The FBI’s Radical Fundamentalist Unit Ignored This Radical Fundamentalist
Summary
In August 2001, the FBI's Minneapolis office sent a memo about Zacarias Moussaoui, who was suspected of planning an attack involving an airplane. The FBI’s Radical Fundamentalist Unit at headquarters did not take immediate action, focusing instead on obtaining a surveillance warrant. The CIA considered Moussaoui a possible threat but did not see him as an immediate danger or connect him to other intelligence.Key Facts
- On August 18, 2001, the FBI Minneapolis office reported on Zacarias Moussaoui, who was under suspicion for planning an attack involving a plane.
- Moussaoui was reluctant to be interviewed or let authorities search his belongings or electronics.
- The Minneapolis office believed Moussaoui and his roommate were linked to a larger radical fundamentalist group planning violent actions.
- FBI headquarters focused on securing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant rather than a easier criminal search warrant.
- The FBI reached out to the CIA, which had no prior information on Moussaoui.
- The CIA labeled Moussaoui as a "suspect airline suicide attacker" but did not see him as an immediate or connected threat.
- The FBI and CIA underestimated the urgency and seriousness of Moussaoui’s case before the 9/11 attacks.
- Intelligence used coded language for targets like the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which was revealed after this time.
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