Imagine that...marathon jihadists worshiped at mosque with fundamental ties

The Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge and the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center are both owned by the same entity, and both have had their share of questionable activities.  The Cambridge mosque saw its first president convicted of plotting to kill the Saudi price who is now King, and the Cultural Center has "A former trustee (who) appears in a series of videos in which he advocates treating gays as criminals, says husbands should sometimes beat their wives (4-34) and calls on Allah (God) to kill Zionists and Jews"

But to call into question the Islamic doctrine that drove the trustee to say what he did would be Islamophobic.

From USA Today April 23 by Oren Dorell

Mosque that Boston suspects attended has radical ties

BOSTON — The mosque attended by the two brothers accused in the Boston Marathon double bombing has been associated with other terrorism suspects, has invited radical speakers to a sister mosque in Boston and is affiliated with a Muslim group that critics say nurses grievances that can lead to extremism.

Several people who attended the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, Mass., have been investigated for Islamic terrorism, including a conviction of the mosque's first president, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, in connection with an assassination plot against a Saudi prince.

Its sister mosque in Boston, known as the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, has invited guests who have defended terrorism suspects. A former trustee appears in a series of videos in which he advocates treating gays as criminals, says husbands should sometimes beat their wives and calls on Allah (God) to kill Zionists and Jews, according to Americans for Peace and Tolerance, an interfaith group that has investigated the mosques.

The head of the group is among critics who say the two mosques teach a brand of Islamic thought that encourages grievances against the West, distrust of law enforcement and opposition to Western forms of government, dress and social values.

"We don't know where these boys were radicalized, but this mosque has a curriculum that radicalizes people. Other people have been radicalized there," said the head of the group, Charles Jacobs.

Yusufi Vali, executive director at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, insists his mosque does not spread radical ideology and cannot be blamed for the acts of a few worshipers.

"If there were really any worry about us being extreme," Vali said, U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and Departments of Justice and Homeland Security would not partner with the Muslim American Society and the Boston mosque in conducting monthly meetings that have been ongoing for four years, he said, in an apparent reference to U.S. government outreach programs in the Muslim community.

The Cambridge and Boston mosques, separated by the Charles River, are owned by the same entity but managed individually. The imam of the Cambridge mosque, Sheik Basyouny Nehela, is on the board of directors of the Boston mosque.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, attended the Cambridge mosque for services and are accused of setting two bombs that killed three people and injured at least 264 others at the April 15 Boston Marathon.

The FBI has not indicated that either mosque was involved in any criminal activity, but mosque attendees and officials have been implicated in terrorist activity:

• Alamoudi, who signed the articles of incorporation as the Cambridge mosque's president, was sentenced to 23 years in federal court in Alexandria, Va., in 2004 for his role as a facilitator in what federal prosecutors called a Libyan assassination plot against then-crown prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Abdullah is now the Saudi king.

• Aafia Siddiqui, who occasionally prayed at the Cambridge mosque, was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 while in possession of cyanide canisters and plans for a chemical attack in New York City. She tried to grab a rifle while in detention and shot at military officers and FBI agents, for which she was convicted in New York in 2010 and is serving an 86-year sentence.

• Tarek Mehanna, who worshiped at the Cambridge mosque, was sentenced in 2012 to 17 years in prison for conspiring to aid al-Qaeda. Mehanna had traveled to Yemen to seek terrorist training and plotted to use automatic weapons to shoot up a mall in the Boston suburbs, federal investigators in Boston alleged.

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And in other news, the global jihad continues

"...Muslims who reject their faith 'should be condemned to death'"

Muhammad said "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57)
From the newly democratized Morocco.  Welcome to Islam.

From Google News April 18

Morocco death for apostates fatwa sparks controversy

RABAT — A fatwa published this week by Morocco's higher council of religious scholars (CSO) calling for the death penalty for Muslims who renounce their faith has sparked fierce controversy in the country.

The scholars, who represent official Islam in Morocco, said in their edict, published in Tuesday's edition of Arabic-language daily Akhbar al-Youm, that Muslims who reject their faith "should be condemned to death."

The fatwa, which has provoked strong reactions, dates back to April 2012 when a legal report was being prepared by the government, but it was not published at the time, according to local media.

Mahjoub El Hiba, a senior human rights official in the government, denied in a statement to the official MAP news agency having requested any such fatwa from the council of Islamic scholars, as Akhbar al-Youm had claimed.

"What was published in the document attributed to the CSO does not concern our government and commits us to nothing," Hiba told AFP.

"I am not authorised to request advice or fatwas from the CSO. I do not have to comment on what a constitutional body like this does," he added.

The CSO is the only institution entitled to issue fatwas in Morocco.

The ministry of Islamic affairs declined to comment on the issue...

UN Human Rights Council official says the Jews are to blame for the Boston jihad

Richard Falk has been condemned before for remarks he made claiming 9/11 was done because of American foreign policy...and the Jews.  It is obvious where Falks loyalties lie and he should be ostracized and kicked out of the UN.

From UN Watch April 22

UN Official Justifies Boston Bombings as ‘Retribution’, Blames America & ‘Tel Aviv’

GENEVA, April 22, 2013 – In a letter sent today to UN chief Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice (see below), UN Watch demanded the condemnation of top UN Human Rights Council official Richard Falk over his latest remarks blaming the Boston terrorist attacks on U.S. foreign policy and “Tel Aviv.”

For more on Falk, who was recently expelled by the Human Rights Watch organization yet retains his UN position, click here.

Here is part of the letter sent to SecGen Ban Ki Moon;

(.)Falk’s Foreign Policy Journal article entitled “A Commentary on the Marathon Murders,” dated April 22, 2013, and annexed here, makes three ignominious points.

First, its thesis is that Americais to blame for last week’s atrocity. Falk approvingly cites comments justifying the Boston Marathon bombings as “retribution” for the actions of the U.S.military in Afghanistan,IraqandPakistan. “The American global domination project,” says Falk, bears responsibility for provoking “all kinds of resistance” in the post-colonial world. He calls for “courage” to “connect some of these dots.” Crystallizing his justification of the terrorist attacks, he writes: “Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return.”

Terrorism will target Americans until they reflect upon and change their action, says Falk. Lamenting a “taboo” on “self-scrutiny,” he predicts “adjustments” that will come either from “a voluntary process of self-reflection” or “through the force of unpleasant events.” America’s “military prowess” and “hard power diplomacy” make the country “a menace to the world and to itself.”

“How many canaries will have to die,” asks Falk, “before we awaken from our geopolitical fantasy of global domination?”

Second, Falk conjures up the sinister specter of another global menace by blaming the Boston bombings on the Jewish state: “[A]s long as Tel Aviv has the compliant ear of the American political establishment those who wish for peace and justice in the world should not rest easy.”

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NYC police commissioner Ray Kelly calls it as he sees it....and he sees jihad

It's the jihad I tell ya...

A rare breath of truth in a uber-PC world.  Bravo Kelly.

