Gertz' View of the FBI Decline

The Washington Times ^ | 8-28-02 | Bill Gertz

[Reo]

.

Below is a small excerpt from today's Bill Gertz article in the Washington Times. Click on the indicated link for the entire antire article, which is well worth the read.

More important to the Clinton administration than countering domestic terror was the political correctness of an FBI reorganization under a new director, Louis J. Freeh. The Clinton Justice Department, led by Attorney General Janet Reno, sought to refocus domestic counterintelligence efforts on anti-abortion bombings, even though the FBI knew that problem was not as serious as the growing threat of Islamic terrorism.

'Momentous' moves

Mr. Freeh, following the push for diversity over performance, appointed a black, a Hispanic and a woman to top FBI posts on Oct. 13, 1993. The appointments marked a "momentous day," he said.

His reorganization also included the first of several shifts that seriously harmed the FBI's intelligence-gathering capabilities and led indirectly to the failure to detect the movements of bin Laden's al Qaeda network before September 11.

[Reo]

This is a lengthy article, but well worth reading. Only an excerpt is posted here to save space, but Gertz clearly documents the terrible damage done to our intelligence efforts by the Clinton-Reno-Freeh cabal.

[bankwalker]

wasn't Wiliam Sessions dismissed prematurely to allow Freeh to take over? Pre-meditated destruction by Blythe?

[Reo]

One of the blanks to be filled in is William Sessions view of his dismissal. To my knowledge, he has kept pretty silent on the whole deal.

[bvw]

This is just the apex of tenured "Civil Service" -- that Clinton/Reno et alia were involved is coincidental. If not them it would have been some other administrators so allowing the waters of tenure to seek their lowest point.

Now, Mr. Bush has in his Homeland Security proposal, in that new agency, as I understand, some exemption from such tenure, to be able to remove civil service employees. If that is so, and can get passed, it is perhaps worth the whole new department.

[cynicom]

Gertz fails to mention that a Russian spy sat in FBI HQs for 15 long years without being detected. I believe he was head of counter-intelligence. So much for intelligence work.

[Reo]

".....that Clinton/Reno et al were involved is coincidental."

To me the article seems to indicate more than coincidental involvement. Why do the great intelligence collection downgraders like Frank Church, Stansfield Turner, John Deutsch, Reno, & Freeh, all occur under Dem auspices? It's part institutional, but also part Dem emphasis and ignorance.

[RLK]

More important to the Clinton administration than countering domestic terror was the political correctness of an FBI reorganization under a new director, Louis J. Freeh. The Clinton Justice Department, led by Attorney General Janet Reno, sought to refocus domestic counterintelligence efforts on anti-abortion bombings, even though the FBI knew that problem was not as serious as the growing threat of Islamic terrorism.

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...along with an emphasis on politically correct enforcement operations such as Ruby Ridge and Waco. These began under Bush Sr., but are part of the redirection of the FBI.

[jackbill]

This is the third in a series of excerpts of Bill Gertz's new book - soon to be a "surprise bestseller" - Breakdown. It's been out for four days and is already #4 at Amazon.

The other two excerpts can be accessed at the bottom of the article linked above.

Bill has some really serious contacts in the "intelligence community".

[meenie]

There are political employees that have no civil security tenure that have mismanaged their affairs with no consequences. Don't expect too much from the newer model of Homeland Offense.

[Fred Mertz]

Mr. [I.C.] Smith understood what Mr. Freeh didn't: The FBI's counterterrorism operations had to do electronic surveillance, penetrate groups, recruit informants and rigorously analyze intelligence. And this had to be done by specially trained agents who understood foreign cultures, foreign languages and foreign threats.

This is an excellent read, thanks for posting it. I need to read parts one and two to catch up.

[bvw]

Prove that intelligence collection was useful before, when provided by such centralized agencies, and by useful let's also include economic. A few hundred billion to write very detailed and even accurate reports no one reads or uses is not useful. Intelligence gathering alone is useless -- even at times harmful. (If good intelligence it is like a charged cloud, randomly seeking a ground, and thus can do violence when it does.) It has be be gathered for a timely and obvious use -- that can be political, can be for safety and security, can be for a criminal investigation, can be military. In China they seem to have been succesful using the information for current economic benefit, here in the US that would be seem at first glance to be impossible without making us fascist.

[bvw]

Yet such political employees may enjoy a certain insulation on account of their higher rank, and that the others in that rank that are not political are extremely uncomfortable removing anyone, or seeing anyone removed.

Besides Linda Tripp (who was elevated to a politically-removable position to do so it would seem) who else was let go during the term of an administration?

