9/11 could have been prevented

2004-04-11 17:42

Washington - The September 11 terror attacks could have been prevented had US law enforcement and intelligence officials followed up on leads pointing to suspected terrorists at work in the United States, a prominent member of the commission investigating the attacks wrote in a newspaper column on Sunday.

"Two things ... are clear to me at this point in our investigation. The first is that 9/11 could have been prevented, and the second is that our current strategy against terrorism is deeply flawed," wrote Bob Kerrey, a member of the 9/11 commission and a former Democratic senator from Nebraska, in the New York Times.

"In particular, our military and political tactics in Iraq are creating the conditions for civil war there and giving al-Qaeda a powerful rationale to recruit young people to declare jihad on the United States," Kerrey wrote.

He cited one particular incident, on July 5, 2001 when White House national security advisor Condoleezza Rice asked Richard Clarke - at the time then the administration's counter-terrorism chief - to help domestic agencies prepare against an attack.

"Five days later an FBI field agent in Phoenix recommended that the agency investigate whether al-Qaeda operatives were training at American flight schools. He speculated that (al-Qaeda leader Osama) bin Laden's followers might be trying to infiltrate the civil aviation system as pilots, security guards or other personnel," Kerrey wrote.

"Ms Rice did not receive this information, a failure for which she blames the structure of government.

"While I am not blaming her, I have not seen the kind of urgent follow-up after this July 5 meeting that anyone who has worked in government knows is needed to make things happen," Kerrey wrote in the Times.

"I have not found evidence that federal agencies were directed clearly, forcefully and unambiguously to tell the president everything they were doing to eliminate Qaeda cells in the United States."

Otherwise, Kerrey, who is currently president of New School University in New York, had words of praise for Rice, the star of last week's hearing before the 9/11 commission, calling her a "spectacular witness."

'Collective failure'

He said responsibility for allowing the attacks to occur is shared by Democrats and Republicans alike, in all branches of government.

"Remember, the attack occurred after President (Bill) Clinton had let pass opportunities to arrest or kill al-Qaeda's leadership when the threat was much smaller," he wrote.

"It occurred after President Bush and Ms. Rice were told on January 25, 2001, that al-Qaeda was in the United States, and after President Bush was told on August 6, 2001, that "70 FBI field investigations were open against al-Qaeda" and that the "FBI had found patterns of suspicious activities in the US consistent with preparation for hijacking."

"It was a collective failure," wrote Kerrey.

Kerrey also criticised the Bush administration's anti-terrorism strategy, particularly the efforts to contain violence in Iraq.

"I believe President Bush's overall vision for the war on terrorism is wrong - military and civilian alike," Kerrey wrote.

"Absent an effort to establish a dialogue that permits respectful criticism and disagreement, the war on terrorism will surely fail. The violence against us will continue.

"Time is not on our side in Iraq. We do not need a little more of the same thing. We need a lot more of something completely different."

- AFP