FAE – Business School – 2002

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War in the shadows

By David Ignatius

The White House and Pentagon are giving newsy briefings each day on the progress of the war against terrorism. But the Central Intelligence Agency’s part in that battle has truly been a war in the shadows.

The CIA isn’t talking much, reasonably enough. But some soundings last week with intelligence sources shed a little light on what the agency is doing around the world – and on its broad strategy against Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network.

Perhaps the simplest explanation is that the CIA is trying to build a global "intelligence coalition" similar to the overt military and diplomatic alliance the Bush administration has gathered since Sept. 11. The aim of this coalition is to penetrate the terrorist network, disrupt its operations and, in the sort of language favored by President Bush, "take it down." (…)

The agency’s broad goal is to recreate the kind of powerful intelligence network it maintained against the Soviet Union during the Cold War years. In those days, the CIA would sometimes create local security services almost from scratch: train their people, pump them up with money and use them as witting or unwitting assets in monitoring and checking the Soviets. (…)

This is a war in which money can work wonders. It helps the CIA build up the intelligence services of its allies. And it helps the CIA buy the loyaty of people who know al Qaeda’s secrets and can subvert its operations.

What gives top CIA officials some confidence – and should also cause them some embarrassment – is that they have been fighting a war against bin Laden for five years. This is not an enemy who suddenly sneaked up on the United States in the dark. Starting in 1996, the CIA even created what it called a "shadow station"targeted solely on bin Laden.

The CIA views al Qaeda as a masterfully elusive foe. When al Qaeda mounts a complex operation such as the Sept. 11 suicide attacks, it already has its next operation planned. When it discovers that its communications links have been blown, as apparently happened after a press leak in 1998, the organization becomes further decentralized, so that decisions are taken by individual cells without requiring authorization from a cave in Afghanistan.

The agency believes al Qaeda wasn’t just lucky in its terrorist spectacular – it was supremely well trained. The hijackers appear to have understood FAA* boarding procedures and even the fact that pilots are trained to cooperate initially with hijackers (a tactic that has usually saved lives in the past). (…)
What gives the CIA some confidence it will eventually prevail in this shadow war is that it has had a certain number of secret successes in thwarting bin Laden. The agency was on global alert for an al Qaeda terrorism spectacular in January 2000 timed to coincide with global celebration of the millennium.

The CIA feared this threat would involve a number of separate attacks, including the destruction of a huge hotel in a Middle Eastern country, the hijacking of tourist buses there and a savage bombing at Los Angeles International Airport. That terror wave was stopped by a combination of good intelligence and police work – and covert action abroad that disrupted the terrorists.

A similar success against al Qaeda is said to have been achieved last summer. From May to July, the CIA was braced for attacks on American targets abroad. The hit list was thought to have included U.S. embassies in Yemen and two European capitals, as well as a U.S. facility in Turkey. Those operations, too, were disrupted.

And then came the disaster of Sept. 11. The lesson, perhaps, is that you won’t find terrorist plots unless you know where to look. That’s why intelligence will be decisive in this new war.

CIA Director George Tenet has made mistakes and, being human, will undoubtedly make more. But the CIA does seem to have a coherent strategy in this fight. What the agency will need now are patience, fortitude and that essential ingredient in warfare – good luck.

* FAA – Federal Aviation Administration

(The Washington Post, October 14th 2001)

1.O título do artigo ("War in the Shadows"), analisado após a leitura do texto, permite concluir que:

a)a ação terrorista de Osama bin Laden, por ser travada de maneira difusa e obscura, é condenável sob qualquer ponto de vista;
b)O partido político "Al Qaeda" ainda não conseguiu reconhecimento oficial por parte dos norte-americanos e, dessa forma, precisa operar clandestinamente;
c)a CIA tem desempenhado um papel importante na guerra contra o terrorismo, apesar de não divulgar informações a respeito de seu envolvimento estratégico;
d)o presidente Bush autorizou a realização de sucessivos ataques aéreos no Afeganistão, desde que estes ocorram à noite para dificultar uma reação do governo Talibã;
e)a guerra contra o terrorismo será longa e difícil de ser vencida.

