Novak Defends CIA's Director Tenet



Our favorite Dickensian villain Robert Novak -- Think of the full bodied lips, those impeccably tailored three-piece suits, that single-minded devotion to a capital gains tax cut -- defends former CIA Director George Tenet's overall recollection of Richard Perle's advocacy of invasion of Iraq. You'll recall, neoconservatives Richard "The Prince of Darkness" Perle and William Kristol quibbled with Tenet's recall of dates, thus negating his argument altogether. No dice. From the NYPost:

"EX-CIA Director George Tenet had the date wrong but the message right when he said neo-conservative policymaker Richard Perle was advocating intervention in Iraq immediately after the 9/11 attack on America.

"Tenet's memoir ('At the Center of the Storm') reports that Perle had advocated an assault on Iraq when they met at the White House on Sept. 12, 2001. But Perle let it be known last week that he was out of the country that day and never said what Tenet claimed. However, Perle told this column by phone on Sept. 17 that there were few good targets in Afghanistan but many in Iraq. Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense, was then chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board."

Tenet will be on NBC's "Meet the Press" with Tim "Bologna Grinder" Russert on Sunday.