FBI: Extremists Signing Up to Be School Bus Drivers

[anygunanywhere]

WASHINGTON — Members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said Friday, in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said "parents and children have nothing to fear."

Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said "there are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although law enforcement agencies around the country were asked to watch out for kids' safety.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259168,00.html

Why issue an alert (cautionary bulletin) when we do not have anything to fear????

Recall my recent post??

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... ror+school

Anygun

[stevie_d_64]

No "specific" threats, plots or history???

But the fact that they are releasing this information about "extremists" getting their licenses and are being hired is of no need to be concerned...

Another one of these "Nothing to see here people, move along...Move along"

And it being released on Fox, is supposed to make it that much more credible...hmmmmm

[stevie_d_64]

But Homeland Security and the FBI "have no information indicating these individuals are involved in a terrorist plot against the homeland," it says. The memo also notes: "Most attempts by foreign nationals in the United States to acquire school bus licenses to drive them are legitimate."

Kolko said the bulletin was sent merely as an educational tool to help local police identify and respond to any suspicious activity.

It was not immediately clear whether the extremists intended to do with the school buses. One counterterror official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said it was likely that the foreigners investigated were merely employed as bus drivers, and did not intend to use them as part of any terror plot.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"...most attempts are legitimate..."

Ok, what about the other attempts, you said most, that means not "all"...

"...suspicious activity..."

What would be construed as suspicious activity by a bus driver?

Ok, I get it now...Took me longer than I thought...

Somebody must have gotten bored over at DHS...Had to release something to the press (anonymously)...

"txinvestigator" almost said it best in the last thread back in February...

"Ok, what do you do about it." (I paraphrase)

[anygunanywhere]

And it being released on Fox, is supposed to make it that much more credible...hmmmmm

Stevie,

I take all network news with a grain of salt. Like has been posted recently, "It is news, not evidence".

I do not put a lot of faith in what the feebs are putting out nowadays either after the FBI admitted to "errors" pertaining to the Patriot Act provisions.

Anygun

[jimlongley]

Let's see, "suspicious activity" -

A school bus packed with explosives explodes in the turnaround in front of a 1100 student high school as many students are arriving (including those on the the bus.)

Dozens killed, hundreds more injured, police, the FBI, and DHS are mystified at how this terrorist was able to get a license as a school bus driver and pass the background checks.

etc, etc, etc.

[stevie_d_64]

And it being released on Fox, is supposed to make it that much more credible...hmmmmm

Stevie,

I take all network news with a grain of salt. Like has been posted recently, "It is news, not evidence".

I do not put a lot of faith in what the feebs are putting out nowadays either after the FBI admitted to "errors" pertaining to the Patriot Act provisions.

Anygun

Totally with you on this...

I only watch Fox in the morning because the girls have nicer looking knees...

Overall, I believe the whole releasing of information like this without any information as to what is being done about it, what should be done about it, or what can be done about it, is in my opinion, irresponsible, at ALL levels of that organization...

This has been going on for years...

So you have to ask youself, why should I give any attention to this information?

I can only assume (and I hate doing this) that this information is floated out there to us in this manner to make the inevitable, credible...

"Well, we told you about it..."

"We will hunt these terrorists (extremists) down and bring them to justice!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now I think you and I both will give the FBI and other organizations credit that when something does become actionable, they'll take care of it, and we may not ever hear about it...

I am ok with that...

So maybe this is a floater that is released to the public that is designed to communicate some sort of..."We know what you're doing...We'll be right there to take care of you..." kinda message...

I only know one Fed guy real well...And he knows better than to tell me anything he knows...

I don't understand why...I'm a great security risk! (yeah, I know)

I should probably expect a knock on my door sometime soon...

If anyone needs me I'll be in my bunker...

[stevie_d_64]

Let's see, "suspicious activity" -

A school bus packed with explosives explodes in the turnaround in front of a 1100 student high school as many students are arriving (including those on the the bus.)

Dozens killed, hundreds more injured, police, the FBI, and DHS are mystified at how this terrorist was able to get a license as a school bus driver and pass the background checks.

etc, etc, etc.

You are exactly right...

But at this point in your senario, obviously its too late, right???

[jimlongley]

Let's see, "suspicious activity" -

A school bus packed with explosives explodes in the turnaround in front of a 1100 student high school as many students are arriving (including those on the the bus.)

Dozens killed, hundreds more injured, police, the FBI, and DHS are mystified at how this terrorist was able to get a license as a school bus driver and pass the background checks.

etc, etc, etc.

You are exactly right...

