FBI Continues To Foil Its Own Devised Terrorist Plots
from the sarcastic-golf-clap dept
It seems there's a new pattern showing itself every time I read a news report in which the FBI proudly announces it foiled a terrorist plot. That pattern goes something like this: hear that a huge explosion was averted and lives were saved, find out the plotter was an American citizen, find out he was under investigation by the FBI for several years, and then finally find out that it was the FBI that egged on the suspect and built his "bomb" for him. In other words, the only way these things could become less impressive is if the FBI actually decided to quit finding these loner folks to urge into violence and just built their own physical straw man to parade in front of the cameras.This whole game of pretend law enforcement showed up at my doorstep this weekend, when the FBI announced yet another arrest of a potential terrorist, this time an 18 year old suburbanite whom the FBI (you guessed it) encouraged to try to bomb a downtown bar in Chicago.
Adel Daoud, 18, was arrested following a months-long FBI undercover investigation. He was taken into custody after he parked a Jeep Cherokee in front of the bar Friday night and walked into a nearby alley where he tried to detonate the device, court documents allege.Oddly, the article notes that Daoud allegedly gave the FBI more than two dozen high profile Chicago targets to 'splode, but decided eventually on this unnamed bar instead, perhaps because they had, like, totally taken his fake ID that one time. Actually, I just made that up because I can't think of a single reason why a supposed terrorist would settle on a drinkery as their target.
The bomb, which was inert and had been constructed by FBI technicians, didn't explode, according to federal authorities.
Now, it is true that Daoud professed his wish to participate in jihad. It is true that he attempted to set off this pseudo bomb. He does indeed sound like a disturbed kid that needs to be dealt with in some fashion. But would he have participated in any of this without the urging of the FBI?
Perhaps more importantly, is foiling their own plots the best use of law enforcement in Chicago, a city that appears to be engaged in a concerted effort to have the most murders ever in a calendar year?
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: chicago, entrapment, fbi, terrorism, terrorist plots
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Amazingly fun game!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Amazingly fun game!
You're kidding right? Obviously they do not. But EDI gets good intelligence from the effort, so it's cool....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Amazingly fun game!
On topic; I'm actually getting a bit worried. If the FBI are continually focused on terrorist plots of their own creation, won't they be too busy to notice the ones they're not a part of? Seems like a waste of resources to go after would be terrorists instead of the real ones whom are an actual threat.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Amazingly fun game!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Amazingly fun game!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Amazingly fun game!
*sigh* I stopped playing a year ago and these fights are still in my head....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Amazingly fun game!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But, but, but....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bars Are Dangerous
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Real Terrorists are Dangersous
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And I want to live threw a zombie apocalypse, doesn't mean I'm going to start one.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Brains...
And I want to live threw a zombie apocalypse, doesn't mean I'm going to start one.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Brains...
Sorry, not a grammar Nazi, but it was painful to parse the first time.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Brains...
You'll have to forgive me, I'm dyslexic and can't spell worth shit, so I'm not sure what typo you speak of.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Brains...
Maybe the FBI will think up a plan for me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Brains...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You fool!
In the end, what I'm saying is thank you, FBI. If not for the FBI, who would foil the dastardly plots of the FBI?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: You fool!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: You fool!
Which was a major part of the point put forward.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: You fool!
On the other hand, it would be useful to determine if some other entity might be in a position to supply this guy with what he needs. THAT might have been something.
As it is, the FBI gets more credit for this "conspiracy" then the perp does.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Terrorist Plots Foiled by the FBI in the last 11 years: 72
Looks like the FBI is winning the war on terrorism against the evil terrorists at the FBI!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Wait that guy actually suceeded? Noooo we had nothing to do with him (starts burning records)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
They've managed to keep a 100% record for just over 11 years now!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The FBI is now the terrorist organization...