[Stefan Stackhouse]

I am a supporter of President Bush, but I must confess that I am beginning to wonder if he is just too nice a guy to really wield the broom as forcefully and ruthlessly as it must be to really clean out all the political snakes and incompetent deadwood. This must be done, no matter how unpleasant it will be (and the liberals and media will most certainly cry bloody murder). Until this is done, it is utter folly to think that we are ready to launch a major effort to effect a "regime change" in Iraq. It is quite evident that as of today, we do not have the intelligence apparatus in place that would be necessary to successfully support such a venture. It is pretty much evident that we hardly have any intelligence apparatus in place worthy of the name.

[Cicero]

wasn't Wiliam Sessions dismissed prematurely to allow Freeh to take over? Pre-meditated destruction by Blythe?

Yes, Sessions was fired the day before Vincent Foster was found murdered in Fort Marcy Park. Pure coincidence, no doubt. The charge against Sessions was that his wife used a government helicopter to transport some firewood to their vacation home, a horrible crime that fully justified the unprecedented removal of an FBI head, no doubt.

The sad thing is that the FBI under Ashcroft is STILL heavily committed to pushing RICO suits against abortion protestors, and framing pro-lifers for crimes they didn't commit, even though the full weight of the clinton-Reno Justice Department was unable to find any pro-life "terrorists" to speak of. That's because there aren't any, other than a few certified nuts whose deeds are well-known and who hardly need the FBI to catch them. With a few notable exceptions, respect for life and violence don't mix. But Ashcroft has yet to remove conservative Christians from list of dangerous terrorists that Reno drew up.

Regretably, Bush's worst failure has been to leave clintonoids in key positions all over his government, including the Justice Department, NIH, FBI, CIA, and the Pentagon. He doesn't seem to understand the basic political reality that you can't get a job done if you rely on your enemies to do it.

[bvw]

He wasn't elected as a reformer, just as an amiable healer and restorative. While he has some gumptions shown here and there, he has mostly stayed in the electoral persona.

[Corporate Law]

Sad that the guy who warned of Islamic radical activities, only to be ignored by the Clinton-Reno-Freeh cabal, was one of those murdered at the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, Clinton-Reno-Freeh still sleep soundly each night despite their complicity to those murders.

[OKCSubmariner]

Gertz does excellent work especially with the CIA and documents and China Gate etc. However, Gertz analysis of the FBI failures is badly misinformed and mistaken(probably because of FBI disinformation fed to him which he has unwittingly believed - he has been deceived about the FBI in my opinion):

Gertz like the Senate Intel Committee investigative report have erroneously concluded that major terror attacks on the US were the result of FBI ignorance and ineptitutde and political correctness (Gertz).

Instead, it was and still is FBI & DOJ foreknowledge, lying and connivance for the 9/11,1993 WTC and OKC attacks. For the correct conclusions see this article on FR and the evidence presented in the entire thread:

"FBI and DOJ Connivance Permeates, Interconnects Terror Attacks "

8/15/2002

Link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/733759/posts

For details on the Senate Intel report see;

"Senate Report on Pre-9/11 Failures Tells of Bungling at F.B.I."

New York Times ^ | 8/27/02 | PHILIP SHENON

Posted on 08/27/2002 7:57 PM Pacific by kattracks

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More of my comments:

The FBI has been and still is tracking 5 ALQaedfa cells in the US which the FBI informant Ali Mohammed set up from 1992 to 1998. Bob Woodward quoted senior FBI officals about the 5 AlQaeda cells which the FBI is still following (rather than arresting or deporting their members) in the Washingtomn Post last fall 2001.

The FBI (New York , OKC and DC FBI offices)was tracking the terror pilots at Airman Flight school near OKC in 1999 and in Arizona (Hanny HAnjour)in 1998. The FBI learned in detail of the Khaild Mohammed plot to crash airliners into US scycrappers in the Philippines in January and Feb 1995 from Ramzi Yousef's computer and from the FBI interrogation of Abdul Murad. The FBI learned even more about pilot training to carry out the mission from defendents who testified at the 1998 trial for the Tanzanian and Kenyan bobmings.

The FBI has been and still is lying to COngress, the AMerican people and to Bill Gertz about the FBI foreknowledge and connivance. The FBI lying is not just to throw off the bad guys, it is to spread FBI propaganda to save the FBI, DOJ, the White Houses of two adminstrations and some Congressmen (like Istook, Inhofe and Saxton) from criticism of failures and to maintain their jobs, salaries, and pensions. Until the FBI, DOJ and the White House learn to stop lying and spend more time drasically improving their policies, the US will not be safe enough from terror attacks.

[OKCSubmariner]

BUMP

Please see reply #17. Thanks.

[OKCSubmariner]

Please see reply #17. Thanks.

[OKCSubmariner]

Cicero,your reply #14 is right on the mark and outstanding.