FBI says suspects plotted 'Islamic Army'

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060623/ap_on_re_us/terrorism_investigation_47

:eyes:


MIAMI - Seven men accused of trying to blow up the Sears Tower with help from al-Qaida never actually made contact with the terrorist network and were instead caught in an FBI sting involving an informant who posed as an al-Qaida operative, authorities said Friday.

Federal prosecutors said the men — who operated out of a warehouse in Miami's blighted Liberty City section — took an oath to al-Qaida and plotted to create an "Islamic Army" bent on violence against the United States. Five of those arrested are U.S. citizens.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stressed that there was no immediate threat in either Chicago or Miami because the group did not have explosives or other materials it was seeking.

"This group was more aspirational than operational," FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said.

Nevertheless, Gonzalez said Thursday's arrests underscored the danger of "homegrown terrorists" who "view their home country as the enemy."

Those arrested ranged in age from 22 to 32 and included a legal immigrant from Haiti and a Haitian who was in this country illegally. Investigators said all members of the alleged plot were in custody.

[leftchick]

1. Juan Cole Weighs in...

<snip>

CAIR: Miami Cult not Muslims

I just saw the spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations on CNN saying that the Miami cult members just arrested are not Muslims. I'd say that is a fair statement.

For one thing, they are vegetarians!

It seems pretty obvious that they are just a local African-American cult which mixed Judaism, Christianity and (a little bit of) Islam. It seems to be a of vague offshoot of the Moors group founded by Dwight York. I heard on CNN that one of them talked of being Moors. And Batiste, the leader, called whites "devils" in the tradition of the original Nation of Islam and York's Moors. Now CNN is saying one member said they practiced witchcraft . One former member is called Levi-El, suggesting he might be associated with the Black Hebrew movement or an offshoot. Now a relative of one of the members, Phanor, said that they wore black uniforms with a star of David arm patch and considered themselves of the Order of Melchizadek. I wonder if it is "Seas of David" or "C's of David", with "c" meaning commando or some such?

I define cult as a religious group that has values that put it in a high state of tension with the norms of mainstream society, and that has a leadership that imposes high levels of discipline and demand for control of adherents' lives.

This Seas of David group primarily seems to have been studying the Bible. The mother of one insisted that he is a Catholic. Then there is all that Jewish symbology and terminology, even in their names. Islam was nothing more for them but a set of symbols they could pull into their syncretic local culture. The group drew on poor Haitian immigrants and local indigent African-American youth. If this were the 1960s, they'd have been Black Panthers or Communists.

http://www.juancole.com/

[mom cat]

9. Juan Cole nailed it as usual. Thanks for posting his comentary.

[villager]

2. can't they get their story straight:? Were these "Muslims" or

"Black Israelites?"

And as for hating your country, well, the Bush cabal just about takes the prize for hating all that is -- or was -- good about America...

[Kingshakabobo]

3. "This group was more aspirational than operational," .......

by this measure, can't we have half of the freeperepublic posters arrested?

[IndianaGreen]

37. Having bad thoughts is now a crime in Bush's Amerika

I guess I am a criminal because I surely have lots of bad thoughts about Bush and his gangsters.

[RCinBrooklyn]

4. Oh brother. Watch the facts change hourly, daily, monthly. Pack o'Liars

[ima_sinnic]

5. so in other words, the only real "plotting" was done by the FBI

pig who set these guys up.

[AlCzervik]

6. i predict at their arraignment next friday the charges will be reduced

to "Assembling without a permit" and maybe some type of zoning ordinance violation for selling haircare products without a permit.

[Bush_MUST_Go]

7. Just saw Gonzales on CNN...

He couldn't keep the grin off his face. He looked exactly like a kid does when he's telling a whopper of a lie & everyone is buying it.

I don't buy this story for a minute, the only reason for these arrests were to help the admin. make the case for spying on Americans via phone & bank records.

[AlCzervik]

8. yup, this was a diversion and as usual the msm jumped as high as Bush

commanded. If their charges aren't reduced at all i'll eat a Moonie Times starting with the editorial page.

[DoYouEverWonder]

22. I'm sure they can find all kinds

of building codes violations and I doubt if they ever got an occupational license. Better throw the book at them.

[Joanne98]

28. I was wondering if someone (FOJ) didn't just want the building....

[pberq]

30. Ha! Ha! - Thanks for the laugh this morning!

:rofl: :rofl:

. . .maybe some type of zoning ordinance violation for selling haircare products without a permit.

[Rex]

10. Federal psychological operation

One that seems very successful on the M$M. I wonder if it started to freak the FBI out; that people could be convinced to attack their own country. That an undercover FBI agent could convince Americans to attack an FBI building or the Sears tower.

That should scare the shit out of people.

[NorthernSun]

11. The thought police

Sounds like a social group to me. The Masons better beware!

[Warren Stupidity]

12. Typo: should be "FBI plotted suspect's 'Islamic Army'".

What a stupid typo.

[Thickasabrick]

13. One of the accused is catholic - his sister was interviewed.

I guess this would be a cathlamic army.

[Olney Blue]

25. LOL.

[Roland99]

29. His mom showed CNN the well-worn Bible he had.

[Thickasabrick]

35. I'm really glad this came out. The freeps were talking this morning

about how this is all about black "muslims". What horseshit. These people sound about as dangerous as the vegans the FBI were spying on. I am so disgusted.

