JFK airport plot

[sublime311]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18999503/

News conference scheduled for 1pm.

[lml41981]

CNN said that an airport employee or former employee was among those arrested.

Wow...

[Sophia]

Damn.

I've been out all morning and hadn't heard about this.

[jimmysgirl424]

CNN said that an airport employee or former employee was among those arrested.

Wow...

OMG...will this ever end?? :eek: :(

[HeatherFL]

Taken from CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/02/jfk.terror.plot/index.html):

Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F. Kennedy, wow...they love JFK -- he's like the man. If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It's like you can kill the man twice," one of the suspects said during a recorded phone conversation, officials said.


How sick.

~H.

[imagirliegirl]

OMG...will this ever end?? :eek: :(

I don't think so. It's probably only going to get worse. I just think we're lucky we don't live in a country where this crap happens every day. Hopefully it won't come to that.

[BlackMagicRose]

Wow....that is all I can say is wow. This guy was an American citizen and we employed him at the JFK airport for years and all he can do is plan a terrorist attack on his OWN country??? If you do not like it LEAVE!!!! **** him really. I hope they hang him. I hope they bring back the damn gallows and make it a public hanging.

[sue-bert]

Wow....that is all I can say is wow. This guy was an American citizen and we employed him at the JFK airport for years and all he can do is plan a terrorist attack on his OWN country??? If you do not like it LEAVE!!!!
I don't find this at all surprising. It seems clear from statements in the press that the would-be perpetrators don't view the US as "their own country" dsepite their citizenship papers. Their primary loyalty is to a radical, violent strain of their religion.

In fact, just last month a plot was foiled to bomb Fort Dix military base in NJ. Among the 6 suspects were US citizens and green-card holders.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5283747
FORT DIX, N.J. (AP) - May 8, 2007 - Six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers - a scheme the FBI says was foiled when the men asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about jihad.
...
Four of the men were born in the former Yugoslavia, one was born in Jordan and one came from Turkey, authorities said. All had lived in the United States for years. Three were in the United States illegally; two had green cards allowing them to stay in this country permanently; and the sixth is a U.S. citizen.

[Asha]

Wow....that is all I can say is wow. This guy was an American citizen and we employed him at the JFK airport for years and all he can do is plan a terrorist attack on his OWN country??? If you do not like it LEAVE!!!! **** him really. I hope they hang him. I hope they bring back the damn gallows and make it a public hanging.
its not unheard of for u.s. citizens to conduct terrorist attacks. think oklohoma city.

[princesse]

Their primary loyalty is to a radical, violent strain of their religion.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5283747

This strain/small percentage is a small percentage of hundreds of millions. ITA that there are traitors who act against their won country and it is just as horrible, but the current world situation seems to indicate that there are millions of people who are born and raised to hate and kill Americans. Our country is far from perfect as is any country in the world...but the plot to do something like this...chilling is the best word I can think of.

[BlackMagicRose]

its not unheard of for u.s. citizens to conduct terrorist attacks. think oklohoma city.

Yes, I know that. I am not surprised by this fact, it just pisses me off. I am sorry for my strong words, I was emotional at the time of my post. I just wish they would leave instead of damaging us.

I am living in another country and I am still an American and will always be. I understand how they feel more than most, but if for some weird reason Austria would attack America (though I am not an Austrian citizen) I would just leave the country. I would not plot to kill any one. But that is the difference between me and them.

I know killing them will only make them martyrs, so I guess they best thing to do is lock them up forever and have peope study them for a reason why. I just do not know what else we can do.

I am SO glad they were caught! Good job to all those involved in this!!!

[BlackMagicRose]

This strain/small percentage is a small percentage of hundreds of millions. ITA that there are traitors who act against their won country and it is just as horrible, but the current world situation seems to indicate that there are millions of people who are born and raised to hate and kill Americans. Our country is far from perfect as is any country in the world...but the plot to do something like this...chilling is the best word I can think of.

Well said.

[jnettie]

This is very scary. I just flew out of JFK last week. I'm glad this was found out before something horrible happened.

I am living in another country and I am still an American and will always be. I understand how they feel more than most, but if for some weird reason Austria would attack America (though I am not an Austrian citizen) I would just leave the country. I would not plot to kill any one. But that is the difference between me and them.

You know, it really is very hard to understand. We are Americans before we are whatever religion or ethnic background we may be. But, to the most radical Muslims, they are Muslims before American. Or, the most chilling idea, this was a long term plan to become a legal American citizen with the purpose of getting a job at JFK to plant a bomb. It's not a case of love it or leave it. That's not even a consideration.

[ysolde]

The greater NYC area continues to be the ONLY target of terrorist attacks in this country. It is so frightening to live here, sometimes. But we do it, with our heads held high, knowing that, frankly, the world's economy depends on our going to work every morning, and, in spite of all its problems, it is still one of the greatest, loveliest, and most exciting cities on the planet.

