Thursday, July 28, 2011

Islamic terrorism and child porn

An AWOL Muslim American Army private arrested near Fort Hood has told investigators that he wanted to attack fellow soldiers at the military base. "Military personnel were a target of this suspect," Chief Dennis Baldwin said about Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, who is expected to face federal charges. FBI agents discovered potential bomb-making materials in Abdo's hotel room. Abdo, 21, had refused to deploy to Afghanistan and later went AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, after being charged with possession of child pornography. Fort Hood is the Texas military base where a 2009 shooting spree left 13 people dead. Another Muslim American soldier, Maj. Nidal Hasan, has been charged in those killings. After Abdo's arrest, police searched his hotel room and backpack and found six pounds of smokeless powder, Christmas lights and battery-operated clocks - which were intended to create a timing and triggering device - sugar, shrapnel, a pressure cooker, and shotgun shells that were being dismantled for raw explosives, a Defense Department official said. The materials were enough to make two bombs. In the soldier's backpack, police also found Islamic extremist literature, a .40-caliber pistol and components that could be used in a bomb, a law enforcement official said. Abdo, who joined the infantry in 2009, refused to deploy to Afghanistan on religious grounds. The Army approved his request to be discharged as a conscientious objector, but in May 2011, he was charged with possession of child pornography on his computer. After a June 2011 hearing, at which Abdo was recommended for court-martial, he went AWOL.

No comments: