Terrorism here in the US

[Sean Osborne]

There are multiple dozens of terrorist probes or dry runs occuring all over the country.

[Sean Osborne]

ALERT

There are ongoing MULTIPLE HAZMAT events at five different Washington DC metro stations this afternoon. This report is via HUMINT source in DC. A person spread the unknown agent at the five stations, which the source identifies as: College Park, Greenbelt, Naylor Rd, Anacostia, and Takoma Park. Dead birds have been found at those locations as well. A black truck was observed to be common to all stations prior to the HAZMAT event for those locations.

[Jag]

Mistake by Metro Contractor Prompts FBI Investigation

Dozens of Dead Birds, Poison Found at Six Metrorail Stations


By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 29, 2007; 6:40 PM


A mistake by a Metro contractor led to the shutdown of three Metrorail stations today and prompted an investigation by the FBI and local hazardous-materials crews after the contractor spread commercial pest poison at the wrong time of day, a transit agency spokeswoman said.

At least 60 birds that apparently ingested the poison, mostly sparrows and starlings, were found dead at six Metrorail stations before the transit agency discovered that its contractor was responsible for putting out the poison and failing to remove the dead birds as part of the clean-up.

By 4:45 p.m., all three stations had re-opened. But earlier in the day, as reports of dead birds increased through the afternoon, officials from the FBI's joint terrorism task force and the National Institutes of Health joined in the investigation. The FBI's task force was sent to Branch Avenue to investigate a report of 15 dead birds there, and the Takoma station, where 16 birds were found, was not allowed to open until receiving final clearance from NIH.

"We believe the birds ingested some sort of poison," said Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato. "The public was never in danger. We do believe it was a mistake on the part of our contractor."

Asato said the agency was "tremendously grateful" to the prompt federal and local response from emergency responders. All agencies took precautionary measures to ensure the safety of customers and passengers, she said.

The transit agency uses the contractor for pest and rodent control, and the contractor is supposed to work late at night or early in the morning. The contractor was supposed to be treating the stations for pigeons, Asator said. The pest abatement "doesn't typically happen on Sunday at 12 noon," said Asato, referring to when Metro began receiving reports of dead birds at stations. Most of the birds were found in the "Kiss and Ride" parking area outside the stations.

The contractor is also supposed to "stick around to clear the area of dead birds" or other animals, she said. "Clearly this did not happen," she said. Asato said she did not know the contractor's name, but said the agency was "following up."

Dead birds were found at the Anacostia, Branch Avenue, Greenbelt, Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood, Naylor Road and Takoma stations. The Greenbelt station was closed for about an hour shortly after noon after about 20 dead birds were found. Authorities found pellets of d-CON, a commercial rat poison at Greenbelt, according to D.C. fire spokesman Alan Etter. Rhode Island Avenue station was closed for about two hours after four dead birds were found. (An earlier report had indicated that dead birds had been found at seven stations.)

The Takoma station on the Red Line was closed for nearly four hours, from about 12:50 to 4:45 p.m. after 16 dead birds were found in areas outside the station.
Metro ran shuttle buses around the affected stations, but the emergency situations added to already-long delays that normally affect riders on weekends when track and other maintenance work must be done.

The rain and wind made it difficult for D.C. authorities to determine what kind of poison the birds had eaten at the District stations. The D.C. Department of Health was planning to do a necropsy on several dead birds found at the Anacostia station Monday, tter said.

Metro spokeswoman Asato said transit police were able to determine that the agency contractor put out the poison after witnesses reported seeing a man in a black pickup truck spreading material at some stations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

Jag

[Sean Osborne]

Warfarin (a/k/a d-Con or Rodex, among other brand names) is rat poison and takes about a week to work its deadly task of inducing internal hemorrhaging in the victim rodent.

The many dead birds at these stations died nearly instantaneously, which is to say, they never got the chance to fly off and die elsewhere.

This smells of a bad cover story.

