Ray St. Louis
9/30/02
BETWEEN THE LINES
There’s been no shortage of news about the FBI lately.
One day the bureau is getting involved in the Olympic figure skating scandal. The next day
they're turning over classified documents to Zacarias Moussaoui.
It’s a little difficult to understand exactly how the thought process must have gone over there at
FBI headquarters. It might have been something like this:
Let’s see, we’ve got these 48 top secret, ultra-sensitive, terrorism-related documents that need to
be circulated to the select handful of people who really need to see them. That would include –
besides John Ashcroft, our boss here at the Justice Department - Secretary of Defense Don
Rumsfeld, the President and the Vice-President.
Anyone else? Oh yeah, almost forgot. We’ll need to run copies over to the jail cell of admitted
terrorist and accused 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui.
No doubt this is a busy time for the Attorney General with all that he’s got going, fighting terrorists
and suspending civil liberties and all. Surely, the man has a lot on his plate. Still, one would think
Mr. Ashcroft might want to keep a bit more on top of things.
Yes, I know. It’s always easy to criticize. So, rather than be negative, I’d like to offer a few helpful
hints to Mr. Ashcroft purely in the spirit of constructive criticism.
Helpful Hint #1: If they’re terrorists, don’t give them classified documents.
This is just cut and dried, John (can I call you John?). Because, you see (I really shouldn’t have to
tell you this), they might just find a way to pass the information on to their superiors.
Okay, let’s give credit where credit is due. At least the FBI had the foresight not to deliver a
computer with Internet access to Moussaoui’s cell. Good thinking there.
Still, handing over the classified documents was dumb. I mean DUMB, John.
One would think you, as head of the Justice Department, would have a better grasp of the
obvious. This is on a level with your department’s INS agents sending out visas to two deceased
9/11 hijackers.
Which brings us to Helpful Hint #2: Never send out visas to dead hijackers.
Two good reasons for this: Number one – THEY’RE DEAD! Number two – THEY’RE HIJACKERS!
I know what you’re thinking: hindsight is 20/20. Which would be a good point if the visas hadn’t
been sent out six months after September 11. But while we’re on the subject of hindsight, here
are a few more helpful hints.
Helpful Hint #3: Never ignore FBI agents who pass along warnings about the unusual number of
men with Islamic fundamentalist leanings enrolled in American flight schools.
Helpful Hint #4: Never ignore reports from FBI agents concerning suspicious flight school
students who are only interested in learning how jets steer, not how they take off or land.
Helpful Hint #5: Never ignore a report from an FBI agent that states a particular flight school
student (Moussaoui) “might take control of an airplane and crash it into the World Trade Center.”
You have to admit that last item in particular should have raised an eyebrow. In the future, John,
you might want to take a deeper look into warnings that are that specific.
At least don’t rule out further questioning of the suspected terrorist, as you did with Moussaoui, or
stifle the effort on the part of your agents to obtain a warrant to search his computer.
I’ll bet you’re kicking yourself on that one. Might have unraveled the whole 9/11 plot before it
happened.
One final helpful hint: Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Perhaps this whole anti-terrorism
thing is just a bit too much for you and the bureau, John. Perhaps you should concentrate on a
battle you know you can win. Some kind of scandal that you can solve quickly and easily and look
good in the process.
Something like, well, figure skating.