ABC News: Secret FBI report questions Al Qaeda capabilities

[Newsjock]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=566425&page=1

No 'True' Al Qaeda Sleeper Agents Have Been Found in U.S.

March 9, 2005 — A secret FBI report obtained by ABC News concludes that while there is no doubt al Qaeda wants to hit the United States, its capability to do so is unclear.

"Al-Qa'ida leadership's intention to attack the United States is not in question," the report reads. (All spellings are as rendered in the original report.) "However, their capability to do so is unclear, particularly in regard to 'spectacular' operations. We believe al-Qa'ida's capability to launch attacks within the United States is dependent on its ability to infiltrate and maintain operatives in the United States."

And for all the worry about Osama bin Laden's sleeper cells or agents in the United States, a secret FBI assessment concludes it knows of none.

The 32-page assessment says flatly, "To date, we have not identified any true 'sleeper' agents in the US," seemingly contradicting the "sleeper cell" description prosecutors assigned to seven men in Lackawanna, N.Y., in 2002.

more

[ck4829]

1. Why do you hate our freedoms?

Didn't you see the RNC? 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, and Saddam Hussein planned to kill us all, and John Kerry would have meetings with the French.

[Kurovski]

10. If Kerry was the president , we'd

all be eating SNAILS, fer crissake! And Osama would be the Attorney General! He would'a made Barbra Streisand the Vice-Firstlady! And Hillary would be official border-greeter for the terraists!

[BamaBecky]

2. Just curious....did they investigate or report on the Al CIAda group? n/t

[SpiralHawk]

3. Al Queda ain't got nothin on PNAC-BushCo

"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders: All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the peacemakers for exposing the coutry to danger. It works the same in any country."
Hermann Goering, at the Nuremberg trials

[Postman]

4. There IS one ally of Al-Qaeda. Its in the White House.

n/t

[imenja]

5. I'm sorry, but this is foolish

First off, what comprises "Al Quaeda" is very difficult to tell. They are not a strictly hierarchical organization. As I understand it, their fundamental role in Afghanistan was to train jhadis, who went off to run their own operations. Bin Laden and those US intelligence services identify as the top Al Quaeda leadership knew about and may have directed some of those attacks (the Cole, 9/11), but many others have been carried out by splinter groups with little or no direct contact with those the US identifies as part of Al Quaeda itself.

That they haven't seen sleeper agents means only that they haven't found them. Islamicist terrorists will strike again here, when we least expect it. Those fools didn't know 9/11 was coming. We're supposed to believe the FBI now? I don't think so. Why would they suddenly desist? After we invaded Iraq, Islamicists have somehow decided they don't hate us after all? This is wishful thinking.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. And you believe that Al Qaeda was behind 911 because....

....you were told by the media that they were? And the media was told by who exactly?

That's funny, because the FBI has never been able to find ANY link between the 19 alleged hijackers and Al Qaeda. In fact, we don't even know if the names used to identify the so-called hijackers are correct.

But, our Fearless Leader used 911 as an excuse to attack and destroy Afghanistan, and to illegally invade Iraq, a country that had absolutely NOTHING to do with 911. Both Afghanistan and Iraq have become missions that may NEVER be "accomplished" by any stretch of the imagination.

Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, FBI
Commonwealth Club of California
San Francisco, CA
April 19, 2002
<http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/speech041902.htm>

QUOTES:

"Each of the hijackers came from abroad: fifteen from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, and one each from Lebanon and Egypt."

Imagine that! Not a single alleged hijacker from Afghanistan or Iraq!

...snip...

"The hijackers also left no paper trail. In our investigation, we have not uncovered a single piece of paper – either here in the U.S. or in the treasure trove of information that has turned up in Afghanistan and elsewhere – that mentioned any aspect of the September 11th plot."

Amazing, don't you think? And an investigative reporter at another website indicates that some of the hijackers may have attended US Military schools:

Pentagon Lied: Terrorists Trained at US Bases
<http://www.madcowprod.com/mc062004.html>

QUOTE:

"Three days after the WTC disaster, Newsweek, the Washington Post and the Knight Ridder newspapers reported claims that five of the terrorist hijackers in the Sept 11 attacks received training at secure U.S. military installations during the 1990s. The reports also claimed three of the terrorists had listed their address as the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., and had participated in military exchange programs for foreign officers at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida.

In an interview with a reporter questioning the vaguely-worded Sept 16 Pentagon denial, the Defense Dept spokesman was asked to explain the particulars of fuzzy statements in which officials said 'name matches may not necessarily mean the students were the hijackers, and that discrepancies in biographical data indicate we are probably not talking about the same people.'

Pressed repeatedly to provide specifics, the spokesperson finally admitted, 'I do not have the authority to tell you who (which terrorists) attended which schools.'

I know from my previous military experience that foreigners attending US Military schools are already members of a foreign military. In most cases, they are officers in those foreign military organizations. For instance, Mohammed Atta is believed to have attended the Foreign Officers School in Montgomery, Alabama.

