Rezwan Ferdaus, 26-year-old Northeastern University grad with a degree in physics was arrested today for what the FBI called an al-Qaeda inspired plot to blow up the Pentagon using small remote-controlled aircraft packed with C-4 explosives. The airplanes involved were no toys - one of the planes Ferdaus intended to use was 68 inches long with a 44-inch wingspan able to travel up to 160 mph and guided by GPS.
He was arrested at a storage facility in in Framingham, Massachusetts after taking delivery of what he thought were C-4 explosives, grenades and AK-47 assault rifles.
He's also accused of trying to rig cell phones to trigger improvised explosive devices to maim or kill U.S. soldiers serving overseas, items he supplied to undercover FBI agents he thought were members of al-Qaeda. He was delighted by reports his bobby-trapped phones worked, the U.S. Attorney in Boston Carmen M. Ortiz said. The FBI also recovered full details of his plot on a computer thumb drive belonging to Ferdaus...who is a US citizen.
Ortiz said today that “Mr. Ferdaus had long planned to commit violent acts against our country” that included using three “small drone planes” filled with explosives and guided by GPS devices. He plotted to have six people, including himself whom he described as an “amir” — an Arabic term for leader — to carry out the plot, feds said.
One day, we're going to wake up to the fact that it just might be common sense to halt immigration and issuing visas to certain countries and to people of certain backgrounds. I would have thought 9/11 would have brought that message home, but apparently it didn't. At least not to those in charge.
The last paragraph pretty much nails it. If we did what you suggest in the last paragraph, we would get greater utility for our national security interest than any thing we are currently doing.
ReplyDeleteBefore the attacks of 911 I had been following the news closely. When the attacks occurred I had a pretty good idea of who was behind them. I also suspected our immigration system was a complete mess. In the aftermath of 911 it became even more apparent that our immigration system is a mess.
In 2001 I suggested a moratorium on all immigration for a minimum of ten years. This would give us the breathing space we need to fix our immigration system. There should be a indefinite moratorium on immigration from Middle Eastern countries. It makes little sense to invite someone into your house who does not like you.
Did Mr. Ferdaus immigrate here after 9/11, before 911, or was he born here? Regardless of how he came to be here, in addtion to an indefinite moratorium on immigration from middle eastern countries, the mosques and people of certain descent who are most likely to commit terrorist acts should be closely monitored. Do all of this and we would get greater utility for our national security than any thing we are currently doing.