How the FBI let 9/11 happen HT Ace
Despite the fact that I disagree with Jeff Taylor about his position on the Patriot Act, (and I don't think "Let it happen" is quite fair) this article contains some interesting information in a time line fashion as to how a diligent FBI agent was rebuffed in his attempt to get at Moussaoui before 9/11.
So? The 9/11 Commission investigation detailed that British intelligence directly told U.S. officials on September 13, 2001, that Moussaoui had attended a training camp in Afghanistan. "Had this information been available in late August 2001, the Moussaoui case would almost certainly have received intense, high-level attention," the commission concluded. As it turns out, Samit had that info in late August 2001 and nobody cared. CIA Director George Tenet was briefed on the Moussaoui threat on August 23. The case received intense, high-level attention. Nobody cared.
Back in 2004, Thomas Kean, the chairman of the 9/11 commission, said he was troubled that Moussaoui's arrest never made it up to the top of the FBI hierarchy.
"If it had maybe there would have been some action taken and things could have been different," Kean was quoted by The New York Times.
Yet now it is clear that senior FBI officials Maltbie and Frasca did know about Moussaoui's arrest. In fact, they knew the case so well that they denied Samit's request for a warrant to search Moussaoui's computer and belongings. Samit also testified that he was told pressing too hard to obtain a warrant on Moussaoui would hurt his career.
This decision to deny a warrant gave rise to the myth that "The Wall" between overseas intelligence and criminal investigations made the PATRIOT Act necessary. To this day this myth is cherished among right-wing radio talkers and has, just now, morphed into a clumsy justification for the White House's sidestepping the FISA court and directing its own wiretap frenzy via the NSA. This is all pure fantasy.
Instead of clueless Carter-era restrictions on domestic spying or insufficient distrust of civil liberties, Samit cited "obstructionism, criminal negligence and careerism" by top FBI officials as what stopped his investigation.
I find this interesting because of all the anonymous government intelligence professionals who are quoted as saying "nothing new" about the Iraq documents.
My work with career intelligence analysts made one thing clear to me. Many are arrogant as hell and if it is not important to what they are working on at the moment (which is of course the most important thing in the world) then it doesn't matter. This article clearly details how this attitude played out in the FBI among counter terrorist professionals.
I can almost hear it "Moussaoui who? I don't have time for that, I am doing my dissertation on how state sponsorship of terrorism is no longer viable."
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