Both Reuters and AP report the "slam dunk" remark as fact, without any indication it might be questionable. So I guess that's the way it's going to be. Nobody who attended that meeting felt called to stand up and call his/her colleagues a liar, so the only one claiming its not true is Tenet himself.
Sure does make the resignation go down easier with the populace, though, doesn't it?
Here's what's interesting, though. Seemed like just a year ago, people were marveling at Tenet's staying power. He'd crossed Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, not acted the standup guy, and yet had not gone the way of O'Neil and Lindsey who had crossed the triumvirate in their times. Why. Speculation was that Tenet knew where some bodies were buried. Well, looks like he did, but once those bodies got uncovered in an avalanche of events and evidence, Tenet lost his bargaining power.
Now Bush can answer the upcoming Senate 9/11-slash intelligence investigation report with: "Yup that little mess is all swept up. Taken care of. It's a brand new day." And approximately 48 percent of Americans will believe or pretend to believe him.
