[size=3][b]Man nabbed in August may have been 20th hijacker[/b][/size=3]
 
By DAVID JOHNSTON and PHILIP SHENON
The New York Times

WASHINGTON - [u]The FBI held back its agents last August from opening a criminal investigation of a man investigators now suspect was intended to be the 20th hijacker in the attacks Sept. 11, a senior Justice Department official said Friday[/u].

Zacarias Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, was arrested on Aug. 17 on immigration charges after he tried to learn how to fly large jet aircraft but expressed no interest in mastering how to take off or land.

Officials have said that they suspect Moussaoui was supposed to be aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Stony Township, Pa. Federal authorities have said that of the four airliners hijacked on Sept. 11, only Flight 93 had four hijackers aboard instead of five.

[u]Senior officials at FBI headquarters rejected requests from agents in Minneapolis for a wider investigation on two occasions, even after a French intelligence agency warned the bureau in a classified two-page cable on Aug. 27 that Moussaoui had "Islamic extremist beliefs[/u]."

Other law enforcement officials said the information about Moussaoui was also reviewed by a counterterrorism panel before Sept. 11. The threat analysis committee set the issue aside because the panelists, among them officials from the FBI and CIA, were unable to determine whether Moussaoui represented any threat.

Whether an earlier and more aggressive investigation of Moussaoui might have helped stop the attacks remains unclear, law enforcement officials said. Moussaoui is in custody and has refused to cooperate with investigators.

See story at:[url]http://web.star-telegram.com/content/fortworth/2001/10/06/topstory/fw010101-1006-XA003-1.htm[/url]
Eric The(J.EdgarHooverIsSpinningInHisGrave)Hun[>]:)]

I guess saying the FBI has some major problems would be a spectacular understatement.
And guess who we are now depending on to ferret out terrorists still in the U.S.? Yeah, The Federal Bureau of Incompetence. I feel real safe.

He was arrested on August 17, and didn't say anything about the planned terrorist attack set for less than 4 weeks later!

[u]And[/u], mind you, his co-conspirators must have known he was arrested, that he wouldn't spill the beans, and continued on with their plans!

Eric The(BurnHim!)Hun[>]:)]

Burnings too good for him,
Hanging's too good for him,
He should be ripped into little bitty pieces and Buried alive.

------------------------------------------------
From "Heavy Metal" during the inquisition
aboard the Spaceport.

Del

Gee, I don't know about you guys, but I have absoloutely no problem giving up all of my individual liberties, now that I know how well protected I am by the omnipotent government.

Wow, I think you better rethink that part about your giving up your 'inalienable' rights so easily!

In the meanwhile, what part of the story about this possible 20th Terrorist do find offensive from a civil rights viewpoint? That he was being held on 'immigration' charges?

So you don't think it lawful to hold someone on immigration law violations?

What part of the United States Constitution and the Bil of Rights does that arrest and detention violate? Hmmmmm?

Eric The(HangHimHigh,ThenBurnHisAss!AfterATrialByHisPeers,etc.,OfCourse!)Hun[>]:)]

My last post was sarcasm, directed at the government, who I feel did a poor job at protecting this country.  My point is that they cannot protect us, and will not let us protect ourselves.

We are at war however, and this is not the appropriate time to criticize our Govt. So I retract all sarcastic statements.

United We Stand!       God Bless America

I say torture him for info.

News the other day claims they have detained 600 and are still looking for another 250.

Hey, I've got a soldering iron and vice grips in the garage. Drop him off at my place.

Better yet, I have a knifemaking shop, with forge, tongs, grinders, drills, and other funstuffs...

I say torture him for pleasure.