Free Republic

Your Taxi Driver Might Be A Terrorist!!! Somali Americans Become National Security Problem!!! By Paul L. Williams, Ph.D. thelastcrusade.org A group affiliated with al Qaeda could strike the United States in the near future. That’s grim assessment of FBI Director Robert Mueller, who spoke this week at a meeting of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Mueller’s remarks represent the first time a senior law enforcement or intelligence official has stated on the record that the al-Shabaab, a Muslim terrorist group with ties to al Qaeda, is no longer content to strike within the East African nation of Somalia. During...

The FBI on Monday denied editing security camera videos from the Oklahoma City bombing case. The FBI this summer released more than 20 recordings to Utah attorney Jesse Trentadue who is doing his own inquiry into the attack. The soundless recordings came from security cameras in operation in downtown Oklahoma City on the days before and on the morning of the bombing. None show the actual explosion of a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building at 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995. Trentadue claims some cameras go blank about the same time before 9:02 a.m. He said Sunday...

A "handful" of men in New York are possible associates of the chief suspect in a suspected plot to use homemade bombs to attack New York City commuter trains, and investigators have them under heavy surveillance, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Investigators are still hunting for additional players and expect to make more arrests than just the chief suspect, 24-year-old Denver airport shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi, according to an official who declined to discuss when that might happen or how many people are under scrutiny.

Note: The following text is a quote: TERROR TODAY A Report from the Director 09/30/09 Terrorism has been in the news a lot lately, with a series of unrelated arrests and indictments taking place across the nation—in Denver and Dallas, in New York and Springfield, Illinois—following investigations by the FBI and its partners that disrupted alleged plots to bomb a courthouse, a skyscraper, and other potential targets in our cites and communities. Today, Director Robert Mueller testified on Capitol Hill at a Senate hearing focused on that same subject—in particular, how the threat of terrorism is being addressed eight years...

Recently declassified documents obtained by Wired magazine reveal a massive Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data mining operation. It already possesses over 1.5 billion records from government and private-sector sources. That figure is expected by the FBI to balloon to over 6 billion within a few years. And it is not just terrorists they are after.  According to the documents, the National Security Branch Analysis Center (NSAC) is being used to pursue multiple types of non-terrorism domestic investigations. It is also meant to be able to sort through the data — everything from health and travel records to credit card...

Unbelievable. While serving up caf and decaf, the java guy was secretly working to commit mass murder. Cream and sugar with your terrorist attack, madam? Glazed or jelly donut with your bomb blast, sir? The recent arrest of suspected terrorist Najibullah Zazi reminds us all of the important role surveillance plays in safeguarding our people and our nation. Zazi is in custody on charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He was accused last week of conspiring to launch a bombing attack in America with the help of some common beauty supplies and insidious training from al-Qaida in...

Long-secret security tapes showing the chaos immediately after the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building are blank in the minutes before the blast and appear to have been edited, an attorney who obtained the recordings said Sunday. The real story is what's missing," said Jesse Trentadue, a Salt Lake City attorney who obtained the recordings through the federal Freedom of Information Act as part of an unofficial inquiry he is conducting into the April 19, 1995, bombing that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Long-secret security tapes showing the chaos immediately after the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building are blank in the minutes before the blast and appear to have been edited, an attorney who obtained the recordings said Sunday. "The real story is what's missing," said Jesse Trentadue, a Salt Lake City attorney who obtained the recordings through the federal Freedom of Information Act as part of an unofficial inquiry he is conducting into the April 19, 1995, bombing that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.

The FBI has released long-secret security tapes that give new glimpses into the chaos during the minutes after the Oklahoma City bombing.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2009 – An indictment handed down yesterday in a North Carolina federal court charges three men with plotting to attack Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., with the intent to murder U.S. military personnel. The men -- two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident from Kosovo – are Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39; his son, Zakariya Boyd, 20; and Kosovo native Hysen Sherifi, 24, according to Justice Department and Marine Corps news releases. The three allegedly were involved in a plot to procure maps of the base and assemble weapons as a precursor to an attack, the releases...

Representative Aaron Schock (R-IL) is hoping the foiled home grown terrorist plot in Springfield, IL this week will cause the Obama administration to re-think its plans to close down the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The terror plot disrupted by an FBI sting operation on Wednesday in Springfield, IL, had a federal courthouse and the Republican congressman's district office in its sights. Rep. Schock said that the FBI "outlined that the primary target for this individual was the federal court house building in Springfield but that my office which is located across the street was the secondary target."...

