The Whole Truth Comes Out About the San Bernardino Jihadis

Hey, it would have taken the American media about 9 months to reveal the truth about the jihadis who shot up San Bernardino.  Luckily, we have real journalists in this country who seek the truth. 

Like The Long War Journal.

San Bernardino terrorists allegedly studied AQAP’s Inspire magazine, pledged allegiance to Baghdadi

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it has brought charges against Enrique Marquez Jr., “a longtime friend of Syed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in the San Bernardino, California” terrorist attack.

Marquez was charged “with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists based upon his role in terrorist plotting with Farook in 2011 and 2012, the unlawful purchase of the two assault rifles used in the deadly shooting two weeks ago and defrauding immigration authorities by entering into a sham marriage with a member of Farook’s family.”

Marquez has not been charged with playing any direct role in the Dec. 2 massacre at the Inland Regional Center, where 14 people were killed and more than 20 others injured.

The most interesting details in the DOJ’s announcement concern the evolution of the San Bernardino terrorist’s jihadist beliefs.

According to the DOJ, Farook was initially influenced by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)’s Inspire magazine and the teachings of Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2011. But on the day of the attack, Farook and his wife, Tafsheen Malik, apparently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State’s Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on social media.

AQAP remains loyal to Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s overall leader, and is opposed to the Islamic State’s self-declared “caliphate.” Yet, it appears that both organizations played a role in wooing the couple to the jihadist ideology. The Islamic State’s stunning successes in 2014, when the organization captured large swaths of Iraq, may have captured their attention. Many jihadist recruits began to support Baghdadi’s group, because of its battlefield gains and claim to rule as a legitimate Islamic authority.

Farook “introduced Marquez to radical Islamic ideology” after helping Marquez convert to Islam, according to DOJ. Farook expressed his “disdain towards Muslims” in the US military “who killed other Muslims,” and discussed “the extremist views of the now-deceased imam and Islamic lecturer Anwar al [Awlaki].”

Awlaki encouraged Muslims in the US military to attack their fellow soldiers, citing their participation in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Awlaki portrayed US forces as the aggressor, saying American soldiers were killing Muslims and it was the duty of any Muslim in the US or elsewhere to retaliate. In reality, al Qaeda and its branch in Iraq at the time were responsible for significant Muslim casualties.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded 32 more during a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas in Nov. 2009, is the most infamous of Awlaki’s disciples. Hasan believed, as Awlaki advocated, that his fellow soldiers should be punished for participating in the 9/11 wars overseas.

After introducing Marquez to Islam, according to the DOJ, Farook “provided Marquez with radical Islamic materials.” By 2011, “Marquez spent most of his time at Farook’s residence listening to lectures and watching videos involving radical Islamic content.” The jihadist propaganda they shared included AQAP’s Inspire Magazine, which has consistently encouraged attacks by individual jihadists with no formal connections to terrorist groups, and “videos produced by” Shabaab.

Both AQAP and Shabaab are official regional branches of al Qaeda’s international organization.

In August 2011, “Farook informed Marquez of his interest in joining AQAP in Yemen.” Later that same year, the pair allegedly began to plot terrorist attacks using pipe bombs and other weapons. They considered targeting the “library or cafeteria at Riverside Community College (RCC), where both men had been students” and vehicles on a highway.

They plotted into 2012, but decided not to act. However, forensic testing has confirmed that “two rifles” Marquez purchased for Farook during this period “were used in the attack” on the Inland Regional Center.

Farook and Malik built improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to use in their terrorist attacks. Investigators found that Marquez purchased a “smokeless powder” in 2011 and he has “allegedly stated” to authorities that it was to be used in an “explosive device.” A search of Farook’s residence “led to the discovery” of this same “smokeless powder.”

In interviews with authorities, Marquez “described his familiarity with the use of remote-control devices to detonate IEDs, and said he and Farook reviewed instructions on how to make IEDs that were in Inspire Magazine.” A remote-controlled IED, described as a “pipe bomb constructed out of three galvanized steel pipes and smokeless powder that was armed and ready to detonate,” was discovered in the Inland Regional Center. And a “remote control was found in the sports utility vehicle” used by Farook and Malik as well.

Investigators found that on “the morning of the shooting, a Facebook account associated with Malik searched for materials related to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).”

Not long after the shooting, a “post on a Facebook page associated with Malik” contained the following oath: “We pledge allegiance to Khalifa bu bkr al bhaghdadi al quraishi.”

The US government has determined that this was an oath of allegiance to Baghdadi, who is often addressed as Khalifa Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Quraishi.

The Islamic State encourages its followers to swear allegiance to Baghdadi before dying, because his “caliphate” is supposedly the only legitimate Islamic authority in the world today. The jihadists argue that if a Muslim dies in a state of “disobedience,” then the fires of hell await. The Islamic State has made this argument repeatedly in its English-language Dabiq magazine, which is very similar to AQAP’s Inspire. [See LWJ report, Why the Islamic State tells supporters to swear allegiance before dying.]

Therefore, the San Bernardino terrorists’ oath of fealty to Baghdadi is consistent with what the Islamic State tells its supporters to do.

Why the Islamic State tells supporters to swear allegiance before dying

While the liberal Main Stream Media leads the American people out in the weeds in regards to the Islamic terror attack in San Bernardino, sites like The Long War Journal bring us the truth and the insight of what is real in this world.

Why the Islamic State tells supporters to swear allegiance before dying

The FBI announced today that the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif. were an “act of terrorism.” The FBI’s conclusion is undoubtedly based on multiple pieces of evidence, including what may turn out to be a key fact.

Tashfeen Malik, who has been identified as one of the two terrorists responsible for the massacre, reportedly swore allegiance to the head of the Islamic State during the first minutes of the attack. Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, killed 14 people and wounded more than 20 others.

According to multiple reports, Malik swore her fealty to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on social media. US officials have told CNN, The New York Times, and NPR that Malik pledged bay’ah (oath of allegiance) to Baghdadi and his self-declared “caliphate” before she and her husband were even finished terrorizing the Californian city.

The Associated Press interviewed an executive at Facebook who said that Malik “posted the material under an alias account at 11 a.m. Wednesday,” just minutes after the shooting spree began. Facebook discovered the account, took it down and then reported its findings to law enforcement officials.

Assuming that Malik did swear allegiance to Baghdadi as has been reported, her behavior is entirely consistent with what the Islamic State’s propagandists tell believers to do.

For example, the 12th issue of the Islamic State’s English-language magazine Dabiq, which was titled “Just Terror,” specifically told any would-be follower to “record his will, renew his bay’ah [oath of allegiance], carry the Khilafah banner, and strike the crusaders and their pagan and apostate allies wherever he can find them, even if he is alone.”

This passage is addressed to “every such muwahhid [Muslim who emphasizes the unity of Allah] barred from hijrah” — that is, every believer who cannot make his or her way to the lands of the “caliphate.” The Islamic State says that each individual should “purify himself of the branches of lesser hypocrisy that hold him back from performing jihad in his location.”

Therefore, not only does the Islamic State encourage supporters to carry out attacks in their home countries (a common motif), but also wants them to document their allegiance to the “caliphate.”

Baghdadi and his men claim to be the only rightful rulers throughout the entire Muslim-majority world. As such, they demand that all real believers submit to them and be obedient.

Indeed, the necessity of obedience and the pitfalls of disobedience are another prominent theme in the 12th issue of Dabiq.

One article in Dabiq, entitled “Advice to the Mujahidin: Listen and Obey,” was previously published in a magazine compiled by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has rejected Baghdadi’s “caliphate.” (The Islamic State notes that the article was written “before” AQAP became “the partisan Yemeni branch,” meaning before AQAP publicly rebuked Baghdadi and his loyalists.)

“The first piece of advice — following my advice to fear Allah and be mindful of Him — is to listen to and obey those whom Allah has given authority over the affairs of the mujahidin,” the author advised.

The AQAP ideologue continued by warning that “[t]here are many instances where a group of brothers were taken captive or arrested because one of them disobeyed the security precautions they were instructed with by the emir [leader].” It is “obligatory on you, my noble brother, to harshly denounce anyone who disobeys the leader, and to assist your leader and your brothers in preventing any disobedience and mistake that the Ummah [worldwide community of Muslims] and the mujahidin would pay the price for,” he argued.

The Islamic State’s decision to republish al Qaeda’s material is ironic. Baghdadi was once the loyal follower of Osama bin Laden and then Ayman al Zawahiri. But the man who wants to be known as “Caliph Ibrahim,” and urges obedience, broke his bay’ah to al Qaeda’s senior leadership as he built his own jihadist entity.

