Rezwan Ferdaus, planner of one of 12 terrorist plots against the US military by people apparently motivated by their Islamic faith, pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up the Pentagon by flying a remote controlled airplane into it laden with explosives.
Under a plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to drop four other charges. Prosecutors and Ferdaus’ lawyers also agreed to jointly recommend a 17-year prison term…
Siegmann said there were two main parts of his plan: to blow up the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using remote-controlled planes and to kill American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan using improvised explosive devices detonated Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: abdulhakim muhammad, Antonio Martinez, arid uka, baltimore, fbi, fort dix, fort hood, frankfurt, hasan akbar, Islam, jihad, jose pimentel, Military, naser abdo, nidal malik hasan, Pentagon, quantico, Religion, rezwan ferdaus, yonathan melaku
Antonio Martinez attempted to detonate what he thought was a car bomb outside a recruiting center in Baltimore. He pled guilty in January and has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Martinez said in a lengthy apology that he knew little of Islam when he was arrested and “all I had was a religious zeal.” Martinez repeatedly said that he has “renounced the misguidance of terrorism” and that the religion is not one “anyone in this courtroom should be afraid of.”
Martinez’s attempted bombing is one of 12 attempted or successful attacks on the US military by those apparently motivated by their Islamic faith, four of whom were Read more…
While stories of political insensitivity or incorrectness sometimes shock the public (or political) conscience, those within the military often find such displays far less offensive — or rare.
A few years ago, US Air Force F-15 pilot 1Lt Ali Jivanjee was killed in an F-15 training accident. He was a Muslim fighter pilot who took it upon himself to sign his name “Jihad” — apparently because he’d been “teased” (hazed? bullied?) about his first and middle names being “Ali Akbar” (similar to “Allahu akbar,” a phrase often connected to “jihadists,” for those that don’t make the connection).
His F-15 peers eventually named him “Danny Boy,” because he “needed a good Irish name.”
A fighter squadron is definitely not a bastion of political correctness, or cultural sensitivity.
A recent Military.com article notes the same theme throughout much of the rest of the military. Makers of accoutrements — including unofficial military uniform patches — with variations of “American infidel” on them are doing gangbuster business: Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: Afghanistan, air force, Ali Jivanjee, atheism, clayton montgomery, danny boy, f-15, infidel, Iraq, Islam, jihad, marines, Military, ramsey sulayman, Religion
Arid Uka had confessed to shooting unarmed American airmen at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, as a result of “Islamist propaganda.” Under the process of German law, Uka was still required to be tried.
Uka was found guilty (with “severe guilt”) and sentenced to life in prison. In Germany, that means he’ll serve 18-20 years before he’s eligible for parole.
That was the maximum sentence available.
Robert Cuddeback, Zachary’s father…said he was Read more…
Antonio Martinez has pled guilty to attempting to blow up a Baltimore military recruiting center in 2010. The FBI went as far as to provide Martinez a fake bomb which he tried to detonate. He had originally pled not guilty, but reversed his plea and faces a 25-year sentence.
Though only vaguely referenced in the Associated Press article on the plea, Martinez was reportedly motivated by his “extremist” Islamic views. He was one Read more…
The Associated Press noted three of a group of 8 men were recently sentenced for conspiring to attack Marine Corps Base Quantico as well as other targets. Known in some places as the Raleigh jihadists, the men were arrested in July of 2009.
Hysen Sherifi, [the only non-US citizen] will serve 45 years in prison; Ziyad Yaghi…got nearly 32 years; and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan…was sentenced to 15 years.
Lawyers for the men have claimed they were
discussing terrorism rather than committing terrorist acts…But US District Judge Louise Flanagan said the men went beyond talk to planning violence.
The father of one defendant accused the judge of attacking Islam: Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: hysen sherifi, Islam, jihad, louise flanagan, marines, Military, mohammad omar aly hassan, pakistan, quantico, raleigh, Religion, ziyad yaghi
PFC Naser Abdo has a new lawyer after stating he disagreed with the defense strategy of his prior court-appointed counsel.
Attorney Keith Dorsett told U.S. District Judge Walter Smith during a brief hearing in Waco that his client had been uncooperative.
