--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: George Piro, had gathered evidence that…" description: "\"“George Piro, had gathered evidence that al-Qaeda had a network of adherents at American flight schools. Williams urged a nationwide investigation. He ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/tim-weiner-19114_years-of-experience_george-piro-had-gathered-evidence-that-a_1592416.jpg" --- # George Piro, had gathered evidence that al-Qaeda had a… ![“George Piro, had gathered evidence that al-Qaeda had a network of adherents at American flight schools. Williams urged a nationwide investigation. He was unsurprised when headquarters took no action; thirteen years of experience had taught him that counterintelligence and counterterrorism were…” quote by Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/tim-weiner-19114_years-of-experience_george-piro-had-gathered-evidence-that-a_1592416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/tim-weiner-19114_years-of-experience_george-piro-had-gathered-evidence-that-a_1592416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/tim-weiner-19114_years-of-experience_george-piro-had-gathered-evidence-that-a_1592416.jpg) > ““George Piro, had gathered evidence that al-Qaeda had a network of adherents at American flight schools. Williams urged a nationwide investigation. He was unsurprised when headquarters took no action; thirteen years of experience had taught him that counterintelligence and counterterrorism were “bastard stepchildren” at the FBI.”” [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The FBI historically deprioritized counterintelligence and counterterrorism, treating them as secondary concerns despite clear threats. **In simple terms:** FBI ignored warning signs about terrorist training. Key Takeaway Prioritize intelligence on threats. Themes bureaucracy security counterterrorism Mood cautious critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - policy review - agency reform - training programs - interagency cooperation Key Concepts institutional bias risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How can agencies overcome internal bias? - What safeguards ensure threats are acted on? A Different Perspective The FBI may face political pressure that limits action even with evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [ Our challenge is much more pervasive than it would be if we were just facing one enemy in one place. \[Instead there is\] the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/our-challenge-is-much-more-pervasive-than-it-would-be-if-we-were-just/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [A militant's profile lies not in his age, race, culture, or education; anyone can join or be adopted by the al Qaeda network, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-nance/a-militant-s-profile-lies-not-in-his-age-race-culture-or-education/) [Malcolm Nance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-nance/) > [There is no way the Americans are going to be able to carry out a full scale war against Iraq and at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-rashid/there-is-no-way-the-americans-are-going-to-be-able-to-carry-out-a/) [Ahmed Rashid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-rashid/) > [The blame for the 9/11 attacks lays squarely and exclusively with the Al-Qaeda network.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-granger/the-blame-for-the-9-11-attacks-lays-squarely-and-exclusively-with-the/) [Kay Granger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-granger/) > [US intelligence agencies will only use such data to meet specific security requirements: counterintelligence, counterterrorism, counterproliferation, cybersecurity, force protection for our troops and allies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/us-intelligence-agencies-will-only-use-such-data-to-meet-specific/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Counterterrorism analysts have known for years that al Qaeda prepares for attacks with elaborate 'targeting packages' of photographs and notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/counterterrorism-analysts-have-known-for-years-that-al-qaeda-prepares/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Afghanistan remains an opportunity to deal al Qaeda a vital strategic blow, especially since we have abandoned all operations - including counterterrorism operations -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-keane/afghanistan-remains-an-opportunity-to-deal-al-qaeda-a-vital-strategic/) [Jack Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-keane/) > [“The small scale of the groups within such networks helps them remain agile, while the many-to-many ties in the larger network ensure that even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zolli/the-small-scale-of-the-groups-within-such-networks-helps-them-remain/) Andrew Zolli > [“As President Bush made the case for a wider war against Iraq in his State of the Union address on January 28, 2003, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/as-president-bush-made-the-case-for-a-wider-war-against-iraq-in-his/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [We certainly have the best special operations forces in the world and know how to do counterterrorism extremely well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-certainly-have-the-best-special-operations-forces-in-the-world-and/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [Counterterrorism isn't really about the nunchakus, the guns and gadgets. It's about psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/counterterrorism-isn-t-really-about-the-nunchakus-the-guns-and/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [“counterterrorism efforts, through Richard Clarke and his interagency Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG). Spotlighting new concerns about unconventional attacks, these directives assigned tasks to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/counterterrorism-efforts-through-richard-clarke-and-his-interagency/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have to defeat ISIS. That is my highest counterterrorism goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-have-to-defeat-isis-that-is-my-highest-counterterrorism-goal/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I know what the counterterrorism feels like because I was there. But I also operated within limits. And within the United States government, we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-know-what-the-counterterrorism-feels-like-because-i-was-there-but-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I used to have a little saying I used when people said, 'What are your priorities?' I'd give them a bit of government alphabet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hayden/i-used-to-have-a-little-saying-i-used-when-people-said-what-are-your/) [Michael Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hayden/) ## More by Tim Weiner > [“Stellar Wind resurrected Cold War tactics with twenty-first-century technology. It let the FBI work with the NSA outside of the limits of the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/stellar-wind-resurrected-cold-war-tactics-with-twenty-first-century/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“The president and the vice president wanted the FBI to execute searches in secret, avoiding the strictures of the legal and constitutional standards set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/the-president-and-the-vice-president-wanted-the-fbi-to-execute/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“On December 4, 1998, the headline on the President’s Daily Brief, the most secret intelligence document in the government of the United States, read:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/on-december-4-1998-the-headline-on-the-president-s-daily-brief-the/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“Intelligence fails because it is human, no stronger than the power of one mind to understand another. (480)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/intelligence-fails-because-it-is-human-no-stronger-than-the-power-of/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“Where were the weapons of mass destruction? he asked. Did they exist at all? They did not, Saddam said. It had been a long-running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/where-were-the-weapons-of-mass-destruction-he-asked-did-they-exist-at/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“The other day we hauled in a guy named Abu Zubaydah,” President Bush said at a Republican fund-raiser in Greenwich, Connecticut, on April 9.