Fergie's Tech Blog

Report: CIA Blew Chances to Spot 9/11 Threat

Ed Pilkington writes in The Guardian:

As many as 60 people within the CIA read a cable referring to two of the 19 hijackers involved in the attacks on America on September 11 2001 before the event, yet the information was not shared with the parts of the organisation able to do anything about it, according to the agency's own internal investigation.

The revelation is one of several damning findings from the CIA's own watchdog, the inspector general, drawn up in June 2005. He accuses the CIA's top officials in the run-up to 9/11, including the then director, George Tenet, of failure to devise a strategic plan to counter Osama bin Laden in advance of the attacks.

A 19-page summary of the inspector's report was published yesterday under a new congressional law passed earlier this month, having been kept secret since it was written. It underlines the depth of infighting between the CIA and the National Security Agency which prevented clear lines of responsibility in the fight against al-Qaida.

posted by Fergie @ 8/21/2007 05:24:00 PM