Nosey Online

That's the title of this piece in Newsweek about the story behind the story. I know I know, conspiracy theories area already flying around the internet, and I for one will play "wait and see." But this should whet your appetite.

CIA Director George Tenet’s sudden resignation caps a turbulent tenure in which some of the spy agency’s greatest triumphs—notably, its aggressive response to the September 11 terror attacks—were on the verge of being overshadowed by a series of new disclosures about the intelligence community’s faulty warnings about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

...

But congressional sources said the timing seemed to be influenced by the impending release of a massive Senate Intelligence Committee report that one official described as a “devastating indictment” of the agency’s handling of pre-war intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Another report expected next month from the national commission investigating the September 11 attacks is expected to roundly criticize the agency’s failure to develop sources inside Al Qaeda and piece together evidence—including information in its files on two of the hijackers—that might have helped uncover the plot.

"This seems to have as much to do with the president's re-election as anything else," says one veteran intelligence community official who has long been close to Tenet. "George is a fighter and it's not in his character to walk away like this. I think he read the tea leaves" that the White House wanted him to leave, the official said.

...

But the Senate report will document how major portions of the Powell’s speech—vetted line by line with Tenet and other top CIA officials—turned out to be wrong and much more thinly sourced than the secretary of State had been led to believe, sources said.

So, "he's leaving for personal reasons" could really be a fill-in the blank. One thing I'm certain of is that the reasons for Tenets departure will come clear over time. Whether or not the DCI's resignation will hurt Bush's reelection chances remains to be seen.

But this still can't be good for everyone. Last time I checked, bin Laden and his cronies still are still out there. Things will not fall apart in the intelligence area, but you've got to wonder just how bad things had gotten. In political terms, "reading the tea leaves" can lead to some pretty hasty decisions. And I don't take George Tenet as one who makes hasty decisions.