The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. ~ Sun Tzu on the art of War
Here we go again. Islamists are busy promoting their murdering of innocents.
Courtesy of Reuters
Horrific video sent to news agencies by Pakistani Taliban graphically shows beheading of Piotr Stanczak, a Polish engineer kidnapped last September.
posted by Bos'un at 8:09 AM
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VIEWED OVER 100,000 TIMES ON THE INTERNET [ http://www.memritv.org/video.html ]
Within the first week of its release, the MEMRI viral video "Hamas: In Their Own Voices," has been viewed over 100,000 times on the Internet. It is still available for download, for a limited time only.
The video, a compilation of MEMRI TV clips that aired prior to the current Gaza crisis, includes statements by Hamas leaders calling for the annihilation of Israel and of all Jews, for death to America, and for the Islamic conquest of the world.
Featured are Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, Hamas MPs Mushir Al-Masri and Fathi Hamad, Hamas MP and cleric Yunis Al-Astal, Palestinian Legislative Council acting speaker Sheikh Ahmad Bahr, and Hamas clerics Wael Al-Zarad and Muhsen Abu 'Ita.
Viewers will also see Hamas military training for adults and children, anti-American speeches at rallies including burning of the American flag and calls of support for "The Afghan Mujahideen," Hamas Al-Aqsa TV children's shows, and more.
Add the Video to Your Social Networking Pages [ http://www.memritv.org/video.html ]
You can view and download the video here . Email it, put it on your social networking pages, and share it with others.
Instructions on How to Download and Share the Video [ http://www.memritv.org/video.html ]
Share this video by uploading this clip to your YouTube, Facebook, and social network platforms.
Click here to get the link to embed the video on your blog and website
Visit http://www.MEMRITV.ORG for Other Clips from Hamas and Al-Aqsa TV
To see other clips on Hamas, visit the MEMRI TV pages for Al-Aqsa TV
( http://www.memritv.org/content/en/tv_chann...ndiv.htm?id=175 ) and for Hamas ( http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/95.htm ) – as well as the new MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) website ( http://www.memrijttm.org/ ).
Visit THEMEMRIBLOG.ORG for the Most Up-To-Date Middle East News
For the most up-to-date information on the Middle East, visit http://www.MEMRI.org/ .
For the latest MEMRI TV clips, visit http://www.memritv.org/ .
For breaking news you will get nowhere else, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/ .
Labels: al Qaeda, Americans, Asia, bin laden, cair, caliphate, Domestic terrorism, Hezbollah, Hizbollah, Islam, israel, jihadis, Middle East, Religion of Peace, Terrorism, terrorists/ism, war
posted by Bos'un at 4:16 PM
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Courtesy of my friend Christopher at Islam in Action: Belgium:Muslims Caught With Jewish hit List
Bernard Henri Levy among 6 Jews said targeted by Islamist group
By Haaretz Service
Jewish-French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy was listed by a Belgium-based Islamist group as a target for assassination alongside other leading Jewish personalities in Europe, the Belgian daily La Derniere Heure reported earlier this week.
The planned assassination was apparently thwarted after group leader Abdelkader Belliraj, a Belgian of Moroccan ascent, was arrested last February in Morocco, the newspaper reported.
Belgian authorities found the list during a raid on homes of local Muslim community members last November, according to the report.
The hit list mentioned the names of five other well-know Jewish figures in Belgium and France: Josy Eisenberg, producer of the A Bible ouverte (Open Bible) television program on FR2; Simone Susskind, a leader of Belgium's secular Jewish community; attorney Markus Pardes, president of the International Association of Jewish lawyers and jurists; Belgian writer Jean-Claude Bologne and La Derniere Heure reporter Edmond Blattche.
Belliraj is scheduled for trial next week over charges of assassinating and orchestrating the murders of six people in Belgium during 1980s, as well as for charges of arms trafficking.
posted by Bos'un at 7:31 AM
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Just received the following email from my friend at Tygrrrr Express
All,
It appears that Israel and much of the civilized world finally understands that all out war is necessary to deal with the Palestinians. When leftist peaceniks have finally had enough of being punched in the face by those they want to help, then there truly is hope for a sensible resolution to this conflict.
