Kerry Calls for CIA’s bin Laden Unit to Reopen Immediately

[kpete]

John Kerry Calls for CIA’s bin Laden Unit to Reopen Immediately
Posted by Pamela Leavey
July 6th, 2006

On Monday it was confirmed that the CIA closed the unit “that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants.”

The unit, known as Alec Station, was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the C.I.A. Counterterrorist Center, the officials said.

The decision is a milestone for the agency, which formed the unit before Osama bin Laden became a household name and bolstered its ranks after the Sept. 11 attacks, when President Bush pledged to bring Mr. bin Laden to justice “dead or alive.”

John Kerry sent to a letter John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence, today calling for the CIA’s bin Laden Unit to reopen immediately:

July 6, 2006

The Honorable John D. Negroponte

Director of National Intelligence Office of the Director of National Intelligence Washington, DC 2051

Dear Mr. Director:

I write to express my concern over recent reports that the CIA has closed down the unit responsible for hunting down Osama bin Laden. This unit should be reconstituted immediately and given all resources necessary to finish the job of holding bin Laden accountable and preventing him from organizing or inspiring future attacks against the United States and our allies.

There is no question that since 9/11, al Qaeda has morphed into a global terrorist movement that transcends any one individual. The decision to divert resources from the crucial fight against bin Laden and al Qaeda to wage war on Iraq has made the task of eradicating this increasingly diffuse threat more difficult. We now face a long, difficult and multi-faceted struggle against global terrorism and the hateful ideology that inspires it.

I fully support efforts to adapt our response to the evolving nature of the threat, but this is not a compelling rationale for curtailing efforts to bring this mass murderer to justice. In fact, we cannot lose sight of the fact that eliminating bin Laden would still strike a key blow against al Qaeda and represent a significant step forward in the war on terror. Given what is at stake, our intelligence community should be given sufficient resources to both pursue bin Laden and prosecute the broader war on terror.

Moreover, disbanding the bin Laden unit sends the message to the terrorists that they can kill thousands of Americans without being held to account. Given that Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was quoted this week as saying that “nobody has any idea” where bin Laden is, it is especially important that we send a clear message now that we have not given up the hunt. Reconstituting the bin Laden unit now would make it clear that we will never rest until he has been brought to justice.

Past failures to eliminate bin Laden at Tora Bora and in the nearly five years since 9/11 are no excuse for failing to do everything possible to find him now. The CIA’s bin Laden unit can play an important part of our effort to win the war on terror, and I urge you to revive and strengthen it as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3533

[blm]

1. We need a Citizen's Petition that echoes this letter.

And contact the 9-11 families to join us.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

2. Chirp.......Crickets...... nt

[orleans]

19. i second it--all kerry is gonna hear are crickets crickets crickets n/t

[helderheid]

3. good on him. rec'd

[emulatorloo]

4. kick and nom n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. Even if Usama didn't do 9-11

he did do the African Embassy bombings.

I guess Bush is too busy spying on Americans to bother with finding real terrorists.

[TheMirrorMan]

9. Who did, then?

Just asking.

Bin Laden 9/11 Discussion Transcript

[newyawker99]

14. Hi TheMirrorMan!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[orleans]

18. gee--who knows? even the fbi doesn't have him listed as being

involved in 9/11--look on the fbi website.

(is this the transcript from the video where it doesn't really look like him because he's FAT and he is writing with his RIGHT hand in spite of the fbi poster saying he is LEFT handed. that transcript?)
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen.htm

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. This is a winner for Kerry.

How could FoxNews go against him on something as popular as this? Bush and Rove did a good job of creating bin Laden as a symbol of 9/11. Without him, our victory over terrorism would not be complete.

[Ikonoklast]

7. BushCo. doesn't want to find Bin Laden

They have no use for him other than a boogieman to scare us when needed, as they have the war in Iraq the neocon agenda wanted to fight.

If this had been a Democratic administration deliberately dropping the ball and letting Bin Laden skate, the screaming from the right-wing would have been deafening.


I guess fighting the REAL enemies of our country is not a problem the Republicans want to face.

[dunn]

22. There would have to be a trial if they found him. But if 911 was an inside

job, then there would not be any evidence against him. That's my theory on why they
don't want to find him.

[BuyingThyme]

8. Get on the TV, John. Get on AAR. Get out there and lead.

Pelosi and Reid sure as hell won't do it. Step into the vacuum.

[MAX 1]

10. Bin Laden Determined to Strike

The events of the summer of 2001 lead us to 09/11/01. Those events were focused on the amassing of data that pointed to the FACT that Osama was determined to strike the USA. The Government knew. Pretending not to notice does not make a thing go away. Several people testified during the Moussaoui trial that they attempted, ATTEMPTED to relay information to their superiors concerning bin Laden and al-Qaeda but were derailed and pushed a side, told to be quiet.

The day of 9/11 and all the Administration knew, KNEW that it was al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Rumsfeld's own notes dictated around 2:30pm that very day not only fingered bin Laden but also wanted Saddam in the mix. And ever since then, Osama has been the target of 9/11. WASN'T OSAMA THE ACE OF SPADES??? MOST WANTED INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST.

But less than a year and a half after 9/11, Bush admitted that he wasn't too concerned about Osama. Remember, the UPROAR!!! The BACKLASH!!! Until the elections of 2004 Osama was quiet as a mouse. Not even a word. Then a tape. And all the buzz and speculation stirred about how Osama wants Bush to win and remain being the President. And it worked too.

Wha Whaa Whaaa??? IT WORKED???

