Posted on 10/07/2002 6:30:44 PM PDT by joesnuffy
HOMELAND INSECURITY Freeh: 'Right-wing groups' bigger threat Clinton FBI chief's counterterror focus to be probed at 9-11 hearing
Posted: October 7, 2002 4:00 a.m. Eastern
By Paul Sperry © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – As WorldNetDaily first reported Friday , former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who has been criticized for refocusing counterterrorism efforts on "right-wing groups," will headline tomorrow's Senate hearings probing Sept. 11 failures.
CIA Director George Tenet, another Clinton appointee, is scheduled to testify in Thursday's hearing, jointly held by the Senate and House intelligence committees, a House Intelligence Committee aide said today. This week's witness schedule has not yet been released to the press or posted on either committee website.
Despite alarming evidence of an escalation in anti-American attacks from Islamic terrorist groups like al-Qaida, Freeh in 1999 told Congress that domestic "right-wing groups" posed "a very real threat" to national security.
"While the United States holds little credible intelligence at this time indicating that international or domestic terrorists are planning to attack United States interests domestically through the use of weapons of mass destruction, a growing number (while still small) of 'lone offender' and extremist splinter elements of right-wing groups have been identified as possessing or attempting to develop/use chemical, biological or radiological materials," Freeh said Feb. 4, 1999, in a prepared statement submitted to a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
"Additionally, religious/apocalyptic sects which are unaffiliated with far-right extremists may pose an increasing threat," Freeh said.
Freeh seemed less worried about the threat from Islamic terrorist groups like al-Qaida, even though they had been responsible for a pattern of attacks from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to the 1996 bombing of U.S. military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998.
"We are fortunate that in the nearly six years since the World Trade Center bombing, no significant act of foreign-directed terrorism has occurred on American soil," Free testified.
As WorldNetDaily first reported July 25, veteran FBI agents have complained that the Clinton administration shifted counterterror efforts to fighting "right-wing groups" as part of a larger political strategy to demonize Republicans.
After the Oklahoma City bombing, President Clinton bashed the anti-big-government movement that led to the GOP takeover of Congress. He also took the opportunity to implicate talk radio for broadcasting "a relentless clamor of hatred and division."
Freeh in his 1999 testimony defined "right-wing groups" as "militias, white-separatist groups, anti-government groups," "tax protestors" and "anti-abortion" bombers.
He stressed that the bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., had "resulted in a significant allocation of FBI manpower and resources to the investigation."
Freeh and his deputy Robert B. "Bear" Bryant moved counterterrorism analysts over to tracking "right-wing groups" and aiding in criminal prosecutions, agents have told WorldNetDaily. Intelligence-gathering on foreign threats suffered as a result.
"Sept. 11 proved that plan didn't work," concurred Washington Times national-security reporter Bill Gertz in "Breakdown," his new book released in August. "It later came to light that headquarters ignored dedicated agents in the field who had flagged the suspicious activity of Middle Eastern men enrolled at U.S. flight schools."
FBI agents knew the threat of homegrown terrorism from militias and other groups was not as serious as the growing threat of Islamic terrorism.
Yet Freeh and Bryant – under the direction of Attorney General Janet Reno – made "right-wing" terrorism the centerpiece of their strategy to combat Y2K security threats.
The strategy, called "Project Megiddo," zeroed in on white supremacists, militias and Christian "extremists." The project was outlined in a 32-page report that the FBI recently removed from its website.
The fear of homegrown terrorism proved overdone.
In fact, the only real terrorist threat in the new millennium came from an al-Qaida operative who tried to sneak into the U.S. from Canada with bombs to blow up Los Angeles International Airport.
Critics say the bureau wasted valuable resources that could have been better spent hunting down Osama bin Laden and eradicating al-Qaida sleeper cells in the U.S.
Republicans on this week's joint panel exploring Sept. 11 failures are expected to press Freeh about the alleged politicization of the bureau under the Clinton administration.
Joining Freeh on tomorrow's witness panel are former Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., Paul Pillar, national intelligence officer for the CIA's Northeast South Asia region, and Mary Jo White, former U.S. attorney in New York.
Thursday's witnesses include Tenet, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, director of the National Security Agency.
The joint panel – co-chaired by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla. – will hold a closed session on Wednesday.
Tuesday's and Thursday's hearings, which will be held in Room 216 of the Senate Hart Building, are open to the public. They are slated to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, with an hour break for lunch from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Why FBI missed Islamic threat
Free to testify in 9-11 probe
Paul Sperry is Washington bureau chief for WorldNetDaily.
People like Louie Freeh with this kind of attitude are why more and more people like myself are becoming frightened and scared of the prospect of the Democrats running this country.
This kind of attitude indicates that these people do not want to debate issues and ideas with those of differing opinions. What they want to do instead is punish those who speak negatively of their party and enormously harmful political and social agenda. It is we, the conservatives and christians that they consider a national security risk, not the Al-Queda terroists who commited these awful acts on 9-11-2001.
Never mind that we are the backbone of the economy of our own communities. Never mind the reality that we, the conservative and christian communitity are a very vital part of our nation's economy. What matters is that Democrats are special people and are more superior than any other political party and as such they have a right to punish anyone that casues disconfort to them with their ideas and beliefs.
That is why these elections are so vitally important. Our very freedoms and rights of existence in our own communities are on the line. We cannot simply allow these people to set or influence goverment policy.If we do, this nation won't have much of a future.
Regards.
