Posted on 07/31/2002 11:11:13 AM PDT by kattracks
PATERSON, N.J., Jul 31, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A man who authorities said sold fake identification to two of the Sept. 11 hijackers apparently left on a flight to Egypt hours before authorities raided his home and businesses Wednesday, officials said.
Mohamad El Atriss operated businesses in Paterson and Elizabeth where he sold the IDs, said Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale. Authorities raided his home and business Wednesday afternoon and were told Atriss had took a flight from Newark to Egypt earlier that morning, Speziale said.
Atriss sold a fake identification card to Khalid Almihdhar, who was on Flight 77 as it hit the Pentagon, and one to hijacker Abdul Aziz Alomari from Flight 11, which hit the World Trade Center, Speziale said.
Authorities said they had 75 fake IDs that Atriss generated and sold for as much as $800 each, though they believed he made many more. The IDs included international driver's licenses and New Jersey state ID cards, neither of which legally exist.
Wednesday's raids followed a four-month investigation by sheriffs in Passaic, Bergen and Essex counties, the Paterson police and the FBI, Speziale said.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Paper Trail, began after police in Bergen and Passaic counties starting finding similar fake ids, Speziale said.
Authorities were tipped to Atriss by a St. Paul, Minn., company after he contacted it about paying cash for a high-speed copier machine capable of embossing seals.
Atriss never bought the copier from Minnesota, but did contact a Paterson company about a similar purchase, Speziale said. That company also became suspicious when Atriss offered to pay cash for the machine and they called the FBI, Speziale said.
FBI agents posed as merchants at the store and sold Atriss the copier, Speziale said. Law enforcement authorities also purchased fake IDs at Atriss' stores, known as All Service Plus, Overseas Development and Trading Co. and Green Palm Investments.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Some of us view liberty as a precious thing. It is not something to be taken for granted. You seem to be of the opinion that our government can guarantee the preservation of our liberty if we would only submit to a few minor infringements. No thanks. Remember, the same government you look to for protection is the same government that has stripped you of your right to keep and bear arms. That infringement alone killed 3,000 people on 9/11. I don't want to derail this thread by going off on a tangent, but one or two armed passengers or pilots on those planes would have thwarted the terrorists' plans.
But if you insist on forcing the rest of us to live under a police state, please try to provide some kind of constitutional support for your insane position. You owe us at least that much.
Alone, no. But, together we can. Flight 93 is the proof. It will never happen again, for the same reason they didn't succeed on Flight 93: the passengers realized what was going to happen and took action to stop it.
The tragedy on 9/11 occurred because of increasing government oppression and interference in airplane security -- who told airlines and passengers to just sit quietly, comply with hijackers, and let the feds negotiate.
I fly regularly for business and have had this same discussion over and over again with other frequent flyers and flight crew. If anyone tries to hijack a plane in the US, I'll be on top of them with my arm around their throat, even if I die trying. And, I know there will be plenty of other people on the plane that will be helping me.
You would think they would tail the guy after selling him the copier,maybe out his name on a watch list, but no, the Federal Bungling Idiots have screwed up another one.
HEADS SHOULD ROLL!!!!!!!!!
If the FBI was military, the people responsible would be OUT.
Instead, the people responsible will probably get a pay raise and a promotion.
Unless W puts his foot down and starts punishing the nincompoops that work for the Feds, security is just an illusion.
Just correcting your typo.
Dear sheltonmac:
Well, for starters, how about the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." There will be no life in America without strong security. Insane? It's called truth.
"Get professional help, you need it...an oppressive gov't is NOT a reasonable solution to your perception of a problem."
Dear justlurking:
I appreciate your response so people can see how a libertarian behaves when faced with reality they can't accept. You depict yourself very well as a jerk.
The Daniel Pearl is not fantasy, its not an illusion. There is a powerful force, militant Islam and their followers, that is within our boarders. Ever hear of sleeper cells? You can pretend, you can wish they didn't exist, however, that won't make them go away. The Daniel Pearl tape, as you obviously were not aware, is a motivation to these cells. It is played often and revered in the militant Muslim world. It's what they want to do to you and me.
Even though you don't care about your life or security, you are wrong to insult those who do care and work for security of America.
20th century security technology is an upgrade to 18th and 19th century security technology -- an armed populace.
Attempts to sidetrack the issue into bureaucratic power-trip games (such as "biometrics") should be rejected out of hand.
