Quotes by

George Tenet

You know, at the end of the day, the only thing you have is trust and honor in this world. Thats all you have. All you have is your reputation built on trust and your personal honor. When you dont have that anymore, well, you know, there you go. Trust was broken. – George Tenet

The only people that ever stand up and tell the truth are who? Intelligence officers. Because our culture is, never break faith with the truth. Well tell you, you dont have to drag it out of us. – George Tenet

Heres the teaching point, if youre teaching kids about intelligence and policy: Intelligence does not absolve policymakers of responsibility to ask tough questions, and it doesnt absolve them of having curiosity about the consequences of their actions. – George Tenet

As a nation we have, over the past seven years, been rebuilding our intelligence with powerful capabilities that many thought we would no longer need after the Cold War. We have been rebuilding our clandestine service, our satellite and other technical collection, our analytical depth and expertise. – George Tenet

To understand a difficult topic like Iraq takes patience and care. Unfortunately, you rarely hear a patient, careful or thoughtful discussion of intelligence these days. – George Tenet

By definition, intelligence deals with the unclear, the unknown, the deliberately hidden. What the enemies of the United States hope to deny we work to reveal. – George Tenet