n November, a writer for the American Thinker called to ask for my recollections about covering the trials and tribulations of what is often described as the largest terrorist fundraising operation in U.S. history. It hadn’t occurred to me, but the 10-year anniversary of the “Holy Land Foundation Five” convictions in a Dallas federal courtroom has unexpectedly arrived. The call from the … [Read more...] about When Terrorists Learned ‘Lawfare’ Works: A Memory Triggered by The Holy Land Foundation Trial’s 10-Year Anniversary
Terrorism & Homeland Security
Part III: Hezbollah’s Clandestine Terror Wing in America: the Michigan Mystery
This is the third installment of a series derived from two ongoing federal court prosecutions of individuals who allegedly worked as undercover operatives for Iranian Hezbollah’s notorious “Unit 910” foreign terrorist wing. Part I and Part II delivered revelations about U.S. assassination and target surveillance activities of Bronx-based Lebanese immigrant Ali Kourani. This … [Read more...] about Part III: Hezbollah’s Clandestine Terror Wing in America: the Michigan Mystery
Part II of III Hezbollah’s ‘Unit 910’ in America: A Treasure Hunt for Fake Docs, Weapons, Explosives
As a card-carrying, read-in intelligence operative for Hezbollah’s noxious foreign terrorism wing, Ali Kourani was expected to do far more than videotape a Manhattan armory and gather names of Jewish businessmen from LinkedIn to knock off one day (as reported in Part I of this series). He was expected to keep his killing skills sharp. In Part I, I revealed part of what Kourani -- a … [Read more...] about Part II of III Hezbollah’s ‘Unit 910’ in America: A Treasure Hunt for Fake Docs, Weapons, Explosives
Part I of III Hezbollah’s ‘Unit 910’ in America: Recruitment, Targeting Jews, and a Building with a Doorman
Because revelatory cases like these come around so rarely, this series seeks to underline what was missed or under-emphasized by traditional media coverage -- and also to put what wasn’t missed into proper context from a homeland security perspective. This series of reports is based on a review and analysis of hundreds of publicly filed court records from the ongoing federal prosecution of alleged … [Read more...] about Part I of III Hezbollah’s ‘Unit 910’ in America: Recruitment, Targeting Jews, and a Building with a Doorman
Terror in Paradise: Trinidad and Tobago Is Now a Jihad Hotspot
The Ministry of Tourism for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago hosts a website extolling the many exquisite charms of the “true Caribbean” to be found there. The islands offer rich history, culture, biodiversity, and lodging with views “to die for.” Of late, though, a diaspora of Trinidad and Tobago emigres have preferred the views in Syria and Iraq, and the company of Islamic terrorist … [Read more...] about Terror in Paradise: Trinidad and Tobago Is Now a Jihad Hotspot
Hezbollah South of the Border: A Rare U.S. Government Update with Bombs in Bolivia, Busts in Peru, Spying in Panama, Pressure in Paraguay
As a working journalist in 2007, I traveled to Nicaragua to find out why Iran had just set up shop in the country after the election of U.S nemesis President Daniel Ortega. In Managua, I found the Iranian compound in a posh neighborhood, guarded by a coterie of Nicaraguan troops. For about three days, I episodically knocked on the tall metal gates asking to interview the new Iranian … [Read more...] about Hezbollah South of the Border: A Rare U.S. Government Update with Bombs in Bolivia, Busts in Peru, Spying in Panama, Pressure in Paraguay
Lenient Prison Term for ISIS Terrorist Pits Prosecutors Against Federal Judge in Texas
Originally published in Pajamas Media, By Todd Bensman On September 10, just ahead of this year’s 9/11 anniversary, Texas resident Asher Abid Khan finally turned himself in to the U.S. Marshals office in Houston for providing material support to ISIS. He was off to the federal correctional institute known as “Forrest City Medium” in Forrest City, Arkansas, according to court filings. The … [Read more...] about Lenient Prison Term for ISIS Terrorist Pits Prosecutors Against Federal Judge in Texas
Trial in ISIS Plot to Kill U.S. Ambassador to Suriname; An Exotic Story of ISIS in South America Draws No U.S. Media Interest, Except (of course) Here
Terror attack target? U.S. Embassy in Suriname Last year, a few foreign news outlets reported an alleged local ISIS plot to murder the U.S. ambassador to … Suriname. My curiosity was piqued -- an ISIS franchise in South America? -- but coverage has been extremely rare. To date, no American media outlet has regarded an ISIS plot to murder an American diplomat in Paramaribo as newsy enough to … [Read more...] about Trial in ISIS Plot to Kill U.S. Ambassador to Suriname; An Exotic Story of ISIS in South America Draws No U.S. Media Interest, Except (of course) Here
Texas Terror Case Gives Rare Glimpse of Venal Hatred Inside Encrypted Jihadist Social Media
Researchers, journalists and anyone honestly seeking to understand modern Islamic terrorism need look no further than the now-vast trove of American court prosecution records. The Department of Justice has prosecuted 157 U.S. homegrown terrorism cases in 30 states just since 2013, and 220 since 9/11. Say what you will about the politicized upper echelons of the FBI. But the front-line special … [Read more...] about Texas Terror Case Gives Rare Glimpse of Venal Hatred Inside Encrypted Jihadist Social Media
Here’s the Case That Shows How to Handle the Jihadist Prison Radicalization Threat
A debate has long circled around the proposition that American prison systems at state and federal levels need counter-radicalization programs. The hypothesis claims that circle-talking and counseling will preempt the manipulation of predisposed inmates by predatory visiting prison imams, or by fellow Islamists inside. This 2013 Naval Postgraduate School study by Tennessee’s Assistant … [Read more...] about Here’s the Case That Shows How to Handle the Jihadist Prison Radicalization Threat