DC Students Wanted to Fight US Soldiers, May be Returned

Police officials in Pakistan and unnamed U.S. law enforcement sources are quoted in numerous media reports agreeing that the five D.C.-area Muslim men detained in Pakistan this week hoped to fight American forces in Afghanistan.

"We are here for jihad," a Washington Post report says they told Pakistani interrogators.

News reports indicate that the U.S. expects the men to be sent back here where they likely will face some criminal charges, including those related to providing material support to terrorists. FBI officials in Pakistan already have interviewed the men.

The New York Times reports the men were invited to Pakistan by a militant with links to Al Qaeda whom they met through Internet sites. One of the men, Waqar Khan, brought $25,000 with him. It's not clear where that money came from.

The others are identified as Howard University student Ramy Zamzam, Eritrean native Ahmed Abdullah Minni, Aman Hassan Yemer, and Umar Chaudhry. All of them reportedly had American passports. They left behind an 11-minute farewell video that included references to Quranic verses and the need to defend Muslims.

Deport 9/11 Defendants if Acquitted? Not So Fast!

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday and was questioned about bringing 9/11 defendants into the United States for trial. What happens, she was asked, if any of those 9/11 conspirators are acquitted?

They'd be deported, Napolitano said.

Feel better? Should Khalid Sheikh Mohamed get off on a technicality, we'd release him to some other country where it's possible he could resume his place as an Al Qaeda operations chief.

And even deportation is no guarantee. First, an acquitted 9/11 defendant could make an asylum claim. While it's beyond unlikely to be granted, such an appeal could drag out for years. The scenario is an example of the unintended consequences of trying an international terrorist who waged war against America in a criminal courtroom.

These guys should be convicted, but in the unlikely event of a snafu, there doesn't seem to be a clear plan for ensuring the bad guys will be kept locked up.

Dan Vara, former Chief Legal Officer for DHS' Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Central Florida and a pioneer in successfully prosecuting national security cases in Immigration Court, notes that an asylum claim can be bolstered by:

1) the chance evidence he is a terrorist is barred due to a finding of coercion.

2) claims he will be tortured if returned to his "home" country because the U.S. improperly labeled him a terrorist.

3) this can lead to seeking a possible withholding of removal and/or relief under the Convention Against Torture.

In immigration court, the burden of proof is "clear, convincing and unequivocal" proof instead of the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard of a criminal case However, that works both ways, and the defense can prove their case by the same standard.

And deportation proceedings are not the final level of adjudication in immigration law. Appellate rights for the deportation process, including asylum and other relief from removal issues, extend into the federal court system all the way to the Supreme Court. It can last many years. Secretary Napolitano's short reference answer that any acquitted 9/11 defendant would simply be "deported" ignored the reality of the immigration legal world.

That previously noted due process can become significantly problematic. Even if, ultimately, such an alien respondent is ordered deported and actually removed from the U.S., getting there can be a time consuming and expensive (for the taxpayer) enterprise. Open court hearings in immigration proceedings provide yet another forum for these known terrorists to spew their anti-American rhetoric and offer jihadist recruitment propaganda. There are no guarantees in these immigration proceedings, and such a scenario could well make legal life miserable for the U.S. government and much of America for a long time while those respondents pursue all available avenues to stay here.

Turning off Jihad-TV in the United States

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives took a major step in curbing the spread of violent jihadist rhetoric over the airwaves. With overwhelming support, the House passed H.R. 2278, a bill targeting those who incite violence against Americans through on-air broadcasts.

Terrorist organizations often rely upon the media to assist in fundraising, propaganda, and recruitment. This bill would curtail the availability of television stations such as the Hezbollah-run al Manar and the Hamas-run al Aqsa. As the bill recognizes, the type of programming on these stations "may increase the risk of radicalization and recruitment of Americans into Foreign Terrorist Organizations that seek to carry out acts of violence against American targets and on American soil."

