U.S. Rejects Report of Search for Six Men

Reuters via iwon.com ^ | October 31, 2001 | Reuters

[CommiesOut]

U.S. Rejects Report of Search for Six Men

October 31, 2001 12:09 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials on Wednesday said they had nothing to corroborate a newspaper report that federal agents were searching for six men who had been carrying material about a nuclear power plant in Florida and an Alaskan pipeline.

Officials said they had no information about a search for the six men, whom The Miami Herald said had been detained in the Midwest but later released even though they were carrying photographs and information on a nuclear power plant in Florida and the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

"We have absolutely no information at this point in time to substantiate that story," said Russ Bergeron, spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

A federal law enforcement official denied claims in the story that FBI director Robert Mueller was "furious" at the release.

"There's nothing to that. He was completely unaware of it. So there's no way he could be furious," the official said.

A Justice Department official said "there's no credibility at all to that report."

According to the report, police stopped the six men traveling in two cars in an unidentified state over the weekend. In addition to the photographs, they were carrying box-cutters and other "suspicious equipment," it said.

The men who hijacked four planes on Sept 11, killing more than 4,800 people and triggering the U.S. war against terrorism, used box-cutters to overpower flight crews.

The suspects in the Midwest incident appeared to be from the Middle East and carried Israeli passports, according to the Herald story. The INS decided the passports were valid and they had entered the United States legally and it released the suspects without consulting the FBI, the newspaper said.

Florida has three nuclear power plants -- at Turkey Point, south of Miami, St. Lucie, and the Crystal River plant north of St. Petersburg.

[Righty1]

Reuters is better than AP. Kathy Gannon makes hairy armpitpour look fair and balanced.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

and that it happened "somewhere in the Midwest", sounds kind of odd also. Like the Coneheads are from a small town in France.

[eureka!]

"Reuters is better than AP"

Tough call. Real tough, IMHO....

[Kenyon]

We have absolutely no information at this point in time to substantiate that story . . .

The phrase "we have no information on that" is one that has been used very frequently by the government lately. What is interesting about that phrase is that it is not a denial of the story, but is meant to be taken as such. Whenever I hear it now I do not believe it.

[CommiesOut]

Two men questioned about photographs were sightseers

October 31, 2001

BRISTOL -- Two men of Middle Eastern descent observed taking photographs near the Water Department filtration plant on Terryville Avenue Monday were merely photographing the foliage, said Bristol Police Lt. Jack Quilter Tuesday.

According to Quilter, water department employees contacted the police after observing the men in a vehicle in the area.

The employees were able to provide police with the license plate of the vehicle.

Quilter said the FBI was contacted about the incident, but an investigation by Bristol and Plainville police officers determined the men were only sightseeing in the area and wanted to photograph the golf course and foliage near the plant.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2571650&BRD=1643&PAG=461&dept_id=10486&rfi=6

[terilyn]

MN Director of Public Safety, Charlie Weaver, was interviewed on our local AM talk radio show this morning. He said that they did get an alert from the FBI concerning this. (The St. Paul Pioneer Press ran the story today). He said he knew where it had happened but if he told the host asking, he'd "have to kill him". He then clarified that since it was part of an official investigation he was prohibited from disclosing where it had occurred.

Who knows? A hoax that got sent to locals or the FBI didn't actually want it out in the public. We'll probably never know.

[ladyinred]

Here it is!

[Rome2000]

The NRC had a site up detailing every plant in the USA along with vital info as to the type of fuel each used, size, exact location, construction, etc.

I don't have a clue as to whether the report of the six terrorists is true or not, but the Klintonistas are directly responsible for putting this info into the hands of people who wish us ill.

Klinton PARDONED the last group of terrorists to bomb lower Manhattan.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the Klinton concept of national security involved securing the FBI files of Bill and HILLARY!'s political enemies.

[nicmarlo]

Michael Savage talked about this incident tonight on his show. He also had a Congressman on his show who said that the problem with the FBI, CIA, etc., is that 3 out of 4 now in place today were put there by Clinton and that Bush is having a hard time getting his own people in. The Congressman (whose name I cannot remember) said that the problems today would be even worse if Bush wasn't there right now.

The Congressman also said that he, personally, called the CIA (last year?) about a tip he had on where bin Laden was, that he knew people in Afghanistan, extremely credible tip, and CIA and FBI DID NOTHING. He feels Clinton put the kabosh on going after bin Laden.

[aristeides]

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. Unfortunately, I was on the subway while Rohrabacher was speaking, so I couldn't hear him and thank you for the summary. Does anybody know whether Michael Savage archives his shows on the Web someplace?

[aristeides]

Hmmm, if there was nothing to the story, I wonder why there was a Canadian border alert for these guys, according to this story in the Toronto Sun, http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-11-01-0002.html:

Meanwhile, a Canadian border alert has been issued for six men arrested in the U.S. last weekend and released by immigration authorities.

U.S. police said the men had photos and descriptions of a nuclear power plant in Florida and the Trans-Alaska pipeline.

U.S. police said the men were in groups of three and suspect they're headed to the Canadian border.

[anapikoros]

They are just repeating the same Knight Ridder story - they hasven't caught up with the fact that it's been debunked by the FBI INS and the AG.

[aristeides]

Don't you think a Canadian paper would have its own sources for whether or not there was a Canadian border alert? I think we can take it for granted that the border alert occurred. And, if it occurred, something must have prompted it.

[hellinahandcart]

I bet this story WAS true, otherwise why would they go to the trouble to ban private planes from flying over nuke facilities?

Common sense, considering the amount of damage that has already been done from the air?

[flamefront]

bttt, needs followup!

[justshutupandtakeit]

The story is crap and there is almost no way it would have been broken the way it was had it been true. You believe the Midwestern newspapers would not have been all over it had it happened? It had to come out of a Florida paper not likely.

Israeli passports for Islamic terrorists, suuure. You can believe that if you wish but if defies rational understanding.

[Lion's Cub]

While I can't know for sure, I suspect it could be true. The Israeli passport doesn't bother me--a midwest state trooper wouldn't know a fake from a real one, and INS has very little credibility.

The only real questionable "fact" in the story is the idea of 6 men traveling together. Unless the vehicle was a van of some kind, I doubt 6 men would travel in one vehicle very far.