By Scott Shane
New York Times
WASHINGTON — In a new memoir, a former F.B.I. agent who tracked Al Qaeda before and after the Sept. 11 attacks paints a devastating picture of rivalry and dysfunction inside the government’s counterterrorism agencies. The book describes missed opportunities to defuse the 2001 plot, and argues that other attacks overseas might have been prevented, and Osama bin Laden found earlier, if interrogations had not been mismanaged.
The account offered by the agent, Ali H. Soufan, is the most detailed to date by an insider concerning the American investigations of Al Qaeda and the major attacks that the group carried out, including bombings of American Embassies in East Africa and the American destroyer Cole, as well as the Sept. 11 attacks. The book is scheduled to be published Monday, with redactions to several chapters by the Central Intelligence Agency, the target of much of Mr. Soufan’s criticism.
In the 571-page book, “The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against Al Qaeda,” Mr. Soufan accuses C.I.A. officials of deliberately withholding crucial documents and photographs of Qaeda operatives from the F.B.I. before Sept. 11, 2001, despite three written requests, and then later lying about it to the 9/11 Commission.
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The Issue of Torture
OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST
- 9/11 Plot: Feds Question and Clear 300 People (ABC News)
- FBI Copes with The Changing Face of Terror (WFAA)
- DEA Bust Leads to Huge Heroin Arrest (FOX)
- Study Warns U.S. Should Develop Cyber Intelligence (AP)
- Military Jets Safely Escort NY and Detroit Flights (AP)
- Man Detained at K.C. Airport With Suspicious Bag (AP)
- Boehner Hosts Guess Under Fed Probe (Main Justice)
