The FBI is responsible for more terrorism plots in the United States than any other organization. More than al Qaeda, more than al Shabaab, more than the Islamic State, more than all of them combined.
在美國,聯邦調查局(FBI) 策劃的恐怖陰謀數量 遠遠超過其它任何組織 基地組織, 索馬里青年党, 伊斯蘭國, 這些加在一起都不敵FBI。
This isn't likely how you think about the FBI. You probably think of FBI agents gunning down bad guys like John Dillinger, or arresting corrupt politicians.
這跟你想像中的FBI大相徑庭。 你也許覺得FBI探員的使命就是掃蕩 像約翰.迪林格這樣的悍匪 或是抓捕自甘墮落的政客。
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the FBI became less concerned with gangsters and crooked elected officials. The new target became terrorists, and the pursuit of terrorists has consumed the FBI.
911恐怖襲擊後, FBI不再熱衷於對付惡棍匪徒和 為升遷不擇手段的官員。 恐怖分子成為他們的新寵, 對恐怖分子的追逐讓FBI心無旁騖。
Every year, the Bureau spends 3.3 billion dollars on domestic counterterrorism activities. Compare than to just 2.6 billion dollars combined for organized crime, financial fraud, public corruption and all other types of traditional criminal activity.
FBI在本土反恐行動上 每年耗資高達33億美金。 相形之下,FBI僅僅花費26億美金 打擊有組織犯罪、金融詐騙、公共腐敗 及其他各類類型的傳統犯罪活動。
I've spent years pouring through the case files of terrorism prosecutions in the United States, and I've come to the conclusion that the FBI is much better at creating terrorists than it is at catching terrorists.
我花了多年時間深入研究 美國恐怖主義起訴案件的卷宗, 最終得出這樣一條結論: FBI更擅長製造而非抓捕恐怖分子。
In the 14 years since 9/11, you can count about six real terrorist attacks in the United States. These include the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, as well as failed attacks, such as the time when a man named Faisal Shahzad tried to deliver a car bomb to Times Square. In those same 14 years, the Bureau, however, has bragged about how it's foiled dozens of terrorism plots. In all, the FBI has arrested more than 175 people in aggressive, undercover conterterrorism stings.
911事件之後的14年裡, 美國總共發生大約6起真正的恐怖襲擊, 包括2013年波士頓馬拉松爆炸案, 另外還有多起未遂的恐怖襲擊, 比如一個名叫費薩爾.哈紮德的恐怖分子 企圖在紐約時代廣場引爆一枚汽車炸彈。 然而,在這14年時間裡, FBI大肆吹噓自己如何大顯身手 接連挫敗數十起恐怖主義陰謀。 在極具侵略性的臥底反恐打擊行動中, FBI總共逮捕了175名「嫌犯」。
These operations, which are usually led by an informant, provide the means and opportunity, and sometimes even the idea, for mentally ill and economically desperate people to become what we now term terrorists.
這些行動一般由FBI的線人來主導 為患有精神疾病和經濟陷於絕境的人 提供方法和機會, 甚至為他們出謀劃策, 幫助他們變成所謂的「恐怖分子」。
After 9/11, the FBI was given an edict: never again. Never another attack on American soil. FBI agents were told to find terrorists before they struck. To do this, agents recruited a network of more than 15,000 informants nationwide, all looking for anyone who might be dangerous. An informant can earn 100,000 dollars or more for every terrorism case they bring to the FBI. That's right, the FBI is paying mostly criminals and con men six figures to spy on communities in the United States, but mostly Muslim American communities.
911恐怖襲擊發生後,FBI臨危受命: 絕不讓悲劇重演! 讓恐怖主義從美國領土上徹底消失! FBI探員們奉命在襲擊發生前鎖定恐怖分子。 他們為此在全國雇傭了1萬5千多名線人, 傾巢而出瘋狂搜尋潛在的危險分子。 線人為FBI提供一個恐怖襲擊案線索 就能獲得10萬美元以上的酬勞。 沒錯,FBI在這些罪犯和騙子身上 豪擲六位元數,讓他們監視美國的社區, 其中大部分是穆斯林社區。
These informants nab people like Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif and Walli Mujahidh. Both are mentally ill. Abdul-Latif had a history of huffing gasoline and attempting suicide. Mujahidh had schizoaffective disorder, he had trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy. In 2012, the FBI arrested these two men for conspiring to attack a military recruiting station outside Seattle with weapons provided, of course, by the FBI. The FBI's informant was Robert Childs, a convicted rapist and child molester who was paid 90,000 dollars for his work on the case. This isn't an outlier.