Regardless, the Islamic State emphasizes the necessity of obedience and warns that disobedience is a sure path to the fires of hell. A graphic (seen on the right) included in Dabiq’s 12th edition cites Islamic texts to make this point. A Muslim must either join the state or nation of believers by swearing bay’ah to the leader, or die in a state of ignorance.

“Whoever withdraws his hand from obedience will meet Allah on Resurrection Day without having any excuse,” one saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammed, and reproduced in Dabiq, reads. “And whoever dies without having a bay’ah binding him, dies a death of jahiliyyah [state of ignorance].”

The precise details of Malik’s post on Facebook have not yet been confirmed. But if she or her husband swore allegiance to Baghdadi it wouldn’t be the first time that an Islamic State supporter has obeyed the group’s commands in this regard. Amedy Coulibaly, who attacked a Jewish market in Paris in January 2015, swore allegiance to Baghdadi in a video shortly beforehand. And Elton Simpson, who attempted to open fire at an event in Texas dedicated to drawing the Prophet Mohammed, posted his fealty to the “Emir of the Faithful” (a title reserved for the Caliph) on Twitter shortly before he was gunned down.

In Iraq and Syria, fighters often record their last will and bay’ah to Baghdadi before carrying out a suicide operation. This is a common practice worldwide.

In addition to its ideological justifications, the Islamic State has practical reasons for urging supporters to announce their oath of allegiance to the “caliphate.” It makes for good propaganda if the jihadists are successful.

How American Muslims Radicalize

Finally, even more light is being shown on the radicalization of America's Muslims.

The story comes from The Clarion Project.

How American Muslims Radicalize


Now that another plot has been executed rather than foiled, there is finally overdue focus on the imams who foment resentment and alienation.


If radicalized means self-segregated, embittered, and angry enough to be ambivalent about the mentorship of jihadists, then America needs to pay close attention to neighborhood Islamic centers.

There is a nexus between disaffected Muslims and those who graduate to violence, and two studies point to the American mosque. Now that another plot has been executed rather than foiled, there is finally overdue focus on the imams who foment resentment and alienation.

We have allowed mosques to serve as citadels, cutting Muslims off from the democratic society outside. When Muslim marriages are arranged, then officiated and filed within the mosque; when large and small contract disputes are adjudicated by a sheikh; when marriages are ended and custody determined by the imam, and financial disagreements assessed by mosque officials, observant Muslims might as well be living anywhere.

Certainly, the conditions for those that live under tight mosque control do not reflect anything that resembles America.

Constitutional rights and due process protections do not penetrate many sharia-observant mosque domains. After speaking with several Muslim individuals seeking to reassert constitutional rights after summary judgments were rendered, it is apparent that what purports to be Islamic arbitration is really more akin to kindergarten sandlot refereeing. The documents reveal that there was no semblance of legal process expected in arbitration proceedings, no conflict of interest disclosures, and no provision for structural fairness rules.

Even Muslim legal scholar M. Ali Sadiqi, writing for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, noted that Muslims would have difficulty bringing internal arbitration standards into conformity with American legal principles, since under sharia inheritance rules women are entitled to only one quarter of the estate — and one eighth if there are children.

In Germany, law enforcement authorities now see the Islamic courts as a competitive “shadow justice system,” and complain that sharia-styled tribunals interfere with the government’s duty to administer both civil and criminal justice.

In Britain, Baroness Cox has been working tirelessly for years to see British law reinstated and sharia jurisdiction reversed. During hearings on her bill, now called the Arbitration and Mediation Services Equality Bill, Baroness Donaghy (Labour Party) called the presumed acquiescence of women to unequal and often cruel treatment as “consensual as rape.” A Muslim woman told Baroness Cox:

I feel betrayed by Britain, I came to this country to get away from all this but the situation is worse here than in my country of origin.

From Britain to the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, France, Germany, and America, it is possible for Muslims to experience no notable difference between life in the West and the conditions that they fled back in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and Iraq. The only mentionable difference: The generous social welfare programs offered in the Western cultures.

When I inquired of a local imam as to how he identified radicalization and whether he was concerned about it, he tellingly pivoted to accusations that the U.S. government does not do enough for immigrant Muslims.

In contrast, Western-oriented American Muslim Dr. Zuhdi Jasser called out clerics who urge adherents to “focus on their own victimization, patronizingly reminding the rest of America not to be ‘racists’ [or] ‘bigots.’”

The unquestionably radical nature of the Islamic Society of Boston mosque and its counterpart the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (called “small one” and “big one” by locals) illustrates the worst of Islamist subversion. Whether the Tsarnaev brothers attended to the degree that the mosque was a key part of their radicalization is unknown, but it could not have been a mitigating influence in their conversion to terrorism.

The pedigree of convicted terrorists that have emerged from IBS/IBSCC incubation, the close Muslim Brotherhood connections, the terror group ties, and the criminal convictions of leadership figures lead one to wonder how much more radical activism still seethes within this mosque community.

We also have examples of the poisonous rhetoric purveyed at these two mosques. In just one instance, invited imam Abdullah Farooq was videotaped saying that the Patriot Act “permits [government] to come to your door” and “to come anywhere they want and to come after you anytime.” He went on to urge action in the name of Allah against “oppressors,” by “grabbing on to gun and sword … to step out into this world and do your job.”

A 2004 lesson (active link now disabled) that gave tips on disciplining a wife recommended hanging up a whip in plain sight as a deterrent, but not advocating actual physical punishment unless she really needs it.

Sheikh Ahmed Mansour, an exile from Egypt, said that the ISB mosque “was controlled by fanatics.” He likened the atmosphere to the sharia extremism that he left behind: “I left Egypt to escape the Muslim Brotherhood, but I had found it [at ISB].” When Mansour told Fox News that fiery sermons can spur impressionable young men to violence, even if the speaker doesn’t explicitly advocate it, he was warning America that radicalization comes from the rhetoric that cleverly stops short of illegal incitement to imminent violence.

It is a safe bet that the ISB mosque founders did not disclose to redevelopment planners the intent to establish a hotbed of extremism when they negotiated a government grant of the land at more than a 50% discount to recorded value (Saudi sponsors donated at least $1 million to the project).

Yet by 2010 this extraordinary generosity was completely forgotten when an ungrateful ISB and political relations sponsor, the Muslim American Society, presented Governor Deval Patrick with a manifesto declaring that Muslims are a “victimized and besieged minority.” As the governor assented to the seven-point statement he also accepted $50,000 seed money for select law enforcement Islamic sensitivity training.

The isolation and alienation of the Muslim community is by design. Muslim mosque-goers are often ambivalent as to the outcome of the culture clash, and they certainly share responsibility for the outcome. However, there isn’t time to wait for them to overcome clerical, familial, tribal, and other coercive controls.

Local governments have also played a disappointing role. Planning and advisory bodies are stymied by religious land use law constraints and concerns about Department of Justice intervention on behalf of Muslim groups.

Yet rather than use the conditional use permit process to introduce the mosque-building plan to the community in phases while assessing the conformity of the actual use to promises made during the application phase, some local officials instead have rolled out the red carpet by assenting to variances and exceptions that are not offered to other religious organizations.

Also, it is important that everyday citizens step into the role of radicalization monitors. Mosque-building permit and expansion hearings are an opportunity to calmly and factually cite the cases where Islamic clerics have promised to bring positive diversity and social support to the community but have instead delivered conflict, hostility, and an apartheid-like existence for the mosque-goers.

It is not unreasonable for residents to notify mosque organizers during permit hearings that the community will hold Islamic leadership accountable to the pledges of good citizenship. Imams will often agree at such hearings to the idea of opening the mosque for public relations purposes. Community leaders should agree and schedule dates. This is a good time to evaluate speakers hosted by the mosque and to discuss literature available for distribution.

Local pastors also have an interest in knowing mosque leadership’s position on the Islamist persecution of Christians and Jews worldwide. This is not a time for platitudes, but for direct repudiation of conduct that conflicts with both constitutional standards and American ideals.

As former Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a recent interview, we battle a toxic cocktail of religion, politics, ethnicity, and tribalism. We cannot afford to be squeamish about declaring that our communities are no-go zones for fomenting explosive radicalism.

Obama’s National Security Fraud

From Family Security Matters.

Obama’s National Security Fraud


Unlike you, federal government officials are immune from charges of fraud. The executive branch, vested with all of the government's prosecutorial authority and discretion, is not going to investigate its own operatives for carrying out its own mendacious policies.

