TERROR WATCH
Michael Isikoff and
Mark Hosenball
Al Qaeda's New Recruits
Are terror groups pursuing the mentally disabled?
A failed restaurant bombing in England last week has raised concerns among U.S. and European counterterrorism officials that Al Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups are recruiting mentally disabled people to carry out suicide attacks.
Authorities in Britain have mounted an intensive investigation into how and why a 22-year-old mentally handicapped man, Nicky Reilly, built a nail bomb and then attempted to set it off last Thursday. The bomb, which was intended to detonate at lunchtime in a crowded restaurant in Exeter, a county seat in southwest England, apparently misfired, and Reilly was the only one injured in the partial explosion. According to British news reports, he suffered minor eye injuries and burns to his face. Earlier this week, he was released from the hospital and transferred to the custody of local police, who are now expected to question him with the help of Scotland Yard's antiterrorist division.
According to British news reports, shortly before leaving his home in Plymouth, England, on his bombing mission, Reilly allegedly received a text message on his cell phone that encouraged him to proceed with the attack. Following the failed bombing, at least two men were picked up by police in connection with the investigation, but their status is unclear.
British media quoted police officials saying they believed that Reilly had been targeted for recruitment as a suicide bomber by unidentified radical elements because of his mental handicap. According to a story in London's Observer, Reilly, a large, bearlike man who allegedly has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old, converted to Islam several years ago. The story reported that he recently changed his name and began to express extremist views, condemning his family as "infidels." According to the Observer and other U.K. press reports, due to his Muslim contacts, Reilly was at least vaguely known to Britain's domestic counterintelligence and antiterrorism agency, M.I.5. But before last week's incident, he was not regarded as dangerous and therefore had not been subjected to close monitoring by police or intelligence officers.
British and U.S. officials told NEWSWEEK that authorities are now investigating whether there are any connections between Reilly and any of his known associates and Al Qaeda or other radical Islamic groups. These inquiries are examining any possible links between the U.K. incident and people in tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border where Osama bin Laden and other fugitive members of Al Qaeda's leadership are believed to be hiding.
Investigators have established that participants in several major U.K.-based terror plots, including the 2005 bombings of London underground trains and a 2006 plot to blow up transatlantic airliners, either traveled to Pakistan for indoctrination and training by suspected Al Qaeda personnel or had contacts with such operatives. U.K. and U.S. officials said that no evidence has surfaced suggesting that Reilly's recruitment and activities were orchestrated by Al Qaeda operatives or directed from overseas. Nevertheless, U.S. officials acknowledged that the Reilly case points up a general concern they have about efforts by extremists to prey on the mentally handicapped. Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman, told NEWSWEEK: "There are now a few documented cases of this happening, and the FBI, with our intelligence-community partners, will continue to analyze this and search for any trends."
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Member Comments
Posted By: getzel @ 05/30/2008 8:07:46 AM
Comment: I merely stated the actual market conditions that exist.
I am proud that udopian Obumers are soon to join the army to fight for the weapons deal that parades as a war, proud.! I am proud of all those Obumers voting in favor of the draft which is scheduled to be
re-imposed after the election! Obumer nation: your in the army now!
Viva la weapons deal! Viva la weapons deal! VOTE OBUMER!
Intelligence analyst: Getzel
War ends We win: when we pass a law that makes the minimum price of gasoline at the pumps: $1.75/gallon.
The ethanol investors do not build ethanol distilleries because monopoly OPEC would lower the price of crude/gasoline to rust out the billion dollar/million barrel a day ethanol stills.
Brazil is energy independent: ethanol; All their cars come built running on ethanol; The gas station fills the tanks with ethanol, no gasoline.
Archer Daniel Midland made millions in the USA selling $1.00 gallon ethanol in the 1990s;
That trumps any canard/invalid objection to ethanol. Use Cellulose ethanol, not corn ethanol.
Cellulose Ethanol energy independence in the USA, will balance the trade deficit, create full employment, bring down the price of fuel, break the monopoly on the pricing of fuel, balance the USA government budget, create less pollution, make the USA energy independent, and end the war because we will stop funding the bad guys everyday at the gas pumps.
With all the cars running on ethanol; the price of oil will collapse and the radical Moslem hordes will no longer have the funds we used to give them from gasoline sales to finance the war against us.
Posted By: getzel @ 05/30/2008 7:55:07 AM
Comment: I merely stated the actual market conditions that exist. I am proud that udopian Obumers are soon to join the army to fight for the weapons deal parading as a war, proud.! I am proud of all those Obumers voting in favor of the draft which is schedeuled to be reimposed after the election! Obumer nation your in the army now!
Intelligence analyst: Getzel
Posted By: HarleyH @ 05/29/2008 8:05:16 PM
Comment: That fact is McCain was never meant to win, this was his last hurah, to be able to say he was a candidate, that's all, he is a strawman put there for Hillary to roll over, McCain has so many "swift boat" issues he stands no chance...Example: McCain is the candidate of "experience" right? Can any of you tell me what that experience is? It's not Military, he had ONLY 20hrs of combat and had crashed 4 or 5 jets, prior to being shot down and captured, you can now see the film of him in his BED in his cell in Viet Nam, having a cigarette and waiting either for his Admiral Dad to come get him out or to do his next propaganda film for the VC.
So then what, his "government" experience? I can sum that up in just a few short but very effective points:
1. Charles Keating/SNL Scandal
2. Temper/Age/willingness to go to WAR
3. Siding with Bush on EVERYTHING CRUTIAL (war, Iran, economy, rich man tax cuts)
4. POWs that hate him for what he claims to be, look it up, don't take my word for it.
5. His own claim of exp. but he forgets he has flopped on just about everything he has "stood for".
And that's just a few, but hell, if even 1 is dead on (all are, look it up) that's all it takes to completely discredit him.
He was meant to be defeated by Hillary, so she LOOKED like she had a "strong opponent", than something happened they Neither party expected...OBAMA!!!
When it began Hillary thought she could count on the "racism" of Americans to make him go away...wrong!
IN FACT even if you use the "90 black vote" bullsh!t, Blacks only account for 12.8% of the entire population of the US, Obama only gets "90%" of those (11.52% of all blacks in US) and that does not take into account age, registration, etc. So where does the remaining 41,5% of Obama's support come from?....OMG! NOOO!!!
Whites are voting for him too, OMG!!! So what happens next? HillaRove spins the NC results (obama wins 93% of black vote) to equal the entire country, problem is once again, HillaRove's Math, she can't explain, none of you Hillerites can, the 41.5% of actual voters (not bullsh!t polls) who support OBAMA.
Hey if you can I can't wait to hear about it, what are you gona say...FL?...MI?...ok, ignore the rules completely and count ALL "popular" votes, but then you HAVE to include the caucus states, whoops...OBAMA WINS!
Seat half of FL and MI...OBAMA STILL WINS :( awe...
Mccain will NOT win no Matter what ;) he is a sad joke, and now they are all DESPERATE, except one, and he has kept his cool through out.
OBAMA-NATION!!!