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How London Suspect Got Away
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| josh4 |
| quote: | London Suspect Highlights Tracking Woes
By AIDAN LEWIS, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago
Italian police revealed Monday how they tracked down a London bombing suspect, yet their success was tempered by concerns about how Europe's open borders allowed the fugitive to slip from Italy into Britain and back again.
Italy's anti-terror police chief also said that Ethiopian-born Hamdi Issac managed to gain asylum in Britain in 1996 using fake documents and an alias.
London police say Issac was one of four attackers who planted bombs on subways and a bus July 21 — bombs that only partly exploded yet further rattled the city after the deadly mass-transit suicide bombings of July 7.
Four days later, on July 26, Issac managed to elude a massive manhunt to take a train out of London, reportedly to France. He then crossed into Italy, seeking refuge with family and friends, and was arrested at his brother's Rome apartment Friday.
His journey highlights the difficulties anti-terrorism authorities have tracing the movements and identities of suspects, said Andrea Nativi, research director for the Rome-based Military Center for Strategic Studies.
Under the so-called Schengen agreement, travelers within 15 signatory countries can cross borders without passports. Britain and Ireland are not part of the agreement and handle their own border control.
Participating countries can temporarily reinstate border checks if there is a threat to security, as France did after the July 7 London bombings. Finland also reintroduced border checks, because it is hosting the World Athletics Championships this month.
But more drastic measures may be needed.
Natavi said stricter controls, such as identity cards with fingerprints, could help but that governments commonly only pass such preventive measures after attacks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050801...Ki0ZE7CSmis0NUE
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so basically, he just got up and left the country for Italy. oooo a real master of disguise! im interested to see what Europeans think of these talks about more border control |
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| St_Andrew |
Yeah lets build some massive boarder controls between the eurpean countries... like those in eastern germay! with dogs and wires and perhaps even some concrete walls! US should do the same between their states!!! that would be awesome! oh wait, perhaps its not worth it?
Freedom > Security |
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| est |
When the Italian police caught him he didn't even put up a fight - he admitted straight away that he was guilty and even said that he and the others expected to get caught. He also said that the bombs weren't meant to explode.
As for border controls and ID cards, I really don't see any legal solution to this problem. If a suicide bomber wants to get in to the country, they'll find a way. The laws would just mean increased surveillance of people that are going about their day-to-day lives, and although it might make things more difficult for a potential bomber to enter the country, it won't stop them. It will make the government look as if it's making an effort, however futile.
The root of the problem is Iraq, although pulling out now probably isn't feasible. Blair simply shouldn't have got involved in an illegal and ill-advised war in the first place. |
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| ::TranceVanDyk:: |
| the US should station army units at the border of mexico, with orders to shoot to stop any aliens who dont stop and turn around after a warning. |
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| josh4 |
| With all this attention on the failed July 21st bombings, it looks as if everyones forgotten all about the successful July 7th bombings. Where are the arrests for the latter? |
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| ogvh5150 |
That's a very good question.
Also why did the suspects of July 21 get arrested and taken in alive if they were that much of a threat? Apparently a farce for people to raise their fists in the air with a sense of accomplishment. Those are the ones that will give their liberty up for a sense of security.
FBI documents obtained by The Times reveal details of how a London-based cleric sent Aswat to America in 1999 to set up camps in Oregon for US-born recruits.
The papers indicate that Aswat spent three months in America and engaged in firearms and poisons training, but decided against using a remote ranch in Bly as an al-Qaeda camp. The CIA is keeping in close touch with Aswat’s interrogation and British detectives are seeking permission to speak to him.
Key London bombs suspect arrested in Zambia
According to the sources, U.S. officials had located Aswat in South Africa weeks before the July 7 attacks that killed 52 bus and subway travelers and the four bombers.
U.S. authorities had asked South Africa if they could take Aswat into custody. South Africa relayed the request to Britain, but authorities there balked because he was a British citizen, the sources said. While the debate was ongoing, Aswat slipped away.
UK 'blocked bomb plotter' arrest
The Justice Department blocked efforts by its prosecutors in Seattle in 2002 to bring criminal charges against Haroon Aswat, according to federal law-enforcement officials who were involved in the case.
British authorities suspect Aswat of taking part in the July 7 London bombings, which killed 56 and prompted an intense worldwide manhunt for him.
But long before he surfaced as a suspect there, federal prosecutors in Seattle wanted to seek a grand-jury indictment for his involvement in a failed attempt to set up a terrorist-training camp in Bly, Ore., in late 1999. In early 2000, Aswat lived for a couple of months in central Seattle at the Dar-us-Salaam mosque.
A federal indictment of Aswat in 2002 would have resulted in an arrest warrant and his possible detention in Britain for extradition to the United States.
Effort here to charge London suspect was blocked |
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