Posted on 09/14/2002 11:10:09 PM PDT by glorygirl
A former FBI agent involved in the convictions of hundreds of terrorists spoke Thursday night at the University of Florida about the lack of power the FBI has that in part allowed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to happen.
Danny Coulson, the founder of the FBI's Counter Terror Force Hostage Rescue Team, was involved in the arrest of Timothy McVeigh, the man convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
"One of the most difficult things was going into the nursery and seeing shattered baby bottles and little bloody palm prints on the walls," said Coulson, who left the FBI in 1997 after more than 30 years of service. He now lives in Texas.
The lack of power the FBI had to prevent the attacks can be traced back to congressional hearings in the 1970s, Coulson said. Congress was investigating inappropriate activity by the FBI and ended up establishing new guidelines about what the FBI could and could not do.
FBI agents were no longer allowed to investigate suspected terrorists unless they had a reasonable belief that the people would commit a crime, Coulson said. FBI agents weren't even allowed to use the Internet to research suspected terrorists or hate groups, he said.
Because of that, the FBI did much less domestic intelligence, Coulson said.
"You could only get in trouble by doing something positive," Coulson said. "If you're going to lose your career, what are you going to do? Nothing."
A lack of funding, along with an inability to understand some foreign languages, also added to the problems, Coulson said.
The FBI developed 40 databases of tips during the past 10 years, Coulson said. But none of the databases talked to each other or to the CIA.
"If you have one little piece of information it means nothing," Coulson said. "But with six or eight, you have a conspiracy to commit murder."
The day before the terrorist attacks, the FBI asked Attorney General John Ashcroft for money to update its computers and get help learning other languages. Ashcroft denied the request and told agents it wasn't necessary, Coulson said.
The Patriot Act of 2001, passed after the terrorist attacks, helped some in that FBI agents can now use the Internet to learn about suspected terrorist groups, Coulson said. But more needs to be done, he added.
The terrorist threat isn't over, Coulson said. Terrorists want to attack places like shopping malls, theme parks and kindergartens, he said. They may try new methods, including sending in numerous terrorists at once and moving from room to room killing people, he said.
But there is a lot of hope because people are patriotic and they are willing to fight to protect themselves and others, Coulson said. "Your generation of America is a lot more patriotic than mine was," Coulson said. "I feel good about where our country is going."
Coulson now runs security for a major sports organization and is the author of "No Heroes: Inside the FBI's Secret Counter-Terror Force."
About 100 people attended the speech, sponsored by ACCENT, in University Memorial Auditorium.
Kathy Ciotola can be reached at 338-3109 or ciotolk@ gvillesun.com.
They had him in custody for three dats before they put the finger on him, and let his muslim brothers escape.
There goes the FBI taking credit for something it didn't do, and eventually screwed up.
Tell me why I should trust anything the FBII's say, again?
Well, at least there is something good.
NEWSFACTOR.com - NEWSFACTOR NETWORK: "FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE RAIDS ARAB WEB HOSTING FIRM" (ARTICLE NOTE: The firm is identified as InfoCom Corporation. ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Arab leaders held a news conference to protest the FBI's actions, calling it an "anti-Muslim witch hunt." They insisted the task force, which also included the Secret Service and the U.S. Customs Service, acted on little evidence, but rather on political pressure and anti-Arab stereotypes. "While Muslims understand the FBI's mission to protect American citizens, we are concerned that the civil liberties of InfoCom's owners and their many important clients were violated by this unexpected raid," the Arab group said in a statement.") by Tim McDonald (SEPTEMBER 7, 2001)
stepping back in time...AHRAM.org.eg - AL-AHRAM Published Weekly in Cairo, Egypt: "ADDRESSING 'THE NATION', TARGETING AMERICA Diaa Rashwan* analyses the content of the video-taped statements released by Osama Bin Laden, Suleiman Abu Gheith and Ayman El-Zawahri" (The October 11-17, 2001 Issue)
So now they're calling the HRT "counter terror force". I guess their hypocrisy knows no bounds. The HRT killed Vickie Weaver, then later incinerated 22 babies in a seige of a church group in Texas. It's a hit squad and has diddly to do with rescuing hostages.
This Coulson butthole was apparently working for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol that day, if he's claiming to have arrested McVeigh. What a bunch of malarkey. The FBI should be disbanded as an ongoing criminal enterprise.
TXnMA (No Longer!!!)
Why haven't the rest of us heard about this superhuman success of Coulson and his Fumbling Bum cronies?
HUNDREDS of terrorists convicted? Brings to mind that famous Japanese alcoholic drink made from milk -- "Moo-Sake"...
TXnMA (No Longer!!!)
Do I detect a smirk of derision?
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