CNN Says 'White Men' are the Biggest Terror Threat in US

[MDlaxfan76]

Trump doesn’t see it as a threat. Small group. Two foursomes, if. Breathe that gas in, America. Even though terrorists are slaughtering innocents and saying Trump inspires them, bragging from the bully pulpit that the tough guys with guns are on his side.

As the board resistance jokeman TLD once said (only thing I've ever agreed with), "bad people do bad things." Does that nugget of wisdom only count for brown people?

White nationalist are bad people. Just like extremist of all ilk.

I think this is literally true of white nationalists/white supremacists, although just like other perpetrators of evil, individuals within such a movement are capable of redemption. They aren't, however, "good people" until they actually reject such evil ideology.
Most never do.

what if it's merely a thought and no action?

can we call people "bad" for simply having thoughts?

alternatively, are black nationalists then bad people?

what about this one (a verbalized thought): "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel."

Yes, people can be 'bad' for their thoughts. They don't need to have become violent to have hateful bigotry in their hearts.

I can definitely speak to the ideology of white nationalism/white supremacy. Evil. Period. Horrendous legacy.

I don't think 'black nationalism' had the same notions of genetic superiority inherent in the white supremacy movement, but to the extent that hate was fostered, that's 'bad', evil.

On Omar's statement above, there's not necessarily an equivalence between "Israel" and Judaism or Jews. It's more complicated. What she meant though, may well have been anti-semitic, so I'm not letting her off the hook. But I'd give her a chance to redeem herself, and time to do so.

thanks- whether i agree or not- how to regulate?

and so we agree on the second point- if a person of color hates whites- they then are bad people.

that only leaves the question- do degrees matter here. i think no.

omar's statement can be as complicated as you want. israel is doing evil. doesnt matter what creed. it's hateful and that makes her bad, by your logic. full stop nope.

First, yes hating is bad. We need to discourage hating, regardless of by whom.
But anger is not necessarily 'hate', and degree does matter.
Nor should we assume that people are "bad" as in irredeemable. Haters, racist or otherwise, can change.
Unfortunately, it's hard to get that to happen. Requires a true awakening.

"regulate" is another thing. There, yes, "degree" very much does "matter".

We need to be careful about what speech, what beliefs, are 'regulated'. If it's calling for violence, fomenting hate for the purpose of triggering violence, we need to find ways to get that closed down. The white supremacist machine is quite akin to the ISIS propaganda machine. Very dangerous.

On your statement about Omar, I don't follow your logic. Thinking that Netanyahu's gov't's policies towards settlements and Palestinians etc are 'evil' and 'hating' those policies is perfectly legitimate IMO.

Jumping from that to hating Jews and Judaism, claiming that Jews control the world monetarily and against God's law, that Jews are leading a global cabal to encourage "invaders" to "mongrelize" the white race, that "the Jews killed Christ", this is very dangerous rhetoric with an enormous, proven history of great evil by such groups.

Omar needs to get very clear about this stuff, and be very careful about not falling into tropes used by such hate groups. Else she needs to be benched.

[MDlaxfan76]

ok, so you missed the point, again, that it doesn't matter when you and Salty heard of King, the GOP knew for decades?

Oh I didn't miss the point at all. I just found the pedantic tone of your post to be ponderous.

Good word wealth sentence, tech.
I take no issue with either word! I can indeed get on my high horse at times.

But you have repeatedly failed to dispute or even address the actual point made.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

Trump doesn’t see it as a threat. Small group. Two foursomes, if. Breathe that gas in, America. Even though terrorists are slaughtering innocents and saying Trump inspires them, bragging from the bully pulpit that the tough guys with guns are on his side.

As the board resistance jokeman TLD once said (only thing I've ever agreed with), "bad people do bad things." Does that nugget of wisdom only count for brown people?

White nationalist are bad people. Just like extremist of all ilk.