From NewsMax April 22 by Bill Hoffmann

NYPD’s Ray Kelly: Boston Bombers Represent New Jihadist Threat

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly believes the Boston Marathon bombings were a type of jihad attack that is on the rise in the United States.

“I see this as an ongoing pattern. We’ve seen these radicalized young men do, or try to do, similar things,’’ Kelly told Newsmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show.’’

“We’ve had 16 plots here against the city, many of them involving young, disaffected men who are committed to killing Americans.’’

Kelly said those threats have remained “relatively constant’’ and “we don’t see it waning.’’

“What we do see is a shift from the sort of organized, top-down direction than we saw early on after 9/11 from al-Qaida to a more free-form, do-what-you-can approach,’’ Kelly said.

“[That’s] where individuals will get, in essence, radicalized on the Internet. They usually have someone who is a sanctioner that leads them along or mentors them.’’

Lets also not forget the over 1500 US mosques that have been shown to promote, or at the very least tolerate anti-semitic and anti-Western views.

He pointed to a 2007 study conducted by two of the NYPD’s top intelligence analysts that looked at the radicalization process of future terrorists.

“[They are] what they call unremarkable young men who go into four phases of jihadization,’’ Kelly said.

“They’re looking for a place in the world. They’re looking for meaning, looking for a cause. … They decide to get jihad. And after that decision is made, they can act pretty quickly.’’

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PhD jihadist and friends planned to blow up Canadian railway train

I thought it was poverty and crushing despair that motivated jihadists, and that if we just gave them more money and respect they would stop hating us.

I guess I was wrong.

From Reuters April 22 by Euan Rocha

Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-supported" passenger train plot

(Reuters) - Canadian police said on Monday they had arrested and charged two men with plotting to derail a Toronto-area passenger train in an operation they say was backed by al Qaeda elements in Iran.

"Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Royal Canadian Mounted Police official James Malizia told reporters in Toronto.

The RCMP said it had arrested Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto in connection with the plot, which authorities said was not linked to the Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three and injured more than 200 people last week.

Neither is a Canadian citizen, but the police did not reveal their nationalities.

A spokeswoman for the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique near Montreal confirmed that Esseghaier was a doctoral student at the research institute and that he had been arrested.

Julie Martineau, the school's director of communications, said Esseghaier arrived at the school in 2010 and was about midway through his degree.

"He is doing a PhD in the field of energy and materials sciences," she told Reuters.

Yet he still felt he had to uphold the tenets of Islam and kill non-Muslims.

A bail hearing for the two will take place in Toronto on Tuesday morning.

Malizia said there was no indication that the planned attacks, which police described as the first known al Qaeda- backed plot on Canadian soil, were state-sponsored.

U.S. officials said the attack would have targeted a rail line between New York and Toronto, a route that travels along the Hudson Valley into New York wine country and enters Canada near Niagara Falls.

Canadian police said only that the plot involved a VIA train route in the Toronto area.

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Taking the lipstick off the pig

Officials have had a brief spell of clarity, and have classified the marathon jihad as being motivated by religion.  No, really, they said it.  I know...who would have believed ?

Now the question is; will they take this to its logical conclusion, and begin to investigate Islam as the primary driver in these attacks?  Oh to be so lucky.

From MSN April 22

Officials: Boston suspects motivated by religion

BOSTON — The two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon appear to have been motivated by a radical brand of Islam but do not seem connected to any Muslim terrorist groups, U.S. officials said Monday after interrogating and charging Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with crimes that could bring the death penalty.

Tsarnaev, 19, was charged in his hospital room, where he was in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the throat and other injuries suffered during his attempted getaway. His older brother, Tamerlan, 26, died Friday after a fierce gunbattle with police.
The Massachusetts college student was charged with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. He was accused of joining with his brother in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people and wounded more than 200 a week ago.

The brothers, ethnic Chechens from Russia who had been living in the U.S. for about a decade, practiced Islam.

Two U.S. officials said preliminary evidence from the younger man's interrogation suggests the brothers were motivated by religious extremism but were apparently not involved with Islamic terrorist organizations.

Dzhokhar communicated with his interrogators in writing, precluding the type of back-and-forth exchanges often crucial to establishing key facts, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

They cautioned that they were still trying to verify what they were told by Tsarnaev and were looking at such things as his telephone and online communications and his associations with others.

In the criminal complaint outlining the allegations, investigators said Tsarnaev and his brother each placed a knapsack containing a bomb in the crowd near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race.

The FBI said surveillance-camera footage showed Dzhokhar manipulating his cellphone and lifting it to his ear just instants before the two blasts.

After the first blast, a block away from Dzhokhar, "virtually every head turns to the east ... and stares in that direction in apparent bewilderment and alarm," the complaint says. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, "virtually alone of the individuals in front of the restaurant, appears calm."

He then quickly walked away, leaving a knapsack on the ground; about 10 seconds later, a bomb blew up at the spot where he had been standing, the FBI said.

The FBI did not say whether he was using his cellphone to detonate one or both of the bombs or whether he was talking to someone.

The criminal complaint shed no light on the motive for the attack.

Islam.

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Marathon jihadist went to mosque that hosted British journalist who accused America and England of waging war against Islam

Victoria Brittain says "I stayed in Great Britain. There, my government, in close conjunction with Washington, was pursuing its own version of what, whether anyone cared to say it or not, was essentially a war against Islam..."  I guess she never heard either Bush I or Obama tell the world that we are not at war with Islam.  Would it be a good assumption that the brothers were aware of, or heard live this pronouncement from her?  Not that her talk would have influenced their jihad bent, but it might have added fuel to their Islamic zealousness.

And who is monitoring mosques to see if they are promoting hatred and division?  Do the mosques themselves teach non-violence and assimilation with their host country to their congregation?

Questions...questions.

From the Daily Caller April 19 by Patrick Howley

Bombing suspect’s mosque hosted author who criticized US, UK for ‘war against Islam’

The Islamic Society of Boston, attended by Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, recently hosted a book event featuring a journalist who has been highly critical of the U.S. and U.K. “War on Terror,” which she described as a “war against Islam.”

The Islamic Society of Boston also encouraged its members to show their “support of the forgotten women of the War on Terror.”

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based mosque and its satellite cultural center — which announced its indefinite closing Friday in light of “the terrible and sad events of last night, the criminal of the bombings on the loose, and the strong recommendations of our Governor” — hosted a book signing and “Meet the Author” event April 6 with British journalist and former Guardian editor Victoria Brittain, who discussed her book “Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror.”The Islamic Society of Boston posted a graphic promoting the event on its Facebook page April 1, describing the plight of a British woman whose husband has been in Guantanamo prison for 11 years and encouraging people to “Put your profile in shadow in support of the forgotten women of the War on Terror.”
Brittain wrote an article last month, posted on MichaelMoore.com, criticizing the American and British government’s “war against Islam” and Washington’s “global gulag” of black sites.

“I stayed in Great Britain. There, my government, in close conjunction with Washington, was pursuing its own version of what, whether anyone cared to say it or not, was essentially a war against Islam. Somehow, by a series of chance events, I found myself inside it, spending time with families transformed into enemies,” Brittain wrote.

