6 held on terror conspiracy charges in N.J. - MSNBC

[MrSlayer]

Source: MSNBC.com

NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 1 hour, 6 minutes ago

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - Six men were arrested early Tuesday on charges they plotted to attack the Fort Dix Army base and "kill as many soldiers as possible," federal authorities said.

The men are all from the former Yugoslavia, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. Five of them lived in Cherry Hill, he said.

Drewniak said the six were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Camden later Tuesday to face charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. servicemen.

<snip>

Investigators told NBC’s Pete Williams that the plot was in the planning stages but was not imminent.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/

---

It will be interesting to see just how far into planning these guys were.

[meegbear]

1. ...

The arrests were first reported by WNBC's Jonathan Dienst. WNBC is the flagship NBC television station for the New York tri-state area.

What relevance does that have with the story? :shrug:

[blueworld]

12. Courtesy & journalistic ethics

When a particular reporter or news agency breaks a story they're supposed to be given credit, that's all.:hi:

[babylonsister]

2. Yes, it will be interesting. Were they really a viable threat or are

they ramping up the terra meme again?

[aquart]

47. Ramping.

They needed the FBI to sell them guns. They didn't know how to read a map and drive to Virginia.

[Evergreen Emerald]

3. Another plot foiled by law enforcement.

Kerry was right.

[Roland99]

8. Oh, you just lack the moral fortitude to introduce "Shock and Awe" to central Jersey

Although, when I made wrong turn and ended up in Camden, parts of it looked like Baghdad.

[HeeBGBz]

4. I thought Ft. Dix closed?

That's where I did basic.

[mcscajun]

16. No. It's still there, for the time being. It's slated to merge with two other

installations: McGuire Air Force Base and Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, establishing Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tchunter]

9. que?

thats a ridiculous post, don't demonize the soldiers because they joined the armed forces at the wrong time. Didn't Fort Dix house bosnian or kosovo-ian refugees or something like that. My guess would be ultra nationalists or something along those lines

[Roland99]

6. I was just in Cherry Hill about 3 weeks ago. Didn't know it was "terrorist central"

;)

[underpants]

7. Damn Steve in logistics had Albania in the office "next to be bombed" pool

Stoopid Steve

[GoneOffShore]

10. Also reported on Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0843572720070508

Though there is more detail in the MSNBC report.

Edited to correct early morning spelling.

[maddezmom]

11. CNN:has an update, not all Yugoslavian

6 "Islamic radicals" arrested in alleged plot to attack Fort Dix
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six "Islamic radicals" involved in a plot to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey were arrested Monday night, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey said Tuesday.

One of the suspects was born in Jordan, another in Turkey, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The rest are believed to be Yugoslavian, "either U.S. citizens or living illegally in the United States," the office said in a statement.

"Their alleged intention was to conduct an armed assault on the army base and to kill as many soldiers as possible."

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/08/tuesday/index.html

[Javaman]

13. wow, this will have the MSM foaming at the mouth...nt

[mcscajun]

15. I suppose we'll hear more about this After their court appearance later today.

They'd practiced with automatic weapons in the Poconos (I wonder whose?), they were arrested while trying to purchase automatic weapons. Yikes.

Okay, the threat wasn't "imminent", but you have to wonder (okay *I* have to wonder, not being military) if this kind of domestic threat is in the mindset of most soldiers who pull duty at the guard gate at Fort Dix, and other similar installations in the US. I know it is today; was it there yesterday?

I've driven past the grounds of Fort Dix many, many times. I have a sister who lives not far from there. I've never even seen the gate; you'd hardly know the grounds were of an Army base at all, except for the occasional sign. I've always thought of this base as a "sleepy" place. I'm probably wrong.

[Javaman]

14. The spin off!!

"However, the idea that the men were using al-Qaida training films and following al-Qaida goals shows that there is a large number of people who can create such plots inspired. by the terrorist organization, the officials said."

Yeah, moron's* war on terror hasn't done anything to increase terrorism in the world...:sarcasm:

[treestar]

19. According to right wing theory, the war in Iraq should have prevented

this potential terrorist attack.

Interesting, too that they are alleged to plan to attack soldiers, rather than civilians, which theoretically would mean it wasn't strictly "terrorism."

[Purveyor]

17. It began when a man walked into a photo shop and asked to convert a tape to a DVD...

From an ABC News report:

It began when a man walked into a photo shop and asked to convert a tape to a DVD, two law enforcement officials said.

