June 6, 2004

See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have

The surprise resignation of Central Intelligence Director George J. Tenet on Thursday was a non-surprise.

Political vultures have been circling Washington, D.C., for months – knowing that bodies were going to start falling sooner than later.

Three congressional "oversight" committees were getting desperate for kills.

Scapegoats were not volunteering for U.S. Cole bombing, 9/11, weapons of mass destruction, Al Quida rampages, resistance by Iraq insurgents, prisoner abuse, and intelligence leaks to double agents.

Now, the perfect sacrifice has come forward. He knows the etiquette for hara-kiri.  

The congressional committees are about to release their "findings" of blame for whatever ails them.

The CIA is certain to lead the hit parade because it is mission impossible – to separate facts and intentions from whispers and gossip.

Conclusions can never be exactly right or wrong. President Bush has hired a personal lawyer – as had his predecessors –to help him dodge anticipated brickbats hurled in his direction.

Tenet, a registered Democrat with non-political views, was appointed to the top CIA post seven years ago by President Clinton.

At that time, the bureau was in shambles. After we had won the cold war with Soviet Union, there was thought to be no discernable need for spying.

The world, at last, was safe for democracy.

CIA budgets withered. Congress threw up restraining walls. Spooks were called in from the cold.

Tenet did a good job reorganizing and rebuilding the CIA as seemingly random terrorists acts raised storm warnings.

Unfortunately re-establishing secret agents abroad takes years.

President Bush, cognizant of the ultimate impact of terrorism, persuaded Tenet to continue working. The two men on opposite sides of the political fence bonded in resistance to a mutually perceived menace.

The unique partnership was bound to attract criticism. There was someone on both sides of the fence to chew on.

Tenet asked permission to resign a year ago, but Bush persuaded him to continue. They operated on the same wavelength.

The beginning of the end was Tenet’s assurance -- on old information – that the discovery of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was a ‘slam dunk."  

This misstep is understandable, but reckless from a man who deals with third-hand info as a profession.

From that point on, Tenet was cold shouldered by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vice-president Dick Cheney, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

As Poet George Herbert so aptly said in 1630: "For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost."

Ironically the war against terrorism is just – and worldwide. It is far better to fight terrorists where they live and plot than in the streets of American cities.

It was obvious a month ago that Tenet was a marked man. Was he to be crucified upright or upside down?

Besides, he had suffered heart trouble, he had forfeited some valuable family life, he was bone-tired and he has served in the CIA top post for seven years under two presidents.

Hey, he could see the road ahead as well as media harpies. Real politicians know when the end is near. They don’t need – don’t want – a butler to show them to the door.

Loyalty to the head honcho, and dignity for one’s self, is sufficient.

It certainly was time to go. One can’t bargain with inevitability. Bush’s campaign is besieged with whys and why nots.

Better to take hits early when there is time to recuperate. Waiting until the closing weeks of a political campaign is Russian roulette.

Bush also understood the process. A quiet talk the night before in the Oval Office. A letter of resignation -- for "family reasons" -- the next morning. A Rose Garden announcement with thanks and regrets by the Big Guy.

No blood on the carpet. It’s the American way.  

 Socrates had it right. "Hand me that cup of hemlock, and see what the boys in the back room will have!"

Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist who can be reached at linwms@lindseywilliams.org