The truth is, our people are being led by a group of self saving, greedy, amoral members of Congress, who I submit, do not have our best interests at heart.

Any good general knows that his army is only as good as his intelligence agents. The 9-11 reports point to some holes in our intelligence capabilities. But in the main, it is the usual political game here in the US, of using our human intelligence agencies as scapegoats.

Beginning with the deliberately leaked Iran /Contra information by a foreign press, a systematic disinformation and discreditation campaign has been perpetrated against our intelligence agencies, by those on the Hill, who have much to hide. Until the events of September 11, we have had little in the way of incountry intel, throughout the Middle East. The few case officers still extant over there, who attempted to file warning reports about the current pre-911 situation, were either ignored, or stepped on hard. Robert Baer, a former CIA officer, who spent years in the Middle East, describes a hell of political intrigue, that effectively hobbled any reasonable attempts to warn of an impending strike here at home and abroad. His book, Sleeping With The Devil, provides a glimpse as to who is really responsible for the intelligence failures here. "Robert Baer was part of the Central Intelligence Agency for twenty-one years; for most of that time, he worked for the Directorate of Operations in the Middle East as a field officer. He is the author of See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism. His article for The Atlantic is adapted from his new book, Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Its Soul for Saudi Crude, to be released in July."

Now the politicians, including Ted Kennedy, are embracing this as the new bible for curbing intel, once again. The truth is, our people are being led by a group of self serving, greedy, amoral members of Congress, who I submit, do not have our best interests at heart. Politics hurts intelligence and it's analysis. This is the only aspect of the report I concur with. I have no problem with oversight and accountability by people who must deal with the darkest most terrifying side of life. But, I do object to the using of, and pressuring analysts to skew reports for political gain.

The idea of 1 individual overseeing all intelligence agencies is not only unwise, it's dangerous. I thought we were striving for interagency cooperation, and not creating an intelligence autocracy. Plus, it is redundant, as most agencies are working closely with the Office of Homeland Security. The agents who put their lives on the line, out in the hostile, dark places of this world, deserve every bit as much support as our soldiers do. These courageous men and women work tirelessly to keep us safe, while we enjoy our inherent freedoms. They often die, unrecognised and unmarked, save by the people they work with, and of course their families. They deserve better than a finger pointing exercise.

The blame for 9-11 and it's aftermath rests squarely on those in Washington who through greed and political expedience, sold us. Congress needs to be held more closely accountable itself in this, though I doubt that will happen, anytime soon. Unless we, as a country, start reading, understanding and insisting that the pressure tactics on our human intelligence agencies stops, we are in deep trouble.

Today, Tom Ridge issued a very detailed, comprehensive alert, showing just how methodically the projected attacks are planned. yet, as soon as he was done, some politician suggests this may be politically motivated? It is apparent the same forces are at work still to quell and discredit the very people trying to protect us. Take the time to go back and research the Iran/Contra scandal and move forward. Read Robert Baer's books, and follow it with your own research, as I did. We must not let history repeat itself, but as citizens, become more informed and proactive about a subject that affects all of us.