By Niall Stanage 5/01/07 10:21pm

George Tenet and the Evils of Banality

“Truth matters to us,” former C.I.A. director George Tenet insisted to Scott Pelley on Sunday’s 60 Minutes.

It doesn’t seem to have mattered enough to Mr. Tenet, however, for him to fact-check the first page of his newly published book.

Mr. Tenet’s memoir, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the Read More

By Joe Conason 5/01/07 10:11pm

Tenet Shares in the Shame

While the natural human fascination with gossip and backbiting among our rulers guarantees media coverage and best-seller status for George Tenet’s new memoir, the former C.I.A. director cannot achieve absolution in print or on television. His clumsy attempts to shift the blame to Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Pentagon Read More

By Staff 4/07/06 3:02pm

Looking Ahead?

John Kerry sounded like a candidate this morning when he spoke to the National Action Network annual convention breakfast via phone (he had been scheduled to speak in person, but like New York’s Senators, was stuck in DC due to the debate on the immigration reform).

On Katrina:

Hurricane Katrina showed us with Mr. Read More

By Fred Kaplan 1/23/06 12:00am

Beyond the N.S.A. Scoop: A Tale of Intelligence Fiascos

James Risen’s book hits the shelves in the wake of his bombshell New York Times story about the Bush administration’s secret and probably illegal surveillance operations. But State of War is much more than an elaboration of that scoop: It’s a cornucopia of scoops about all sorts of intelligence deceptions, mishaps and scandals-in-waiting, each Read More

By Fred Kaplan 1/23/06 12:00am

Beyond the N.S.A. Scoop: A Tale of Intelligence Fiascos

James Risen’s book hits the shelves in the wake of his bombshell New York Times story about the Bush administration’s secret and probably illegal surveillance operations. But State of War is much more than an elaboration of that scoop: It’s a cornucopia of scoops about all sorts of intelligence deceptions, mishaps and scandals-in-waiting, each more Read More

By Staff, Staff 11/14/05 12:00am

Letters

To the Editor:

I wonder what bitter pills Choire Sicha has had to swallow in his own personal life that would give rise to such acidic, below-the-belt, mean-spirited, hypercritical comments and have them flow from his pen [“Wales Beached Here,” Nov. 7].

If the royals visiting the United States are irrelevant, then his article about Read More

By Chris Lehmann 10/31/05 12:00am

The White House’s Agency: That Tenet Doctrine Lingers!

On Friday, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will dismiss his grand jury. Already, speculation about likely indictable White House figures goes as high as Vice President Dick Cheney. But regardless of which particular administration heads teeter and roll this week, the real legacy of Mr. Fitzgerald’s investigation concerns how and why intelligence work has been flattened Read More

By Chris Lehmann 10/31/05 12:00am

The White House’s Agency: That Tenet Doctrine Lingers!

On Friday, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will dismiss his grand jury. Already, speculation about likely indictable White House figures goes as high as Vice President Dick Cheney. But regardless of which particular administration heads teeter and roll this week, the real legacy of Mr. Fitzgerald’s investigation concerns how and why intelligence work has been flattened Read More

By Joe Conason 5/02/05 12:00am

Bush Hides the Truth About Terror, Torture

Responding to the most serious questions we confront as a nation, the Bush administration can routinely be expected to hide, obfuscate and deceive. If credible information indicates that high-ranking government and military officials permitted and even encouraged the horrific abuse of foreign detainees, the administration assures us that a few bad soldiers can be blamed. Read More