We are not extremists, radicals or terrorists. We are only servants of Allah.

"This incident is the first in a series of incidents to come in a plight to defend and propagate traditional Islam in its purity. We are not extremists, radicals or terrorists. We are only servants of Allah."  That is a statement from the press release prepared by Kevin James, 31, and Levar Haley Washington, 28, who plead guilty to conspiring to levy war against the United States.

James organized the plot through a prison-based organization he led, Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh (JIS). ( J.I.S. is a name used by prison Sunni's to distinguish themselves from the N.O.I [Nation of Islam], Shi'ites and other sects," wrote James.)  Daveed Gartenstein-Ross at the Counterterrorism Blog writes:

I will again emphasize the need to fight smarter in the global war on terror. Prison personnel should be better trained to screen extremist literature entering the facilities, and to recognize signs of radicalization among inmates. The JIS plot was unraveled only after authorities caught a lucky break: the plot was to be financed by gas station robberies, and the perpetrator of one of the robberies happened to drop his cell phone. The plot was not uncovered through specific investigation of JIS, even though authorities were previously aware of the group. In September 2006 testimony before the Senate's Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Donald Van Duyn, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, stated that JIS "was being treated mainly as a prison gang prior to the arrest for the robberies. It was on the discoveries emanating from the arrest after the robberies that then led people to the plot. That was the first knowledge of the plot per se."

It is also worth noting that this plot was entirely "homegrown" -- that is, there was no known connection to international terrorist networks. Though the L.A. Times claims that experts said that the JIS plot "represented one of the most realistic terrorism threats on U.S. soil since Sept. 11," my sources suggest that competence was an issue for this cell. This is not to say that individual cells of homegrown terrorists are not dangerous -- they are -- but central terror networks can magnify the lethality of cells by pairing skill sets, financing, and operatives, and providing training. It is international networks that can transform these cells into cohesive adversaries capable of threatening Western societies. As my colleague Doug Farah recently observed, al-Qaeda 1.0 still matters. 

Don't forget their aliases:  Kevin JAMES, a/k/a Shakyh Shahaab MURSHID and Levar WASHINGTON, a/k/a Abdur RAHMAN, Gregory Patterson, a/k/a Bilal.

Wake Up America takes us back to 2005:

An ABC news report at the time made these point:

    "Al Qaeda recruits in prisons. They really do," said Edward Caden, a retired prison administrator in California. "Prisons are a prime, prime target for terrorist recruiting. It is a ripe population."

    The plot, which called for dozens of casualties as part of a holy war against the United States, was foiled after Levar Washington, a former inmate at the Folsom Prison, and his accomplice were arrested for a string of gas station robberies.

The third member was Gregory Patterson whom Washington recruited after Washington's release in 2004, and who helped in a number of gas station robberies to fund the group's planned attacks.

The plot itself was uncovered during the investigation of that gas station robbery in 2005, where the Torrance police obtained a search warrant for their South Los Angeles apartment.

From Daniel Pipes:

Beyond the specifics of their fates, as the NEFA Foundation explains in "Guilty Pleas from Members of 'Al-Qaida of California'; Treasure Trove of Documents Released," there is much of interest in this case:

Kevin James and Levar Washington pled guilty to federal terrorism charges, admitting they plotted to attack United States military facilities, "infidels," and Israeli and Jewish facilities in the Los Angeles area. FBI official John Miller has commented, "of all of the terrorist plots since 9/11, it is probably the one that operationally was closest to actually occurring...they had selected targets. They had chosen dates. They had obtained weapons." And FBI Director Robert Mueller has revealed that the men "viewed themselves as ‘al Qaeda of California.'" Accompanying the plea agreements, prosecutors released a handful of documents, summarized here and here, that offer rare insight into the mindset of homegrown American jihadists. Most notable is Kevin James' 104-page "JIS Protocol," in which James writes that the "faithful mujahid...are commanded by Allah to battle against disbelievers..." James also authored "Blueprint 2005," in which he instructs recruits to "acquire two Weapons (pistols) with silencers" and "find contacts for explosives or learn bombmaking," as well as "Notoriety Moves," which "included a proposed statement to the press following attacks by JIS members." Finally, another defendant, Hammad Samana, who has been ruled mentally unfit to stand trial, authored a document titled "Modes of Attack" that listed addresses of possible targets.

NEFA Foundation provides more detail at "The L.A. Plot to Attack U.S. Military, Israeli Government, & Jewish Targets."

From PBS:

LAPD Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism Mark Leap acknowledges that JIS was, "below the radar screen when it comes to prison intelligence. Prison intelligence was focused on violent groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood or the Black Guerilla Family or the Mexican Mafia. Those groups that create havoc and commit violence inside the prison walls." Salem Mohamed, the Muslim chaplain at Folsom State Prison, said that although he does not know Kevin James, he sees Islam as generally a positive force in prison,   (more)

For links to related documents, see Wake Up America.

I have been concerned about prison recruitment for many years.  One problem is there are so many groups, new ones popping up, I'm sure it is difficult to keep an eye on all of them.  But we MUST.  This case proves that.

Other reading:

More moral equivalency from CNN’s Amanpour, from Infidels are Cool

Comments

[ortho stice]

When I read the title, "We are not extremists, radicals or terrorists. We are only servants of...", I thought Christofascists were going to be the subject of this post and the next word would be "God." Then I reached the last word, "...Allah." Hahaha, great title to an interesting post Debbie. I didn't see it coming.

[Stormwarning]

Gartenstein-Ross and others have long known that the prison system is a breeding ground for gangs and for terrorists. Most experts consider there to be little difference between gang and jihadist mentality.

A noted criminologist and I have had this discourse. Its being found that the kid that joined the bloods or Crips ten years ago is now being recruited to the jihad. Dealing with the jihadis is alot harder, apparently.

[Skunkfeathers]

There's simply too much sound evidence out there for appeasers to argue that if we leave the Middle East and ignore the threat, it will leave us alone. Yet, incredibly and stupidly, the Cindy Sheehans and the Dennis Kuciniches and the Michael Moores continue to argue on behalf of those who would kill us in a hummingbird heartbeat.

Lenin, I believe, referred to such as "useful idiots".

[Angel]

oiy!..Why doesnt it remember me when I come back to comment..lol..great title and it says it all Deb..Rasta is right!:)

[Rastaman]

If we would just become a little bit extremist ourselves, it would be soooo much easier to deal with this stuff. We could take all these dissidents and send them ashore in Somalia to enjoy a happy life in the land of their ancestors, for example.

I think the right of citizenship in our country should be qualified beyond just being born here. Demonstrations of anti-US attitudes such as these guys should earn people a 1-way ticket to Timbuktu. They've proven their hatred of the nation of their birth, so let them go love The Land of Sand.

Freedom should have a price beyond military service.

Rasta

[Spree]

Great piece and well put together, as usual. Thanks for the link.

Our prisons are not equipped to deal with this kind of networking and recruitment.

There will be more recruitment as long as extremists of any nature are imprisoned here and are able to use the prisoners "persecution" complexes against America.