Ex-Marine Yonathan Melaku Pleads Guilty, Jihadist Videos Released

Yonathan Melaku, a former U.S. Marine, pled guilty today to shooting at U.S. military buildings. He was arrested in June just before he could deface Arlington National Cemetery. Below are jihadi-style videos Melaku recorded of him firing shots out of his car window. As you can see, Melaku will not be picking up the academy award for short jihadi agitprop feature any time soon.

Labels: American-Jihadists, American-Terrorists, Jihad-Joe, Yonathan-Melaku

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Witness: Dennis Mahon claimed he was third man in Oklahoma City bombing

The trial opened today for Arizona white supremacists Dennis and Daniel Mahon, who are accused of bombing the office of a state diversity official in 2004.

Much of the case hinges on information collected by informants, including a woman who sent the brothers racy photos. A defense attorney dismissed statements made by Dennis Mahon to the informant, saying he was an alcoholic with a tendency toward self-aggrandizement.

Alcohol, at least, was likely not a factor in Dennis Mahon's conversations with his cellmate after he was arrested in 2009. One of those statements was particularly interesting according to a recent filing in the case:

Mr. Scott [the cellmate] stated that he and Dennis Mahon found they had an interest in military history in common, and that is how they began talking about bombs. Ms. Scott said that Dennis told him he had known Tim McVeigh and that he (Dennis) was the number three anonymous person in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation.

Read the full document

Mahon has spoken of knowing McVeigh in the past. Based on those comments and other information, it is at least plausible that Mahon was involved in the bombing. I'll have more on this over time.

Labels: Dennis-Mahon, OKBOMB, Oklahoma-City-Bombing, Timothy-McVeigh

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Florida Jihadist Planned Norway-Style Synchronized Lone Attack

Sami Osmakac

An American jihadist from Pinellas Park, Florida, was arrested in the midst of planning a coordinated solo bomb and firearms attack reminiscent of the July 2011 Norway massacre carried out by anti-Muslim crusader Anders Breivik.

Sami Osmakac, 25, is accused of attempting to purchase assault rifles and components for bombs to use in an attack on Florida nightclubs. He intended to detonate a car bomb outside a club in Ybor City and/or outside the local sheriff's office, then take hostages in another club using a suicide bomb belt or vest.

According to an affidavit filed to support the arrest, Osmakac first considered a military target, but changed his mind because "their bases are so locked up."

A tipster in the Muslim community alerted authorities to Osmakac's radical leanings, and an undercover FBI agent sold him what Osmakac thought were a functioning bombs and firearms.

Read the affidavit

A naturalized American citizen born in Kosovo, Osmakac was a well-known presence online, the star of numerous radical videos berating Christians, Jews and atheists and demanding that they convert to Islam. Contrary to traditional Islamic teaching, he characterized Christians as "pagans" with "evil beliefs."

"What kind of god would come out of a vagina," he asked. "What kind of god would have a penis? What jind of god would get circumcised? ... What kind of god would use the restroom number 1? ... What kind of god would take a piss? What kind of god would defecate number 2 in the bathroom, sitting down and then wiping himself with toilet paper? What kind of god? Are you sick? Where's your intellect?"

In a separate story, a U.S. military vet was charged today in Maryland with attempting to join Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda-linked militia currently fighting an insurgency in Somalia.

American-born Craig Baxam served in the U.S. Army from 2007 to July 2011. Previously non-religious, he converted to Islam during his final days in the Army. In December, he tried to travel to Somalia via Kenya, but was arrested by Kenyan authorities on December 23. He stated he was attempting to make hijra to Somalia to defend the Sharia government Al Shabab has been attempting to institute.

Read the criminal complaint

Links to the Osmakac videos were provided by a Twitter user with a private account. A link to the Baxam complaint was posted to Twitter by @khanserai.

