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Terrorism Tag

Posted by Amy Miller on May 26, 2015 6 Comments
On Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center sent out a joint bulletin informing law enforcement and military personnel that, although there were no credible threats hovering over holiday weekend events, officials are "aware of recent information suggesting US military bases, locations, and events could be targeted in the near-term." Happy Memorial Day! This information isn't really news to anyone following national security and foreign policy news, but the reason for the concern is novel: the dramatic uptick in social media activity by groups like ISIS has led to new sources of "insider threats" and chatter about security and maintenance procedures at sites that officials now believe are being considered as potential targets. Fox News has the exclusive:
Importantly, it speaks to the sheer volume of social media activity by pro-ISIS users, and the challenge that poses for analysts and investigators. "The large number of social media postings by US-based ISIL supporters is challenging for investigators in differentiating those supporters focused only on promoting pro-ISIL rhetoric, which may be protected speech, vice [versus] detecting those prepared to engage in violence on the group's behalf," the bulletin said.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 24, 2015 11 Comments
In Israel, you are never far away from terror or the memory of terror. I learned that by chance tonight. We arrived in Israel late afternoon yesterday, May 23, 2015.  Today was planned as a rest day to try to adjust to the 7-hour time difference. From the airport we headed directly for Haifa, the northernmost big city in Israel, with a population just under 300,000.  It is a very mixed city, both ethnically and religiously. Haifa Country Satellite Map We started the day with the classic Israeli Shakshuka breakfast at the Villa Carmel, where we are staying:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 18, 2015 54 Comments
I'm struggling to concoct a scenario more damning than this. After filing a FOIA suit, thanks to a court order Judicial Watch obtained documents from the Department of Defense and Department of State which indicate the Obama administration knew al Qaeda was planning the attack in Benghazi ten days before it happened. TEN DAYS. hillary gif benghazi FOI dept state scandal judicial watch Immediately following the 9/11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in 2012, the DOD had identified the culprits and indicated the attack had been planned "ten days or more" prior.
A Defense Department document from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), dated September 12, 2012, the day after the Benghazi attack, details that the attack on the compound had been carefully planned by the BOCAR terrorist group “to kill as many Americans as possible.” The document was sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Obama White House National Security Council. The heavily redacted Defense Department “information report” says that the attack on the Benghazi facility “was planned and executed by The Brigades of the Captive Omar Abdul Rahman (BCOAR).” The group subscribes to “AQ ideologies:”
The attack was planned ten or more days prior on approximately 01 September 2012. The intention was to attack the consulate and to kill as many Americans as possible to seek revenge for U.S. killing of Aboyahiye ((ALALIBY)) in Pakistan and in memorial of the 11 September 2001 atacks on the World Trade Center buildings.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 15, 2015 27 Comments
Jurors finally reached consensus in the sentencing of Boston Marathon Bomber Jahar Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev was sentenced to death. According to the Associated Press:
BOSTON (AP) — A jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death Friday for the Boston Marathon bombing, sweeping aside pleas that he was just a "kid" who fell under the influence of his fanatical older brother. Tsarnaev, 21, stood with his hands folded upon learning his fate, decided after 14 hours of deliberations over three days in the nation's most closely watched terrorism trial since the Oklahoma City bombing case two decades ago. The decision sets the stage for what could be the nation's first execution of a terrorist in the post-9/11 era, though the case is likely to go through years of appeals. The execution would be carried out by lethal injection. The 12-member jury had to be unanimous for Tsarnaev to get the death penalty. Otherwise, he would have automatically received a sentence of life in prison without parole. Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded when two pressure-cooker bombs packed with shrapnel exploded near the finish line on April 15, 2013. Tsarnaev was convicted last month of all 30 federal charges against him, including use of a weapon of mass destruction and the killing of an MIT police officer during the Tsarnaev brothers' getaway attempt. Seventeen of those charges carried the possibility of the death penalty.

