FBI Imformant Torches Himself Outside White House

Article

A man who set himself on fire outside the White House on Monday claimed to be an informant of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Mohamed Alanssi, 52, approached the northwest guardhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue about 2:05 pm local time and asked security officers to deliver a note to President George W. Bush.
When turned away by Secret Service officers, Alanssi ignited his jacket with a lighter; the report quoted the US Park Police as saying. The fire was extinguished [and the officers subdued Alanssi].
Alanssi was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he was said [...] to be in critical condition with burns to about 30 percent of his body.

Thanks a lot, FBI, you incompetent morons. Let me give a bit more background. This guy was an informant to the FBI for several years. After his name was leaked to the media (great job, leaking the name of a good informant! What a way to keep our helpers happy! Please note sarcasm), he was interviewed several times about his life as an informant. That leak resulted of harassment of his family in Yemen (hint; get his family out of Yemen. Shouldn’t an intelligence service know to keep an informant’s family safe, especially after they leak his name?) His recent complaint was that the FBI would not let him visit some sick family members in Yemen because they need him to testify against Mohammed Al Moayad – in January. He says that he was paid about $100,000 for his information and services, which FBI sources described as “about right”. Alanssi claims that an FBI member promised he would be a millionaire for his information (no contract or anything, just a statement).
Obviously, Alanssi is unhappy that he is not a millionaire, that his family may be under some risk, that he can’t visit them, and that he generally wasn’t treated all that well. I can’t blame him for any of those counts – tell me that I’ll get a million dollars for something, and I’ll want a million dollars for it. This guy even put his life and his family at risk. I'd expect the FBI to treat an informant fairly well, especially before they testify against a major terror suspect.

Now, this good source torched himself right outside the White House, after threatening to do it! Great, we have our informants burning alive outside the White House (note the sarcasm), and the FBI was warned that it would happen! How many more informants do you think we will get? Probably, none, because no one wants the type of treatment this guy received.
It looks like the FBI knew this guy was very unhappy, and I can’t believe they didn’t do more for him.

First off, offer the guy a ride on the next military transport plane that goes near where his family is. C-130’s have some nice first-class seating; folded parachutes make surprisingly comfy seats. Airline meals and military meals are almost identical, too. Then, let him spend some time with his family, if he must spend time with them (if he needs a guard, then give him a guard). Or, better yet, offer to take his family to the US – plus free college scholarships for his kids (any current or future ones, not sure if he currently has kids). I think most people would accept that offer, and it would keep the informant quite happy. Then, give the informant half a million dollars if he really wants it. He lives in Washington DC, doesn’t he? I don’t think $100,000 can get a foreign guy, who kind of fears for his life, that far in DC. Maybe he could find a place to live in one of the ghetto-esque areas, which have some of the highest murder rates in the nation (in which case both terrorists and your neighbors are trying to kill you). If the man is still unhappy with half a million, give him another hundred thousand or two and tell him how to invest it. That should get him set up fairly well for life; he has enough money to live in a fairly decent neighborhood, his kids will get into college for free, he probably has enough money to get by while he helps his family settle into the US and everyone learns a bit of English (if they don’t know it already). And, if the guy currently speaks good English, or learns to speak good English, he can become one of the translators that the government desperately needs - and you already know the man is loyal. It's a win-win situation every step of the way, as long as the informant doesn't get killed.

Not that bad of a deal, in my opinion. Informant does well, keeps his family safe, and even gives them a great chance for a better life. Also, the FBI has a loyal informant, who may be willing to work as a translator in the future (and you know he’s reliable if he takes the job), and there is not a problem. However, the FBI couldn’t keep this guy happy, and he just did so much more harm to the US than he did good.

First off, our “witness” against the terror suspect just gave rather convincing evidence that he’s insane. Thus, he no longer is a reliable witness. Also, an informant burning outside the White House does not really encourage more people to become informants for the US. This was one of those problems that can be solved – quite easily – with money, and government should have plenty of experience with trying to solve things with money. $500,000 isn’t that much compared to the billion-dollar spy satellites that we use but don’t really need, or tomahawk missiles that cost several millions of dollars each. We often use several tomahawks to destroy the same target, to ensure that it is completely destroyed (we used over a dozen on the house we thought Saddam may be in just before we started the war in Iraq).


This event will harm America’s prestige so much for prospective informants. The affects of this will be similar to those of Abu Ghraib (without the media circus); this is something that America-haters couldn’t even pay for, and it will help them recruit and keep dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands of terrorists/insurgents. We will have incredible difficulty finding informants from now on.