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/the-other-day-we-hauled-in-a-guy-named-abu-zubaydah-president-bush/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“The attorney general also spelled out some of the authorities the FBI would use under the Patriot Act, which passed the Senate that same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/the-attorney-general-also-spelled-out-some-of-the-authorities-the-fbi/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“Mueller was embroiled in another ferocious argument over the rule of law and the role of the FBI as the interrogation fight festered. Vice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/mueller-was-embroiled-in-another-ferocious-argument-over-the-rule-of/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“In mid-September Soufan talked to an al-Qaeda prisoner named Ramzi Binalshibh, who was chained naked to the floor in a CIA black prison at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/in-mid-september-soufan-talked-to-an-al-qaeda-prisoner-named-ramzi/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“On June 20, 1951, less than four weeks after the Homer case broke, Hoover escalated the FBI’s Sex Deviates Program. The FBI alerted universities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/on-june-20-1951-less-than-four-weeks-after-the-homer-case-broke/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“Then, on December 14, 1999, an alert United States Customs agent in Port Angeles, Washington, stopped a nervous twenty-three-year-old Algerian named Ahmed Ressam who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/then-on-december-14-1999-an-alert-united-states-customs-agent-in-port/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“On July 6, he gave a speech to newspaper and television executives at the great columned building housing the National Archives and the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/on-july-6-he-gave-a-speech-to-newspaper-and-television-executives-at/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“The CIA officer at the black site relayed the report to his headquarters. The CIA’s director, George Tenet, was unhappy to learn that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/the-cia-officer-at-the-black-site-relayed-the-report-to-his/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [“Saddam said he had used the telephone only twice and rarely slept in the same bed two nights running since the first American war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/saddam-said-he-had-used-the-telephone-only-twice-and-rarely-slept-in/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [ “\[Re: J. Edgar Hoover\] His knowledge was enormous, though his mind was narrow.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/re-j-edgar-hoover-his-knowledge-was-enormous-though-his-mind-was/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) [Explore all 33 Tim Weiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) ## More Counterterrorism quotes > [I used to have a little saying I used when people said, 'What are your priorities?' I'd give them a bit of government alphabet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hayden/i-used-to-have-a-little-saying-i-used-when-people-said-what-are-your/) [Michael Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hayden/) > [Counterterrorism isn't really about the nunchakus, the guns and gadgets. It's about psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/counterterrorism-isn-t-really-about-the-nunchakus-the-guns-and/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [“counterterrorism efforts, through Richard Clarke and his interagency Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG). Spotlighting new concerns about unconventional attacks, these directives assigned tasks to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/counterterrorism-efforts-through-richard-clarke-and-his-interagency/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have to defeat ISIS. That is my highest counterterrorism goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-have-to-defeat-isis-that-is-my-highest-counterterrorism-goal/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We certainly have the best special operations forces in the world and know how to do counterterrorism extremely well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-certainly-have-the-best-special-operations-forces-in-the-world-and/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [I know what the counterterrorism feels like because I was there. But I also operated within limits. And within the United States government, we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-know-what-the-counterterrorism-feels-like-because-i-was-there-but-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ICE does a lot of other things that people don't realize. They work on counterterrorism, cyber security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacky-rosen/ice-does-a-lot-of-other-things-that-people-don-t-realize-they-work-on/) [Jacky Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacky-rosen/) > [The inattention of the Bush administration to the threat from al Qaeda had results. Shortly before 9/11, Bush's attorney general, John Ashcroft, turned down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-inattention-of-the-bush-administration-to-the-threat-from-al/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [The world of counterterrorism is like that old jigsaw puzzle in the back of the closet: Its many missing pieces and extra parts jumbled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-l-haney/the-world-of-counterterrorism-is-like-that-old-jigsaw-puzzle-in-the/) [Eric L. Haney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-l-haney/) > [We've evolved a lot since 9/11 also, in terms of our law enforcement capabilities, our intelligence capabilities, military, counterterrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-ve-evolved-a-lot-since-9-11-also-in-terms-of-our-law-enforcement/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think what we've learned is that the terrorist threat is serious, but it shifts. You cannot make a single person the sole focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bremer/i-think-what-we-ve-learned-is-that-the-terrorist-threat-is-serious/) [Paul Bremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bremer/) > [The scientific community should work as hard as possible to address major issues that affect our everyday lives such as climate change, infectious diseases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-scientific-community-should-work-as-hard-as-possible-to-address/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Counterterrorism analysts have known for years that al Qaeda prepares for attacks with elaborate 'targeting packages' of photographs and notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/counterterrorism-analysts-have-known-for-years-that-al-qaeda-prepares/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [The Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism will work on issues I am deeply passionate about given my combat experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/the-subcommittee-on-the-middle-east-north-africa-and-global/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I do not believe that a counterterrorism strategy all by itself, without a sufficient level of counterinsurgency, will work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/i-do-not-believe-that-a-counterterrorism-strategy-all-by-itself/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) Browse all 48 Counterterrorism quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“George Piro, had gathered evidence that al-Qaeda had a network of adherents at American flight schools. 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