Another Day in the Park ... I Think It Was Al-Qaeda

People Threatening, People Screaming ... A Man Selling Qurans

Al Qaeda Flag Flies in Tahrir Square, Cairo

Damn it All! ... Religion of Peace Hijacked Again!

An al-Qaida sympathiser has been arrested and charged over an alleged terrorist plot targeting New York police vehicles, postal facilities and US troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Herald Sun

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Jose Pimentel, 27, a US citizen of Washington Heights in the northern end of Manhattan, was described as a "lone wolf" and was "not a part of a larger conspiracy".

Pimentel, a native of the Dominican Republic who converted to Islam, has been charged with conspiracy to build a bomb for terrorist purposes.

He had been monitored by police since 2009, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a press conference with Bloomberg, and had decided to build a bomb about August this year as he grew increasingly aggressive.

Pimentel "made even some of his like-minded friends nervous" with his extremism, Kelly said.

Among his outlandish ideas included changing his name to Osama Hussein, in honour of his heroes -- slain al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

He relied largely on al-Qaida's Inspire magazine -- founded by US-born radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki, killed this year in a US drone strike -- according to Kelly, in particular "a notorious article entitled 'How to build a bomb in the kitchen of your mom".

Bloomberg said the suspect was motivated by his own resentment of the presence of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The mayor said the man represented exactly the kind of threat US intelligence agencies have warned about.

Pimentel - also known as Muhummad Yusuf - was arrested at 3:30pm on Saturday without incident at his Washington Heights apartment.

"Yesterday afternoon New York city police officers arrested a 27-year-old al-Qaida sympathiser who was plotting to bomb police patrol cars and also postal facilities as well as targeting members of our armed forces returning from abroad," Bloomberg said.

Pimentel allegedly planned to fill home-made bombs with nails and first detonate them in mailboxes, so New Yorkers would know they had been targeted in an act of jihad - Islamic holy war.

Investigators told The New York Times that Pimentel bought bomb-making materials at a 99-cent store and at a Home Depot in the Bronx. He was under surveillance by police when he bought elbow joints, gloves and Christmas lights at the Home Depot.

Authorities built a duplicate of Pimental's alleged device, detonating it at a secure location, and at Sunday's press conference officials showed a video of the device blowing apart a car.

Kelly stressed police never had any intention of allowing Pimentel to create an active bomb - hence the timing of Saturday's raid, as he moved to the next stage of his weapon-building.

Kelly said the death of Awlaki on September 30 might have set Pimentel off and "motivated him and made him increase his tempo quite significantly."

Kelly also said Pimentel had made attempts to visit Yemen and had talked about going "to train for jihad," but never went.

He used to live in Manhattan, then moved for five years to Schenectady in upstate New York, before returning to New York City after his divorce.

Bloomberg lauded additional NYPD resources dedicated to counter-terrorism, saying, "This is just another case where our precautions paid off."

"There have been at least 13 previous terror attacks since 9/11 targeting New York City. This would be the 14th.

Because of such repeated threats, the NYPD remains focused on preventing another terrorist attack," the mayor said.

This case was reminiscent of another "lone wolf" plot in 2004, in which two local residents disgruntled over the treatment of prisoners in Iraq, plotted to plant a bomb in the Herald Square subway station, the mayor added.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the arrest "demonstrates once again the effectiveness and bravery of our men and women in law enforcement."

"As families across our state gather this holiday season, we will continue to remain in close contact with our federal and local law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers," he added.

Double Crossers ... Pakistan

Secret Pakistan: Double Cross

In May this year, US Special Forces shot and killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Publicly Pakistan is one of America's closest allies - yet every step of the operation was kept secret from it.

Filmed largely in Pakistan and Afghanistan, this two-part documentary series explores how a supposed ally stands accused by top CIA officers and Western diplomats of causing the deaths of thousands of coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. It is a charge denied by Pakistan's military establishment, but the documentary makers meet serving Taliban commanders who describe the support they get from Pakistan in terms of weapons, training and a place to hide.

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Part 6/6

Islamic, Somali Groups Slam Somali Info-Seminar

TwinCities.com Pioneer Press

A group of Islamic and Somali organizations said Monday that an upcoming educational seminar on 

Somalia organized by former Ramsey County sheriff Bob Fletcher is anti-Muslim and anti-Somali and will lead to a rise in racial and religious profiling. 

The seminar Thursday called "Understanding the People of Somalia" is being put on at the Crowne 

Plaza Hotel in St. Paul by the Center for Somalia History Studies, an organization founded by 

Fletcher this year.

The seminar brochure says training will be provided on al-Shabaab, "an Islamic Extremist Organization" and says that topics covered will include "Clans and Sub Clans," "Black Hawk Down," "Youth Gangs," "Transition to America" and "Somali Culture."

But a message being emailed to law enforcement agencies throughout the state that might be sending 

people to the seminar warns that the attendees "will receive inaccurate and biased information about 

Muslims and Somalis," according to A. Lori Saroya, president of the Minnesota chapter of the Council 

on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN).

The message says that two speakers at the seminar - Omar Jamal, former executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, and Abdirizak Bihi, director of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center - are "unrepresentative of their community and unqualified to speak on the topics outlined in the upcoming presentation."

The message describes Jamal as "highly controversial and a convicted felon," and Bihi as having a "checkered past" and "no known educational qualifications."

A woman obtained a harassment restraining order against Bihi in 2004 after she said he stalked and 

threatened her in a dispute over Somali terrorism. 

This year, she praised him for his work with Somali youth.

The message also objected to the description of alShabaab as an "Islamic extremist terrorism" 

organization because it "fails to distinguish between Islam and terrorism."

The message is endorsed by about 30 organizations, according to Saroya, including mosques, Islamic centers, the Muslim American 

Society of Minnesota and Somali Action Alliance.

Saroya said she feared the seminar would result in "just a lot of bias and misinformation."

Fletcher, a St. Paul police watch commander, noted that aside from himself, the three other speakers at 

the seminar are Somali.

"I am befuddled that three Somali persons could be perceived as anti-Somali," he said.

He said that Jamal has been a controversial figure, but that he holds an official position as a Somali 

representative to the United Nations. Fletcher also said Jamal is not a convicted felon.

"That's a slanderous statement," Fletcher said. More Here