[Backstop]

I can't find anything as related to the above event involving any human illnesses/injuries.

Which makes me that much more curious.

[Backstop]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org...php?id=1193902

Exclusive: ‘Possible Attack on the U.S. Within Ninety Days
FSM Editors

Author: The Editors
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: July 30, 2007

Veteran Israeli Intelligence expert, Juval Aviv, said in recent media interviews that his sources on terror plots directed at the United States indicate that multiple attacks on our homeland are in the final stages of preparation. Read the details.



‘Possible Attack on the U.S. Within Ninety Days’

By FSM Editors


Counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv met recently with reporters at Fox News and revealed information, which he believes is accurate, concerning an imminent Al Qaeda attack on five to seven American cities simultaneously.

"I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most,” said Mr. Aviv.

Mr. Aviv knows of that which he speaks. He is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security. He is best known as the source of the 1984 book, Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, on which Steven Spielberg's film Munich was based. He is also the author of The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide: How to Travel, Work and Live in Safety (2003); and Staying Safe: The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business (2004).

Currently, Aviv is the president of Interfor, Inc., a corporate investigations firm in New York City.

So it is clear that Aviv has the background and experience in global terror and its operating methods to warrant taking his current warnings seriously. It would be foolish to ignore or minimize this counterterrorism veteran’s expert prognosis. Mr. Aviv told Fox that, from what his sources have been relating, sleeper cells that already have been placed inside the continental United States are on the verge of carrying out major attacks.

“What they’re going to do," he explained, "is hit six, seven or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They’re going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: "You’re not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you’re not immune. We’re going [to] get you wherever we can and it’s easier there than in New York."

While this prediction leaves most Americans feeling helpless, fearful and frustrated, Juval Aviv recommends that we at least do what we can. He suggests that for the next few months, if we are traveling by public transportation, we should equip ourselves with a bottle of water, a hand towel and a flashlight. He reminds us that many fatalities in the London tube and Madrid train attacks occurred from victims who breathed in the lethal fumes from bomb components and burning gasoline. Had these people had wet towels to cover their mouths and noses, they would have had a much better chance of survival.

Mr. Aviv is a very strong proponent of “If you See Something – Say Something” school of preparedness. He stated that a great number of potentially lethal terror attacks in Israel have been – and still are – thwarted by the intelligent actions on the part of alert, aware and watchful citizens.

Americans must do the same, he advises. The global war on terror is not “somewhere over there in the Middle East.” It is here on our own soil. If ever there were a time to be especially vigilant, the time is now.

Let us hope and pray that these vicious enemies and their depraved plans against our citizens and our country, which come out of a wicked ideological brew, will be forestalled and prevented, and the perpetrators apprehended. So far, our law enforcement, military, counter-terrorism and intelligence personnel have done a stellar job. At the same time, and as we all know, we have to be lucky 100% of the time, and the terrorists have to be lucky only once.

So stay alert…stay away from crowds…and if you see something, say something! You could save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161962,00.html

U.S. Terror Attack — 'Ninety Days at Most'

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv spoke with FOX Fan Central about what Americans can do to protect themselves in case of a terror attack.

Do you believe another terrorist attack is likely on American soil?

I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most.

What advice do you have for individuals that have the misfortune of finding themselves in the middle of a terror attack?

Since mass transportation is the next attack, when you travel to work have with you, a bottle of water, a small towel and a flashlight. What happened in London is exactly a point to look at. Those people who were close to the bombs died, then others were injured or died from inhaling the toxic fumes or getting trampled. The reason you take a bottle of water and a towel is that if you wet the towel and put it over your face, you can protect yourself against the fumes and get yourself out of there.

Don't be bashful. If your gut feeling tells you when you walk onto a bus there is something unusual or suspicious, get out and walk away. You may do it 10 times for no reason, but there will be one time that saves your life. Let your sixth sense direct you.

