‘My Sharif Amour:’ Nuclear worker sings his swan song in Yemen

By Chuck Frank / chuck@theklaxon.com / 03.12.2010

Updated on: 03.12.10 at 7:19 pm

Sharif Mobley, 26, of Buena, N.J., described by his high school classmates as a “sweetheart,” tried to shoot his way out of a hospital in Yemen after being arrested in an al-Qaeda roundup. Mobley overpowered the armed guard observing him, killed him and proceeded to engage in a shootout on the hospital’s main floor.

Inquiring minds might be wondering, what’s a nice New Jersey native doing in Yemen? How did an American-born “sweetheart” get involved with al-Qaeda and get arrested? Why would he attempt to shoot his way out of the hospital after pretending to be ill?

Ah, but there is juicier gossip afoot. Such as, how a young fellow with a black belt in karate, outspoken in his radical Islamic zeal and frequenting Mecca while verbally attacking former friends because of their military service. How does this young man pass muster as a worker at six nuclear facilities in three states without raising any suspicion?

Maybe it’s me. People hate our country; I get it. We’re the fat cats on the planet, definitely soft and opulent by a global standard where half the planet does not have clean water or electricity. I also can understand why young men super-charged with testosteronic zeal can become misguided and become determined to show the world what a “bad ass” for Allah looks like.

Here’s is what I don’t get. Everybody, including mom and dad, knew of Mobley’s activities. How many young men from the U.S. traveling to Yemen does it take to screw in the light bulb in the American psyche? Answer: hundreds. One to turn the bulb and the rest to study Arabic, fill their underwear with C4, marry Yemeni girls, move to Pakistan in search of Jihad, bring 15 black backpacks to Queens with a trunk load of bomb-making chemicals and so on.

And, it’s a kudos to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the stringent hiring policies set forth for nuclear power plants in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania. (Though sources say it’s not immediately clear whether Mobley’s job at the nuclear plants is related to his activities in Yemen. Reports indicate he worked at the facilities from 2002 to 2008, before leaving for Yemen.)

Also, a definite round of applause for everyone in Buena, N.J., who was around Mobley in the past six years and did nothing to stop this young man from ruining his life, not to mention the former life of the Yemeni hospital guard and his family.

But the lion’s share of the Bravissimos go to the American people who placidly stand by, hold no one accountable for repeated and unbelievable security breaches and go about their business, too busy to pay attention and figuring that they will never be targeted. Reality check: We are all targeted. And the most frustrating aspect of this entire miasma is the immense community of peace-loving Muslims who have the closest vantage point for intervention but feel powerless, fearful of being ostracized and watch helplessly as their sons embark on an adventure that most of the time ends in the death of countless innocent Muslims worldwide.

Domestic terror is the new growth industry for disenfranchised young American men. Franchises are available and opening soon in your town. That is, unless more Americans begin to take notice.