| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front |
| FBI: NYC Cabbie Sought to Buy Explosives |
| 2003-05-22 |
| The FBI arrested a New York cab driver after he allegedly tried to buy enough explosives "to blow up a mountain," scoped out bridges in Miami and lied to agents about his activities. Sayed Abdul Malike, 43, was ordered held without bail Wednesday at an arraignment in federal court. Malike was arrested Tuesday following an investigation by a terrorism task force. He was charged with making false statements and drug possession, and could face up to six years in prison if convicted. His defense attorney Heidi Cesare declined to comment. That'll hold him so they can start leaning on him. The investigation of Malike, a legal U.S. resident from Afghanistan, began in March when a store owner in Queens reported that the defendant was seeking information on how to make a bomb. Don't they have a chapter on that in the Koran? Later that month, Malike traveled to Miami, where he took a sightseeing trip around the port, according to court documents. A tourist boat captain later reported that the defendant, while shooting video, asked about "the infrastructure of bridges ... and about how close the boat could get to the bridges and cruise ships." An Arab guy asking about stuff like that? No, that won't attract attention. Real bright boy, Sayed is. Malike was later lured into a series of meetings with an undercover agent posing as an illegal explosives supplier. The defendant was "evasive about his plans," the complaint said. But when asked how much explosives he needed, he replied "that he was looking for enough to blow up a mountain," the complaint said. The agent offered Malike a supply of C-4 explosives for $10,000. But the defendant said "he hadn't yet obtained the finances, and that he could not store them in his apartment," the complaint said. Oh-oh. Sounds like a wannabe. Malike also allegedly wanted to buy bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and Valium. Authorities said he was arrested after buying 100 Valium pills for $150. He could say he needed all this because he's a New York cabbie. And he may have a point. During questioning, Malike "repeatedly lied" about his trip to Florida, and denied ever trying to obtain explosives, the complaint said. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #12 CC, if Lieberman were so rigidly orthodox that he, say, refused to take a critical phone call or travel to essential meetings on the Sabbath that would certainly be a problem. But the Torah clearly excuses any breech of orthodoxy if following the rules would negatively impact the health or well-being of oneself or others. So the answer to your question is, I believe, no. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-05-22 12:55:42 |
| #11 Regarding the discussion commenced by OP: What about Joe Lieberman. Does his orthodoxy create an impediment to upholding the Constitution? |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-22 11:55:27 |
| #10 Old Patriot -- I'd say that defending the US constitution would be a challenge for an orthodox Muslim. Islam is much more than a religion: it is also a political blueprint and a legal system. For the truly orthodox, these features are inseparable. There are, however, many forms of heterodox islam. The Alevis of Turkey (who number 10-15 million) take all of the "pillars of the faith" metaphorically. Thus, for example, the have no problem even with drinking wine (my kind of Muslims!). The problem, however, is that orthodoxy is triumphing almost eveywhere in the Muslim world. Javanese Islam used to be very lax (influenced by Hinduism and animism), but that is changing fast. In the Caucasus, the tolerant Sufi tradition is giving way to Wahabbism. Same story everywhere, thanks in part to Saudi funding. My biggest fears are long-term and demographic. But keeping women in subjugation, orthodox Islam insures that birthrates remain very high. In oil-rich Oman, the averge woman has 6.1 children. Everywhere, Muslims out-breed non-Muslims. |
| Posted by: closet neo-con 2003-05-22 11:10:00 |
| #9 There's one thing that's beginning to bother me a lot. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. It also, according to most of what I've read, requires certain things, including religious intolerance. Quite a number of those requirements are directly opposite to rights guaranteed under our Constitution. Is it possible for a Muslim to both be true to his religion and also swear to "support and defend" the Constitution, including its guarantees of free speech, freedom of religion, etc.??? |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-05-22 10:41:30 |
| #8 Islam. The religion of peace. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-22 09:39:45 |
| #7 Z,if American Muslems do not actively,loudly,and publically condemn terrorist,if they do not dig out the rot among thier own people(i.e.snitch the bastards off),wich they don't BTW.Then they support terrorist and should be treated accordinglly. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-05-22 09:29:11 |
| #6 Afghani? Not Arab or Pakistani? That's a little disturbing to me. Wait. Let me guess. He's Pashto, right? Why do the news reports never report this stuff. His ethnicity and religion might be relevant and it might not. Most likely yes. The public needs to know these guys' backgrounds and their profiles. Is he representative of the average Muslim opinion or is he one of those crazy Pashtuns, a guy from Mullah Omar's hometown. Did he study at some Saudi Madrassah in some Afghan refugee camp in Peshwar? A former Mujahedeen? |
| Posted by: Tokyo Taro 2003-05-22 09:25:11 |
| #5 Zhang Fei I've noticed your analyses and generally agree with them. Do you have a blog or homepage? You can email me. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2003-05-22 09:22:17 |
| #4 Fei--I'm not saying that all Muslims are suspect. As far as the WoT is concerned, however, so far all suspects have been Muslims. P may not imply Q, but Q implies P. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-05-22 09:05:08 |
| #3 I would tend to suspect that the undercover agent and the store owner also had Muslim names. I believe there are a significant number of Muslims in America who are on our side. Not all Muslims are the enemy, although a significant number may be, at least verbally. (Of course, the number of rappers talking trash about killing cops outnumbers the actual cops killed by orders of magnitude). The problem we have is in trying to sort out the patriots from the traitors. But we must make this distinction if we are to fight Islamic terrorism in this country. The alternative, which remains a last resort in the event of catastrophic nuclear attacks on American cities, is the mass detention and deportation of Muslims in the country and the closure of mosques. Although it remains an option in dire circumstances, I hope it doesn't come to that. Existential threats require drastic responses. But I would argue that we're not yet at that point. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-05-22 08:53:26 |
| #2 The drugs are the key, I think. Another wacko, though even the wackos all seem to be Islamic lately. Including the Case-Western shooter. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-22 08:42:22 |
| #1 Why did I just know, after reading the title, that this cabbie would have a Muslim name? God forbid, I'm guilty of profiling! |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-05-22 08:12:19 |