That is the story of last week's Boston Marathon bombing and the frantic efforts of the bombers, the brothers Tsarnaev, to evade capture, shoot it out with police (one of whom they killed, and another of whom they wounded), and - we're now told - detonate more bombs in Times Square.

The Times Square non-attack is quite interesting. The specter of it, projected in the immediate wake of the Marathon murders and maimings, is horrific . . . so horrific that the government, in leaking this tidbit from its botched interrogation of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, knew that news media were certain to lead their broadcasts with it. The press would never wonder why they, and thus we, were being told about it.

But why were they told? Remember, the Times Square bombing not only never happened, it never came close to happening. It was, at most, a passing jihadist fantasy, one that the jihadists in question peremptorily dismissed as implausible. The threat was no more real than those that regularly stream out of Islamic-supremacist mosques and, just as regularly, go studiously unreported.

Mind you, there is nothing inappropriate about government officials' speaking about matters on the public record - such as the allegations lodged in criminal complaints. But the Times Square non-attack is not mentioned in the complaint filed against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In fact, the complaint includes no information from Tsarnaev's interrogation.

Yet somehow the airwaves are now full of startling revelations from his Miranda-aborted 16-hour post-arrest interview, including not least his confession, and, of course, his assurance, as Allah is his witness, that no one other than he and his Svengali older brother - and certainly no foreign Islamic terrorist organization - had anything to do with their terror spree.

Strange, isn't it? We are governed by leftists given to finger-wagging about their commitment to due process and the rule of law - they're not like those bad old warmongering Bushies. Still, here we are in the post-arrest phase of the civilian prosecution the administration was hell-bent on commencing - the phase when due process obliges government officials to remain mum about non-public investigative information that could taint the jury pool and undermine the defendant's right to a fair trial - and we're being inundated with stunning confession evidence.

Remember, this is the same crowd that labels the Fort Hood massacre "workplace violence" and won't honor its victims with Purple Heart medals. To do so, they sniff, might prejudice the objectivity of the trial of a jihadist mass murderer who has publicly announced he'd like to plead guilty. Now, though, in Tsarnaev's case, government agencies are leaking like sieves.

Why?

Because you are being softened up. Steered by its Gitmo Bar veterans and Lawyer Left compass, the Obama administration is executing a massive national-security fraud: the farce that the jihad against America can be judicialized, that civilian-court processes are a better answer to enemy warfare than are combat protocols.

That is why Eric Holder's Justice Department, together with the FBI, darted into federal court in Boston last Sunday evening to file the complaint against Tsarnaev. Obama was determined to end the public debate over whether the jihadist is a wartime enemy combatant or a mere criminal defendant. As in the case of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and al-Qaeda's alleged "consigliere," who was whisked into the country and into civilian court before anyone even realized he'd been captured, the administration calculated that a fait accompli is the best way to impose the president's deeply unpopular preferences.

So now, the next necessary deception in the campaign is to convince you that - all together now - "the system worked." In reality, the civilian justice system did not work, and that is because it cannot work - not if the objective is the swift acquisition of vital national-defense information.

It could not be more obvious to an objective, rational person that if the aim is intelligence collection, it is far better to interrogate a terrorist without limitations on time and subject matter, without the interference of a defense lawyer, and without empowering the detainee by giving him plea-bargaining leverage to trade for information. The Obama administration, however, is telling you, with a straight face, that the imposition of civilian due process will produce intelligence just as effectively, if not better.

Most people, of course, realize that this is impossible if Miranda warnings must be given. So the administration rolls out canard No. 1: the "public-safety exception." The public is led to believe that this exception means agents have at least 48 hours of freewheeling interrogation before Miranda kicks in and the terrorist clams up (upon lawyering up). This is brazenly false.

The public-safety exception is an exceedingly limited end-around. It applies only when arrest is accompanied by an immediate threat to public safety. It is not designed to provide the government with an information-gathering advantage against the arrestee. It is narrowly tailored to address the threat that triggers the exception.

There is no 48 hours. The exception ends when the threat ends - which, in the view of most courts, happens as soon as the detainee is rendered defenseless. This usually amounts to something closer to 48 seconds than to 48 hours. Moreover, the exception is not a license to do an extensive intelligence debriefing; the pre-Miranda questioning must be tailored to the threat - along the lines of, "Where is the gun?" or "Where are the unexploded bombs?" The public-safety exception does not cover "Where did your brother get terrorist training in Dagestan?"

For intelligence purposes, the public-safety exception to Miranda does not come close to putting arrest in the civilian-justice system on par with enemy-combatant detention. The administration rightly figures the public does not know this, but to anyone with a passing acquaintance with the relevant law, the suggestion that the two paths are comparable is insulting.

Thus canard No. 2: The judge did it. The administration and its accomplices on Capitol Hill have spread the story that the Tsarnaev interrogation was going just swimmingly when, to the shock of everyone, a magistrate judge barged into the hospital room and Mirandized the terrorist, abruptly ending the hugely successful intelligence effort. This, too, is utter nonsense.

As the Justice Department well knows, the filing of the criminal complaint is the action that vested the federal court with jurisdiction to act. The moment the complaint was filed, everyone involved in that decision knew that the rules of criminal procedure mandated a prompt "presentment" hearing before a magistrate judge, who would be required by statute to advise Tsarnaev of his rights to counsel and to stop speaking with government agents. Indeed, it is customary that the Justice Department prosecutors on the case orchestrate these proceedings as soon as they file the complaint. They make sure a defense lawyer is assigned by the court, schedule a hearing time with the magistrate judge, and arrange for a court reporter and, if necessary, an interpreter.

The whole point of the presentment is to get the arrested person out of the government's clutches and into the Bill of Rights' carapace. Moreover, when an arrestee is incapacitated, as Tsarnaev was, it is unexceptional to convene the presentment at a hospital - and the magistrate judge and defense lawyer cannot get into the location where the detainee is held under heavy security unless the Justice Department arranges for that to happen.

It was not the magistrate judge who decided Tsarnaev should be Mirandized. It was President Obama and Attorney General Holder.

That being the case, we are now witnessing canard No. 3: There may have been a few bumps in the road, but we learned everything we needed to know in the Tsarnaev interrogation.

Ridiculous. A competent intelligence debriefing involves weeks, if not months, of questioning. That's because its aim is to develop a complete threat mosaic and arrange our defenses accordingly. By contrast, a post-arrest interrogation by law enforcement is designed to obtain a confession for use at trial. It is not an intelligence-gathering exercise, which is why its purposes can be served by 16 hours of questioning - and often a lot less.

An intelligence debriefing means following the leads uncovered in the questioning of the detainee, then repeatedly coming back to the detainee for clarification and additional insight as new information is discovered. That is not something that can or should be permitted in the case of a criminal defendant presumed innocent; it is for the extraordinary case of a wartime enemy operative who is part of the forces waging jihad against our country.

Obama and the Lawyer Left know this. Anyone who took a few minutes to think about it would know it. But in their twisted conceit that the threat to our nation results not from the enemy's ideology but from American aggression, they have convinced themselves that American aggression (what the rest of us call national defense) must be hamstrung by civilian due process - that war can be reduced to crime, even if the enemy declines to play by the rules.

So in the effort to tame you into believing civilian due process has proved wildly successful in the Marathon bombing investigation, just as Obama and Holder promised it would, the government is now strategically leaking interrogation details.

Sure it may look like the investigation was a tragicomedy of errors in which our $100 billion national-security edifice, despite investigating Tamerlan Tsarnaev for a year and a half before the bombing, had to ask the public's help in identifying a picture of him. But look: We stopped a spectacular bombing at Times Square! And sure, there's a lot of innuendo about Islam and overseas "extremists," but after 16 hours of penetrating scrutiny we've figured out that this was just wanton "homegrown" violence committed by a couple of confused kids - the sort of thing that is bound to happen if we don't crack down on gun ownership and Islamophobia.

The fraud is on. Will we keep falling for it?

The Making of a Jihadist....In Nashville, Tennessee

Even though the main stream media did its best to ignore it, many of us remember the cold blooded murder of Pvt. Andy Long outside of an Army recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Pvt. Long was gunned down by a Muslim jihadist.  This story, from Family Security Matters, details just how an American named Carlos Bledsoe became a murderer for Mohammed.

New Film Exposes Nashville Islamist Network


On June 1, 2009, William "Andy" Long was murdered at an Army recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas by an Islamist terrorist named Carlos Bledsoe. In a new, heart-wrenching and jaw-dropping film titled Losing Our Sons by Americans for Peace and Tolerance, you see the real story of how this happened. The bottom line is this: The Islamists are operating in our midst, we're refusing to recognize it, radicalization is no accident and any family can be victimized by it.

