14 in U.S. accused of supporting Somali terrorist group

Most of those charged are U.S. citizens of Somali descent. They are accused of sending money and fighters to Shabab, an Islamist army with ties to Al Qaeda.

by Ken Dilanian

Tribune Washington Bureau

August 5, 2010

Reporting from Washington

Fourteen people have been accused of providing support to the Somali terrorist group Shabab in indictments unsealed Thursday that shed light on "a deadly pipeline" of funding and fighters to the group from cities across the United States, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said.

Most of those charged were U.S. citizens of Somali descent. It has long been known that disaffected Somali Americans were leaving their homes in Minnesota and other states to join Shabab, an Islamist army whose several thousand fighters are battling Somalia's weak government. The indictments show that the U.S. government is directing significant investigative resources at the problem.

Shabab, which routinely beheads its enemies, has been branded a terrorist group by the U.S. and other nations, and in turn has declared war on the United Nations and humanitarian organizations in Somalia. The group claimed responsibility for a bombing last month that killed 76 people, including an American aid worker, who were watching a World Cup soccer match in Uganda's capital. It is not known to be responsible for an attack on U.S. soil.

Some of those charged were already in custody, but earlier Thursday, FBI agents arrested two women, Amina Farah Ali, 33, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 63, both naturalized U.S. citizens from Somalia and residents of Rochester, Minn. Each is charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to Shabab from September 2008 through last month. Ali is also charged with 12 counts of providing material support to Shabab, while Hassan is charged with three counts of making false statements.

"As demonstrated by the charges unsealed today, we are seeing an increasing number of individuals -- including U.S. citizens -- who have become captivated by extremist ideology and have taken steps to carry out terrorist objectives, either at home or abroad," Holder said at a news conference.

A report in May by the Rand Corp. documented 14 domestic terrorist plots by U.S.-based Muslim extremists in 2009 and 46 since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The list includes the case of Najibullah Zazi, a permanent U.S. resident from Afghanistan who pleaded guilty in February to planning a suicide attack in New York, possibly on the subway; and that of Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army major charged with opening fire in November on fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas, killing 13.

Other plots emerged this year, including that of "Jihad Jane," the suburban Philadelphia native accused of supporting terrorism, and Faisal Shahzad, the Connecticut resident suspected in the Times Square bombing attempt.

The indictment accuses Ali and Hassan of raising donations to support Shabab through door-to-door solicitations and teleconferences in Somali communities in Minneapolis, Rochester and elsewhere, in some cases "under the false pretense that they would be used to aid the poor and the needy."

Ali made 12 money transfers to Shabab in 2008 and 2009 totaling $8,608, the indictment said.

On July 14, 2009, the day after the FBI executed a search warrant at her home, Ali allegedly told another conspirator, "I was questioned by the enemy here.… They took all my stuff and are investigating it.… Do not accept calls from anyone."

The U.S. government designated Shabab a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008, and said it had ties to Al Qaeda.

The indictments allege illegal conduct in Minnesota, Alabama and California.

One of the indictments was issued in Southern California in October 2009, but the details are sketchy and the defendant, Jehad Serwan Mostafa, 28, remains at large. The indictment alleges that Mostafa, a U.S. citizen and former resident of San Diego, conspired to provide material support to terrorists. He faces a potential 15 years in prison for each of the three counts of the indictment, and is believed to be in Somalia.

The Minnesota investigation has been unfolding for some time. About 20 men -- all but one of Somali descent -- left Minnesota from December 2007 through October 2009 to join Shabab, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia with an ideology akin to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Two indictments unsealed in Minnesota on Thursday added five names to a list of people charged in the investigation in that state, bringing the total charged there to 19. Nine have been arrested in the U.S. or overseas, five of whom pleaded guilty, Holder said. Ten are at large, believed to be overseas.

Shabab members began pledging allegiance to Al Qaeda last year. One of its most famous members is known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, or "the American," an Alabama native. He appeared in a jihadist video in May 2009.

In an unrelated case, a 26-year-old Chicago man was charged Wednesday with plotting to go to Somalia to become a suicide bomber for Al Qaeda and Shabab. Prosecutors told a judge that Shaker Masri attempted to provide support through the use of a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States.

In other terrorism-related developments Thursday, the State Department released its annual country report on terrorism. Among the findings was that there were more suicide bombings in Pakistan and Afghanistan last year than in Iraq, a sign of how the threat has shifted.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-somali-terror-20100806,0,2126044,print.story

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How to fix L.A. County's broken child welfare system

The focus must be on getting at-risk kids into safe homes. The Sheriff's Department should handle abuse investigations. And there must be an independent, public review of serious injuries and deaths.

By Wendy Ramallo

August 6, 2010

Another child death, another vote by Los Angeles County supervisors.

Miguel Padilla, Lazhanae Harris, Nicole Haas and now 11-year-old Jorge Tarin, who hanged himself in June, are just a few of the hundreds of children who have died when they should have been protected by Los Angeles County's child welfare and juvenile justice systems. News reports said Jorge's caseworker didn't have the technology to get the facts that might have prevented his suicide. But children don't lose their lives because of the lack of a wireless computer card. Time and time again, they die because of a negligent system.

Jorge lived in a world of neglect and violence. His home didn't become dangerous overnight. He should have been removed from his abusers long ago. When you leave children in dangerous homes or send them back to such homes, at best you're severely damaging them psychologically, and at worst you're playing Russian roulette with their lives.

Yet the number of children removed from abusive homes in Los Angeles County is artificially low because of an unacceptable backlog of investigations, and because thousands more "act out" and end up transferred to supervision under the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

If the social workers we are sending out do not have the basic common sense needed to keep a child out of danger, or the skill and resources necessary to supervise a case, then the system needs an overhaul. It is past the time for studies and incremental change.

Caring for our most vulnerable children is difficult, and there are outstanding staff members in the Department of Children and Family Services. But when I worked on these issues a decade ago, the same problems were occurring. Why does Los Angeles County continue to fail?

We know that professionals in other jurisdictions get the job done: Colorado, Massachusetts and New York have instituted excellent reforms in child protection, placement, adoption and coordination with juvenile justice systems. We need to ask: Why aren't those professionals here?

Bold steps need to be taken. The county Board of Supervisors has called for an independent audit of the Department of Children and Family Services, but we don't have time to wait for that.

First, the department's organizational structure in a county of this size and complexity is fatally flawed. It's a behemoth, with far too many responsibilities to focus on its main job: getting abused kids into safe homes. At a minimum, the department should transfer all abuse investigations to the Sheriff's Department, and then work with that department in multidisciplinary teams. Many other jurisdictions run abuse investigations jointly with law enforcement or hand them off altogether — this is not a radical concept.

Second, a permanent, independent structure for the public review of serious child injuries and deaths must be put in place for both the Department of Children and Family Services and the Probation Department.

Where there is no public scrutiny, there is no pressure for change. We've set up such systems in the past — an inspector general's office, for example — only to see them disbanded, defunded or otherwise marginalized as political winds change direction.

This week, at a meeting of the Los Angeles Children and Family Commission, a county attorney blocked information about serious injuries and deaths in the system. This can't be allowed in agencies that we, the taxpayers, are supporting.

Third, the county should launch a grass-roots, multimedia campaign to recruit more emergency placement homes and licensed foster parents. The county also should consider creating a division solely dedicated to out-of-home-care recruitment, training and support. The Department of Children and Family Services spent almost $6 million on tablet computers, but when was the last time you were asked to be a foster parent?

