George Tenet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Tenet
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| 18th Director of Central Intelligence | |
| In office December 16, 1996 – July 11, 2004 Acting: December 16, 1996 – July 11, 1997 |
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| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Deputy | John A. Gordon John E. McLaughlin |
| Preceded by | John M. Deutch |
| Succeeded by | Porter Goss |
| 19th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence | |
| In office July 3, 1995 – July 11, 1997 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | William O. Studeman |
| Succeeded by | John A. Gordon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
George John Tenet
January 5, 1953 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse | Stephanie Glakas |
| Education | Georgetown University (BS) Columbia University (MIA) |
| Signature |  |
George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is an American intelligence expert and teacher. He was the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the United States. This important job is called the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). After his time at the CIA, he became a special professor at Georgetown University.
Mr. Tenet was the DCI from July 1997 to July 2004. This made him the second-longest serving director in the CIA's history. Only Allen Welsh Dulles served longer. He was also one of the few DCIs to work for two different U.S. presidents. These presidents were Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who belonged to different political parties. He played a big part in gathering information about weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq War. A report in 2005 said that Tenet had the main responsibility for the U.S. intelligence community not having a clear plan to control al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks.
In February 2008, he started working as a managing director at an investment bank called Allen & Company.
Contents
Early Life and School
George John Tenet was born on January 5, 1953, in Flushing, Queens, New York. His parents, Evangelia and John Tenet, were immigrants from Greece. His father came from the Greek community in Albania. He worked in a coal mine in France before coming to the United States. His mother was from Epirus, Greece. She escaped from communists by hiding on a Royal Navy submarine.
George grew up in Little Neck, Queens. As a teenager, he and his older brother, Bill, worked at their family's diner. It was called the Twentieth Century Diner. George and Bill were fraternal twins, but they were very different. Bill was quiet and liked to study. George was loud and full of energy. People called him "the mouthpiece" because he talked a lot. He was also very interested in the news. A local news host even sent him an autograph once! George played basketball and softball for his Greek Orthodox church. He also helped out as an altar server.
He went to Public School 94 and Junior High School 67. He then attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. In high school, he played soccer and worked on the school newspaper. He finished high school in 1971. After studying at the State University of New York at Cortland, Tenet went to Georgetown University. He graduated in 1976 with a degree in Foreign Service. He then earned a master's degree from Columbia University in 1978.
Starting His Career
After college, George Tenet's first job was as a research director. He worked for the American Hellenic Institute from 1978 to 1979. Then, he worked for the Solar Energy Industries Association until 1982. After that, he began working for the Senate. He was a legislative assistant and then a legislative director for Senator H. John Heinz III from 1982 to 1985.
He became a staff member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) in 1985. He later became the Staff Director of the SSCI from 1988 to 1993. In November 1992, Tenet joined President-elect Bill Clinton's team. Clinton then chose Tenet to be the Senior Director for Intelligence Programs. He worked at the National Security Council from 1993 to 1995.
Leading the CIA
Tenet was named Deputy Director of Central Intelligence in July 1995. After the director, John M. Deutch, left in December 1996, Tenet became the acting director. He was officially appointed Director on July 11, 1997. The Senate voted for him unanimously. Usually, a new president chooses a new DCI. But Tenet stayed in his job through the end of the Clinton administration. He also served for a long time during George W. Bush's presidency.
Tenet wanted to make the CIA strong again. The number of new agents had dropped a lot since the end of the Cold War. Tenet reminded everyone of the CIA's first goal: to "prevent another Pearl Harbor". He focused on new dangers after the Cold War. These included changes in Russia and China, and "rogue states" like North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. He also focused on terrorism.
1999 Bombing of the Chinese Embassy
On May 7, 1999, during the Kosovo War, U.S. bombers hit the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. Three Chinese reporters were killed, and 20 others were hurt. The United States said it was an accident. Tenet later said that the CIA had organized this specific strike. However, he still said it was not done on purpose. Later studies showed that a mistake in a military database was not fixed in time. Also, other systems meant to prevent such errors did not work. Because of this and other events, new rules were made for U.S. pilots before they attacked targets. China has never agreed with the United States' explanation.
Helping with Peace Talks
In 2001, Tenet helped arrange a short-term cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians.
Al-Qaeda and the War on Terror
By 1999, al-Qaeda had become a very serious terrorist threat. In 1998, two U.S. embassies in Africa were bombed. In 2000, the USS Cole was attacked in Aden, killing 17 sailors.
The Bin Laden Plan
In 1999, Tenet created a big "Plan" to deal with al-Qaeda. He chose new leaders for the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC). He put Cofer Black in charge of the CTC. He also put Richard Blee in charge of the CTC's Bin Laden unit. The Plan aimed to send U.S. and Afghan agents into al-Qaeda's "Afghan sanctuary." This would help them gather information and act against Bin Laden's group.
