Keepin' 'Em Honest

[Steve Gagne]

Over at WalMart Connect/NetScape Connect/CompuServe/AOL frontend (whatever they're calling themselves this week; decent, reliable $9.94/month dialup internet service) they run News Forums in conjunction with their news headline service. Someone named John Linendoll apparently has the responsibility of starting threads to keep the message boards active; a couple days ago he posted a message from AP accusing NBC and MSNBC (as well as all the networks) of biased reporting.

At the same time, AP made the first reports about the 6 muslim terrorists in New Jersey. But they neglected to say that they were muslim terrorists. Talk about biased reporting.

Well, I called them on it (see below), and wouldn't you know, AP rewrote the story! Someone was paying attention. Hey, we gotta do SOMETHING to keep these guys honest!

#22 of 38 Posted May-08-2007 09:57 AM

To John Linendoll

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Is Network News Too Slanted?

From AP comes concern about whether NBC and MSNBC are crossing a line between news and commentary in the broadcasts of Keith Olbermann. Others suggest he's not going nearly as far as news anchors and reporters on Fox routinely do. Have you watched either or both networks? What do you think of their news?

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Now if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black. AP is concerned about OTHERS' biases? You mean, they were the epitome of objectivity when they published the story below? Where they couldn't bring themselves to identify a group of muslim terrorists as muslim terrorists? SPARE ME!

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6 Charged With Plot to Attack N.J. Base

By GEOFF MULVIHILL

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) - Six nationals of the former Yugoslavia were arrested on charges they plotted to attack the Fort Dix Army base and ``kill as many soldiers as possible,'' federal authorities said Tuesday.

The six were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Camden later Tuesday to face charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. servicemen, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey.

Five of them lived in Cherry Hill, about 10 miles east of Philadelphia and 20 miles southwest of Fort Dix, he said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because documents in the case remain sealed, said the attack was stopped in the planning stages.

The men were arrested while trying to buy automatic weapons in a sale set-up by law enforcement authorities, the official said. Authorities believe the men trained for the attack in the Poconos and allegedly conducted surveillance at other area military institutions, including the Army's Fort Monmouth, the official said.

The official said that the men had lived in the United States for some time and were arrested as part of a joint federal and local investigation.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported on its Web site that the men had agreed to buy AK-47 assault rifles from an arms dealer who was secretly cooperating with the FBI. It cited a law enforcement person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak about the arrests.

FBI spokeswoman Jerri Williams said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and J.P. Weis, special agent in charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, planned a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the arrests.

Fort Dix is used to train soldiers, particularly reservists. It also housed refugees from Kosovo in 1999.

Associated Press Writer Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this story.

05/08/07 08:41 © Copyright The Associated Press.

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#32 of 38 Posted May-09-2007 03:56 AM

To John Linendoll

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Hey, you gotta do something to keep them honest. Regarding my post #22 in this thread, concerning AP's bias, apparently someone was paying attention. The story was rewritten and reposted as below:

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6 Men Charged in Plot to Attack Fort Dix

FORT DIX, N.J. (AP) - Six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers - a scheme the FBI says was foiled when the men asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about jihad.

The defendants, all men in their 20s from the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East, include a pizza deliveryman suspected of using his job to scout out the military base.

Their goal was ``to kill as many American soldiers as possible'' with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and guns, prosecutors said.

``Today we dodged a bullet. In fact, when you look at the type of weapons that this group was trying to purchase, we may have dodged a lot of bullets,'' said FBI agent J.P. Weis.

``We had a group that was forming a platoon to take on an army. They identified their target, they did their reconnaissance. They had maps. And they were in the process of buying weapons. Luckily, we were able to stop that.''

Authorities said there was no direct evidence connecting the men to any international terror organizations such as al-Qaida. But several of them said they were ready to kill and die ``in the name of Allah,'' according to court papers.

Investigators said they infiltrated the group with two informants well over a year ago and bided their time while they secretly recorded the defendants, four of whom lived in Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb about 20 miles from Fort Dix.

