France warning tipped off terrorists, say U.S. officials

Washington Times ^ | 12/17/03 | From combined dispatches

[GRRRRR]

What is your SOURCE for the GIGN security claim?

Just wondering...as I'm pretty up on the news and really haven't seen this tidbit.

I'm off to learn more about the GIGN now...

GRRRRR

[DanDan]

I am sorry but I have only french sources for now. As I said, I haven't seen this on american media

Depuis mardi, des équipes du Groupe d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale (GIGN), de deux à six membres opérant en civil, prennent régulièrement place à bord des vols sensibles reliant la France aux États-Unis. Ils viennent en renfort du service de sécurité propre à Air France.

Translation: (trough Google): Since Tuesday, teams of the Group of intervention of the national gendarmerie (GIGN), from two to six members operating into civil, regularly take place on board significant flights connecting France to the United States. They come in reinforcement from the service of safety specific to Air France.

http://www.ouest-france.fr/ofetranger.asp? idDOC=112998&idCLA=3637

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/031226/202/3kh6z.html

http://news.tf1.fr/news/monde/0,,1538040,00.html

[Miss Marple]

I don't think that the policy of the French government is to support terrorists. However, I do think the French bureaucracy is full of leftists who would like nothing more than to see us get hit again.

It is quite likely that France, with its large Muslim population, has had al Qaeda infiltrate the government.

The French people do not take security as seriously as they should. That is why Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, was removed from a flight at Orly, questioned, and then WITH APOLOGIES PUT ON ANOTHER AIR FRANCE FLIGHT WITH EXPLOSIVES IN HIS SHOE!!!!

[CaptSkip]

"Come on, diplomacy is diplomacy. But do you really think that french intelligence would be ready to help AQ?"

If the French people/gov/spooks could get a guarantee that France would never take a terrorist hit, they would roll over post-haste...it's in their nature. If the French can hide it, and believe the world will never find out, they'll even break their Holy UN resolutions and deal with the "Butcher of Bagdad" for mere profit, selling anything and everything on the weapons market.

France has a "hugh" Islamic population, and increasing. They're scared and don't give a S*** about what happens to the US, as long as it is bad.

[Diogenesis]

If your second statement is true, then
"the policy of the French government is to support terrorists".

Of course, that is consistent with the Reid release.

[Miss Marple]

I don't think an AL Qaeda mole qualifies as the French government supporting terrorists.

I DO think that they are so blinded by their anti-Americanism and feelings of superiority that they are messing up security through their intransigence and blabbing.

[Diogenesis]

A single hole does not make Swiss cheese.

But you said, "I do think the French bureaucracy is full
of leftists who would like nothing more than to see us get hit again."

Is not cheese "full of holes" a candidate to be considered as
Swiss cheese, OR a possible knockoff?

[A. Pole]

Everything everyone is saying about France is true. My thoughts were with Bush, HE would have to give the order to shoot down a passenger plane/ God be with him.

French are wimps and they let terrorists to escape.

[Caipirabob]

Ze "jig" - she is up! RUN mon ami! RUN!

[mrtysmm]

I think you are right...there's more to this than we yet know.

[Miss Marple]

Well, you have a point. :-)

[PokeyJoe]

The French don't look at things like fake passports, they just look at the pretty pictures and say, "oui, oui - you American brute you - my what a big box of cheese you have eh?"

[GRRRRR]

This is a website about the GIGN...HERE

It's all in French and I'm TRES rusty so I won't attempt to translate...but it appears they are a group of only 80 security personnel, broken into four main groups...hardly a significant anti-terrorism force. Thanks for the info DanDan...we'll see how the surrender monkeys hold up under real stress... GRRRRRollin For the USA!

[A. Pole]

The French don't look at things like fake passports, they just look at the pretty pictures and say, "oui, oui - you American brute you - my what a big box of cheese you have eh?"

They don't use ethnic profiling - they love to search old grandmas from New Hampshire while leaving alone young Saudi males.

[DanDan]

The site you refered to is an unofficial site.
As a matter of fact , the GIGN is made up of 350 elite men and women.
They are really an elite team. it is the GIGN that launched the attack on the hijacked Airbus in Marseille in December 1994.

For an accurate history of that Special Operations team, the excellent site:

http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/gign.html

[hershey]

Fox is reporting Italian p.m., Busceloni (sp.?), said the Vatican had been threatened with an airplane attack to take place on Christmas Day. No word on how that was thwarted.

[mewzilla]

With allies like these, who need enemies?

Betcha UBL and Saddamn shared their Christmas bonus lists....

[COBOL2Java]

Perhaps the French authorities, who are the very definition of appeasement (look up "appeasement" in a dictionary and you'll probably find a picture of a beret-clad Frenchman), believed that if they were nice-nice to al Quaida, then the terrorists will leave them alone. In addition, maybe they were feeling ashamed about the whole scarf-banning incident, and wanted to make up...

[uncbob]

So it is good that nothing happened, but not good because the suspect did not show which means a possible future plan.

Yeah but if they knew we know then they will become paranoid about who they can trust

[uncbob]

During WWII they collaborated with the Germans because their insane hatred for the British

So how come they didn't do it in WWI