Before you join the media horde trumpeting the arrests of alleged members of
a fledgling Al Qaeda cell in Miami, a couple of notes of caution. Initial
reports are usually wrong and hyped. Remember the arrest of the Army
muslim chaplain:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A Muslim chaplain in the U.S.
Army has been arrested and is being investigated on suspicion of espionage and
possibly treason, officials familiar with the case told CNN.
Army Capt. James Yee was taken into custody by U.S. military
authorities September 10 at the naval air station in Jacksonville, Florida,
while in possession of classified documents “that a chaplain shouldn’t have,”
an official told CNN, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Remember the false arrest of an Oregon lawyer, a muslim and former Army
officer:
ALOHA, Ore. — A lawyer and former
Army officer who converted to Islam was arrested as a material witness in the
deadly train bombings in Spain, federal authorities said.
Brandon Mayfield was taken
into custody Thursday by FBI agents, who also searched his home in the
Portland suburb of Aloha.
It was the first known arrest in the United
States with connections to the March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid that
killed 191 people and injured 2,000 others.
Remember Richard Jewell, falsely accused for the Atlanta Olympic Park
bombing?<!–
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Caution is the watch word. The good news is that law enforcement had npenetrated this group. This calls into question the Administration’s ninsistence that you can’t fight terrorism as a law enforcement matter. nReally? If that’s true then why was this handled as a "law enforcement" nmatter? This should be a reminder that law enforcement, particularly with nthe help of local law enforcement, is our first and best defense against ndomestic terrorism.
n
Some things to keep in mind. First, no weapons or explosives were nrecovered at the site of the raid. Second, the claim that one suspect n"pledged bayat" (swore an oath) to Bin Laden should be treated as nquestionable. Bin Laden has been on the run since he escaped Tora Bora in nDecember 2001. I don’t think he is receiving too many visitors since nthen.
n
When this shakes out I suspect we will find a disaffected group of youths who nhad fantastical dreams of destruction but no real capability to carry out their nevil fantasies. Given the Bush Administration’s proclivity to play the nfear card and use the threat of terrorism to scare the hell out of the public, a nhealthy dose of skepticism is nwarranted.
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Caution is the watch word. The good news is that law enforcement had
penetrated this group. This calls into question the Administration’s
insistence that you can’t fight terrorism as a law enforcement matter.
Really? If that’s true then why was this handled as a “law enforcement”
matter? This should be a reminder that law enforcement, particularly with
the help of local law enforcement, is our first and best defense against
domestic terrorism.
Some things to keep in mind. First, no weapons or explosives were
recovered at the site of the raid. Second, the claim that one suspect
“pledged bayat” (swore an oath) to Bin Laden should be treated as
questionable. Bin Laden has been on the run since he escaped Tora Bora in
December 2001. I don’t think he is receiving too many visitors since
then.
When this shakes out I suspect we will find a disaffected group of youths who
had fantastical dreams of destruction but no real capability to carry out their
evil fantasies. Given the Bush Administration’s proclivity to play the
fear card and use the threat of terrorism to scare the hell out of the public, a
healthy dose of skepticism is
warranted.
