No Attack in the US Since 9-11?

By Madeleine Gruen & Frank Hyland

This is the fourth article in the series by Madeleine Gruen and Frank Hyland on the threat of terrorism in the United States. In this article we lay out the history of plots and attacks that have taken place in the US since 9-11 in order to respond to the widespread misconception that there have been no terrorist attacks on US soil since that date.

Readers have heard the question “why have there been no terrorist attacks in the US since 9-11-2001” bandied between counter-terrorism professionals on countless occasions. These debates are premised on the false presumption that there have not been any attacks. In fact, there have been a number of attacks and there have been additional plots that did not come to fruition, due to excellent counter-terrorism efforts in some cases and due to the sheer incompetence of the conspirators in other cases. The latter condition does not disparage an incredibly hard-working, bright and dedicated CT Community. However, just as British authorities have learned in the years since 9/11, effort and competence levels evolve and it is important to recognize the patterns before conditions ripen to a point where actors are able to carry out a plot successfully, as was the case on July 7, 2005.

The Al-Qa’ida leadership has told us repeatedly that it intends to attack the United States again. As observers have learned, Al-Qa’ida has a good track record of following through with their threats. Recent history has also shown that when their efforts fail initially they have continued trying until they achieved a “successful” attack. Although somewhat more veiled, and what we might call less “successful,” racist separatist groups have also made near-constant threats. Some have followed through. In this article, we reference plots and attacks that are directly tied to the aforementioned groups, and we also present to you attacks and plots executed by individuals who were inspired by the ideology of recognized terrorist groups.

We acknowledge that one aspect or another of every example we provide to you here may be debated. You may say, “the actor’s motivations may be unclear and therefore difficult to label as terrorism,” or the situation was “all talk.” We are, however, including the following examples because we believe that they are indicative of a pattern and of the aspirations inspired by a particular brand of ideology.

By now, almost everyone has suffered through the additional security procedures at US airports. Every time you are forced to remove your shoes you can thank Richard Colvin Reid (AKA Abdul Rahim) of the UK. Reid was a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 63 - Paris to Miami - on 22 December 2001, just weeks after 9-11, when he attempted several times to ignite a fuse leading to his shoes, the linings of which had been filled with a combination of explosives. If Reid, who was operating on direct orders from Al- Qa’ida, had been able to light the fuse the explosion could very well have opened a gaping hole in the aircraft and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of passengers. You should be aware that the explosive charge that brought down PanAm 103 was the size of a bath-sized bar of soap, but was placed so that it destroyed the hydraulics in the aircraft.

The saga of the so-called Lackawanna 6 actually began months before 9-11. That spring, the six young men of Yemeni heritage - all US-born citizens -- traveled to Afghanistan for training in the infamous al-Farouq Camp, the alma mater for hundreds of Jihadis in training. Yemeni, it is worth noting, is the actual heritage of Usama Bin-Laden, not Saudi as many have come to believe (that is his former nationality as opposed to his heritage). The six men -- Mukhtar Al-Bakri, Sahim Alwan, Faysal Galab, Shafal Mosed, Yaseinn Taher, and Yahya Goba - took different paths after “graduating” from the Al-Farouq Camp. Alarm bells sounded loudly in the CT Community when, in the late summer of 2002, al-Bakri was noted to have used the terms “Wedding” and “Big Meal” when communicating with associates, the use of both of which has preceded and signalled terrorist attacks in the past. While al-Bakri was arrested in Bahrain, other members were taken into custody in the Lackawanna suburb of Buffalo, New York. From al-Bakri’s house, investigators recovered a rifle, and a telescopic sight, along with a cassette tape in which the voice on the tape "implores Allah to give Jews and their enablers (likely the US) a black day." All six were tried, convicted and sentenced to a range of terms in prison, from eight and a half to ten years. Other members of the cell were Ahmed Hijazi and Jaber Elbaneh. Elbanah finally turned himself in to Yemeni Authorities last year, on condition that his sentence would not be extended. Hijazi was incinerated in a car with five others by a Hellfire missile in Yemen in November, 2002.

To the south, in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, a cancer researcher and Islamic scholar named Ali Al-Tamimi convinced several of his young devotees to seek training at Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps in Pakistan in order to engage in violent Jihad against American troops. As we wrote in the third article in this series, the al-Tamimi case is more popularly referred to as the “The Paintball Case” because several of the defendants played paintball in Virginia for training purposes between 2001 and 2004, prior to the trips to Pakistan. At least one of the defendants, Masoud Khan, remained committed to engaging in violence in the name of Islam, and his proposed target of attack possibly shifted from US troops stationed abroad to targets in the US. In May 2003, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Khan was found in possession of an AK-47-style rifle, a terrorism manual that contained instructions on how to manufacture explosives and how to use chemicals as weapons. He was also in possession of a statement from Usama bin Laden, which read, in part:

Brooklyn-born Jose Padilla (AKA Abdullah al-Muhajir - “The Traveller”) was arrested in Chicago in May, 2002, upon his return from his travels to Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. His ties to Al-Qa’ida were confirmed and he was initially held as a material witness for the case stemming from 9-11, but was later detained as an enemy combatant. It was suspected at the time that Padilla planned to detonate a so-called “dirty bomb” (conventional explosives combined with some sort of radioactive material) in the US. Following a series of legal actions and appeals, Padilla was found guilty of charges of conspiracy to commit murder and of funding and supporting terrorism abroad, and is serving a seventeen-year sentence in federal prison.