[Delta]

The greater NYC area continues to be the ONLY target of terrorist attacks in this country.:confused: Fort Dix? Washington DC? LAX? And those are just the ones off the top of my head that we know about. I would say that NYC is probably the top of the list though.

Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F. Kennedy, wow...they love JFK -- he's like the man. If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It's like you can kill the man twice," one of the suspects said during a recorded phone conversation, officials said.See, I think this show their perspective is a little skewed. To me, I don't even think of JFK himself when I hear of JFK Airport, I think of...airplanes. :confused: I think the country would be in mourning because the plot would have killed Americans, not because the airport is named JFK. Maybe that's just me though, as I don't live in NYC or Mass. Now, the WTC and the Pentagon were a different story.

[ysolde]

:confused: Fort Dix? Washington DC? LAX? And those are just the ones off the top of my head that we know about. I would say that NYC is probably the top of the list though.



Fort Dix is in HJ (greater NY area). And you may not remember this, but the first time the Twin Towers were hit, the plan was to hit the UN, the Lincoln Tunnel, and a few other landmarks, ALL in NYC. Let's face it, fundamentalist crazies, foreign and domestic, HATE NYC. It symbolizes everything they think G-d hates. :(

[lml41981]

You know, it really is very hard to understand. We are Americans before we are whatever religion or ethnic background we may be. But, to the most radical Muslims, they are Muslims before American.
I don't know that I entirely agree with this statement. A LOT of people are Christian before they're Americans...it isn't just a Muslim thing. That is part of why so many people push legislation and vote for representatives according to their own moral code.

[princesse]

The difference is, in modern society (I bring that up because people often say 'What about the Crusades?!?') Christians are not born and raised to kill others in the name of their God. I'm not painting with a broad brush toward the majority of peaceful Islamic/Muslim faith, again I am speaking of the small percentage (of millions, climbing toward a billion) of followers who believe that by wiping us off of the face of the Earth that they can hasten the end of the world (jihad). An additional troubling factor is that Russia is now cooperating with many of these sects. Also that Islam is the fastest growing religion in Europe because people are abandoing their Judeo-Christian values. With Islam being the ruling religon in Europe by 2011-2013...........it scares me.

NY is in my heart as well. My DD and I have gone there at least once a year since she was 5 and we will continue to do so. Because it is part of who we are. Not she and I, but we as a country.

[jnettie]

I don't know that I entirely agree with this statement. A LOT of people are Christian before they're Americans...it isn't just a Muslim thing. That is part of why so many people push legislation and vote for representatives according to their own moral code.

But they want to legislate for what they see as the betterment of America. Christian is important, but if you plopped that person in the middle of France, they would describe themselves as American first. This is not the thinking of Radical Islam. You are Muslim, or a member of your clan first and foremost. A Sunni Muslim born in the US might say they are Sunni before they say they are American.

[Delta]

Let's face it, fundamentalist crazies, foreign and domestic, HATE NYC. Oh yes, that is for sure. NYC is their top target. (I just didn't understand the *only* comment, especially with the memory of walking past the smoking Pentagon on my way home on 9/11 seared in my memory.)

[lml41981]

But they want to legislate for what they see as the betterment of America. Christian is important, but if you plopped that person in the middle of France, they would describe themselves as American first. This is not the thinking of Radical Islam. You are Muslim, or a member of your clan first and foremost. A Sunni Muslim born in the US might say they are Sunni before they say they are American.
Again, I just don't think you can make broad generalizations like that. I know several people who would say, "I'm a Christian" before saying, "I'm a citizen of the United States," regardless of where they are. How else would you explain folks like Jehovah's Witnesses who don't say the Pledge of Allegiance because it makes the flag an idol and who don't celebrate the 4th of July because it takes the focus from G-d?

It doesn't necessarily make anyone bad to identify with their religion above their nationality, it just means that they have a loyalty to their diety that is stronger than their loyalty to their country (disclaimer: I truly don't believe Islam is a religion of hatred and violence and I don't believe extremists who call themselves Muslim are following the teachings of the prophet...therefore, I don't believe they are actually representatives of Islam or that they are showing loyalty to a diety, even if in their own effed up heads, they think they are).

[sue-bert]

It doesn't necessarily make anyone bad to identify with their religion above their nationality, it just means that they have a loyalty to their diety that is stronger than their loyalty to their country ...

I agree 100%. My loyalty to my religion is also stronger than my identity as an American. The problem is when the religion (or one's interpretation of it) to which one is loyal mandates killing innocent people.

[wendalah]

I agree that NYC is the primary target, but as a frequent flyer out of LAX, I admit I do get nervous at times. There's not much else to target in wide-spread L.A.

