Bin Laden is a talker. He publicly declared “holy war” on all Americans in 1998 and called for attacks on them anywhere in the world. But the move from menacing rhetoric to mass murder has been handled by others who’ve remained in the shadows. Even if he were eliminated, analysts agree, the threat he represents would remain. “If bin Laden is the composer, who is the conductor? That’s what we want to know,” says a U.S. official directly concerned with terrorism. Like George Smiley searching for Karla in the novels of John Le Carre, investigators see recurrent patterns in certain operations: in the August, 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in the October, 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, and in today’s horrific suicide flights against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Such operations are years in the planning and extremely well-coordinated, but they depend on audacity, surprise and basic intelligence-gathering by the terrorists rather than highly sophisticated explosives or weapons of mass destruction.

The awful success of today’s attacks depended entirely on their choice of weapon: long-range passenger aircraft heavily laden with jet fuel.

The plotters watch, they probe. Some counter-terrorism operatives now speculate that intelligence picked up by U.S. agencies about possible terrorist attacks on Americans last June may actually have been leaked by operatives associated with bin Laden. “There’s a whole industry built up around watching Osama bin Laden, and if we get the slightest hint we react like crazy,” says a U.S. investigator based in the Persian Gulf. At the time, U.S. warships pulled out of Middle Eastern ports, other U.S. personnel were evacuated, and FBI investigators looking at the Cole bombing withdrew from Yemen rather than face what they called a special threat targeting them. Now it appears the terrorists “may have been testing where and how we picked up information—and what were the things we missed,” says this source. “They saw where we reacted, and presumably also where we didn’t react.” Were they casing American airports at the same time to see if extra precautions went into effect? “They not only know how to plan, but they know how to test,” said this investigator, “and they know, obviously, where the gaps are.” Another U.S. officer concerned with Middle Eastern terrorism notes that the awful success of today’s attacks depended entirely on their choice of weapon: long-range passenger aircraft heavily laden with jet fuel that are known to fly routes near the Trade Center and the Pentagon. Guns are difficult to smuggle onto a plane. Other weapons, such as ceramic knives, pass x-rays undetected.

Yet much of Washington’s focus on terrorist threats in the last few years has been on the theoretical possibility that America’s fanatical enemies are planning to use weapons of mass destruction—whether chemical, biological, or nuclear—against U.S. targets. John Parachini of the Monterey Institute of International Studies has warned repeatedly, on the basis of detailed budget analyses, that Washington is calculating threat assessments “on what people think terrorists could do, not on what they have done in the past, or what they are able to do given considerable technical difficulties of procurement, production and delivery” involved with weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, America’s enemies have grown more skilled with the tools they already have. “There appears to be a core group that is slowly becoming more sophisticated with every attack,” says one official who has tracked the “jihadists” for years. “And what’s scary is that they have a lot of these plots in motion at any one time.” Some names of possible masterminds keep flashing across investigators’ screens. Ayman Zawahiri, leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, has often appeared side by side with bin Laden. Another key planner may be a Gaza Palestinian known as “Abu Zubaydah” or Mohammed Hussein Zein-al-Abideen. He is sometimes referred to as bin Laden’s chief executive officer, and was implicated as the key contact for several terrorist cells operating out of Western Europe and the Balkans in the 1990s. But whoever “the conductors” are, they use operatives on the ground who never know the whole picture. “They find local people to do the scut work,” as one U.S. official puts it. So even though there are arrests, and convictions, no solid proof has linked the Africa bombings to the Cole, or the Cole directly to bin Laden’s so-called “Al-Qaeda” network, much less to the man himself.

Washington’s ability to penetrate these groups remains weak, and the friendly services it used to rely on for help have proven ineffectual.

Clearly what’s needed is better intelligence. But Washington’s ability to penetrate these groups remains weak, and the friendly services it used to rely on for help have proven ineffectual. The Israelis have their hands full at home. The Egyptians have been cutting deals with former terrorists to keep peace on their own territory (a practice not unknown to European governments). The Pakistani intelligence services are so deeply tied to the Taliban in Afghanistan that their motives are considered suspect. And just last week, Saudi King Fahd fired the U.S.-educated prince, Turki al-Feisal, who has run his country’s intelligence operations for the last two decades.