July 4, 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian national who lived in Los Angeles, opened fire on the El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport, killing two and wounding four others. Hadayet was shot dead by one of the airport security personnel. Although investigators did not find a link between Hadayet and a terrorist group they did find that he had a history of strong anti-Israeli sentiments, and that his objective in the shooting was to influence foreign policy and to die as a martyr.

Ten people in the Metropolitan Washington, DC, area were killed and three others were critically injured in the fall of 2002 when two individuals carried out a series of sniper attacks. The two, John Allen Muhammad and his teenaged protégé, Lee Boyd Malvo, were captured and convicted of those murders as well as their preceding, “rehearsal” killings in Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. John Muhammad, named John Allen until he joined the Nation of Islam, found Lee Malvo in a homeless shelter and informally adopted him, subsequently training Malvo to shoot sniper style.

William Krar and his common-law wife were caught stockpiling explosives and chemicals, including two pounds pure sodium cyanide, in April 2003. The exact target of the attack was never publicly disclosed, but Krar’s sympathy for the white supremacist movement was reported in the media. Numerous crimes committed by white supremacist sympathizers are underreported, or go entirely unreported.

Iyman Faris, a naturalized US citizen who arrived in the US from his native Kashmir in 1994, was convicted in 2003 of conspiracy and of providing material support to Al-Qa’ida. Circa 2000-2001, Faris traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan, reportedly meeting personally with Usama Bin Laden and performing logistical tasks for Al-Qa’ida. Faris admitted having researched drawings of the Brooklyn Bridge on the internet and to having inquired as to the source of “welding” torches, in support of a plot to bring down the bridge. After conducting surveillance, Faris reported back to his Al-Qa’ida handlers that the “weather was too hot” to carry out the plot successfully, meaning he felt that there was far too much security presence in New York City. Faris is serving a 20-year sentence imposed by a federal court.

Another chapter in Al-Qa’ida’s efforts was closed in 2004 with the arrest of Dhiren Barot (AKA Abu Issa al-Hindi). Following a sojourn to Pakistan in 1995, Barot joined in the guerrilla campaign against Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region. He wrote a book on the military experience entitled The Army of Medinah in Kashmir. A few years later, al-Hindi authored a 39-page memo suggesting the use of “simple” explosives made from materials available at local pharmacies and hardware stores. The memo apparently was of use to Al-Qa’ida at-large, having been found on a laptop computer in Pakistan in 2004. All of this is by way of establishing al-Hindi’s credentials because, of greater interest to you is the fact that in the Year 2000, al-Hindi and at least one other associate were in the New York/New Jersey area surveilling financial facilities (The Prudential building; The International Monetary Fund (IMF); The World Bank; The New York Stock Exchange; Citigroup). His intent, he admitted, was to attack the facilities using limousines packed with explosives and radioactive "dirty" bombs.

Also in New York City, Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay were arrested in August, 2004, for conspiring to detonate a device in New York’s Herald Square subway station. Elshafay, who had entered a guilty plea and testified against Siraj, was sentenced to five years. Siraj received a 30-year sentence.

Four members of a group reportedly called Jamiyyat Ul-Islam (Islamic Group) were arrested in California in August of 2005. Kevin James, Levar Washington, Gregory Patterson, and Hammad Samana were charged with conspiring to attack Los Angeles National Guard facilities, synagogues and other locations in the Orange County, California, area. James, the alleged leader, and the others reportedly planned to get the funds for their attacks through yet other attacks - on gas stations. The four were convicted in December, 2007.

The 2006 convictions of Father/Son - Umer and Hamid Hayat - in California brought to an end an investigation begun earlier. Hamid Hayat, then 22 years old, of Lodi, California, was arrested in 2005 on a series of charges related to his attendance of an Al-Qa’ida training camp and his intention to wage violent Jihad in the United States. Hamid was sentenced on 9-10-2007 to 24 years in prison. Hamid’s father, Umer, later pled guilty to lying to investigators about the amount of money he was taking with him to Pakistan in 2003.

Michael C. Reynolds was arrested in December 2005 and sentenced in November 2007 to 30 years in prison for intending to conspire with Al-Qa’ida to blow up US-based oil refineries in exchange for $40,000. Reynolds, who was discovered in an online Jihadi chat forum attempting to broker a deal with members of Al-Qa’ida, claimed to be merely trying to uncover and entrap others who might carry out such an attack. Although Reynolds’ true ideological intention was unclear and his mental status questionable, his case is not unique. (See Singleton DOJ release). There have been other Americans who support violent Jihad and who attempt to participate via the internet. This may appear to be a relatively harmless pursuit, but if the right connections are made, an individual who is already indoctrinated -- and perhaps mentally unstable -- could be guided to assist in or to execute a lethal attack.