You won't find any of this information in the mainstream media...and by now, you should know why.

[imenja]

16. no, because I watched the 9/11 hearings

In which they provided a great deal of evidence. I have also heard Bin Laden claim responsibility on more than one occasion.

By the way, was Bush responsible for the bombings of the Cole, Cobart Towers, and the first World Trade Center too? Or was that Bill Clinton? Or was Bush the most powerful governor in the history of Texas. The Governor doesn't even run the state of Texas, yet somehow he's able to marshal US military and intelligence forces to carry out terrorist attacks.


The fact that the hijackers were not from Iraq tells you this wasn't Al Quaeda? Al Quaeda wasn't in Iraq. They and Saddam have radically different views of the world. Afghanistan served as a training ground. Many of them trained there. They didn't need to be Afghanis.

They did leave a paper trail. They bought fraudulent drivers licenses from corrupt DMV officials. They signed apartment leases in Florida and other parts of the country. I imagine you expect they should have left a manifesto proclaiming their intention to destroy the nation's financial center. Well, these people were obviously smart. Far to smart to leave the kind of idiotic proclamations of their intent that you imagine should be there.


Look at the 9/11 report or the transcripts of the hearings. On no, you wouldn't believe that. Any words spoken in approximation to Washington DC are clearly lies. Believe what you want. Apparently you will anyway. People like you are unconcerned with evidence. If this is your idea of evidence, I'm very glad you aren't responsible for national security. If you were, we'd have invaded 1000 countries by now. Now we know what happened to the radical right nuts who hated government. They've infiltrated the left.


Respond if you must, but I won't be reading it. I have a low tolerance for paranoia.

[TheWatcher]

17. Ah Yes the 9/11 Hearings

If that's all you've got, then you've got nothing.

Yes, the 9/11 Hearings where president Dipshit with his Puppet Master present with him, testified behind closed doors, NOT under oath, and all notes and accounts were destroyed.

How convenient of you to leave that out.

How convenient of you to bring up the "Blame Bill Clinton" meme.

People like you only believe the so-called "evidence" that doesn't force them to look at things that might make them uncomfortable, or point to possible truths they can't deal with.

As far as your radical right nuts infiltrated the left argument, reading your post makes you sound like you are projecting more than accusing.

But then again, I have a low tolerance for Ostriches who refuse to look at anything other than propaganda and government sponsored dog and pony farces to glean their information about the "reality" they wish to so desperately believe.


I've said it before and i will say it again.

The most unpalpable and ridiculous explanation behind 9/11 is The Official Story.

[imenja]

21. government supplied is better than none at all

and believe whatever you like. I could care less.

[Bridget Burke]

19. Someone's a "radical right wing nut" because they disagree with you....

Then you inform them you won't be reading their response.

OK.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. And I have a VERY low tolerance for condescending posters who....

...try to convince everyone that they have all of the answers on a particular topic. Let's review your "responses", such that they are:

You stated: "No, because I watched the 9/11 hearings. In which they provided a great deal of evidence. I have also heard Bin Laden claim responsibility on more than one occasion."

Most people I know have stated that the 911 hearings were a sham, a whitewash, another Warren Commission Report. Osama ORIGINALLY denied any responsibility for the attacks...and then when he realized his recruitment numbers were shooting out through the roof, he began to claim that he was responsible. By the way, the only video evidence claiming to portray Osama taking credit is an obvious fake. The man in that film does not match in any way the photos of Osama before the 911 attacks, and after that film surfaced.

You also stated: "By the way, was Bush responsible for the bombings of the Cole, Cobart Towers, and the first World Trade Center too? Or was that Bill Clinton? Or was Bush the most powerful governor in the history of Texas. The Governor doesn't even run the state of Texas, yet somehow he's able to marshal US military and intelligence forces to carry out terrorist attacks."

What was your point in including this pile of garbage in your post? We're not discussing anything but 911 in this conversation.

I will state for the record that the Busch Junta had advance knowledge of previous attempts to use airliners as bombs.

I will also state for the record that Herr Busch knew that the first attack had taken place on the WTC before he arrived at the elementary school in Florida. Busch also told two different groups visiting the White House in the months following 911 that he had seen the first plane hit the WTC on the television. He didn't say "second plane"...he said "first plane"...and he told that same story twice.

I will also state that the FAA and NORAD delayed the request for, and launching of, the interceptors from bases that were as far from the action as possible, despite having a number of closer bases like Andrews outside Washington, DC.

Look up "Operation Northwoods" from 1962, and then tell me that homegrown terrorist attacks just can't happen.

Additionally, you stated that: "The fact that the hijackers were not from Iraq tells you this wasn't Al Quaeda? Al Quaeda wasn't in Iraq. They and Saddam have radically different views of the world. Afghanistan served as a training ground. Many of them trained there. They didn't need to be Afghanis."

The point that Al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq is exactly my point. Add that to the fact that every single excuse for us invading Uraq has been totally shot down...no WMDs, no Bio-Chem weapons, no nothing.

