America’s best defense against mass-casualty surprise terrorist attacks comes from detaining and interrogating terrorism suspects, and the CIA must continue to do this, John Negroponte, national intelligence director, said Thursday night in Denver.
Negroponte cited foiled plots to buttress his case. His remarks were the latest in the Bush administration’s 9/11 anniversary blitz for a robust war on terrorism.
“When terrorists are judged to have information critical to the security of the United States, we must be able to question them in a safe and professional manner in order to prevent a repetition of such catastrophic events as occurred on 9/11,” Negroponte told a gathering of military intelligence officers.
|
VIDEO
|
|
|
CIA tactics are consistent with the Constitution, laws and treaty obligations, he assured his uniformed listeners. And because of programs like this, the intelligence community today is far better prepared than before 9/11 to protect Americans, he said.
But intelligence experts, including former insiders, on Thursday questioned Negroponte’s positive assessment.
Some see U.S. intelligence as seriously deficient, warning that policymakers are ill-equipped to deal with Iran, North Korea and “homegrown” terrorism.
The post-9/11 restructuring that put Negroponte in charge of 16 intelligence agencies “is an aid, but it’s not a fix,” said Vincent Cannistraro, a veteran CIA field agent who oversaw intelligence for the National Security Council and counterterrorism analysis at CIA headquarters.
U.S. intelligence “is not where it needs to be … particularly on Iran,” Cannistraro said. Lacking solid information, he said, hardliners in Washington “are trying to demonize the Iranians.”
Negroponte “is not in a position yet to take credit for any successes,” said Roger Cressey, a former White House counterterrorism official.
“We have serious shortfalls in our intelligence assets,” Cressey said. When dealing with Iran, this “is going to keep us from getting necessary information to make policy decisions.”
Negroponte spoke after dinner at a Marine Corps Intelligence Association conference.
He cited several cases in which CIA-led interrogation of detainees helped foil plots. Among them:
A plot by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to attack West Coast targets using hijacked airplanes.
Planned attacks in Karachi, Pakistan, that would have killed hundreds of civilians.
A plot to attack London’s Heathrow Airport using hijacked commercial airliners.
Many in the military are optimistic about efforts to improve intelligence. “I didn’t think it was that bad before 9/11,” said Marine Capt. Matt Roper, an intelligence officer who worked recently in Iraq.
“Think about the amount of data flowing into the intelligence community,” he said. “It’s hard to stop someone from flying airplanes into a building.”
Staff writer Bruce Finley can be reached at 303-954-1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com.
