(Former Sen. David) Boren: Tenet encouraged to resign over doubts about Iraq invasion

[sabra]

Source: AP

OKLAHOMA CITY University of Oklahoma President David Boren says he encouraged former C-I-A director George Tenet to resign because of his doubts about invading Iraq.
Boren's comments come as Tenet's new book is being released. In the book Tenet says the Bush administration never had serious debate over whether Iraq was an imminent threat or if tighter sanctions should be imposed.

Tenet describes Boren as a mentor after Boren selected him to be chief of staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1987.

...

Boren says both Tenet and former Secretary of State Colin Powell told him the Bush administration was determined to go into Iraq and both said they had misgivings about the plans.

Read more: http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=6463958

[gratuitous]

1. Well, he had misgivings

And now, four years later, when it's all gone so disastrously wrong, Tenet bravely steps up to tell us all about his misgivings. And he does so to sell his book and line his pockets. Back in the old days, we used to call that "blood money." Nowadays, it's probably savvy marketing.

[vickitulsa]

2. Hmmm. Very interesting.

Especially coming from David Boren, who is considered by many to be one of Oklahoma's most outstanding -- or at least most influential -- political figures ever.

Here's a bit of info from a website with his bio (emphases are all mine).

As United States Senator from Oklahoma (1979-1994), Boren served on the Senate Finance and Agriculture Committees and was also the longest-serving chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. For more than ten years, he led the fight for congressional campaign finance reform. Among his important accomplishments, he is author of the National Security Education Act of 1992 which established the National Security Education Program.

<snip> (Now I have to go check out precisely what those entail.)

Boren is a graduate of Yale University (1963). He was given a Rhodes Scholar and a master’s degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University in England (1965). In 1968, he received a law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He has served since 1998 as a member of the Yale University Board of Trustees. His university experience also includes four years on the faculty of Oklahoma Baptist University, where he was chairman of the Department of Political Science and chairman of the Division of Social Sciences.

<snip>

David Lyle Boren was born on April 21, 1941, in Washington D.C. while his father, Lyle H. Boren (1910-1992), served during one of the most difficult times in American history. Though the challenges of the Great Depression were beginning to lessen, international discord would soon envelope the United States in World War II. Unpredictable in his loyalty to the Democratic Party, Boren actively supported court packing but was passionately against price controls and rationing for the war effort. Despite his sometimes controversial stance on the issues, Boren enjoyed two high points during his first term of office: the beginning of his long friendship with Speaker Sam Rayburn and placement on the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. Boren was the father of former U.S. Senator and current University of Oklahoma president David L. Boren.

The writer here has me a little bit confused as to when he's speaking of David Boren's father Lyle and when he refers to the Senator of our era who is now President of OU. ?

I couldn't get the photo link to work, but you can see a picture of David Boren at the website where I got this info:

http://davidboren.org

Some mighty interesting stuff there! Much of it I never knew or had forgotten, like the "swearing on the white Bible incident," which apparently is one of the most well-known stories about the Senator.

If you're at all interested in Boren, you'll want to read that section for sure.


What intrigues me about Boren's (apparently brief) remarks concerning George Tenet and his new book is the fact that he is speaking out about it at all, though I can imagine that he just could not resist the urge to make his influence, or history of it, known to more citizens than just us backward hicks here in OK. :sarcasm:

Wonder how his comments will be received? Hmmm....

Depends on who you talk to, I guess, like most every other thing in the world. I'll be paying attention, however, to see what response he gets from the political realm, including bloggers and pundits, if they have anything to say about it.

[NJCher]

3. oh really?

Everybody I know in Oklahoma thinks Boren's one of the most disastrous OU presidents ever. Enrollment drops, spending's up and that's just the least of it.



Cher

[vickitulsa]

4. I presume you're responding to my first paragraph.

Note that I did say, "most outstanding -- or at least most influential" -- not implying I thought him outstanding, for sure.

I never did like him, in fact.

Still don't.

Doesn't seem he was too highly thought of by whoever wrote that website bio, either....

I'm not a big OU person -- prefer OSU in just about every way, of the two big schools here. And I think Tulsa University has a lot more class than either of them.

But my doctor is the Director of the OU School of Internal Medicine branch here in Tulsa, and he is just super. My doc, like about half of them in that clinic, still accepts Medicare, and charges on a sliding scale related to income for all patients. More surprising still, he actually knows who I am and what my ailments are; and he has been quick and correct in diagnosing any little (or big) thing that comes up regarding my medical condition.

However, when ya call that clinic and have to wait on hold (which almost always happens), you get treated to recordings of the OU fight songs and cheers, a rousing rendition of the theme song from that stupidest-ever musical named "Oklahoma!" ... and mixed in with that, some old time hymns!

Talk about ready to puke before I even get to leave a message!........ ;)

I may cheer for OU teams, but has there ever been a more simplistic, moronic fight song than "Boomer Sooner Boomer Sooner Boomer Sooner Boomer Sooner"?

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if people affiliated with OU, including the alumni, think Boren has been a disaster as president of that university. As far as I'm concerned, he qualifies for my favorite nickname for certain men: oops, well, I probably shouldn't say that here.

I never thought he was a good governor, or a good Democrat, or a good Senator. I cringed when he was considering a run for President at one time.

Still, I feel sure a lot of the folks here in OK, who tend to be conservative but still might want to vote Democratic, as they used to do all the time, think Boren is a great guy.

I happen not to be one of them!

[Supersedeas]

5. Nothing to see here--feed them more celebrity news--Imus/anything