But at this point in your senario, obviously its too late, right???

Right, and IMHO exactly what happened on 09/11/01. I fear we (as a nation) are drifting back to the level of complacency present pre 9/11.

Unfortunately, we (as a nation) have a tendency to spend a lot of time in that "condition white" mode, primarily, I think, due to a variety of factors which include "let the government take care of it" and a NIMBY like "everything is ok in my neighborhood."

Eternal vigilance being a price of liberty is no merely a saying, it's a way of life.

[jrosto]

There is video of terrorist in training practicing the takeover of schools.

Floor plans of American schools have been found in computer in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Folks that belong to a religion that has a large percentage of adherents who want to destroy America, from countries that want to destroy America are getting/trying to get jobs as school bus drivers...

Nope, does not add up. Nothing to see here. Move along folks.

"parents and children have nothing to fear."

Let's just go ahead and pass that little piece of legislation by Rep. Patric. You know, the one that keeps law abiding citizens from legally carrying a firearm when picking up their children from school.

[Charles L. Cotton]

There is video of terrorist in training practicing the takeover of schools.

Floor plans of American schools have been found in computer in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Folks that belong to a religion that has a large percentage of adherents who want to destroy America, from countries that want to destroy America are getting/trying to get jobs as school bus drivers...

Nope, does not add up. Nothing to see here. Move along folks.

"parents and children have nothing to fear."

Let's just go ahead and pass that little piece of legislation by Rep. Patric. You know, the one that keeps law abiding citizens from legally carrying a firearm when picking up their children from school.

On the HB2112 issue, everyone should look at the update I posted on this Bill. Rep. Patrick is working hard bring an end to this vampire issue.

Chas.

[srothstein]

I have been sitting here wondering about this item since it was released (well, off and on, not the whole time). I don't have a lot of faith in the FBI to begin with, and I am very suspicious of any department named Homeland Security (just reminds me too much of other countries and what they called their security police).

So, when this was first released, I wondered if it was fluff or a serious warning. I am still not sure exactly why it was ever released to anyone.

Consider all the facts I know (and I think most of you already know them also), which are:

1. We have been attacked by foreign terrorists and are currently fighting a war against some of their supporters (Afghanistan definitely and Iraq has modified to this if it really was not that way to start).

2. Islamic terrorists have attacked schools and used the children as hostages in the recent past (Chechnya).

3. Americans are not supporting the war as a whole, and have gone back to a level of complacency close to that of prior to Sep. 11.

4. Americans have almost always needed an enemy to unite against and the "terrorists" are the current prejudice of choice.

5. One of the ways the government can help keep people in control is to keep them afraid of an enemy.

6. One of the ways the government can distract people from other problems is to focus them on a threat.

7. The FBI has had a recent problem with the way it used the Patriot Act illegally, according to DOJ investigators.

8. The actual alert contains no information and goes out of its way to insure that no one takes it as a serious threat.

As a police officer, I have to say that anyone who thinks there are no terrorist cells in the US is deluding themselves. I also have to point out that anyone who thinks the terrorists would not use schools as a target is severely underestimating the enemy. And, anyone who thinks this warning does anything for anyone is placing way too much faith in the government.

I know I take anything the government says with a grain of salt, but I think this warning is posted solely to divert attention from other government activities. The FBI found that there are a few people in the US with Arabic names that have school bus licenses and decided that this doesn't look too good, even if we have no evidence of anything. They are playing on the fact that it is currently socially acceptable to be biased against a certain religion and ethnic group (possibly justifiably, but the prejudice is definitely acceptable).

[jimlongley]

4. Americans have almost always needed an enemy to unite against and the "terrorists" are the current prejudice of choice.

5. One of the ways the government can help keep people in control is to keep them afraid of an enemy.

And "terrorist" is such an ill defined target (as opposed to "Jap" or Nazi" which we could really identify with (read with a little more than subtle irony)) or even concept, that it's almost impossible to keep the antagonism focused on this amorphous enemy.

Yes, we all know that the greater proportion of terrorist acts lately have been perpetrated by members of a particular religion, but Timothy McVeigh wasn't one of them. I think many of the schoolyard and workplace shootings fit loosely enough within the overall bounds of "terrorist attack" that they kind of inoculate the general populace and numb them to the very real threat.

I worry about every sporting event or other large gathering of people.

[paulbrodt]

I wonder if there were people in forums like this talking about why there were islamic extremist getting pilots liscences before 9/11?

[stevie_d_64]

Some lite reading...

http://origin.www.gpoaccess.gov/911/