[shhrubbery!]

Interesting transcript of an interview with Larry C. Johnson on PBS some years ago.

I can't find the date of this interview, but it appears to be pre-9/11, even pre-USSCole attack. The World Trade Center "bombing" (apparently the first one, in 1992) is discussed in passing, but the main focus seems to be on the Nairobi embassy bombing.

Here's a quote from Johnson in which he appears to be downplaying the threat posed by Osama:

So, we recognize that [Osama's] the threat. He's serious about wanting to kill Americans, but as long as he's in Afghanistan, as long as he doesn't have access to a cell phone, as long as he can't just hop on a plane and travel wherever he wants without fear of being arrested, his ability to plan and conduct terrorist operations is extremely limited.

Shades of the "containment policy" leftists advocated for containing Saddam

[ScreamingFist]

.

[shhrubbery!]

Sorry for the typo: The first World Trade Center bombing was 1993, not '92.

[Sam Hill]

Yeah, I've seen that interview before. It is quite amazing how stupid Johnson was and still is.

It was part of the work for Frontline's show on Bin Laden which aired in 2000.

It probably warrants its own thread, given how off the mark expert Larry Johnson once again proved to be.

[Cecily]

We needed Steven Emerson types at the CIA, FBI, and other national security departments, but we got the likes of Valerie Plame, Larry Johnson, Richard Clarke, and Michael Scheuer, with Bubba for a president. I'm amazed we didn't get hit harder and more often by Osama and his gang of insane criminals.

[STARWISE]

As long as you don't open your mouth, Larry, you won't be lyin'.