The Associated Press reports tonight that the FBI had information hinting at the OKC bombing before it happened.

It's a long article, but primarily refers to concerns by the FBI in early 1995 that separatists at the Elohim City compound in Muldrow, Okla., might be planning an attack. A month before the bombing, the FBI interviewed a reformed white supremacist, Kerry Noble, about a plan in 1983 to attack federal buildings in Oklahoma.

Noble told The Associated Press that his FBI questioners appeared particularly concerned about what Elohim City members might do on April 19 because one of their heroes, Wayne Snell, was being executed that day and another, James Ellison, was returning to Oklahoma after ending in Florida.
FBI officials confirmed Noble's account, including concerns the group at Elohim City might strike on April 19. Snell, Ellison and Noble had plotted to attack the Murrah building in 1983 with plastic explosives and rocket launchers, according to Noble and FBI officials. The plan never reached fruition before the group was arrested after a siege with law enforcement in 1985.

The ATF also had information about Carol Howe, an informant inside Elohim City who disclosed before the bombing that the group was preparing an attack on the U.S. Government through bombings and assassinations and the like. The Judge wouldn't let the defense call Ms. Howe at the McVeigh trial. The Nichols team had better luck. Ms. Howe is hardly news.

We think the main value to the article is not in concluding that the white supremacists and separatists were involved in the 1995 OKC bombing, but that there is a dismal failure of communications between and within law enforcement agencies in this country when it comes to locating and sharing information about possible attacks. A large part of it is due to the FBI's antiquated computer systems. The investigating agents don't know what information they have or how to find it. We think other causes include the failure or refusal of the ATF and FBI to work together and the lack of law enforcment's ability to effectively deal with intelligence information relating to future crimes.

On a related note, David Neiwert over at Orcinus discusses the OKC conspiracy theory today, in a different context.

We've been following the middle east/ separatist/white supremacist/militia conspiracy theories involving Oklahoma since 1996 and will continue to do so. We have not made up our minds definitively yet, although we lean against believing them.

April 19, by the way, had several significances as a date, the most important in the context of Oklahoma, was that it was the anniversary of the Waco killings. It also was a significant date in the Revolutionary War, but we're forgetting the details of this one. We'll update if we remember, or if one of you know, please post it in the comments.