Posted on 06/10/2002 2:34:13 PM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government on Monday announced the arrest of an American accused of plotting with al-Qaida terrorists to detonate a "dirty bomb" to spread radioactive material, possibly targeting Washington.
Authorities said the alleged scheme, involving a former gang member from Chicago who was raised Catholic but converted to Islam, went only as far as the planning stages. Undersecretary of State John Bolton indicated the man was carrying plans for the attack when he was picked up in Chicago.
Jose Padilla, 31, also known as Abdullah al Muhajir, was arrested on May 8 as he flew from Pakistan via Zurich, Switzerland, to O'Hare International Airport. Officials said the CIA and FBI had helped foil the alleged plan, and FBI agents were waiting for Padilla as his plane arrived at the gate. Authorities said they believed he had returned to conduct reconnaissance for al-Qaida.
President Bush said, "We have a man detained who is a threat to the country and that thanks to the vigilance of our intelligence gathering and law enforcement he is now off the streets, where he should be."
A government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Padilla and at least two others who may have been involved in the alleged plot were detained in Pakistan on immigration violations before May 8. But Padilla was allowed to board his international flight and tricked into believing he had escaped - with U.S. agents sitting on the plane quietly watching his every move.
A "dirty bomb" - traditional explosives combined with radioactive material - would not result in a nuclear explosion, but a powerful device could release small amounts of radioactive material over dozens of city blocks. Experts believe the most devastating effect would be the panic caused and the difficulty sending rescue workers into the contaminated area. For that reason, it has been called an ideal terrorist weapon.
In an unusual legal twist, the Justice Department handed the Brooklyn-born Padilla to the Pentagon for indefinite imprisonment as an "enemy combatant." Government lawyers cited a 1942 Supreme Court ruling permitting such a transfer. Padilla had been held for weeks in New York, then was flown Monday aboard a military C-130 plane to a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the al-Qaida apparently believed Padilla would be permitted to travel freely within the United States because of his citizenship and his U.S. passport.
"We have acted with legal authority both under the laws of war and clear Supreme Court precedent, which establish that the military may detain a United States citizen who has joined the enemy and has entered our country to carry out hostile acts," Ashcroft said.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the apparent target was Washington. Speaking at a news conference, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the scheme was "still in the initial planning stage," and that Padilla "had indicated some knowledge of the Washington, D.C., area."
Another U.S. official said Washington was believed one possible target because of its prominence as the seat of government, not because of any firm evidence from al-Qaida.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said investigators do not believe al-Qaida has acquired enough radioactive material to build such a weapon.
In a statement attributed to al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, the group said: "We have the right to fight (Americans) by chemical and biological weapons so that they catch the fatal and unusual diseases that Muslims have caught due to their chemical and biological weapons."
Ashcroft, who first disclosed the arrest in a television announcement from Moscow, said Padilla "trained with the enemy," studying how to wire explosive and researching radiological weapons. Ashcroft said Padilla met several times in 2001 with senior al-Qaida officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he traveled after he served one year's probation on state weapons and assault charges in Sunrise, Fla.
Information leading to Padilla's arrest came in part from U.S. questioning of captured al-Qaida leader Abu Zubaydah, one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants, said two U.S. officials. Ashcroft said information about the plot came from "multiple independent and corroborating sources."
Padilla first met Zubaydah in Afghanistan in late 2001 after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, then went to Lahore, Pakistan, to research dirty bomb techniques with an unidentified associate, officials said. At Abu Zubaydah's request, Padilla traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, in March to meet several senior al-Qaida officials and discuss bombings of U.S. gas stations and hotels, officials said.
Bolton, the State Department undersecretary, referred to "the arrest of the terrorist and the plans that he was captured carrying." Bolton declined to elaborate on his remarks.
Padilla's criminal history in the United States dates to growing up in Chicago, where his family moved when he was 4. He was convicted at 15 as a juvenile of aggravated battery, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. A law enforcement official said Padilla was in custody there between November 1985 and May 1988.
In Florida, he was convicted in 1991 in Sunrise on charges of aggravated assault and discharging a firearm, court records show. Padilla, who identified himself as Catholic when he was booked on those charges, served one year of supervised release, until Aug. 4, 1993. A Justice official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Padilla converted to Islam after his 1993 release.
Police said Padilla - who has "Jose" tattooed on his right arm - brandished a .38 revolver at another driver during a traffic encounter. When the other driver followed him to a gas station, Padilla fired one shot from his vehicle at the other car. No one was hurt. Police traced his license tag and arrested Padilla at home, where they found him with the handgun in his waistband.
