Posted on 07/08/2006 3:40:21 PM PDT by blam
Agent who led Bin Laden hunt criticises CIA
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Saturday July 8, 2006
The Guardian (UK)
The man who led America's hunt for Osama bin Laden has said the CIA was wrong to disband the only unit devoted entirely to the terrorist leader's pursuit - just at a time when al-Qaida is reasserting its influence over global jihad. Shutting down the Bin Laden unit squandered 10 years of expertise in the war on terror, said Michael Scheuer, who founded the unit in 1995 and arguably knows more about Bin Laden than any other western intelligence official. He believes the unit was dismantled because of bureaucratic jealousies within the CIA, and that the closure delivers a further setback to a pursuit that has been squeezed for resources for the past two years.
"What it robs you of is a critical mass of officers who have been working on this together for a decade," he told the Guardian. "We had a breed of specialists rare in an intelligence community that prides itself on generalists. It provided a base from which to build a cadre of people specialising in attacking Sunni extremist operations, who sacrificed promotions and other emoluments in their employment in the clandestine service, where specialists were looked on as nerds."
A 22-year CIA veteran, Mr Scheuer became aware of Bin Laden in the 1980s when the Saudi-born militant was on the fringes of the US-backed mujahideen fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. In 1995, when western intelligence agencies knew little about Bin Laden, Mr Scheuer was charged with setting up a unit that would track what support he was giving to Islamist groups, and determine whether he was a threat. Mr Scheuer left the agency in 2004 after writing a scathing book about its counter-terrorism...
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
The only thing Michael Scheuer has going for him in my book is, that he likes to trash Richard Clarke.
Of course, it is possible that after 10 years of not finding bin Ladin, they decided to hire a new team with a new strategy?
The fact there is jealousy in the CIA is not news, is it?
WE NEED JACK BAUER!
THE PRESIDENT: It's just an incorrect story. I mean, we got a -- we got a lot of assets looking for Osama bin Laden. So whatever you want to read in that story, it's just not true, period.
This is from the President's press conference in Chicago. Do these people not listen to these things?
No. They live in an alternate (non)reality of their own construction.
If the unit was named after his son, I'd shut it down too. Keep the non CIA critics;fire the others; give it another name; crank it up; and don't tell this creep about it.
yitbos
"We haven't even begun to understand where our enemy is coming from."
And this is spoken by the guy that CIA tasked to understand the enemy for 10 years??
where is 007 ?
Is it possible that the Clinton holdovers in the CIA could not keep their mouths shut in order to embarrass the Bush administration?
Scheurer thinks that a unit that failed to find Bin Ladin in ten years of trying should be left in charge of finding him becaue, after all, they are the experts.
This sounds like satire. I know its not, but it ought to be.
While these experts were busy not finding him, a teenager from a family of hippies was able to join up and meet the man face to face.
This is the reason CIA can't find Bin Ladin. A guy with a degree in Medieval French Lit who expects to have holidays off with his family, and a great 401k plan, who gets semi-annual reviews and pay grade adjustments, is on completely the wrong planet. The guy who is going to find Bin Ladin is going to go and live in the dirt for months or years on end. This is special ops work, this is deep cover work.
It might be worth noting that we had a way of tracking him, by means of his satelite phone, but someone in CIA or the intelligence committee leaked it to the press, and the press published it.
And Scheurer thinks these idiots should be left in charge.
http://www.c-span.org/videoarchives.asp?CatCodePairs=,&ArchiveDays=100
Michael Scheuer, CBS News Terrorism Analyst
Michael Scheuer, CBS News Terrorism Analyst talks about the search for Osama bin Laden and U.S. intelligence. Mr. Scheuer recently wrote a column on this topic in the Washington Times. He is a former CIA counterterrorism analyst, who for many years headed the Osama Bin Laden unit, which was closed by the CIA the week of July 3.
7/7/2006: WASHINGTON, DC: 40 min.
Frnakly, I don't like the news technique of asking Clintonistas to comment on current policy. They are outside the loop and all they do is try to make the Clinton years look good. I would much prefer hearing from sources close to the administration who know what is going on,
If you haven't watched that 40 minute segment from yesterday's Washington Journal, you may be mildly pleased if you do.
Why? Why listen to anyone who loves Osama more than America?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.