Former Chief of CIA's Bin Laden Unit Leaves; speaks out

I wonder now that the election is over what if anything will be made of this. I doubt anything.

http://drudgereport.com/flash2.htm

Osama bin Laden now has religious approval to use a nuclear device against Americans, says the former head of the CIA unit charged with tracking down the Saudi terrorist. The former agent, Michael Scheuer, speaks to Steve Kroft in his first television interview without disguise to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Nov. 14 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Scheuer was until recently known as the "anonymous" author of two books critical of the West's response to bin Laden and al Qaeda, the most recent of which is titled Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror. No one in the West knows more about the Qaeda leader than Scheuer, who has tracked him since the mid-1980s. The CIA allowed him to write the books provided he remain anonymous, but now is allowing him to reveal himself for the first time on Sunday's broadcast; he formally leaves the Agency today (12).

Even if bin Laden had a nuclear weapon, he probably wouldn't have used it for a lack of proper religious authority - authority he has now. "[Bin Laden] secured from a Saudi sheik...a rather long treatise on the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Americans," says Scheuer. "[The treatise] found that he was perfectly within his rights to use them. Muslims argue that the United States is responsible for millions of dead Muslims around the world, so reciprocity would mean you could kill millions of Americans," Scheuer tells Kroft.

Scheuer says bin Laden was criticized by some Muslims for the 9/11 attack because he killed so many people without enough warning and before offering to help convert them to Islam. But now bin Laden has addressed the American people and given fair warning. "They're intention is to end the war as soon as they can and to ratchet up the pain for the Americans until we get out of their region....If they acquire the weapon, they will use it, whether it's chemical, biological or some sort of nuclear weapon," says Scheuer.

As the head of the CIA unit charged with tracking bin Laden from 1996 to 1999, Scheuer says he never had enough people to do the job right. He blames former CIA Director George Tenet. "One of the questions that should have been asked of Mr. Tenet was why were there always enough people for the public relations office, for the academic outreach office, for the diversity and multi-cultural office? All those things are admirable and necessary but none of them are protecting the American people from a foreign threat," says Scheuer.

And the threat posed by bin Laden is also underestimated, says Scheuer. "I think our leaders over the last decade have done the American people a disservice...continuing to characterize Osama bin Laden as a thug, as a gangster," he says. "Until we respect him, sir, we are going to die in numbers that are probably unnecessary, yes. He's a very, very talented man and a very worthy opponent," he tells Kroft.

Until today (12), Scheuer was a senior official in the CIA's counter terrorism unit and a special advisor to the head of the agency's bin Laden unit.

Developing...

Why am I not surprised? What a GREAT RELIGION Muslim is !

There is only one nation in history that used nuclear weapons against a civilian population.

Do you think religion had anything to do with it?

Muslim is not a religion.

Muslim is to Religion
as
Christian is to Religion

Eggs-zactly.

Nope.

bm

That stuff about religious permission is written about in my "Inside Al Quaeda's Hard-Drive" thread. It is really scary. Still - we see the spectacle of religion used to bless horror every day do we not - like the revival rally thinh before Fallujah? (Pathetic when you think about it, isn't it - back to having opposing sides fervently praying for, and assuming they have, the blessijng of th esame god before killing each other - back to the big christian sect wars of the past - and the crusades)

Thing is, some clerics would absolutely condemn it - Al Quaeda is obviously gonna listen to those who don't - so Woiyo, of course, but proves his/her prejudiced ignorance in making the comments s/he does.

Did the American government consult its religious leaders before using the bombs on Japan, BTW?

I expect there will the usual White house campaign to discredit Michael Scheuer.

Osama given OK to
nuke Yanks: expert

Osama Bin Laden has been granted religious approval to use a nuclear bomb against Americans, according to the CIA's former top Al Qaeda expert.The former official, Michael Scheuer, tells CBS' "60 Minutes" on tomorrow's broadcast that Bin Laden was given written authority by a Saudi sheik.

The sheik "found that [Bin Laden] was perfectly within his rights" to use nukes.

"Muslims argue that the United States is responsible for millions of dead Muslims around the world, so reciprocity would mean you could kill millions of Americans," Scheuer says.

Scheuer, who resigned yesterday, was the head of the CIA unit charged with tracking Bin Laden from 1996 to 1999, and the previously anonymous author of two books critical of the West's response to Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. He's been tracking Bin Laden since the mid-1980s.

Scheuer tells "60 Minutes" that American leaders have made a mistake by characterizing Bin Laden as "a thug, a gangster" rather than a disciplined plotter of destruction.

"Until we respect him, sir, we are going to die in numbers that are probably unnecessary," he says. The Al Qaeda mastermind was involved in the original planning for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He also charged that former CIA Director George Tenet failed to provide the agency's Bin Laden unit with sufficient manpower.

In the interview, Scheuer says that even if Bin Laden had a nuclear weapon, he probably would not have used it before without the authority of the sheik.

Deputy Chief Resigns From CIA



Agency Is Said to Be in Turmoil Under New Director Goss

By Dana Priest and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, November 13, 2004; Page A01



The deputy director of the CIA resigned yesterday after a series of confrontations over the past week between senior operations officials and CIA Director Porter J. Goss's new chief of staff that have left the agency in turmoil, according to several current and former CIA officials.

John E. McLaughlin, a 32-year CIA veteran who was acting director for two months this summer until Goss took over, resigned after warning Goss that his top aide, former Capitol Hill staff member Patrick Murray, was treating senior officials disrespectfully and risked widespread resignations, the officials said.
Yesterday, the agency official who oversees foreign operations, Deputy Director of Operations Stephen R. Kappes, tendered his resignation after a confrontation with Murray. Goss and the White House pleaded with Kappes to reconsider and he agreed to delay his decision until Monday, the officials said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46580-2004Nov12.html?referrer=email


It would appear that the newly crowned CIA director is following in the footsteps of his leader as a "uniter". Water seeks it's own level.

Muslims are responsible for millions of dead Muslims around the world. Don't kid yourself that bin Laden didn't want that 3,000 murdered here on 9/11/01 to be 3,000,000.

Isn't it funny that everyone who leaves this administration (from all levels of importance) sez basically the same thing about this administration..........I N C O M P E T E N T !

Tragic would be a more appropriate adjective.

Not only are they incompetent at the problems the have chosen to focus on, the have focused on the wrong problems. The major issue (problem) facing the US and the western community in general is the meteoric rise of China in the last decade. This is going to rewrite the landscape of world power and we have very little time to consider and formulate our response. The middle east is a distraction not a central concern. But Bush et al has mired us deep in middle east for no good reason.