Arianna, You've got it so wrong

Arianna Huffington wrote this
and showed her ignorance and her naivety regarding the actions of George Tenet during his tenure, and after. She says he should have just resigned as did others, such as John Brady Kiesling...WHO??? Mr. Tenet headed the CIA, Ms. Huffington. He was a very important person to our country, despite what we may think about him. Your comments that he should have resigned were wrong. I take the liberty of posting your article here, with my comments in bold at the end of your paragraphs. Let's Dance.

Arianna Huffington:

Does this sound familiar? A senior Bush administration official plays a key role in selling the Iraq war debacle to the American public, resigns a few years later, and then tries to distance himself from Bush and the war by writing a book or talking to Bob Woodward, portraying himself as a poor, hapless victim who knew the truth at the time and really, really wanted to tell it, but, somehow, just had no choice but to go along. What else could he do?

He could have resigned, Arianna. But any good he might have been able to do at the agency, despite the predicament, would not have been possible from the outside. Maybe some "agency" projects needed him, and he decided to stay, despite the mess.

Each version of this contemptible tale shares the same fatal flaw. It requires that the remedy that was readily available -- resignation -- did not exist.

It always existed, however for a "true patriot" (and I'm not judging Tenet) it is possible that the best place he could be was at his job.

The latest to trod this pathetic path is George Tenet.

Poor George Tenet. Flogging his book, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, on 60 Minutes, Tenet tells Scott Pelley about how his phrase "slam dunk" was misused by the Bush administration. Tenet, you see, didn't mean it was a "slam dunk" that Hussein actually had WMD, he only meant it was a "slam dunk" that a public case could be made that Hussein had WMD.

-- ...so it means that whether he has them or not, we can make the case that he does.

I can't really see that the distinction matters, but Tenet apparently does. "I became campaign talk," Tenet tells Pelley, "I was a talking point. 'Look at what the idiot told us, and we decided to go to war.' Well, let's not be so disingenuous. Let's stand up. This is why we did it. This is why, this is how we did it. And let's tell, let's everybody tell the truth." ...wow, Tenet suggests "we" tell the truth, because we haven't told the truth. What is the "truth," Mr. Tenet?

Great -- except he's about four years too late. Tenet seems to believe there's a major distinction between lying and standing by silently while others lie, and then proudly receiving a Medal of Freedom from the liars. -Good point, Arianna, except maybe he believed he deserved the Medal of Freedom for other reasons that we don't know about.

He could have simply resigned and freed himself to "tell the truth." Tenet acts as if resignation were not an option. But it was. And the passion and anger he displays now in the service of book sales could have been used then in the service of his country. ...Good point, Arianna, but the scenario plays like this: Tenet resigns. Tells "the truth." Is discredited by the administration, who were still (at that time) influence at its most powerful and dangerous. He is smeared by the administration... Well, I hope you get the point. There would have been no positive effects to his resignation, although today we might be saying, "Yeah, he was right. But so what?"

"It's the most despicable thing I've ever heard in my life," Tenet tells Pelley. "You don't do this... You're gonna throw somebody overboard just because it's a deflection? Is that honorable? It's not honorable to me." No, George, not honorable, but expected and you should have expected it starting way before November 2000. This you must have seen coming.

The problem is, the honorable train left the station a long time ago, and Tenet wasn't on board. Maybe you are wrong, Madam. Honor, to some is found in doing your job faithfully. Sometimes in resigning. Sometimes is the important word here.

But others were. Like John Brady Kiesling, a career U.S. diplomat, who resigned from the State Department. As he wrote in his resignation letter to Colin Powell:

"I am resigning because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to represent the current U.S. administration. I have confidence that our democratic process is ultimately self-correcting, and hope that in a small way I can contribute from outside to shaping policies that better serve the security and prosperity of the American people and the world we share."

That, Mr. Tenet, is how it's done.

That, Ms. Huffington is one way, and not always the best way to do it. Pay attention, please. Paul O'Neil (remember him) resigned, seemingly for reasons similar to those of John Brady Kiesling. He spoke out. His usefulness to us diminished afterward. Perhaps Tenet remained as a force for good surrounded by negative forces. Resigning can be a proper path, but Tenet's could have been the act of a true patriot also.

It's way too late for George Tenet to do the right thing. But can someone please remind Paul Wolfowitz and Alberto Gonzales, as they are pathetically fighting tooth and nail to cling to their jobs, that there is another option. Not in the same class, Madam. Gonzales is incompetent, and Wolfowitz is a very smart man with ideas that don't work . They are not relevant here. Wolf and Gonzo were dragged to DC in 2000. Tenet was already there.

And how long do you think it's going to be after the end of the Bush administration before we are treated to General Petraeus' memoir explaining how the surge would have worked "if only he had been given the troops he needed to implement it properly." -- Nobody will believe him.Get real. He inherited his execution. Probably a great patriot. Who signed up for War Czar, Arianna?

So here is a plea to all Bush administration officials: Now is the time. If, like John Brady Kiesling, you're finding it hard to reconcile what you see going on around you with what you know to be the truth, do the right thing and resign. While it matters. What a useless recommendation. They will be replaced with who? WHO, Madam? Harriet Miers as AG? It doesn't get any better than this. It only gets worse. Tell me what would happen if everyone with a conscience resigned. It would be worse. My hat goes off to those competent, well-meaning officials who remain in office during this dark time.

As Tenet says on 60 Minutes: "At the end of the day, the only thing you have is trust and honor in this world. It's all you have. All you have is your reputation built on trust and your personal honor. And when you don't have that anymore, well, there you go." --Not sure I agree totally, George, but okay.

George Tenet and I are both Greek and there is a great word for it: filotimo. -- I really don't care to know the meaning of this word, but I like Greece just the same.

There are still lives to be saved if a few administration officials have the guts to do what they know is right now -- instead of five years from now while flogging their books.

You seem to say that officials resigning will save lives. How?

Any takers?