(ABC News) Exclusive: U.S. Studying Two Dozen 'Clusters' of Possible Homegrown Terrorists

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

U.S. law enforcement officials say they have identified more than two dozen "clusters" of young Muslim men in the northeast United States who are on a path that could lead to homegrown terror, ABC News has learned.

"Any one of those clusters may be capable of carrying out a terrorist action that will result in fatalities," Rand Corporation terrorism expert Brian Jenkins tells ABC News.

In a report to be made public today, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly concludes the 9/ll attacks were an "anomaly" and the most serious terror threat to the country comes from clusters of "unremarkable" individuals who are on a path that could lead to homegrown terror.

The report by the NYPD intelligence division, "Radicalization in the West and the Homegrown Threat," plots "the trajectory of radicalization" and tracks the path of a non-radicalized individual to an individual with the willingness to commit an act of terror, multiple sources say.

...

The NYPD report, ABC News sources said, concludes that while al Qaeda can provide inspiration and an "ideological reference point," instances of command and control by al Qaeda are the exception rather than the rule.

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/exclusive-u...

[Newsjock]

1. ABC News

So this is, what, the seventh or eighth time in recent months that ABC has reported breathless "exclusive" news that We're All Gonna Die.

[spinbaby]

20. They sure do get a lot of terror "exclusives"

You know, like someone in the White House is feeding them.

[mike_c]

2. the muslims are coming, the muslims are coming....

Fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear.

[Bitwit1234]

7. Add to that

terror terror terror terror oh heck you get the picture.

[HockeyMom]

29. And the biggie

"Fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them here".

[thunder rising]

8. No, they are already here ... they are neigbors and friends

and certainly the convenience store clerks. It's too late they have infiltrated.

[gratuitous]

3. Okay, this qualifies as complete gobbledygook

The report claims to plot "the trajectory of radicalization" and tracks the path of a non-radicalized individual to an individual with the willingness to commit an act of terror, multiple sources say.

My translation: PH34R! PH34R! Run for your lives! Aaaaaahhhhh! Wet your pants so Dubya's poll numbers can go up again! Now!

[redqueen]

25. Yeah... it's amazing anyone reads crap like that

and takes it *seriously*.

[jayfish]

4. Booo...

Are we yet?

Jay

[Benhurst]

5. This may be pure bullshit. On the other hand, given the state of the world,

we will probably be attacked by terrorists at some point in the future.

Let's hope we can, to quote the Gipper, "stand tall" (yeah, as if he did) and not continue to shred the Constitution and all we hold dear in the hysteria of the moment, as we did after 9/11.

Restore the Constitution! Restore the Republic!

[msmcghee]

27. I had to read pretty far down to find . .

. . one reasonable response to this OP. You know, something I wouldn't be embarrassed to defend. Thanks.

There are people who want to kill Americans. I expect any American government to take that seriously. Every news report on the topic is not a RW distraction.

[Benhurst]

30. ...

Thanks.

If and when that terrible day comes, let's hope we have leadership which responds appropriately.

[BushOut06]

31. "one reasonable response"?

So anyone who expresses disbelief or skepticism over these never-ending reports isn't considered reasonable?

Excuse me. We've been fed a constant diet of bullshit for several years now. Remember when Homeland Security was telling us they had "intelligence" that terrorists were plotting to pack apartments with explosives? Or what about the kids down in Miami that they tried to convince us were the next coming of Al-Qaeda?

We're coming up to an election year. Fear is the only thing that the rethugs have going for them. They know that Americans are fed up with the futile war in Iraq, that the economy is heading south, that tax cuts have only benefited the wealthiest, and that pretty much everything this administration has touched has turned to shit. Their only hope is to try to scare Americans into thinking that their unconstitutional actions are somehow the only thing that's prevented another terrorist attack, and that if the Democrats get elected, terrorists will have a field day.

[msmcghee]

34. First of all . .

. . by far the greatest quantity of bullshit in news stories is put there by the journalists who write them. Stories about impending terrorism are hot - because of 9/11, the ongoing war in Iraq, Israel, etc.

