There have been lots of people — including myself — wondering why there have been no high-level resignations in this administration. Until today:
George Tenet has resigned as director of the CIA, citing “personal reasons”.
President George W Bush accepted the resignation and said he would miss the “strong and able” Mr Tenet as head of the US intelligence agency.
The CIA has been at the heart of criticism over faulty intelligence in the run-up to the Iraqi war and over whether 9/11 could have been prevented.
It’s always personal reasons. Why bother asking why?
While I was in London, one of the papers there had published a list of who would be likely to not be a part of any Bush second term. Tenet was at the top of the list. Others included Rumsfeld and Powell. Well, that’s one down…
[Update 10pm: I must have missed their proclamations, but the Washington Post says:
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice have made it clear they will depart at the end of the current term, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld appears unlikely to remain in the wake of the prison scandal in Iraq and the many calls for his resignation.
When did they make these intentions clear? We’ve all speculated about Powell, but who knew that Rice wanted out?]
