It's good to be George Tenet after all!

How reprehensible is it that “60 Minutes” made no mention whatsoever of this, and we had to read it in Salon ($)? Or the other places he showed up to defend his honor? This is public information, as easy for CBS, NBC and CNN to get as a contributor to a liberal on-line magazine. No matter whether Tenet’s lucrative involvement with military contractors is lawful or not, and I assume it is, the public is entitled to know information like this when major media outlets give the former CIA Director such a huge platform. This revolving door is a major part of what the U.S. Government is today. From Tim Shorrock, “George Tenet cashes in on Iraq,” Salon, May 7, 2007:

While the swirl of publicity around his book has focused on his long debated role in allowing flawed intelligence to launch the war in Iraq, nobody is talking about his lucrative connection to that conflict ever since he resigned from the CIA in June 2004.

In fact, Tenet has been earning substantial income by working for corporations that provide the U.S. government with technology, equipment and personnel used for the war in Iraq as well as the broader war on terror. When Tenet hit the talk-show circuit last week to defend his stewardship of the CIA and his role in the run-up to the war, he did not mention that he is a director and advisor to four corporations that earn millions of dollars in revenue from contracts with U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense. Nor is it ever mentioned in his book. But according to public records, Tenet has received at least $2.3 million from those corporations in stock and other compensation. Meanwhile, one of the CIA's largest contractors gave Tenet access to a highly secured room where he could work on classified material for his book.