But the main cause of the high level of bullshit is that Americans buy more shit from news outlets that inflate any terrorist related story into a breathlessly told, apocalyptic end-of-the-world event. i.e. it's because of the vast stupidity of the American news consumers who pay billions to have themselves titillated by those mostly fake stories.

The same mentality exists here at DU. Where any MSM mention of any terrorism related event spawns dozens of really stupid comments similar to "the muslims are coming, the muslims are coming...." The only difference is in what type of stories each group finds the most titillating - not in the level of mental analysis going on.

Sorry, if I find that so disgusting. I just hate to see progressives acting out an emotional mob mentality very much like the right-wing idiots we can observe at FR any day of the week.

That's how I see it. Flame away.

[amandabeech]

37. I agree with you.

I live in D.C. and commute by Metro. A couple of weeks ago, there was a clear uptick in security, but no announcements. Just constant reminders to take your belongings with you and to report any packages left behind ownerless. I looked around when people left the train but didn't panic.

The U.S. had done plenty in the world to get a few others angry enough to try something violent even before El Presidente Shrub inserted our armed forces in Iraq for Oil and Daddy. Now even more folks are hopping mad at us.

But the constant "terra, terra, terra" emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania is just ludicrous. It is understandable that many people have decided that the cries are always "Wolf!"

Ignoring both the "terra" warnings and the opposite side is the way to go. IMHO, it is appropriate and entirely possible to be vigilant and careful without trampling the Constitutional rights that everyone here wants to protect and which are the backbone of our society.

[Psephos]

42. Damned good posts

You put your finger right on it when you observed that many progressives are "acting out an emotional mob mentality very much like the right-wing idiots we can observe at FR...".

Mob mentality is a powerful feature of true believers of both the right wing and the left wing. It wouldn't hurt a lot of DUers to re-read Arthur Koestler's essay "The Yogi and the Commissar" for a refresher about why this is so. Or maybe this book:

http://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Movements-...

Jihadists are real. They have killed many people and will kill many more. They're religious fundamentalists dedicated to replacing Western mores and laws with Islamic versions...they believe that God has charged them with this responsibility, and they take it seriously. It stuns me that so many here allow their loathing of pugs to blind them to larger themes and issues in the world.

It's for such situations the words "provincial" and "naive" were invented.

I don't stay awake at night worrying about terrorists and jihadists, but I also don't pretend they're impotent or can be safely ignored.

It took strength for you to remark about how few clothes the emperor is wearing. Keep posting, msmcghee.

[Occulus]

47. Then again,

It might just be complete and total bullshit.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. raise your hands if you can believe this "breaking news"

on its face:


ANYONE? ANYONE?

BUELLER? BUELLER? ANYONE?

[iconoclastic cat]

9. Maybe the spy satellites are watching them. nt

[Eurobabe]

32. they got google earth trained on them n/t

[DrZeeLit]

10. What does this info divert us from? Worst day in Iraq? Or something

domestic?

Must be some bad news for the admin if they are touting terror here.

These news "alerts" should come with "Buyer Beware" stickers.

[MuseRider]

11. Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

We have not been in Kansas for a long time now, 6 +years.

How about they follow around the people who are most likely to go shoot up churches and McDonalds and shopping centers?

I wish I could say this wasn't working but it seems it is working well enough. What a bunch of fraidy cats we are in the home of the brave.

[Mrs. Overall]

12. I'm sure there are some Christian Clusters out there, too, capable

of some true "homegrown" acts of violence as well.

Edit: Just read this on another post:http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/15/9611/11402
about a right wing group threatening to bomb a building in Alabama. Interesting, no media coverage of the threat.

[tom_paine]

18. Unquestionably, except those Christian Clusters are Loyal Bushies

which, as we all know from study of history, inclusion in the Nazi or Bushie Party usually immunizes a person from criminal investigation or prosecution.

[saigon68]

19. Like "Scooter (thug and Liar) Libby"

[havocmom]

22. Always glad to see a post from you, lad. It means two things:

If you are still posting, you're not disappeared and at Gonzo's mercy and if I am still reading, neither am I.

Terrorists:
1)props the junta uses to distract us from the real dangers
2)what they intend to label political enemies so they can get rid of them.