I think this is literally true of white nationalists/white supremacists, although just like other perpetrators of evil, individuals within such a movement are capable of redemption. They aren't, however, "good people" until they actually reject such evil ideology.
Most never do.

what if it's merely a thought and no action?

can we call people "bad" for simply having thoughts?

alternatively, are black nationalists then bad people?

what about this one (a verbalized thought): "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel."

Yes, people can be 'bad' for their thoughts. They don't need to have become violent to have hateful bigotry in their hearts.

I can definitely speak to the ideology of white nationalism/white supremacy. Evil. Period. Horrendous legacy.

I don't think 'black nationalism' had the same notions of genetic superiority inherent in the white supremacy movement, but to the extent that hate was fostered, that's 'bad', evil.

On Omar's statement above, there's not necessarily an equivalence between "Israel" and Judaism or Jews. It's more complicated. What she meant though, may well have been anti-semitic, so I'm not letting her off the hook. But I'd give her a chance to redeem herself, and time to do so.

thanks- whether i agree or not- how to regulate?

and so we agree on the second point- if a person of color hates whites- they then are bad people.

that only leaves the question- do degrees matter here. i think no.

omar's statement can be as complicated as you want. israel is doing evil. doesnt matter what creed. it's hateful and that makes her bad, by your logic. full stop nope.

First, yes hating is bad. We need to discourage hating, regardless of by whom.
But anger is not necessarily 'hate', and degree does matter.
Nor should we assume that people are "bad" as in irredeemable. Haters, racist or otherwise, can change.
Unfortunately, it's hard to get that to happen. Requires a true awakening.

"regulate" is another thing. There, yes, "degree" very much does "matter".

We need to be careful about what speech, what beliefs, are 'regulated'. If it's calling for violence, fomenting hate for the purpose of triggering violence, we need to find ways to get that closed down. The white supremacist machine is quite akin to the ISIS propaganda machine. Very dangerous.

On your statement about Omar, I don't follow your logic. Thinking that Netanyahu's gov't's policies towards settlements and Palestinians etc are 'evil' and 'hating' those policies is perfectly legitimate IMO.

Jumping from that to hating Jews and Judaism, claiming that Jews control the world monetarily and against God's law, that Jews are leading a global cabal to encourage "invaders" to "mongrelize" the white race, that "the Jews killed Christ", this is very dangerous rhetoric with an enormous, proven history of great evil by such groups.

Omar needs to get very clear about this stuff, and be very careful about not falling into tropes used by such hate groups. Else she needs to be benched.

well if degrees matter- meaning there is bad and less-worse, then that implies that some racism doesnt necessarily equal other racism. but are all still racism.

it can't be anger when a minority does it and racism when a white person does it. that's just too convenient.

[dislaxxic]

What the hell is WRONG with these people??

Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh spread wild conspiracy theories about last week’s mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques.

Even though the gunman who killed at least 50 and injured dozens of worshippers wrote a white supremacist, anti-immigrant manifesto, Limbaugh on Friday cited what he called “an ongoing theory” that the killer is actually a leftist trying to “smear his political enemies.”

..

[dislaxxic]

Fewer Than 20 Percent Of Americans Say Trump Opposes White Nationalism

[Typical Lax Dad]

She doesn't even know the name of the diplomat she's insulting.
How knowledgeable is she about the Nicaraguan Cortras (sic) ?
She doesn't rehearse her talking points with the staffer who wrote them either.

Thanks for sharing.
She indeed comes across poorly. In a variety of ways.
So does the guy she's questioning.

Hate the format of these kinds of sessions. She begins with some setting the stage of why not to trust him, given his history, but doesn't let him defend himself, as her time is so short and the questions she actually wants answered come later.

Those are actually legitimate questions, but she creates such a hostile situation that there's no real dialogue possible.

And way, way too short to really get at her legitimate concern (from her perspective). By the time she actually gets to the point, time's up.