She's talking about the lack of cooperation between foreign and domestic intelligence gathering. Failures allowed suspected Al Quada members from being tracked as they entered, left, and re-entered the country.
She said: As terrorism threats increased in late 90s, the intelligence communities treated everything as priorities, didn't distinguish between most and least important needs.
Panel Goss introduces, with all their titles:
Warren Rudman, Judge Louis Freeh, Mary Jo White, Dr. Paul blah blah, (didn't catch it), With this many on the panel, even if they are sworn in, won't get grilled good enough to suit us. "I do" they swear. "yuck yuck", I say.
Opening statements: (I'll recap without barf alerts) Rudman: I want to talk about roles of intelligence communities for the 21st Century. Nevermind, Rudman is going to boast how brilliant he and Gary Hart were in the study they did for the congress, before they knew who would be elected in 2000.
Rudman says our conclusion was we needed a Homeland Security Agency. ..Because we were aware of an increased threat from terrorists...it was obvious.
(((Maybe the news channels will flip to show the hearings live when Freeh testifies. Rudman's opening statement is such a self-serving bunch of crap, my brain shut down. )))
I've appeared before congress..first time in 1980 before Rudman when I was an agent.
'bipartisan leadership I've always commended" BS
outstanding support for law enforcement BS
First of all, I express condolences to victims of 9-11 and all terrorism, I have strived every day to ensure that people we protect are safe. And men and women of law enforcement, are appreciated by people here, and they lay down their lives.. THIS IS TIME FILLING BALDERDASH!!!
(((Get on with it Freeh!!))) (He's talking about watching FBI agents remove the bodies on the USS Cole. It was an act of war. . He watched FBI agents removed human remains at Khobar Towers too. Act of war. Same FBI people did these tasks, and were protected by Marines as they worked. They ifted through ruins of our embassies too. These also were acts of war.
Same FBI agents did the same things at first World Tower too. I watched this too.
I visited families of these victims.
On June 2001, shortly before I left the FBI victims family members of Khobar Towers came to me at FBI headquarters to thank me. Most moving day of my public service.
my 26 years of public service.
I want to give over view of terrorists threat. and give limitations of FBI before 9-11.
Terrorism = inevitable. We can't prevent it all. No country ,no country, especially a democracy, can prevent the inevitable attacks.
Intelligence community and FBI did not have sufficient information to prevent 9-11 repeating Moeller's statement to the committee that 9-11 couldn't have been prevented.
The terrorists didnt break laws, acted like us, like Americans, we couldnt have found them. They didn't have their own computers. In short, terrorist exploited loopholes in our security systems. Nothing they did triggered alerts.
On the Phoenix memo: predictive value must be evaluated , "bits of information we had can be viewed like a sip of water coming out of a fire hydrant"
Nothing I've seen, nothing I know about, could have prevented 9-11.
I want to applaud George Tenet
(((CYA and CYA the CIA too)))
Those bad old terrorists, they gonna exploit all our shortcomings.
sheeeeet!! Freeh is even giving kudos to Clinton and Gore for a study from back in 1997!! I don't want to criticize the FAA, but while you are going after the CIA and FBI, don't forget the FAA.
FBI allocations were insufficient in counter terrorism. We didn't have enough agents.
We can hope Mary Jo White's statement is much shorter. Maybe the Q & A will be less predictable.
Oh by the way, the FBI made Al Queda (sp) it's number 1 target in 1999, so says Louie Louie.
\
I fully support GW and his efforts. The problem is that when he's long gone and the shifting demographics virtualy guarantees the liberals being in charge from 2012 on, the Homeland Security Act will be used against conservatives, gun owners, etc...
At the least, this silliness exposed us to real threats from the likes of Osama.
As WorldNetDaily first reported July 25, veteran FBI agents have complained that the Clinton administration shifted countererror efforts to fighting "right-wing groups" as part of a larger political strategy to demonize Republicans.
She's the Reno MiniMe
Congressional hearings are always a joke
.
If Freeh were honest, he would cut his Clinton ties completely and tell the truth but I guess he doesn't want to go the way of Vince Foster.
Regarding Freeh: Once upon a time in America it may have been possible for the most competent and the most honorable people to move to the top, because they could be trusted with the reins of power. Today we have people like Freeh, the dictionary definition of "sh*t floats". Now, slick hacks, polished in the art of playing politics, rapidly bypass their betters, and force their remaining colleagues and anyone else, who may have so much as an ounce of skill or integrity, out of the organization.
I have a friend who's a West Point grad, has a sterling character, and a deep love of God and country. He left the military right after Clinton was re-elected. He just couldn't take it anymore. He said that he couldn't in good conscience help implement the new agenda, that it was going to get people killed, and that his superiors roadblocked him until he felt literally "under siege". He had to either, go along with the new program, or resign, so he resigned, and they seemed glad when he did.
Maybe demonizing Republicans was the goal and MAYBE the goal was much more sinister than that. Gary Aldrich told us in Unlimited Access that the Clintons systematically dismantled white house security. He believed it was to protect the little druggie groupies the Clintons had as staff. Maybe Clinton would risk his brand new presidency to cover for some druggies. I think he wanted security removed so he could do his evil deeds unhindered. And, no, I do NOT mean blow jobs; I mean Chinagate and other treasons.
Clinton admitted he LOATHED the military. I think they both loathe what this country was and should still be. I think they have worked to harm it. I SUSPECT that demonizing Republicans was frosting on their poison cake. They WANTED security out of the WH and it's just possible they wanted pressure off islamic terrorists. IMO.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.