Sunday, May 30, 2004

Reliable Chief Wiggam Or Pray for me Argentina We often remark on the ability of US law enforcement agencies to screw up a case, let alone a domestic terrorism case. For instance, within the past week the FBI has withdrawn charges and apologized to an attorney in Oregon for mistakenly claiming his fingerprints matched those involved in a terrorist bombing in Spain last month. Less dramatically, but still significant, is the payment this week of $20,000 in compensation and legal fees to an environmental activist in California who was arrested on federal charges, later dropped, stemming from the fire bombing of a car dealership. The case described today's NYT in Argentina has interesting parallels to US cases. The issue at hand is whether a catastrophic bombing in 1994 that killed 85 and injured 300 was carried out by home grown terrorists or a foreign power. Worse, the trial of this ten-year old terrorist bombing is unraveling with charges a key prosecution witness was paid $400,000 to finger the culprits (Martha Stewart case anyone?). The current 'Merican government got two convictions in the OKC bombing, but the issue of "others unknown" continues to percolate in conspiracy forums and in the mainstream news media. Closure in our lifetimes may not be possible if ever. Will it be any different in Argentina? Full details in the text from today's New York Times.
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