Thursday, June 22, 2006

The Religion Of Peace Goes Peacefully

Seven people have been arrested for plotting a terror attack against the Sears Tower. It at first sounds frightening, but in fact the plan could barely be called a plan:

Federal agents in Miami, in an effort to crack down on an alleged terrorist ring, arrested seven men Thursday who had "aspirations" but "no means" to attack the Sears Tower in Chicago, a senior federal law enforcement source said.

The men had been plotting for an undetermined amount of time but their scheme was thwarted well before there was any threat that could be carried out.

The Tribune article leaves out some additional details. According to Forbes, the men had created their own little muslim mini-cult:
Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Mulims and had tried to recruit young people to join their group, which seemed militaristic.

[...]

The men slept in the warehouse, said Tashawn Rose, 29. "They would come out late at night and exercise. It seemed like a military boot camp that they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard."

She talked to one of the men about a month ago: "They seemed brainwashed. They said they had given their lives to Allah."

Rose said the men tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class.

"It was weird," she said.

Yes, Tashawn, yes it was.

CNN has a story up with some video about the raids. They also report that the men had taken an "al-Qaeda oath" and conducted surveillance on the Sears Tower.

UPDATE: See this later post as well.

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