The tape contained scenes of men conducting weapons training in an isolated area of the Pocono Mountains in New Jersey, using handguns and rifles and firing live ammo, senior law enforcement officials said.

It was intended for training purposes and to recruit more members to the group's cause, according to those officials.

The technician making the dub from tape to DVD saw the content and notified authorities. The case was passed from regional counterterror officials in New Jersey to the Philadelphia FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force.

Just color me a tad bit 'sceptical'...

[karlrschneider]

18. How convenient.

:eyes:
:wtf:

[rocktivity]

23. DING DING DING! karlrschneider, you're our grand prize winner!

How convenient.

A handful of guys were going to crash an military base and kill everyone in it? I wonder if this is another one of those undercover stings gone bad, like the one Flordia.

:headbang:
rocknation

[entanglement]

20. Damn, the war hasn't even ended and they're already following us back home?

n/t

[Roland99]

21. Original MSNBC article edited to now call them "Islamic militants"

*yawn*

[E-Z-B]

22. I thought we were "fighting them over there instead of fighting them here"?

:shrug:

[Vinca]

24. You took the words right out of my mouth.

Dubya can no longer use that as an excuse if we're fighting them here anyway.

[bluestateguy]

25. Looks like the terrorists followed us home anyway

and I thought law enforcement and preparing indictments wasn't part of the War of Terror?

[Jersey Ginny]

26. They are here and have had great training opportunities

Remember those tapes from years ago with terror "trainees" jumping over logs and things? Now they've got Iraq and Afghanistan (where we are not doing enough) to train.

[RamboLiberal]

27. Another bunch from "Jihad Are Us"

In court documents, prosecutors said the suspects came to the attention of authorities in January 2006 when a Mount Laurel, N.J., shopkeeper alerted the FBI about a "disturbing" video he had been asked to copy onto a DVD.

The video showed 10 young men in their early 20s "shooting assault weapons at a firing range ... while calling for jihad and shouting in Arabic 'Allah Akbar' (God is great)," the complaint said. The 10 included six of those arrested, authorities said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/page/2/

They sound like the bunch of dimwits who were in Florida. Yeah, just take your gunshooting Allah Akbar video down to the local store to get a DVD made! Idiots!

[happydreams]

28. Six jailed in plot to attack NJ army base

Source: Reuters



CAMDEN, New Jersey (Reuters) - Six suspected Islamic radicals have been arrested on charges of plotting an attack on New Jersey's Fort Dix army base with the aim of killing American soldiers, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The group planned to send six or seven men into Fort Dix "to attack and kill at least one hundred soldiers by using rocket propelled grenades or other weapons," the 27-page document said, citing recordings obtained by an informant.

They also discussed attacking two American warships when they were expected to dock in Philadelphia.....
more





Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070508/ts_nm/usa_plot_army_dc_5

---

I smell a rat, but unfortunately don't have the time to look into this further.

[bbernardini]

29. How long until it's revealed that this is all a bunch of crap...

...and the media ignores it, like the liquid and gel bomber thing last summer in Britain?

[happydreams]

31. Tony Snowjob's response from article:

"At least at this point there is no evidence that they received direction from international terror organizations," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "However their involvement in weapons training, operational surveillance and discussions about killing American military personnel warranted a strong law enforcement response."

It looks like they are following us home. :eyes:

[Bucky]

33. Which is exactly why we must take the fight to the enemy. In this case, New Jersey.

I'm getting chills as I think about the implications of this. Say, is there a draft in this room?

[CJCRANE]

30. Six or seven men

attacking an army base and two warships..?

:shrug:

Something doesn't add up.

[happydreams]

32. Actually that doesn't surprise me.

Recruiting terrorists when they can't even get a War Czar must be tough.

[tubbacheez]

34. Ambitious!!! Over 100 targets for 6-7 guys? Using RPGs???

Hmmm.... assuming each of 7 radicals carried 3 RPGs, not exactly the smallest of hand-held weapons, each grenade would need to kill about 5 soldiers to meet their goal.


Did these radicals have any info that 100+ soldiers soon would all be standing in a tight pack (e.g. posing for a group photo)?





The warships would be even harder to attack.

[azurnoir]

35. I am sure that the timing has

nothing to do with Bush's 28% rating, his veto of the Iraq spending bill. and the Queens visit:eyes:

There was a story earlier today that quoted an FBI agent as saying that they posed no imminent threat however that story is no longer on the CNN site

[tabasco]

36. But...but...but I thought we were fighting them over there

so we didn't have to fight them over here.

