+ John Brennan Deputy director of the CIA under George Tenet, John Brennan headed the Terrorist Threat Integration Center and its successor, the National Counterterrorism Center, until retiring in 2005. Here, Brennan assesses America's anti-terror efforts, including improvements in information sharing, the post-9/11 government reorganization and remaining challenges -- chief among them being there is no one in charge of overall strategic anti-terror planning and implementation. Brennan also talks about the threat Al Qaeda still poses and whether a sleeper cell within the U.S. is a real danger. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted June 3, 2006.
+ Art Cummings Art Cummings is special agent in charge of counterterrorism and intelligence for the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office and previously was deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center. In this interview, Cummings discusses the "completely different approach" the FBI is taking in its new terror prevention mission; his work and regular contacts with the Muslim community; and the nature of the terror threat inside the United States. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted June 5, 2006.
+ Salam Al-Marayati
Salam Al-Marayati is executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). Here, he talks about the Muslim community's view of the Lodi case and why the government's handling of domestic terror cases has damaged its relationship with Muslim Americans. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted Sept. 5, 2006.
+ Karen Greenberg
Karen Greenberg is executive director of New York University's Center on Law and Security which has been tracking the government's prosecution of domestic terrorism cases since 9/11. In this interview, she discusses a recent study by the Center of 441 terrorism-related cases that shows almost all are not substantial; they involved lesser charges like visa violations and financial fraud -- not acts of terrorism. She also talks about high profile cases like Lodi, Calif., and Miami's "Sea of David." This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted July 28, 2006.
+ Umer Hayat
An ice cream truck driver in Lodi, Calif., Umer Hayat and his son Hamid were the defendants in a domestic terror case that drew national attention. In 2003, Umer and his family returned for a visit to their homeland of Pakistan where the U.S. government says Umer and Hamid visited an Al Qaeda training camp. Although they told FBI interrogators they had attended the camp, they later recanted. In May 2006, after 11 months in jail, Umer's trial ended with a deadlocked jury; he pled guilty to an unrelated charge of making a false claim on a customs form, and was released. His son was convicted for attending a terror camp and faces up to 39 years in prison, pending appeal. Here, Umer Hayat talks about the FBI's interrogation and why he confessed to visiting an Al Qaeda camp with his son. He also talks about the impact the trial has had on him and his family and why the government targeted them. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted June 26, 2006.
+ Thomas Kean
Thomas Kean co-chaired the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States -- the 9/11 Commission -- that developed recommendations for how the government should be reformed to combat terrorism. Here, he discusses the government's progress to date and his deep concerns about the 9/11 Commission's recommendations yet to be implemented. He also assesses the terror threat facing the United States from Al Qaeda and from within. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted March 27, 2006.
+ Phil Mudd
After 20 years with the CIA, Phil Mudd joined the FBI in 2005 as deputy head of the Bureau's National Security Branch, tasked with transforming the FBI into a domestic intelligence agency, more like Britain's MI-5. In this interview, Mudd discusses his work at the FBI, his progress to date, the FBI's new paradigm for preventing terrorism and the nature of the domestic terror threat. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted June 2, 2006.
+ McGregor W. Scott
In 2003 McGregor W. Scott became U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California inheriting the federal government's investigation of a possible network of Al Qaeda operatives in Lodi, California. The case drew national attention and resulted in the deportation of two imams from the community and the 2006 conviction of a young man, Hamid Hayat, for attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. The trial of his father ended in a mistrial. In this interview Scott discusses the government's evidence against the Hayats, including undercover recordings made by an FBI informant and the Hayats' confessions. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted July 24, 2006.
+ James Wedick
James Wedick was a FBI street agent and supervisor for 35 years. Before retiring in April 2004, he was in charge of a number of high-profile criminal investigations into public corruption. Soon after Umer and Hamid Hayat were arrested in the Lodi, California terror case, Wedick was sought out by Umer Hayat's defense attorney to review the government's evidence. At the trial, Wedick wasn't allowed to testify about the FBI's videotaped interrogation of the Hyatts and their confessions, nor about the quality of the overall investigation; the judge ruled the value of Wedick's testimony was "outweighed by its potential for confusing the jury." In this interview, Wedick discusses the weaknesses in the government's case, the problems in how it was handled and his concern about the FBI's new paradigm favoring disruption and prevention over prosecution. This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted June 30, 2006.
|