Alamoudi Sentence Cut by Six Years

A federal judge has reduced the prison sentence for Abdurahman Alamoudi, who once was one of the nation's most prominent political activists until he was found engaging in illegal transactions with Libya and implicated in a plot to kill a Saudi prince.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ordered Alamoudi's 23-year sentence reduced by 79 months. The briefs explaining why Alamoudi deserved a shorter sentence remain under seal.

In 2005, the Washington Post reported that Alamoudi's "sentence could be reduced because of his ongoing cooperation with the U.S. government." And he appeared willing to testify on behalf of prosecutors in another terror-finance case. Records in Florida show Alamoudi was moved to the Hillsborough County jail in Tampa, where he stayed nearly four months during the prosecution of Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Sami Al-Arian. Alamoudi, however, was not called as a witness during the trial.

Alamoudi, former head of the American Muslim Council, has served about seven years already, and with more than six years cut from his sentence, he should be free in less than a decade.

Little Rock Jihadist Defends Shootings

Testimony continued in the Little Rock, Ark. capital murder trial of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, with prosecution and defense witnesses describing his transformation into an American jihadist.

On Thursday, jurors intently watched  Muhammad's videotaped interrogation by an FBI agent and local detectives in which he explained why he shot two soldiers outside an Army recruiting center. Army Private William Long died of wounds  suffered in the June 1, 2009 shooting, while Army Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula survived.

In the interrogation session, Muhammad called the shooting a holy war and said he was not guilty of murder. Muhammad said he targeted soldiers because of what he regarded as mistreatment of Muslims. He said he had watched an Internet video the night before showing the mistreatment of Muslims.

"It made me angry," he said. After watching it, he made up his mind to "act on behalf of Muslims."

Muhammad knew the location of the recruiting center, and when he drove by and saw the soldiers smoking outside, he opened fire.

"It's an act of retaliation," he told the police. "There's a war going on."

Asked how he felt about the fact that an American soldier had died, Muhammad answered: "I don't really feel nothin'."

Muhammad said he would have killed more soldiers if he had seen them outside. He said he was angry at American soldiers, just as he would be at "anyone who was doing this to our religion."

On Friday, the defense began presenting its case, with a forensic psychiatrist testifying that Muhammad suffers from a delusional disorder. Monica Holley, Muhammad's older sister, described how, three weeks before he left for Yemen in 2007, he looked her in the eye and promised to stay out of trouble.

"He looked me in my eyes and I trusted him," Holley said.

Testimony resumes Monday morning.

Father of N.Y. Subway Bomb Plotter Guilty of Obstructing Terrorism Investigation

The father of would-be New York subway bomber Najibullah Zazi was convicted Friday for destroying material evidence and covering up facts he knew federal officials could use against his son in a federal terrorism investigation.

Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty last year to acquiring explosives before travelling in September 2009 to N.Y.C. with the intent to use them in an attack against the city's subway. The younger Zazi also admitted that he received training from and discussed his plans with al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan. Najibullah is still awaiting sentencing.

Najibullah's father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, instructed family members to destroy bomb-making materials before authorities could find them. He also lied to authorities investigating Najibullah.

Mohammed told federal investigators that he did not know a Queens imam, when he in fact did. Moreover, Mohammed had recently spoken on the phone to Imam Ahmed Wais Afzali about his son's case. Afzali later pleaded guilty to tipping off Najibullah that investigators were on to him.

Mohammed also misrepresented to authorities his relationship to Amanullah Zazi, his nephew and a co-conspirator in the case. Amanullah pleaded guilty in secret in January of last year and agreed to become a government witness. He admitted to hooking up Najibullah with a Pakistani cleric so he could receive al-Qaida training.

Najibullah's uncle, Naqib Jaji, pleaded guilty to helping cover up the case by destroying the bomb-making materials.

"[Mohammed Zazi] sought to conceal one of the most serious terror plots in recent times. He also enlisted others to help him spin his web of lies and to destroy key evidence," said U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch. "Had the plot not been thwarted, it would have left Americans at grave risk."

Mohammed Zazi is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. He faces 20 years in prison on each of the two counts of conviction—conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.

The elder Zazi's attorney, Deborah Colson, said that Zazi expects to appeal the verdict.

Viva Palestina's Summer University with Terrorists, Round Two

The UK-based group Viva Palestina (VP) is sponsoring its second week long summer program in Lebanon beginning this weekend featuring radical speakers, including members of terrorist organizations.

The "Summer University of Palestine 2011" is hosted by Viva Palestina Arabia, the Lebanese branch of VP. George Galloway, the brainchild and head of VP, played an instrumental role in organizing the university. VP has delivered millions of dollars to the Hamas regime in Gaza during its four land convoys to the region.