Try to break your routine. If you travel during rush hour every day, try to get up a little earlier and drive to work or take the train when it’s still not full. Don’t find yourself every day in the midst of rush hour. Terrorists are not going to waste a bomb on a half-empty train.

What portion of the American infrastructure do you believe is at the greatest risk for a terror attack?

We have put all of our emphasis, right or wrong, on the aviation area. What has happened, in the last two to three years, based on information we have, is the terrorists have realized that they cannot hijack a plane in America soon because the passengers are going to fight back. So they realize what they have been very successful with over the last 50 years in Madrid, London, Iraq, Israel: demoralizing the public when they go to work and when they come back from work.

What they’re going to do is hit six, seven or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They’re going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: "You’re not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you’re not immune. We’re going [to] get you wherever we can and it’s easier there than in New York."

What more do you think the government can do to protect the public?

Number one, and this is the beef I’ve had with Homeland Security for the last four years, is educating the public on how to deal with those types of events. There’s no education. We’re raising the color code alert and that means nothing to anyone. Whether it’s green, yellow, pink, no one ever educated the public how to identify suspicious items or people.

In Israel, so many of them [terrorists] have been apprehended just because people have phoned in. We don’t have that training on campuses, schools or kindergarten.

In Israel, it’s very popular right now [amongst terrorists] to put one device to explode and time another one for five minutes later when it’s all calm, people are getting up and the rescue teams have responded. You need to know all those things and think about those things. The government must pursue that. Law enforcement will never have enough people on the street to detect things. We don’t have that kind of manpower. That’s why the government must enlist the public.

Juval Aviv is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and President and CEO of Interfor, Inc. Mr. Aviv has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security and is the author of “Staying Safe : The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business.”

And my oh-so-crude response:





Bring it, dirtbags. Just f*cking bring it.

[RavenLyke]

Well Backstop, after this and everything else I am seeing from Sean and others, it just makes my trip to Fleet Week in Seattle seem more interesting. Oh well, can't live in fear and like we used to say in the Navy, F#$K em if they can't take a joke.

And on a side note, I have always loved that song by the Boss.

[Backstop]

Well look what was found by an ARFCOMer:

http://www.newshounds.us/2005/07/08/...in_90_days.php

[Backstop]

Well Raven, looks like you'll have less on your mind during your Seattle trip.

I'm trying to find more info...hopefully Sean et al will be along shortly.

Regardless, enjoy the tour.

Yep, The Boss - as are so many others - is under rated.

[American Patriot]

We're all hearing the same things, throughout the various agencies.

"Heads Up" is all I can say at this point.

I'd like to point out Sean posted he was "leaving the site" cuz he "can't be trusted" to edit his posts.

There were issues about editing, and he is taking it personally, so I doubt you will see him posting much more except to make trite or smart assed comments to anything I say now. So, dont hold your breath, Backstop.

Raven, enjoy your trip and don't let them bother you. Just pay attention to your surroundings. Your job in an emergency is to SURVIVE first. Don't ever forget that - any of you.

[RavenLyke]

Now I know this thread is Terrorisim here in the U.S. but a lot of the intelligence everyone was follwing showed that it would come around the same time as events in Israel, two things out today that are interesting

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/888338.html

The summer season will be calmer than some people think, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday, countering persistent reports predicting a new war.

Olmert, speaking at a graduation ceremony in Jerusalem for the Israel Defense Forces' command college, said people on both sides of Israel's borders want peace, not war.

"I firmly believe that the coming summer and fall will not be too hot," Olmert said. "There is no place for creating an atmosphere of 'the eve of war.'"

And from Debka http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4458

This piece of intelligence was behind the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert’s comment Tuesday, July 31: “I think this summer and fall will be less hot than we expected.”
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the latest intelligence update on Syria’s intentions reached Jerusalem via Washington in the last few days. It indicated that Syria’s political and military leaders had rescheduled the start of hostilities against Israel on the Golan for the second two weeks of November, 2007, postponing their original planning by more than two months.

