George Tenet is no scapegoat

With the White House already under siege, President Bush needs George Tenet?s new bombshell book like he needs a hernia.?

In ?At the Center of the Storm:?My Years at the CIA,? Tenet claims?he was made a ?scapegoat? for assuring President Bush that the intelligence available for proving Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction was a ?slam dunk.?

Mr. Tenet has continued to hammer his scapegoat theme in a flurry of media appearances, including CBS News ?60 Minutes.? Call me skeptical or even cynical, but I see two big problems with Tenet?s scapegoat claim.

First, a ?scapegoat? is an innocent person who is blamed for wrongdoings or mistakes of others.?Far from blameless, Tenet was a key official at the center of power, with close access to Presidents Clinton and Bush. He was part of the presidential decision-making process, a pivotal provider of the intelligence used to help make the case for the U.S. going to war in Iraq.

So, George Tenet may be a belated bleater, but he is surely no scapegoat. Nor is he a ?profile in courage,? despite his self-serving attempts to so portray himself. To the contrary, he was, for too long, a ?profile in conformity.? Where was his sense of outrage when it counted??Where was his moral courage when it was needed??At what point did he voice his concerns and reservations directly to President Bush??

These are not idle questions. Mr. Tenet was not a minor official, he was a major player, with a seat at the table of the inner circle, the elite nucleus of presidential advisors.?For him to claim scapegoat status is roughly akin to killing your parents in cold blood, then claiming you deserve clemency because you?re an orphan. In short, Tenet appears to have gone from CIA to CYA.

The second problem I have with Mr. Tenet?s recent epiphany is with his timing.? It comes, conveniently, with the release of his new memoir, for which he has reportedly received a whopping $4 million advance. There?s nothing like a hefty helping of dollars and cents to heighten your sense of self-righteous indignation. ?

Mr. Tenet also stands to continue to profit from his recent revelations.?He is even being called a hero by some.?In my view, he is much more villain than hero.?The real heroes are those who serve and sacrifice in Iraq, in part because of his failure to stand up and speak out when he could have made a real difference.

I have two proposals for Mr. Tenet, if he truly wants to atone for his part in the ?slam dunk? rationale for going to war in Iraq.?First, he could return his Medal of Freedom, as a symbolic gesture of his current discontent with President Bush.?Second, he could donate some of the proceeds of his book sales to care for wounded veterans, as a substantive act of contrition for his years of self-imposed silence.

Thomas B. Vaughn is an instructor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show ?Viewpoints,? which airs on WCPI 91.3 FM.