CIA closes down unit that was hunting Bin Laden

[zimv20]

raw story (http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/CIA_closes_down_unit_that_was_0703.html)


The CIA has closed down a secret unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials said Monday, the NEW YORK TIMES will report Tuesday, RAW STORY has learned. Excerpts:

The terrorist tracking unit, known inside the spy agency as "Alec station," was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned to other offices within the CIA's Counterterrorist Center, the officials said.

The decision is a milestone of sorts for the agency, which created the unit before Osama bin Laden became a household name and bolstered its ranks after the Sept. 11 attacks, when President Bush pledged to bring bin Laden to justice "dead or alive."

The realignment reflects a view that al-Qaida is no longer as hierarchical as it once was, intelligence officials said, as well as growing concern about al-Qaida-inspired groups that have begun carrying out attacks independent of bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

CIA officials said that tracking bin Laden and his deputies remains a high priority, and that the decision to disband the unit is not a sign that the effort has slackened. Instead, the officials said, the realignment reflects a belief that the agency can better deal with high-level threats by focusing on regional trends rather than on specific organizations or individuals.

if this is indeed a step forward, why hasn't the WH trumpeted it?

[Thanatoast]

lol. That kinda dovetails with this (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq-Al-Zarqawi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) (nytimes) story claiming Al-Qaeda sold out Zarqawi for assurances that the search for bin Laden would be scaled back.

[zimv20]

lol. That kinda dovetails with this (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq-Al-Zarqawi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) (nytimes) story claiming Al-Qaeda sold out Zarqawi for assurances that the search for bin Laden would be scaled back.
wow. that's a bit of a bombshell.

[SC68Cal]

You have got to be kidding me. Wow.

I officially have no faith in government whatsoever.

What's next?

"Osama Bin Laden given presidential pardon"

[ham_man]

Or maybe this means that we already caught Bin Laden...;)

[it5five]

Wouldn't surprise me. Bush waiting until '08 to announce it so he can usher in his heir.

[solvs]

Wouldn't surprise me. Bush waiting until '08 to announce it so he can usher in his heir.
They couldn't wait that long, but people are already expecting something like this for '06. Sounds kinda paranoid, but given the current climate, I wouldn't doubt it. Would explain a lot, but you'd think it'd be a little suspicious. The fact that Zarqawi's death didn't exactly help things should tell them something too, but after all this, people are getting antsy.

Hopefully this gets play, if nothing else than to highlight the lack of focus on what should have been our main objective all along.

[Royal Pineapple]

i would like to think that at this stage if they captured/killed bin laden they would receive a "took you long enough" response from the electorate

[FFTT]

Bin Laden has been Bush's trillion dollar man.

IF he is still alive, he will never be allowed to go before any court to testify
what he knows.

Bush will go down in history as the great deceiver.

[iGary]

Mission Accomplished. :rolleyes:

Can we vote for a new president yet?

[Thomas Veil]

The CIA has closed down a secret unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants...(My bold.)

The fact is that the Clinton administration did nothing when confronted by strong evidence that bin Laden was behind the attacks of the USS Cole...

Clinton's presidency and legacy will be marked by the fact that while he wanted us to believe that the collapse of the Soviet Union meant that we were safe, he ignored a gathering and in many ways, an even graver threat, that was growing unimpeded in Afghanistan. rag sheet (http://thomasgalvin.blogspot.com/2005_08_17_thomasgalvin_archive.html)

Hmmm, let's see...it's currently 2006....

[Dont Hurt Me]

Well its fact that Bush's family had strong ties with the Bin Laden family in all their oil dealings through the years. So the man that did 911 is ignored but they did get Saddam. George sold us on Saddam = Bin Laden hence us in Iraq, hence Bin Laden still free. I have no faith in this president on anything, everything he says is suspect because of all the lies, spin and storys they have sold us. They have shown over & over they just cant be trusted.

[atszyman]

The fact is that the Clinton administration did nothing when confronted by strong evidence that bin Laden was behind the attacks of the USS Cole...

Clinton's presidency and legacy will be marked by the fact that while he wanted us to believe that the collapse of the Soviet Union meant that we were safe, he ignored a gathering and in many ways, an even graver threat, that was growing unimpeded in Afghanistan.