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"But there were hints of something ominous underneath the surface: a message on Dzhokhar’s Twitter feed on Marathon Monday last year referred to a Koran verse often used by radical Muslim clerics and propagandists"

Yet no one in his mosque asked any questions, nor had any program in place to address the growing problem of jihad within its members.  The mosque the brothers went to had hosted a radial Islamic cleric in the past, maybe they heard the sermon and took to heart sura 9 verse 29 "Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled."

From the Boston Globe April 19 by Jenna Russell, Jenn Abelson, Patricia Wen, Michael Rezendes, and David Filipov

Brothers in Marathon bombings took two paths into infamy

The two young brothers from Cambridge seemed to be on promising paths, one a scholarship student at college, the other fighting for a national title in amateur boxing.

And then, apparently with little warning, they veered violently off track, deep into the darkness, setting off deadly bombs, authorities are convinced, at one of Boston’s most iconic and joyful events.

To those who knew them, the apparent transformation of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19 — ethnic Chechens, born in the former Soviet territory now known as Kyrgyzstan and transplanted to a working-class Inman Square neighborhood — seemed almost inconceivable.But as friends and neighbors pieced together recollections of the terrorism suspects and their family, a picture emerged of an older brother who seemed to grow increasingly religious and radical — and who may have drawn his more easygoing younger brother into a secret plot of violence and hatred.

“I used to warn Dzhokhar that Tamerlan was up to no good,” Zaur Tsarnaev, who identified himself as a 26-year-old cousin, said in a phone interview from Makhachkala, Russia, where the brothers briefly lived. “[Tamerlan] was always getting in trouble. He was never happy, never cheering, never smiling. He used to strike his girlfriend. . . . He was not a nice man.”

The older brother dropped out of college, was seemingly unemployed, and faced a domestic violence charge in 2009. The younger brother, Dzhokhar (pronounced Ja-HAR), seemed less troubled, people who knew him said, a friendly, relaxed teenager called “an angel” by his uncle and a party-loving “pothead” by some friends. But there were hints of something ominous underneath the surface: a message on Dzhokhar’s Twitter feed on Marathon Monday last year referred to a Koran verse often used by radical Muslim clerics and propagandists.

The two young men, seven years apart, shared a keen intelligence and willingness to work hard, according to interviews with dozens of people who knew them. But there were stark differences between Tamerlan, who came to America as a teenager, and Dzhokhar, who was 10 or 11 when the family immigrated to the United States, and by all accounts thrived in their new American home. Their father, a lawyer before he emigrated, worked as an auto mechanic in the the United States, while their mother was a licensed cosmetologist.

Their older son, an accomplished amateur boxer described by some as arrogant or standoffish, aspired to be an engineer but dropped out of Bunker Hill Community College. His younger brother, a well-liked wrestling team captain and National Honor Society member in high school, is currently enrolled as a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, living in a dorm on campus and studying to be a marine biologist.

“If someone were to ask me what this kid is like, I would say that he had a heart of gold,” said Larry Aaronson, who taught the younger suspect at the public Cambridge Rindge & Latin School. “He was as gracious as possible … This is all surreal to me.”

Family history

The Tsarnaev brothers were ethnic Chechens, born in the former Soviet Republic now called Kyrgyzstan. Whether they ever lived in war-torn Chechnya is unclear. Their father, Anzor Tsarnaev, was described by family Friday as a former Russian amateur boxing champion. While the family was living in Kyrgyzstan, Anzor Tsarnayev said in an interview Friday by the Russian agency lifenews.ru, they had trouble with government authorities.

“In Kyrgyzstan we were oppressed,” the father said. “We wanted a quiet life. I was afraid for my kids and tried to save them.”

By 2001, the family had taken refuge in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim Russian region of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya. There, the brothers briefly attended grade school. Anzor’s sister Maret Tsarnaeva told reporters that she wrote the refugee petition in April 2002 for the father, mother and youngest son, Dzhokhar, to receive asylum in the United States. The three other children, Tamerlan and his sisters, Alina and Bella, joined the family later.

With the family reunited in the United States, they seemed to be on the path to fulfilling their American dreams. The brothers attended high school and college and seemed to be succeeding, family members said.

“Everything was perfect because Anzor is a very loving soft hearted father,” Maret said of her brother.

But Anzor Tsarnaev’s former boss at Webster Auto Body in Somerville saw a very different side of the man, describing him as “one of the toughest guys I’ve ever known.”

Joe Timko, a foreman at the repair shop where Anzor Tsarnaev worked several years ago, recalled seeing him changing a transmission in a car in front of his house in single digit temperatures and snow. Timko said he instilled that toughness in his sons, sometimes riding a bike to a boxing gym on Somerville Avenue, while Tamerlan ran alongside him, training.

Tamerlan, the eldest son, became an amateur boxer, emulating his father, who helped train him. Boxing as a heavyweight, he competed in the national Golden Gloves competition, said John Allan, owner of Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts in Allston, who remembered seeing him compete.

“He was the best boxer in Boston,” said Allan. “He smoked all of the professionals.”

“He was noticeable because he was very relaxed, very smooth.” said Douglas A. Yoffe, the coach at the Harvard Boxing Club, who has seen Tamerlan box about half a dozen times over the past decade.

Yoffe also said Tamerlan stood out because he kept his distance from others in the clubs and at the tournaments where he fought.

“I remember he had that blase attitude,” Yoffe added. “For a very young fighter he was almost disdainful. He was very confident.”

Profiled in the Lowell Sun in 2004, Tamerlan said he liked the USA.

“America has a lot of jobs. That’s something Russia doesn’t have,” he told the newspaper. “You have a chance to make money here if you are willing to work.”

He later said, in a photo essay about his boxing exploits, that he hoped to be selected for the US Olympic team, and that he dreamed of becoming a naturalized citizen. But he also lamented his alienation, saying, “I don’t have a single American friend. I don’t understand them.’’

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Boston jihad; Russia asked US to investigate Tamerlan, evidence of Chechen jihad "direct contact" yet FBI dismissed claims but told Mom son was "extremist leader"

More willful blindness from those charged with protecting us.  How is it possible to ignore warnings from Russian intelligence yet watch Tamerlan for five years and then conclude he is not a threat?  What thought patterns cause this lack of critical analysis and dismissal of gathered intelligence?  A willful desire to not offend or insult Islam is the driving force behind this, and the more we practice this deceit the more innocents will die.  Boston is the beginning of the jihad against "soft targets".

From the Mail Online April 20 by Ian Gallagher and Will Stewart

Was Boston bomber inspired by Russia's Bin Laden? Mother claims FBI tracked older brother 'for FIVE YEARS' after being told by Moscow of links to Chechen terrorists

One of the brothers suspected of the Boston Marathon bombings had direct contact with Chechen terrorists – and was ‘monitored’ by investigators for five years.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that the FBI put Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, under surveillance after receiving an explicit warning from the Russian intelligence services.