The process of Islamist radicalization unfolds before the viewer as the story is told through the eyes of Melvin Beldsoe and Daris Long, the father of the Islamist terrorist and the father of his victim, making the film a powerful emotional journey. Both of them lost their sons at the exact same moment, they explain. The attack wasn't the result of statistics. Beldsoe wasn't the inevitable "bad apple" in a large group. This was the fruition of a jihadist process that continues in Nashville and around the world today.

Beldsoe was exposed to radical Islam at Tennessee State University. The school allowed an organization called the Olive Tree Education to host lectures about Islam on campus. The organization's website promoted sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki and its leader teaches that Muslims must oppose "progressive Islam" that believes Islam isn't a "state matter." Muslims are not allowed to have opinions and must form a "reaction to Westernization" that involves implementing Sharia Law. In one clip, the leader is asked whether homosexuality is punishable by death under Islam. He replies in the affirmative.

Bledsoe began going to the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN). He began following the medieval rules of Sharia Law in his own life, viewing them as applicable to today. He was a dog-lover but abandoned his dog in the woods. He loved hip-hop but stopped listening to it. He took down his picture of Martin Luther King, lest Allah view that as a sign of idolatry.

It's easy to see why that happened when you see the clips of the ICM's imam in the film. He preaches that the U.S. is the "worst country on earth," that "the greatest lie of all time" is that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, that Jews believe everyone was solely created to serve them and that Islamic prophecy about a "mass battle and war against the Jews" is coming to pass. The mosque's library has pro-jihad hate literature funded by the Saudis.

He also attended the Al-Farooq Mosque. Its leadership preached similar extremism to its congregation consisting of mostly Somali refugees. In 2009, I broke a story about counter-terrorism expert Dave Gaubatz's research into child abuse at the mosque. The former imam of the mosque is the one who provided the required recommendation for Bledsoe to go to Yemen where he was further radicalized and joined Al-Qaeda.

Over 40 Muslim-Americans, almost entirely Somalis, have been recruited by Al-Qaeda. In places like Shelbyville, T.N., where there is a large Somali refugee population, there is tremendous resistance to assimilation. A former CIA case officer's study of terrorist profiles found that exclusion from society is one of the largest factors in Islamist radicalization. Bledsoe likewise became reclusive and rejected Western society. The film takes aim at the State Department's $1 billion refugee program and granting of visas to visiting extremist clergy as facilitating the problem.

One part of the film that will enrage viewers is when it shows how government officials are refusing to recognize the Islamist ideology as the problem. The two fathers were excited to speak at Rep. Peter King's hearings on Islamic radicalization but were condescendingly talked to by several members of Congress. Bledsoe, frustrated with the political correctness in dealing with the Islamist issue, says, "We're worried about stepping on their toes and they are worried about stamping us out."

The part of the film that made me shake my head in bewilderment was about how interfaith leaders are embracing the Islamist networks in the Nashville area. One rabbi stood with them against a counter-terrorism law and said Muslim-Americans are in the same position now as Jewish-Germans were when Hitler first came to power.

Shockingly, an interfaith group including a Jewish Federation official attended a speech by the imam of ICN where he legitimized attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq. He said that "If people fight you, you have to fight back" and "defending your country is taken as jihad." This same imam advises the Tennessee Department of Homeland Security and frequently speaks at churches and synagogues.

In 2010, these same Islamist leaders started the Islamic Center of Tennessee, referred to as a "mega-mosque" in the film. Audio is played of its imam preaching, "He [Allah] told us to fight the Jews and Christians" and "If true Islam...does not rule, there will never be justice."

Doris Long wants the Army to grant his son a Purple Heart, but his quest and that of Melvin Bledsoe is bigger than that. "I can't bury my son" until America wakes up, Long says. Bledsoe likewise feels that his son has been taken away from him. No loving and proud father can ever find closure after losing his son, especially when it comes about in this way. But hopefully this film and its viewers' reaction to it will bring them one step closer.

The U.S. Military Is In the Jihadis' Bull's-Eye

Most of us have still not recovered from the islamic terror attack on Fort Hood and more than likely never will. And even though the Obama administration has done its best to minimize that horrendous attack and try to remove islam from it, the fact of the matter is that islamic jihadis have our military in their sights - both abroad and here at home.

This article from Family Security Matters discusses the threat and the risks. The main thing holding back a true defense of our military as targets is this refusal by the top leadership to even identify the threat - I cannot tell you how damn sick and tired I am of politicians and Obama administration officials telling me that islam has nothing to do with attacks like Fort Hood or Times Square or the recruiting office slaughter in Arkansas. Only when America wakes up and throws Obama out on his ear and tells him...."we threw you out because you didn't fight our enemy" will this get any better.

U.S. Military in the Jihadi Bull's-Eye


The 7 December hearing focused on military communities in the United States (U.S.), which Peter T. King described as the most sought-after target for Islamic terrorism. King’s Homeland Security Committee report, “Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities Inside The United States,” was issued the same day. It documents the startling surge in Islamic plots and strikes against military targets since 2009, which included the June 2009 attack at an Army recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas and the November 2009 attack by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan at Ft. Hood, Texas.

More than 30 other threats and plots against U.S. military communities since 9/11 have put service members in the Islamic jihadist bull’s-eye, not just at dangerous posts overseas, but “inside the wire,” at home. Those communities are exceptionally vulnerable because of the Department of Defense’s refusal to define or defend against the enemy threat doctrine of shariah Islam—a doctrine that makes jihad obligatory for all Muslims.

As King’s hearings and the Committee report both point out, Islamic jihadis of unknown numbers are penetrating our defenses by enlisting in the U.S. Armed Forces. Many of them have been inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born al-Qa’eda operative who was killed in Yemen in September 2011. Although he is no longer writing for Inspire, al-Qa’eda’s (now-defunct) slick English language online magazine, al-Awlaki’s many sermons recorded on DVD and available at myriad jihadi websites continue to urge individual Muslims to put their faith into practice through individual jihad (or fard ‘ayn).

Under Islamic law (shariah), Fard ‘ayn is obligatory for all Muslims everywhere in the world whenever non-Muslim (infidel) soldiers are present on Muslim land. Ordinarily, in times when the Muslim world was governed by a Caliph at the head of a Caliphate (Islamic empire), shariah required that Caliph to lead a minimum of one offensive jihad foray per year against neighboring infidel lands. But since the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, the Islamic world has been without a Caliph or Caliphate to organize these obligatory raids. In this situation, and with American troops present in so many Muslim lands, Islamic law is clear: the usual collective responsibility (or fard kifayah) to conduct jihad (which relieves every single individual of the duty) devolves to the individual Muslim.

And that is the duty that Muslim authorities have been describing and urging on those faithful to shariah Islam, especially in recent years. Clearly, as news reports document, there has been an increase in cases of individual jihadist plots—including attempts in Times Square, at a Portland, Oregon Christmas celebration, and in the skies over Detroit, Michigan—that target American civilians, too. But jihadist infiltration of U.S. military ranks betrays a trust in an especially insidious way, both by penetrating the defensive bulwark that used to hold civilians safe from the barbarians outside the gate and also by destroying the code of camaraderie that binds the troops together. Now the enemy is “inside the wire” and threatening the homeland from within.

Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who gunned down thirteen people at the Ft. Hood Army Readiness Processing Center on 5 November 2009, offers a good case study of a Muslim officer, who although American born and raised, still identified himself first and foremost as a Muslim, not as an American. Hasan was within weeks of a scheduled deployment to Afghanistan on that tragic day, a prospect that seems to have triggered his murderous rampage.

But this first-generation son of Palestinian immigrants from Jordan had given explicit warning of his jihadist identity years before he opened fire on his fellow troops while screaming “Allahu Akbar” at the top of his lungs. Even as he was promoted through the ranks of the Army’s medical training program, Hasan not only received poor marks, but was trying to proselytize patients to his Muslim beliefs, handing out business cards marked with “SOA” (Soldier of Allah), and maintaining a long-term relationship with al-Awlaki, whom Hasan first met at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia.

