TO THE CAPITOL, WE ARE AWAITING THAT CEREMONY AT THE CAPITOL IN
JUST ABOUT 15 MINUTES FROM NOW.
BUT JOINING US RIGHT NOW IS A
MAN WHO, LIKE PRESIDENT GEORGE
H.W. BUSH, ALSO RAN THE CIA.
IT’S FORMER DIRECTOR JOHN
BRENNAN.
BRENNAN. DIRECTOR BRENNAN, ONE OF THE
MOST UNDERREPORTED SECTIONS OF
GEORGE H.W. BUSH’S LIFE, HIS
TIME AS DIRECTOR OF THE CIA.
I WANT TO READ THE LETTER YOU
AND OTHER FORMER DIRECTORS
RELEASED OVER THE WEEKEND
BECAUSE IT REMINDED ME OF THIS
EXTRAORDINARY PERIOD IN WHICH HE
LED THE CIA.
YOU WROTE, AS HE APPROACHED THAT
POSITION AS HEAD OF THE CIA AS
HE DID EVERYTHING IN HIS LIFE AS
A DUTY AND HONOR TO SERVE, HE
ASSUMED THE ROLE WHEN THE CIA
WAS EXPERIENCING GREAT TURMOIL.
HE QUICKLY STRENGTHENED MORALE
AMONG THE AGENCY WORKFORCE AND
COMPETENCE.
COMPETENCE. ALTHOUGH HIS TENURE WAS SHORT,
THE IMPACT ON THE AGENCY IS
INDELL IBL.
INDELL IBL. THIS 1999 NAMING OF THE CIA
HEADQUARTERS COMPOUND, THE
GEORGE BUSH CENTER FOR
INTELLIGENCE WAS A FITTING
JESTURE TO HONOR A MAN WHO
EMBODIES ALL THAT IS BEST IN
PUBLIC SERVICE.
PUBLIC SERVICE. HIS LEADERSHIP WAS THE NORTH
STAR THAT WE ALL TRIED TO
EMULATE DURING OUR TIME AT THE
AGENCY.
AGENCY. WHAT DID HE MEAN TO THE CIA,
DIRECTOR BRENNAN?
DIRECTOR BRENNAN? >> WELL, HE MEANT A LOT,
NICOLLE.
NICOLLE. HE WAS DIRECTOR FOR LESS THAN A
YEAR.
YEAR. I THINK IT WAS JUST ALMOST A
YEAR, BUT HE ALWAYS REFERRED TO
IT AS ONE OF THE MOST CHERISHED
PERIODS OF HIS PROFESSIONAL
LIFE.
LIFE. HE ENJOYED WORKING WITH CIA
EMPLOYEES.
EMPLOYEES. HE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND AS MUCH
AS HE COULD ABOUT THE MISSION OF
INTELLIGENCE.
INTELLIGENCE. AND IT WAS A TOUGH TIME FOR THE
AGENCY.
AGENCY. A LOT OF TURMOIL AFTER A NUMBER
OF HEARINGS AND EXPOSURE OF SOME
OF THE CIA ACTIVITIES.
AND HE BROUGHT A SENSE OF
LEADERSHIP AND CONFIDENCE AND IT
WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS, I THINK,
MUCH PREERKTSAPPRECIATED BY THE
WOMEN OF THE CIA.
IN EARLY 2016 WE BROUGHT HIM
BACK TO CIA HEADQUARTERS TO
CELEBRATE THE 40th ANNIVERSARY
OF HIS SWEARING IN AS DIRECTOR
OF CIA.
OF CIA. AND HE SPENT ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE
HOURS AT THE AGENCY.
AND HE WAS JUST WELCOMED WITH
OPEN ARMS BY THE ENTIRE
WORKFORCE.
WORKFORCE. THERE WERE LONG LINES OF PEOPLE
AS HE WENT DOWN TO CORRIDORS OF
LANGLEY IN HIS WHEELCHAIR.
AND PEOPLE WERE JUST GLAD
HANDING HIM AND JUST APPLAUDING
HIM BECAUSE HE REALLY
REPRESENTED, I THINK, THE BEST
OF THIS COUNTRY FROM A
STANDPOINT OF SELFLESS
SACRIFICE.
SACRIFICE. SO WHEN HE BECAME VICE PRESIDENT
AND WHEN HE BECAME PRESIDENT, HE
LOOKED TO THE AGENCY TO PROVIDE
HIM THE INSIGHTS, THE
INFORMATION, THE ANALYSIS THAT
HE NEEDED IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE
DECISIONS HE WAS MAKING ON
BEHALF OF THE COUNTRY WERE AS
INFORMED AND AS REASONED AND AS
ENLIGHTENED AS POSSIBLE.
