The Justice Department has a terrible track record of exaggeration when it comes to claiming that they’ve uncovered terrorist cells in the US. As the Carpetbagger reminds us,
By any reasonable measure, the Bush administration’s track record on exposing dangerous terrorist plots isn’t terribly impressive. When Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in March 2002, the president described him as al Queda’s chief of operations and emphasized the significance of his capture. Bush was wrong. The plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t quite what it was cracked up to be. Jose Padilla was not actually prepared to detonate a dirty bomb in DC. Former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge eventually conceded that flimsy evidence led the administration to raise the threat level in 2004.
And then there’s the reconstruction from Unqualified Offerings, Money for Nothing,
Wild speculation: You don’t suppose the Seas of David Cell was just trying to scam their “al-Qaeda contact” (FBI informant) out of a lot of cool shit, do you? Reading the indictment (pdf) is suggestive.
…
Have you noticed that if explosives appeared on either wish list, the indictment hasn’t considered it worth mentioning? Have you noticed that $50,000 is a lot of money, vehicles you can drive and that you could probably find buyers for bullet proof vests and firearms in Liberty City without too much trouble?
They weren’t Muslims. They weren’t al-Qaeda. Could they just have been (incompetent) scam artists?
Back to the Carpetbagger (although there’s lots more in both posts for anyone interested in the case),
Just to be clear, I’m not saying that the capture of these lunatics is trivial. These people clearly wanted to kill innocent people and commit domestic terrorist attacks. Intelligence officials deserve kudos for infiltrating the group and stopping these would-be terrorists before they became dangerous.
That said, anyone who claims that the administration just broke up a plot to attack the Sears Tower is overstating what’s occurred here. The “Miami 7” could hardly attack a convenience store.
Moreover, this seems to be a pattern with the Bush gang. There’s a major announcement that receives blanket coverage about terrorist plots — which turns out to be far less significant than advertised. Dick Cheney said yesterday that this cult in Miami was “a very real threat.” Except, after scratching beneath the surface just a little, there’s ample reason to believe that’s not the case.
R Alexander Acosts US Attorney and his Assts Jacqueline M Arango and Richard Getchell are to be admired for the Indictment they drew up. I took the trouble to read the pdf you pointed to.
You are right no mention of explosives anywhere although press reports mentionthm
What really warms the cockles of my heart is
Item 5) Batiste provied his FBI plant with details of boot sizes his army wanted – curiously no mention of Uniforms, medals, hats, insignia of rank etc.,Obviously a man concerned with his troops welfare and displays no egregious interest in gaudy uniforms. Although I haven’t seen any reference to the various styles of military uniforms that Al Quaeda currently sport – they usually look as though they simply shop at charity stores and garage sales.
Item 21) Batiste went with FBI plant to purchase a memory chip for the digital camera so they could fillum the FBI buildings they wanted to blow up — after having Item 18) 3days previously asked him for rental van to cruise by the said buildings, but evidenyl realised they hadn’t got a workign camera.
Carl Hiassen couldn’t make this stuff up.
It must really frighten the citizens of Miami that such unintelligent, low life are on the streets – I mean the Attorneys who write out this sort of crap and the undecover wankers who get involved in this (expensive) and stupid nonsense.
I’m glad the FBI caught these guys, assuming the claims are true. They probably weren’t much of a threat to blow up the Sears tower, but it’s kind of reassuring that:
a. We are arresting people who are doing things that look like a genuine threat of a terrorist attack.
b. We are arresting and indicting these guys, not shipping them off to some secret prison to have answers beaten out of them.
THIS IS IMPORTANT; If not for the reasons stated. “When any Government causes it’s citizens to actively plot terrorism, SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH BOTH THE PLOTERS AND THE GOVERNMENT! I lived and worked in Haiti many years owning and operating a (only one) aircraft charter co.
Haitian’s are the BEST people I have ever met, by and large. Honest, and proud with their history of the “Only country to be formed from a successful slave revolt, in all known history! They fought in the American Revolution, and were THE reason Napoleon did not invade the USA.
Yes they and they alone stood between Napoleon, the master of battles and the fledging USA. Now the Heaven most Haitians aspire to is life in the USA.
I ask you to look into these faces and ask yourselves “What went wrong?” The only answer I see is the failure of our land to meet the expectations of those who want to be a part of it.
These “Talkers” were perhaps, asking the Government to help them be a real part of our America?
An America their ancestor’ too fought and died for.
An America where one can “Speak freely” Say the things that come to mind without fear of the knock in the dark of night, the tramp of the Jack Booted, Black clad faceless men on the porch. Yes free to make threats. Especially if the means of carring out such threats is all but impossible.
I have had the expierence of being of “interest” to these Faceless, black clad Filth. They have killed my 4 pet dogs one by one over the past 5 years. This is the NEW America land of the ATF-SS-SA-GESTAPO. Where “suspect equates with Guilty and only one law-scum’s pointing a fingure is all it takes to marshall the Black Clad, Faceless Men”.
Perhaps our current “Reichs Furher-Hydrick” can hold a news confrence and take credit for killing my foundling pets/friends one by one? My guess is this “tactic” is the same one and for the same purpose as Waco and Ruby Ridge, for “Whoom the Black clad faceless men would kill, first they make angry,for justification.
I ask you who are the “TERRORISTS?”, These freedom seeking black men or the Dog Killing Black clad faceless me of ATF-SS-FBI-GESTAPO? Yes this 70 year old White man would like to hear the “Reich’s Furher Gonzales” explain the need to kill my 4 pets one by one over a 5 year period.and the use of informants to pick out my favorite, Off White, from among the 10 stray dogs I gave shelter to. Bob Morgan and friends four Maxie; Scardy Cat; Off White and Samantha.