The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - READ BEFORE POSTING! World Trade Center Terror Attack?

HankB · September 12, 2001, 07:43 AM

Gas data point for Austin, TX: Regular $1.339, up from $1.319 yesterday.

On the Jeff Ward radio program (KLBJ 590AM, Austin)yesterday afternoon around 4:30 CDT there was an interview with Admiral Robert Inman, USN (Ret.) This guy - now a professor at UT - is a former CIA director, so hopefully he's not as ignorant as the usual talking heads.

Heavily paraphrased (I was in traffic, so I couldn't pay full attention to the radio) here's what I remember: He said there are four possible origins of the attack 1.Osama Bin Ladin 2.The various Palestinian organizations 3.Iraq 4.Iran. Said that #1 with help from #3 and/or #4 is most likely. Inman also complained that the CIA has a hard time recruiting the best and the brightest since their recruiters were kicked off of so many Ivy League universities. Also said the CIA is hamstrung, since they're not allowed to spy domestically, even on foreign nationals once they hit our shores. Claimed rules prohibited them from working with "bad" people overseas. Implied that the FBI should've done better. He also mentioned that our inability to monitor Osama Bin Ladin can be traced to press releases from the previous administration that revealed we were tracking him via cell phone traffic, which caused him to alter his routine. (Now here's where things become a bit worrisome.) Inman stated that the terrorists must have coordinated their actions with cell phones, and it's the inability of our FBI and CIA to monitor cell traffic that's to blame for this tragedy. He repeatedly stated that we as Americans have to become a more disciplined society and be willing to give up some of our privacy so that our intellegence agencies can find terrorists here. Hmmm...

September 12, 2001, 07:43 AM	#298
HankB Senior Member Join Date: March 30, 2000 Location: Central Texas, outside of Austin Posts: 1,698	Gas data point for Austin, TX: Regular $1.339, up from $1.319 yesterday. On the Jeff Ward radio program (KLBJ 590AM, Austin)yesterday afternoon around 4:30 CDT there was an interview with Admiral Robert Inman, USN (Ret.) This guy - now a professor at UT - is a former CIA director, so hopefully he's not as ignorant as the usual talking heads. Heavily paraphrased (I was in traffic, so I couldn't pay full attention to the radio) here's what I remember: He said there are four possible origins of the attack 1.Osama Bin Ladin 2.The various Palestinian organizations 3.Iraq 4.Iran. Said that #1 with help from #3 and/or #4 is most likely. Inman also complained that the CIA has a hard time recruiting the best and the brightest since their recruiters were kicked off of so many Ivy League universities. Also said the CIA is hamstrung, since they're not allowed to spy domestically, even on foreign nationals once they hit our shores. Claimed rules prohibited them from working with "bad" people overseas. Implied that the FBI should've done better. He also mentioned that our inability to monitor Osama Bin Ladin can be traced to press releases from the previous administration that revealed we were tracking him via cell phone traffic, which caused him to alter his routine. (Now here's where things become a bit worrisome.) Inman stated that the terrorists must have coordinated their actions with cell phones, and it's the inability of our FBI and CIA to monitor cell traffic that's to blame for this tragedy. He repeatedly stated that we as Americans have to become a more disciplined society and be willing to give up some of our privacy so that our intellegence agencies can find terrorists here. Hmmm...