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| CIA Terrorist Hunter: Bin Laden 'Great' and 'Admirable' |
| 2004-11-22 |
| This guy sounds like Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now". Except where Kurtz talked about the other side being evil, and how we needed to adopt their tactics to defeat them, this CIA guy talks about how the other side is good and how we need moderate our positions to appease them. In a series of bizarre comments that show the depth of the failed thinking at the nation's premier intelligence service, the former head of the CIA unit charged with capturing or killing Osama bin Laden said on Sunday that the terror mastermind was a "remarkable," "great" and "admirable" man. "He's really a remarkable man," former CIA agent Michael Scheuer told NBC's "Meet the Press." "[He's a] great man in many ways, without the connotation positive or negative. He's changed the course of history." Scheuer's book "Imperial Hubris," which the CIA allowed him to publish anonymously earlier this year, was touted during the presidential campaign by critics of President Bush based on its claim that the U.S. is losing the war on terrorism. Scheuer ran the agency's bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999. While he insisted he didn't mean to praise bin Laden, moments later the ex-CIA man told host Tim Russert that the al-Qaida chief was "an admirable man. If he was on our side, he would be dining at the White House." "He would be a freedom fighter, a resistance fighter," Scheuer added, suggesting that the U.S. would welcome an ally who killed 3,000 innocent office workers in a kamikaze sneak attack. In more revealing comments, Scheuer went on to blame America's "unqualified support for Israel" for bin Laden's rise. "There is a perception in the Muslim world, and I think there's a perception on the part of many Americans, that the tail is leading the dog on this case," he told NBC. "And perception, for better or worse, is often reality." In fact, bin Laden bombed U.S. embassies in East Africa, attacked the USS Cole and planned the 9/11 attacks during the height of the Clinton administration's efforts to pressure Israel to cede territory to the Palestinians, a proposal accepted by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak but rejected by Yasser Arafat. Scheuer continued as a senior analyst with the CIA's bin Laden unit until Nov. 12, when he went public with his complaints. |
| Posted by:Zhang Fei |
| #23 But under Eisenhower Allen Dulles was doing a crackerjack job overthrowing governments left and right till we got to Cuba. /sarcasm The CIA has always been a problem. Even when it was called the OSS. It is simply not an activity that fits well with the concept of the American Government or the temperment of the American people when not at war. But we need intelligence to operate effectively now, more than ever, so we'd better figure out how to do it well. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-22 8:32:42 PM |
| #22 Does anybody else here remember the book, "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence"? It was published in 1974. It spoke of much of the same kinds of problems with the CIA during the Nixon presidency. That shows how far back this mess goes. The problems began under Kennedy, spread rapidly under Johnson, were ignored during he Nixon presidency, made worse under Carter, and never really straightened out since then. The Clinton politicization of everything did nothing to clean up the mess, and Tenet was too soft to get anywhere. Goss needs to use a fire hose to clean the place out. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-11-22 8:25:43 PM |
| #21 Quick quiz: would Scheuer be gone from CIA if we were about to inaugarate (gulp!) President Kerry? |
| Posted by: someone 2004-11-22 1:47:38 PM |
| #20 ZF, My point, more fully, was not to get on Tenet's case about Scheuer nor that there was any relationship between Tenet and Scheuer. It was that Tenet condoned a culture in which people like Scheuer could survive and prosper. As soon as Scheuer saw that the culture was going to change, as indicated by W's victory and Tenet's impending resignation he, probably after consulting with his publisher and publisist, decided to resign at the moment when he could get the maximum PR value. So a direct relationship of any kind between Tenet and Scheuer is not necessary. But there is a relationship between Scheuer and the CIA culture, for which Tenet's tenure is a leading indicator. W erred in waiting till after the election to clean out CIA. In hindsight it is clear he should have done so right after Afghanistan was cleaned up and before Iraq. But having gone after Iraq first, he had lettle choice but to wait. Some times that loyalty down thing has a big price tag. Waiting for Powell at State was not so clearly an error, in my opinion. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-22 1:09:13 PM |
| #19 Any failing institution that is also steeped in secrecy and clannishness is simply not capable of reform. First, no leader, no matter how energetic or clear-sighted, will have enough visibility into all the areas of rot. Second, the instant the new head tries to reform it, the institution will beat him back with far more effective methods of sabotage and deception, methods that have been refined over decades. The model you need to have in mind here is the CPSU. Think of Goss as Gorbachev. As I say, raze it to the ground and start over. Very real damage is being done-- has been done-- and it will only get worse. We may be looking at a threat to our republic here. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-22 12:50:30 PM |
