Are terrorist cells still in the US?

TRAINING GROUND: This sheep ranch outside Bly, Ore., was reportedly eyed by Islamic extremists as a potential base for operations. A man in Zambia was recently arrested in connection with the planned camp. GARY THAIN/HERALD AND NEWS/AP

NEW YORK - New charges that a Maryland paramedic gave "material support" to terrorists raise anew troubling questions for post-9/11 America.

Do extremist cells still exist in the United States? If they do, how much progress is being made to route them out?

The homegrown nature of the July attacks in London as well as the arrest of a man in Zambia on charges that he'd tried to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Ore. in 1999, gives the questions extra salience, according to terrorism experts.

Their assessments of the law enforcement's success rate are mixed. Critics note that most of the suspected terrorists arrested in the US so far were not engaged in any active plan to harm the US. Some, like the newly charged paramedic Mahmud Faruq Brent, had allegedly gone for training in camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but mostly they were caught bragging to undercover agents - who openly encouraged them - about their willingness to engage in jihad.

At the same time, analysts point out that the nature of Al Qaeda has changed so much in the light of aggressive law enforcement tactics since 9/11 that the traditional "sleeper cell" model may no longer be attractive to al Qaeda here in the US. As a result, capturing potential terrorists may be the best thing the FBI can be doing right now.

"Measured against [FBI director Robert] Mueller's very confident assertion that there are hundreds of individuals who are members of sleeper cells in the US, these arrests don't indicate to me that we are making progress," says Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. "At the same time, I sympathize with the need to nip terror in the bud and it may very well be that indictments that focus on proposed activities or bragging about future activities may be effective. But we also have to wait to see what the facts in each case were."

Martial-arts beginning Brent was arrested as a result of a sting operation. His former martial arts teacher, a jazz bassist from the Bronx named Tarik Shah, set up the encounter with the FBI shortly after he himself was arrested in May on charges that he gave material support to terrorists. Prior to 9/11, Mr. Shah had taught martial arts at a mosque in Beacon, N.Y. and Brent was one of his prize pupils.

Terrorism experts say that martial-arts training can be the first step in Al Qaeda's elaborate recruitment process. The most able and dedicated are singled out, invited to weekends that involve things like white water rafting - or as in the case of the Virginia Jihad Network, paintball battles in the woods. That creates bonding and allows recruiters to identify those that are especially aggressive or have leadership qualities and aids in indoctrination. Eventually, this process leads to the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

According to the indictment, Brent had ties to the Virginia Jihad Network, the leaders of which were convicted in March 2004 and are serving lengthy prison sentences. It was through them that Brent allegedly made his way to Pakistan to one of the terrorist training camps there.

Shortly after Brent's old friend and teacher Shah was arrested in another FBI sting, Shah turned informant and set up a meeting with Brent at a hotel in Maryland, according to the indictment. During the meeting, Shah indicated that he wanted to go overseas to a training camp, and Brent encouraged him. But Brent said it would be difficult to help him because his "only connect" was "doing time now." He also said in the post-9/11 climate it was hard to know whom to trust anymore. "We don't know who is who," the indictment quotes him as saying in a taped conversation. "We were not in a position to make new friends."

Experts say such comments indicate the success law enforcement has had in creating a "hostile operational environment" for any sleeper cell like the one responsible for the 9/11 attacks. And that has markedly changed Al Qaeda's style in the US.

"Not so many people are going back and forth between borders. They're avoiding communications that can be intercepted, exchanges of money that can be tracked," says Brian Jenkins, a senior terrorism expert at the RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. "All of these are dangerous."

The fact that neither Shah nor Brent were actively involved in any plans fuels critics' concern that the FBI is targeting "B" or "C" potential recruits while more dangerous sleeper cells may be lying in wait - those that are more careful about their new friends.

At the same time, experts note that federal authorities are under "great pressure to move in early and operate preventively or preemptively."

"That means that as opposed to waiting for full-fledged conspiracies, they may be picking up individuals when they are still in the early part of this [recruiting] trajectory. They may have only taken a few steps down the path," says Mr. Jenkins. "But if you're going to wait until there are mature terrorist plans, then that runs a risk. And in this post-9/11 environment, authorities are unwilling to take that risk."

Gripping speaker draws hundreds...................Farrakhan mocked recent calls from Tony Blair, the British prime minister, for the G-8 countries to reduce the debt owed by African nations. He said all of the European capitals had been with resources and people stolen from Africa over hundreds of years.p “All of you had something to do with the rape of Africa,” Farrakhan said.

He also mourned the recent bombings in London, reportedly by Islamist terrorists. “And they call this religion,” Farrakhan said. “But look at the world in which we live. Hypocritical Jews, hypocritical Christians, hypocritical Muslims.”

He cautioned Christians from saying too much about Muslim terrorists, considering centuries of European war, the slave trade and the theft of Native American lands.Farrakhan also said he respects the teachings of all the prophets who came before Muhammad, including Jesus and Moses.

The National Black United Front’s convention continues today. Workshops will start at 9:30 a.m. today and Saturday at Manual Career Technical Center, 1215 E. Truman Road. It costs $75 to attend both days’ workshops.

