A Glimpse Behind the Plot Against the American Embassy in Paris

The New York Times ^ | 10/28/2001 | CHRIS HEDGES

[dennisw]

BTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

[junta]

This still means "diversity is our strength", right?

[Lent]

Just like a virus Islamicism. Who knows what cell it will infect. The new drug for the disenfranchised ME and North African first or second generation living in the West.

[Travis McGee]

"....a circle of radical clerics based in mosques and prayer centers in London and Leicester that French officials see as central to Mr. bin Laden's movement. "They are Osama bin Laden's representatives in Europe," an official of the Interior Ministry said."

Why are they still being "observed", instead of raided, arrested, and bulldozed? Are we serious about winning this "war" (sic) on terrorism or not?

"Think globally, act locally."

[Lent]

Why are they still being "observed", instead of raided, arrested, and bulldozed? Are we serious about winning this "war" (sic) on terrorism or not?

To the last question: No. I'm still waiting for a raid on CAIR.

[Travis McGee]

I think that it will never happen if left to the fedgov which just assured the saudis that we will NOT restrict visas to come to America in any way.

Nothing will happen until after another 9-11 level event, after which "students" and others on visas may be subject to review under Rule 308.

[Sabertooth]

"Why are they still being "observed", instead of raided, arrested, and bulldozed?"

My "optimistic" (very ironic, that) answer is that through surveilance we hope to locate the WMDs that are already here.

Not that my optimism puts me at any ease.

[aristeides]

The nod was to come from a Frenchman of Algerian origin who was on his way back from training in Afghanistan.

Another article in tomorrow's NY Times, Jubilant Calls on Sept. 11 Led to F.B.I. Arrests , says that bin Laden no longer phones people so that he cannot be tracked, but uses messengers instead. Somebody presumably gave Atta the go-ahead during his last trip to Europe, in July of this year. I wonder if we will ever learn who the messenger was.

[aristeides]

If there are already WMDs here, how can anybody reasonably argue against the use at least of sodium pentathol?

[aristeides]

"These plotters were not very clever," an official of the Interior Ministry said. "They bought all their chemicals at the same place. They might as well have left a calling card for our intelligence service."

These guys seem to have had particularly bad opsec. Not that Atta's bunch, from what we hear, had much better. The European authorities could pick their bad actors up, our authorities did not. Of course, I suspect that's because Atta's bunch had protection, from the CIA or some such.

[mercy]

Thanks for the flag. Thank God the frogs got him and not us. At least the French know when good interrogation is required.

[Sabertooth]

If there are already WMDs here, how can anybody reasonably argue against the use at least of sodium pentathol?

Key word: "reasonably"

I say we put them on the first Blackbird to Turkey, and let our NATO ally subject them to some down-home Islamic interrogation.

[Travis McGee]

The WMD already here could be kilos and kilos of anthrax in glass jar "bombs" to fill thousands of envelopes, to to be thrown down on subway tracks, or into air intakes for buildings and sports arenas.

If they are dispersed to a dozen agents with no contact with each other, I can't see a solution.

[mercy]

Hey Trav, check this out. The posters have turned my Vanity into a decent intro at most. Bring toothy. LINK

[aristeides]

I wouldn't say solutions are unimaginable. For anthrax, an effective and reasonably safe vaccine could well be enough. Speaking of the anthrax vaccine, haven't the Russians offered to sell or give theirs to us? Why haven't we taken them up on the offer -- is there some reason to think their vaccine is ineffective or excessively prone to side-effects?

[Sabertooth]

Toothy?

[patent]

Bump. Arrest, execute, deport. Skip the first step where necessary in an individual case.

patent

[Travis McGee]

I don't know about a vaccine for anthrax, anyway it couldn't be given to 300 million of us before 2002.

The next and major anthrax attacks could already be in the mail, or could go down the subway tracks tomorrow.

As far as keeping 100 kilos of antrax spores out of the USA, how successful are we with cocaine interdiction?