DALLAS - Federal authorities arrested a 19-year-old Jordanian citizen whom they said placed an inactive car bomb today at Fountain Place, a 60-story skyscraper in downtown Dallas. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi has repeatedly voiced his intent to serve Usama Bin Laden and al-Qa’ida and commit “violent Jihad,” authorities said in a prepared statement. “Today’s arrest of Hosam Maher Husein Smadi underscores the FBI’s unwavering commitment to bring to justice persons who attempt to bring harm to citizens of this country and significant danger to this community,” special FBI agent in charge Robert E. Casey, Jr. said in the statement. “Smadi...

The FBI plans to migrate from its IAFIS fingerprint database to a new biometrics system that will include DNA records, 3-D facial imaging, palm prints and voice scans. TAMPA – The Federal Bureau of Investigation is expanding beyond its traditional fingerprint-focused collection practices to develop a new biometrics system that will include DNA records, 3-D facial imaging, palm prints and voice scans, blended to create what's known as "multi-modal biometrics." Slideshow: The changing face of biometricsHow the Defense Department might institutionalize war-time biometrics "The FBI today is announcing a rapid DNA initiative," said Louis Grever, executive assistant director of the...

Federal investigators are looking into reports that one of the men who detonated a truck bomb in Mogadishu last week that killed 21 peacekeepers was a Somali refugee who had lived in Seattle as recently as 2007. Two federal law enforcement sources, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FBI in Seattle received information last week that indicated that one of the suicide bombers was from Seattle. "We've been looking into it ever since," said one of the sources. One of the sources, a senior federal law enforcement official, said the FBI is actively investigating whether terrorist groups are...

If Najibullah Zazi had any doubts he was a prime suspect in a terror investigation, authorities say, they were quickly erased by a local imam. "They came to ask me about your characters," the Queens imam, Ahmad Wais Afzali, told Zazi in a Sept. 11 phone conversation, according to a secret recording. "They asked me about you guys." The "they" referred to in a recently unsealed criminal complaint were New York Police Department detectives who had considered Afzali a reliable ally. At least one works for a division that operates independently from an FBI-run terrorism task force. Afzali's alleged tipoff...

A depressing report in the Washington Times about the ongong terrorism investigation, suggesting that turf warring between rival agencies — the FBI and the NYPD — prematurely blew the investigation before law enforcement could gather enough evidence to make a strong terrorism case against anyone. Specifically, the FBI was watching the Denver-based prime suspect, Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old native Afghan who has reportedly received training in al-Qaeda camps. Zazi had plans to be in New York by the anniversary of 9/11 (always a date of concern) and, in fact, took two days to drive there. (Driving, rather than flying or...

Investigation Into Possible Terror Plot Prompts FBI To Warn Mass-Transit Systems Around U.S. Feds Believe Up To 12 Suspects Could Be Involved In Possible Madrid-Like Attack On NYC Subways Counterterrorism officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorists' desire to attack stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels -- the latest in a flurry of such internal warnings as investigators chase a possible bomb plot in Denver and New York. In the two bulletins -- sent to police departments Monday and obtained by The Associated Press -- officials said they know of no specific plots against such sites,...

Liberals, their plans, veracity and activities have been under a lot of public scrutiny lately. They seem to be very uncomfortable with the light of public gaze upon them, even to the point of walking on eggshells. When they can’t find what they believe is an non revealing answer which they know will anger the public to some very straightforward questions they pretend to be obtuse on the issue at hand. Feigning obtuseness seems to be the best they can do to not come clean on the issues. The point of feigning obtuseness is to avoid the really uncomfortable questions...

On Friday, we reported on the coming exclusive American Conservative cover story interview with formerly-gagged FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds by quoting the magazine's own teaser description of the piece as "explosive". Over the weekend, we received an embargoed look at the final version of the AmCon interview by former CIA officer Phil Giraldi, and yes, "explosive", may be a vast understatement. At least if the U.S. corporate media bothers to notice it this time. Giraldi's article in The American Conservative should be on newsstands and on the Internet, in full, at their website by Tuesday

Federal agents from Denver and New York to Pakistan are still racing to solve an Al Qaeda bomb plot, unsure whether the arrest of three suspects has put the terror gang out of business. "They're still looking," a senior counterterror official told the Daily News. As to whether they have identified all the conspirators, "nobody knows the answer for sure," ... Also nabbed for lying to feds was Flushing mosque Imam Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, an NYPD snitch who the FBI says alerted Zazi and his father, Mohammed, 53, after cops quizzed him about the son. The senior official said...

