Where is James Bond when you need him? Certainly 007 could easily find or even eliminate bin Laden and his Al Queda network — sending them either to their graves or forcing them to beg for our forgiveness. Sadly, "It’s nothing like James Bond," said Gene Poteat, President of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. "We wish that it were."

Exactly where was our Intelligence at the time of Sept. 11th? Poteat, who served in the CIA for thirty years and spent part of that time as a CIA agent in London, Scandinavia, the Middle East and the Far East, said, "Anytime you do not prevent a crime, you’ve failed." Poteat was a scientific intelligence officer for the CIA with knowledge in missiles and weapons of mass destruction. His innovative breakthrough technology relating to the U-2 and SR-71 blackbird reconnaissance aircrafts and spy satellites enabled the CIA to collect intelligence from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Poteat also developed special technology that could spoof enemy radar systems into seeing a "ghost aircraft" so that stealth airplanes could fly over enemy territories safely.

Poteat stresses that Americans need to know that there are literally hundreds of threats that come into the CIA and the FBI daily — some of them are credible, others are hoaxes. What most people don’t appreciate is the number of credible terrorists attacks that have been successfully averted. Most of these possible attacks remain secrets, except for a few, such as the recent case where terrorists, who planned to blow up the Los Angeles airport, were caught trying to cross into the U.S. from Canada.

This does not mean that the CIA is blameless. "When they bombed the World Trade Center the first time, we should have known that they wanted those buildings," Poteat said. But he adds, "You can’t blame any one person." Not only did intelligence fall short, but Congress might also be accused of tying the hands of the FBI and the CIA denying them the freedom they needed to track down terrorists. As an example, "Our immigration policies are part of our vulnerability and weakness," said Poteat. Americans’ willingness to roll out the welcome mat for immigrants has "favored immigration from third-world countries, including the Middle East," Poteat added. He also points out that the Congress prevented the CIA from dealing with "unsavory characters," even if they had useful intelligence information.