``This is what law enforcement is supposed to do in the post-9/11 era - stay one step ahead of those who are attempting to cause harm to innocent American citizens,'' U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said.

Weis saluted the unidentified New Jersey store clerk who noticed the suspicious video as the ``unsung hero'' of the case. ``That's why we're here today - because of the courage and heroism of that individual,'' the FBI agent said.

In addition to plotting the attack on Fort Dix, the defendants spoke of assaulting a Navy installation in Philadelphia during the annual Army-Navy football game and conducted surveillance at other military installations in the region, prosecutors said.

One defendant, Eljvir Duka, was recorded as saying: ``In the end, when it comes to defending your religion, when someone ... attacks your religion, your way of life, then you go jihad.''

The six were arrested Monday night trying to buy AK-47 assault weapons, M-16s and other weapons from an FBI informant, authorities said.

They appeared in federal court Tuesday in Camden and were ordered held without bail for a hearing Friday. Five were charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. military personnel; the sixth was charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigrants in obtaining weapons.

Four of the men were born in the former Yugoslavia, one was born in Jordan and one came from Turkey, authorities said. All had lived in the United States for years. Three were in the United States illegally; two had green cards allowing them to stay in this country permanently; and the sixth is a U.S. citizen.

One defendant, Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, spoke of using rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons to kill at least 100 soldiers, according to court documents.

``My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers,'' he was quoted as saying. ``You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place (up) and retreat completely without any losses.''

``It doesn't matter to me whether I get locked up, arrested or get taken away,'' another defendant, Serdar Tatar, was alleged to have said. ``Or I die, it doesn't matter. I'm doing it in the name of Allah.''

The men trained by playing paintball in the woods in New Jersey and taking target practice at a firing range in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, where they had rented a house, authorities said.

They often watched terror training videos, clips featuring Osama bin Laden, a tape containing the last will and testament of some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, and tapes of armed attacks on U.S. military personnel, erupting in laughter when one plotter noted that a Marine's arm was blown off in an ambush, authorities said.

Asked if those arrested had any links to al-Qaida, White House spokesman Tony Snow said it appears ``there is no direct evidence of a foreign terrorist tie.''

The FBI's Weis said the U.S. is seeing a ``brand-new form of terrorism,'' involving smaller, more loosely defined groups that may not be connected to al-Qaida but are inspired by its ideology.

``These homegrown terrorists can prove to be as dangerous as any known group, if not more so. They operate under the radar,'' Weis said.

In court documents, prosecutors said the suspects came to the attention of authorities in January 2006 when a Mount Laurel, N.J., shopkeeper alerted the FBI to a ``disturbing'' video he had been asked to copy onto a DVD.

The video showed 10 young men ``shooting assault weapons at a firing range ... while calling for jihad and shouting in Arabic 'Allah Akbar' (God is great),'' the complaint said. The 10 included six of those arrested, authorities said.

Within months, the FBI had managed to infiltrate the group with two informants, according to court documents.

One of the suspects, Tatar, worked at his father's pizzeria and made deliveries to the base, using the opportunity to scout out Fort Dix for an attack, authorities said. ``Clearly, one of the guys had an intimate knowledge of the base from having been there delivering pizzas,'' Christie said.

The men also allegedly conducted surveillance at other area military installations, including Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and a Philadelphia Coast Guard station.

Besides Shnewer, Tatar and Duka, the other three men were identified in court papers as Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Agron Abdullahu.

Fort Dix is used to train soldiers, particularly reservists. It also housed refugees from Kosovo in 1999.

The arrests renewed worries among New Jersey's Muslim community. Hundreds of Muslim men from New Jersey were rounded up and detained in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks, but none were connected to that plot.

``If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,'' said Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented scores of detainees after the 2001 attacks. ``But when the government says `Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous.''

``Don't equate actions with religion,'' he said.

Associated Press Writers Matt Apuzzo and Ben Feller in Washington, Geoff Mulvihill in Mount Laurel, Tom Hester Jr. in Trenton and Jeffrey Gold in Newark contributed to this story.

05/09/07 01:38 © Copyright The Associated Press.

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