hope I don't get in trouble for this!

[truthspeaker]

My employer, who I won't name, was one of the specific financial services companies named in the latest terra alert (but not at my location, I'm in the midwest). We have had several emails and a "town meeting" broadcast relating to the new security measure they put in place as a result. Today we got this (names changed to protect my job):

Today marks the end of an extraordinary week for . The announcement last Sunday that our facilities appeared on a list of five institutions targeted by terrorists was shocking news. The concrete barriers, heavily armed police and television news cameras that greeted us when we came to work in on Monday made it clear that the global fight against terrorism had become personal to . Throughout the week, I watched 's employees go about their business calmly and professionally. I know we were all understandably nervous and I want to commend all of you for your dedication and commitment.

Something else became clear this week -- our world has changed. Heightened security at will become part of our "normal routine." In the future, the additional security precautions we put in place this week may not appear as starkly as they do right now, but some of them will be there nonetheless. Providing all of our employees, customers and visitors with a safe work environment is essential in order for us to be able to function normally. As I have said throughout the week, we will take whatever steps are necessary to achieve that level of safety.

In addition, we all must remain vigilant because each of us has a responsibility to keep our company safe. We want to continue to hear from you, so please share your suggestions and concerns through . Finally, your ID badge should be visible at all times.

Please accept my thanks for keeping our businesses going this week. Your efforts and resolve have been nothing less than remarkable.

Since they asked for concerns, I sent this reply:

Since we were invited to share our suggestions and concerns, I am writing with a concern. I am concerned that we are making too much of a threat warning that was based on dubious three-year-old information. Of course cannot afford not to take precautions, but on the other hand we must be careful not to overreact to what may well have been a politically motivated announcement from an administration that has a very bad track record for honesty. I applaud Chairman and everyone at Global Security for their concern about the safety of employees, but I hope we are not playing into the hands of those who would use fear for political gain.

We'll see what happens.

[donhakman]

1. If you had a federal job in DC

You would have experienced this for the last 3 years.

[MadHound]

5. I'm with you on that

I work at a nuclear reactor, and boy howdy, talk about an armed camp:eyes:

I think they're going to keep hyping the terror alerts until everyplace is like this, and all of our civil liberties are gone.

[DemBones DemBones]

15. I hope that means that security has been greatly improved at

nuclear reactors. I've read that it was very lax at some plants, which scared me.

[ibegurpard]

2. I think you expressed your concerns very well.

eom

[displacedtexan]

3. You might want to delete "Name of Co." from your suggestion.

Hope it's not too late to edit.

Great post!

[JustJersey]

4. Why?

I think this is one of those things that may make you feel better, but can't do anything good and will likely do harm.

While I understand your feelings, in situations like this I ask myself "What do I want to accomplish with this? and do the chances of success outweigh the risks?"

So, what did you want/hope to accomplish?

[newyawker99]

13. Hi Just Jersey!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[charliebrown]

14. Hi newyawker99.

If you see newbie welcome them!!! Then if they have a differance in agreement with you (alert on them)!!!!

We cant allow anyone one this board who might fall out of step with the idea that the WH might do something thats not F@cked up.

I don't agree with all the people on DU sometimes. So that means I am a freeper or worse? I have stated that most things I am with you'll but if all it takes, is this, to get T/Sed then how is this board different from the lockstep on the idiot boards?

WE are supposed to be the party of the big tent, open ideas, free speech, and open to the ideas and thoughts of others. Sorry someone asked a question that wasn't a scripted one?

I like it here and hope to stay but I would like if it wasn't so nasty in how it deletes its willing and hopefull participants who have a real and maybe sometimes hard question.

I am not trying to start sh@t as I have enough in my own world living in KS. I just think its not wrong to believe that shrubco had nothing to do with 9/11.

charlies rant....lol

[Robbien]

6. If they question you about it

You can say that it has been unsettling for you to know that this terrorist threat has been known for three years, but your company has be left uninformed and unprotected that whole time.

You did a great job.

[yankee in nj]

7. re: hope I don't get in trouble for this!

I also received the above email and I do work in the building. While you are concerned that we are making too much of this threat warning, we are concerned about getting home to our families.

Some of the info may be old but the threat seems new, I'll put up with the random car searches, the concrete barricades and the sharp shooters.

We watched the towers burn from this building, not everything is a white house conspiracy.

