Terrorism here in the US

[vector7]

Blame the white man

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Leftist racial profiling was thwarted again by reality

There was no joy in liberal land when the prime suspect in the Times Square bomb plot turned out to be a Pakistani-American. The right-wing terrorist boogeyman vanished. Leftist racial and ethnic profiling failed again.

The widely distributed videotape of a lighter-complected suspect near the attack scene - almost universally reported as a "white man" - raised expectations in some quarters that this could be the work of right-wing extremists, maybe even - oh dare it be hoped? - a Tea Party Republican.

The right-wing bomber story line quickly established itself in the meme stream. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, prompted by CBS News reader Katie Couric, speculated that the culprit was "homegrown, maybe a mentally deranged person or someone with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something."

MSNBC's Chris Matthews and NBC News "terrorist analyst" Roger W. Cressey dwelt long on the idea of the bomber being someone with a "right-wing" agenda.

Geraldo Rivera seemed fixated on the idea that the bomber was a "white man." Similar unsubstantiated musings and outright accusations were rife in the liberal blogosphere.

But then a suspect was apprehended on a Dubai-bound airplane, and his name was Faisal Shahzad. Talk about an inconvenient truth. It would be nice if this were just another opportunity to mock the haplessness of those liberals who are so captive to their agenda that they subordinate reality to their warped worldview.

Delusions like this, however, place the country in danger.

Whether officials will admit it or not, the United States is at war with a loosely organized sect of Islamic extremists who are attempting to disrupt U.S. interests abroad and create mayhem here at home.

Muslim extremists should be considered the default culprits in every random act of terrorism unless compelling evidence exists to the contrary. It's possible that terrorists could be motivated by other orientations - witness Andrew Joseph Stack, who flew a small plane into the Internal Revenue Service offices in Austin, Texas, in February - but such incidents are outliers and, as in the Stack case, tend to be isolated.

The Times Square bombing attempt was the kind of terror attack in which al Qaeda, the Taliban and their cohorts are well-schooled, and it's reasonable to assume this was not an isolated incident, given Mr. Shahzad's recent travels to the Pakistani frontier.

This was an attack either directly ordered or inspired by our enemies; it was part of their unfolding war plan against the United States. As in the Christmas Day underwear bombing attempt, we are lucky it failed.

Blaming the white American man is an ingrained habit, driven by political correctness and unapologetic biases. This is the same knee-jerk response that occurred over the October 2002 D.C. snipers. The prevailing view at the time was that the perpetrator was some kind of white, male, veteran, right-wing, religious nut.

Commentators, self-appointed terrorism experts and security officials discussed the profile as though it were incontestable. When the shooters turned out to be two black males under the spell of radical Islam who virtually worshipped Osama bin Laden, the narrative collapsed. But the damage was done; shooters John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo passed a police checkpoint during their killing spree, perhaps because they didn't fit the prevailing profile.

Those who style themselves as the intellectual class are so captive to hatred for a particular kind of American citizen that they immediately and without evidence ascribe acts of violence to them. These liberals should reflect on the fact that they've become the most bigoted people in America.

[Ryan Ruck]

BREAKING @ 11:48pm ET 5/5/2010

Abandoned Rental Truck Shuts Down New York Triborough Bridge

5/5/2010

The Triborough Bridge, is shut down in both directions due to an abandoned rental truck.

Police say a UHaul truck with Arizona license plates (they all have AZ plates, AFAIK) on the Manhattan span of the bridge was abandoned on the bridge.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said a worker on the bridge that connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx found the vehicle apparently smelling of gas.

Police and Hazmat teams are examining the vehicle now.

Look for updates on this developing story.

[American Patriot]

Authorities search Watertown location in Times Square bomb case

May 13, 2010 09:05 AM
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff


Authorities are searching a location on Waverley Avenue in Watertown in connection with the investigation of the attempted bombing in Times Square earlier this month, the FBI said this morning.


FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz emphasized that "there's no known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States."


Marcinkiewicz said search warrants had been executed at "several locations in the Northeast," including the Watertown location.


"The searches are the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation" of the Times Square attempt, she said.



Two people encountered during the searches have also been taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, she said. But she said she couldn't say whether either or both of those people were arrested during the Watertown search.


She said no further information was immediately available. A Watertown Police lieutenant referred comment to the FBI.


Faisal Shahzad, 30, was arrested a little more than two days after a crude car bomb was found on May 1 in a smoking car in Times Square. US officials have said it was very likely that the Pakistani Taliban played a role in the failed attempt.

