Posted on 07/10/2005 8:27:33 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
The young men were at loose ends in Lackawanna, a blue-collar town in upstate New York. Restless and curious about their Islamic heritage, they started meeting secretly with a charismatic Muslim fundamentalist who persuaded them to trek to Afghanistan to attend a military training camp.
It's a long way from Lackawanna to Lodi, but there are parallels between the New York case and the unfolding federal probe in the San Joaquin County town.
--snip--
The seven Lackawanna men headed for Afghanistan in the spring of 2001, according to news accounts of their case. They told their families and friends in the town's Yemeni community an agreed-on cover story: They were going to Pakistan for religious schooling.
Then they set off on what promised to be a grand adventure and possibly their religious salvation. They would train to be soldiers for the jihad - the holy war against enemies of Islam.
But the six-week jihadist camp turned out to be more than most of them had bargained for: more extreme, more violent and more rigorous. Within days, four bailed out and headed back home to their everyday lives in Lackawanna. Or so they thought.
Fifteen months later, six of the men were facing federal anti-terrorism charges for their participation in the Afghan camp. The seventh man disappeared and was captured in Yemen in 2004. Today, the "Lackawanna Six" are in prisons scattered across the Northeast, serving terms of seven to 10 years. All six pleaded guilty to forestall harsher punishment.
The Lackawanna prosecution hinged on U.S. statutes, now part of the Patriot Act, that make it a crime to provide "material support" to a foreign terrorist organization. In the Lodi case, federal officials have told The Bee they are investigating possible violations of the same laws.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Seems to be a lackawanna in Lackawanna. Jail 'em anyway.
Last month I sat on a juror of a drug dealer. It was everyone elses fault that he did what he did. The same for these folks.
Right is right and wrong is wrong. No excuses anymore. Either disavow terrorism or leave the country. It is really that simple.
Bump for later.
It's later.
LOL!!!!
Smart alec!!! :)
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