Furthermore the alleged hijackers were not careful. They made blatant errors on VISA applications. Drew attention at a flight school by leaving the cockpit of a plane while it was on the runway. Moussaoui acted so suspiciously that he got arrested.

We are told Atta, Jarrah and al-Shehhi were students who became radicalized at the al-Quds mosque in Hamburg and were then recruited by al Qaeda. Students with some terrorist training in Afghanistan and some pilot training in the US vs. intelligence experts and counterterrorism professionals with years of training and the best resources available.

CIA Director Tenet finds the briefing Cofer Black just gave him (see July 10, 2001) so alarming that he calls National Security Adviser Rice from his car as he heads to the White House and says he needs to see her right away, even though he has regular weekly meetings with her. [Washington Post, 10/1/2006] Tenet, Black, and an unnamed third CIA official brief Rice on the latest intelligence. Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke are also present. LINK

Why weren’t Middleton (head of FBI’s UBLU), Frasca (head of FBI’s RFU) or Watson (head of FBI’s Counterterrorism Division) at this meeting? Didn’t the FBI have investigative jurisdiction in the US? As for the notion of a turf battle, Rice and Clarke weren’t CIA. In fact, their jobs entailed coordinating other agencies to a certain degree. Why didn’t they involve the FBI or at the very least give the FBI a full briefing afterwards? This doesn’t come across as incompetence. Rather, it suggests dereliction of duty at a minimum.