…..some to kill, others to be killed.
On the eve of his Minneapolis trial for supporting terrorism Omer Abdi Mohamed admitted his guilt—he was only motivated by Ethnic Nationalism* to defend Somalia from the evil Ethiopians (never mind that Al Shabaab is a terror group with international reach).
From the Pioneer Press:
On the flickering concourse monitors at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, it was listed as Northwest Flight 56, the 9:25 p.m. departure to Amsterdam.
But over 40 days in late 2007, it could’ve been called the al-Shabaab Shuttle. The flight was the preferred first leg of the trip made by young Somali men from the Twin Cities, bound for their homeland to fight for the Islamic militant group al-Shabaab.
On Monday, on the eve of his trial in federal court, Omer Abdi Mohamed stood before a judge and admitted that in late 2007, he helped seven men make the exodus to Somalia. Once abroad, some of them took up arms for al-Shabaab; some blew themselves up in suicide attacks; and some returned, disenchanted, after they sampled the foul taste of war.
Mohamed, 26, of St. Anthony was to be the first person to be tried on charges stemming from what federal prosecutors have characterized as one of this nation’s longest and broadest anti-terrorism investigations.
He had maintained his innocence, his lawyer proclaiming that Mohamed had been interested only in helping defend his homeland against Ethiopian troops that many of his countrymen viewed as invaders.
But over the weekend, he stared at a government plea offer, along with the specter of 50 years in prison if convicted on the six federal counts he faced. He blinked.
“It was a hard choice for Omer, but he’s got a 2-year-old boy and he’s going to have a (newborn)…boy in six weeks,” lawyer Peter Wold said.
For Mohamed the deal is pretty good—he will get a wrist slap and a much shorter sentence—but it’s a big win for others. The FBI will not have to show the world how they have screwed up back in 2007 and are still screwing up as we learn MORE “youths” have left for Africa. The local mosque will continue to skate under the radar. The public won’t hear more bad publicity about the “grateful” refugees, nor hear about how the Jihadi-trained Somalis might come “home” to America with a new skill on a return flight of the Al-Shabaab shuttle.
Maybe Rep. Peter King will generate more information flowing to the public with his hearing later this month on Jihad recruitment within the Somali community, here.
*Ethnic Nationalism is understandable, everyone is allowed a little defense of their homeland from invasion, right?—everyone but Americans that is!