Everyone who knew about this hideous FBI plot to blow things up through innocent people cajoled into action by FBI personnel should be sent to gitmo for life without possibility of parole. Oh, the President should go too, since it happened on his watch and he's responsible for what the FBI does.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The FBI is now the terrorist organization...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: The FBI is now the terrorist organization...
Last time there was an article on this, the members of the Muslim mosque whom the FBI infiltrated actually reported their own inside man TO THE FBI, being concerned with how much he was constantly calling for a jihad.
Entrapment is when law enforcement are the ones planning and executing the crimes through proxies.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The FBI is now the terrorist organization...
Suppose that some young, poor, lonely, disenfranchised kid sees other people selling drugs and thinking that might be a way out. So the FBI forms a fake gang for the kid to join, provides him with a circle of "friends" (all FBI or informants), gives him some fake drugs, and arrests him just as he tries to sell them to a fake customer (also FBI).
Ridiculous, right?
It is a fundamental principle of modern policing, supported by decades of sound research, that the best way to stop a crime is to make sure it never happens in the first place.
If there is some segment of the population who are at risk of entering a life of crime, you need to steer them away from it, not towards it!
This kid could have become a life-changing social worker or activist, working with and advocating for the people in his community who grew up like him. But that will never happen, because he now knows he can never trust the authorities who betrayed him.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: The FBI is now the terrorist organization...
This is exactly what they are trying to prevent! If more people turned out this way, why would the FBI need to be around? FOR GOD SAKES THINK OF THEIR PAYCHECKS!!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
I wouldn't doubt they might do something like this, but you show no evidence of it. It's just assumed so you can downplay the threat this person clearly was.
Sounds you just want to downplay that there is any real threat.
What are the FBI supposed to do exactly to deal with people like this? Arrest them for nothing? Just let them go on with their plans without FBI intervention for fear of being accused of "egging him on"?
He's ready and willing to blow up a bar full of innocent people and all you can do is mock the whole idea that a person like this is any danger at all? He's not a real terrorist because why again?
I guess to satisfy you the FBI would have to let him actually murder people otherwise he's just a bumbling idiot who's no real threat to anyone?
You'd prob be the first one denouncing the FBI if they let this guy actually blow something up, but apparently anything short of that is all a scam strawman.
You've already decided that there is no threat it's all just made up, prob think the world trade center was blown up by the FBI to frame some poor innocent people too...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
honesty i would expect him to make friends w/ meth heads when trying to get stuff for explosives, a thus lower his chances of surviving his first bomb creation w/o professional training
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
Well, yeah. They can stop him after he initiates the illegal actions without the FBI's influence. If he begins work on making an explosive device, you have evidence. If he is looking for someone to tell him what to do, the FBI would be better off, I don't know, maybe surveying him, or investigate? If he finds a group/person to get together with, then they can slowly try to pick apart organizations, instead of find one easily manipulated 18 year old. It works better that way to protect people too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
And if you say no keep in mind that if they surveill him for a shorter period of time and he later kills innocent people tech dirt and the other mocking the FBI will mock them again for not doing enough to stop this now "real" terrorist".
He was under surveillance and still managed to kill people? Well we had to cause techdirt will otherwise whine that we are egging people on and we can't have that? We have to wait till there are actual dead people? Or surveill him for life? It don't make any sense at all to me.
The author of this article clearly just doesn't feel there is a real threat, and if there is it's a very small threat.
This guy does have rights, but the constitution isn't a suicide pact, we aren't required to wait till he actually kills people to do something.
He was willing to kill innocent people, but it's all the FBI's fault? They egged him on? No they didn't...
I'm calling BS...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
People claim they want to kill others all the time. Most of it goes ignored, or are just put into a log/report. If someone is sufficently unstable they should be treated medically, not tricked and put into jail.
