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Freeh: Gorelick Ignored Terror Warnings
NewsMax.com ^ | 4/12/04 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

Posted on 04/12/2004 9:44:47 AM PDT by kattracks

In her first year as Deputy U.S. Attorney General in the Clinton administration, Sept. 11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick was warned that lax U.S. immigration policies made the U.S. a tempting target for terrorists, former FBI Director Louis Freeh revealed on Monday, suggesting that Gorelick did little to remedy the situation.

"Protecting our homeland from attacks by foreign terrorists had long been the FBI's priority," said Freeh, in a lengthy Wall Street Journal op-ed piece.

"Back in September 1994, I recommended to Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick that the DoJ strengthen investigative powers against suspected 'undesirable aliens,' accelerating deportation appeal proceedings and limiting U.S. participation in a visa waiver pilot program under which 9.5 million foreigners entered the U.S. in 1994."

Freeh that he also recommended "that we include provisions for the detention and removal of undesirable aliens, under a special, closed-court procedure."

"I also criticized alien deportation appeal procedures which often took years to conclude. Finally, I recommended legislation to provide the FBI with roving wiretap authority to investigate terrorist activities in the U.S."

But if Gorelick took Freeh's warnings seriously, she didn't make much headway with her superiors.

By 1996, under the Clinton administration's Citizenship USA program, thousands of criminal suspects were rushed through the naturalization process without proper background checks in order to get them on the voting roles on time for that year's presidential election.

According to former Justice Department investigator David Schippers, under the accelerated procedures, the U.S. was swarmed with:

• More than 75,000 new citizens who had arrest records when they applied.

• An additional 115,000 citizens whose fingerprints were unclassifiable for various technical reasons and we're never resubmitted.

• Another 61,000 people who were given citizenship with no fingerprints submitted at all.

At least one new citizen was already in jail by the time he was naturalized under the Clinton administration program.

According to Schippers's 1999 book, "Sell Out," Jamie Gorelick was tasked with expediting the new rules under which criminal background checks were suspended for new immigrants.



TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911; 911commission; aliens; aschcrofttestimony; ashcroft; bushknew; citizenshipusa; clintonfailure; clintonfailures; fbi; freeh; gore; gorelick; immigration; johnashcroft; lick; schippers; sellou; sellout; sept11; visa
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To: rocklobster11
YES....to your question about airlines.....the "commission" was headed by AL GORE.
101 posted on 04/12/2004 4:57:48 PM PDT by goodnesswins (Tagging you.....)
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To: Solson
"involved locally with the Bush campaign"

I find that interesting in lieu of your comments that email is ineffective .. I'm wondering if that's why the Bush campaign started an email policy called "Write for W" - whereby they provide links to all the print media close to where people live, simply by inserting your zip code. I've been printed twice by that method.

Oh .. I'm involved locally too - I'm a Precinct Captain! I think your advice is all wet because I've worked in radio and TV and I can tell you - public opinion is VERY important to them. Besides, I'm aiming my message just as much to that person sitting at the computer printing out and distributing emails, and also keeping track of trends within the emails .. just like our Congressmen do!
102 posted on 04/12/2004 5:08:53 PM PDT by CyberAnt (The 2004 Election is for the SOUL of AMERICA)
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To: goodnesswins
My thoughts too!
103 posted on 04/12/2004 5:10:28 PM PDT by Guenevere (..., .Press on toward the goal!)
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To: kattracks
Butch Gorelick is REALLLY gonna let Freeh have it.....pathetic bunch...all of the Clinton appointees were PATHETIC!

Freeh took off 6 WEEKS during all this terrorist stuff when one of his kids were born....6 WEEKS OFF...the FBI DIRECTOR took 6 WEEKS of family leave during some of this stuff!! As I said....PATHETIC!

104 posted on 04/12/2004 5:18:50 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion: The Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: rocklobster11
Yes. The Algore Airport Commission suggested hardened cockpit doors. The airlines objected and so the idea was scrubbed.
105 posted on 04/12/2004 5:24:51 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: faithincowboys
Linda Daschle, an airline LOBBYIST, lobbied for no changes with the Gore Commission on Aviation.....and WON!! WOW how PROUD is she???
106 posted on 04/12/2004 5:25:39 PM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion: The Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: mewzilla
There certainly was a great deal of concern about conflict of interest when Henry Kissinger was nominated to the commission. Odd how that provision was applied then, then mysteriously did not seem to make much difference when Ben-Veniste and Gorelick were nominated. Controlling the outcome, maybe?
107 posted on 04/12/2004 5:28:21 PM PDT by alloysteel
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To: bannie
And the icing on that proverbial cake is that his first name is Jaime!!!

He is a she and you missed out the apostrophe however J'aime votre prise.

