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| 5,000 FBI agents turn up heat on 11,000+ Muslim extremists |
| 2003-03-17 |
| If (at what point can we start saying "when" instead of "if") U.S. forces invade Iraq, the FBI has plans to mobilize as many as 5,000 agents to guard against terrorist attacks, monitor or arrest suspected militants and interview thousands of Iraqis living in the United States. Weeell....get BUSY! The FBI operation reflects fears among counterterrorism officials that the risk of domestic attacks will increase dramatically in the event of war. Many of the FBI's criminal surveillance operations would be temporarily suspended in order to focus on potential terrorism or espionage suspects. I'm sure the mob and the drug dealers appreciate the heads up. Any immigration violators found during interviews and sweeps would be detained, several officials said. Detained? Why not deported? Must fall under that "keep your enemies close" concept. The steps are part of a voluminous and detailed contingency plan developed by the FBI over the last year in preparation for an invasion of Iraq. and currently detailed on the web and translated into 56 languages for review by any and all affected groups to assure no political sensitivities are not offended Sources said the plan includes a checklist of more than four dozen steps to be taken by FBI field offices and joint terrorism task forces before and after war begins. Step one, ask the suspect if it is ok for you to interview him. Step two, if he says no, apologize and go to next candidate. The Department of Homeland Security could raise the nation's color-coded threat level from yellow to orange, or "high risk," as early as this week. Well, Duh. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned that "we have to prepare for the inevitability" of suicide attacks in the United States. inevitability?! Come on guys..think positive! At the start of a war, FBI headquarters and all 56 field offices would immediately staff 24-hour command centers, in conjunction with 66 joint terrorism task forces across the country, authorities said. The head of one major FBI field office said that "the small percentage of agents who aren't directly involved will be on call. . . . This is an all-hands type operation." versus an "all-thumbs" operation like before 9-11. Some of the steps outlined in the FBI contingency plan have already begun, including initial meetings between the heads of FBI field offices and local Islamic groups across the country, officials said. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III also met late last month with leaders of Arab American, Muslim and Sikh groups to ask for their support in identifying terrorists and to assure them of FBI protection against hate crimes. That's nice, too bad he can't assure the rest of us that we will be protected against the inevitablitity of hate crimes. Working from an initial list of about 50,000 Iraqi nationals living in the United States, the FBI has winnowed that number down to about 11,000 who would be targeted for interviews in the event of a war, a senior FBI official said. Wow... with 5,0000 agents, that's almost one agent for every 2+ extremists. Not bad! Impressive! Officials hope to complete those interviews within a few weeks of an invasion. The FBI would be aided by immigration investigators at Homeland Security, who would detain anyone found to be in violation of immigration laws, officials said. I guess that means they're pretty busy this week. Other interviews have taken place, focused primarily on Iraqis who were considered potential security threats or who were thought to have information that would be helpful to U.S. military efforts, officials said. FBI and immigration officials are also still working to locate as many as several thousand Iraqis who entered the United States on valid visas that have since expired. darn...our one agent to two extremist ratio just went down. official disclaimer: Senior FBI officials said the interviews and investigations have not changed their general view that most Iraqis in the United States are hostile to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and are unlikely candidates for terror. U.S. intelligence officials also worry that Hussein's regime might secure cooperation from an unwilling Iraqi citizen living in the United States by holding family members hostage back home. oooh...tough choice that! During the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi agents in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines failed in amateurish attempts to bomb U.S. facilities, leading to the widespread view within Western intelligence circles that Hussein's regime is not adept at overseas terror operations. Yet U.S. officials say they are alarmed by a case last month in the Philippines, where a high-ranking Iraqi diplomat was expelled after allegedly having contact with members of the Abu Sayyaf terror group. The Iraqi government dismissed the allegations as U.S. propaganda. "Iraqi intelligence did try some pretty pathetic operations last time," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said. "Do I think they'll try it again? Probably, but this time they may have help. That's one of our major concerns." yeah..ours too. Good luck, guys... let's hope you've learned well since 9-11. |
| Posted by:Becky |
| #6 MARK STEYN WIMPS OUT: NO TO ISLAMIC GENOCIDE AWARD http://www.steynonline.com/index2.cfm?edit_id=30 |
| Posted by: Anonon 2003-03-17 17:12:57 |
| #5 Sounds like racial profiling to me. CAIR will never approve. I guess the US is dropping all pretenses. |
| Posted by: Ray 2003-03-17 11:07:46 |
| #4 Well I feel safer already! The best defense is a good offense, but some of our defensive strategies from homeland security have been, well, kinda offensive. I hope that the FBI REALLY has its act together this time, and I hope that we get cooperation from state AND local law enforcement, or some Chiefs of Police will be subject to the wrath and fury of MILLIONS of pissed off Americans. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-17 08:29:51 |
| #3 The difference between 1991 and now is that there is the beginnings of a terrorist infrastructure in the US itself. Many different Islamist groups (some with good connections to the liberal press). |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-03-17 08:21:21 |
| #2 The difference between 1991 and now is that there is the beginnings of a terrorist infrastructure in the US itself. Many different Islamist groups (some with good connections to the liberal press). |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-03-17 08:21:21 |
| #1 Hmm. say 12,000 suspects, 5000 agents, 1 interview per day, one day for analysis. 6 working days tops. Damnation. Get started NOW. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-17 07:21:18 |