Parlez, S'il Vous Plait

By Bruce Crumley

Investigations following the Sept. 11 attacks demonstrated that cooperation between national intelligence agencies is vital in battling global terror. Yet French antiterrorism officials complain that they are being shut out by their U.S. counterparts. "We're expected to turn over everything we turn up, but our requests for information fall on deaf ears," says a senior French antiterrorism official.

Case in point: the refusal by the U.S. to relay information provided by French al-Qaeda suspects held at Guantanamo Bay. "First the Americans said they couldn't transfer evidence obtained outside U.S. territory," said the official. "Then they said because Guantanamo is a military base, it's the Defense Department's decision--and that the Defense Department (DOD) considers it top secret. It's a joke." Both the DOD and the CIA refused comment.

The French acknowledge that vital information is getting through via backdoor channels. But they want a more official, two-way street. "If the Americans won't play ball, why should we?" the official asks. "Now we all stand to lose." --By Bruce Crumley