Top White
House anti-terror boss resigns
By P. Mitchell Prothero
From the Washington Politics
& Policy Desk
Published 3/19/2003
5:37 PM
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WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- The top National Security
Council official in the war on terror resigned this week for
what a NSC spokesman said were personal reasons, but
intelligence sources say the move reflects concern that the
looming war with Iraq is hurting the fight against
terrorism.
Rand Beers would not comment for this article, but he and
several sources close to him are emphatic that the resignation
was not a protest against an invasion of Iraq. But the same
sources, and other current and former intelligence officials,
described a broad consensus in the anti-terrorism and
intelligence community that an invasion of Iraq would divert
critical resources from the war on terror.
Beers has served as the NSC's senior director for
counter-terrorism only since August. The White House said
Wednesday that he officially remains on the job and has yet to
set a departure date.
"Hardly a surprise," said one former intelligence official.
"We have sacrificed a war on terror for a war with Iraq. I
don't blame Randy at all. This just reflects the widespread
thought that the war on terror is being set aside for the war
with Iraq at the expense of our military and intel resources
and the relationships with our allies."
A Senate Intelligence Committee staffer familiar with the
resignation agreed that it was not a protest against the war
against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but confirmed that
frustration is widespread in the anti-terror establishment and
played a part in Beers' decision.
"Randy said that he was 'just tired' and did not have an
interest in adding the stress that would come with a war with
Iraq," the source said.
The source said that the concern by the administration
about low morale in the intelligence community led national
security adviser Condoleezza Rice to ask Beers twice during an
exit interview whether the resignation was a protest against
the war with Iraq. The source said that although Beers
insisted it was not, the tone of the interview concerned Rice
enough that she felt she had to ask the question twice.
"This is a very intriguing decision (by Beers)," said
author and intelligence expert James Bamford. "There is a
predominant belief in the intelligence community that an
invasion of Iraq will cause more terrorism than it will
prevent. There is also a tremendous amount of embarrassment by
intelligence professionals that there have been so many lies
out of the administration -- by the president, (Vice President
Dick) Cheney and (Secretary of State Colin) Powell -- over
Iraq."
Bamford cited a recent address by President Bush that cited
documents, which allegedly proved Iraq was continuing to
pursue a nuclear program, that were later shown to be
forgeries.
"It is absurd that the president of the United States
mentioned in a speech before the world information from phony
documents and no one got fired," Bamford said. "That alone has
offended intelligence professionals throughout the
services."
But some involved in the fight on terror said that it was
dangerous to look too far into one resignation -- particularly
from an official who has not blamed the war on Iraq.
"I found his resignation shocking," said one official
closely involved in the domestic fight on terror. "And it
might reflect a certain frustration over the allocation of
resources. But I'm not positive that there's a consensus
(among intelligence services) that deposing Saddam's regime is
a bad idea for fighting terror. I think that there are serious
concerns about resources and alienating allies, but some of us
see an upside."
But others point out that the CIA warned Congress last year
that an invasion might lead to a rise in terrorism. This, they
say, is evidence there's more than just ambivalence about the
war among the spy community.
"If it was your job to prevent terror attacks, would you be
happy about an action that many see as unnecessary, that is
almost guaranteed to cause more terror in the short-term?"
said one official. "I know I'm not (happy)."
Beers joined the NSC in August after heading the State
Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
branch, where he ran the Plan Colombia program to fight
narco-traffickers in that country. Beers served both Bush
administrations as well as serving in similar capacities with
both the Clinton and Reagan administrations.
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© 2001-2003 United Press International
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