WASHINGTON (CNN) — CIA Director George Tenet has resigned, citing personal reasons, President Bush said Thursday.
…Former CIA Director Stansfield Turner said the timing of Tenet’s resignation — just five months before the presidential election — cast doubt on the explanation that it was a personal decision.
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Possible Explanations from George Tenet:
- “Personal reasons. Personally, I’m pretty sure I was about to get fired.”
- “Sure, when I resign it makes the news. But all the times I prevented myself from resigning - those don’t get reported.”
- “I resigned!?”
- “I had no protection from the massive threat levels we were under from the DoD.”
- “Actually, I resigned 16 months ago. Unfortunately, due to communications problems, the news didn’t reach me until this morning.”
- “After all the fantastic intelligence work surrounding 9/11 and the Iraq War, this one was a slam dunk.”
- “Yellowcake, Plame, Chalabi… I just wanted to leave while the administration’s respect for the CIA was at such an all-time high.”
- “Uh… no reason, nothing special. I just wanna spend more time with my family. Before the summer. In a cave. In Canada. Gotta go - good luck, all!”
- “I’m going to be informed by the President about my personal reasons on a need-to-know basis.”
“- ‘Fall guy?’ Nonsense. George W. Bush is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life. Donald Rumsfeld is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life. Paul Wolfowitz is the…”





11 comments
Mojo
June 3, 2004 at 2:31 pm
1They just need to make room for the new Director of Central Intelligence; Ahmed Chalabi. He’ll be great. He has proven himself as an intelligence agent for three different countries; US, Iraq, and Iran (and I’m hearing rumors about Lithuania). He has also produced huge quantities of actionable (although not actually real) intelligence. Best of all, I don’t think he’s ever heard the phrase “slam dunk”.
Dugrless
June 3, 2004 at 3:03 pm
2I’m hoping that “personal reasons” means that he wants to spend more time on his when-I-was-working-for-them-I-kept-quiet-but-now-I’m-free tell-all book tour.
Allan B
June 3, 2004 at 3:30 pm
3Just a couple of weeks ago Bush went to the Pentagon where he told Rumsfeld that he was doing a superb job as secretary of defense. Today Bush accepted Tenet’s resignation saying that Tenet had done “a superb job on behalf of the American people.”
If I were Rumsfeld I’d be dusting off my resume about now. The end is near.
justin @ RSR
June 3, 2004 at 3:57 pm
4Click here for a special flash tribute to George Tenet.
Murray
June 3, 2004 at 4:32 pm
5Adam, it’s a tradition, and everyone in Washington knows what the code words mean.
When you are screwed, glued, blued, and tattooed, and you know it, merely say the magic word FAMILY and presto- free as a bird.
Try it some time. It works especially well if you actually HAVE a family.
craig
June 3, 2004 at 7:08 pm
6George Tenet resigned??!!
Does the CIA know about this yet?
bellatrys
June 3, 2004 at 7:25 pm
7Oh, wow, somebody else has been having Manchurian Candidate flashbacks recently! It isn’t just me! (That and Dr. Strangelove…)
littlebit
June 4, 2004 at 12:43 am
8So, it’s done, then. Axe Challabi, axe Tenet. They give bad info. and cause wars. Them gone. Problem solved. A can-do, take-action-kind-of-guy president. I’m happy.
Civilian contractor interragator, chain of command, Abu what?
tim
June 4, 2004 at 9:38 am
9The only guy who ever really quit to spend more time with his family was Jesus, and even he was pushed.
Ken... Just Ken
June 4, 2004 at 12:13 pm
10George Tenet said that the reason he was resigning was, “The well-being of my wonderful family, nothing more and nothing less.”
So, he’s worried about “the well-being” of his family…
Did someone threaten them?
Hmmmm….
lisa*
June 4, 2004 at 12:14 pm
11Movie flashback….BRAZIL
Terry Gilliums brilliant romance in a police state.
Or Life Becomes Normal Even When it is Becoming More Bizarre
I sent this movie to my nephew at Abu Ghraib just as before the torture story hit the news here. He already knew. He is 19.
He found the movie interesting. That response is interesting.
Information Retreval (the Dept of Torture), cloning children (twins, no triplets), the plastic surgery and the TERRORISTS you never see.
Find this movie and you will not believe it is 20 years old
Remeber, we are all in this together. lisa*