U.S. Marshals Service

Police arrested two men at JFK airport in New York last Saturday who allegedly were headed to Somalia to join the terrorist group al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-based terrorist group. (Read the criminal complaint here.)

The two, Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent, and Carlos Eduardo “Omar” Almonte, 24, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the Dominican Republic, were infiltrated by federal authorities and a New York Police Department undercover.

The complainant basically said that the duo were a little too eager and were too excited when searching and viewing terrorist-made videos on the Internet.

Prior to their arrests in a sting known as “Arabian Knight,” the dynamic duo lifted weights in the gym because they wanted to be the “buff terrorist,” bought camouflage gear and practiced their skills through war video games. Tactics were refined at the paintball course. If that wasn’t enough, the hours of bragging about what they were going to do when they became full-fledged terrorists is humorous at best.

I have one word to describe these kids: clowns. I would laugh them off had it not been for their intentions of actually trying to carry out their warped missions. I’m sure it must have been amusing to listen to these guys talk on tape. It is only when they actually were trying to go overseas to join al-Shabaab that made them dangerous. These two are perfect examples of what al-Qaeda looks for and brands them as “suicide terrorist.” They are young, gullible and have such low self esteem that, in their warped minds, murder is the only way they can get notoriety.

If you sense any sarcasm, it’s because these two lasted this long without someone actually addressing the problem. Their track record spells out natural-born losers before they became adults, and yet they continued on their path. Alessa’s parents took some note by allegedly taking him to a psychiatrist at a young age, but you cannot convince me the parents (of both) didn’t realize something was wrong with these kids. Every parent is aware when their own kid is acting erratic. These two were acting insane: thrown out of school for violent behavior, threatening teachers and students — all while preaching their faith. Almonte even beat up his own brother for not converting. Still, the professional help they were given was slim for the behavior they exhibited.

They remind me of the kids who join gangs because they are starving for attention and want to belong to a group who will accept them. Although, when they traveled to Jordan three years ago to link up and join al-Qaeda, Alessa and Almonte were turned away because no one trusted them.

I believe al-Qaeda currently is in a weakened state. The threat they pose in 2010 is not that of nine years ago. My concern is what is left in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The appeal of these well-produced videos that litter the Internet is targeting kids like Alessa and Almonte. They appeal to the weak-minded and the uneducated young male. If you look at the latest plots foiled in the U.S., you will see that all the principles fit this mold: the five young men arrested in Pakistan in December 2009 after leaving a video tape for family and authorities; the group of 20-something Somali men in Minneapolis in 2008; Najibullah Zazi, the immigrant who allegedly plotted to blow up the New York City subway system.

The concept of “homegrown terrorism” that is being thrown around does not fit the phenomena that we are seeing. The wannabe terrorists are not being preached to, nor are they attending sermons by shady figures. The preachers are all overseas in lawless lands, such as Anwar al-Alwaki, who some analysts consider to be terrorist No. 1. The one thing, though, that these men all have in common is they are following a dream. A dream nicely laid out and professionally produced by al-Qaeda.

I see it more as a nightmare.

During the past year-and-a-half, the United States has been under a constant state of attack and it appears that the terrorists are stepping up the pace. But, is the news media and the White House paying attention? No.

The majority of these attempts have come from Somalia and our Pakistani “friends,” let alone what Osama bin Laden and company have planned. Remember them? “The Base” still is out there, lurking and waiting very patiently. Patience is an al-Qaeda trademark and America’s attention span is that of a flea.

Terrorists that answer to a higher cause will not negotiate. Like a serial killer that gets more comfortable with their environment, they increase the frequency of attempts and so do the terrorists. They are more than comfortable with how the White House, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder view them and how the administration will continue to “drop the ball.”

The terrorist world views the Obama administration as weak. And so do I. The daily drone attacks inside Pakistan have come to a trickle, if at all, since the attempt to blow up Times Square. Makes sense, right?

As a result of all this, Obama and company can take a lesson from law enforcement in the fight on terror. The way you catch a serial killer is to identify the location of their first crime. It is the location where the killer felt most comfortable. So, we should employ the same tactic and look for the terrorists where they feel most comfortable: in our backyard.

Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE/caglecartoons.com

A former United Nations nuclear inspector said Friday that secret documents smuggled out of Myanmar by an army defector show the country anxiously is looking to develop nukes.

This comes at a time when North Korea is threatening its southern counterpart and when U.S. President Barack Obama has called for peace treaties to curb nuclear proliferation, all while Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speeds up his country’s technology.

The report, first obtained by The Associated Press, states Myanmar has attempted experiments with uranium and the equipment needed for enrichment.

The International Atomic Energy Agency had no comment.