[efhmc]

13. The problem I have with this is not the so-called fear it creates but the

apathy. The lies and the over-wrought hyping that went on during the early days, months and years after 9-11 have created a malaise that makes it impossible for the public to use good judgment about the possibility of more terrorists and more attacks on our shores. Instead of giving us good information and tools with which to become more able to help protect ourselves and our communities, we are told to give up more and more rights and power to the government so they can do this job for us. We know, as adults, that giving up these valuable and well-earned powers makes us become more and more child-like and thereby more vulnerable to the manipulations of tyrants and war-mongers. Yet we continue to do so.

[uppityperson]

14. Indeed. There are people who want to hurt others. But this "wolf" business,

makes it difficult to believe anything, anyone.

[GTurck]

15. Believing?

Why does anyone think that what is reported on TV has anymore truth to it than what is reported in newspapers? It may well be that there are terrorist cells but my old nose tells me to beware of reports not backed up with facts I can verify. It is not a matter of wanting an attack to believe but whom do we believe. Maybe Amy Goodman or Jon Stewart; and isn't that sad. The MSM is so corrupted by its complicity I don't even want to hear it until there is an outside source that can be trusted. But really what has happened is that we no longer know who can be trusted.

[loveandlight]

16. warrant-less searches on US citizens as well

Seems to me a preparation for more wearing down of the Constitution and the FISA court protections against warrant-less searches. They latest move in Congress was to allow these searches for "foreign" communications running through US systems. But next on the list? Searches of home grown terrorists, could be anyone, first the Muslims, next it is you and me. One more step down the road....

[dbt]

17. If this is a REAL Terra Lert, how come Fochs Noose didn't get it first?

Just askin'

[spinbaby]

21. Because no one believes them anymore?

That would be my first guess.

[druidqueen]

23. FEAR, the Muslims are coming!!!

I believe it was William Butler Yeats who said:  "What we
do not understand, we fear.  What we fear, we tend to
destroy."  The US government is hell-bent on destroying
everything that they don't understand in the name of
"freedom".  I am so sick of it!!!  If we, as a
nation & government, attempted understanding, many
hundreds of thousands of people would still be alive AND
living peacefully.   I came across an interesting statistic
the other day-----since the US bombing of Hiroshima &
Nagasaki 62 years ago, the US government has spent OVER $7
TRILLION on nuclear weapons!!!!!!!!!!!  Now, THAT is
something to FEAR!!

[madrchsod]

24. they have the christian arayn nations and the muslim terrorists

to worry about so why do`t they leave us alone?

[aquart]

26. "Could lead"? "Could"?

Eh. It's pretty clear that they aren't scared of the al qaeda boogyman.

[Trillo]

28. Okay, so they've been identified, now what?

• Will the government send in agent provocateurs to present carefully choreographed and surveilled scenarios to bait the targets?


• Will the government send in true earnings opportunities and psychological experts to facilitate those "unremarkable individuals" towards a constructive (instead of destructive) path?

Which is the more likely path for the government to choose?

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Kip Humphrey]

35. Do you think DU is one of the clusters? (I think maybe GrovelBot does!)

[Posteritatis]

36. "on a path that could lead?"

I'm probably somewhere "on a path that could lead" to extremist activities, and I'll bet ninety percent of this site's membership also are.

God, I hate FUD.

[AX10]

38. Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra!!!

Be afraid, be very afraid!

[Contrary1]

39. Why don't they just arrest them?

I mean, it's not like one has to be proven guilty of anything these days to spend years in prison.

[fishnfla]

40. clusters of fuck

12 lil' spinoffs from the mother of all clusterfucks

[Betty]

41. I thought we were fighting them "over there"

so we don't have to fight them "over here". This does not support the idiot president's rationale for staying in Iraq for eternity. Rove hsn't even left yet and they already are losing their focus.

[stressfulreality]

46. betty - bush admitted that he wanted to topple saddam from the beginning...

the war in iraq has NOTHING to do with terrorists or 9/11. don't believe the lies.

[Javaman]

43. So the cluster fucks are investigating the clusters. nt

[bemildred]

44. "Clusters of fuckwits" investigating possible "clusters of potential terrists". nt

[stressfulreality]

45. what about the terrorist cell that occupies the white house? they are the biggest threat n/t