[vector7]

Homeland Security Alert: Terror suspect may be headed to Texas through Mexico

HOUSTON -- A Homeland Security Alert is asking Houston police and Harris County Sheriff’s deputies to keep their eyes open for a potential terrorist.

The alert focuses on Mohamed Ali, a suspected member of the terrorist group Al Shabaab. It indicates he may be traveling to the U.S. through Mexico.

Al Shabaab is a terrorist group based in Somalia with links to the Somali attacks dramatized in the movie “Blackhawk Down.” A few months ago, the group announced its allegiance to Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

“[Al Shabaab operatives] are certainly a real threat to U.S. security and an increasing threat to U.S. security,” said Rice University Baker Institute Fellow Joan Neuhaus Schaan. Schaan is an expert on Homeland Security and terrorism, and her research is reviewed by the U.S. government, military and civil authorities.

She said Al-Shabaab trains extremists and wants to turn Somalia into the next Afghanistan.

“Similar to the set up in Afghanistan in 2001 when Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden had a strong relationship with the Taliban that allowed them free reign in Afghanistan,” Neuhas Schaan said.

The route from Somalia to Texas is shorter than Americans would like to think. It goes through Mexico. Two weeks ago, a federal indictment was filed in San Antonio against a Somali citizen. It alleges Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane led a “large-scale smuggling enterprise,” moving east Africans into the U.S., including members of a terrorist group called AIAI.
“It was hundreds of individuals,” Neuhaus Schaan said, in referrence to the indictment.

The current indictment has three counts for making false statements in regard to immigration for allegedly lying about his ties to terrorist groups. The U.S. Attorney’s office in the Western District indicates the investigation is ongoing.

Why would Al Shabaab come to the U.S?
“Either to recruit provide more funding or serve as operatives or sleepers for some future activity,” Neuhaus Schaan said.

It's not a melodramatic spy movie. It's reality. In 2007, former Houstonian Daniel Joseph Maldonado was brought back to Houston by the U.S Attorney in the Southern District after he was captured in Somalia reportedly training with terrorist groups.

“He had initially been on the frontlines of Al Shabaab, but when they realized he was an American, they pulled him back because they had plans for him to come back to the U.S. and recruit female suicide bombers,” said Neuhaus Schaan.

U.S. Homeland Security officials confirmed the Muhamed Ali alert, but declined to comment on it. They did not indicate that this report would jeopardize any ongoing investigation.

If authorities are right, Mohamed Ali is hardly alone and a terror network is following well-worn human smuggling routes into the Lone Star State.

“There would be a reasonable chance to have him [Mohamed Ali] coming through Houston,” Neuhaus Schaan said. “They [Al Shabaab] have been pretty busy in Texas.”

[vector7]

EXCLUSIVE: Terror Attacks Against U.S. At All-Time High


DHS Report Says Pace May Increase And Include More Homegrown Extremists


10 comments
By RICHARD ESPOSITO and PIERRE THOMAS

May 26, 2010


President Barack Obama listens to a briefing by New York City police officers in their Real Time Crime Center at their headquarters in New York City, Thursday, May 13, 2010. New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stands at left. Times Square car-bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad is shown on screen. The pace and number of attempted terror attacks against the United States over the past nine months has surpassed the number of attempts during any previous one year period, according to a Department of Homeland Security report issued on Friday, May 21.
(Susan Walsh/AP Photo)
More Photos

The pace and number of attempted terror attacks against the U.S. over the past nine months has surpassed the number of attempts during any previous one-year period, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security report issued on Friday, May 21.

The report notes chillingly that while US officials "lack insights" they believe that "operatives are in the country and could advance plotting with little or no warning."

The DHS "Intelligence Note," a short, non-classified report, makes concrete the concerns of a number of homeland security experts who have discussed with ABC News the pace and nature of the individual attempts. The report notes that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Pakistani Taliban have "expanded their focus" to include the United States.

Homeland Security and law enforcement officials interviewed by ABC News on the condition their names not be used are concerned that the pace will continue to ramp up and that increasingly the attackers will be difficult-to-detect homegrown extremists.

"Recent attempted attacks and plots in the United States progressed to an advanced stage largely because of these groups' ability to use operatives that have access and familiarity with the U.S. and their employment of new and varied attack plans," the three-page note concludes.

"Public statements highlighting group leaders' intent to strike … and probable terrorist perception of success in challenging the U.S. even through failed attacks, suggest al Qaeda and associated groups will try to conduct operations in the United States with increased frequency."