I hate war. War is hell. Being murdered by those that refuse peace is worse. Allowing Israel to finish what it failed to do in 2006 will allow 2009 to bring us one step closer to peace.
As always, if you have anything to promote, especially if it deals with this topic, please let me know. I received some spectacular hate mail this week, and look forward to entertaining the many with the intellectual deficiencies of the few.
Happy 2009!
Tygrrrr Express
Another friend, Abe, summed it up the other day, Olmert has let it go too far. He should have dealt with it quite some time ago. Now it's costing more, and it can't be as successful. Still, it's the last chance before Obama gets into office.
My prayers go out for Israel who has to endure the hardships and terrorist acts of fascist proxy, Hamas, and its Iranian handlers.
posted by Bos'un at 6:21 AM
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WWW.USDOJ.GOV
FORMER MARYLAND MAN CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO ACT AS AN IRAQI AGENT
Defendant Allegedly Worked for the Government of Iraq and Assisted the Iraqi Intelligence Service
WASHINGTON – A criminal complaint was filed today charging Mouyad Mahmoud Darwish, age 47, formerly of Maryland, with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifically, as an agent of Iraq, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
Darwish is a Canadian citizen born in Iraq. During part of the alleged conspiracy, he resided in Maryland. According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) routinely recruited individuals, either currently in the United States or to be placed into the United States, to support the IIS and the Government of Iraq. Following the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, the United States military obtained confidential IIS documents establishing that Darwish provided information to officials of the Government of Iraq and intelligence officers with the IIS.
The seized documents also established that Darwish received payments from the IIS and the Iraqi government as compensation for his assistance and information. For example, an IIS document indicated that Darwish had provided information he received from a source of Iraqi descent that Iraqi volunteers, including the source, were being trained by the U.S. military in Virginia. Another document identifies Darwish as an employee of the Iraqi Interests Section (ISEC), formed in 1991 within the Algerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., after the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Iraq for invading Kuwait.
Specifically, according to the affidavit, throughout the conspiracy Darwish performed tasks at the Iraqi Embassy and at the ISEC. For example, the affidavit alleges that from 2000 through March or April of 2004, Darwish was working full-time at the ISEC as an assistant to the accountant and as a driver, for which he was paid $1,500 per month. Darwish also had obtained a work visa for a position as a cook at a restaurant in Maryland during that time frame, in an effort to legally remain in the United States.
According to the affidavit, in January 2004, a co-conspirator asked that Darwish locate and destroy any ISEC files associated with the conspirator, in an effort to conceal that person’s ISEC activities and Ba’ath Party membership. While attempting to locate the files, Darwish learned that the files had already been destroyed and shared this information with his co-conspirators. Darwish also is alleged to have told his conspirators about his employment activities at the Iraqi Embassy and the ongoing activities in the United States of the Iraqi ambassador and other Iraqi government officials who were associated with the interim government following the downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime.
Darwish also is alleged to have attended social gatherings at the Iraqi Embassy and the ISEC, which were used to recruit individuals to work for the IIS; to interact with individuals who were already working with the IIS and Saddam Hussein’s regime; and to maintain the loyalties of the participants to the Ba’ath Party and Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Darwish was never recognized by the Department of State or the Attorney General of the United States as a diplomatic or consular officer of the Government of Iraq, or officially or publicly acknowledged and sponsored as an official, representative, or employee of Iraq.
According to the affidavit, from October 2001 through 2006 Darwish sought to obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States and filed documents in support of his application. Darwish never revealed his affiliation with the Ba’ath Party or the government of Iraq in applications to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (now United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) for residency status in the United States, nor did he reveal his employment with the ISEC/Iraqi Embassy from 2000 through early 2004, instead claiming that he first entered the United States on June 15, 2001 for the sole purpose of working at a restaurant in Maryland as a cook.
On May 20, 2003, during an interview with FBI agents, Darwish made numerous misrepresentations regarding his presence in the United States, including asserting that he arrived in the United States in May 2001; that he performed manual labor tasks such as mowing the lawn and making minor repairs for the ISEC; and that he had no knowledge of the intelligence activities being conducted by, or at, the ISEC.
