enemy at war with us.
You can’t have peace when an enemy is trying to kill you. All the people who want to “end the war” don’t seem to realize that you cannot simply end this war. You can surrender, but this enemy will continue to scream “Allahu Akbar” and try to kill you.
This is what World War III looks like. Is Antarctica the only continent that hasn’t seen Islamic Terrorism?
ITookTheRedPill on August 21, 2007 at 7:56 PM
ok sandman
I say I am determined to attack by plane.
I am on another continent.
I communicate by satellite phone but the NYT just outed that so I switch to courier.
I transfer money but the NYT just outed that so I switch to the mail.
My emails and phone calls are monitored even in the US but the NYT just outed that so I switch to whatever.
You have eight months.
Stop me.
You can’t. I could do it here, in the UK, Australia, Scotland etc etc. How are YOU going to find me and stop me?
I really would like an answer.
ArmyAunt on August 21, 2007 at 8:08 PM
Um, why is this news? I don’t see where it makes Bush look bad, and that’s the only way this would be newsworthy.
RightWinged on August 21, 2007 at 8:10 PM
If you remember those heady days in the Clinton Administration, you’ll recall that everything was done for ME, ME, ME, and any potential difficult problems were postponed so that the next president would have to deal with them. North Korea is an excellent example.
Think about that when you contemplate two more terms of the Clinton Administration.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on August 21, 2007 at 8:12 PM
And hardly surprising given the better news out of Iraq lately.
SouthernGent on August 21, 2007 at 8:13 PM
Well, like the global warming temps being revised down, no one will ever hear about this, so the libs are safe… but just to be sure, I sense a few more pointless investigations to begin sometime before year’s end… They may not need them though, as the Dems create such a mess when Petraeus comes back with his report. I’m dreading what we’re in for when that storm is unleashed. Expect at least a few slips from Dem leadership in which we wonder if we can question their patriotism yet (as we’ve had to wonder dozens upon dozens of times over the past few years), but in the end, these “gaffs” will fade away as “isolated incidents” and/or “misunderstandings”, so we can go after the real bad guy: Bush!
RightWinged on August 21, 2007 at 8:19 PM
FLASHBACK!
RightWinged on August 21, 2007 at 8:19 PM
Ghost Wars
Steve Coll
Managing Editor Washington Post
Every American should read the book
TheBigOldDog on August 21, 2007 at 8:33 PM
Good point.
I don’t think anyone can argue that al-Qaeda (and other Muslim terrorists) have attacked us before 2001.
They tried to bring down the towers in 1993 and failed (Plan A)
However the planning for “plan B” started in 1996 according to the link I posted.
The towers were always targets, I agree.
However Plan A and Plan B are two separate, and very different attacks.
F15Mech on August 21, 2007 at 8:33 PM
It doesn’t matter who’s watch it is. The various law enforcement and spy agencies STILL don’t talk to each other.
There’s too much of a ego and territory problem with the agencies that are supposed to protect us from terrorist. Let alone the legislative and executive branches watering them down to meet the PC challenge.
Oh yes, that’s called a bureaucracy.
Kini on August 21, 2007 at 8:37 PM
should be
did not attack us
F15Mech on August 21, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Dusty on August 21, 2007 at 7:16 PM
Oh they picked it up all right. The Clinton Administration just made a very conscience decision to not allow the American public to know that America was under constant attack by Islamic terrorists. More importantly what Sandy Burger destroyed was nothing to what some unknown Clinton staffer destroyed when they deleted the 12 plus tetrabytes of intelligence gather on Bin Laden and other Islamic terrorists by the Able Danger Group.
But the Gorlick wall was quite literately used to prevent the individuals in the Able Danger Group from presenting nay of the information they had collected to the incoming Bush Administration and at least one of the members of the Able Danger Group was actually prosecuted for attempting to get around the Gorlick wall.
doriangrey on August 21, 2007 at 8:42 PM
It was Woolsey
TheBigOldDog on August 21, 2007 at 8:42 PM
Sincere question: Would it have mattered in terms of our overall approach had we dealt with the 1st WTC bombing as a terrorist act instead of a crime?
mimi1220 on August 21, 2007 at 8:46 PM
TheBigOldDog on August 21, 2007 at 8:47 PM
Sure they had a plan:
Let Bin Laden go when he was offered to them on a silver platter.