The world is beginning to see a now power-hungry nuclear arms race that talking heads have said for years is not a threat. Unfortunately, it is even more of a threat now than ever with the rise of terror organizations that want their hands on nuclear technology and will pay handsomely for the devices.

Al-Qaeda is one of them (i.e. Sharif Mobley, though officials swear his time at U.S. nuclear plants did not compromise security).

Some governments appear to take a laissez-fare attitude toward nuclear terrorism because, according to some, it’s a nearly impossible task to detonate a nuke. Granted this may be temporarily true, but it should not be the reason governments or “experts” label such activity as inconsequential. It should be the reason we focus on preventing warheads and nuclear technology from falling into the wrong hands.

It’s quite obvious that Myanmar is only the tip of the iceberg in this fight. The country allegedly has ties with North Korea and some U.S. officials have accused the two countries of collaborating to develop nuclear weapons (as the AP reported that early documents show North Korea allegedly helped Myanmar construct underground facilities to create nukes).

The next phase is whether or not these countries will “black market” their nuclear ambition to other nations known to harbor terror groups or to the cells themselves. It provokes a danger the world cannot afford. We must start turning Obama’s words from the April nuclear summit into action if we are to stay vigilant in the fight against nuclear terrorism. Because over the past two months, our beautiful blue-green marble is beginning to resemble an oil-smeared ticking time bomb.

The report, released Tuesday, screams that DOJ leadership failed to develop a Crisis Management Committee or name an official to coordinate such efforts.

“The Department is not prepared to fulfill its role, assigned to it under the National Response Framework’s ESF-13, to ensure public safety and security in the event of a WMD incident,” states the report.

It also states the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was supposed to be the lead agency to implement the security, but, according to the report, the ATF and the Justice Department did not fulfill such a requirement.

This comes at a time when it’s already a black eye for the current administration, with a recent U.S. Homeland Security memo that states terrorist attacks are at an all-time high—and there’s little evidence of them decreasing.

It’s sad that millions of dollars get poured into agencies whose sole mission to protect the U.S. from known, er, unknown threats, but little gets done.

We guess that’s the whole point of such an embarrassment.

Read the entire report here.

FBI photos

In a 55-minute long video Wednesday, courtesy al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Fahd al-Quso pledges new attacks on American soil, its embassies and warships. Al-Quso is under indictment by the Untied States for the USS Cole bombing in October 2000, where 17 service men were killed and 49 injured.

AQAP rapidly is growing and is gaining support in Yemen. They operate and move about without recourse largely due to the weak and debilitated Yemeni government.  This is the first time al-Quso has surfaced since his early release from prison in Yemen.  He was convicted by a Yemeni court for his role in the USS Cole bombing and received a mere ten-year sentence. Despite repeated escape attempts and finally escaping from jail in 2003, he was captured a year later and returned to jail only to spend another three years before early release.

Al-Quso appeared as a player within the al-Qaeda network as early as January 2000, where he attended the al-Qaeda summit in Malaysia. The summit of the terror group was a stage for the planning of the USS Cole attack and Sept. 11, 2001. All the major players within al-Qaeda were present, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind 9/11. Al-Quso left that meeting to become part of the plot to target the USS Cole in the port of Aden.

AQAP steadily is becoming stronger as experienced terrorists, such as al-Quso, are joining their ranks. In his video, he mentions and praises the tribes which have affliations to AQAP and he specifically mentions the “Awalik tribe,” which he is a member. The tribe recently announced threats in early April against anyone who attempts harm against Anwar al-Awlaki, the Internet preacher who has released a video that professes his allegiance to AQAP. The Awalik tribe also has made a statement that they would retaliate if any attacks come to the tribe or its members.

Al-Quso should be considered a dangerous figure within the network since he already has experience in the field and has been operational. He has the trust of Osama bin Laden and his connections with the Arab world, as well as Pakistan, make him a key figure within the network.

If we are to take al-Quso seriously, we should look at his past strategies and expect large-scale attacks, a trademark of al-Qaeda. AQAP already has taken credit for Maj. Nidal Hasan in Fort Hood, Texas, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day bomber. We should take this latest video seriously and expect that AQAP already is planning an attack against the U.S.

The memo, dated May 21, and first reported by CNN late Wednesday night, is proof that the current administration is not taking the appropriate action needed to slow attacks.

The unclassified document divvied out to law enforcement agencies, informs them to “operate under the premise that other operatives are in the country and could advance plotting with little or no warning.”

It also states that terrorists will go after “smaller, more achievable attacks against easily accessible targets.”

Juval Aviv, a counterterrorism expert and former Israeli agent, has said that future attacks in the U.S. likely are to be cheap, suicide bombers or car bombs that “target not just large cities, but rural America.”