What she's basically challenging is: in our process of supporting one faction versus another in South or Central America, or wherever for that matter, whether we are willing to sacrifice human rights values in order to achieve 'democracy' or other government favorable to the United States. Are our interests the people or are they our capitalist interests in their resources. It's an interesting question, and indeed our history to our south is fraught with missteps and massive human rights abuses. Important discussion.

I don't have a problem with this challenge, but the grandstanding nature of the process is not conducive to real exploration.

She's just a puppet, mouthing the words which her handlers prepared for her.
How much do you think she knows about Abram's history or the Contra affair ?
It was a staged video hit piece, but she blew her lines.
She can't even read their names. Being an immigrant is no excuse.
She's a US HS & college grad who has lived in the US for 14 years.
She served in the MN Legislature.
She is stunningly unqualified to be on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
There are some very qualified (D) freshmen members who could have capably filled that seat.

Fortunately your opinion of her qualifications doesn't matter.

Did someone on here excuse her language skills because she's an immigrant? It's actually a fair point, but I agree that it hurts her effectiveness if she fumbles her prepared text. She did much better toward the end when she wasn't speaking from the text.

But you don't have a clue as to whether she knows about or understands the history of US foreign policy and interventions.
IMO, she brings an interesting perspective, quite novel in the Committee's history.
Quite the contrast to the "offended" subject of her questioning.

And she actually appeared to have a solid command of the issue she was going after.
That said, it would have been far more interesting to have had a comprehensive dialogue on the topic...that's why this 5 minute drill process is so problematic.

Your vitriol is very telling.

I read this woman's bio. She is an american success story. I would wager, with a high degree of confidence, that her family is far more serious about education than the average american and as such I would imagine she did well in school. This reminds me of my american classmates making fun of a student from Turkey who butchered the English language as a graduate student. He was the smartest kid in the class.... Billy and Bobby american wondered how he could be so smart with his English being so poor. Those dudes cheated at every turn also.....

[foreverlax]

Seems some have a need to be insulated from those different from them - different religions, different color skin, different parts of the world......any thing different .

So much fear....

[old salt]

She's not butchering the English language. Her inability to read her talking points is evidence of her ignorance of the subject matter.

You all warn of the dangers of Trump's rhetoric & dog whistles, then give this antisemitic bomb thrower a pass. Hypocrites.

[foreverlax]

She's not butchering the English language. Her inability to read her talking points is evidence of her ignorance of the subject matter.

You all warn of the dangers of Trump's rhetoric & dog whistles, then give this antisemitic bomb thrower a pass. Hypocrites.

If that is the standard - inability to read or speak, how do you measure Trump's ignorance of the subject matter that he butchers?

[old salt]

She's not butchering the English language. Her inability to read her talking points is evidence of her ignorance of the subject matter.

You all warn of the dangers of Trump's rhetoric & dog whistles, then give this antisemitic bomb thrower a pass. Hypocrites.

If that is the standard - inability to read or speak, how do you measure Trump's ignorance of the subject matter that he butchers?

That's my point. You continue to hammer Trump, but then give Omar a pass.

[foreverlax]

She's not butchering the English language. Her inability to read her talking points is evidence of her ignorance of the subject matter.

You all warn of the dangers of Trump's rhetoric & dog whistles, then give this antisemitic bomb thrower a pass. Hypocrites.

If that is the standard - inability to read or speak, how do you measure Trump's ignorance of the subject matter that he butchers?

That's my point. You continue to hammer Trump, but then give Omar a pass.

Not me, I haven't given Omar anything.....

[old salt]

Omar represents a unique community that is potentially volatile. Consider her rhetoric & her constituency.

More men and boys from a Somali American community in Minneapolis have joined – or attempted to join – a foreign terrorist organization over the last 12 years than any other jurisdiction in the country.