They should wait because that's the law. This isn't the same as getting busted trying to buy drugs where the cop poses as a dealer. If at any point he had second thoughts, and they re-assured him it will be ok and encouraged him in any way, they crossed the line to entraptment. With how much they interacted with the guy it sounds less like the FBI just said, hey you wished for a bomb? here it is, go have fun. Based off his actions, he was trying to be a part of the group for whatever ego reasons. He's 18, like just out of highschool/senior 18. He could have gotten a motorcycle the next month and think the whole idea was stupid. Based on his actions, before the FBI gives him fake stuff, he was just trying to be a periphial part of the group providing information. He gave information on bigger places, but he only went to bar? He was obviously scared or he would have done the bigger places right?
What if he went to one of those bigger places and caused a panic? People do die in those trying to escape, then how would the FBI be? Oops, it was just a sick joke on this guy to make him try to do something illegal? Or would they be like It's ok! We're heros! It was fake the whole time.
It's a waste of limited resources to pick out this one guy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
Every time a TechDirt rock is turned over we find some other shadow man pulling Mikes strings. Is anyone not lining his pockets?
First Big Search, then Big Vegetable, now Big Mock FBI Fake Bomb Plots...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bugfix constitution
Fixing the second is effectively impossible since it would basically mean deciding to replace it with a new amendment, and most people would oppose it for either being too tight or too lax. The rest would be impossible to fix now because of the huge amount of current law it would invalidate.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Way to make up fake facts to suit yr own strawman...
As I noted elsewhere, if this were any other young person at risk for getting mixed up in a life of crime, we would try to steer them away from that.
First off, this approach is a hell of a lot cheaper. Secondly, it maximises our chances of gaining a productive member of society. Thirdly, it gives us an opportunity to build bridges with the community in which that person finds themselves. All we lose is the opportunity to say "look, we foiled a terror plot that we created". Sounds like win-win-win to me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I may be unhappy with how things are going. Unhappy with government with certain people / parties are in power. I may be unhappy with Congress all of the time. I may sometimes think the entire thing should be nuked and we start over. [Include nuking the RIAA, MPAA, Microsoft and Apple. :-) ]
But if someone approached me with plans to bomb something, I would turn them in to the FBI myself. And I have no particular love (or hate) for the FBI.
So why didn't Daoud do this?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Danny, if you look at the patsies the FBI sets up, they are borderline retarded. Low intelligence, easily swayed patsies.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
OTOH, if an easily manipulated person were swayed by someone (not the FBI) into bombing something that they otherwise wouldn't have, then I would say the real crime was done by the manipulator.
It might be possible to sway an impressionable 12 year old boy into bombing something, with sufficient manipulation. (See: pedophiles) But the FBI seems to be targeting adults who should know better -- or who maybe should have a guardian.
So I'm not sure what to think. Again, I have no particular love for the FBI. But they're not the TSA. Or the copyright criminal cartel.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
I would say they're both responsible. I don't care how easily swayed somebody is. If they're willing to blow people people up for no good reason at all, then they don't need to be on the streets.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
"However if they are easily swayed into bombing something, I would have to entertain the idea that maybe they are genuinely dangerous."
Agreed, but how willing and how much was he pushed? Acceptance by a group (see college frats for one) can be an extremely motivating factor causing PPL that appear to be normal intelligent and smart, to do absolutely stupid asinine stuff.
Here is the FBI agent claiming to be from the mighty alCIAda and YOU sir, DannyB, will be the absolute man in our org if you do this. We will accept and love you and you will be hailed a hero jihad master.
To a lonely mentally disturbed socially awkward individual, nirvana has just been handed to them.
The same ppl FBI targets, cults would target as well.
Just look at all of the "intelligent" ppl that are in the Scientology cult. (Oh shit no I didnt)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
There are levels of stupid. And girls, no.
> To a lonely mentally disturbed socially awkward individua
I would have to question whether that person is actually dangerous and whether they should be free. Plenty of loney mentally disturbed socially awkward individuals seem to go on shooting sprees. Why not bombings? The question arises, how do you catch them?
Maybe my concern with the FBI might be how much manipulation does it take to induce someone into bombing people?
