August 22, 2007

Inspector General Cites Pre-9/11 CIA Failures

A new report shows that six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, there's still plenty of shame and blame to go around among those tasked with protecting Americans from terrorism.

The newly declassified findings of CIA Inspector General John Helgerson reveal "some 50 to 60 individuals" in the agency may have been aware that two of the hijackers, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, had been issued visas to enter the United States. The 9/11 commission pinpointed the CIA's decision not to add the known al-Qaida affiliates to its watch lists or notify the FBI when they were issued visas as one of the more spectacular intelligence failures leading up to the attacks.

CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said in a statement that he disagreed with the decision to declassify the IG's report. "I thought the release of this report would distract officers serving their country on the frontlines of a global conflict. It will, at a minimum, consume time and attention revisiting ground that is already well plowed," Hayden said.

But the report is historically useful for a few reasons. It may be the final nail in the coffin of former CIA Director George Tenet's effort to amend history's judgment of his tenure, which wasn't going so well to begin with. The declassified report shows that former CIA Director Porter Goss rejected the IG's advice that Tenet's and other CIA officials' performance should be evaluated by a third party. Some of those officials may still be with the agency, which could add pressure to re-evaluate their competence.

The New York Times has a summary of the report.

Posted at 12:00 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, CIA, George Tenet, Terrorism
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