INVESTIGATING
AL QAIDA
New York Special Agent Testifies Before the 9-11 Commission
from an Operational Perspective
06/18/04
On
June 16, Special Agent Debbie Doran of our New York
Office participated in the 12th and final public hearing
of the 9-11 Commission, joining FBI Executive Assistant
Director John Pistole, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald,
and CIA officials in Washington, DC.
Her
contribution? In her words, "how we,
at the 'street-agent' level, pursued Al Qaida and
some of what we learned."
Debbie
has been investigating international terrorism in
New York City since 1996. At that point she joined
a squad in the New York field office that had long
historical roots in terrorism investigations--starting
with the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force over
20 years ago and gaining special expertise as it responded
to attacks like the 1993 World Trade Center and also
helped prevent major attacks, such as the one aimed
at New York City monuments and bridges in 1995.
She
reported for duty in December 1996, just months after
the FBI had opened, first, an intelligence investigation
into Usama bin Laden, then a criminal investigation.
And
just one week after she first hung up her coat in
the squad room, the FBI established Jamal al Fadl,
an Al Qaida defector nicknamed "Junior,"
as a cooperating witness against Al Qaida--thanks
to the assistance of CIA, which had first taken Junior
up on his offer of providing "special information."
Debbie
spoke on behalf of her squad members and all members
and partners of New York's Joint Terrorism Task Forces
(and really all law enforcement and intelligence agents
and analysts across the nation who are dedicated to
preventing acts of terrorism) when she detailed the
pursuit of Al Qaida and "some of what we have
learned."
We
encourage you to read the
full testimony. Among other things, you
will learn:
-
When the FBI identified the first seeds of Islamic-extremist
terrorism in the U.S.
- The
role of Khalid Sheikh Mohamed in Ramzi Youssef's
terrorist plots in New York and Manila--and when
and where he was arrested.
-
How the "corporate" command-and-control
structure of the Al Qaida organization has been
identified...and what it looks like.
- What
we know about the training camps, methods, tradecraft,
and intent of Al Qaida.
