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Suspected terrorist had info on Lee County schools
Lee County schools Superintendent Dr. James Browder defended his decision not to inform the public that he had been notified information about the Lee County school district had been found in Iraq. The FBI contacted Browder after they discovered the information in the possession of a suspected terrorist in Iraq. Browder said he was surprised when the FBI called. They told him they discovered information about the Lee County School district in Iraq. The data was on a computer disk and contained information involving schools in Florida and five other states - Georgia, Oregon, New Jersey, Michigan and California.The disk was reportedly created by a rebel in Iraq who has since been captured. Browder said the FBI contacted him about two weeks ago. He says the information the rebel had was a portion of the student code of conduct and some bus information, both of which can easily be found on the district's web site. Browder says he immediately told the school board and his principals, but defended his decision to not notify parents or alert the public. "I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that initially it kind of took me back. But as I got all the information, the one thing you can rest assured of, if I'd have thought for one second that anybody in our community was in danger, I'd been all over it. They said, 'Our intelligence people have been through this and have looked at it and there is no danger related to it.' So I guess you have to trust what the people that are the experts say," said Browder. US intelligence officials reportedly discovered the information about the American schools back in July, but acted quickly and with more of a sense of purpose after terrorists seized a school in Russia in September. 340 people died in that standoff. It's important to point out that no school in Lee County was specifically singled out. It was very general information. Still, the US Department of Education is asking all schools in the country to keep a sharp eye out for people who may be casing their campuses. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-10-08 |
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