FBI’s Ralph Boelter in Minn. Put a Face on Agency in Community

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ralph Boelter, head of the Minneapolis FBI, who headed up a large scale probe into counterterrorism involving local Somalis heading overseas to fight with a terrorist organization, is headed east to Washington to become the agency’s deputy assistant director in charge of counterterrorism, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Boelter told the…

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Saudi Student in Texas Arrested in Bomb Plot; Had Dallas Address of Pres. Bush

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A 20-year-old Saudi student living in Lubbock, Tex., who allegedly considered  targeting Americans including President George W. Bush and soldiers formerly stationed at Abu Ghraib, was arrested late Wednesday on terrorism-related charges. The Justice Department charged Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with…

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial: Despite Emphasis on Terrorism, Justice Dept. Hasn’t Forgotten About the Mob

By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial Page PITTSBURGH — American mobsters probably assumed they had a free ride after Sept. 11. East Coast crime families probably breathed easier after the Justice Department turned its attention toward foreigners whose names appeared on terror-watch lists. For sure, the specter of international terrorism provided the FBI and other law enforcement…

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FBI’s John Perren Talks Terrorism, the Internet and the Endless Battle

WASHINGTON — Earlier this month, on the 5th floor of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, in the shadow the nation’s Capitol, John G. Perren, special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Branch, talked to ticklethewire.com editor Allan Lengel about lessons learned since Sept. 11, about the challenges the Internet has posed for terrorism investigations and…

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