Was It Ever Easy to Lead the C.I.A.?

[The Backlash Cometh]

WASHINGTON — It seems an immutable law of Washington: directors of central intelligence are better remembered for their failures than their successes. George J. Tenet joined the roll last week. Historians may someday credit him for rebuilding the marquee spy service at a dangerous hour in the nation's history, but for now his critics will consign him to the company of men like Allen W. Dulles, who was fired by President Kennedy after the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and William J. Casey, who died in office as the Iran-contra scandal engulfed the Reagan administration.

As he packs up his papers, Mr. Tenet is facing the sort of treatment Dulles was accorded after the Bay of Pigs debacle. Upon learning of the failed invasion, Dean Acheson, Harry Truman's secretary of state, acidly observed to his old boss, "Why we ever engaged in this asinine Cuban adventure, I cannot imagine.''

As Mr. Tenet bid a sad farewell to his colleagues at the Central Intelligence Agency last week, it was hard to recall the last time a Washington spy master stepped down in triumph - or, for that matter, the last time the nation celebrated the achievements of the C.I.A. The closest thing to a rousing success in recent years was the agency's clandestine role in the 1980's in evicting Soviet forces from Afghanistan - though that operation inadvertently laid the groundwork for the rise of Osama bin Laden - and the capture or killing of top Al Qaeda leaders since Sept. 11, 2001

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http://nytimes.com/2004/06/06/weekinreview/06taub.html

[Don_G]

1. Don't Forget

Their successes are secret and could cost the lives of valuable agents/assets giving information to the US. Those would be kept quiet out of necessity.

[keithyboy]

2. Hell, who know who really controls the CIA? Does anyone?

We have a lot of rogue agencies in our government. We don't know who the hell controls them...not even the President knows. There were agencies certainly working against Clinton all the time. He didn't even know what hit him or from where the hits came.