7 Arrested in Connection w/ Plot Against Sears Tower, Other Bldgs. (Miami)

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT/AP: Seven Arrested in Connection With Plot Against Sears Tower, Other Buildings In U.S.
From Associated Press
5:50 PM PDT, June 22, 2006

Miami -- Seven people were arrested Thursday in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings in the U.S., a federal law enforcement official said.

The official told The Associated Press the alleged plotters were mainly Americans with no apparent ties to al-Qaida or other foreign terrorist organizations. He spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt news conferences planned for Friday in Washington and Miami.

Miami U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said in a statement that the investigation was an ongoing operation and that more details would be released Friday. Local media reported that agents were raiding a warehouse in Miami's Liberty City section.

"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations," said Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. He declined further comment.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was scheduled to hold a news conference Friday to discuss the raid. A simultaneous news conference was to be held in Miami....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-062205raids,0,2344546.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[still_one]

1. why am I skeptical about this?

why do I believe this is because their poll numbers are down?

[Rich Hunt]

11. maybe because you don't care about Chicago...

....a Democratic city, you'd be nothing without us?

Please. You probably didn't care about the World Trade Center, either.

[DRoseDARs]

19. Dude, I'm from Chicago & I'm sceptical; take a chill pill & calm down...

..or you're going to pull a muscle jumping on him like that.

[niceypoo]

52. Its a phoney raid on a non terrorist group

they want to start scaring people for the mid terms. About august or september you can count on them breaking out their little color coded terror chart. "Alegedly a picture of the sears tower was found" is meaningless drivel designed to scare the gullible and fool the masses.

[still_one]

56. no offense buddy, but have you fallen for all the shit that has

come across the last 6 years. Do you believe there is a link between 9/11 and Iraq? Do you think that the red alert just before the 2004 presidential election was a coincidence?

Incidently bub, I am FROM CALIFORNIA AND WHERE THE HELL WOULD YOU BE WITHOUT US

We were warned about 9/11, and this administration ignored it. I HAVE RELATIVES IN New York City, WHICH WAS ATTACKED, SO DON'T MAKE AQUSATIONS THAT I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE WTC OR WHAT HAPPENED ON 9/11!!!

Why don't you read PNAC, and maybe you will understand WHY I AM SKEPTICAL

[IndianaGreen]

72. When has Attorney General Gonzales ever told the truth about anything?

Here we are two days after the big announcement, and the case has already begun to fall apart.

No weapons, no explosives, no money, nada, zilch!

And you should be ashamed of yourself for accusing another DUer of not caring about Chicago just because he/she is not as gullible as you apparently are.

[charlyvi]

2. I never thought I would say this about my government....

But I don't believe any of this for a minute. The timing, the way they lie and lie.....I need some proof.

On edit: And I'm from Chicago!

[still_one]

4. agreed, note they are "all Americans"

let's see if they release the names...

[Name removed]

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[GrantDem]

23. Who the fuck is Bert???

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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[GrantDem]

28. WTF???

:crazy:

[Name removed]

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[Xipe Totec]

3. Cue the terrorists!

ok, let's have some scary music....

lights!

camera!

action!

:eyes:

[peacetalksforall]

5. Wasn't it yesterday that we heard the the guy who just took over the

Sears Tower was the one who had the WTC before it was decimated.

[Big Kahuna]

8. Larry Silverstien?

[Name removed]

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[dailykoff]

17. Yep.

Here's a link to the WSJ story from last year:

http://www.realestatejournal.com/propertyreport/newsandtrends/20040312-starkman.html?refresh=on

[still_one]

6. sound like an inside job

...No weapons or bomb-making equipment was found as the arrests were made over the past two days.

The seven, reportedly mainly Americans, were detained in the poor Liberty City district in northern Miami.

They had no apparent link to al-Qaeda or other international groups, according to officials quoted by AP.

Another source, quoted by the Reuters news agency, said that the group had been infiltrated by a US agent, whom the members believed to be connected with al-Qaeda. ...

we are in deep trouble, and it is NOT from the terrorists, but from our government

[Name removed]

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[smitty]

37. One word: Rove.

[katty]

66. it sure smells like it-very controlled event, kinda like a bldg demolition

[htuttle]

68. Sounds like the plot of 1984!

Disaffected citizens get contacted by 'The Brotherhood', who play them along to get them to incriminate themselves, then turns into sting since The Brotherhood, Goldstein, and the whole resistance was actually the government all along.

[Baclava]

70. If they can't find a link...one will be made

Still, those guys will be singing like canaries no matter what charges are filed.
The Feds will be parading them around in orange jumpsuits and chains to scare their friends.

[AlCzervik]

7. there must be something ugly coming in the friday news dump they want to

divert attention away from.