Two new reports from ABC and the Washington Post underscore the “real deal” nature of the al-Qaeda terror cell uncovered this month in a flurry of arrests and search warrants.  Sources within the investigation now claim that Najibullah Zazi left his fingerprints all over evidence that points to a terrorist attack, which may account for his reported flirtation with a plea bargain.  Others tell ABC that they haven’t yet identified all the plotters: Investigators said they found notes describing how to make bombs in the handwriting of an airport shuttle driver arrested as part of a terrorism investigation, and they...

A New York City Muslim imam, who acted as a police informant, betrayed his handlers by tipping off a terrorism suspect... Ahmad Wais Afzali, of the New York borough of Queens, was among three men arrested during the weekend in connection with an alleged bombing plot... The documents show that Zazi, 24, of Denver, abruptly left New York and returned to Colorado after having wiretapped phone conversations with the imam, which the FBI alleges contained talk of how police were interested in Zazi... Zazi attended an al-Qaida terrorism training camp in Pakistan and was arrested in possession of notes detailing...

The FBI arrested three men overnight on charges they lied to federal agents during an investigation of a terror plot against New York City that authorities say was "the real deal." Agents in Denver arrested Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year old airport shuttle driver, who authorities say appears to be the ringleader of the alleged plot. Also charged with lying to the FBI was Zazi's father, Mohammed Zazi. In New York, the FBI arrested the leader of a Queens mosque, Ahmad Afzali, who authorities allege had been a New York police department informant but "went bad" and tipped off Zazi, his...

The Aurora man targeted in an anti- terrorism investigation and his attorney abruptly broke off a planned meeting with FBI agents this morning."Mr. (Najibullah) Zazi and (attorney) Mr. (Art) Folsom will not be meeting with the FBI today," Folsom's spokeswoman Wendy Aiello told The Denver Post Saturday morning. "No future meetings are planned at this time."She said they've decided that it is in Zazi's best interest given the progress of negotiations so far, Aiello said."Certainly there are inaccuracies in the reporting over the last 24 hours," she said.In a phone interview with the Denver Post this morning, Zazi, 24, said...

In a second stunning terror sweep this week, seven associates of a suspected al Qaeda bomb-maker were taken into custody yesterday -- as their cohort reportedly admitted to taking bomb training from al Qaeda and playing a key role in planning an attack here. The FBI detained the seven confederates of Najibullah Zazi, 24 -- whose recent, pre-Sept. 11 appearance in New York sparked raids Monday at every Queens home he visited -- over the associates' alleged role in a suspected bomb plot, law-enforcement sources told The Post. The seven Queens residents had been under 24-hour surveillance since the earlier...

"Feds probe alleged terrorists who tried to rent giant truck in suspected Al Qaeda bomb plot" BY JAMES GORDON MEEK IN WASHINGTON, JUDITH CROSSON IN DENVER, KATE NOCERA, ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND LARRY MCSHANE DAILY NEWS WRITERS Saturday, September 19th 2009, 4:00 AM Investigators probed a failed Queens truck rental for ties to a possible Al Qaeda bomb plot yesterday as a chief terror suspect tried making a deal to save his skin. The New York end of the expanding federal probe centered on seven Afghan men who tried to rent the biggest truck at a Queens U-Haul on Sept. 9,...

The Denver shuttle bus driver at the center of a federal terrorism investigation has begun to cooperate with the authorities, admitting that he had perhaps unwittingly crossed paths in Pakistan with extremists allied with Al Qaeda, according to government officials briefed on the case. The officials did not indicate whether the admissions of the man, Najibullah Zazi, made during three days of intense questioning by F.B.I. agents in Denver, clarified whether he had directly engaged in terrorist activity. And it is not known whether his account could mean he will be charged with any wrongdoing. But Mr. Zazi’s discussions with...

DEVELOPING: The man under FBI investigation for alleged ties to a New York subway terror plot has admitted he has ties to Al Qaeda and is in negotiations to plead guilty to a terror charge, a source familiar with the investigation told FOX News.

Most guys have done something to impress a girl that they've ended up regretting -- and if they're lucky, it was just an ankle tattoo or purchasing a lifetime pass to the local philharmonic. Former FBI Agent Mark T. Rossini wasn't so lucky. He fell hard for a woman, and in his efforts to prove his devotion to her, he lost his job and his good name. The Sordid Story It was 2006. Rossini held a $140,000-a-year position in the FBI's Washington, D.C., headquarters. But the outgoing bachelor also enjoyed the nightlife of New York, and often visited the Big...

