| Home Front: WoT | |
| Abdul Razak Artan's profile in Ohio State magazine | |
| 2016-11-29 | |
 Ohio state knifeman ranted about how he was 'sick and tired of seeing my fellow Muslim brothers being killed and tortured' on social media hours before wounding 11
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| FBI: Florida gunman 'tied' to Hezbollah | |
| 2016-06-14 | |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Orlando gunman who killed at least 50 and maimed many more, claimed to be loyal to a number of loyalist groups who are on opposing sides in the battlefield including Hezbollah and ISIS, US newspaper the Los Angeles Times reported. Omar Mateen called 911 to say he was attacking the LGBT nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, swearing allegiance with ISIS. The FBI's Director James Comey told the newspaper that since 2013 Mateen is known to have made a series elaborate claims linking his relatives to the Sunni terror network Al-Qaeda, while also claiming to have been a member of Hezbollah - the Iran-backed Shiite militia that operates in Leb. Both groups are known to oppose ISIS. Comey said the contradictory comments and claims led to confusion surrounding his inspiration for Sunday’s devastating attack the newspaper report added. In 2014, Comey added that the FBI again ’briefly’ investigated Mateen amid allegations that he had watched videos by Al Qaeda propagandist Anwar Awlaki. The killer also attended the same mosque as an American who became a jacket wallah for Al-Nusra Front in Syria which is also opposed to ISIS. "During the calls [to 911] he said he was doing this for the leader of ISIS, who he named and pledged loyalty to," Comey told a presser on Monday using a different acronym for ISIS. "But he also appeared to claim solidarity with the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing and solidarity with a Florida man who died as a suicide bomber in Syria for al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front, a group in conflict with the so-called Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... He added: "The bombers at the Boston Marathon and the suicide bomber from Florida were not inspired by ISIS, which adds a little bit to the confusion about his motives." He explained that in 2013 "he was working as a contract security guard at a local courthouse and he made statements that were inflammatory and contradictory that concerned his coworkers about terrorism. "First, he claimed family connections to Al Qaeda. He also said that he was a member of Hezbollah, which is a Shia terrorist organization that is a bitter enemy of the so-called Islamic state, ISIS."
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| Champ Regime Belatedly Rules Chattanooga Shooting 'Terrorism' |
| 2015-12-19 |
 [Investors Bus Daily] The administration has quietly reversed itself and ruled last summer's mass shooting by a Tennessee Muslim an act of foreign-inspired terrorism, just like in San Bernardino. What took it so long?At the time of the deadly July attack on two U.S. military sites in Chattanooga, it was obvious to everyone but the Islamic apologists in the White House that shooter Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez was on a terrorist mission. Armed with high-powered rifles, the Islamic insurgent opened fire, first on a Marine recruiting office and then a nearby Naval base, killing five U.S. soldiers. Within days, it became clear that Chattanooga was a planned assault by a devout Muslim inspired by Islamic terror groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida. Abdulazeez had blogged about wanting to become a martyr fighting "jihad for the sake of Allah." He chose the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to fulfill his wish. Abdulazeez was, like Fort Hood terrorist Maj. Nidal Hasan, inspired by the writings of late al-Qaida leader Anwar Awlaki. Yet the administration went out of its way not to label Abdulazeez a terrorist or even call what he did an act of terrorism -- which meant that the five servicemen he gunned down wouldn't be eligible for the Purple Heart, and their families would be denied the financial benefits that go along with it. The families of the Fort Hood victims endured the same injustice after President Obama refused to call the attack an act of terror, instead referring to it as "workplace violence." Under political pressure, federal investigators in Chattanooga described Abdulazeez, ridiculously, as a "homegrown violent extremist." After weeks of investigation, they still couldn't say if what he did was terrorism. But now, five months later, the Navy has quietly posted a press release announcing that the Muslim who gunned down sailors was indeed a foreign-inspired terrorist, and that his victims will now qualify for Purple Hearts, something we argued for earlier this year. The statement reversing the administration's earlier ruling that Abdulazeez was just another random mass shooter and not a terrorist was snuck out late Wednesday after news deadlines. Will the White House press corps force Obama to publicly acknowledge in his own statement that this, too, was Islamic terrorism on his watch? |
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| A Familiar Pattern? |
| 2015-12-04 |
