The CIA's Former Expert on Bin Laden

American Thinker ^ | March 26, 2007 | James Lewis

[neverdem]

The CIA's former Bin Laden specialist, Michael Scheuer, has written a revealing article about KSM --- Khalil Sheikh Mohammed, the operational chief of Al Qaeda, who has now been convicted by a military tribunal. KSM's elaborate confession was published by the Defense Department, giving Scheuer a chance to show us how well he understands Al Qaida. Unfortunately he doesn't say anything new about that, while being amazingly candid about his own biases and that of his cohort at the CIA. It's not a pretty picture.

Like Valerie Plame, Scheuer is an unabashed Leftist, as he showed in his first CIA-approved book. He openly admires Al Qaida --- remember, this is the guy who was in charge of protecting us before 9/11 (!!!) And he sides with the justice of their cause. According to Publisher's Weekly's review of Scheuer's first book, he believes that

"Arab antagonism to the West ... has its root in real grievances that have gone unaddressed by U.S. measures. The actions of the Saudis, and their U.S. supporters, come in for some hard criticism, as does the elevation of Northern Alliance warlords to de facto governors of Afghanistan. The author makes some challenging remarks regarding Israel ... while playing down the extent to which the Taliban itself was a corrupt theocratic regime..."

Indeed, Scheuer despises Israel, calling it a "theocracy-in-all-but-name." But that is bizarre and ignorant. Israel was founded by secular, democratic Left-wingers like David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir, who had seen their families and friends murdered in Europe because they were Jews. Nobody asked if they were religious Jews or not. In fact, most of them were militantly secular; some early kibbutzim went so far Left as to add a blessing for Jozef Stalin to the Passover ceremony. Israel has exactly the same debates between religious and secular people that we have in the United States, and those debates are decided democratically and by rule of law. Michael Scheuer is purported to be a "Middle East expert," but how can any expert make such a basic mistake?

Scheuer's bottom line: We deserved 9/11. 

Oddly enough, the CIA's top Bin Laden's specialist has an utterly immoral view of war, contrary to the entire Western "Just War" tradition, which ranges from Cicero to Aquinas and well into the 20^th century. In a Just War context, the Geneva Conventions mean something; targeting innocents means something; wearing uniforms that visibly identify soldiers and protect civilians means something. None of those major, life-saving civilizational constraints mean anything to Scheuer.

He approvingly quotes KSM:

"Knowing history better than his interlocutors, KSM told the tribunal: 'But you are military men. I did it [the list of attacks] but this is the language of any war ... Military [men] throughout history know very well. They know war will never stop. War start from Adam when Cain he killed Abel until now. It's never gonna stop killing people. This [killing and victims] is the way of the language [of war] ... You know never stopping war. This is life.'"

But that is the barbarians' view of warfare. And if you hold that view, there is no difference between the fire and the fire brigade. The fire consumes innocent lives, while the fire brigade risks life and limb to save them. But the Scheuers of this world are so morally lost and confused that they cannot tell the difference.

Scheuer certainly doesn't seem like a very bright or well-informed guy, but much worse, it is his moral worldview that is corrupted: That is the real problem. If our CIA promoted him up the ranks in utter disregard of his nihilistic view of the American cause, there must be something profoundly wrong at Langley.

Finally, Scheuer is convinced there were never any WMDs in Iraq. Oddly enough, Saddam's own generals were convinced they did have WMDs, and as any historian can tell Mr. Scheuer, the truth about such things is rarely known until long afterwards. Historians are still trying to figure out Nazi Germany's nuclear program today. 

So our top CIA analyst on Bin Laden has just decided there was no WMD rationale to go to war, even while the WMD question is still open to rational doubt. (See this article, for example). In other words, Mr. Scheuer has adopted the views of the militant Left on an issue that is at best debatable. That is an elementary analytic error. 

Forget Michael Scheuer, the person --- but what is the matter at the CIA? Here is our top Bin Laden analyst, who shows lamentable ignorance about the Middle East; who has a nihilistic view of warfare, and therefore of American history; who is happy to rush into print with a shoddy and biased take on the war, approved by the CIA itself; and who allows his political biases to distort his judgments of events.

Like Valerie Plame, Scheuer is a symbol of incompetence, ignorance and moral corruption among the top guardians of our national security.

James Lewis blogs at http://www.dangeroustimes.wordpress.com/

[LS]

Nothing the CIA does surprises me after an episode in our department years ago. (I teach in a history dept). We had a female come in for a tenure track job who had worked at the CIA as an analyst. It turns out she was, without exception, THE most left-wing person in a 20 person department. If she was standard fare, there, then it's no wonder we got surprised on 9/11.