But despite apparently telling his mother that Tamerlan was an ‘extremist’ leader, the FBI eventually discounted the possibility that he was a threat.

Tamerlan was shot dead by police early on Friday while his 19-year-old brother Dzhokhar was captured alive but seriously injured with neck and leg injuries on Friday night. He had been hiding in a boat in a suburban backyard.

Last night new details about Dzhokhar’s dramatic capture were released.

Police said he fired at them from his hiding place but, weak through loss of blood from the bullet wounds he had sustained in the shoot-out with police earlier, he eventually gave himself up. ‘He was so weak that we were able to just go in and scoop him up,’ said a police spokesman.

More details also emerged of the shoot-out after the brothers were cornered in a stolen Mercedes 4x4.

Police said Tamerlan burst out of the car shooting at officers. ‘There were six police officers in this very tight area engaged in a gunfight,’ said police chief Edward Deveau. ‘During the exchange, all of a sudden, something got thrown at my police officers and there was a major explosion,’ he said.

In all, there were three explosions and 200 rounds were fired during the five-to-ten minute exchange.

It ended when Tamerlan ran out of ammunition, He was on the ground being handcuffed when he was run over by his younger brother as he escaped in the car.

While Dzhokhar’s capture ended a week of tension and drama in Boston, triggering scenes of jubilation and self-congratulation among law enforcement officers, questions will now be asked about how the brothers managed to slip the net.

US congressmen have expressed concern that the tip-off about Tamerlan to the FBI from Moscow may not have been properly followed through.

Yesterday the brothers’ mother, Zubeidat, said the FBI once told her that Tamerlan was ‘really an extremist leader and that they were afraid of him’. She added: ‘He was controlled by the FBI for five years. They knew what my son was doing. They were following every step of his.’

And his father, Anzor Tsarnaev, said investigators warned his son: ‘We know what sites you are on, we know where you are calling, we know everything about you. Everything. We are checking and watching.’

Despite all this, the FBI found no substantive evidence that he was engaged in terror-related activities though they continued to ‘monitor his internet use and contacts’.

According to an intelligence source, Russia remained convinced that Tamerlan, an ethnic Chechen, was in ‘direct contact’ with Islamist militants, most likely based in the strife-torn southern Russian region of Dagestan, where he lived for two years with his family prior to moving to the US.

During a six-month visit to Russia last year – a trip US investigators are investigating – it is understood Tamerlan visited Dagestan, which is now regarded as more unstable than Chechnya.

One theory is that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, who was in thrall to his older brother, may have been ‘inspired’ by a rebel leader known as Russia’s Bin Laden.

Doku Umarov, like the Tsarnaev brothers, is an ethnic Chechen from the war-torn Caucasus region that lies between Europe and Central Asia. He has been accused of masterminding some of the worst terrorist atrocities in Russia, including suicide bombings carried out by two women on Moscow’s Metro system in 2010 which killed at least 40.

Significantly, while Umarov was originally fighting only for Chechen independence he has more recently embraced a wider jihadist agenda.

Chechen expert Dr Carlo Gallo, the founder of London-based political risk firm Enquirisk, explained: ‘Umarov has made statements in which he has said that the enemy of Islam is not just Russia but America, though the insurgents have never conducted significant operations outside Russia.’

It raises the terrifying prospect of further atrocities being carried out across the globe by disaffected individuals inspired by the jihadist rhetoric of the former Chechen leaders....

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Marathon bombers part of 12-man "sleeper cell" say FBI

Much work needs to be done to tie all the strings together, but it is appearing more and more likely that the brothers were part of a larger jihad cell here in the US that was waiting for their time to act.  The connections to Dagestan, Chechnya jihadist training camps and outside support is becoming clearer.  Will we be told this is a jihad attack?  Probably not, as the goal of the media and our dear leader is to obfuscate and mislead about the reasons why Islam hates us, presenting instead that tired canard that Islam is a religion of peace that was hijacked by these two misunderstander of their religion.

Uh huh.

From the Mirror April 21 by  Christopher Bucktin and Andy Lines

Boston bombers: FBI hunting 12-strong terrorist “sleeper cell” linked to brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

The FBI was last night hunting a 12-strong terrorist “sleeper cell” linked to the Boston marathon bomb brothers.

Police believe Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were specially trained to carry out the devastating attack.

More than 1,000 FBI operatives were last night working to track down the cell and arrested a man and two women 60 miles from Boston in the hours before Dzhokhar’s dramatic capture after a bloody shootout on Friday.

A source close to the investigation said: “We have no doubt the brothers were not acting alone. The devices used to detonate the two bombs were highly sophisticated and not the kind of thing people learn from Google.

“They were too advanced. Someone gave the brothers the skills and it is now our job to find out just who they were. Agents think the sleeper cell has up to a dozen members and has been waiting several years for their day to come.”

A specialist team of CIA and FBI interrogators was yesterday flown to a Boston hospital to grill wounded Dzhokhar, 19, about the secret group. The University of Massachusetts student was caught on Friday after hiding out in a boat parked in a garden in locked down Watertown the day after a gun battle with police left his 26-year-old brother and a rookie cop dead.

Dzhokhar is said to have run his brother over as he escaped in a stolen car while Tamerlan lay handcuffed on the ground. They were carrying six bombs with them at the time, three of which ­exploded, as well as a handgun and rifle. The devices were thought to be pipe bombs.

Last night Dzhokhar – badly wounded but alive – lay handcuffed to his hospital bed under armed guard. The other three arrested in the port of New Bedford are also believed to be of college age.

Dzhokhar even went to a college party two days after the bombs wreaked havoc at the finish line. According to fellow students, he “looked relaxed” as he joined in a party at the campus on Wednesday night.

Hours later he was involved in the shootout which saw his brother killed.

Investigators have begun piecing together how the “well-mannered” brothers of Chechen origin were radicalised. Neighbours of the family said older brother Tamerlan had recently become obsessed with Islam. He mysteriously left the US in January last year to spend six months in Russia. Yesterday senior FBI counter-terrorism official Kevin Brock said: “It’s a key thread for investigators.”

It also emerged the Bureau interviewed Tamerlan two years ago, at the request of the Russian government, but could not establish that he had ties to terrorist radicals.

This was despite his worrying Russian-language YouTube page featuring links to extremist Islamic sites and others since taken down by YouTube.

One link showed an hour-long speech by an Islamic teacher called Shaykh Feiz Mohammed, while other videos are labled “Terrorists” and “Islam”.

The radical cleric, with links to extremist British Muslims, encouraged his followers to become martyrs for Islam. He said: “Teach them this: There is nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a mujahid.”

(.)US Government officials have said the brothers were not under surveillance as possible militants. And an FBI statement said the matter was closed because interviews with Tamerlan and family members “did not find any terrorism activity, domestic or foreign”. But now they believe the pair, who emigrated to the United States from Dagestan about a decade ago, were part of a terror cell.

