FBI Responsibility for US Terror Plots

FBI Responsibility for US Terror Plots

by Stephen Lendman

Boston's marathon bombings leave disturbing questions unanswered. Official accounts lack credibility. Mounting evidence suggests FBI responsibility. It doesn't surprise.

Project Censored's fourth top 2013 censored story headlined "FBI Agents Responsible for Majority of Terrorist Plots in the United States." More on that below.

Post-9/11, George Bush declared war on terrorism. It continues under Obama. America needs enemies. When none exist, they're invented.

Muslims are America's target of choice. Numerous innocent victims are entrapped. It occurs when law enforcement officials or agents induce, influence, or provoke crimes that otherwise wouldn't be committed.

Project Censored discussed Russia Today's report. It headlined "FBI organizes almost all terror plots in the US."

Mother Jones covered the same issue. Its article titled "The Informant" said "(T)he FBI has built a massive network of spies (allegedly) to prevent another domestic attack. But are they busting terrorist plots - or leading them?"

The FBI employs around 15,000 undercover agents. In 1975 they numbered 1,500. In 1980 it was 2,800. By 1986 it was 6,000.

They're involved in sting operations designed to entrap. They're well paid. They earn around $100,000 per assignment or more.

Law-abiding people are targeted. According to Mother Jones, "in case after case, the government provides the plot, the means, and the opportunity."

FBI informants target Muslim communities. They seek members unhappy with America's imperial war agenda. Mother Jones said their names are "cross-referenced with existing intelligence data, such as immigration and criminal records."

"FBI agents may then assign an undercover operative to approach the target by posing as a radical. Sometimes" a plot is proposed. Explosives and/or other weapons are provided.

Once "enough incriminating information" is gotten, an arrest follows. A press conference announces another "foiled plot."

The process repeats ad nauseam. From fall 2010 - fall 2011 alone, Mother Jones and the Investigative Reporting Program at UC-Berkeley examined 508 alleged terrorism prosecutions. They found:

• nearly half involved paid informants;

• sting operations targeted 158 defendants;

• agent provocateurs were involved in 49 plots;

• "with three exceptions, (all) high-profile domestic terror plots of the last decade were actually FBI stings;"

• most often, "key encounters" between informants and targets aren't recorded;

• proving entrapment is hard to impossible; and

• even when evidence is suspect or lacking, beating terrorism-related charges in court rarely happens.

According to defense attorney Martin Stolar:

"The problem with the cases we're talking about is that defendants would not have done anything if not kicked in the ass by government agents."

The FBI "create(s) crimes to solve crimes so they can claim a victory in the war on terror."

Attorney General Eric Holder defends entrapment. He's done so publicly. He's done it by calling provocative targeting terrorism stings. He's unapologetic.

In March 2012, he spoke at Northwestern University School of Law. "We are a nation at war," he said.  "And, in this war, we face a nimble and determined enemy that cannot be underestimated."

Justice Department lawyers and agents aim to "detect and disrupt terrorist plots, to prosecute suspected terrorists, and to identify and implement the (so-called) legal tools necessary to keep the American people safe."

He defended disturbing practices involved, as well as military commissions and targeted assassinations of individuals alleged to be "imminent threat(s)."

He justified lawless practices on grounds of national security.

Earlier in December 2010, he addressed a San Francisco area Muslim audience. He called tactics used an "essential law enforcement tool in uncovering and preventing terror attacks." He did so despite evidence many times they're used to entrap.

Attendees weren't pleased. Muslim Advocates president, Farhana Khera said entrapment operations "may be getting people involved in (alleged) terrorism who otherwise would not have done anything."

"These operations also divert investigators from actual threats and provoke widespread anti-Muslim sentiment," she added.

According to Council on American-Islam Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper:

"We maintain concerns about FBI policies regarding informants in mosques and provocateurs in our community."  

"There's a sense of being under siege in many Muslim communities. People just assume there are agents or informants in their mosque now. It's a fact of life."

Law Professor David Cole says beating terrorism-related charges is near impossible. He told Mother Jones:

"The plots people are accused of being apart of - attacking subway systems or trying to bomb a building - are so frightening that they can overwhelm a jury."

It dares not convict. Members are intimidated to do so. Disturbing unconstitutional issues aren't addressed. Prosecutorial and FBI claims about keeping Americans safe don't wash. Many cases explain why.

In December 2010, the Washington Post headlined "Tension grows between Calif. Muslims, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque," saying:

Craig Monteilh, aka Farouk al-Aziz, code name Oracle, spied on dozens of Irvine Islamic Center Muslims. He did so "in a quest for potential terrorists....But the FBI's approach has come under fire from some Muslims."

"In the Irvine case, Monteilh's mission....backfired. Muslims were so alarmed by his talk of violent jihad that they obtained a restraining order against him."

They reported him to the same FBI office that recruited him. He helped build terrorism charges against a mosque member. It collapsed.

The Justice Department "took the extraordinary step of dropping charges against the worshipper, who Monteilh had caught on tape (allegedly) agreeing to blow up buildings, law enforcement officials said."

"Prosecutors (falsely) portrayed the man as a dire threat."

Monteilh went public. He revealed FBI tactics. He said his "handlers" trained him to entrap Muslims in mosques, at home and at work.

He was a well-paid informant. Court records and other documents showed he got $177,000 tax free in 15 months.

Southern California Muslims cited a pattern of pervasive surveillance and entrapment. According to Islamic Shura Council of Southern California Executive Director Shakeel Syed:

"The community feels betrayed. They got a guy, a bona fide criminal (just out of prison for grand theft), and obviously trained him and sent him to infiltrate mosques."

"And when things went sour, they ditched him and he got mad. It's like a soap opera, for God's sake."

Most FBI informants are either charged suspects, convicted felons, or undocumented immigrants facing deportation. In return for cooperation, leniency is offered.

Monteilh was a convicted felon. He was involved in ripping off cocaine dealers. He became a Drug Enforcement Administration asset. He later agreed to be an FBI informant.

According to Mother Jones, informants' "first assignment is often a fishing expedition." They've testified in court that "FBI handlers tasked them with infiltrating mosques without a specific target…."

They're "directed to surveil law-abiding Americans with no indication of criminal intent."

They're told to infiltrate mosques without probable cause. They look for likely targets to entrap. Muslims are America's target of choice. Innocence is no defense.

Guilt by accusation works. Prosecutors claim another war on terror victory. Innocent people suffer.

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaeve is Washington's latest victim. Media scoundrels convicted him in the court of public opinion. Authorities claim he confessed. His last Facebook message said:

"This will be the last message before the police get me. I never 'done' it. They set me up. Father please forgive me. I am sorry it has come to this."

It bears repeating. Innocence is no defense. Lies substitute for truth. Imperial priorities matter most.

America's war on terror shows no mercy. It's institutionalized. Everyone's harmed. Freedom is fast disappearing.

America's war on humanity continues. Full-blown tyranny looms.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen [at] sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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