How do I counter an attack that Tennet was a Clinton appointee?

[Worst Username Ever]

Does it cut it to just say that Tennet and Bush were buddy-buddy? Does the incoming prez have to re-confirm the appointments of the out-going administration? Or am I completely wrong and Clinton did not appoint Tennet?

1. Bush didn't have to keep him, did he?

n/t

[Cheswick2.0]

2. why does it matter?

Clinton is not responsible for Tenent after he leaves office. Just like he is not responsible for the bad management of Greenspan as compared to the good management of Greenspan during his administration. Even Tenent and Greenspan take direction from the President. Bush is responsible.

[ObaMania]

3. Tennet is a Republican

.. and Clinton appointed him as an act of Bi-partisanship!

[Hoping4Change]

4. You're assuming that Tenet deserves the blame being placed

on his shoulders. Tenet is clearing being made the scapegoat so I wouldn't buy into this attempt to cast him as the crux of the problem.

[JHB]

5. Here's an article from 1997, when he was still new:

On, quite importantly, the politicization of the CIA:

http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/story43.html

Clinton did oust Gates but avoided confronting the problem head-on by installing James Woolsey, a neo-conservative Democrat who had worked closely with the Reagan-Bush administrations. Under Woolsey, the Gates crowd, sans Gates, further consolidated its bureaucratic power. That trend continued during the brief tenure of Clinton's second CIA director, John Deutch.


The 'Gates Clones'
Now, Clinton's new CIA director, George Tenet, also has chosen to surround himself with many of Gates's former allies. Tenet did oust Cohen, whom the analysts considered one of Gates's most aggressive enforcers. But other Gates-connected officials -- McLaughlin, Carey, Wiley and Gannon -- remain in high positions inside the CIA. Over the past 15 years, the Casey-Gates allies also have trained a younger generation of analysts who are now moving into mid-level positions.

Seeing the Casey-Gates crowd still dominating the senior levels of the CIA has discouraged many of the analysts who went public to protest the "politicization." In interviews, these former CIA analysts complained that Clinton has allowed the CIA's drift from the Reagan-Bush years to carry the analytical division even deeper into a backwater of shoddy scholarship and low morale.

"Clinton missed an opportunity to get the CIA on the right track," said Goodman. "The CIA's in a hell of a lot of trouble."
"He blew it," declared Dickson. "He threw it away. It's too late now." Dickson predicted that the CIA, just passing its 50th anniversary, will continue on a path of gradual decline and growing irrelevance.

[sandnsea]

6. Cheney and Rumsfeld weren't

Cheney was the one who went over to the CIA and pressured them to come up with the intelligence to bolster its case for war. Cheney is the one who buried the forged yellow cake documents. Rumsfeld is the one who set up his own intelligence office in DoD. (I'm sure you can think of more examples)

Tenet is the only one who took responsibility for this fiasco and resigned.

[BurtWorm]

7. You don't counter it, because it's true.

Clinton did appoint Tenet. He also appointed Freeh, who turned around and screwed him.

[comsymp]

8. The word "so?" comes to mind

Frankly, IMO, that still wasn't justification for * and his merry band of incompetents to blow off Tenet's warnings (8/6 PDB ring a bell?).

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. FYI: Tenet's resume AND your response......

• Born George John Tenet, January 5, 1953, Flushing, New York, the son a restaurateur and homemaker who emigrated from Greece after fleeing their native Albania. Has a fraternal twin brother, Bill.

• Married to A. Stephanie Glakas-Tenet; they have one son, John Michael.

• Graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree, 1976, and from the School of International Affairs at Columbia University with a master's degree in 1978.

(MY NOTE: The educational background noted above is a basic prerequisite for being selected for employment by the CIA.)

• Research director, American Hellenic Institute, a Greek-American lobbying organization, 1978-79.

• Worked for the Solar Energy Industries Association, 1979-82.

(MY NOTE: Tenet's first two positions allowed him to travel extensively in the Balkans initially, and then on a more global basis.)

• Legislative assistant and then legislative director to Republican U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III of Pennsylvania, specializing in national security and energy issues, 1982-85

• Staff member, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 1985-89. Designee to vice chairman, Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

• Staff director, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 1989-93. Served under chairmanship of Democratic U.S. Senator David C. Boren of Oklahoma.

(MY NOTE: Following his work in the field, Tenet was assigned to various intelligence staff positions within the Senate.)

• Member, President Bill Clinton's national security transition team, 1993.

• Special assistant to the president and senior director for intelligence programs at the National Security Council, 1993-95.

(MY NOTE: From 1993-1995, Tenet developed a close personal and professional relationship with President Clinton.)

• Deputy director, Central Intelligence, 1995-96

• Acting director, Central Intelligence, 1996-97, following departure of director John Deutch.

• Sworn in as director of Central Intelligence on July 11, 1997 following unanimous votes by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and full Senate. Position heads Central Intelligence Agency and network of about a dozen branches of intelligence.

*****(MY NOTE: Please note that Clinton appointed Tenet as DCI, but that the voting to conform Tenet as DCI was unanimous by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as well as the full Senate. This is your answer to anyone making comments about Tenet being appointed by Clinton...he was confirmed by unanaimous vote by the Senate when the Senate was GOP-controlled, 55-45.)

• Became first CIA director in 28 years to remain in office after the White House switched occupants, after George W. Bush became 43rd U.S. president, January 20, 2001.

(MY NOTE: Recently resigned amid a great deal of controversy after holding the position as DCI for 7 years and what appears to be a 26 year career with the CIA.)

[Kong]

10. Why Was The Intellignce Good Under Clinton But Bad Under Bush?

Ask yourself why the CIA was able to give good information under Clinton's leadership but bad information under Bush's leadership and the conclusion you can come to is that it was the leadership that was bad.

[Shakespeare]

11. Tenet was NOT Clinton's first pick--was sort of forced into it.

Tony Lake was Clinton's pick to head the CIA, but he had to withdraw the nomination for reasons that aren't entirely clear.

Here's a link:

http://204.27.188.70/daily/03-97/03-18-97/a01wn007.htm

[bacchant]

12. Mantra: Bush kept him, trusted him, used him.

[lapislzi]

13. Simple. Take Clinton out of the equation

Refuse to discuss anything but bush and his policies. In this case, the policy he chose to keep Tennet on.

Using the Clinton argument is never anything more than a diversion. Remind your opponent that Clinton is not now running for any office and requires no defense.

[mzmolly]

14. How bout Clinton didn't rush to war based on shoddy CIA intelligence.

That's the key folks.