Fourth, Los Angeles County's child welfare and juvenile probation systems must be better integrated. According to the Child Welfare League of America, at least 40% of the children who end up in the juvenile justice system have histories of abuse and neglect. In my experience, those statistics are higher in Los Angeles County. Yet the Department of Children and Family Services and the Probation Department are mired in jurisdictional competition and a willful lack of communication.

Jorge's suicide is only the latest wakeup call. Let's stop proclaiming our outrage when a child dies in the county's care. It's time to turn outrage into real reform.

Wendy Ramallo is a former senior legislative deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina who handled Department of Children and Family Services, Probation Department and law enforcement issues, and is a former Los Angeles County Children's Commissioner.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ramallo-dcfs-20100806,0,5183300,print.story

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From the New York Times

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U.S. Attends Hiroshima Ceremony

HIROSHIMA, Japan — The United States ambassador participated for the first time on Friday in an annual ceremony to mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing here in World War II, raising hopes that President Obama may soon follow.

With the mournful gonging of a Buddhist temple bell and the release of doves, a crowd of 55,000 solemnly marked the moment 65 years ago when the world's first atomic attack incinerated this city under a towering mushroom cloud.

During the ceremony, Hiroshima's mayor welcomed the ambassador, John Roos, and praised President Obama as one of the world leaders who “wielded their powerful influence” to rid the world of nuclear weapons .

During the solemn ceremony at the city's peace park within sight of the iconic Atomic Bomb Dome, other speakers also praised Mr. Obama's call last year in Prague for a denuclearized world.

“We greet this August 6 with re-energized determination that no one else should ever have to suffer such horror,” said the mayor, Tadatoshi Akiba. “Clearly, the urgency of nuclear weapons abolition is permeating our global conscience.”

Mr. Roos did not speak at the ceremony, which included a minute of silence at 8:15, the moment the bomb detonated on a Sunday morning in 1945, killing more than 140,000 residents. In a statement issued by the American Embassy, Mr. Roos said, “we must continue to work together to realize a world without nuclear weapons.” While no one mentioned it during the ceremony, city officials have said they hoped Mr. Roos's attendance would serve as a step toward a future visit by President Obama to Hiroshima, which along with Nagasaki has become a symbol of the horrors of nuclear war.

Mr. Akiba also praised the ambassadors of Britain and France and also the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon , all of whom also attended the ceremony for first time.

It is time to move from “ground zero to global zero,” Mr. Ban said in a speech, referring to the elimination of nuclear weapons. “For many of you, that day endures as vivid as the white light that seared the sky, as dark as the black rain that followed.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/world/asia/07japan.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print

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Hiroshima and the Art of Outrage

By KENZABURO OE

Tokyo

THE Futenma Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa, one of the largest United States military bases in East Asia, is in the center of a crowded city. The American and Japanese governments acknowledge the dangers of this situation, and they agreed nearly 15 years ago that the base should be moved; however, no move has yet been made.

In 2009 a new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, tantalized Okinawans with the prospect of moving the despised base off the island, but he was recently forced to resign, in part because of his failure to keep that promise. Mr. Hatoyama's successor, Naoto Kan, has made it clear that he intends to respect the United States-Japan security treaty — a position that, while not directly related to the issue of dialing down the United States military presence in Japan, may indicate which way the wind is blowing.

It was recently reported here that a government panel is about to submit a policy paper to Prime Minister Kan, suggesting that regarding Japan's “three nonnuclear principles” — prohibiting the production, possession and introduction of nuclear weapons — it was not wise to “limit the helping hand of the United States,” and recommending that we allow the transport of nuclear arms through our territory to improve the so-called nuclear umbrella.

When I read about this in the newspaper last week, I felt a great sense of outrage. (I'll explain later why that word has such deep significance for me.) I felt the same way when another outrageous bit of news came to light this year: the decades-old, Okinawa-related secret agreement entered into by the United States and Japan in contravention of the third of the three nonnuclear principles, which forbids bringing nuclear weapons into Japan.

At the annual Hiroshima Peace Ceremony on Friday, this year marking the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb, representatives from Britain, France and the United States planned to be in attendance, for the first time. This is a public event at which government leaders give speeches, but it also has a more profound and private aspect, as the atomic bomb survivors offer ritual consolation to the spirits of their dead relatives. Of all the official events that have been created during the past 200 years of modernization, the peace ceremony has the greatest degree of moral seriousness.

I'm using the term “moral seriousness” deliberately here, to echo a passage in the speech President Obama delivered in Prague in April 2009. “As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon,” he said, “the United States has a moral responsibility to act.” The president's call is yet another indication that a sense of crisis is germinating, fueled by a growing awareness that if decisive steps are not taken, before long the possession of nuclear weapons will not be limited to a few privileged countries.

Mr. Obama's Prague speech reflected the sentiments expressed previously by George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn in a 2007 article for The Wall Street Journal titled “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons.” They wrote: “Deterrence continues to be a relevant consideration for many states with regard to threats from other states. But reliance on nuclear weapons for this purpose is becoming increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective.”

The antinuclear mood in America and Europe appears to be gaining momentum; indeed, the American, British and French presence at the peace ceremony may be seen as a small symbolic step toward a nuclear-free world. However, as things stand now, Japan still has no concrete plan for moving the air base. In the same vein, there's the possibility that we will allow nuclear weapons to pass through Japan in exchange for American protection.

At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council before he was deposed, Prime Minister Hatoyama responded to Mr. Obama's Prague speech by noting that Japan, too, had a “moral responsibility” because it was “the only victim of nuclear bombings.”

But what sort of action will result from all this antinuclear rhetoric? If Prime Minister Kan also takes the time to think about President Obama's phrase, how might he interpret it? It probably wouldn't go over very well if, in his speech at the peace ceremony, he were to side with the crowd advocating transport of nuclear weapons through Japan.

But suppose he did — how would such a declaration be received by the foreign dignitaries who have allied themselves with Mr. Obama's pledge? And what about the bombing victims who will fill the venue? Wouldn't they feel a sense of outrage if they were told that it's their moral responsibility, as citizens of the only atom-bombed country, to choose to live under the protection of a nuclear umbrella, and that wanting to discard that umbrella in favor of freedom is, conversely, an abdication of responsibility?

I'm concerned, too — now that the former prime minister's rosy promises of relocation have failed to materialize and the original plan to move the Futenma base to an offshore site near the Okinawan village of Henoko has been brought back to life — about how such a policy change would be perceived by the elderly men and women who have been staging a sit-in at Henoko for more than 2,000 days.

•

Sixty-five years ago, after learning that a friend who was reported missing after the bombing of Hiroshima had turned up in a hospital there, my mother put together a meager care package and set out from our home in Shikoku to pay a visit. When she returned, she shared her friend's description of that morning in August 1945.

Moments before the atomic bomb was dropped, my mother's friend happened to seek shelter from the bright summer sunlight in the shadow of a sturdy brick wall, and she watched from there as two children who had been playing out in the open were vaporized in the blink of an eye. “I just felt outraged,” she told my mother, weeping.

Even though I didn't fully grasp its import at the time, I feel that hearing that horrifying story (along with the word outrage, which put down deep, abiding roots in my heart) is what impelled me to become a writer. But I'm haunted by the thought that, ultimately, I was never able to write a “big novel” about the people who experienced the bombings and the subsequent 50-plus years of the nuclear age that I've lived through — and I think now that writing that novel is the only thing I ever really wanted to do.

In Edward W. Said's last book, “On Late Style,” he gives many examples of artists (composers, musicians, poets, writers) whose work as they grew older contained a peculiar sort of concentrated tension, hovering on the brink of catastrophe, and who, in their later years, used that tension to express their epochs, their worlds, their societies, themselves.

