Up Front | Letters to the Editor

March 2002: Vol. 81, No. 2

WRITE US!
Kent Hannon
Stegeman Coliseum/301A
UGA, Athens, GA 30602

Wanted: more spies on the ground

Professor Loch Johnson relied on inaccurate information in portraying the FBI as "asleep at the wheel" in its handling of the events prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks ("Wanted: more spies on ground," GM, Dec. '01). He cites two examples of how the FBI "fouled up" the investigation, both of which are untrue.

First, professor Johnson states that prior to Sept. 11 the FBI refused to open an investigation on Zacarius Moussaoui, the individual recently indicted on conspiracy charges. This is not true. The FBI initiated a vigorous investigation of Moussaoui on Aug. 5, 2001, the day a Minneapolis flight school alerted the FBI to his suspicious behavior—behavior which did not include telling instructors that he only wanted to learn how to fly big planes, not how to take off or land.

After the government arrested Moussaoui on an immigration violation the following day, the FBI continued to pursue its investigation to the fullest extent permitted by law. The investigation, which included efforts to obtain a court-authorized search authority, was ongoing on Sept. 11 and uncovered nothing that could have been used to identify the Sept. 11 plot. Professor Johnson's misunderstanding that an investigation was not opened on Moussaoui may stem from the fact that the search authority had not been obtained due to Constitutional constraints.

Professor Johnson also contends that the FBI "didn't pay too much attention" to a notice in August 2001 that two of the individuals who turned out to be hijackers had entered the United States several months earlier. While the concern at the time about these two individuals was unrelated to anything suggesting any kind of attack, the FBI took the notice very seriously. In the few days between learning that they had come into the country several months earlier and Sept. 11, the FBI conducted an investigation in an effort to locate the two individuals. Those efforts were not successful, largely due to the lack of any reliable information as to their where-abouts, not to indifference on the part of the FBI.

ELENI PRYLES KALISCH (ABJ '83)
Chief, Government Relations
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C.

Loch Johnson replies:

I based my assertions on several newspaper reports in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, which, as far as I know, have not been retracted by the newspapers, nor adequately responded to by the FBI. I spoke by telephone with the Los Angeles Times reporter, who told me that, after interviewing many people in the CIA and the FBI, the warning about the two hijackers was given only "routine" status at the FBI—in part because the CIA had failed to emphasize the urgency.

As for the Minneapolis case, all the papers I read said that the FBI field office there did not receive the cooperation it thought it should have from bureau headquarters in Washington, D.C. I understand that the responsibility of the chief of government relations for the FBI is to make it look good in public, but here's the bottom line: the FBI is responsible for protecting the United States against terrorist attacks. I'll let Georgia Magazine readers judge how good a job it did.

LOCH JOHNSON, professor
UGA political science dept.
Athens

Tower of strength at Ground Zero

I enjoyed the article, "Tower of strength at Ground Zero" (GM, Dec. '01). I am a geologist with the Army Corps of Engineers and a member of the corps' Emergency Operations Debris Team, and I was involved with the World Trade Center site, working as a Federal Emergency Management Authority inspector. What I experienced working at Ground Zero for 30 days, I will never forget! We worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, and had only two days off due to memorial services and President Bush's visit.

I walked virtually all over the site each night, and on two occasions explored the sub-floors (B-1 to B-5) beneath the World Trade Center Plaza and buildings 5 and 6, performing damage inspections while taking photos and collecting information for FEMA. I also observed many bodies being recovered as the excavators and fire department recovery crews worked their way deeper and deeper into the countless tons of debris.

I experienced things there I will not soon forget, possibly never will, including the senior fireman who visited the site daily searching for his missing fireman son. The experiences of Ground Zero are certain to be published by many over the years, but I am content knowing I did the best I could possibly do for my country and for the fine citizens of New York during my tour of duty there. The highlight of my visit was meeting and shaking hands with President Bush, Mayor Rudy Guiliani, and Gov. George Pataki.

TONY KITTNER (MST '95)
Cove, Utah

Searching for a cancer inhibitor

I recently had a chance to read Georgia Magazine, and I was moved by the story of professor Michael Pierce and the research he is performing that could potentially be a cure for cancer ("Searching for a cancer inhibitor," GM, Dec. '01). My wife, Elisa Joy, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. She died April 17, 2001, with her loving husband by her side.

Elisa had earned master's degrees in both computer science and biomedical engineering. She wanted to use that knowledge to advance medical imaging, and she worked on such a project for the federal government. Enclosed is a $250 donation to the UGA Foundation in memory of my late wife. It is the least I can do, especially since I know that my alma mater is on the front lines of cancer research.

SCOTT BARMAN (BS '98)
North Potomac, Md.

Touring with the best

I enjoyed reading the article about my School of Music colleague, Angela Jones-Reuss ("Touring with the best," GM, Dec. '01), but one error should be brought to your attention. Beethoven is credited with having a wife named Leonora. The man never married, and Leonora is the heroine of his only opera, "Fidelio."

RICHARD ZIMDARS
UGA School of Music
Athens

America's best college town

I enjoyed very much your cover story on "America's Best College Town" (GM, Sept. '01) and your editor's column about how you fell in love with Athens. I was fortunate to be a student at UGA in the fall of 1980. I lived in an old house on Hall Street with my brother and a friend (we paid $100-a-month rent!), and it was without a doubt the best time of my life. There is no place like Athens. It had everything then, and now it has even more. I loved it so much that I even moved back briefly after entering the real world in 1982. I commuted to work in Monroe for four months. Now dug in as a sportswriter here in Mississippi, I rarely get back to Athens—and all that stuff in the magazine made me miss it even more. I need to plan a visit soon. Go Dogs!

MIKE CHRISTENSEN (ABJ '82)
Brandon, Miss.

"Teacher of teachers"

As a graduate of UGA's School of Forest Resources, I have always remembered being inspired early on by a very special biology teacher at Marietta's Sprayberry High School in the mid-1960s—and, in fact, being named Biology Student of the Year at that time, completely to the credit of my remarkable instructor. So you might imagine my delight in noticing Ronald Simpson's recognition as a "Teacher of Teachers" in the June '01 issue of Georgia Magazine ("Honors Day celebrates joy of learning"). He is truly one of the finest educators I have ever known, and I want to congratulate him on achieving the excellence in his profession that was clearly his destiny.

TERRY TERRELL (BSFR '74)
Chief pilot, Georgia Baptist LifeFlight
Atlanta