Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • L.A. Terror Plot May Be Linked to Gang

    Islamist terror will return to American shores. Frankly, and I’ve stated this repeatedly, I’m surprised that it hasn’t already. When it finally does, it may be in our malls, our nightclubs, our restaurants, or among the sites on a recently discovered list of possible targets in the Los Angeles area. Sadly, along with this list comes the not-too-shocking revelation that the next attack may well have a home-grown element to it.

    Officials are investigating whether an alleged terrorist plot to attack Los Angeles-area targets on Sept. 11 or Jewish holidays was organized by members of a militant Islamic state prison gang, a top law enforcement official said Wednesday.

    Federal and local counterterrorism officials are examining possible ties between a Pakistani man arrested in Los Angeles and a prison gang known as Jamat Ul-Islam Is Saheeh, said George Gascon, assistant chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

    Investigators believe Hammad Riaz Samana, who was arrested Aug. 2, has communicated with former or current inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento, involved with the gang, Gascon said.

    Samana’s arrest followed an investigation in which authorities found what they believe was a terrorist target list after they arrested two men on suspicion of a series of gas station robberies in Los Angeles County. That list included three National Guard facilities, the Israeli Consulate and several synagogues.

    Gascon said authorities believe the attacks were to be carried out on Sept. 11, the Jewish High Holidays or other dates, and warned the consulate and guard that their buildings were on the list.

    […]

    The list was found at the apartment of Levar Haney Washington, 25, of Los Angeles. Washington and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21 were arrested July 5 and have pleaded not guilty to robbery charges. They have not been charged in the terrorism probe.

    […]

    Washington was previously an inmate at the prison outside Sacramento and investigators are examining whether the suspected plot was organized by two inmates there: Peter Martinez, 36, who is serving a 40-year sentence for second-degree murder, and cellmate Kevin James, 29.

    Investigators have briefed prison officials around California and are trying to determine whether other inmates were involved, Gascon said.

    It was unclear what led authorities from Washington and Patterson to Samana.

    The three men attended the same mosque in Inglewood, though they were not seen meeting as a group, according to Arshed Quazi, president of the Jamat-E-Masijidul Islam mosque.

    Samana attended the mosque after arriving in Los Angeles several years ago, Quazi said. He is from the Karachi area of Pakistan and was studying at Santa Monica College.

    Wait, out of the obligation of tradition, we have to include the following:

    “He’s such a nice kid … I’m shocked,” said Quazi, adding that Samana stayed with his family across the street from the mosque.

    They always are. I’m sure Mohhamed Atta would have gladly held a World Trade Center elevator door open for a late-arriving passenger, had he only arrived at the building through one of the regular entrances and with far less force and jet fuel. Oh yeah, and innocent victims.

  • Carnival of Liberty VII

    The latest installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community‘s Carnival of Liberty is up over at Eric’s Grumbles Before the Grave. Go read another fine collection of posts from a libertarian slant.

  • Army Report Rejects Guard Spying Claims

    After a rough summer, there’s a bit of good news for the California National Guard.

    An Army report has cleared the California National Guard of allegations that it spied on citizens, accusations that triggered an ongoing state Senate investigation.

    The California Guard’s acting adjutant general, Brigadier Gen. John R. Alexander, said Monday that the Army’s inspector general determined in the confidential report that a Guard intelligence unit did nothing wrong.

    “There was never the intent, desire or decision to ever collect intelligence information on any U.S. citizen,” Alexander said in a written release. “Any statement to the contrary is flat wrong.”

    State Sen. Joseph Dunn launched an investigation after a series of e-mails and actions suggested the unit had resorted to the same type of civilian monitoring seen during Vietnam War-era protests. In the 1960s and 1970s, the military collected information on more than 100,000 Americans.

    The Guard and the state attorney general say the unit merely tries to assess threats to bridges, buildings and other structures and does no spying.

    A sister unit monitored a Mother’s Day anti-war demonstration at the state Capitol, but the Guard said that amounted to reviewing media accounts.

    The spying allegations are far from over, at least at the state level.

    Dunn was skeptical of the report’s conclusions, in part because he believes the terminology used in Alexander’s announcement could be used to hide indirect surveillance activity and record-keeping by the Guard.

    “I’m concerned that the Guard has been playing a game with us on this issue,” the lawmaker said Monday.

    As for the inspector general’s conclusion, “This is a little bit like the fox saying there aren’t any hens in the hen house — at least not anymore,” Dunn said.

    I know little of California’s in-state politics, but I’ve been suspicious of Dunn’s motivations since this story first broke and I was compelled to write the following:

    Dunn demands hearings. Guard cancels an interview because of those hearings. Dunn claims Guard is shutting up and casts a shadow on the military. Listen, Dunn, the Guard is not hiding from you; rather, they’re heeding your beck and call. Must you smear them with suspicion and questions of perception before they even sit before you at your hearing?

    I stand by my initial reaction that Dunn is driven by a distrust of the military. That, or he opportunistically sees an chance to make a name for himself on the Cali political stage at the expense of those in uniform. You know, big game hunter goes after big, bad military and all that rot.