Action must be done to curb these attempts. The New York Times Square incident May 1 was a wakeup call. We no longer can hit the snooze on this issue. More police, more intelligence, more operations is a mantra that almost every official screams, but the truth is, it should be better police, better intelligence and better operations. Only being one step ahead of the bad guys will get goverents two steps closer to preventing problems.

How do we achieve this? By practicing what we preach. We know that advanced technology can help track information, deter actions and aid in prevention, but we also need to employ and rely on more overseas and more domestic intelligence because the terrorists are getting smarter. Some U.S. police departments already employ and have people traveling across the country and around the world to help in prevention. More local departments should do the same or at least learn from those agencies who conduct such operations. Maybe even more support is needed (both in logistics and operations) by the federal goverent to help local law enforcement, as domestic terrorism grows and spreads to rural America. (Bossier Parish, La., sheriff’s idea, though, is not the way to do this.)

A new national security policy is due for release Thursday, according to the White House. Let’s hope its strategy will focus on better initiatives worth the time and the investment before another strike hits home.

Mike Lester, The Rome News-Tribune/caglecartoons.com

A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office reveals that 16 known terrorists deceived agents at U.S. airports from May 2004 to August 2008.

The organization used U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Department of Justice information to examine the travel “of key individuals allegedly involved in six terrorist plots that have been uncovered by law enforcement agencies.”

GAO determined that “at least 16 of the individuals allegedly involved in these plots moved through eight different airports where the SPOT program (Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques) had been implemented. Six of the eight airports were among the 10 highest risk airports, as rated by TSA in its Current Airport Threat Assessment.”

These 16 included an individual in December 2007 who later pleaded guilty to providing material support to Somali terrorists, but boarded a plane at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport to Somalia in order to “engage in jihad,” according to the report. Another boarded a plane in August 2008 at Newark Liberty International Airport for Pakistan to “receive terrorist training…to attack the New York subway system,” states the report. (The latter likely Najibullah Zazi.)

Little has changed.

Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomb attempt suspect, slipped past screeners and TSA agents at New York’s JFK airport—only to be stopped on the runway just before take-off.

The problem airports and the TSA faces is beefing up security. The answer to most of the problems at airports comes in the form of new technology. That technology, however, quickly is being defeated. For example, when the “underwear bomber,” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound plane with a bomb on Christmas Day, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, “No worries. We have full-body scanners.”

Not even a month later, reports began to pour in over “butt bombs” or bombs made specifically for the rectum so terrorists can slip by security.

TSA currently employs the SPOT program that behavior detection officers (BDO) use at airports to identify if someone is a risk to aviation security. The system works on behavioral and appearance indicators. It was this system the GAO was asked to review.

But, it’s obvious that it fails. Granted, the report states TSA made 1,100 arrests, but none of those were terror related.

The GAO recommendation for the problem is: “To help ensure that SPOT is based on valid scientific principles that can be effectively applied in an airport environment, the Secretary of Homeland Security should convene an independent panel of experts to review the methodology of the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate study on the SPOT program to determine whether the study’s methodology is sufficiently comprehensive to validate the SPOT program.”

If TSA is going to stand by their system, they must improve their ability to detect and deter such actions found in the GAO report. This likely means better training or better personnel. Because it’s quite clear the current workers are not doing their job. Of course, it’s understandable how many people pass through a busy airport on a given day and how stressful such a job is to begin with, but when dealing with lives, it’s different. There are no excuses.

If this means stricter searches, higher pay, more-educated scanners and agents and even an additional 20 minutes at the waiting line, then OK. Forget the complaints. Let’s demonstrate with results, and actively stop terror on U.S. soil.

Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE/caglecartoons.com

In a brash move, the Obama administration revealed the inventory of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, a number that has been classified until now. That number: 5,113.

In a report prepared by the U.S. Department of Defense, the stockpile is numbered as of Sept. 20, 2009. It’s an 84 percent decrease from the maximum of 31,255 in 1967, according to the report.

The move to make such numbers public came with little resistance—and I’m not too sure why.

Slate reports that Obama did so because (1) he is in the process of “lifting the cloak” off government secrecy; (2) wants to show Russia there’s no fear; and (3) hopes it will curb nuclear proliferation in non-nuclear countries.

Nuclear weaponry is one of, if not the most sought-after technologies of mass destruction in the world. It has the power to end wars and to start conflict.

As such, the U.S. opts not just to show its cards, but the entire deck to nations that are known to harbor terrorist groups. It’s a nightmare, no doubt, for government workers who ensure the security behind the 5,113. They all now have to be more vigilant to combat any known threat.