[Jag]

http://www.nationalterroralert.com/

Goose Creek South Carolina - Police Discover Explosives During Stop

By Homeland Security NTARC News | August 4, 2007


Authorities closed a highway outside Charleston for more than five hours Saturday night after police found explosives in the trunk of a car, a newspaper reported, citing an FBI agent. The vehicle with Florida tags was driven by two men of Middle Eastern descent.

Julie Johnson, assistant special agent-in-charge for the FBI in Columbia, said there was “no immediate threat,” according to The (Charleston) Post and Courier.

Law enforcement officials closed the road about 7 p.m. after the traffic stop in Goose Creek, home to the Naval Weapons Station. The station houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.

Johnson said the FBI was still trying to determine whether a crime had been committed but that there was “no immediate threat” related to the traffic stop.

South Carolina law enforcement Chief Robert Stewart told The Associated Press that his officers were on the scene, but that the FBI was handling the case and he did not elaborate.

According to Lt. Vince Lombardo, deputies discovered the suspicious items in the trunk during a traffic stop. The two men inside the vehicle are detained at the scene. Lombardo also said information from an investigation in another jurisdiction raised the suspicions of the deputies.

Goose Creek, with a population of about 30,000, is located about 20 miles north of Charleston.


Jag

[American Patriot]

Two Arrested with Explosives Near Charleston

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/webl...&only&headline

It happened last night, but there’s still very little information out there; two men of “Middle Eastern descent” were arrested after police discovered explosives in the trunk of their car.

Goose Creek - Berkeley County police pulled over a vehicle in a routine traffic stop near Meyers Road and Highway 176 around 6 p.m.Saturday.


The vehicle with Florida tags was driven by two men of Middle Eastern descent.


Some type of explosives were found in the trunk. Those explosives were detonated after three o’clock this morning.
Two men were arrested, and charges of possession of unlawful explosives are being prepared.


Officials are not at this time releasing any additional information on the number of charges or types of explosive devices they found.

The Associated Press report omits the fact that the suspects are Middle Eastern, with a headline that could not possibly be any more innocuous and unnoticeable: S.C. police detain 2 for suspicious item.

[American Patriot]

Click....


Two puzzle pieces? SC and FL? Hmm... Sounds East Coastish to me, how about the rest of you?

[Ryan Ruck]

I had a sneaking suspicion the two arrested were of "questionable background" when the article failed to mention any profile of the drivers. After all, if it had been two white men, it would have been all over the story.

[American Patriot]

Al Qaeda Cell in US?

The only good thing about this news is that if they’re connected to the failed London/Glasgow bombers, they may be too incompetent to pull off a serious attack: Al Qaeda Cell May Be Loose in U.S., British Plot Hints.

WASHINGTON — As an American-born spokesman for Al Qaeda threatens to blow up American embassies abroad, intelligence gleaned from last month’s British “doctors plot” of car bombers suggests that a Qaeda cell is on the loose in the American homeland.


E-mail addresses for American individuals were found on the same password-protected e-mail chains used by the United Kingdom plotters to communicate with Qaeda handlers in Europe, a counterterrorism official told The New York Sun yesterday. The American and German intelligence community now believe the secure e-mail chains used in the United Kingdom plot have provided a window into an operational Qaeda network in several countries.


“Because of the London and Glasgow plot, we now know communications have been made from Al Qaeda to operatives in the United States,” the counterterrorism official said on condition of anonymity. “This plot helps to connect a lot of stuff. We have seen money moving a lot through hawala networks and other illicit finance as well.” But this source was careful to say that at this point no specific information, such as names, targets or a timeline, was known about any particular plot on American soil.

[American Patriot]

No... no frickin' terrorism HERE....