| [NYSUN] It may be too soon for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conclude that the slaughter in San Bernardino was an act of Islamic terrorism, but if so it is also too soon for President B.O. to suggest, as he did, that "The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world." For the killings at San Bernardino may well be something other than what the President suggests has been the pattern. The familiar pattern is of a mentally ill person who got his hand on firearms and went on a terrible rampage. This is what happened at Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, and Blacksburg, among others. What is has been unfolding at San Bernardino, by contrast, involves two Muslims who are married and armed with military gear and whose slaughter is being greeted with joy among our Islamist enemies, who are exulting that America is burning. That would not be not the first time Islamist terror was implicated. There is, most famously, also Fort Hood, where a Muslim doctor, Major Nidal Malik, who had been exchanging email with Anwar Awlaki and other Islamists, slew 13. But it does not appear to be the normal pattern, and it was an error of judgment for Mr. Obama to rush out and suggest it is. It was an error that appears to be animated by a highly ideological commitment to gun control. This has gotten so bad that the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... rushed out an editorial this morning that actually blames Paul Ryan ...U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party. He proposed an alternative to President Obama's 2011 budget and made himself the target of both Democrat and Republican verbal pies... for calling, in the wake of the killings at Colorado Springs, for supporting a bill to expand mental health services. The Times seems to think that trying to identify and treat mentally ill persons who might go on a rampage is a smokescreen to avoid infringing on rights the Second Amendment prohibits the government from infringing. No wonder Americans are arming themselves at record rates. They bought more guns on the first day of the holidays shopping season this year than on any single day in history. There were 185,345 background checks sought November 27. Some police authorities are starting to encourage Americans to arm themselves. "More guns, fewer problems" is the way CBS News sums up the views of bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... 's police chief, James Craig. It seems there's more than one way to react to whatever pattern is emerging. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan's War Brought to Responsible End: Obama |
| 2015-07-24 |
 [Tolo News] U.S President Barack Obamateachable moment... this week addressed the 116th Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and said his country has recorded real growth due to strong American leadership, which serves as the foundation for their national security. He said that it was through such leadership that they were able to use their power wisely -- especially their military. "That's why we refocused our fight in Afghanistan, pushed back the Taliban, trained up Afghan forces so they could take the lead for their own security." He went on to say: "Today we can say that our combat mission in Afghanistan is over. We brought America's longest war to a responsible end. And we salute every member of this 9/11 generation who has sacrificed to keep us safe." He said that as Commander-in-Chief, his greatest responsibility is ensuring the security of the United States. "That means keeping our military strong. Yes, our armed forces are drawing down after two major wars, but some of the reckless budget cuts, under the name of sequestration, that's going on in Washington right now -- that's not the way to keep our armed forces ready, or to take care of our troops and their families." "I'm calling on Republican leaders in Congress to come to the table with Democrats, sit down, negotiate a budget that protects our national security and our economic security." "Now, every ally and every adversary needs to know around the world the United States has and will continue to have the strongest, most capable fighting force the world has ever known," he said. "No one can match our Army -- the greatest land force on Earth. Nobody can match our Navy --- the largest and most advanced battle fleet in the world. Or our Coast Guard -- safeguarding our shores and ports. Nobody can match our Air Force -- its reach and precision are unequalled. Nobody can match our Marine Corps -- the world's only global expeditionary force. Nobody can match our Special Operations Forces -- our remarkable, quiet professionals," he added. He went on to say however, the he will not hesitate to use force to protect the U.S, including from the threat of terrorism. "Thanks to the skill of our military and counterintelligence professionals, we've struck major blows against those who threaten us. the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... is gone. Anwar Awlaki, a leader of the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... -- gone. Many of al-Qaeda's deputies and their replacements -- gone. Ahmed Abdi Godane -- the leader of the al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia -- gone. Abu Anas al-Libi, accused of bombing our embassies in Africa -- captured. Ahmed Abu Khattalah, accused in the attack in Benghazi -- captured. The list goes on. If you target Americans, you will have no safe haven. We will defend our nation." |
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| Great White North |
| Mohamed Hersi denies accusations that he tried to join Al-Shabab |
| 2014-05-08 |