Even though both his Army military superiors and the FBI were aware of Hasan’s jihadist behavior, no one in the chain of command would take the professional career risk of challenging him or demanding an explanation for his threatening behavior. Not even when, in 2007, Hasan delivered a Power Point presentation to his classmates entitled, The Koranic World View as it Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military. Had anyone in that or subsequent Department of Defense (DoD) audiences understood the enemy’s Islamic doctrine, as their Constitutional oath of service requires, alarm bells would have gone off right then and there. Hasan’s presentation, in fact, gave a factually accurate explanation of the Islamic injunction against a Muslim killing fellow Muslims without right, the doctrine of abrogation, the imperative of submission in Islam, the rewards promised to jihadis (and especially those who commit suicide in order to kill infidels), and the definitions of “defensive” and “offensive” jihad. His final Recommendations slide was chillingly prescient: it read, “Department of Defense should allow Muslim soldiers the option of being released as “Conscientious objectors” to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events.” [Emphasis added.]

Gen. George C. Casey, Army Chief of Staff, exemplified the incompetence that currently characterizes U.S. military and national security leadership with regard to the Islamic enemy when he dismissed Hasan’s jihadist massacre as less important than “diversity” in the military, saying “Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.” The August 2010 DoD report on the Ft. Hood shootings likewise plumbed new depths of cowardice when it refused to even mention Hasan’s jihadist motivations and instead classified the attacks as, essentially, a kind of workplace violence.

The King hearings, by contrast, fearlessly took on Islamic jihadist penetration of the U.S. military and featured testimony from Daris Long, the father of slain Army Pvt. William Andrew Long, killed when Carlos Bledsoe (aka Abdulhakim Muhammad) opened fire outside a Little Rock, Arkansas recruiting office in June 2009. Long took the Obama administration to task for treating his son’s murder as a “drive-by shooting” and the Ft. Hood killings as merely “work-place violence.” At earlier appearances, Bledsoe’s father also has spoken movingly about losing his son to Islamic jihad, describing how he turned his back on the family’s cultural roots and traditional Baptist faith. He, too, blames official U.S. “political correctness” for failing to identify and root out those imams and mosques whose seditious preaching and jihadist literature lead young Americans astray right here at home.

Individual jihad is a Muslim duty. The only way that obligation can be lifted is if or when an Islamic Caliphate arises again to organize the ummah (Muslim community) in official raids against the infidel enemy. Given events sweeping the Middle East, the notion of a new Caliphate actually is not so far-fetched as U.S. national security or military leadership would portray. If Americans want to be warned of what’s to come next from the international Islamic Awakening, it will be more instructive by far to listen to the acknowledged leaders of the jihad movement: the Rachid Ghannouchis, Mustafa Abdul-Jalils, and Yousef al-Qaradawis, than to most American national leadership at the moment (Rep. Peter King and like-minded congressional colleagues excepted). At least these jihadis speak candidly about shariah Islam, a new Caliphate, and their intent to see them both ultimately in force in the United States of America.

Indiana Grandmother Who Converted To Islam Being Investiaged For Link To Terror

Home grown terror is alive and well in America, folks and the latest case of an American woman who converted to Islam and is now being linked to terroristic behavior shows just how widespread this phenomena is becoming.

From the story at Fox News:

A 46-year-old Indiana grandmother is under investigation for her possible ties to suspected and convicted international terrorists, FoxNews.com has learned.

Muslim-convert Kathie Smith, 46, a U.S. citizen living in Indianapolis who has blogged about her granddaughter, last year married a suspected German jihadist, and has been flying back and forth between the U.S. and Germany as recently as two weeks ago.

A pro-jihadist video featuring Smith and her husband – alongside photos of members of the Islamic Jihad Union charged with plotting failed terror attacks against U.S. targets in Germany -- is being investigated by the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center. The center is a counterterror intelligence clearinghouse staffed by law enforcement officers from local and federal agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

If you remember, back in March of this year, "Jihad Jane" was an American woman convert to Islam who was arrested on charges of terrorist threats against a man in Sweden. Again, we see your normal run-of-the-mill American woman who converts to Islam and within a very short time they are in the middle of terror activity.

Now, don't think this woman, Kathie Smith, is some fallgal for our terror officials, read what this piece of shit had to tell Fox News about all of this:

In lengthy e-mail exchanges with FoxNews.com, Smith alternatively defended her online postings, denied being anti-American, called the Sept. 11 attacks an inside job, the U.S. a terrorist organization and praised the American-born radical Muslim cleric Anwar al Awlaki -- architect, trainer and inspiration for many of the recent terrorist attacks attempted or committed against the U.S. President Obama last April approved Awlaki's inclusion on the CIA's targeted killing list.

In one e-mail to FoxNews.com, Smith wrote:

“If your neighbor was being attacked by a perpetrator, would you just stand there and say, 'Oh I will let someone come who has a gun to help them'? No, you would rush to their defense. And use any type of "weapon" to help that person... this is what I am doing. I am defending the defenseless. I am defending my home and family and their right to safety. No matter who it is at my door. These are the rights the Constitution gives me. The very right this Communistic government is trying to take away from me and the rest of the Americans.”

Now, I don't know how long this scumbag has been married to this Muslim terrorist, her husband but don't you find it fascinating that in such a short time after a conversion she is willing to sacrifice her American brothers and sisters to defend a bunch of Muslims over in Germany?

The fact of the matter is this - these Muslim terrorists are using these female American converts in their terror strategies - do I think this fool's husband married her because she was the woman of his dreams? Hell No! He married her because she would be a useful tool of jihad.

And if we don't see the epidemic proportions of these conversions soon and be alert to what is being done, we are going to find it nearly impossible to get a handle on any of this home grown terror.

(Hat Tip: bluesky)

Indiana Grandmother, a Muslim Convert, Being Investigated for Possible Terror Link


A 46-year-old Indiana grandmother is under investigation for her possible ties to suspected and convicted international terrorists, FoxNews.com has learned.

Muslim-convert Kathie Smith, 46, a U.S. citizen living in Indianapolis who has blogged about her granddaughter, last year married a suspected German jihadist, and has been flying back and forth between the U.S. and Germany as recently as two weeks ago.

A pro-jihadist video featuring Smith and her husband – alongside photos of members of the Islamic Jihad Union charged with plotting failed terror attacks against U.S. targets in Germany -- is being investigated by the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center. The center is a counterterror intelligence clearinghouse staffed by law enforcement officers from local and federal agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

“Certainly, it’s being looked at and evaluated by Indiana State Police, which runs Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center, ” Indiana Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Emily Norcross told FoxNews.com, adding that the video would be passed along to appropriate law enforcement for further investigation.

FBI spokeswoman Jenny Shearer said: “As you’re aware, FBI and DOJ policy precludes us from confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Washington office did not respond to a request for comment.

Interpol, which helps government law enforcement agencies track crime suspects around the world, declined to comment, citing policy.

The FBI also did not respond to an e-mail from FoxNews.com asking why Smith is not on the federal government’s no-fly list. Smith, meanwhile, said she believes her name is on some kind of government “watch list.”

In lengthy e-mail exchanges with FoxNews.com, Smith claimed that she has been repeatedly subjected to hours-long interrogations by Homeland Security every time she travels. She said her luggage has been subjected to bomb residue tests, and that officials asked her numerous detailed questions about her husband. She also claims DHS officials on more than one occasion escorted her onto a departing airplane.

DHS did not respond to FoxNews.com’s request for comment on Smith’s allegations.

Smith — who now calls herself Zubaida — added that she and her husband were met and interrogated by German police while in a taxi in October 2009.

German police, however, said they were not currently investigating an American woman, but declined to say whether they were aware of Smith.

In lengthy e-mail exchanges with FoxNews.com, Smith alternatively defended her online postings, denied being anti-American, called the Sept. 11 attacks an inside job, the U.S. a terrorist organization and praised the American-born radical Muslim cleric Anwar al Awlaki -- architect, trainer and inspiration for many of the recent terrorist attacks attempted or committed against the U.S. President Obama last April approved Awlaki's inclusion on the CIA's targeted killing list.

In one e-mail to FoxNews.com, Smith wrote:

“If your neighbor was being attacked by a perpetrator, would you just stand there and say, 'Oh I will let someone come who has a gun to help them'? No, you would rush to their defense. And use any type of "weapon" to help that person... this is what I am doing. I am defending the defenseless. I am defending my home and family and their right to safety. No matter who it is at my door. These are the rights the Constitution gives me. The very right this Communistic government is trying to take away from me and the rest of the Americans.”

In the nearly six-minute video under investigation, Smith and her husband, known online as Salahudin Ibn Ja'far, 28, appear posing and hugging and holding weapons interspersed with photos of known and suspected terrorists and assorted jihadist propaganda, like an Awlaki sermon album cover.

