The Declining Threat of Terrorism, The New York Times, July 10, 2001
Check the DATE!!!!
CIA Agents Letter to US Senate and House
18 July 2005
AN OPEN STATEMENT TO THE LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE.
The Honorable Dennis Hastert, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Dr. William Frist, Majority Leader of the Senate
The Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the Senate
We, the undersigned former U.S. intelligence officers are concerned with the tone and substance of the public debate over the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, to syndicated columnist Robert Novak and other members of the media, which exposed her status as an undercover CIA officer. The disclosure of Ms. Plame’s name was a shameful event in American history and, in our professional judgment, may have damaged U.S. national security and poses a threat to the ability of U.S. intelligence gathering using human sources. Any breach of the code of confidentiality and cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and, directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers and their sources...
[Mendacious crap mercifully snipped]
...Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs gathering the intelligence, which helps, for example, to prevent terrorist attacks against Americans at home and abroad. They sometimes face great personal risk and must spend long hours away from family and friends. They serve because they love this country and are committed to protecting it from threats from abroad and to defending the principles of liberty and freedom. They do not expect public acknowledgement for their work, but they do expect and deserve their government’s protection of their covert status.
For the good of our country, we ask you to please stand up for every man and woman who works for the U.S. intelligence community and help protect their ability to live their cover.
Sincerely yours,
_____________________________________
Larry C. Johnson, former Analyst, CIA
JOINED BY:
Mr. Brent Cavan, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Vince Cannistraro, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Michael Grimaldi, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Mel Goodman, former senior Analyst, CIA
Col. W. Patrick Lang (US Army retired), former Director, Defense Humint Services, DIA
Mr. David MacMichael, former senior estimates officer, National Intelligence Council, CIA
Mr. James Marcinkowski, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Ray McGovern, former senior Analyst and PDB Briefer, CIA
Mr. Jim Smith, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. William C. Wagner, former Case Officer, CIA
Excellent find. I didn't read the link, but the title and date alone is enough to make one spew...(that NYT article sure must look good on Mr. Johnson's resume).
Here's some of Larry Johnson's INTELLIGENCE:
Fake Terror
"The Declining State of Terror"
July 10, 2001
The greatest risk is clear: if you are drilling for oil in Colombia -- or in nations like Ecuador, Nigeria or Indonesia -- you should take appropriate precautions; otherwise Americans have little to fear.
OMG! He should be laughed out of the discussion outright. It people like Johnson who made 911 happen.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
*snrk*
Yeah. This clown obviously is the epitome of competence.
Don't our intelligence agencies have a means of weeding out moonbats and nutjobs?
Well, that's a fascinatin' tittle article! More and more this whole Rove/Plame affair looks like a season of '24'; rogue CIA agents out to cover up their own incompetence in understanding the terrorist threat to the country. Their allegiance is not to the USA but to merely saving their own sorry butts.
Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism. None of these beliefs are based in fact. (emphasis added)Interesting how this spin was countered by the very terrorism that he denied existed!
Ironically enough at the same time Congressman Dana Rohabacher (R-CA) was investigating terrorism and on 9-11-2001 he was on his way to an appointment with some politicians in Washington DC to brief them on the dangers of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida. Before the set time for the meeting the towers were brought down.
Larry Johnson is a dangerous bozo. I well remember reading that op-ed of his on July 10, 2001 and thinking that all it would take is one big attack to blow his analysis to pieces. His whole message pre-9/11 was "don't worry, little people, there is no terrorist threat" ala Michael Moore. Amazing that any media outlets can still present Larry Johnson as a credible figure, but then they still think Dan Rather, Howell Raines, et al are respectable figures....
Nor are the United States and its policies the primary target. Terrorist activity in 2000 was heavily concentrated in just two countries -- Colombia, which had 186 incidents, and India, with 63. The cause was these countries' own political conflicts
The fact that Israel is not listed means that this author believes Israel does not suffer from terrorism and is indeed an occupying power. That tells me all I need to know. He is a partisan hack who found statistics that backed up his preconceived notions.
There went his credibility forever! Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
It's hardly Terror Inc. Bin Laden's network is more 'fan club' than GM
Kit R. Roane. U.S. News & World Report. Washington: Jun 11, 2001.Vol.130, Iss. 23; pg. 31(snip)
Before four of his foot soldiers went on trial for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, Osama bin Laden seemed as dangerous as Lucifer and as omnipresent as evil. But after they were found guilty last week of conspiring in the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, the notion of a vast, cohesive terrorist organization seemed dramatically overblown. Bin Laden's bloody enterprise had left 224 dead and placed the Saudi millionaire's name at the top of the FBI's most wanted list. But evidence in the trial revealed that bin Laden isn't nearly as powerful as once perceived. Among the key revelations: that his organization, al Qaeda, is neither as well funded nor as well organized as many experts previously thought. Infighting and jealousy riddle its top ranks. In fact, low pay and low morale were complaints of some former members who became prosecution witnesses.
"What the evidence shows is that bin Laden has an international network of contacts, but that it's more analogous to the Elvis Presley Fan Club than a corporation like General Motors," says Larry Johnson, a former State Department counterterrorism official.