Yep, and the Constitution explicitly provides for domestic security:
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Maybe we should give the FBI a small break. After all, for 8 years they were instructed that the terrorists were conservative, white, 2nd Amendment males. Perhaps it's just taking awhile for them to update their terrorist manual...and yes, I'm being sarcastic.
Wednesday's raids followed a four-month investigation by sheriffs in Passaic, Bergen and Essex counties, the Paterson police
How many Muslims working inside our government does it take to warn these killers?
Joyful: I have seen the Pearl video -- saw it before we ever entered into this digital conversation -- and I find it unnecessary to view again, much as I find it unseemly to dwell morbidly on the details of his slaying. Frankly, that's a sick thing to do.
Don't you understand??! This is what the terrorists are planning to do to you, to your, dare I say the wicked word, children? To your parents? They want to savagely kill everyone who is Christian and Jewish. The terrorist speak for all of militant Islam, when they say on the Pearl video that terror is coming to us.
Daniel Pearl was a reporter who was chasing a story. That it led him into dangerous places was not surprising; as a veteran reporter he knew this, and obviously accepted the risk.
Daniel Pearl was not walking the streets of the United States when he was kidnapped and killed. He was not a random victim of faceless terror. He willingly met with people he knew were radicals, potentially dangerous sources who could (and did) backfire. I'm sorry he died. But to make his targeted slaying the touchstone of your "sky-is-falling" level of fear is really quite unnecessary. Unless you're planning on wandering into Pakistan or Afghanistan anytime soon, in search of a story.
How about a "FREE REPUBLIC" tee shirt. I proudly wore out my old one!
I really wish you could step back and see how you are ranting and screaming (virtually) at people who (with varying amounts of patience) are trying to point out the problems with your position.
The reality is that the government ultimately cannot protect you from harm. That's your responsibility. When you rely on others to do it for you, what are you going to do when they either cannot or will not do so?
The Daniel Pearl is not fantasy, its not an illusion. There is a powerful force, militant Islam and their followers, that is within our boarders. Ever hear of sleeper cells? You can pretend, you can wish they didn't exist, however, that won't make them go away. The Daniel Pearl tape, as you obviously were not aware, is a motivation to these cells. It is played often and revered in the militant Muslim world. It's what they want to do to you and me.
Unless you are wandering around in the parts of the world controlled by the militant Muslims (as Pearl was), you are in no significant danger from them. Believing otherwise is irrational fear and paranoia.
Yes, I'm sure there are militant Muslims in this country. But, they are very constrained in what they can do, because everyone is vigilant and individuals still have the means to stop them in most parts of the country. Setting aside government incompetence, it's very unlikely they will succeed again in anything more than a minimal attack. And even then, the chance of any specific individual being directly affected is very small -- something close to winning the lottery. You expose yourself to far more danger every time you get in your car/truck/SUV and drive to the grocery store.
Even though you don't care about your life or security, you are wrong to insult those who do care and work for security of America.
I do care about my life and security, which is exactly the reason why I oppose oppressive government measures that only pretend to address those issues. Governments have a historical habit of using such measures for more insidious purposes that undermine my life and security.
But, if you think I'm trying to insult you, you misunderstand. I'm encouraging you to seek help. I'm not saying that you "need" it, despite your misquote of my previous posting (you left out the "if")... only you can decide that. But, I do think it would be very helpful if you stepped back and took a deep breath and honestly asked yourself why you believe that danger is lurking around every corner. It's not, and never has been unless you live in a handful of urban slums.
The whole purpose of terrorism is to make people fearful and stop them from doing the things they enjoy. The extremist Muslims hate our form of western democracy because they envy our freedom. It's only a pretense that we do things they don't like -- they know very well that it's the freedom that enables us to do so. By insisting that our government limit our freedom, you are handing the terrorists their victory.
Daniel Pearl's morbid death is not isolated to American daily lives.
Daniel Pearl's death is a "calling card" to all of us. The terrorists said as much. They said Pearl's fate will happen to all Christians, Jews, and other unbelievers. With Saddam Husseins help, they will soon have the means to do it.
"It's a sickly thing to dwell on the Daniel Pearl tape."
The sickly thing is that the threats to every American and Jew made on that tape are real.
The sickly sinister thing is to ignore these threats and refuse to strenghen our security.
You've got it! Send me your addy (via private freepmail) and size (don't be a small) and I'll scrounge one up for you. Thought you'd never ask.
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