There also are photos of German Taliban Mujahideen -- German nationals who have formed their own splinter group within the Taliban -- and mug shots of members of the Saarland cell of Islamic Jihad Union charged with plotting failed terror attacks against U.S. targets in Germany, including a 2007 plot to bomb the U.S. Air Force base at Ramstein.

Smith said of the Ramstein plotters featured in her video:

“The so-called 'jihadists' you have mentioned are actually personal friends of my husband from childhood. In the video he was expressing his love and gratitude to his friends, who have died fighting for freedom. Just like any other American or European citizen who displays pictures of soldiers who have died on their videos. There is no difference in gratitude and love. It is just that your government has deemed these noble men as 'terrorists' because they are not on the same side. Least us not forget the Mujahideen who fought the Russians for the U.S. They were deemed 'heroes' and lead by Osama Bin Laden at that time, and now because the government says so... they are "terrorists.””

(In a no-longer-active Facebook profile, Smith's husband, Salahudin, listed his current city as Saarbrucken, the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany.)

In addition to being close childhood friends of convicted terrorists, Salahudin has posted content from the German Taliban’s media outfit and the Islamic Jihad Union on forums and social networking sites. He's also written in support of his “noble leaders” -- bin Laden, Awlaki, the Sept. 11 hijackers and other terrorist leaders.

Salahudin appeared to maintain forums devoted to hosting Awlaki’s sermons. Earlier this month he uploaded videos to his since-deleted YouTube account that included German muhajideen training at jihadist camps in Pakistan, and another featuring the widow of a German Taliban jihadist directing the wives of jihadists to fulfill their obligations while their husbands are off fighting.

In other English-language posts, he suggests he himself has trained in these same jihadist camps.

On Facebook, he is "friends" with the notorious Al Qaeda English-language online magazine Inspire, thought to be principally authored by American-turned-Muslim radical Samir Khan. Salahudin also has used his online posts to call for the deaths of U.S. citizens, military and government leaders, and recently joined in on another user’s thinly veiled threats against Condoleezza Rice, according to postings discovered by FoxNews.com and screen shots provided by the Jawa Report, a watchdog blog that has been following the online activities of Smith and her husband.

His Facebook "friends" make up a who’s who of terror groups, many of which his wife is also associated with online. He and Smith have been kicked off of Facebook repeatedly over the past month, but both continue to open up new accounts and remain on the social networking site today.

On Facebook, Smith "likes" Awlaki, has belonged to a Facebook group called “Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb to answer your questions,” referring to the North African branch of Al Qaeda. Smith also is Facebook "friends" with pages claiming to be the terrorist groups Al Shabaab and Ansar al Jundullah, in addition to "friends" Sheikh Faisal and Youself al-Khatb, the reported spiritual leader and co-founder of Revolution Muslim, respectively. Her “Likes” and “Groups” are visible to the public; a friend request from this reporter to Smith was not accepted.

A Facebook Page provided by Jawa Report shows that Smith warned her husband via Facebook post not to accept FoxNews.com’s friend request either.

On her MySpace page, currently available for viewing via Google cache, Smith wrote: “As salamu alaikum akhi.. it is time for Jihad and it is now Fard ayn for ALL Muslims whether their in the United Snakes or else where...Insha'Allah!!!!”

Smith has lauded Awlaki, celebrated the deaths of U.S. soldiers -- who she called “terrorists” -- at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and applauded another user’s posting of a rendering of the two planes hitting the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

And while she has repeatedly called for jihad against the West, Smith told FoxNews.com: “I am exercising my right, as an American citizen to freedom of speech, religion, and the right to bare arms. I have the right in America to say what ever I want. That is what makes America so great, right?”

But a paid government consultant aware of Smith’s movements said there’s concern that Smith could follow the path of Colleen LaRose, a suburban Philadelphian dubbed “Jihad Jane,” who pleaded not guilty in March to conspiracy charges involving a plot to kill a Swedish artist and providing material support to terrorists.

“As we saw in the case earlier this year with the arrests of "Jihad Janes" Colleen LaRose and [co-conspirator] Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, Kathie Smith has been exhibiting classic signs of extremism possibly transitioning into violence," the consultant told FoxNews.com, asking not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of his work. "Her online postings on Facebook have been increasingly promoted acts of terrorism and statements by terrorist leaders, such as Anwar Al-Aulaqi,” the contractor said.

“When her husband released the video earlier this month of the two of them holding weapons and included standard jihad imagery, such as pictures of German jihadists that have left to join terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan or have been arrested for plotting terror attacks, we were concerned that they might be escalating to an attack themselves,” the consultant said.

To that concern, Smith replied by e-mail to FoxNews.com:

“I live a simple life, a life where I fear Allah first and try hard to do what is right for mankind. I am not some "horribly misguided, or brainwashed" individual. I have lived a long life and have seen many things. And I will always stand up for what is right, no matter who is trying to say the contrary.”

How Jihadis Are Using Facebook For Recruitment and Plotting

This article at IPT discusses jihad in 2010 - how a social networking site like Facebook has become the new meeting places for jihadis both in America and globally - and they aren't just trading some Qur'an verses either - nope, they are using Facebook for recruiting, for spreading their radicalization and for plotting terror attacks.

From the article:

"When are these crusaders gonna realize they can't win?," Baltimore bomb plotter Antonio Martinez boasted on his Facebook page on August 4th. "How many more lives are they willing to sacrifice. ALLAHUAKBAR." As details emerge about the plot to bomb a military recruitment center in Baltimore, MD, one thing is clear—Facebook is having a coming out party as the new go-to place for Jihadi recruitment, radicalization, and planning.

According to an internal DHS memorandum from early 2010, "jihadi supporters and mujahideen are increasingly using Facebook, one of the largest, most popular and diverse social networking sites, both in the United States and globally, to propagate operational information." While the DHS report, reported on earlier today by FoxNews.com, provides an academic study of terrorist groups' infiltration of social networking sites, an IPT analysis of the Facebook accounts of Martinez and his friends and associates shows that the threat is very real.

Facebook features pages devoted to convicted and suspected terrorists, radical clerics, and terrorist organizations. One page, dedicated to Faisal Shahzad, who's now serving a life sentence for trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, has been "liked" by 30 people. Another page for Omar Hammami—aka Abu Mansoor al-Amriki—a Daphne, Ala., native now serving as an operational commander for al-Shabaab in Somalia, has been "liked" by 26 people. Anwar al-Awlaki, a leader and spiritual advisor to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has 24 supporters. Al-Awlaki has been designated by the United States government as a terrorist; Hammami has been indicted for his close personal links to the designated, al-Shabaab.

Isn't it comforting to know that the islamic terrorists in America have a place they can go trade some "allahu ackbars" and bring another couple hundred jihadis into the fray? Well, we are seeing that more and more of the homegrown jihadis in America are starting out on the internet - it's been proven that Anwar al-Awlaki has used the internet almost exclusively for his recruitment purposes in America. And when you look at it closely, it's a brilliant move on his part - he sits over in Yemen in relative safety while he forms a jihadi army inside of the U.S.

At the same time, we saw how Somali youth were recruited to leave America and head to Somalia to fight for al Qaeda - one has to wonder just how that might have been initially set up via Facebook or another internet networking format.

One thing we have always seen with the jihadis of Islam is that they will use everything and anything at their disposal to carry out their jihad - and it's gotten to the point where the DHS could probably employ a team of agents to monitor just Facebook 24/7.

The Jihadist Social Network Underworld


"When are these crusaders gonna realize they can't win?," Baltimore bomb plotter Antonio Martinez boasted on his Facebook page on August 4th. "How many more lives are they willing to sacrifice. ALLAHUAKBAR." As details emerge about the plot to bomb a military recruitment center in Baltimore, MD, one thing is clear—Facebook is having a coming out party as the new go-to place for Jihadi recruitment, radicalization, and planning.

According to an internal DHS memorandum from early 2010, "jihadi supporters and mujahideen are increasingly using Facebook, one of the largest, most popular and diverse social networking sites, both in the United States and globally, to propagate operational information." While the DHS report, reported on earlier today by FoxNews.com, provides an academic study of terrorist groups' infiltration of social networking sites, an IPT analysis of the Facebook accounts of Martinez and his friends and associates shows that the threat is very real.

Facebook features pages devoted to convicted and suspected terrorists, radical clerics, and terrorist organizations. One page, dedicated to Faisal Shahzad, who's now serving a life sentence for trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, has been "liked" by 30 people. Another page for Omar Hammami—aka Abu Mansoor al-Amriki—a Daphne, Ala., native now serving as an operational commander for al-Shabaab in Somalia, has been "liked" by 26 people. Anwar al-Awlaki, a leader and spiritual advisor to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has 24 supporters. Al-Awlaki has been designated by the United States government as a terrorist; Hammami has been indicted for his close personal links to the designated, al-Shabaab.