Darwish faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to act as an agent for a foreign government. He had an initial appearance earlier today in Buffalo, New York, on that charge. A detention hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow morning in Buffalo. Darwish was detained by immigration officials in Buffalo on December 24, 2008 when he attempted to enter the United States from Canada. No court appearance has been scheduled yet in Maryland.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Christine Manuelian, who is prosecuting the case, as well as Senior Trial Attorneys Robert E. Wallace and Clifford I. Rones, from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, who provided assistance in the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Harvey E. Eisenberg, Chief of National Security, who supervised this case.
posted by Bos'un at 3:45 PM
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Courtesy of FBI and DOJ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WWW.USDOJ.GOV
NEW JERSEY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO HIZBALLAH TV STATION
NEW YORK - Lev L. Dassin, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Saleh Elahwal, 55, of Matawan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to providing material support to Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to the count (Count Two) of the Superseding Indictment to which Elahwal pleaded guilty, and statements made during his guilty plea proceeding before United States District Judge Richard M. Berman:
Hizballah ("Party of God") is a Lebanon-based organization whose stated mission is the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state and the destruction of the State of Israel. Hizballah regards the United States as its enemy in this struggle and has pursued its mission through, among other things, attacks on civilian targets. Hizballah operates a television station in Lebanon known as Al Manar ("the beacon") to cultivate support, including raising funds and recruiting volunteers for attacks. Hizballah was designated on October 8, 1997, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. On October 31, 2001, Hizballah was further designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and Al Manar itself was so designated on March 23, 2006.
In pleading guilty, Elahwal admitted that between approximately September 2005 and August 2006, he knowingly provided satellite transmission services to Al Manar, for which he was paid thousands of dollars. Elahwal admitted that he knew that Al Manar was operated by Hizballah and that Hizballah had engaged in acts of terrorism as defined by federal law.
Elahwal pleaded guilty to a charge of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for February 19, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge BERMAN in Manhattan federal court.
On December 23, 2008, Elahwal’s co-defendant, Javed Iqbal, also pleaded guilty to providing material support to Hizballah. His sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2009, at 12:45 p.m. before Judge Berman.
Mr. Dassin praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force in conducting the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Snyder and David S. Leibowitz are in charge of the prosecution.
posted by Bos'un at 3:35 PM
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Digg!
posted by Rosemary at 9:20 AM
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Courtesy Prophecy News
Homeland Security forecasts 5-year terror threats
The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks are considered the most dangerous threats that could be carried out against the U.S. But those threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaeda and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots, according to the internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013. The al-Qaeda terrorist network continues to focus on U.S. attack targets vulnerable to massive economic losses, casualties and political "turmoil," the assessment said. Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction remains "the highest priority at the federal level." Speaking to reporters on Dec. 3, Chertoff explained that more people, such as terrorists, will learn how to make dirty bombs, biological and chemical weapons. "The other side is going to continue to learn more about doing things," he said. Intelligence officials also predict that in the next five years, terrorists will try to conduct a destructive biological attack. Officials are concerned about the possibility of infections to thousands of U.S. citizens, overwhelming regional health care systems. There could also be dire economic impacts caused by workers' illnesses and deaths. Officials are most concerned about biological agents stolen from labs or other storage facilities, such as anthrax....................... read more
posted by Bos'un at 12:42 AM
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Courtesy of the FBI
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.usdoj.gov
Defendant Shredded Documents and Lied to FBI Agents
WASHINGTON—Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, age 67, an Iraqi national living in Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifically, as an agent of Iraq, announced Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
“Since coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003, the Justice Department has charged at least a dozen people who served in the United States as illegal agents for the former Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein or its feared intelligence service, the Mukhabbarat. The number of these cases underscores the reach of Saddam's intelligence service in America and the extent to which the former Iraqi regime was concerned with defectors and expatriate groups here," said Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
“Documents recovered in Iraq by the United States Military led to Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy’s confession that he secretly worked as an agent of the Iraqi Intelligence Service under Saddam Hussein, using his restaurant as a meeting place and passing information to Iraqi agents,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Mr. Al-Dellemy lied about his work for Saddam Hussein regime when he was questioned by FBI agents in 2008, long after he became a lawful permanent resident of the United States.”
“The FBI is committed to rooting out and prosecuting those individuals who enjoy the benefits of residing in this country but who are acting on behalf of hostile foreign Intelligence services,” said Amy Jo Lyons, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office.
