May 23, 2008

comment by Jerry Gordon

Shame on the Washington Times for giving us the misleading impression that Bassem Yousef, an FBI agent and Muslim American has any credibility in his statement made before yesterday's Hearing by the House Sub Committee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. He has filed a whistleblower suit on grounds of discrimination and has suggested that only Muslims understand the nuances of the Arab language and 'culture'. We have written on Mr. Bassem and his 'whistleblower' law suit. I think the Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Robert C. 'Bobby' Scott (D-VA), and ranking minority, Louis Gohmert (R-TX) have been taken in by having Mr. Youssef provide rebuttal witness testimony to that of Assistant director John Miller on the adequacy of counter terrorism unit manning and funding. But then Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) is head of the House Judiciary Committee. We presume that if Mr. Bassem had his way, then no Christians or Jews need apply for the slots at the FBI's CT unit, only fellow members of the 'ummah'.

by Jerry Seper, Washington Times, May 22, 2008

More than one out of every three positions in an elite FBI division that tracks al Qaeda terrorists is vacant, according to an internal bureau document. Efforts are under way at the FBI to canvass for 'volunteers' to fill what the agency said is a 'critical' need in its counterterrorism efforts.

A senior bureau official said yesterday that because of significant staffing shortages and a lack of experienced managers, the FBI cannot properly defend the United States against 'another catastrophic and direct attack by Middle Eastern terrorists.'

Bassem Youssef, [former ]chief of the communications analysis unit of the FBI's counterterrorism division, said the bureau's International Terrorism Operations Sections (ITOS) -- which include those that track al Qaeda terrorists -- are 'inexcusably understaffed.'

.... Read more link here