[MLA]

I'm not painting with a broad brush toward the majority of peaceful Islamic/Muslim faith, again I am speaking of the small percentage (of millions, climbing toward a billion) of followers who believe that by wiping us off of the face of the Earth that they can hasten the end of the world (jihad). An additional troubling factor is that Russia is now cooperating with many of these sects. Also that Islam is the fastest growing religion in Europe because people are abandoing their Judeo-Christian values. With Islam being the ruling religon in Europe by 2011-2013...........it scares me.
(bolding mine)

I'm confused by your numbers, here. Are you saying that there are nearly a billion radical Muslims in the world right now? My understanding is that there are about a billion Muslims, total. So a small percentage of that would be closer to 50-100 million radicals (that's assuming a 5-10% rate of radicals, which I think is high).

And you know, Judeo-Christian values are Islamic values. Islam grew out of Judaism and Christianity. When Muhammed received his revelations from god, he believed that his god was one and the same with the Jewish and Christian god. Muslims also revere the teachings of all the prophets of Judaism and Christianity (think Moses and Jesus, here). So it's not like Islam is some sort of completely foreign religion with a totally different set of values from Judaism and Christianity. . .

[Sarah]

I think Princesse meant that radical Muslims are a small percentage of almost a billion of Muslims, total. I think.

[Sarah]

Jehovah's Witnesses who don't say the Pledge of Allegiance because it makes the flag an idol and who don't celebrate the 4th of July because it takes the focus from G-d?
I know this is a tangent, but I thought JW don't celebrate Independence Day (or any other holiday, including Christmas or birthdays) because the Bible doesn't tell us to, not because they bring the focus from God. I suppose it's different for different people, though.

[yby1]

I agree that NYC is the primary target, but as a frequent flyer out of LAX, I admit I do get nervous at times. There's not much else to target in wide-spread L.A.

Agreed. I live near the Port of LA too, which is considered a big target. That also makes me nervous.

[BlackMagicRose]

But they want to legislate for what they see as the betterment of America. Christian is important, but if you plopped that person in the middle of France, they would describe themselves as American first. This is not the thinking of Radical Islam. You are Muslim, or a member of your clan first and foremost. A Sunni Muslim born in the US might say they are Sunni before they say they are American.

I have not read the rest of the posts past this one, but from experience I can tell you that I will always be American before anything else in a foreign country. I am not a religious person, so I do not identify myself that way, but everything about you says "I am a foreigner and I am an American." People ask you where you are from first, not about your religion (unless you are wearing something that indicates you are a certain type of religion). So, I think you bring up a good point here. They will always identify themselves as muslim first.

[allyray231]

Ahh I used to live 15 minutes from JFK up until 6 months ago. Crazy stuff. Times like this I am glad we moved.

I think the "home grown" are going to continue to be an issue.

[princesse]

I think Princesse meant that radical Muslims are a small percentage of almost a billion of Muslims, total. I think.

That's what I meant. Thanks for clarifying.

[MLA]

That's what I meant. Thanks for clarifying.

Got it. That makes a lot more sense.

[DaniML]

but the current world situation seems to indicate that there are millions of people who are born and raised to hate and kill Americans.
And that is why stopping them is so hard. How do you stop someone who has no regard for their own (or any human) life? You can't. These people are willing to die for their cause without a question asked.

I would like to know who exactly interpreted the Koran to mean hate and kill everyone who is not Muslim. If you speak to any Muslim that is not a radical they will tell you that no where in the Koran does it say anything about that.

[yby1]

And that is why stopping them is so hard. How do you stop someone who has no regard for their own (or any human) life? You can't. These people are willing to die for their cause without a question asked.

I would like to know who exactly interpreted the Koran to mean hate and kill everyone who is not Muslim. If you speak to any Muslim that is not a radical they will tell you that no where in the Koran does it say anything about that.

It's just their interpretation, born out of their own motivations. Just like there are a million interpretations of the Bible.

[princesse]

Is it actually an interpretation of the Qur'an or is it just that sect who believes something crazy? Honestly there are religions that have sprung out of the Bible, modern "prophets" like John Smith who have created their own religion. Are the radical sects offshoots created by individuals who have created their own meaning of the book?

Regardless, there are so many people around the world who I truly believe would celebrate the demise of our country or anything horrible happening to us. Where as a country, as a rule, we rush to the aid of other countries, sometimes to a fault, when there are so many in our own country in need. I have no idea what the solution is. Is it live and let live? Live and let die? If we all just let each other alone.....would that actually happen or would they really come after us because we are 'the infidel'? I think if we knew the truth about how things actually were in the world, in the country, the details of how the governments around the world really work, that we would be unable to function out of fear.