Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Fort Hood Terrorist's Imam 'Personally Blessed' Detroit Terrorists Airplane Attack [Andy McCarthy]
Victor Morton has the report for the Washington Times, based on a leak from a "U.S. intelligence official" who is familiar with the FBI's interrogation of the suspect.
(For those who wonder who leaks these things, as I do, bear in mind that the FBI is America's domestic intelligence service. That is, the agents in its National Security Division are intelligence agents. I am not saying that the FBI leaked this information — I don't have a clue who did it. But, the fact that the reporter talks about "the FBI" when referring to the interrogation and about a "U.S. intelligence official" when describing his source does not discount the possibility of the source being an FBI intelligence official.)
UPDATE: Tom Joscelyn has more at the Standard's blog, here.
12/29 05:36 PMShare
I have been scratching my head trying to figure out how in the world Umar Abdulmutallab, a 23 year old Nigerian student, outsmarted homeland security and its Transportation Security Administration (TSA). I would have more faith in homeland security if he was a seasoned bomb expert with a profile worthy of replica in a James Bond movie; but, he was just some punk kid who was brainwashed in Yemen and sent to do a job. This terrorist should have been no match for us!
Since terrorists brought down the twin towers, air travel has never been the same. I am a frequent traveler so have gone through security countless times since 9/11 and each time, in the name of our collective security, I have willingly tolerated increasing restrictions on my freedom and privacy. But, why do security changes that are visible to travelers like me happen only after the most recent terrorist incident? I have concluded that it is because homeland security is constantly reacting to punks like Mr. Abdulmutallab instead of staying one step ahead of them.
After 9/11/01, if you were not travelling, then you were no longer allowed to go beyond the security check point. This meant no more lingering goodbyes or enthusiastic welcome homes at the gate. This was a slight inconvenience that I took in stride because we all had to make sacrifices to ensure our collective safety. Just when I started to feel a bit safer, months later, on 12/22/01, there was another terrorist attempt. On a flight from Paris to Miami, a terrorist placed a bomb in his shoe and was caught while trying to ignite it with a match. Immediately after this, TSA required us to take off our shoes and put them through the scanner. Although I always seemed to have some guy in front of me with foot funk so bad that it made a frontal assault on my nostrils, I did not complain. In fact, I adjusted, started wearing matching socks with no holes when I traveled, and placed my shoes on the belt with a smile. If fewer than 1% of Americans are bearing the burden of war and fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq on multiple tours, the least I can do is take off my shoes in the fight against terrorism.
Just when I thought we were in the clear, there was another terrorist attempt in the summer of 2006. This time a cadre of terrorists hatched a plot to detonate liquid explosives they brought on board in their hand luggage. Soon after this incident, travelers were no longer allowed to take liquids over a certain size in their hand luggage. I travelled soon after the liquid bomb plot was uncovered, purchased a $70 bottle of perfume in the shopping area outside of security, and had to throw it away to get through security. I am not going to lie, this time I was pissed (you think they would have mentioned the new rules to me at the store). Nevertheless, I sucked it up because these measures would improve our safety, right?
I had just begun to forgive TSA for the perfume fiasco and had retrofitted all my shampoos, lotions, and other carryon liquids into 3.4 ounce containers. Then the terrorist Santa, Mr. Abdulmutallab, strikes trying to light up our Christmas. On a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, he hid liquid explosives in his underwear and planned to detonate it with liquid from a syringe. Yet again, this terrorist attempt sparked another change in airport security. Travelers on flights originating internationally are now subject to body pat-downs. I will gladly allow any TSA employee to feel me up, so long as I feel it will improve my safety. But, I do not feel safer.
I know that there are many proactive measures TSA has taken that are not apparent to frequent travelers like me, but from my vantage point, it seems like they are always one step behind the terrorists. What if the terrorist hid the liquid explosives in a wig; will TSA be required to start patting down the heads of people with big hair. What if the terrorists hid the bomb in an electrical device; will TSA require us to turn them on to prove they function. What if the terrorists swallow sacks of the liquid explosives like Colombian drug lords force people to swallow sacks of cocaine to bring it in the US; will TSA put a limit on how long an individual can spend in the toilet?
I want to believe that my country is doing all it can to ensure air travel is safe. But, how can I when the latest terrorist attempt is the impetus behind every major change in security protocol that I experience. Homeland security needs to do more to show the public that it is working proactively to make air travel safe.
