Home-Grown Terrorists
Still a Threat

by Amy Hawkins, for ElectionDebates.com

Consider the key points offered below from an article recently appearing on ABC News by reporter Mike Robinson. It is a grim reminder – if any were needed – that terrorism is most emphatically not a thing of the past.

On our own soil

Two cousins were arrested Wednesday on federal charges of conspiring to wage holy war against Americans overseas, including U.S. military forces in Iraq.
Zubair A. Ahmed, 27, of suburban North Chicago, and Khaleel Ahmed, 26, of Chicago, were indicted by a grand jury in Cleveland.
The indictment claims that between June 2004 and February 2006, the cousins and three other men – Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 27, and Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 42, both formerly of Toledo, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 22, formerly of Sylvania, Ohio – conspired to "kill or maim persons in locations outside of the United States, including U.S. armed forces personnel serving in Iraq."
The conspiracy involved finding fresh recruits to commit acts of terrorism and seeking out sites for training in firearms, hand-to-hand combat, and the use of explosives.
The men are accused of planning to raise funds for "jihad training" and downloading Internet information on improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
A figure described in the indictment only as the Trainer – a U.S. citizen with a military background – met with the cousins in July 2004.
The Trainer discussed sniper tactics, counter-surveillance techniques, and the use of heavy machine guns.
The three Ohio men, who are now in federal custody, were charged in the initial indictment with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
One of the men was charged with distributing information, downloaded from the Internet, about explosive chemicals and charged El-Hindi with distributing information about explosives and making false statements to officials.
In addition, El-Hindi and Ashraf Zaim, 39, of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, are charged in a separate, seven-count indictment with conspiring to commit theft of public funds, making false statements, and wire fraud in connection with a $40,000 federal grant.
The government contends that no clinics were ever operated.

Get the full scoop

2 Cousins Nabbed on Terror Charges

Our Take

We must never allow the absence of terrorist strikes to lull us into a false sense of security. Yes, the Bush Administration deserves some much over-due credit for not one bomb or plane crashing since 9-11 – but by the same token we can never take such relative peace for granted. We're in a war. Our enemies are constantly plotting; constantly scheming about the next big one.

Home-Grown Terrorists Still a Threat

Home-Grown Terrorists
Still a Threat