Martinez's page includes links to numerous nasheeds—Islamic-oriented songs, often sung a capella—most of which appear to have been originally published by al Qaida's As-Sahab Media. Commenting on one such video of jihadis engaging in acts of terrorism, Martinez writes "ALLAHUAKBAR!!!!!!" On another, he explains "Shaheed is the goal and the women of paradise is waiting. So why are we delaying o brothers? Lets meet our wives in the paradise inshallah and reap the fruits of the 1 who struggles for Allah and His deen."

A friend of Martinez who goes by the name Mohamed Momo, lists Faisal Shahzad, Anwar al-Awlaki, and As-Sahab Media among his interests. Momo's list of friends on Facebook includes a smorgasbord of likely jihadist-sympathizers—judging from the contents of their profiles—mixed in with well known American Islamists. One such individual is Imam Siraj Wahhaj, the spiritual leader of Masjid at-Taqwa in Brooklyn, N.Y. Wahhaj has had a long history of virulent speech against America and Jews, and appeared on a list of unindicted co-conspirators during the trial for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Additionally, Wahhaj served as a defense character witness on behalf of the planner of the attack, Omar Abdel-Rahman (aka the "Blind Sheikh").

Reviewing these pages, the case against Martinez presents a perfect example of how terrorists—who have traditionally sought to exploit new and alternative media—are increasingly turning to social networking sites to spread propaganda, direct users to more radical websites and forums, exchange operational and tactical guidance, and for reconnaissance and targeting purposes.

Terrorist organizations and their supporters have consistently utilized developing technologies to spread their message, and social networking sites are only the newest method. Highlighting the use of Facebook to "share operational and tactical information," and "as a gateway to extremist sites and other radical content," the DHS report demonstrates how radicals have taken to the web to promote their message of hate.

In one example, DHS explained, "explosives related material, informational videos with titles such as 'tactical shooting,' 'getting to know your AK-47,' 'how to field strip an AK-47,'" were collected from a Facebook group with over 2,000 members. "Links to al-Qaida videos on YouTube, propaganda videos featuring wounded and dead Palestinians in Gaza, and videos promoting female suicide bombers were all openly accessible as well."

DHS also highlights how more than simply posting radical propaganda, Facebook is increasingly being used for its discussion forums to "spread ideological, tactical, and operational information." As an example, the report references a statement on a forum by a known radical:

"This [Facebook] is a great idea, and better than the forums. Instead of waiting for people to [come to you so you can] inform them, you go to them and teach them! God willing, the mujahideen, their supporters, and proud jihadi journalists will [use the site, too]. [First,] it has become clear that the market of social networking websites is developing in an astonishing manner and that it fulfills important needs for Internet users, particularly younger ones."

Finally, and a threat that the DHS report appears to recognize is still in its infancy, Facebook is increasingly being used for "remote reconnaissance for targeting purposes." The Shin Bet security agency has recognized terrorist use of social networking sites for remote reconnaissance, warning Israeli soldiers about posting sensitive information: "terror organizations are using these [social networking] sites to tempt Israelis to meet up in person in order to either abduct them, kill them or recruit them as spies."

While the DHS report provides anecdotal evidence of Facebook's use by radicals and terrorists, the case of Antonio Martinez and his Internet ilk demonstrate the severity of the threat.

Muslim Man in Baltimore Arrested and Charged With Plotting Bombing of Army Recruiting Center

Well, well, well....if it isn't another islamic terror plot in America in 2010. I know it's gotten to be rather commonplace but for those of you around BEFORE 2008 when the spineless wonder, Barack Hussein Obama, took over the security of our country, you'll have to forget those times when we DIDN'T have islamic terror plots and attempts inside of our country.

As usual, this slime ball Muslim wanted to kill as many U.S. Army personnel as he could. But before any of you lose a grip on your tolerance of the Islam "religion"...just take a deep breath and remember, the Ground Zero Mosque is their way of "building bridges" with us.

From the report at IPT:

Federal officials arrested a Maryland man Wednesday and charged him with plotting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore, saying the 21-year-old Muslim convert wanted to kill as many U.S. soldiers as possible, records show.

Antonio Martinez, who also goes by Muhammed Hussain, said, "we gonna hit 'em where it hurts…we are gonna go…to their stations, to their bases, to everywhere…to everywhere a soldier is," according to the criminal complaint filed in federal court in Baltimore. "Every soldier that we see in uniform will be killed on the spot, Insha' Allah." Little did Martinez know that his co-conspirator was actually an informant working with the FBI and that his plans were about to be disrupted.

After weeks of investigating, officials arrested Martinez while he attempted to detonate what he believed to be a car bomb at the Armed Forces Career Center in the 5400 block of Baltimore National Pike. Martinez is a U.S. national from Nicaragua and recent convert to Islam. According to his public profile on Facebook, "I'm just a yung brotha from the wrong side of the tracks who embraced Islam."

So isn't that just great? Now we have Nicaraguans converting to Islam. What we are ending up with is a bloody jihadi on every damn street corner in this country - we have pissed off people, who come to the realization that the only way they can get to paradise due to their fucked up life is to go out as a jihadi.

Welcome to America. The new America of Hope and Change. The America of a President that reached out to the Muslims of the world with his olive branch and who now has us all facing down a car bomb or a pipe bomb or a suicide vest or an AK-47.

Elections have consequences.

Baltimore Terror Plot Disrupted


Federal officials arrested a Maryland man Wednesday and charged him with plotting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore, saying the 21-year-old Muslim convert wanted to kill as many U.S. soldiers as possible, records show.

Antonio Martinez, who also goes by Muhammed Hussain, said, "we gonna hit 'em where it hurts…we are gonna go…to their stations, to their bases, to everywhere…to everywhere a soldier is," according to the criminal complaint filed in federal court in Baltimore. "Every soldier that we see in uniform will be killed on the spot, Insha' Allah." Little did Martinez know that his co-conspirator was actually an informant working with the FBI and that his plans were about to be disrupted.

After weeks of investigating, officials arrested Martinez while he attempted to detonate what he believed to be a car bomb at the Armed Forces Career Center in the 5400 block of Baltimore National Pike. Martinez is a U.S. national from Nicaragua and recent convert to Islam. According to his public profile on Facebook, "I'm just a yung brotha from the wrong side of the tracks who embraced Islam."

Charged in court documents with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and attempted murder of federal employees, the case resembles other disrupted terrorist plots over the past three months. The similarities include the continued use of the Internet to radicalize Americans; the expanding influence of imams such as Anwar al-Awlaki and Omar Bakri Muhammad; and the FBI's sustained reliance upon informants and undercover operations to disrupt domestic terror plots.

According to law enforcement officials, Martinez came to the attention of the FBI in September of this year. That month, he posted a message to his Facebook account warning "the sword is cummin the reign of oppression is about 2 cease." After weeks of attempting to recruit others to join in his jihad—three of whom declined to participate—Martinez met with an FBI informant. In numerous conversations with the informant, Martinez expressed a desire to travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan and become a mujahideen because "all he thinks about is jihad."

Since he did not have the money to go overseas to fight, Martinez announced he would "make a mujahideen here, Insha' Allah, and we gonna fight against them…until they stop the oppression…fight the disbelievers until there is no more oppression and the religion is only for Allah…" The informant introduced Martinez to an FBI officer posing as an "Afghan" who would help the two construct a bomb for an attack in Maryland. "Jihad is not only in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but also in the United States," Martinez explained.

As with the case in Portland, Ore., Martinez was offered multiple opportunities to back out of the plot and refused. "I don't want to talk about this no more, man. I just wanna do it…each and every Muslim in this country…knows that America is at war with Islam and they're not doing anything about it…no one is stepping up to do anything….We have to be the ones to pull that trigger. Send that message."

On Dec. 8, Martinez met with the informant and the undercover FBI officer where they "armed" a bomb in the back of an SUV. Martinez then drove the bomb to the recruitment station and parked it in front of the building. He then got into the undercover officer's car and drove a safe distance, at which point Martinez attempted to detonate the bomb. He was immediately placed under arrest.

