Sunday, June 19, 2005
The Federal Bureau of Insufficiency
I'm trying to reconcile the fact that the FBI, one of the organizations that is supposed to keep us safe as we go about our daily lives, responded to 9/11 by not hiring people with expertise in the Middle East.
This is an organization with the power and money of the federal government behind it. There is no reason why, when a high-ranking official is asked about knowledge of the Middle East, he should say, "Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?"
"What skill sets would they need to better identify, penetrate and/or prevent a future Osama bin Laden-style terrorist attack?" Kohn asked.
Watson answered: "They would need to understand the attorney general guidelines for counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigation."
"Anything else?" the lawyer inquired.
"No," Watson answered.
An understanding of important dates in Arabic history, which could lead to code words or possible dates of terror attacks? Don't need it. A good grasp of important terms in Arabic and Islamic cultures, which could also be used as code words? Nope. A mastery of the Arabic language, at least? Nah. You'll be fine as long as you know how to follow the guidelines.
I'm sick of it. I'm sick of our federal government, the people who should be out there fighting every day to the full extent of their abilities to keep us safe, passing the buck and focusing on what's not important. When did America atrophy?
This is an organization with the power and money of the federal government behind it. There is no reason why, when a high-ranking official is asked about knowledge of the Middle East, he should say, "Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?"
"What skill sets would they need to better identify, penetrate and/or prevent a future Osama bin Laden-style terrorist attack?" Kohn asked.
Watson answered: "They would need to understand the attorney general guidelines for counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigation."
"Anything else?" the lawyer inquired.
"No," Watson answered.
An understanding of important dates in Arabic history, which could lead to code words or possible dates of terror attacks? Don't need it. A good grasp of important terms in Arabic and Islamic cultures, which could also be used as code words? Nope. A mastery of the Arabic language, at least? Nah. You'll be fine as long as you know how to follow the guidelines.
I'm sick of it. I'm sick of our federal government, the people who should be out there fighting every day to the full extent of their abilities to keep us safe, passing the buck and focusing on what's not important. When did America atrophy?
