[Infowarrior] - More on - OpEd: Thwarted Terror Attacks Since Sept. 11

[Richard Forno]

This person's analysis is spot-on, as always.  --rf

------ Forwarded Message

From:  - anonymous -

First, let's note that missing from this list are the terror attacks
of September 11 itself, which the US government failed to avert or even
respond to in a minimally competent manner.  For example, our top military
commanders failed to defend *their own headquarters* and the nation's
capitol from attack by a single, lumbering, slow, un-stealthy, un-armed
civilian airliner flown by barely-trained amateurs, clearly visible on
radar, with obvious intent, and plenty of warning.  They couldn't even
manage to get a single fighter aircraft up to engage it, even though
Langley, Andrews, etc.  are all mere minutes away for an aircraft
travelling at supersonic speeds.

The only competent -- and courageous -- response that day that
"thwarted" anything came from those onboard Flight 93.

You know: citizens.

Second, let's also note that this list conveniently begins on the
faux patriots' watershed date, 9/11/2001.  It thus omits all mention
of any attacks averted prior to that date -- as if the narrative
began that day and prior history simply doesn't exist.  This is hardly
surprising given that this comes from the neocon propaganda network,
but it is instructive.

Third, we can completely discount any "confessions" involved in any
of these plots since we now know that the US government fully sanctions
and actively uses torture.  Therefore, all such "confessions" are
null and void, and must be immediately dismissed as pure fiction.

Fourth, in cases where trials have been taken place, they've been
for show, conducted by kangaroo courts and using frequent bogus
references to "national security" to deprive defendants of their
rights under law -- including access to counsel, right to confront
their accusers, etc. -- the things that civilized nations provide.

Now let's look at some of the items on this list.  (This same analysis
could be used on all of them, it's just that this response is pretty
long already.)


>     ? December 2001, Richard Reid: British citizen attempted to ignite shoe
> bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

Wrong.  The US government did not thwart that attack.  Airline passengers
and crew thwarted that attack.


>     ? May 2002, Jose Padilla: American citizen accused of seeking "dirty
> bomb," convicted of conspiracy.

Wrong.  Padilla was never charged with anything involving possession of
any materials that could be used to make a "dirty bomb".  The conspiracy
charge was a consolation prize, and was based on a law that was not
in force at the time he allegedly violated it.  He was not allowed
to introduce evidence on his behalf, was not allowed to call witnesses,
was not allowed to cross-examine, and was held without access to counsel
in a military based in Florida for three years, where he was almost
certainly tortured.


>     ? September 2002, Lackawanna Six: American citizens of Yemeni origin
> convicted of supporting Al Qaeda. Five of six were from Lackawanna, N.Y.

Wrong.  This group had no cohesion, no plan, no objective until an FBI
informant came on board as part of a sting operation.  That informant
offered money, help, equipment, and motivation to spur the "plot" forward.
All actual planning was done by the informant.


>     ? May 2003, Iyman Faris: American citizen charged with trying to topple
> the Brooklyn Bridge.

Wrong.  This mentally ill guy was going to take out the Brooklyn
Bridge...with a blowtorch.  And my wacky Uncle Jerry is going to
destroy Mount Rushmore with a pickaxe.


>     ? August 2004, Dhiren Barot: Indian-born leader of terror cell plotted
> bombings on financial centers (see additional images).

Wrong.  His scary scary videos consisted of scenes from "Die Hard" et.al.
and other movie-enhanced explosions that have no basis in reality.
Implicated by a single Pakistani citizen -- who it's strongly suspected,
was tortured (in Pakistan) to produce that result.

Oh, and he's British.  They tried him, not the US.


>     ? August 2004, James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj: Sought to plant
> bomb at New York's Penn Station during the Republican National Convention.

Wrong.  "Caught" like many of the others thanks to an informant
planted in the group and spurring them on.  They had

 - no bomb-making experience
 - no materials
 - no contacts to acquire materials
 - no money

And El Shafey is mentally ill.


>     ? August 2004, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain: Plotted to assassinate
> a Pakistani diplomat on American soil.

Wrong.  Yet another case where primary impetus came from the US
government: they were both struggling financially when an informant --
an FBI informant with a history of bribery, fraud, money laundering,
and extortion -- set up a sting operation.  This entire case
is a confused mess (complicated by obvious lies on the part of
the informant about which languages the supposed conspirators spoke).
Neither of them had any money and so could not possibly afford the
missile which the informant produced and said could be used (to kill
a Pakistani diplomat).  Defense attorneys were denied access to almost
all of the supposed "evidence".


>     ? June 2006, Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor,
> Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild
> Augstine: Accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower.

Wrong.  At trial, it came out that:

 - the plot was the invention of two paid FBI informants
 - the plot was hatched while they were all high
 - they had no operational ability
 - the plotters got what little equipment they had
  (e.g. cameras) courtesy of the Joint Terrorism Task Force


>     ? May 2007, Fort Dix Plot: Six men accused of plotting to attack Fort
> Dix Army base in New Jersey.

Wrong.  This "terror cell" included a taxi driver, a pizza delivery boy
and three roofers.  It turned out that:

 - they had almost no money
 - they had no connections to actual terrorists
 - they spent their weekends playing paintball
 - they planned an attack using RPGs and AK47s...which they didn't
  have, had no way to get, and couldn't afford
 - primary guidance was provided by two informants for the Joint
  Terrorism Task Force
 - even though this was supposedly a "sophisticated" plan, they
  were "caught" when they handed over a video of themselves
  to a Circuit City store clerk
 - they were planning to attack an entire military base chock-full
  of armed, trained, and presumably hostile soldiers


>     ? June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men accused of plotting to blow up fuel
> arteries underneath JFK Airport in New York.

Wrong.  Basic physics as well as the construction of the pipeline makes
this impossible. The "terrorists" -- per the federal government -- had:

 - no money
 - no experience
 - no explosives
 - no support
 - no inside information

Their best "intelligence source" was Google Earth and their only
connection to the target was that one of them worked as a cargo handler
there more than a decade earlier.   Oh, and once again, the primary
instigator of this was a federal informant -- this time, a convicted
drug dealer trying to get his sentence reduced.