The Summer University will be held at the American University of Beirut. Among its list of speakers are:

· Dr. Ali Fayyad, Hizballah leader.

· Leila Khaled, member of the U.S. designated terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

· George Galloway, former British MP and VP leader who raised millions of dollars in the U.S. and the UK and orchestrated the delivery of goods and money to Hamas leaders in Gaza.

· Bulent Yildirim, leader of the Turkish-based organization IHH that helped drive the deadly confrontation with Israeli commandos during the first Freedom Flotilla in May, 2010. Yildirim advocates martyrdom, is a revered supporter of Hamas and his organization provides material support to Hamas.

· Mustapha Hamdan, former Lebanese General, was arrested and jailed for his alleged role in the Rafik Hariri murder of 2005. Hamdan was released in April, 2009 due to lack of evidence.

· Daud Abdullah, director of the Islamist publication Middle East Monitor Online (MEMO) in the UK. Abdullah is also a signatory of the anti-Semitic, pro-Jihadist "Istanbul Declaration."

· Azzam Tamimi, an open supporter of terrorism.

· Osama Hamdan, Specially Designated Global Terrorist and senior Hamas leader in Lebanon.

According to a program announcement, speakers include representatives "from both Fatah and Hamas - the principal Palestinian organisations within the PLO forming the new Unity government - as well as political organisations supporting Palestinian liberation from the Lebanese Muslim and Christian communities."

Participants are expected to come from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, India, Iran, South Africa, North Africa, France, Germany, Spain and the UK.

Topics that will be covered in lectures include: "Concepts of resistance," "Palestinians' right to return," and "Lebanese resistance and the Palestinian question," according to the Summer University's program brochure.

Participants will also take trips in Southern Lebanon: "You will see the reality of what Israel's 22 year occupation of southern Lebanon meant and how it was finally ended in 2000 at the hands of the popular Lebanese national resistance," the brochure says.

During last year's Summer University of Palestine, Galloway praised Hizballah in a speech he gave to a room full of participants of the program, saying, "You know the Hizballah are special people. I've been involved in the Arab world for 35 years exactly. And I can tell you, with all respect to all others, Hizballah are a special Arab organization."

Co-Conspirator in Kashmir Case Prominent in Pakistan

A Pakistani doctor implicated in a plot by Pakistani intelligence to influence American policy on Kashmir runs some of Pakistan's foremost hospitals, reports investigative news website ProPublica.

The doctor, Zaheer Ahmad, is an American living in Pakistan and heads the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. He founded the hospital after completing his medical residency in the United States and moving back to Pakistan in 1985. Ahmad also runs the Tameer-e-Millat Foundation that helps educate Pakistan's underprivileged children.

Ahmad was charged in a criminal complaint Wednesday with conspiring to illegally funnel millions of dollars from Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, to U.S. lawmakers to influence their position on Kashmir, a hotly disputed territory between India and Pakistan.

Also charged is Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, director of the Kashmiri American Council (KAC), a Washington-based advocacy group. Ahmad is accused of moving money from Pakistan to KAC through a network of "straw donors" in the United States, the complaint said. The intermediaries got tax deductions for contributions they made to KAC and were reimbursed later by Ahmad in Pakistan.

Pakistan spent at least $4 million propping up the KAC, the complaint said, with some years' budgets reaching $500,000 to cover conferences, campaign contributions and other costs.

The complaint mentions an "Elected Official A" who got $2,000 in campaign contributions from Ahmad on Sept. 13, 2004. According to campaign finance records, Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., received $2,000 from Ahmad in 2004. Soon after receiving the contribution, Pitts introduced legislation in Congress calling for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.

In an interview with the New York Times, Pitts said that he was not unaware KAC was an ISI front group and was distressed at allegations that his position on Kashmir may have been dictated by the intelligence agency.

"I don't like to be used by anybody," Pitts said. "It is very upsetting."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who also received funding from the KAC, said his call for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute was based on his own beliefs and the necessity to avoid war in the region.

"The whole world ought to be concerned about the potential for war between India and Pakistan," Kucinich said.

Dan Burton, R-Ind., who received more than $10,000 from Fai, has introduced legislation over the years that threatened to terminate humanitarian aid to India unless human rights atrocities in Kashmir improved.

The lawmakers denied any knowledge of ISI involvement in KAC lobbying efforts in United State and the complaint made a point of saying there is no evidence to the contrary.

Hizballah Trouble on Three Fronts

Hizballah operatives are making news in the Middle East and North America, as American security officials express concern about the possible release of a Hizballah terrorist in Iraq and the organization threatens to send missiles to Israel's southern-most town in any pending conflict.

In addition, a Canadian man has been arrested in an extortion scheme that allegedly helps finance the group's operations.

