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CIA Agents in Afghanistan Are 'Menace to Themselves,' Former Operatives Claim
• Attacks expose long-term US intelligence failings • Obama launches inquiry into Christmas jet bomb
They are scathing about the way the operation in Afghanistan has been run and say it is part of an institutional weakness on the part of the CIA and other intelligence-gathering agencies.
The lobby of the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. US counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan are under intense scrutiny after an Al-Qaeda double agent killed seven CIA officers and a Jordanian agent (AFP/File/Saul Loeb) The biggest crisis in intelligence-gathering since 9/11 has been brought about mainly because no single agency is in charge, they say, creating a situation in which about a dozen US intelligence agencies fight for their own turf.
The former officers were speaking as Barack Obama held an inquest at the White House into the communication breakdown between the CIA and other agencies that allowed the Nigerian bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to come close to blowing up a US passenger plane on Christmas Day.
A report published on the eve of that meeting by the deputy head of military intelligence, Maj Gen Michael Flynn, offered a damning assessment of intelligence-gathering in Afghanistan. He said the vast apparatus there was only marginally relevant. Analysts in Washington were so starved of information, that "many say their jobs feel more like fortune-telling than detective work".
Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer and counterterrorism agent, said the CIA had become "sloppy" in its field intelligence gathering, and the suicide bombing at Khost in Afghanistan was part of that.
The CIA thought they had turned Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor, into one of their agents and it allowed him on to the base after he asked for a meeting, promising to provide information about al-Qaida. He then blew himself up.
A school friend, Mohammed Yousef, said Balawi had deceived family and friends, telling them in March he was going to Turkey for further medical studies when he in fact travelled to Afghanistan to join the militants. He had wanted to die in a holy war, and wrote angry articles on the web calling for jihad against the US and Israel.
Johnson pointed to tactical failures at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Afghanistan, where the attack was made. He said an intelligence source as significant as Balawi should never have been brought inside the base, because it risked exposing him. Balawi should also have been debriefed by a much smaller group than the dozen or so CIA employees present when he set off the bomb.
He described those errors as symptomatic of a larger trend within the agency of putting desk workers into the field. "You have a lot of inexperienced people being shoved out into the field without adequate mentoring and without proper training," Johnson said.
The CIA has suffered one crisis after another since its inception in the middle of the last century. One of its high points was its claim to have contributed to winning the cold war, but a low point was reached with the failure to prevent 9/11. Last year the Obama administration revealed details of waterboarding and other torture, and there were newspaper reports about links between the CIA and the private contractor Blackwater.
Pat Lang, a veteran of military intelligence, who was head of the analysis and clandestine human intelligence for the Defence Intelligence Agency, echoed Johnson's criticism of the Khost operation.
"A number of basic rules were violated. One that comes to mind is you never trust foreign agent assets," he said.
"I think it is a very big crisis. It shows that the level of skill in operations has declined so far that they are a menace to themselves," said Lang.
According to Lang, one of the major flaws in intelligence gathering was the failure of the Bush administration after 9/11 to put one agency in overall charge.
Gary Berntsen, a former senior CIA officer who served in the Middle East, said a hiring freeze under President Clinton had left the CIA with a lack of experienced senior intelligence gatherers.
"When a bunch of guys like me retired all at 50, there's a gap. And now we've got a lot of inexperienced people coming on who are being forced into senior positions in the field before they're ready."
But he disputed suggestions that the bombing at the base in Khost indicated systemic problems within the agency. "The agency deals with these sorts of things every single day successfully, and this is an individual case where they failed. They got beat on this case, they got beat bad ... My heart goes out to the families, but this does not indicate that the agency is in crisis in any way."
He also criticised Obama's selection of Leon Panetta to head the CIA, noting his lack of intelligence experience. "I'm sure he's learning every day, but you don't need to be learning on the job. For anyone to say it doesn't have an effect is dishonest."
- Posted in
49 Comments so far
Show Allmust have been a kar(ma) bomb. They were probably some of the CIA torturers...
"many say their jobs feel more like fortune-telling than detective work".
I'll tell them their fortune...they are going to lose. Fat, Stupid and technology dependent always loses to hard, hungry and motivated by survival.
