Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on October 24, 2012

Abstract: In 2007, The Heritage Foundation became the first and only organization tracking thwarted terrorist attacks against the United States. That year, Heritage reported that at least 19 publicly known terrorist attacks against the United States had been foiled since 9/11. Today, that number stands at 40. The fact that the United States has not suffered a large-scale attack since 9/11 truly speaks to the countrys counterterrorism successes. However, simply applauding the achievement and taking only a forward-looking approach is not nearly enough to prevent the next attack. Reviewing the terrorist plots that have been foiled since 9/11 can provide valuable information for understanding the nature of the threat, as well as best practices for preventing the next attack.

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, it is important to take stock of what the government must do to ensure that America never experiences another such terrorist attack. There is little doubt that the United States is safer than it was on September 10, 2001at least 40 terror plots against the U.S. have been foiled since 9/11but the war on terrorism is not yet won. As heartening as it is that so many plots have been foiled, their number also points to the magnitude of the ongoing threat that must not be ignored. In order to continue Americas success in fighting terrorism and protecting the nation, America must not allow itself to become complacent. Instead, Congress and the Administration should:

Compiled by The Heritage Foundation since 2007, the following list outlines those publicly known terrorist plots against the U.S. that have been foiled since 9/11.[1] While all categories of terrorist attacks against U.S. targets at home and overseas have been declining steadily since 2005, thwarted plots have more than doubled during the same period, showing that terrorists continue to plan to harm the United States and its people.

1. Richard ReidDecember 2001. A British citizen and self-professed follower of Osama bin Laden who trained in Afghanistan, Richard Reid hid explosives inside his shoes before boarding a flight from Paris to Miami on which he attempted to light the fuse with a match. Reid was caught in the act and apprehended aboard the plane by passengers and flight attendants. FBI officials took Reid into custody after the plane made an emergency landing at Bostons Logan International Airport.[2]

In 2003, Reid was found guilty on charges of terrorism, and a U.S. federal court sentenced him to life in prison.[3] He is currently incarcerated at a federal maximum-security prison in Colorado.

Saajid Badat was sentenced to 13 years in jail for planning to blow up a passenger plane. The 26-year-old, a religious teacher from Gloucester, was sentenced after he admitted conspiring with fellow Briton Reid. Badat pled guilty in February to the plot to blow up the transatlantic flight on its way to the U.S. in 2001.[4]

2. Jose PadillaMay 2002. U.S. officials arrested Jose Padilla in May 2002 at Chicagos OHare airport as he returned to the United States from Pakistan, where he met with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and received al-Qaeda training and instructions.[5] Upon his arrest, he was initially charged as an enemy combatant, and for planning to use a dirty bomb (an explosive laced with radioactive material) in an attack in the U.S.[6]

Along with Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi were convicted in August of terrorism conspiracy and material support. It was found that the men supported cells that sent recruits, money, and supplies to Islamic extremists worldwide, including al-Qaeda members. Hassoun was the recruiter and Jayyousi served as a financier and propagandist in the cell. Before his conviction, Padilla had brought a case against the federal government claiming that he had been denied the right of habeas corpus (the right of an individual to petition his unlawful imprisonment). In a five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the case against him had been filed improperly.[7] In 2005, the government indicted Padilla for conspiring against the U.S. with Islamic terrorist groups.

In August 2007, Padilla was found guilty by a civilian jury after a three-month trial. He was later sentenced by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to 17 years and four months in prison.[8] He is being held at the same penitentiary as Richard Reid.

3. Lackawanna SixSeptember 2002. When the FBI arrested Sahim Alwan, Yahya Goba, Yasein Taher, Faysal Galab, Shafal Mosed, and Mukhtar al-Bakri in Upstate New York, the press dubbed them the Lackawanna Six, the Buffalo Six, and the Buffalo Cell. Five of the six had been born and raised in Lackawanna, New York.[9] All six are American citizens of Yemeni descent, and stated that they were going to Pakistan to attend a religious camp, but attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan instead. The six men pled guilty in 2003 to providing support to al-Qaeda. Goba and al-Bakri were sentenced to 10 years in prison, Taher and Mosed to eight years, Alwan to nine and a half years, and Galab to seven years.[10] Gobas sentence was later reduced to nine years after he, Alwan, and Taher testified at a Guantanamo Bay military tribunal in the case against Osama bin Ladens chief propagandist, Ali Hamza al-Bahlul.[11]

Read more from the original source:
40 Terror Plots Foiled Since 9/11: Combating Complacency in the Long War on Terror

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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