[P-40]

Someone with either qualities shouldn't have been in his position.

Had he pushed to get his concerns into the NIE...things might have turned out differently. Prior to 9/11 that would be going way out on a limb...but it would have helped get the attention he needed.

[edpc]

Attention would have been a start. True, it would have been a bit tough to sell the plane bomb prior to Sept 2001, but it wasn't like the idea was science fiction. Until that time, it was a distant memory of WWII and relegated to Clancy novels, as Debt of Honor portrayed it.

The 9/11 Commission stated part of the problem was a "failure of imagination." Clarke's 1998 scenario blows that away (no pun intended). He clearly imagined a similar attack, but nothing was done to prevent something so plausible. The true failure of 9/11 was beauracratic inaction and obstruction (see the Gorelick Wall).

Getting back to your original point, I sincerely doubt the MSM would dust off Clarke's memo where these chemical attacks are concerned. They're only interested in finding the portions critical of the current administration. Talk about cherrypicking intelligence!