[daddypatriot]

My question is how the hell do these traitors to our democracy end up with sensitive jobs in government? I wouldn't be a damned bit surprise if one or two of Osama's lieutenants didn't end up with posts at CIA or FBI headquarters. It's beginning to look ridiculous around here.

[LS]

My thoughts exactly after I figured out who this woman really was! It's like, "Why don't we just invide the KGB to work over here?"

[silverleaf]

I could not "google" a clear bio on Mr Scheuer but let me guess that he has ZERO military experience and a masters degree in international relations with a middle east or "geopolitical" focus from some elitist university with a far lefty faculty (which is about all of them).

While forcing into retirement all the "dead wood" experienced analysts who served during the Cold War, the CIA was fond of growing a new breed of young "analysts" by recruiting fresh out of college grads, putting them on a desk for a few years and then sending them to Columbia Univ, Harvard, etc for master's degrees and language training So they could read Le Monde with their morning croissants, I guess.. Some of the most naive self-important 30-somethings in the world are running around as credentialed CIA "analysts", and have the hubris to despise the Pentagon and think the President is dumb or abusing power if he doesn't accept their "nuanced" military assessments (same-o pathology at work in the State Department, ala Joe Wilson). No wonder the USA got hit in 2001 and the President got crap for "intelligence" from the day he took office.

[AuburnMan]

The author of this post either misunderstands or mischaracterizes Scheuer's arguments. I have read both of Scheuer's books. His point is simple: take Al Qaeda at it's word. When they say they will attack and kill, they will.

He does not argue that America's foreign policy is an affront against Islam. Rather, he argues that most Muslims actually believe that we are attacking Islam, even though he thinks that they are wrong.

[Chgogal]

It was quite telling when Reagan's CIA Director Casey felt it necessary to have his own CIA within the CIA. With the Plame/Wilson Affair outcome approved by the CIA bureaucracy at the highest levels, all US citizens should be demanding the closure of the agency.

Who can be happy knowing that the best hands-on-information about the goings on of Yellow Cake illegal sales is dependent upon former untrained State Department Employees who don't even feel it necessary to file written reports and then publish their assignments in the NYT? Despicable!

[ClaireSolt]

I have heard him claim to be a Republican.

[Matchett-PI]

And this is the guy the clueless O'Reilly gets on as his "expert" to comment on the WOT.

The CIA and Foggy Bottom are FULL of anti-Israel Arabist sympathizers. Scheuer is/was merely the tip of the iceberg of those in the traitorous blame-America first crowd.

[JerseyJohn61]

bttt

[BARLF]

I've been doing a google on Michael Scheuer and find some interesting articles on this guy. First he blames Clinton, Burger and Richard Clark for not killing bin Laden. The Bush Adm. had one chance at OBL and flubbed it.

In his first book he tells of the connection between Saddam and bin Laden then in an interview denies any connection. Read the denial here:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/949ycflv.asp

Paranoid? To much spooking for to many years or plain nutty?

[BARLF]

Make that , read about the denial here.

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Instead of firing a few Federal judges. GW should have fired a bunch of mid level left wing CIA folks at Langley.
Geez louise no wonder we are not doing well in Iraq and mid east.

[MHGinTN]

The spooks are rancid in spookdom. Just another of bill 'the bent one's' legacies. To democrats, anything which assaults the opposition administration is fair, even the deaths of thousands ... the C.I.A. is more culpable in the 911 massacre than the public will ever realize because the media will give them cover to protect their beloved democrap party ghouls.

[Killborn]

Gone are the days of Wild Bill Donovan, Gary Powers, Oleg Kalusky, and the other greats of CIA.

Looks like Johnny Michael Spann was the last of the true spooks.

God bless them. This once great institution is proof positive that liberals turn everything to manure.

[Tainan]

Absolutely correct. It appears that his message is getting spunn and dis-regarded by the politics brought in.



As is ever the case, intel is subjected to interpretation. It is at this level that it begins to change to fit pre-determined theories and agendas.

[secretagent]

Scheuer is an unabashed Leftist, as he showed in his first CIA-approved book.

In what way?

[4integrity]

'..It's beginning to look rediculous around here.'

It's actually becoming very frightening. Considering the leftist media that supports the Democrats cause regardless of the damage done to our country or our military, the self absorbed, unpatriotic Congress whose primary objective, it appears, is to bring down the President....even if it means placing our troops and our country in danger and a large percentage of the American population that swallows the drivel they're fed or are too busy shopping for IPOD's, SUV's, large screen TV's....to pay attention to what is happening in our country, I am truly frightened for the future of our country. May God help us.

[Oldexpat]

What I can't understand is why Bush didn't fire the whole bunch of them one day after 911. The whole country would have been behind him. The CIA failed the country and the leaders and key personnel should have been sacked. Period.
Then we could have reformed the place.

[I got the rope]

Bill Clinton