Ali Mussa Daqduq, who is being held in Baghdad, is scheduled to be transferred to Iraqi custody under terms of an agreement between the United States and Iraq. U.S. authorities, however, are hesitant to follow through with the exchange in light of Iraq's poor history with detainee security as well as its recent efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with Iran.

Daqduq reportedly worked with Iranian agents to train Shiite militias in Iraq to fight American soldiers. According to U.S. officials, Daqduq was involved in a 2007 raid that resulted in the abduction and killing of four American soldiers in Karbala. Bob Baer, a former CIA officer who tracked Hizballah for years, described Daqduq as "the worst of the worst."

Iraqi Justice Ministry spokesman Haidar al-Saadi rebuffed the insinuations that Daqduq would escape from Iraqi custody and said Wednesday the transfer would take place by the end of the week. Army Col. Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, however, said the U.S. "was not under pressure to resolve this this week."

Lest anyone doubt Hizballah's belligerence, its leaders on Thursday threatened to bomb all parts of Israel if a maritime border dispute prompts a confrontation.

"If Israel launches an attack, rockets of the resistance will cover all of Israel. Even the city of Eilat won't be spared," warned MP Muhammad Raad from the Hizballah-led Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, according to Beirut's The Daily Star newspaper.

Israel is planning to outline permanent maritime borders between the two countries based on a Lebanese agreement with Cyprus, which Beirut is arguing was meant to be temporary. Muhammad Qabbani, head of the parliamentary public works committee, has thus argued that Israel is demonstrating "aggression" by infringing on rightful Lebanese territorial waters.

In Ontario, Canada, another alleged Hizballah operative, Kamal Ghandour, was implicated in an extortion scheme involving car theft. As part of the scheme, Ghandour threatened the Lebanese relatives of a Toronto native, Aline Ajami, to coerce her into opening credit and checking accounts for Ghandour and his accomplices and using fake credit information to purchase luxury cars.

Ghandour's acquaintances expressed doubt over whether the extortionist was truly a member of Hizballah, but Detective Kelly Labonte from the Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section (PATS), confirmed Ghandour's claims.

Rick Dubin, vice-president of investigative service at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said the type of scam Ajami was involved in was quite typical and Hizballah has frequently used luxury car theft to finance its terrorist activities.

In fact, in February the U.S. Treasury blacklisted the Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) when it was discovered that the bank, with the aid of U.S. car dealers, was laundering up to $200 million a month in drug money on behalf of an international drug ring with ties to Hizballah. The car dealers would ship cars to West Africa and then send the proceeds from the sale of the cars to Hizballah in Lebanon.

Little Rock Jihadist Blasted "War" on Muslims

Testimony began Wednesday in the Little Rock, Ark. murder trial of self-proclaimed jihadist Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who is charged with shooting two people outside an Army recruiting office. Jurors heard Little Rock police officer Antonio Metcalf testify that, as he was transporting Muhammad to jail, Muhammad said that there is a war going on against Muslims.

Muhammad, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, is charged with opening fire on Army Pvt. William "Andy" Long and wounding Army Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula outside a military recruiting station there on June 1, 2009, killing Long and wounding Pvt. Ezeagwula.

In his opening statement, Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley held up a photograph of Pvt. Long as he urged jurors to remember the slain soldier. "This is why we're here," Jegley said. "This is a son, a brother and a friend who died fighting for the United States Army."

Defense attorney Patrick Benca admitted that Muhammad killed Pvt. Long and wounded Pvt. Ezeagwula. He told jurors they would hear testimony from a doctor who would demonstrate that Muhammad was "delusional" when he attacked the soldiers.

Pvt. Ezeagwula testified that he and Pvt. Long had been taking a smoke break and had been outside for several minutes when before they saw a black truck pull up. Then the vehicle's window rolled down and Ezeagwula saw a weapon and heard shots. When he saw Long fall to the ground, Ezeagwula tried to run. He was hit by shrapnel after taking two steps.

Ezeagwula, today an Army private second class stationed in Hawaii, has shrapnel in his head and walks with a slight limp. He has undergone multiple surgeries for his wounds.

Pvt. Long's mother Janet was in the parking lot that morning, having just dropped her son off at the recruiting station. She heard the fatal shots. On the witness stand, she maintained her composure until being handed her son's dog tags. Mrs. Long was alone at the hospital when she learned her son had succumbed to his wounds.

Testimony in the trial continues on Thursday. Read the Memphis Commercial-Appeal's live blog on the trial here.

Al-Qaida's New Cartoon

Al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula's [AQAP] media wing is developing a new cartoon film to promote the group, according to militant monitoring website Jihadica.com. It's an attempt to make kid-friendly propaganda that will replace prevalent Western media.

