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HEY, YASSIR!, Here's your latest "U.S. Foreign aid". It's coming "SPECIAL DELIVERY", compliments of the ADULT PRESIDENT!A more detailed analysis of Mr. Johnson
Here Mr. Johnson argues for better FAA security measures, not to rely on spies and informants (1995)
CNN
March 5, 1996
Transcript # 276-9
Former Intelligence Official Rebuffs Reaction to Hamas
HIGHLIGHT: Sending an intelligence team to Israel is akin to "sending air conditioners to Eskimos," says Larry Johnson, a former State Department intelligence official who disagrees with Clinton's reaction to Hamas.
Here are some excerpts of Mr. Johnson on CNN CROSSFIRE
August 5, 1997; Tuesday 7:30 pm Eastern Time
Transcript # 97080500V20
BUCHANAN: Larry, you said that the Clinton administration is under a mandate to name publicly organizations that engage in terror or raise money for terrorists and they have refused to do so. You mentioned Hamas and the IRA. I guess you mentioned Sinn Fein.
JOHNSON: Right.
BUCHANAN: What are the other organizations and why has Clinton not done so?
JOHNSON: What I'm told is that one of the major reasons is most of the groups are going -- that would be identified are Arabic and Islamic and they basically think that that might create a political problem. I think the issue is they need to stop worrying less about politics and more about enforcing law. I mean, the fact is last year the president made a big effort to push an anti-terrorism legislation through the Congress on the eve of the election. One of those things was getting explosive detection equipment into airports. This year, they didn't even fund that item in the budget.
JOHNSON: You know, the good news is the overall level of terrorism is down, the prevention is working. We prevented an act of terrorism last week. It appears that the U.S. government's international terrorism rewards program is what motivated the fellow to give up his colleagues. So I think what we need to do is focus on the programs that are there, make those work. I don't think we have to sacrifice freedom.
I believe you also reflected this sentiment earlier on another thread if I remember correctly Nick. Something about not choosing to live in a police state with checkpoints.
Let's look at the end of this article. If bin Laden is responsible L. Johnson is very accurate in 1997.
The New York Times
July 17, 1997, Thursday, Late Edition - Final
Jury Examines Whether Saudi Contributed to Terrorist Groups
By JOHN SULLIVAN
A Federal grand jury in Manhattan is investigating whether a renegade Saudi millionaire known for his virulent hatred of America has been funneling money to terrorist groups in the United States.
Federal agents are trying to follow a trail of money that they believe will lead to Osama bin Laden, a member of one of the wealthiest families in Saudi Arabia who has ties to hard-line groups across the Middle East. Mr. bin Laden, who was stripped of his Saudi citizenship in 1994 because of his reputed ties to terrorists, is believed to be living in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. An official with knowledge of the investigation said that the money had been delivered to groups supported by Mr. bin Laden in Detroit, Jersey City and Brooklyn. The money, which originated in Pakistan and Afghanistan, passed through bank accounts in London and Detroit before reaching the New York City area, the official said.
Officials declined to say what the money was used for or how much was involved.
The investigation by the grand jury, which is hearing evidence presented by the United States Attorney's office in Manhattan, was reported yesterday by The Star-Ledger of Newark. A spokesman for the F.B.I. office in New York, whose agents are trying to track the money, declined to comment.
Mr. bin Laden has made repeated statements against the United States and has a World Wide Web site devoted in part to condemnation of the West, officials said.
Even so, he has never been charged with a crime by the United States, and he has repeatedly denied any direct involvement with terrorism. But in a report released last year, the State Department linked Mr. bin Laden to terrorist training camps in the Sudan and Afghanistan, and said he backed a group that tried to bomb American troops in Yemen in 1992. He was also linked to Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, a convicted terrorist who is now accused of being the mastermind behind the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In the three years before the attack on the trade center, Mr. Yousef lived in Pakistan in a house paid for by Mr. bin Laden, the State Department report said.
In its report, the State Department described Mr. bin Laden as "one of the most significant financial sponsors of Islamic extremist activities in the world."
Mr. bin Laden, whose fortune is estimated at more than $250 million, became involved with the resistance to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1970's. After the Persian Gulf war in 1991, he moved to Sudan, where he became more involved with anti-American Islamic groups.
"Osama is a very dangerous character," said Larry Johnson, a former State Department antiterrorist official now working as a private security consultant. "He has a lot of money, and he hates the United States."
Mr. Johnson said Federal investigators had information that showed Islamic fundamentalist groups, consisting mostly of legal noncitizen immigrants from the Middle East, had received money from Mr. bin Laden. There is no evidence that any of the groups have used the money to carry out attacks in the United States, Mr. Johnson said.
Although it is not unusual for terrorist groups to raise money in the United States or to send money to supporters here, Mr. Johnson said, it is rare for foreign terrorists to carry out an attack in the United States.
"The level of terrorist activity within the United States is really very low," he said. Groups typically do not want to trigger the type of response that an attack in America would bring, he said.
"Osama," he said, "may not have the same constraint."
I'm sure the people of Beslan are comforted.
What a prophetic voice this Larry Johnson is:
Although high-profile incidents have fostered the perception that terrorism is becoming more lethal, the numbers say otherwise, and early signs suggest that the decade beginning in 2000 will continue the downward trend. A major reason for the decline is the current reluctance of countries like Iraq, Syria and Libya, which once eagerly backed terrorist groups, to provide safe havens, funding and training.
bump for fun since Larry has been getting in on Nadagate.
If you are a victim of violent crime in this country, chances are less than 1/10 of 1 percent that it will be at the hands of Islamists. 99.9% of all crime is committed by people other than Islamists.
A good point is a good point whether it is in the New York Times, or on Rush Limbaugh.
bkmk September 11, 2001
I thought Freepers would be interested in what the New York Times was telling its readers as recently as July.