How Clarke 'Outsourced' Terror Intel (Used Private Research)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4639986/

As White House counterterror czar, Richard Clarke was so frustrated by the FBI’s inability to identify Islamic radicals within the United States that he turned for help to a freelance terrorism researcher whose work was deeply resented by top bureau officials.

Clarke’s secret work with private researcher Steven Emerson is among a number of revealing disclosures in the ex-White House aide’s new book, “Against All Enemies,” that has been all but obscured by the furor over the author’s politically charged allegations against President George W. Bush.

As recounted by Clarke in his book, and confirmed by documents provided to NEWSWEEK, Emerson and his former associate Rita Katz regularly provided the White House with a stream of information about possible Al Qaeda activity inside the United States that appears to have been largely unknown to the FBI prior to the September 11 terror attacks.

In confidential memos and briefings that were sometimes conducted on a near weekly basis, Emerson and Katz furnished Clarke and his staff with the names of Islamic radical Web sites, the identities of possible terrorist front groups and the phone numbers and addresses of possible terror suspects—data they were unable to get from elsewhere in the government.

[Eye and Monkey]

1. Emerson's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Jan 2000 (link)

"The entire spectrum of Middle Eastern and Islamic terrorist groups now operates on American soil, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, the Egyptian Al Gamat Al Islamiya, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Islamic Liberation Party, the PKK and Al-Qaeda, the organization of Osama bin Laden."

http://www.house.gov/judiciary/emer0125.htm

[KC]

5. Well

that was a frightening read, to say the least.

KC

[truthisfreedom]

2. bushco ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT ALLOW the focus to be placed on weaknesses

within and around the administration. THEY WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BUTTON THE CLARKE ISSUE UP and make sure that his book is obscured in some way... perhaps "furnace fodder" like they did to james hatfield's "fortunate son" after the first printing.

[Journeyman]

3. And they're doing a great job obscuring it, too. . .

hiding this information on the MSNBC and Newsweek websites is a stroke of genius. . .

[countmyvote4real]

4. I think that was a joke, but

it's only lurking there. Still, it's clearly absent or hidden from the content of their mainstream airwaves and magazine pages.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Isikoff's returning to Clarke's book...

and hammering home some of these issues is helpful. Also, this article somehow recalled for me some of the FBI tinfoil speculation that's gone on from time to time --

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. I hate to see guys like Clarke

getting duped by these private intel folks like Steven Emerson. So far, from what I've researched about these private intel al Qaeda expert types, is not one single one of them has an ounce of crediblity.


Edit: Here's what I've dug up with a quick google search:


http://www.fair.org/extra/9901/emerson.html

January/February 1999

Steven Emerson's Crusade

Why is a journalist pushing questionable stories from behind the scenes?

<snip?

Emerson's willingness to push an extremely thin story--with potentially explosive consequences--is also consistent with the lengthy list of mistakes and distortions that mar his credentials as an expert on terrorism.

<snip>

"He's poison," says investigative author Seymour Hersh, when asked about how Emerson is perceived by fellow journalists.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Unfortunately, they're probably better than the FBI at doing research...

...particularly if the FBI was told to back off terrorism. That's why John O'Neill, the FBI's top counter-terrorism guru, left the FBI shortly before 911.

[nodictators]

10. As I recall, Emerson was hired as a "consultant" by NBC-TV...

just before the invasion of Iraq. I'm don't know if he appeared on-air, as I don't watch NBC "news" very often. Emerson was one of a gaggle of "consultants" hired by NBC then.

Personally, the hiring of consultants by the news media is troublesome. Instead of facts, the consultants feed us their "expert" opinions. Read the full article from FAIR and you'll see what I mean.

[TacticalPeek]

8. Kick. n/t