He is the scapegoat. The buck should not stop with him.
Lyn Stevens
Lake City, Fla.


George Tenet Steps Down
The CIA director resigns amidst growing questions about his role in the runup to the Iraq war

Closing in on Tenet
The Senate may deliver a harsh assessment of the CIA director

Archive: How to Fix our Intelligence
The CIA and FBI desperately need to be reformed to deter the next 9/11. But are they and the Administration willing to change?

CIA: George Tenet's Biography
Profile of the man who has been CIA Director since 1997

The Mindset Behind the Intelligence Failures
A year after the US Secretary of State Colin Powell presented the American case against Iraq to the Security Council, attention is turning from the actual failures of intelligence to why they happened

Looking for Mr. Right


Maliki's Last Stand?
The prime minister makes a new call to curb violence, but Iraqis' patience with him and his government is wearing thin

What a Surge Really Means
Can a couple more divisions in Iraq make a difference? Or is Bush's idea too little, too late?

Where Does Negroponte Leave Intelligence?


June 3, 2004
What do you think of George Tenet's resignation?
President Bush on Thursday announced the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet, citing "personal reasons" for the director's departure. While Bush expressed support for Tenet, this may have been a move to preempt calls for Tenet's firing from both parties. TIME reported that the Senate was due to issue a scathing report on the CIA's work before the Iraq war and Tenet's role in the bad intelligence used by Colin Powell and others to justify the invasion. The search is now on for a replacement for Tenet, who for now will be succeeded by his deputy, John McLaughlin. What do you think? Why did Tenet resign, and what does this mean for the CIA and the U.S.?

Send us your thoughts


The War on Terror does not appear to be showing any signs of being over any time soon. With that in mind, I do find it somewhat troubling that the man who is in charge of the area that may well be its most crucial component, in the country that has the best chance of making not just itself but indeed the entire world safer, in effect has declared that he has been unfit for the task.
Mns. Andersson
Sweden

He definitely was the man on the hot seat due to the fact that his agency was probably most directly responsible for the failure before 9/11 and the Iraq fiasco. However, he's an easy scapegoat because he is a Clinton holdover and not a "Bush man" like Rummy, Cheney, or Rice. Although I believe he was forced out by the White House, the idealist in me hopes that it really was his own decision and that he is one person in this administration who actually takes responsibility with his actions and not merely words.
Jimmy Kitchen
Houston, Texas

It is so easy for smug, self-satisfied Americans to sit on their couches and criticize people like Tenet, etc. who are grappling with the most serious threat to our world in decades. So what does this resignation make better? All it does is make it more likely that the best people stay away from any public service. Unless they become journalists, of course. That's a pretty safe job.
Florence Schmieg
Wilmington, Del.

He is the scapegoat. The buck should not stop with him.
Lyn Stevens
Lake City, Fla.

Who are we supposed to depend on for our security if we can't trust the CIA? Under Tenet's leadership the CIA's false information led our country, along with our coalition allies, into a war where thousands have died. The war should never have taken place. His leadership has failed us all. I wish he had resigned long ago.
Celeste Massey
Belleville, Mich.

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