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Fort Huachuca plot 'not valid or credible'
By Bill Hess/WICK COMMUNICATIONS
FORT HUACHUCA - A federal report in May that this Southern Arizona Army post may be the target of Middle Easterners who were smuggled into the United States from Mexico is "not valid or credible," a FBI spokesman said Monday.
While an agency report has been leaked to some members of the media, it does not mean the document contains vetted and true information, Special Agent Richard Kolko said.
"The FBI receives thousands of raw unvetted information," he said.
When unconfirmed information is received, which in this case involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, it must be passed along to all agencies that may be impacted while an investigation continues, said Kolko, who works at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Since the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI has been involved in investigating untold thousands of reports, and those reports are provided to others so they can take whatever action they deem necessary while investigations continue, he said.
Fort officials did do some additional security measures, which were not releasable to the public, post spokesman Lt. Col. Matt Garner said Monday.
"It was a threat in May, but nothing came of it," he said.
Whenever a threat warning is received, the post acts on the initial report pending additional information, the post public affairs officer said.
A few days after receiving the warning, the fort was informed the information was considered untrue, Garner said.
Exactly what actions the post did in tightening security "will not be discussed," he said.
In fact the security posture and changes to procedures are not generally talked about in the public arena, Garner said.
The end result of the initial warning, and its aftermath, was the fort was not threatened and that the post's initial actions were proper in case the threat was valid, he said.
Fort Huachuca is the home of a number of high-tech organizations, including the Intelligence Center, the Network Enterprise Technology Command, the Electronic Proving Ground, the Information Systems Engineering Command and the Department of Defense Joint Interoperability Test Command. A number of soldiers primarily from the 11th Signal Brigade have been and are continuing to be deployed to Iraq.
What the report said
According to a copy of an "unclassified for official use only" FBI document, a Mexican national reported to the DEA that three men with ties to violent drug cartels reported a group of Afghans had crossed into the United States through tunnels in the Laredo, Texas, area.
Additionally, a group of Iraqis were smuggled into Arizona through tunnels and, "the Iraqis may currently be located on an unidentified Indian reservation in Arizona," the initial report states.
Reportedly, weapons had been previously smuggled into the United States, including two Milan surface-to-surface anti-tank missiles, possibly some Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles, grenade launchers, long guns and handguns.
In the report the FBI added a comment that the surface to-air missiles "may in fact be RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades)."
The report said the source stated, "The Iraqis will be the operatives in the attack on Fort Huachuca."
The DEA source is considered reliable, the report said, because that individual has provided good information about drug smuggling operations.
The unidentified source reportedly provides information for "assistance with immigration status and financials," according to the report.
Additionally, this is the first time the source has provided anything involving terrorist activities, the document states.
However, the unidentified sub-source may have provided information to the source "in order to eliminate members of competing Mexican drug cartels," the federal document states.
The FBI report questions the sub-source's veracity, noting the individual initially reported the Middle Easterners were smuggled into the U.S. to steal a nuclear warhead from a Southwestern U.S. military installation.
The Southwestern U.S. includes Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, which has a total of 46 major military installations of the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.
It is unknown how many may have nuclear warheads, as the U.S. government does not confirm the presence of such devices on any installation as a matter of long-standing policy.
The individual later retracted his statement concerning the plan to steal a nuclear bomb, according to the FBI, noting the individual "is of unknown reliability."
The initial report stated some of the operatives, which number 60 people, Afghans and Iraqis, "shaved their beards so as not to appear to be Middle Easterners."
Additionally, those who were smuggled into the U.S. reportedly paid $20,000 a person in cash or provided weapons to the drug cartels, the report states.
As a matter of routine, federal agencies do not report on the numbers of non-Mexican illegal immigrants apprehended.
Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at (520) 515-4615 or bill.hess@svherald.com.
While an agency report has been leaked to some members of the media, it does not mean the document contains vetted and true information, Special Agent Richard Kolko said.
"The FBI receives thousands of raw unvetted information," he said.
When unconfirmed information is received, which in this case involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, it must be passed along to all agencies that may be impacted while an investigation continues, said Kolko, who works at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Since the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI has been involved in investigating untold thousands of reports, and those reports are provided to others so they can take whatever action they deem necessary while investigations continue, he said.
Fort officials did do some additional security measures, which were not releasable to the public, post spokesman Lt. Col. Matt Garner said Monday.
"It was a threat in May, but nothing came of it," he said.
Whenever a threat warning is received, the post acts on the initial report pending additional information, the post public affairs officer said.
A few days after receiving the warning, the fort was informed the information was considered untrue, Garner said.
Exactly what actions the post did in tightening security "will not be discussed," he said.
In fact the security posture and changes to procedures are not generally talked about in the public arena, Garner said.
The end result of the initial warning, and its aftermath, was the fort was not threatened and that the post's initial actions were proper in case the threat was valid, he said.
Fort Huachuca is the home of a number of high-tech organizations, including the Intelligence Center, the Network Enterprise Technology Command, the Electronic Proving Ground, the Information Systems Engineering Command and the Department of Defense Joint Interoperability Test Command. A number of soldiers primarily from the 11th Signal Brigade have been and are continuing to be deployed to Iraq.
What the report said
According to a copy of an "unclassified for official use only" FBI document, a Mexican national reported to the DEA that three men with ties to violent drug cartels reported a group of Afghans had crossed into the United States through tunnels in the Laredo, Texas, area.
Additionally, a group of Iraqis were smuggled into Arizona through tunnels and, "the Iraqis may currently be located on an unidentified Indian reservation in Arizona," the initial report states.
Reportedly, weapons had been previously smuggled into the United States, including two Milan surface-to-surface anti-tank missiles, possibly some Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles, grenade launchers, long guns and handguns.
In the report the FBI added a comment that the surface to-air missiles "may in fact be RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades)."
The report said the source stated, "The Iraqis will be the operatives in the attack on Fort Huachuca."
The DEA source is considered reliable, the report said, because that individual has provided good information about drug smuggling operations.
The unidentified source reportedly provides information for "assistance with immigration status and financials," according to the report.
Additionally, this is the first time the source has provided anything involving terrorist activities, the document states.
However, the unidentified sub-source may have provided information to the source "in order to eliminate members of competing Mexican drug cartels," the federal document states.
The FBI report questions the sub-source's veracity, noting the individual initially reported the Middle Easterners were smuggled into the U.S. to steal a nuclear warhead from a Southwestern U.S. military installation.
The Southwestern U.S. includes Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, which has a total of 46 major military installations of the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.
It is unknown how many may have nuclear warheads, as the U.S. government does not confirm the presence of such devices on any installation as a matter of long-standing policy.
The individual later retracted his statement concerning the plan to steal a nuclear bomb, according to the FBI, noting the individual "is of unknown reliability."
The initial report stated some of the operatives, which number 60 people, Afghans and Iraqis, "shaved their beards so as not to appear to be Middle Easterners."
Additionally, those who were smuggled into the U.S. reportedly paid $20,000 a person in cash or provided weapons to the drug cartels, the report states.
As a matter of routine, federal agencies do not report on the numbers of non-Mexican illegal immigrants apprehended.
Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at (520) 515-4615 or bill.hess@svherald.com.
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