By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer
May 12, 2007
WASHINGTON — The FBI has hailed the breakup of an alleged plot to kill soldiers at Ft. Dix, N.J., as a major success story. But federal authorities acknowledge that the case has underscored a troubling vulnerability in the domestic war on terrorism.
They say the FBI, despite unprecedented expansion over the last 5 1/2 years, cannot counter the growing threat posed by homegrown extremists without the help of two often unreliable allies. One is an American public that they lament is prone to averting its attention from suspicious behavior and often reluctant to get involved. The other is a small but growing army of informants, some of whom might be in it for the wrong reasons — such as money, political ax-grinding or legal problems of their own.
Such dependence on amateurs is "not something that we would like. It's something that we absolutely need," said Special Agent J.P. Weis, who heads the FBI's Philadelphia field office and the South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, which conducted the Ft. Dix investigation.
Weis and other FBI and Justice Department officials acknowledged they probably never would have known about the six men and their alleged plans had it not been for a Circuit City employee who reported a suspicious video.
And, they said, an FBI informant was instrumental in gathering evidence to file criminal charges by infiltrating the men's circle for 16 months as they allegedly bought and trained with automatic weapons, made reconnaissance runs and discussed plans.
Weis and others said the bureau had to rely on the public and on informants in domestic counter-terrorism investigations because of the changing nature of the global jihad and the threat it posed within the United States. (continues)
So, how does the public change from being reluctant to take part in our collective security while balancing the process of observing from digressing into McCarthy-ism?
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