| Home Front: WoT |
| Islamic Radicalization U.S.A. |
| 2009-12-24 |
| by Ryan Mauro If a major homegrown terrorist attack happens on U.S. soil in the coming years, 2009 will be looked at as the year when the warning signs were missed. According to the Rand Corporation, the U.S. has experienced 30 homegrown terrorism plots since 9/11. One-third of these occurred in 2009; a frightening spike that warrants more attention than it is currently being given by public officials. The Obama Administration began its term by refusing to include terms like "radical Islam" as part of its lexicon. The Global War on Terrorism was alternatively called an "overseas contingency operation" or "a campaign against extremists who wish to do us harm." The Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, described terrorism as a "man-caused disaster. When asked about not even mentioning the word "terrorism" in her first address to Congress, she said, "That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear towards a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur." The homegrown terrorist activity this year has startled the Obama Administration, which now is forced to privately conclude that the radicalization of American-Muslims is increasing. In today's 30-second news culture, shocking incidents such as these quickly fade away as the topic of coverage as other news develops. A summary of some of the biggest incidents this year is needed for the American people to understand how much activity took place: * In May, authorities broke up a plot by four prison converts to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx and fire Stinger missiles at aircraft flying around the Air National Guard base in Newburgh , New York . * On June 1, a Muslim convert shot up a military recruiting center in Arkansas, killing one soldier and wounding another. The attacker, Abdulhakim Muhammad, was previously jailed in Yemen for traveling on a fraudulent Somali passport. Robert Spencer of JihadWatch.org reported that a "well-placed source" informed him that he had gone to Yemen to try to study under a radical cleric named Yahya Hajoori. * In July, seven Muslims were arrested in North Carolina for training with high-powered weapons in preparation to join a jihad overseas. The leader of the group, Daniel Patrick Boyd, had previously trained in guerilla camps in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and enlisted his two sons in his plans. * In September, FBI and local law enforcement raided two apartments owned by Afghans in New York after the occupants were visited by Najibullah Zazi, a suspected terrorist who had traveled to an Al-Qaeda training camp last year. Nine backpacks and cell phones were confiscated, and Zazi was found to have purchased chemicals similar to those used in the 2005 London subway bombings, causing concern that the suspects were planning an attack styled after that operation. * Also in September, FBI sting operations led to the arrest of two desiring to carry out acts of terror. A Jordanian named Michael Finton, an admirer of the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, was arrested for planning to set off car bombs outside of a courthouse in Illinois and a skyscraper in Texas . Hosam Maher Husein Smadi was arrested in Texas after trying to detonate a decoy car bomb underneath an office tower. * In October, the FBI tried to arrest a radical imam in Detroit connected to a range of criminal activity. When they arrived at a warehouse to get Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, he responded with gunfire, killing one of the FBI's dogs before he was shot and killed. Six of his associates were arrested. In the same month, Tarek Mehanna was arrested in Boston for planning to attack a shopping mall and assassinate two public officials. * The next month, Nidal Malik Hassan carried out the horrific shooting at Fort Hood , killing 13 people. He is now known to have previously expressed his support for suicide bombers and to have communicated with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical imam in Yemen who has acted as a recruiter for Al-Qaeda and praised Hassan's shooting. To this day, President Obama and senior officials have not publicly described the incident as terrorism. * Most recently, five Americans were arrested in Pakistan on their way to link up with the Al-Qaeda and Taliban. They were arrested at the home of a member of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group, who is the uncle to one of the suspects. These are only some of the major incidents related to radical Islamic activity in the U.S. that occurred this year. A total of 14 Somali-Americans from Minnesota have been indicted for helping to recruit fellow members of their community to join the Al-Shabaab terrorist group fighting for control of Somalia . The case of Rifqa Bary received considerable attention, as did the honor killing in Arizona of a daughter by her father for being "too Westernized." The Christian Action Network, where I serve as a national security researcher, released the "Homegrown Jihad" documentary in February about the isolated communities in the U.S. run by a radical Islamic group used as paramilitary training and recruitment centers. A new tape provided to me as part of CAN's investigation into the group called "Muslims of the Americas " shows female recruits of the organization receiving such training at their headquarters in New York called "Islamberg." The media is failing to compile all these events and see the frightening increase that the Obama Administration is now admitting exists. When the problem is mentioned, the ideological component is not discussed or is misunderstood. On December 12, Kimberly Dozier reported on the Obama Administration's realization regarding the problem on CBS Evening News, but attributed the rise in homegrown terrorism to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , saying they were "portrayed by the militants as America 's war on Islam." Dozier also said that "Muslim community leaders here say young people are also being driven to extremes by post-9/11 anti-Muslim propaganda" and cited the Council on American-Islamic Relations as saying that civil rights complaints by Muslims have increased by ten percent in 2009, attempting to draw a connection between bigotry against Muslims and homegrown terrorism. If Dozier had done her research on her source, she would have found that the view of the War on Terror as a war on Islam that she says is causing the increase in homegrown terrorism is actually promoted by CAIR. 2009 should put to rest the idea that any homegrown terrorist plot is an isolated incident. The participants in these plots might not be operationally connected, but a political-religious ideology binds them together. The fight for the home front continues into 2010. |
