Tenet book stirs rare public "spy" debate in U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former CIA Director George Tenet's new book criticizing the Bush administration's march to war in Iraq has triggered a rare public spat between alumni of the U.S. espionage agency.

Six former CIA officials, including former acting director John McLaughlin, on Wednesday defended Tenet against other ex-spies who have accused the former director of hypocrisy for not speaking out against U.S. war plans before the 2003 invasion.

In his memoir, "At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA," Tenet says the Bush administration went to war without serious debate while officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, misrepresented intelligence to link Saddam Hussein with al Qaeda.

When the book appeared on retail shelves earlier this week, six other former CIA officials wrote to Tenet asking him to give royalties to the families of fallen soldiers. They also called on him to return the prestigious Medal of Freedom that President George W. Bush gave him in 2004.

But McLaughlin and five other ex-CIA officers, including former State Department counterterrorism czars Cofer Black and Henry Crumpton, called the earlier letter "bitter, inaccurate and misleading" and lauded Tenet for his work to restore the CIA after debilitating post-Cold War cutbacks.

"Their letter was written from the comfortable confines of hindsight and from afar. We note they launched their attack before any of them could have had an opportunity to read Mr. Tenet's book," Wednesday's letter said of Tenet's critics.

The CIA itself also rose to Tenet's defense on Monday.