As for me, on the day last week when I learned about the revival of the nuclear-umbrella ideology, I looked at myself sitting alone in my study in the dead of night . . . . . . and what I saw was an aged, powerless human being, motionless under the weight of this great outrage, just feeling the peculiarly concentrated tension, as if doing so (while doing nothing) were an art form in itself. And for that old Japanese man, perhaps sitting there alone in silent protest will be his own “late work.”

Kenzaburo Oe, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994, is the author, most recently, of “The Changeling.” This article was translated by Deborah Boehm from the Japanese.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06oe.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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Medicare Stronger, Social Security Worse in Short Run, Report Finds

WASHINGTON — Medicare will remain financially solvent for 12 additional years, until 2029, because of the cost-cutting measures in President Obama 's recently enacted health care legislation, the program's trustees projected on Thursday.

The financial outlook for Social Security is “little changed from last year,” the report said. In the short run, it added, the financial condition of the retirement program has worsened because of high unemployment, which has reduced payroll tax revenues. For the first time, money flowing out of the program this year exceeds money flowing in.

The trustees predicted that the Social Security trust fund would be exhausted in 2037, the same date as projected last year. The Social Security commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, said this was “not a cause for panic,” because continuing tax revenue would still be sufficient to pay more than 75 percent of benefits even after exhaustion of the trust fund.

Both programs continue to face intense financial pressure in coming decades as the population ages and health care costs rise. Medicare, in particular, faces eventual insolvency if more is not done to balance its obligations to provide health care to older Americans with the tax revenues that pay for the program.

Because inflation remains low, the report said, Social Security beneficiaries will probably not receive a cost-of-living adjustment in 2011, just as they did not receive one this year.

The report comes at a time of growing political ferment over the future of the programs, which account for about one-third of all federal spending, and they provoked contradictory reactions.

Many advocates on the left seized on the updates to argue that no changes were needed, especially for Social Security, while some on the right said the report showed a need for cutbacks in future benefit promises or even for privatization.

Liberal groups have begun mobilizing this summer to oppose any cut in Social Security benefits or increase in the retirement age that might be recommended by a bipartisan fiscal commission. The panel, appointed by Mr. Obama, is to vote on its final report by Dec. 1.

Dozens of liberal organizations, including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. , the N.A.A.C.P. and MoveOn.org , formed the Strengthen Social Security coalition last week. On Tuesday, representatives of those groups and others, including AARP , met with two administration officials and “gave them an earful,” in the words of one participant.

Nancy J. Altman, co-chairwoman of the coalition, said she feared that some people in Washington, including a few members of the president's fiscal commission, would use the trustees' report to “advance their agenda of cuts to Social Security benefits.”

Many on the left are anxious because they believe that the administration, having won cost-saving changes in Medicare, is turning its sights to Social Security, in an effort to stabilize its long-term finances and reduce the nation's future debt load.

Bruce N. Reed, a former Clinton White House official who is executive director of the fiscal commission, said, “Some on the left are concerned that Social Security would be used for deficit reduction purposes, and that's not anybody's goal.” But Mr. Reed added, “The trustees' report reaffirms the importance of taking action to strengthen Social Security's solvency over the long haul.”

The trustees said the new health care law would contribute to an improvement in the finances of Social Security as well as Medicare. Starting in 2019, the law imposes a new tax on high-cost health insurance plans. The tax is expected to cause a shift in employee compensation from health insurance to wages, which are subject to Social Security payroll taxes.

In the short run, however, the outlook for Social Security continued to deteriorate. “Benefit payments are expected to exceed tax revenue for the first time this year, six years earlier than was projected last year,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner .

In their annual report, the trustees predicted that, under existing law, Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund would be exhausted in 2029, rather than in 2017, as projected in last year's report.

This is “a record increase from one report to the next,” Mr. Geithner said.

The trustees, he said, assumed that the new health care law would produce “very substantial improvements in the rate of growth in health care costs” and fundamental changes in the way health care is delivered.

The new law squeezes nearly a half-trillion dollars from Medicare spending in the next 10 years. The savings are based on an assumption that hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers will become more efficient, increasing their productivity to match productivity gains in the overall economy.

If that does not happen, the trustees said, Medicare will pay many hospitals and doctors less than the cost of the goods and services they purchase, and providers may “eventually become unwilling or unable to treat Medicare beneficiaries.”

The report also assumes that Medicare will cut payment rates for doctors' services by 23 percent on Dec. 1 and by a further 6.5 percent on Jan. 1, as required under existing law.

This assumption is unrealistic, the report said, because “Congress is virtually certain to override” the scheduled cuts, as it has done in recent years.

The report makes clear that Medicare still faces major financial problems. If, as expected, Congress overrides the cuts in doctors' fees, the cost of Part B of Medicare, which covers physician services, will grow about 8 percent a year in the coming decade, and Part D, which covers prescription drugs, will grow 9.4 percent a year — much faster than the economy, the trustees said.

About one-fourth of the people on Medicare, new beneficiaries and those with relatively high incomes, “will be subject to unusually large premium increases next year,” the trustees said. But, they added, the other three-fourths of beneficiaries will not face a premium increase in 2011.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/us/politics/06benefits.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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In 911 Call, Killer of 8 Spoke of Wanting to Kill More

The 911 call lasted just more than four minutes, the rare recorded words of a killer moments after he had slain eight people and was about to end his own life.

“This is Omar Thornton , the shooter in Manchester.”

“Yes, where are you sir?” the veteran Connecticut state trooper on the other end of the emergency call responded.

“I'm in the building,” Mr. Thornton said. “Uh, you probably want to know the reason why I shot this place up. This place here is a racist place.”

Seconds later, he added, “I wish I could have gotten more of the people.”

Throughout much of the call, which lasted 4 minutes 11 seconds, the voice of Mr. Thornton, a 34-year-old beer truck driver, was calm but tinged with exhaustion. He seemed eager to explain his bloody rampage, but unwilling to surrender. Having carried out the state's deadliest attack in recent history on Tuesday at the Hartford Distributors beer warehouse in Manchester, Conn., Mr. Thornton delivered what amounted to a spoken suicide note.

The chilling call, made from somewhere inside the giant warehouse as people lay bleeding and dying and as officers from a half-dozen agencies swarmed the building, provides the first authentic glimpse into Mr. Thornton's thinking, in his own words.

Mr. Thornton talked about his anger at his bosses and co-workers. He assured the trooper on the phone, more than once, that he was finished killing his colleagues, although he also expressed pleasure at his choice of handguns — “two of my favorites.”

He hinted broadly that he would kill himself before the police found where he was hiding — “When they find me, that's when everything will be over.” He parried the trooper's efforts to keep him on the line and finally told him, “Tell my people I love them.”

The recording, first posted Thursday on the Web site of The Hartford Courant, emerged as Mr. Thornton's girlfriend and family members have maintained that racial harassment at the workplace pushed him over the edge, charges that officials with the company and the local Teamsters union that represented him have steadfastly denied.

Mr. Thornton had been called into a disciplinary hearing the morning of the shootings and was offered a choice of resigning or being fired, after officials accused him of stealing beer along his delivery route. Moments later, he opened fire.

Sometime shortly after 8 a.m., the trooper took the call, and in his own calm tone tried to keep Mr. Thornton on the line. He sympathized with his anger, tried to determine how much firepower the arriving SWAT team might face and repeatedly sought to get him to disclose his exact location.

“They treat me bad over here, they treat all the black employees bad over here,” Mr. Thornton continued in the opening seconds of the conversation. “So I had to take it into my own hands and handle the problem.”