The CIA put a lot of its money into this Plan. This helped them achieve some of their goals. Efforts to collect information on bin Laden and al-Qaeda greatly increased from 1999. Tenet said that by 9/11, these information-gathering programs and networks "nearly cover Afghanistan." However, this did not include Bin Laden's closest group.
Some reports said that George Tenet did not warn about the threat. But Tenet had actually told the national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, about the danger. This was during an urgent meeting on July 10, 2001. His team told her, "There will be significant terrorist attacks against the United States in the coming weeks or months."
September 11 Attacks
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After the September 11 attacks, many people criticized the Intelligence Community. They said that "intelligence failures" were a big reason why the attacks were not stopped.
Tenet spoke at a public hearing for the 9/11 Commission. This group was investigating 9/11. He said he did not meet with President Bush in August 2001. This was the month before the September 11 attacks. Later that evening, a CIA spokesperson corrected Tenet's statement. They said Tenet did meet with Bush twice in August. In his own book, Tenet wrote about visiting Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in August 2001.
In August 2007, a report from the CIA inspector general was made public. It was written in 2005 but kept secret. The report said that Tenet knew about the dangers of Al Qaeda long before September 2001. But it said the CIA's leaders did not do enough to stop attacks. It also said Tenet had the "ultimate responsibility" for the intelligence community's failure to plan against al Qaeda. Tenet said the report was "flat wrong." He pointed to the planning efforts of the previous two years.
Tenet quickly made the CIA's special operations teams bigger and stronger. These special officers were the first to go into Afghanistan and Iraq. In these countries, they helped organize and lead local forces. They worked with the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in Afghanistan. They also worked with the Kurds against Saddam's forces in Iraq. Building up this special force and using these elite commandos successfully is seen as one of Tenet's greatest achievements.
Worldwide Attack Matrix
Tenet believed that his Al-Qaeda plan helped the CIA respond better after the September 11 attacks. He explained that the intelligence community was able to tell the president how to attack al-Qaeda just four days after 9/11.
This happened at a meeting of the National Security Council at Camp David on September 15, 2001. Tenet showed the Worldwide Attack Matrix. This was a plan for what became known as the War on Terror. He suggested sending CIA teams into Afghanistan. Their job would be to gather information and carry out secret operations against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. These teams would work with military Special Operations units. President Bush later praised this plan. He said it was a turning point in his thinking.
Resignation
George Tenet told President Bush he was resigning on June 3, 2004. He said it was for "personal reasons" and for the "well-being of my wonderful family." He officially left on July 11, exactly seven years after President Clinton appointed him. Bush said he was sad Tenet was leaving. He stated that Tenet "has done a superb job on behalf of the American people."
James Pavitt, his Deputy Director for Operations at the CIA, also resigned the next day. This led to talk that their resignations were connected to the September 11 attacks and questions about Iraqi weapons. After Tenet left, John E. McLaughlin served as acting director. Then Porter Goss became the new director on September 24. Tenet's seven years as Director of Central Intelligence was the second-longest in U.S. history, after Allen Dulles.
Later Life
On December 14, 2004, President George W. Bush gave Tenet the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is a very high award for civilians. Bush said that Tenet "was one of the first to recognize and address the growing threat to America from radical terrorist networks." However, some people criticized Bush's decision.
Tenet spent three years as a special professor at his old university, the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. He started teaching in the Fall of 2005.
In October 2006, Tenet joined a British defense company called Qinetiq. He was an independent director on their board. He left this board in October 2007. He also became a managing director at the investment bank Allen & Company. This was not announced publicly until February of the next year. Tenet is also on the board of directors for L-1 Identity Solutions. This company makes software for identifying people using biometrics. He is also part of The Next Generation Initiative, a group that helps students learn about public affairs.
In his song "Clique," the musician Kanye West mentioned meeting Tenet. West joked that they talked about their similar expensive cars. Tenet's spokesperson confirmed the meeting happened, but said they did not talk about cars.
His Book
In April 2007, Tenet released his memoir called At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. He wrote it with Bill Harlow. He appeared on the TV show 60 Minutes on April 29, 2007. The book was the top-selling book in its first week.
Critics found a mistake in Tenet's book. On the first page, Tenet wrote about a conversation with Pentagon advisor Richard Perle on September 12, 2001. Tenet said Perle told him that "Iraq had to pay for the attack." But this conversation could not have happened that day. Perle was stuck in Paris, France, on September 12. He did not return to Washington until three days later. Perle later said they did see each other, but later that week, not on September 12. He also said they did not speak to each other.
Personal Life
Tenet is married to A. Stephanie Glakas-Tenet. They have one son, John Michael.
Awards and Recognition
In 1998, Tenet received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
In 2018, Tenet received the Scholar-Statesman Award from the Washington Institute.
See also
- Bin Laden Issue Station: The CIA's unit that tracked Osama bin Laden from 1996 to 2003.