The attacks included the alleged May 1 attempt by Faisal Shahzad to detonate a car bomb in Times Square and the attempted Christmas Eve bombing of a Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by a suspect who managed to carry high powered explosives aboard the aircraft concealed in his underwear. In each attempt, U.S. intelligence failed to detect and prevent the attacks and it was only through failures in the construction of the improvised explosive devices that the attacks did not cause mass causalities.

More worrisome even that these attacks -- both of which involve suspects who allegedly spent time at terror camps abroad -- is the possibility, states the DHS document, of "an attack strategy that does not rely on outside support or travel abroad," which "diminishes opportunities for discovery and disruption."

The DHS document also warns that both the Northwest 253 and Times Square incidents, like attempts several prior successful and attempted attacks, featured a link between the terror suspects and radical Muslim cleric Anwar Awlaki, who was born in the U.S. but is now based in Yemen.

The charismatic preacher, called by the report a "violent extremist ideologue," is now the subject of a widely reported manhunt by the US in an effort to kill him. It is a highly unusual measure for the U.S. to take against a U.S. born target.

In the eyes of a number of U.S. officials, Awlaki has become at least as powerful as Osama bin Laden in his ability to inspire attempts to attack the U.S. homeland. On March 17th, the DHS report notes, Awlaki "urged all Muslims to conduct 'jihad' against America and praised the actions of accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. Hasan, who is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in the November spree, which killed 13 at a Texas Army base, was in touch with Awlaki by email repeatedly prior to the assault.

[Backstop]

Please go read this thread:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=75&t=1055450

Problem is there wasn't just furniture. They found weapons, military uniforms, what they described as chemical suits, chemicals, and other items in the house.

I just found out about this, and have not read it.

Just realized this is in the Team Forum, and you folks can't read it.

Don't have time now, but I'll get back to this.

Link to article: http://williamsburgsrealestate.com/2010/06/18/the-city-of-hampton-va-is-dealing-with-an-issue-that-dates-back-to-the-wild-wild-west-squatters-2/

[vector7]

EXCLUSIVE: 10 of 17 Afghans Who Deserted U.S. Air Force Base Remain Missing

By Jana Winter
Published June 18, 2010
| FOXNews.com

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U.S. Air Force
FILE: Air traffic controllers from the 37th Operations Support Squadron prepare to navigate F-16 Falcons down the runway on Lackland Air Force Base.

Ten of 17 Afghan military deserters who walked away from a training program on a U.S. Air Force base in Texas remain at large, sources close to the situation told Fox News on Friday, and seven of the men have been accounted for.

The 17 deserters went AWOL from Lackland Air Force Base, where foreign military officers who are training to become pilots are taught English, according to a "Be-on-the-Lookout" (BOLO) bulletin issued on Wednesday.

Sources said that as of November 2009, one of the deserters was in Canada, one is now a lawful permanent resident in the U.S., one has left the country and another four are in federal custody and in removal proceedings. The other 10 remain unaccounted for.

On Wednesday night, the BOLO bulletin listing all 17 deserters was distributed to local and federal law enforcement officials and joint terrorism task force members across the country.

The Afghan officers and enlisted men have security badges that give them access to secure U.S. defense installations, according to the lookout bulletin, "Afghan Military Deserters in CONUS [Continental U.S.]," written by Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Dallas and obtained by FoxNews.com.

The Afghans were attending the Defense Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The DLI program teaches English to military pilot candidates and other air force prospects from foreign countries allied with the U.S.

"I can confirm that 17 have gone missing from the Defense Language Institute," said Gary Emery, Chief of Public Affairs, 37th Training Wing, at Lackland AFB. "They disappeared over the course of the last two years, and none in the last three months."

The most recent Afghan to disappear from Lackland was First Lt. Javed Aryan, who went AWOL in January 2010, Emery told FoxNews.com. The others listed in the NCIS report disappeared at various times last year.

Each of the missing Afghans was issued a Department of Defense Common Access Card, an identification card used to gain access to secure military installations, with which they "could attempt to enter DOD installations," according to the bulletin. Base security officers were encouraged to disseminate the bulletin to their personnel.

"The visas issued to these personnel have been revoked, or are in the process of being revoked. Lookouts have been placed in TECS," it reads.

Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS), which is shared by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is a computer-based database used to identify people suspected of violating federal law.

Afghans are not the only foreign military who have gone AWOL from Lackland, Emery said.

"In 2009, the Defense Language Institute English Language Center reported two other students from countries other than Afghanistan went missing," he told FoxNews.com. "They include one Iraqi who requested asylum in Houston and one Djiboutian whose status is unknown. To date in 2010, one student from Tunisia and one from Guinea Bissau have gone AWOL in addition to the Afghani student [Aryan] who went AWOL in January.