“Yeah, are you armed sir?” the trooper said. “Do you have a weapon with you?”

The call came after a flurry of 911 calls by people inside the building, including at least one of the victims, in the minutes after the first shots rang out. The first call came at 7:25 from Steve Hollander, a company executive who, with graze wounds to his jaw and arm, provided an eerie account of the onslaught to the 911 operator as it was continuing. According to the police and 911 tapes, Mr. Thornton appeared to have shot all of his victims, including two who survived, in a matter of minutes.

In the minutes either before or after his call to 911, Mr. Thornton also called his mother, telling her goodbye and, according to relatives who spoke to her, said that he had killed “the five racists” who had been bothering him.

By the time Mr. Thornton called 911, the police and SWAT teams had cordoned off the building and were sweeping it looking for him.

Mr. Thornton told the trooper, William Taylor, that he had two guns, one on him and one somewhere on the warehouse floor.

“I'm not going to kill anybody else, though.”

The trooper told him, “We're going to have to have you surrender yourself, somehow, here, and not make the situation any worse, you know what I mean.”

“These cops are going to kill me,” Mr. Thornton said, betraying the first hint of fear.

“No, they're not,” the trooper assured him. “We're just going to have to get you to relax.”

“I'm relaxed,” Mr. Thornton answered. “I'm calmed down.”

After a few more exchanges, Mr. Thornton — a man with an unremarkable truck driving career and a life's worth of financial trouble — returned to his complaints with the company.

“Treat me bad,” he said. “I'm the only black driver they got here. Treat me bad all the time.”

“It's a horrible situation,” the trooper said. “I understand that.”

Mr. Thornton again told the trooper he was calm and indicated he was aware he was creating what may become a public record of his thinking. He said he just wanted “to tell my story, so you can play it back.”

After a few more exchanges, Mr. Thornton for the first time suggested he planned to kill himself. “Where in the building are you, Omar?” the trooper asked.

“I'm not going to tell you that,” he said, later adding, again, “when they find me, everything will be all right.”

The trooper appeared to change course, seeming to make small talk — asking Mr. Thornton what time he arrived at work that morning — but still trying to glean important details, like how many weapons he had and how much ammunition. Mr. Thornton said he had enough to “take care of business.”

Lt. J. Paul Vance, a public information officer for the Connecticut State Police, said Trooper Taylor was a veteran trained for such situations, but he was not specifically directed to speak to Mr. Thornton as a negotiator.

“That was part of his duties that day; he was in charge of the shift and he just happened to pick up,” Lieutenant Vance said. “He was trying to talk him into surrendering, numerous times.”

At one point, Mr. Thornton appeared as if he would turn himself over to the police.

“Well, I guess, I guess, maybe I'll surrender,” he said. “Nah, they'll have to come and get me. Let them come and get me.”

Near the call's end, Mr. Thornton, who never once throughout the call expressed remorse, seemed to become emotional. He asked the trooper to convey his love to his “people.”

“Got to go now,” he said. After a few more efforts to keep him talking, the line went silent.

“Omar?” the trooper said. “Omar? Omar?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/nyregion/06shooting.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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Xenophobia: Fear-Mongering for American Votes

Leading Republicans have gotten chilly toward the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to people born in the United States. Senators Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Jeff Sessions and Jon Kyl have been suggesting that the country should take a look at it, re-examine it, think it over, hold hearings. They seem worried that maybe we got something wrong nearly 150 years ago, after fighting the Civil War, freeing enslaved Africans and declaring that they and their descendants were not property or partial persons, but free and full Americans.

As statements of core values go, the 14th Amendment is a keeper. It decreed, belatedly, that citizenship is not a question of race, color, beliefs, wealth, political status or bloodline. It cannot fall prey to political whims or debates over who is worthy to be an American. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” it says, “are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

People like Mr. Sessions, who pride themselves on getting the Constitution just right (on, say, guns), are finding this language too confusing. “I'm not sure exactly what the drafters of the amendment had in mind,” said Mr. Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, “but I doubt it was that somebody could fly in from Brazil and have a child and fly back home with that child, and that child is forever an American citizen.”

It's true that air travel was not a big focus in 1868, but this is not about a horde of pregnant jet-setting Brazilians, if, indeed, such a thing even exists. The targets are Mexicans, and the other mostly Spanish-speaking people who are the subjects of a spurious campaign against “anchor babies” — children of illegal immigrants supposedly brought forth to invade and occupy.

Usually alarms about scary foreign infants are made by one-note zealots like Tom Tancredo of Colorado. But it's a bipartisan temptation. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who berated Republicans this week about abandoning their principles over birthright citizenship, did so himself in a 1993 bill for which he later apologized.

Thankfully, the Constitution is sturdy. The birthright-deniers will not easily rewrite it or legislate around it. More than a century of jurisprudence stands against their claim that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” (an exception for diplomats' children and members of sovereign Indian tribes) also alienates undocumented children.

The proponents of changing the 14th Amendment also would have to acknowledge the big-government colossus that new rules would require, burdening all parents to prove their children's status. New battalions of attorneys would gain full employment to fight over thousands of newborns rendered stateless each year, an instant, permanent underclass. Then there's the obsolescence of all those civics texts, old movies, patriotic picture books and red-white-and-blue songs.

The United States has never had a neat, painless way to add newcomers. But our most shameful moments have involved the exclusion of groups, often those that do our hardest labor: Indians, African-Americans, Chinese, Irish, Italians, Catholics, Jews, Poles, Japanese-Americans, Hispanics. America has stood proudest when it dared to stretch the definition of who “we” are.

As a result, this is still the most welcoming country for immigrants. A few politicians chumming for votes in an off-year election cannot be allowed to destroy that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06fri1.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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Xenophobia: Casting Out the Un-French

France has no equivalent to the 14th Amendment, but the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who likes to be known as Sarko the American, also is fanning dangerous anti-immigrant passions for short-term political gain.

Last week, he proposed stripping foreign-born French citizens of their citizenship if they are convicted of threatening the life of a police officer or other serious crimes. Lest any voter miss the point that such a law would be particularly aimed at Muslim immigrants, Mr. Sarkozy's interior minister, in charge of the police force, helpfully added polygamy and female circumcision to the list of offenses that could bring loss of citizenship.

Days earlier, Mr. Sarkozy promised to destroy the camps of the Roma and send them back to where they came from, mainly Romania and Bulgaria. Both countries are members of the European Union. Hundreds of thousands of their residents, in France legally, now risk being swept up and expelled in police raids.

And Mr. Sarkozy proposes denying automatic French citizenship to people born in France if their parents are foreign and they have a record of juvenile delinquency.

All of this in a country that has long proudly upheld the principle that all French citizens — native-born or naturalized — are entitled to equal treatment under the law. That applies to Mr. Sarkozy's Hungarian-born father and Italian-born wife, both naturalized French citizens, and should apply to everyone else.

But immigrant-bashing is popular among nonimmigrant French voters and Mr. Sarkozy has never been shy about doing it. He built his 2007 presidential campaign around his tough record (and inflammatory words) as interior minister. Earlier this year, he ran a divisive campaign to define French national identity because he wanted to fend off the far right anti-immigrant National Front in regional elections. It didn't work.

