Britain accused of 9/11 blunder [View All]

Commission says FBI, attorney general and UK agencies failed to take terror threat seriously enough

Julian Borger in Washington
Wednesday April 14, 2004
The Guardian

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British intelligence about a terrorist suspect arrested in the US in 2001 could have helped disrupt the September 11 plot, but an urgent request for information was treated as a low priority in London, a commission of inquiry found yesterday.

The finding marked the first time that Britain has been drawn into hearings by Washington's September 11 commission, and came on a day when the FBI and attorney general, John Ashcroft, also came under blistering attack for their alleged failure to take the al-Qaida threat seriously enough.

A report by the commission staff published last night said that the FBI tried to find out as much as possible about a French citizen, Zacarias Moussaoui, who was arrested on August 16 as he was learning how to fly a jumbo jet on a flight simulator.

As Mr Moussaoui, now on trial for his involvement in the September 11 plot, had once lived in London, an FBI legal attaché in London "promptly prepared a written request of the British government for information concerning Moussaoui and hand delivered the request on August 21.
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Edit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,1191483,00.html
Uncomfortable stuff ahead of Poodle's visit to the UN tomorrow and his pow wow with Shrub on Friday.