John Kiriakou's Dead Drop S1E14 Game On
15 snips
Feb 9, 2026 A 9/11-era counterterrorism narrative tracing CIA plans to ring Afghanistan and capture Osama bin Laden alive. Stories about early surveillance, missed timing on arming drones, and long-standing CIA–FBI rivalry. Personal stakes as a CIA officer pushes to join Pakistan operations and crafts propaganda and religious outreach strategies.
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CIA Had A Preexisting Bin Laden Plan
- The CIA already had a comprehensive plan to find and capture Osama bin Laden before 9/11.
- The plan combined covert bases, local blending teams, and capture-for-prosecution as its core objective.
Kofre Black's Global, Aggressive Strategy
- Kofre Black prioritized locating and capturing al-Qaeda leadership worldwide, not just in Afghanistan.
- He also pushed arming Predator drones and secured cabinet-level approval days before 9/11.
Interagency Rivalry Worsened Intelligence Failures
- Toxic institutional rivalry between the CIA and FBI contributed directly to missed warnings.
- Withheld information about hijackers in the U.S. helped produce the systemic failure that became 9/11.