"Fat, Stupid and technology dependent always loses to hard, hungry and motivated by survival."
ALWAYS. You are quite right. And these hard, hungry and motivated folks understand our technology and are using it to win. They know how to fight against barbarian invaders like us.
and as much as I overall disagree with
his motivating philosophy...Sheik bin LADENs
plan to BANKRUPT us is humming along
PERFECTLY!! You always have to admire strategic
acumen even when it hurts yourself.
Also it was in the CIA playbook to CREATE
a 'MUSLIM BILLY GRAHAM' page 48, "the game of nations"
miles copeland; "someone who could dominate and almost
bewitch a small group of men" (p. 60) ref. eric hoffer?
I think it was JFK (or was it Ike?) who developed the concept of outspending the Soviets and bringing them down via an arms and space race. It took 30 years, and as we have seen, extremely effective, but at the cost to our own freedoms. Alas, Reagan and his enthralled dittoheads claim it was Ronnies idea, but Reagan never had an original idea in his life. Neither have his dittoheads.
Having said that, OBL's tactics are nothing short of brilliant, and Reagan's dittoheads are falling over themselves to be the first to go under, and take us all with them.
They are more of a menace to the Afghan people and, ultimately to the people of the U.S. They are actually terrorists.
Verdad.
menace to humanity
Murdering people is a high risk job. Many murderers are themselves murdered.
How really intelligent has this agency been over the period of my life I would rate it a 4 on a 1-10 scale--anyone who destroys the life of another--I don't care what for--without a fair trial is a crook and most likely they are getting rid of someone that knows something about them that could cause them trouble, if it were revealed to the world--It should be ground into a thousand little pieces, or whatever JFK said.
This agency has broken the law countless number of times--it has spied on us civilians, and who knows what?--we should trade them in for that Zionist bunch that gets away with everything--what's it called the matzo or whatever.
The US and Israel have become terrorist in the past 9 years, with the use of the CIA and ZE. We call the ones in the Middle East Terrorist, but it is Ze, the CIA, and the US leaders, previous and present that are the invaders, so therefore terrorist too.- Also, the same with Israel, who forced the Palestinians from their homes. I don't believe 9/11 was done by whom we blame, if so why the sudden invasion of Iraq, who was not a threat to us???
"The US and Israel have become terrorist in the past 9 years"
Only in the past 9 years? I beg that the Palestinians, Japanese, Native Americans, etc. etc. etc., would beg to differ with you on that timeline.
Can I laugh now? ahhahahahahahaah >>>>>>>
Incompetent Bozos - and you wonder why I don't pay Taxes for your salaries - hahahahaha - remember the old Vaudville Hook?!? Bye Bye
The CIA was established primarily as a coordinating clearinghouse for intelligence information from other existing agencies to help the president, via tha National Security Council. That's why it is called the CENTRAL Intelligence Agency. Unfortunately, a cowboy activist element got involved and out of control. The worst abuses occurred when Cheney insisted on getting 'intelligence' he wanted, regardless of accuracy, to further his evil agenda.
Yes, Truman had something to say on that matter, but his article appeared in the mockingbird-stifled press only once.
It'll be hard to bring down the Empire...
but I think these guys can do it.
The C.I.A., N.S.A., F.B.I., and other 'spooks' tell local cops what to do and how to do it in the nation's fusion centers. And in Colorado Springs, the home of the Northern Command Center and super fusion of the fusion centers, peaceful peace demonstrators were tear gassed prior to U.S. entry into the Iraq - only one of two cities in the world where demonstrators were so tortured. Then torture, intimidation, surveillance, infiltration of peace/justice/educational/political orgranizations (in blatant violation of the Posse Comitatus law) became common and egregious in a criminal, 'police state out of control' mode of operating. It was hope of so many of rule of law and constitution respecters that the obviously bright new Pres. Obama would ask all the questions so sorely needed to be asked, and heed the warning of then retiring President Eisenhower when he warned the nation re. the power takeover potential (a.k.a. coup de etat) of the military/industrial complex. The enforcement arm of this complex is the C.I.A. and other power addicted, law breaking spook groups. But the new president appears to many of us to not understand the width and breath of the greed and power addiction that has put this nation into a p.t.s.d. state of mourning for the loss of civil, human(e) rights, and hope. Come on, Mr. President, it's time to out the spooks and boot them out, and to...
