Al Qaeda Frequently Encountered in ... Virginia!??!
When I read this, I was stunned. Bombshell?:
Based on collection requirements established in 2008, al-Qa’ida, Al-Shabaab,
HAMAS, Hizballah, Jama’at ul Fuqra, Lashkar-e Tayyiba, and the Muslim
Brotherhood were assessed as potential international terrorism threats to
Virginia. While most of these groups are known to have individuals that
currently live, work, or frequently travel through Virginia, some groups were
included in this threat assessment based more on historic data or emerging
significance based on world events. These assessments were largely corroborated
by recently released data from the Terrorism Screening Center. According to 2008
ground encounter data, the most frequently encountered groups were al-Qa’ida,
HAMAS, and Hizballah. Occasionally encountered groups
and movements included
Sunni Extremists, Jama’at Tabligh, Palestinian Islamic Jihadb , Islamic Jihad
Unionc, Muslim Brotherhood, and the Taliban.
So, members of al Qaeda were encountered in Virginia? My immediate thought was that the wording here might be technical. So, I went to a definitional footnote to see how 'encountered' was operationalized:
(LES) Encounters include air travel, traffic stops, arrests, firearms purchases,
employment checks, and visa applications
Okay, I'm guessing that most of these "encounters" were false alarms based on routine screenings which turn up false positives based on similar names.
I hope.
But let's continue with the section specifically dedicated to al Qaeda and its links to Virginia [I've left the footnote numbers in so you can check them in the original if you want]:
Possible activities by al-Qa’ida members or sympathizers within the U.S. include
fundraising through hawalas (moneylenders), front businesses, and narcotics
sales, as well as recruitment and radicalization.5 Group members or sympathizers
may have established a relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. and
may be attempting to exploit minority communities that perceive themselves as
marginalized. 6,7 Past intelligence indicates group operatives may be entering
or attempting to enter the U.S. through Mexico and Latin America.8
According to 2008 Terrorism Screening Center ground encounter data,
al-Qa’ida was one of the three most frequently encountered groups in Virginia.9
In 2007, at least 414 encounters between suspected al-Qa’ida members and law
enforcement or government officials were documented in the Commonwealth.d
Although the vast majority of encounters involved automatic database checks for
air travel, a number of subjects were encountered by law enforcement officers.
So, yes most of these 414 "encounters" were database checks -- again, hopefully we are talking about false positives -- but at least some al Qaeda "subjects" were encountered by law enforcement.
Double Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?!
Who are these al Qaeda "subjects" being "encountered" in Virginia??????
More:
While reports of encounters with known members or sympathizers are important to
note, the potential for encountering unidentified al-Qa’ida members or
sympathizers within existing Salafie populations in Virginia are also cause for
concern. Enclaves of Salafist ideology adherents have been identified in
Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads areas.10 Al-Qa’ida may also have a presence
in Central Virginia due to the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood.11 College
campuses12 and correctional centers within Virginia also represent potential
recruitment and radicalization venues.f According to 2009 public safety survey
data, the counties of Fairfax and Spotsylvania reported awareness of individuals
potentially linked to al-Qa’ida living, working, or otherwise linked to their
jurisdictions.13
This is pretty big. Read the footnotes for the sources of this information and you'll see that most of it is open source. Except:
10 (LES) 2009 VFC Threat Assessment Survey: Fairfax County, City of Falls
Church, , Spotsylvania County, VSP
11 (LES) 2008 VFC Threat Assessment Survey: FBI Richmond Field Office
12 (LES) 2008 VFC Threat Assessment Survey: Regent University Campus Police;
13 (LES) 2009 VFC Threat Assessment Survey:
So, on the one hand I'm pretty freaking happy that some in law enforcement are taking the homegrown jihad threat seriously. On the other hand, it's not that comforting to know that, yes, those guys next door that you think might be jihadis might actually be jihadis!