FBI stats show 45 Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined. And as of 2018, a dozen more had been arrested with the intention of leaving to support ISIS. Both numbers are far higher than those of alleged terrorist wannabes who left or attempted to leave the country from other areas in the country where Muslim refugees have been resettled.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/10/1 ... ict-guilty

...the government's sweeping federal investigation of al-Shabab recruitment in the United States.

The trial did not explain everything, but it did provide insight as to how about 20 young Minnesota men answered the call of a holy war in Somalia.

U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said it was a relief to finally share with the public what the government knew.

"For years — literally years — our community here in the Twin Cities has been curious and waiting for an opportunity to hear about the underlying facts of 'Operation Rhino.' "

Operation Rhino was the FBI nickname for the investigation into the pipeline from Minnesota to the Horn of Africa. Mahamud Omar was found guilty Thursday on all five terror-related counts.

To be clear, Omar was never accused of planning attacks against the U.S. But prosecutor John Docherty stressed that steering men to al-Shabab is a crime against Americans. He said Omar helped move American men who were used as "cannon fodder" to al-Shabab. He said Omar ramped up his efforts after one Minneapolis recruit, a U.S. citizen, blew himself up in a suicide bombing in Somalia.

"What was done here [was] the recruiting of young men, funneling them from here to the Horn of Africa... where some of them lost their lives, and some of them took other people's lives," Docherty said. "We'll be very pleased if today's verdict plays any part in bringing that kind of behavior to a stop, because that's the kind of thing that cannot go on in this community."

The other concern fueling the government's interest in the case is a matter of protecting the homeland, said E.K. Wilson, supervisory special agent for the FBI. Authorities have long been concerned with the idea that men with U.S. passports who train at overseas terrorist camps could return to the country and wage attacks here. Nothing presented at trial indicated the al-Shabab fighters from Minnesota were planning such a thing.

"We still do not have any specific, credible intelligence that that is in the works," Wilson said. "But since the formal alignment of al-Shabab and al-Qaida, and their obvious interest in waging external attacks outside of Somalia, it's our utmost and highest priority to consider that possibility."

Omar faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the first four counts. The fifth count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Federal attorney Jones said for as much as the U.S. values religious freedom and political engagement, there is a limit to those freedoms.

"You cannot cross certain lines, and one of those lines is, you cannot provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization such as al-Shabab," Jones said.

Eighteen people in all have been charged in the U.S. government's operation. Aside from Omar, the rest have pleaded guilty, or are now dead, or are still at large, probably in Somalia. Some of those fugitives were the true recruiters of the conspiracy, acccording to testimony from former al-Shabab recruits from Twin Cities. The cooperating witnesses said those men appealed to their faith and nationalism, and rallied them to fight Ethiopian troops in their homeland.

But authorities say in this kind of conspiracy, there was no real hierarchy and Omar had a special role to play with logistics and finances. At one point Omar admitted to the FBI that he was an al-Shabab "team leader" who helped them secure their plane tickets. Prosecutors also said he provided about $2,000 for guns and other expenses. Evidence presented at trial included wiretapped phone calls, as well as money-transfer records to Somalia.

[tech37]

Omar represents a unique community that is potentially volatile. Consider her rhetoric & her constituency.

More men and boys from a Somali American community in Minneapolis have joined – or attempted to join – a foreign terrorist organization over the last 12 years than any other jurisdiction in the country.

FBI stats show 45 Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined. And as of 2018, a dozen more had been arrested with the intention of leaving to support ISIS. Both numbers are far higher than those of alleged terrorist wannabes who left or attempted to leave the country from other areas in the country where Muslim refugees have been resettled.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/10/1 ... ict-guilty

...the government's sweeping federal investigation of al-Shabab recruitment in the United States.

The trial did not explain everything, but it did provide insight as to how about 20 young Minnesota men answered the call of a holy war in Somalia.

U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said it was a relief to finally share with the public what the government knew.