The worst surveillance ever by the FBI.  The Keystone Kops could take lessons from them.  This is the result of not profiling and not asking the tough questions about Muslims from jihad-rife areas who want to come to the US.  Of course, to ask those kinds of questions would be Islamophobic, doncha know.

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“I will dedicate my life to Jihad"

From Obama on down to local talk radio, the consensus is in; we don't know the motive behind the attack.  No one seems capable of putting two and two together to make four.  Tamerlans playlist on his facebook page lists the song "I will dedicate my life to jihad" but to call this a jihad attack is not acceptable.

Willful blindness in order to appease and calm Islam and Muslims from our dear leader and the media. We are doomed.

From the New York Post April 20 by Jennifer Bain, M.L. Nestel, Jennifer Gould Keil and Kate Sheehy

Tamerlan Tsarnaev: Fighter with a hidden hatred

He was as American as apple pie, a handsome Golden Gloves boxer who wore preppy sweaters, married his high-school sweetheart and tooled around the family’s quaint Boston neighborhood in a Mercedes.

But Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a 26-year-old Chechen immigrant, also harbored an increasingly alarming hatred of his adopted country.

“He said in Russian, ‘I don’t like what America is doing,’ ” a Latvian neighbor told The Post yesterday, recalling a chat he had with the Boston bombing suspect, who was killed early yesterday in a shootout with police in Watertown, Mass.
“I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘I don’t like it because they shouldn’t be in Muslim countries.’ ’’

Tsarnaev’s wife, Katherine Russell, a 24-year-old Muslim convert, remained holed up with her parents at their Rhode Island home yesterday.

“Our daughter has lost her husband today, the father of her child,’’ the family said in a note posted outside the home, the Daily Mail of London reported.

“In the aftermath of the Patriots Day horror, we know that we never really knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev.”

(.)He posted a YouTube clip from radical Muslim cleric Feiz Mohammad, who once claimed that women who were raped had been asking for it.
He also posted a playlist on YouTube that included a song called, “I will dedicate my life to Jihad.’’

On an amazon.com wish list created in 2007, Tsarnaev didn’t even try to hide that he might be up to something nefarious in the future.

Among the books he asked people to buy for him were: “How to Make Driver’s Licenses and Other ID on Your Home Computer’’ and similar titles.

A few years ago, Tsarnaev talked about his isolation as an observant Muslim.

“I don’t have a single American friend,” Tsarnaev was quoted as saying in a photo montage on a Boston University student news Web site. “I don’t understand them.”

His brother and parents became US citizens this past Sept. 11 — but not Tsarnaev.

Read it all

The face of jihad; photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev placing the bomb next to 8 year old Martin Richard

Evil, pure and simple, courtesy the religion of peace.

This is Islam.

Boston jihad update; full story of gunfight, capture

From the Times of Israel April 20

Police arrest second suspect in Boston bombings

WATERTOWN, Mass. — Boston Police confirmed Friday night that the second suspect in Monday’s Boston bombings was arrested after a tense standoff and a daylong manhunt that shut the metropolitan area down. The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition under armed guard.

Gunfire erupted Friday night amid the manhunt for the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, and police in armored vehicles and tactical gear rushed into a Boston suburb in a possible break in the case.

The suspected bomber, identified by law-enforcement officials as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, MA, was cornered in a boat in a backyard in Watertown and arrested. Police said three others were taken into custody for questioning at a housing complex where the younger Boston Marathon bombing suspect may have lived.

New Bedford Police Lt. Robert Richard said a private complex of off-campus housing at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth was searched by federal authorities Friday evening. Richard said the FBI took two males and one female into custody for questioning.

He said Tsarnaev may have lived at or was affiliated with the housing complex. He is registered at the school.

The burst of activity in Watertown came at the end of a tense day in and around Boston, and less than an hour after police announced that they were scaling back the hunt because they had come up empty-handed after an all-day search that sent thousands of SWAT team officers into the streets and paralyzed the metropolitan area.

The night before, two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing killed an MIT police officer, injured a transit officer in a firefight, and threw explosive devices at police during their getaway attempt in a long night of violence that left one of them dead and another still at large.

US President Barack Obama said shortly after the announcement of Tsarnaev’s arrest that the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing’s capture closes “an important chapter in this tragedy.”

Obama said the nation owes a debt of gratitude to law enforcement officials and the people of Boston for their help in the search for the men. He added that there are still many unanswered questions about the Boston bombings, including whether the two men had help from others. He is urging the public to not rush to judgment about their motivations.

Earlier in the day, National Guard helicopters and bomb squads also landed near the scene of the standoff to help SWAT teams in their search for the suspect, who had been on the lam since the early Friday morning’s shootout. Police were scouring the Watertown neighborhood, going door to door, and said they were constantly responding to new leads in their effort to find the suspect.

Authorities had interrogated the brothers’ uncle in Maryland — who called on his nephew to turn himself in. The suspect’s sister, who reportedly lives in the town of West New York in New Jersey, was also being questioned by investigators. Officials believe the suspect has a second sister in the US.

News crews, perched outside the area that was blocked off by police, said they still weren’t sure if the suspect had been caught or not. Also, a bullet-ridden vehicle that authorities believe the brothers were driving when they shot the MIT officer was being examined for further clues.

The suspects were identified to The Associated Press as coming from the Russian region near Chechnya, which has been plagued by an Islamic insurgency stemming from separatist wars.

Two students who were classmates of the younger Tsarnaev described him as a quiet, normal “good” kid to Fox News.

A man who was held up by the brothers early Friday morning told The Washington Post that the two men had bragged to him that they were the Boston Marathon Bombers. Police believe the brothers held up the man either right before or right after killing the MIT officer, and that their stops at several ATMs with that man provided them with a critical piece of information in their pursuit.

His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed in a shootout with police Friday morning. During the intense fight, Dzhokhar managed to escape. Police said the two brothers threw I.E.D.’s at them, adding that security officials hadn’t called in professional units to dismantle what they believed were home-made explosive devices yet, because they were focusing on finding Tsarnaev first.

Police then said at a press conference that the I.E.D.’s would be exploded shortly. They have since brought in specialized units and performed a “controlled explosion” on the I.E.D.’s to ensure the safety of the officers.

Read it all

Breaking report: Jihadist in custody

ABC news just announced this minute the jihadist is in custody,  No report of condition yet, but the confirmation is in; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in custody and presumably alive.  More as it comes in.

Boston Jihad Update: Terror, shootings, more explosions and now there is one dead jihadist, one on the lam

Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev

My masters studies preclude me from posting on the Boston jihad as much as is needed, but with the brilliant analytics of my dear friend Billy Rojas you can read the latest here.

The Specter of Islam 

By Billy Rojas

A specter is haunting America, the specter of Islam... The two brothers responsible for Boston bombings were Muslims. Is anyone really surprised ? 