Investigators sometimes get lucky. After the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, one of the conspirators was stupid enough to try to get his deposit back on the rental van used for the bomb. After Oklahoma City in 1995, Timothy McVeigh was picked up by police because he didn’t have a license plate on his car. But the terrorists the United States is up against now, wherever they come from, are no amateurs. And unless Washington develops new approaches to assessing the terrorist risk, and the means to penetrate the terrorist networks directly, there’s a very real risk that investigators and intelligence agents will still be sifting the evidence of today’s atrocities when new ones occur somewhere else.

Note: As America’s enemies grow more skilled, the nation needs to develop better intelligence networks.

Source: Newsweek
Author: Christopher Dickey and Andrew Nagorski
Published: September 11, 2001
Copyright: 2001 Newsweek, Inc.
Contact: Editors@newsweek.com
Website: http://www.newsweek.com/

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Being a slave, I had to show up today.

Here is the following "conservation" we had today. He was using his computer to type out and me with his notepad.

"How are you?"

I said,"Tired but am allright."

Then he goes on about my scan test(piss test) being negative. He decided not to give me another one and mentioned that he will take as many scans as he want.

I nodded.

He mentioned that it was my last day at the treatment class.

I nodded again.

Then, he typed, "How did the event in New York last tuesday affect me?"

With bit of an indifference attitude, I wrote down rather carefully, " Well, I had a tough week to begin with. Two of my friends were killed in Mich. last week and now it happend in NYC."

Taken back for a moment, he typed, "How?"

I wroted, "100 FBI men killed them."

He was bit shocked and asked me if there were any news report. I shooked my head,"No, not in Colorado. The news is down at Mich."

With that he typed rather slowly as he did not know what to say. All he can say was "I am sorry." "So much pain."

I nodded my head softly. " I am at loss for words. Are you going to the funeral?", he asked.

I looked at him and wrote that they are already buried and creamated.

My final statement, "They are good ppl. Thanks."

He quietly cut the session short. I left the building feeling bit better cuz I did not have to piss into a bottle in front of him.

I pray that he would check up on my statement himself. I hope that he wonders why 100 FBI were ganging up on two good men and not chasing the terrorists. He was bit puzzled as to why there were no news report on the incident at the rainbow farm. I did not mention my friends names nor did I mention the Rainbow farm. Just maybe he will do the checking on his own.

Truth is I am not even angry about what happend at NYC. I am more angry about the Rainbow Farm. Heck, that incident at the Rainbow Farm is swept under the rug.

I firmly believe that we are our own worst enemy. We gave the money to the terrorists who came to our country and were taught how to fly by our own people all under the guise of a drug war that was sort of put into a backburner by our own Ashcroft's statement, "We have put FBI, CIA, DEA and all law enforcement into this "Crime". I wonder what our pals at the DEAWATCH.com have to say about this?

Like I have said in my previous postings, If we are at war, then who are we fighting against? Afhangs?? Tablans?? Or is it simply a war against the "United States of Consitution"?

And so an horrible act like this is used as an excuse to railroad us in what they've wanted all along. All they need to do this is convince people that they have our interests in mind, that they only want to protect the citizens from these "terrorists" that are attacking our way of life. And so the people will easily give up their freedoms as they have done before. But they will only end up less free but not more safe.

There seems to be a real lack of explanation on the part of the media on what causes people to hate us so much that they will kill themselves while crashing an airplane. Until we clearly look at that, we won't be able to prevent anything, but just sow the seeds for more "terrorism" to come.

Let me remind you all that those were real terrorist attacks that took place for years. Like the terrorist attacks that Israel lives with every single day. And yet the US at one point (Colin Powell, I think) criticized Israel for a disproportionate response.

Something smells funny here. By the standards that the US advocates for everybody else in the world, shouldn't the US now "negotiate peacefully" with Bin Laden? Shouldn't the US response be "proportionate"?

I say to everybody on this board,welcome to the front line.

We as a country rail against terrs...but few outside of this 'place' can remember just a few short days ago two men were slaughtered by the FBI in a very off-handed fashion...because of their very vocal activism in changing laws about a harmless plant.

A plant that if industrially utilized, would remove forever the need to be dependant upon foreign energy sources...which is why we are busily interfering with the affairs of nations in the Middle East. Nations whose people are quite understandably angry with us for such interference. And have made their displeasure known, in the most horrific way possible.

For 64 years this 'cannabis community' has endured a slow, inexorable and wholly unwarranted exercise of corporately sponsored and governmentally prosecuted (yes, let's call the spade a spade, and not an 'entrenching tool') terrorism. All under the color of law. But the results of that terrorism have shown the typical classic symptoms of a population subjected to it: paranoia concerning government figures. (Who, simply for the life of them, can't understand why they are so hated; they are just doing their jobs, don't you see? Why can't you all just be good little sheep and be penned up quietly? Your yelling about rights is unAmerican, and besides, yer givin' me a headcache.)

