Alleged New York Bomb Plot Foiled

Early this morning, New Yorkers awoke to their caffeine and lousy breakfast TV to discover that law enforcement agencies had foiled an alleged bomb plot. Four men were under arrest for allegedly planting what they thought were explosives at a synagogue and a Jewish community center in the Bronx. An FBI informant had had them under observation for close to a year. The lessons from this case are simple enough. Anti-terrorism is police work, not the job of the military, and in the war against terrorism, America has lost some hearts and minds by forgetting that point.

The accused are James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen. The government will arraign them today for plotting to detonate explosives in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York. In addition, the authorities claim the four wanted to buy surface-to-air missiles to shoot down military aircraft at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, a bit north of New York City. The authorities say the four wanted to shoot down a cargo plane and simultaneously use cell phone calls to detonate two bombs at Jewish sites.

Their motivation in the filed complaint was anger against the US for its war in Afghanistan and against Jews in general. CNN reported Mr. Cromitie, the alleged ringleader, told the FBI informant that his parents live in Afghanistan, and he was interested in “doing something to America.” However, as New York's Daily News reported, he also said, “"The best target [the World Trade Center] was hit already.” As for his antisemitism, the same paper says he ranted, “I hate those motherf-----s, those f---ing Jewish bastards. . . . I would like to get [destroy] a synagogue."

These guys weren't al-Qaeda trained in Afghanistan, although authorities say Mr. Cromitie has one parent from Afghanistan. Three are US citizens and one a Haitian immigrant. At least three are jail-house converts to Islam. In other words, these clowns are not really the kind of guys against whom the US could use the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs.

The four got busted after they planted what they thought were bombs. In fact, the devices were inert objects built by FBI technicians and handed to the alleged terrorists by the informant. One can expect a defense based on entrapment. Nevertheless, this was good solid police work, the kind that brings those who would commit violence for political and religious ends to justice.

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said, “While the bombs these terrorists attempted to plant tonight were -- unbeknownst to them -- fake, this latest attempt to attack our freedoms shows that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism.” Everyone is on the front line, just like during the Cold War. The difference between now and then, however, is that the military is not the tool to use as a deterrent. Aggressive policing will get much more done.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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