Buck Should Stop With the Tenant of the White House

CIA Director George Tenet now admits his agency was mistaken in allowing President Bush, in his State of the Union speech, to accuse Iraq of trying to purchase uranium from what the CIA knew was a nonexistent African source (July 12).

With no uranium, no weapons of mass destruction and no Al Qaeda connection, isn’t it time for Bush to go Tenet one better and admit to the American people that the whole Iraqi adventure was a mistake?

Harold N. Bass

Northridge

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Bush would be well advised to come before the public and say, in effect, “My statement that Iraq had purchased uranium from Niger was incorrect. I regret the error and take full responsibility for it.” By so doing he might be able to bring the matter to a close.

By passing the blame on to the CIA, he risks being perceived as a mouthpiece for hawks in his administration. Such a perception may be far more damaging in the long run to Bush and to the country than would a forthright admission of error. Let us hope that he will remember, and heed, Harry Truman’s pledge to the country: “The buck stops here.”

Charles C. Waugh

Tarzana

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Reading the CIA director’s statement, you find that he did have objections and refused to sign off until language changes were made to the president’s speech that excluded American intelligence from any claims that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger. He is now being the loyal Praetorian and falling on his sword for the emperor. The president wanted to invade Iraq. He needed evidence to convince a skeptical public. The uranium story gave him exactly what he needed, so he used it. As a result of this deception, we are now stuck in a quagmire with no way out.

James Snowden

Los Angeles

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So, good dog Tenet gets to fall on Dubya’s first sword. I understand that for his efforts, the president has sent him a plaque inscribed “The buck stops there.”

Gary Durrett

Glendale

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Since when is the president of the United States not responsible for statements that drive this nation to war? Since when does the CIA have editorial oversight for the State of the Union address?

Brian Bard

Glendale

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Bush’s professed support for Tenet is merely intended to obscure the scapegoating to come (“President Stands by the CIA,” July 13). Tenet will resign, and Bush will be shocked, shocked to know that he was given bogus intelligence on Iraq’s nuclear weapons program. But hundreds of our soldiers who were sent to protect us from the nonexistent Iraqi threat will remain dead, and Iraqi oil money will flow into Halliburton’s coffers (“U.S. May Tap Oil for Iraqi Loans,” July 11).

Perhaps the Bush team had it cynically planned all along: “If we get caught lying, we can always blame Tenet.” And since no consensual sex was involved, the American people will shrug and carry on as usual.

Ken Bash

Camarillo