"For years — literally years — our community here in the Twin Cities has been curious and waiting for an opportunity to hear about the underlying facts of 'Operation Rhino.' "

Operation Rhino was the FBI nickname for the investigation into the pipeline from Minnesota to the Horn of Africa. Mahamud Omar was found guilty Thursday on all five terror-related counts.

To be clear, Omar was never accused of planning attacks against the U.S. But prosecutor John Docherty stressed that steering men to al-Shabab is a crime against Americans. He said Omar helped move American men who were used as "cannon fodder" to al-Shabab. He said Omar ramped up his efforts after one Minneapolis recruit, a U.S. citizen, blew himself up in a suicide bombing in Somalia.

"What was done here [was] the recruiting of young men, funneling them from here to the Horn of Africa... where some of them lost their lives, and some of them took other people's lives," Docherty said. "We'll be very pleased if today's verdict plays any part in bringing that kind of behavior to a stop, because that's the kind of thing that cannot go on in this community."

The other concern fueling the government's interest in the case is a matter of protecting the homeland, said E.K. Wilson, supervisory special agent for the FBI. Authorities have long been concerned with the idea that men with U.S. passports who train at overseas terrorist camps could return to the country and wage attacks here. Nothing presented at trial indicated the al-Shabab fighters from Minnesota were planning such a thing.

"We still do not have any specific, credible intelligence that that is in the works," Wilson said. "But since the formal alignment of al-Shabab and al-Qaida, and their obvious interest in waging external attacks outside of Somalia, it's our utmost and highest priority to consider that possibility."

Omar faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the first four counts. The fifth count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Federal attorney Jones said for as much as the U.S. values religious freedom and political engagement, there is a limit to those freedoms.

"You cannot cross certain lines, and one of those lines is, you cannot provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization such as al-Shabab," Jones said.

Eighteen people in all have been charged in the U.S. government's operation. Aside from Omar, the rest have pleaded guilty, or are now dead, or are still at large, probably in Somalia. Some of those fugitives were the true recruiters of the conspiracy, acccording to testimony from former al-Shabab recruits from Twin Cities. The cooperating witnesses said those men appealed to their faith and nationalism, and rallied them to fight Ethiopian troops in their homeland.

But authorities say in this kind of conspiracy, there was no real hierarchy and Omar had a special role to play with logistics and finances. At one point Omar admitted to the FBI that he was an al-Shabab "team leader" who helped them secure their plane tickets. Prosecutors also said he provided about $2,000 for guns and other expenses. Evidence presented at trial included wiretapped phone calls, as well as money-transfer records to Somalia.

Seems some have a need to be insulated from those different from them - different religions, different color skin, different parts of the world......any thing different .

So much fear....

Nah, no cause for fear right foreverlax?

And hey, are you an apologist and look past/rationalize her anti-Semitic comments?

[MDlaxfan76]

She's not butchering the English language. Her inability to read her talking points is evidence of her ignorance of the subject matter.

You all warn of the dangers of Trump's rhetoric & dog whistles, then give this antisemitic bomb thrower a pass. Hypocrites.

If that is the standard - inability to read or speak, how do you measure Trump's ignorance of the subject matter that he butchers?

That's my point. You continue to hammer Trump, but then give Omar a pass.

And you hammer a rookie congresswoman and give Trump a pass...hypocrite.

You tell us you just don't have time to hammer Trump but sure as heck find time to hammer a Muslim woman, conflating her immigrant heritage with extremism.

Got it.

[MDlaxfan76]

Omar represents a unique community that is potentially volatile. Consider her rhetoric & her constituency.

More men and boys from a Somali American community in Minneapolis have joined – or attempted to join – a foreign terrorist organization over the last 12 years than any other jurisdiction in the country.

FBI stats show 45 Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined. And as of 2018, a dozen more had been arrested with the intention of leaving to support ISIS. Both numbers are far higher than those of alleged terrorist wannabes who left or attempted to leave the country from other areas in the country where Muslim refugees have been resettled.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/10/1 ... ict-guilty

...the government's sweeping federal investigation of al-Shabab recruitment in the United States.

