[Wet Chicken]

This was just announced, more to come...

Man Charged With Plot to Assassinate Bush
Tuesday, February 22, 2005

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former high school valedictorian in Virginia was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and conspiracy to support the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court. He claimed that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.

The indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified coconspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush.

link

[guitarman1]

There's always another day!

[Wet Chicken]

Yep, but what would it prove? It would only make Cheney president... and guess what... Cheney is pretty much running the show anyway Other than not having to hear bushes whiny voice every night on the news, I don't see what it would change

[Driver 8]

I hope to God that no one tries to kill the President. If that happened, Republicans would get the sympathy vote and milk it for all its worth, passing all sorts of ridiculous laws.

Just my theory.

(Also, as much as I dislike the guy's politics, I do not actually wish him bodily harm.)

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by guitarman1

There's always another day!

What a completely idiotic response.

[poochee]

I am not a Bush fan, but I don't hate him and I certainly don't want him assassinated!! Think about it!!

[Fidelista]

I hate GWB, but to cheer a political assassination is not what you will hear from me. I think there is some humor going on here!
Choke on a pretzel ....maybe >f

[Mulderator]

I thought this was going to be a thread about linskyjack!

[Wet Chicken]

Originally Posted by Fidelista

Choke on a pretzel ....maybe

Should we count his choking on a pretzel as a suicide attempt?

[Wet Chicken]

Update:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — An American citizen was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with supporting Al Qaeda If convicted of all the charges, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison.

Abu Ali, a former Virginia high school valedictorian, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court. He contended that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.

"It's all lies," his father said of the charges, and his lawyer said he would plead innocent. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria on Feb. 3 was unsealed Tuesday. There are 10 alleged co-conspirators in the indictment.

Abu Ali faces six counts: conspiracy to provide material support and resources to Al Qaeda; providing material support to Al Qaeda; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; providing material support to terrorists; contribution of services to Al Qaeda; and receipt of funds and services from Al Qaeda.

The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said: one in which Abu Ali "would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street" and, alternatively, "an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb."

Abu Ali's court-appointed attorney, Edwards MacMahon, said his client intends to plead not guilty to all charges. "I would ask everyone to remember that he fought and his family fought very hard for him to come back here and for him to have a chance to have a fair trial and he expects to have a fair trial and to be vindicated," said MacMahon, who also is representing the so-called "20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11 attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui.

U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty of the Eastern District of Virginia, whose office also investigated and prosecuted the Abu Ali case with the assistance of the Counterterrorism Section of Criminal Division at the Department of Justice, said in a statement: "After the devastating terrorist attack and murders of September 11, the defendant turned his back on America and joined the cause of Al Qaeda. He now stands charged with some of the most serious offenses our nation can bring against supporters of terrorism."

Abu Ali was born in Houston and later moved to Falls Church, Va., where he was valedictorian of his high school class. He allegedly went on to pursue religious studies in Saudi Arabia in 2000 and federal prosecutors say Abu Ali joined an Al Qaeda cell in Saudi Arabia in 2001. The alleged Bush plot occurred while he was studying in that country, the indictment says.

Sometime around September 2002, Abu Ali allegedly returned to Saudi Arabia and told an unnamed co-conspirator that he was interested in joining Al Qaeda. The indictment alleges that Abu Ali intended to become a planner of terrorist operations like Muhammad Atta and Khalid Sheik Muhammad.

Abu Ali allegedly decided at one point to go to Afghanistan to take part in a violent jihad against American military personnel there. He applied for a visa to travel to Iran as a means to enter Afghanistan but his application was denied, according to the indictment.

Abu Ali also received money from another co-conspirator and Al Qaeda member to buy a laptop computer, a cell phone and books, the indictment says. Abu Ali is said to have purchased all the equipment.

At some point, this alleged Al Qaeda member who gave him the money discussed with Abu Ali establishing an Al Qaeda cell in the United States. Abu Ali received training in weapons, explosives and document forgery from Al Qaeda members, the indictment says.

According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president. One of the unidentified co-conspirators in the plot is among 19 people the Saudi government said in 2003 was seeking to launch terror attacks in that country, according to the indictment.

Abu Ali's family contends that U.S. officials were behind his detention by Saudi authorities and wanted him held in that country so he could be tortured for information. A lawsuit brought on their behalf in U.S. District Court in Washington seeks to compel the government to disclose what it knows about Abu Ali and his detention.

MacMahon told FOX News that everyone who was in the court's holding area saw the "scars" on Abu Ali's back, adding, "there is no question that he was whipped while in Saudi custody."

Abu Ali's appearance in federal court here was a surprise because the government never publicly disclosed that he had left Saudi Arabia.

More than 100 supporters of Abu Ali crowded the courtroom Tuesday and laughed when the charge was read aloud alleging that he conspired to assassinate Bush. When Abu Ali asked to speak, U.S. Magistrate Liam O'Grady suggested he consult with his attorney, Ashraf Nubani.

