Men Arrested In Terrorist Plot

As part of a holy war against America, four men sought to commit jihad when they plotted to bomb a synagogue and shoot down military planes in upstate New York, the New York City police commissioner said Thursday.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters outside the Bronx synagogue Thursday that one of the men said, "If Jews were killed in this attack … that would be all right."

Kelly said the men allegedly "wanted to commit Jihad" and were angry about Muslims being killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by U.S. military forces.

The defendants — James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen — were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, the U.S. attorney's office said. The men, all of Newburgh, are due in federal court on Thursday in White Plains.

Officials said three of the defendants are U.S. citizens and one is of Haitian descent. An official told The Associated Press that three of the men are converts to Islam. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.

The defendants had allegedly planned to detonate a car with plastic explosives outside the Riverdale Temple and the Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx. They also allegedly sought to shoot military planes at the New York National Guard base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh with Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles.

"They stated that they wanted to commit Jihad," Kelly said. "They were disturbed about what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Muslims were being killed."

Asked why the suspects chose to target a synagogue and Jewish center in the Bronx's Riverdale section, Kelly alluded to the proximity to highways, saying it could have been a fast getaway for the suspects. (An aside: I wonder what idiot asked the question about why they were targeting a synagogue. They hate Jews. it's that simple. But, I guess we can't put that into print.)

The defendants planned to "destroy a synagogue and a Jewish community center with C-4 plastic explosives," acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin said.

Bloomberg said the alleged plot shows "that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism."

The muslim population worldwide, and in the U.S. in particular, is growing rapidly. Muslims believe they have an obligation to convert everyone and to kill anyone who doesn't convert. They also believe that any attack on any muslim anywhere is a "holy war." Expect this sort of thing to grow both here and abroad. Expect, also, some of these folks to succeed. We aren't going to catch them all, particularly now that we have chosen to go after right wing extremists, instead.

I have an idea ... Let's close down Gitmo and release more terrorists onto U.S. soil. Whaddya think?