It either bungled or hyped its analysis of Iraq to spin fanciful threats from chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, threats that President Bush used to justify the invasion. Clinton's national security advisor, Anthony Lake, wrote a book on the subject. It utterly missed the dismal state Iraq was in and the strength of the insurgency that Americans would face after the fall of Baghdad. This is true, at least in terms of what we see in the public record, but these failures are complex, and many factors are involved. Tenet was not responsible for the post-Cold War HUMINT problems; our assets were gone before he took the top post. (He may have been on the Hill at the time.) While Bill Clinton was president, Mr. Tenet's team was stunned when India, a close ally, conducted nuclear tests. American intelligence did spot Pakistan's undisguised preparations for testing its own bomb. This is a fair criticism. Now we know that a Pakistani rocket scientist had been peddling nuclear technology all over the world for years, possibly with government sanction, without the CIA noticing. That seems like an unfair characterization. Just because they didn't ring up the NYT doesn't mean they didn't "notice." Failure to obtain advance knowledge of the tests does not directly translate into the kind of "blindness" about programs and technologies suggested here. ... "personal reasons" ... It's easy to sympathize ... Whether the resignation was voluntary or forced, the timing was terrible. This is, at least, slightly hypocritical. If you honestly sympathize with him, let him go. Better for him to depart now, intact, and be able to help with the reforms next year, than to wear him down to nothing just to have a convenient punching bag. Instead of engaging in a partisan confirmation brawl, the White House and Congress could spend the summer on these issues, and present the winner of the election with the chance to name an intelligence director who has the personal stature, political mandate and, ideally, added authority to institute some real reform. Agreed. Most of the Congressional commentary I heard yesterday was on the mark. Very few were taking cheap shots -- but there were definitely a few in that mode -- and many appeared ready to put some serious reform ideas into play. George Tenet Resigns | 