[nealmhughes]

14. From what I've gathered they do seem to be a rather synchristic

group -- a bit of Nation of Islam terminology and "Islamic" names aka known as Arabic name, some Black Hebrew and Christianity thrown in as well. I don't know much about Kriol culture, but I think one can be considered both a good Catholic and a good follower of voudon at the same time, so they probably aren't that weird for them to go to a Catholic church.
I haven't seen any pictures of the ninja suits yet.

[shadowknows69]

15. "view their home country as the enemy."

Oh fuck here we go. Many things a lot of us have said on here could easily put us in the same category. From the neo con point of view anyway.

[Thickasabrick]

36. We don't view the country as the enemy - our leaders are the

enemy of the country. I still think these guys were just after some cash....time will tell.

[shadowknows69]

39. How do you think they are going to look at how we look at it?

Unfavorably I suspect.

[Matriot]

16. I guess this puts backing into the Patriot Act

Here we have American citizens plotting against the Country. Look out here comes big brother. I smell Patriot Act III coming along.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Sounds like entrapment.

[babylonsister]

18. Corp. media whores screeching about how to deal with this new threat

while Gonzales claims, quietly, there is no immediate threat.
Mission accomplished!

[BlueManDude]

19. ooooohhhhh scary black people. n/t

[Solly Mack]

20. "who ...view their home country as the enemy."

I think it's more a case of - my home country views it's citizens as the enemy

[shain from kane]

21. "Oh, yeah. You and whose army?" n/t

[EXDIA53]

23. Are DUers really against combating Islamist terror?

When I signed on to this board a year or so ago, I quickly realized that the word "Democratic" in the name did not closely relate to the actual Democratic Party, whose officials I deal with on a daily basis. When I mentioned this, the chief aid to a well-known Democratic senator said, "we have our nut-jobs too".
Specifically, there is no single issue in which most of you seem to be such a tiny minority of the US population. Iraq was a mistake. But your knee jerk opposition to "homeland security" is so baffling - and if another attack in the US occurs, a backlash will come that will totally destroy and drive underground, really underground, your version of "left".

[annabanana]

26. Until our invasion of Iraq..

The violent branch of Islamic Fundamentalism was "the fringe". We armed that fringe when the Soviets were fighting in Afghanistan. We inflamed that fringe when we set up armed camps in Saudi Arabia (who's relationship to Islam the West has never comprehended). And now we are driving recruits into that (now-not-so) fringe in our misadventure in Iraq.

Of course we recognize the threat of "Islamist terror"...
We also have at least a basic understanding of its genesis.

on edit: That said, this whole stupid, FBI created charade in Miami has nothing to do with nothing except the management of public perception.

[Olney Blue]

27. I disagree. If another attack in the US occurs, it will be evidence of

the failure of this administration to "protect" us. The "fighting them over there
so we don't have to fight them over here" meme will be exposed for what it is- a
dangerous lie. In addition, since this administration has secretly taken away our
right to privacy to "protect" us, an attack on the U.S. will show that even that failed.
The trust in government will erode even further.

[checkmate1947]

33. Learn and Read the whole story

The Miami 7 were NOT A THREAT, what is it about that you don't
understand? If you are afraid then the FBI and the
adminstration have you right where they want you. 

[Warren Stupidity]

34. A year or so?

At least if you are going to call us nut-jobs try and get your own bio straight. You joined here Jan 24th 2006. In that time you have managed a massive 35 posts, and your profile comments are "Hoping the Left won't defeat itself again." and "The party of the circular firing squad." But we will ignore all of that, after all what difference does any of that make?

So I give up, what does this mean:
"Specifically, there is no single issue in which most of you seem to be such a tiny minority of the US population. "?

I'm sorry but that is not a properly constructed sentence that conveys a coherent thought.

Moving on...
" But your knee jerk opposition to "homeland security" is so baffling "

Uh - I don't have a knee jerk opposition to 'homeland security', I have a very high level of skepticism and a bullshit meter that over the last 30 years or so has been honed to hair trigger alert status. I'm sorry that you have a knee jerk acceptance of the bullshit that spews from our selected leaders. The Miama Terra Threat is a massive pile of crap. Have your read anything objective about the case? Do you understand that the only contact with 'al qaeda' was through the FBI operative? Do you understand that this operative explicitly ran these idiots through a series of ridiculous actions just so that a conspiracy charge could be obtained? Do you understand that these people had no resources at all? What about this case was anything other than absurd bullshit?

[IndianaGreen]

38. The Miami 7 are neither Muslims nor terrorists

and the only terrorist in here is George W. Bush, who has usurped the Constitution and installed himself as a tyrant, not much different from other tyrants in other countries that were subsequently killed or driven into exile by their angry citizens.

Remember Ceaucescu?

[DoYouEverWonder]

24. At this point, why is the M$M continuing

to promote these lies?

This whole terrorist cell crap has been debunked every which way from Sunday, yet the M$M continues to present the WH lies has complete, unquestionable truth. They don't care if nuts like us know they are lying. The sheeple don't and that's all that matters.

[pberq]

31. Sad but true.

"They don't care if nuts like us know they are lying. The sheeple don't and that's all that matters."

[shain from kane]

32. A Roving band of terrorists. n/t

[daleo]

40. It sounds like they were playing the FBI guy for money

And he was playing them for a big "terror" bust.