Less Than Meets the Eye? U.S. Government Sting Operation Criticized as Setup

ABCNEWS ^ | 08/13/03 | Brian Ross

[Pikamax]

Less Than Meets the Eye? U.S. Government Sting Operation Criticized as Setup

By Brian Ross

Aug. 13— Administration officials are leaving out key facts and exaggerating the significance of the alleged plot to smuggle a shoulder-launched missile into the United States, law enforcement officials told ABCNEWS. They say there's a lot less than meets the eye.

The accused ringleader, British national Hemant Lakhani, appeared today in federal court in Newark, N.J., and was ordered held without bond on charges of attempting to provide material support and material resources to terrorists and acting as an arms broker without a license.

Outside the courtroom, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie called Lakhani an ally of terrorists who want to kill Americans.

"He, on many occasions, in recorded conversations, referred to Americans as 'bastards' [and] Osama bin Laden as a hero," said Christie.

But what he did not say was just how much of the alleged missile plot was a government setup from start to finish.

For example, Lakhani had no contacts in Russia to buy the missiles before the sting and had no known criminal record for arms dealing, officials told ABCNEWS.

"Here we have a sting operation on some kind of small operator … who's bought one weapon when actually, on the gray and black market, hundreds of such weapons charge hands," said military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.

Court documents show much of the case is based on the government's key cooperating witness, an informant seeking lenient treatment on federal drug charges, officials told ABCNEWS. He was the first person who led the government to Lakhani.

‘He Might Say Anything’

The missile shipped into the New York area last month was not a real missile — just a mockup — also arranged entirely by the government. The government also arranged the meetings at a New Jersey hotel and elsewhere, where Lakhani allegedly told undercover agents posing as al Qaeda terrorists about his support of bin Laden.

"One would have to ask yourself, would this have occurred at all without the government?" said Gerald Lefcourt, a criminal defense attorney.

In London today, Lakhani's neighbors described him as a quiet man who worked in the garment industry and had faced serious financial problems.

"I would have hoped the United States is thwarting real terrorism and not something manufactured because here all they're doing is stopping something they created," said Lefcourt.

Government officials said the case will show that Lakhani went along with the scheme willingly and was not entrapped. But the question remains whether any of this would have happened if the government had not set it up.

[Roberts]

Does ABC News seem especially eager to downplay a potentially significant arrest? How newsworthy is it that a criminal defense lawyer questions whether entrapment occurred?

[woofie]

This (News? story) really pises me off

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"One would have to ask yourself, would this have occurred at all without the government?"

Ask for Randy Weaver's opinion, I am sure he has some insight into such doings.

[Joe Bonforte]

It doesn't matter. The whole point of this operation was not to nail the perps. It was to cause every terrorist to be suspicious of his suppliers, and less likely to buy his materiel. The terrorists will always be wondering if that guy who says he has that missile launcher or whatever is really a government agent.

[SES1066]

My personal response to this story is this; What would ABC's reaction have been if this guy had been contacted by a genuine terrorist and had made a different contact in Russia that end-resulted in a downed US commercial aircraft?

My guarantee is that the criticism would have been rampant and valid! What this sting has done is at least two-fold. First a willing enabler of terrorism and his group has been taken out of circulation. Second and potentially more important, the publicity from this sting makes everybody in the terrorism process more suspicious and more cautious. This slows the conspiracies and the means for confirming identifications and bona-fides may make these easier to discover and break.

As usual ABC has made the grand effort to denigate and belittle a real success. The reason for this rush to do this just makes me shake my head!

[sjersey]

These people need to watch "Kudlow & Cramer" on CNBC to get a different outlook!

[ladyinred]

What in the Hell is the matter with these people? What part of BOMB don't these liberal idiots understand? My God we live with a bunch of crazies in this nation who are hell bent on destroying us!!!

[caisson71]

First of all, I would not expect ABC to have a positive report about anything. But, how is it that we have cooperation from the Russians and British when EVERYONE hates us, when our FBI, CIA, etc. are soooo bad. And, isn't President Bush to be praised for this by the same measure that he is personally blamed for everything else. What is it, "when did he know and what did he do about it"? Those guys at ABC are a bunch of pukes.

[CWOJackson]

With ABC there is less then meets the eye.

[fish hawk]

A "sting" IS a setup. Cops do it all the time with drugs and crimes of all sorts. Sounds good to me as I or someone I love could have been on the plane they were going to take down. In the words of a great man: "bring em on!!!"

[Pedrobud]

I don't know about all of you freeper, but no one could set up up to sell surface to air missles. Talk about spinning the news.

[DPB101]

military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.

Who just happened to be an employee of Media-MOST and Vladimir Gusinsky--one of Bill Clinton's mafia oligarch "friends." Felgenhauer is no friend of the USA. Or of Russia.

[jackbill]

Brian Ross is a Peter Jennings wannabe. He sucks.

That said, I have had two questions today:

1. What did the 20 months investigation cost?

2. Why don't we hear much about the other two guys who were arrested? From one AP report: Officials also announced money laundering charges against Yehuda Abraham, 76, of New York City, whom Christie said had handled the funds for the initial missile purchase.

[LS]

An article appeared earlier today that they wanted to turn this guy, but the BBC (!) found out about it and leaked the story, forcing them to arrest him.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

The one time a year I watch ABC News and it was tonight. Brian Ross said this whole sting was, basically crap, a set up, just a PR stunt. However, last night on Nightline, I think major news was broken and so far,it seems to have been ignored. Topic was the possibility of a SAM taking out a commercial airliner. Rep. Mica, R Fla heads the Aviation Subcommittee. He said that last April, his committee was given a top security briefing on the dangers of a missile bringing down a commercial jet. Based on the info they were given, which he declined for obvious reasons to expound upon, Congress hustled through some emergency funding and the President signed the directive to award contracts to 2 companies so they can develop technologies immediately to deal with this. He said the info was so alarming,that he has never seen money appropriated so quickly and without any fighting, in all his years in Congress. The 3 expert panel gave their opinions on the possibility of a SAM taking out an airliner in the US within a year- 20 % to 50 %,higher overseas.. When Stephanopoulos said that Gore was aware of the possibility of a SAM strike and had included it in his post TWA 800 report,Mica responded-but,that administration did nothing,this administration is dealing with the problem.

[PhilDragoo]

An article appeared earlier today that they wanted to turn this guy, but the BBC (!) found out about it and leaked the story, forcing them to arrest him.

As in the David Kelly/Andrew Gilligan attempt to smear Blair, the BBC is working for the wrong side.

I am shocked, shocked.

[PhilDragoo]

Flight 800 was witnessed by scores who saw a missile streaking upwards--

The CIA "animation" claimed what they saw was the nose separating and overtaking the fuselage--

While a radar plot showed a fast boat leaving the scene amidst many other craft speeding toward the scene.

FBI agents were seen pulling the fuselage wreckage outward, and upholstery fabric bearing a suspicious stain was discounted as merely a 3M adhesive--

Never mind that 3M did not make adhesive to match the stain.

That was 1996, during the administration which fired Woolsey for calling Ramzi Yousef an Iraqi agent.

The shoulder-fired SAM threat is not new.

[Wait4Truth]

And Gerald Lefcourt hates Bush, hates the Patriot Act and was a lawyer for the Black Panthers. Nice, huh?

[Wild Irish Rogue]

Wasn't the theory that TWA 800 was taken down by friendly fire? An accidental Navy shoot down? I don't know anyone who bought the center fuel tank exploding.