Fort Hood Shootings
I was out in the field this afternoon when the news broke on the shootings at Fort Hood. By the time I returned to the office and logged on, I learned the terrible news. The immediate reaction in the room was that this must be Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Of course, the first reports indicated three gunmen – this turned out to be wrong, of course, but I commented that PTSD is a solitary phenomena; it does not manifest itself in groups. As it turned out, this just might be the first ever recorded case of PRE-TSD; it turns out that Hasan was under orders, but had not yet deployed. America is seeing an increase in the tempo of domestic jihad-inspired terrorist self-starters.
The week's headlines, as of Friday, 25 September 2009:
FBI Arrests Jordanian for Downtown Dallas Bomb Plot
Illinois Man Charged in Plot to Bomb Federal Offices
And:
Zazi Indicted For Conspiring To Detonate WMD
Najibullah Zazi, 24, arrives at the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building on Sept. 17, 2009, in Denver, Colo. Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, was arrested along with his son and a third man from New York City for possible ties to terrorists.
From my home station down there in North Cackallacky where the possums and raccoons are haut cuisine, a team of Billy Bobs decided to get their Jihad on:
U.S. Terror Suspects Accused of Targeting Marine Base
The common thread to all of the above is that these guys were nabbed going into the operational phase of their terrorist attacks.
In addition to the cases above, which I first detailed on 26 September, here are some other notable developments 2009 has produced:
May 12, 2009, Oussama Kassir was convicted of charges related to his participation in an effort to establish a jihad training camp in Oregon and his operation of several terrorist Web sites containing instructions about how to make bombs and poisons. Kassir was found guilty of all 11 charges against him, including providing material support to al-Qaeda and distributing information on explosives and weapons of mass destruction.
May 20, 2009, four individuals - James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen - were arrested on charges arising from a plot to detonate explosives near a synagogue in the Bronx, N.Y., and to shoot Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at military planes located at the National Guard Base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. On June 2, 2009, all four defendants were charged in an eight-count indictment and face potential life in prison, if convicted.
All of them converted to Islam while in prison.
April 28, 29, 2009, five individuals -- Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, brothers Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka and Serdar Tatar -- received sentences ranging from 33 years in prison, to life in prison plus 30 years, for plotting to kill U.S. soldiers in an armed attack on the military base in Fort Dix, New Jersey. All five individuals were convicted at trial in December 2008.
On April 30, 2009, Ali al-Marri pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda, admitting that he attended terrorist training camps, learned al-Qaeda tradecraft and was dispatched by al-Qaeda to carry out its terrorist objectives in America.
Terrorists all the same, regardless of ideological or political stance - that is all posturing. Example: in the 1980s the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya mounted a bombing campaign against U.S. and British targets in Europe. Several of the bombings were carried out on their behalf by the Baader-Meinhof gang, a secular group of Communists.
Also in the 1980s, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a group of Catholic membership, received support and training from not only Libya and other Arab terrorist groups, but also the Soviet Union.
It is all the same. Terrorism is always the same. It doesn't matter whether it's Islamic-themed, or Neo-Nazi, or Communist-inspired, terrorism is always the same: it is sheer lunacy, plain and simple. The terrorist ethos is flawed logic. They cry out "Injustice!" and yet they are willing to commit the most horrific crimes in the world, in the name of equality and fairness. Eh?
For Americans who don't know about it, who've never been over there: this is a little taste of what Israel experiences, all the time.
