THANK TOM KEAN:

N.Y. Threat Tip Came From Source in Iraq (Bradley Graham and Spencer S. Hsu, 10/08/05, Washington Post)

According to a senior U.S. military officer, the report originated with an Iraqi informant who voluntarily approached U.S. authorities. Information was developed over the past two weeks, said a Bush administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because analysis is ongoing. [...]

The informant was given a polygraph test, which he passed, the officer said. A law enforcement official in New York said the source "had been proven before on al Qaeda operations."

U.S. and Iraqi forces proceeded this week to round up three people in Iraq who had been identified by the informant as planning to leave the country to participate in the alleged plot. The officer described the three as pharmacists, although the Bush administration official said only that at least one man was reported to be a pharmacist.

"The people turned out to be real and where the source said they would be," the military officer said. "But it's still not clear whether they have anything to do with any plot. We still basically only have one guy with this story."

The official in New York, who also requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said a fourth individual -- in addition to the three men in Iraq -- may have traveled to New York and is being sought.

But the Bush administration official said, "There is no information to support that, nor is there information to suggest that individual even exists."

Don't the accusations against the government after 9-11 practically require this kind of reaction/overreaction to any threat?

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 8, 2005 9:35 AM