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FBI Missed Sept. 11 Clues, Report Says
In the months leading up to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the FBI missed at least five opportunities to follow leads that could have led to discovery of the hijackers’ plans, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, May 5). “The way the FBI handled these matters was a significant failure that hindered the FBI’s chances of being able to detect and prevent the Sept. 11 attacks,” Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine wrote in a report released Thursday. For example, the agency failed to take seriously an agent’s theory — communicated to senior officials two months before the attacks — that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was sending students to the United States to learn strategies for bringing down U.S. aircraft, the report says. While the agency developed solid information shortly before Sept. 11 about the presence in the United States of two of the hijackers, “the FBI’s investigation then was conducted without much urgency or priority,” the report says. The FBI responded to the report by saying it has since taken steps to deal with such issues. “No terrorism lead goes unaddressed,” and new information-sharing policies are in place, the FBI said. The year-old report is only now being released, according to the Post, because of a court challenge by attorneys for alleged “20th hijacker” Zacarias Moussaoui due to information in the report pertaining to their client. The portions referring to Moussaoui were deleted prior to its public release (Pete Yost, Associated Press/Washington Post, June 10).
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