George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and was previously the Director of Central Intelligence for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Tenet held that position from July 1997 to July 2004.
Tenet, a Greek American, was born in Flushing, Queens to immigrant parents. Tenet holds a bachelor's degree (1976) from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a master's degree from the School of International Affairs at Columbia University (1978).
After he received his M.A., Tenet became research director of the American Hellenic Institute from 1978 to 1979. He then began working for the U.S. Senate, first as a legislative assistant and later as Legislative Director to former Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania (1982-85). He was a staff member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) from 1985-88, then Staff Director of the SSCI from 1988-93. It was at this time that Tenet joined President-elect Bill Clinton's national security transition team. Clinton appointed Tenet Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council (1993-95).
Tenet was appointed the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence in July 1995 and served in that capacity until he became Director on July 11, 1997, after a unanimous confirmation vote in the United States Senate. While the Director of Central Intelligence has typically been replaced by an incoming administration ever since Jimmy Carter replaced DCI George H.W. Bush, Tenet served through the end of the Clinton administration and well into the term of George W. Bush.
Long before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Tenet focused on the growing threat of terrorism, particularly from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group, and the nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran. On September 15, 2001, at Camp David, he presented the Worldwide Attack Matrix, an outline of an anti-terrorism campaign in 80 countries. However, after the September 11 attacks, many observers criticized the intelligence community for numerous "intelligence failures" as one of the major reasons why the attacks were not prevented.
At a meeting on December 12, 2002, he assured the President that the evidence against Saddam Hussein amounted to a "slam dunk case" After several months of refusing to confirm this statement, Tenet later stated that this remark was taken out of context. The search following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S., British and international forces has proved unproductive and no stockpiles of WMD were found following the occupation of the country. Citing "personal reasons," Tenet submitted his resignation to the President on June 3, 2004. James Pavitt, his Deputy Director for Operations at the CIA announced his resignation the following day, leading to speculation that the exit of both senior intelligence officials was related to the controversy over alleged Iraqi WMDs and the decision to go to war.