FBI searches for six men who had nuclear, pipeline information

realcities.com ^ | 10/30/2001 | By MARTIN MERZER, LENNY SAVINO and SUMANA CHATTERJEE

[KQQL]

FBI searches for six men who had nuclear, pipeline information

Updated: 10:55 p.m. EST Tuesday, Oct. 30

By MARTIN MERZER, LENNY SAVINO and SUMANA CHATTERJEE
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON — As the nation again stands on high alert, the FBI is searching for six men stopped by police in the Midwest last weekend but released — even though they possessed photographs and descriptions of a nuclear power plant in Florida and the Trans-Alaska pipeline, a senior law enforcement official said Tuesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration imposed new flight restrictions around nuclear plants nationwide Tuesday, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission advised the nation's 103 nuclear plants late Monday to fortify security.

The FAA temporarily banned all flights near New York's Yankee Stadium, where President Bush stood before a huge crowd at a World Series game Tuesday night and — wearing a New York City Fire Department jacket — tossed the ceremonial first pitch.

"It helps to keep the fabric of our country strong," said spokesman Ari Fleischer.

[Deborah63]

Sheesh ...seems like the mid-west would be paranoid enough to hang on to these people... Who can we trust to do the right thing?>

[Alberta's Child]

As the nation again stands on high alert, the FBI is searching for six men stopped by police in the Midwest last weekend but released — even though they possessed photographs and descriptions of a nuclear power plant in Florida and the Trans-Alaska pipeline . . .

I swear I will never make fun of the idiocy of law enforcement officers in other nations. This is starting to sound like that scene in "Airplane" where the group of hijackers with guns and rocket launchers is allowed on the plane without any questions but the security guards rough up a little old lady when she sets off the metal detector.

[hispanarepublicana]

"It helps to keep the fabric of our country strong,"

Kevlar: The Fabric of our Lives...

What Barney Fife cop let these guys go? What the **** is wrong with people?!?

[Lucas1]

They let them go? Sounds a bit odd under the current threat level.

[KQQL]

Please read the full article via the Link.

[timestax]

I swear I will never make fun of the idiocy of law enforcement officers in other nations. This is starting to sound like that scene in "Airplane" where the group of hijackers with guns and rocket launchers is allowed on the plane without any questions but the security guards rough up a little old lady when she sets off the metal detector. 3 posted on 10/30/01 8:50 PM Pacific by Alberta's Child [ Post DITTO !!

[HP8753]

Barney Fife is alive and well and posing as a Midwest Law Enforcement Officer

[KQQL]

tThat's why they alerted us all.
Tourist don't go round with pictures of Nuclear plants.

[MississippiMan]

I swear I will never make fun of the idiocy of law enforcement officers in other nations. This is starting to sound like that scene in "Airplane" where the group of hijackers with guns and rocket launchers is allowed on the plane without any questions but the security guards rough up a little old lady when she sets off the metal detector.

Just a question to ponder: to each person reading this thread, how confident do you feel that the law enforcement community in your area is realistically capable of protecting you and yours? What about the Federal government?

MM

[error99]

This is AT LEAST the third incidence that has been reported since 9-11
of folks getting stopped, released, and then law enforcement saying
"Oops, we should have hung on to those guys".
And we are on "heightened alert status"...what's WRONG with these guys?

[Alberta's Child]

The "law enforcement community" was never able to protect me -- incidents like this only serve to confirm that.

[KQQL]

This means that Flight 93 was headed towards the 3 mile Island.
Beamer and friends saved thousands of lives in NY area.

[Vauss]

Heh, yeah, I want to see 6 arabs show up around here asking questions about the pipeline. (I live in Valdez). In winter time this burg has no tourists. And in the interior, even more so, besides the fact it is pretty darn cold. What kind of story are they going to make up? "oh, we came to see the northern lights, by the way, where is the pipeline?"

Even if they do somehow blow it up (which I doubt, given the heightened level of security, sensors, etc.), it wouldn't take that long to repair. I remember in Venezuela in the 1960's when I lived there, the pipelines were getting blown up all the time by the communist guerillas. A pain, but not critical.

[boycott]

The FBI is a bunch of idiots. We may need to replace some people at the top.

[KQQL]

Psss, you guys in Alsaka should start digging in ANWR, screw the US Senate.
Alaska should tell the US senate if they don't let you open ANWR, Alsaka will leave the UNION.

[MississippiMan]

The "law enforcement community" was never able to protect me -- incidents like this only serve to confirm that.

So you think we're pretty much on our own, eh?

MM

[piasa]

I don't know about that- I have pictures of steel mills and refineries and other peculiarities; a friend of mine years ago had an affinity for bridges that lead him to photograph them and build scale models of them. (Yes, he was a geek then. and I suppose he still is.)

Unlike the USSR or China, it isn't illegal to posess photographs of nuclear plants, refineries, bridges, etc, so there wasn't anything to hold them on. The peril, and the cost, of living in a free society is that it is free, and even when every instinct is screaming that these people are up to no good, without a legal way to hold them the FBI is pretty much helpless. I'm sure the cops were looking pretty hard to find something to hold them on, but must not have found it. If they are what they appeared to be, we're in trouble.

(Unless Janet Reno is in charge, in which case the law and Constitution mean nothing.)