5,000 in U.S. suspected of ties to al Qaeda

Washington Times ^ | 7/11/02 | Bill Gertz

[kattracks]

U.S. intelligence agencies are watching several groups of Middle Eastern men thought to be part of an infrastructure of as many as 5,000 al Qaeda terrorists and their supporters in the United States, The Washington Times has learned.

Small groups of about a half-dozen men in Seattle, Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta are under surveillance by FBI and other intelligence agencies and are thought to be part of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, said intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

[Pyro7480]

Now THERE is a scary figure. Stay vigilant folks...

[Libertarianize the GOP]

.

[Mo1]

The FBI also is investigating a chain of jewelry stores in several states that are suspected of funneling money to al Qaeda, a U.S. law-enforcement official said, confirming reports in the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Washington Post.

Look who else pick up on this story

[Don Myers]

""It depends on how you define an al Qaeda member," the official said. "There are hardened members and Muslims with sympathies to bin Laden.""

It is all down to a semantics game. Black is white and white is black in our brave new world.

[bybybill]

You need to look up the difference between some and all

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

It's your choice, sit at home OR actually get out and help defend America.

How YOU can assist fighting terrorist cells in the United Sates.
17yrs old and up, no upper age limit. Something for everyone to do

[snippy_about_it]

"One [intelligence] estimate is that there are up to 5,000 people in the United States connected to al Qaeda," one U.S. intelligence official said.

Worth repeating for those not paying attention.

Does that mean we could have up to 5,000 isolated incidents of terror?</sarcasm

[TomGuy]

Does that mean we could have up to 5,000 isolated incidents of terror?</sarcasm

(sarcasm on) It means 5,000 potential undocumented aliens eligible for citizenship when 245(i) Amnesty for Illegals passes. That way, they will be afforded the full protection of the Constitution after they shoot up an airport terminal or blow up a shopping mall. (sarcasm off)

[ArneFufkin]

Arne Fufkin legendary bold, daring and breathtaking FR proposal letter 10, number C: "Let's find the unbathed immigrant guys and gals on student, visitor and diplomatic visas from any country that actively uses the letter Q and send their ASSES soaring like they've been on one of those Batman/Penguin mega spring mechanisms!". NASA still ignores my patent requests. Let's just drop the slouching garbage in The Hague or on the streets of Zurich. Get them gone!

[Dog]

5,000 broke down into squads of 5 to 6.....whole lot of cells in the country.

Eyes open folks......they are here in force!

[Miss Marple]

Glad to see they are being watched, although I would like them to be watched on a prison barge. Perhaps we are going to be moving forward on that.

I still say that there are connections to the envirals, anarchists, and gangs. I personally think that 501c3 organizations should have to release their donor lists.

[Guillermo]

It's not that scary if you keep repeating to yourself "Diversity Is Our Strength".

[Ol' Sox]

These days call for packing a camera, cell phone and, if you're so inclined, CCW. A sandwich would be nice, too.

[elfman2]

"5,000 broke down into squads of 5 to 6.....whole lot of cells in the country. Eyes open folks......they are here in force!"

I agree that we need to keep our eyes open. But the 5000 number is dominated my sympathetic hangers-on who are only able to provide shelter and support for the people who could actually do us harm. I'd guess that 95 percent of these morons wouldn't know a cell if it was stuck in their ear. I bet there are less than 200 that could play even a small role in simple mission to destroy something, and much less than that who could take an significant role, like the 19 of 9/11.

These people are scared and lost, but are still dangerous until their funding disappears and their organizations suffer further defeat. Our agencies are watching these people and learning, and one reason they're still here is that we want to see more.

[neutrino]

But the 5000 number is dominated my sympathetic hangers-on who are only able to provide shelter and support for the people

I nonconcur with this analysis. The sympathetic hangers-on will be ten times that number. And I believe you will find them in every mosque.

[eno_]

I don't believe that ratio, or, rather, that ratio is already taken into account: It is the radicalized Moslems in the hundreds of thousands that provide support for these thousands.

[Publius6961]

While it may be questionable to distribute the photographs of as many of these people as possible, if they are here illegaly, all bets are off.
Sooner or later all of them will have to be ejected and the bigger head start we have the better.

What I don't understand is why all arriving international passengers are not photographed when going through customs, regardless of the type of visa they have (or don't have).

Can you imagine the value if videotape of all passengers on flights grounded during the 911 Muslim Mass Murder were available?

[Lazamataz]

You need to look up the difference between some and all.

Whats yer p'int. The 'some' get arrested, interrogated, shipped to a country that permits torture, then killed.

And the ALL better damn well start condemning the SOME pretty effing quick.

[eno_]

There is no presumption of innocence in visa cases. Illegals are a slam-dunk, and valid visas should be revoked if there is any hint of Moslem radicalism in the visa holder.