In December '99, every day or every other day, the head of the FBI or the head of the CIA, the attorney general, had to go to the White House and sit in the meeting and report on all of the things that they personally had done to stop the al-Qaida attack. So they were going back every night to their departments and shaking the trees personally, finding out all of the information. If that had happened in July of 2001, we might have found out in the White House, the attorney general might have found out that there were al-Qaida operatives in the United States. FBI at lower levels knew. Never told me. Never told the highest levels in the FBI.

link (http://www.slate.com/id/2097681/)

I always love the "Clinton didn't do anything" defense. At the end of his term he was having daily meetings with the heads of the intelligence offices or Attorney General about stopping al-Qaida. Bush eliminated these meetings in an effort to stop "swatting flies" and supposedly develop a strategy to eliminate al-Qaida. While not a bad goal, why on earth do you eliminate the programs that are keeping the agencies on their toes and quite probably stopping attacks? Do we discontinue all illegal drug enforcement when Congress starts debating tougher drug laws?

Yes, Clinton probably should have gone into Afghanistan after the U.S.S. Cole, but does anyone really believe that the GOP led Congress would have given him authorization?

[FFTT]

I think Clinton's administration still regarded Bin Laden and Al Qaeda as
a small group of extreme radicals that needed to be dealt with as international criminals.

Terrorism is in reality, a military tactic or strategy.

The Bush administration has succeeded to gain War Powers to launch a War On Terrorism while in reality it is our foreign policy towards
Israel and the exploitation of natural resources in the middle east that fanned the flames of terrorism to begin with.

Now with the political backing of the Extreme Right Wing Evangelical Rapture
Republicans, this has become a Holy War.

Like it or not, we have entered a Christian backed War on Islam.

[ham_man]

Like it or not, we have entered a Christian backed War on Islam.
That's ******** and you know it.
Well its fact that Bush's family had strong ties with the Bin Laden family in all their oil dealings through the years.
Fact? Link me.

[Dont Hurt Me]

That's ******** and you know it.

Fact? Link me.Go look it up yourself, before Jr was a governor he was bailed out or helped by that family with his failing oil dealings.

[ham_man]

Go look it up yourself, before Jr was a governor he was bailed out or helped by that family with his failing oil dealings.
I couldn't find it. So either you can find it for me, or we can all just assume you are lying.

[Dont Hurt Me]

I couldn't find it. So either you can find it for me, or we can all just assume you are lying.All you have to do is look at his connection to the Carlyle group or Bush Money,Bush watch.

[ham_man]

All you have to do is look at his connection to the Carlyle group or Bush Money,Bush watch.
Do you not speak English? I want a link.

[Dont Hurt Me]

Sorry watching Nasa.:eek:

[zimv20]

Do you not speak English? I want a link.
is the economist (http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1875084) a good-enough reference?

[ham_man]

is the economist (http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1875084) a good-enough reference?
That was more of a book review, but I'll accept.

Anyways, I see no real connection here. Bushies employed the Carlyle group who manage some of the bin Laden's family wealth who have an estranged sibling who no one in the family wants to touch. Doesn't seem like much of a conspiracy theory there...

[Dont Hurt Me]

http://www.bushwatch.com/bushmoney.htmHere's one, anyways this guy is in tight with the Saudi's, you know the country where most the 911 attackers came from.

[zimv20]

Anyways, I see no real connection here. Bushies employed the Carlyle group who manage some of the bin Laden's family wealth who have an estranged sibling who no one in the family wants to touch. Doesn't seem like much of a conspiracy theory there...
ghw bush doesn't employ the carlyle group, he's an integral part of it, along with james baker, john majors, and others (http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html). the bin laden family also used to be a part, but from what i understand, due to the politics of the day, they've quietly backed out.

i present this as well-known information about bush and bin laden family ties, without claiming any sort of conspiracy. if you're looking to cast doubt on those ties in order to debunk the conspiracy, you best try a different tactic.

[Dont Hurt Me]

So the administration is playing off this guy? He should be on the top of the CIA list until he is caught. The president said he would get him, he lied to us the people once again. He promised getting Bin Laden what happened?

[FFTT]

When you look up The Carlyle Group, take a look at the sub link to
Frank C. Carlucci.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_C._Carlucci

Notice the dates, look how far back all of this close kinship goes.

This shows the extent of influence and connections of the Bush Dynasty.

While you're at it look up PNAC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNAC

[Music_Producer]

http://www.bushwatch.com/bushmoney.htmHere's one, anyways this guy is in tight with the Saudi's, you know the country where most the 911 attackers came from.

DontHurtMe.. I don't mean to play this conspiracy theory to death but.. apparently the Israelis plotted 911.. and it just makes sense (atleast to me) And I also remember, when the FBI plastered all the 'hijackers' pictures on their site.. most of them were still alive, and had never been to the United States!

Its funny how a little ID theft planned by the government can have everyone believing a lot of stuff.

