http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/06/the_wall.html Secrecy News from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:31:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/06/the_wall.html/comment-page-1#comment-3874 Ralph Hitchens Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:19:44 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=2630#comment-3874 The monograph is a very interesting exercise in illuminating a classic bureaucratic struggle and explaining (with borrowed language from Clausewitz) why "even the simplest thing is difficult." But was not the key information sharing issue before 9/11 the unwillingness of CIA to share with FBI the information about two al-Q operatives (who had attended the conference in Malaysia) possessing US entry visas? So that they might have been put on a watch list? I admit to being confused. The monograph is a very interesting exercise in illuminating a classic bureaucratic struggle and explaining (with borrowed language from Clausewitz) why “even the simplest thing is difficult.” But was not the key information sharing issue before 9/11 the unwillingness of CIA to share with FBI the information about two al-Q operatives (who had attended the conference in Malaysia) possessing US entry visas? So that they might have been put on a watch list? I admit to being confused.

]]> http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/06/the_wall.html/comment-page-1#comment-3861 Philip Henika Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:03:56 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=2630#comment-3861 Might I suggest also that a "wall" formed between the Agencies and the People in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Many Agencies were quite visible and attentive to questions from the Public after the TWA crash. As I recall, such conspiracy theories as a missle strike, for example, were effectively eliminated by evidence presented for an accident. Perhaps the silence was a matter of the Agencies not sharing intel. However, the post 9/11 silence between Agency and the People could have been and still could be interpreted as a conspiracy of silence. Might I suggest also that a “wall” formed between the Agencies and the People in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Many Agencies were quite visible and attentive to questions from the Public after the TWA crash. As I recall, such conspiracy theories as a missle strike, for example, were effectively eliminated by evidence presented for an accident. Perhaps the silence was a matter of the Agencies not sharing intel. However, the post 9/11 silence between Agency and the People could have been and still could be interpreted as a conspiracy of silence.

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