John O'Neill

John O'Neill (1952-2001) became the chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counterterrorism unit in 1995. Retiring from the Bureau in August 2001, he became chief of security for the World Trade Center, and died in the 9-11 Attack in New York. He was among the first in the United States intelligence community to recognize the threat of al-Qaeda, and pursued them intensely.

He worked closely with Richard Clarke at the National Security Council, and also exchanged deputies with the Central Intelligence Agency. His relationship with Michael Scheuer at the CIA, however, was hostile.

O'Neill was a larger-than-life personality, challenging the law enforcement culture of the FBI and pushing toward an aggressive style of counterterrorism, and both giving and expecting personal loyalty.

e talked tough, in a New Jersey accent that many loved to imitate. He was darkly handsome, with black eyes and slicked-back hair. In a culture that favors discreet anonymity, he cut a memorable figure. He favored fine cigars and Chivas Regal and water with a twist, and carried a nine-millimetre automatic strapped to his ankle. His manner was bluff and dominating, but he was always immaculately, even fussily, dressed. One of his colleagues in Washington took note of O'Neill's "night-club wardrobe" -- black double-breasted suits, semitransparent black socks, and ballet-slipper shoes. "He had very delicate feet and hands, and, with his polished fingernails, he made quite an impression."

He would push the rules of the strict FBI. Even when his retirement was scheduled, he was investigated for misplacing a briefcase of classified documents, which he was authorized to have but was to safeguard.

Entering counterterrorism

In 1995, Richard Clarke discovered Ramzi Yousef, a suspect in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, had been located in Pakistan, and called the FBI operations center, reaching O'Neill, who literally had just arrived chief of the F.B.I.'s counter-terrorism section, his suitcases not yet unpacked. O'Neill put together the team that apprehended Yousef and brought him back; while an Assistant U.S. Attorney and the Pakistani government were aware of the mission, it easily could be considered an extraordinary rendition; there was no formal international extradition hearing in Pakistan.

1996 Khobar Towers bombing

He assembled the law enforcement investigation team for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, and later joined them in Saudi Arabia with FBI Director Louis Freeh. O'Neill became convinced the Saudis were obstructing the investigation, and, at first, Freh, who though there was progress, refused to speak to him. Eventually, however, O'Neill went back, but were "more close-mouthed than any police organization he had ever worked with."

USS Cole bombing

O'Neill was the field investigator for the 2000 bombing of the U.S. [destroyer]], USS Cole (DDG-67), in Yemen. It is generally agreed he had a personality conflict with the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Barbara Bodine. Immediately after the news, O'Neill went to Barry Mawn, director of the New York FBI Office, and said "'It's Al Qaeda,' and I totally agreed with him. And he said, 'You got to get to the director, and we got to get this so the New York office responds initially.'" Headquarters debated if his potentially abrasive personality outweighed his investigative skill, but Freeh eventually decided to send him.

ABC News ran a miniseries on it in 2008. "According to the mythmakers, a battle ensued between a cop obsessed with tracking down Osama bin Laden and a bureaucrat more concerned with the feelings of the host government than the fate of Americans and the realities of terrorism....I am not here to either defend or attack O'Neill. He was a complex man. But what happened after Al Qaeda's attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole was a complex story."