I'm still kind of reeling from this. Maybe you've seen the whole report already as it's a few days months old, but I'm still reading it. It's marked "LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE" and "NO REPORT OR SEGMENT THEREOF MAY BE RELEASED TO ANY MEDIA SOURCES" but it's already out there.
Canada Free Press has the whole thing in PDF format here.
I'll probably update this post as I read the rest of the document. Let me know via email if there are others who have covered this already and have something worthwhile to say and link to; or, if as you read it something important sticks out.
8 comments:
Quick response and then I'll go back and read the details.
We're loaded with Muslims down here. Just a few blocks lives the black bag -- complete with gloves.
Northern Virginia is a hotbed. We have the Falls Church Mosque, the Wahhabi Corridor, and the big halal supermarket in Falls Church. You should see what goes on at the supermarket!
And don't forget, we got Islamophilic Georgetown University in D.C. and, to a lesser extent, George Mason University in the suburbs.
Last but not least, we have the Islamic Saudi Academy.
Jamaat al Fuqra is further south -- near Liberty University (Falwell) and UVA.
Hey, a police-officer friend of mine who knows of my involvement in the anti-jihad told me a couple of years ago, "There's a lot more going on than you know." He provided me security when I spoke in public that one time.
I have reported on this problem previously here:
http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/05/fairfax-va-massive-bust-near-popular.html
Note, that I have also reported repeatedly that the area I live in is similarly populated.
I live just miles from the Mosque where Adam Gadahn was "radicalized" and I have attended prayer meetings where his Imam led the prayers.
The neighborhood where Disneyland is located is also a predominantly Muslim neighborhood filled with burqas and radicals.
And just a few miles down the freeway there is the University of California at Irvine, a hotbed of manifest radicalism and Jew-hatred.
MR, this problem exists in multiple locales across the nation. I have no doubt there are Al Qaeda and Hamas cells living within my neighborhood. That might sound like paranoia, but well, like I said, Adam Gadahn is from my neighborhood.
While visiting family in Falls Church, we ventured into Tysons Corner Mall one evening (over a year ago). The muslim demographic on display provided quite the education.
The 'youthful' males travelled in packs (dozen or more) forcing families to divide as they passed through.
Multiple hijabbed females (one family?) pushed their prams while a gaggle of little ones followed. An adult male companion was always within sight.
In one store, I had a confrontation with a couple of aggressive veiled bimbos who angled their pram in front of my foot and then stepped ahead of me at a checkout, seating their toddler on the checkout counter. No words were exchanged directly, but I physically made it clear that I was not invisible - nor in a charitable mood - I was next in line, period. The young checkout clerk was relieved that she didn't have to intervene.
At the base of an escalator, there was a female draped in the head to toe black abaya complete with niqab, clearly upset about something - her head quickly turning left then right, gloved hand rubbing through exposed eye slits, sobbing became apparent as I descended on the escalator.
Outside, I located my car across from an agitated male sitting in his car. This middle aged male (appeared to be ME)was screaming and pounding his steering wheel, he stepped out of his vehicle and pounded his cell phone on the roof of his car, hollering - as if to wake the dead- in a foreign language, attracting the attention of shoppers exiting and entering the mall. Once I finished loading my car, I saw a female (no veil) arrive and become the subject of his obnoxious verbal abuse. Since no physical contact was made the mall guard wouldn't intervene - despite several alarmed witnesses notifed the same guard in my presence.
On another rainy occassion, we were seeking out the lazer tag facility nearby. Once we arrived, my son and daughter-in-law refused to get out of the car in the - what they characterized as an unsafe 'dishdasha' neighborhood. They have since moved out of Virginia.
romaaaaaaaaaaaaa
What is "romaaaaa".
That is the second time you have left that comment.
Please explain the point, or I will start deleting all of your comments.
Anonymous,
Tysons Corner Mall has undergone this change in just a few years.
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