What we have is a fifth column in America, each and every Muslim who lives in the United States. Obviously not because each is capable of acts of terror; that clearly is not true. What is true, however, is that all true-believer forms of Islam, which means all forms of Islam with few exceptions --primarily some Sufi groups and Ahmadiyyat-- rely exclusively on the core text of their religion, the Koran, for their deepest and most sincerely held moral values. And the Koran is filled with passages that promote hatred of non-Muslims and also filled with passages that promote violent jihad as the preferred way of dealing with kufirs --"infidels." This means you and me and your family and friends and neighbors and the vast majority of your fellow citizens. 

I know all about the qualifications we might make. However, it all boils down to one fact more than any other : Those Muslims who take the Koran most to heart, who actually have read Muhammad's book, know very well that their religion incites lethal violence against non-Muslims, that their religion demands that non-Muslims should be intimidated into submission to Islam, and that all non-Muslims are regarded as inferiors deserving, at most, begrudging second class status in society, a status with various liabilities as part of the order of things,or, in other cases, non-Muslims are regarded as deserving death. 

Hence the bomb blasts in Boston just days ago. 

We are fortunate that most Muslims have never read the Koran except maybe a few passages here and there. But do you really want to bet your life on this situation continuing forever ? What happens when most Muslims have read the Koran ? Two additional points to make : ( 1 ) The preferred narrative of the media and the Obama administration, to the effect that Islam is a peaceful religion that has been hijacked by extremists who misrepresent Muhammad's faith, is based on almost as much ignorance of the Koran and of historical ( real world ) Islam as typifies most Muslims generally. It also fits in with the pattern in America of most Christians and Jews being unfamiliar with all but the most well-known for-the-public themes found in the Bible, missing most ( most ) that is normally regarded as essential to any kind of authentic faith. The media and the White House, in other words, have vested interests in everyone's ignorance. The media and White House want to protect the preferred status of ignorant people in determining public policy toward Islam. Do I need to repeat this principle ? Let me say the same thing in somewhat different words : Journalists --with almost no exceptions-- and our highest elected officials, also with very few exceptions, are essentially ignorant of the true nature of Islam. Rather than making themselves informed, they go to extreme lengths to double down on the false narrative about Islam that, so far, they have been able to con most people into accepting as "truth." This is all based on nothing but ignorance. ( 2 ) Others have a vested interest in "saving face." This is to refer to majorities of the population. They, too, are basically ignorant of Islam even if, compared to 2001, not nearly as many as was true back then. In the case of the majority, however, clearly, at a minimum, 2 out of 3 people, because they are clueless about religion in general and Islam in particular, they reflexively "explain" violent actions by Muslims with reference to what they do know. Hence the "real" reasons for the Boston bombings is said to be the "troubled backgrounds" of the bombers, or psychological quirks due to their being alone in America as immigrants with no families to relate to, or because of difficult economic circumstances, or because of bad influences from popular culture, and on and on, ALL of which misses what is most essential to the case for all Jihadists : Their fervent beliefs in Islam, their desire to be committed Muslims, and their absolute faith in the Koran as Allah's ( God's ) actual presence on Earth in the form of his words enshrined in book for all humanity to worship as the Final Truth.  

Sorry if you have never studied religion, sorry if you regard religion as obsolete and beneath your dignity to take seriously, and sorry if you follow some secular ideology that regards religion as irrelevant, but the fact is that some people take religion very seriously, indeed, and also the fact is that this reality is a social phenomenon that merits serious research just as much as any other mass scale social phenomenon. That is, if you are ignorant of religion, and in this case especially about Islam, then you are in the same position as someone during the Cold War who was ignorant of Marxism, or of someone in the 1940s who was ignorant of the realities of Fascism. The solution is unmysterious : Make yourself informed. 

Despite a large number of good or even excellent books in the years since then, the very best place to start is with Ibn Warraq's 1995 opus, Why I Am Not a Muslim. It is absolutely essential reading for anyone who wants to become seriously informed about Islam. Muslims are, in fact, a Fifth Column in the United States. They are a threat to all of us even though most Muslims may be personally disinclined to violence. The point is that their religion teaches and demands violence against non-Muslims and all true-believers among Muslims take this deadly seriously. Islam should have no place in American society. It is subversive by its very nature. It is unlike all other religions on Earth except for a few violent cults. However, what it is, is a large scale version of something like the Jonestown cult, or the murderous Aum Shinrikyo cult of Japan, or other criminal cults. 

Exactly what will it take to wake up people to this fact ? Wasn't 9/11 enough ? Now we have a 21st century Boston massacre. Not to mention other massacres in Mumbai, London, Madrid, Bali, and still other places. Islam is the enemy religion to all other religions. It is time to acknowledge this truth and start to act accordingly. 

