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The French Bureau of Investigation
By Debbie Schlussel
Excerpts:
But unlike the fictional "24," real-life FBI counter-terrorism agents lost out to the suits at the top, and 3,000 people were murdered. I and many others have written about how FBI brass refused to allow a complete investigation of Moussaoui--in the name of not profiling Arab Muslims. But it is even more disturbing as it is conveyed by agent Samit.

You can feel the pre-9/11 desperation of counter-terrorism agents in Samit's testimony. According to USA Today's Kevin Johnson, Agent Samit testified that "hours into an interrogation, investigators suspected Moussaoui was involved in 'a plot involving airliners.'" Investigation of Moussaoui became "an obsession" of FBI terrorism investigators.

But it wasn't an obsession--or even a slight concern--for Robert Mueller and company. The FBI Director and his sachems fought these agents every step of the way.

According to Samit, the effort to investigate Moussaoui intensified

when top bureau officials at FBI headquarters in Washington refused to support requests for warrants to search Moussaoui's belongings and residences in Minnesota and Oklahoma.

Investigators were desperate for a break and sensed a terrorist action might be moving forward based on Moussaoui's unusual behavior, Samit said.

So what did the FBI higher-ups do in response? They reluctantly agreed to send a milquetoast bulletin of "a possible hijacking plot" to other federal agencies, almost a month later, on September 5th--just six days before the attack.
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But wait, there's more. USA Today's Johnson's report gets even more disturbing. Because OUR FBI and federal government authorities were so intransigent on investigating this VERY suspicious man's belongings, smart-AND-desperate FBI terrorism agents had to cook up a plot to let the FRENCH do it. The French? The French!

Still lacking authority for a fuller search of Moussaoui's belongings, federal authorities cut an unusual deal with French officials Sept. 10, Samit said. Under terms of that agreement, Moussaoui would be deported to his native France, and French authorities would conduct a search of his luggage and computer.

Suicide hijackers launched their attacks the next day, and the transfer never occurred.

Posted by: ed 2006-03-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=146027