NYT: C.I.A. bin Laden Unit Understaffed, ("Anonymous") Tells Lawmakers

[DeepModem Mom]

C.I.A. Unit on bin Laden Is Understaffed, a Senior Official Tells Lawmakers
By JAMES RISEN

Published: September 15, 2004


WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 - Three years after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency has fewer experienced case officers assigned to its headquarters unit dealing with Osama bin Laden than it did at the time of the attacks, despite repeated pleas from the unit's leaders for reinforcements, a senior C.I.A. officer with extensive counterterrorism experience has told Congress.

The bin Laden unit is stretched so thin that it relies on inexperienced officers rotated in and out every 60 to 90 days, and they leave before they know enough to be able to perform any meaningful work, according to a letter the C.I.A. officer has written to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

"There has been no systematic effort to groom Al Qaeda expertise" among C.I.A. officers since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the letter, written by Michael F. Scheuer, the former chief of the agency's bin Laden unit and the author of a best-selling book that is critical of the Bush administration's handling of the war on terror....

***

A senior intelligence official who asked not to be identified strenuously disputed Mr. Scheuer's criticism about the resources assigned to the war against Al Qaeda. "The assertions are off the mark," the official said. "There are far more D.O. officers working against the Al Qaeda target both at C.I.A. headquarters and overseas than there were before Sept. 11," the official said, using the abbreviation for the Directorate of Operations, the C.I.A.'s clandestine arm. "Our knowledge of and substantive expertise on Al Qaeda has increased enormously since 9/11. The overall size of the counterterrorism center has more than doubled, and its analytic capabilities have increased dramatically."...

(More interesting info in this article.)


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/15/politics/15cia.html

[H2O Man]

1. Both of Scheuer's books

"Imperial Hubris" and "Through Our Enemies' Eyes" are important to read in order to understand 9-11, and this administration's response to it. While he may not be an appealing character to the democratic left, he is an informed, sincere, and thoughtful individual who has exposed the criminal behaviors of the current administration.

[JoFerret]

2. Shocking if true

but somehow no surprise.

[TacticalPeek]

3. What I don't understand.

What I don't understand is that some people say this fool is not TOO STUPID TO BE PRESIDENT!!!!

[leesa]

4. We don't care...FAKE MEMOS...FAKE MEMOS!

[suegeo]

5. Exactly! Was Kerry really in Cambodia?

What bothers me is not whether I or my countrymen will be killed in a terrorist attack, but rather, my concern is with whether John Kerry really was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve, or was he 5 miles from the border?

And, how much did he really bleed to get those purple hearts?
/sarcasm

This country is so collectively stupid, it is discouraging.

The media should be tried in a court of law for allowing this to happen.

[oasis]

6. Bush is not accountable for this. "The buck stops here" never applies.