Controversial, Top Secret CIA/Al Qaeda Report Released
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.
In a statement, CIA Director Michael Hayden said the decision to release the report was not his choice or preference, but that he was making the report available as required by Congress in a law President Bush signed earlier this month.
“I thought the release of this report would distract officers serving their country on the front lines of a global conflict,” Hayden said. “It will, at a minimum, consume time and attention revisiting ground that is already well plowed.”
The report does cover terrain heavily examined by a congressional inquiry and the Sept. 11 Commission. However, the CIA watchdog’s report goes further than previous reviews to examine the personal failings of individuals within the agency who led the pre-9/11 efforts against al-Qaida.
Helgerson’s team found that no CIA employees violated the law or were part of any misconduct. But it still called on then-CIA Director Porter Goss to form accountability boards to look at the performance of specific individuals to determine whether reprimands were called for.
The inquiry boards were recommended for officials including former CIA Director George Tenet, his deputy director for operations Jim Pavitt, Counterterrorism Center Chief Cofer Black, and agency Executive Director A.B. “Buzzy” Krongard.
In October 2005, Goss rejected the recommendation. He said he had spoken personally with the current employees named in the report, and he trusted their abilities and dedication. “The report unveiled no mysteries,” Goss said.
Hayden stuck by Goss’s decision.
Providing a glimpse of a series of shortfalls laid out in the longer, still-classified report, the executive summary says:
—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.
While blame is heaped on Tenet and his deputies, the report also says that Tenet was forcefully engaged in counterterrorism efforts and personally sounded the alarm before Congress, the military and policymakers. In a now well-known 1998 memo, he declared, “We are at war.”
The trouble, the report said, was follow-up.
In a statement, Tenet said the inspector general is “flat wrong” about the lack of plan.
“There was in fact a robust plan, marked by extraordinary effort and dedication to fighting terrorism, dating back to long before 9/11,” he said. “Without such an effort, we would not have been able to give the president a plan on Sept. 15, 2001, that led to the routing of the Taliban, chasing al-Qaida from its Afghan sanctuary and combating terrorists across 92 countries.”
The inspector general did take exception to findings of Congress’ joint inquiry into 9/11. For instance, the congressional inquiry found that the CIA was reluctant to seek authority to assassinate bin Laden. Instead, the inspector general believed the problem was the agency’s limited covert-action capabilities.
The CIA’s reliance on a group of sources with questionable reliablity “proved insufficient to mount a credible operation against bin Laden,” the report said. “Efforts to develop other options had limited potential prior to 9/11.”
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Well, what do you expect from the agency that employed Valerie Plame and sent Joe Wilson on his “top secret, super scary mission” to Niger.
August 21st, 2007 at 1:58 pmThe United States of America is in an era where its counter intelligence ability apparently is abysmal. Book “Enemies” by Gertz points out the multitude shortcomings.
Probably won’t get better until stronger core values are established, and we stop trying reduce solutions executed by remote control. Click, click, click, 99 channels and nothing to watch!
August 21st, 2007 at 2:01 pmThat is a powerful report. I am glad it was released and hopefully will wake up the more moderate leftists that swear allegence to the corrupt Clintons.
The effects of the funding cuts (some necessary), but not realizing the threat from radical Islam at the same time is incompetence at it finest.
If we let the left take control again, expect the same, we need to become active with a sound message to the left and our enemies, Iran, N. Korea, Syria & ALL terroist groups.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:51 pmThe CIA was emasculated in the 1978 hearings. It’s ability to do its job was further denigrated by Stansfield Turner and that idiot Jamie Goerlic. She’s the dipshit that put a wall of seperation between the FBI and the CIA, preventing them both from sharing vital information.
This was further exascerbated by the Clintonista administrations treatment of terrorism as a policing problem.
And let us not forget that Bin Dickhead was offered to the Clintonistas on a silver platter by Yemen.
Lastly, we had OBL under surveilance in Afghanistan. He was targeted and at the last minute Sandy Burglar called off the mission.
The CIA isn’t completely to blame. Blame needs to be spread around to Congress, the Clintonistas and every goof-ball CIA director (except Bill Casey) and the paranoid fucksticks in the MSM led by bleeding hearts in Congress such as the elitist moron Les Aspin.
August 21st, 2007 at 3:29 pmC.I.A
Clowns In Action
but it is hard to do much when if u play by the bad guys rules u get thrown in jail
August 21st, 2007 at 5:01 pmPresident Bush made his first mistake when he didn’t arrest the Clintons on inaugration day. The second was retaining any Clinton appointee. Tenant, Freeh, Clark et al.> See…
Triple Cross
August 21st, 2007 at 6:57 pmThe Shadow Party
Ron Brown’s Body
Unlimited Access
The Barret Report
don’t be assholes. everyone knows that intelligence is picked and choosed. its never as simple as we think because we do not have access to the information that decision-makers have.
i’m not patting my chest like an ape, but everyone knows milint is our largest gatherer anyways.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:38 pmgorelick, Sick Willie, and “The Wall” against intel sharing.
“Expedited visas” - again, courtesy of Sick Willie’s State Department.
Personnel/budget cuts.
An era of CYA in the CIA….
By all means, let’s put dems in full control again.
BTW, if - and that’s a big “if” - what tenet said in his counter-statement is true about the “robust plan” (which MIGHT have been responsible for the rapid response, post 9/11), then why wasn’t it implemented?
…because Sick Willie had “other uses” for his testicles besides protecting Americans….
August 21st, 2007 at 10:13 pm“We Won’t Be Fooled, Again” I hope.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:07 amTwo other failures of the CIA that I failed to mention: The lack of humit and the politicizing of intelligence data for personal political gain by some CIA employees. The perfect example being the attention whore Valarie Plame and her useless house husband.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:53 am