While in the Broward County jail, Padilla was accused of battery on a jail officer and resisting without violence in January 1992. He pleaded guilty and spent 10 months behind bars.
Court records also show Padilla with speeding convictions in 1993 and 1997, and his driver's license was suspended in 1996. Padilla also completed a traffic law substance-abuse course in 1992, but it was unclear whether that stemmed from an arrest.
Padilla was assigned a lawyer in New York immediately after his May 8 arrest, but his access to his lawyer probably will be severely restricted now that he is in military custody, said Lt. Col. Rivers Johnson, a Pentagon spokesman. Officials said there were no plans to organize a military tribunal or otherwise pursue criminal charges against Padilla, in part because tribunals are reserved for accused terrorists who are not U.S. citizens.
I read where it says he identified himself as Catholic.
Couldn't that imply he OFFERED that info?
And I think the point the writer of this article was making is that he converted from something (Catholocism) TO something (Islam).
That's my take. And if I recall, yes, depending on where you are getting booked, they can ask if you have a religious preference, maybe for summoning a Chaplain.
I can understand the reasons for many blacks going the Nation of Islam now; now they can hate and terrorize whitey courtesy of Al queda monies.
Geez, unimaginable as it may seem, we really could see terrorism from our own citizens.
When they do that, of course, we then have some opportunity to infiltrate.
So profiling will have an additional benefit.
But where's the bomb?
Yeah. But a lot of the Americans who converted to islam due to those "understanding islam" sessions are white. And Al Qaeda terrorist John Walker Lindh (whatever his islamic name is) is not only white, but comes from a rich family.
"It takes all kinds."
I think that's the key to the success of Islam. Muslims are free to wage war against "infidels" whenever the Islamic world is "attacked." And Muslims must submit (Islam means submission) to the religious/civil authorities. It's an ideal religion for aspiring dictators, as can be seen by the number of dictatorships throughout the Muslim world.
Question about the OKC Bombing & the Latest Al Qaeda Guy Caught at O'Hare
To: Shermy
15 posted on 6/10/02 6:09 PM Pacific by The Magical Mischief Tour
|
Mrs Kus |
Walker was raised Cathoolic but I don't think he got very far in confirmation nor had a solid foundation, thanks to his folks being terminally stupid.
Check out this January 1 Freep posting about Latinos in America converting to Islam: Islam is also an alternative for Latinos in the United States
Islam is also an alternative for Latinos in the United States
AFP via The News (Mexico City) | January 1, 2002
Posted on 1/1/02 10:16 AM Eastern by sarcasm
LOS ANGELES - Latinos who don't drink, eat pork or even dance might feel out of step with their families or with other Latin Americans. Just the same, about 40,000 Latinos living in the United States find that Islam meets other needs and provides an alternative community.
"Some claim they are dissatisfied with Christianity, some are interested in the more active practice that Islam offers. Some find out about Islam through friends and family," said Samantha Sanchez, president of Latino American Dawah Organization, one of several U.S. organizations of Latino Muslims.
Marta Galedary, a Mexican immigrant who discovered Islam through friends 20 years ago, now organizes study groups for Latinos at the Los Angeles Islamic Center.
"People came to us out of curiosity and asked for literature about Islam in Spanish, so we realized that we needed to reach out to non-Muslims," said Galedary, whose group numbers 25 to 30. "Everyone knows someone who is interested."
In California, as in Texas, the majority of Muslim Latinos are Mexicans or Central Americans who arrived some years ago and haven't mastered English. On the East Coast, the communities are mostly Puerto Rican or Dominican, and many were born in the United States, said Ismi Saraji, who lives in New York.
Recent converts have little problem giving up pork, liquor and dance, said Saraji. The problem is getting their families to accept their new lifestyles.
"The problem for them is how their families may feel betrayed by them. My cousin was still trying to feed me pork pies for years after I converted. When I mentioned the problem with pork, she would just say: 'So don't eat that part'," said Saraji.
"My parents still don't understand a lot about my religion and I sometimes feel that they don't want to understand something that they don't like," said Mercedes Zeenni, a Mexican-born California resident who converted to Islam 11 years ago, before marrying her Lebanese boyfriend.
So strong is the fear of rejection that some follow Islam in secret.
"I'm always worried that the people I love the most will reject me. My grandparents still don't know. I think the fear of rejection is one that all new converts fear," said Juan Galvan, of Texas.
Nearly all Latino converts to Islam had been practicing Catholics who were to some degree uncomfortable with Catholicism.
"I was Catholic. But from the start, it seemed that Islam gave more answers to my questions, was more direct, without mysteries, and making it easier for me to understand what it meant to believe in God," said Zeenni.
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