[Texasforever]

Great post. When it comes to the FBI there is NO middle ground on this forum, it is either the FBI is a bunch of "jack booted thugs" under every bed in the United States or a bunch of "puss 'n boots" PC pansies afraid to get tough with those terrorists. This is why we as a nation have a hell of a lot of growing up to do.

[Capt. Tom]

When it comes to the FBI there is NO middle ground on this forum, it is either the FBI is a bunch of "jack booted thugs" under every bed in the United States or a bunch of "puss 'n boots" PC pansies afraid to get tough with those terrorists

Yes there is some middle ground. I don't think they are thugs or pansies. I think the FBI is incompetent. Incompetentcy doesn't make them bad people just they are not getting the job done for us.

These incompetent signs were starting to show the last ten years or so.

After many years of searching and with evidence and sketches, they were unable to catch the Unibomber Ted Kazinsky. (The unibombers Brother turned him in)

The Atlanta bombing investigation resulted in the Richard Jewell fiasco. Since then the FBI has not been able to get the perpertrator.

In the case of the Tim McVeigh Murrah building bombing a local cop caught McVeigh not the FBI.

Granted they might have caught Mc Veigh given enough time. The FBIs conclusion that only those under arrest McVeigh, Nichols, Fortier,were the only ones involved without a much longer investigation is shoddy to say the least.

Locally here in the Boston area we have Whitey Bulger an FBI informant and murderer who is being sought by the FBI for years on their most wanted list and is still on the loose.

The FBI has some successes undoubably.

The FBI missed a major conspiracy involving possibly more than a hundred Mid East males who don't blend into this society and come from overseas from countries that are enemies of the USA. Even when the FBI had some conspirators in custody they couldn't connect the dots. Now that's incompetency. - Tom

[Old Student]

I feel for the poor bastards at the FBI. They can't win, they can't break even, and they can't get out of the game. God Bless them, and keep them focused on the bad guys.

It probably wouldn't be a good idea to send them a box of cookies and a note of apology for the things we've been thinking and saying about them the past few years, either, darn it!

[ChemistCat]

I was thinking it might be a very fine thing to take a plate of cookies to the local FBI with a thank you note. Then I realized that they probably will never trust a citizen again. SAD.

I don't agree that the government's first purpose is to protect us; I think it's first purpose is to give us the freedom to protect ourselves and do as we will as much as possible; its SECOND purpose is to protect the first, physically and legally.