Here are the many undisputed facts the mass media has so far censored : Jihad Watch April 19, 2013 _Boston jihad bomber's father threatens "all hell will break loose" if son dies_ (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad-bombers-father-threatens-all-hell-will-break-loose-if-son-dies.html) Like father, like son, apparently. "Boston Bomb Suspect's Dad Tells Him to Surrender, Warns ' Hell Will Break Loose' if Son Dies," by Bianna Golodryga and Christina Ng for _ABC News_ (http://abcnews.go.com/US/boston-bomb-suspects-dad-tells-son-surrender-hell/story?id=18995936#.UXFXGoI8wUp) , April 19 (thanks to Maxwell): The father of suspected Boston Marathon bomber called on his son today to give up peacefully, but warned the U.S. that if his son is killed "all hell will break loose." Anzor Tsarnaev spoke to ABC News from his home in the Russian city of Makhachkala as Boston police carried out an intense dragnet for his son Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, survived a running gun battle with police during the night that left an MIT security officer dead and a Boston cop badly wounded. His older brother died in the shootout. The father said he spoke to his sons by phone earlier this week. "We talked about the bombing. I was worried about then," Anzor Tsarnaev said. He said his sons reassured him, saying, "Everything is good, Daddy. Everything is very good." The elder Tsarnaev insisted that his sons were innocent, but said he would appeal to his son to "surrender peacefully." "Give up. Give up. You have a bright future ahead of you. Come home to Russia," the dad said. The father warned, however, "If they killed him, then all hell would break loose." Then the story turns to the obligatory "He was such a nice guy" statements that the mainstream media always includes in stories about jihadis: "He never seemed out of the ordinary at all," high school classmate Sierra Schwartz told "Good Morning America" today. "This is not someone who seemed troubled in high school or shy. He was just one of us. It's very weird." Steven Owens told ABC News, "I met him when I was in seventh grade and he was just a great kid. He was fun to be around. Very studious, very smart. I don't remember a time when he was ever having trouble in school. He was a great athlete. Great to be around." Owens said Tsarnaev "always had a positive attitude," but had expressed some political opinions in school. "He always thought the war [Iraq, Afghanistan] was stupid," Owens said. "He didn't enjoy the idea of war. We didn't really talk about it much. The only time it ever really came up was when we were learning about it in school." When Owens first saw authorities' photos of Tsarnaev, he wasn't positive it was him since he hadn't seen him in a few years. "I started looking through my yearbook because I thought I recognized him and there he was," Owens said. "I was just so surprised."... Posted by _Robert_ (http://www.jihadwatch.org/) on April 19, 2013 10:45 AM | _17 Comments_ (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad-bombers-father-threatens-all-hell-will-break-loose-if-son-dies.html#comments) _Print_ (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad-bombers-father-threatens-all-hell-will-break-loose-if-son-dies-print.html) | _FaceBook_ (http ://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad -bombers-father-threatens-all-hell-will-break-loose-if-son-dies.html&t=Bosto n%20jihad%20bomber's%20father%20threatens%20"all%20hell%20will%20break%20loo se"%20if%20son%20dies) | _Twitter_ (http://twitter.com/home?status=Currently%20reading%20http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad-bombers-father -threatens-all-hell-will-break-loose-if-son-dies.html) | _Email_ (mailto:?subject=Check out Jihad Watch: Boston jihad bomber's father threatens) | _Digg this_ (http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad-bombers-father-threatens-all-hell-will-break-loose-if-son -dies.html) | _del.icio.us_ (http://del.icio.us/post?url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/boston-jihad-bombers-father-threatens-all-hell-will-break-lo ose-if-son-dies.html&title=Boston%20jihad%20bomber's%20father%20threatens%20 "all%20hell%20will%20break%20loose"%20if%20son%20dies) _Robert Spencer: Jihad in Boston_ (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/robert-spencer-jihad-in-boston-1.html) In _FrontPage_ (http://frontpagemag.com/2013/robert-spencer/jihad-in-boston-2/) this morning I summarize what we know so far. It has now been revealed that the Boston Marathon bombers were two Muslims from southern Russia near Chechnya: Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a firefight with Massachusetts police early this morning, and his brother Dzhokhar, who as of this writing is still at large. As more and more material comes to light about the pair, their motivations become clear. On a _Russian-language social media page_ (http://vk.com/id160300242) , Dzhokhar features a drawing of a bomb under the heading “send a gift,” and just above links to sites about Islam. _Tamerlan’s YouTube page_ (http://www.youtube.com/user/muazseyfullah/videos?flow=grid&view=15) features two videos by Sheikh Feiz Mohammed. According to a report published in _The Australian_ (http://www.news.com.au/national-news/police-seize-muslim-kill-enemies-videos/story-e6frfkw9-1111112861925) in January 2007, in a video that came to the attention of authorities at the time, Mohammed “urges Muslims to kill the enemies of Islam and praises martyrs with a violent interpretation of jihad.” _Tamerlan also says_ (http://deadspin.com/heres-everything-we-know-about-tamerlan-tsarnaev-the-476415081http:/deadspin.com/heres-everything-we-know-abo ut-tamerlan-tsarnaev-the-476415081) , “I’m very religious.” He notes that he does not drink alcohol because Allah forbids it: “God said no alcohol,” and that his Italian girlfriend has converted to Islam. Even his name indicates the world from which he comes: Tamerlan Tsarnaev is apparently named for the Muslim warrior Tamerlane.

Boston Marathon jihad update: photos and video of persons of interest released by the FBI

Here are the latest pictures of the two men suspected of being part of the Boston bombing.  See them all at the link.  Also, read here about the non-answer by Janet Napolitano when asked why the Saudi man questioned was to be deported next Tuesday.  This whole situation is getting curiouser and curiouser, it is beginning to take on the proportions of the Keystone Kops.  More as it becomes available.

Boston Marathon jihad update; Al-Qaeda suspected, three man cell identified with Saudi "person of interest" to be deported next Tuesday

If true, this will not be talked about in the MSM nor will the White House admit it to be a jihad attack unless pushed real hard.  I understand the media and those in power would like the perp to be a disgruntled radical Christian white man, but the facts may be that jihad, once again has hit America.

From DEBKA April 16

Saudi terror cell, possibly al Qaeda, behind Boston Marathon bombings. Manhunt for escaped suspect

FBI Special Agent Richard Deslauriers told reporters Tuesday, April 16, that the probe had no leads 18 hours after two explosions blew up at the annual Boston Marathon’s finishing line, killing three people and injuring 176 – 17 critically. DEBKAfile’s counterterrorism sources can disclose however that the investigation has in fact homed in on a suspected terror cell of three Saudi nationals, very possibly tied to Al Qaeda.

The flat they share in the Revere, Massachusetts, near Boston, was searched after the questioning of one of the suspects, a Saudi student, who was hospitalized with badly burned hands. One of his flatmates was taken into custody over “visa problems.” A third is on the run. All three hail from a prominent Saudi family belonging to a tribe from the Asir province bordering on Yemen.

The search for the wanted man led to the grounding of a plane at Logan International Airport Tuesday. The investigation has meanwhile broadened out to places in and outside Boston in a search for the cell’s accomplices.

The origins of the Saudi cell, if confirmed, strongly suggest that Al Qaeda of Arabia – AQAP –succeeded in planting a cell in the United States for the bombing attack in Boston – and possibly more than one in other parts of the US. Asir Province is known as a hotbed of resistance to the Saudi throne in Riyadh.

US law enforcement authorities in charge of the probe are refusing to confirm any suspects are in custody, or even leads to whoever carried out the bombings. President Barack Obama said in his second statement in 24 hours: “…we don’t know if who was behind the bombings were foreign, domestic or individual.” The President was forced to admit for the first time that the FBI was investigating “an act of terror.”

DEBKAfile earlier Tuesday was alone in reporting that the FBI Boston Marathon probe pointed to Mid-East terrorists with domestic support.

The lack of adequate security jumps to the eye after twin bombings struck the high-prestige Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, killing three people, including an 8-year old boy and injuring 140 – seventeen critically.

This was the world's oldest annual marathon, with 28,000 runners representing athletes from every US state and more than 90 nations. Yet there was no sign of dogs along the route trained to sniff out explosives or a police helicopter overhead with sensors for detecting explosives or traces thereof on the person of anyone present around the finishing line after the blasts.

Tuesday morning, while interviewing witnesses and collecting photos taken by spectators, the Boston police and security officers announced they were seeking two wanted men: One was described as swarthy, speaking with a foreign accent, his face partially hidden by a hood, who was carrying a large backpack and kept on trying to enter a closed section near the finishing line. This was the first time an area was disclosed as having been closed to the public.

The second man was photographed by a spectator walking on a rooftop overlooking the finishing line after the second bomb exploded.

After the event, police searches turned up and defused another three explosive devices. Had that search taken place before the event, at least one of the lethal devices might have been discovered and the race aborted.

Tuesday, the FBI admitted “a potential terrorist inquiry” was underway, although President Barack Obama, when he pledged justice for “the perpetrators,” carefully skirted the term “terror.” This recalls his administration’s refusal to brand as an act of terror the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, and the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens, although it was clearly the work of an al Qaeda element.

Counterterrorism experts are equally certain of the Middle East terrorist hallmarks on the Boston Marathon bombings, although it is too soon to say whether it was the work of Al Qaeda or an allied radical jihadi group such as the Ansar al-Shariah, which was responsible for the Benghazi consulate in conjunction with a clandestine al Qaeda command center in Cairo.

