FEAR Unit Strikes Again

The Federal Even-yeared Anti-terror Response (FEAR) Unit has been thrilled with an actual anti-terror response from the UK, so much so that they decided to trot out another terror-related arrest stateside. 3 Palestinian-American men from Texas were picked up over the weekend in Michigan with about 1,000 cell phones in their car. The men claimed they bought the phones for resale, but every single report I read about this arrest claimed that not only were they involved in terrorist activity, but that specifically these three were plotting to blow up the Mackinac Bridge using the cell phones as detonators (why they would need 1,000 detonators as opposed to, um, one, is unclear).

Was it true?

Well...

CARO, Mich. - The FBI said Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested in Michigan with about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known terrorist groups [...]

Local authorities didn’t say what they believed the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones, but Caro’s police chief noted that cell phones can be untraceable and used as detonators.

The FBI issued a news release Monday saying there is no imminent threat to the bridge linking Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas.

The release also said the FBI had no information indicating that the men, Palestinian-Americans living in Texas, had any direct links to any known terrorist groups or to the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners that was announced in London last week.

Get this, here's why the authorities thought they were about to blow up the Mackinac Bridge:

William Kowalski, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, said authorities believe concern about the bridge was connected to images of the Mackinac Bridge found on a digital camera belonging to the men.

That bridge is a tourist destination. It's 5 miles long and is the world's largest suspension bridge with cable anchorages. It's dead gorgeous. Look.



I'd take a picture of it too if I was there.

But that doesn't matter to the FEAR Unit. You've got three Arabs, a picture of a bridge and a bunch of cell phones. Put them all together and it's... terror stew!!!

It took the FBI all of two days to realize that they screwed up royal on this one. Maybe next time they'll see the value of actionable intelligence as the cornerstone of any counterterrorism effort. But does their retraction really matter? After all, they've already scored a great victory for... FEAR Unit!!!