State Dept. Chief of Counterterrorism to leave--interesting development

[Virginia Dare]

why am I thinking there's more to this story?

Henry A. "Hank" Crumpton, the chief of the State Department's counterterrorism office and a key strategist in the war in Afghanistan, will announce today that he is leaving government in the new year, a senior State Department official said yesterday.

Crumpton was a career covert CIA officer with a secret identity who stepped out of the shadows in August 2005 to take the State Department job. He gained almost mythical fame after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when he headed the CIA's campaign in Afghanistan, crafting a strategy that partnered elite intelligence and military officers in teams that worked with Afghan opposition to oust the Taliban.

-snip-

His departure leaves another big hole at the State Department, which has been struggling to find a deputy secretary of state for six months. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also now looking for replacements for her departing counselor and undersecretary of state for economic affairs.

Crumpton decided to leave for "unexpected, unplanned and compelling family reasons," including family health issues and financial obligations for higher education for his children, said the official, who requested anonymity because the announcement has not been made at the State Department.

Despite the scope and impact of recent terrorist attacks, well-placed officials say Crumpton has also been concerned that the United States does not yet understand the shifting nature of warfare in a global arena. "We don't understand the enemy and battlefield," he said in a recent interview. "We've crossed a threshold in this conflict. This is a learning process, and we've just started."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121801228.html

[rodeodance]

1. it is past time that our Learning Curve was put in full speed!!

Despite the scope and impact of recent terrorist attacks, well-placed officials say Crumpton has also been concerned that the United States does not yet understand the shifting nature of warfare in a global arena. "We don't understand the enemy and battlefield," he said in a recent interview. "We've crossed a threshold in this conflict. This is a learning process, and we've just started."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[Virginia Dare]

2. Do you read something into that statement...

like he's trying to get through to the brickheads in charge, and nobody will listen to him, so he's giving up and going home? How many competent people who actually know what the fuck is going on have we lost this way?

[leveymg]

3. Took over Cofer Black's old job.

Black and Gen. Franks were perhaps more responsible for 9/11 and then letting Osama go than any other two officers. See, How Bin Laden and Mohamed Atta Escaped Gen. Franks Mark G. Levey
How Bin Laden and Mohamed Atta Escaped Gen. Franks Mark G. Levey ... Franks and Black have been at the opposite ends of this still unravelling tale of ...

http://www.williambowles.info/911/franks_osama.html

AND

Crumpton may have been doing his job, but his superiors sure as hell weren't.
See, http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=hank_crumpton_1

November 26, 2001: US Marines Land in Kandahar instead of Tora Bora A force of about 1,200 US marines settles in the countryside around Kandahar, Afghanistan. This will make up nearly the entire US force actually on the ground in the country during the war to remove the Taliban from power. Over the previous week, CIA Deputy Counter Terrorism Center Director Hank Crumpton had been in contact with Gen. Tommy Franks and other military leaders at CENTCOM, arguing that “the back door was open” in Tora Bora and the troops should go there instead. But Franks responded that the momentum of the CIA’s effort to corner bin Laden could be lost waiting for the troops to arrive. The marines will end up being largely unused in the Kandahar region while bin Laden will escape from Tora Bora.
Entity Tags: US Department of the Marines, Hank Crumpton, Thomas Franks

Late November 2001: CIA Advises Bush and Cheney That Allies Won’t Help Trap Bin Laden, but No Action Is Taken
Hank Crumpton. According to author Ron Suskind, CIA Deputy Counter Terrorism Center Director Hank Crumpton briefs President Bush and Vice President Cheney about the looming battle in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan, where about 1,000 al-Qaeda and Taliban are settling in. He points out the region is very mountainous, with many tunnels and escape routes. Bush asks about the passages to Pakistan that the Pakistani government has agreed to block (see November 2001). Using a map, Crumpton shows “the area on the Pakistani side of the line a lawless, tribal region that little control over. In any event, satellite images showed that promised troops hadn’t arrived, and seemed unlikely to appear soon.” Crumpton adds that the Afghan forces in the region allied to the US are “tired and cold and, many of them are far from home.” They were battered from fighting in the south against Taliban forces, and “they’re just not invested in getting bin Laden.” He tells Bush that “we’re going to lose our prey if we’re not careful” and strongly recommends the US marines being sent to Kandahar (see November 26, 2001) get immediately redirected to Tora Bora instead. Cheney says nothing. Bush presses Crumpton for more information. “How bad off are these Afghani forces, really? Are they up to the job?” Crumpton replies, “Definitely not, Mr. President. Definitely not.” However, the Pentagon is not voicing the same concerns to Bush. The marines are not redirected to seal off the passes.