The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
Stalking the American al Qaeda
by James Dunnigan
June 6, 2005
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
The recent arrest of two Moslem-Americans, as suspected al Qaeda supporters,
brings to light the informant and sting operations being conducted by the FBI
against terrorists. Since September 11, 2001, the FBI has been appealing to the
Moslem-American community for help in finding, and arresting al Qaeda
supporters. The case in question involves martial arts expert Tarik Shah, 42,
and physician Dr. Rafiq Sabir, 50. Shah wanted to train al Qaeda fighters in the
martial arts, and Sabir was willing to provide medical care for al Qaeda
fighters wounded in action. Shah originally came to the attention of the FBI
when he mentioned his pro-terrorist attitude to a paid FBI informant. The FBI
has expanded it’s informant force since 2001, with most of the new ones being
those who might be useful in counter-terror operations. Some are
Moslem-Americans, but most are ex-criminals (or not ex-) who have contacts in
the criminal underground. The FBI knows that terrorists often use criminal
organizations to obtain weapons and other equipment they need for terrorist
operations.
Most of the informants in the Moslem-American community are
unpaid volunteers, who want to protect their community from the embarrassment of
being associated with terrorist activity. The mere presence of these informants
discourages many potential terrorists from becoming active, or even openly
expressing their support for Islamic terrorism. The arrest of Shah and Sabir
spreads more fear among wannabe Islamic terrorists, and that is considered one
beneficial effect of the arrests.
Sabir was born and raised a Roman
Catholic, but converted to Islam while in High School. Shah is the son of a
Black Moslem leader who worked for Black Moslem icon Malcolm X. Both men had,
like many Moslem-Americans, expressed support for Islamic radicalism. That is
not a crime, but when approached by an undercover FBI agent, they responded
enthusiastically to requests for active support of al Qaeda activities. That is
a crime. The FBI has been energetically recruiting Moslem-Americans, both for
their language skills, and their ability to work undercover among
Moslem-Americans.
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