[freeperfromnj]

Back in October Cheney gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation. Here is a chilling quote from that speech that I still haven't forgotten about since I read it. It was quite apocolyptic (coming from the VP).

"Instead of losing thousands of lives, we might lose tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of lives in a single day of war"

[freeperfromnj]

Two members of Virginia-based terrorism network plead guilty

The Associated Press
1/16/04 4:03 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two members of a Virginia-based Islamic terrorism network pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges Friday and promised to help the government, Attorney General John Ashcroft said.

Randall Royer and Ibrahim al-Hamdi, who entered their pleas in Alexandria, Va., had ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba group seeking to drive India out of Kashmir. A federal indictment said the Northern Virginia group also had broader goals of helping the al-Qaida network; Afghanistan's former ruling militia, the Taliban; and rebels in Chechnya.

Both Royer, 30, and al-Hamdi, 26, pleaded guilty to using and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence; and with carrying an explosive during commission of a felony. Royer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, al-Hamdi 15 years.

The plea agreement, accepted by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, requires Royer and al-Hamdi to cooperate fully with the government in the prosecution of other individuals associated with the Virginia network.

In the agreement, Royer admitted helping four people gain entry to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan operated by Lashkar-e-Taiba. He also admitted helping al-Hamdi get into the camp.

Additionally, Royer said he was committed to helping terrorists gain entry to the camp after a meeting on Sept. 16, 2001. Documents said an unindicted co-conspirator said at the meeting that the terror attacks five days earlier, on Sept. 11, would be used as an excuse to trigger a global war against Islam. The time had come, the man said, for fighters to go abroad and, if possible, join in a holy war.

Al-Hamdi admitted to possessing a rifle with a telescopic site and various ammunition, including tracer rounds, to enhance his ability to train for a holy war in Chechnya, Kashmir or other locations outside the United States. He also admitted to carrying a rocket-propelled grenade as part of a conspiracy to undertake a military operation against India.

Four other members of the Virginia network pleaded guilty in August and September. Five members of the network are awaiting trials.