Analysis
Is he taking the fall or just letting go?

By Glenn Kessler
The Washington Post

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When the nation went to war on the basis of intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that turned out to be wildly wrong, no one took the fall, either.

So when George Tenet resigned yesterday as CIA director, it was no surprise that his departure was choreographed to demonstrate he was not being blamed for any of the intelligence failures that occurred on his watch. The administration line was that he was leaving on his own accord to spend time with his family.

But in official Washington, where every departure of any senior official is searched for hidden meaning and ulterior motives, the question lingered in the corridors of power and over expense-account meals: Was Tenet finally being served up as a sacrificial lamb by an administration that loathes to admit a mistake?

As with much news that has centered around Tenet, there was no shortage of spin — and many answers. Defenders accepted the official explanation; those eager to tarnish the administration saw the departure as proof somebody was finally paying for the assorted intelligence failures. Republicans who sensed tension between Tenet and the White House believed his resignation was welcome.

Fueling much of the speculation was the fact that Tenet had sought to leave at several points last year, but President Bush had persuaded him to stay, as administration officials told it. Now, at the moment when the White House is under severe political pressure and Bush's re-election may be imperiled, the president finally accepted Tenet's resignation.

"To some degree, the White House may be making a craven calculation," said Flynt Leverett, a former CIA and Bush White House official who is now at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. "You have calls for accountability, that someone has to lose a job. In a sense, you have an easy way to have someone lose his job — he wants to quit."

Others noted that Tenet is leaving before reports are issued on intelligence failures that led to the Sept. 11 attacks and the gathering of intelligence of Iraq's weapons. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said it was "no secret" that Tenet was tired and wanted to leave, though Tenet was also well aware that the reports would soon be issued. But, he added, "I don't think George Tenet should be held responsible or blamed for the intelligence failures of the past two years."

Former CIA Director Stansfield Turner told CNN that he was very surprised by the resignation because he thought "the president was not going to acknowledge that there were problems in his own inner circle. I certainly thought that Tenet, being a very loyal type of civil servant, would not walk out on the president in the middle of an election campaign."

Those closest to Tenet tended to discount the more conspiratorial explanations.

"I'm probably the only person in Washington who takes George at face value," said former national security adviser Sandy Berger, who said he had had many phone conversations yesterday speculating on the motives and political effect of Tenet's departure. Berger, who worked closely with Tenet in the Clinton White House, noted that Tenet has been at the center of intelligence decision-making for nearly 12 years, either at the CIA or Clinton's National Security Council.
 
Mark Mansfield, a CIA spokesman, said the critical reports — by congressional intelligence panels and by the 9/11 Commission — had nothing to do with his departure. "It was a personal decision, nothing more, nothing less," he said.

To be sure, many of the CIA's successes are hidden from view, while its failures generate big headlines. Tenet offered a firm defense this year of the agency making exactly that point, focusing in particular on its role in cracking a nuclear smuggling ring operating out of Pakistan.

Washington Post reporter Robin Wright contributed to this story.