Domestic Terrorist? Cop killer celebrated as "Muslim Martyr"
Update 12/2: the Seattle Times reports that Clemmons told others he was going to kill police:
Clemmons asked Hinton, described as his half-brother, for keys to his white pickup, and told the men they should keep their eyes on the TV because he planned to kill police, according to charging documents and Troyer.
If this is correct, then Clemmons' rampage was clearly pre-meditated. He also did not act alone. According to the Times, witnesses saw Clemmons jump into a white pickup truck after the shooting, that sped away, driven by another man. Many other friends and family helped him move from place to place to evade capture. It would be interesting to find out what the Black Foot Soldiers Network knows about this and how they heard about what he had said before going on the killing spree.
Maurice Clemmons, the alleged shooter in the Sunday murder of four Lakewood, Washington police officers, was killed early this morning by a Seattle police officer.
The blogsite Fire Andrea Mitchell reported that a radical black Muslim group called the National Black Foot Soldiers held a protest today outside the Parkland, Washington coffee shop where the murders occurred. The protesters allegedly gathered to celebrate Clemmons as a "Crowned BOW (Black on White) Martyr," calling his attack a "preemptive strike on terrorists..."
The substance of this story was originally announced by a blog called the Last Crusade, which has also claimed that Clemmons converted to Islam while imprisoned in Arkansas. Gateway Pundit picked up the story as well, noting however, that Last Crusade's claim of Clemmons' conversion is unsubstantiated.
A black militant site called "Black Male Felon" seemingly described the protest:
The rally came after a reported emergency meeting held by the [Black Foot Soldiers] movement to to map out plans for a street penitentiary protest and street party that will be held to disrespect tributes, memorials and funerals whites are expected to have for the terrorists.
Whatever the Black Foot Soldiers may be planning, there actually was no "rally." Spokesmen for both the Lakewood and Tacoma, Washington police departments said they had not heard of anything like that going on. The Pierce County Sheriff's office, which is handling the coffee shop shooting investigation, stated unequivocally that there was no such protest.
The truth is actually worse. The Black Foot Soldiers were not protesting, except perhaps online, but they were referring to Clemmons' attack as a protest:
Seattle Black Foot Soldiers say the four people slain in a daring demonstration at the Steele Street Forza Coffee House in Parkland were racist terrorists who caused black citizens to live in fear. (Emphasis added.)
What these groups say is that any killing of whites, including in this case Clemmons' cold-blooded murder of officers Renninger, Owens, Griswald, and Richards, is "a legitimate protest". Black Male Felon celebrates the killings as "Brother Maurice Clemmons' daring stand against white police terrorism." The theme of National Black Foot Soldiers is captured in the slogan: "When whites pay reparations there will be no more black on white crime."
The vitriolic hatred on these sites is enough to turn a person's stomach. The bit of writing contained on these sites is essentially a collage of run-on sentences spewing foul language interspersed liberally with admonitions to kill whitey. They blatantly advocate murder and defend other recent cases of seemingly senseless black on white killings, like the four Oakland police officers killed by Lovelle Mixon, and many, many others.
Many who voted for Barack Obama believed his election would finally put an end to this kind of racist hatred. Indeed, he promised to work toward that end. If anything however, his election seems to have emboldened it. Jeremiah Wright should have been a warning.
It is pointless to argue with the kind of lunatic delusion that motivates these people. They are beyond reaching. It recalls the video of "Professor" Kamau Kambon advocating the extermination of white people. The Black Male Felon site defines the terms BOW (black on white) BOB (black on black) WOB (white on black) and WOW (white on white), while the National Black Foot Soldiers objects to black on black killing, but not killing per se, reminding its readers "THERE IS 1 ENEMY. LET US HAVE 1 MIND. "
It is not known at present whether or not Clemmons was associated with any of these groups, but one post ascribes a quote to Clemmons, in which he says: "Watch the news, I'm gonna kill a bunch of cops."
It is also likely he knew he would find police victims at that coffee shop. The Forza Coffee Company was founded by a retired police officer. And while the Steele Street franchise where the shootings occurred had no tie to him, it was apparently a place frequented by local police.
The coffee company has set up a charity for the families of these fallen officers. Learn more by following this link.
Photo: Pierce County Sheriff's Office
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