Police say as many as five masked men wearing FBI baseball caps invaded a home in the Annandale section of Fairfax County on Thursday. Fairfax County Police say the masked men were all wearing police style tactical gear when they entered the home around 12:15 p.m. They tied up a woman and her son who was home with a toddler, and then searched the house. The men then took off in a gold or beige Cadillac Escalade. It's unclear what the men wanted and police wouldn't say what they took. The man and woman who were tied up inside the...

Fearful of a Madrid-style subway train bombing, authorities are poised to make more raids to seize bomb-making materials at locations in Queens, sources said Wednesday. The FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team arrived in New York in anticipation of the offensive to thwart a Denver-based terror cell with ties to Al Qaeda, police sources told the Daily News. Another source said an earlier raid uncovered nine backpacks and cell phones, raising memories of the March 2004 bombings in Madrid. A series of terrorist bombs detonated aboard commuter trains killed 191 people. The source said authorities feared a potential attack on the...

Not sure what that means — were the Madrid bombings, for instance, “on the scale of 9/11″? — but an awful lot of people in the know are scrambling. Combine this with that ominous Journal piece from last night and it sure sounds like someone’s worried about WMD, probably of the chemical variety given the FBI warnings to cops about foul odors and large window fans.

Authorities executed search warrants and seized evidence early Monday morning at locations in the Queens borough of New York City as part of a terrorism investigation, according to a senior official familiar with the case. This person said some counterterrorism officials were concerned that the individual at the center of the investigation may have had access to, or an interest in acquiring, materials that could be used for a chemical, biological or radiological device. One aspect of the probe involves whether the person had some contact or connections with suspicious individuals overseas, the official said. He stressed that the investigation...

This is an update to the "New York Residences Raided in Terrorism Probe" post. UPDATE 5-New York homes raided in terrorism probe * No imminent danger, congressmen say * Focus on one man who met with people in Queens * Apartment shared by five Afghan men searched - witness * Militant ideology sympathetic to al Qaeda detected - NYT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Law enforcement agents have raided residences in New York City as part of a terrorism investigation, and are preparing to brief Congress about the investigation. New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne confirms that searches were conducted in the borough of Queens on Monday by agents of a joint terrorism task force.

Authorities raided properties in New York City today in an effort that was intended to disrupt the plans of a terror suspect whose travels had been tracked by the FBI, according to an official briefed on the raids. "He was being watched and concern grew as he met with a group of individuals in Queens over the weekend," said Congressman Pete King (R-NY). "The FBI went to court late last night for an emergency warrant to conduct the raids this morning." A resident in the neighborhood said there was police activity around 2 a.m. Monday. Officials said the execution of...

Next Attack Nuclear!!! FBI Informant Spills Guts ByPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.org On the eighth anniversary of 9/11, an FBI informant who infiltrated U.S. terrorist cells, says the FBI missed a chance to stop the al Qaeda plot because they focused more on undercover stings than on the man who would later become known as 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and Adnan el Shukrujumah, one of Atta’s key associates.Former undercover operative Elie Assaad, a 36-year-old Catholic native of Lebanon who pretended to be a Muslim extemist, says he spotted and became suspicious of Atta and Shukrujumah in early 2001, when he...

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ABROAD The View from Amman, Jordan 09/10/09 SNIPPET: "We opened our international office in Amman, Jordan on January 11, 2001—exactly eight months before the attack on the World Trade Centers. Today, in the post-9/11 era, our presence in Jordan and elsewhere overseas is more important than ever to our security at home. The FBI has more than 60 international offices—called Legal Attachés, or Legats—located around the world. Our agents who lead them act primarily as diplomats, building relationships with host countries and fostering the exchange of information with our international law enforcement partners. “Our mission is to develop...

The FBI since the September 11 attacks has forged ties with a number of Muslim groups linked to a secretive organization that calls for the methodical takeover of the United States. HUMAN EVENTS has obtained an eight-page memo written by Washington Field Office officials which celebrates the way the FBI, whose mission is law enforcement, has created these "partnerships." Critics, some within the FBI, say the bureau is increasing the statue of groups whose long-term ideological goal is to bring Islamic law to America through jihad, or struggle. A former agent told HUMAN EVENTS the bureau is dealing with the...

