Lots of terror in the news all of a sudden...
Colorado and NY: This is the one that everyone is talking about. A 24 year old Aghan-born man named Najibullah Zazi, in an apparent attempt to make bombs, purchased a suspiciously large amount of acetone and a product containing hydrogen peroxide. Also see here and here. He appears to have co-conspirators.
Brooklyn: In an unrelated case, 21 year old Betim Kaziu has been charged with being an al Qaeda militant.
Dallas: A 19 year old Jordanian named Hosam Maher Husein Smadi "who entered the United States illegally" discussed in an online forum a plot to blow up the Fountain Place skyscraper in Dallas. He bought what he thought was a bomb from an undercover agent and tried to set it off with a cell phone detonator. Questions: How does a young Jordanian get into this country illegally these days? And how did he get the money for the bomb?
Springfield, Illinois: 29 year old Michael Finton, who uses the name Talib Islam, came to the attention of authorities when he contacted John Walker Lindh. After meeting an undercover FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda operative, he was supplied with a ton of explosives, which he tried to detonate in front of the Federal Building in Springfield. The explosives were inactive; he was arrested.
Quantico, Virginia: Daniel Patrick Boyd, his son and one Hysen Sherifi are charged with conspiracy to blow up the Marine Corps base in Quantico.
Australia: A man named Belal Khazal has been jailed for writing a terrorist how-to-do-it manual.
Germany: The State Department warns that al Qaeda plans to attack Germany on or around September 27, the date of the new elections.
Everywhere: Homeland Security officials have sent out a special advisory to all local police to look out for any suspicious activity around hotels, transportation centers, and self-storage facilities.
I have given brief rundowns of events that are surely more complex than would appear at first glance. Right now, I simply want to take note of the overall pattern.
Something seems to be up, eh wot?
I must confess that Obama deserves congratulations: He has not tried to make political use of these incidents.
8 comments:
Maybe it's a coincidence but key provisions of the Patriot Act are up for renewal.
The Patriot Act renewal is probably just a coincidence. Otherwise, Obama would definitely be using the incidents to score political points.
All these scares about ‘terrorists’ or ‘Al Q’ operatives’ are so completely lame it is pathetic. As most readers will know, most of such cases are either never prosecuted or the ‘terrorists’ are left to go free, sometimes deported, either through boredom, or the courts who object. (Of course now Bagram is the poster child for torturing hapless civilians...tow-heads or whatever..)
It is interesting though that the concerted effort of the US and Britain (with the old Anglo white settlers more or less on board, like Australia) to drive up hate of Muslims has not been terribly successful. Only agents of the State (e.g police, military) who are paid to be blind, brutal, outside the law or contesting it, skirting it, etc. actually indulge. That is, besides the state itself.
Ana
Is it possible that Obama is not making use of these incident reports because he is backing Holder in going after the CIA? Just askin'
Lonni
Thanks for the reminder, myiq2xu.
I was going to say, "Gosh, there's not even an election coming up."
Re: this: "How does a young Jordanian got into this country illegally these days?"
A while ago, an acquaintance of mine who worked as an accountant for a defense contractor in Texas, told me that most of what her firm did made it clear to even low level employees that the U.S. government was giving what amounted to a bribe to the Jordanians in order for us to keep open certain supply lines in the Gulf.
I had no way of verifying that information, but ever since she told me that, I've kept an eye on news bits about Jordan.
That's an interesting story, Nibbles.
And sorry for the typo in the bit you quoted. I have fixed it.
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