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/p...Y&pageId=3.2.1

Two USF students say they had fireworks, not bombs

Last Edited: Tuesday, 07 Aug 2007, 12:29 PM EDT

Created: Tuesday, 07 Aug 2007, 6:05 AM EDT

Photos courtesy Berkeley County (S.C.) Sheriff's Office. We've got you covered Related Items Stories USF confirms bomb suspects are students USF students charged with possession of explosives USF students' S.C. arrest report

Two USF students say they had fireworks, not bombs
Last Edited: Tuesday, 07 Aug 2007, 12:29 PM EDT
Created: Tuesday, 07 Aug 2007, 6:05 AM EDT
Photos courtesy Berkeley County (S.C.) Sheriff's Office.


MONCKS CORNER, S.C. - They claim they were just on a road trip and traveling with fireworks, but prosecutors in Berkeley County South Carolina say two University of South Florida students were caught carrying much more than that.

Ahmed Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed ere headed through the area over the weekend when they were stopped for speeding. A deputy claims that's when he found explosives in the trunk of the car they were riding in.

The deputy called in an FBI agent, and shut down the road.

"He was in possession of pipe bombs and materials that could have been used to make more bombs," said prosecutor Scarlett Wilson. "There were other materials in the car that are currently being tested - we don't have the results of those tests as of yet."

According to authorities, the suspicious item found in the car made a loud bang similar to a firecracker when it was demolished by deputies.

Megahed and Mohamed were arrested, and they face explosives charges for carrying what authorities determined to be pipe bombs. Still the two men continue to defend themselves, saying what they had weren't bombs.

"These things you guys call "bomb tubes" is nothing but fireworks – fireworks," said Mohamed.

Friends back in the Tampa area say they don't believe the accusations against the two men.

"All I know when it comes to acts of terrorism or weapons or explosives or anything of that kind I have a full confidence that he's not guilty," said Jaffim Aldeen, a friend of the two men who lives here in the Bay Area.

Meghed's family says he has been living here in the Bay Area with them for several years. His father says he believes his son has been unfairly targeted, and he's been unable to speak with him since his arrest.

FOX 13 has also learned that Megahed's family is being cooperative in the investigation, and they allowed the FBI to search their Tampa home yesterday.

For now, Megahed and Mohamed both remain in a South Carolina jail. Their next court date has been set for early October. A judge set bond at $300,000 for Megahed and $500,000 for Mohamed.

If the pair manages to bond out of jail, they still won't be returning to the Bay Area. They will be forced to stay in South Carolina and be monitored by satellite until their trial.

According to USF, Megahed is a 21-year-old civil engineering grad student who studied as an undergraduate in Cairo. Mohamed -- who turned 26 on Sunday -- is a permanent U.S. resident who has been at the school since 2004 but has not declared a major.

A USF spokesman told FOX 13 that the school was reserving judgment until the two men have had their day in court.

"We're going to let the judicial process run its course. If it does, and they are eligible to be students here, we would naturally welcome them back," Ken Gullette stated.

Both Mohamed and Megahed have had contact with the campus police before, but nothing that -- on the surface -- appears suspicious.

Twice last school year, Megahed reported a theft of a book bag from the library, police said. Mohamed also reported being the victim of a fraud.

In May, police found the pair together in a vehicle parked at the Sun Dome just before 11 p.m. Police reported "contact" with the two about the incident, but did not add any details.

[American Patriot]

2 Charged With Pipe Bombs Near Navy Base

2 Men Charged With Possession of Pipe Bombs Near Navy Base in South Carolina

The Associated Press
By BRUCE SMITH Associated Press Writer
MONCKS CORNER, S.C. Aug 7, 2007 (AP)


Two men found with several pipe bombs in their car near a Navy base were charged Monday with possession of an explosive device, authorities said.

A joint state-federal investigation was under way to see whether there was any terrorism connection, said FBI spokeswoman Denise Taiste, but no link had been found. The Navy base is the site of a brig where enemy combatants have been held.

Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed, 24, and Yousef Samir Megahed, 21, both students at the University of South Florida in Tampa, were driving through the area on Saturday to vacation at a North Carolina beach for Mohamed's birthday, their defense attorney said.