| BRAMPTON, Ont. -- A Toronto man on trial for allegedly attempting to join Al-Shabab was questioned Tuesday about his relationship with two former classmates who left for Somalia in 2009 to take up arms with the terrorist group. Mohamed Hersi acknowledged knowing Mohamed Elmi Ibrahim, alias âCanlish,â from high school and the University of Toronto, and said he had visited the family home to pay his respects after the youth was killed in Mogadishu. He also confirmed he had known âCasanyoâ Abdurahman from Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute and his mosque, and said he accepted a Facebook friend requestfrom him despite suspecting he was at an Al-Shabab camp. âIn Toronto, when I knew these guys they were hard-working, studious, good to their mothers,â Mr. Hersi said. But he said he had not communicated with them since they departed Toronto and he denied any intention to follow in their footsteps. A 28-year-old former security guard, Mr. Hersi is the first person to be charged with attempting to leave Canada to join a terrorist group. A second charge alleges he counselled an undercover Toronto police officer to take part in terrorist activity â namely joining Al-Shabab. He has denied the allegations, saying he did not support Al-Shabab and had not planned on joining. When he was arrested at Torontoâs Pearson airport in March 2011, he was on his way to Cairo to study Arabic, he testified. As the Crown got its first chance to grill Mr. Hersi on the witness stand Tuesday, he struggled to explain why, despite being trained to respond to security threats, he had failed to report the undercover police officer sent to befriend him. Although the officer had confided that he was on his way to Somalia to join Al-Shabab, Mr. Hersi never turned him in or broke off their relationship. Instead, he gave the officer advice on how to travel to Somalia and buy guns, how much money to bring and how to avoid arousing suspicion. He also told the officer to read an article by pro-Al-Qaeda ideologue Anwar Awlaki, and suggested he might return to Canada to âtake care ofâ those who insulted the Muslim prophet Muhammad. âDonât be scared,â Mr. Hersi told him. Mr. Hersi said he warned the officer four or five times not to travel to Somalia or join Al-Shabab, but after realizing his âfriendâ was not going to change his mind, he instead gave him tips on avoiding getting caught. âI probably should have called, but he wasnât saying he wanted to do anything in Canada. I was like, out of sight, out of mind. In hindsight I probably should have reported him,â Mr. Hersi said. Crown lawyer Iona Jaffe also noted Mr. Hersi had told the undercover officer about the Saudi sheikh, Yusuf Al-Uyayri, whose writing encouraged Muslims to be able to swim and run long distances. Ms. Jaffe said the only writing by Sheikh Al-Uyayri that related to fitness was called âA Mujahedeenâs Fitness Training.â In the tract, Mr. Al-Uyayri, a former leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, called physical fitness âan essential asset to the mujahid, especially in the case of street-fighting.â |
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| Islamist Media Mavens Sabotage War On Terror |
| 2013-06-01 |
| [IBD] These agents of influence include: |
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| Home Front: Politix | ||
| Congressman ready to investigate local Muslim radicalization | ||
| 2011-01-16 | ||
Rep. Peter T. King, the new chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security is readying a controversial investigation next month into the radicalization of Muslim youth by local religious leaders.
"There's a systematic effort to radicalize young Muslim men," said King. "It would be irresponsible of me not to have this investigation. If it was coming from some other demographic group, I would say the same thing." American Islamic leaders said King was being unfair to the Muslim community, which they said had worked with U.S. law enforcement to stop terrorism. Rep. Keith Ellison said in an interview that he recently went to King on the House floor and volunteered himself and other witnesses as proof that several terrorist plots were initially brought to the attention of officials by Muslims. "I walked up to him like a colleague and said, 'Pete, I'm kind of concerned about this,' " Ellison said. Though considering Ellison's offer, King remains unmoved by criticism, stating that his weeklong hearings will go forward. King noted that the Fort Hood shooter had worshipped at a mosque in Falls Church, Va., where U.S.-born Anwar Awlaki was once a spiritual leader. King cited three other cases: A young Muslim in Ashburn, Va., was arrested for planning to blow up subway lines feeding the Pentagon; another young Muslim in Portland, Ore., is accused of attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony; and a new convert in Baltimore has plotted to blow up an Army recruiting station. He said there were signs in each of these cases of influence by local Muslim leaders, and added that 15% of young Muslim Americans in a Pew poll believed suicide bombing was justified. "I also know of imams instructing members of their mosques not to cooperate with law enforcement investigating the recruiting of young men in their mosques as suicide bombers," said King. "We need to find the reasons for this alienation." Ellison described a case in which five young men in Virginia traveled to Pakistan to join militant groups, only to "have their parents step forward to stop them" by tipping off the police. He mentioned Faisal Shahzad as well, who was sentenced to life in prison last year for trying to bomb Times Square.
