Ah, the misunderstood terrorist -- our new victim class (NYT & FBI collaborators)

Jewish World Review ^ | 10/16/2003 | Debra J. Saunders

[tubavil]

Sunday's New York Times story on six Yemeni Americans from Lackawanna, N.Y., who attended an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in May and June of 2001 featured the caveat that the Lackawanna Six presented "a profoundly ambiguous threat."

Forget that the six men pleaded guilty to providing material support to Al Qaeda.

The Lackawanna Six are victims now. As one of the six, Sahim Alwan, told the newspaper, he thought his trek to Afghanistan's Al Farooq terrorist training camp was part of a "religious quest." He has become the Lackawanna Six's poster boy because he left Al Farooq early.

Forget that he lied repeatedly to law enforcement agents after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Alwan admits he knew there would be military training at Al Farooq. As the paper reported, Alwan lied to his wife and others about the weeks-long sojourn. The man who recruited Alwan had praised the 2000 Qaeda attack that killed 17 servicemen on the U.S. destroyer Cole.

Alwan contended that he had no idea Osama bin Laden was attached to the camp, even though three other Lackawanna recruits admitted otherwise. One of the Lackawanna trainees never returned ? and he's the one who told Alwan he wanted to die a "martyr."

The Times, to its credit, laid out the above facts. But then, the paper chose to focus on the fact that there's no proof the Lackawanna boys were about to bomb their fellow Americans, hence the "ambiguous threat."

Many of these men were married with children. They cared about the Buffalo Bills. The story quoted a former FBI agent who interrogated Muktar al-Bakri and described him as "an all-American kid who loves so much what he has in America and, for some reason, somehow got involved in all this."

[Peach]

Thanks for posting this article.

Dog - notice these guys were from Yemen (which I gather you already knew). Going out tonight - will check in later.

[dagnabbit]

[F.J. Mitchell]

The compassionate thing to do for those suffering the agonizing pain of terminal stupidity, is to put them out of our misery. The most agonizing death possible would be more merciful than forcing them to continue living.

[browardchad]

"he thought his trek to Afghanistan's Al Farooq terrorist training camp was part of a "religious quest."

It was a religious quest -- for a religion that worships violence and death.

It's interesting how religious motives achieve validity in the New York Times only when it's inspiration is not Christianity or Judaism.

[VOA]

Forget that he lied repeatedly to law enforcement agents after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

And that he didn't tell the FBI even after 9-11 that he had a personal "exit" interview
with Osama bin Laden himself.
(and that Osama quizzed him about American attitudes on the Al-Quida terrorist acts.

(this was on the latest PBS FrontLine episode)

[VOA]

The man who recruited Alwan had praised the 2000 Qaeda attack that killed 17 servicemen
on the U.S. destroyer Cole.

And so, instead of calling up the US Military, CIA, or FBI to offer their services
as Arab language specialists, intelligence analysts, or as humble grunts in the military...
Alwan and the six decided to get on a plane in Toronto (to cover their tracks), fly
half-way around the world to train for Jihad, then came home lying about where they'd been.

There's no ambiguity about where their allegiance actually laid...

[VOA]

It's interesting how religious motives achieve validity in the New York Times only when
it's inspiration is not Christianity or Judaism.

Well, of course Islam is a special case.
Jefferson never said anything about "separation of mosque and state".

(end sarcasm)

[VOA]

bump...for exposure of the evil of moral relativism at work

[tubavil]

It's interesting how religious motives achieve validity in the New York Times only when it's inspiration is not Christianity or Judaism.

Very true.