For much more about American jihadists, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: American-Jihadists, American-Terrorists, Craig-Baxam, Internet, lone-wolf, Sami-Osmakac

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What Tarek Mehanna Isn't

American citizen Tarek Mehanna's lawyers managed to convince many in the media that his prosecution as a terrorist was all about the First Amendment and U.S. attitudes toward Muslims.

A Boston jury did not agree, on Tuesday convicting Mehanna of material support to Al Qaeda and lying to federal investigators.

One can forgive the defense team for thinking that First Amendment martyrdom was the smart approach. Faced with an overwhelming amount of evidence as to Mehanna's words and actions, they decided the only way to do their job was to undermine the fundamental nature of the charges. The strategy failed, but that doesn't mean they had any better options.

The phrase "budding Islamic scholar" has now become ubiquitous in media descriptions of Mehanna, a phrase the defense used in an effort to normalize Mehanna's indisputably radical beliefs and actions as a normal, even respected part of Islam.

If Glenn Beck put forth the idea that Islamic scholarship included praising the 9/11 hijackers, gloating and laughing at Ground Zero, and celebrating the immolation of American soldiers as "Texas barbecue," he would rightfully be lambasted by sensible people.

But when Mehanna himself advances that argument, through his defense team, people who say they have the best interests of American Muslims at heart should take a deep breath and think about whether they want to co-sign that assertion.

It's one thing to advocate for the First Amendment and the protection of objectionable speech. It's quite another thing to defend an extremist by trying to normalize his behavior within a community that already has enough perception problems.

People of good conscience might differ on whether Mehanna should be considered a criminal, although I personally agree with the jury that his actions in total surpassed the scope of the First Amendment.

But the evidence submitted in court clearly shows that Mehanna was, by almost any interpretation, a hateful person who gloried violence. Defend his legal position if you must, but don't call him a "budding Islamic scholar" and don't allow him to wrap himself in the mantle of "ordinary American Muslim." He is not.

For much more about the Tarek Mehanna case, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: American-Jihadists, American-Terrorists, Jihad-Joe, Tarek-Mehanna

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Anwar Al-Awlaki Video Release Rehashes 2010 "Message To America"

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has released a tribute to Anwar Awlaki and Samir Khan that contains a video recording with an extended version of a previously released Awlaki audio.

The video is titled, "Anwar Awlaki, the Martyr of Dawah," a clear effort to continue the argument that Awlaki was killed not for his role in terrorist operations but for his Islamic preaching. Released by AQAP's Malahem Media, the video features very strong production values and English subtitles as well as English audio.

A 15-minute video is presented featuring Awlaki in a camouflage jacket with an Al Qaeda flag in the background. The content of the video is an early draft of Awlaki's March 2010 "Message to the American People." It includes additional material and rearranges several parts of the speech.

Several news reports and an initial posting on this site identified the footage as being new, or as a "final message" from Awlaki, which is incorrect. The video was recorded in early 2010.

A comparison of the original audio and the new video reveals they are separate recordings, indicating that Awlaki almost certainly recorded the video first then edited the speech and recorded the audio. The audio release is considerably improved from the video, providing a rare insight into Awlaki's editing process.

The release of this dated video raises questions about whether AQAP still has any unreleased Awlaki material available. Prior to his death in September, AQAP's Inspire magazine promised that at least two recorded communiques from Awlaki were forthcoming. Media reports from Yemen, which could not be confirmed, suggested that some of this material had already been recorded.

Today's release also includes snippets of previously unseen video of Awlaki speaking in Arabic. This observer did not recognize the content as having been released in the past, but given Awlaki's voluminous output, it may also be old material. In the clips, Awlaki discusses the virtues of martyrdom, especially in the context of AQAP's jihad.

The video includes a tribute to Awlaki from AQAP religious authority Ibrahim Al-Rubaish. Rubaish stated that Awlaki left the United States because of "plotting" by American authorities due to his belief that America was waging war on Islam, but neither Awlaki nor Rubaish discusses Awlaki's links to the September 11 attacks.

