by Brian Hansen

About the author: Brian Hansen is a staff writer for the CQ Researcher,a news publication that explores current issues.

George J. Tenet was having breakfast at a hotel near the White House last September 11, 2001, when an aide approached and handed him a cell phone.

The 49-year-old director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pushed his omelet aside and raised the phone to his ear. He listened for a few moments, asked for a few details, then related the horrific news to his breakfast partner: An airplane had crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

“We’re pretty sure it wasn’t an accident.” Tenet declared. “It looks like a terrorist act.”

Tenet rushed back to the CIA...