Letters to the Editor
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A sad and distrurbing interview on 60 Minutes
When we began this disastrous story arc in the American Drama, I knew this moment would come. All swinging pendula eventually swing back. The truth eventually does come out. Their hubris and their ignorance and their weakness would eventually be rewarded appropriately by the gods.
But it makes me uncomfortable to watch it happen in real time. It's grossly and grotesquely upsetting to watch human failure of this magnitude in action.
Lord only knows what's going to happen to us now.
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Heckuva job, Tenet.
If you'd done your fucking job at the time, 3,000+ American troops and 650,000 Iraqis might still be enjoying life on planet earth.
Apparently you were just too shy to tell Bush and Cheney to back off, or did you just so want the Medal of Freedom. Hope it soothes you conscience, asshole.
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Why wait for the 4 million dollar advance to tell us all this?
Don't buy his book. What a contemptable weasel this guy is. He should have spoken up in December 2001. And he defends torture. The best we can do now is not to buy this book. What a sorry excuse for an excuse this guy is.
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Slam Dunk
I have always thought the question must have been posed with a quagmire full of dripping subtext:
Can we do it? Can we put together a case for war?...(or are we gonna have to fire you and get a director who will make the case. Because one way or the other, buddy boy, there will be a case made. That's not even the issue.)
Okay, I guess, yeah sure. It's a slam dunk. Whatever.
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Waiting for the Book Deal
I have to say that I really think its awful that Tenant waits years to spill his guts. Why didn't he talk about what he knew at least when Bush let him go. (Earlier would have been better but maybe it would have taken Bush down to defeat in 2004.) Because he waited for a great book deal, a lot of people have died and are still going to die.
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If this were Fiction...
...Tenet would known as an unreliable narrator.
Even as he gives new ammunition to those opposed to the war, the new history smacks of little more than self-service. An attempt to tell "his side of the story," and hey, if they can sell a few books in the process, what's the harm? He'll appear on Larry King (if he hasn't already) and every other soft pundit's show, hawking his 'version' of the truth. There are two sides to every story, right?
Yet many of us will have trouble forgetting that AP photo of our President hanging the medal of freedom around Tenet's neck -- the same smug look on his face that now adorns his book cover.
And we'll ask ourselves: exactly why should we believe him this time around?
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Tenet's Choices
I disagree with comparing Tenet to an abused spouse. Abused spouses are truly powerless to stop the violence in their lives and all too often must stay in that situation for fear of their own life and the lives of their children if they leave. Tenet was perhaps intimidated, disregarded and bullied, but he was not powerless. He was cowardly.
I find myself feeling sorry for Tenet as he shows his regret and indignation. Then, I remember how so many lives have been torn apart by this war. Our military families (and those of other coalition forces) and the people of Iraq are the true victim of this war. Tenet will have to live with his choices and the weight of regret that he will carry.
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A clue, written in the stars...
call me crazy, but this bit is pretty "on target". It's a snipet decribing the tendencies of the Gemini North Node, and George Bush happens to be in this position (the north-nodal position signifies for each of us, the central challenge of resolving the paradox of things we do very well that are no longer working, and things we need to develop that cause us, and those with whom we interact, a lot of trouble):
Gemini North Node:
"A tendency to hold beliefs and opinions without gathering the facts, to being self-righteous and running roughshod over others' feelings, to rushing through life and possessing excess nervous energy, and to lack tact in our relationships with others are some of the issues this position suggests. With this position, we are too often in a hurry for fear that our freedom will be curtailed if we stop long enough to gather facts and consider the details of everyday life. We need to learn to listen to others so that we discover the value of true communication and exchange, and to see both sides of a situation instead of throwing out dogma at others."
Believe in astrology or not, who cares, it's right on the money and can be useful in a practical sense. Those who are aware of their tendencies can work on them, those trapped by needing to "believe" in ideas/wisdom, no matter the source, in order to use them practically become President and screw the entire world...sometimes :)
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The man from Q.U.E.E.N.S.
Great write-up on this, Mr. Cole; I think you nailed it, except for the abused spouse reference, which I think is too kind. Tenet failed the country, failed to do his duty, waited things out for a sweet book deal, and then tried to give his reputation a good whitewashing for the sake of posterity, not realizing (being a political insider and all, at least he was, anyway) that the verdict is already out on him.
Stuff like this makes me see Beltway insiders as truly a political class unto themselves, far, far removed from everyday Americans. Who acts this way in real life? When is a spade not a spade? When the Leader tells you it's not, that's when. The morality of the mighty, the tautology of the toady.
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To Current Bush Administration Officials
Sadly, we can't do anything to change the bad actions that have gotten us into this situation. However, to the extent that poor decisions continue to be made, this would be the time to resign and make the information public. Don't wait for the book deal. If you delay, the country will be harmed further and history will judge you harshly.