Note: The following text is a quote: DOMESTIC TERRORISM In the Post-9/11 Era 09/07/09 Members of our Evidence Response Team set up their crime scene equipment after the June 10 shootings at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. Nothing before or since has come close to the terror attacks of 9/11 in terms of lives lost, scope, and impact. And we know that al Qaeda led and inspired operatives still seek to strike our homeland—including with weapons of mass destruction. Which is why globally-fueled terrorism continues to occupy much of our time and attention these days. And yet, as we were...

Tension is growing within the Minneapolis Somali community as it awaits the next indictments in the federal probe of the disappearances of young men who became fighters in their homeland's ongoing warfare. So far, three Somali men have pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges. Now several others -- who either know the men or were considering returning to their homeland to fight for a terrorist group -- are waiting to learn whether they, too, have been targeted by federal investigators. Stephen L. Smith, a Minneapolis attorney who has counseled up to 20 local Somalis questioned by federal agents over the past...

An American fugitive, accused of murdering an aide to the late Shah of Iran in the United States, was made an editor of Iran’s English-language television network in Tehran. Hassan Abdulrahman, who is wanted by the FBI for shooting dead Ali Akbar Tabatabai in Maryland, worked for Iran’s flagship broadcaster Press TV, which has bureaus across the world, including London. A Press TV journalist who resigned in protest over the channel’s coverage of the apparently rigged Iranian election in June told The Times yesterday that Mr Abdulrahman was chief editor at the head office of the network. The journalist, who...

Authorities are searching for a man they say robbed two banks in less than a hour while wearing a silver sweat-inducing jogging suit and toting a pistol. The first robbery occurred about 11:30 a.m. last Friday at a Wachovia branch at 5650 Memorial Drive, according to the FBI. The second heist occurred about 45 minutes later and 25 miles away at a Bank of America branch at 1550 West Bay Area Boulevard, officials said. Because of his distinctive get-up, which included sunglasses, the FBI has labeled him the “Sweatin' to the Oldies” robber. In the Wachovia robbery, he threw large...

NEWARK, NJ—A federal judge today sentenced former state Senator Joseph Coniglio to 30 months in federal prison for his extortion and mail fraud convictions for an influencepeddling scheme connected to a $66,000-a-year consulting arrangement with Hackensack University Medical Center, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced. U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh also ordered Coniglio to pay a $15,000 fine. Coniglio must surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons on a date to be determined once the BOP designates a prison facility. There is no parole in the federal system. Coniglio, 66, of Paramus, a plumber by trade, was...

MERCEDES - Police are searching for the men responsible for a home invasion near Mercedes on Monday night. The homeowner says the men stormed the house claiming to be from the FBI, then beat him with their guns. He says they demanded money and drugs, when he told them he didn't have what they wanted, they stole his a car and sped off. He says the part that scares him the most, is that his wife and baby were home at the time of the attack. He's now planning to move to get them out of a dangerous situation.

A Belgian national and resident of France, suspected of international arms dealing for decades, was arrested on charges alleging that he conspired to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran, the U.S. Justice Department stated. Jacques Monsieur was arraigned Wednesday in a U.S. federal court in Mobile, Alabama. Monsieur, 56, and co-defendant Dara Fotouhi, 54, an Iranian national currently living in France, were indicted with conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling, as well as violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

ST. LOUIS, MO—Bobby Garrett pled guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, making false statements and theft of government funds, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced today. Bobby Lee Garrett, Leo Liston, and Vincent Carr were police detectives employed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, assigned to the Crime Suppression Unit. Officers assigned to the Crime Suppression Unit typically handled investigations involving auto theft, burglary, illegal narcotics sales, and firearms offenses, and usually carried out their duties while working in plain clothes and unmarked cars. According to statements made in court by Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith at...

Colorful in public, ruthless and murderous in private, former Boston Mafia boss Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo died this past Saturday of renal failure due to kidney disease. He was 90. For those of you unfamiliar with "The Underboss," you're about to get an education.

David Frum: Barack Obama's Lockerbie sleight of hand Muammar Qaddafi delivered President Obama a welcome gift this week — a gift made all the more valuable by the remarkable lack of curiosity of the U.S. press about what exactly was contained inside the box. The hero’s welcome given to the convicted Lockerbie bomber in Tripoli diverted media attention from embarrassing questions about the bomber’s release to the much easier issue of the bomber’s reception. Now the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy will drive the entire subject into the back pages and specialty blogs. President Obama is unlikely now to have...

Does anyone know about these people? Are they legit?