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
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
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
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