Clinton Administration Bungled Chance to Grab Mohammed

In the wake of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s capture, profiles of him are emerging. This one is from the Washington Post. It is pretty predictable stuff until the last paragraph:
“The object of a U.S manhunt for years, Mohammed narrowly escaped captured in 1996. At that time, he was staying with a member of the Qatari royal family at a farm outside Doha. The FBI wanted to snatch him, but others in the U.S. government balked. The Qatari government was notified instead, and by the time an agreement to turn him over was reached, Mohammed was gone.”
This appears to exceed even the usual fecklessness of the Clinton administration. Given that Mohammed was staying with a member of the royal family, it seems a little odd to notify the Qatari government of our desire to arrest him. And note that it was the much-maligned FBI that wanted to snatch Mohammed, while “others in the U.S. government balked.” What do you suppose are the chances that we ever find out who those “others” were?

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