Bilal Abood was a translator for the US military in Iraq prior to 2009, when he left Iraq for the US and became an American citizen. He joined the US Army in 2010.

In 2014, the FBI determined he had made a statement of allegiance to al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State. He recently pled guilty to lying to the FBI about that statement:

Bilal Abood…admitted he lied to the FBI about traveling to Syria and sending a tweet pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State…

The report seems to imply some level of naiveté — or just plain stupidity — on Abood’s part, with the judge even calling him

a “goofball” and an “odd character” who did some stupid things. But he said he thinks Abood is a “misguided kind of fellow who’s not going to act on things.”

Interestingly, the article never once says Abood is a Muslim. For the record, though, Abood would join a long list of American citizens — many of whom are current or former US military troops — who have planned, participated in, or otherwise been associated with terror attacks or attacks against US troops. That list, by the way, is comprised exclusively of Muslims, despite efforts by American fanatics claiming Christians, not Muslims, are a “national security threat.”

ADVERTISEMENT