March 27, 2006, - 3:04 pm
Taking a Survey: Would the FBI Have Done Anything?
By
Today, Zacarias Moussaoui testified that “he and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid were supposed to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House.”
But I have a question for you, readers and friends: Do you think that–even if Moussaoui had told FBI and INS agents, point blank, of his nefarious plan–FBI management would have allowed FBI Special Agent Harry Samit to search Moussoui’s belongings?
I gotta say, I don’t think so.
There was so much evidence that Moussaoui was a terrorist planning a hijacking. There was definite evidence he was part of Al-Qaeda. French intelligence said he was and provided evidence he trained in Al-Qaeda terror training camps. The FBI response: Look his name up in French phone books.
Moussaoui tried to learn how to steer a plane, but not take off or land. And there was a plethora of other damning evidence against him. FBI response: they were sure he was just a wealthy Frenchman trying to learn to fly. Ri-i-i-i-ight.
Samit predicted Moussaoui was in a terrorist hijacking operation and that the President’s life and safety were in danger. He was correct about both. The FBI higher-ups were flat-out wrong about everything.
We’ve detailed it all (, , and ), evidence upon evidence, strong hint upon strong hint. And yet, Samit testified that, despite all the hard evidence, FBI superiors from the top down repeatedly turned down his requests for search warrants.
I seriously doubt that Moussaoui openly saying he’s a terrorist hijacker would have changed a thing. When a duck talks and walks like a duck and you still deny it’s a duck, it’s hard to believe that open quacking will suddenly cure your blindness. in which the FBI has done the same–deliberately turn a blind eye.
As former FBI Agent Erik Rigler testified, “They didn’t come for Disney.” (Someone needs to also tell that to Detroit’s US Attorney’s office and the Justice Dept., which also say a Detroit Al-Qaeda cell’s videotape was a “tourist video.” Uh-huh) Yet, FBI supervisor Michael Maltbie said in an e-mail, “There’s no indication that (Moussaoui) had plans for any nefarious activity.”
That’s the FBI. Fully Blind (non)”Investigations.” The only thing the death penalty phase of the Moussaoui trial proves is how ashamed the FBI should be, but isn’t.
Yes, Moussaoui deserves the death penalty. But his silence can hardly be faulted solely for the 9/11 attacks when FBI management so wantonly and grossly negligently looked the other way. That’s why we have law enforcement, ie. to investigate crimes potential and committed, and enforce the law.
Not a single one of the FBI senior desk jockeys on trial, though. Why not? When a construction worker negligently drops a crane on an innocent bystander, he usually gets tried, convicted, and newly fitted for stripes. Not one FBI manager got his/her just desserts.
Tags: al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda camp, attorney, blindness, construction worker, Debbie Schlussel, Detroit, Erik Rigler, Federal Bureau of Investigation, French intelligence, Harry Samit, law enforcement, manager, Michael Maltbie, President, Richard Reid, search warrants, Special Agent, supervisor, terrorist, White House, Zacarias Moussaoui
I think it has become fairly obvious that FBI management did not take the reports of their underlings seriously. Then quickly tried their best to insulate themselves from embarrassment and possible charges of negligence. Why didnít managementís superiors do anything? For the same reasons I suppose… Just a theory.
DeBodine on March 27, 2006 at 3:36 pm