Analyst: Homegrown terrorists a very big threat
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- O'BRIEN: Tell me a little bit about the threat from homegrown terrorists, because it doesn't sound like they necessarily have a real definite connection to al Qaeda, at least at this point.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, the descriptions and the eyewitness statements seem to contradict everything we know about al Qaeda.
ERVIN: It could be, of course, this is a homegrown terror cell that's just not very good. On the other hand, the fact that they were so conspicuous could, indeed, suggest that they weren't terrorists at all.
ERVIN: And so they (al Qaeda) are actively -- we know this -- seeking to recruit Anglo-Americans, Hispanic-Americans. They have also been attracted to African-Americans, and we know that African-American males are disproportionately represented in prisons. And many of them have been converted to Islam, if not radical Islam. So this is a major issue. And if this turns out to be a homegrown-terror plot, this may be the beginning of many more things of this nature to come.
Terror’s new face — young and homegrown
WASHINGTON | “I would call this the new face of terrorism,” said homeland security expert David Heyman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research group.
These emerging terrorist cells often have no link that can be traced to a global organization but are instead obscure free-lance operations inspired by violent teachings on the Internet.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said the new form of extremism is “self-recruited, self-trained and self-executed.”
He described the citizen-terrorists as young people who are frustrated with their lives.
“They share ideas and information in the shadows of the Internet.”
“Left unchecked, these homegrown terrorists may prove to be as dangerous as groups like al-Qaida,” he said.
“They were persons who, for whatever reason, came to view their home country as the enemy. And it’s a problem we face here in the United States as well.”
The National Security Agency, over the objections of civil rights advocates, now follows patterns in telephone calls.
Moreover, the FBI has been hampered by a lack of understanding of Muslim communities and its limited ability to infiltrate them, law enforcement officials and community activists say.
Seven "homegrown terrorists" held in plot against U.S. targets
WASHINGTON – "They were persons who for whatever reason came to view their home country as the enemy."
Gonzales stressed that "there was no immediate threat" in either Chicago or Miami because the group didn't have the materials it was seeking. FBI Deputy Director John Pistole concurred: "This group was more aspirational than operational."
Said Gonzales: "The convergence of globalization and technology has created a new brand of terrorism. Today terrorist threats come from smaller more loosely defined cells not affiliated with al-Qaida but who are inspired by a violent jihadist message, and left unchecked these homegrown terrorists may prove to be as dangerous as groups like al-Qaida."
In February 2006, it said, Batiste told the "al-Qaida representative" that he and his five soldiers wanted to "kill all the devils we can."
The seven defendants were charged with conspiring to "maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive".
They were are also charged with conspiring "to levy war against the government of the United States, and to oppose by force the authority thereof."
Acosta said authorities are confident that each arrested member of the cell "had intent to pose a threat."
"You want to go and disrupt cells like this before they acquire the means to accomplish their goals," Acosta said. "This is exactly the kind of case we should be investigating."
Tashawn Rose, 29, said they tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class.
"Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions," the statement said.
Okay Family ... i just read the articles linked above, and highlighted some of the words / phrases used within. You're welcome to go read them in their entirety. These highlighted words and phrases could easily be applied to many we know! Couldn't they?!! Oh Gosh. Take a read, and yall tell me.
It seems kinda vague, who can be determined a home grown terrorist.
If no direct link to al Qaeda is needed, no explosives need be found, or any act need be done ... just talk ... dissatisfaction with one's life, feeling the government is the enemy ... if this is all that is needed, how many of us are susceptible to incarceration?
What's a criminal discussion? Do we have those? Could we be considered a cell that's not very good ... lol ... oh gosh!
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught "Do For Self" ... they mention self several times above ... this is illegal now?
Makes me think of Orwell's 1984 ... and the thought police.
The new face of terrorism ... Young Black Men?
Were Timothy McVeigh and that other guy ever referred to as home grown terrorists? They actually bombed something, killed people. When they did that, was the new face of terrorism ... white men ... plastered all over the headlines? I think not.
How can you enslave a people, kill, brutalize, devastate them, keep them continually under systemic racism ... and expect them to love you!? If Young Black Men are home grown terrorists, surely they realize they planted these seeds in our babies ?!!
Brother Malcolm's words come to mind ... "The chickens have come home to roost." While i'm not exactly sure what Brother Malcolm meant, i'm wondering if it is applicable in this situation?
Could you be considered a home grown terrorist?
Yall be careful, what you say, do, and think!
Destee