[ALBSA-Info] ILLYRIA - December 2001

[Agron Alibali]

Mr. Tenet’s Trojan Horse 

by 

Gary Q. Kokalari 


With the events of September 11th, we have witnessed the greatest intelligence failure in history since the Greeks sent the Trojan horse to rescue Helen of Troy.    Ironically, a "Greek" presided over the CIA on one of the darkest days in American history. 

In 1997, George Tenet, who presents himself as a Greek American, was nominated by President Clinton to be CIA Director.    As required, his nomination had to be ratified by Congress.  On April 27, 1997,   I wrote to Senator Richard Shelby, then Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, requesting that the Committee require Mr. Tenet to disclose any relationships he may have with Greek radicals or organizations that support the concept of a "Northern Epirus".  I also warned that a destabilized Albania had significant ramifications for U.S. strategic interests, and that political instability in Albania could lead to armed conflict in Kosova. 

I copied George Tenet on my letter to Senator Shelby and also sent a separate letter to Tenet in which I wrote, 

"It is my understanding that you represent yourself as a Greek American.  It is also my understanding that your father was born in the Albanian village of Qeparo and that your mother was born in Himara, Albania.  If this information is correct, it would indicate that there may be some confusion about your ethnic heritage due to the fact that the inhabitants of this area of Albania are ethnic Albanians…..  Your comment on this matter will be greatly appreciated." 

Not surprisingly, Mr. Tenet did not respond to my letter.  Many Albanians would like to know if there is any truth to the speculation about Tenet’s ethnic origin, and due to his reticence to comment, anyone who can shed light on this matter is encouraged to come forward. 

After sending letters to Senator Shelby and Mr. Tenet, I had the opportunity to discuss this issue with the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee.  Following a cursory investigation of the matter, in the end, Albania’s affairs were not deemed important enough to alter the judgment of the Committee.   Unfortunately, my ultimate objective of  blocking Tenet’s nomination  was unsuccessful. 

In March 2000, I wrote to Senator Shelby once again.  But this time it was to protest a comment made by Mr. Tenet during a December 1999 speech at the annual conference of  the Hellenic Medical Society of New York.  Mr. Tenet’s speech included a reference to his mother’s migration from Albania as follows: 

"My mother escaped from Northern Epirus on a British submarine a step ahead of the communist takeover and the closing of the border, never to see her family again." 

I explained to Senator Shelby that the term "Northern Epirus" is used exclusively by Greek radicals to describe what is in fact southern Albania, and that these radicals have as their common objective the annexation of southern Albania by Greece.  I also informed him that the term "Northern Epirus" is not recognized by Albanians, Albania or for that matter, any other country.  I expressed my outrage that Mr. Tenet, while a standing Director of the CIA, would behave so irresponsibly in using the highly inflammatory term "Northern Epirus" to describe Albania.  By so doing he has acted in a belligerent manner toward Albania, insulted Albanians throughout the world and embraced the dangerous ambitions of Greek provocateurs. 

If we assume just for the sake of conversation that there is some truth about Mr. Tenet’s Albanian origins, it would appear that we have a factually challenged CIA director with respect to his own ethnic identity and the existence of a sovereign country named Albania.   If this is the case, we should not be surprised by the astonishing intelligence failure that led to the tragic events of September 11th.   

Given his roots in the Clinton administration and the events of September 11th, why hasn’t Tenet been fired from his job as CIA director?  Perhaps we can find a clue in Faik Konitza’s book "Albania: The Rock Garden of Southern Europe" in which he writes on the Albanian character and states: 

"It is important to know that the greatest insult in Albania is to call a man i-pabese, that is to say, disloyal.  By contrast, it is interesting to note that in modern Greece, the grossest insult is to call a person illiterate and unintelligent:  the ideal of Albania’s southern neighbors is cleverness instead of character." 

Despite his glaring deficiencies in intelligence gathering, Tenet’s ability to hang on to his post may have something to do with the classic "Greek cleverness" referred to by Konitza.    Tenet quickly moved to develop a warm working relationship with George W. Bush.  In fact, several days after the attacks, the President visited CIA headquarters and in a show of support threw his arm around Tenet.  But perhaps Tenet’s most cunning maneuver was to curry favor with the Bush family by naming the CIA headquarters building after George W’s father, ex-CIA Director and former President George H.W. Bush.      

The bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, and the subsequent bombings of the U.S. Embassies in  Kenya and Tanzania and the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen should have been sufficient to convince Mr. Tenet that Binladin and al Qaeda were deadly serious about their intentions to inflict damage upon America.  And just one day before their most recent attacks, according to the The New York Times, intelligence officials intercepted a September 10th telephone call between Binladin and his mother when he told her, "something big is coming - you’re going to hear big news and you’re not going to hear from me for a while."    What was Mr. Tenet waiting for - an engraved invitation to Binladin’s next terrorist attack?    

I remember what a beautiful day it was on September 11th when I arrived at my office in Manhattan shortly after 8:00 AM.   Tragically, in less than an hour,  that beautiful Tuesday would be violently interrupted by terrorists using modern day Trojan horses, this time in the form of airplanes laden with jet fuel, that would reshape the magnificent Manhattan skyline and all of our lives forever.   It shouldn’t have happened.  We should have known.    But it did happen, and it happened on George Tenet’s watch.     If Mr. Tenet was a man of character, he would resign.   And if he doesn’t, he should be fired.   






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