WALID PHARES: First Jihadi Cell of 2009 Busted In the U.S. — What Does It Mean?

Fox News ^ | May 21st, 2009 | Walid Phares

[nickcarraway]

A successful counter-terrorism operation led by the FBI and the New York City Police Department ended with the arrest of four New York City men in connection with plots to bomb Jewish synagogues and gun down military planes in upstate areas.

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Today’s announcement of the foiled terror plot is a stark reminder that we are still under attack — eight years after the September 11 massacres. And if we are under attack, it means that we are still at war, a real one, not a “man-made disaster.”

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According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly the suspects, identified as James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen allegedly “wanted to commit jihad.” A first reading of the material made available by authorities and statements issued by officials help us ask several questions and raise a number of points for debate.

A Victory for Law Enforcement

The first thing to acknowledge is the success of the operation conducted by the counter-terrorism agencies to stop a “jihadi” attack against the country.

According to the Associated Press, the arrests came following a nearly yearlong undercover operation that began in Newburgh, N.Y., roughly 70 miles north of New York City. The patience, professionalism and sophistication of the law enforcement procedures in engaging the “cell” until it is trapped tell us that the first lines of defense are efficient. Since the 9/11 attacks the New York task forces have been able to arrest suspects in a number of plots including against the Fort Dix New Jersey military base, John F. Kennedy Airport, the Herald Square subway station in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

My take is that the quality of the “converts” to be found in U.S. prisons and inner cities - is guaranteed to lead to the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. We should only hope that OBL and others are working to recruit these guys into a terrorist program, it would be to die trying.

[webheart]

Expect this to be brushed off of the news pages in 3 days, tops. This story will probably make it onto the Sunday news shows, for a minute of two, then the brightening economic outlook and upcoming worldwide economic boom will get the rest of the airtime. A new made-for-TV crisis will appear early next week. There will probably be several diagnoses of swine flu in some nursery schools, or some such. Besides, they were only going to blow up synagogues, right? (sarcasm)

[TEXOKIE]

bttt

[Waco]

Big news! BIN LADDIE HAS NOT CALLED OFF THE WAR. Wake up RATS!

[Spok]

Meanwhile, the DHS has announced its intention to concentrate its attention on pro-lifers and gun owners. When the momentum of Bush era investigations begins to wane, the Jihad will come to America with a vengeance. And the MSM will continue to chant that it’s all because of Gitmo.

[KeyLargo]

Homegrown Terror Suspects Turned Toward Radicalism in U.S. Prisons

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,521215,00.html