Osama died in December, 2001.
Even the Mouth Piece of the White House said so:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,41576,00.html

More about the perpetuation of the bin Laden myth at:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/osama_dead.html

"But that's just nonsense," you say. "I'm being a theorist of conspiracies," you say.

Think about it.
Why would the President, DoD, Rumsfeld, Cheney, etc, all not disagree about Osama's status?
Why hasn't Pakistan' ruler all but halted any effort to assist in this hunt?

Oh, don't get me wrong. There will be more tapes. There will always be more tapes.
The boogie man ALWAYS sleeps in the shadows. Lurking just around the corner.

If the Administration's claims are correct about Osama, then why abandon their hard work to date to hunt down Osama?

Does closing down the unit dedicated to hunting Osama square at all?
No, it doesn't. IF WE ARE TO BELIEVE THIS ADMINISTRATION AT ALL.

~ R E M E M B E R 09/11/01 ~
EMMA BOOKER ELEMENTARY
The guard dog, it did not bark.

[diamondsndust]

11. shhhhhh.... it's a secret! They just CLAIM to have stopped

looking for him... that way, Ol' Binny will think he's in the clear and he'll slip up, then we'll miraculously capture him in time for the November election sweeps.

[originalpckelly]

12. I wonder if this is a coincidence:

al-Zarqawi turns up dead.
His wife says the US bought info on Zarqawi for the price of not looking for Osama.
The unit dedicated to finding Osama closes down.

I smell a rat.

Here is the CNN story about al-Zarqawi's wife:
"Meanwhile, al-Zarqawi's wife told an Italian newspaper that al Qaeda leaders sold him out to the United States in exchange for a promise to let up in the search for Osama bin Laden.

The woman, identified by La Repubblica as al-Zarqawi's first wife, said al Qaeda's top leadership reached a deal with U.S. intelligence because al Zarqawi had become too powerful.

She claimed Sunni tribes and Jordanian secret services mediated the deal.

"My husband has been sold to the Americans," the woman said in an interview published Sunday. "He had become too powerful, too troublesome.""
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/03/zarqawi.ap/

I refer people to the OP for the Bin Laden unit closing story.

[Bretttido]

13. Maybe they closed down the unit because they already caught him

But they can't let the public know about that yet! They gotta make it look like he was caught during a spooky time... like... around Halloween! That's a good time! Very patriotic to catch a spooky man during a spooky holiday. yep yep

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Honorable and Negroponte do NOT belong in the same phrase

[Hubert Flottz]

16. Bush is cutting and running from the "war on terra!"

He's either with the Terra-ists or against them...Giving aid and comfort to Bin Laden by taking the pressure off, is what the neocons are doing...they don't want to catch Bin Laden, or the Anthrax murderer, because Terra is good for GOP politics!

[BrewAz]

17. Kudos...Where is the support?

Kudos for Senator Kerry…But are the rest of the Democrats in congress AND those Repubs who are standing up for America supporting this request?

I am afraid that Senator Kerry cannot do this himself…Maybe the media will finally find some courage, investigate this storyline and start to show the Bush Administration for what it is: a hypocritical bunch of pandering politicos only watching out for themselves…and their friends.

Why do we not see investigative reporting on this kind of issue? Why do we let the administration play big-oil cards in Iraq instead of finding the purps of 9-11?

Everyday I continue to be astounded that the news media and journalists across the board play the exact game that the administration wants them to: Focus on gay marriage, then on immigration, then on "plame-gate" and the administrations innocence, then on flags, then back to immigration, then on the liberal media leaking classified information.....it goes on and on.

The Bushcos are just reveling in their ability to pull the media around like a chained dog. As long as the investigation isn't about them...they win. AS long as they can continue to deflect and have talking heads do the dirty work on the networks...they win twice.

Good Luck Senator Kerry....but I am afraid you need the media on your side on this one...but I fear you are just yelling into a media vacuum.

BrewAz

[Up2Late]

20. All I want is that they finally admit that OBL is DEAD! Been Dead...

...since December 2001. Tora Bora was the last actual contact, and a Pentagon Contractor is selling each "bin Laden message" for $39.99 for each DVD! (Check it out at my DU Journal)

[Sleepless In NY]

21. Good Grief, Where are Senators Clinton & Schumer on this?

They should be backing Kerry 100% on this, since their state was most effected on 9/11. In fact ALL Democrats SHOULD. But especially, these 2. This unit closing, funds being cut to their state and what do I see? "Postcards" sent to chertoff to "prove" there are monuments in NY & DC, that he won't even accept or look at. Where are the calls for chertoff to be fired? And now, closing this unit? Please, give me a break!

Where is the anger?


I just don't understand the Dems sometimes at all. They could blow bush & the republicans out of the water with their "Cut and Run" mantra, by showing how republicans have CUT AND RUN on NY, DC AND the Gulf Coast.

Instead I hear nothing. Why?

Shame on you Senators Clinton, Schumer & Landrieu.

When is this party going to start making some real noise, in UNISON?

And please don't give me, this nonsense, about how if these 3 keep silent, bush & his repub party
will give them the time of day or more aid. Hasn't happened in almost 5 years & it isn't going to. If Landrieu hasn't learned from Clinton & Schumer's experiences when it comes to aid...she is clueless. When are these 3 going to wake up? They should be leading the charge, instead I don't hear a peep out of them.

You have a real opportunity here, to express some real outrage about bush turning a blind eye to your states. Show him for the hypocrite he is, for when it comes to "security" or "compassion" he is full of hot air
and empty promises. Repubs are always talking about not forgetting 9/11..and that's all they do...talk and exploit. Why do you allow them to get away with this?

He has CUT and RUN on your states...for the love of God, speak up!


What are you waiting for?