Corey P. Saylor, national legislative director for CAIR, said two people from his organization had alerted police to possible terrorist plots. Saylor said that King's investigation was a "witch hunt." But Ellison said, "I don't think Pete King is an evil person. He's concerned about public safety and homeland security. And there have been cases where Muslims have done awful things. But it's a narrow investigation, and it's going to make a particular group feel targeted." | ||
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| Arabia |
| Lawyer Cori Crider, "Sharif Mobley was tortured in Yemeni Prison." |
| 2010-11-13 |
 The simplicity of Yemeni expatriates in New York was the reason why Sharif Mobley and his family went to Yemen in 2008 to study Arabic, said Zenja Mobley, wife of terror suspect Sharif Mobley.Try the Berlitz course next time ... "We did not expect that our visit to Yemen would become a living hell after we lived there for two years quietly and in peace." I would. That's why most people don't go there... Zenja complained that her husband, now facing the death penalty, was even investigated with at the U.S. Embassy because he was "bearded and was interested in religious affairs". That's two warning signs for me, sure enough ... She accuses the U.S. Embassy of ignoring the issue of her husband. She adds that the U.S. Embassy refused to give her a translator when she asked for one. Mobley's U.S. lawyer, Cori Crider added that U.S. intelligence officers threatened Sharif that they would torture his family as well if he does not specify where Anwar Awlaki, a terror suspect, was. Crider added that investigators told him that he and his family would be raped in Yemeni prisons if he does not cooperate. More likely the interrogators told him that they would confine him to a cell with his mouthy wife, after which he sang like a canary ... She added that the reason why Sharif was taken to the hospital was due to his bad health situation after being held in an underground prison, which in result, made his health condition bad. According to the Crider, after Mobley spent two months in prison, American investigators approached him again, and when they did not find the information they wanted from Sharif, they threatened to treat his family the same way. She claims that Mobley was tortured in prison. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... his wife claims that she recognized a number of Yemeni officers who searched her house when she went to the embassy and are employed at the U.S. Embassy in Sana'a. On January 24, 2009, governmental troops wearing masks kidnapped Mobley early on the 24th of last January, in front of Maqaleh Grocery Store in the Asbahi area of the capital Sana'a. He is now being trialed not on terror charges, but for killing a soldier. Yemeni government has said that there is no proof that Mobley is linked to terrorism. |
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| Arabia |
| Security Source: Al-Qaeda could be behind oil pipeline explosion |
| 2010-11-03 |
| [Yemen Post] Security sources say that they believe that al-Qaeda blew up the oil pipeline in the province of Shabwa today morning. This begins as security forces started a large-scale operation to arrest Ibrahim al-Asiri, the suspected bomb-maker who is believed to be responsible for a failed parcel attack A security official said that the aim of the operation in the provinces of Marib and Shabwa is the arrest of Ibrahim al-Asiri, as well as Anwar Awlaki wanted in Washington in connection with al Qaeda. |
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| Terrorism case baffles remote Alaska town | |||
| 2010-07-24 | |||
He was the local weatherman, sending up weather balloons twice a day above this remote community of 450 full-time residents near Bristol Bay and preparing short-term forecasts for pilots and fishermen.
So beloved were Paul Rockwood Jr. and his wife, Nadia, that when they left King Salmon in May to move to England, where Nadia was born, more than 30 people -- pretty much their entire circle of friends -- showed up at the airport. The choir sang "Wherever You Go," and "people were just bawling," said Rebecca Hamon, a friend of the couple. What none of them could have known was that FBI agents were meeting the small turboprop plane in Anchorage to question the Rockwoods on suspicion of domestic terrorism-related crimes. This week, Paul and Nadia Rockwood pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Anchorage to one count of willfully making false statements to the FBI; in Paul Rockwood's case, it was a statement about domestic terrorism. The plea agreements state that Rockwood, 35, had become an adherent of extremist Islam who had prepared a list of assassination targets, including U.S. service members. And, though no plot to carry out the killings was revealed, he had researched methods of execution, including guns and explosives, the agreements say. Federal charging papers said his wife, 36, who is five months pregnant with the couple's second child, lied to investigators when she denied knowing that an envelope she took to Anchorage in April at her husband's request contained a list of 15 intended targets. (None were in Alaska.) She told FBI agents that she thought the envelope contained a letter or a book. She gave it to an unidentified individual who her husband believed shared his radical beliefs, the FBI said. Nadia knew exactly what was on the list and what it was for, federal authorities said. "Obviously we take it very seriously when somebody starts talking about building bombs and component parts and killing citizens because of a hatred that is fueled by violent Internet sites," said Karen L. Loeffler, U.S. attorney for Alaska. Loeffler, who would not elaborate on how the FBI became aware of the Rockwoods, said the investigation does not involve any other terrorism suspects, and no additional charges are expected. The plea agreements the couple signed said Paul Rockwood converted to Islam in late 2001 or early 2002 while living in Virginia and became a follower of radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar Awlaki, now believed to be living in Yemen. "This included a personal conviction that it was his religious responsibility to exact revenge by death on anyone who desecrated Islam," his agreement said.
