Dallas terrorism plot foiled

Visit our News page Dallas Terrorism Plot Foiled by Guy Rodgers, Executive Director Dear Solstice, Yesterday’s email to you noted that four times as many homegrown jihadists have been arrested thus far in 2009 than in any year since September 11, 2001. Late yesterday media outlets reported that a terrorist plot to blow up a 60 story skyscraper in Dallas had been foiled (see story below). Remarkably, Brigitte Gabriel and I were in Dallas yesterday, meeting with top business and professional leaders about ACT! for America. In fact, we drove within one block of the building targeted by the terrorist, a self-proclaimed jihadist. While the arrested suspect is not an American, this is further evidence that the threat of terrorism is increasing in this country. How can this be? Critics of the Bush administration complained that his policies and attitudes toward the Muslim world were inflaming Muslims and making America “less safe.” This year, President Obama and many other leaders in government and academia have been going to great lengths to apologize to the Muslim world for supposed American misdeeds. The President bowed before the King of Saudi Arabia. He claimed America was one of the world’s leading Muslim nations. In a speech in Cairo he laid much of the blame for “tensions” between America and the Muslim world at the feet of America. To improve our “image” in the world, the President ordered the closing of the Guantanamo detention center and condemned alleged “torture” by terrorist interrogators. Attorney General Eric Holder has authorized a special prosecutor to investigate these charges of torture, in spite of the strong objections raised by seven former CIA directors. We are not being critical of President Obama for the sake of being partisan and critical. Long before Obama was elected, we were warning Americans about the path of apology, appeasement and accommodation Europe and Great Britain have trod in dealing with the Muslim world. That path has not led to better co-existence, or more peaceful relations, or fewer threats of terrorism. It has led to increased Islamic radicalism and militancy and, at least in the case of Britain, an increase in terrorist threats. This path will not succeed any better in America than it has in Europe and Britain. We, the average citizen, can do something about this. We must do something about this. We can rise up against the failed strategy of apology, appeasement and accommodation and clamor for constructive action that addresses head-on the threat of the supremacist political ideology of radical Islam. Please help us become a stronger voice to do just that and, if you have not already done so, join our fall “call to action” campaign. Please click here to become a monthly contributing Patriot Partner. Or, if you aren’t able to make a monthly commitment, please click here to make a one-time contribution. If you prefer to mail a one-time contribution, please click here to print out a reply form to mail with your check. And we’re always looking for new chapter leaders. Is this your time to join our growing organization by clicking here? Fortunately, that building in Dallas wasn’t blown up, killing hundreds of people, if not more. It didn’t come down on the heads of Brigitte and me. But it could have. Brings it rather close to home, doesn’t it? Jordanian suspected of trying to blow up downtown Dallas skyscraper Posted Thursday, Sep. 24, 2009 View photos Hosam Maher Husein Smadi BY MITCH MITCHELL mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com DALLAS -- Federal agents arrested a Jordanian Thursday suspected of trying to blow up the 60-story Fountain Place building in downtown Dallas. Undercover agents with the FBI tricked Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19, into thinking that he was detonating a bomb placed in an SUV parked outside the 60-story skyscraper at 1445 Ross Ave., before they arrested him, according to court documents. The explosive device was inert and inactive, the Justice Department said in a news release. "The identification and apprehension of this defendant, who was acting alone, is a sobering reminder that there are people among us who want to do us grave harm,” U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks said in the news release announcing the arrest. Undercover agents posing as members of an al Qaeda sleeper cell met with Smadi several times while the terrorist suspect hatched his plot to commit jihad, or holy war, against the "Romans (Christians) and Jews," an arrest warrant affidavit says. The affidavit says Smadi made clear his intention to serve as a soldier for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, and to conduct violent jihad. But it says he was interested in "self-jihad" because it is "the best type of jihad." The investigation by the FBI and members of the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force determined that Smadi was not associated with other terrorist organizations. The FBI said Smadi was in the United States illegally and lived and worked in Italy, Texas, about 45 minutes south of Dallas. Federal agents said they discovered Smadi within a group of online terrorists, and added that he stood out because of his willingness to conduct terrorist attacks inside the United States. "This is not related to any other investigation," said Mark White, an FBI spokesman. "This is a standalone terrorist. A lone individual who did whatever it is that he did." There is an ongoing investigation in New York and Colorado into a possible terrorist strike. Smadi told undercover officials that he wanted to blow up a credit card center in the United States. "Millions of people will incur losses," the arrest warrant affidavit quotes Smadi saying. "Unemployment, poverty, hunger, and a strike to the head of the government. Don't forget the psychological impacts on the loss of this beautiful building." Fountain Place, a 1.2 million-square-foot building, is home to a Wells Fargo Bank branch, Avanti Restaurant, the French bakery café Au Bon Pain, a newsstand, cleaners and other restaurants. A pedestrian tunnel connects the building to the Fairmont Hotel, and a YMCA is across the street. Smadi is expected to make his first court appearance at 11 a.m. Friday in U.S. District Court in Dallas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. HOW CAN I TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Send a personalized version of this message to your friends. 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