Posted on 09/17/2001 7:51:15 AM PDT by SJackson
LONDON (September 17) - Mossad officials traveled to Washington last month to warn the CIA and the FBI that a cell of up to 200 terrorists was planning a major operation, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph here yesterday.
The paper said the Israeli officials specifically warned their counterparts in Washington that "large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent." They offered no specific information about targets, but they did link the plot to Afghanistan-based terrorist Osama bin Laden, and they told the Americans there were "strong grounds" for suspecting Iraqi involvement.
A US administration official told the paper that it was "quite credible" that the CIA did not heed the Mossad warning: "It has a history of being over-cautious about Israeli information." But the official noted that "if this is true, then the refusal to take it seriously will mean heads will roll."
In another development, the Sunday Times reported that an account at a branch of Barclays Bank in the London district of Notting Hill was used by a suspected bin Laden lieutenant to finance and disseminate Bin Laden's fatwas (religious rulings) and to maintain contacts with various elements in bin Laden's global network.
The account was held by Saudi dissident Khalid al-Fawwaz, who is currently being held in custody awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings to the United States on charges of conspiring with bin Laden to murder Americans.
The Barclays account is understood to form part of a web of bank accounts and front companies used by bin Laden to underwrite his Al Qaida terror network.
Court documents link Fawwaz to a Bin Laden fatwa calling for the death of American civilians "anywhere in the world they can be found," which was faxed directly to him by Bin Laden.
Fawwaz was personally appointed by bin Laden to set up and run the London-based Advice and Reformation Committee. The organization was ostensibly dedicated to war-relief work, but British and US officials now believe it was in fact a component in Bin Laden's terror network.
Fawwaz is also thought to have been directly involved in the terrorist cell that perpetrated the simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in 1998. More than 200 people died in those attacks.
My level of bile is rising again.
Even if the CIA had advance warning of an 'imminent attack', what do we expect it should have done with NO SPECIFICS given? It would have taken time to track down info on suspects, and it wouldn't have had jurisdiction in the US anyway, that would be the job of the FBI. The FBI was trying to find some suspected terrorists it KNEW to be here, but this is a big country with freedom to go anywhere, so with a head start, the terrorists were always ahead of the FBI.
This is 20/20 hindsight. Yes, we can say they should have known, or they should have told us, but the FBI, as well as the CIA, gets thousands of threats on something or somebody everyday, and that's a lot of threats to track down and investigate.
Make no mistake we were attacked, and we must stand together and support our government and our troops in the war ahead, but let's not be blind here. We are in this position because they failed at the one legitmate task they were constitutionally given, while effectively persuing activities that they are constitutionally prohibited from undertakeing.
And the socialists are drooling over the prospect of easily moveing their agenda forward - gun control, national ID card, etc. Again we must stand together and fight, but we MUST protect the freedoms we are fighting for. Any liberty lost now is gone for all the days of the Republic.
As soon as I heard of these attacks, I immediately knew that we would eventually find instances where the CIA failed to do its primary job, thereby allowing these attacks to be planned and carried out right under our noses.
In fact, I will go so far as to predict that we are going to hear about OTHER ways the CIA should have known (or knew and did nothing) about the 9/II attacks. I wouldn't be surprised to hear, as a matter of fact, that it was the CIA who first suggested box cutters and plastic knives to these guys. I wouldn't even be surprised if it turns out that CIA agents drove these guys to the airport and kissed them good-bye.
We need to eliminate the CIA and throw open its records. They are an albatross around our country's neck that has NEVER brought us anything but pain and misfortune. The CIA never does anything right, and CONSISTENTLY does one wrong, stupid, hateful, inhumane, dishonest, unforgiveable thing after another. They will not help us apprehend terrorists; they will hinder out search, -- most likely intentionally -- because some of the terrorists who are killing Americans are no doubt high-level "contacts" and honorary members of the CIA.
Where are they?
Don't you think he needed to be briefed on it at all?? 30 minutes is not allot of time for him to get info, make calls and get to a news podium for us.
I don't ever recall seeing Clinton give a discussion about bombing Kosovo or a pill factory. Do you? Source?
"As of Monday, the FBI had detained 49 people in connection with the case -- double the number of several days ago -- on immigration violations. Some have asked for lawyers, and none have been charged in the attacks that may have killed more than 5,000 people.
In addition, authorities are looking for nearly 200 other people to question in last Tuesday's attacks.
Additional detail emerged Monday about one of the hijackers and possible associates
Looks like the are taking their advice.
There are other cells out there preparing attacks (my wife's work was probably "probed" recently) and there are other cells awaiting word to strike and there are terrorists in training to follow them and to follow them and to follow them.
This is gonna be a long war. I saw the most _sh*ty-assed_ poll the other day asking if Americans were prepared to have a war if it meant "1000 casualties."
Try one that says "100,000 civilian casualties."
Don't get me wrong; I think the CIA is due for a serious enema. But don't blame them for being overwhelmed with data and underfunded.
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