Posted on 05/08/2007 2:57:53 PM PDT by TexasCajun
From this afternoon's FBI news conference in Camden:
* Suspects allegedly scoped out Dover Air Force Base and a Coast Guard station in Philadelphia.
* Suspects said to have "burst out in laughter" at gruesome video of attack on U.S. Marine
* Coordination of law enforcement called "model of the post-911 era"
The FBI arrested six people last night, including five in Cherry Hill, for an alleged plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, several federal officials said. "If you want to do anything here, there is Fort Dix and I don't want to exaggerate, and I assure that you can hit an American base very easily," one of the men told an FBI informant, according to the FBI. "You take a map and draw it and then you calculate that there are areas where there are 100 to 200 individuals . . .
"When you got a military base, you need mortars and RPGs," the man allegedly said.
"My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers," the man on the tape said. "You hit 4, 5 or 6 humvees and light the whole place up."
Greg Reinert, a Justice Department spokesman in Camden, described the six as "Islamic radicals . . . who were involved in a plot to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey."
"Their alleged intention was to conduct an armed assault on the Army base and to kill as many soldiers as possible," he said.
A Justice Department spokesman in Washington noted that none of the suspects is charged with terrorism crimes.
"We have no indication that they were receiving direction from a foreign terrorist organization," said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd. "However, they were engaged in weapons training, surveilled targets and discussed killing large numbers of servicemen, and so that certainly warranted a strong law enforcement response."
They also targeted Dover Air Force Base, but determined that it was too well-guarded to attack, the FBI said.
"The actions of these defendants posed a real threat to the safety and security of New Jersey citizens," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said today. "We will remain steadfast in our focus on protecting New Jersey from the terrorist threat among us whether that threat is against everyday citizens or our men and women in uniform."
While training for their alleged Fort Dix mission in the Poconos in February, some of the men allegedly discussed a planned attack on two American warships that were supposedly going to be docked in Philadelphia next year, the FBI said.
During a meeting on March 16, also apparently recorded by the FBI, one of the men said:
"You know where the stadiums are in Philadelphia? There is the Navy base and every year they have the Army-Navy ball game and they come and stay one or two weeks. The Navy base will then be full of people. You see this is an opportunity and the beauty of this location specifically if you have the proper weaponry, is that you can hit it. . ."
Four of the men charged have been living in Cherry Hill and hail from the former Yugoslavia: Mohamed Shnewer and brothers Dritan, Eljzir and Shaine Duka.
The others charged are Serdar Tatar of Philadelphia and Agron Abdullahu of Williamstown. One was born in Jordan, one in Turkey.
The investigation began more than a year ago, according to an affidavit from FBI agent John J. Ryan.
The tipster called the FBI on Jan. 31, 2006, and said that someone had brought a "disturbing" video to have duplicated.
"The DVD depicted 10 young men who appeared to be in their early-20s shooting assault weapons at a firing range in a militia-like style while calling for jihad and shouting in Arabic, 'Allah Akbar,' or 'God is Great.'"
In March 2006, an FBI cooperator infiltrated the group, the FBI said, and began recording his conversations with the Shnewer.
On a laptop computer belonging to one suspect, the FBI found a file labeled "19," and "what appears to be the last will and testament of at least two of the hijackers" in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the FBI said.
On July 29, a second FBI informant recorded a meeting with the three Dukas and Shnewer, during which they watched videos on the laptop that included "armed attacks on and the killing of U.S. military personnel," the FBI said.
Three days later, the FBI said, the informant recorded a meeting with Shnewer in which he said the six were part of a "group that was planning to attack a U.S. military base."
"Shnewer explained that they could utilize six or seven jihadists to attack and kill at least one hundred soldiers by using rocket-propelled grenades," the FBI said.
Carolee Nisbet, a public information officer at Fort Dix, said: "I understand that they weren't just targeting Fort Dix, that it was a multiple-base plan to attack several bases in the Northeast." She declined to elaborate.
Some of the six men tried to purchase automatic weapons from a local gun dealer before the arrests, sources said.
"These guys were absolutely serious," one official said.
Tatar provided the group with a map to the base, a federal official said.
Their nationalities could not be confirmed this morning, but several are believed to be naturalized U.S. citizens.
At the base this morning, Nisbet said: "They are going to make the security procedures more stringent, but we're not going to increase the threat level. We are just going to make people more aware of their surroundings."
