Purported “Dirty Bomb” Plot a Hoax, FBI Says

The FBI yesterday said that purported “dirty bomb” plot against Boston was a hoax, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Jan. 25).

“There were, in fact, no terrorist plans or activity under way,” the bureau said in a statement. “Because the criminal investigation is ongoing, no further details can be provided at this time.”

The Mexican federal Attorney General’s office stated yesterday that Jose Ernesto Beltran Quinones, who had been wanted for questioning in connection to the purported plot, had admitting making the fake threat earlier this month, AP reported. Beltran was under the influence of alcohol and drugs and said the call had only been meant as a “joke,” the statement said (Brian Carovillano, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 26).

News of the potential threat against Boston created a stir over several days, and raises the question of when it is appropriate for authorities to release such information and when they should remain close-mouthed while investigating reports, the Washington Post

“Every day there comes to the various agencies within the U.S. government hundreds — thousands — of reports of everything from Martians having landed in Nevada to someone who just had a conversation with Elvis to terrorists coming with a nuclear bomb to Boston,” said former Assistant Defense Secretary Graham Allison.

“It’s one of those situations where you’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t," said Allison, now at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (Denise Lavoie, Associated Press/Washington Post, Jan. 26).

copied from that fine blog by Bruce Sterling