> Cults
Cults are still a stretch from bombing someone. I would suppose that most of the "intelligent" people in cults would not bomb people. (But a few?)
So where I originally started. I'm not sure where to draw the line. But doing nothing is as bad as being overzealous -- innocent people get hurt.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
But no, we get the FBI stalking people, setting them up, and throwing them in jail for god knows how long. How much money does that waste? And it's not correcting the problem, it's just throwing the problem somewhere where it can fester.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
How about keep the guy under surveillance and arrest him if & when he does something illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Luckily we don't have people just handing out explosives on the street like fliers. Besides a bomber without a bomb being a non-issue, finding people willing to blow stuff up isn't as important as finding someone making explosives now is it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Farmers/ranchers have access to things that while to them are common sense, a little bit more difficult to obtain than others. This would also single out a suburban guy buying it out of nowhere. So, are you talking household items? And these would do serious damage to a bar like a movie explosion that I'm sure this guy was thinking of?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
It seems to me it would be better if the FBI found people who not only want to do something heinous, but actually attempt to do it without being actively aided by law enforcement.
The problem is that lots of people may have a latent desire to do something nefarious, but very few of them actually will. It's better to try to find the ones who are truly dangerous rather than the ones who merely want to be dangerous. If the cops are making it easier for a kook to act on latent desires, it becomes impossible to know if they would ever have really been a danger at all.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Just remember, the 'reward' for an action like that is being investigated by, and threatened by, the FBI. They really don't like it when someone else tries to wear the 'terrorist fighter' hat, and tend to thrown tantrums when it happens.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Hell, why do some young African-American kids join gangs instead of turning them in to the cops?
Could it be that Daoud was disenfranchised from the wider society, perhaps due to the hard time that Muslim people have thanks to all the paranoia, and so was ripe for exploitation by any group who offered him friendship and inclusion?
By the way, if someone approached you with plans to bomb something, you might not turn them into the FBI if they had a history of being two-faced with your community on multiple occasions? If you thought there was a significant risk that by doing the right thing you could get arrested on trumped-up charges and threatened that if you didn't become an overseas agent in a war zone they would make your life a living hell, would you honestly do it?
I don't know about you, but I'd have to think long and hard about it, and I have the benefit of being white, almost 40, educated and middle class. (Oh, and I don't live in the US, which is another distinct advantage.) I don't know what chance someone in Daoud's position would have.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
911
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, look for the videos of the bomb squad removing 2 or 3 more bombs from the building.
And on and on.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If there were deaths involved, it'd just be the statue quo.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Or, building off the AC comment... go after the "group that [could] push him to do this and [give] him the same level of help."
What group could that be?
Not sure there is a comparable group to the FBI on this matter, but even if there was a "group" that was not quite so good, why not go after them instead of recruiting somone that might be influenced by a group that may or may not exist for the sake of removing all citizens that could be influenced?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
"Who among you hasn't tried to explode a bar? I know I have! We can't sentence this man to prison for a simple youthful indiscretion! After all, boys will be boys!"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
*slow clap*
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
>and a target
[Citation needed]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
just waiting..
But wait..
JUST WAIT..
For a smart kid to get the idea to ADD his own explosives/GAS BOMB..
Does anyone notice that the kids caught are the DUMB ONES??
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If Joe Dirt the Racist or Ahmed Ahma-Dickhead the Terrorist were doing the same cajoling, planning and helping to manufacture a bomb, real or fake, that person would be charged with conspiracy to commit...
But since the FBI does it and their intentions are for the good of all(subjective opinion... not mine), then it's all OK and we should thank them for saving the American way of life?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Skewed priorities
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Real Plots
Seems like they're picking the low lying apples!
Of course, if the US stopped being hypocritical and brassing off half the world, it might help as well!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The CSIS (canadas CIA) set up two crackheads as terrorists in British Columbia
[ link to this | view in chronology ]