Not a good plan, admittedly…
(Why they didn’t accept the offer, then throw Osama out the plane door over the Indian Ocean, and claim he broke free and jumped, shows the lack of common sense and basic survival instincts among our highest level of “defenders“.)
Morons.
Playing by the Marquis of Queensbury’s Rules when Bin Laden goes by Jungle Law.
profitsbeard on August 21, 2007 at 8:56 PM
how timely was it the song “Being Ignorant is Awesome” came over WinAmp at the same time I started reading this…..
liquidflorian on August 21, 2007 at 8:56 PM
Kini on August 21, 2007 at 8:37 PM
F15Mech on August 21, 2007 at 9:06 PM
Is anyone else disgusted that President Bush awarded Tenet the Presidential Medal of Freedom? The picture on the main page makes me hurl!
ITookTheRedPill on August 21, 2007 at 9:07 PM
True unless we fix that then we have no chance.
However, when the executive branch has intel about a possible attack beforehand and does very little to do anything about it (because of politics) then I get upset.
Disclaimer: I was one of the 27th Fighter Squadron members that arrived the next day, so I am very biased about Khobar.
F15Mech on August 21, 2007 at 9:08 PM
Why bring this up now,is there an election coming up.
Oh, in a side note,when Clinton cruise missiled tne
chemical weapons factory,oops i mean baby milk formula
factory do you think he might of p!ssed off some muslims.
canopfor on August 21, 2007 at 9:11 PM
ArmyAunt,
The answer to your question is I wouldn’t stop you, but there are those who will. You see, I do not work for the CIA or any other organization whose job it is to stop you.
And to others:
Yes, the ‘93 attack did happen on Clinton’s watch, and the responsibility belongs to him. I think you’ll find that I am consistent on that point.
For those who are complaining about me bringing up the past, well, don’t throw stones, your walls will shatter. No day goes by without the obsession with Bill Clinton’s presidency, especially about Monica Lewinsky. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t, but don’t get upset when someone with opposing viewpoints brings up the past.
sandman on August 21, 2007 at 9:19 PM
Oops,i forget this one to,during the Kosovo and
Serb conflict didn,t Clinton accidently take out
the Chinese embassy,right at Christmas.
Oh ya i forgot its only Republicans that p!ss off
the international community.
canopfor on August 21, 2007 at 9:20 PM
All this panzy stuff will stop after we get nuked by the Muslim militia. It’s too bad that we won’t take the threat seriously until AFTER our cities are smoldering ruins. I wouldn’t be investing in land in Iran, Syria, Western Pakistan, or the Gaza Strip anytime soon.
Mojave Mark on August 21, 2007 at 9:22 PM
Totally off topic. AP, your comment in the headlines is way out of line.
Not cool.
Bomb Doctor on August 21, 2007 at 9:27 PM
No plan?! ‘course I had a plan. But Monica wanted to kiss and stuff first, an’ that done delayed my, er, comin’ up with a plan. Soon as I was able, I came up with a helluva plan! ‘course by then, I was drivin’ off with all the neat stuff we sto…er, found in that thar white house, ayup…
What a freakin disgrace. And about half of our population is going to vote for its’ “wife”. God help us…
JWS on August 21, 2007 at 9:31 PM
These facts will be put exactly where the media wants them……with the rest of the Clinton dust bunnies under the rug.
Limerick on August 21, 2007 at 9:32 PM
I am not upset (biased for sure); In fact I welcome people bringing up a past Presidents history, especially when it come to fighting terrorists.
F15Mech on August 21, 2007 at 9:35 PM
On what basis do you make that statement? By most if not all polls the democrats are going to win the White House and probably hold on to congress in 2008. The democrat presidential candidates on a daily basis proclaim their socialist/fascist policies and the American people appear unawares. Mussolini would be very proud of Clinton/Edwards/Obama yet the American people don’t even get it. Hilary is going to seize the oil companies profits. Edwards is going to make war on the pharmacuetical/insurance industry. And they are getting away with it because the msm is trusted by most of America and the msm is the propaganda wing of the leftists in America.
What blows my mind is not the dopey grass routes liberals and clueless uninformed middle. It’s the conservatives who act like this is just another election cycle and our time wll come again. The left will do everything to make sure conservatism never has another shot and world events will probably aid them.
