Ex-spy chief attacks FBI tactics

Rimington 'The extent of al Qaeda seems to have escaped observation'

LONDON, England -- U.S. investigators failed properly to detect the threat posed by al Qaeda ahead of the September 11 attacks, the former head of British intelligence says.

Dame Stella Rimington made the comment in a preface to a new edition of her controversial book "Open Secret," first published last year.

The ex-boss of MI5, Britain's domestic security service, also criticised the response by politicians adding that the war against terrorism was unwinnable.

Dame Stella writes in the book, extracts of which have been published by the Guardian newspaper: "From the political reaction it was as if the fact of an attack had come as a total surprise to governments and counter-terrorist authorities.

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

"The history of terrorism in the 20th century shows that a war on terrorism cannot be won unless the causes of terrorism are eradicated by making the world a place free of grievances -- something that will not happen."

She questions the ability of the FBI to detect the terror attack, saying the sifting of evidence "may not have been done sufficiently thoroughly before September 11."

"The nature and extent of the al Qaeda network seems to have escaped observation," she says.

"If it is true that the FBI had some intelligence, however vague, that a remarkable number of Islamic students were taking courses at U.S. flying schools, among other things security measures at U.S. airports should have been reviewed."

The ex-spy chief said assessment and analysis was needed to calculate potential threats in addition to simply gathering intelligence with human spies and hi-tech methods.

A super intelligence unit, such as President George W. Bush's creation of a Department of Homeland Security, would not work either, "merely adding to the confusion," she says.

The best solution would be to make it more difficult for terrorist groups by "doing what has been done before but doing more of it and doing it more effectively."

Another possibility would be to infiltrate al Qaeda or nurture informers -- but both would be difficult because of al Qaeda's intense ideological or religious fervour.

She also said the use of "revenge" rhetoric among politicians would not dampen strong emotions.

"Politicians should use words of scorn rather than the rhetoric of revenge," she said.

"We must try not to allow our reaction to give the terrorists even greater satisfaction than they get from the death and destruction they cause."