The trial did not explain everything, but it did provide insight as to how about 20 young Minnesota men answered the call of a holy war in Somalia.

U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said it was a relief to finally share with the public what the government knew.

"For years — literally years — our community here in the Twin Cities has been curious and waiting for an opportunity to hear about the underlying facts of 'Operation Rhino.' "

Operation Rhino was the FBI nickname for the investigation into the pipeline from Minnesota to the Horn of Africa. Mahamud Omar was found guilty Thursday on all five terror-related counts.

To be clear, Omar was never accused of planning attacks against the U.S. But prosecutor John Docherty stressed that steering men to al-Shabab is a crime against Americans. He said Omar helped move American men who were used as "cannon fodder" to al-Shabab. He said Omar ramped up his efforts after one Minneapolis recruit, a U.S. citizen, blew himself up in a suicide bombing in Somalia.

"What was done here [was] the recruiting of young men, funneling them from here to the Horn of Africa... where some of them lost their lives, and some of them took other people's lives," Docherty said. "We'll be very pleased if today's verdict plays any part in bringing that kind of behavior to a stop, because that's the kind of thing that cannot go on in this community."

The other concern fueling the government's interest in the case is a matter of protecting the homeland, said E.K. Wilson, supervisory special agent for the FBI. Authorities have long been concerned with the idea that men with U.S. passports who train at overseas terrorist camps could return to the country and wage attacks here. Nothing presented at trial indicated the al-Shabab fighters from Minnesota were planning such a thing.

"We still do not have any specific, credible intelligence that that is in the works," Wilson said. "But since the formal alignment of al-Shabab and al-Qaida, and their obvious interest in waging external attacks outside of Somalia, it's our utmost and highest priority to consider that possibility."

Omar faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the first four counts. The fifth count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Federal attorney Jones said for as much as the U.S. values religious freedom and political engagement, there is a limit to those freedoms.

"You cannot cross certain lines, and one of those lines is, you cannot provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization such as al-Shabab," Jones said.

Eighteen people in all have been charged in the U.S. government's operation. Aside from Omar, the rest have pleaded guilty, or are now dead, or are still at large, probably in Somalia. Some of those fugitives were the true recruiters of the conspiracy, acccording to testimony from former al-Shabab recruits from Twin Cities. The cooperating witnesses said those men appealed to their faith and nationalism, and rallied them to fight Ethiopian troops in their homeland.

But authorities say in this kind of conspiracy, there was no real hierarchy and Omar had a special role to play with logistics and finances. At one point Omar admitted to the FBI that he was an al-Shabab "team leader" who helped them secure their plane tickets. Prosecutors also said he provided about $2,000 for guns and other expenses. Evidence presented at trial included wiretapped phone calls, as well as money-transfer records to Somalia.

Seems some have a need to be insulated from those different from them - different religions, different color skin, different parts of the world......any thing different .

So much fear....

Nah, no cause for fear right foreverlax?

And hey, are you an apologist and look past/rationalize her anti-Semitic comments?

Yikes, I thought that was talking about the Congresswoman.

Then I bothered to open it.

Wow.

Shame on anyone trying to conflate the two "Omar"s.
Salty, shame on you. Tech37, come on bother to read it.

[foreverlax]

Omar represents a unique community that is potentially volatile. Consider her rhetoric & her constituency.

More men and boys from a Somali American community in Minneapolis have joined – or attempted to join – a foreign terrorist organization over the last 12 years than any other jurisdiction in the country.

FBI stats show 45 Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined. And as of 2018, a dozen more had been arrested with the intention of leaving to support ISIS. Both numbers are far higher than those of alleged terrorist wannabes who left or attempted to leave the country from other areas in the country where Muslim refugees have been resettled.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/10/1 ... ict-guilty

...the government's sweeping federal investigation of al-Shabab recruitment in the United States.