Ultimately, five individuals were arrested and indicted in 2006-2007, in Ohio and Illinois, for conspiracy to seek recruits willing to commit terrorist acts abroad (Iraq), searching for sites to train others in combat skills - including the use of explosives - agreeing to raise funds and to obtain information on IEDs. Khaleel Ahmed, his cousin Zubair Ahmed, Zand Mazloum, Marwan El-Hindi, and Mohammad Amawi pled not guilty at the time. The investigation into this plot was carried out with the assistance of an informant who was asked to train the group.

On 3 March 2006, after intentionally striking nine students with his rented Jeep at an estimated speed of 40-45 miles per hour at the University of North Carolina, Mohammed Taheri-azar - an Iranian born US citizen -- dialed 9-1-1 and turned himself in to authorities. Taheri-azar stated he wanted to “follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9-11 hijackers.” While some wondered if Taheri-azar’s attack was terrorism-related, he is reported to have told investigators that he wanted to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world." Taheri-azar pled guilty to nine counts of attempted first-degree murder on August 13, 2008.

Two men from the Atlanta, Georgia, area - Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Ahmed, were accused in April, 2006, of having conspired with members of the “Toronto 17” to receive training with the intention in mind of waging an attack, and of gathering video-surveillance of potential targets in the Washington, DC, area. The two were indicted for surveilling locations such as the US Capitol building and the headquarters of The World Bank. Both pled not guilty.

Seven members of the group “Seas of David” were arrested in June, 2006, charged with conspiracy to attack the Sears Tower in Chicago. The group’s leader, Narseal Batiste, as well as Patrick Abraham, Stanley Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lygnelson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augustin pled not guilty. While authorities acknowledged that the group did not possess weapons at the time, allegations against the seven included attempting to contact Al-Qa’ida, stating that Batiste was organizing an Islamic Army to wage Jihad inside the US, requesting uniforms for the group as well as automatic weapons, radios, vehicles, and bullet-proof vests.

A plot to bomb New York City tunnels carrying train traffic was uncovered in 2006 during FBI surveillance of internet chat rooms. A total of eight suspects were charged, including, ominously, Assem Hammoud, an Al-Qa’ida affiliate located in Lebanon. Hammoud, who admitted to complicity in the plot, was taken into custody in Lebanon. The plot involved the use of backpack-borne explosive devices similar to those used in the 7 and 21 July, 2005 London attacks.

Naveed Afzal Haq, an American of Pakistani descent, went on a rampage at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle on 28 July, 2006, after forcing his entry by holding a gun to the head of a 13-year-old girl. Haq then opened fire with two semiautomatic pistols, killing Pamela Waechter and wounding five more women in the Federation’s office spaces. Haq told police hostage negotiators, “I’m upset at your foreign policy. These are Jews and I am tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East.” Jurors in the case were unable to reach a verdict in June of 2008. A retrial will occur, probably in March of 2009.

The Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, was the scene of an attack on 12 February, 2007, when Sulejman Talovic killed five people and wounded five others. Although the shooter was killed and no motive was established, Talovic, a high school dropout who reportedly was rarely seen by his neighbors, may have been influenced by the previous Serbian executions of Bosnian Muslims, including possibly his own relatives. One source reported that the phrase “Allahu Akbar” could be heard twice on the raw footage of the attack provided by a TV station.

A group comprising immigrants from the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, and a US citizen was charged last year with conspiracy to attack and kill soldiers on Fort Dix in New Jersey; other nearby military facilities had also apparently been scouted. Five of the six arrested in May, 2007, were alleged to have gone on training expeditions near Gouldsboro in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains; the remaining group member was charged with helping to obtain weapons. The plot came to light when a store clerk became suspicious because the materials the group had asked him to put onto a DVD included footage of them firing weapons and calling for “Jihad.”

Four conspirators, who were motivated by their desire to retaliate against the US for its support of Israel, planned to blow up fuel tanks and a pipeline carrying jet fuel at New York’s JFK Airport in 2007. The fuel storage tanks and the pipeline are located in some of the most densely populated areas in the US. The conspirators were natives of Trinidad and Guyana.

Undoubtedly, you will read of additional plots that were discovered and interrupted or stopped. Unfortunately, you will also see media coverage of attacks that have taken place, despite the best efforts of those who watch out for you. Most, though, will be on the scale of the lone actor who goes on a rampage at an airport or a shopping mall, or who plants an IED somewhere. We have already seen several examples like this, including Naveed Haq in Seattle and Mohammed Taheri-azar in North Carolina. While those kinds of attacks are not on the scale of 9-11, that will be scant comfort to the families of those wounded and killed.

You have just finished reading a list of plots and incidents. Whether that number was less than, equal to, or more than the number you would have estimated, perhaps you are able to think of other examples that were not included here. We hope that this presentation has caused you to reevaluate the notion that we have not been attacked since 9-11, and to consider our cause for concern that another terrorist attack on the homeland is highly likely. We will now turn our eyes (and your eyes, we hope) forward by giving you a more detailed look at the threat from each of the types of groups.

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