O What A Surprise

clipped from www.qando.net Via Scott at Flopping Aces this interesting find which calls into question a couple of existing myths about pre-invasion Iraq: Charles "Sam" Faddis, who led a CIA team into northern Iraq following the 9/11 attacks, says the Pentagon's "endless planning and delays" foiled a chance to wipe out a band of al Qaeda leaders who were fleeing American bombs in Afghanistan. Faddis says the delays, beginning in 2002, also facilitated the escape of some "key" al Qaeda figures, including terrorist scientists who were working on chemical and biological weapons. "Some died, some are still on the run," Faddis said in a telephone interview Tuesday, following his appearance on NPR's Diane Rehm Show to promote a new book, Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq. "The site was physically destroyed ... but certainly the research wasn't destroyed." Naturally, this starts trickling out now.