[BillZBubb]

8. "not everything is a white house conspiracy"

Virtually EVERYTHING from this White House is a lie. That is a fact. And exactly what about this threat seems new? This stuff has been around for years.

[yankee in nj]

10. "not everything is a white house conspiracy"

They just caught the guy based on info recently found in Pakistan.

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 - A terrorist suspect now in custody in Britain directed the surveillance of financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington during 2000 and 2001 and prepared the detailed reports about them that have prompted fears of an attack, senior government officials said on Thursday.

The suspect, known as Abu Issa al-Hindi, was described by the officials as by far the most important Qaeda figure detained as part of an American-led effort to unravel the tangle of clues uncovered with the discovery in Pakistan of computer files containing the surveillance reports

[rman]

18. Pakistan: U.S. blew undercover operation

Pakistan: U.S. blew undercover operation
Al-Qaida suspect was secretly cooperating with counterrorist sting
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5626850

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The al-Qaida suspect named by U.S. officials as the source of information that led to this week’s terrorist alerts was working undercover, Pakistani intelligence sources said Friday, putting an end to the sting operation and forcing Pakistan to hide the man in a secret location.

Under pressure to justify the alerts in three Northeastern cities, U.S. officials confirmed a report by The New York Times that the man, Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, was the source of the intelligence that led to the decision.

A Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters on Friday that Khan, who was arrested in Lahore secretly last month, had been actively cooperating with intelligence agents to help catch al-Qaida operatives when his name appeared in U.S. newspapers.

...

[StopTheMorans]

9. "Some of the info may be old but the threat seems new"

so if the government hypes 3 year old information, how the hell does the "threat seem new". Watch out, I hear that Japanese planes may be headed for Pearl Harbor as we speak, think I'll go call Tom Ridge right now:)

[leesa]

11. I'm sorry the con men in the WH are screwing with your head so much

We don't know who did 9-11 but most evidence points to participation by the WH.

[yankee in nj]

12. No I'm Sorry

I was expecting a rational discussion about security in the post- 9/11 world, I did not expect this to become a fantasy conspiracy game.

"If there's no proof, it must be true."

[Arianrhod]

17. Yes, security has changed a lot since 9-11.

It's gotten more lax as a result of *'s budget cuts, outsourcing, and hiring of felons to run the security systems.

Every expert and organization--including government agencies charged with the mission--that has reviewed security procedures and policies in the last 3 years has come up with the same conclusion: Funds and implementation are woefully inadequate under the * administration.

Meanwhile, the various offices set up since 9/11--The TIA, TIPS, and various others we probably aren't even aware of--will do nothing to prevent a terrorist attack, but will enable the government to know anything and everything about you--without warrants, without cause. These agencies have been put under the management of known criminals, such as John Poindexter. I don't know about you, but I don't want convicted criminals having that kind of access to my personal information.

So, enjoy your barricades and anal searches. They won't make you any safer in reality, but at least you can feel good that your company is "doing something".

[merh]

16. But most everything is politically motivated. How does it make you

feel to know that the admin "outed" another "agent" that was working with intelligence agencies to capture Al Qaeda members? They put Britian's efforts to fight terrorism and our efforts at risk by releasing the name of the suspect. How does that make you feel? Real intelligence of actual suspects would be to use the info they had to infiltrate the cell's efforts and to catch the members of the cells, not to release the suspect's name and likely targets to the press to help their sinking polls.

zaj (222 posts) Fri Aug-06-04 10:08 PM
Original message
Bush outs ANOTHER undercover agent! Jesus, these guys suck at their job!


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5626850 /

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The al-Qaida suspect named by U.S. officials as the source of information that led to this week’s terrorist alerts was working undercover, Pakistani intelligence sources said Friday, putting an end to the sting operation and forcing Pakistan to hide the man in a secret location.

Under pressure to justify the alerts in three Northeastern cities, U.S. officials confirmed a report by The New York Times that the man, Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, was the source of the intelligence that led to the decision.

A Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters on Friday that Khan, who was arrested in Lahore secretly last month, had been actively cooperating with intelligence agents to help catch al-Qaida operatives when his name appeared in U.S. newspapers.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2172596

[bhunt70]

19. I also work at a financial institution, right outside dc in arlington.

We got something similar at the beginning of the week. Although it was posted on our intranet.

We also have the terror warning level on our intranet homepage. I have reason to believe that some of the upper level executives are Democrats though... thanks newsmeat.