Jihad is a many splendid thing

He tried three times to go and train for jihad, although he claims to have just wanted to leave America because he did not like it's foreign policy. He emailed al-Awlaki and received a reply in the form of a manual of jihad and had a video of himself, using images of bin-Laden and AK-47 rifles to make his point about the jihad he says he did not want to commit.

OK, then just what were your intentions, travelling to a hard-core Islamic country? Vacation? Study? The waters?

Barry Walter Bujol Jr. is a symptom of a greater disease, that of Islamic hegemony.

From The Baylor Lariat November 8 by Juan A. Lozano

Texan terrorism suspect denies intention to harm

HOUSTON — A Texas man accused of trying to sneak out of the country with restricted U.S. military documents, money and equipment in order to join al-Qaida told a judge Monday that he wanted to leave because he disagrees with American foreign policy and that he never intended to hurt anyone.

Sure, I disagree with American foreign policy but have never thought of getting restricted U.S. military documents and money and equipment and sneak out of America to the land of the Crescent and Star. What is wrong with me!

Barry Walter Bujol Jr. told the court during opening statements at his trial that he wanted to leave to become a better Muslim and that he never meant to join or support a terrorist group.

“My desire to leave the United States was not to commit acts of terrorism … but simply to express my discontent and displeasure with my tax dollars and what I was doing as a citizen with foreign policy objectives I didn’t agree with,” said Bujol, who addressed the court from a wheelchair because of a leg infection.

Federal prosecutor Garrett Heenan painted a very different portrait of the 30-year-old defendant, telling U.S. District Judge David Hittner that Bujol exchanged emails with the U.S.-born cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki.

“Bujol had emailed al-Awlaki seeking guidance regarding jihad. Al-Awlaki responded by emailing a terrorist manifesto entitled, ‘42 ways of supporting jihad,’” Heenan said.

But it's not the bad jihad, it's about the good jihad, the inner struggle against the personal demons, doncha know.

Al-Awlaki, who had ties to al-Qaida and who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in September in Yemen, is alleged to have exchanged emails with Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in the November 2009 Fort Hood shootings.

Bujol, who is a U.S. citizen, dismissed his court-appointed attorneys and was representing himself at his trial, which was being heard by a judge instead of a jury, at his request.

One of his former attorneys, Edward Mallett, was on hand to answer legal questions.

Bujol was mostly quiet Monday, writing notes and looking at a laptop as prosecutors questioned their first witness, Bryan Cannon, an FBI agent on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which spent two years investigating Bujol.

He began questioning Cannon late Monday and often paused between questions.

If convicted of the charges — attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and aggravated identity theft — Bujol could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Bujol was arrested in May 2010 after using fake identification to sneak into a Houston port and board a ship bound for the Middle East, Cannon said.

Most try to sneak into the U.S. instead of out.

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