這些線人的獵物是 阿蔔.卡利德.阿卜杜爾.拉蒂夫 和瓦利.穆賈希德 這樣的精神病人。 阿卜杜爾.拉蒂夫有吸毒和自殺史。 穆賈希德曾患有情感分裂性精神障礙, 整日游走於現實與幻想之間。 2012年,FBI逮捕了這兩個病人, 罪名是密謀襲擊西雅圖軍方徵兵站, 而給他們提供武器的當然是FBI。 FBI的線人名叫羅伯特.柴爾斯 一個被定罪的強姦犯和兒童猥褻犯, 他從這起案件中賺得9萬美金。 這並不是個案。
In 2009, an FBI informant who had fled Pakistan on murder charges led four men in a plot to bomb synagogues in the Bronx. The lead defendant was James Cromitie, a broke Walmart employee with a history of mental problems. And the informant had offered him 250,000 dollars if he participated in that plot. There are many more examples.
2009年,一名FBI線人 因謀殺指控而逃離巴基斯坦, 他帶領四個人密謀炸毀布朗克斯的猶太教堂。 這次襲擊的主被告人名叫詹姆斯.克羅米蒂爾, 是一個身無分文的前沃爾瑪員工,有精神病史。 線人柴爾斯付給克羅米蒂爾25萬美金, 誘使他參與這起恐怖陰謀。 這樣的例子還有很多。
Today, The Intercept published my new story about a counterterrorism sting in Tampa involving Sami Osmakac, a young man who was living near Tampa, Florida. Osmakac also had schizoaffective disorder. He too was broke, and he had no connections to international terrorist groups. Nonetheless, an FBI informant gave him a job, handed him money, introduced him to an undercover agent posing as a terrorist, and lured him in a plot to bomb an Irish bar.
今天,Intercept網站刊發了我的一則新故事, 講的是佛羅里達州坦帕灣的一次反恐打擊行動, 主謀是一位名叫薩米.奧斯馬卡克, 住在坦帕灣附近的年輕人。 奧斯馬卡克也患有情感分裂性精神障礙。 他同樣一貧如洗, 跟國際恐怖組織毫無瓜葛。 儘管如此, 一名FBI線人還是給他找了一份差事,付錢給他, 把他介紹給一名假冒恐怖分子的臥底探員, 誘使他密謀炸毀一家愛爾蘭酒吧。
But here's what's interesting: The lead undercover agent -- you can see him in this picture with his face blurred -- would go back to the Tampa field office with his recording equipment on. Behind closed doors, FBI agents admitted that what they were doing was farcical. A federal judge doesn't want you to hear about these conversations. He sealed the transcripts and placed them under a protective order in an attempt to prevent someone like me from doing something like this. Behind closed doors, the lead agent, the squad supervisor, described their would-be terrorist as a "retarded fool who didn't have a pot to piss in." They described his terrorist ambitions as wishy-washy and a pipe dream scenario.
不過,這次發生了有趣的一幕: 主導這次行動的臥底探員—— 就是照片中這個面容模糊的男子—— 在返回駐紮在坦帕灣的辦事處時 忘記關掉錄音設備。 關上門後, FBI探員們承認了他們所做的事情很荒誕。 聯邦法官不想把他們的對話公諸於世。 於是封存了錄音文字,並申請了保護令, 企圖阻止像我這樣的人揭穿這背後的陰謀。 關上門後,主導這次行動的探員, 也就是這位FBI隊長, 把他們的假冒恐怖分子說成是 「連尿壺也買不起的弱智傻瓜。」 他們用「心猿意馬」、「白日做夢」這樣的字眼 形容這位「恐怖分子」的野心。
But that didn't stop the FBI. They provided Sami Osmakac everything he needed. They gave him a car bomb, they gave him an AK-47, they helped him make a so-called martyrdom video, and they even gave him money for a taxi cab so that he could get to where they wanted him to go. As they were working the sting, the squad supervisor tells his agents he wanted a Hollywood ending. And he got a Hollywood ending. When Sami Osmakac attempted to deliver what he thought was a car bomb, he was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
但這些顧慮並沒能阻止FBI的行動計畫。 他們為薩米.奧斯馬卡克提供了一切所需, 包括一枚汽車炸彈,一支AK-47衝鋒槍, 還幫他拍攝了所謂的「殉難」影片, 甚至給他計程車費, 讓他前往他們指定的地點。 在策劃這次反恐打擊行動時, 這位隊長對他的探員們說, 他想要一個好萊塢式結局。 最終他如願以償。 當薩米.奧斯馬卡克試圖 引爆想像中的汽車炸彈時, 他被當場逮捕,裁定有罪,並判處40年監禁。
Sami Osmakac isn't alone. He's one of more than 175 so-called terrorists, for whom the FBI has created Hollywood endings. U.S. government officials call this the War on Terror. It's really just theater, a national security theater, with mentally ill men like Sami Osmakac unwitting actors in a carefully choreographed production brought to you by the FBI.
