Posted on 08/16/2005 2:07:31 PM PDT by Pyro7480
Possible Terror Plot Prompts Call For Better Tracking Of Inmates Call Comes In Wake Of Possible Terrorist Plot
LOS ANGELES -- In the wake of a growing probe into a possible Southern California terrorist plot involving prison-based groups, a congresswoman said Tuesday that officials need to do a better job tracking inmate activities.
"We need to understand what's going on in the prisons better," Rep. Jane Harman, D-El Segundo, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters. "If people are being radicalized in prisons and they are radicalized in ways that are going to cause harm to as many innocent civilians as they can, that's not OK with me."
Harman's comments came in response to news that a Pakistani national was arrested as part of a widening probe into a possible terrorist plot targeting Southern California locations, including National Guard recruitment centers.
Hamad Riaz Samana, 21, of Los Angeles, was quietly taken into custody last week as part of an investigation that began with the arrest of two men in Torrance suspected of robbing gas stations, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported.
The investigation has involved more than 100 FBI agents and LAPD detectives as well as counter-terrorism specialists with other federal and local agencies, law enforcement sources told The Times.
The case opens a troubling new front for counter-terrorism officials because of a possible connection to a radical form of Islam practiced by a group called Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, an official told the newspaper. The group's name translates as The Assembly of Authentic Islam.
The JIS, as intelligence officials call it, has a presence at Folsom State Prison, where one of the men in custody, 25-year-old Levar Haney Washington, served time for assault and robbery, law enforcement sources told The Times. It is only one of the prison-based groups being investigated for possible ties to Islamic extremists.
The case began when Washington and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, were arrested by Torrance police in connection with gas station robberies between May 30 and July 3.
Detectives searching Washington's apartment on West 27th Street in Los Angeles found bulletproof vests, "jihadist" materials, and the addresses of such locations as National Guard facilities, two synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and the El Al Israel Airlines ticket counter at LAX, The Times reported.
"We are now in an era of franchised terrorism -- think McDonald's," Harman said. "Everyone doesn't have to ask permission of Uncle Osama to carry out a terrorist attack -- think London."
ACLU ALERT!!
Thanks...
I think our government, as a simple matter of self-preservation, should stop pretending that conversion to Islam in the jails can be a good thing. Muslim prisoners should be housed separately and not allowed any contact with non-Muslims. Muslim recruiters should not be allowed in the non-Muslim jail population. Conversion to Islam in prison doesn't reform prisoners--it further alienates them from society.
The Islam in our prison system is militant anti American and anti white.This is more along the lines of the Nation Of Islam since it's made mostly of black inmates.They make a perfect pool of recruits for radical Islam because of their hate for the country and the majority of its citizens.
Agreed. And I agree with your suggestions - I think Muslims should be isolated from the other prisoners, because they only infect them with their ugly form of racism, religious hatred and violence.
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