UNDO THE COUP!
Let's see. They are a danger to themselves AND a danger to others. Shouldn't they be committed to a mental health institution?
The word intelligence was use ten times in the this article. Most is the openning two paragraphs.
But, was this an intelligence failure, or even an intelligence gathering operation? No.
The reason that Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor, was within the compound meeting with the CIA was to make plans for an operational assassination on Al-Quida's number two (he is really the leader sense OB Laden is probably dead from natural causes, he was very ill).
This underscores the need to remove the operational authority from the CIA. They screw up and/or make USA foreign policy without input from the Congress.
Hasn't the president yapped enough about the Christmas bomber? I would suggest that he now delegate the security breaches associated with this incident to Pinkerton men lower down in the Pinkerton organization now that Pinkerton has replaced the U.S. Government.
In this manner, President Obama can find time for himself to deal with a more pressing question-- how to reduce American, exacerbating presence throughout the world starting with a reversal of his own policy in Afghanistan while still preserving the likelihood of his re-election in 2012.
The president's re-election, of course, is less important than our immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan, which appears the best possibility we have for avoiding the terrorist's explosion of a nuclear bomb in the United States which the commentators on the Diane Rehm radio show have stated that they are most worried about.
To those political insiders, of course, size of a possible cataclysm is a logical argument for vastly heightened security. There's no logic to their logical argument, of course, since 1) Vastly heightened security in the past has made no difference and 2) "Security" (stop-gap) has the same value (little) no matter the size of the fear occasioned by the imagined scenario and 3) The occupation of Afghanistan has failed and 4) Continued occupation of Afghanistan will continue to fail, judging by the fate of previous occupiers in that country.
Our immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan will send a message to the world that we Americans are serious about achieving peace (there are grave doubts on that score throughout the world right now).
Will the message of peace reach the ears of Al Qaeda? And will Al Qaeda care? One poster at The Daily Beast is convinced that terrorists in the Middle East will continue attacks on America whether America withdraws or not.
But how does he know that? I certainly can understand lifelong enmity from some brother of an Afghan killed gratuitously by an American bomb. At the same time, however, I know there have been terrorists throughout the story of man. And there have been quiet periods in history where the presence of terrorism was reduced.
We tried heightened security and it didn't work. We tried two wars and they didn't work either. Our best bet is an immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq.
A historic weakness of the CIA has long been foreign field work (the British & Russians are much better at it), and the pushing of unqualified desk jockeys into a war zone is a recipe for disaster...which is what happened.
Adding to the travail is an institutional inability to reset to a post-Cold War world well into the Bush error (I wonder how many of the dead CIA operatives could speak either Arabic or Pashto) that has the rest of the world alternately laughing and shuddering at the state of American intelligence.
I think al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor, had been 'turned' by Palestinean suffering at the hands of the IDF and CIA.
Where is Maxwell Smart when we need him?
Na, John Drake's the man.
RIP, Patrick McGoohan.
Or Chuck Barris, who I'm beginning to believe?
"CIA Agents in Afghanistan Are 'Menace to Themselves,' Former Operatives Claim"
Maybe we're not paying them enough. And here we thought a measly 600 billion/yr was enough.
Major oxymoron.... amerikan intelligence !
Recently I saw a photograph of a snake which survived after the owner took it to a Vet in India for surgery.
The problem was that somehow the snake could not resist its' own twitchy tail and attempted to eat it. The result was a snake that looked like one continuous loop.
It reminds me of a certain agency...
The snake was saved by cutting off a portion of its' tail. The CIA can be saved by cutting off the other extremity.
Which one?
The Central Intelligence Agency only deals in "central" intelligence, i.e., the most important intelligence. Sixty-two years after its founding, the Central Intelligence Agency still has no working definition of central intelligence. It has no working definition of "intelligence" either. It is, however, most definitely an "agency".
