Who Can You Trust?

"Don't Suspect A Friend, Turn Them In" - Poster on the Wall in "Brazil"
Thanks to the loose lips of a convicted drug dealer, who posed as a "wannabe terrorist" in a shadowy group now accused of plotting to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport, justice has been served. Justice got a great big hand from a convicted felon. "In most cases, you can't get from A to B without an informant," said Tom Corrigan, a former member of the
FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force. "Most times when an informant tells you what is going on, speculation becomes reality."
That's the part I am expressly fond of: "Speculation becomes Reality." I believe that Disney was planning on using that as part of their new attraction, "Snitch Town". What can you expect to get if you rat out a group of potential terrorists? How about a reduced sentence? How about Eric Bana playing you in Steven Spielberg's epic crime saga? How about a set of commemorative coasters depicting famous stoolies of our time? The FBI is awfully proud of themselves presently, noting their use of inside information to stop two recent terrorist plots. "These have been two significant cases back-to-back where informants were used," Corrigan said. "These terrorists are in our own backyard. They may have to reach out to people they don't necessarily trust, but they need — for guns, explosives, whatever," said Corrigan.
This is an interesting contrast to the views expressed just two years ago in a Washington Post article written by William E. Odom, director of the National Security Agency from 1985 to 1988. "Spies and terrorists will almost always defeat police officers. Spies and terrorists are normally backed by large state bureaucracies or non-state organizations with abundant resources and worldwide operational support. Criminals seldom are. Thus FBI techniques of recruiting "stoolies," tapping phones and conducting rough interrogations often work with mobsters but not with spies and terrorists."
An interesting conundrum. This is the same agency (along with the CIA) that was in desperate need of reform in the aftermath of September 11. Did we catch the bad guys before anything bad happened? Yes. How close were they to carrying out their plan? Does it matter? In the meanwhile, until actual reform does take place, take heart in the wit and wisdom of Terry Gilliam (noted film director, animator, and intelligence expert):
• "Be Safe: Be Suspicious"
• "Suspicion Breeds Confidence"
• "Trust in haste, Regret at leisure
• "Who can you trust?"