csua.org/u/9yp -> www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/12/60minutes/main655407.shtml
The former agent, Michael Scheuer, speaks to Steve Kroft in his first tel evision interview without disguise to be broadcast on 60 Minutes, Sunday , Nov. Scheuer was until recently known as the "anonymous" author of two books c ritical of the west's response to bin Laden and al Qaeda, the most recen t of which is titled "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror." No one in the west knows more about the al Qaeda leader than Scheuer, who has tracked him since the mid-1980s. The CIA allowed him to write the b ooks provided he remain anonymous, but now is allowing him to reveal him self for the first time on Sunday's broadcast. Even if bin Laden had a nuclear weapon, he probably wouldn't have used it for a lack of proper religious authority - authority he has now.
found that he was perfectly within his rights to use t hem. Muslims argue that the United States is responsible for millions of dead Muslims around the world, so reciprocity would mean you could kill millions of Americans." Scheuer says bin Laden was criticized by some Muslims for the Sept. But now, bin Laden has addressed the American people and given fair warning. "Their intention is to end the war as soon as they can, and to ratchet up the pain for the Americans until we get out of their region," says Sche uer. "If they acquire the weapon, they will use it, whether it's chemica l, biological or some sort of nuclear weapon." As the head of the CIA unit charged with tracking bin Laden from 1996 to 1999, Scheuer says he never had enough people to do the job right. "One of the questions that should have been asked of Mr Tenet was why we re there always enough people for the public relations office, for the a cademic outreach office, for the diversity and multi-cultural office," s ays Scheuer. "All those things are admirable and necessary but none of t hem are protecting the American people from a foreign threat." And the threat posed by bin Laden is also underestimated, says Scheuer. continuing to characterize Osama bin Laden as a thug, as a gangster," he says. "Until we respect him, sir, we are going to die in numbers that are proba bly unnecessary, yes. He's a very, very talented man and a very worthy o pponent." Until Friday, Scheuer was a senior official in the CIA's counter terroris m unit and a special adviser to the head of the agency's bin Laden unit.
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