If any Hadiths of the Muslims claimed Jihad against the US or the west, it is a lie. Because it is a fabricated Hadiths - no authenticated Hadiths ever mentioned "the US" or "the west". Such words didn't exist in the ancient Arabic vocabulary at all. Not even the policies of any authenticated Hadiths should override the Commands of the Glorious Qur'an particularly in Chapter 4:29 & 92 against suicide bombers and terrorists. But Muslims are supposed to protect all innocent people regardless of race, gender, status, language or religion including the Jews.
Please take a look at the excerpt from getrealanswers.org:
Israel & Anti-Semitism
Allegation: Mainstream Muslim organizations have repeatedly expressed anti-Semitic views. They have also repeatedly shown sympathies with organizations that are bent on the destruction of Israel. As a religion, Islam clearly anti-Semitic.
Another claim of Islamophobes is that Islam inherently is against Jews, and that Muslims are inherently anti-Semitic. To prove the point, the worst details of the Palestine Israeli conflict are brought as examples of Muslims’ hatred of Jews. This is another twisting of the facts and the truth.
Muslims and Jews in history
Generally speaking, Islam has been quite hospitable to Jews across history. Jews experienced the Jewish Renaissance when they were living in Muslim Spain. Islam places special degree of accommodation and tolerance to the “People of the Book”. Jews lived and prospered in Muslim lands for centuries.
It is certainly true that one can find various examples of oppression of different minorities including Jews at different time in various Muslim lands-–however, broadly speaking, this was relatively uncommon, and not even comparable to oppression of religious minorities, especially Jews, in Europe.
Is Israel always right?
Muslims are more aware of the problems and challenges facing the Palestinians, and therefore are more sympathetic than the general American with the Palestinians plight. Because of the influence of the Israel Lobby in America, the average American mostly hears one side of the story. This is not the case in most other western countries around the world. In fact, there is much more open discussion about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in Israel than there is in America.
Don’t forget the Holocaust
It is useful to remember that the Holocaust occurred in Europe, and not in Muslim lands, although the Palestinians are made to pay for the mistakes of Europe. Because of the trauma of the holocaust, many Jewish Americans are simply unable to criticize any of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, however unfair. To them, the holocaust legitimizes any wrong that Israel needs to do.
Furthermore, due to the terrible events of the holocaust, there is (for good reason) great sensitivity about anti-Semitism. However, there is also a standing belief, especially within Jewish American organizations, that criticizing Israel’s unfair policies towards the Palestinians is the same as being anti-Semitic.
Against Israel’s occupation and unfair policies
Mainstream Muslim organization are not calling for the destruction of Israel, but are calling for a fair and peaceful stand on the conflict. For instance, here is where MPAC and where other mainstream Muslim organizations stand on the issue of Israel/Palestine (for example, accepting a two state solution)
Muslim organizations have stood against denying the Holocaust, or other anti-Semitic views, even from other Muslims. For example here is where MAS stands.
The Israel lobby and its pressures
The Israel lobby in America has a binding monopoly on defining the conflict in very limited terms, where Israel is portrayed as the most noble, most democratic, most just state, while the Palestinians are mostly terrorists. Israel is portrayed as a land without a people, ignoring that Palestinians have lived there for centuries. Below is a paper on the influence of the Israel lobby by Stephen Walt, Harvard Kennedy School of Government Professor. Walt argues that the “Israel Lobby” has unmatched influence over America’s institutions, which forces aggressive hawkish policies that are definitely not good for America’s foreign policy, and arguably not good for Israel in the long run.
Mainstream Muslim organizations are not the only ones portrayed as supporters of Hamas and as anti-Semites, but anyone who speaks out against Israel’s policy is labeled as such. See accusations against Jimmy Carter, who condemned Israel’s policies in the occupied territories, calling them worse than South Africa’s apartheid regime. Here is what Carter says in response.
What about Hamas?
When it comes to Hamas, Mainstream Muslim organizations have tried to balance between the following:
A commitment against Hamas’ suicide bombing or violent tactics;
A commitment against the horrors of Israel’s occupation;
A condemnation of the terrors of Hamas cannot be discussed without mention of the terrors of Israel against the Palestinians. Of course, the Israel lobby and most mainstream Jewish organizations will accept only a blanket condemnation of Hamas, but nothing that criticizes Israel.
