FBI attacks BBC over terrorism story

[rjbcar27]

http://media.guardian.co.uk/bbc/story/0,7521,1019424,00.html

The FBI has accused the BBC of ruining an operation to infiltrate al-Qaida after Tom Mangold ran an "exclusive" 10 O'Clock News report about a missile sting.

<snip>

They said the ultimate aim of the elaborate sting was to catch Mr Lakhani - who has no terrorist links - and turn him into a government informant who might lead them to terrorists trying to buy weapons.

However, this was no longer a possibility after Mangold broke the story of Mr Lakhani's arrest.

<snip, more at link>

I smell something, smells like bullshit.

[htuttle]

1. If Lakhani had no 'terrorist links'

What would be the point of using him as an informant?

:shrug:

[Dhalgren]

3. The FBI

is trying to come up with a story other than that they manufactured this incident in order to give Bush something to crow about. It is now all over the news how this smuck lakhani was set up from the get go and that this operation had/has zero credibility as far as "the war on terra" goes. Now the FBI is trying to spin this in some way, while at the same time taking a swipe at Tony the Poodles enimies.

[LibInternationalist]

13. no kidding

the logical gaps in that statement are astounding

[QuietStorm]

14. no kidding it seems perhaps they feel caught

with their pants down so are now reforming the story, could even be doing this by playing off the BBC. Everyone is at fault BUT the FBI and the powers giving it its order. We know that.

[Spentastic]

2. What?

Well perhaps they should have arrested him quietly then.

[Robb]

4. I smell it too

In fact, look at the dial. My "This-Is-A-Pile-Of-Crap-O-Meter" is off the freakin' scale.

Further, if the Beeb got the story, it's because an FBI source gave it to them in the first place.

[underpants]

5. Let's see what the BS meter is reading on this

[QuietStorm]

16. I am with you

once again the whole thing smells fishy. to reign myself in I will say that perhaps no power company wants to take blame so they keep passing the buck back and forth. That is plausible too. However I find it very suspicious the good ole boys nixed terrorism so early on this, especially considering they were so terror alert happy prior to the Iraqi invasion. But now I am just repeating myself. It is the frustration and utter lack of trust in my media, my administration, and the conventional tone in many opinions on most all of these topics, not just this one. I really do not understand why I do not encounter more suspicion. In fact I only encounter suspicion on internet boards, virtually none in my own life. People in general seem AOK with official lines, they just reel in most everyone. Perhaps that is why the fish smell is even that much stronger.

[Nlighten1]

6. What a fooking joke

Infiltrating terrorist organizations by setting up arms dealers who don't know any terrorists.

GG FBI

[rocktivity]

10. Talk about sitting through bad movies!

If the dealer had no terrorist ties, then they were going to blackmail him and use him as a fall guy, not arrest him. Were they going to threaten to sent him to Gitmo Bay as a enemy combatant?

rocknation

[unfrigginreal]

7. The FBI should vent their anger at the arrogant Repuke DA in Jersey.

If he didn't make the leak himself, it's a pretty safe bet that he had something to do with it. The guy is obviously seeing this as his "15 minutes of fame."

[madrchsod]

8. remember guys and gals

the fbi is supposed to protect us from the bad guys. if this is the best they can do,we are in alot of trouble. you know the bad guys are watching what happened in new york-the power outage and those guys who walked around the airport runways and staging areas. if those guys had explosives god only knows how many people would have died....

[berry]

9. And this story is supposed to be better?

Nice way to recruit agents--find someone who has given no evidence in his life that he is able to deal with the world of terrorism, set him up, entrap him and then give him the "choice" of being an agent to infiltrate top levels of that murky world. Or else? Good grief!

[roguevalley]

11. More 'lend-lease'. Bush helping Tony out by discrediting the Beeb.

I believe the BBC over ANYONE. <but the guardian> <G>
I cannot wait for the american guardian. I don't care
what it costs.

[AP]

12. 'broke the story of his arrest"??? WTF. Arrest are public records.

They wanted a secret arrest of this guy? Sounds like a Blue Light Ashcroft Special. That's the disturbing part of this story. The whole things probably BS intended to make secret arrests seem more palatable.

[bushisanidiot]

15. WHY would the FBI admit to running a secret operation

to try to infiltrate a terrorist group.. just to save face?? I suspect the Rumsfeld Ministry of Disinformation is hard at work.. they know they got caught and they're trying to spin their way out.

[0007]

17. Is there a market out there somewhere

for stinky smelly whinny FBI stories?

How dare BBC make a monkey out of the poodle, 'eh? junior will show 'em who's boss.

[wabeewoman]

18. What do you do when

you have no faith in your government? I used to believe in the government (maybe a mistake) but when the president and his administration routinely lies, when the FBI and CIA set people up to take a fall or discredit people who speak up, when you can believe very little the media puts out, when there is no logic, no truth, and no rational reasoning, when money is the reason for all they do, when blame is the game, when the whole purpose of talking heads is to influence the sheep, when the people don't get it and don't seem to care, what do you do? I see 3 choices: give up, stay and fight or move to Canada. Just when I think it can't get worse, it does.