Now, with his political fortunes at a new low and the National Front resurgent under younger leadership, he has gone further, worrying traditional conservatives who still believe in the rights of man and the equality of all French citizens. They are right to be concerned, and he is recklessly wrong to ignore their cautionary advice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06fri2.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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Inventing Our Way Out of Joblessness

AS President Obama and Congress search for ways to jump-start job creation in our stalled economy, their best strategy may be right under their noses — in the voluminous backlogged files of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

This is the agency, after all, that issues the patents that technology startups and other small businesses need to attract venture capital to pay salaries. Three-fourths of executives at venture capital-backed startups say patents are vital to getting financing, according to the 2008 Berkeley Patent Survey, a national study of patents and entrepreneurship. And startups are responsible for almost all the new jobs created in the United States since 1977, according to a study by the Kauffman Foundation.

Unfortunately, since 1992, Congress has diverted more than $750 million in patent fees to other purposes. That has left the patent office itself underfinanced and burdened with a backlog of 1.2 million applications awaiting examination, more than half of which have not had even a first review.

To revitalize America's engine of entrepreneurship — and create as many as 2.5 million jobs in the next three years — Congress should, first, give the patent office a $1 billion surge to restore it to proper functioning. This would enable the agency to upgrade its outmoded computer systems and hire and train additional examiners to deal with the threefold increase in patent applications over the past 20 years. Congress should also pass pending legislation that would prohibit any more diverting of patent fees and give the office the authority to set its own fees.

Once the patent office is back to operating effectively, the backlog of 1.2 million applications should yield, judging from history, roughly 780,000 issued patents, about 137,000 of which would go to small businesses. Then, going forward, the agency could grant an additional 88,000 patents within three years. By 2013, small businesses would have received some 225,000 patents that they could then use to secure financing to build their businesses and hire more workers.

To be sure, not every patent creates a job or generates economic value. Some, however, are worth thousands of jobs — Jack Kilby's 1959 patent for a semiconductor, for example, or Steve Wozniak's 1979 patent for a personal computer. It's impossible to predict how many new jobs or even new industries may lie buried within the patent office's backlog. But according to our analysis of the data in the Berkeley Patent Survey, each issued patent is associated with 3 to 10 new jobs.

So our guess is that restoring the patent office to full functionality would create, over the next three years, at least 675,000 and as many as 2.25 million jobs. Assuming a mid-range figure of 1.5 million, the price would be roughly $660 per job — and that would be 525 times more cost effective than the 2.5 million jobs created by the government's $787 billion stimulus plan.

To encourage still more entrepreneurship, Congress should also offer small businesses a tax credit of up to $19,000 for every patent they receive, enabling them to recoup half of the average $38,000 in patent office and lawyers' fees spent to obtain a patent. Cost, after all, is the No. 1 deterrent to patent-seeking, the patent survey found.

For the average 30,000 patents issued to small businesses each year, a $19,000 innovation tax credit would mean a loss of about $570 million in tax revenue in a year. But if it led to the issuance of even one additional patent per small business, it would create 90,000 to 300,000 jobs.

Taken together, fully financing the patent office and creating an innovation tax credit could mean as many as 2.5 million new jobs over three years, and add up to 600,000 more jobs every year thereafter.

It only makes sense to help innovative small businesses make their way to the patent office and, once there, find it ready to issue the patents that lead to new jobs.

Paul R. Michel is a former chief judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which handles patent appeals. Henry R. Nothhaft, the chief executive of a technology miniaturization firm, is a co-author of the forthcoming “Great Again.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06nothhaft.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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From the White House

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President Obama on the Confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court: "An Affirmation of Her Character and Her Temperament"

It's been just under three months since most Americans were introduced to Elena Kagan by the President and in a quick video here at WhiteHouse.gov. Today in Chicago, the President was able to mark her confirmation by the Senate as the next Supreme Court Justice:

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  I am very pleased that the Senate has just voted to confirm Elena Kagan as our nation's 112th Supreme Court Justice.  And I want to thank the Senate Judiciary Committee, particularly its Chairman, Senator Leahy, for giving her a full, fair and timely hearing.  

Over the past two months, the committee has scrutinized Elena's record as a scholar, as a law school dean, as a presidential advisor, and as Solicitor General.  And after 17 hours of testimony during which she answered more than 540 questions, I'd say they got a pretty good look at Elena Kagan.  They've gotten a good sense of her formidable intelligence, her rich understanding of our Constitution, her commitment to the rule of law, and her excellent -- and occasionally irreverent -- sense of humor.  And they have come to understand why, throughout her career, she has earned the respect and admiration of folks from across the political spectrum -- an achievement reflected in today's bipartisan vote.  

But today's vote wasn't just an affirmation of Elena's intellect and accomplishments.  It was also an affirmation of her character and her temperament; her open-mindedness and even-handedness; her determination to hear all sides of every story and consider all possible arguments.  Because Elena understands that the law isn't just an abstraction or an intellectual exercise.  She knows that the Supreme Court's decisions shape not just the character of our democracy, but the circumstances of our daily lives -- or, as she once put it, that “behind the law there are stories -- stories of people's lives as shaped by the law, stories of people's lives as might be changed by law.”  

So I am confident that Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.  And I am proud, also, of the history we're making with her appointment.  For nearly two centuries, there wasn't a single woman on our nation's highest court. When Elena takes her seat on that bench, for the first time in our history, there will be three women.  

It is, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently stated, “one of the most exhilarating developments” -- a sign of progress that I relish not just as a father who wants limitless possibilities for my two daughters, but as an American proud that our Supreme Court will be more inclusive, more representative, and more reflective of us as a people than ever before.

Thanks very much, everybody.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/05/president-obama-confirmation-elena-kagan-supreme-court-affirmation-her-character-and

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Saving Money and Giving Seniors Better Care

Today, we got more good news about the Affordable Care Act, the new law that will give seniors better benefits and save Medicare $575 billion over the next ten years. Many savings provisions in the new law kick in immediately, totaling about $8 billion in just the first two years. That's real money, even in Washington, and it's money we're saving by cutting waste, fraud and abuse and making Medicare more efficient -- not by changing seniors' guaranteed Medicare benefits. In fact, we're making benefits for seniors even better. In the coming years, seniors will save an average of $200 per year in premiums and more than $200 in coinsurance, and we'll completely close the Medicare prescription drug gap known as the “donut hole.”

This morning, the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees released a new report that demonstrates how the Affordable Care Act is helping to reduce costs and make Medicare stronger. The report shows that the Affordable Care Act will extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by 12 additional years – the biggest extension ever –  and help preserve Medicare for generations to come. 

But the Affordable Care Act isn't just about saving money for Medicare. It's about providing better services and giving seniors higher quality care.  Many of the provisions on the Affordable Care Act are specifically designed to improve care and lower costs - like providing free preventive care and avoiding hospital readmissions. 

Forty -five years ago, President Johnson signed Medicare into law – making a solemn commitment to provide to our seniors and some of the most vulnerable Americans with health care coverage.  President Obama will always uphold that commitment.  That's why we fought for the Affordable Care Act in first place – to ensure that Medicare is protected for years to come.

Today we also learned that the Affordable Care Act is actually expected to strengthen Social Security and improve its solvency by bringing down health premiums, resulting in higher take-home pay for America's workers. Social Security is a critical bedrock of economic security not just for America's seniors but for people with disabilities and survivors and our Administration is committed to working to keep it that way not just for the current generation but for generations to come.

You can learn more about ways the Affordable Care Act is cutting costs and improving health care for seniors and all Americans at HealthCare.gov. 

Nancy-Ann DeParle is Director of the White House Office of Health Reform

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/05/saving-money-and-giving-seniors-better-care

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From the Department of Justice

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WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced that four separate indictments were unsealed today in the District of Minnesota, the Southern District of Alabama and the Southern District of California charging 14 individuals with terrorism violations for providing money, personnel and services to the foreign terrorist organization al-Shabaab.

