What is disturbing....

C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said

WASHINGTON, June 2 -- The Central Intelligence Agency says in a classified chronology submitted to Congress recently that it picked up the trail of a Qaeda operative who turned out to be a Sept. 11 hijacker months earlier than was previously known, government officials said today.

This bothers me on two points. The first, obvious one is yet another illustration of the walls erected between the FBI and the CIA, and the rest of the law enforcement world, how little information was ever exchanged. Ye gads, the world we live in.

The second annoyance, however, is an illustration of why there is so little communication, as this story is built around "a classified chronology submitted to Congress", or at least a partial reason. Why tell anyone anything when it might get splattered all over Page One of the New York Times? It's become something of a joke to talk about "classified Congressional briefings" as each member of any given committee then races the others to see who can "leak" it first. This story never mentions sources, just that here's a chronology that was obviously part of just such a briefing, now being aired in public.

This specific example, given the subject, might be appropriate for public disclosure and discussion. However, such disclosures does not encourage the trust of anyone within any level of the intelligence community. In such an environment, no one talks to anyone, and another 9/11 happens by "surprise."