FEDS RELEASED 3 PLOTTERS IN JUNE

New York Post ^ | 9/16/01 | AL GUART

[kattracks]

Three suspects in the bloodiest terrorist attack in U.S. history were in federal custody in New York three months ago - and set free, The Post has learned.

The three were taken into custody last June after Federal Protective Service cops spotted them brazenly snapping reconnaissance photos of 26 Federal Plaza, federal law-enforcement and military-intelligence sources said.

[kattracks]

Thanks, HAL.

[Demidog]

Don't be posting these articles that are critical of our govenrnment. Don't you know that there is no blame to be placed at them during this critical time of war? Our first concern is to nuke the crap out of every country in the middle east except for Israel. Just shut up about this. Keep it hush hush. "Loose lips sink ships" (of state) don't you know.

[Demidog]

Islamic world population is now at about 1/5 and Christian is about 1/3.

We're in the minority. Let's make sure we expand the government's power to crack down on religions they don't approve of. That won't backfire or anything.

[Demidog]

This example should be RUBBED in the faces of PC liberals at every chance!

Were the FBI agents liberals?

[Alberta's Child]

It could very easily be left in place to serve as a home base for large numbers of military and/or police helicopters. All they would have to do is clear the deck of all those planes that are now part of the "museum."

[marsh2]

The civil liberties of all American citizens should be jealously guarded. These individuals, however, were not citizens. I am not an attorney, but I would think that unless treaty obligations specified that they were to be afforded privileges commensurate with American citizen's rights, then the federales should have every right to hold them to a higher standard of scrutiny.

[GeronL]

HHHmmmm... makes sense. Could also serve as a helo base and a hospital ship too I suppose.

[dennisw]

The Feds were afraid of being accused of racial profiling so they let them go. My take on this.

[Milosevic2]

If the US really insists in invading Afghanistan then the WTC / Pentagon bombings are the ultimate step in the most horrible conspiracy ever in History

[Nita Nupress]

You posted the original Post article back in July, but I don't have it bookmarked. I saw you link it yesterday somewhere. Do you mind posting it here again?

[Nita Nupress]

LOL! Never mind!

[ravinson]

Were the FBI agents liberals?

Probably not (as I'm sure you're intimating), but that won't stop lackadaisical government agents from using a phony excuse like "we can't profile anyone, even suspicious acting aliens from the Middle East".

As you know, The FBI and the other feds can profile anyone anytime they want and get away with it. They have a whole unit devoted to criminal profiling and the courts have consistently backed up the power of the feds to use it liberally. I've been subjected to extra scrutiny almost every time I go through the airport metal detectors since I grew a beard.

It's only the New York cops who can't use the black skin of American citizens as a profiling criteria because some of them have developed a bad habit of shooting first and asking questions later. As you know, the feds can use any excuse they want to detain people and run them through all of those computers that we spend hundreds of billions of dollars on each year. Of course, unless they think they're dealing drugs or evading taxes they don't usually take the time to do so.

It looks like once again the pet program socialists will blame each other's pet programs for big government bungling and bloated bureaucratic business as usual will continue to be a steadily growing industry.

[not-an-ostrich]

Civil rights? So they were American citizens? Or do you attained U.S. civil rights just by being a visitor?

[thinden]

Three grainy intelligence photos of the men were attached to the memo, with the name of one suspect, Mohamed Hassan Abbadi, scrawled under what appeared to be a passport picture.

Mohamed Hassan Abbadi. does this name turn up anywhere?

[CompassionateLibertarian]

I wish they had detained them further in light of what happened, but I don't see how they could have.

You'd think that our agents would have kept the folks under surveillance until the film was developed, so that they could be picked up again and questioned. I agree that we were fortunate that somebody sensed that they were taking pictures for something other than tourist purposes, but the lack of follow-through is disgraceful.

[AntiTyrant]

All cause FBI pantsywaists decided terrorists rights were more important than the lives of the people they subsequently murdered.
if you believe that, you might want to reconsider. i suspect that's their fall guy story. they could've handled it properly while still respecting civil liberties. they just want to blame 'policy' for their incompetence. once the country has grieved enough, i hope more people start asking the necessary question of our 'intelligence' community, law enforcement, and the military. i believe they all screwed the pooch on this one.

[AntiTyrant]

This example should be RUBBED in the faces of PC liberals at every chance!
to a point, but it's a little too perfect a scapegoat in this case. if it was worth confiscating their film (already risking a suit), it was worth holding them for the 2 hours it would take to develop. please don't allow them to fluff off their mistake as if it's somebody else's fault.

[Brian Allen]

Not a damn one of 'em is worth a crap.

For years the abjectly-politicized and consequently effectively-thoroughly-Evil feral-gummint police forces have been too damned busy covering up for their in-house murderers and other criminals -- and harrassing, disarming and killing innocent Americans in their homes and churches -- to be ever effectively "on-the-job."

[freefly]

As you point out, the fed doesn't seem to have a problem stepping on the civil rights of American citizens on a regular basis.
If they had been part of a militia, or had bought a couple rifles in the last year, or were fundamental Christians, they would have automatically been given the big hairy eyeball.
Why these guys were given a pass is beyond me.
(Maybe the fact that it wasn't an obvious drug bust made it too much work to bother with...)