"To put these numbers in perspective," Emery said, "more than 3,400 international students entered training at DLI in 2009, including 228 from Afghanistan."

A senior law enforcement official said Friday that the Afghans' disappearance was more of an immigration violation than a security threat, saying there are no "strong indications to any terrorism nexus or impending threat."

"A number of these guys have already been located or accounted for by now," the official said. "Some are in removal proceedings to be deported already. (Authorities) still need to locate the others, and that is why the bulletin went out."

The official said the information is "kind of old" -- up to two years -- but added, "It is important in the sense that some people look to come to the U.S. and will take advantage of invitations to train or attend a conference or to study, etc. But their real intention is to get to the U.S. and start a new life. It is not completely rare for this to happen....
"Although we are vigilant and need to work toward not allowing this to happen," the official said, this alert should "not necessarily" be described as "a national security threat, more of a 'hey these guys violated our laws and we need to find them.'"

Fox News has obtained an excerpt from internal emails within law enforcement community relating to the AWOL Afghan soldiers. One email says, in part:

"I just talked to [a special agent] who explained the list was created by him and [another agent].

Both agents compiled the list to identify to the intelligence community the small number of Afghans that have deserted after attending the Defense Language Institute, which is often known as DLI, in San Antonio.

They hoped to ensure that anyone who encountered these individuals would be properly notified. The list was created from those who came to the U.S. as far back as 1999, so they did not come in one group.

None of the people on this list was identified as having any derogatory information regarding being a national security threat. It is suspected that a small number of those who come to the [DLI] decide to try to make a better life for themselves here so they desert."

Included in the bulletin are photos of the 17 men, accompanied by their dates of birth and their TECS Lookout numbers.

Click here for the names of the 17 Afghan military members named in the alert.

The bulletin requests, "If any Afghan pictured herein is encountered, detain the subject and contact your local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, the FBI or NCIS."

On Friday, ICE released this statement:

“A routine bulletin was created to inform the U.S. law enforcement community about 17 Afghan soldiers who have deserted in recent years while attending language training at the Defense Language Institute facility in Texas.

There is no information that any of these individuals pose a national security threat. Previous indications are that such foreign military deserters typically do so solely for prospects of a better life.

This type of bulletin serves to identify foreign military deserters, request investigative leads, and enable ICE to take appropriate enforcement action.”

"When a DLI student goes missing," Emery said, "officials report the incident to the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the sponsoring service branch.

Invitational Travel Orders, passports, driver licenses, and airline tickets are revoked in order to hamper travel opportunities for the missing students."

On Friday, Texas Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter to the secretary of the Air Force demanding answers on the current status of the AWOL Afghans, which he called a breach of national security.

Cornyn, a Republican, asked Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley for an immediate report on the status of the missing men and an assessment of the potential threat to citizens of Texas.

He demanded to know why he was not informed about the missing Afghans over the course of the last two years.

The FBI and NCIS did not respond to requests for comment. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman referred FoxNews.com to the FBI.

Mike Levine and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

[American Patriot]

Federal Building evacuated in Atlanta due to bomb threat and discovery of a suspicious package. 16 July 2010 0819 MT

[American Patriot]

A car bomb has been detonated at the Texas-Mexico border near El Paso.

At least three are known to have been killed. Apparently this bomb exploded in an intersection.

[American Patriot]

ok more information, the bomb was in Mexico....

Mayor: Car bomb in Mexican border town kills 3

By the CNN Wire Staff
July 16, 2010 -- Updated 1714 GMT (0114 HKT)


Jesus Armando Acosta Guerrero, believed to be a leader in the Juarez cartel, was arrested in connection with the blast.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A counterterrorism expert tells CNN there is "some confusion" about explosion
• Mayor says it's the first car bomb attack against federal police
• Three people died and seven were injured
• Rival drug cartels are waging a turf battle in Ciudad Juarez

(CNN) -- A car bomb killed at least three people in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the city's mayor, Jose Reyes Ferriz, said Friday.


It was the first time a car bomb has been used to attack federal police, the mayor said.


"The violence is escalating," he said.


Two police officers and a paramedic died and seven people, including a local news cameraman, were injured in the blast Thursday night. A female paramedic was in grave condition, he said.


The incident happened around 8 p.m. in the city's most violent zone. Before the incident, a call to the city's emergency center reported "lots of shooting and killing," Reyes said.



Video: Deadly explosion in border town



"When the federal police responded, there was a suspicious car there. One of them went to go check it out and when he opened the door, that's when the bomb went off," he said.


