Ashcroft and FBI: asleep at the wheel
The FBI failed miserably over several years to reorganize and respond to a steadily growing threat of terrorism, and Attorney General John Ashcroft rejected an agency appeal for more funding on the day before al-Qaida struck, the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks said Tuesday.
It’s not like any of this was a deep secret. Well before 9/11, there were numerous news reports and books written about al Qaida, bin Laden, and the increased chances of terrorism.
I’m becoming convinced that the real problem here is, under all the bluster and arrogance, the US government (and that includes the Clinton Administration as well as Bush) is simply not competent when it comes to foreign affairs.