Posted on 01/14/2004 7:15:38 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Striking an upbeat tone on the prospects of hunting down the head of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Mr Mueller insisted "we are safer today than we were on September 11".
He acknowledged that scouring territories along the Afghanistan (news - web sites)-Pakistan frontier for Mr bin Laden had sometimes been like "looking for a needle in a haystack", but, speaking at a lunch hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, he said: "I am confident we will find him." Mr Mueller added he was also confident of finding Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor seen as al-Qaeda's second in command.
In election year, the whereabouts of Mr bin Laden is a pivotal issue in President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s bid for a second term.
While Mr bin Laden remains at large, the Bush administration is open to criticism that the Iraq (news - web sites) war shifted its attention from the more imminent threat posed by al-Qaeda. Capturing Mr bin Laden this year could go a long way to securing Mr Bush's re-election.
Mr Mueller did not give reasons for his confidence but media reports from south Asia have suggested that recent assassination attempts on General Pervez Musharraf, foiled in part thanks to the help of US government operatives and technology, have stiffened the resolve of the Pakistani president to ensure his country's assistance in the manhunt.
Mr Mueller, whose press outings are infrequent,was fatalistic about the prospects of another terrorist incident: "We probably will have another attack," he said, but he insisted the intelligence and defence communities "have disrupted their [al-Qaeda's] capacity".
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, he said, was collecting evidence as it interrogated captured al-Qaeda members such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the operational masterminds behind the September 11 attacks, and Ramzi Binalshibh, who was said to have planned to serve as the 20th hijacker.
The fate of the al-Qaeda captives has remained unknown but Mr Mueller said the FBI was preparing cases for trial, most likely before US military tribunals.
Mr Mueller emphasised the need for the FBI to cultivate its networks and relationships overseas. The agency, he said, had done a good job of working more closely with local and state law enforcement as well as adapting to new information technologies, but needed to invest in more overseas agents and work better across international borders.
Asked whether the US would hand over terrorist suspects to the intelligence services of other countries more willing to use torture to extract information, Mr Mueller preferred not to talk about how the US works with foreign governments.
He also explained why the Bush administration had so far failed to put together a consolidated database of suspect visitors to the US, the so-called "watchlist". Co-ordinating different computer systems as well as the different triggers for inclusion on a government list had been complicated. He promised the "watchlist" would be up and running by March.
FBI Arab translators cheered Sept. 11 at FBI
FBI: Jews need not apply for Arabic linguist jobs - Thread 1
FBI: Jews need not apply for Arabic linguist jobs - Thread 2
Yes we are, because bin-Laden IS DEAD! He's deader than a doornail! He is an ex-parrot!
"In election year, the whereabouts of Mr bin Laden is a pivotal issue in President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s bid for a second term."
Unmitigated bullshit.
Mr Mueller did not give reasons for his confidence but media reports from south Asia have suggested that recent assassination attempts on General Pervez Musharraf, foiled in part thanks to the help of US government operatives and technology, have stiffened the resolve of the Pakistani president to ensure his country's assistance in the manhunt.I thought he survived the attacks because his motorcade was going 80mph... that and, well, with, I guess, a touch of US know-how, his protective package was jamming frequencies of potential radio-triggered bombs.
Either there's less to this statement that Musharraf was saved by US intelligence or there's far more than we can know.
I'd venture to say there's far more.
Highlights from ministry of Kim Clement on TBN 01/12/04 OSAMA BEN LADEN WITHIN 35 DAYS!
Talk about stepping out, in Utica, NY, for those of you who don't know anything about my ministry, the Lord has given me very, very clear words about political things that have come to pass, very clear. We've had the Secret Service visit me a number of times and investigate because of these prophecies. They are more interested and they have interpretations for this that I and the church didn't even think about.
…Osama Ben Laden said that in 35 days, America, he was prophesying, predicting, that this country would be abolished basically, wiped out, because he has a plan for 35 days. And the word of the Lord came to me... the spirit of the Lord said to me, “You prophesy that the very thing that he said and predicted for this nation, tell him, prophesy, that that is reversed, and I'm going to bring him out in 35 days!”
from: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1057141/posts?page=1#1 and: http://www.trumpetwind.com and Kim Clement's website: http://www.kimclement.com
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