Iraqi men living in Kentucky go to prison for plot to help al Qaeda

[alp227]

Source: CNN

Two Iraqi men, who were living in Kentucky, were slapped with long prison sentences this week after being convicted of a series of charges involving a plot to help al Qaeda.

"These two former Iraqi insurgents participated in terrorist activities overseas and attempted to continue providing material support to terrorists while they lived here in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco. "Both men are being held accountable."

Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan were arrested last August in Bowling Green, Kentucky in a terror-related sting operation.

After arriving in the United States, the men were monitored by federal authorities. The men told an FBI undercover agent they wanted to provide weapons and explosives to al Qaeda in Iraq, court documents said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/30/justice/kentucky-terror-sentences/index.html

[Mnemosyne]

1. "former Iraqi insurgents" - in other words, any Iraqi that dared stand up against the US occupation

of their country.

Despicable.

[OKNancy]

2. Oh good grief

Please, they wanted to supply al-Queda. Of course if you believe that al-Queda is fiction and aren't really radical religious nuts, then fine. However these guys are criminals. Tried... and pleaded guilty.

In 2010 and early 2011, Hammadi and Alwan provided sniper rifles, C4 plastic explosives, and two Stinger missiles to a truck they believed would be shipped to al Qaeda in Iraq. Authorities say none of the weapons were ever shipped, and remained under control of the FBI.
Hammadi pleaded guilty in August of 12 counts, including four counts of aiding al Qaeda in Iraq, authorities said. Alwan pleaded guilty to 23 counts in December, including plotting to kill Americans overseas, the Justice Department said.

They were not standing up to US occupation. Al-Queda are not heroic fighters for freedom.

[leveymg]

3. There are those here who think if AQ fights Asad, that legitimizes them as "revolutionaries"

Some need to be reminded that the enemy of my enemy is not my friend, and that a terrorist is just a terrorist, whether he's being paid by Osama bin Laden or "our friend," the Emir of Qatar.

[OKNancy]

7. if the two fellows were neo-Nazis/Stormfront types

there wouldn't be a peep out of them

[leveymg]

10. Domestic counterterrorism resources are committed to more important targets, like Quakers and OWS.

Besides, who wants to arrest the guy down the block who comes over and eats most of the chicken wings during Super Bowl parties? As I said, there are much higher domestic targets than mere Nazis with their silly stiff-arm salutes, Army surplus anti-tank missiles and home-made nerve gas.

Pass the chicken wings. Do you think Beyonce is lip-sinking, again?

[coalition_unwilling]

5. Our government probably tortured them while they were in its custody. Hard to

dismiss that since Obama has now nominated a former torturer (Brennan) to be head of the CIA.

Whatever.

[Jerry442]

4. "...remained under control of the FBI."

The article doesn't say explicitly, but that phrase suggests to me that this is one of those sting operations where the FBI acted as both the supplier of the weapons and the supposed conduit to Al Qaeda. Now these guys may have serious attitude problems and some time in the slammer might be appropriate, but basically this is what anti-terrorism people have been doing over and over again: finding some people who are nothing but loudmouthed clowns and repackaging them as terrorist masterminds.

Follow this story. Look for the part about the FBI people playing the role of the suppliers. It'll come.

[Sunlei]

8. good point, does sound like another sting.

This has probably taken years and millions to follow/sting 2 people. Be better off to have dummy shipments of hundreds of missles/road bombs/weapons, that when used spray a marker dye over a wide area. This would make a huge visual impression on the citizens in those countries where Al Qaeda is a threat. If that was a real bomb, Al Qaeda would have killed them.

[formercia]

9. A real Terrorist would not have been caught by this bunch of agents

Terrorist cells are extremely difficult to penetrate. Tribal and Family loyalties make it very difficult for an outsider to gain access. These dumb-asses were most likely provoked into becoming 'suppliers' all on a dishwasher's salary.
Give me a fucking break.