We’ve seen those connected to terror organizations pop up on the nuclear worry map—remember Sharif Mobley? The hospital guard-killing, al-Qaeda-linked New Jersey resident who just happened to work at six U.S. nuclear plants, traveled to Yemen and met with Anwar al-Alwaki, the well-known imam who also is friends with the Christmas Day bomber, the Fort Hood shooter, and the inspiration for Faisal Shahzad.

The U.S. is well aware of the nuclear terror threat, but I’m not sure they are taking the right moves to combat the stealing of a nuke.

The United Nations’ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference turned into a blaming-enriched finger pointing contest with Iran President Mahmoud Amadinejad and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton trading barbs. The now month-old nuclear summit of world leaders also seemed to be a lot of talk with slow (my guess ongoing) action.

And, now, to help ease it all, the administration says, “Hey, we got 5,113 nukes.” All this, while other nations undoubtedly are now nodding and collecting bets on which spy agency had the closest guess.

I’m not disagreeing completely with the current administration’s decision. A release of historical figures on nuclear weapons seems acceptable, as done in 1994, but to release the current number is too much of a risk to national—and even international—security.

Any move right now that makes it easier for other nations and terror organizations to gain control of such sought-after information is a step away from a nuclear agreement and a leap into future atomic problems.

Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE/caglecartoons.com

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave an impassioned plea in his opening address Monday to the U.N. conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation. In his speech, Ki-moon praised cooperating countries who had been transparent in their efforts to deal in good faith to slow the growth of their nuclear arsenals.

He praised the countries that had created nuclear-free zones and he pointedly asked for sincere cooperation from Iran and North Korea. Specifically, that the pursuit of nuclear technology and its application for energy, would not be a decoy for nation states to use that technology to create nuclear weapons. He further cautioned the global danger of nuclear-weapon technology falling into the hands of non-state actors (terrorists).

Despite Ki-moon’s sincere and naieve efforts, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sat grinning like a social deviant, anticipating the opportunity ahead to foil everyone’s best intentions. The North Korea representative was sullenly stoic.

Iran’s leader addressed the meeting by denouncing all nations of nuclear weapons and exclaiming, “Nuclear energy for everyone; nuclear weapons for no one.” He denied his state is equipped with nuclear-weapon technology and said there is no proof to the contrary. At this point, the United States, France, Britain and other nations walked out of the assembly.

Later in the day, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attempted a unifying speech that claimed Ahmadinejad would not be allowed to become a divisive force at the conference with the the credo, “We are all in this together.”

Note to Mrs. Clinton: We are not all in this together. Iran is making a mockery of diplomatic detente, North Korea refuses to deal in good faith on every issue and Israel is being threatened with annihilation.

If this is day one, what meaningfully can be accomplished over the next four weeks? Sanctions for Iran? You cannot sanction Iran with China and Russia providing them with all their needs under the table or through the back door. No wonder the Iranian leadership flagrantly mocks this world body. The U.N. has no teeth. And gumming Ahmadinejad will not deter his endeavours.

Until Russia and China prove their good faith to this body, there’s no reason to hope for a positive outcome.

Reports indicate that propane tanks and gasoline containers—among other devices—were discovered in the smoking ruins of a Nissan Pathfinder SUV parked on Broadway in the heart of Times Square.

The device spells out amateur, however, it could’ve packed quite a wallop in the often-bustling streets of Mid-Town Manhattan. Broadway show goers were in the process of finishing dinner and heading for several plays in the area around the plotted 6:30 p.m. detonation time. The ensuing stampede could have proved more deadly than the bomb itself, if it were not for the actions of an alert street vendor who notified police of the suspicious vehicle.

The device and location eerily is similar to the one discovered on April 12, 1988, destined for Times Square. At that time, Yu Kikumura, a Japanese Red Army member, was contracted by Moammar Khadafy, to explode hollowed-out fire extinguishers at the recruiting station in Manhattan to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Libya. That plot, though, was stopped in New Jersey after an alert worker at a New Jersey rest stop notified police of a suspicious person.

Time Square, though, is not immune to terrorist targets—the most recent being an unidentified man on a bicycle who set off grenades at the military recruiting center in 2008, with no injuries.

The investigation will take on two distinct roles: (1) the vehicle itself and (2) canvasses for witnesses and surveillance camera footage.

The New York Police Department towed the vehicle to their police lab and forensic experts painstakingly will crawl through the rubble, searching for clues on who was behind last night’s failed attempt. Investigators at the scene will pull surveillance camera footage from hundreds of security cameras that blanket the area in the hopes of identifying those responsible.

NYPD cannot speculate at this time who is responsible for this incident, but al-Qaeda is known to use similar homemade devices overseas.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday that her department is handling the incident as a potential terrorist attack.

Anyone that can help with this investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers TIPS line at 1-800-577-TIPS.