I'M SO CONFUSED!!

[rcdean]

38. This was probably a sting, based on my experience with FBI sting tactics.

Back in Vietnam days, I organized a chapter of Vietnam Vets Against the War at U of P (Wharton) where I was a grad student. We had 23 guys, all combat vets.

One guy was a little wierd. Winston ______. Nice guy, married, never said much about what courses he was taking.

Winston invited everyone to his place one Sunday for wine and cheese. The "apartment" he and his wife supposedly shared was nicely furnished, but with wood matching oak furniture that looked like office furnishings. At one point Winston asked all the guys to step into their bedroom because he wanted to show us something.

He reached into a drawer in a large, blueprint filing cabinet, pulled out a set of plans, unrolled them and laid them on his bed. "There it is!," he said.

"There what is?," we asked.

"The Philadelphia Naval Yard," he said.

"Okay, and..."

"Well, we've got to take it," he calmly announced.

Half the guys walked out of the room right away. The rest of us pressed him with "What are you SAYING?"

"We've got to get in there and do some damage," was about all he would offer.

At that point I announced I didn't want anything to do with whatever he was up to and I thought he was crazy. I left the room and the rest of the guys followed. My wife and I left the party shortly thereafter.

I never saw Winston again. Took me many years to think back on that and come to the realization that he was a plant--almost certainly FBI--working along with his "wife." No wonder they both looked like they were fitness nuts.

Much later I read about Cointelpro, which largely originated out of Philly, and discovered that all my paranoia about having my phone tapped back in the VVAW days was probably justified.

[Roland99]

37. BTW, Whatever happened to the "Miami 7"? The ones Gonzo held a special press conf. over.

:eyes:

[Heidi]

39. Kick.

:kick:

[Hissyspit]

40. 6 Men Arrested In A Terror Plot Against Ft. Dix

Source: New York Times

6 Men Arrested in a Terror Plot Against Ft. Dix

The arrests came after a 15-month investigation during which the F.B.I. and two informers who had infiltrated the group taped them training with automatic weapons in rural Pennsylvania, conducting surveillance of military bases in the Northeast, watching videos of Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 hijackers and trying to buy AK-47 assault rifles.

The authorities described the suspects as Islamic extremists and said they represented the newest breed of threat: loosely organized domestic militants unconnected to — but inspired by — Al Qaeda or other international terror groups.

But the criminal complaint that details the plot describes an effort that was alternately ambitious and clumsy, with the men at turns declaring themselves eager to sacrifice their lives in the name of Allah and worrying about getting arrested or deported for buying weapons or possessing a map of a military base.

The suspects include three ethnic Albanian brothers who entered the United States illegally, part of a family that has lived for years in Cherry Hill, N.J., where they attended public schools and relatives ran a roofing business and a pizzeria. They were joined by their brother-in-law, who was born in Jordan and is a United States citizen, and two other legal United states residents: an ethnic Albanian from the former Yugoslavia, and a Turk who lived in Philadelphia.

The men, ages 22 to 28 held jobs ranging from roofer to cabdriver to pizza deliveryman, and had no clear motivation other than their stated desire to kill United States soldiers in the name of Islam. They considered a variety of targets, including the annual Army-Navy football game and warships docked in the Port of Philadelphia, but ultimately dismissed Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as having too much security and picked Fort Dix largely because one of their fathers owned a restaurant nearby that delivered to the base.

MORE

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/us/09plot.html?hp

[Erika]

41. Michael Savage said these were pathetic morons and losers

And attention getters with no capacity to cause real harm. For once I agree with him.

[aquart]

44. Oh, their capacity for harm was pretty huge.

They've destroyed their families.

[Erika]

46. Yep. n/t

[babylonsister]

42. Not breaking; this happened this a.m. (in my time zone, anyway)

:D

[aquart]

43. It was his father's pizzeria he was delivering pizzas for.

That's all I could think of when I heard this. I come from small business people. I know how hard it is to maintain a store of any kind, let alone a restaurant. But it's yours, so you work the hours, and it's your life, your source of life. This family's security is now destroyed. The business will be gone. Probably the house. Everything they worked those long hours for. For what? For a moron's dream of glory?

[Erika]

45. It is indeed sad, no other words. n/t