"They admitted to having what they said were fireworks. Based on the officer's judgment at hand, based on what he had seen, we judged it to be other than fireworks," Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt said.

Mohamed, 24, said he made devices from items he bought at Wal-Mart, according to an affidavit with his arrest warrant.

Defense attorney Dennis Rhoad said the men have a reason for having the devices and it would become clear in later court hearings.

"The defendants deny the allegations the state and the sheriff have made against them," Rhoad said.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson asked for high bond, which was set at $500,000 for Mohamed and $300,000 for Megahed, because she said the men were dangerous and a risk to flee.

Mohamed is a native of Kuwait and Megahed is Egyptian, the sheriff said. Both are in the country legally.

The executive director of a civil rights organization for Muslims in Tampa criticized the arrest as racial profiling, an accusation South Carolina police denied. It's not clear if the item found in the vehicle is actually a bomb, said Ahmed Bedier of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"If it's clearly a pipe bomb that's a different story. Then there is cause for concern," said Bedier.

Megahed lives with his family and they voluntarily allowed the FBI to search their home in Tampa on Monday, Bedier said.

"They're so confident that they don't have anything in their home that they gave the keys to some agents. The father voluntarily allowed them to go search the home unsupervised," Bedier said.

The two men were stopped for speeding Saturday night on U.S. Highway 176 near Goose Creek, which is the site of the Naval Weapons Station and houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.

They were heading west, away from Goose Creek, when they were pulled over about seven miles from the sprawling Navy facility, police said.

Officers became suspicious because the men quickly put away a laptop computer and couldn't immediately say what they were doing in the area or where they were going, DeWitt said.

A deputy then found what he thought were explosives in the 2000 Toyota Camry and called the bomb squad. Technicians confirmed the devices were pipe bombs and destroyed them, according to sworn statements in the arrest warrants.

Authorities closed a mile-long stretch of the highway Saturday night and didn't reopen it until about 4 a.m. Sunday.

University spokesman Ken Gullette said Mohamed is a civil engineering graduate student who came to the school in January. He earned his undergraduate degree in Cairo and was in the country on a student visa.

Megahed, who has permanent resident status in the United States, is an undergraduate and has been at the university since 2004, but has not declared a major, Gullette said.

Neither has ever been arrested by campus police or disciplined by the university, Gullette said. Both were enrolled in classes this summer. Gullette said the university is cooperating with authorities.

If convicted of the felony charge, the men would face from two to 15 years in prison.

Goose Creek, with a population of about 30,000, is about 20 miles north of Charleston.

Associated Press writers Katrina A. Goggins in Columbia and Mitch Stacy in Tampa contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS that affidavit said devices, not pipe bombs.)

[American Patriot]

Road trip, 'pipe bombs,' speeding, then arrests

Did two USF students in S.C. have a plan?

By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published August 7, 2007

---

ADVERTISEMENT [John Pendygraft | Times] Lt. Meg Ross, PIO for the USF University Police takes questions during a press conference at USF concerning the arrest of two men, accused of having explosives in their car in Goose Creek, near Charleston, South Carolina. [John Pendygraft | Times] Jassim Aldeen, 22, President of the USF Muslim Student Association, right, talks to local media after a press conference at CAIR Tampa about the arrest of two men, accused of having explosives in their car in Goose Creek, near Charleston, South Carolina. Both Ahmed Bedier, Executive Director of the Tampa Chapter of CAIR, left, and Aldeen believe race was a factor in the arrests. Breaking News Video

TAMPA - The arrest of two University of South Florida students found with several suspected pipe bombs near a South Carolina naval base raised more questions than it answered.


The two men in their twenties -- Ahmed Abda Mohamed, an engineering graduate student, and Yousef Samir Megahed, an undergraduate -- were arrested Saturday in rural Goose Creek, S.C., accused of possession of an explosive device.