薩米.奧斯馬卡克不是個例。 他只是超過175名所謂的「恐怖分子」之一, FBI為這些恐怖分子設計了好萊塢式結局。 美國的政府官員們給這部 好萊塢大片取名《反恐戰爭》。 我們宛若置身一個劇場, 一個國家安全劇場, 觀看像薩米.奧斯馬卡克這樣的精神病人 身不由己地參演一部自欺欺人的鬧劇, 由FBI精心製作並呈現於世人眼前。
Thank you.
謝謝!
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Tom Rielly: So, those are some pretty strong accusations, pretty strong charges. How can you back this up?
湯姆.瑞利(主持人): 看來你對FBI所作所為十分不滿, 他們面臨著嚴重指控。 那你有何證據來支持你的觀點?
Trevor Aaronson: My research began in 2010 when I received a grant from the Investigative Reporting Program at U.C. Berkeley, and a research assistant and I put together a database of all terrorism prosecutions at the time during the first decade after 9/11. And we used the court file to find out whether the defendants had any connections to international terrorist groups, whether an informant was used, and whether the informant played the role of an agent provocateur by providing the means and opportunity. And we submitted that to the FBI and we asked them to respond to our database. If they believed there were any errors, we asked them to tell us what they were and we'd go back and check and they never challenged any of our findings. Later, I used that data in a magazine article and later in my book, and on appearances on places like CBS and NPR, they were offered that opportunity again to say, "Trevor Aaronson's findings are wrong." And they've never come forward and said, "These are the problems with those findings." So the data has since been used by groups like Human Rights Watch on its recent report on these types of sting operations. And so far, the FBI has never really responded to these charges that it's really not catching terrorists so much as it's catching mentally ill people that it can dress up as terrorists in these types of sting operations.
特拉沃.阿倫森(嘉賓):早在2010年, 我從伯克利大學的 調查性報道專案獲得了研究基金, 開始了我的調查研究工作。 我和研究助理建立了數據庫, 包含了911襲擊以來10年時間內 全國所有的恐怖主義起訴案件。 我們查閱了大量法庭案宗, 確認被告人與國際恐怖組織是否存在任何聯繫, 警方是否曾雇傭線人, 以及線人是否以金錢或其他方式引誘被告人, 從而扮演「內應」的角色。 我們將整理的資料呈送給FBI當局, 要求其對資料資訊進行回應。 如果他們認為資料存在謬誤, 我會要求指出具體的失實之處,並進一步核查。 但FBI從未對我們的調查結果提出質疑。 此後,我在雜誌文章 和著作中也引用了相關資料。 這些文章發表於CBS和NPR等媒體上, 他們此時仍然有機會反駁,大聲申辯 「特拉沃.阿倫森的調查毫無根據!」 然而,他們從未站出來, 從未公開指出調查存在任何問題。 接著,人權觀察組織也援引了這些資料, 用於他們最近的「誘捕行動」專題報道中。 迄今為止,我們對FBI提出的指控—— 他們抓捕的並非恐怖分子, 而是被喬裝打扮的精神病患者—— 並未得到任何實質性的回應。
TR: So The Intercept is that new investigative journalism website, that's cofounded by Glenn Greenwald. Tell us about your article and why there.
