Bush: CIA director George Tenet resigns

CIA Director George Tenet, buffeted by controversies over intelligence lapses about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has resigned. President Bush said today that Tenet was leaving for personal reasons and “I will miss him.”

Tenet, 51, came to the White House to inform Bush about his decision Wednesday night and the two men talked for about an hour.

Tenet’s announcement came amid new storms over intelligence issues, including an alleged Pentagon leak of highly classified intelligence to Ahmad Chalabi, an Iraqi politician. At the same time, a federal grand jury is pressing its investigation of the leak of a CIA operative’s name, and Bush acknowledged he might be questioned in the case.

The CIA denied that Tenet’s resignation was connected with any of the those issues. “Absolutely not,” said Mark Mansfield, CIA spokesman.

Tenet addressed CIA employees and said, “It was a personal decision, and had only one basis in fact: the well being of my wonderful family, nothing more and nothing less.”

The news caught Washington by surprise. Bush informed his senior staff Thursday morning at an Oval Office meeting that included Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser. The president told his staff he did not want anyone speculating that Tenet was leaving for anything other than personal reasons, a White House official said.

“He told me he was resigning for personal reasons. I told him I’m sorry he’s leaving. He’s done a superb job on behalf of the American people,” the president said at a hurriedly arranged announcement before boarding a helicopter to begin a trip to Europe. Cheney stood outside the Oval Office to watch Bush’s announcement.

Sen. John Kerry, Bush’s likely Democratic opponent in this fall’s elections, said Tenet “has worked extremely hard on behalf of our nation.”

“There is no question, however, that there have been significant intelligence failures, and the administration has to accept responsibility for those failures,” he said.

Tenet will serve until mid-July. Bush said that deputy, John McLaughlin, will temporarily lead America’s premier spy agency until a successor is found. Among possible successors is House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., a former CIA agent, and McLaughlin.

Tenet had given some consideration to leaving last summer, but decided to stay on. Some close to him believe he wanted to catch al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who remains at large and is believed to be on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Like many who resign from government, Tenet plans to take time off with his family, and eventually pursue public speaking, teaching, writing or working in the private sector, according to the officials close to him.

“He’s been a strong and able leader at the agency. and I will miss him,” Bush said of Tenet as he got ready to board Marine One for a trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and on to Europe.

“George Tenet is the kind of public servant you like to work with,” the president added. “He’s strong, he’s resolute. He’s served his nation as the director for seven years. He has been a strong and able leader at the agency. He’s been a strong leader in the war on terror.”

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III praised Tenet. “George has sought at every turn to bridge the gap between the CIA and FBI with one goal in mind - the security of the American public,” Mueller said. “Due to his constant efforts to bring the intelligence agencies closer together, we are better able to predict the actions of our adversaries and to protect Americans from evolving transnational threats.”

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