Not Really the Real Deal

21 September 2009



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FBI, Police Foil Al Qaeda Plot in Colorado and New York

News broke last week that the FBI and New York Police Department had foiled an Al-Qaeda terror attack on New York. The alleged mastermind Najibullah Zazi of Aurora, Colorado, was questioned most of last week, but he wasn't and arrested until Saturday. He, his father and a Queens, New York-based Muslim preacher are all charged with lying to federal agents who were in the course of a criminal investigation. It's a lame charge, but it allows the government to hold the suspects while it comes up with evidence of something really serious. The authorities are claiming this was "the real deal," but closer inspection of the government's case suggests that this is just another Keystone Kops attempt at jihad.

According to officials, Mr. Zazi drove from Denver to Queens in New York City in a rental car around the anniversary of the September 11 Al Qaeda murders. They allege he had formulae for making hydrogen-peroxide bombs in his own handwriting in his Colorado apartment along with an electronic scale they claim is suitable for measuring out chemicals for bomb production. They also say he admitted getting Al Qaeda training during a recent trip to Pakistan. They further maintain that his compatriots in Queens had tried to rental a 26-foot U-Haul truck the day before he arrived. The manager of the U-Haul location said to the press that they gave him 3 different, invalid credit cards, and when told they could rent the truck for cash if they handed over appropriate ID, they left.

New York's Daily News reported, "According to the government, agents approached Afzali Sept. 10 and showed him a photo of Najibullah Zazi, 24, a fellow Afghan immigrant who moved from Queens to Denver. The next day, Sept. 11, FBI wiretaps caught Zazi's father telling his son he'd gotten a call from Afzali warning him the FBI was showing his photo. Then call waiting beeped: Afzali was on Zazi's other line. 'They asked me about you guys.' the imam told the suspected terrorist, according to a transcript. 'They came to ask me about your characters.' Afzali told Zazi, 'Listen, our phone call is being monitored.' Hours later, Zazi called the imam to say his rental car had vanished. Afzali allegedly asked if there was any 'evidence' in the car, and Zazi said no."

The suspects naturally maintain their innocence. Mr. Zazi the Younger claims he was in New York to settle a business matter related to a coffee wagon he owns. Mr. Afzali, though his lawyer Ron Kuby (a noted radical, and this journal means that as a compliment), "Why on Earth would he lie about the contents of a conversation that he knows is being recorded? The government asked him to make contact with [Zazi] and find out what he was up to."

The truth will come out as the investigation develops. However, if the government is correct (and one must remember that has yet to be proved), this plot wasn't much of a plot. The alleged plotters lack the sophistication to rent a U-Haul. More and more, the Al Qaeda's September 11 murders appear to be a lucky shot. The "organization" seems to be a one-trick pony incapable of launching anything serious in the US.

This calls into question the entire US strategy in Afghanistan. Mr. Zazi is alleged to have trained in Pakistan, not Afghanistan. The Taliban, Al Qaeda's Afghan partners, remain a threat to the Kabul regime, but America doesn't need to create a bourgeois, liberal democracy in Afghanistan. It just needs to keep Al Qaeda off balance. And tracking down Usama bin Laden must be the top priority. American authorities and citizens need to remain vigilant, but frankly, the bad guys don't seem to be very threatening -- unless one is afraid of clowns.

© 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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