In an excellent column urging the dismissal of CIA director George Tenet, Washington Times columnist Helle Bering wondered how he survives in his post in the face of the agency’s failure to predict or stop the terrorist attacks on September 11th. “Somehow Mr. Tenet seems to have protected status,” she wrote. “Why? Who protects him?” The answer might be: the homosexual lobby.
Tenet holds the dubious distinction of being the first CIA director to preside at a “Gay Pride Day” at the agency. There’s no indication that Tenet himself is gay, but the event which took place at the agency on June 6th, 2000 was extraordinary and demonstrates the misplaced priorities at the CIA. Tenet welcomed openly homosexual Rep. Barney Frank to the affair, telling the congressman that the agency is “recruiting very actively” in the homosexual community.
Frank was reprimanded by the House of Representatives after his relationship with a gay prostitute became known. The prostitute, Stephen Gobie, ran a prostitution ring out of Frank’s house, although Frank claimed he didn’t know anything about it. Frank also tried to fix some parking tickets for Gobie, who had been selected as Frank’s lover after running an ad in the Washington Blade promoting himself as a “hot bottom.”
A group called the “Agency Network of Gay and Lesbian Employees” exists at the CIA, and the “Gay Pride” event drew about 100 homosexual employees from the CIA and the National Security Agency. Ironically, Frank gave a speech at the affair, saying he was a “strong supporter” of the CIA and wanted them “to catch terrorists.”
Tenet hasn’t done a good job of that. But in addition to his pandering to homosexuals, he has been rubbing elbows with the Hollywood crowd. Under Tenet, the agency has been trying to improve its image by collaborating with Hollywood on new television shows and films. Let us quote from an article in the Guardian: “The CIA hopes that three new television series and five new films in which the agency is featured in a mainly flattering light will help to change its image as a shadowy organization specializing in dirty tricks and assassinations. So pleased is it with one of the series that it is throwing a red carpet reception for the premiere at its headquarters in Virginia.
The new starring role for the CIA coincides with the agency’s decision to employ a full-time entertainment liaison officer, himself a former CIA officer in Latin America, and to open the doors of its headquarters to film-makers. The policy seems to have paid off, with scriptwriters even rewriting history to present an upbeat portrait of the agency. The shows are seen as a way of telling American taxpayers that the CIA provides value for money at a time when security budgets may be tight.”
The most prominent new television show, The Agency, airs on CBS on Thursday nights. The first episode shows CIA agents saving the life of Cuban Communist dictator Fidel Castro. Perhaps this story line reflects the direction in which Tenet wants to take the CIA. If so, this is more reason for him to go. The Guardian reports that another episode will show the CIA going after Arab terrorists. If only that were true.
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