    Still, after a summer of silly complaints at home and serious allegations for those deployed, the California Guard has to welcome today’s exoneration by the Army.

  • Field for Texas Governor’s Race Broadens

    And finally a Democrat of some note declares.

    Democrat Chris Bell on Sunday formally kicked off his campaign for governor, focusing on failed attempts to reform school finance and saying his patience for Gov. Rick Perry has run out.

    “Rick Perry just doesn’t get it,” Bell told a crowd of about 100 enthusiastic supporters in front of a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the University of Texas at Austin. “I know enough to listen when Texans tell me what they want.”

    Bell, who lost his spot in the U.S. House of Representatives last year, said dissatisfaction with Perry prompted his decision to run for governor. He said Perry’s fiscal decisions are hurting people.

    Bell promised parents he would work to make Texas public education the best in the nation within 10 years by giving teachers the resources they need. Bell suggested closing existing tax loopholes to raise money for education. He said he would release a more detailed school finance plan within a couple of weeks.

    Just because he is the only declared Democrat with any political track record does not mean Bell is a shoe-in for his party’s nomination as there’s still the supposed grass-roots efforts for two-time Dem lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Sharp and the threat of another run by the 2002 nominee Tony Sanchez. Bell does have a few negatives following him into the race.

    “Chris has already been rejected by Democrats in Houston. State Democratic leaders are rejecting him by looking for someone else to run,” said Luis Saenz, Perry’s campaign director. He noted there was plenty of opposition for Bell before it was time to think about the general election in November 2006.

    Currently, the hope for the eventual Dem nominee has to be for the Republican contender to be weakened coming out of a primary campaign between incumbent Rick Perry and current state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a campaign already threatening to turn ugly.

    Related — Campaign Sites of Declared Candidates:

    Rick Perry (R, Incumbent) – Popularity and approval numbers leave him vulnerable.
    Carole Keeton Strayhorn (R) – Unofficial motto of “One tough grandpa” is going to get real old real fast.
    Felix Alvarado (D) – Middle School Assistant Principal. Chances? Nada.
    Chris Bell (D) – Hoping bigger Democrat guns stay away from the hunt.
    Richard “Kinky” Friedman (Independent) – You gotta love the “Why the hell not?” slogan.

  • Arizona, New Mexico Declare Border Emergency

    Perhaps it’s time that the issue of the porous southern U.S. border, a problem long simmering but kept under the lid by many for fear of being trumped by the race card, can finally be faced.

    Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has joined Gov. Bill Richardson in declaring a state of emergency along her state’s border with Mexico.

    The order releases $1.5 million in emergency money for counties that lie along the border. Jeanine L’Ecuyer, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor, said the money is intended for use by counties and municipalities to cover overtime pay for law enforcement officers, repairs of border fences and costs related to illegal immigrants’ deaths.

    Richardson attracted international attention by declaring a state of emergency in four southern New Mexico counties last week. He spent part of Monday afternoon in and out of a TV production room at the state Capitol, which beamed his comments across the country.

    The first-term Democrat said he had to declare the emergency, which provides $1.75 million in state and federal funding for additional law enforcement along the border.

    “We’re talking about a violent situation,” he said between appearances. “We’re talking about illegal drugs coming in. We’re talking about kidnapping. We’re talking about police being shot at. We’re talking about a violent situation that has to be dealt with.

    “Something like this is a wake-up call to the Congress that they need a federal immigration policy. They need to deal with issues of legal migration.”

    I’ve pointed out the violent situation before; northen Mexico has essentially become a madhouse, and Nurse Ratched ain’t calling the shots.

    Of far greater concern is the fact that our nation is overly concerned about political touchy-feely issues, knowing full well that neither Canada nor Mexico is willing and able to control who is using their country as a means to enter the U.S. And trust me, the radical Islamists know that too.

  • 28 Alleged Taliban Die in Clashes

    Quagmire?

    Fighting across southern Afghanistan has left 28 suspected Taliban rebels dead as violence continues in the run-up to legislative elections next month, officials said yesterday.

    The bloodiest battle occurred in Zabul province on Sunday when Afghan forces attacked suspected militants, killing 16 and arresting one, according to the defence ministry. Among the dead was a local Taliban commander, Mullah Nasir, the ministry said.

    I ask again, with fighting raging “across southern Afghanistan,” is this finally the quagmire war opponents had predicted? The story seems to give the impression that the Afghan Dixie is a madhouse. Well, two little details lead me to say ixnay on the agmirequay. First, as is clear in the story, the bad guys are getting killed in bunches. This is certainly not a new development. Second, somehow omitted from this tale is that this is not a random outbreak of violence. Rather, this is the beginning of a joint Afghan-American offensive. This offensive has certainly drawn very little press — were it not for the military utilization of donkeys, there might have been no press at all.

    Chad at In the Bullpen was on the story of the offensive two days ago. In an update to that posting, ItB contributor Mac added the donkey aspect, pointing out the corresponding usage of horses by U.S. Special Forces early in the Afghan theater.

