Christopher Gerrit Johnson found his plans to vote in Tuesday’s primary temporarily stymied at the Strasburg Police Department before authorities agreed he had a right to cast his ballot and allowed him to do so.
Johnson’s initial trouble in voting at Strasburg High School, his designated polling place, stemmed from a “no trespassing” order banning him from Shenandoah County Public Schools property. The order was issued after an incident in mid-December when Johnson entered Sandy Hook Elementary School with a board bearing the words “high powered rifle.”
An Iraqi man killed his 19-year-old daughter after he discovered al-Qaida had recruited her as a suicide bomber in an area north of Baghdad, a police spokesman said on Friday.
Al-Qaida has been recruiting women for suicide attacks because they can pass police checkpoints easier than men by concealing explosives under an abaya, a loose, black cloak that conservative Muslim women wear. Suicide bombers have been al-Qaida’s most lethal weapon in Iraq, killing hundreds of civilians and members of Iraq’s security forces.
The killing of the young woman was discovered when security forces, searching for her on suspicion she had ties to al-Qaida, raided her father’s home Thursday outside the former Sunni-insurgent stronghold of Baqouba, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, said Maj. Ghalib al-Karkhi, a police spokesman in Diyala province.
The father, Najim al-Anbaky, was detained in the raid. During questioning he told police he had killed his daughter, Shahlaa, a month earlier because he found out she intended to blow herself up in a suicide attack for al-Qaida, al-Karkhi told The Associated Press.
Al-Anbaky showed police what he said was the woman’s grave, al-Karkhi said. The father remains in custody and is under investgiation, but no charges have been made yet.
A police official at the interior ministry in Baghdad confirmed the killing. He spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A female suicide bomber was behind one of the deadliest attack this year in Iraq, after she blew herself up among Shiite pilgrims Baghdad in February, killing 54 people.
So….is this murder? Is this like killing Hitler rather than waiting to send him to trial? Is the father wrong and should he be prosecuted? Could he have saved hundreds, maybe thousands of lives? While we often hear rhetoric demanding that Muslims denounce terrorists, we need to think about several of the parents who have come forward and warned about their children being agents of terrorists. (underpants bomber for example).
Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor John Brennan speaks to CNN about the ongoing problem in Yemen:
The Democrats and Republicans can now square off over terrorism and all that it embodies. As the US and Great Britain close their embassies in Yemen, here at home, the 2 primary parties squabble and finger point over who knew what when and who was toughest on terrorism.
At the heart of the matter is the closing of Gitmo. If one steps over that issue, one comes face to face with the fact that the Christmas Day underwear would be bomber is being detained in federal court. Up until recently, interrogators were gathering information. Now the defendant has a court appointed lawyer, he has ‘lawyered up’ and the information is not as free flowing.
Leading Republicans contend that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber, was trained and send on a mission by Al Qaeda, therefore he should be held as a military combatant, by the military. Interrogation could continue if he were being held as a military prisoner. According to the Washington Post:
Brennan’s tour of the talk shows — he also appeared on ABC’s “This Week” — came as the administration tried to counter, and move out in front of, widespread criticism of intelligence systems that did not identify Abdulmutallab as an al-Qaeda operative or detect the explosive he was allegedly carrying before he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
Much of the criticism Sunday, however, centered on the decision to try him in civilian court rather than hold him as a military prisoner. “If we had treated this Christmas Day bomber as a terrorist, he would have immediately been interrogated military-style, rather than given the rights of an American and lawyers,” Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said on CNN. “We probably lost valuable information.”
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman(I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said it was a “very serious mistake” to send Abdulmutallab to federal court.
While Senator Lieberman is not a Republican, he often sides with them on matters of war and terrorism. Should Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber, be held by the military or in by civilian law enforcement? Does it really matter or is this commotion just a political ploy? Should our embassies in Yemen be closed? Should some Gitmo prisoners be returned to Yemen to be punished or set free?
It appears that sides are squaring off over all issues pertaining to terrorism. Rather than uniting us towards a common goal, it appears that it is politics and usual.
Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that 5 terrorist plotters from 9/11 would be brought from Gitmo to NYC to be tried in federal court. Some of the rogues are Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Ramzi Binalshibh and others whose names cannot be pronounced.
The announcement has caused a firestorm not only in the political community but also in the legal community. Perhaps the greatest gripe is that these terrorists will be afforded all the liberties entitled to a US citizen. There are also worries about turning the trial into a lengthy 3 ring circus. Then there are about 20 more reasons, pro and con for this action that I am sure our contributors would like to share their opinion about.
NEW YORK (AP) — In what could be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, federal prosecutors sought to take over four U.S. mosques, a New York City skyscraper and 100 acres in Prince William County owned by a Muslim organization suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government.
Prosecutors on Thursday filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.
The seizures include land in the Catharpin area. The addresses listed on the federal criminal complaint are 4300 and 4204 Aldie Road
In the Iranian case, there are ties to the funding of nuclear weapons. It appears that the property was just that: property. Nothing nefarious has been found at the site, according to other sources.
For the past several days we have debated whether or not the massacre at Fort Hood was terrorism or not. Terrorism seems to differ in each person’s mind.
Tonight I looked at old footage for Veterans Day. The attack on Pearl Harbor continued to come up and it was intermingled with footage from 9-11. Was the attack on Pearl Harbor terrorism? How about the Marine Barracks attack in Lebanon in 1983?
We have no internationally agreed upon definition. In fact, within our own country there is no one defnition. Certainly there would be no question if most of those killed had been civilians.
If we use ‘terrorism’ too often does it detract from the horror? Does the sneak attack make Pearl Harbor terrorism? If troops are sleeping or doing other duties, are they non-combatants?
