Green Energy
That's the title of a story from the Washington Post, via MSNBC:
- Osama Bin Laden On The Move?
From the Asia Times (hat tip to Weasel Zippers): ISLAMABAD - After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following...
- Shukrijumah New Head Of Al Qaeda Says Fbi
"Jafar the Pilot" just got kicked upstairs. According to the FBI, Adnan Shukrijumah, 35, has taken over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's old job as Al Qaeda chief of global operations, FOX News is reporting. Probably the best go-to for background on Shukrijumah...
- Four Homegrown Converts To Islam Arrested For Plotting Synagogue Bombing
UPDATE: Pastorius cutting in here. Gateway Pundit has the title of the day on this story: Feds Bust 4 in "Domestic Contingency Operation" --Were Planning Massive "Man-Caused Disaster" Yes, they were all homegrown, and converted in prison (Hat tip: Weekly...
- Secret Enclaves Of Al-qaeda Extremists Based In London, Birmingham And Luton Are Planning Mass-casualty Attacks In Britain
From the London Telegraph: The document, which was drawn up by the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence, MI5 and Special Branch, states that "some thousands" of extremists are active in the UK. They are predominantly UK-born and aged between...
- 9/11 - Never Forget? It's Impossible
The other evening, I was sitting in a park with my daughter, and suddenly a fighter jet came roaring over our heads. It had been scrambled to fly a mission above Disneyland. I watched as it circled several times. This was a regular occurrence in the couple...
Green Energy
"Converts take on larger roles in militant Islam"
That's the title of a story from the Washington Post, via MSNBC:
Converts are prized by radical Islamic groups because they can usually operate freely in Europe, Asia and North America without arousing the suspicion of police. They are also often eager to accept dangerous assignments as a way to prove their devotion, experts said.Continued at Mystery Achievement.
"What is new is that with al Qaeda, converts are now considered full members," said Olivier Roy, research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research and an authority on Islamic radicalism. "For al Qaeda, converts are not just tools to get past security. It's a way for them to become a global movement. In just about every al Qaeda cell over the past eight years, we have seen converts. It's structural, not just accidental."
Many converts have become trusted operatives at the highest levels of al Qaeda. Christian Ganczarski, a Polish-born German who trained in Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden, was arrested in Paris in June 2003. Investigators said he was in direct contact with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, organizer of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, and helped plan at least two attacks in Africa.
Dhiren Barot, a British citizen and alleged ringleader of a scheme uncovered in 2004 to attack financial targets in New York and Washington with weapons of mass destruction, was born to Hindu parents but converted to Islam at age 20. U.S. investigators say Barot took orders from Abu Feraj Libi, a high-ranking al Qaeda planner captured in Pakistan last year.
Other converts who allegedly reported to the top tier of al Qaeda include Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen, and Binyam Mohammed, an Ethiopian-born resident of London, both of whom are accused by Pentagon officials of planning "dirty bomb" attacks and other plots against the United States. Richard Reid, convicted of trying to blow up an American Airlines jet in December 2001 with explosives stuffed in his shoes, is another convert who was assigned his mission by top al Qaeda leaders.
Converts are still commonly recruited as foot soldiers as well. On Nov. 9, Muriel Degauque, a 38-year-old Belgian and former Catholic, achieved the distinction of becoming the first female Muslim suicide bomber from Europe when she attacked a U.S. patrol in Iraq, wounding one soldier and killing herself, according to Belgian officials.
- Osama Bin Laden On The Move?
From the Asia Times (hat tip to Weasel Zippers): ISLAMABAD - After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following...
- Shukrijumah New Head Of Al Qaeda Says Fbi
"Jafar the Pilot" just got kicked upstairs. According to the FBI, Adnan Shukrijumah, 35, has taken over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's old job as Al Qaeda chief of global operations, FOX News is reporting. Probably the best go-to for background on Shukrijumah...
- Four Homegrown Converts To Islam Arrested For Plotting Synagogue Bombing
UPDATE: Pastorius cutting in here. Gateway Pundit has the title of the day on this story: Feds Bust 4 in "Domestic Contingency Operation" --Were Planning Massive "Man-Caused Disaster" Yes, they were all homegrown, and converted in prison (Hat tip: Weekly...
- Secret Enclaves Of Al-qaeda Extremists Based In London, Birmingham And Luton Are Planning Mass-casualty Attacks In Britain
From the London Telegraph: The document, which was drawn up by the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence, MI5 and Special Branch, states that "some thousands" of extremists are active in the UK. They are predominantly UK-born and aged between...
- 9/11 - Never Forget? It's Impossible
The other evening, I was sitting in a park with my daughter, and suddenly a fighter jet came roaring over our heads. It had been scrambled to fly a mission above Disneyland. I watched as it circled several times. This was a regular occurrence in the couple...