Live feed is here:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 05, 2015 22 Comments
We have been following the fallout from the shootings that centered around a “Draw Mohammed” event. Most of the media is honing in on blaming the victims, as if Pam Geller had it coming to her. Noah Rothman at Hot Air writes, The toxic implication that Pamela Geller had last night’s terror attack in Texas coming:
When political commentators note that there is no justification for sexual violence, they aren’t adhering to doctrinal feminism but the tenets of civilized Western thought. No woman, a responsible citizen would say, invites violence merely because their assailant was uncontrollably stimulated by their victim’s choice of attire. This is such a bedrock principle of human decency that it barely needs to be said. Only the most brutish and crude among us would contend otherwise. Why then does it appear vogue to imply that a terrorist attack on a Texas American Freedom Defense Initiative event organized by the group’s president, Pamela Geller, was the inevitable result of provocation on the part of the victims?
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and promises more:
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack outside a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas -- and warned of more attacks to come. In a broadcast on its official radio channel Tuesday, the group said two Al Khilafa soldiers opened fire outside the event in Garland, a Dallas suburb. Al Khilafa is how ISIS refers to its soldiers. The gunmen, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, wounded a security guard before police shot and killed them. The ISIS radio announcer also referred to Simpson and Soofi as the terror group's "brothers." The announcement ended with this warning: "We say to the defenders of the cross, the U.S., that future attacks are going to be harsher and worse. The Islamic State soldiers will inflict harm on you with the grace of God. The future is just around the corner."
It turns out that the winner of the "Draw the Prophet" contest, Bosch Fawstin, was previously featured at Legal Insurrection when I covered a special conference organized by conservative talk show host Tammy Bruce:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 05, 2015 9 Comments
By early yesterday morning, we knew half the story regarding the allegedly aspiring jihadists who opened fire at a "draw Mohammed" free speech rally in Garland, Texas. Elton Simpson, the first of the two men to be identified, was no stranger to run-ins with the law. In 2010, he was charged with plotting travel to Somalia to "[engage] in violent jihad"; a judge at the time ruled that the government did not have enough evidence that Simpson was actually planning to engage in terrorism, but sentenced him to three years probation for lying to federal agents about his travel plans. Simpson's associates were purportedly "shocked" that he would go on the attack in Garland---but then again, when are associates of dead terrorists ever not surprised that the subject of an investigation would go to desperate lengths? Simpson's story has played out in the media, but what about the other guy? Two men attacked the event---and we now know a little bit more about Nadir Soofi, the second shooter. This photo, taken from Facebook, has circulated amongst both new and mainstream media outlets:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 04, 2015 24 Comments
While the official U.S. policy has long been that we don't pay ransom to terrorists who kidnap American citizens, the Obama administration is working to find a way around this long-standing and eminently sensible stance. The idea is to allow the family of hostages held by terrorists to pay ransoms to terrorists and avoid prosecution for aiding terrorist organizations.  ABC News reports:
Families of American hostages who communicate with foreign kidnappers or raise money and pay ransoms will no longer have to fear prosecution for aiding terrorist groups, a White House-ordered advisory group on U.S. hostage policy is expected to recommend, senior officials told ABC News last week. "There will be absolutely zero chance of any family member of an American held hostage overseas ever facing jail themselves, or even the threat of prosecution, for trying to free their loved ones," said one of three senior officials familiar with the hostage policy team's ongoing review.
It appears that in the matter of the families versus the government, both get their way.  The families, understandably, want to save their family members (though paying ransom is no guarantee), and this government prefers to negotiate with, rather than defeat terrorists.

Posted by Amy Miller on May 04, 2015 21 Comments
Reports rolled out early this morning that one of the gunmen taken out during last night's shootout in Garland, Texas has been identified as Elton Simpson. Elton Simpson was shot and killed after he and an accomplice pulled up to a "Draw Mohammed" free speech event and attacked a security officer. According to ABC News, the FBI and a bomb squad began an investigation of Simpson's north Phoenix home, where he is believed to have lived with his accomplice. This isn't the first time the government has conducted investigations into Simpson's jihad-associated activities; he was convicted five years ago of lying to officials about plans to travel overseas and allegedly join a terror organization. The New York Times laid out the history of allegations against Simpson:
In 2010, federal prosecutors in Arizona charged Mr. Simpson with plotting to travel to Somalia “for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad,” and then lying to a federal agent about his plans. A judge found him guilty of lying to the agent, but said the government had not proved that his plan involved terrorism, and sentenced him to three years’ probation.

