Before 9/11, only a few dedicated law-enforcement and intelligence agents understood the enormity of the terrorists’ ambitions.
At the end of the Cold War, the beginning of this international Sunni terrorist organization was something nobody imagined could happen, because ‘Arabs can’t work together, and these guys are a bunch of ragheads who’ve been fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan.’ Except that we knew there was a lot of very well-educated people who had been hanging out together in Afghanistan for 10 years.
Those of us who worked it weren’t under those illusions, but that was the conventional wisdom—that they weren’t capable of doing anything. We were in the Counterterrorist Center, which was the first center in the CIA [established in 1986], so the rest of the organization didn’t really understand what we did, and we were looked down on. So that combination of factors, and having women, frankly, be in the forefront of this, made it hard to convince people. My experience is, from studying these things academically, it takes about 10 years to turn people’s mindsets around. We didn’t have 10 years.
h/t K
Yeah, that sounds like every bureaucracy I ever read about or experienced.
maybe, just maybe “the higher ups” had other plans..
What is sickening is these politicians as well as not paying attention to muslim jihad are actively shutting down those who dare to criticize islam.
57 non-combatant Canadians now murdered by muslims but it doesn’t seem to make an impression.
Prior to 9/11, the capabilities and intentions of Islamic terrorists were well enough known in intelligence and security circles. Indeed, they were often the “heavies” in action movies.*
But yes, this knowledge had little traction upwards in terms of tougher action by political decision-makers. Anyone notice how George Tenet, US Director of Central Intelligence resigned on principle right after 9/11?
You didn’t notice? That’s because he did not resign.
Compare and contrast with Lord Carrington’s resignation as UK Foreign Secretary when the Argentinians invaded the Falklands.
* Anyone remember Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington in the 1998 film “The Siege”? No? Or the bad guys – “Crimson Jihad” – that Arnold Schwarzenegger tackled in that silly 1994 “True Lies” production?
What I still find amazing and amusing is that one of my favorite guitarists, Jeff (Skunk) Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Bro’s.) … is now a counterterrorism expert advising the pentagon on theoretical “out of the box” thinking by terrorists.
https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/skunk_baxter_former_doobie_brother_counterterror_advisor/
Yeah … the entrenched bureaucracy didn’t do much to protect us … but who knows what a Doobie has done to save lives from Islamic HATE
https://youtu.be/AAvYHXz7XsA
Anyone who can do THAT! Has “out of the box” GENIUS
The people who work in immigration don’t understand either. Or they do understand and hate us enough that they are on the other side.
Our masters only ever seriously consider doing the good and wise thing when they are no longer able to shield themselves from the consequences of their own greed, incompetence and treachery. By then it’s usually too late to prevent catastrophe.
There is generally considerable amount of the “the Peter principle” at play in the buracracy.
It’s the one, iron-clad rule of every organisation. Its potency is also directly related to the amount of nepotism and favouritism present.
If it’s not “studied ignorance”, it’s arrogance. Either these higher-ups had “reasons” for ignoring the intel reports, or they were so strong in their beliefs that they knew better than their analysts who study this shit all day long, but either way, they let it happen. Negligence or incompetence. These are all pretty binary choices.
“Having women in charge…” I know she means: Higher up men wouldn’t listen to us smart women, and I don’t doubt it but all I can think of is “really nice curtains.”