Ali Soufan

Ali H. Soufan (born July 8, 1971) is a Lebanese-American former FBI agent who was involved in a number of high-profile anti-terrorism cases both in the United States and around the world. A New Yorker article in 2006 described Soufan as coming closer than anyone to preventing the September 11 attacks, even implying that he would have succeeded had the CIA been willing to share information with him. He resigned from the FBI in 2005 after publicly chastising the CIA for not sharing intelligence with him, which could have prevented the attacks. In 2011, he published a memoir, which includes some historical background on al-Qaeda: The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda. He is the CEO of the Soufan Group.

Early years

Soufan was born in Lebanon. He is an ardent admirer of the poet Khalil Gibran. He graduated from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (1995), receiving his B.A in Political Science.

FBI career

Soufan was called to Jordan in 1999 to investigate the Jordan Millennium Bombing plot, and discovered a box of documents delivered by Jordanian intelligence officials prior to the investigation, sitting on the floor of the CIA station, which contained maps showing the bomb sites. His find "embarrassed the CIA", according to a 2006 New Yorker profile of him.