  • US Fights Fresh Abu Ghraib Images

    There’s something quite misleading in that headline. The same little trick is pulled in the story‘s lede.

    The US government is trying to stop fresh images of prisoner abuse in Iraq being made public, claiming they will aid the insurgency, court papers show.

    So what is so misleading? Well, only that there is absolutely nothing “fresh” about these images. Tucked away late in the story, in the fifteenth of sixteen paragraphs to be specific, is the following tidbit:

    The images at the centre of the fresh legal battle are believed to have been taken by the same soldier as the original set.

    Ah, there we have it — the images are old, but now the legal battle is fresh. Or is it? The BBC keeps using that word. I do not think it means what they think it means.

  • Quote of the Week, 14 AUG 05

    Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last.

    —Charles de Gaulle

  • Saturday Night Mil Links

    Well, actually these are a couple of articles I’d hoped to blog on the last two days but found myself too busy to manage. As it is, I’ll throw them out as links that I found interesting, though not necessarily heartening.

    Changing role of Guard is taking toll on citizen soldiers

    According to military officials, what the men and women of the Guard and Reserves are experiencing now is what they will be experiencing for some time. The role of the citizen soldier has changed, they say, for now and into foreseeable future.

    “We used to be a strategic reserve,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Bowen, head of the Alabama Army National Guard. “I would say now we’re an operational reserve. When a guy gets in the Guard nowadays, he can figure that he’s going to be deployed somewhere.”

    Recruitment is down dramatically, mostly because prospective recruits are worried about deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan or another country. In recent years, Guard members and reservists have served extended tours in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and Haiti.

    Jack Kelly: Parent-trap snares recruiters

    Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, 26, a Marine recruiter in Pittsburgh, went to the home of a high school student who had expressed interest in joining the Marine Reserve to talk to his parents.

    It was a large home in a well-to-do suburb north of the city. Two American flags adorned the yard. The prospect’s mom greeted him wearing an American flag T-shirt.

    “I want you to know we support you,” she gushed.

    Rivera soon reached the limits of her support.

    “Military service isn’t for our son. It isn’t for our kind of people,” she told him.

    “Parental consent is the toughest thing we face right now,” said Rivera’s boss, Maj. Michael Sherman, 36, commander of the recruiting battalion headquartered in Pittsburgh.

  • U.S. Army Hits July Recruiting Goal

    The good news? July makes it two successful months in a row for Army recruiting and, hey, that makes it a winning streak. The bad news? It doesn’t look good for fiscal year 2005.

    Most branches of the U.S. military achieved their recruiting goals in July, a Pentagon spokesman said.

    The active Army beat its recruiting goal for the second consecutive month, and the active Marine Corps, its reserves and the Air Force and Navy hit or exceeded their goals, spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today. The Navy Reserve and Air National Guard missed their goals.

    The Army missed its goals in the four months from February through May, and with a total of 55,207 new recruits so far in fiscal 2005, it might not hit its target of 80,000 by Sept. 30. It hasn’t missed its goal since 1999.

    The service raised this year’s goal to 80,000 recruits from 77,000 to increase the number of combat brigades it can deploy.

    The July figures are “very encouraging,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow on defense issues at the Brookings Institution. “Given the recent spate of bad news from Iraq, and bad trends in recruiting data, on balance these figures are a relief – and a signal that, while serious problems and risks remain, there is no acute personnel crisis just yet,”

    Still, “the Army is hardly out of the woods,” O’Hanlon said. “It needs to make up deficits in the active force, not just make its original monthly goals and clearly its Guard and Reserve numbers are still not where they need to be at all.”

    […]

    The Army beat its July goal of 7,450 new recruits by 635, Whitman said. The Army in May raised the goal from 6,100 to make up for earlier misses. The Army Reserve missed its July goal of 2,585 recruits by 454 and the Army National Guard missed its goal of 5,920 by 1,208.

    The Army National Guard missed its recruiting goals in 18 of the 19 months between January 2004 and July 30, the Pentagon said today. The goal was exceeded in September 2004 by 27, according to Pentagon figures. The Army Reserves missed its goal from January through May before reaching them in June and July.

    “When you look at the Reserves and Guard, there is some work to be done,” Whitman said. Still, “it’s been a pretty good month in terms of recruiting,”

    […]

    “Recruiting will remain challenging for the remainder of fiscal 2005 and well into the future,” service Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker told the Senate Armed Services Committee in late June. Schoomaker, in written testimony, said the challenges include a strong economy and wartime deployments.

    To compound the issues of trying to recruit during a very healthy job market and an ongoing war, add the higher-than-expected active service retention rates and the difficulties of the reserve components is almost to be expected. Much of the new blood for the Guard and Reserve elements are expected to come from those leaving active duty. This is demonstrated by the strains shown in the Air National Guard and Naval Reserve, the first I’d heard of those components suffering recruiting issues. This article carries much of the same news but focuses more on the reserve numbers.

    There are many jobs in the military I would never want and, with the pressures being faced right now, recruiter is right up there at the top of the list. Trust me, it would’ve been pretty high on the list anyway.