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Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, Staten Island jihadi, busted after all-too-grueling investigation
Editorials
Wednesday, October 27th 2010, 4:00 AM
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What's astonishing about the case of Abdel Hameed Shehadeh is the time, energy and unstinting attention that went into neutralizing a single alleged homegrown Islamist terrorist.
A federal complaint lodged against Shehadeh, 21, formerly of Staten Island, logs two years of monitoring by the FBI and NYPD - much of it while he was advocating for jihad on the Internet.
While terror fighters knew Shehadeh was posting on jihadist Web forums and creating sites that linked to radical Muslim messengers, they were hamstrung because the First Amendment protects advocacy that's short of actually conspiring to plant a bomb or hijack a plane.
So the Joint Terrorism Task Force had to angle for an opening. It flagged Shehadeh in 2008 after he bought a one-way ticket to Pakistan. The NYPD and feds spoke to him before he boarded the flight. He said he was traveling for study. Investigators sent him on his way, but the Pakistanis denied him entry.
Then the NYPD cyberintelligence unit visited a Shehadeh website and found video of a preaching Osama Bin Laden.
Later in 2008, Shehadeh attempted to join the Army. He was turned down after it was discovered that he had concealed his trip to Pakistan.
Now, Shehadeh tried to fly to Jordan but was denied entry. The FBI questioned him on return. He said nothing incriminating.
Early in 2009, an agent and a detective questioned Shehadeh, this time on Staten Island. He professed to be pure in motive.
But now, investigators found witnesses who revealed that Shehadeh had spoken of waging jihad in both Pakistan and on the U.S. military in Iraq.
Next, Shehadeh set off for Somalia with a stop in Hawaii, where he paid a gun club $115 to fire an M-16, a shotgun and other weapons. The FBI found a witness who said Shehadeh wanted to go to Yemen to fight and had asked the witness to put porn on his computer in hopes of convincing investigators he was not an Islamic fundamentalist.
Finally, Shehadeh offered to become an informant and opened up about radicalization. He said he considered the Taliban and Al Qaeda as one.
He now stands charged with lying to the FBI and faces eight years behind bars.
This was a hell of an effort - and a hugely valuable one. That's what it takes to stop even one human time bomb before he ticks down to zero.
Read more: Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, Staten Island jihadi, busted after all-too-grueling investigation
Editorials
Wednesday, October 27th 2010, 4:00 AM
Related News
What's astonishing about the case of Abdel Hameed Shehadeh is the time, energy and unstinting attention that went into neutralizing a single alleged homegrown Islamist terrorist.
A federal complaint lodged against Shehadeh, 21, formerly of Staten Island, logs two years of monitoring by the FBI and NYPD - much of it while he was advocating for jihad on the Internet.
While terror fighters knew Shehadeh was posting on jihadist Web forums and creating sites that linked to radical Muslim messengers, they were hamstrung because the First Amendment protects advocacy that's short of actually conspiring to plant a bomb or hijack a plane.
So the Joint Terrorism Task Force had to angle for an opening. It flagged Shehadeh in 2008 after he bought a one-way ticket to Pakistan. The NYPD and feds spoke to him before he boarded the flight. He said he was traveling for study. Investigators sent him on his way, but the Pakistanis denied him entry.
Then the NYPD cyberintelligence unit visited a Shehadeh website and found video of a preaching Osama Bin Laden.
Later in 2008, Shehadeh attempted to join the Army. He was turned down after it was discovered that he had concealed his trip to Pakistan.
Now, Shehadeh tried to fly to Jordan but was denied entry. The FBI questioned him on return. He said nothing incriminating.
Early in 2009, an agent and a detective questioned Shehadeh, this time on Staten Island. He professed to be pure in motive.
But now, investigators found witnesses who revealed that Shehadeh had spoken of waging jihad in both Pakistan and on the U.S. military in Iraq.
Next, Shehadeh set off for Somalia with a stop in Hawaii, where he paid a gun club $115 to fire an M-16, a shotgun and other weapons. The FBI found a witness who said Shehadeh wanted to go to Yemen to fight and had asked the witness to put porn on his computer in hopes of convincing investigators he was not an Islamic fundamentalist.
Finally, Shehadeh offered to become an informant and opened up about radicalization. He said he considered the Taliban and Al Qaeda as one.
He now stands charged with lying to the FBI and faces eight years behind bars.
This was a hell of an effort - and a hugely valuable one. That's what it takes to stop even one human time bomb before he ticks down to zero.
Read more: Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, Staten Island jihadi, busted after all-too-grueling investigation
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