Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs Page #4

SO DIRECTOR TENET SAID, "OKAY

WE HAVE TO EVACUATE

HEADQUARTERS."

EVERYBODY OUT, EVERYBODY OUT.

IF THEY STAY, THEY COULD DIE.

I SAID, "WE'RE NEEDED.

THAT'S WHERE OUR COMPUTERS ARE.

WE NEED TO RESPOND.

IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WE'LL

JUST HAVE TO DIE."

Narrator:
THAT DAY, MICHAEL

MORELL, THE PRESIDENT'S BRIEFER,

IS WITH GEORGE W. BUSH IN

FLORIDA.

IT WAS OUR JOB TO PREVENT AN

ATTACK, AND WE DIDN'T DO IT.

ON OUR WATCH, THIS HAPPENED.

WE WENT BACK TO "AIR FORCE ONE."

THERE WAS A RING OF SECRE SERVICE AGENTS AROUND "AIR FORCE

ONE" WITH AUTOMATIC WEAPONS.

WE TOOK OFF.

WE WENT UP AT A VERY STEEP

ASCENT.

AND I REMEMBER SAYING TO THE

PRESIDENT'S MILITARY AIDE,

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

HE SAID, "WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE

FLYING AROUND FOR A BIT UNTIL WE

FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON."

WE WERE WATCHING TELEVISION

IMAGES FROM NEW YORK, AND IT WAS

IN THERE THAT WE SAW THE TWO

TOWERS COLLAPSE.

WAIT A SECOND.

IS THIS A LIVE PICTURE?

THIS IS A LIVE PICTURE.

WE'RE SEEING THE SECOND WORLD

TRADE TOWER CENTER.

THE SECOND WORLD TRADE CENTER

HAS JUST COLLAPSED --

TODAY, OUR FELLOW CITIZENS,

WAY OF LIFE, OUR VERY FREEDOM

CAME UNDER ATTACK IN A SERIES OF

DELIBERATE AND DEADLY TERRORIS ACTS.

THE VICTIMS WERE IN AIRPLANES--

THE CITY I GREW UP IN HAD BEEN

BLOWN UP.

SECRETARIES, BUSINESSMEN AND

WOMEN, MILITARY AND FEDERAL,--

NEIGHBORS.

NOBODY COMES TO OUR TOWN AND

MESSES WITH OUR PEOPLE.

IN HIS OFFICE ON "AIR FORCE

ONE," THE PRESIDENT SAID TO ME,

"MICHAEL, WHO DID THIS?"

AND I SAID, "MR. PRESIDENT, BOTH

IRAN AND IRAQ HAVE ABSOLUTELY

NOTHING TO GAIN AND HAVE

EVERYTHING TO LOSE FROM DOING

THIS.

I WOULD BET MY CHILDREN'S FUTURE

THAT THIS IS AL QAEDA.

THIS IS BIN LADEN."

AND CERTAINLY, LOOKING AT THE

FLIGHT MANIFESTS, THA CORROBORATED THE FACT THAT I HAD BEEN AL QAEDA.

Narrator:
IT TAKES ONLY

MOMENTS TO DISCOVER WHAT HAS

BEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING.

THERE, IN BLACK AND WHITE, ON

THE PASSENGER MANIFEST OF THE

PLANE THAT HIT THE PENTAGON ARE

KNOWN AL QAEDA TERRORISTS--

NAWAF AL HAZMI AND KHALID AL

MIDHAR.

TWO OF THE HIJACKERS ON BOARD

THE AIRLINER WHICH ATTACKED THE

PENTAGON HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED

MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF

BEFORE AS SUSPECTED TERRORISTS,

YET NOTHING WAS DONE TO STOP

AL-HAZMI AND AL-MIDHAR FROM

ENTERING THE U.S, AND NO

ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO FIND THEM

UNTIL JUST THREE WEEKS BEFORE

SEPTEMBER 11.

WHY DIDN'T THE C.I.A., WHY

DIDN'T SOMEBODY PICK UP THE

PHONE TO THE F.B.I. AND SAY,

"HEY, THESE TWO GUYS ARE HERE?"

AT ROOT HERE IS, WE DIDN' HAVE THE SEAMLESS INTERACTION.

WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO

FUSE THINGS QUICKLY.

OUR POLICIES WERE OUT OF DATE.

THE INFORMATION THAT THE

C.I.A. HAD ABOUT THE TWO

HIJACKERS IN THE UNITED STATES

SHOULD HAVE BEEN ROUTINELY

SHARED WITH THE F.B.I., AND I WASN'T.

Narrator:
TWO GOVERNMEN AGENCIES CHARGED WITH PROTECTING

THE UNITED STATES WERE BARELY

COMMUNICATING.

INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS

ACKNOWLEDGE BOTH THE C.I.A. AND

F.B.I. FAILED TO FOLLOW UP ON

LEADS THAT COULD HAVE POINTED

THEM IN THE DIRECTION OF THE

9/11 HIJACKERS.

IN ESSENCE, AL QAEDA BEING A

SMART INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION,

LOOKED AT OUR BANKING POLICIES,

OUR BORDER POLICIES, OUR AIRLINE

PROTECTION POLICIES, OUR

INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES AND CAME

TO A CONCLUSION THAT THE COUNTRY

WAS ABSOLUTELY UNPROTECTED.

I THINK THERE'S HUGE FAILURES

AT THE C.I.A. AND THE F.B.I.

THE C.I.A. MISSED THE CHANCE

TO NAB TWO SUSPECTS AFTER THEY

ENTERED THE UNITED STATES.

