Tenet, former director of the CIA, has finally delivered his long-anticipated book. It was supposed
to provide background and insight into the events of September 11 as well as the lead-up of the Iraq
War. But most readers will find that Tenet's hodgepodge of facts tangled with homey anecdotes, excuses,
and mea culpas will leave them as confused as ever. Alternately presenting himself as the folksy Greek
American kid from Queens and the high-charging power broker, Tenet is proud of the many things the CIA
did right under his charge, such as disrupting terrorist attacks leading up to 9/11 (while, of course,
missing the big one), and he writes feverishly about successes in Afghanistan and elsewhere during the
trying months afterward. The book is at its best painting just how dangerous, confusing, and exhausting
those days were. Then comes the distraction from terrorism that was Iraq, and according to Tenet, common
purpose disappeared in Washington, and interagency warfare reigned. In Tenet's distorted view, Cheney
comes out looking bad, and Rice worse, but much of the blame for the ill-preparedness goes to the
slightly lower-level neocons: Wolfowitz, Libby, et al. As for the president, Tenet likes him..a lot.
But in a telling few pages, Bush keeps trying to get neocon favorite Ahmed Chalabi off the payroll,
and no one pays a bit of attention to him. Turning these pages is like walking through mirrors.

George Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1997 to 2004. He holds a BSFS from the
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and an MIA from the School of International Affairs
at Columbia University. He was appointed to the faculty of Georgetown University in 2004 and lives
outside Washington, D.C., with his wife, author Stephanie Glakas-Tenet, and their son.

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