The convention will end with a banquet at 7 p.m. Saturday at St. Mark Child and Family Development Center, 2008 E. 12th St. U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia will be the featured speaker.***

This is all I can find recently in California:

New California Media, CA Witchhunt at Lodi Pakistani Community Feels ''Terrorized'' by FBI

LODI, Calif., July 19 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Chavez-Ochoa Law Offices has agreed to represent members of the Board of Directors for the Lodi Muslim Mosque. At least one member of the Mosque, and his son, have been arrested and charged with violation(s) of federal law. Allegations of Al-Qaeda involvement and contentions that some of the Lodi Islamic Community was involved in possible terror planning were widespread and received national attention. Two Islamic leaders were also arrested and detained on immigration charges, as well as the son of one of the leaders.........***

[India Post] The actual scope of the penetration of these processes comprehends elements - large or small - within virtually every major pocket of Muslim populations in South Asia - particularly, in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Most of the major groups involved in Islamist terrorist activities in India have a transnational presence, with bases, training facilities, headquarters and supply lines located particularly in Pakistan, with Bangladesh as a secondary player, and with operational linkages with the larger pan-Islamist enterprise of terrorism. More specifically, the major Islamist terrorist actors in the region are either directly connected, or have had mediated linkages, with the Al Qaeda.

There is sufficient evidence of Pakistan's abiding support to a wide range of jihadi groups in its covert war against India. The export of terror to J&K, thus continues, although there has been a decline in the number of incidents.

Further, across Europe, America, South, South East and Central Asia, and Africa, evidence of continued subversion and of the persistence of terrorist training camps and activities in Pakistan continues to crop up with the arrest and disruption of a number of Islamist extremist cells.

In the US alone, this has included the arrest of several 'modules', the latest in Lodi, California, in which one of the accused confessed that he had attended a jihadi training facility run by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, as recently as 2003-2004, at, according to reports, "Tamal in Rawalpindi" (probably Dhamial in Rawalpindi, where Rehman has run a 'jihad factory' for many years). While investigations into the London bombings of July 7, are yet in the preliminary stages, Pakistani linkages have repeatedly cropped up in media reports, and varying estimates of British citizens who have undergone terrorist training in camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan have been thrown up in assessments of the future potential of terrorist activities in the UK. Unless the production lines of the global jihad are destroyed, more and more terrorist modules are going to be discovered across the world - and at least some of these are going to slip through intelligence filters to execute their missions of devastation.

The proclivity of states and the international community to focus only on the most dramatic incidents of terrorist violence, and on the dubious pronouncements of Pakistan's military dictator and his proxies in Government, ignores this gradual and sustained campaign of subversive mobilization and capacity building. This, and not the sporadic manifestation of these capacities in specific acts of terror, comprehends the real potential that counter-terrorist agencies, operations and policies are required to confront and neutralize. The writer is Editor, SAIR; Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management Source

MORE detail on Lodi........

Agent says a school near Lodi would breed terrorists

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Last updated: Tuesday, Aug 09, 2005 - 11:04:24 pm PDT

SAN FRANCISCO -- A lead FBI agent on Tuesday linked two local Muslim clerics to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, contending the two were planning to set up a school near Lodi that would breed anti-American terrorism.

The agent testified that Lodi clerics Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan were prepared to relay information on terrorist plots from sources close to bin Laden.

The allegations were dismissed by Ahmed's lawyer, who said the FBI and federal prosecutors have "made the whole thing up."

The striking allegations came during an immigration hearing for Ahmed at which Immigration Judge Anthony Murry declined to set bail for him as he fights charges he stayed here after his visa expired.

"I am compelled to find you are both a flight risk and a danger to the community," Murry told Ahmed.

Ahmed, 39, has been jailed since the beginning of June when federal agents conducting a terror investigation detained him on immigration charges. Two other Lodi men face criminal charges of lying to FBI agents, and Adil Khan and his son are expected to leave the country in about a week.

At the second part of Ahmed's bond hearing in immigration court in San Francisco, the shackled Lodi man listened as prosecutors attempted to tie him to Osama bin Laden.

FBI Agent Gary Schaaf, lead case agent in charge of the Lodi terror investigation, went over a flow chart of names and photos allegedly connected to bin Laden, the man accused of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist actions. Ultimately, Schaaf accused Ahmed of planning to relay terror orders from Taliban leaders to people in Lodi.

The Lodi investigation has been going on for several years, but officials closed in when 22-year-old Hamid Hayat stepped on a plane in late May, headed from Pakistan to his home in Lodi.

Hayat's name was on a no-fly list, and before long he and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, were arrested and accused of lying to federal agents after Hamid Hayat allegedly failed a lie detector test, then admitted to attending a terror training camp in Pakistan. Through his attorney, he has denied the allegations.

Both father and son are awaiting trial, which was to begin later this month but has since been postponed to October.

During the course of his interviews with FBI agents, Schaaf testified Tuesday, the younger Hayat allegedly said he had been sent back to Lodi with instructions: He would receive orders from Shabbir Ahmed, who would receive orders from Mohammed Adil Khan, who would in turn receive orders from a man who allegedly had ties to bin Laden.

