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
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
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
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
Leave this hypocritical prating about the masses. Masses are rude, lame, unmade, pernicious in their demands and influence, and need not to be flattered, but to be schooled. I wish not to concede anything to them, but to tame, drill, divide, and break them up, and draw individuals out of them. – Ralph Waldo Emerson