In the Southern District of Alabama, prosecutors unsealed a superseding indictment charging Omar Shafik Hammami, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Alabama, with providing material support to al-Shabaab. Separately, prosecutors in the Southern District of California unsealed an indictment charging Jehad Serwan Mostafa, a U.S. citizen and former resident of California, with providing material support to al-Shabaab.

In the District of Minnesota, prosecutors unsealed two indictments. One indictment charges Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan with providing funds to al-Shabaab. These two defendants, who are naturalized U.S. citizens and residents of Minnesota, were arrested today. Separately, prosecutors unsealed a third superseding indictment charging 10 men with terrorism offenses for leaving the United States to join al-Shabaab. Seven of these defendants had been previously charged by either indictment or criminal complaint. The remaining three defendants had not been charged before.

The arrests and charges were announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, as well as David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; B. Todd Jones, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota; Kenyen R. Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama; and Laura E. Duffy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.

“The indictments unsealed today shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and fighters to the al-Shabaab terror organization from cities across the United States,” said Attorney General Holder. “While our investigations are ongoing around the country, these arrests and charges should serve as an unmistakable warning to others considering joining terrorist groups like al-Shabaab – if you choose this route you can expect to find yourself in a U.S. jail cell or a casualty on the battlefield in Somalia.”

“For those who would become terrorists, these cases send a strong message,” said FBI Director Mueller. “They underscore the need for continued vigilance against those who may seek to harm us and our way of life. Our agents and analysts will continue to confront this threat with a strong and coordinated effort as we work to protect all Americans.”

Omar Hammami – Southern District of Alabama

Today in the Southern District of Alabama, prosecutors unsealed a September 2009 superseding indictment against Omar Hammami, 26, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Daphne, Alabama, also known as “Abu Mansour al-Amriki,” or “Farouk.”

The three-count indictment alleges that Hammami provided material support, including himself as personnel, to terrorists; conspired to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, al-Shabaab, and provided material support to al-Shabaab. Hammami faces a potential 15 years in prison for each of the three counts of the indictment. He is not in custody and is currently believed to be in Somalia.

Jehad Mostafa – Southern District of California

In the Southern District of California, prosecutors today unsealed an October 2009 indictment against Jehad Serwan Mostafa, 28, aka “Ahmed,” “Emir Anwar,” “Awar,” a U.S. citizen and former resident of San Diego, California.

The indictment alleges that Mostafa conspired to provide material support, including himself as personnel, to terrorists; conspired to provide material support to al-Shabaab; and provided material support to al-Shabaab. Mostafa faces a potential 15 years in prison for each of the three counts of the indictment. He is not in custody and is currently believed to be in Somalia.

Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan – District of Minnesota

Earlier today, FBI agents arrested Amina Farah Ali, 33, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 63, both naturalized U.S. citizens from Somalia and residents of Rochester, Minn. Each is charged in an indictment unsealed today with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Shabaab from Sept. 17, 2008 through July 19, 2010. Ali is also charged in the indictment with 12 substantive counts of providing material support to al-Shabaab. Hassan is also charged with three counts of making false statements.

The indictment alleges that, as part of the conspiracy, Ali communicated by telephone with people in Somalia who requested financial assistance for al-Shabaab. Ali, Hassan and others allegedly raised money for these individuals by soliciting funds door-to-door in Somali communities in Minneapolis, Rochester and other locations in the United States and Canada. In addition, the defendants allegedly raised money by direct appeal to individuals participating in teleconferences that featured speakers who encouraged donations to support al-Shabaab. Ali also allegedly raised funds under the false pretense that such funds were for the poor and needy.

The indictment alleges that Ali and others transferred funds to al-Shabaab through the hawala money remittance system. Ali and others allegedly used false names to identify the recipients of the funds to conceal that the funds were being provided to al-Shabaab. The indictment lists 12 money transfers allegedly directed to al-Shabaab by Ali.

The indictment alleges several overt acts to carry out the fund-raising conspiracy. For example, on Oct. 26, 2008, Ali allegedly hosted a teleconference in which an unindicted co-conspirator told listeners that it was not the time to help the poor and needy in Somalia; rather the priority was to give to the mujahidin . Ali and Hassan allegedly recorded $2,100 in pledges at the conclusion of the teleconference. On Feb. 10, 2009, Ali allegedly conducted another fundraising teleconference in which she told listeners to “forget about the other charities” and focus on “the jihad.”

On July 14, 2009, the day after the FBI executed a search warrant at her home, Ali allegedly contacted an unindicted co-conspirator and said, “I was questioned by the enemy here . . . . they took all my stuff and are investigating it . . . do not accept calls from anyone.” The indictment further alleges that when Hassan was questioned by agents in an investigation involving international terrorism, she made false statements.

The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances later today in federal court in Minneapolis. If convicted, they face a potential 15 years in prison on the conspiracy count. Ali also faces a potential 15 years in prison on each material support count, and Hassan also faces a potential eight years in prison on each false statement count.

Third Superseding Indictment – District of Minnesota

In addition to the two arrests, prosecutors in the District of Minnesota also unsealed a July 2010 third superseding indictment that charges Abdikadir Ali Abdi, 19, a U.S. citizen; Abdisalan Hussein Ali, 21, a U.S. citizen; Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax, 33, a U.S. citizen; Farah Mohamed Beledi, 26; and Abdiweli Yassin Isse, 26. These defendants are charged with, among other things, conspiring to and providing material support to al-Shabaab and conspiring to kill, maim and injure persons abroad. Faarax and Isse had been charged in a criminal complaint previously.

Five other defendants who had been previously charged by indictment are named in the third superseding indictment. They are Ahmed Ali Omar, 27; Khalid Mohamud Abshir, 27; Zakaria Maruf, 31; Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan, 22; and Mustafa Ali Salat, 20. These defendants are charged with conspiracies to provide material support to terrorists and foreign terrorist organizations; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad; possessing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and solicitation to commit a crime of violence.

The unsealed indictment alleges that the 10 defendants provided financial support and personnel, including themselves as fighters, both to a conspiracy to kill abroad and to the foreign terrorist organization al-Shabaab. Specifically, the indictment alleges that the five newly-added defendants traveled to Somalia in 2008 and 2009. In addition, the charges allege that Faarax solicited Salah Osman Ahmed, Shirwa Ahmed (now deceased) and Kamal Said Hassan to provide support to al-Shabaab, and that Faraax made false statements to the FBI in a matter involving international terrorism. The indictment also alleges that, in October 2009, Beledi committed passport fraud.

An affidavit previously filed in the case alleges that, in the fall of 2007, Faarax and others met at a Minneapolis mosque to telephone co-conspirators in Somalia to discuss the need for Minnesota-based co-conspirators to go to Somalia to fight. The affidavit also alleges that Faarax attended a subsequent meeting in Minneapolis where he encouraged others to fight in Somalia and told them how he had experienced true brotherhood while fighting jihad in Somalia. Faarax was later interviewed three times by authorities and each time denied knowing anyone who had fought in Somalia or encouraging anyone to fight in Somalia.

The affidavit also alleges that Abdiweli Yassin Isse encouraged others to travel to Somalia to fight. At a gathering of co-conspirators, Isse purportedly described his plans to wage “jihad” against Ethiopians in Somalia, and later raised money to purchase airline tickets for others to travel to Somalia for the same purpose. In raising this money, he allegedly misled community members into thinking they were contributing money to send young men to Saudi Arabia to study the Koran. The 10 defendants charged in the third superseding indictment are not in custody and are believed to be overseas.

