Case study: George Tenet and the Last Great Days of the CIA

Case study: George Tenet and the Last Great Days of the CIA

Perception of an ethical problem

1.      Cognitive process begins with awareness, perception, or sensitivity to the moral issue…proceeds through judgment …ending with the actual behavior of the decision maker” (Cooper, 2012).

2.      Ethical dilemma

People can have different interpretations of the problem. Cooper stressed that ethics is an active process involving the ordering of our values with respect to a particular decision (Cooper, 2012). Therefore, people analyze problems from their own perspective. In addition, these perceptions can seriously affect the decision-making process.

3.      Recognizing the problem: defining the nature of the problem

The main problem was that George Tenet resigned after the CIA’s failure to resist the war against terrorists and prevent attack in 9/11. This decision indicated that presidential administration was not prepared to protect the country.

4.      Possible perceptions “George Tenet and the Last Great Days of the CIA”

1. Tenet realized that he had a huge responsibility as an intelligence advisor and that failed to perform his duty. Therefore, he admitted that he was not able to supply the president with important information in order to prevent attacks.
2. Tenet was too loyal to the president and resigned in order to please him. Presidential administration felt tremendous responsibility for this failure. That is why Tenet intentionally took all responsibility for these entire mistakes.

5.      Responsible for the problem

• George Tenet
• George Bush

Osama and al-Qaida were not responsible for that attack.