A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted three Ohio men for their role in assisting terrorism on U.S. targets overseas, specifically American military personnel and their allies in Iraq.While it's good that the terrorists three were captured before they could do any harm overseas, it's also fortunate that they were captured before they could do harm within even the United States. An important point to make here that the media may have obscured: there is every possibility that they could have tried to attack US army personnel even within the United States, at military bases in Ohio or other parts of the US.
The indictment said the men plotted to kill U.S. and coalition military personnel in Iraq and other countries. On at least two separate occasions, among other charges, at least one of the men verbally threatened to kill or inflict bodily harm on President Bush, the indictment says.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the five-count indictment during a press conference Tuesday.
"These defendants have been living in the United States, where they have been engaging in weapons training and seeking help in order to kill people abroad, including our troops," Gonzales said.
"Individuals who aid terrorists within our borders threaten the safety of all Americans," he continued. "We are committed to protecting Americans, here and overseas, particularly the brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces who are serving our country and striving valiantly to preserve democracy and the rule of law in Iraq."
The men named in the indictment are: Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 26, who was a citizen of Jordan and the United States who lived in Toledo until August 2005; Marwan Othman El-Hindi, a 42-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Amman, Jordan who lives in Toledo; and Wassim Mazloum, a 24-year-old legal U.S. resident who operated a car business with his brother in Toledo after entering the United States from Lebanon.