主持人:我知道,「截獲」(The Intercept) 是格倫.格林沃爾德與他人 共同創立的新聞調查網站。 請談談你的文章以及選擇該網站發表的緣由。
TA: The Intercept seemed to be the most logical place for this because my article is really leveraging the fact that a source had leaked to me transcripts of these private FBI conversations that a federal judge had sealed based on the government's claim that their release would irreparably damage the U.S. government's law enforcement strategy. So a place like The Intercept was set up to protect journalists and publish their work when they're dealing with very sensitive matters like this. So my story in The Intercept, which was just published today, tells the story of how Sami Osmakac was set up in this FBI sting and goes into much greater detail. In this talk, I could only highlight the things that they said, such as calling him a "retarded fool." But it was much more elaborate, they went to great lengths to put money in Sami Osmakac's hands, which he then used to purchase weapons from the undercover agent. When he went to trial, the central piece of evidence was that he paid for these weapons, when in truth, these transcripts show how the FBI orchestrated someone who was essentially mentally ill and broke to get money to then pay for weapons that they could then charge him in a conspiracy for.
嘉賓:這個網站是情理之中的選擇。 我這篇文章主要基於以下事實: 一位消息人士向我披露了 FBI工作人員私下談話的文字稿。 政府聲稱,若公佈這些文字稿, 將對美國政府的執法策略造成難以彌補的損害。 聯邦法官以此為由,封存了這些文字稿。 「截獲」這類網站的創立初衷, 正是為了保護新聞記者, 並為涉及敏感題材的新聞報道提供發表平臺。 該網站今天發表的那篇報道, 還原了Sami Osmakac 被FBI設套陷害的來龍去脈, 披露了鮮為人知的真實內幕。 在這個演講裡,我只能複述FBI 親口所說的一些事情, 比如稱呼他為「智障低能兒」。 但故事遠非如此簡單。 一開始他們費盡心機, 將錢款交到Sami Osmakac手中, 後者利用這些錢款從警方臥底手中購置槍支。 待Sami Osmakac在法院接受審訊時, 主要證據只是顯示他曾自費購買槍支, 但文字稿揭示了正是FBI策劃了這場鬧劇: Sami Osmakac罹患精神病,窮困潦倒, 被人設套引誘,購槍作案。 最終,FBI 對其以同謀罪加以指控。
TR: One final question. Less than 10 days ago, the FBI arrested some potential ISIS suspects in Brooklyn, saying that they might be headed to Syria, and were those real, or examples of more of the same?
主持人:好,我還有最後一個問題。 大約10天前, FBI在布魯克林拘捕了若干ISIS潛在嫌疑犯, 聲稱他們有意前往敘利亞。 這些指控是否屬實,還是他們在故伎重演?
TA: Well so far, we only know what's come out in the court file, but they seem to suggest it's another example of the same. These types of sting operations have moved from flavor to flavor. So initially it was al Qaeda plots, and now the Islamic State is the current flavor. What's worth noting about that case is that the three men that were charged only began the plot to go to Syria after the introduction of the FBI informant, and in fact, the FBI informant had helped them with the travel documents that they needed. In kind of a comical turn in that particular case, one of the defendant's mother had found out that he was interested in going to Syria and had hid his passport. So it's unclear that even if he had showed up at the airport, that he ever could have gone anywhere. So yes, there are people who might be interested in joining the Islamic State in the United States, and those are people that the United States government should be looking at to see if they're interested in violence here. In this particular case, given the evidence that's so far come out, it suggests the FBI made it possible for these guys to move along in a plan to go to Syria when they were never close to that in the first place.
嘉賓:就目前從法庭案宗獲悉的情況來看, 很可能他們又在施展同樣的伎倆, 不過具體的操作手法大同小異罷了。 以前他們借著打擊基地組織的幌子, 現在,則以消滅伊斯蘭國(ISIS)為掩護。 值得一提的是,該案被指控的三名人員 在與FBI 線人接上頭後, 只是著手籌備前往敘利亞,並未啟程。 實際上,正是FBI線人幫助他們 申請了各種旅行簽證。 而且,案情曾出現頗具喜劇意味的轉折: 其中一名被告人的母親, 發現他有意前往敘利亞, 就偷偷藏起了他的護照。 所以,即使他最後到達機場, 最終恐怕也一籌莫展,無法成行。 誠然,美國國內有些人 企圖加入ISIS組織, 政府需要密切關注這些人的動向, 儘早斬斷他們與恐怖活動的牽連, 但是,就這一特定案件而言, 目前證據表明,正是FBI 親自策劃、導演了 這出夭折的敘利亞之行, 不然,“參團”成員根本無法順利完成簽證手續。
TR: Thanks a lot, that's amazing. TA: Thank you.
主持人:謝謝,十分精彩! 嘉賓:謝謝各位。
(Applause)
(掌聲)