His trial is scheduled to begin at the end of January.
In a recent phone interview, Abdo also reportedly admitted to planning an attack on Fort Campbell, where he was originally stationed before Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: Afghanistan, army, fort campbell, fort hood, Islam, jihad, keith dorsett, Military, naser abdo, nasser abdo, nidal malik hasan, Religion, walter smith
Update: Members of the joint Congressional committee “blasted” the Department of Defense for downplaying talk of terrorism and referring to the Fort Hood massacre as “workplace violence.” The DoD was accused of being “politically correct” in avoiding association of the terrorist attacks with Islam — the same thing it was found at fault for in the months leading up to the Fort Hood shooting.
US Representative Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is holding another hearing on “homegrown terrorism.” While he was criticized for his earlier hearings on the subject for the implied negativity toward American Muslims, these new hearings are a joint meeting between the House and Senate committees, showing “threat is legitimate,” according to King.
King and Senator Joe Lieberman, his Senate counterpart from Connecticut, both agreed that US military soft targets are “increasingly in the terrorists’ scope.”
There is growing evidence that homegrown terrorists see military personnel and bases as legitimate, high-value targets, lawmakers Read more…
A variety of news sites reported the breaking news that New York City police had arrested Jose Pimentel, a native of the Dominican Republic who had moved from upstate New York to the city.
The intended targets of Jose Pimentel…were U.S. military personnel who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as U.S. postal facilities and police stations, according to Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
The suspect was described by Bloomberg as an “al Qaeda sympathizer,” though he is not believed to have ever made direct contact with anyone in the organization.
District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., reportedly said
On his website, Pimentel discussed the duty of every Muslim to wage war against the west.
Pimentel would make Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: al qaeda, bloomberg, cyrus vance, Islam, jihad, jose pimentel, Military, new york city, ray kelly, Religion, rezwan ferdaus
Arid Uka, accused in the murder of two members of the US Air Force at the Frankfurt airport in Germany, now says he does not believe Islam permits violence beyond self-defense.
While Arid Uka still prays and considers himself a Muslim, he said Wednesday he was duped by extremist propaganda and no longer believes his religion permits violence, except in self-defense. He added that shooting the airmen was not permitted by his religion.
This change of heart is somewhat unique, as some other recent Read more…
Categories: Government and Religion Tags: anwar al-awlaki, arid uka, frankfurt, germany, Islam, jihad, Military, naser abdo, nicholas alden, nidal malik hasan, osama bin laden, umar abdulmutallab, zachary cuddeback
Rezwan Ferdaus was arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts after he acquired the weapons and means to conduct a terrorist attack against the Pentagon. The materials were purchased from/delivered by undercover US government agents.
A Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting to destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol by attacking the buildings with large, remote-controlled aircraft armed with lethal amounts of explosives.
Interestingly, mainstream articles on Ferdaus fail to mention his religion — even though Ferdaus himself claimed to be motivated by it. In fact, one article even went so far as to publicize the DA’s warning that Read more…
The defense had begun to lay its case earlier this week for Carlos Bledsoe, otherwise known as Abdulhakim Muhammad, accused of murdering a Soldier in an attack on a recruiting center in Arkansas.
The case was suddenly halted earlier this week when Muhammad agreed to a plea deal — guilty, life without parole.
Muhammad’s lawyer had originally told the jury their job was easy: His client did it.
“This isn’t about whodunit or who didn’t do it,” said Patrick Benca, a lawyer for Abdulhakim Muhammad. “Mr. Muhammad was the one that had his finger on the trigger.”
The prosecution used that to their advantage: Read more…
Though the story has dropped off most mainstream radars, Abdulhakim Muhammad continues to navigate the judicial system to trial. Muhammad is accused in the 2009 killing of a US Army Soldier and the wounding of one other in a shooting outside a military recruiter’s office in Arkansas.
Muhammad is charged with first-degree murder in the June 2009 shooting death of Pvt. William Long and attempted capital murder in the wounding of Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula. He has told The Associated Press the shooting was revenge for American killings of Muslims.
Muhammad has indicated he wanted to start a terrorist cell in the US. The claim appears to be an effort to Read more…
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