>> DIRECTOR BRENNAN, WHAT DID IT
MEAN TO THE CIA TO HAVE SOMEONE
WHO UNDERSTOOD THE INTELLIGENCE
PRODUCT, WHO UNDERSTOOD THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY’S
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY’S SELFLESSNESS, REALLY
SELFLESSNESS, REALLY FACELESSNESS IN MANY JOBS THERE
AS THEIR ULTIMATE CUSTOMER WHEN
HE BECAME PRESIDENT?
THERE’S BEEN SO MUCH SAID IN THE
LAST THREE DAYS ABOUT HIS
FOREIGN POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
HOW DID HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE
INTELLIGENCE AND HIS ABILITY TO
THINK AND SEE THINGS THE WAY YOU
ALL DO HELP HIM EXECUTE HIS
FOREIGN POLICY?
FOREIGN POLICY? >> FIRST OF ALL, I THINK IT
FORCED THE CIA TO BE AT THE TOP
OF ITS GAME BECAUSE HERE HE IS,
A FORMER DIRECTOR OF CIA, FORMER
ENVOY TO CHINA, EIGHT YEARS AS
VICE PRESIDENT AND THEN BECOMES
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. AND SO HE UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY
WHAT THE INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITY
CAPABILITIES WERE.
CAPABILITIES WERE. HE UNDERSTOOD THE STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES.
WEAKNESSES. KNEW THE WORLD, KNEW MANY OF THE
WORLD LEADERS AT THE TIME.
SO WE WERE HAVING TO GIVE A
VERY, VERY WELL-INFORMED AND
SMART AND INTELLIGENT CONSUMER
THE BEST INTELLIGENCE POSSIBLE.
I REMEMBER GOING INTO THE OVAL
OFFICE MY FIRST TIME BACK IN
OCTOBER OF 1990 SHORTLY AFTER
SADDAM HUSSEIN INVADED KUWAIT.
AND IT WAS AN INTIMIDATING
EXPERIENCE FOR ME TO SIT DOWN
WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES AND ONE WHO WAS SO
STEEPED IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
HE COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE
GRACIOUS OR WELCOMING.
HE FELT AS THOUGH THE CIA WAS A
PLACE THAT WAS HIS HOME AND HE
RELIED ON IT HEAVILY.
HE CHALLENGED US.
HE MADE SURE THAT WE WERE DOING
WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO IN ORDER TO
KEEP THIS COUNTRY SAFE AND
SECURE.
SECURE. TO HAVE SOMEONE IN THE OVAL
OFFICE WHO VALUED THE WORK OF
THE INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS,
WHO UNDERSTOOD THE COMPLEXITIES
OF THESE WORLD EVENTS WAS
SOMETHING THAT I THINK EVER
SINCE THEN, ALL CIA OFFICERS
HAVE RESPECTED IN GEORGE H.W.
BUSH.
BUSH. >> WHAT DOES HIS LOSS, NOT JUST
HIS DEATH BUT THE LOSS OF A
PERIOD WHEN OUR POLITICS WERE
POPULATED BY PEOPLE LIKE HIM WHO
SPENT THEIR CAREER IN PUBLIC
SERVICE.
SERVICE. HOW DOES THAT CHANGE THE WAY THE
CIA DOES THEIR JOB?
>> AS PEOPLE HAVE SAID, SOMEONE
WHO WAS IN WORLD WAR II WHO HAS
SEEN SUCH TRANSFORMATION AROUND
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. BUT ALSO WAS PART OF A POLITICAL
ENVIRONMENT IN WASHINGTON WHERE
YOU CAN WORK WITH YOUR POLITICAL
ADVERSARIES BUT DO IT IN A WAY
THAT CONTINUES TO REFLECT THE
VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF THIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. AND SO HIS PASSING FROM THE
SCENE, EVEN THOUGH OVER THE LAST
SEVERAL YEARS HE WAS LESS AND
LESS ACTIVE.
LESS ACTIVE. BUT HE STILL SYMBOLIZED, I
THINK, A SPECIAL TIME IN OUR
LIVES.
LIVES. AND HAVING SOMEBODY LIKE THAT
WHO ACTUALLY WORKED AT LANGLEY
AND WHO WALKED THE CORRIDORS OF
LANGLEY, I THINK CIA OFFICERS,
WOMEN AND MEN, JUST FELT
EXTREMELY PROUD THAT ONE OF
THEIR OWN WAS IN THE OVAL OFFICE
AND THEN WAS SUCH A REVERED AND
RESPECTED STATESMAN.
RESPECTED STATESMAN. I THINK IT’S CAUSED MANY TO
REFLECT UPON THE DAYS WHEN YOU
HAD PEOPLE LIKE GEORGE H.W. BUSH
WHO REALLY IS A BEACON, IN MANY
RESPECTS, AND A MODEL FOR HOW
INDIVIDUALS WHO ASPIRE TO AND
ASCEND TO SUCH POSITIONS OF
AUTHORITY CARRY OUT THEIR