The bill, as currently structured, has two complementary provisions—one to identify the breadth of the problem, and the other to help combat it. Under the first section, the President would be required to annually provide Congress with a list of media outlets in the Middle East spreading anti-American rhetoric. Under the second portion of the bill, the President would be given the authority to implement punitive measures against satellite providers that "knowingly and willingly contract with entities designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists," including possibly designating the satellite providers themselves.

While it isn't entirely clear that these authorities don't already exist—i.e., it is currently a crime to broadcast al Manar programming in the United States—it is good to see the House of Representatives taking this threat seriously.

NY Times: D.C. Students Aimed for Pakistani Tribal Areas

The five missing D.C.-area students detained in Pakistan went there to be trained for jihad, Pakistani police say. The New York Times reports that the students were turned away from the first two extremist operations they approached and ultimately wanted to train where Afghan Taliban fighters are based.

Pakistani authorities who arrested the men found maps of the region serving as a Taliban as well as "two major towns in the North-West Frontier Province that serve as the gateway to the tribal areas and North Waziristan, the police said."

The Times reports the group communicated with terrorists linked to Al Qaeda through YouTube posts before leaving the U.S. nearly two weeks ago.

They were arrested in a home belonging to one of the missing men's uncle, who is affiliated with the Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist group. The father of Umar Farooq, one of the students, reportedly was arrested, too. The Times cites local Police Chief Usman Anwar:

"The five men bonded together in the jihadi cause, watching jihadi video clips on You Tube that showed attacks by the Taliban on allied forces in Afghanistan, he said. The group also maintained a common e-mail address, Mr. Anwar said. Employing a technique widely used among militants, they left their comments in the 'draft' box of the e-mail address so that they could all easily read the comments."

It remains unclear what will happen to the men next. They have not been charged with a crime. See the Times story here.

The Five D.C. Students and the War on Terror

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked Wednesday about the arrests in Pakistan of the five D.C.-area students and how it fits in with a recent spike in homegrown jihadist activity. CNN posts video of her answer here.

Jaish-e-Muhammed: A Primer

Details are slowly trickling out about the five D.C.-area students arrested in Pakistan in the home of a Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) member. Newsweek cites a U.S. government source who "says there is now discussion between Pakistani and U.S. authorities as to whether the men should be sent quickly back to the U.S. or initially dealt with by Pakistan's legal system."

The Jawa Report, in picking the IPT's story, notes that it's the latest in a series of incidents involving MSA chapter presidents and extremism.

JeM is a Pakistani terrorist group created in 2000 that is believed to have had a hand in the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament. It seeks to unite Kashmir under Pakistani control and impose Islamic law while eliminating "Hindu and other non-Muslim presence on the sub-continent. JeM actively promotes jihad against the US and other nations for perceived violations of Muslim rights."

It also is known for providing training to potential jihadists from throughout the world.

"The U.S. and British governments have both acquired overwhelming evidence that 'homegrown' terror cells seeking instruction at 'real' terror training camps frequently end up at either facilities run by LET or JEM. JEM is essentially seen as an equal substitute for LET if the latter is unavailable," said terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann, who frequently serves as a government expert witness in terror prosecutions.

For example, immigration officials deported a Colorado man in 2004 after he attended a JeM training camp. The indictment earlier this year of James Cromitie and three other men in a plot to bomb a Bronx synagogue and shoot down a National Guard airplane included an informant who posed as a JeM member. Cromitie allegedly told the informant that he would be interested in joining Jaish-e-Mohammed to "do jihad."

For more on the group, see the National Counterterrorism Center's profile here and the State Department's 2005 report on it here.

FBI Seeks Outside Assessment on Missed Fort Hood Signals

Citing anonymous sources, the Washington Post reports that the FBI has tapped former director William H. Webster to review the Fort Hood attack to review the bureau's investigation of shooter Nidal Malik Hasan prior to last month's attack.

"This is the first indication that FBI officials are sufficiently concerned about bureau actions in the case that they would order an independent investigation," writes reporter Carrie Johnson.

