A Failure of Intelligence; Anonymous.(Interview)

Byline: Mark Hosenball

In Washington nowadays, taking potshots at the United States intelligence community is almost a daily event. The latest attack, however, comes not from the media or Congress but from one of its own. In a politically explosive new book, "Imperial Hubris," a veteran CIA official and former chief of its Osama bin Laden station claims that successive U.S. administrations and CIA leaders have underplayed or mishandled the threat posed by bin Laden. The author, listed only as Anonymous, condemns the invasion of Iraq as an "avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked war against a foe who posed no immediate threat," noting that "there is nothing that bin Laden could have hoped for more than the American invasion and occupation of Iraq." He describes bin Laden as safely ensconced in the unruly tribal lands of Pakistan and argues that Al Qaeda may actually have become stronger, with a new generation of computer-literate terrorists filling the void left by captured deputies. The author spoke with NEWSWEEK's Mark Hosenball last week. Excerpts:

HOSENBALL: It's very unusual for a professional intelligence person who's still in the intelligence community to write a book--particularly a book that criticizes some of your bosses and raises questions about American policy. What motivated you to write it?

ANONYMOUS: A belief that the senior levels of the intelligence community did not, and in fact still do not, understand the dimensions of the threat posed by the forces led or inspired by Osama bin Laden. They simply refused to address the power of religion in motivating those people who are opposed to our policies. I tried to draw analogies to American history, and to warn that the problem we face, that's termed bin Laden, is much broader and much more durable than one man, and certainly more lethal than any other threat we face in the world today... I think the time has come to take another look at our opponent and what enables him to continue to thrive in the international environment as it exists today.

Do you think you gave warnings that could have prevented September 11?

I'm not sure that September 11 could have been prevented had the intelligence community operated optimally. It did not operate optimally. What I would say, however, is that I am one of dozens, if not several hundred people, who brought to the attention of senior intelligence-community managers problems with our intelligence services that could have been remedied [such as a reluctance to tell political leaders bad ...