OUR GOVERNMENT FAILED TO

PROTECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

AN ELECTED OFFICIAL CAME UP

TO ME AND SAID, "SO, COFER, HOW

DOES IT FEEL TO BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR THE LARGEST INTELLIGENCE

FAILURE SINCE PEARL HARBOR?"

THIS WAS A FAILURE OF POLICY,

MANAGEMENT, CAPABILITY, AND,

ABOVE ALL, A FAILURE OF

IMAGINATION.

NONE OF THE MEASURES ADOPTED BY

THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMEN BEFORE 9/11 DISTURBED OR EVEN

DELAYED THE PROGRESS OF THE AL

QAEDA PLOT.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, 9/11 WAS A

FAILURE OF OUR IMAGINATION.

WE ALL KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING

TO HAPPEN; WE JUST FOUND I VERY, VERY HARD TO CONCEIVE THA WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY WAS

GOING TO HAPPEN.

I'VE NEVER LIKED THIS

"FAILURE OF IMAGINATION" THING.

I THINK 9/11 IS A NATIONAL

FAILURE.

IT ACTUALLY TOOK 9/11 FOR THE

AMERICAN PEOPLE TO GET TO THE

POINT WHERE THEY WOULD AGREE

WITH ALL THE DEFENSIVE MEASURES

THAT NEEDED TO BE PUT IN PLACE.

THERE WAS NEVER A MOMENT IN

ALL OF THIS TIME WHEN YOU BLAMED

YOURSELF?

WELL, LOOK, THERE... I'M... I

STILL LOOK AT THE CEILING A NIGHT ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS--

AND I'LL KEEP THEM TO MYSELF

FOREVER-- BUT WE'RE ALL HUMAN

BEINGS.

I DO REMEMBER THE WHOLE

EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF 9/11 STRUCK

ME VERY HARD AS I SAT ON MY

FRONT LAWN AFTER THANKSGIVING

ONE DAY.

THE HORROR OF WHAT HAPPENED HI ME.

THERE WAS NO TIME BETWEEN 9/11

AND THAT MOMENT.

I JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANY TIME.

Narrator:
NO TIME, BECAUSE

THE C.I.A. WOULD NOW BE CALLED

UPON TO PUT ITS WAR PLAN AGAINS AL QAEDA INTO ACTION, THA AUDACIOUS "BLUE SKY" MEMO THA HAD BEEN IGNORED BEFORE 9/11.

ON SEPTEMBER THE 15th, WE

ESSENTIALLY OUTLINE OUR PLAN--

SEAL THE BORDERS OF AFGHANISTAN,

GO AFTER THEIR LEADERSHIP, SHU OFF THEIR MONEY, DESTROY AL

QAEDA.

WE'RE SAYING, "TAKE OUR PLAN.

LET US GO FIRST."

AND I SAID, "MR. PRESIDENT, WHEN

WE'RE DONE, THESE GUYS ARE GOING

TO HAVE FLIES WALKING ACROSS

THEIR EYEBALLS."

AND I COULD SEE THE PRESIDEN WAS THINKING, "WAIT, FLIES ON

EYEBALLS..."

THEN HE GOT IT.

AND HE SAYS, "WE'LL USE THE

C.I.A. PLAN.

C.I.A. WILL BE FIRST BOOTS ON

THE GROUND."

Narrator:
110 C.I.A. OFFICERS

AND 300 SPECIAL FORCES SWEEP

INTO THE TRIBAL AREAS...

NINER FOUR FIVE OVER.

COPY THAT.

Narrator:
...WHERE THEY WILL

JOIN WITH WARRIORS OF THE

NORTHERN ALLIANCE AND UPROOT THE

TALIBAN AND AL QAEDA FROM THEIR

SAFE HOLD IN AFGHANISTAN.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE

COMMUNICATION)

Narrator:
THE C.I.A.'S

MESSAGE:
IF YOU ARE WITH US,

YOU'LL BE REWARDED...

OUR OFFICERS OFTEN SLEPT ON

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CASH A NIGHT.

Narrator:
...BUT IF YOU ARE

AGAINST US...

YOU WERE MORE THAN LIKELY TO

GET A 2,000-POUND BOMB DOWN YOUR

THROAT.

THERE WAS NEVER A GENERAL ON THE

GROUND.

THERE WAS NEVER A COMMAND

STRUCTURE ON THE GROUND.

THIS WAS A REAL:

COUNTERINSURGENCY.

[GUNSHOTS]

WE'VE GOT THE AIRPLANE ON

THAT TARGET FIRST.

OVER.

WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY TALIBAN

AT THIS TIME.

OVER.

IN ABOUT NINE WEEKS, ALL

CITIES CONTROLLED BY THE TALIBAN

HAD BEEN OVERTHROWN.

ALL AL QAEDA IN AFGHANISTAN HAD

EITHER BEEN KILLED, CAPTURED,

WERE RUNNING FOR THE BORDER, OR

CROSSED THE BORDER.

Narrator:
BIN LADEN'S

SANCTUARY, TORA BORA, IS BLOWN

TO PIECES, BUT THE C.I.A.'S

LIGHTNING VICTORY IS FLEETING

BECAUSE THE TERRORIST LEADER

CROSSES THE BORDER INTO PAKISTAN

AND DISAPPEARS.

I'M NOT SURE I EVER SAW THE

PRESIDENT GET MAD EXCEPT THIS

ONE OCCASION, AND HE WAS

FURIOUS.

Narrator:
AND NOW THE

AGENCY'S FINEST HOUR IS ABOUT TO

BE FOLLOWED BY ONE OF ITS

DARKEST CHAPTERS, BECAUSE THE

WHITE HOUSE IS EYEING ANOTHER

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