Here, too, initial investigation discloses the hand of al Qaeda or an affiliate.

Read it all

Boston Marathon jihad update; suspect released, Al-Qaeda online takes credit

After 24 hours there has been movement on the investigation.  In Gaza, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah rejoiced at the deaths of Americans by handing our candies and sweets and dancing in the streets.  This is usual behavior when the enemies of Islam take a hit, yet it also shows the depth Al-Qaeda wing in Gaza wants credit, claiming that the Boston attack was in retaliation for a U.S. military airstrike that killed a high-profile Taliban leader and four other Taliban members last week near Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan.  There is no confirmation as yet of this claim, although it is likely that this attack is jihad, executed by what are euphemistically called "Lone Wolf" cell or cells and planned with the knowledge of higher ups in Al-Qaeda, and activated with monies provided from overseas.  This same group is also claiming that there have been arrests of jihadists suspected to be part of the attack, no confirmation of this statement is available at the current time except the statements on jihadist websites.  Interestingly, some are saying we should be on the lookout for "right-wing extremists" and not just look under the Muslim rocks.  I agree, at this time it could be anyone, even some fundamentalist Christian sects or some crazy end of world cult.  

The the bombs were of the "pressure cooker" type, meaning they were made from a pressure cooker with the explosive and shrapnel packed inside and the top locked.  The two that exploded were made of black powder and filled with ball bearings and "nail-like" objects, placed in black nylon duffel bags and left on the ground.  Bits of nylon have been found and are being analyzed by the FBI. This type of IED is common in the Middle East, as pressure cookers are found everywhere across the region.  This could be another pointer towards it being a jihad attack.  The article goes on to say they have no idea who is responsible, a claim rebutted by the link and article above.  It could be that the authorities are not reading the media from outside the US, and are relying on their own narrow judgement to come to their conclusions.  I would hope they are at least looking at all the material out there and using what fits while discarding what doesn't. 

Now that the main suspect has been released, a man by the name of Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi we must wait and see how the investigation plays out.  There are still many stones to be turned, and eventually we will have our answers.  Regrettably, those answers will not make us safer, or smarter, or more aware of the threat, but some will feel good that they did their jobs as unbiased as possible.  Pray for the victims and their families, and for our continued safety in the wake of this terrible chaos.        

Boston Marathon attacked, two bombs explode, three dead and many injured

Is this a jihad attack?  As of this moment it is not clear. There are other possibilities; right-wing Christian radicals, Neo-Nazis, anti-tax protesters, radical environmentalists, anarchists, the list is long.   We do not know enough yet to do more than speculate as to the who and why, but certain things are clear. The bombs were placed with maximum damage in mind, under the watchful eye of massive law enforcement and the general public.  Shrapnel caused much damage, and the explosives were most likely homemade with common chemicals and probably detonated by cellphone or a crude internal timer.  There are credible reports of a suspect in custody; a Saudi national, age 20 who was tackled by a bystander after exhibiting what was described as suspicious behavior.

Now lets not jump to any conclusions, the man in question is reported to be cooperating with authorities and has denied any involvement in the bombing.  Innocent until proven guilty, remember? There are some things about this attack which do point to it being jihad, the most telling at the moment is that there were two explosions within 30 seconds of each other.  Twin blasts are a hallmark of both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the purpose is that the first bomb brings the emergency workers and bystanders out to help, then the second goes off, killing and maiming many more than the first bomb did.  This still could be a copycat IED, the details are still coming in but as of now it appears that it could be a jihad attack.

The suspect in custody reportedly has suffered burns, which begs the question; was he an innocent bystander caught close to the blast, or was he one of the jihadists who was too close when his bomb went off?  Again, time will give us the answers so we can only use what information is at hand and draw incomplete conclusions from them.  One thing is certain, there are those in the Islamic world who rejoice at our suffering, and with this attack, and subsequent deaths the jihadists are starting to come out of the woodwork and shout their glee at our suffering.  Expect more dancing in the Islamic streets in the next few days.

How do we react to this?  What can be said to comfort the victims and assuage their fear?  What we don't do is rampage with pitchforks and torches, looking under every rock for the boogyman.  Some will take this as a call to action, I implore those people to not be rash and step back to assess the situation critically.  Until we know all the details the only responsibility we have is to pray for comfort for the victims and their families.

I knew this day would come, but I prayed it never would.  I hope against hope that this attack is something other than jihad, I fear it is just that, and with this barrage the battle with Islamic hegemony is again on the boil.

May God bless us all in this time of crisis.

See many more pictures here.  

Ohio church jihad: "He had the gun in the air...we later discovered the Koran on the podium"

Quoting the Qur'an, shouting Allah and comfortable he had "served his purpose", Reshad Riddle will remain a riddle for the cops and the court in Ashtabula, since no one will ask the important questions such as what role did the Qur'an and references to Allah play in his decision to murder his father?  To do so would be Islamophobic, doncha know.

From the Star Beacon April 10 by Shelley Terry

Easter Sunday Ashtabula murder case bound over to grand jury

ASHTABULA — The make of the gun, knives and the terror felt by Easter Sunday church-goers the day Reshad Riddle is accused of killing his father surfaced at his preliminary hearing Tuesday in Municipal Court.

City Solicitor Michael Franklin called three city police officers to the witness stand to share their recollections of what occurred after Riddle allegedly shot Richard Riddle at point blank range outside of Hiawatha Church of God in Christ. Riddle has been charged with aggravated murder, having weapons under disability and carrying a concealed weapon.

After 45 minutes of testimony, Judge Albert Camplese said there was probable cause to send the case over to the Ashtabula County grand jury.

Riddle, 28, who appeared

in shackles, an orange jail jumpsuit and a bullet-proof vest, sat at the defense table flanked by public defender Joseph Humpolick.

The first witness, Patrolman Jay Janek said when he arrived on the scene, the elder Riddle was on the ground bleeding profusely, with an obvious gunshot wound to the head.

“He was deceased,” Janek said.

Police found Reshad Riddle inside the church, standing at the podium, he said.

“He had the gun in the air,” Janek said. “He had several knives on him ... we later discovered the Koran on the podium.”

The second witness, Patrolman Thomas Clemens, said he was called to the church Easter Sunday for “a subject in the church waving a handgun.”

Upon arrival, he saw several people running from the church and several people crawling out the narrow windows.

“I pulled two children out of a window,” he said.

As Clemens sat on the witness stand describing the frantic church scene, Riddle calmly stroked his beard and smiled at a child sitting behind him in the courtroom. When Clemens was asked to identify the Easter Sunday shooter, Riddle gave Clemens a little wave.

Clemens testified that once officers transported Riddle to the city jail, they performed a Gunshot Residue Test on his hands.

“He admitted he used a Smith and Wesson .38 Special,” Clemens said. “He referred to the Koran and Allah, quoting passages.”

Upon cross-examination, Humpolick pushed for more details on Riddle’s statements.

Clemens said he wasn’t familiar with the Koran, but remembered Riddle had said he had “served his purpose.”

Read it all