While Mexican authorities say the attack was the result of a car bomb, a counterterrorism expert told CNN there is "some confusion" about exactly what caused the car to explode.


"For this to be an improvised grenade attack, in some capacity, it doesn't surprise me," said Fred Burton, vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, a privately owned global Intelligence service.


But if this particular car bomb was manufactured to the level of sophistication similar to those terrorist groups like Hezbollah are using, then this is a significant new event, said Burton.


"The devil is in the details," he added.


A claim of responsibility scribbled in a graffiti message was later found in downtown Juarez. It was purportedly signed by the Juarez drug cartel.


"This is significant because usually it's La Linea, the Juarez cartel's operatives, that sign the messages," Reyes told CNN. "It's as if to say, 'Now it's the big guys in charge, not the operatives.'"


Federal police spokesman Ramon Salinas said the blast in the Mexican border city took place as authorities were responding to "some sort of emergency."


Earlier in the day, police announced the arrest of Jesus Armando Acosta Guerrero, believed to be a leader in the Juarez cartel -- one of two drug trafficking organizations operating in the area.


There had been relative calm in the city since elections were held there on July 4.
But Thursday's explosion and an attack Sunday against Mexican federal police mark the third and fourth major incidents in recent weeks.


On June 29, a shooting between suspected drug traffickers and Mexican federal police left one officer dead. The shooting was also seen as a watershed moment in the ongoing border drug war -- several bullets from that gunfight strayed across the border into Texas, hitting the El Paso City Hall. There were no injuries reported on the U.S. side.


On April 24, six federal police officers were killed in a daylight shooting in Juarez. Hours after the attack, a painted message found in the city allegedly from members of La Linea claimed responsibility for the attack. La Linea is an extension of the Juarez cartel, made up in part of former Juarez police officers, according to authorities.


Assaults against federal police have increased since they took full control of security in the city from the Mexican military on April 9.


"There have been at least a dozen, maybe 15 attacks against the federal police since we took over" security, Salinas said.


The Juarez cartel and the Sinaloa cartel have been in a bloody turf war since 2008. More than 5,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Juarez during the turf war, according to local authorities.

[vector7]

Can you say Hezbollah?

Mexico drug gangs start using car bombs

Four people have been killed in a car bomb set off by a mobile phone, Mexican authorities say.

Police say the attack is the first of its kind by a drug gang against security forces.

Nearly 25,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president, took power in 2006 and stepped up the fight against drug gangs.

Al Jazeera's Franc Contreras reports from Mexico City. (July 17, 2010)

[vector7]

Exclusive: A 2nd Christmas Attack, In NYC?

July 16, 2010 - 7:37 AM | by: Mike Levine


Inset: Umar F. Abdulmutallab. Background: FBI agents cover New York City on New Year's Eve 2009.

The failed bombing attempt over Detroit on Christmas Day may not have been the only attack that extremists planned for the 2009 holiday, with intelligence from overseas three weeks earlier indicating that a plot targeting New York City on the same day may have been in the works, according to an FBI report obtained by Fox News.

"The final target of the attack was not known, but extremist members had allegedly discussed restaurants and night clubs located in New York City," the FBI's assistant legal attache in London wrote in a threat report dated Dec. 4, 2009. "The extremists allegedly discussed conducting the attack on 25 December, to coincide with the Christmas holiday."

The report, sent to U.S. and British counterterrorism officials, warned that "extremists allegedly planned to conduct a test run" that evening, first hiding components for an improvised explosive device in a London-bound shipment of khat, a plant often chewed like tobacco that has become a tradition for many in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

(Video removed, script broken) - Admin

"The extremists allegedly planned to smuggle unknown components of an unspecified explosive device onto a cargo flight departing ... Nairobi, Kenya on 4 December with a final destination of London, England," said the report, which did not identify the extremists or disclose the source of the information. "The group allegedly did not intend to detonate an explosive device on an aircraft."

In England, a "Caucasian British Muslim ... would [allegedly] facilitate the transfer of the components to [a] flight bound for NYC," according to the report.

In New York, "the group was coordinating its efforts with a Somali man living" in the city, said the report, which identified the possible U.S. suspect only as "Mohammed." The report did not say whether "Mohammed" was a first name or a surname, noting that authorities had no further information about him.

For years, authorities have worried about attacks inside the United States by extremists tied to Somalia, a growing haven for Al Qaeda affiliates that sits across a small body of water from Yemen, where Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group that orchestrated the bombing attempt over Detroit, is based.