2.Segundo o texto, a CIA:

a)tem desenvolvido uma estratégia de combate ao terrorismo que vai de encontro às táticas planejadas pela Casa Branca, pelo Pentágono e pela Comunidade Européia;
b)está preocupada em manter a população norte-americana minuciosamente informada sobre a sua estratégia;
c)precisa conseguir a aprovação de uma verba adicional no Congresso para se tornar mais eficaz no combate ao terrorismo;
d)não tem alcance internacional, uma vez que é responsável pelo combate ao terrorismo apenas em território norte-americano;
e)está buscando cooperação internacional para conseguir desmantelar o terrorismo.

3.O principal objetivo do texto é:

a)informar o leitor sobre a postura do Presidente Bush em relação aos atentados ocorridos em 11/09/2001;
b)influenciar a opinião pública européia para que esta passe a apoiar as estratégias da CIA;
c)apoiar o presidente Bush na sua cruzada contra o terrorismo;
d)informar o leitor sobre as estratégias adotadas pela CIA no combate ao terrorismo;
e)revelar as contradições e a ineficácia do governo norte-americano atual.

4.Assinale a única conclusão que NÃO é mencionada ao final do texto:

a)Com mais investimento em planejamento estratégico, a CIA possivelmente conseguirá evitar que novos ataques terroristas aconteçam.
b)Para ser bem-sucedida em suas investidas, além de paciência e firmeza, a CIA precisará contar com a sorte.
c)O diretor da CIA, por ser humano, continuará a cometer erros.
d)A estratégia adotada pela CIA para combater o terrorismo perpetrado por Osama bin Laden parece ser coerente.
e)O papel da CIA será decisivo na luta contra o terrorismo.

5.Analise as asserções abaixo feitas sobre o primeiro parágrafo:

I."Newsy" tem a função de qualificar o substantivo "briefings".
II.O "´s" em "Central Intelligence Agency’s" indica o caso possessivo.
III.O tempo verbal utilizado na última frase revela que a batalha foi iniciada no momento presente e terá uma duração futura imprevisível.

Assinale a alternativa correta:

a)Apenas I é verdadeira.
b)Apenas II é verdadeira.
c)Apenas III é verdadeira.
d)I e II são verdadeiras.
e)I, II e III são verdadeiras.

6.Mark the alternative that has the most suitable sequence of synonyms for the underlined words in the following sentences:

I.But some soundings last week with intelligence sources shed a little light on what the agency is doing around the world – and on its broad strategy against Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network.
II.The aim of this coalition is to penetrate the terrorist network, disrupt its operations (…)
III.What gives the CIA some confidence it will eventually prevail in this shadow war is that it has had a certain number of secret successes in thwarting bin Laden.

a)staff members, extensive, purpose, win;
b)citizen, national, objective, succeed in;
c)informers, limited, intention, gain;
d)officers, narrow, goal, defeat;
e)people, global, point, fail.

7."This is a war in which money can work wonders. It helps the CIA build up the intelligence services of its allies. And it helps the CIA buy the loyalty of people who know al Qaeda’s secrets and can subvert its operation." The underlined pronouns refer to the following words respectively:

a)war, CIA, al Qaeda’s secrets;
b)money, CIA, al Qaeda;
c)money, European Community, Osama bin Laden;
d)wonders, USA, CIA;
e)war, intelligence services, allies;

8."The lesson, perhaps, is that you won’t find terrorist plots unless you know where to look." The underlined expression can be replaced by:

a)although;
b)despite the fact that;
c)except on the condition that;
d)even though;
e)even if.

9.Mark the only INCORRECT answer:

I."By this time next year, our costs will have risen by 25%."
II."She’ll be arriving this evening."
III."I’m going to chase them up if they haven’t delivered the goods by Friday."
IV."Next Friday is a public holiday in Brazil."
V."They’re just about to start the meeting."

a)In sentence (I) a future event is being predicted.
b)In sentence (II) a plan or arrangement is being described.
c)In sentence (III) an intention is being presented.
d)In sentence (IV) a fact is being presented.
e)In sentence (V) a past event is being described.

10.Mark the only INCORRECT statement:

a)The reported speech of "I will not come to the meeting tomorrow." is "He said he would not come to the meeting the next day."
b)The reported speech of "This is the first bad cheque we’ve had this month." is "He said that that was the first bad cheque they had had that month."
c)The report speech of "Can we send you these invoices today?" is "He asked whether he could send us those invoices the same day."
d)The reported speech of "Which of these two statements of accounts is a true reflection of the firm’s performance?" is "He wanted to know which of those two statements of accounts was a true reflection of the firm’s performance."
e)The reported speech of "Will you audit the figures for this year?" is "He said that we will audit the figures for this year."