Keeping Fear Alive

"The only al Qaeda person was the undercover guy."

When attorney Jim Hardy was chosen to represent the seven men accuse of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago he probably thought he was being asked to defend committed terrorists. Instead he discovered that not only were the men not radical extremists there was no evidence beyond the word of an FBI "informant" that the men were planning any "spectacular acts of violence".

So how were these supposedly innocent men lured into implicating themselves as the latest petty actors in Bush's "war on terror". Apparently the FBI's favorite sting operation goes like this: Infiltrate some cash poor, off beat group in a minority neighborhood then have your informant, usually a former drug convict granted a reduced sentence, to promise the hard luck group a big pay-off if they'll swear to wage "jihad" or pledge allegiance to "al-Qaeda".

In the case against the Miami seven the goverment's "key" evidence was a video of them pledging "bayat," to Osama bin Laden in a March 16, 2006. Their ultimate conviction after three hung juries hinged on testimony that supposedly showed that they had taken photographs and video of "possible targets", including the Miami FBI building, a courthouse complex and a synagogue.

But Narseal Baptiste, the plotter's so-called ringleader, insisted in all three trials that he was only going along with the informant in hopes of getting the $50,000 the man had promised for his struggling construction business and a community outreach program. In fact, no actual evidence of a plot ever surfaced during any of the trials. Despite the flimsiness of its case the government was still given three bites at getting a conviction for what amounts to a "thought" crime.

"Any cases that involve someone's mental intent, their intention when they made certain statements, are always difficult," said Matthew Orwig, a former U.S. attorney who monitored the case. "It was a must-win for the government. They needed some vindication."

Now just as Obama is promising to close our torture gulag at Guantanamo Bay a virtual copycat crime is amazingly "uncovered" in New York. The FBI may be unable to spot potential hijackers, an anthrax killer, or the Bernie Madoffs of the world, but they've got deep and unimpeachable sources tracking every two bit hoodlum, crook and dreamer struggling to survive the 'hood and likely to carry a grudge against "the system".

Maybe, given that criteria, the FBI should also be recruiting folks like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. We all know their outraged circles have folks with similar grudges. Some of them could surely be nudged into "acting out" - especially if it meant keeping the American public shaking in its boots. Of course, seeing they've got a whole lot more to risk-- they'd be a lot more expensive to bribe.