The video also features an English speaker identified as Abu Yazeed discussing Awlaki's message and impact. Yazeed also praises Samir Khan, Al Qaeda's American propagandist and the creator of Inspire Magazine.

This post has been updated.

Labels: Al-Qaeda-In-The-Arabian-Peninsula, Anwar-Awlaki, Samir-Khan

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Monsters and Children: How Politicians Talk About Muslims and Islam

I have a new piece out in Foreign Policy, "Monsters and Children: How Politicians Talk About Muslims and Islam."

The power centers in American politics, both left and right, have grown increasingly counterproductive in their attitudes toward Muslim Americans.

On the right, embodied in comments by Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich, Muslims are treated largely as monsters, a seething mass of people who do not share American values and could, at any moment, establish a Taliban-style theocracy right here in the United States.

On the left, as epitomized by President Barack Obama's new strategy, Muslims are treated as children who cannot be left to their own devices, who must be carefully tutored in proper behavior but not made to feel like they are singled out, lest someone pick on them.

Read the whole piece here.

For more about homegrown violent extremism, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: CVE, homegrown-terrorism

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Al Qaeda and the U.S. Military: Resources For Journalists

On Wednesday, a joint Congressional Homeland Security hearing will examine the threat of Al Qaeda-inspired terrorism to America's military on U.S. soil. This is a very large and complex topic. I wanted to share some resources for journalists looking to cover the hearings and the topic more broadly. Please note that I will be in Washington on Wednesday afternoon if you're looking to book someone to discuss the issue.

There are two components to the terrorist threat against the military at home: Internal and external. The current external threat is, in some ways, the simpler one to understand.

Al Qaeda-inspired homegrown terrorists have shown a sharp preference for targeting military facilities in recent years, including Khalid Abdul Latif in Seattle, Yonathan Melaku in Virginia, the Fort Dix Six, Antonio Martinez in Baltimore, and Nidal Hasan and Naser Abdo, both at Fort Hood in Texas.

What's interesting about this is the fact that many of them choose military targets because of explicit discomfort about the morality targeting civilians. I wrote about this dichotomy for The Atlantic.

The internal threat is more complicated and less covered by the media. There's a baseline issue with military personnel who turn against their own, as in the cases of Melaku, Hasan, Abdo and Sgt. Hasan Akbar, all of whom were -- to a greater or lesser extent -- operating independently. They were people serving in the military who allegedly became caught up in the tension between serving in the U.S. military and feeling that they were religiously or morally unable to kill fellow Muslims in theaters like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Beyond these cases, which seem to be on the rise inasmuch as a such statements based on the very small sample size, the military has been the subject of deliberate and often very successful infiltration efforts by Al Qaeda and related groups.

These efforts go back to the 1980s. One of the earliest examples is the case of Ali Mohamed, a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad who later became a key operational terrorist planner, trainer and security chief in Al Qaeda.

Mohamed's resume also included the position of Staff Sgt. in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Bragg. Current Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri tasked Mohamed to infiltrate U.S. intelligence during the early 1980s on behalf of EIJ, the group Zawahiri led at the time (this was before Al Qaeda even existed). After an unsuccessful run at the CIA abroad, Mohamed moved to the United States, joined the Army and became a U.S. citizen. He was in the Army for four years, during which time he stole military manuals and sensitive information from Fort Bragg, took part in active fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and conducted training for jihadists and terrorists both abroad and in the New York City area. Some of his trainees took part in the World Trade Center bombing and a thwarted plot to bomb New York landmarks and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

Here are some INTELWIRE-exclusive resources on Mohamed:

Who Is Ali Mohamed?

Al Qaeda Spy Crafted 9/11 Network

New Link Between Ali Mohamed And 9/11

Who Masterminded 1993 WTC Bombing?

