Posted on 09/15/2001 4:04:03 AM PDT by randalcousins
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15 2001
Terror in America: Ready for war
No sex and bad food are recipe for CIA failure
FROM DAMIAN WHITWORTH IN WASHINGTON
THE Central Intelligence Agency has no effective counter-intelligence operation in Afghanistan, and agents could hope to set eyes on one of Osama bin Laden’s foot soldiers only if he “walked through the door of a US Embassy”, according to a former operative.
Reuel Marc Gerecht, who worked on Middle East affairs for the CIA for almost nine years, said that the agency had failed to make any serious effort to infiltrate bin Laden’s organisation.Another operative said that the problem lay in a lack of volunteers for a posting that meant no sex and bad food.In an article written before this week’s attacks, week, Mr Gerecht said that the agency has a “risk-averse, bureaucratic nature” and its “counterterrorism programme in the Middle East and its environs is a myth”.
He scoffed at the description by George Tenet, Director of the CIA, of the agency’s counter-terrorism programme as robust and the claim by senior US officials that bin Laden’s organisation was being picked apart limb by limb.
A former senior operative in the region is quoted as saying that “the CIA probably doesn’t have a single truly qualified Arabic-speaking officer of Middle Eastern background who can play a believable Muslim fundamentalist who would volunteer to spend years with sy food and no women in the mountains of Afghanistan. For Christ’s sake, most case officers live in the suburbs of Virginia.” Another case officer said: “Operations that include diarrhoea as a way of life don’t happen.”
With the United States on a war footing, there has been a reluctance to break ranks and criticise the intelligence agency for failing to apprehend those involved in this week’s attacks, but the CIA is likely to face intense scrutiny over the coming weeks.
Nor is it the first occasion on which intelligence information appears to have been lacking. The agency has been rocked in recent years by the bombings of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen last year. Last month the CIA issued a renewed warning, based on incoming intelligence, that bin Laden was pressing for action against Americans.
Asked if the President had full confidence in Mr Tenet, his spokesman said, “Yes, he does.”
A CIA spokesman said that the agency was not concerned by reports of senators on Capitol Hill pressing for Mr Tenet to resign. “Our focus is on terrorists — it’s not on critical chatter by anonymous sources,” he said.
Isn't it time you reviewed which were really necessary, opened up replacement agencies for those that are necessary under competent outsiders, and then progressively absorbed the necessary functions and any clean and competent personnel into the replacement agencies? That would get rid of the useless or harmful agencies and clean out the corrupt and/or incompetent ones (the rest), while maintaining the functionality of the useful ones and as much of their experience as possible. I don't see you have much to lose by this course of action, and you might actually be able to trust and respect your Federal government again.
In fact, why not have a constitutional requirement that every Federal agency should be replaced this way every thirty years or so?
I expect that this situation will change. Nothing like thousands of innocent casualties to focus the attention.
The Congress and Clinton want us to be nice in a bad world. It is typical of the thinking in the Johnson Administration when I was off Vietnam and watched the NVA resupply the VC during bombing pauses. When you fight a war, be it clandestine or open, you do not hobble your own troops.
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that our multi-billion-dollar "intelligence" (oxymoron) communities completely failed us this week.
As our government gets bigger, warring bureaucrats within it are engaged in endless in-fighting which paralyzes our ability to to the right thing. That is where true leadership by a president is supposed to make a difference.
Time will tell if this country can focus again and do what has to be done against terrorism.
I do not believe a word uttered by politicians anymore. Talk, Talk, Talk. ACTION IS WHAT IS NEEDED!
LOL, this same thought came to me the other day. Hardly a "007" assignment. The CIA, imho, are first rate, flim flam artists, criminals, frauds, con men, shysters, grifters, highwaymen, etc. .....
Don't be misled by the variant behavior of elected officials; they don't have to pass FBI background checks.
(tee hee)
Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com
Beekeeper is absolutely right. My father is a retired undercover operative for uhh ...a pizza delivery company based in Mclean, VA (security pinheads who have no clue as to what's a serious divulgement are still out there).
He spent 20 years overseas, mostly in Asia. Although born in Boston, he grew up in China. He is full Chinese. He could penetrate and deliver pizzas in Asia like no gringo ever could. He is also of the WWII generation. His Company compatriots were loyal, faithful and above all - mostly competent - although quite a few are Democrats, unfortunately. They're all very old, and I see less numbers of them every occasion when there is a large party or event involving them.
They all got out during the Carter administration. Carter, in his supreme idiocy, said "nice nations don't read each other's mail." Hence he decimated the DDO (Domino's Directorate of Operations)- the actual "Delivery" unit of the Company. He, Senator Frank Church, and Stansfield Turner.
Clinton, as Carter II with a little bit of Condit (there's an anagram lurking in there somewhere), continued this tradition of criminal stupidity. Now we reap what they have sown.
It's important to know who our war criminals are.
The term SNAFU came from the rank and file soldiers of World War II--a very patriotic lot--who had to deal with the inept bureaucracy of the War Department.
We can only hope the situation improves. Let's keep the heat on our elected representatives to see that it does.
While everyone is talking about bombing the BaGeezes out of someone, I am scared by the lack of long term thinking.
It will take a half a dozen years to get our intelligence back up to snuff (if no Clintons are presidents).
I think the real solution for the manpower and the brainpower that we need is the draft!
The CIA has never seen anything coming, never does the right thing, never accomplishes anything except to generate misery, has never done one positive thing to justify its existence. The world would be better off if it were abolished, and so would the USA.
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.