[Name removed]

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[Judi Lynn]

25. That's the pattern, alright! n/t

[Name removed]

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[HuffleClaw]

44. EXACTLY

this 'terror plot' is gonna turn out to be something horribly overblown, likely an 'internet posting' or something similar. basically, a 'thought crime'.

i wonder what the BAD news is that is coming. they've really gone overboard with the propaganda this week; north korea, iran, domestic terror, the recycled iraqi 'wmd find', so whatever the bad news is its gotta be something big.

[geomon666]

9. Kind of hard to bomb Chicago...

From Miami.

The official told The Associated Press the alleged plotters were mainly Americans with no apparent ties to al-Qaida or other foreign terrorist organizations.


So they raided a ghetto for alleged terrorists who were going to bomb buildings all over the country? With what? Food Stamps?

Fucking bastards.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[ret5hd]

34. "You nazis"...

would those be fascist heroin whores? A kind of mata hari heroin whore?

[geomon666]

54. Troll boy is gone

God I miss being a Moderator. Love you guys! :hi: :loveya:

[TomInTib]

10. Lehrer didn't even mention it. Sounds like a bunch of Richard Reid

wanna-bees.

BOOGAH-BOOGAH!!

[dailykoff]

14. Larry Silverstein bought the Sears Tower last year.

Funny, ain't it?

[Name removed]

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[dailykoff]

22. I'm saying I'm glad I don't live in Chicago.

Here's a whole thread about it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x95504

[Name removed]

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[Earth_First]

21. You'd almost think that this was an election year roll out...

But that'd be too predictable now, wouldn't it?

:sarcasm:

[GrantDem]

24. Is it October already???

:sarcasm:

[rasputin1952]

32. We should not forget that the Murrah building was targeted by

homegrown 'terrorists'.

There are lot's of people out there with some pretty scary ideas about things, some of them are out to derail the nation in any way they think appropriate.

While I am skeptical myself, I need to see what coems of this before I make a decision on what went down.

What I am feeling fortunate about, is that no one was killed or injured in an attack of any kind.

[NRaleighLiberal]

33. Fear! Terra! Fear! Terra! karl, we need a diversion. Fear! Terra!

[Windy]

35. KKKarl's Back!

No question.... they found no bombs, no bombmaking materials.... FBI admits they were just discussing...

[Caution]

36. Kudos to the FBI on this one!

I'm shocked over how quickly everyone here makes the assumption that this is somehow some kind of government conspiracy. Sheesh.

[nosmokes]

38. oh please. Famous But Incompetent

has managed to arrest 7 black dudes, called them radical black muslims, and the most concrete thing they really tell the press is they all 'identified' with al-qa eda? this is the same much vaunted law enforcement agency that arrested a lawyer just up the road from me in portland because he had converted to islam and had the temerity to go to the mosque and worship.what a threat to america, eh?

edit because i can't type. or proofread.

[Carni]

67. I highly doubt ANY of those guys could have gotten into the lobby at ST

I mean come on--one guy has 10 bucks in his checking account? Even the Sears Tower people are saying there was never a credible threat. This is just plain stupid IMO

[KeepItReal]

40. Where's the evidence? They raided an empty warehouse?

Anderson Cooper is asking if they took anything away.

The cops confiscated *nothing*.

[still_one]

53. Really?

how about the WMDs, how about the connection between 9/11 and Iraq, how about illegal phone tapping, tell that to the tens of thousands of iraqiis, or over 2500 Americans dead, or over 20000 wounded

Have you ever hear about the little boy who cried wolf

Remember the red alert days when the 2004 election was close, and how suddenly it has disappeared

Is there any wonder so many are cynical?

[ladjf]

57. Because they have lied about EVERYTHING else. Why should

we suddenly assume that this is the truth, as it may well be? That's what happens to habitual liars. No one believes them even when they tell the truth.

[951-Riverside]

39. Deleted message

...What the heck happened here? :P

[dweller]

51. Deleted message

dunno, but it was fun to read and speculate! :D

dp

[nealmhughes]

41. Why do I think my friends in the Loop are still going to work tomorrow....

[unda cova brutha]

42. Rove must be trying to get a bump in the polls.

nothing to see here folks.

[Name removed]

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[Mr_Spock]

48. Yes, it is rather absurd, isn't it

Although we sometimes allow non-Freepers to vent - ya know what I mean?

[Mr_Spock]

49. Oh, and welcome to DU

:hi:

[HuffleClaw]

45. more 'thought criminals' ???

'black muslims'?? and in brother jeb's state of course. what a complete crock.

[6000eliot]

46. What? They haven't raised the terror level to orange?

Do they think we're this fucking gullible?

[NightOwwl]

47. Terra! Terra! Terra!

Those polls won't raise themselves, you know!

