Posted on 02/12/2002 9:06:27 PM PST by Shermy
NBC News has learned that the FBI has arrested two men of Middle Eastern background who were driving Monday night outside the Pentagon in a tow truck. The FBI is investigating the men to see if they have any terrorist connections.
LUCY CALDWELL, a spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police, told NBC News that state troopers pulled the men over Monday at 10:05 p.m. as they were driving on Route 110 by the Pentagon. Commercial vehicles, including tow trucks, have been prohibited from using that road since November, Caldwell said. She added that the men ignored a trooper who was trying to signal them to pull over their truck. A second trooper down the highway was able to get them to stop. He searched the truck and found numerous false identification cards, Caldwell said, including a half dozen drivers’ licenses from several states “with different identities on them.” Once the trooper saw the fake IDs, he called in the FBI.
Virginia state police have charged the men, whose names were not released, with traffic violations and possession of false identification. The FBI interviewed them at length Tuesday and, federal law enforcement sources say, still are trying to establish who they are. The sources say they expect the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to file federal charges Wednesday against the men in the U.S. District Courthouse in Alexandria, Va.
The men were not armed. Bomb-sniffing dogs searched the truck, but found no explosives or explosive residue, Caldwell said.
The arrest took place just two hours after the FBI announced its latest terrorist warning Monday night. The FBI warned the public that an attack might be planned for as early as Tuesday and told the American public to be on the lookout for a Yemeni man and 16 alleged associates.
Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday urged the nation to be on “the highest state of alert.”
[more on other suspects from other places at link]
In warfare it is sometimes necessary to retreat. Had Washington tried to slug it out toe to toe with the British during the Revolutionary War it would have been over before it began. So he essentially fought by retreating for almost three years while building military capability. Then when the opportunity at Yorktown presented itself he was ready to pounce and end the war. Politics is often like that and timing is essential.
There is nothing wrong with having different opinions about principles and events but in order to most effectively implement them (as opposed to meer venting) one has to work with people who will not agree 100% with everything you believe. If I wait till I find a politician or party which agrees with me 100% of the time or even 75% I will never find it and unless I compromise this means I leave the field to the enemy for sure. 100% enemies often.
Peace back at cha.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.