'Coleman Affidavit' on Ali Mohamed

Ali Mohamed Sourcebook

Nat Geo documentary, J.M. Berger Lead Researcher

Mohamed's case was not the only notable infiltration of the U.S. military by Al Qaeda. During the first Gulf War, an Al Qaeda operative named Tahir was part of a religious team dispatched to Riyadh by the Saudi government in a wildly successful effort to convert U.S. soldiers to Islam.

Tahir, a Vietnam vet who worked for Al Qaeda in Bosnia and Somalia, was one of several team members given wide-ranging access to U.S. personnel as part of an initiative presented by the Saudi government under the pretext of a cultural exchange. Another member of the team was Bilal Philips, an extremely controversial Islamic scholar who has been banned from entering Germany and the UK due to his preaching on such subjects as homosexuality and child marriage. At least hundreds of U.S. soldiers reportedly converted to Islam after the program.

After the war ended, Tahir and Philips attempted to recruit soldiers who had been exposed to the program as jihadist fighters in Bosnia. At least a dozen U.S. military vets went to Bosnia as "trainers" under this program and some stayed as fighters. The same program later recruited and trained the terrorists who attempted to carry out the Landmarks plot. The Bosnia program was funded by the Third World Relief Agency, an Al Qaeda-linked NGO which posed as a charity but in reality ran guns to Bosnia in defiance of a U.N. embargo and supported various terrorist causes.

As part of the recruiting program for trainers of the Bosnian mujahideen, Philips told me that he enlisted the help of Qaseem Uqdah, a vet then affiliated with the organization Muslim Military Matters, and for more than a decade after one of the key figures involved in certifying Muslim chaplains for the U.S. military. Uqdah refused repeated requests to discuss his involvement in the program with me.

For a very detailed account of this complex and nuanced program, which has never been fully exposed before, check out my new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam.

Labels: Al-Qaeda, Ali-Mohamed, Bilal-Philips, Bosnia, Egyptian-Islamic-Jihad, Fort-Hood, lone-wolf, Nasser-Abdo, Nidal-Malik-Hasan, Third-World-Relief-Agency, Yonathan-Melaku

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Nasser Al-Awlaki Blasts U.S. For Killing of Son and Grandson

The father of Anwar Al-Awlaki blasted the United States in an audio message "to the Muslims of Britain" posted online today.

"When the United States assassinated my beloved son, Anwar, using drone Hellfire missiles, he was far from any battlefield," Nassar Al-Awlaki said.

Anwar Awlaki was killed in September by a U.S. drone strike. He was born in the Los Cruces, New Mexico, where his father, Nassar, was studying as an agronomist. The audio appears to have been tied to a protest outside the U.S. embassy in London by the banned group, Muslims Against Crusades.

"Anwar was assassinated because of his teachings," Nassar Al-Awlaki said, complaining that no evidence was ever presented against Anwar Awlaki and "no evidence ever will be."

Awlaki also said that his 16-year-old grandson, killed in a drone strike in October, was a noncombatant who was with teenage friends at the time he was killed.

"They knew that Imam Anwar Awlaki carried an effective message that was simple and straightforward. Its target was the Muslims in the West. They consider an affluent convincing Muslim preacher as a threat. So they tried everything to silence him," Awlaki said.

For more about Awlaki, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: Al-Qaeda-In-The-Arabian-Peninsula, American-Al-Qaeda, American-Jihadists, American-Terrorists, Anwar-Awlaki, Jihad-Joe, Muslims-Against-Crusades, Nasser-Awlaki

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Kevin Harpham Sentencing Exhibits

New exhibits were released in support of sentencing for Kevin Harpham, the white supremacist who pled guilty to planting a bomb at a Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Wash., in January.

The new documents reveal details of Harpham's preparations as well as some of his ideological inspirations. According to prosecutors:

[Harpham] is an admitted white supremacist and has been for some time. He is a member of the National Alliance, a white supremacy organization. His twisted views are memorialized in numerous posts on the Vanguard News Network forum, a know white supremacist website. ... His views are known to his family members as well other professed racist organizers.

