A great deal of conĀtroverĀsy has arisĀen about what was known about the moveĀments and locĀaĀtion of Osama bin Laden in the wake of his killĀing by US SpeciĀal ForĀces on May 2 in AbĀbotĀtabad, PakisĀtan. QuesĀtions about what inĀtelĀligĀence agenĀcies knew or didn't know about al-Qaeda acĀtivitĀies go back some years, most proĀminentĀly in the conĀtroverĀsy over the exĀistĀence of a joint US SpeciĀal ForĀces ComĀmand and DeĀfenĀse InĀtelĀligĀence AgenĀcy (DIA) data minĀing efĀfort known as "Able DangĀer."
What hasn't been disĀcusĀsed is a SepĀtembĀer 2008 DeĀpartĀment of DeĀfenĀse (DoD) inĀspecĀtor generĀal (IG) reĀport, sumĀmarizĀing an inĀvesĀtigaĀtion made in reĀsponĀse to an acĀcusaĀtion by a Joint ForĀces InĀtelĀligĀence ComĀmand (JFIC) whistlebĀlowĀer, which inĀdicated that a senĀior JFIC comĀmandĀer had halĀted acĀtions trackĀing Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11. JFIC is tasĀked with an inĀtelĀligĀence misĀsĀion in supĀport of UniĀted States Joint Force ComĀmand (USJFCOM).
The reĀport, titĀled "ReĀview of Joint ForĀces InĀtelĀligĀence ComĀmand ReĀsponĀse to 9/11 ComĀmissĀion," was deĀclasĀsified last year, in reĀsponĀse to a Freedom of InĀforĀmaĀtion Act reĀquest from StevĀen AfĀtergood at the FederaĀtion of American ScientĀists.
The whistlebĀlowĀer, who the IG reĀport idenĀtified as a formĀer JFIC emĀployee reĀpresenĀted only by his coĀdename "IRON MAN," claimed in lettĀers writtĀen to both the DoD inĀspecĀtor generĀal in May 2006 and, lackĀing any apĀparent acĀtion by the IG, to the OfĀfice of the NationĀal DiĀrecĀtor of InĀtelĀligĀence (ODNI) in OcĀtobĀer 2007, that JFIC had withĀheld opĀerationĀal inĀforĀmaĀtion about al-Qaeda when queried in March 2002 about its acĀtivitĀies by the DIA and highĀer comĀmand ofĀficiĀals on beĀhalf of the 9/11 ComĀmissĀion. The ODNI pasĀsed the comĀplaint back to the IG, who then opĀened an inĀvesĀtigaĀtion under the ausĀpices of the deĀputy inĀspecĀtor generĀal for inĀtelĀligĀence.