Date: July 23, 2006 6:54:16 PM PDT
Subject: [SPY NEWS] Second Guessing The FBI's Pre-9/11 Actions
Hindsight Is 20/20: Second Guessing The FBI's Pre-9/11 Actions
It's difficult to look back now, but this CNN story invites a second
look at the complacency we all felt before 9/11, including those
investigating the possibility of terror on our shores.
That's the most troubling aspect of looking back. You judge on what
you know now, not what you knew then.
=============================
Agent: FBI sought terror suspect's help
Jose Padilla refused, was later declared an 'enemy combatan
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The FBI initially sought terror suspect Jose
Padilla's cooperation to help prevent what intelligence sources
indicated might be an imminent al Qaeda attack, an FBI agent
testified Monday.
Padilla refused and was later implicated in an alleged
radioactive "dirty bomb" plot and declared an enemy combatant.
Russell Fincher, an agent in the FBI's New York-based unit
investigating Osama bin Laden, testified at a pretrial hearing for
Padilla that he met him at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in
May 2002 believing he could gain information on al Qaeda's plans.
"I believed there was a terrorist act that was going to happen. I
believed he had knowledge of that. I needed his help," Fincher said
of Padilla. "I didn't want to arrest him."
Fincher said that during a five-hour interview Padilla talked freely
about his criminal past as a Chicago gang member, his conversion to
Islam and his travels in Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere. But when his
story didn't add up, Fincher said he confronted Padilla with
terrorist allegations and asked if he would testify before a grand
jury about his purported al Qaeda connections.
"He stood up and told me the interview was over and it was time for
him to go," Fincher said.
Padilla was arrested on a material witness warrant, which allows a
person with direct knowledge of alleged criminal acts to be taken
into custody.
A month later, President Bush designated him an "enemy combatant" and
he was placed in military custody. He remained there until November,
when he was charged in an existing Miami case.
The charges in the Miami case do not mention the "dirty bomb" plot
but do claim that Padilla trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
Padilla has pleaded not guilty.
The hearing Monday concerned whether Padilla was officially in law
enforcement custody when the FBI agent interviewed him and, if so,
whether he was properly advised of his rights.
Padilla's lawyers said his statements should be barred from trial if
those rights were violated. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen T. Brown
did not indicate when he would rule.
Fincher testified that Padilla wasn't read his Miranda rights until
the interview ended. But he also said that Padilla agreed repeatedly
to talk with the FBI agents, was never handcuffed or otherwise
restrained and never requested a lawyer.
The initial pretext for Padilla's airport interview was the discovery
by customs officials that he was carrying more than $10,000 in cash
but had declared only $8,000.
Although he did ask three times to call his mother in Florida, each
time he changed his mind, Fincher said. When the FBI offered to
contact her for him, Fincher said, Padilla declined because he didn't
want her to think he was in trouble again.
The FBI also offered to put Padilla up in a hotel to rest so the
interview could resume the next day, but again Padilla refused,
saying he wanted to clear up the issue about the cash. "He didn't
believe it was a big deal," Fincher said.
Padilla is scheduled to go to trial in September along with two
others on charges of participating in a North American network that
supported Islamic extremists worldwide.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Monday, July 17, 2006; Posted: 7:40 p.m. EDT (23:40 GMT)
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