Feds: National Guardsman plotted attack for ISIS

www.cbsnews.com...

Army National Guard Spc. Hasan Edmonds, 22, was arrested at Chicago Midway International Airport Wednesday night while he was attempting to fly to Cairo, the department said in a statement.

Members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Chicago also arrested Edmonds' cousin, Jonas Edmonds, 29, a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, at his home in Aurora, Illinois.

Both men are U.S. citizens.

The cousins allegedly told an FBI undercover employee their plan for an armed attack on the U.S. military facility in northern Illinois where Hasan Edmonds had been training.

Not a lot of details here yet. I wonder how long they were waiting to nab this guy. It's not clear why he was trying to get to Cairo, or what exactly they planned at the time of this post.

When I read things like this, I have to wonder if this guy actually did this stuff or if it's just a phoney story to make our federal law enforcement look more competent.

IF he was a part of this, then by all means, prosecute with extreme prejudice. A few more details on his "planning" and more importantly, the infrastructure behind it and whether it was a real possibility must be made public. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened and it won't be the last.

Either way, thank you for sharing. S&F.

Could be part of a training exercise drill.

I suspect most of the U.S. military members who identify as Muslim are being watched to some extent.

originally posted by: Answer
I suspect most of the U.S. military members who identify as Muslim are being watched to some extent.

After Nidal Malik Hasan, I am pretty sure you are right.

originally posted by: Ensinger23
When I read things like this, I have to wonder if this guy actually did this stuff or if it's just a phoney story to make our federal law enforcement look more competent.

My immediate suspicions also.

Or being set-up by the Fed's. That's their favorite method. Turning gullible individuals into "terrorist's" to justify stripping us of our rights and freedom with the Patriot Act, NDAA, TSA and on and on.

originally posted by: Answer
I suspect most of the U.S. military members who identify as Muslim are being watched to some extent.

I think this is a very solid statement, it's almost a guarantee if the prior behavior of the Feds is taken into consideration. The minute 9/11 happened all Muslims came under heavy scrutiny. The government has no qualms about doing this, just remember what happened to the Japanese-Americans during WW2 post-Pearl Harbor.

I know it's not quite that dramatic, YET, but the reason I bring that up is to show that the US govt. would rather watch/observe/imprison all POTENTIAL (Who decides whether an action/idea/something spoken has the potential to lead to terrorism? I don't know, but somebodies job out there is to find out) threats to NatSec. I heard from a friend in the military that he had a muslim friend, and one who wasn't muslim. The non-muslim guy found his way onto a jihadist website, or some sort of extremist crap, and FORWARDED the link to the Muslim guy, wanting translations and views on why the enemy thinks a certain way, etc. He was seeking clarity, information about the mindset of our "enemy". Less than 24-36 hours later the MPs were there and the Muslim was taken to be questioned about why he was on that site. The non-muslim never heard so much as a peep from them. It doesn't take a genius to see who was considered the bigger threat and why.

The Muslims who serve in our Armed Forces are WAY more accessible and easy to observe than any other in our country/the world. They know where they should be, who they should be there with, etc. Any deviation from that plan would most certainly raise flags.

I thought this was relevant to this thread and the discussion brought forth so far...

Found this article on VICE. In it are some statements I feel reflect on the nature of this investigation and the actions/tactics used to capture this "terrorist". I use the quotation marks lightly, as although he did do some things that aren't considered "ok" by NatSec terms, I wonder how much of this was escalated by the agent who added HIM on facebook.

Source - VICE

In late 2014, Edmonds unwittingly accepted a Facebook friend request from an undercover officer and the two began talking. According to the complaint, on January 19 of this year, he wrote to the officer, "Say akhi (brother) you speak arabic? I'm trying to get my affairs in order and get my funds up for the plung [sic], thought it was smart to plug in with my brothers while i prepair [sic]."

You can read the rest for yourself. It later goes on to say that he states it was his duty to join IS. I just wonder if he was pushed to say something this radical/damning against himself, or if the thoughts/phrases were of his own machination. If he was pushed or angered or whatever into saying something like this that would later be used to damn him and as evidence against him, we should know the entire context of the conversation. Not just little bits and pieces.