According to the plea agreement, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) routinely recruited individuals, either currently in the United States or to be placed into the United States, to support the IIS and the Government of Iraq. Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2000, was one of these individuals. He was born in Iraq and was a member of the Ba’ath Party. He came to the United States as a student in the 1980s. His education in the United States was paid for by the Ba’ath Party. In exchange, Al-Dellemy was expected to provide information to the Government of Iraq on matters of interest to the government and the IIS.
Following the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, the U.S. military obtained confidential IIS documents establishing that beginning in 1989, and continuing through the Saddam Hussein regime, Al-Dellemy, referred to in many instances by the code name “Adam,” had been providing information to officials of the Government of Iraq and intelligence officers with the IIS. This information included reporting on the identities and activities of individuals and organizations in the United States that were opposed to Saddam Hussein and his regime, and specifics regarding U.S. policy and actions towards the Iraqi government. The seized documents also established that Al-Dellemy periodically received payments from the IIS and the Iraqi government as compensation for his assistance and information.
Specifically, according the plea agreement, throughout the conspiracy Al-Dellemy performed tasks at the Iraqi Embassy and at the Iraqi Interests Section (ISEC), formed in 1991 within the Algerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., after the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Iraq for invading Kuwait. For example, in 1990, around the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Al-Dellemy assisted in the shredding of Ba’ath Party and other diplomatic documents maintained at the Iraqi Embassy that could compromise the Saddam Hussein regime and identify those individuals in the United States who had been acting as agents of the IIS. Al-Dellemy also attended and organized social gatherings at the Iraqi Embassy and the ISEC, which were used to recruit individuals to work for the IIS; to interact with individuals who were already working with the IIS and Saddam Hussein’s regime; and to maintain the loyalties of the participants to the Ba’ath Party and Saddam Hussein’s regime. Throughout the conspiracy Al-Dellemy made a restaurant he operated in Maryland available as a meeting place for IIS officers and Iraqi government officials, and utilized his restaurant as a means to gather information pertaining to U.S. government agencies near the restaurant, such as the National Security Agency and Fort George G. Meade.
Throughout the conspiracy, Al-Dellemy relied on fellow Ba’ath Party members and/or sympathizers to provide him with information about the Iraqi opposition in the United States, including members of the Iraqi community in Detroit, Michigan. Al-Dellemy also gathered information in Maryland regarding U.S. military training and travel concerning U.S. actions in Iraq.
Al-Dellemy, at the request of Iraqi government officials, sought out individuals for employment at the ISEC and in 2000, arranged for a coconspirator to be employed full-time at the ISEC as an accountant and a driver. This coconspirator continued his employment at the ISEC through March 2003, then resumed his employment at the Iraqi Embassy when it reopened in Washington, D.C., in December 2003. The coconspirator continued to work at the Iraqi embassy until March or April 2004. The coconspirator acted as a conduit between Al-Dellemy, Ba’ath Party members and loyalists in Detroit, and IIS and ISEC officials to transmit information of interest to the IIS, the Saddam Hussein regime, and the Ba’ath Party. Al-Dellemy was never recognized by the Department of State or the Attorney General of the United States as a diplomatic or consular officer of the Government of Iraq, or officially or publicly acknowledged and sponsored as an official, representative, or employee of Iraq.
According to the plea, Al-Dellemy never revealed his affiliation with the Ba’ath Party in applications to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (now U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) for residency status in the United States, in an effort to conceal his activities as an agent for the Iraqi government. In addition, at the end of March 2003, Al-Dellemy and others destroyed numerous Ba’ath Party documents and related literature in his possession that would have compromised the activities of Al-Dellemy and his coconspirators as agents of the Iraqi government in the United States. On Oct. 13, 2008, during an interview with FBI agents, Al-Dellemy falsely denied passing information to the IIS and the Iraqi government, denied receiving payment from the IIS, and denied collecting information on the Iraqi opposition movement and reporting that information to the IIS.
