09941

06/12/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09941

TERRORIST BOMB PLOTTER CAPTURED

Law enforcement authorities have captured a member of the al-Qaida terrorist group who was plotting to explode a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States. Such a weapon, said U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, "involves exploding a conventional bomb that not only kills victims in the immediate vicinity but also spreads radioactive material that is highly toxic to humans and can cause mass death and injury."

The al-Qaida agent was arrested on May 8^th upon his arrival from Pakistan at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The arrest was announced on June 10^th, when the al-Qaida agent was transferred to the custody of the U.S. Defense Department. It was determined that he is, in the words of Attorney General Ashcroft, "an enemy combatant who poses a serious and continuing threat to the American people and [U.S.] national security."

The al-Qaida member was identified as Abdullah Al Muhajir, formerly Jose Padilla. A U.S. citizen, he served time in prison in the early 1990s. He changed his name after converting to Islam. After his release from prison, Al Muhajir traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan. On several occasions in 2001, he met with senior al-Qaida officials.

While Al Muhajir was in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Mr. Ashcroft, he "trained with the enemy, including studying how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion [‘dirty bomb’] devices. Al-Qaida officials knew that as a citizen of the United States holding a valid U.S. passport, Al Muhajir would be able to travel freely in the U.S. without drawing attention to himself."

As Attorney General Ashcroft said, the U.S. knows "from multiple independent. . .sources that Abdullah Al Muhajir was closely associated with al-Qaida and that as an al-Qaida operative he was involved in planning future terrorist attacks on innocent American civilians. The safety of all Americans and the national security interests of the U.S. require that [he] be detained by the Defense Department as an enemy combatant."

The U.S., as Attorney General Ashcroft made clear, "will continue to be vigilant against all threats, whether they come from overseas or at home in America. . . . [The U.S.] will continue to respect the rule of law while doing everything in [its] power to prevent terrorist attacks."