CIA report criticises ex-leader
Updated on 22 August 2007
George Tenet, former head of the CIA, received America's highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 3 years ago.
Even then he was under a cloud - under fire for his agency's failings over 9/11 and intelligence over the war in Iraq.
This report was carried out 2 years ago - it's been classified ever since, and even now only the executive summary has been made public - and it's damaging.
Tenet signed a memorandum in 1998 saying "we are at war" with al Qaida, but he didn't have a strategic plan says the report.
The CIA report finds that "the Agency and its officers did not discharge their responsibililties in a satisfactory manner, that they "missed important indicators of terrorist planning", and that there was a "systemic breakdown", for example in a watch list for tracking terrorism suspects trying to enter the US.
In addition, the unit responsible for Osama Bin Laden had "an excessive workload", and that most officers "did not have the operational experience, expertise, and training necessary to accomplish their mission in an effective manner"
Mr Tenet was always a controversial figure. He reportedly reassured president bush that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction using the term "slam dunk" - basket ball speak for absolute certainty.
He's called this report "flat wrong".
But, it comes from the CIA itself, and must surely be a final reckoning from inside the organisation that the agency itself believes its leaders let it down.