If U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline accepts the plea agreements, Paul Rockwood Jr. will serve eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Nadia Rockwood, who is free and in seclusion in Anchorage, would be sentenced to five years' probation and return to England. Sentencing is set for Aug. 23.
"We've known them since Zaid was a tiny little tyke," Hamon said, referring to the couple's son. "Everybody was sad they had to leave. Then when this came out, we were all completely shocked. It's just impossible for me to imagine the friend that I knew being involved in anything like this." | |||
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| Inspired to jihad | ||
| 2010-07-22 | ||
In three short years, Samir Khan went from blogging about jihad from his parents' North Carolina basement to editing al-Qaida's new online magazine in Yemen -- all under the FBI radar. The 24-year-old Khan is now helping America's Enemy No. 1 recruit Muslims to kill fellow Americans as Webmaster of al-Qaida's splashy new propaganda organ, which provides instructions in English on how to "make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom."And the FBI and U.S. intelligence never saw it coming.
"How far does someone have to go before we take them seriously?" asked Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., who warned about Khan in 2007, only to have her concerns brushed aside. Khan was exercising his free speech, she was told. Yes, he might have been promoting jihad, but technically, he wasn't soliciting violent acts. And he was viewed as a lone jihadist, unconnected to a terrorist group -- even though we now know he'd forged links with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula while he was here in the U.S. "That was not followed up with the intelligence community," complained Myrick, a House Intelligence Committee member. Authorities and the local media were also assured by Khan's family mosque, the Islamic Center of Charlotte, or ICC, that he wasn't a threat -- even though that assurance should have been discounted, given the mosque's terror ties. Turns out ICC is owned and controlled by the radical North American Islamic Trust, which the Justice Department has implicated in a plot to funnel millions to Hamas suicide bombers. Still, Khan was given a pass by the government -- literally. While posting video of attacks on U.S. soldiers that "brought great happiness to me," he even managed to land a job with a federal contractor, Convergys Corp., which was awarded a $2.5 billion deal to set up emergency communications centers in the event of terror attacks. Khan, a naturalized American from Saudi Arabia, was virulently anti-American and didn't try to conceal his hatred. He also wore a Taliban beard and Islamic skull cap, telegraphing his zealotry. Yet nobody seemed to think he was dangerous, save Myrick and a local TV news correspondent. (Molly Grantham of the Charlotte CBS affiliate staked out Khan's home and office. He then targeted her on his blog.) He was just another misunderstood young Muslim man practicing the "religion of peace." We know different now, but it's too late: Terror experts say Khan is safely (from his Yemeni redoubt) aiding al-Qaida in its new push to recruit English-speaking American converts to Islam to carry out attacks on the homeland. The terrorist group is successfully using the Web as a recruiting tool. Of last year's 15 al-Qaida or homegrown terrorist plots, nine defendants had downloaded jihad videos or English jihad publications from the Internet. Al-Qaida's ambitious new online recruiting tool, "Inspire," is a slick magazine with bright graphics splashed across 67 pages, which feature articles by bin Laden and Awlaki. U.S. intelligence suspects Khan's encrypting messages to suicide cells within the graphics. Treasury should freeze Khan's assets, including any accounts tied to his upscale parents, as it last week finally did with Awlaki. More, the CIA should add Khan to its hit list, alongside his pal Awlaki. To do less would allow Khan to keep inciting mass murder of fellow Americans. It would also send a message to recruits in the U.S. that we're not serious about punishing treason in a time of war. The Web-savvy, Americanized Khan is a plum for al-Qaida. Its latest recruit is our latest intelligence failure. | ||
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