Widespread, almost unconscious mistrust of government in general (does anyone here believe any government spokesperson about anything? Especially as now they are making noises about Americans are too free?) and a bitter, hard cycicism in the young in general that saddens an old fart like me.

Many things have been done around the world by the corporately controlled military/industrial complex. Things that have rightfully enraged those on the receiving end. These thing were done with the tacit blessing of the American government. Which is largely made up of the CEO's of those corporations.

Don't believe me? Look up the membership of the Council on Foreign Relations, and you'll find an almost one-to-one correllation between their names, their corporate alma maters and the positions within government many hold now. Positions supposedly divorced from their corporate origins. Positions in which they are not supposed to be unduly influenced by the wealth they have purportedly left in the care of blind trusts. Yet many of these people take 'regulatory' positions that are supposed to 'ride herd' upon the very corporations they once controlled...and will control again after leaving 'public service'.

The world is far more complex than any one of us can grasp. But some things are quite easily discerned...if you have an inquiring mind. But if you are being stampeded - as I believe the American people right now are being, courtesy of all those awful images constantly being played over and over again, tugging at heartstrings and raising blood pressures - then you can be led to folly. A folly bloodily expensive for us...and richly rewarding for our self-proclaimed corporate masters. Who got us into this mess to begin with. they are not satisfied with owning nearly everything worth owning; no, they want to rub our noses in it, too. Declaring martial law and fomenting other acts restrictive of our civil rights would be their crowning achievement. For then they could finally take off the smiley masks they have been forced to wear for fear the public would learn their true natures. And we'd see the Beast for what it is.

However,,,,,I do believe that you have been misinformed when you said;

" We made the forfieture laws and we repealed them."......

I'm not sure where you are at,,but as far as I know,there have been no
repeal of forfieture laws?...Perhaps a very minor adjustment in some
states,,,but I would like to know what makes you think that forfeiture
laws have been repealed?

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Blood can not be washed out with blood - Arab proverb

I guess it might be necessary to,,after all,if there was no terror,then
there would be no opposite of terror,,,,,freedom and joy

?????

Really is far fetched, but something really stinks here.

A "poll",somehow always seems to be be credible,and believable,,
but think about it,,,,how often have you heard where the "poll" is
from?Have you ever heard them say who was polled?,,or how they
were polled,,what questions they were asked,,,,nope,,I heard on the
news tonight that polls say that the country is behind Bush,,and
that a majority of the people think we should retaliate against terrorists,,
and that Bushs' popularity was way up,,,and that gives the impression
that everyone in the country is thinking a certain way,,,,,,but these
polls are just blindly accepted by the sheeple,,with no explanation of
who was polled,,,for all we know,,the poll was done amongst 20
hardcore republicans who work for the shrub......

BEWARE of polls.....Surveys have proved that they are 99% raw propaganda designed for political manipulation of the people by the evil empire,,,and I saw a poll that said 46% of people think polls cant be trusted,,,and I took another poll that shows that 86% percent of those polled believed that polls should be looked at as fake CRAP....

My opinion on this matter is mixed and I am glad I am not the person to make this decision. On one had if we do nothing the attacks will almost certainly continue and possibly escalate. On the other hand, if we attack we could be risking wiping out the entire human race. Not a good thing at all. It is truely a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. However, from what our single digit president said, we may have no choice but to continue with our promise of retaliation.

If we make it through this ordeal, I truel believe everyone needs to protest against prohibition. Prohibition has created a quick way for any terrorist organization to raise massive amount of funds. In some cases more money than many countries have that exist today. This is just not acceptable. That amount of money could result in a "true" weapon of mass destruction falling into the hands of those willing to use it. I am not sure if we really want a war where the enemy resides here in the U.S. We have much more to lose than our status as the super power of the world. We could easily lose all of our civil liberties and possibly our lives.

It is truely a scary time. If we can draw any conclusions to what will happen next based on the US's illogical policies toward drugs, then the worst is yet to come.

This is all developing into some kinda surrealistic nightmare
circus from hell...The only thing being talked about in the media,
is how this could be prevented in the future,,no talk of why people
are pissed at us...The US is the master of terror around the world.

And to think I used to vote for those bastards.

I was attempting yet again tonight to get a formerly fellow Democrat to care about civil liberties.

