Recent Orange Terror Alert Based On False Information

[Natoma]

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/US/terror030213_falsealarm.html

The officials said that a claim made by a captured al Qaeda member that Washington, New York or Florida would be hit by a "dirty bomb" sometime this week had proven to be a product of his imagination.

.....

It was only after the threat level was elevated to orange — meaning high — last week, that the informant was subjected to a polygraph test by the FBI, officials told ABCNEWS.

"This person did not pass," said Cannistraro.

According to officials, the FBI and the CIA are pointing fingers at each other. An FBI spokesperson told ABCNEWS today he was "not familiar with the scenario," but did not think it was accurate.

Wouldn't you think the FBI and CIA would have given the captured Al Qaeda member a polygraph before releasing the information to the public? I mean good grief. And they wonder why no one takes their alerts and warnings seriously anymore.

 

[DemoCoder]

Come on Natoma, better safe than sorry. If they had gotten a speculative tip, and a mega-attack happened, there's be another "12/25 was preventable...in a memo unearthed following the attacks, an al qaeda member in captivity claimed the attack was going to happen, but agents ignored his information as unreliable..." Hindsight is wonderful.

Your story isn't the complete. I heard it was corroborated with intercepted emails from suspected al qaeda addresses.

I don't care if my flight gets canceled for maintainence/inspections, or suspected terrorism. I'd rather have the small inconvenience. A few months ago, my flight to Europe was delayed for 1 hour on the ground because some guy (with an Arabia sounding name) checked in baggage, but didn't get on the flight. They came onboard looking for him, searched the cargo hold, removed his luggage, and we were off. I was SWEATING the whole time on my flight for fear a bomb would go off on the runway.

Turns out the guy just missed his flight, but I am GLAD they delayed my flight and did this check.

 

[RussSchultz]

Sometimes I wonder if you even read the news or watch TV. This information doesn't jive AT ALL with the current story. No dirty bombs involved, not DC, NYC, or Atlanta, its all about hijacking an airplane from outside the US (Paris) and crashing it into Las Vegas, or some podunk town (or maybe a supply ship with the same name)

Beyond that, you need to read the articles you post better. Its 10 months out of date. Yes, February 13th. Look at the first line of the article. If that isn't enough, look at the date embedded in the URL.

 

[pax]

The al quaeda informant probly believed what he was saying what with the torture they now use on them. Heck Id say anything after 48 hrs of no sleep and listening to the same elvis song over and over... Id probly sing to them the next attack osama was about to do

 

[Natoma]

Come on Natoma, better safe than sorry. If they had gotten a speculative tip, and a mega-attack happened, there's be another "12/25 was preventable...in a memo unearthed following the attacks, an al qaeda member in captivity claimed the attack was going to happen, but agents ignored his information as unreliable..." Hindsight is wonderful.

Indeed it is better to be safe than sorry. But giving a polygraph before releasing information to the public would seem the prudent move wouldn't it?

 

[Natoma]

Sometimes I wonder if you even read the news or watch TV. This information doesn't jive AT ALL with the current story. No dirty bombs involved, not DC, NYC, or Atlanta, its all about hijacking an airplane from outside the US (Paris) and crashing it into Las Vegas, or some podunk town (or maybe a supply ship with the same name)

Beyond that, you need to read the articles you post better. Its 10 months out of date. Yes, February 13th. Look at the first line of the article. If that isn't enough, look at the date embedded in the URL.

Actually Russ part of the reason for the recent orange alert was the fear that Al Qaeda would attack (with dirty bomb or bio attack) during the new years celebrations, as well as the fear of attack from a foreign cargo plane or foreign passenger liner.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3776558/ (December 25th)

Officials worried that terrorists might try to use biological, chemical or radiological weapons installed more sensors around urban areas in California and elsewhere to detect dangerous microbes in the air.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3775771/ (December 27th)

Meanwhile, U.S. counterterrorism officials were turning to possible threats next week that might target large, public gatherings, such as New Year’s Eve celebrations. One U.S. official said there was no specific information such an attack was likely, but said such gatherings would obviously be an attractive target for terrorists hoping to inflict large-scale casualties.

These are but a couple of the recent articles, as well as news shows, that have spoken about attacks in major US cities with radiological or biological bombs during the holidays. And you hear about such attacks all the time here on the NY local news. So you'll have to forgive me for not paying close attention to the date on the ABCNews article, since it reads like it was written just a couple of days ago.

It was only after the threat level was elevated to orange — meaning high — last week, that the informant was subjected to a polygraph test by the FBI, officials told ABCNEWS.

......

The FBI concluded the information that led to a nationwide hunt for five men suspected of infiltrating the United States on Christmas Eve was fabricated by an informant, and the agency called off the alert sparked by the information.

Impeccable timing no? Sure I didn't read the date on the article, but given what was in that article, it easily reads like it could have been written a few days ago. The potential attack from the sky was not the only reason for the raised alert.

So again, you'll have to forgive me for not reading the date on the article, given what was in the article.

 

[Natoma]

The al quaeda informant probly believed what he was saying what with the torture they now use on them. Heck Id say anything after 48 hrs of no sleep and listening to the same elvis song over and over... Id probly sing to them the next attack osama was about to do

 

[cthellis42]

12/25 was preventable...

Come now, they'd work up a much better name than that. Like, "The Christmas Catastrophe" or something...