"He was tortured," Nubani told the court. "He has the evidence on his back. He was whipped. He was handcuffed for days at a time."

When Nubani offered to show the judge his back, O'Grady said that Abu Ali might be able to enter that as evidence on Thursday at a detention hearing.

"I can assure you you will not suffer any torture or humiliation while in the [U.S.] marshals' custody," O'Grady said. Before Tuesday's court appearance, more than 600 family members, friends and acquaintences of Abu Ali signed an online petition, which sent to the State Department, saying his detention in Saudi Arabia was unjust and demanding his release.

"It has been more than six months since his detention with NO charges having been filed against him," the petition states. "His right to meet with his family and seek legal counsel has been denied. Additionally, we urge the U.S. State Department to do all that it can to bring Ahmed home immediately."

[Dreambringer]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

What a completely idiotic response.

Ditto

[linskyjack]

[quote=Mulder]I thought this was going to be a thread about linskyjack!

Unlike president Bush, I have no desire to see anyone die other then confirmed Al Queda terrorists.

[angelize56]

Another Muslim bringing negativity down on his own people....I wonder if this story would be reported differently were the man NOT Muslim?

[angelize56]

UPDATE

U.S. says American citizen a 'grave danger'
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali charged after Saudi Arabia detention
Thursday, February 24, 2005 Posted: 1:20 PM EST (1820 GMT)

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- An American citizen handed over by Saudi Arabia should remain in custody because "he presents an exceptionally grave danger to the community and a serious flight risk," the lead prosecutor said in court papers filed Wednesday.

U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty filed his motion ahead of a detention hearing for 23-year-old Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, an alleged al Qaeda member. Abu Ali was detained for 20 months in Saudi Arabia before being transferred to U.S. custody this week.

Abu Ali is charged with providing material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization -- al Qaeda. Prosecutors also allege he discussed the possibility of assassinating President Bush.

Abu Ali is said to be a flight risk because of his extensive overseas contacts, the charges he faces and his Jordanian citizenship, according to McNulty's filing -- much of which echoed Tuesday's indictment.

"He is demonstrably a grave danger to the community -- and to the nation," the prosecutor wrote. "At the same time, he presents a serious risk of flight. There is no condition or combination of conditions that will adequately safeguard the American people or assure the defendant's appearance for trial."

Abu Ali was arrested after the May 2003 bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in which 23 people were killed, including nine Americans. Sources familiar with the case have said Abu Ali is suspected of having connections to individuals involved in that bombing.

His case generated controversy after Abu Ali's family filed a lawsuit last year charging that U.S. authorities had asked for his arrest. U.S. officials have denied that assertion.

Abu Ali was transferred to the United States on Monday and charged the next day. He faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if convicted.

According to McNulty, Abu Ali was a member of a secret al Qaeda cell within Saudi Arabia from around September 2002 to about June 2003.

McNulty said Abu Ali discussed with a co-conspirator two ways of killing President Bush: "an operation in which the defendant would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street; and an operation in which the defendant would detonate a car bomb."

"The defendant obtained a religious blessing to conduct the assassination of President Bush from a Saudi cleric," McNulty wrote. "In joining al Qaeda, it was the defendant's intent to become a planner of terrorist operations."

McNulty also dismissed accusations by Abu Ali that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia. The prosecutor said such accusations are irrelevant for the detention hearing, and added, there is "no credible evidence to support those claims."

McNulty said that when Abu Ali was visited by U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia in July 2003, he "used the words 'excellent,' 'kind' and 'humane' to describe his treatment."

Edward MacMahon, an attorney for Abu Ali's family, said Tuesday: "Abu Ali intends to plead not guilty to all of these charges. He expects to have a fair trial at which he will be vindicated."

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by guitarman1

There's always another day!

Unfortunately there is truth to this ideotic statement, we have approx 75,000 more "illegal" muslims in the country today than we did during 2000. (this number is actually lower than it would be because of amnesty given to some Mexican immigrants)

Muslim individuals are passing freely from Mexico into the US, I doubt they are mainstream individuals either.

Some have posed concerns that sleeper cells are developing in the US with them waiting the months, years or possibly decades before potential attack.

By focusing on foreign terrorism as opposed to defense and regulation of our own borders we have dropped the ball and just when we're feeling safe, we might end up with an attack caused by our ignorance of true homeland security.

There are many moderate muslim americans that are very productive to our society but many of the newcomers that do not come legally are not and we should be focused on this issue and not foreign lands that cannot directly attack us, by focusing away from home we are allowing them to organize an attack on home.

The individual that was planning to kill Bush is not the only individual with such aspirations and by ignoring our border to our southern compatriot we are setting ourselves up for problems.

Something to think about. Many of us who were against the war we are in currently were not against defending ourselves, we just would have handled it differently.