Official: Fewer CIA working on bin Laden

UPI | November 9 2004

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A senior CIA official says the number of agents assigned to bringing down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is shrinking, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Michael Scheuer, one of the most senior intelligence officers in the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit told the newspaper more than 50 percent of those working on terrorism and against bin Laden are assigned to the job temporarily, for 30 to 90 days at a time.

Some of the most experienced officers have been assigned to Iraq or sent to the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security's new terrorist threat information center, he said.

In his opinion, Scheuer said, the result is "in the long term, we're less safe than we should be."

However, an agency spokeswoman who did not want to be identified challenged Scheuer's claim.

"His assertions are off the mark," she said. "There are more officers working against al-Qaida both at CIA headquarters and overseas than prior to Sept. 11 (2001)."

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