This is why I love the Washington Times and hope it will survive as papers big and small crash and burn! Judy told you in the previous post that the New York Times is reporting (3 months after the fact) that Somali “youths” are leaving the US and assumed to be traveling to Somalia to join the Jihad. The Washington Times had reported the story on the front page on December 29, 2008 here.
The Washington Times is reporting that news again, and adding so much more to the story today. This excellent reporting by Ben Conery takes the speech yesterday that FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III gave to the Council on Foreign Relations and gets out and finds more information.
A monthly conference call with Homeland Security:
Ahmed Elmi, chairman of the Somali-American Community Association in the Washington area, said Somali community leaders throughout the U.S. are concerned about what happened in Minnesota and are eager to help the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies deal with the issue.
“We tell Somalis: ‘If you know something, you should report it immediately. It’s a crime if you don’t. If you don’t know the language or feel uncomfortable, go to Somali community agencies for help,’ ” Mr. Elmi said.
On the first Tuesday of each month, a half-dozen Somali community leaders from throughout the U.S., including from Minnesota, have a one-hour teleconference with the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Elmi said.
“We’ve spoken with FBI agents in Virginia, and we are hoping to do something similar with the FBI,” he said.
Back to Mueller:
Mr. Mueller pointed to the costs of the present situation in human terms.
“The prospect of young men, indoctrinated and radicalized within their own communities, and induced to travel to such countries to take up arms – and to kill themselves and perhaps many others – is a perversion of the immigrant story,” Mr. Mueller said.
It’s not so perverse Mr. Mueller if you guys knew anything about Islam!
Now, just in case my theory is correct and that all these radicalized Somali youths have not gone back to Somalia, this Washington Times article goes into a discussion about how the FBI was involved in helping India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, concluding:
Though he declined to speculate about whether a similar attack [to the one in Mumbai] would take place in the U.S., Mr. Mueller said the Mumbai attacks, carried out by 10 terrorists, “reminds us that terrorists with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons to maximize their impact.”
Note to readers (and the FBI): If Muellers (CYA) speech gives you comfort that the FBI is on top of the Somali radicalization issue in the US, think again. They have missed some critical opportunities in one city I know of—Nashville, TN. Could there be others?