Moreover, even since being held pre-trial he has continued to communicate with Glenn Miller, a known white supremacist. ... The FBI seized numerous racist books and periodicals from his belongings at his father’s premises. They also seized numerous domestic terrorism related books.

In addition, at the time of his arrest he was in possession of an AK47, a handgun, and a modified digital clock as a timing device.

The exhibits offer extensive details about Harpham's influences and communications.

Read the Kevin Harpham exhibits

Labels: Kevin-Harpham, National-Alliance, white-supremacists

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Zawahiri Calls For Release of American Jihadist El Sayyid Nosair

The latest audio communique from Al Qaeda's top leader Ayman Al Zawahiri calls for the release of one of the earliest American jihadists to carry out violence on U.S. soil, Egyptian-born American citizen El Sayyid Nosair.

From CNN:

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has claimed responsibility for the capture in August of a 70-year-old American citizen in Pakistan, according to SITE, a website that monitors terrorist threats.

"Just as the Americans detain all whom they suspect of links to al Qaeda and the Taliban, even remotely, we detained this man who is neck-deep in American aid to Pakistan since the '70s," al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE.

The al Qaeda leader also listed demands that needed to be met before he would release Warren Weinstein. The demands included the ending of airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also added that Muslim prisoners including Abu Musab al-Suri, the "Blind Sheikh" Omar Abdul Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, Sayyid Nosair, and the family of Osama bin Laden must also be released.

Nosair was a follower and sometimes rival of the "blind sheikh" Omar Abdel Rahman. Born in Egypt, he immigrated to the United States and became a citizen. In the waning years of the jihad against the Soviet Union, he helped organize training in Jersey City nominally intended to prepare people to fight in Afghanistan. In reality, many of his trainees used their new skills to carry out terrorism on American soil, including the World Trade Center bombing and a thwarted follow-up plot that targeted New York City landmarks and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.

The training provided by Nosair was supplemented by Ali Mohamed, a follower of Zawahiri who later became closely affiliated with Al Qaeda. Mohamed was, at the time, an active duty sergeant in the U.S. Army. He brought with him military manuals and sensitive materials stolen from Fort Bragg, where he was stationed.

Jihadist violence was not unknown on U.S. soil prior to Nosair. Jamaat Al Fuqra, a mostly American radical group that originated in New York, had firebombed religious facilities used by Hindus, Hare Krishnas and Ahmadiyya Muslims (a sect they believed to be apostate). Members of Al Fuqra murdered a liberal Arizona Muslim imam in early 1990.

But Nosair was the first American jihadist to make national headlines. In November 1990, Nosair shot and killed Meir Kahane, a radical Jewish leader, during a public meeting. Although the shooting was witnessed by dozens, eyewitnesses could not identify Nosair at trial and he was convicted only on a firearms charge. After the World Trade Center bombing, Nosair was convicted of conspiracy alongside Abdel-Rahman for helping orchestrate a terrorist conspiracy before he was arrested and continuing even after his imprisonment, as several members of Rahman's terrorist cell visited Nosair in prison to received for advice and ideas.

Although Nosair was connected to Al Qaeda through Mohamed, there is no indication he was ever formally affiliated with the group. But Osama bin Laden personally donated $20,000 to Nosair's defense fund, illustrating the group's long interest in his case. A recent video by Al Qaeda urging "lone wolf" terrorist attacks in the United States specifically cited Nosair as a role model who should be emulated.

Although most Americans have long forgotten Nosair, Al Qaeda clearly has not, illustrating the importance of understanding the early development of the jihadist movement in the United States.

For more about Nosair, Al Fuqra and other early American jihadists, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: Al-Fuqra, Al-Qaeda, Ali-Mohamed, Ayman-Al-Zawahiri, Egyptian-Islamic-Jihad, El-Sayyid-Nosair, Omar-Abdel-Rahman, Osama-Bin-Laden

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink