http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/napolitano-reacts-to-baltimore-bomb-plot-120810
I sure am glad we have the FBI training and supplying every enraged religious nutjob the come across, otherwise who would we have to point the finger at when it comes time for the next wave of civil liberty cutbacks.
WASHINGTON - The bomb plot in Baltimore County is the latest in a growing number of attempted terror attacks on U.S. soil. Wednesday Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says the threat of home grown terrorists is on the rise. In a press conference to promote a new campaign to raise awareness and report suspicious activity, Napolitano was questioned about the foiled bomb plot.
Antonio Martinez, the man accused of trying to bomb an Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, just outside Baltimore, is an American citizen.
He also used the name Muhammad Hussain. Secretary Napolitano says it's part of a trend that threatens the U.S.
"We are also seeing ...more and more individuals residing in the United States, who themselves have become radicalized to the point of violence and that's what we're focusing on," Napolitano said.
Two weeks ago a Somali-American teen was arrested in Portland, Oregon. The FBI says Mohamed Osman Mohamud used a cell phone on November 26, 2010, to try and set off what he thought were explosives in a van during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The bomb was fake, the sting set up by the FBI.
Back in October, a Northern Virginia man was charged with trying to bomb Metro, using suitcases packed with explosives.
Search warrant documents say Farooque Ahmed tried to contact a terrorist group overseas but instead the people he contacted were working for the FBI. Court documents say Ahmed also made videos of metro stations to plan his attack.
These plots are indicative of an increase in terror activity here at home in the past few years.
"My assessment is the threat environment is now increasingly active and that it is not restricted to plots that are hatched overseas and then flown into the United States, that it also now includes an increasing amount of hometown or homegrown terrorists activity particularly by individuals who have become radicalized," said Napolitano.
The FBI has actively used undercover sting operations to nab suspected terrorists. In the Portland and Northern Virginia cases, similar to the latest one in the Baltimore area, the FBI had worked undercover with the terror suspects, often for months before making an arrest.
"Stings are part and parcel of the toolbox law enforcement must have and must employ particularly in this type of environment," said Napolitano, a former federal prosecutor, state prosecutor and attorney general.
The public Napolitano says, also plays a role in fighting terrorism. Several attacks in recent years have been averted by tips to the police or fast acting citizens. That's why Homeland Security is putting an emphasis on prevention. As Napolitano likes to say "homeland security begins with "hometown security."
Wednesday the agency launched it's "see something say something campaign'' putting signs up in federal buildings, train stations, metro rail, malls, sports arenas and stadiums.
The signs provide a hotline for people to call if they see anything suspicious. The agency even teamed up with Wal-Mart the nation's largest retailer, to run video messages in hundreds of stores.
"It was only about seven months ago, a New York street vendor tipped off a police officer about the bombing attempt in Times Square. It was nearly a year ago that it was a group of passengers on Flight 253 who intervened to stop a bombing attempt on Christmas day," Napolitano reminded.
These plots are not just being hatched overseas but here. The suspect in Baltimore County, it appears did not receive any terror training overseas and was not acting on the instructions from Al Qaeda or its affiliates overseas.
These are so called "lone wolves" acting on their own and terror experts say that makes these home grown terrorists even more difficult to detect.
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