FBI Search for U.S. Al Qaeda Cells
Sept. 16 -- The FBI has launched investigations into possible al Qaeda terror cells in a number of major U.S. cities, ABCNEWS has learned.
FBI agents are focusing on New York, Boston, Portland, Ore., Minneapolis, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Miami and Buffalo, according to law enforcement sources. Several dozen U.S. citizens, who authorities believe were trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in the late 1990s, are under surveillance.
Some of the suspects were identified through documents seized in Afghan camps; others identified from intelligence developed overseas, sources said.
Hundreds of others — who authorities believe are al Qaeda sympathizers — have been targeted for investigation. Most are being followed everywhere they go, 24 hours a day. A smaller number are said to be the subject of electronic eavesdropping, ranging from phone taps to listening devices in their walls and cars.
The investigations in key cities across the country follow Friday's announcement of arrests in upstate New York. Authorities believe they busted a sleeper al Qaeda cell operating domestically.
"The FBI and CIA in particular have known for some time that Americans went abroad," said Skip Brandon, former FBI counterrorism chief. "They trained with al Qaeda. They fought in Afghanistan."
Federal authorities want to identify potential al Qaeda members before they act. "American citizens who see fit to aid and abet America's enemies will face the full force of America's justice," said Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson.
Arab Americans Say it Is a Witch Hunt
The aggressive nature of the effort has caused some concern. Arab American leaders say it is a witch hunt.
"What's the threshold here?" asked James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "Is being an illegal immigrant or is being here with a technical violation of visa, is that the threshold? Is being a devout Muslim, is that the threshold?"
Some constitutional experts fear the government's aggressive tactics are guilt by association. The men recently arrested in Buffalo have not been charged with developing any plot — they are accused of training in Afghanistan.
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