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| Texas terror suspect pleads not guilty |
| 2009-10-27 |
| A terrorist suspect accused of two counts of plotting to bomb a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian, entered the United States illegally and lived in Texas, where he tried to set off an explosive attached to a vehicle at the base of the 60-story Fountain Place office tower, federal officials contend. Smadi initially drew authorities' scrutiny because of his violent posts on an extremist chat site, court papers say. He was arrested last month in a sting operation. "Smadi was discovered by the FBI within an online group of extremists," the affidavit says. "Among many others in the group who espoused and endorsed violence, Smadi stood out based on his vehement intention to actually conduct terror attacks in the United States." Undercover officers posing as members of an al Qaeda sleeper cell contacted Smadi and, after months of conversations, considered him to be a legitimate threat, according to the affidavit. Smadi picked several potential targets, including the Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, before deciding on the skyscraper, which houses Wells Fargo Bank, the affidavit says. It details a conversation that Smadi had with authorities in which he allegedly said: "I have decided to change the target. God willing, the strike will be certain and strong. It will shake the currently weak economy in the state and the American nation, because this bank is one of the largest banks in the city." Smadi said many times that he wanted to commit violent jihad and that he was a soldier of Osama bin Laden, the affidavit says. Undercover agents tried to get Smadi to "re-evaluate his interpretation of jihad," saying there were nonviolent ways to commit the act, the affidavit says, but "Smadi again communicated his continuing commitment for violent jihad." After casing the bank in July, Smadi told an undercover agent he would target it, according to authorities. Initially, Smadi told the agent he wanted to bomb the bank on September 11, but decided to wait until the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ended on September 20, authorities said. After receiving what he thought was an explosive from an undercover agent, Smadi drove a car carrying the fake bomb into a parking garage under the skyscraper, authorities said. Smadi thought he could detonate the bomb by dialing his cell phone. When he dialed, the number rang a phone in authorities' possession, the affidavit says. Smadi is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a potential sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction. Authorities said they have found no tie between Smadi and any terrorist group. |
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| Fifth Column |
| Deception |
| 2009-09-29 |
| From Jewish World Review By Cal Thomas If you are an enemy of America seeking her destruction, you would add to your pursuit of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons the undermining of this nation from within. You would do this largely through deception, putting on a peaceful face while subtly plotting ways to bring America down. That tactic was on display last Friday in Washington as a crowd estimated at 3,000 Muslims gathered to pray. The organizer of the rally, Imam Abdul Malik of Brooklyn, N.Y., told Americans what we like to hear: "What we've done today, you couldn't do in any Muslim country. If you prayed on the palace lawn there, they'd lock you up." As reported by The Washington Times Sadara Shaw, a resident of Washington, D.C., was quoted as saying "It's a show of solidarity to show all Muslims are not terrorists but law-abiding citizens." That is probably true, but irrelevant since it takes only a small number of terrorists to cause havoc. "We believe in America's possibilities," Malik told the crowd. "We didn't come to criticize our nation ... I want the American people to know that we love you." The Imam's Facebook page tells a different story. But only The Times bothered to look at it. While Malik's Facebook shows him dressed in Western clothing, he attended the ceremony dressed as a sheik. That seems more appropriate to the real Imam Malik, because on his Web page he has written: "Democracy is not revelation, and democracy does not equal freedom, for in democracy you have apartheid, you have slavery, you have homosexuality, you have lesbianism, you have gambling, you have all of the vices that are against the spirit of truth; so no we don't want to democratize Islam, we want to Islamize democracy..." Which Imam is telling the truth and which is practicing deception? One might debate whether apartheid (Jews and Christians), slavery (oppression of women) and homosexuality exist in Muslim countries, the claim of Iran's Ahmadinejad that homosexuals aren't present in his country notwithstanding. President Obama says Iran has been building a second nuclear enrichment plant. Oh, but Iran will allow in U.N. and possibly even American inspectors. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she expects the Iranians will tell us exactly what they are up to at a gathering of six foreign ministers in Geneva on Oct. 1. But hasn't Ahmadinejad already said? All of that nuclear material is to heat, cool and light the homes of peace-loving Iranians. What else is there to discuss? Just like Saddam played the UN inspectors for suckers. Iran has about as much credibility as North Korea and Venezuela. Iran reportedly will help Venezuela's Hugo Chavez mine uranium in his country. Chavez denies it, of course. And when he is forced to admit it, he will claim it is for peaceful purposes. Memo to President Obama: radical, fundamentalist Muslims believe they have a religious duty to lie and deceive "infidels." Chavez has more secular motivations for his untruths. Has anyone noticed the apparent uptick in terrorist activity? In addition to the above, the Justice Department has brought charges in three "unrelated" bomb plots. In the most serious case, Najibullah Zazi, an airport shuttle driver from Denver, was indicted in New York on charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in the United States. Authorities last week also arrested a 19-year-old Jordanian citizen, Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, and accused him of trying to blow up a downtown Dallas skyscraper. And an Illinois man, Michael C. Finton (aka Talib Islam) was ordered held last week on charges he tried to blow up a federal building in the state's capital. Are we being infiltrated and surrounded by people who want us dead and our country destroyed? Try a little experiment, Google "Islam near" and then type in the name of any city or town. When I tried the small town of Bryn Mawr, Pa., 10 Islamic-related sites came up. In larger cities, there are as many, or more. Deception is part of the terrorists' battle strategy. Who are you going to believe, the public Imam Malik of the prayer gathering, or the Imam Malik of the Facebook page? |
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| Man accused of trying to bomb Dallas building |
| 2009-09-25 |
| A 19-year-old Jordanian man living in Texas was arrested Thursday on charges he intended to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper, federal officials said. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi was arrested after placing what he believed to be a car bomb outside the 60-story Fountain Place office tower Thursday, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas. The decoy device was given to him by an undercover FBI agent, the statement said. Smadi was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Federal officials said the case has no connection with the major terrorism investigation under way in Colorado and New York or the arrest Thursday of a man facing charges in a similar plot in Springfield, Ill. Another Muslim mass murderer are popping out of the woodwork? Common as cockroaches they are. Smadi drove to Dallas on Thursday, met one of the undercover agents and then drove to the targeted building, the FBI agent wrote. Smadi then allegedly drove a vehicle with the device into the parking garage beneath the building, parked it and attempted to detonate the bomb by setting the device's timer and flipping its power switch. Smadi met again with the undercover agent, who drove several blocks away and Smadi dialed a cell phone he was led to believe would detonate the car bomb, according to the affidavit. The case is unrelated to that against Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old shuttle driver at the Denver airport also indicted in New York on charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. It was also unrelated to the case against Michael C. Finton, who was accused of planning to bomb the federal courthouse in Springfield, Ill, White said. Another one? What is the score? Three horrific islamic mass murder plots stopped this week. In the Illinois case, a 29-year-old man who idolized American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh was arrested after attempting to detonate what he thought was a bomb inside a van outside a federal courthouse, officials said. Unpaid parking ticket? Michael C. Finton, also known as Talib Islam, was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with one count of attempting to murder federal officers or employees and trying to detonate a weapon of mass destruction. But the Media told us if we elected Hussien Obama and kowtowed to the Saudis and Iranians, the muslims would love us. |
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| Man arrested in alleged attempt to bomb Dallas skyscraper | |||
| 2009-09-25 | |||
Authorities said that Smadi was under continuous FBI surveillance. Federal agents posed as members of an al-Qa'ida sleeper cell. Smadi, who was in the U.S. illegally, allegedly told them that he came to the country specifically to commit "Jihad for the sake of God."
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert said city officials were notified of the impending arrest beforehand. "We were clearly communicated to that there was not going to be a danger to anybody," Leppert said. "There's a good working relationship between the police and the FBI. This is an example of that." Leppert mentioned that there was another terrorism arrest in Springfield today. Regarding the arrests in Dallas, Denver, New York City and Springfield, he said, "It's a comment on the world we live in. All of us need to be vigilant." According to an arrest warrant affidavit, an undercover FBI agent first came across Smadi in an online group of extremists. Smadi stood out to authorities because of an alleged "vehement intention to actually conduct terror attacks in the United States." Undercover agents communicated with Smadi more than 60 times, according to the affidavit. All conversations were in Arabic, which the affidavit says is Smadi's native language. "In the name of God, the Gracious and the Merciful, this is my vow to you, my brother, that I am ready," Smadi allegedly told undercover FBI agents. "And if you were a lover of Jihad as I am, then, by God, I am ready for the Jihadi life." | |||
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