CIA agent publicly chides White House for terror war

That basically sums up Scheuer's take on events within the intelligence community and the administration's policies. He has published two books in the past 2-1/2 years, "Through Our Enemies Eyes," and "Imperial Hubris," under "Anonymous." The agency had to clear the books for classified information and potential mentions of sources and methods, but couldn't prevent him from exercising his First Amendment right, agency officials say. The agency also permitted Scheuer to grant media interviews about the subjects of his books.

The first book was an in-depth look at Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network, and was very well received by experts on terrorism as well as policymakers . But his second, best-selling book released this past July, "Imperial Hubris," was nothing less than an indictment of the administration's war on terror. He criticized the administration for not immediately responding against bin Laden following the 9/11 attacks.

And he further wrote that the war in Iraq was "an avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked war against a foe who posed no immediate threat but whose defeat did offer economic advantages."

Even Robert Baer, a retired CIA operative who has written two books that are at least somewhat critical of government positions, says he thinks Scheuer's criticisms went beyond the acceptable. "The CIA should not be in a hostile position to the president," Mr. Baer says. "And the "Imperial Hubris" book had to look that way to the White House."

But the interviews in particular have rankled government officials. Scheuer was again permitted to talk "anonymously" with the media after his latest book. But he apparently went beyond what the CIA thought he would, and agency officials squelched his speaking engagements.

The interviews he did before being reined in, however, have continued to appear, including in Vanity Fair (November) and The Atlantic Monthly (December). The Atlantic article excerpts a letter that Scheuer sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee in early September. In it, he enumerates 10 instances since 1996 in which "the decisions of senior intelligence community bureaucrats ... have been at the core of our failure against Bin Laden." Scheuer also decided, without agency approval, that he would grant interviews about the Atlantic Monthly article.

"I've presented this information to two Investigator General studies before 9/11 and to two IG [Inspector General] studies inside our building after 9/11," Scheuer said in a telephone interview. "I've testified before the 9/11 commission and the Shelby-Goss [congressional] commissions. So I've exhausted all the internal mechanisms available to an agency officer ... but I think to the average American, this is important."

It's unknown how the CIA will handle the criticisms. Some say it will likely try to work out an arrangement that would require him to curtail his critiques. Others say the agency may sue to set an example. For now, the agency refuses to comment.

"Some people will say he is crazy to publicly say these things," says Charles Battaglia, former staff director for the Senate Intelligence Committee. "But others will say he's acting on the courage of his convictions."

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