The trial did not explain everything, but it did provide insight as to how about 20 young Minnesota men answered the call of a holy war in Somalia.

U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said it was a relief to finally share with the public what the government knew.

"For years — literally years — our community here in the Twin Cities has been curious and waiting for an opportunity to hear about the underlying facts of 'Operation Rhino.' "

Operation Rhino was the FBI nickname for the investigation into the pipeline from Minnesota to the Horn of Africa. Mahamud Omar was found guilty Thursday on all five terror-related counts.

To be clear, Omar was never accused of planning attacks against the U.S. But prosecutor John Docherty stressed that steering men to al-Shabab is a crime against Americans. He said Omar helped move American men who were used as "cannon fodder" to al-Shabab. He said Omar ramped up his efforts after one Minneapolis recruit, a U.S. citizen, blew himself up in a suicide bombing in Somalia.

"What was done here [was] the recruiting of young men, funneling them from here to the Horn of Africa... where some of them lost their lives, and some of them took other people's lives," Docherty said. "We'll be very pleased if today's verdict plays any part in bringing that kind of behavior to a stop, because that's the kind of thing that cannot go on in this community."

The other concern fueling the government's interest in the case is a matter of protecting the homeland, said E.K. Wilson, supervisory special agent for the FBI. Authorities have long been concerned with the idea that men with U.S. passports who train at overseas terrorist camps could return to the country and wage attacks here. Nothing presented at trial indicated the al-Shabab fighters from Minnesota were planning such a thing.

"We still do not have any specific, credible intelligence that that is in the works," Wilson said. "But since the formal alignment of al-Shabab and al-Qaida, and their obvious interest in waging external attacks outside of Somalia, it's our utmost and highest priority to consider that possibility."

Omar faces up to 15 years in prison for each of the first four counts. The fifth count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Federal attorney Jones said for as much as the U.S. values religious freedom and political engagement, there is a limit to those freedoms.

"You cannot cross certain lines, and one of those lines is, you cannot provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization such as al-Shabab," Jones said.

Eighteen people in all have been charged in the U.S. government's operation. Aside from Omar, the rest have pleaded guilty, or are now dead, or are still at large, probably in Somalia. Some of those fugitives were the true recruiters of the conspiracy, acccording to testimony from former al-Shabab recruits from Twin Cities. The cooperating witnesses said those men appealed to their faith and nationalism, and rallied them to fight Ethiopian troops in their homeland.

But authorities say in this kind of conspiracy, there was no real hierarchy and Omar had a special role to play with logistics and finances. At one point Omar admitted to the FBI that he was an al-Shabab "team leader" who helped them secure their plane tickets. Prosecutors also said he provided about $2,000 for guns and other expenses. Evidence presented at trial included wiretapped phone calls, as well as money-transfer records to Somalia.

Seems some have a need to be insulated from those different from them - different religions, different color skin, different parts of the world......any thing different .

So much fear....

Nah, no cause for fear right foreverlax?

And hey, are you an apologist and look past/rationalize her anti-Semitic comments?

Nope. Not me...I only apologize for my own mistakes and NEVER rationalize any anti-Semitic comments.

[MDlaxfan76]

She doesn't even know the name of the diplomat she's insulting.
How knowledgeable is she about the Nicaraguan Cortras (sic) ?
She doesn't rehearse her talking points with the staffer who wrote them either.

Thanks for sharing.
She indeed comes across poorly. In a variety of ways.
So does the guy she's questioning.

Hate the format of these kinds of sessions. She begins with some setting the stage of why not to trust him, given his history, but doesn't let him defend himself, as her time is so short and the questions she actually wants answered come later.

Those are actually legitimate questions, but she creates such a hostile situation that there's no real dialogue possible.

And way, way too short to really get at her legitimate concern (from her perspective). By the time she actually gets to the point, time's up.