A successful attack on Fort Dix is highly unlikely. Armed soldiers guard every gate, whose approaches have curbs or barriers that force traffic to slowly snake as they get near.
The soldiers perform "a 100 percent identification check" and do random vehicle searches, Nisbet said.
Each gate also has additional security measures that are far from obvious. "We do not publicize this," she said.
All six men are expected to be arraigned in federal court in Camden today, according to Reinert.
Fort Dix is a 13,400-acre military post near Exit 7 of the New Jersey Turnpike in Burlington County. On an average day, there are about 15,000 to 16,000 soldiers and civilians. It is a regional reserve and mobilization site, the largest such site in the country.
Fort Dix spokesman David Moore issued a statement this morning that says:
"Security at Fort Dix remains stringent in the wake of arrests Monday of six men who were allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on the post. This alleged attack is a reminder that we are a nation at war, and that each of us must be vigilant and aware of our surroundings . . .
"Mobilization and training continue as scheduled at Fort Dix, which has mobilized and demobilized more than 95,000 Soldiers since Sept. 11.
"Those passing through checkpoints onto Fort Dix will notice more frequent vehicle searches and strict adherence to a 100-percent ID check, which may slow traffic."
The FBI and immigration officials are expected to hold a news conference later today.
It’s not beyond reason that this was a set up to give more fuel for banning assault weapons. The insider government is up to no good.....
It’s very odd that they were dumb enough to circulate the DVD for one issue.
I’ve been following this all day and don’t understand why the MSM continues to refer to this as “homegrown” terrorism.
I hear that these fellows were members of the infamously violent Irish Leprachaun Society (ILS) posing a peaceful muslims. /s
I lived in Kosovo from 1999 to 2004. We supported the Kosovar Albanian rebels, who were linked with Al Qaeda both overtly and covertly by U.S. contractors. We supported the KLA, and we changed the name TMK/KPC, but it is the same group. They murdered Serbs; men, women and children since 1999 without few if any arrests. We either looked the other way or actually supported the perpetrators......and still are.
Don't be an alarmist. There is no WOT. I know because John Edwards said so, and any guy who gets $400 haircuts can't be wrong.
ABC 7 in Stamford, CT actually dedicated time to this. They also mentioned the Jihadis wanted to target the Army - Navy game in December.
Lines have been drawn. When will something be done?
I happen to disagree. I believe that they were "close, real close to" trying to "kill[] them some Americans."
I've read many places today the army bases such as Ft. Dix are "soft targets." Somehow I just don't buy it, and portions of this article seem to indicate that there are significant (and I'd wager lethal) security measures in place, some obvious and some not so obvious.
Doesn't fit their agenda. If they are not homegrown, it means that the terrorists from other countries enter our country to attack. Dems/media cannot allow Bush to be seen as being right on this issue. They are in denial about what enemy we face.
I am seeing some FReepers saying these guys were losers and could not have succeeded. They are wrong. One guy delivered pizzas to Ft. Dix all day long. You don’t think he could have gotten 2-3 guys and weaponry in? Piece of cake. They would have let it right in.
If the MSM didn't...well, then they'd be admitting that there IS a global jihad against the West, and the U.S. in particular....and that the enemy is armed and here!
It’s not murder. It’s terrorism. A murder plot is somebody offing his boss because he hates him or his wife for insurance money. Murder can even be an armed psycho going nuts. But terrorism is an ideologically motivated attack on non-combatants to impose your ideology on them.
This was terrorism. Let’s start calling this what it is.
I think you win the prize.
How they can describe 6 foreign-born persons (one of whom was a US citizen but born and raised in Jordan), 5 of them foreign nationals and three of them illegal immigrants, as “home grown” is utterly beyond me.
It’s folly to try and decipher/understand the irrational....
So what were they charged with, shoplifting?
"We have no indication that they were receiving direction from a foreign terrorist organization," said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd. "However, they were engaged in weapons training, surveilled targets and discussed killing large numbers of servicemen, and so that certainly warranted a strong law enforcement response."
It doesn't get any more "Through the Looking Glass" than this.
You just gotta be kidding me.
It wouldn't take 3 or 4 well trained teams of snipers...to put this country in panic mode.
Two morons did just that, in Virgina......
I hate to say it...but I think it will happen sooner or later.
Most all Army Training Commands are lightly guarded...
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