The charges against all the defendants in Minnesota stem from an ongoing, two-year investigation into the recruitment of persons from the United States to train with or fight for al-Shabaab. To date, a total of 19 persons have been charged in the District of Minnesota in indictments or criminal complaints that have been unsealed. Nine of these Minnesota defendants have been arrested in the United States or overseas, five of whom pleaded guilty. The remaining defendants are at large and believed to be abroad.

* * * *

The case in the Southern District of Alabama is being investigated by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Mobile, Ala., and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello, of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama, and Trial Attorney Sharon Lever of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

The case in the Southern District of California is being investigated by the FBI's San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William P. Cole and Shane P. Harrigan of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, and Trial Attorney Sharon Lever of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

The cases in the District of Minnesota are being investigated by the FBI's Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force, with the assistance of the Dutch KLPD; the Dutch Ministry of Justice; the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs; the State Department, including U.S. Embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Yemen; the Hague in the Netherlands; and the Department of Defense. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys W. Anders Folk and Jeffrey S. Paulsen, of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, and Trial Attorneys William M. Narus and Steven Ward of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/August/10-ag-898.html

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Good morning.

Today, the Department unsealed four separate indictments charging 14 individuals with terrorism violations for providing money, personnel, and services to al-Shabaab – a terrorist group operating in Somalia with ties to al-Qaeda. Two of these individuals have been arrested.

These indictments and arrests – in Minnesota, Alabama, and California – shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and fighters to al-Shabaab from cities across the United States.

An indictment was unsealed in Minnesota charging 10 men with terrorism offenses for leaving the United States to join al-Shabaab as foreign fighters. Seven of these defendants had been previously charged by either indictment or criminal complaint. The remaining three defendants had not been charged before.

In the District of Minnesota alone, a total of 19 defendants have been charged in connection with this investigation. Nine of these defendants have been arrested in the United States or overseas, five of whom pleaded guilty. Ten of the charged defendants are not in custody and are believed to be overseas.

Additionally, two U.S. citizens and former residents of Alabama and California – Omar Shafik Hammami and Jehad Serwan Mostafa have been charged in separate cases with providing material support to al-Shabaab. Both are believed to be in Somalia and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab.

According to public reports, Hammami has appeared in several propaganda videos on behalf of al-Shabaab that have been distributed worldwide and he is believed to be a ranking member of the al-Shabaab organization with operational responsibilities.

Finally, Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan – both naturalized U.S. citizens and residents of Minnesota – were arrested by FBI agents earlier today. They have been charged with providing material support to terrorists, among other offenses.

The indictment alleges that these two women raised money to support al-Shabaab through door-to-door solicitations and teleconferences in Somali communities in Minneapolis, Rochester, and other locations in the United States and Canada. In some cases, these funds were raised under the false pretense that they would be used to aid the poor and the needy.

While our investigations are ongoing around the country, these arrests and charges should serve as an unmistakable warning to others considering joining or supporting terrorist groups like al-Shabaab: if you choose this route you can expect to find yourself in a U.S. jail cell or a casualty on the battlefield in Somalia.

As demonstrated by the charges unsealed today, we are seeing an increasing number of individuals – including U.S. citizens – who have become captivated by extremist ideology and have taken steps to carry out terrorist objectives, either at home or abroad.

It's a disturbing trend that we have been intensely investigating in recent years and will continue to investigate and root out. But we must also work to prevent this type of radicalization from ever taking hold.

Members of the American Muslim community have been – and continue to be – strong partners in fighting this emerging threat. They have regularly denounced terrorist acts and those who carry them out. And they have provided critical assistance to law enforcement in helping to disrupt terrorist plots and combat radicalization.

These individuals have consistently – and correctly – expressed deep concern about the recruitment of their youth by terrorist groups. Many members of the community have taken proactive steps to stop the recruitment of their youth by terrorist groups. Just recently, a group of prominent American Muslims joined together in a video to repudiate the tactics employed by radicalized militants to recruit young Muslims via the Internet.

There needs to be more recognition of these efforts and of the losses suffered in the Muslim community here and around the world. Many of the victims of terror attacks by al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups are innocent Muslims.

I want to applaud the tremendous work of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Minneapolis, San Diego and Mobile, Alabama, for their work on these cases. I also want to thank the Dutch KLPD; the Dutch Ministry of Justice, the Justice Department's own Office of International Affairs, the State Department, including U.S. Embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Yemen; the Hague in the Netherlands; and the Department of Defense for their assistance in the Minneapolis cases, in particular.

These indictments and arrests would not have been possible without the critical contributions from the National Security Division led by Assistant Attorney General David Kris and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices in Minnesota, the Southern District of Alabama and the Southern District of California – all of whom are represented here on stage with me today.

http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-100805.html

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From ICE

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National Sheriffs' Association expresses support for ICE criminal alien enforcement efforts

The National Sheriffs' Association , a leading national organization dedicated to raising the level of professionalism in the law enforcement field, recently adopted a resolution expressing support for two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) programs dedicated to criminal alien enforcement.

In a resolution adopted on June 29 during a meeting in Anaheim, Calif., the NSA membership affirmed their support for ICE's Secure Communities and 287(g) programs. The resolution noted, in part, that the programs serve to"effectively and accurately identify and remove criminal aliens from the U.S." while upholding civil rights and civil liberties.

Read the full resolution.

Read more about Secure Communities and 287(g) , as well as other ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations efforts.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1008/100805washingtondc.htm

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From the FBI

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Sean Joyce, left, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch and Attorney General Eric Holder during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

FIGHTING TERROR 14 Indicted for Supporting al Shabaab 08/05/10 Two Americans are under arrest and 12 other individuals, including five U.S. citizens, have been charged with acts of terrorism that include providing money, personnel, and other material support to the Somali-based terrorist organization al Shabaab. Results of an FBI-led global investigation were announced today at Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, where indictments were unsealed charging individuals in Minnesota, Alabama, and California. Twelve of the 14 under indictment are fugitives believed to be in Somalia. “These indictments and arrests,” said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, “shed further light on a deadly pipeline that has routed funding and fighters to al Shabaab from cities across the United States.” The government designated al Shabaab a terrorist organization in 2008. The group has ties to al Qaeda and has made numerous public statements threatening to harm the United States.

“Terrorist organizations such as al Shabaab continue to radicalize and recruit U.S. citizens and others to train and fight with them and to provide support for their violent activities,” said Sean Joyce, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch. “Today's charges and arrests give us all greater insight into the evolving nature of the terrorist threat we face.”
.

About al Shabaab On Feb. 29, 2008, the U.S. Department of State designated al Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization, describing it as a violent and brutal extremist group based in Somalia with a number of individuals affiliated with al Qaeda. This designation prohibits providing material support or resources to al Shabaab.

The two arrested today—women who were naturalized U.S. citizens and residents of Minnesota—have been charged with raising money to support al Shabaab through door-to-door solicitations and teleconferences in Somali communities in Minnesota and other locations in the U.S. and Canada. In some cases, funds were raised under the false pretense that they would be used to help the poor. The others indicted—mostly young men—were charged with leaving the U.S. to join al Shabaab. The charges resulted from investigations coordinated by the FBI and the Department of Justice and that involved our law enforcement partners around the world. Our Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Minneapolis, Mobile, and San Diego played a particularly significant role, Joyce said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Recruitment by al Shabaab among the Somali-American community is a “disturbing phenomenon that we've been investigating intensely in recent years,” Holder said. He noted that in Minnesota alone, between September 2007 and October 2009, 20 or more young men traveled from Minneapolis to Somalia for al Shabaab training. Many of them ultimately fought for the Muslim extremist group against Ethiopian forces, African Union troops, and the transitional government there. At least one young man from Minneapolis went on to become the first known U.S. citizen suicide bomber. “As demonstrated by the charges unsealed today, we are seeing an increasing number of individuals—including U.S. citizens—who have become captivated by extremist ideology and have taken steps to carry out terrorist objectives, either at home or abroad,” Holder said. “For those who would become terrorists, these cases send a strong message,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller. “They underscore the need for continued vigilance against those who may seek to harm us and our way of life.” He added, “Our agents and analysts will continue to confront this threat with a strong and coordinated effort as we work to protect all Americans.”