Oh but they might drill Alaska!

Fine, we can preserve Alaska and drill some new holes in the remaining unspoiled territory in the Constitution instead.

Bush has just brought in Hutchinson and Walters, both intent
on fighting the states that have voted to allow medical marijuana usage.
That is something when states vote for that freedom, and the prohibitionist
politicains try to squelch that freedom. That is taking freedom and
terrorizing it, destroying it, disregarding it, and then take it further and
black mail the rest of the world to partake in that evil hatred. I am not
free! Bush, may well be the president to take more of our freedoms away
from American Citizens than any other president. Please, take notice.
Observe, Pray, to our Holy Spirit of Truth, and you will know. There is
implications of giving up more freedoms, for the war on terrorism. All
while we kill humans for growing plants, THAT IS AN ACT OF TERRORISM!!

Our country has been an oppressor in the world. Our country has been
waging a war on its citizens for my entire life.

We
most need a peaceful solution to this pain, for when we heal, we want to
heal with our Father. We can not partake in the bad example of the mid East
in their warring back and forth, for my entire life, and we don't want to
start or provoke a nuke extravagansa.

Unfortunatly, it seems evident, Bush aint no God walker, he seems to
stumble on the very 1st page of the Bible when he stands staunchly firm in
his quest to continue the war to cage his brother for using cannabis. He is
opposed to allowing humans to use cannabis for medical pain relief, which
convieniently helps his profits remain strong in his family controling
interest in Lilly Elly Pharm. etc.

I'm glad you are ok and home. This is unreal. I have a headache. I haven't had a headache in a long time. Get some rest. I have no idea where this will lead us but it sure isn't going to get any better at least not for a long time.

The night before the 2 jets crashed into the buildings there were big thunder storms all over the New York City area.

I was watching the media a little today, something I don't often do. The warriors are declaring war and comparing these incidents with Pearl Harbor. Remember: Revenge breads hate and loss of liberties.

Lets hope for the best, I’m very tired. Lets not forget all the injustices, including the Drug War.

See you soon.

They make sure the existance of the Illuminati is believed a myth and conspiracy theories are laughed at.
Yet they still communicate via the same old method:
The number 23.

Here is the PROOF:

9/11/2001 = 23 of Elul 5761 (Jewish Calendar)
9+11+2+0+0+1 = 23
911/2001 = emergency of the new milenium, World War III

Shown on CNN, during the reporting, the phone number
1-800-932-8555, and refering to www.united.com
1+8+0+0+9+3+2 = 23
8+5+5+5 = 23
united.com press releases:
9/11/2001 05:23 PM EST
____23_____5_23
last word of paragraph before paragraph showing the above number
CEO = 3+5+15 = 23

link from united.com to american red cross -> the other numbers seen on CNN:

US Air Force 1-800-253-9276
253 = [11] * 23
276 = [12] * 23
[11]+[12] = 23
[1+1+1+2] = {5}
1+8+9+{5} = 23
1,8 and 9 being the leftover digits

...Jesus how far do coincidences go?
US Air Force is 100% owned and controlled by the Illuminati!

Pentagon 1-800-833-6622
1+8+8+3+3 = 23
1-_8__0_0-_8__3_3-_6___6__2_2

1-2^3 0 0-2^3 2x3-2*3 2*3 2 2
__2+3_____2+3 2+3 2+3 2+3 2+2+1 < 2*3 times the number 5
__ 23_____ 23_ 23_ 23_ 23_ 22+1 < 6 times the number 23

1-2^3 0 0-2^3 3 3-2*3 2*3 2 2
___2_______2_______2___2__2_2__ < 6 occurances of a 2
___3_______3__3_3__3___3_______ < 6 occurances of a 3

Hacking the code of the 23 is time consuming, so I'll stop here for now.

Nostradamus, a traitor of the Illuminati?

edited:
"In the year of the new century and nine months[September 2001], from the sky[Aircrafts] will come a great King of Terror[ism]...The sky will burn at fourty-five degrees. Fire[Planes' Fuel] approaches the great new city[New York]..." "In the City of God[USA, with its leaders having god status[to heck with the constitution, everyone who dares disagree with us will die[eg. rainbow farm]]] there will be a great thunder, Two brothers[Twin towers] torn apart by Chaos[No evidence? Terrorism?], while the fortress[Pentagon] endures[Only partially destroyed], the great leader[Bush? USA?] will succumb. The third great war[World War III] will begin when the big city is burning."

Whoever brought this Nostradamus quote up, which verses are you refering to?