It's unclear how reliable -- if at all -- the intelligence in the Dec. 4 report turned out to be. Law enforcement officials who spoke with Fox News could not say what came of the report.

Even though one FBI official acknowledged he couldn't "rule out" that a test run and attack in New York City were ultimately attempted, an FBI spokesman who discussed the matter with FBI officials in London and elsewhere said he's "not aware of anything" to suggest the information contained in the report was eventually deemed credible.

"Out of an abundance of caution they pass the information on," the spokesman, Bill Carter, said of reports like the one from London. "Most of it turns out to be just chatter, or there may have been something to it but it didn't happen."

The fact that there "may have been something to it" is why some within the counterterrorism community believe the information contained in the Dec. 4 report could have acted as another warning about an imminent attack on the U.S. homeland.

"[We] were aware of something for Christmas and didn't ring the bell," said one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "[We] were made aware the day they were supposedly doing a dry run ... [but] didn't warn the airlines, didn't warn everyone that, 'Hey, we were made aware of this so just tighten it up.' And look at what happened."

The official said the attempted attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, in which 23-year-old Umar F. Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate his explosives-laden underwear over Detroit, could have started out as a plot targeting New York, with the planners ultimately deciding against such a strike.

"People don't just drop it and leave, especially not these organizations," the official said of Al Qaeda and its affiliates. "They go look for another way to do it."

The FBI spokesman insisted it's wrong to link information in the Dec. 4 report in any way to the Christmas Day bombing attempt over Detroit, saying that FBI officials involved in the Flight 253 investigation had "no idea" about the Dec. 4 report and were "bewildered" by suggestions that the two could be connected.

"There might be a coincidence," Carter said of the Christmas Day timing. "But I'm not getting any impression that you can draw any conclusions from it."

Carter said holidays and other significant dates "are like a magnet" for terrorist threats. In addition, he said, the Dec. 4 report was based on "raw intelligence, unsubstantiated, uncorroborated information," and on "any given day" there is "detailed information that turns out to just be someone blowing wind."

Two law enforcement officials agreed, noting that the FBI comes across 83,000 such reports each year with "hundreds a month" relating to New York City alone.

The Dec. 4 report from London did not mention Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, nor did it include any information unique to the group or to Abdulmutallab. And, as one official put it, "there were no full names, no flight numbers."

Nevertheless, after the White House's subsequent review of the Flight 253 attack, President Barack Obama said, "The U.S. government had sufficient information to have uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack. But our intelligence community failed to connect those dots."

[American Patriot]

Test Message

Rick

[American Patriot]

Ok, can you see me now?

[Backstop]

I see you, but I can't hear you.

WTF?

[samizdat]

time check- korrektshoon & vewy soon- out of service for remaindear

[American Patriot]

I just caught a 3-4 second blurb about an Al Qaeda terrorist who apparently worked for a nuclear power site or a something to do with nukes.

They said "it was just crossing the wire". There was a warning or alert and I missed it all.

Waiting on more.

[American Patriot]

This may be connected:

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-13/j...da?_s=PM:CRIME
Al Qaeda suspect's work at nuclear sites prompts call for probe

AL QAEDA


















March 13, 2010

• Sharif Mobley, shown in an undated photo, is suspected of belonging to al Qaeda.

A U.S. senator is calling for a federal probe into the system of background checks for employees at nuclear plants after learning that a suspected al Qaeda member from New Jersey worked at five such sites.


"We simply cannot tolerate at any time having someone with terrorist ties working at a nuclear plant, period," Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a written statement Saturday.


"It seems like common sense, but clearly we need to tighten up the system."


The FBI said earlier this week that it is investigating Sharif Mobley, a 26-year-old from Buena, New Jersey, as a suspected member of al Qaeda. Mobley also is accused of shooting and killing a security agent and severely injuring another while trying to flee the Republican Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, last weekend, a law enforcement source said last week.











Mobley's father said Saturday, "My son is no terrorist." He would not comment further.
Mobley worked at nuclear plants operated by PSEG Nuclear for different contractors from 2002 to 2008, doing routine labor such as carrying supplies and assisting with maintenance activities, company spokesman Joe Delmar said Thursday.


The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was working with the FBI to determine whether Mobley had access to any sensitive areas of the nuclear plants where he once worked, spokeswoman Holly Harrington said.


"It's important to note that for him to even be in the plants, he'd have to undergo a background and criminal history check," she said. She said Mobley worked at five plants between 2002 and 2008 in "labor [and] maintenance kind of positions."