We can lose everything and the momentum is going that way.
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 9:39 PM
They all failed us. Clinton. Bush. They knew Al Qaeda had training camps set up in Afghanistan. They did nothing. Clinton had Osama cornered at Tarnak Farm. He did nothing. Bush had Osama cornered at Tora Bora. He did nothing. Shame on all of them.
SoulGlo on August 21, 2007 at 9:40 PM
How could anyone forget? We are reminded on a daily basis that Bush had a PDB warning that bin Laden was determined to strike-”by plane”. Only, the PDB doesn’t say that. Have you ever read the actual PDB? Or do you just repeat talking points that are inaccurate?
Sue on August 21, 2007 at 9:41 PM
Hey Sue,
Why did Sandy Burger steal classified documents and then destroy them?
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 9:44 PM
Hey Peace,
If I knew the answer to that question, I would be a rich woman.
Sue on August 21, 2007 at 9:49 PM
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 9:44 PM
And…why is the SOB walking around free? Believe me, this government is not going to save us. If you can’t, learn how to shoot; if you do-stock up…
JWS on August 21, 2007 at 9:49 PM
Sorry Sue,
I was fired up and misread your entry.
We agree.
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 9:53 PM
bnelson44 on August 21, 2007 at 9:53 PM
Mike Adams has some very good articles in his archives about firearms.
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 9:54 PM
KC, you see the headline Allah has up about the Wahhabis in Serbia? Goes nicely with this post by Bryan.
Makes you all warm and fuzzy thinking back about Clinton bombing the mad Christian into the stone age. The long view of history may not be kind to the Islamists’ favorite U.S. President and doormat: Clenis.
Jaibones on August 21, 2007 at 9:54 PM
Peace,
No problem. I didn’t realize you were “fired up”. ::grin::
Sue on August 21, 2007 at 9:54 PM
or a missing woman
jp on August 21, 2007 at 9:56 PM
or a missing woman
::yikes::
Sue on August 21, 2007 at 9:57 PM
No it isn’t. The time we are living in is akin to the Indian Summer of 1931-1939. One day the thunder and lightning will really begin. I’ve recently taken an interest in growing food because I believe food shortages will become an important issue in the future. War is coming and it behoves us to prepare for it.
I remember reading an article on FrontPage magazine a few months ago by an author who claimed the Clinton Administration supplied money and weapons to al-Qeada in order to counter the Serbs. That would indeed be damning.
aengus on August 21, 2007 at 10:00 PM
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 9:54 PM
Or you could check this site out…….http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/
doriangrey on August 21, 2007 at 10:01 PM
So if the Clinton administration handed over a comprehensive plan about fighting terrorism to the Bush administration, who’s comprhensive plan was it and how come it has never been released?
Inquiring minds want to know.
peacenprosperity on August 21, 2007 at 10:01 PM
I dislike this line of thinking for several reasons. First of all even if America was nuked and decided to go on a global rampage it wouldn’t make Congressmen and Senators any more likely to eschew laziness by studying Islam as Robert Spencer constanly advises thus making them still ignorant of the doctrines of jihad warfare and thus incapable of applying coherent strategies. Secondly there might very well be a large spectrum of American society advocating surrender in their desperation for “peace”. Thirdly I think the Islamic world could be contained and that simply waiting for a nuclear war to ignite isn’t much of a solution or much comfort.
aengus on August 21, 2007 at 10:09 PM
Also noteworthy of consideration is the fact that Clinton rarely even met with Tenet and that the budget for HUMINT activities was dramatically cut during the Clinton Administration.
CP on August 21, 2007 at 10:09 PM
I’m down with Bomb Doctor, AP. Marines are fanatically loyal to the Corps. Question not what we do or why we do it when it comes to expressing our insane commitment to the beloved USMC.
“There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and those who have met them in battle. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.”
Alden Pyle on August 21, 2007 at 10:10 PM
Why worry about some guy in a cave when there are bimbos at
your beck and call.Priorities…….
Bbzl.123 on August 21,2007 at 7:20 PM.
