In Unusually Public Campaign, CIA Plans to Study Report, but Also Sees Flaws
By Katherine Pfleger Shrader Associated Press Writer
Published: Jul 22, 2004
ap.tbo.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - In an attempt to rebut a rash of criticism in recent weeks from commissions detailing intelligence failures, the CIA fired off a strong rebuttal of the Sept. 11 commission's finding that the intelligence community assembled an insufficient counterattack to the al-Qaida threat.
It is rare for the CIA to bring roughly 40 reporters into its headquarters to talk about current events.
But responding to the Sept. 11 commission report's varied criticisms, a senior CIA official briefed that many reporters, acknowledging the agency was unable to determine the time, place and method of attack on Sept. 11, 2001, or to capture mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed before he planned and managed the attack.
But, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, that agency had regularly reported on threats to civil aviation, despite implications otherwise in the report, and had told Presidents Clinton and Bush that Osama bin Laden was a danger.
The official also rebuffed suggestions that the CIA did not share information with the FBI or State Department about two of the hijackers who ultimately crashed into the Pentagon.
Also this month, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin spoke out publicly about the Senate Intelligence Committee's highly critical report on the intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq. Then, he acknowledged mistakes, but said the intelligence community is making changes to prevent similar situations.
Some of the Sept. 11 commission's reforms would mean sweeping changes for the intelligence community. The report calls for creating a new Cabinet-level head of the 15-agency intelligence community, rather than leaving the CIA director as the top custodian.
It also says the CIA director should improve analytic capabilities, develop a better language program and improve human intelligence gathering. And, it says that clandestine and covert paramilitary operations should be directed and executed by the Defense Department, because the U.S. can't afford to build two separate capabilities for carrying out secret military operations.
AP-ES-07-22-04 1941EDT
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