Schumer said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector general should conduct an "immediate and thorough review" of its procedures for background checks on new and transfer employees. The senator said the monitoring of current employees needs improvement.


He said the current background checks include an examination of criminal and employment histories, a psychological assessment and behavioral observation.


However, "the NRC delegates the authority to complete background checks, which results in a certain degree of disparity in how checks are carried out, and what information is ultimately covered," Schumer's statement said.


He said the checks are not required to cover such information as past travel and ties with other countries.


Yemeni counterterrorism forces rushed to the scene and captured Mobley, who had barricaded himself in a hospital room, said Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, on Thursday.


Mobley remains detained in Yemen after the incident at the hospital.


Yemeni authorities detained him and 10 other al Qaeda suspects this month in a "successful security sweep" in Sanaa, the capital, Albasha said. Mobley had been transported to the hospital over the weekend for medical treatment, Albasha said. He would not elaborate.

[American Patriot]

BUENA, N.J., March 11, 2010 Al Qaeda Suspect Worked at Nuclear Plants

New Jersey Man Arrested in Yemen, Accused of Killing a Guard to Break out of a Hospital

• Authorities in Yemen are holding Sharif Mobley, 26, who was being treated in Republican Hospital in San'a when he got into a shootout with guards, killing one, as he attempted to escape, said Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for Yemen's embassy in Washington. The FBI is investigating the case. (CBS)

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(CBS/AP) He was raised in New Jersey, where he was on the high school wrestling team and earned a black belt in karate. Nearly a decade later, Sharif Mobley is under arrest in Yemen, suspected of being an al Qaeda member and accused of killing a guard in an attempt to break out of a hospital.

While some acquaintances were startled by the news out of the Middle East on Thursday, a former classmate said that Mobley had strong religious views in high school, often trying to convert friends to Islam, and became increasingly radical, especially after they graduated in 2002.

Roman Castro, 25, who did a tour with the Army in Iraq, said the last time he saw Mobley, about four years ago, Mobley yelled, "Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!"

FBI Probing N.J. Man in Yemen Shootout

The FBI, the State Department and other authorities said they were trying to gather information about Mobley. But the allegations appeared to illustrate a phenomenon U.S. intelligence officials have warned about: American Muslims becoming radicalized and joining terrorist movements overseas.

Sources say Mobley has been on the FBI's radar for a few months, reports CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr. The FBI will not say what piqued their interest in Mobley, only that it was "intelligence-related."

Officials believe Mobley may have become radicalized through extreme Internet sites and had traveled to Yemen seeking to join Islamist fighters, Orr reports.

Mobley, a 26-year-old natural-born U.S. citizen, was identified by Yemeni officials as a Somali-American. Mobley moved to Yemen about two years ago, supposedly to learn Arabic and study Islam, a former neighbor said.

Before that, Mobley worked for several contractors at three nuclear power plants in New Jersey from 2002 to 2008, PSEG Nuclear spokesman Joe Delmar said. Mobley carried supplies and did maintenance work at the plants on Artificial Island in Lower Alloways Creek, and worked at other plants in the region as well.

He satisfied federal background checks as recently as 2008, Delmar said, adding that the plant is cooperating with authorities.

Mike Drewniak, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said that his office had been told that Mobley was always supervised, caused no problems and was not believed to have breached security at the plants.

Joe Szafran, a spokesman for Exelon Corp., which owns nuclear plants at three facilities in eastern Pennsylvania, referred all questions about whether Mobley worked there to the FBI. An FBI spokesman did not immediately return a call.

Also, Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, said there was no immediate connection between Mobley's activities or capture in Yemen and his work at the plants.

Mobley was arrested in Yemen in a roundup of suspected al Qaeda members this month and was being treated at a hospital in San'a when he got into a shootout with guards during an escape attempt, killing one and wounding another, said Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington.

U.S. officials worry that Yemen is becoming the next significant terrorist staging ground because of signs that lower-level al Qaeda operatives have been moving into the country from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.

The al Qaeda branch in Yemen was linked to the failed Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner. Also, Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood last year, had exchanged e-mails with an extremist cleric in Yemen.

Special Report: The Christmas Day Terror Attack

In response to the threat, the Pentagon has proposed spending $150 million to help Yemen battle insurgents within its borders.

Somali-Americans have become a particular concern to American security officials. Young Somali-American men have been traveling from the U.S. to fight jihad in Somalia, raising fears they are receiving terror training and returning to the U.S. ready to launch attacks.

Americans are valuable to terrorist groups, in part because they can travel easily, without arousing much suspicion.