You nailed it,I guess Clinton wasn’t that serious on the
mideast peace either,after all Yessur Arafat was sitting
in the Rose garden twittling his thumbs,while Clinton was
being serviced by Monica.
canopfor on August 21, 2007 at 10:21 PM
Clinton’s assumptions were very lazy. He subordinated the interests of his country to his ego.
aengus on August 21, 2007 at 10:26 PM
Clinton had an agenda. Peace and prosperity. And nothing was going to get in his way of that agenda.
Sue on August 21, 2007 at 10:37 PM
Well, Scary Larry Johnson just banned me. Again. And deleted my comments. Again. ::sigh:: He seriously doesn’t like disagreements with his **cough** excellent **cough** analysis of the IG’s report.
Sue on August 21, 2007 at 10:45 PM
soundingboard on August 22, 2007 at 3:17 AM
BJ was too much in love with Hill to mess with any of that Bin Laden business.
saved on August 22, 2007 at 6:14 AM
The most telling emphasis within the report, for me at any rate, which doesn’t seem to be touched on here, is the IG recommendation that the DCI and his immediate deputies be investigated for how they handled the money that was given to the agency to deal, specifically with terrorism – and how they got the money in the first place.
The report indicates that Tenet and his deputies were fine with going up to the Hill and beating the drum about how important the threat was from UBL, as long as it got them money for their budget – but, their actual concern for the gravity of the threat was demonstrated by their actions once they got the funds…seems they used the concept of fighting terror as not much more than a ‘bumper sticker’ campaign to win appropriations – which they then took and diverted to all sorts of other uses – while mismanaging and understaffing the actual, you know, effort against terrorism.
The paragraph that recommends that the actions of CIA senior leadership with regards to the money is the ‘money’ graf in the whole executive summary – translated from apparatchik-speak, it basically means the investigators are thinking those guys are potentially liable for criminal charges…
And it does specifically say that, in spite of what Albright testified to, about them ‘doing everything they could’ – that they never took the steps beyond being insider sound-bite cheerleaders on the subject of UBL, etc – just another form of the Clinton era habit of saying that everything is important, everthing is top priority, but then when the cameras are off, or the Hill hearing is over, and the ‘grand poohbah vision moment’ is over, leaving a directionless mess for mid level underlings to sort out and try to manage.
There was no strategic plan because we were being led by people lacking in any sort of true strategic vision. It was eight years of crisis management, with the players lurching from one crisis to the next, just trying to either make themselves look good day to day, all the while sweating it out that their moment to get left holding the bag never came.
Wind Rider on August 22, 2007 at 6:38 AM
And what is their “real” excuse…
That all of the Monica stuff was a “distraction”. How could they do their jobs with that circus going on?
To that I say: Who’s cigar was it anyway?
Agrippa2k on August 22, 2007 at 7:33 AM
Can someone explain to me why El Presidente Jorge Wahabi Bush kept George Tenent (CIA) and Norm Minetta (Transportation Secretary “Let’s strip search 80 year old grannies of Scandinavian descent”) on when he took office? No wonder Bush’s Presidency is in the crapper! Tenet’s act in particular should have been shut down on or around September 12, 2001. Tenet and the overrated Colin Powell were/are also extremely disloyal.
Hilts on August 22, 2007 at 8:22 AM
Tenet should have been let go as soon as Dubya moved in the White House.
Texas Nick 77 on August 22, 2007 at 8:59 AM
Here’s your answer…daddy sez so.
Letter from President George H.W. Bush (https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/george_hw_bush_letter.htm)
December 5, 2002
I am sorry not to be there as The Nixon Center honors a truly great man, George Tenet. If there ever was a person who has truly earned The Nixon Center’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award, it is our nation’s DCI George Tenet.
In these most complicated, dangerous of times, George Tenet is doing a superb job as the President’s top Intelligence Officer.
Years ago I was DCI, but the problems our country, the CIA, and the Intelligence Community faced back then are nowhere near as complicated as the problems faced today. Thank heavens we have a man of your honoree’s integrity and ability leading our Intelligence Community.
The Nixon Center has indeed chosen well. Please congratulate Director Tenet for me.
George Bush
saved on August 22, 2007 at 2:03 PM
That last letter shows me why I despise country club Republicans like George Herbert Walker Bush even more than I do liberals.
Hilts on August 22, 2007 at 2:19 PM
Hilts—my feelings about elite CC RINOs. Why have liberals when you can really screw it up with elite crap.
saved on August 22, 2007 at 3:11 PM
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