Posted on 03/02/2005 2:00:44 PM PST by Sunshine55
MADRID (Reuters) - The Madrid train bombers had detailed plans of New York's Grand Central Station, indicating they also planned to attack there, a Spanish newspaper reported Wednesday.
Hand-made drawings and other "highly specialized technical information" about the station were found on a computer disk seized from the home of one of the suspects, El Mundo reported, citing sources close to the investigation.
The disk was confiscated within two weeks of the attacks on March 11, 2004, that killed 191 people in Madrid, but Spanish investigators did not warn the FBI and the CIA until December when the full scope of the technical information became clear, El Mundo said.
"Prosecutors at the High Court have informed the FBI and the CIA that the perpetrators of the March 11 attacks had in their possession plans to attack Grand Central Station in New York," it said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.netscape.cnn.com ...
BTTT
The Patriot Act is an unjustified intrusion on our privacy and it must be repealed.
</sarcasm>
"Prosecutors at the High Court have informed the FBI and the CIA that the perpetrators of the March 11 attacks had in their possession plans to attack Grand Central Station in New York".....
======
"Hello, is this the U.S. Congress? Good, thanks for taking my call...I think we have a problem called OPEN BORDERS. What are you doing about fixing that problem?? WHAT???!!!!, allowing more illegals to cross our borders, reducing the border patrolmen....why these guys could have just run across our border and attacked Grand Central Station!!! -- What?...that just would not happen???"
Tell me again how the PATRIOT ACT had any effect on catching any of the terrorists in this plot.
I must have missed that in the article.
""Prosecutors at the High Court have informed the FBI and the CIA that the perpetrators of the March 11 attacks had in their possession plans to attack Grand Central Station in New York," it said."
Where does it say that US officials used the PATRIOT ACT to gather this information?
FYI..two terrorists actually did manage to sneak into this country, and were scouting out Grand Central terminal last year to plan for the attacks, when they were mugged..Both spent several days in NYC hospitals recovering, then fled the country saying that NYC wasn't safe..
BTTT
It doesn't. Nor is it a crime for foreign nationals on foreign soil to possess intellegence information about U.S. facilities, which would have given no basis for an investigation WITHOUT THE PATRIOT ACT. Sheesh!
So what's your point?
Besides that you're wrong.
Good. Very very good. Creeps.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, ("FISA" or the "Act"), 50 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq. permits federal officials to obtain orders authorizing electronic surveillance 'for the purpose of obtaining foreign intelligence information." ' United States v. Duggan, 743 F.2d 59, 77 (2d Cir.1984) (quoting 50 U.S.C. § 1802(b)). The FISA definition limited "Foreign intelligence information" to acts of a a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power:
(1) information that relates to, and if concerning a United States person is necessary to, the ability of the Unites States to protect against-
(A) actual or potential attack or other grave hostile acts of a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power;
(B) sabotage or international terrorism by a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power; or
(C) clandestine intelligence activities by an intelligence service or network of a foreign power or by an agent of a foreign power; or
(2) information with respect to a foreign power or foreign territory that relates to, and if concerning a United States person is necessary to-
(A) the national defense or the security of the United States; or
(B) the conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States.
50 U.S.C. § 1801(e)(1)-(2).
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted this use of "the purpose" to mean that the "primary purpose" of the FISA surveillance was the interception of foreign intelligence information rather than simply the collection of evidence for a criminal prosecution. [FN12] See Duggan, 743 F .2d at 77. In changing "the purpose" to "a significant purpose," "[t]here is simply no question ... that Congress was keenly aware that this amendment relaxed a requirement that the government show that its primary purpose was other than criminal prosecution." In re Sealed Case, 710 F.3d at 732. Following this change, in In re Sealed Case, the FISA Court of Review rejected the primary purpose test altogether as it applied to FISA surveillance. The court noted that foreign intelligence information "includes evidence of crimes such as espionage, sabotage or terrorism." Id. at 723; see also U.S. v. Sattar 2003 WL 22137012, 12 (S.D.N.Y.) (S.D.N.Y.,2003)
So what's your point?
Maybe my point now is you're an idiot?
Wow.... so The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, ("FISA" or the "Act"), 50 U.S.C. § 1801 is the same thing as the PATRIOT ACT?
and *I'M* the idiot...
Congress amended FISA in the Patriot Act, effective October 26, 2001, and expanded the requirement that "the purpose" of the surveillance be to obtain foreign intelligence information to a requirement that "a significant purpose of the surveillance" is to obtain foreign intelligence information. U.S. v. Sattar 2003 WL 22137012, *3 (S.D.N.Y.,2003)
And yes you are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.