108 posted on 04/12/2004 5:33:43 PM PDT by Timocrat (I Emanate on your Auras and Penumbras Mr Blackmun)
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To: Ann Archy
Gorelich was out to lunch on the matter of immigration in the Clinton administration. Who has been out to lunch on the same issue in the Bush administration? Despite all the rhetoric it seems that the security of the public is immaterial to the elitists in Washington.
109 posted on 04/12/2004 5:33:58 PM PDT by meenie
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To: Fedora
Thanks. More than this article out there, but we can't link 'em due to the copyright issue.
110 posted on 04/12/2004 5:39:33 PM PDT by philman_36
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To: rocklobster11
My question is, was there ever any discussion of changing the was airlines respond to hijackings prior to 9-11?

I don't know if there was any discussion. But speaking of Tom Clancy's prediction, I also remember that the pilot episode of the X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen, which aired March 4, 2001, involved a plane crashing into the World Trade Center:

The Lone Gunmen: 1AEB79 Pilot (4th March 2001)

They realize that the airplane will be remote controlled, just like Bert's car was. Talking by phone to the Gunmen's office, Byers asks Langly and Frohike to hack into the aircraft controls. They do and discover that the plane is programmed to crash into the World Trade Center.

So both Clancy and X-Files writer Chris Carter had thought of the idea; and usually those guys base their plots on researching the topics they're writing about by consulting experts, so it tends to follow that counterterrorism experts had also at least entertained that as a possible terrorist scenario. Whether they considered it as likely as other possible scenarios is another issue.

111 posted on 04/12/2004 5:45:43 PM PDT by Fedora
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To: philman_36
Thanks. More than this article out there, but we can't link 'em due to the copyright issue.

Without linking to any articles we're not supposed to, can you give some keywords for those of us who want to do our own Google search for the article/s? Alternatively, you might post a link to a Google search on those keywords, without linking to any specific article per se.

112 posted on 04/12/2004 5:59:42 PM PDT by Fedora
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To: kattracks
iT'S A GOOD THING bUSH STRAIGHTENED ALL THAT OUT...
113 posted on 04/12/2004 6:02:15 PM PDT by RaceBannon (VOTE DEMOCRAT AND LEARN ARABIC FREE!!)
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To: sanatanDharmi
lee hamilton (secretory of defence in somalia episode)
Don't think so. Les Aspin was SecDef during Black Hawk Down; he took responsibility (imagine, a Clinton appointee doing that) by resigning. And was replaced by a Republican - justifying my point that there hasn't been a successful Democrat SecDef in a long time. I don't know how good anyone thinks Carter's SecDef was, but other than that you'd have to go back to Robert S. McNamara of Vietnam "fame." And if you don't take that for a good reputation for SecDef, you'd have to go all the way back to Truman for a good Democratic SecDef . . .

114 posted on 04/12/2004 6:24:27 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (No one is as subjective as the person who knows he is objective.)
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To: CyberAnt
I'm also a Precincy Chair for Bush/cheney as well as another Precinct Chair for the MNGOP. I'm also the Communications Coordinator for a city precinct for Bush/Cheney.

Yes, I know that a paper, upon receiving 100 mass e-mails will regard it as 100 mass e-mails. Sure, they know your're listening but they're unlikely to print more than one. The one represents the all.

Our Congressmen FILTER our e-mails limiting their interest to ones not mass generated and only paying attention to those within their district.

But go ahead, mass e-mail all you want. I've also submitted my e-mails through the Bush/Cheney website and will continue to do so. But, they will limited effectiveness. It's not meant to be effective. It's meant to generate numbers. To that end, it will be successful.

115 posted on 04/12/2004 6:31:55 PM PDT by Solson (Always remember when you are on top of the world , that the earth rotates every 24 hrs.)
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To: kattracks
Bttt.
116 posted on 04/12/2004 6:38:11 PM PDT by Prince Charles
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To: surrey
Thank you .. but .. if you're concerned that no action will be taken .. then please add your letter to mine. If enough people add their letters to the pile .. there actually could be some action.

I wish more people would see that!
117 posted on 04/12/2004 6:48:42 PM PDT by CyberAnt (The 2004 Election is for the SOUL of AMERICA)
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To: Fedora
Here, try this...latest news on freeh
118 posted on 04/12/2004 6:52:23 PM PDT by philman_36
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To: eddiespaghetti
Yet, by some trick of fortune, Jamie Gorelick, a former deputy attorney general under President Clinton, is right now in the position of asking the questions, not answering them.

This woman is a BIG ole rat, in the rats nest! I think they are finding the culprits at last.

119 posted on 04/12/2004 6:53:47 PM PDT by tessalu
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To: Fedora
An FYI on an old article...Freeh at Last; The former FBI director uncovers (and defends) the agency’s pre-9/11 incompetence.
120 posted on 04/12/2004 7:00:07 PM PDT by philman_36
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