[solvs]

That's ******** and you know it.
Maybe, but there are a lot of Bush supporters who believe it is and he hasn't exactly discouraged that belief. Even going so far as to call it a holy war himself. Personally, I think it's more about oil than anything else, but that's just what I think. I could be wrong. As for the conspiracies, I wouldn't have believed them before, but stuff like this doesn't exactly help. If Bush really cared about terrorism, we would have finished what we started in Afghanistan when we still had the support of the rest of the world and 99% of the country before even considering Iraq. Not to mention further cutting funding for anti-terrorist programs in the areas most likely to be hit.

Meanwhile Bin Laden is still out there (probably, but if not, why not tell us) and everybody hates us. Including over half of our own people. I know I feel safer.

[Thomas Veil]

DontHurtMe.. I don't mean to play this conspiracy theory to death but.. apparently the Israelis plotted 911.. and it just makes sense (atleast to me) And I also remember, when the FBI plastered all the 'hijackers' pictures on their site.. most of them were still alive, and had never been to the United States!

Its funny how a little ID theft planned by the government can have everyone believing a lot of stuff.I've started a response to this three separate times...because I don't even know where to begin to go with this stuff.

The only thing I can say is, if you believe everything you just said, I've got a PowerBook G5 I wanna sell you.

[Music_Producer]

As long as its cheaper than the macbook ;)

Seriously though, thats what I believe..If the Saudi-terrorist connection makes sense to you, thats fine.. just like so many americans believed that Saddam Hussein was a threat to our freedom. :rolleyes: Right now Israel's carrying out nothing short of war on the Palestinians, and I don't see the US doing anything.

[FFTT]

Thomas,

If it looks like road kill and it smells like road kill, there's a pretty good chance it's not Grade "A" inspected.

[Thomas Veil]

Thomas,

If it looks like road kill and it smells like road kill, there's a pretty good chance it's not Grade "A" inspected.Moving right along, then...

lol. That kinda dovetails with this (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq-Al-Zarqawi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) (nytimes) story claiming Al-Qaeda sold out Zarqawi for assurances that the search for bin Laden would be scaled back.You know, I'm keeping myself open-minded about this. I figure it's just as likely to be the anguished ravings of a radical grieving widow as it is to be the truth. But...given the sinister nature of our government lately, I don't discount the possibility. Not at all.

[Blue Velvet]

There's a piece in Saturday's Guardian about this. Some selected quotes:

"What it robs you of is a critical mass of officers who have been working on this together for a decade," he (Michael Scheuer) told the Guardian. "We had a breed of specialists rare in an intelligence community that prides itself on generalists. It provided a base from which to build a cadre of people specialising in attacking Sunni extremist operations, who sacrificed promotions and other emollients in their employment in the clandestine service, where specialists were looked on as nerds."

He said the dismantling of the unit reflected a myopia in an intelligence community uncomfortable with the independence of the CIA agents who championed Bin Laden's pursuit. "From the very beginning, Alec was an anomaly in that it was not subordinated to any area division, and it was given the authority to communicate with overseas stations - with or without the permission of area divisions. That caused a great deal of heartburn among very senior leaders at the agency."

The infighting went on for years. In 1998, a few months before car bombs blew up US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, Mr Scheuer was told to be ready to disband - only to see the unit saved by the then agency director, George Tenet. But it was only a temporary reprieve. The staff was reduced from 25 to eight people. More recently, the unit became a repository for inexperienced officers, who were rotated in for 60- or 90-day stints.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,1815727,00.html

[zimv20]

It provided a base from which to build a cadre of people
intentional wording?

[Thomas Veil]

More recently, the unit became a repository for inexperienced officers, who were rotated in for 60- or 90-day stints.That sounds so much like a Republican way of doing away with something: cripple it (or starve it of funds), and then complain that it should be eliminated because it's "obviously" not working.

[zimv20]

That sounds so much like a Republican way of doing away with something: cripple it (or starve it of funds), and then complain that it should be eliminated because it's "obviously" not working.
the disdain that cheney and rumsfeld have for the CIA is well documented; i think you're right on the money there.

[FFTT]

I get the feeling that the Bin Laden unit or what remains of it,
was considered a threat to this administration's continued deception.

[mactastic]

That sounds so much like a Republican way of doing away with something: cripple it (or starve it of funds), and then complain that it should be eliminated because it's "obviously" not working.
That was my first thought when I read that passage. I should carry a copy of that article around to show to any of those righties that like to claim that Clinton did nothing to fight terrorism while Bush does everything to fight terrorism.