.

Recent al Shabaab Cases .
Virginia Man Accused of Providing Material Support to Terrorists (7/21/10)	FBI and Uganda Police Seek Assistance Identifying 7/11 Bombers (7/19/10)	Minnesota Man Sentenced for Obstructing Investigation of Missing Somali Men (7/16/10)	Two N.J. Men Charged with Conspiring to Kill Persons Outside U.S. (6/06/10)	Terror Charges Unsealed in Minnesota Against Eight Defendants (11/23/09)

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http://www.fbi.gov/page2/august10/terrorism_080510.html

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CBP Officer Pleads Guilty to Alien Smuggling and Bribery

BROWNSVILLE, TX—A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer has been convicted of alien smuggling and bribery, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

At a hearing late Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, on the eve of jury selection for trial, Rudy Trace Soliz, III, 44, of Brownsville, pleaded guilty to two counts of an indictment. He admitted that on Sept. 25 2009, while serving as a public official—a Department of Homeland Security CBP officer—he knowingly allowed a 28-year-old female co-conspirator to bring in aliens and merchandise through his vehicle inspection lane at the B&M International Bridge in return for sexual favors with the co-conspirator.

The transporting of illegal aliens conviction carries a maximum punishment of 10 years' imprisonment, while the bribery conviction is punishable by a maximum 15-year-term of imprisonment. Each count of conviction is also punishable with fines of up to $250,000.

Judge Andrew S. Hanen, who accepted the guilty pleas and convicted Soliz of both offenses, has set sentencing for Nov. 8, 2010. Soliz has been permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing. The female co-conspirator previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and is pending sentencing on Aug. 11, 2010.

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by the Brownsville office of the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and Customs and Border Protection Office Of Internal Affairs. Assistant United States Attorney Angel Castro prosecuted the case.

http://sanantonio.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/sa080510a.htm

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From the DEA

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Ecstasy Pills Seized From The Raid Law Enforcement Cleans Pill Lab Seized High Caliber Weapons

15 Linked to Major Ecstasy Ring Indicted Organization believed responsible for distributing hundreds of thousands of MDMA pills every month AUG 05 - (LOS ANGELES) – Culminating a joint Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) investigation that led to the seizure of well over 1.1 million MDMA tablets this year, a federal grand jury has indicted 15 men linked to a San Gabriel Valley-based drug trafficking organization that was allegedly responsible for distributing hundreds of thousands of MDMA pills every month. The indictment accuses the 15 defendants of participating in a conspiracy to distribute huge quantities of 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is the chemical name of a party drug commonly called ecstasy. Ecstasy has recently been linked to the deaths of several teenagers who had ingested the drug at large “raves” at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Los Angeles Sports Arena. “Ecstasy is a serious threat to our communities, particularly to our teens and youth who are often unaware of the significant harm this drug can cause,” said Timothy J. Landrum, DEA Special Agent in Charge. “We have crushed a criminal organization that distributed huge quantities of ecstasy tablets. These arrests serve notice that DEA and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate the illegal trafficking of ecstasy in our communities.” The drug trafficking organization targeted in the indictment was alleged headed by Jimmy Luong, who maintained a “stash house” in the City of Industry that served as the base of operations for the drug ring. During the execution of a search warrant at Luong's stash house in July 2010, authorities found an operation laboratory capable of manufacturing large quantities of MDMA and methamphetamine. At a second stash location at a storage facility in Arcadia, authorities in June seized approximately 510,000 MDMA tablets. A third stash location yielded approximately 200,000 MDMA tablets when Luong and his associates were arrested in July. During the first seven months of 2010, the investigation resulted in the seizure of at least 1,134,000 MDMA tablets (investigators are still counting tablets seized two weeks ago), 33 kilograms of cocaine, well over $500,000 in cash believed to be the proceeds of drug trafficking, and 21 firearms, which include assault rifles and stolen weapons with hollow-point ammunition. With a street price of $15 per pill, authorities have seized at least $17 million worth of ecstasy. Beverly Hills PD Captain Mitch McCann stated, “These arrests and seizures are the culmination of countless hours of effort on the part of the Beverly Hills Police Department Special Enforcement Section and our partners in combating crime.  It is an example of how criminal operations of this level are not an isolated event.  They are far reaching concerns with toxic effects that stretch across social, ethnic, physical, and financial boundaries to harm all people.  An arrest of this magnitude goes a long way in making our society and community a safer place to work and live.” “Ecstasy is a dangerous narcotic that can cause death, as we have seen at a number of local events in recent years,” said United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. “The death of a teenage girl at a rave several weeks ago and the huge number of tablets recently seized from this drug ring clearly demonstrate that ecstasy is a growing problem. We have now dismantled one large-scale ecstasy ring, and other MDMA traffickers should know that we're coming after them next.”

John A Torres, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Los Angeles Field Division commented: “Firearms are tools used by many drug cartels and now ecstasy organizations. In the course of this ecstasy investigation, ATF and our law enforcement partners seized 21 firearms, some of which were similar to those used by law enforcement and the military. ATF will now use our expertise to trace each firearm to a potential source and go after whoever may be illegally purchasing these guns or supplying them to this criminal enterprise.”

The investigation into the Luong drug trafficking organization was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Beverly Hills Police Department, with significant assistance from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT).

The defendants charged in the indictment are:

• Jimmy Luong, 29, of Monterey Park, who is accused of being a large-scale MDMA distributor responsible for selling hundreds of thousands of MDMA pills per month;
• Tony Barerra Jr., 37, of West Covina, who is accused of acting as a supplier to Luong's organization and who possessed approximately 200,000 MDMA tablets when he was arrested in July;
• Toan Hoang, 33, of El Monte, who allegedly served as Luong's second-in-command;
• Lok Lim, 33, of El Monte, who allegedly delivered the 510,000 MDMA tablets that were seized in Arcadia in June;
• Christopher Ammen, 21, of El Monte, who allegedly helped distribute wholesale quantities of MDMA for the Luong organization;
• David Luu, 21, of Monterey Park, who allegedly helped distribute wholesale quantities of MDMA for the Luong organization and collected drug sale proceeds for Luong;
• Joseph Yao, 26, of Temple City, who allegedly rented the Arcadia storage facility where 510,000 MDMA tablets were seized;
• John Underwood, 42, of La Mirada, an alleged drug courier who allegedly helped supply Luong's organization with MDMA, and who possessed approximately 30 kilograms of cocaine and $417,000 in cash when he was arrested in July 2010;
• Jesse Roman, 24, of Los Angeles (90003);
• Michael Duong, 27, of Rosemead;
• David Kong, 22, of Los Angeles, who has agreed to surrender to authorities on August 9;
• Sam Ha, 31, of El Monte;
• Duy Nguyen, 22, of Fountain Valley;
• Long Nguyen, 22, of Santa Ana; and
• Tuan Vu, 24, of Alhambra, who is a fugitive.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2010/la080510.html

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