Information revealed by prosecutors shows that Martinez was radicalized in a way that is becoming more and more common—through the Internet. On Nov. 3, Martinez reportedly spent time on www.RevolutionMuslim.com, a site which the Investigative Project on Terrorism reported, has take a more operational role in the global jihad. "RM functions as one of the most visible English-language websites and organization's promoting al-Qaida's call to jihad," the IPT explained at the time. "In addition to promoting the literature and videos of individuals like senior terrorist ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki, RM leaders have personally participated in all levels of the radicalization process, from identifying targets to providing advice about bombings."

The day after that IPT report, Martinez was observed watching videos of bin Laden lecturers, martyrdom videos, and jihadi training films on the website.

Martinez also reportedly followed the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki and Omar Bakri Muhammad, two preachers who have consistently called for attacks on Americans.

Omar Bakri Muhammad, a Muslim Brotherhood member who immigrated to England from Syria, founded Hizb-ut-Tahrir in England, and also started the banned extremist organization al-Muhajiroun. Bakri, was recently convicted in absentia by a Lebanese court for forming a terrorist group. Muhammad has said "the problem with Britain is that its law is not the law sent down by Allah." He has also justified violence against the United States, by stating, "When American bombs Sudan, Somalia, and Iraq, and sows destruction, the Muslims have the right to retaliate."

Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen now living in hiding in Yemen, is serving as an operational commander of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Since arriving in Yemen in 2004 al-Awlaki has been involved in—planning, recruiting, and sanctioning—dozens of attacks against the United States. "He has involved himself in every aspect of the supply chain of terrorism—fundraising for terrorist groups, recruiting and training operatives, and planning and ordering attacks on innocents," the U.S. government explained in designating him. IPT News has reported many of Anwar al-Awlaki's terrorist connections, linking him to the Fort Hood massacre, the Christmas Day bomb plot, and the failed Times Square attack.

"I love Sheikh Anwar al-Awlaki for the sake of Allah," Martinez posted to Facebook on Oct. 17. "A real insperation [sic] for the Ummah, I don't care if he is on the terrorist list! May Allah give him Kire ameen."

Describing the investigation and the potential danger posed by Martinez, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein explained, "Undercover investigations are pursued only when supervisory law enforcement agents and prosecutors conclude that there is a serious risk that cannot be ignored." In fact, while this critical law enforcement tool is frequently railed on by Islamist organizations as entrapment, as a recent report by the IPT demonstrated "undercover agents and informants are a staple in everyday law enforcement."

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the Somali-youth who attempted to set off a car bomb at Portland's tree Christmas tree lighting, pushed buttons on a cell phone in an attempt to detonate a bomb and kill thousands of civilians in Oregon. Like Martinez, Mohamud was unaware that individuals he was working with were actually FBI agents monitoring his actions who ensured that the bomb would not work. Mohamud attracted law enforcement attention in 2009 when he exchanged emails with an associate in Pakistan, hoping to travel there to prepare for violent jihad. When Mohamud's travel plans didn't pan out, the government sent in undercover agents, whose interactions with Mohamud ended in the Somali teen's attempted attack and subsequent arrest over Thanksgiving weekend.

Similarly, Farooque Ahmed, the Virginia man arrested in connection with a plot to attack the Washington, D.C., subway system, was brought down through the use of undercover officers. Ahmed, a native of Pakistan who is now a U.S. citizen, first came to the FBI's attention in January when he and an unnamed associate "were inquiring about making contact with a terrorist organization in order to participate in jihad by traveling overseas to fight coalition forces in Afghanistan and/or Pakistan," FBI agent Charles Dayoub said in court documents.

A trial date for Martinez has not yet been set. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him.

Pakistani Taliban Spokesman: "America will soon burn"

Let's face it, islamic terror is all about momentum. We've seen it over the decades that as the radical islamic terrorists achieve certain levels of success against the infidels, their attacks and their fervor increases. And when you add into that mix a weak-kneed, spineless muslim appeaser in the form of President Barack Hussein Obama, you find yourself facing a rain of upcoming terror attacks on America.

The Pakistani Taliban are known for a good deal of bloviating but in the Times Square bombing attempt, they took credit and it is now revealed it was their doing and with the bumbling and appeasement of Obama's security teams, the Pakistani Taliban are now on a roll and decided to make more of their threats to America public. This is from the article at AOL News:

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman warned today in a video obtained by Reuters that America will "soon burn," and he called on jihadists around the world to band together to fight "imperialist forces." The timing of the video appears to be an attempt to capitalize on the media coverage the militant group has received since the failed attempt to bomb Manhattan's iconic Times Square on May 1.

In the video, excerpts of which were posted on the Reuters website, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Tariq Azim makes a direct reference to the Times Square bomb, saying: "It was just an explosive-laden vehicle which did not explode. But it (America) will see, all imperialist forces will see that it will explode also and America will also burn."

About a month ago I would have laughed at this claim by the Taliban - I'm not now. I think there are a few dozen Faisal Shahzad's out there. I think we are going to see at least a dozen similar attempts that we saw in Times Square and at least one of them is going to be successful. There will be American civilian blood spilled on American soil again and I'm afraid it is only then that someone in some sort of power role is going to finally call Barack Hussein Obama on the carpet - why it takes the lives of our sisters and brothers to get to that point is beyond me.

Pakistani Taliban Spokesman Says US Will 'Burn'


ISLAMABAD (May 14) -- A Pakistani Taliban spokesman warned today in a video obtained by Reuters that America will "soon burn," and he called on jihadists around the world to band together to fight "imperialist forces."

The timing of the video appears to be an attempt to capitalize on the media coverage the militant group has received since the failed attempt to bomb Manhattan's iconic Times Square on May 1.

Faisal Shahzad, the 30-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen arrested for attempting to carry out the attack, has admitted to receiving training at a camp run by the Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, U.S. officials say.

In the video, excerpts of which were posted on the Reuters website, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Tariq Azim makes a direct reference to the Times Square bomb, saying: "It was just an explosive-laden vehicle which did not explode. But it (America) will see, all imperialist forces will see that it will explode also and America will also burn."

Azim, the same man who on May 6 denied Taliban involvement in the foiled New York attack, also called for the downfall of the Pakistani government and security services, condemning the "ruling coterie" and "unholy army" as U.S. lapdogs.

It was unclear when the video was recorded. Azim doesn't directly claim that his organization was responsible for the planned attack. But more arrests in Pakistan and the United States on Thursday suggest that investigators believe Shahzad was not alone in executing his plan.

Raids in Massachusetts and Maine on Thursday netted three people with alleged links to Shahzad. Two were taken from a house in Watertown, a suburb of Boston with a large Middle Eastern community, while a third was arrested in North Portland, Maine.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said those in custody may have provided money to Shahzad, but it's still unclear whether they were involved in the planning of the attack.

Also Thursday, one person linked to the Pakistani Taliban was arrested in Pakistan, according to The Washington Post. U.S. officials say he has provided an "independent stream" of evidence implicating the TTP, the acronym for the group, in the failed bombing attempt. Pakistani authorities refused to comment on the arrest.

The Post, citing unidentified U.S. officials, alleges the detained man helped facilitate Shahzad's journey to the tribal areas where he has confessed to receiving bomb-making training. A second man, Mohammad Rehan, arrested just days following the failed attempt and linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Kashmiri militant group, is also alleged to have traveled with Shahzad to North Waziristan, where a variety of militant outfits, including the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida, operate training camps.

It's unclear whether the new arrest is related to Rehan.

Questions still remain over whether Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen, acted independently or was part of a larger, coordinated plot. The mounting evidence, however, has begun to point to the latter. If proven, it would catapult the Pakistani Taliban into another stratosphere of militant groups, ones with global networks and the ability to activate cells in foreign countries.

The Obama administration is now considering adding the Pakistani Taliban to its list of global terrorist organizations, a designation that would classify it alongside groups like al-Qaida and place its activities under the watchful eye of international anti-terrorism agencies.

Terrorism analysts in Pakistan remain skeptical of the group's international reach but concede they may now be coordinating with other groups in Pakistan with established overseas connections.

Pakistani authorities have been scrambling over the past week to control the damage caused by this latest attempt by one of its citizens to attack the U.S. Relations between the two countries, officially close allies in the U.S.-led war on terror, have dipped dangerously low since the attack. Pakistan's response has been to round up anyone with known connections to Shahzad in various parts of the country, including his family members.

The tactic is common in Pakistan, where the arrest of family members is often used to pressure terrorism suspects into talking. International human rights organizations have condemned such methods, likening them to collective punishment.

U.S. officials, however, have responded with guarded praise for Pakistan's response, but insist more still needs to be done to combat the broader menace of rising global terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil.