Posted on 11/14/2004 5:56:00 PM PST by hope
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
CIA Agent: Nuke Attack Surely Coming
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.comFormer CIA agent Michael Scheuer told CBS “Sixty Minutes”’ Steve Kroft Sunday that the U.S. fumbled ten chances to kill or capture terror chief Osama bin Laden – before 9/11. Now, he is convinced that the international outlaw will attack the U.S. homeland with some sort of nuclear weapon of mass destruction.
Monday, Nov. 15, 2004
"They're intention is to end the war as soon as they can and to ratchet up the pain for the Americans until we get out of their region.... If they acquire the weapon, they will use it, whether it's chemical, biological or some sort of nuclear weapon," said Scheuer.
In his first television interview without disguise, Scheuer appeared most aggravated by a missed opportunity to level a hunting camp where bin Laden was holding court with several Arab princes.
“If they were eating goat with bin Laden, you know they were up to nefarious purposes. What were a few less Arab princes when considering 3000 dead Americans?”
At one point, the gung-ho agent was dismissed from the bin Laden project at the CIA that went by the code name “Alec.” He told Kroft that he was considered “too persistent” and constantly lobbied his superiors about their “unwillingness to take risks.”
But after 9/11 he was brought back aboard.
His attitude about U.S. policy has not gotten much better. He holds former CIA director George Tenet responsible for 9/11 and lambastes former White House security aide Richard Clark for “constantly denigrating our intelligence.”
"One of the questions that should have been asked of Mr. Tenet was why were there always enough people for the public relations office, for the academic outreach office, for the diversity and multi-cultural office? All those things are admirable and necessary but none of them are protecting the American people from a foreign threat," said Scheuer.
Scheuer thinks it is a grave mistake for the administration to advertise bin Laden as a “thug or gangster.”
“He is not irrational but a worthy opponent,” Scheuer insisted, going as far as to say that bin Laden was in his opinion “a great man.”
“His greatness comes from his ability to influence the course of history.”
"Until we respect him, sir, we are going to die in numbers that are probably unnecessary, yes. He's a very, very talented man and a very worthy opponent," he added to Kroft.
Scheuer coyly admitted to CBS that he was the "anonymous" author of two books critical of the West's response to bin Laden and al Qaeda, the most recent of which is titled Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror.
The CIA allowed him to write the books provided he remain anonymous, but now is allowing him to reveal himself for the first time on Sunday's broadcast; he formally leaves the Agency on Nov. 12.
Other points from the interview:
The retired CIA man admitted that he was not invited to cabinet meetings during the Richard Clark period at the Clinton White House.
George Tenet and Richard Clark were invited to appear on the program but declined to do so.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
106-106-106
Why doesn't steve kroft go catch OBL then, he seems to know all about it.
I am really surprised that 60 minutes aired this guy taking it to Clarke and Tenent.
I watched this and I thought it was funny how SM somewhat distorted the timeline to almost make it appear that the CIA dropped the ball during the Bush administration.
So it wasn't the Russians that started the end of the world?
His criticism of both Clark and Tenent lends credibility to his comments.
Am I the only one who thinks that all of this chaos and finger-pointing at the CIA + these nuke warnings that seem to be coming every day now == bad news....
I don't want to panic, but the government has not been very reassuring of late.
Regarding the headline, what's the big deal? I said that ten years ago.
I see a big gap between 'surely coming' and 'if he gets a weapon, he will use it.'
Sad,.....but,........it (WMD-attacks) may be 'bigger' than we can even imagine!
AQ is seeking a world-wide......'stage'.
(to them,...it is a self-saving....of.....'face'...?)
(Their,....'Heavens' must be destroyed?)
/sarcasm
Anybody who calls OBL great and a worthy opponent,needs to be put on a very close watch,and then medicated.
I wonder how much of it has to do with Porter Goss shaking things up at the CIA lately.
OBL really needs to rethink his wishes.
On the other hand, I have to admit that I found Imperial Hubris contradictory and bizarre...
Yet, I feel that all of this flailing about (reflected in that book) indicates that they are failing. We need to reform the CIA fast...
Screw the old personal system. Kick out all of the liberals and wimps. Hire all of the smart young folks in America and put them to work.
I don't know why folks keep saying that Bin Laden is smart, when it's so apparent that he's either as stupid as a june bug, insane, or both.
He took on the US on 9/11 and lost his entire empire in the Middle East, and he thinks that setting off a nuke will win this war for him? If America's loss of 3,000 people cost him so dearly, what will nuking the states cost him and his beloved Islam?
I didn't catch 60 Minutes this evening, but Scheuer makes another important assertion in his book Imperial Hubris: we are not winning the war in Afghanistan nor in Iraq, and we will not win these wars. He says we have lost control of many towns and large regions of both countries, and this will get worse. I hope Scheuer is wrong, but clearly a great deal of persistence will be needed to prove him wrong.
Because smoke over substance went part and parcel with Clintonian policy. Lazy bureaucrats despise an administration that demands results and accountability. Lordy, they might have to actually earn their money! (our tax dollars)
Well, this is frightening to me... If Goss is going in there and taking names, that probably means that they are failing badly in their overall efforts against Al-Qaida. I do not believe that Iraq is the issue.
Big mouth, no brains.
Where was this jerk before September 11? Why wasn't he leaking info to the MSM then? Sounds like he's trying to drum up book sales while the scum at CBS take swipes at W. The best way to create excitement is to tell America that it will be nuked pretty soon and, of course, it's Bush's fault.
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