[ekelly]

50. Of course this happens

in Bushland...........instead of on a farm in Minnesota or some equally neutral place.

[alarcojon]

55. Sounds like fear-mongering to me

Bush can look tough on terrorism (he's even losing ground in the polls on his pet issue), we can all blame the black muslims (I hope a wave of hate crimes isn't in the offing) and hide behind our duct tape.

Meanwhile, there are no explosives anywhere, nothing concrete. From the little bit I saw on the hews, even the journalists were saying these guys were homegrown numbnuts with nothing but a wild scheme and some "surveillance" photos. The Sears Tower was still admitting visitors.

Bush will obviously make the most of this, which will be disgusting to watch.

[Warren Stupidity]

58. We've seen this type of operation before.

As one poster here noted "infiltrated by a US agent, whom the members believed to be connected with al-Qaeda".

Back when I was a lee wad in the 60's, the FBI was wont to infiltrate groups targeted for destruction, put one of their moles into a leadership position, and then proceed to concoct a conspiracy to do something nasty, and then arrest everyone. Well my best guess is that this is exactly what we have here. The 'al qaeda' contact is the FBI mole. The directions come from the FBI, who convince this group to agree to a conspiracy to do something nasty, and once they agree and perform some actions based on that agreement - in this case it seems they rented a warehouse - they all get busted.

I also note that the timing of this agent provocateur directed operation is remarkable - right in the middle The Return of Rove: the 06 Campaign, with WMD found in Iraq, the Evil Zarqawi Dead Again, Another Victory in Iraq celebration and voila Big Terra Bust in Miami. Ah the coincidence theorists will be out in force defending this one for sure.

[Judi Lynn]

59. It looks as if these young men from a poor, blighted area in Miami

found a Sugar Daddy in the undercover FBI agent/Al Queda poseur who was more than happy to offer them presents! From the Miami Herald:

Batiste gave the supposed al Qaeda representative a shopping list of materials he needed -- boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios and vehicles.

Six days later, Batiste outlined his mission to wage war against the U.S. government from within using an army of his ''soldiers'' to help destroy the Sears Tower. He also gave the informant a list of shoe sizes for his soldiers.

On Dec. 29, the informant delivered the military boots to Batiste, who expanded his shopping wish list to include radios, binoculars, bulletproof vests, firearms, vehicles and $50,000 in cash.

On Jan. 28, three more members of the group -- Abraham, Herrera and Augustine -- met with supposed al Qaeda representative in Miami-Dade to exchange cars before driving to Islamorada for a meeting with Batiste.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14880185.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And all they had to do to get the goodies was to "pledge an oath" to Al Queda! How many poor young kids would go along with any goofy program if someone who said he could get you a CAR simply asked you to swear an oath?

Skinheads swear loyalty to a group leader who simply gives them a place to get drunk and sing hate songs together, and occasionally those assholes end up murdering people.

[TrogL]

60. They're pissed off about Canada's bust and want one of their own

...even if they had to manufacture it out of thin air.

[Julius Civitatus]

61. Wow! CNN just mentioned they were part of a BIBLE STUDIES GROUP!!!

Did anyone else see this on CNN a few minutes ago?

They mentioned a report that these people were members of a Bible Studies group. Bible, not Koran.

What the hell is going on here? This whole thing smells.

:wtf:

[BluePatriot]

62. Hm...

First Bush's visit to Baghdad, the "OMFG WMD" report, then this...

While I wish our nation's law enforcement the best at protecting us, sadly I am too cynical to believe the timing of this story is pure coincidence.

//returns to lurking

[peaches2003]

63. Banking Scandal

These arrests were done now, I am sure, because they knew the NYT was publishing the expose of the Bush Adm. looking through our bank accounts with no warrants.

Does anyone believe anymore the amazing coincidences of good news for Bush such as these arrests happening just at the time we are learning he is further installing his dictatorship? God only knows what he will be doing when we learn Bin Laden has been killed. He's holding that announcement for something huge. Probably declaring martial law. And there still will be some sheeple applauding him for doing it to protect us!

[dunn]

64. Will they get a trial?

[katty]

65. a Sears Tower A-Q plot scare has been around for 3yrs+...

and this happened in Jebbie's Florida?! right there, I'm suspicious and PERFECT TIMING
for bush...slippery slope, slippery slope. Expect more of this.

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

69. Its been a while.....

since I had some good "Homegrown Plot"

[Secret Agent]

73. Not me--I had some today.

:)

[BattyDem]

71. When I heard this on the news ...

my first thought was, "Yeah ... right."

So far, I haven't heard anything to change my mind. I'm not trying to be a smartass, I'm just being honest. I HATE the fact that I do not - and can not - trust one word my government says!

The timing is too perfect and the circumstances are too convenient (homegrown terrorists = justification for wiretapping EVERY US citizen).