Other Resources
The Israel Lobby (Wikipedia)
The Israel Lobby (Stephen Walt, Harvard Kennedy School of Government)
Very good posting, Muhammad. I might add that Muslims are living in the modern world, and there are some very vicious fundamentalist Muslims organizations putting their stamp on the Koran. There's a historical reason for that, but the fact remains, these groups and not doing Islam a favor. It behooves moderate Muslims to fight these groups with all of their strength.
Also, you say that "Mainstream Muslim organization are not calling for the destruction of Israel....". Well, I say they should. An Israeli state in Palestine has no legitimate reason to exist. The State of Israel is one of the largest land grabs in history. The United Nations had no business legitimizing the State of Israel. The Zionists in effect created a fascist homeland for those Jews fleeing the ruins of a fascist German Empire. The Jews of Europe did deserve a homeland, but one carved out of Germany, not Palestine. It was convenient to create the homeland in Palestine, because of the 'threat of Soviet Communism' in Europe. The U.S. thought it needed a strong German state in central Europe as a basis for NATO, to ring in and halt Soviet expansions.
I agree yet again with George regarding Muhammed's post. A truly excellent post Muhammed!
But George is also correct that the radical arm of Islam is very powerful and very well funded by their Saudi masters.
The mainstream muslims need to fight this, we who come from other faiths or are faithless will have no ear in that community.
For our part we must attempt to cut off their funds.
This can be done by going 'green'....I think it is another strong argument for developing renewable energy resources that if we could eliminate the need to import oil, we would cut off the funding of radical Islam at the knees. It takes money to keep people in AK-47's and ammo even if they are cheap they are not free.
This was a grand excuse for conservatives to get behind the 'green' movement and they failed utterly.....demonstrating that it is money which runs them, not patriotism as they so hypocritically state.
You guys both go on and on about the 'radical arm of Islam' - what about the radical arm of Christianity? Why that arm never mentioned? And if you ask me, that is the one to be afraid of since it's essentially that arm that has created and continues to create the other arm. So, perhaps, the answer lies in chopping the X-ian arm.
An excellent post. Has anyone suggested that we pass a federal law or constitutional amendment that forbids any member of Congress, or their staff members from having dual citizenship with another country. If you are going to represent the citizens of the US, you can not have dual citizenship in another country.
Mujeriego- well said:
I'll tell them their fortune...they are going to lose. Fat, Stupid and technology dependent always loses to hard, hungry and motivated by survival."
Their mind set has already made them 'Losers'- I have recently had a X CIA person around; he is quite neurotic, subject to requent 'Frantic Panic' attacks and sometimes very impolite with the local population. Ugly Amerikan, he seems to think that Amerikan methodes are so much better.
These agents, like the veteran soldier have so much Sin to reconcile that they are overwhelmed. The ones who don't show this neurotic depression, are the ones to watch out for, as they are still caught in the pure evil web of destruction.
In your third line you forgot the word 'native'.
We will lose because we WILL leave. Everyone who lives there knows this. I don't understand why we cannot figure this out.
The CIA, as well as being an agency that likes to play little boy spy games, loves to meddle in other countries affairs. It's actions go way beyond what it was ostensibly created for. And now we find that it can't even do what it thinks it's job is.
A corrupt 'intelligence agency' for a corrupt Empire. Now that it is no longer playing games with "The Evil Soviet Empire" and has been given the mandate to deal with terrorism, it will have to clean up its act. Some of these terrorists, though they look like simple Arab peasants, are very smart and know what they are doing. They are lean, mean CIA fucking machines. Oh yeah, we are definitely in the briar patch. Looks like the 'tar baby' has a Muslim face. Good luck, Brer Obama. You have made a huge mistake.
I'm with you!
There is a big difference between "spying" and "gathering intelligence" and meddling.
The CIA suffers from mission creep.
But there are many OTHER intelligence agencies. The military has it's own, the NSA, the FBI has it's own intelligence network, the TSA probably has it's own intelligence arm.
