Free Republic

n July 10, 2001, the New York Times published an opinion article titled “The Declining Terrorist Threat.” It was written by Larry C. Johnson, a former CIA analyst and State Department counterterrorism official, who argued that Americans spent too much time worrying about terrorist attacks that would likely never come. “Judging from news reports and the portrayal of villains in our popular entertainment,” Johnson wrote, “Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism.” And then: They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI agent who wrote a pre-Sept. 11 warning about Arab students at an Arizona flight school hoped his memo would lead to screenings of Middle Easterners who came to study U.S. airport operations, according to government officials familiar with his account. Agent Kenneth Williams testified behind closed doors Tuesday to lawmakers investigating what the government knew about terrorist threats before Sept. 11. Williams believed his information might provide a significant but prospective lead about Osama bin Laden's intentions, according to lawmakers and government officials familiar with his account. But Williams wrote his memo for terrorism experts...

Former Intelligence Operative Says Author of Phoenix Memo Endangered His Life By Jacques Billeaud Associated Press Writer Published: May 23, 2002 PHOENIX (AP) - A former U.S. intelligence operative alleges in a court document that the FBI agent who wrote the memo warning about Arabs training in U.S. fight schools endangered his life three years ago by blowing his cover. Two Arizona congressmen and a former U.S. senator made inquiries on Harry Ellen's behalf about his complaints about the agency and Special Agent Kenneth Williams. The FBI reviewed the complaints but determined they did not warrant an investigation. Williams has...

By John Crewdson, Tribune senior correspondent. Reporting and research assistance was provided by Drew Crosby in Madrid MADRID -- The most sweeping criminal indictment to arise thus far from the Sept. 11 attacks reflects a quiet but dramatic change in understanding by investigators here and across Europe of the terrorist organization known as Al Qaeda, and the international Islamic radical-terrorist network of which, they now agree, it is merely a part. As laid out in the indictment, the defendants' alleged activities--from arranging travel and providing introductions to procuring false documents and, especially, moving money--provide the first detailed look at one...