Mr Tenet's warning may sound like someone defending a status quo that did not work.

ECONOMIST: Intelligence reform: Centralised intelligence? | The

Democrats have sought to shift some attention onto allegations of GOP fund-raising abuses, while warning Republicans on the committee are abusing their majority status.

CNN: Thompson Unsure About Testimony From Clinton, Gore

He reflects, with evident exasperation, at the complexity of a tax system over which he used to have considerable influence, warning that the power of vested interests and of the status quo tend to bear down on wannabe reformers.

BBC: Alex Salmond and David Cameron