What she's basically challenging is: in our process of supporting one faction versus another in South or Central America, or wherever for that matter, whether we are willing to sacrifice human rights values in order to achieve 'democracy' or other government favorable to the United States. Are our interests the people or are they our capitalist interests in their resources. It's an interesting question, and indeed our history to our south is fraught with missteps and massive human rights abuses. Important discussion.

I don't have a problem with this challenge, but the grandstanding nature of the process is not conducive to real exploration.

She's just a puppet, mouthing the words which her handlers prepared for her.
How much do you think she knows about Abram's history or the Contra affair ?
It was a staged video hit piece, but she blew her lines.
She can't even read their names. Being an immigrant is no excuse.
She's a US HS & college grad who has lived in the US for 14 years.
She served in the MN Legislature.
She is stunningly unqualified to be on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
There are some very qualified (D) freshmen members who could have capably filled that seat.

Fortunately your opinion of her qualifications doesn't matter.

Did someone on here excuse her language skills because she's an immigrant? It's actually a fair point, but I agree that it hurts her effectiveness if she fumbles her prepared text. She did much better toward the end when she wasn't speaking from the text.

But you don't have a clue as to whether she knows about or understands the history of US foreign policy and interventions.
IMO, she brings an interesting perspective, quite novel in the Committee's history.
Quite the contrast to the "offended" subject of her questioning.

And she actually appeared to have a solid command of the issue she was going after.
That said, it would have been far more interesting to have had a comprehensive dialogue on the topic...that's why this 5 minute drill process is so problematic.

Your vitriol is very telling.

I read this woman's bio. She is an american success story. I would wager, with a high degree of confidence, that her family is far more serious about education than the average american and as such I would imagine she did well in school. This reminds me of my american classmates making fun of a student from Turkey who butchered the English language as a graduate student. He was the smartest kid in the class.... Billy and Bobby american wondered how he could be so smart with his English being so poor. Those dudes cheated at every turn also.....

So, true.
The rabid xenophobia of some is really ugly. It's also downright stupid.

That said, from what I can tell, she needs to work on making sure what she says doesn't fall into bigoted tropes.

Salty, I found her command of the issue plenty strong.
Maybe you didn't because you don't think the issue is legitimate (?), but her stumbling a bit when reading the prepared part doesn't mean she doesn't know her subject matter. When she spoke to it without prepared notes, she was much more fluid, in full command of her subject.

[old salt]

We'll see going forward. We'll have plenty of opportunity to see if she tones it down, has learned anything, or knows her stuff.

Her defense of her remarks on the House floor, during the debate on the resolution she caused, was not encouraging.

I'll see it I can find it again & edit it in this post.

[MDlaxfan76]

Wow, Trump now inviting Bolsonaro's Brazil to be a member of NATO.

while he butchers his name as if it's an 'a' instead of 'o'.

Maybe this what Omar was getting at in the clip you posted salty:
Ilhan Omar
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@IlhanMN
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Ilhan Omar Retweeted Rep. Ro Khanna
Brazilian President Bolsonaro has:

-Praised torture
-Called refugees "scum of the world"
-Compared same-sex adoption to pedophilia
-Expressed admiration for Brazil’s military dictatorship
-Called for extrajudicial killings

We must call out human rights abuses worldwide.Ilhan Omar added,

[wahoomurf]

MD: Yikes, I thought that was talking about the Congresswoman.

Then I bothered to open it.

Wow.

Shame on anyone trying to conflate the two "Omar"s.
Salty, shame on you. Tech37, come on bother to read it.

What difference would it make it. All OMARs are radical Muslim terrorists.Just as all Liams, Brendans and Patricks are drunks. Every Anthony.Giuseppe and Pietro are mafiosi. And remember all them Jews are plotting to take over the world.

Get ready MD..."the anschluss is nigh". And we ain't talking about Austria.