All of them are involved in meddling and this interferes with intelligence gathering. Until the USA stops the policy of having it's 'intelligence' agencies also meddle they will continue to have disaster after disaster.
But I've seen few people who are smart enough to figure this rather simple point out.
We have become a nation of cowards. The idea use to be that we were a nation of laws, not anymore! Now we let the CIA, the U.S. Military and whoever the resident of the White House is at the moment become judge, jury and executioner! Proof? What proof? We don't need any stinking proof! The president makes an accusation and presto an instant death sentence is handed down. Unfortunately for hundreds if not thousands or even tens of thousands of people from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time i.e. their homes, their fields or at a wedding, when a Predator or Specter drone shoots a couple of Hellfire missles down on them. Then we hear via our very complicit national media, that an air strike killed up to 30 SUSPECTED INSURGENTS. (While two or three months later buried deep in the bowls of the New York Times or The Washington Post or as a crawler on CNN or Fox News, we read that it was actually a bunch of school kids!)
The Afghan people are a warrior culture from way back, and to them standing off and not facing your enemy eye to eye is nothing short of cowardice! Yes, even our military stands off for two weeks while the Air Force bombs the hell out of both military and civillan targets. Yes, great for reducing losses to our troops, not so great if your thinking of occupying said country for any length of time. The natives tend to get very pissed off! No wonder we are so beloved around the world!
Let the smallest thing happen to us and the American people all get in line to strip off there cloths and get "detected, inspected, rejected and neglected". We can't wait to throw more of our tax dollars at more hi-tech machinery that doesn't make us the least bit safer, but does make people like Allan Chertoff and Tom Ridge fabulously rich because they left their federal jobs and started businesses of their own which cater to the needs of the Department of Homeland Security! But just ask the American people to pay for a national healthcare system that would provide quality healthcare to every American citizen and what do you get? Thats right TEA BAGGERS!
We have lost our national perspective folks! We have become arrogant, greedy and cowardly! And if you watch the news the Republicans keep telling the American people to be afraid, be very afraid. And the American people go crawl into the corner and are afraid!
"The idea use to be that we were a nation of laws"
when was that?
I guess it's a matter of degrees. From what my mama taught me, there was a time we had a bit more dignity, and respect, for ourselves, and others. Not massively so, but a bit.
I would agree that it's been in a general decline that has only worsened with time, and in these latter decades completely deteriorated.
"We have become a nation of cowards."
Have become or always have been?
I would say it's variable, from time to time, based on history.
I don't mean the programmed history we're taught, but what I learned at my mama's knee.
FOR A FASCINATING and eye opening look
at the REAL BIN LADEN and al QAEDA
(yes its a real organisation started by
the 'sheik') Please find a copy of
"growing up bin laden" by his
Primary and first wife najwa and fourth born
30 yr old son OMAR....this book was facilitated
by JEAN sasson, who writes an occasional
interstitial explanatory chapter. Most of the
book is direct voicing of najwa and omar and
reflects their experiences from the kingdom, and
subsequent homes in pakistan, sudan, and finally
torah bora, afghanistan...INCREDIBLE read
BIN LADEN men are prone to kidney stones...
NOT dialysis, he met his father 5 times (osama,
that is, met the construction guy and usually
IN A CROWD. Zawahiri is a sociopath...and yes,
he does want the WORLD to become MUSLIM...
As much sympathy I have for his motives vis a vis
US imperial politics, in the last analysis, anyone who
BELIEVES in a supreme being and a DOGMA is just a
LOST FOOL
"... anyone who BELIEVES in a supreme being and a DOGMA is just a LOST FOOL"
Do you realize that statement encompasses an admitted 85% of the USan population? Still, we wonder why the country is in the mess it's in, eh?
CIA Agents everywhere are a 'Menace to Themselves'...and the rest of the world!
"The biggest crisis in intelligence-gathering since 9/11 has been brought about mainly because no single agency is in charge, they say, creating a situation in which about a dozen US intelligence agencies fight for their own turf."
Uh, wasn't that what Bush supposedly created the Homeland Security crap for? (Not that they've done much more than [1] suck us dry of tax dollars and [2] spied on US.)
Weakness may be the best part of the institution.