WASHINGTON, June 3: The Director of CIA, George Tenet, who presided over spectacular lapses in US national security, including the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, has resigned and will leave next month, President Bush announced on Thursday.

Mr Tenet, who also faced fierce criticism over his agency's handling of Iraqi intelligence, including a now famous prediction that the case for invasion was a "slam dunk" (a basketball expression for an easy score), broke the news to Mr Bush at the White House on Wednesday night.

"He told me he was resigning for personal reasons. I told him I'm sorry he's leaving," the president said. The announcement came as a surprise in Washington, shortly before Mr Bush left for Italy and France. He very quickly lauded Mr Tenet for his seven-year tenure at the spy agency.

"He's strong. He's resolute," Mr Bush said. "He has been a strong and able leader at the agency. He's been a strong leader in the war on terror." Mr Tenet's departure follows mounting criticism of the White House over its handling of intelligence reports on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and warnings of possible terror strikes in the months before the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. -Reuters