Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 21:29:24 -0700 From: Jeff Chan To: askdoj@usdoj.gov-nospam Subject: Competent FBI, not police state Dear Attorney General Ashcroft, Rather than restricting the freedom and privacy of all Americans, it is very apparent that we need the FBI and other police agencies to make better use of the information already available to them. It is absolutely NOT necessary to constrict American's freedoms and move us further towards a police state. We can keep our freedoms and privacy if law enforcement and intelligence will simply make better use of their existing resources. This is amply demonstrated in the recent tragic events. According to Europe 1 radio in France the FBI had captured in America one of Bin Laden's top men with flight manuals a month ago. The FBI apparently lost communiques from French Intelligence about this individual and clearly no air travel security changes were in place. This individual and the information about him was in their possession and they failed to act on it. FBI similarly had other Bin Laden people in custody or under surveillance but failed to make any timely connection. The FBI should be made to make competent use of the information they already have. We should not throw a large net over the freedoms and legitimate privacies that make America great. We don't need to turn our country into yet another police state. We need our police to make competent use of the information already available to them. In Liberty, Jeff Chan > http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/09/14/europe.suspects/index.html > >> Meanwhile, a French radio station reported on Thursday that >> the arrest of an Islamic militant in Boston last month by the >> FBI had been linked to Osama bin Laden by French >> intelligence reports, but that the U.S. apparently did not act on >> them. >> >> Europe 1 radio reported that U.S. police had arrested a man >> with dual French and Algerian nationality who had several >> passports, technical information on Boeing aircraft and flight >> manuals. The man had been taking flying lessons, it added. >> >> Reuters said that at that time, French security services >> provided information clearly identifying him as an Islamic >> militant working with Osama bin Laden, the Afghan-based >> Saudi millionaire accused of masterminding the U.S. attacks. >> >> "He has a pedigree as long as your arm, an investigator said," >> Europe 1 radio quoted by Reuters reported. "He belongs to the >> Pakistani-Afghan network that trains Osama bin Laden's >> soldiers." >> >> It said the man was in jail, but had refused to co-operate with >> investigators. >> >> "He has the profile of someone who could prepare or lead >> terrorist operations," it said. >> >> "This information was transmitted by French security services >> to the FBI but apparently got lost in the enormous American >> police machinery," it added. >> >> "The inquiry that might have been able to avoid everything >> was not started. There was no special alert transmitted to >> airport authorities in the U.S.," Europe 1 radio concluded. >> According to Reuters, a French judicial source said the U.S. >> had now requested information on the militant.