Tarek Mehanna = Newest Terror Threat to US
What happens when even the terrorists won’t take you? Do you still engage in terror in their name or do you simply then have two enemies? I guess we know the answer to that question today as another alleged terror suspect has been arrested and charged with plotting to commit terrorist acts within the United States. Tarek Mehanna is accused of plotting to launch attacks on everything from shopping malls to former politicians. His plan was reportedly foiled only because he and his co-conspirators failed to obtain the automatic weapons necessary to perpetrate their crimes.
I am still uneasy with these arrests being proudly reported in the press. For an administration who has abandoned “transparency” with every other issue, I find it hard to believe that its policy on releasing this information is anything but an attempt to appear tough on terror. I said over a month ago, when the first group of arrests was made that I would hold off on making judgments on the matter, but I am ready to judge.
This is nothing more than a PR campaign. For 7 years, we were left in the dark on these matters and frankly, I think we were better for it. Every one of these cases stands to be tossed out on technicalities, because conspiracy charges have so many loose ends to tie. I can admit that it is a precarious position for law enforcement officials because they have to balance how far they let a criminal investigation go on before they believe that a terrorist act is imminent. I do not envy their position or question their judgment. I do however question the need to tell the American people about every one of these cases.
I fully understand that court documents will be released as public records and I have no doubt that they would be uncovered without the assistance of the administration, so save the time and effort of telling me that in a comment. My response to you would simply be something like this… Perhaps, there is a reason why we have military tribunals and places like Gitmo for handling these types of cases. I would even venture to say that the war on terror in its current form is so unique and so new to our system of justice that we have yet to come up with a satisfactory solution. I do know however, that granting these individuals the protections afforded to private citizens as if they committed a petty crime or an act of domestic violence is absurd.
The short of it is this. I feel no safer knowing that we have stopped a handful of these individuals than when I knew nothing at all. In fact, I feel less safe, because now that I have a little information on the people we have caught, all I can think about are the ones we have not. I am not voting for a president based on how many terror arrests we have any time soon. Id much prefer safety to information on this one. Save that transparency for the other issues.
Court documents filed by the government say that in 2002 or 2003, Abousamra became frustrated after repeatedly being rejected to join terror groups in Pakistan — first Lashkar e Tayyiba and then the Taliban.
“Because Abousamra was an Arab (not Pakistani) the LeT camp would not accept him, and because of Abousamra’s lack of experience, the Taliban camp would not accept him,” according to an affidavit by FBI agent Heidi Williams.
Mehanna and Abousamra traveled to Yemen in 2004 in an attempt to join a terrorist training camp.
Mehanna allegedly told a friend, the third conspirator who is now cooperating with authorities, that their trip was a failure because they were unable to reach people affiliated with the camps. The men, who had allegedly received tips on whom to meet from a person identified in court documents as “Individual A,” said half the people they wanted to see were on “hajj,” referring to the pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam, and half were in jail.
“They traveled all over the country looking for the people Individual A told them to meet,” authorities allege in the criminal complaint.
Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Mass., got rebellious in court Wednesday, refusing to stand for the judge and at one point throwing his chair.
FBI officials said Mehanna worked with others from 2001 to May of 2008 in a conspiracy to “kill, kidnap, main or injure” people in foreign countries, and to kill prominent U.S. politicians. Terror plots to attack U.S. shopping malls and U.S. military in Iraq were also in the works, officials said.
Mehanna initially refused to stand for the judge before the terror charge against him was read at the brief hearing Wednesday. He finally did stand — tossing his chair loudly to the floor — only after his father urged him to do so.
Federal prosecutors say Mehanna and his conspirators planned the logistics of a mall attack — including the possibility of attacking emergency responders. However, authorities say the plot was not carried out because they could not get automatic weapons.
“Mehanna and the co-conspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall, and that the conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack, including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders,” the Justice Department said.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Mike Levine contributed to this report.
Full Story here
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No reference to due process or enhanced terror methods? Typical repubilcan mantra. Ignore the bad of the last eight years because we were safe.
Typical republican mantra? I think this was a straight forward coverage of the issue here. he was simply stating his position that there may be a more effective manner for distributing this information or concealing it in the interest of bringing these people to justice before they commit their crimes or go into hiding
I love Islam…….. it’s such a peacful religion!!!!! I was really happy the last 8 years!!!!
[...] we had the case of Tarek Mehanna who was arrested for attempting to unleash carnage on a shopping mall in Boston. He reportedly had links to [...]