Talk:Operation FALCON

Comparison of Operation FALCON to "the Palmer raids"
Operation FALCON "... successfully completed the largest fugitive apprehension operation in American history ..."

The phrase "largest criminal-sweep in the nation's history" comes from Whitney.

Although reluctantly added in the article, the claim is refuted by the factchecking done by bloggers and was added to draw attention to the distinct possibility that it is just more propaganda .. with some chilling suggestions attached (not the topic here) ...

For example, a Yahoo! search for "largest criminal sweep" in US history results in 20 identical finds -- the Whitney article; a Google search for the same results in 86 identical finds.

There is conflict in info between the Wikipedia, which says the Palmer raids were between 1918 and 1920, and this source below, which states that the raids were in 1910:


 * Palmer Raids: "A series of raids coordinated by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Throughout 1910, police and federal marshals raided the homes of suspected radicals and the headquarters of radical organizations in thirty-two cities. The Palmer Raids resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, 550 deportations, and uncountable violations of civil rights."

Yet a third source http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1343.html, puts the dates at November 7, 1919, and in January 1920:


 * The first in a series of so-called “Palmer Raids” was launched on November 7, 1919 — the second anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia. Thousands of anarchists and communists were rounded up, many of whom were detained for long periods without being formally charged. In December, in a highly publicized move, more than 200 alien detainees were deported to Finland and later to Russia. Placed aboard the Buford, dubbed the “Soviet Ark,” were such prominent leftists as Emma Goldman, the Russian-born anarchist, who had drawn disapproval by opposing the draft and promoting birth control.


 * Despite finding no credible evidence that a communist plot was underway, Palmer staged more raids in January 1920. With the assistance of local law enforcement officials throughout the country, as many as 6,000 suspects were arrested and detained.

The latter is the most credible, as A. Mitchell Palmer was not appointed Attorney General by Wilson until 1919, if the source is correct.

Another difference I noted is that the language for Op FALCON uses the phrase "fugitive apprehension" versus Palmer, which uses the word "suspects" .. Op FALCON allegedly operated using outstanding warrants, Palmer was based on "suspicion" and "dissent", which is what has so many bloggers buzzing as to that being what Op FALCON was really all about ... a "dry run" to make sure the coordinated effort a la Palmer works? Also, the majority of those allegedly captured in Op FALCON could not be deported. Word apparently is lacking as to the fate of all of those who were arrested in April ... booked? released? or what?

Also interesting: Steven Bell, "Police swoop in child porn raids," The Courier (Scotland), June 4, 2004: "“Operation Falcon is a co-ordinated response from the National Crime Squad and police forces in the UK to target individuals using credit cards to download images of child pornography on the internet.” ... Across Scotland, more than 100 people are being questioned as a result of raids prompted by intelligence from the United States."

From the GrokPedia comes more on Operation Falcon porn op (some taken from WikiPedia).