Posted by Amy Miller on May 04, 2015 25 Comments
Last night, two gunmen were killed after firing on a security guard outside of a "Draw Mohammed" free speech event in Garland, Texas. Bruce Joiner, the Garland ISD security officer who was shot in the attack, was hospitalized with an ankle wound but released last night. CNN has a good condensed timeline of events:
The men drove up to the Curtis Culwell Center in North Garland, got out of their car and began shooting just as the "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" inside was ending around 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET). An unarmed security guard, Bruce Joiner, was shot in the ankle. He was later treated and released from a hospital. Garland police, who were helping with security, fired back, killing both gunmen. The exchange lasted about 15 seconds, police said.

Posted by Amy Miller on April 27, 2015 2 Comments
Earlier this month, officials with the United Nations had a delicate situation on their hands. The situation in Yemen was spiraling, and their best laid plans were quickly being turned to rubble as Saudi coalition airstrikes smashed through key territory in an effort to protect strategic port cities from the advance of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The international community was concerned. For both Saudi and Iran, the airstrikes represented a turning point in discussions that had spiraled from tense to impossible; the UN fired (he "resigned," officially) envoy and Moroccan diplomat Jamal Benomar, citing his apparent inability to get the warring factions to play nicely, and doubled down on the diplomacy narrative as world leaders began to express impatience with the bloodshed. Benomar has now opened up to the media, accusing Saudi of derailing an impending peace deal in Yemen and solidifying already-stubborn positions on who should be involved in Yemen's democratic political process. From the Wall Street Journal:

Posted by David Gerstman on April 27, 2015 9 Comments
Yesterday afternoon Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon warned Iran not to arm Hezbollah.
“Iran continues to try and arm Hezbollah and it is striving to arm the Lebanese terror group with advanced weapons in every way it can, and by using every avenue,” Ya’alon said in a speech at Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv. “We will not allow the transfer of sophisticated weapons to terror groups, and in particular Hezbollah.” “We know how to reach [Hezbollah] and those who direct it, at any time and any place,” Ya’alon continued. “We will not allow Hezbollah to establish a terror infrastructure on our borders with Syria, and we know how to lay our hands on anyone who threatens Israeli citizens, along our borders or even far from them.”
It wasn't clear if Ya'alon was referring to airstrikes targeting weapons depots in Syria, attributed to Israel, that occurred Wednesday and Saturday last week, or if he was threatening future action. Subsequent to Ya'alon's talk it appeared that he may have intended both.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 23, 2015 19 Comments
As the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev entered the penalty phase yesterday, jurors were shown a photo of the Boston Marathon bomber giving the finger to a jail security camera after his arrest. The Boston Globe reported:
Jurors view footage of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev making obscene gesture Jurors in the death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday were shown video of him making an obscene gesture as well as holding his fingers in the shape of “V” to a surveillance camera in a courthouse holding cell three months after he was arrested in the terror attack. A prosecutor had shown a picture of Tsarnaev making the obscene gesture to the jury in US District Court in Boston at the end of her opening statement in the penalty phase of the trial on Tuesday, underlining her argument that he was “unconcerned, unrepentant, and unchanged” after the attack. On Wednesday, video of the incident, which happened on July 10, 2013, was shown to jurors at the request of Tsarnaev’s defense team.
The gesture is blurred in this video but you'll get the idea:

Posted by Amy Miller on April 20, 2015 4 Comments
Over the past four weeks, Saudi Arabia has led a series of airstrikes aimed at quashing the spread and rise to power of Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. Backed by the Iranian government, the Houthi have risen from obscurity to prominence. Once a regional threat, the group began late last year to branch out on more aggressive missions aimed at securing strategically important sites around the country. They moved into the capital city of Sana'a, and earlier this year managed to stage a violent and successful coup against the western-backed Hadi government. Iran's involvement---which they deny, of course---has been the subject of contention for coalition partners in the region, who argue that the Iranians are using the Houthi rebels as a proxy occupation force and means to greater control over the increasingly volatile Arabian Peninsula. Similarly, Saudi's airstrikes against Houthi advancement have been painted not as strategic, but as an unnecessary attack on civilians caught in the crossfire. Today, Iran released a statement alleging that one Saudi Airstrike hit too close to the Iranian embassy in Sana'a, shattering windows and causing damage but fortunately not injuring anyone inside.

