Tenet: pushed, or walked? Whatta ya say?

[PurityOfEssence]

I'm sayin' he just blindsided our little Connecticut Cowboy, and sandbagged him but good. Why? He probably knew that even with his self-immolation on the Yellow Cake and other things, they'd just use him even more. For whatever combination of loyalty, duty or complicity, he put himself in a position where he thought the Bush family loyalty would repay him for his sacrifice, but he eventually met Mr. Reality.

I don't think Junior was totally caught off guard, though, because I'll bet his advisors have warned him that this could happen for a year now. Still, he considers himself entitled, so he never really expected such betrayal.

Maybe Tenet couldn't even look at himself anymore, and after months of having someone shave him, he caught a glimpse of himself reflected in Junior's highball tumbler and just couldn't take it.

So put it as the first word of your subject line; pushed or walked?

I'm saying walked. Not quite a knife in the back, but it's definitely a parting "fuck you" to the little loser. Tenet knows what will happen if the Administration pins anything more on the Agency, and it's almost inevitable that some of the reactionaries will try.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. He was set up and walked early, unexpectedly

Chalabi blamed him. BFEE blamed "faulty intelligence" - ie Tenet. Woodward fingered him in his book. A clear setup for a patsy.

However, I think he walked early and unexpectedly. They haven't hit him with the knockout punch yet, and he saw the handwriting on the wall, so ditched early.

Of course, like everyone else, I made it all up, but it seems to fit, for me at least. YMMV.

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[gratuitous]

2. Did he jump or was he pushed?

Well, he announced his resignation "for personal reasons," so that's a point in favor of Tenet jumping on his own. But Stupidhead's bizarre behavior at the time of the announcement makes me think that it came as news to the "boss." So, that's two points in favor of a jump.

But I wouldn't trust anyone in this crooked administration around the corner with a burnt out match. I'm not saying they're geniuses, but there's always an angle with these grifters.

My verdict: Tenet was pushed, but he's not unhappy about it. If he keeps his yap shut, the corrupt Bush administration might even leave the fire net out for him. If he's really graceful about it, they'll have someone holding it. If he takes the total and complete fall for all the corruption, they'll get two people to hold the net.

[PurityOfEssence]

4. Well said

Your first point cuts either way, but that second point certainly colored my thinking.

I seriously doubt they wanted him to go: he was the excuse that kept on giving, and it was easy to couch his retention in terms of perilous times calling for continuity and all that rot.

We shall see. Maybe. This one may take quite some time to reveal itself.

[JayS]

6. "bizarre behavior"

Isn't this "situation normal" for him? :)

[rocktivity]

3. I doubt he voluntarily resigned, as much as the idea appeals to me

My initial (and romantic) reaction was that the press reports trying to link him to Chalabi were the last straw. But the timing suggests otherwise, what with Georgie lawyering up and an allegedly incriminating report coming out. On the other hand, I'm glad Bush isn't on record on having fired him though--it would have made him look more like he's in charge, but he was probably more worried that it might make it look like he should have gotten rid of him sooner, even if he were a Bush appointee!

:headbang:
rocknation

[jpgray]

5. Pushed--why should he start doing his own thing now?

Bush gave him a free pass on what were ostensibly intelligence disasters--if he had any independence he would have left long ago while telling all about how it wasn't his own fault. But then, Tenet is an enigma to me in many ways--I may not have a clue what I'm talking about. For all the RNC-fueled shows to be blaming him for everything, they must expect that he is unwilling or unable to respond effectively.

[PurityOfEssence]

8. It is rather perplexing, isn't it?

Perhaps he held to the honor of his position and kept his mouth shut when the neo-cons overstepped the bounds of reality, only reining them in (October '02) when they really went overboard. Erring on the side of loyalty, he may have thought them zealots, but taking out a true rotter (Hussein) for perhaps the wrong reasons. Possibly he made a deal when falling on his sword to cover Junior for the Yellow Cake crap, and thought this would protect him and obligate the junta to mellow out. As time went by, though, he could see that not only would this not appease them, but that he'd painted himself into a corner and was now complicit. Disgusted, and lacking a way out, he left at a pivotal moment, forcing them to either back off of slagging the intelligence community or risk being unmasked.

Then again, maybe Junior and Biggus Dickus were just playing with their food, and knew full well that by him lying to cover the SOUA flap, he was disposable when they needed cover. What doesn't work for me is that they'd have to know how much the spooks would freak at a move like this. Perhaps they're so full of themselves that they think they can tar the entire intelligence community as fools and enough will hope for their survival that they won't speak out. It still doesn't work for me; I don't think that even they are that egocentric.

It's all very interesting, isn't it? More than anything, it draws lots of attention to an area that the neo-cons must really want to keep in the shadows. For this alone, it seems like he walked.

[jpgray]

9. He does have the respect of both Clarke and Gore

A lot of interesting scenarios can be constructed from what is known about the situation, but I can't seem to work out anything that fits my view of the administration. Which probably means I have to start from square one about these fellows and their motivations. :crazy:

[banana republican]

7. Two Strikes

They Walked.....

One maybe personal

Two is not personal

Two is professional/ethical

Nixon Saturday Night Massacre

[Cronus Protagonist]

10. Tenet did work for PNAC, right?

He went with their plan and stuck with it, praising them highly even as he steps out. That makes me a little suspicious that this could be planned and he's just playing it out - this is his long sought after retirement plan, perhaps? It's all conjecture now but it's going to be interesting to watch it play out, perhaps dangerous for many on all sides.

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