Posted on 05/09/2007 7:33:59 AM PDT by presidio9
On the face of things, these Jersey guys do look to have been serious conspirators - the very kind of homegrown jihadists that pose such a threat to America. These fellows had assault weapons. These fellows had a map of Fort Dix. And, we can divine from their tape-recorded plottings, they had very real intent to kill as many American troops as they could, Allah willing.
So once more we thank our lucky stars for the due diligence of law enforcement people, who, it is announced, have shut down an armed attack on U.S. soil. This could have been pretty bad.
My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers. ... I assure you that you can hit an American base very easily. ... You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place up.
And it is, moreover, seen again how useful is the practice of saying something after seeing something. This case came down because an alert video store clerk notified the FBI when a customer brought in a tape for transfer to DVD and the clerk observed that the tape's contents were hair-raising. Here's a public hero.
That said, we can't afford to rely on random tipoffs that plots against the homeland are being hatched in some rathole. Store clerks are not the nation's first line of defense. And not every would-be wreaker of mayhem is so stupid as to let strangers see a video of himself shouting in Arabic at a Poconos firing range. There are more of these people out there - many, many more. This case is by no means an aberration.
A bookstore worker from Bay Ridge was convicted of plotting to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. A martial arts expert from the Bronx pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide combat training and medical assistance to Al Qaeda. A plan to blow up New York landmarks was concocted in Brooklyn. A Queens man admitted building fertilizer bombs with four men who tried to blow up a London nightclub and shopping center. A Queens man who moved to Britain in 2003 is facing charges there of providing supplies to Al Qaeda recruits fighting in Afghanistan.
And, now, six men in custody in Jersey, three of them in the country illegally. Well, innocent till proven guilty. They'll have their day in court. Regardless, they stand as examples of a growing threat that demands the most aggressive intelligence-gathering by federal and local authorities, most importantly the NYPD.
"This is what law enforcement is supposed to do in the post-9/11 era," Jersey U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie (photo) said yesterday. "Stay one step ahead of those who are attempting to cause harm to innocent American citizens."
Reminds me of an old Combat! (TV show) episode. I believe it was Richard Basehart who played a cruel, Nazi officer who is finally greased by a... grocery clerk.
the left does the same thing about feel good protests and feel good petititions
and feel good mock trials.
btt
It was just stated on Fox News, Britt Humes, that two of these terrorists entered the US at Brownsfield Texas from Mexico. Said they were smuggled in as children.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.