Friday, September 18, 2009

FBI Raids New York Block

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller

The FBI raided a block in Queens, New York today, in search of domestic terrorists, with alleged ties to Al Qaeda.

They have also issued a terrorist alert, warning authorities to keep an eye out for suspects seeking bomb-making materials and those with burns on their hands.

The raids were described as "preventative" but they have left residents shaken and seeking answers. The purpose of the raids still remain unclear.

Some are wondering if they were conducted as a show, in response to Osama Bin Laden's threatening speech, released two days after the 8th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

It was also reported today, the FBI continues to feud with sister agency the ATF, who specializes in bomb detonation, in an ongoing turf war that is counterproductive.

At a time when terrorist threats are flooding in, it has been discovered, the two agencies are not sharing information, which is detrimental to the nation. Why are they fighting, as they are supposed to be on Team America. Obama needs to speak to them, as what they are doing is dangerous.

US police alerted about bomb makers after NY raids

Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:48pm EDT - NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Federal anti-terrorism officials alerted local police departments around the United States about how to track evidence of bomb-making after authorities raided New York homes on Monday in an apparent search for homemade explosives.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security advised the police to look for burn marks typically found on suspects of a particular kind of bomb-making. The note was issued following searches of at least three apartments where a man suspected of sympathizing with al Qaeda had visited...

The raids rattled people in Queens, the ethnically diverse borough across the East River from Manhattan, and reminded New Yorkers their city remains a target eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We believe it is prudent to share information with our state and local partners about the variety of domestically available materials that could be used to create homemade explosives," the federal agencies said in a statement...

http://www.reuters.com

FBI, ATF Feud over Bomb Investigations

Justice Department Report: Agencies Fail to Share Information, Refuse to Train Together

(AP) Agents of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are feuding over bomb investigations - racing each other to crime scenes, failing to share information and refusing to train together, according to a draft report obtained by The Associated Press.

The report says Justice Department bosses have repeatedly failed to fix the problem. The Justice Department's Inspector General, Glenn Fine, has drafted a preliminary report on the two agencies' repeated squabbles to claim jurisdiction in investigations of explosives incidents across the country - from Times Square in New York City to Arizona and the West Coast.

The most recent documented spat came last December when the FBI protested a local prosecutor's request to use the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to investigate a blast that killed a local bomb technician in Woodburn, Ore.

FBI and ATF supervisors "tend to deploy their employees to the larger, more sensational explosives incidents, sometimes racing each other to be the first federal agency on the scene and disputing upon arrival which agency should lead the investigation," according to a draft version of the report.

"Such conflicts can delay investigations, undermine federal and local relationships, and may project to local agency responders a disjointed federal response to explosives incidents in their area," the draft report found.

Officials in both agencies claim such problems have been resolved, yet the report stated that "disputes between the FBI and ATF continue to occur."...

http://www.cbsnews.com