The CIA has disbanded a specialty unit that was designed specifically to hunt down Osama bin Laden and his top deputies. The report was first made on National Public Radio on Monday of this week.
The unit, known as 'Alec Station,' was actually shut down late last year. It was formed long before the September 11, 2001 attack on the U.S. by the al-Qaeda terrorist network which is led and financed by bin Laden.
The CIA said that the reason for the end to 'Alec Station' is that al-Qaeda has changed its structure and most decisions are now carried out without direct orders from either bin Laden or his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
According to CIA spokesman Jennifer Millerwise Dyck, capturing bin Laden remains a 'top priority' for the agency. 'The efforts to find Osama bin Laden are as strong as ever,' Millerwise Dyck claimed. 'This is an agile agency, and the decision was made to ensure greater reach and focus.'
Michael Scheuer, a former CIA agent who once led 'Alec Station,' told the 'New York Times' that shutting down the special unit was a mistake.
'This will clearly denigrate our operations against al-Qaeda,' Scheuer said. 'These days at the agency, bin Laden and al-Qaeda appear to be treated merely as first among equals.'
It has been nearly five years since the September 11 attacks and the United States appears to be no closer to capturing Osama bin Laden.
