CIA Missed Chances to Thwart al-Qaida
August 21st, 2007 . by TexasFred
WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA’s top leaders failed to use their available powers, never developed a comprehensive plan to stop al-Qaida and missed crucial opportunities to thwart two hijackers in the run-up to Sept. 11, the agency’s own watchdog concluded in a bruising report released Tuesday.
Completed in June 2005 and kept classified until now, the 19-page executive summary finds extensive fault with the actions of senior CIA leaders and others beneath them. “The agency and its officers did not discharge their responsibilities in a satisfactory manner,” the CIA inspector general found.
“They did not always work effectively and cooperatively,” the report stated.
Yet the review team led by Inspector General John Helgerson found neither a “single point of failure nor a silver bullet” that would have stopped the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
I am not saying that the CIA is blameless in this matter but I fail to find ANY reference in this entire story detailing the way the CIA was decimated by the Clinton administration in their lame attempt to cut federal expenditures…
For some reason, the Clinton administration felt that real people were an unnecessary part of the Intel community, they felt, wrongly, that electronic and satellite surveillance could take the place of agents and operatives in place, and that assumption was wrong, nothing can replace 1st hand human intelligence gathering, satellites and electronic information gathering, for all their glory, can’t see the face, can’t gather the nuance of the moment and make instant interpretation of gathered information…
I also suspect the Clinton administration wanted to use methods other than human intelligence gathering in an attempt keep themselves from being implicated should an agent or informant be captured, and that’s always a good plan but not when it places your entire Intel gathering in jeopardy…
- U.S. spy agencies, which were overseen by Tenet, lacked a comprehensive strategic plan to counter Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11. The inspector general concluded that Tenet “by virtue of his position, bears ultimate responsibility for the fact that no such strategic plan was ever created.”
- The CIA’s analysis of al-Qaida before Sept. 2001 was lacking. No comprehensive report focusing on bin Laden was written after 1993, and no comprehensive report laying out the threats of 2001 was assembled. “A number of important issues were covered insufficiently or not at all,” the report found.
- The CIA and the National Security Agency tussled over their responsibilities in dealing with al-Qaida well into 2001. Only Tenet’s personal involvement could have led to a timely resolution, the report concluded.
- The CIA station charged with monitoring bin Laden - code-named Alec Station - was overworked, lacked operational experience, expertise and training. The report recommended forming accountability boards for the CIA Counterterror Center chiefs from 1998 to 2001, including Black.
- Although 50 to 60 people read at least one CIA cable about two of the hijackers, the information wasn’t shared with the proper offices and agencies. “That so many individuals failed to act in this case reflects a systemic breakdown. Basically, there was no coherent, functioning watch-listing program,” the report said. The report again called for further review of Black and his predecessor.
All this report does is continue the finger pointing, the Clinton administration had the full ‘low down’ on Bin Laden, they had him handed over to them, fully gift wrapped, ribbon and all, and they refused it, THEY REFUSED IT!!
Yes, I have criticized Bush in the past and yes, he was the POTUS when 9-11 happened, but it happened less than 8 months into his watch, and I don’t blame Bush for 9-11, I don’t blame him for the intelligence failures that allowed 9-11 to happen, his administration hadn’t had time to rectify the effects of the Clinton’s emasculation of our intelligence services, the building of those agencies isn’t something that can happen over night, there is too much sensitivity involved, and the building, or, rebuilding is a delicate process…
I do not hold back on my words when I say that 9-11 was a direct result of the ineptness of the Clinton administration and was brought on because they stripped out Intel services to bare bones, and IF Hillary were to be elected POTUS in ‘08, you can bet your bottom dollar it WILL happen again…
Full Story Here:
CIA Missed Chances to Thwart al-Qaida
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The Clinton administration cut the CIA and the military. Seems as if the left wing stayed upset at the CIA for overthrowing some pissy ant governments about the world when these pissy ass governments went commie. Now we need the CIA to overthrow that commie sumbitch in South America who decided he wanted to be president for life…but the ones who had the balls to do this have been either kicked out or have croaked.
Or retired…
Yea, Clinton stripped out alright, down to his bare bone with Monica.
Clinton’s arrogance, and as you said the stripping out of intel services, and being a male whore created so much complacency within it’s sickening.
Then the impeachment hearings.
Those sand niggers were licking their lips knowing how f-ked up everything was over here.
They had better intel then we did, go figure.
They probably knew Bush was heading into Iraq before we did too.
Distractions, distractions…
When you hear the left speak they blame Bush for 9/11. (Bush has a lot of faults but 9/11 isn’t one of his failures.)
Some other facts that further square the blame of 9/11 on the Clinton’s and Al Gore.
The White House was completely trashed by the Clinton’s and their staff. Computers were missing or damaged. It took a battery of technicians over a month to resolve ready room computer issues after the Clinton’s left. It has been reported that all computer and communication services were not fully restored until June.
The Florida debacle with Al Gore Unwilling to honorably bow out created a hold on vetting any staff for the Bush administration. All staff must go through a rigorous background check before access can be granted. The Bush staff was not completely in place until the end of May. Clinton appointees were retained until the vetting issue was resolved. We can not find any satisfactory reporting as to them carrying out their duties under the new president.
With these facts in place and a full appraisal of their repercussions, Bush didn’t have a chance. His staff were just finishing orientation and training when the planes were waiting to take off on 9/11.
No, wrong, Fred. The person responsible for the earliest, deepest, most extensive and almost unrecoverable emasculation of the CIA was President Carter. We began to recover slightly but then continued to forsake HUMINT for ELINT, COMINT and the like — thinking that what we lacked in HUMAN intelligence we could easily make up for with technology. And that is simply wrong. President Reagan didn’t help when he signed EO 12333 in 1981.
BZ
Here’s the way the “conventional wisdom” runs on Bush/CIA: Bush had 10 months to discover the condition of every federal department and agency and fix whatever problems were left over from his daddy’s administration.
If he hadn’t been plotting to attack Iraq and turn its oil fields over to Halliburton, and had been thinking about protecting Americans, he would have found the problems in the CIA.
We should never depend upon the mainstream media for a fair, balanced and objective presentation of important news.