Posted by Amy Miller on April 19, 2015 23 Comments
I was only 10 years old on the day that Timothy McVeigh parked his fertilizer bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. At the time, I didn't know what it meant to have witnessed the "deadliest terror attack to date" on U.S. soil; all I knew was that 168 people had died, and from my ten year-old perspective, that seemed like everyone in the world. Twenty years later, my perspective has matured. I've seen skyscrapers explode and fall down, and high school students run screaming from armed gunmen. I've seen videos of beheadings and shootings and massacres, and yet there's something still very raw associated with my memories of of the Oklahoma City bombing. Today marks the 20 year anniversary of the attack, and hundreds of people gathered together at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum on the former site of the Murrah building to pay tribute to those lost.
President Bill Clinton, attending the annual ceremony for the sixth time, thanked the people of Oklahoma for their resilience and outpouring of compassion that followed the bombing — a reaction to the tragedy that became known as the "Oklahoma standard."

Posted by Amy Miller on April 17, 2015 12 Comments
A car bomb exploded today outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil. According to the State Department, all officials are accounted for, but as of now no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Via NBC News:
There were no immediate reports of injuries to consulate personnel or local guards, the State Department official said. The Associated Press, citing one of its reporters at the scene, said that the blast set nearby cars on fire. Talmadge Payne, an American working as a consultant for a non-government organization in Erbil, told NBC News that he was sitting on the roof of his hotel, about a half-mile from the consulate, and felt the blast. "If I could feel the blast from here it must have been pretty significant," he said. "The room shook, and a few things fell off the shelves." He said there was a firefight, then about 10 minutes of calm, then more gunfire.
Photos posted to Twitter show a sizable explosion that caused extensive damage and may have killed up to 3 people:

Posted by Amy Miller on April 16, 2015 1 Comment
The wheels on the bus go thump-thump-thump...right over the guy tasked with fixing an impossible mess. It's official: Jamal Benomar, the UN's special advisor on Yemen has resigned. For the past four years, Benomar has been the person tasked with guiding the various factions in Yemen through a peaceful, post-Arab Spring transition. The UN hasn't provided any information regarding a possible reassignment for Benomar; however, when asked who was slated to replace him, officials said that they would select "someone who can talk to all parties." Because that's what's happening in Yemen right now---talking. But I digress. For a while, it seemed like Benomar was making progress---but then things began to unravel:
U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks were private, said that ministers from the Sunni-led Gulf Cooperation Council met Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a trip to Kuwait in late March and told him of their unhappiness with Benomar.

Posted by Amy Miller on April 11, 2015 3 Comments
On Wednesday, a jury in Boston found Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty of capital murder. The prosecution went 30 for 30 on all counts, including all 17 charges that include a penalty of either death or life in prison. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge George O'Toole announced that the second phase in Tsarnaev's trial---the penalty phase---will begin on April 21st. Attorneys for both sides will present before the same jury on "aggravating and mitigating factors." This means that the prosecution will (most likely) present evidence that supports the maximum penalty, while defense counsel does her best to keep her client alive. Details from HuffPo:

Posted by Amy Miller on April 08, 2015 19 Comments
A Massachusetts jury is ready to release the verdict in the Boston Marathon bombing trial. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is accused on 30 counts; 17 of those counts carry a sentence of either death or life in prison. In terms of the end result, it could come down to Count 1: Conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. If Tsarnaev is found guilty on this count, he will become eligible for the death penalty. During the trial, prosecutors focused on the devastation caused by the attack, while defense attorneys focused on mitigating factors affecting Tsarnaev's conduct. They tried to emphasize the role his 26 year-old brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev played in the bombing:
On Monday, the jury saw a video of the moment a bomb exploded and disemboweled an 8-year-old boy and ripped the leg off his sister. The blast killed a 23-year-old graduate student from China. The jurors heard more horror from April 15, 2013. At one point, prosecutors played a video that showed the scene after a bomb exploded -- blood and injured victims everywhere and the sounds of a child howling. His mother lost her leg.
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