Yesterday, two leaders of a local Mosque were arrested... Here's what was said in "Democracy Now":
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Two Mosque Leaders Arrested in Albany on Terrorism Charges
In Albany New York, the Justice Department announced the arrest of two leaders of a storefront mosque on charges of conspiracy to launder money and concealing material support for terrorism.
The men were caught in a government sting operation where they allegedly agreed to launder money that they were told would pay for a shoulder-fired missile to be used to assassinate Pakistan's ambassador in New York.
The government does not allege the men ever met anyone with actual terrorist ties -- only a government informant acting as a terrorist. The informant is a convicted felon who in return for his role in the sting is to get a reduced prison sentence on document fraud charges.
US Attorney James Comey said the men had no connection to any actual terror plot. He said "the terrorist plot ... is one that the government's agent, the cooperating witness, represented to be underway. It was not real. It was represented."
Officially the government has not tied the men to any organized terror group, but an unnamed Bush administration claimed one of the men had ties to the Iraqi-based Ansar al Islam. No evidence backing up this claim has been presented.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My feeling is that, although they did something wrong, they were entrapped. Their arrests do nothing to aid in the fight against terrorism, nor are relations with the islamic community helped in any way. How can we discourage terrorism, when WE terrorize certain groups based on their religion???

<FONT size="1">Edited to put in something I left out.</FONT s>

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Wyldflower on Aug 06, 2004 ---</FONT></center>

...had similar thoughts.....entrapment........
......it's how you can win elections???!!....hard to argue, of course it was illegal (unless they were completely set up - hard to prove...).....
.....what gets me riled up is that people are getting so scared....and even those who don't like Bush at all are getting afraid to change prez ........the ol' catch 22...if nothing happens, it's because the government is doing a great job keeping us safe....and if they catch someone at something...look how they are protecting us!!....if please no something actually did happen, the need for more security.....can't trust a new administration...

...seems like one way to deal with this is as many in Israel do....you be a little safer and go on with your life......not give it up and give it away....otherwise you're terrorized, still breathing or not....they only question is by whom....or is that by who...(that's my english teacher still terrorizing me in my head...)..<img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/wink.gif" width=15 height=15>