An AQAP member calls it "missionary work for us to raise our children and youth in the blessed life in the shade of the sharia of Islam, rather than what is being transmitted to our children and youth on the poisonous channels," according to a translation provided by Jihadica's Will McCants to wired.com. The cartoon features an "exciting story and clarifies truths like the weakness of some in their religion, defending the Prophet, the collaboration of rulers with the West, and other Islamic matters."

Information about the cartoon first appeared in the Shumukh al-Islam forum, a closed al-Qaida forum. "Abu al-Layth al-Yammani" posted pictures and plans to develop the cartoon, and then to pursue the blessing of AQAP's senior leadership. The cartoon will show "operations surrounding real events among the heroic deeds of the mujahids in the Peninsula of Muhammad, including incursions, clashes, and assassinations."

"AQAP has experimented a tiny bit with animation before. In 2009, the group released a video, 'Grandson of Muhammad bin Maslamah,' that contained a short computer animated recreation of its assassination attempt against Saudi Arabia's deputy interior minister, Muhammad bin Nayef," wired.com notes. "The animation was pretty crude and stiff, though — not at all like the anime-style toons that Yammani's post previews."

Al-Qaida has also experimented with developing video games to indoctrinate members of the organization. However, most of these games are limited modifications of existing popular games.

Israeli Navy Stops French Boat Sailing to Gaza

The Israeli navy intercepted a French yacht that intended to sail to Gaza Tuesday after it refused to change its course following warnings that it was nearing a blockaded area.

The navy intercepted the French-flagged vessel after it informed the ship that it was nearing the Gaza blockade lines and must change its course to the Ashdod port or Egypt. The ship refused to divert its course, causing Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Grantz to give the navy permission to take control of the yacht.

The navy told the passengers to prepare for a "calm boarding." There was no resistance and the 15 activists on board were transferred to a naval ship participating in the mission. The passengers were provided with food and water and checked by an IDF doctor. They will be taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where they will undergo standard security procedures and transferred to Interior ministry officials and immigration authorities.

IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said the boarding of the ship occurred "as soon as their actions turned into a provocation." The ship's captain had lied to Greek authorities before departing, Mordechai said, claiming he was sailing toward Egypt.

The ship, Dignite-Al Karame, set sail towards the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The ship was the last of the vessels part of a flotilla which sought to break "the siege of Gaza." The other ships were blocked from leaving Greece, due to a ban issued by the country. Flotilla organizer Greta Berlin said the ship declared Alexandria, Egypt as its destination "in order to get out of Greece."

Passengers on the ship included citizens of Canada, France, Greece, Sweden and Tunisia, as well as Israeli Haaretz journalist Amira Hass and a team from Al-Jazeera TV.

On Monday, representatives of the ship issued a statement saying "The presence at sea by the Dignity-Al Karama is a setback for the Israeli government who by force and coercion seeks to perpetuate the illegal and criminal blockade to silence civil society movements around the world."

Hamas condemned the Israeli interception of the ship, disseminating the lie that the Israel attacked "the flotilla in a savage way using violence to terrorize activists onboard the ship."

Minnesota Shabaab Recruiter Pleads Guilty

A Minneapolis man pled guilty Monday to helping raise money and arrange travel for young Somali men to leave the United States and pursue jihad in Somalia, a news release from the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Omer Mohamed, 26, faces up to 15 years in prison as a result of his plea. He was scheduled to stand trial Tuesday on conspiracy charges related to the effort to help the terrorist group al-Shabaab wage attacks on Ethiopian troops that are part of a peacekeeping effort. Instead, he became the sixth person to plead guilty in the case.

In the fall of 2007, the plea agreement says, he attended meetings at Minneapolis-area mosques, restaurants and homes about the conspiracy. Mohamed helped raise money and even took some of the young men to a travel agent to buy airplane tickets. At least 20 young Somalis from the Minneapolis area are believed to have left for Somalia. Several have died in subsequent attacks, or may have been killed trying to leave the terrorist group.

In a trial brief, prosecutors promised to show how Mohamed and others solicited money by lying to local Somalis, telling them the money was "to build a mosque or to assist with relief efforts in Somalia. In fact, the money was to pay for the airfare and travel expenses of the group of men to join in the conspiracy."

Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones called the plan "a dangerous and misguided effort to support a terrorist organization" that "tore apart many Somali-American families. Parents were left to fret over the disappearance of their young sons, who often left home without a word. In some instances family members discovered what happened to their relatives only by watching Internet videos being used as propaganda by al-Shabaab. I doubt many of us can imagine the feelings in such circumstances, and I can only hope that the criminal prosecutions we continue to take against those involved, including Omer Abdi Mohamed, will help deter these ill-advised actions in the future."

Recent articles by a Kenyan investigative reporter, however, indicate that a new batch of Western Somalis may have returned to Africa without being detected by law enforcement.

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