60 Minutes of CYA

Too bad nobody in DC can understand the old saying "what's done is done". In DC what's done is never done, it's just an opportunity to score points and make money. During peacetime it's not big deal--SOP--but during wartime it doesn't mix so well.

Nevertheless, more excerpts are pouring forth from Tenet's book in advance of his appearance tonight on 60 Minutes, with the breathless New York Times leading the way, painting Tenet as no different than a stock writer at Firedoglake or HuffPo. The WaPo also weighed in with another article, yet as Tom Maguire points out, it's disappointing there were no references to Valerie Plame or Joe Wilson. Rather odd, since the book title is "Center of the Storm". Perhaps we'll hear about some tonight. Or not.

At any rate, if you can stand it I'd like to present a few more thoughts on this subject. First things first, the Times article has been figuratively hurled out the window for reasons mentioned above. Instead let's focus on two WaPo stories with the first one focusing on the musings from Tenet (blockquoted):

(Bush) repeatedly stretched available intelligence to build support for the war

That seems a polar opposite to how Woodward described the December 2002 slam dunk meeting. Bush was painted as skeptical while Tenet was waving his arms, the president ending the conversation with an admonition to his staff to NOT stretch the info.

The debate "was not about imminence but about acting before Saddam did."

In hindsight a pretty good question but based on all the available wisdom at the time rather understandable, since Saddam had already "acted" several times with disastrous results.

In their threat briefings for the incoming Bush administration in late 2000, Tenet writes, CIA officials did not even mention Iraq. But Cheney, he says, asked for an Iraq briefing and requested that the outgoing Clinton administration's defense secretary, William S. Cohen, provide information on Iraq for Bush.

That begs the question--why would the former administration have ignored Iraq in their turnover briefings? Why did Cheney have to specifically ask? After all, it was William Cohen who famously held up that bag of sugar to simulate Saddam's anthrax threat. There were repeated bombings and speeches about the threat from Saddam to the point of even accusing him of helping bin Laden make VX gas in Khartoum, later inducing a bombing. Was it all just dog wagging after all?

When he became acting director in December 1996, Tenet writes, he found an agency "in shambles," its budget slashed, its recruiting moribund and its morale "in the basement."

Somehow the Times missed that part.

The program (NSA terrorist surveillance) was Cheney's idea, and the vice president briefed "the leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence committees 12 times prior to its public disclosure" in late 2005

He might think this helps Cheney but it will probably just add more fuel to the impeachment fire. It does suggest the incredible power of the vice president, but we knew that.

Tenet's memoir revisionism is particularly strange since open source information says he sent a memo to Congress in October of 2002 explaining the WMD threat that Bush was building up at the time, most notably during a speech in Cincinnati on October 7. The letter also stipulated the known links to al Qaeda. As we know, only two months later he would tell the president the case was a slam dunk, hardly apt if he thought the case wasn't.

Enter Mike Scheuer, former Tenet underling and head of the bin Laden unit. His pre-60 Minutes WaPo Op Ed basically rips the former DCI a new bunghole (thanks Mick) by saying Tenet should have known what everyone else in the CIA knew--the Iraq war would be a disaster and that Saddam was never involved with AQ:

But Tenet's resignation would have destroyed the neocons' Iraq house of cards by discrediting the only glue holding it together: the intelligence that "proved" Saddam Hussein guilty of pursuing nuclear weapons and working with al-Qaeda.

Problem is, Mr. Scheuer himself was touting the bin Laden connection in his first book, which I've written about here many times and pointed out in detail quite awhile ago by Thomas Joscelyn of the Weekly Standard (also ripped by Scheuer).

Let me summarize--this book is just another CYA parade float. It can only help Mr. Tenet but it does no good in the long run nor does it help us in our present predicament. Terrorists and their state enablers attacked us on 9/11 (and other times) and Saddam was part of the fabric of terror nation. He might not have been involved in 9/11 but it's undeniable that he had possessed WMDs and had used them.

All this quibbling doesn't nullify those basic facts. Leaving him in power would have been risky. Remember, this was a guy who had written novels with allusions to the tumbling twin towers so the revisionist mothballing of his bad influence on the region is pretty stunning. But this is now a bridge never crossed by the warring parties in America.

Finally, Maguire notes that CIA press person Bill Harlow helped write the book. Yet another Plame star pokes up their head up like a meercat, looking around, seeing a clear coast, and filling a bag with book cash! All the while the Bush administration absorbs yet another body blow without so much as a middle finger from Rove in response. Perplexing, unless of course they are all guilty as sin.

LIVE BLOGGING THE SHOW.. SORT OF 4/29/07

Part of the lead in to the show, "who in the Bush administration put the knife in his back.." Off to a good start!

Tenet, "human beings make mistakes". Something nobody can seemingly understand anymore. Then said, "truth matters to us". By the way, he's the most animated guest I've ever seen.

On the Condi Rice "special briefing" pre 9/11...Tenet says he told Rice we needed to open a can on Afghanistan. That's interesting, because there were stories out right after 9/11 that in fact that's what we were planning to do.

Key moment--Tenet getting the passenger lists of the 9/11 flights and seeing the two Kuala Lumpur terrorists he failed to watch list in 2000. Ouch.

I like his attitude, by the way. "It's our turn now, bastards" or something to that effect. "We sat around the campfire and said now we get to torture people!. No, we don't torture people". Pelley (CBS): "c'mon George, waterboarding, etc". Tenet: "listen to me, we do not torture people". Very testy.

MORE

On the prospect of AQ nukes, "intent" is the key (as for me, I'm skeptical they could effectively deliver and am confident they can't produce, but these are the kinds of problems that cause multiple ulcers for those in charge).

IRAQ
Tenet, "war in Iraq is a national tragedy". CBS, "classic Washington fashion, someone decided to leak". Bwwhhahahaha.

Tenet slam dunked Cheney, but so what, he's the human pinata nowadays. He also got a Perle slam in there, too, regards him listing Saddam. Regards that statement he expressed incredulity that Perle would say such a thing, since he knew it was AQ. How did Tenet know what connections those terrorists had that quickly after the event?

He was very adamant about there being no connection between Saddam and ANY attack on America, yet above I linked the memo he sent Congress listing the known connections and the 2002 NIE. There's some disingenuity and showmanship going on here, methinks.
This is the reason Scheuer thinks he should have spoken up at the time, instead he said slam dunk.

Tenet, "Scott, you're doing it again". Ha. "Intelligence is about best judgments".
He defended Colin Powell's UN presentation.

Ah, now it's finally Joe time! Tenet, "she (Plame) is one of my officers". Pelley, 'how much damage', Tenet, animated, "that's not the point!".

As to the slam dunk moment, after seeing Tenet's gesticulations and animation on TV this is easily imaginable. He said nothing to convince me there.

As to who leaked it to Woodward, "I don't know". He called Andy Card and said he believed Saddam had WMDs, but that the White House had thrown him under the bus and were being dishonorable. Trust was broken. But he did accept the Medal of Freedom.

I'm with Scheuer, I like this guy. Not sure he's telling the complete truth on everything, especially Iraq, and he is certainly trying to settle scores and engage in classic DC tactics to salvage his legacy, but his service to the nation shouldn't be overlooked.

However, in the cold hard world his legacy will revolve around not watch-listing the two California terrorists and the slam dunk remark.

MORE 5/29/07

Tenet's reference to Richard Perle is being challenged already. We'll have to see how that impacts Tenet's proclamation that CIA folks always tell the truth.