Who's Next At Bat? (3/18/97)

Clinton Praises Ex-Nominee Lake (3/18/97)

Lake Drops Out (3/17/97)

CIA

Join a thread, start a thread -- it's your chance to sound off!

Tenet's The One

Clinton moves quickly to pick new CIA director

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 19) -- President Bill Clinton named acting CIA Director George Tenet as his choice to head the spy agency.

In an announcement Wednesday at the White House, Clinton said he was confident that Tenet would be confirmed because he is known and respected in the Senate. "You can't have a ship without a captain," Clinton said. "I didn't see any point in waiting around."

Tenet, accompanied by his family, said he was honored by the president's decision, but called it "a bittersweet moment" because he had hoped to serve with Anthony Lake at the agency. Lake, Clinton's original choice for the CIA job, withdrew earlier this week in the face of intense Republican opposition. (416K WAV file)

Tenet told reporters that if he is confirmed, his goal will be to provide complete and objective intelligence to Clinton and the National Security Council. "I've always believed there's no room for partisanship in the intelligence community," Tenet said.

Before former CIA Director John Deutch left, Tenet was the No. 2 official at the agency. He won easy confirmation as deputy director in 1995, and also has worked for the Senate Intelligence Committee. He was the panel's staff director from 1988 to 1993.

Clinton had tentatively settled on Tenet on Tuesday, and it was clear then he was the leading candidate. But White House staff wanted to complete a full background check to avoid any unpleasant surprises during the confirmation process.

Earlier today, both on Capitol Hill and at the White House, there were signs that Clinton was nearing a decision to name Tenet to head the spy agency. Tenet met with senators in a closed-door session and was also at the White House to talk with Clinton's advisors. And he cancelled a scheduled appearance Thursday at a seminar at Georgetown University.

On Tuesday, Clinton told reporters he was considering who to nominate to replace Lake, and might make an announcement soon.

But until Clinton's announcement, it remained unclear whether the president would make a new nomination before leaving tonight for Finland and a two-day summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.