The emphasis seems to be on determining how investigators discounted communication between Hasan and radical cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki in Yemen. According to the Post:

"Webster will have free rein to pursue leads about what the FBI should have done in advance of the Nov. 5 shootings, the deadliest ever on a U.S. military base on American soil. He will have the authority to make recommendations about changes to the FBI's internal guidelines for national security investigations, as well as possible legislative fixes that could allow the bureau to share more information on U.S. citizens who emerge on the law enforcement radar screen under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the government officials said."

The story builds on last week's National Public Radio report that communication breakdowns resulted in agents failing to realize there were additional emails between Hasan and Awlaki.

CAIR Chairman Criticized by Hometown Paper

The Fayetteville Observer recently pointed out a shortcoming of North Carolina State Senator and CAIR Chairman Larry Shaw's response to the Fort Hood shooting.

Shaw said that Major Nidal Hasan, was a "ticking time bomb" who should have been caught long ago. However, Shaw's suggestion for the American Muslim community's response didn't cut it for The Observer, which lamented:

"We wish Shaw and CAIR would take one more step and urge American Muslims to fight terrorism themselves, to help security agencies stop those who advocate, or want to carry out, violence. Denouncing violence is important. Stopping it is even more important."

Shaw merely denounced Hasan and urged American Muslims become more active in their communities in order to "let people know what you are about, who you are."

Like Shaw, other CAIR officials have devoted their time after the Fort Hood shooting to preaching concern for the reputation of the American Muslim community and emphasizing the importance of condemning the act. For example, CAIR Spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said in response, "it's our job to make sure that the actions of one individual aren't going to generalize an entire faith community." Hooper also suggested, "Why can't the killer at Fort Hood just be a crazy guy? Don't take it out on American Muslims because you're upset about another issue." Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of CAIR has reiterated, "the American Muslim community's condemnation of this cowardly attack."

The Observer previously has provided an outlet for Shaw to defend himself against accusations of his organization's ties to terrorism. This time the publication put aside its natural bias towards its local state senator to give what it saw as an important criticism of CAIR's approach to fighting terror inside the United States.

Hoekstra: Congress Ignoring Homegrown Terror Threat

After an initial burst of proposed congressional inquiries into the Fort Hood massacre, one hearing has been held and it was unable to delve into the attack's specifics. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) is demanding his colleagues place more intense scrutiny on the attack and other recent episodes of homegrown terror.

In an op-ed piece published in Thursday's Washington Times, Hoekstra contrasted the diminishing profile on Nidal Malik Hasan's shooting spree to the near obsession with a Virginia couple who crashed a White House state dinner:

"How can it be that the House Committee on Homeland Security has launched an investigation and called hearings within a week to look into the couple who crashed a recent White House state dinner, yet a month after Fort Hood there has yet to be a single congressional hearing into the Fort Hood attack?"

Noting terror plots broken up by law enforcement in New York Chicago, North Carolina and elsewhere this year alone, Hoekstra said there is insufficient knowledge about how people in the U.S. are radicalized and how potential terrorists are funded. He's also concerned by "a troubling refusal by Obama officials to acknowledge that the [Fort Hood] shooting likely was an act of homegrown terrorism."

Hoekstra likely won't be happy to read this report that a ranking official at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has been lecturing soldiers at Fort Hood on Islam.

ISNA is an unindicted co-conspirator last year's successful Hamas-support prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. It is included among members of the US Muslim Brotherhood.

Louay Safi, the man reportedly instructing U.S. soldiers on Islam, has had a series of interactions with U.S.-based Palestinian terrorist supporters. Read more about that here.

Colorado U.S. Attorney Defends Dropping Awlaki Charge

Dave Gaouette tells the Denver Post they lacked the evidence to prove the 2002 charge against the radical cleric sought for advice by Fort Hood killer Nidal Malik Hasan. Gaouette, who was an assistant U.S. attorney at the time, responded to an ABC News report earlier this week which said agents were outraged by the decision. Awlaki also had ties to two 9/11 hijackers. See the Denver Post story here.

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