"The U.S. passport is the gold standard," said Fred Burton, a former U.S. counterintelligence agent who is now a vice president at STRATFOR, a global intelligence company in Austin, Texas.

Mobley was among 11 al Qaeda suspects detained this month in a security sweep in San'a, the capital, officials said. He was taken to the hospital over the weekend after he complained of feeling ill. He snatched a gun from a security guard and shot him, then got into a shootout that ended with anti-police terrorism capturing him, authorities said.

In Yemen, killing a guard during an escape attempt could result in execution by a firing squad.

Mobley graduated from high school in 2002 in the rural southern New Jersey town of Buena, and afterward lived in Philadelphia and Newark, Del. Castro said that in the past few years, Mobley organized religious pilgrimages to the Middle East for other Muslims.

Mobley's mother, Cynthia Mobley, told WMGM-TV in Atlantic City, N.J., that her son is "an excellent person who's never been in trouble" and "a good Muslim."

As his father, Charles Mobley, pulled out of the family's driveway on the way to see a lawyer Thursday, he said: "I can tell you this: He's no terrorist."

Abdel-Hadi Shehata, imam of the Islamic Society of Delaware, said Mobley used to live one floor below him in an aging apartment complex in Newark and occasionally visited the society's Newark mosque to pray. Shehata said Mobley, who had a wife and young daughter, moved to Yemen about two years ago.

"I think to learn Arabic or something like that ... and to learn more about the religion Islam," he said.

Shehata said Mobley never discussed politics or his religious views with him, but sometimes would ask his advice about how to pray and how to cleanse himself.

Marisa Porges, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said many Arabic language scholars travel to Yemen to study the language because the dialect there is so useful. She said there is a risk that even those who travel there to study can become radicalized.

"It's often the case that their being there makes an individual more vulnerable to radicalization," she said.

Umar Hassan-El, assistant imam at the Islamic Society of Delaware's mosque in Wilmington, Del., said he roomed with Mobley during a 2004 pilgrimage to Mecca.

The worst Mobley did, Hassan-El said, was forget to pick up his clothes or interrupt discussions among older Muslims.

"He gave no indication that he would join a group that he's alleged to be a part of right now," said Hassan-El. "I never heard that boy ever talk about shooting anybody, killing anybody."

As a teenager, Mobley studied martial arts at Yi's Karate Institute in Sewell, N.J., earning his black belt after three years, according to the master of the dojo, Chom Sam Kim.

"He was very athletic, and had a good respect and attitude," Kim said. Kim said he was surprised to hear the allegations against Mobley: "I never saw anything abnormal about him during the time he was here."

[American Patriot]

Al-Qaeda suspect was Cern nuclear researcher

A suspected “high level” al-Qaeda collaborator who provided data on terrorism targets in France and expressed a “desire to carry out an attack” was on Friday revealed to work at the world’s largest nuclear research facility.



By Henry Samuel in Paris
Published: 7:13PM BST 09 Oct 2009


A view of the LHC (large hadron collider) in its tunnel at CERN near Geneva Photo: AP




Security sources in Paris said the suspect, who was arrested with his brother on Thursday in Vienne near Lyons, worked on projects for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva.




The 32-year old Frenchman of Algerian origin and his 25-year old brother were being held last night at the Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence, France’s equivalent to MI5, near Paris.


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Christophe Teissier, a judge, said the men were being held under suspicion of “criminal activities related to a terrorist group”. They can be held for four days before being formally charged.



Investigators described the older man as “very high level” and said that he had been in contact with individuals linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim) — the North African wing of the terrorist network — about potential targets in France.



Intelligence sources said he had expressed a “wish, a desire” to carry out a terrorist attack but had “not committed material preparatory acts”.



Brice Hortefeux, the interior minister, said both men posed a sufficient threat to halt an 18-month surveillance operation and bring them in.



The older man is a physicist who has been working on analysis projects with Cern’s Large Hadron Collider — the world’s largest atom collider designed to explore what happened after the Big Bang that allowed matter to survive and to create the universe 14 billion years ago.



The nuclear research body yesterday insisted he “was not a Cern employee” and that “his work did not bring him into contact with anything that could be used for terrorism”.



A Cern statement said: “None of our research has potential for military application, and all our results are published openly in the public domain,”



However, his role in such a sophisticated organisation would have made him extremely useful to terrorist groups.



The brothers came to anti-terror investigators attention when they cropped up in an inquiry into French Islamists seeking to fight Nato forces in Afghanistan.
The decision to arrest them followed the interception of internet exchanges with people identified as having links with Aqim, which is considered the biggest current threat to French domestic security.