And my point about Afghanistan is, why did we destroy the entire country to eliminate Al Qaeda's training camps? We killed tens of thousands of innocent Afghanis just to destroy camps that could have been eradicated in minutes with a proper bombing campaign.

No Afghans and no Iraqis among the 19 alleged hijackers, but we've destroyed both countries.

And to attempt to deviate from what Mueller actually stated in his speech, you said: "They did leave a paper trail. They bought fraudulent drivers licenses from corrupt DMV officials. They signed apartment leases in Florida and other parts of the country. I imagine you expect they should have left a manifesto proclaiming their intention to destroy the nation's financial center. Well, these people were obviously smart. Far to smart to leave the kind of idiotic proclamations of their intent that you imagine should be there."

Read my post first and then try to respond. Mueller stated quite clearly, so almost anyone could understand, that there was NO paper trail connecting the 19 alleged hijackers to Al Qaeda and/or Osama Bin Laden. None. Nada. Zilch. That has nothing to do with the trail that any of them left in this country.

And finally, in desperation, you moaned pitifully: "Look at the 9/11 report or the transcripts of the hearings. On no, you wouldn't believe that. Any words spoken in approximation to Washington DC are clearly lies. Believe what you want. Apparently you will anyway. People like you are unconcerned with evidence. If this is your idea of evidence, I'm very glad you aren't responsible for national security. If you were, we'd have invaded 1000 countries by now. Now we know what happened to the radical right nuts who hated government. They've infiltrated the left."

Oh, please. If you believe you were told the truth during the 911 hearings, you're welcome to it. I rank the 911 hearing transcript right up there with that other piece of governmental fiction entitled "The Warren Commission Report". And if there are any "radical right nuts" that have "infiltrated the left", it's people like you that claim loudly that they believe everything their government tells them. People like you tend to get ugly when they get questioned closely about why they believe the garbage coming out of a whitewashed hearing like the one that looked into the events of 911.

I'm going to revise my original statement. I have a low tolerance for posters that try to bluff their way through a thread by acting in a very condescending and insulting manner. Either that, or you're one of the most gullible people that I've ever had the misfortune to run across on DU.

[Cocoa]

18. it's reverse hype by ABC's Brian Ross

Ross is not reliable.

I think in this case he's overstating this "secret report." I'm skeptical how much it really contradicts previous statements, such as the testimony by Mueller he cites.

[judy]

6. For more info on this, watch the excellent doc

"The Power of Nightmares".
It is available online from the BBC,and it will also show at the San Francisco International Film Festival with the director present.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm

It explains a lot about how "Al Qaeda" as an organized hierarchical entity does not exist, and is merely a fear inducing fabrication.
The documentary is very serious and doesn't make light of the real threat of terrorism. But it puts things in their place.

[Old and In the Way]

7. Bush-bin Laden

A socially dysfunctional, mutually co-enabling couple. They win, the world loses.

[BigBearJohn]

8. Wake me up when this nightmare is over.

[EFerrari]

9. To quote Richard Clarke

"I don't think the FBI knows what it knows."

[Iterate]

11. It's the enemy in your head

Small wonder few, if any, can be found. But that's hardly the point when you and your radical clerics have made it a holy war.

Two thousand years and they've never been short of devils.

[bklyncowgirl]

12. I don't know if I'd totally trust the FBI to find much of anything

This is the same FBI who missed the warning signs for 9/11.

Let's see, their multimillion dollar computer system turned out to be a giant waste of taxpayers money. As far as I know any of the many suspects they arrested on suspicion of terrorism seem to go free the minute they meet a judge and are subjected to US legal standards.

My guess is Osama Bin Laden could take a tour of the FBI building wearing J. Edgar Hoover's little black dress and these jokers wouldn't even notice.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

14. And we were told that we "missed" the so-called "warning signs" by....

...who exactly?

Have you already forgotten the statement in the PNAC document "Rebuilding America's Defenses" about the need for "another Pearl Harbor"?

But you are wise not to trust anything that ANY branch of the Busch Junta tells you.

[Roland99]

15. They've all left to Iraq to fight us there. Bush is a genius!

yeah....right.

[TexasLawyer]

22. Peter Jennings' Report on UFOs

It's funny that when the posted ABC News web-page is pulled up, the whole right-hand side of the page is a dark and spooky-looking ad for ABC's upcoming UFO Report.

I guess if we can't be hysterically frightened of Al Qaeda sleeper cells, then MSM must break out the emergency back-up boogeyman.

[MisterP]

23. given Jennings, the boogeyman will be not UFOs but their believers

dangerous, ya know. Unscientific, like JFK assassinations and mercury. But there's also a good unscientific, like WMD claims being accepted.

[Javaman]

24. So the recent release of Documents by the FAA stating the...

real possibility of attacks against American interests via Terrorist using planes crashing into things means nothing...Okay, I was just checking.
Down the memory hole.

[radwriter0555]

25. I've been saying that since December, 2001.

**sigh**