"Do I believe he is planning a terror attack?" agent Schaaf said of Ahmed. "That's some of the information that has been provided to us."

Schaaf did not say what type of terrorist attacks were planned, but said Ahmed was acting as an intermediary for Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. The agent refused to testify whether Ahmed was a member of a terror group, saying that information was classified.

Adil Khan, like Ahmed, was also arrested on accusations that he had misused a religious visa to enter the United States. None of the five Lodi men, including Adil Khan's 19-year-old son, have been charged with any crimes of terrorism.

Ahmed's current status is a subject of debate among Lodi Muslim Mosque members. The mosque board voted to fire him after he admitted in immigration court June 24 to making anti-American speeches in Pakistan in the months immediately following the 9/11 attacks. That firing has since been challenged through a lawsuit filed in San Joaquin County.

Ahmed still has supporters

Two of Ahmed's supporters, Taj Khan (no relation to Adil Khan) and Ramzan Ali, appeared in court Tuesday as character witnesses on Ahmed's behalf. Both men said community members are paying Ahmed's legal expenses, and that they were ready to post bond if Immigration Judge Anthony Murry set it.

The two Lodi men also said under oath they have never heard Ahmed make any statements against the U.S.

Though Ahmed acknowledged making anti-American statements, he testified at a previous hearing and again Tuesday that his views changed after Adil Khan recommended him for the imam position in Lodi and he arrived Jan. 23, 2002.

Ahmed told the judge and a small courtroom packed with about 15 reporters Tuesday that he loves America, and even admires his guards who made sure he was properly fastened into a seat belt before returning to the Sacramento County Jail.

"Islam teaches us to love our country," he testified through an Urdu interpreter. "When I live here, this is my country. Whoever is against it is against me."

He also denounced bin Laden, saying the leader of the Taliban has violated Islamic law.

"It's obvious: He got the whole entire Muslim world in trouble," Ahmed testified.

The government, however, questioned Ahmed's ties with other men who have since been connected to bin Laden. Among them were Hazrat Nizamuddin Shamzai, godfather of the Taliban, and Sami Ul Haq, founder of a radical opposition party in Pakistan.

Lodi terror allegations

Schaaf said investigators were watching the development of a proposed Islamic elementary school in Lodi, called the Farooqia Islamic Center.

The school would be modeled after a large Pakistani school run by Adil Khan's father. Government attorney Paul Nishiie on Tuesday pointed to several high-ranking Taliban members who were allegedly students and then teachers at the school.

Once the Lodi school opened, Schaaf testified, students would then "be recruited for acts against the United States."

Officials for the Lodi school, whose Lower Sacramento Road location was recently approved by the county Planning Commission, have denied that it has any connection to terrorism.

Ahmed's attorney, Saad Ahmad, also denied that his client has any ties to terrorism.

He said outside court that he was disappointed and will appeal Murry's ruling. He also plans to file a writ in federal court, arguing that Ahmed is being illegally detained.

"The government made this whole thing up," he said. "It's guilt by association."

Because Ahmed is only charged with immigration violations, he could choose to be deported at any time, rather than fight his case.

"Trust me, if my client was planning a terrorist attack, he would leave. He has the key in his pocket. He could choose to leave," Ahmad said.

Adil Khan and his son, Mohammad Hassan Adil, initially planned to also fight their case, but decided July 15 to allow the government to send them back to Pakistan. That decision was due in part to Adil Khan's health, Ahmad said Tuesday.

Though Adil Khan could become a witness in the federal case against the Hayats, Ahmad, who also represents them, said that is unlikely.

"I don't think he'll be of any help, because there's no connection," the attorney said.

Ahmed has until Sept. 18 to appeal Murry's ruling, and an Oct. 24 detention hearing -- where Ahmed is expected to challenge the charges of violation immigration law -- remains scheduled.

http://lodinews.com/articles/2005/08/10/terrorism/1_immigration_050810.txt

The Associated Press

Lodi got some recognition years ago from CCR :)

Lodi
Written by John Fogerty
Performed originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival
One of the most popular songs CCR ever recorded and performed that never charted in the Top 40..it was the "B" side of the single "Bad Moon Rising" and peaked at #52 on the Hot 100 singles chart
The song was released in 1969 on the "Green River" album --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just about a year ago
I set out on the road
Seekin' my fame and fortune
Lookin' for a pot of gold
Thing got bad, things got worse
I guess you will know the tune
Oh ! Lord, Stuck in Lodi again
Rode in on the Greyhound
I'll be walkin' out if I go
I was just passin' through
Must be seven seven months or more
Ran out of time and money
Looks like they took my friends
Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again
The man from the magazine
Said I was on my way
Somewhere I lost connections
Ran out of songs to play
I came into town, a one night stand
Looks like my plans fell through
Oh ! Lord, Stuck in Lodi again
If I only had a dollar
For every song I've sung
And every time I had to play
While people sat there drunk
You know, I'd catch the next train
Back to where I live
Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in a Lodi again
Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in a Lodi again

Click "Lodi" by Creedence Clearwater (Audio)

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