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Miami Terror Probe
June 23, 2006 10:57 PM
Justice Department off-air Jason Ryan blogs about word getting out about the terror plot:
Late last night we had basic information about the men arrested in the case and knew they had expressed interest and discussed striking targets in Miami and the Sears Tower in Chicago. In our post-9/11 society, interspersing flashing headlines about terror arrests with citywide shots of Miami and live video of the Sears Tower as though they were about to be attacked is alarming, to say the least. We tried to avoid the temptation. A friend of mine emailed me last night, saying, "[expletive] that sounds pretty big. Unsettling though." I responded that the FBI was all over this case and had known about these guys for some time.
The men who were arrested had expressed interest in these targets and told a man they believed to be an Al Qaeda operative, about their need for support in the form of money and materials needed to carry out their plans.
The Al Qaeda representative was, in fact, an FBI informant who met with the men on several occasions. The FBI claims to have surveillance video, obtained during one of their meetings, showing the men pledging their allegiance to Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.
The informant was expected to supply them with explosives but the only materials he ever provided to them were hiking boots and a video camera to conduct reconnaissance. The men were also asking for $50,000 to help finance their operations.
At a Justice Department press conference today, a reporter asked Attorney General Gonzales what kind of operative can’t get their own boots. Fair question. The extent of the threat posed by these individuals is likely to be further scrutinized in the public eye as their trials near. In the meantime, their friends and neighbors have raised questions about the arrests, and the possibility that the suspects’ civil liberties may have been violated.
In spite of those concerns, and although the men seem to have lacked operational detail, senior law enforcement officials said today that it was time to take the group down. In a meeting with reporters Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said, "Its our obligation to be as proactive as possible."
June 23, 2006 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (2)
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Will the Millennium Goals be getting news coverage? As a Borgen Project supporter I feel the plan to end world hunger should be covered.
Posted by: Bob Soro | Jun 25, 2006 1:32:14 AM
My experience with terrorism in India has taught me to ensure that genuine grievances of marginal sections of societies are redressed. Ghettos in any form and degree ferment the kind of blind hatred on which extremism feeds. It may be that the poor and ethnic minorities feel deprived of their fair shares of the nation state. This is no brief for violence or for terror, but just to underline that the relief we all share at the thwarting of dastardly attacks in Miami and Chicago, should not lead the establishment to overlook the deep and systemic aspects of deliberate plans of such viciousness against innocent fellow citizens
Posted by: Dr S Banerji | Jun 26, 2006 10:12:32 AM
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