Manufacturing Terrorism Plots By FBI Policy Ok'ed by US Courts--Entrapment--Dangerous?

Wow, never heard this out in the light of day. It sounds like something ATS would come up with. Please read the whole story, I can't do it justice in this little thread.

The FBI has received a ruling that gives further support to their policy of inducing people to commit acts of terrorism.
Mohamed Mohamud is in deep doo doo. He is convicted of attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland. The FBI used their sting policy to induce him into the act.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that provides further support for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its policy of inducing individuals, typically Muslims, to plot acts of terrorism. The appeals court additionally backed the outcome of the notorious FBI sting operation against the Newburgh Four.

Mohamed Mohamud is a young Somali American man who was convicted of attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, after he was targeted in an FBI sting operation. He is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.

The court would have none of the "he was set up by the FBI stuff", so to prison he goes.

At trial, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals notes [PDF], Mohamud’s defense maintained a “teenager with no criminal record had neither the means nor the intent to commit domestic terrorism” until he became involved with an undercover FBI contractor, who went by the name of Bill Smith, and FBI agents, who went by the names of Youssef and Hussein. However, the government contended Mohamud’s actions before he was targeted by the FBI, such as articles he wrote for “Jihad Recollections,” indicated his “readiness to commit such a horrific act of violence” and proved he was “predisposed” to commit a crime.

In this case James Cromitie was promised $250,000 a barber shop worth $70,000 a BMW and a 2 week vacation (Price is Right kinda feel) to bomb a synagogue. But the courts said this is all good, 25 years domestic terrorist.

In Cromitie’s case, his defense argued the government informant exploited a relationship to “manipulate Cromitie into agreeing to the planned attacks” on a synagogue and military targets at a National Guard base. But the Ninth Circuit believes the “illusory cultivation of emotional intimacy” is allowed. Even though the government informant offered Cromitie, a poor black man, $250,000 in cash, a barbershop valued at $70,000, a new BMW, as well as a two-week vacation, this was not deemed an entrapment scheme that violated his due process.

shadowproof.com...

It is an ugly business no doubt. A poor Somali young man is promised his life dreams and falls for the plot. Here is the conundrum. If someone else had approached him, say an Al Qaeda operative and promised the same, would he complete the terrorist act? According to the behavior in this sting the answer would be yes. So, the government feels they prevented a potential future terrorist bombing.

Terrorism is a very sticky problem to prevent this sort of thing. From one viewpoint it seems wrong. From the governments viewpoint, which is tasked with protecting citizens, they prevented him from possibly becoming involved in an actual attack. Being a foreigner and muslim in this country at this time is dangerous and anyone that is must be very careful to not be involved in any conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack.

Are you suggesting we should not test people like that and let them go until they do an actual attack? It is a very hard position for the government to be in. I am not sure what the answer should be.

a reply to: spirit_horse

Good reply.

a reply to: spirit_horse

James Cromitie was convicted of being a domestic terrorist. The same manufacturing the terrorist plot was used, and he is in the can for 25 years.
Something doesn't smell right.

I don't have the info, and when I don't I side on the side of freedom. I can't say what that means, or if looking at someone becasue of their religion is OK. Lots of stuff in this story, complicated.

a reply to: seasonal

It is very complicated. I guess you have to consider the murder for hire plot that people get convicted of and sent to prison. Same thing as it is a conspiracy to commit first degree murder. The person planned to hire someone to commit murder for them. I don't know how the FBI came across these people, but I suspect that for some reason they got their attention. Was it that he talked to the informant about committing a jihad attack?

I worked deep cover in the intelligence community. We never just went out to find people we could frame up. These people came to our attention various ways. Maybe these people were posting something on social media that got them noticed or perhaps they were on the street talking about doing an attack. Remember that as the result of the media broadcasting about other attacks like 911 every potential terrorist has learned of governments like Saudi Arabia and other individuals funneling money to terrorists and their families to fund terrorist attacks.

The one was a Somali immigrant. Was he uneducated or unskilled and couldn't find work here and was looking to make money and was poking around asking questions about it? I wouldn't know unless I was involved and due to National Security much of the information that could tell us will be classified.

I also believe in freedom and don't like to see people set up to take a fall. Does it happen? Absolutely and sometime even worse. It cost people their lives. It is important to have these discussions because the government can go off on tangents you may never consider in their zeal to do something like show the country they are breaking up plots and need your rights suppressed to keep doing so. There are lots of angles this discussion could take. Anyway, good thread to get these discussions out in the public to get people more aware of these issues involved.

a reply to: spirit_horse

It gets messy in a hurry. I hope there are a bunch of people making sure this is on the up and up. Other wise in 10 years we will be hearing horror stories.