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| Former CIA officer sues to publish story of Binny's escape |
| 2005-07-28 |
| The CIA is squelching publication of a new book detailing events leading up to Osama bin Laden's escape from his Tora Bora mountain stronghold during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, says a former CIA officer who led much of the fighting. In a story he says he resigned from the agency to tell, Gary Berntsen recounts the attacks he coordinated at the peak of the fighting in eastern Afghanistan in late 2001, including how U.S. commanders knew bin Laden was in the rugged mountains near the Pakistani border and the al-Qaeda leader's much-discussed getaway. Berntsen claims in a federal court lawsuit that the CIA is over-classifying his manuscript and has repeatedly missed deadlines written into its own regulations to review his book. His attorney, Roy Krieger, said he delivered papers to the U.S. District Court in Washington after hours Wednesday. The CIA declined to comment because the suit had not yet been filed officially. During the 2004 election, President Bush and other senior administration officials repeatedly said that commanders did not know whether bin Laden was at Tora Bora when U.S. and allied Afghan forces attacked there in 2001. They rejected allegations by Sen. John Kerry, then the Democratic presidential nominee, that the United States had missed an opportunity to capture or kill bin Laden because they had "outsourced" the fighting to Afghan warlords. "When I watched the presidential debates, it was clear to me ... the debate and discussions on Tora Bora were — from both sides — completely incorrect," said Berntsen, who won't provide details until the agency finishes declassifying his book. "It did not represent the reality of what happened on the ground." A Republican and avid Bush supporter, Berntsen, 48, retired in June and hasn't spoken publicly before. His book chronicles chapters of his 23 years with the agency. Berntsen spent most of his career as a case officer in the Middle East, serving as the top U.S. intelligence official in three countries. It covers his role handling the agency's response to al-Qaeda's 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. And the book continues through late 2001 when he was assigned to command a CIA team inserted into Afghanistan, code-named "Jawbreaker" — the title of his book, tentatively due out in October. Berntsen said the story highlights the actions of four brave Muslim American men who went with him. It's also about decision-making: "Who stepped up, who didn't in all of this," said Berntsen, the recipient of two of the CIA's three highest medals, one for preventing Islamic extremists from assassinating the Indian prime minister in 1996. He said he felt compelled to write his story. But he also acknowledges he retired two years early because he ruffled senior management feathers. It was clear he wouldn't get further promotions. Krieger said his client's First Amendment rights are being violated. He's also suing under the Administrative Procedures Act, arguing that the agency has taken more than twice the 30 days allowed by regulation to review the 330-page book. Berntsen's book is one of a handful written recently by former CIA officers who have wrestled with the agency over what could be published. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #10 But, my enjoyment of all that was wrong. It's all about MEEEEEEE!!! |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-07-28 21:26 |
| #9 thanks for your ethics lecture, Kofi-boy |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-28 21:05 |
| #8 Just a regular guy, with an agenda. WELL I DIDN'T GET A DECENT RETIREMENT EITHER! |
| Posted by: Jack Rubenstein 2005-07-28 20:01 |
| #7 A Republican and avid Bush supporter, Berntsen, 48, retired in June .... he also acknowledges he retired two years early because he ruffled senior management feathers. It was clear he wouldn't get further promotions. He's having his mid-life crisis. The intelligence community ought to develop some professional guidelines about the proper passage of time between leaving and publishing memoirs. The public benefits when such memoirs eventually are published, but cases like this book are blantantly improper, in my opinion. Beyond the considerations of protecting sources and methods, his rush to publish is unprofessional and unsavory. He is profiting prematurely from inside knowledge obtained while on a government salary, and he is exploiting an opportunity to kick his superiors publicly while they cannot kick back. Unfortunately, this kind of publication is becoming more common. I think the professional guidelines ought to dictate at least a decade between leaving and publishing. That said, I must admit that I recently enjoyed reading the book First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan by Gary Schroen. It seems to me that he wrote most of the book during his last CIA assignment. And he publicly lambasts everyone who disagreed with him or crossed him during that assignment. But, my enjoyment of all that was wrong. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2005-07-28 19:25 |
| #6 Yawn, just another hit piece. The only one who knows if OBL was at Tora Bora and was allowed to escape is OBL, the rest are just idle speculators and profiteers. Oh, and they are all "Republican and avid Bush supporters" don't ya know. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-07-28 16:50 |
| #5 Sound like it to me too Bobby. Like I said before Bush needs to send out a lot of pink slips to straighten out the CIA. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-07-28 10:53 |
| #4 Sandy Berger is still checking his notes for the forward. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2005-07-28 10:49 |
| #3 Sounds more like he's run afoul of the reigning Clintonians and Halfbrightians still infesting the Agency.... Whadda you say, Old Spook? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-07-28 10:47 |
| #2 Coming soon to a grocery store checkout line near you. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2005-07-28 10:41 |
| #1 In a story he says he resigned from the agency to tell, Shouldn't have bought that BMW so soon, he may have to return the royalty advance and cancel all the TV interviews he was lining up. The condo in the Carribean may need to be leased out too ... Pfeh. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-07-28 10:25 |