zimv20
Jul 8, 2006, 03:42 AM
nyt (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/nyregion/08terror.html)
Authorities overseas have arrested one man and have taken two others into custody on suspicion of planning suicide bombings in train tunnels beneath the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, officials said yesterday.
Five other men are being sought in connection with the plan, which law enforcement authorities said presented a genuine threat even though it was in its earliest stages and no attack was imminent.
The F.B.I. and New York City police officials have been aware of the group and its discussions for about a year, said Mark J. Mershon, the special agent in charge of the agency's New York office. Police presence at the tunnels in Manhattan that could have been targets has been increased in recent weeks in response to the investigation.
"The planning or the plotting for this attack had matured to the point where it appeared the individuals were about to move forward," Mr. Mershon said.
"They were about to go to a phase where they would attempt to surveil targets, establish a regimen of attack and acquire the resources necessary to effectuate the attacks, and at that point I think it's entirely appropriate to take it down."
Federal and local law enforcement authorities identified the main subject of the investigation as Assem Hammoud, 31, a Lebanese man who was arrested on April 27 in Beirut and was still being held there. The locations of the other two men in custody were not revealed. The eight "principal players" planning the attack, the authorities said, had secured no financing, had gathered no explosives and had not visited New York — or even the United States — to conduct surveillance. At least one of the planners has been in Canada, the authorities said.
Officials said Mr. Hammoud would likely be tried in Lebanon and that no charges were pending against him in the United States.
Monitoring of Internet chat rooms used by Islamic extremists led to the arrest of Mr. Hammoud, according to Lebanese authorities. At least one American official said the members of the group had never even met one another.
"There was a lot of discussion, there was planning being done; but there was no indication that there was any movement toward these facilities," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday. "There is no indication that materials were secured or that specific reconnaissance was done."
One counterterrorism expert who had been briefed on the plan, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the news media, said, "These are bad guys in Canada and a bad guy in Lebanon talking, but it never advanced beyond that."
"Like most plots that you get before they develop, it doesn't look that serious, but you never know," he said. "It's busted up; I think it's another good success."
He added: "They never were in New York, they never were in the States, they never got materials together. So in that regard, it's less serious than some of the others. Until you get materials together, it's not that serious; it's still in the speculative stage."
Mr. Mershon said an attack was to have been carried out in October or November; Lebanese authorities confirmed that timing. Mr. Mershon said Mr. Hammoud told Lebanese interrogators that he had pledged "allegiance to Osama bin Laden and he proclaims himself to be a member of Al Qaeda." But it was not clear the suspect had ever interacted with Mr. bin Laden or his top deputies.
(more)
like the recent clown college arrests in florida, these arrests seem little more than an attempt to up the "we caught 'em" count. call me old-fashioned, but i like the kind of police work where the plan is allowed to develop far enough to secure a conviction and all the collaborators can be sniffed out.
if these guys were for real, perhaps they would have led authorities to those who supply bomb-making material. too hasty an arrest for that, i guess. right now, this seems like clown college, canada branch.
Authorities overseas have arrested one man and have taken two others into custody on suspicion of planning suicide bombings in train tunnels beneath the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, officials said yesterday.
Five other men are being sought in connection with the plan, which law enforcement authorities said presented a genuine threat even though it was in its earliest stages and no attack was imminent.
The F.B.I. and New York City police officials have been aware of the group and its discussions for about a year, said Mark J. Mershon, the special agent in charge of the agency's New York office. Police presence at the tunnels in Manhattan that could have been targets has been increased in recent weeks in response to the investigation.
"The planning or the plotting for this attack had matured to the point where it appeared the individuals were about to move forward," Mr. Mershon said.
"They were about to go to a phase where they would attempt to surveil targets, establish a regimen of attack and acquire the resources necessary to effectuate the attacks, and at that point I think it's entirely appropriate to take it down."
Federal and local law enforcement authorities identified the main subject of the investigation as Assem Hammoud, 31, a Lebanese man who was arrested on April 27 in Beirut and was still being held there. The locations of the other two men in custody were not revealed. The eight "principal players" planning the attack, the authorities said, had secured no financing, had gathered no explosives and had not visited New York — or even the United States — to conduct surveillance. At least one of the planners has been in Canada, the authorities said.
Officials said Mr. Hammoud would likely be tried in Lebanon and that no charges were pending against him in the United States.
Monitoring of Internet chat rooms used by Islamic extremists led to the arrest of Mr. Hammoud, according to Lebanese authorities. At least one American official said the members of the group had never even met one another.
"There was a lot of discussion, there was planning being done; but there was no indication that there was any movement toward these facilities," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday. "There is no indication that materials were secured or that specific reconnaissance was done."
One counterterrorism expert who had been briefed on the plan, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the news media, said, "These are bad guys in Canada and a bad guy in Lebanon talking, but it never advanced beyond that."
"Like most plots that you get before they develop, it doesn't look that serious, but you never know," he said. "It's busted up; I think it's another good success."
He added: "They never were in New York, they never were in the States, they never got materials together. So in that regard, it's less serious than some of the others. Until you get materials together, it's not that serious; it's still in the speculative stage."
Mr. Mershon said an attack was to have been carried out in October or November; Lebanese authorities confirmed that timing. Mr. Mershon said Mr. Hammoud told Lebanese interrogators that he had pledged "allegiance to Osama bin Laden and he proclaims himself to be a member of Al Qaeda." But it was not clear the suspect had ever interacted with Mr. bin Laden or his top deputies.
(more)
like the recent clown college arrests in florida, these arrests seem little more than an attempt to up the "we caught 'em" count. call me old-fashioned, but i like the kind of police work where the plan is allowed to develop far enough to secure a conviction and all the collaborators can be sniffed out.
if these guys were for real, perhaps they would have led authorities to those who supply bomb-making material. too hasty an arrest for that, i guess. right now, this seems like clown college, canada branch.
