Report blames CIA's Top Leaders of Mismanaging War Against Osama Bin Laden

Monday, August 27, 2007

By David Martin, CBS Evening News

August 21, 2007

KATIE COURIC, anchor: Nearly six years after 9/11, the debate goes on. Could the attacks have been prevented? A just-released report by the CIA's watchdog blames the agency's senior leadership, including director George Tenet, for a number of failures in the run-up to the attacks, including the failure to develop a comprehensive plan for dealing with al-Qaeda. But as far as stopping the attacks, the investigation found no quote "silver bullet" that could have done that. The secret report was completed two years ago, and Congress forced the CIA to release it today. Here's our national security correspondent David Martin.

DAVID MARTIN reporting: Once classified top secret, the 19-page summary blames the CIA's top leaders for mismanaging the war against Osama bin Laden in the months and years leading up to 9/11. Lori Van Auken, who lost her husband in the World Trade Center, couldn't agree more.

Ms. LORI VAN AUKEN (9/11 Widow): This is just incompetence. We're just talking about complete and utter incompetence. And people should be held accountable, and we should know who they are, and they should be held accountable.

MARTIN: The report singles out then-director George Tenet, who in an interview with Scott Pelley for "60 Minutes," chalked it all up to human fallibility.

Mr. GEORGE TENET: (From "60 Minutes") People were inundated with data and operations and they missed it. Human beings make mistakes.

MARTIN: Nearly three years before 9/11, Tenet signed a directive declaring, "we are at war" with Bin Laden, and directed that "no resources or people be spared." But the inspector general found no strategic plan was ever created, and no extra money or people were added to operations against bin Laden. The entire report, which runs 450 pages, is still classified. Lori Van Auken wants to see the whole thing, not just the summary.

Ms. VAN AUKEN: There is no excuse anymore for not releasing the entire report to the American people. Let us see what happened, let us see what went wrong.

MARTIN: The CIA's most glaring error was its failure to notify the FBI that two al-Qaeda operatives who later became hijackers had entered the United States even though, the report says, 50 to 60 people saw cables about their travels. According to former 9/11 commissioner Tim Roemer, no one paid a price for that.

Mr. TIMOTHY ROEMER (President, Center For National Policy): I don't remember anybody at the CIA being disciplined or have consequences as a result of some of the mistakes or failures after 9/11.

MARTIN: Tenet, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a $4 million book contract after he left the CIA, today called the inspector general's report "flat wrong," but admitted "the victims and the families of 9/11 deserved better."

The report recommends Tenet and other senior officers face possible disciplinary action. But a statement by the current CIA director says that's not going to happen. Katie:

COURIC: David, I talked to a very well-placed source about this report late this afternoon. He said there was, in fact, a plan. It was called "The Plan," and that people at the CIA who had quote "worked their butts off" end-quote on counterterrorism were absolutely livid about this. Are you hearing the same thing?

MARTIN: I am, Katie. The people at the CIA feel they were going after Osama bin Laden harder than anyone else in government, and now they're being made the scapegoats for what was really a collective failure by the entire system.

COURIC: Meanwhile, why wasn't George Tenet himself interviewed for this report?

MARTIN: Well, I'm told the investigators asked to interview him just as he was leaving office. He said he was too busy, but then they never followed up to talk to him after he left office.

COURIC: And finally, David, I know that the CIA inspector general issued another report in August of 2001 about the agency's counterterrorism efforts, and it was very different in tone, was it not?

MARTIN: It was. It says the counterterrorism operation was well managed, which, of course, is exactly the opposite of what the report issued after 9/11 said. And I guess you can say the truth is probably somewhere in between.

COURIC: David Martin at the Pentagon tonight. Thanks so much.

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