Al-Dellemy faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to act as an agent for a foreign government. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Manuelian, who is prosecuting the case, as well as Senior Trial Attorneys Robert E. Wallace and Clifford I. Rones, from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, who provided assistance in the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey E. Eisenberg, Chief of National Security, who supervised this case.
posted by Bos'un at 3:24 PM
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Tensions have recently increased between the pro-Western, moderate Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the Iranian-Syrian axis, which supports Hizbullah, Hamas and the resistance in Iraq. Saudi Arabia and Egypt accused Iran and Syria of attempting to destabilize the region by interfering in the internal affairs of Arab countries and nurturing the resistance movements in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. They also accused Syria of dividing the Arab ranks and helping the non-Arab Iran to take over the Middle East, to the detriment of Arab interests.
Syria and Iran, for their part, accused Saudi Arabia and Egypt of being pro-American and pro-Israeli and of pursuing a conciliatory policy aimed at undermining the activity of the resistance movements. Recent political initiatives by Saudi Arabia – namely, the November 2008 Interfaith Dialogue Conference in New York, and the efforts to promote the Saudi peace initiative – were portrayed as attempts to achieve normalization with Israel and to deny the Palestinians' right of return. Saudi King 'Abdallah was branded by Syria as an "infidel" and "collaborator with the Imperialist Satan," while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was called a "traitor" and a "tyrant" who should be assassinated like the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.
The prevailing tensions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, and Syria and Iran, on the other, have intensified further following the recent terrorist attacks in Lebanon and Syria, with Syria accusing Saudi Arabia and the Lebanese March 14 Forces of supporting fundamentalist organizations in Lebanon, such as Fath Al-Islam, which, they claimed, was responsible for the September 2008 terrorist attack in Damascus. In response, Saudi Arabia and the March 14 Forces stated that it was Syria that had created and nurtured Fath Al-Islam, with the goal of undermining Lebanon's stability and regaining control over it. They contended that the Damascus attack had been aimed at creating a false impression that the Syrian regime was also suffering from terrorism.
Conflict also arose between Egypt and Hamas, after Egypt opened its border to Gaza pilgrims en route to Mecca but Hamas subsequently prevented them from reaching the border. This crisis, too, developed into a wide-scale conflict between Egypt and Saudi Arabia vs. Syria and Iran. Egypt accused Hamas of harming the Palestinians even more than Israel is, thereby promoting the interests of Syria and Iran, who are anxious to perpetuate the Palestinian problem rather than resolve it. Syria, Iran, and Hamas accused Egypt of being responsible for the siege of Gaza and of not acting as a neutral mediator between the Palestinian factions. In Iran, there have even been calls to topple the Saudi and Egyptian regimes.
The following are three reports on the recent inter-Arab tension:
BRIDGING THE LANGUAGE GAP BETWEEN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE WEST
MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may ONLY be cited with proper attribution.
posted by Bos'un at 8:49 PM
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Courtesy of the FBI:
Five Radical Islamists Convicted of Conspiring to Kill Soldiers at Fort Dix
Department of Justice Press Release
For Immediate Release
Dec 22, 2008
CAMDEN – A jury today convicted five men on charges they plotted to kill members of the U.S. military, Acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced.
After 5½ days of deliberations, which began Dec. 17, the jury convicted Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, brothers Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka and Serdar Tatar on Count One of the seven-count Superseding Indictment that charged them with conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military. The jury acquitted each of defendants of Count Two, which charged attempt to murder members of the U.S. military.
For the conspiracy conviction only, each of the defendants faces a sentence of any number of years up to life in prison.
The case was tried by Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Hammer, Jr., Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Terrorism Unit. U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler, who presided over the 12-week trial, scheduled sentencing of the three Duka brothers for April 22. Judge Kugler scheduled sentencing of Shnewer and Tartar on April 23.
The remaining counts of the Superseding Indictment, which was returned in January, charged the three Duka brothers, who are illegal immigrants, and Shnewer with firearm offenses; including possession of machine guns. See below for conviction details on each of the defendants.
The defendants’ arrests occurred on May 7, 2007, in Cherry Hill as Dritan and Shain Duka were meeting a confidential government witness to purchase four automatic M-16 rifles and three semi-automatic AK-47 rifles to be used in a future attack on military personnel. The other defendants were arrested at various locations at about the same time.
“These men planned, trained and ceaselessly talked unambiguously about their intention to ambush and kill U.S. soldiers,” said Marra. “The word should go out to any other would-be terrorists of the homegrown variety that the United States will find you, infiltrate your group, prosecute you and send you to a federal prison for a very long time.”