| #18 Thanks to Fred's "Neverending Story", I just re-read Binny's fatwa upon our heads. The occupation of Jerusalem is mentioned as the third item in his list of complaints. No mention of his poor downtrodden Palestinian brothers. However, Iraq is mentioned over and over again. I wonder why that is? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-11-22 12:47:32 PM |
| #17 Will someone corect me if I'm wrong,but didn't Osama not mention Israel til US invasion of Afghanistan? That prior to that OBL was po'd at US for occupying Saudi holy ground and propping up morally bankrupt rulers. That he was fighting to reverse Western Crusader victories in Spain and elsewhere. That he was all about fighting the Great Satan,the US. That Al-Q attacked US targets(ships,Embassies,the US itself)and not Israeli ones. When his Al-Q and Taliban fighters were getting slaughtered then OBL started including Israel in his rants hoping to recruit Palestinians to replace his losses. Did I remember this all wrong? If I got it right however,that means the CIA's man chasing OBL had no clue as to what was driving OBL and thus made 9/11 more possible. Is there some subconcious guilt driving Mr.Scheuer? |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-11-22 12:35:58 PM |
| #16 This comes from the man supposed to have been hunting Bin Laden for 3 years? No wonder Bin Laden ran unimpeded until November 2001. Imagine a former police officer lavishing praise on murderers and thieves. Wouldn't you wonder about what he truly did while he was a police officer? |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-11-22 11:49:04 AM |
| #15 Old Spook what do you think? |
| Posted by: Anon1 2004-11-22 10:15:41 AM |
| #14 MD: Is it a coincidence that as soon as Scheurer heard that Tenet was going Scheuer's out too? I wouldn't necessarily get on Tenet's case on Scheuer's say-so. Scheuer's clearly a loose cannon with a bunch of contradictory views. Part of the reason that the housecleaning was deferred until now is simply politics - sweeping out the Old Guard before the election would have triggered another misleading barrage of ads from the Democrats. Ditto with Powell at the State Department. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-11-22 10:07:41 AM |
| #13 The relationship between Scheurer and Tenet retiring is one day. I know little else about either. Tenet may not have been a dedicated protector with a specific interest in Scheuer, but he presided over a culture that allowed Scheuer to survive and prosper. Is it a coincidence that as soon as Scheurer heard that Tenet was going Scheuer's out too? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-22 9:11:59 AM |
| #12 Re #11 (Mrs. Davis): I certainly agree that your second and third reasons are valid. I don't think there's any relationship between Tenet retiring and Scheuer quitting. Now a lot of people have concluded that Tenet was somehow a protector of Scheuer. What nonsense! Scheuer's position as manager of the CIA's bin Laden unit ended in 1999. I speculate that his career stalled and even turned downward at that point, and that's why he decided to spend his free time and energy publishing books to spout off his opinions publicly. This kind of outburst happens all the time. It's called a mid-life crisis. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-22 8:44:12 AM |
| #11 I can imagine the reason he began publishing his opinions was a.) that they were accepted within the CIA but not reflected in U. S. policy. b.) to make money. c.) to try to influence the vote away from Bush in the 2004 election. But I have no reason to believe any of them. I doubt even he knew why he did it and that there are several other reasons we are unaware of. However, it is difficult to look at the actions of the CIA and conclude that they reflect a lack of acceptance or respect until George Tenet decided to retire when Scheurer decided to retire. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-22 8:19:56 AM |
| #10 We can agree on that, |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-11-22 8:02:31 AM |
| #9 Re #4 (.com): We need to tear it [the CIA] out by the roots and start from scratch. Scheuer is gone. I imagine that the reason he began publishing his opinions publicly is that his opinions were not accepted and respected within the CIA. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-22 7:51:11 AM |
| #8 The moderator should remove all that yellow. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-22 7:47:49 AM |
| #7 So, we now realize exactly why this arrogant moron wants to give up Israel to the "Muslim World". A-hole. |
| Posted by: Destroy Islam 2004-11-22 6:51:32 AM |
| #6 Stockholm Syndrome perhaps ? hehe |
| Posted by: MacNails 2004-11-22 6:48:41 AM |
| #5 "And perception, for better or worse, is often reality." My perception is this guy is in love with Bin Laden and should be replaced. |
| Posted by: Shaiter Omoluper1484 2004-11-22 6:35:58 AM |
| #4 Remarkable. Just think how many have probably been infected by this sort of "leadership". I'm now with lex and others - the patient can't be saved by any mere treatment. We need to tear it out by the roots and start from scratch. I would dig hard and deep and find something that could be used to put this asshole away. He needs 20-30 years of making gravel out of boulders to consider his views and the damage he has done, and is doing. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-11-22 5:07:34 AM |
| #3 Why is this rectal cavity stealing our precious oxygen reserves? The crap this guy spews would clog a sewage treatment plant. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-11-22 2:01:42 AM |
| #2 Anyone wonder why the CIA has become the equivalent of the Keystone Cops with people like this? |
| Posted by: Thomas J. Jackson 2004-11-22 1:46:50 AM |
| #1 The problems in the CIA seem to be bigger than I had thought. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-11-22 1:28:52 AM |