CIA: Asleep at the switch

By Weekly Archive On Aug 28, 2007

In
the days and weeks following Sept. 11, how many times did we hear
some terrorism expert say: If only the CIA had known al-Qaida
operatives were in the United States, this tragedy might never have
happened?

Well,
now it turns out they did know — but did nothing about it.

In
an explosive report, the inspector general of the United States
concludes that CIA agents had tracked two of the Sept. 11 hijackers,
Nawaf al-Hamzi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, from a terrorist summit in
Malaysia to the United States. CIA officials knew of their al-Qaida
connections and knew they had entered this country in 2000, but
simply failed to notify the FBI. The terrorists were therefore able
to plan and carry out their attacks, undetected, right under the
noses of American law enforcement authorities.

We’re
not just talking one or two agents, either. According to the report,
a total of 50 to 60 CIA officers knew of the intelligence on al-Hamzi
and al-Mihdhar — and not one of them had the sense to call up the
FBI and say: These two guys just came from a summit meeting of the
world’s leading terrorism suspects. Maybe you’d better keep an eye on
them.

Had
they done so, of course, the FBI might easily have discovered them
taking flight training, arranging money transfers, and communicating
with fellow al-Qaida members in other parts of the country. And, just
maybe, we never would have experienced the horror of Sept. 11.

CIA
agents weren’t alone in neglecting their duties. The inspector
general also faults leaders of the CIA, starting with then-Director
George Tenet, for failing to recognize the significance of moves by
terror mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, already well-known by the
agency, and failing to take seriously the avalanche of threats picked
up by the CIA during the summer months of 2001. The report further
recommends that Tenet and others be held accountable for not doing
their job to protect the United States.

Although
his report was actually completed in 2005, the inspector general’s
findings were only released this week. Embarrassed by its findings,
the CIA managed to cover up the report for two years. It was finally
released, over the objections of director Michael Hayden, by order of
Congress. But Hayden has already announced he will take no
disciplinary action against Tenet.

Amazing,
isn’t it? Michael Vick will go to jail, and rightfully so, for
killing dogs for sport. George Tenet was awarded the Medal of Freedom
for making America a safe haven for terrorists.

The
CIA inspector general’s report should trouble us for several reasons.
First and foremost, because it confirms that Sept. 11 was both
predictable and preventable, if only federal officials had been
alert, alarmed and doing their jobs. We can only hope that George
Tenet and other former CIA officers have a hard time sleeping at
night, knowing the horror and bloodshed they might have prevented,
but didn’t.

But
the report is troubling, also, because it proves that the strong case
made by President Bush for the Patriot Act and other preventive
measures after Sept. 11 was phony. The evidence is in. It is not
true, as the administration claimed, that the CIA and FBI lacked the
necessary tools, prior to Sept. 11, to track down terrorists planning
attacks against the United States. They had the tools. They simply
didn’t use them.

Neither
the Patriot Act nor the warrantless NSA wiretaps were necessary
responses to Sept. 11. They were pure Big Brother: unjustified
attempts to weaken civil liberties and strengthen presidential power,
using Sept. 11 as an excuse.

Speaking
of warnings never acted upon . . .

Remember
the intelligence briefing President Bush was given on Aug. 6, 2001,
while vacationing on his Texas ranch? Headline: "Bin Laden
Determined to Strike in U.S." Did he take any action? Did he
make any calls? Did he demand any follow-up? No, the leader of the
Free World went fishing. Fifty CIA agents and director George Tenet
weren’t the only ones asleep at the switch before Sept. 11.

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "How
the Republicans Stole Religion."
His email address is: bill@billpress.com. His Web site is:
www.billpress.com.