“Vigilance was the key to disrupting the dangerous terrorists convicted today and we are glad they are off the street,” said Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI. “We appreciate the tip from an alert citizen who reported this suspicious activity to law enforcement. Without tips from concerned citizens or cooperation from our law enforcement partners, it is much more difficult to safeguard our nation and protect the
United States from terrorist attack.”
“Today's verdicts underscore the need for continued vigilance against homegrown terror threats,” said Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “While these defendants were not members of an international terrorist organization, their involvement in weapons training, their surveillance of domestic targets and their discussions of killing U.S. military personnel posed a serious threat that required the law enforcement disruption and the prosecutions upheld by the jury today.”
In convicting the defendants, the jury found that one member of the group conducted surveillance at Fort Dix and Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia. The co-conspirator obtained a detailed map of Fort Dix, where they hoped to use assault rifles to kill as many soldiers as possible,
according to trial testimony and evidence.
During the trial, the jury viewed secretly recorded videotapes of the defendants preforming small-arms training at a shooting range in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and watching training videos amongst themselves that included depictions of American soldiers being killed and of known foreign Islamic radicals urging jihad against the United States.
The defendants and the charges on which each was convicted are as follows:
• Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 23, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the members of the U.S. military, and the attempted possession of AK-47 semi-automatic assault weapons to be used in the attack.
• Dritan Duka, 30 of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military; possession of machine guns; possession and attempted possession of machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence; and two counts of possession of firearms by an illegal alien.
• Shain Duka, 27, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military; possession of machine guns; possession and attempted possession of machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence; and two counts of possession of firearms by an illegal alien.
• Eljvir Duka, 25, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military, and possession of firearms by illegal aliens. The jury acquitted on one count of possession and attempted possession of machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence.
• Serdar Tatar, 25, of Philadelphia: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military.
A sixth co-defendant, Agron Abdullahu, 26, of Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County, pleaded guilty before Judge Kugler on Oct. 31, 2007, to aiding and abetting the Duka brothers’ illegal possession of weapons. Abdullahu was arrested on May 7, 2007, along with the defendants convicted today. On March 31, 2008, Judge Kugler sentenced Abdullahu to 420 months in federal prison.
The charge of conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military carries a sentence of any number of years up to life in prison. The charge of possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment. The charge of attempted possession of AK-47 semi-automatic assault weapons to be used in the attack carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. Each count of unlawful possession of machine guns carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison.
Marra credited the Special Agents of the FBI's Philadelphia Division and the FBI South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Fedarcyk, in Philadelphia, for investigation of the case.
Marra and Fedarcyk also thanked investigators with member agencies of the FBI South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, which comprises ICE’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John P. Kelleghan, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of the Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk, NJ State Police, under the direction of Col. Joseph "Rick" Fuentes, Superintendent, and the Delaware River Port Authority Police, under the direction of Chief Dave McClintock, for their tireless efforts on the investigation.
Additionally, Marra and Fedarcyk would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance and support: the U.S. military services at Fort Dix, Fort Monmouth, Dover Air Force Base, and the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia, along with the Cherry Hill Police Department, Mt. Laurel Police Department, Cherry Hill Fire Department, Camden County Sheriff's Department, Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, and N.J. Homeland Security.
Press Releases | Philadelphia Home
Labels: al Qaeda, Americans, bin laden, caliphate, Domestic terrorism, GWOT, Islam, jihadis, Religion of Peace, Terrorism, terrorists/ism, war, WWIV
posted by Bos'un at 5:58 PM
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According to AFP and Iran Focus: Iran is using its warm relations with Venezuela to dodge UN sanctions and use Venezuelan aircraft to ship missile parts to Syria, an Italian newspaper reported Sunday. Citing US and other Western intelligence agencies, La Stampa said Iran is using aircraft from Venezuelan airline Conviasa to transport computers and engine components to Syria for use in missiles.
The material comes from Iranian industrial group Shahid Bagheri, listed in the annex of UN Security Council Resolution 1737, adopted in December 2006, for involvement in Iran's ballistic missile programme.
For the rest of the story, please visit my friends over at Iran Focus: Iran using Venezuela ties to duck UN sanctions: report
posted by Bos'un at 9:59 PM
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Proud to Serve
