whirledtraveler

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071102...ArTqoWc2is0NUE

When will the madness stop?

Superguy

So why was this plane allowed to come into the US with a "known terrorist" on board? They've diverted for less.

I can't say I necessarily fault the FBI for at least interrogating as it had specific information. However, if I were the guy I'd be kicking my father-in-law's a$$ when I got back home. I think dad should be arrested by Swedish police for filing a false report too.

Guy's probably on the no-fly list and probably permabanned from the US.

GUWonder

The detained man's soon to be ex-father-in-law has been charged by the Swedish authorities for aggravated libel. ^^

whirledtraveler

That's the real tragedy in this.. that the DHS is completely unaccountable.

Xyzzy

What did he want to accomplish?! If he didn't think they would be stupid enough to believe him then why did he tell them anything? The FBI would only do something, and the son in law would therefore only find out, if they believed him. What a maroon!

oneant

In this situation, I don't see the DHS or US Gov't in any way responsible. I think the US Gov't should bring their full force to bear on the son-to-be-ex-wife and and her father.

stupidhead

And Chertoff and Hawley both need to be fired and permabanned from working in any government job, forever. That's not in dispute. The FBI agent who arrested the guy should be required to issue a written apology letter to the guy explaining what happened along with a settlement check for $5 million and be fired pending investigation. Oh, and then be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for false arrest, harassment and whatever else, both in civil and criminal court.

Superguy

I think GU's point is even if this is a mistake that this guy has been harmed for life thanks to no DHS accountability.

BS. He knew exactly what would happen and that's why he did it.

whirledtraveler

Neither do I, and that's the problem. The DHS should behave responsibly and make sure that the guy is able to return to the US.

GUWonder

1. The federal government made the falsely accused return to Sweden. That was the "US Gov't" being "in any way responsible" for you.

2. The "US Gov't" doesn't have jurisdiction over Sweden so for the "US Gov't" to "bring their full force to bear" doesn't mean a whole lot as Sweden is unlikely to approve extradition in such a case and prosecutors in the US are unlikely to waste their time trying to push for extradition in a case like this if the prosecutors in the US have their head on straight.

Basically it appears that any malicious person who can send an anonymous email to a relevant FBI email address can cause a foreigner a headache on entry into the US and probably get away with it as long as they send it off from a public place or otherwise use anonymizing tools.

law dawg

Not really. It's that little thing called probable cause.....

oneant

Talk about going overboard. The same people here who are condemning every gov't official and their dog would be condemning them for ignoring the e-mail, claiming that they let a possible terrorist slip right through their fingers after a specific tip. "Just further incompetence exhibited by the holes in security" they'd say.

If we're going to go after all of these folks, let's aim for the top. None of these appointees would be in place without Dubya. Let's arrest everyone who voted for him and made this possible.

Come on folks. Going berserk in either direction just makes you look silly.

Superguy

We wouldn't have a Supreme Court, and we still need that.

FliesWay2Much

What's really important here is incredibly sloppy counter-intelligence/police work. This was doomed from the start, because the motivation is "the big catch" and a desire to justify one's existence (TSA and DHS). Had anyone in the US government had even the slightest desire to do this right, things would have happened like this:

1. Disgruntled father-in-law sends email to FBI. Believe me, they get hundreds of these a week.
2. FBI says, "Is this real or is it just another crackpot?"
3. FBI contacts CIA, Swedish intelligence service, Interpol, etc, and says, "Do you have anything on this guy?"
4. Nothing turns up, FBI determines the email was from a crackpot, and the victim enters the US and is a welcome guest -- how we used to do things around here.
5. FBI's investigative work is inconclusive. Somebody says, "We think we might have a bad guy. Let's put a tail on him and maybe we'll find a bigger plot here at home." (i.e.: "The Big Catch.")

That's not how it works anymore. The motivation is to show the public and Congress how good you are at detaining and harassing people. That's how you justify your existence and how you keep getting money from Congress.

I look around every day and ask myself, "What happened to all the professionals?"

LAlady

Yep. No doubt.