Abstract:
The researcher has translated three chapters (17, 18, 19) of the book called ‘At the Center of the Storm,’ written by George Tenet, who narrated his personal experience within his period as a Director General of the Central Intelligence Agency. (CIA) of the United States of America. He tells most of the events that confronted him, including September/11 attack and other events from the inside closed door meeting of the American Intelligence. In chapter seventeen, George Tenet reports many misconceptions, dissenting opinions and disputes among the analysts and Bush administration in general and the Central Intelligence Agency in particular about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. Bush administration and some other analysts based on their assessment and judgment believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. On the contrary, CIA said: “We lackspecific information on many aspects of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.” In chapter eighteen, George Tenet discusses different views between Bush administration or cabinet and the CIA over the linkage or relationship between Iraqi and al-Qa’ida expecially on the September/11 attacks. In addition to that, George Tenet says: “Bush administration sought to create a connection between Iraq and the September/11 attacks. As a result, the Director General of The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) George Tenet told Bush administration and the Congress that “our intelligence didn’t show Iraqi al-Qa’ida relationship, and we were aware of no evidence of Baghdad’s having ‘authority, direction and control’ of al-Qa’ida operations.” In chapter nineteen, George Tenet tries to convince Bush administration who misused and misinterpreted the phrase “slam dunk” that he expressed as he supports Bush administration to invade Iraq and topple Saddam from power. Beside, when Bush administration’s massage was: “Don’t blame us. George Tenet and the CIA got us into this mess.” In conclusion, George Tenet’s reply was: “Those two words had nothing to do or irrelevant with the President’s determination to conquer Iraq.