By Monday, much about the pair's motives remained a mystery. State and federal agents teamed up to determine whether there might be terrorism ties. Goose Creek is the site of the Naval Weapons Station, the home of a military prison that has housed enemy combatants.
Local Muslims leaders wondered whether it was a case of racial profiling:


Mohamed is from Kuwait; Megahed's family is from Egypt. Both are in the country legally.


"Had they been two white kids, nobody would be asking those questions," said Ahmed Bedier, executive director of Tampa's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.


On Saturday afternoon, a Berkeley County sheriff's deputy clocked a Toyota Camry going 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. The deputy pulled over the car, driven by Mohamed, on U.S. 176, about 7 miles from the Navy base.
Deputy Lamar Blakley wrote a citation, but he became suspicious when the men quickly put away a laptop computer, investigators said.
The deputy asked to search the car, according to an incident report.


Initial news reports said the men told investigators they had fireworks in the car. In the trunk, Blakley found what appeared to be "several pipe bombs," according to a Sheriff's Office report.


The deputy called for backup and asked two bomb technicians what they thought. They confirmed his suspicions, according to the report.


Deputies read the pair their rights, and Mohamed said he made the devices from components he bought at Wal-Mart, according to the report. Wal-Mart did not respond to a reporter's inquiry.


The men were booked into jail, where they were held on charges of possession of an explosive device, a felony that carried a punishment of up to 15 years, the report states. A judge set bail for Mohamed at $500,000; bail for Megahed at $300,000.


A prosecutor asked for a high bond, saying the men were dangerous and a flight risk.


Those accusations don't square with what Bedier heard from their family and friends.


Mohamed, of 2107 E Nedro Road, moved to Tampa in January to pursue a graduate degree in engineering after studying at a university in Egypt, according to USF officials. Bedier said that Mohamed graduated at the top of his class from a prestigious program in civil and environmental engineering and that he served as a research and teaching assistant at USF.


Megahed, of 4959 Anniston Circle, is known in the local Muslim community as a kind man with a good sense of humor, Bedier said, and his family has lived in Tampa for several years. As a student at USF, he took engineering classes, although he has yet to declare a major, according to Bedier and university officials.


Jail and arrest records show Megahed is 21. They list two dates of birth for Mohamed, making him 24 or 26. Records also conflict over spelling of his second middle name, either Sherf or Sherif. Neither man has a Florida criminal record, state records show.


Bedier heard of the arrests Sunday evening, when Megahed's family, who live in Tampa, called after seeing his photograph on the television news.


Here's what the family knows, Bedier says:


Megahed had hatched a plan for a road trip. He wanted to see the coast, see the Carolinas, Bedier said.


He asked his friends to come along, said it would only cost $30 to $40 per person in gas money, Bedier said. Mohamed took him up on the offer, and the two left Tampa on Friday night, sometime around midnight. Megahed's family isn't sure where the men went or whether they had a destination, Bedier said.


The next thing they heard, Megahed was in jail. Megahed's brother and a CAIR staffer flew to South Carolina on Monday morning, where Megahed's family hired defense attorney Dennis Rhoad to represent the men at a bail hearing. Rhoad did not return a call for comment.


Bedier said he had problems with the accusations.


"We're really concerned about the lack of evidence in this case," he said.
Jassim Aldeen, the 22-year-old president of USF's Muslim Student Association, said he was stunned to learn of the arrests. He knows Megahed and said he doesn't believe there's any truth to the accusations.
"I wanted to hear the facts," he said. "He's very friendly. Every time he speaks he tells a joke."


Staff writer Kevin Graham and news researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press and the Charleston Post and Courier. Abbie VanSickle can be reached (813) 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com.
[Last modified August 7, 2007, 00:01:27]

[American Patriot]

NO Don't LOOK here, you don't want to SEE Terrorism in the US DO YOU?

This is a case of a couple of CAUGHT ones, that didn't get their bombs off. Well, tough shit, it's TERRORISM in my book.