About tthe marijuana illegalization deal. From my understanding, which was just word of mouth, tobbacco lobbyist filled voters minds with myths or over exagrations(sp?)on the few negative health effects. Why? Because marijuana sales were taking a lot of money out of the pockets of the tobbacco industries. Can anyone input on this for me as well?

Snowpark in Oakland
corner of 19th street and Harrison
http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?BFCat=&Pyt=Tmap&newFL=Use+Address+Below&addr=1950+harrison+st.&csz=Oakland%2C+CA+94612&country=us&Get%A0Map=Get+Map

What are you doing to cope with our nation's tragedy? Are you donating
blood? Flying the flag? Have you touched bases with family members to get a
sense of security and familiarity? What are you telling kids about what
happened?

And please let us know if someone close to you was a victim in Tuesday's
attacks.

The Spokesman-Review wants to hear from you. As part of the ongoing coverage
of Tuesday's terrorist acts, we're asking readers to comment for
publication. We plan to publish comments in the newspaper and on our Web
site.

This is a distraction that has many benefits for those whom would have a police state. It is very much a time to watch liberity's back.

Remember that while this attack might have been executed by "real" terrorists they may have followed the path of least resistance which was cleared for them by U.S. Intelligence. Remember also our recent propaganda push (IRA/FARC/ETA etc.) to link all "terrorist" organizations to each other.

Maybe they got so agreeable because they needed some heat taken off so they could give the Bin Laden people time to plan and train for this attack in Afghanistan.

Maybe they used our disporortionate focus on the War on Drugs to distract us away from the terrorist threat they were actively planning?

I have read all 98 comments and wish to address some of this.
Thomas Jefferson: “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country.”
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread10896.shtml
article quotes:
"A terrible, terrible tragedy has befallen my nation ... once again we see terrorism, we see terrorists, people who don't believe in democracy, people who believe that with the destruction of buildings, with the murder of people, they can somehow achieve a political purpose," a somber Powell told a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Lima.

"They can destroy buildings, they can kill people, and we will be saddened by this tragedy, but they will never be allowed to kill the spirit of democracy. They cannot destroy our society. They cannot destroy our belief in the democratic way," Powell said.
It is aparent that what is goose for the gander is unexceptable for the ... they don’t like it but as they crossed God’s line w/ Crosslin, they have been crossed, and there is nothing democratic about killing him, ;yet they try to make that perception of deceipt.
comment #10 by kaptainemo: They know that in times of crisis, it's easier to put through anti-Constitutional measures than it is when things are calmer, less hurried. They are waiting their chance. To put through the kind of anti-Constitutional measures that would empower them to do what they want...to us.... PLUS, what is: Macchiavellian?
comment # 15: In short, it pays sometimes to listen to your intuition. Mine says "Don't trust the government for half the distance you can spit."
#34: This is not news that is unrelevent... When Powel says what is quoted above: we are seeing the government squirm funny, for reasons that are paralell to what they have given to others... like Crosslin, like killing people in columbia, like deceipt to support caging the unfathomable amount of citizens for just using cannabis... By all accounts America has ingaged in terrorist activities directed toward our own democracy, toward our own freedom to use such a benign substance plant as cannabis. The Bible says it, (not me) that judge not for you will be dudged in the end by the same means...
#38 et al. again terrorist activities are what we have been witnessing by our own government perpetraited on its own citizens...
#49: Religious zealouts are usually one who are unable to know the Bibles true meaning yet use their deceipt for wrong, since they are failing to come to the conclusions of the Bible through the Holy Spirit of Truth... Christ only taught peace and love, never kill kill, kill... which is a sort of revealing way to see who believes in truth and who believes in lies.

The story is that this group, of a "godwarrior" mentality, has been willing to jerk America's chain by specific acts of violence that shock this country into conservantism , anticommunism, now xenophobia.. intolerance.

Regardless on whether the Skull&Bones are for real or not, we can certainly see how yesterdays nightmare is causing a call to restraining of freedom, the increase of gov't surveillance and so forth.

Well, listen. The attacks used were clever, low tech, and based on something absolutely undetectable - human beings with a fixed purpose, intent to die and destroy. How will surrendering freedom and living in fear prevent that? How much money does it take to inspect millions of peoples minds?

The challenge is to open society, shall we roll up, close down and let us be led into a new age of military dominance?

If this country is convinced to look at the world as enemies not only will the rest of the world suffer, the United States of America will too, every citizen will be caught in this trap.