Not adding up

Hmmm... For a Justice Department that has been hot in the pants to try suspected terrorists in federal courts, this would represent a departure of sorts as the person allegedly responsible for the shooting death of Army Private William Long, Abdulhakim Mujad Muhammad, a self-admitted radicalized Muslim, will be tried in state court in Arkansas.

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad insists he is an Islamic radical, has confessed to killing an Army soldier and wounding another at a Little Rock recruiting station two years ago, and wants to be tried on terrorism charges in federal court.

But in an unusual twist, state prosecutors, with the blessing of the federal government, are treating him like a common American criminal and trying him in state court next week on capital murder charges.

Either way, Muhammad could become the first person sentenced to death in the U.S. for an act of terrorism — even if that is not the charge — since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Muhammad, 24, born Carlos Bledsoe in Memphis, Tenn., has a profile that is now familiar in home-grown terrorism cases. He converted to Islam at age 20 at a Tennessee mosque, changed his name and traveled to the Middle East.

In 2008, he was arrested in Yemen for overstaying his visa and holding false Somali papers. His father said he became radicalized in a Yemeni jail after mixing with other prisoners there.

Six months after Muhammad returned to the U.S., he allegedly drove his black Ford Sport Trac truck to the military recruiting station. Inside the vehicle were a rifle, scope, laser sight, silencer and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He allegedly fired several rounds before fleeing.

His father is alleging a cover-up by the feds as they blew it by letting him back into this country but it is not clear from the article whether or not Muhammad was on any terror watch list.

This all remains highly curious: To our knowledge, this slaying represents the first time a uniformed serviceman has been assassinated on U.S. soil at a federal installation by a self-admitted radical Islamist. Sounds kind of terrorist-y to us, yet the feds don't want anything to do with this.

What do you all think is going on here?

Our take: Remember how the administration was tripping all over themselves in order to issue a somber statement in the immediate aftermath of the shooting death of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion doctor a couple years back? Yet shortly after that, the shooting death of Private William Long, allegedly at the hands of Muhammad, illicited a belated and lame statement from the White House that did not even appear on the White House's official website as did the Tiller statement. The White House had seen fit to handle that situation in that manner for the shooting death of an individual in the direct chain of command of the Commander-in-Chief.

Would it be fair to posit that the Feds might've taken more of an active role in the prosecution of this case if the assailant were part of say, a white-supremacist and/or extreme "anti-government" group who had specifically targeted an FBI or ATF agent? We think it's entirely fair to conjecture in this manner because the radicalization of American citizens by Islamists is not a narrative this administration wants to deal with or confront as they would be forced to do so if they took the lead in prosecuting this as a terrorism case.

What are we missing? Please re-direct if you think we are off-base.

So, how are we coming along with that war on terror thingy?

Let’s look at some recent developments with respect to the war on terror and see if we can gage by some degree or another if we really are serious about fighting terror.

Back in December, Homeland Secretary, Janet Napolitano said that the Christmas crotch bomber was not part of a larger terrorist plot to which we replied:

Oh, really?

Every single jihadist on the face of this planet be they trained and funded by or affiliated with Hamas, AQ, Hezbollah, the Taliban… even if they are “lone wolves”… whoever, is part of “a larger terrorist plot.”

That larger terrorist plot is called Islamic extremism and every single one of its minions is unified in its hatred for the West and its institutions and belief systems and are fatally committed to its destruction including all who live within it who are not found to be in sufficient compliance to Sharia law.

But if Napolitano and the other powers that be can’t quite grasp that concept, other detained terrorists who have since been able to lawyer-up are making the distinction a little bit easier.

A Tennessee man accused of killing a soldier outside a Little Rock, Ark., military recruiting station last year has asked a judge to change his plea to guilty, claiming for the first time that he is affiliated with a Yemen-based affiliate of Al Qaeda.

In a letter to the judge presiding over his case, the accused killer, Abdulhakim Muhammad, calls himself a soldier in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and calls the shooting “a Jihadi Attack” in retribution for the killing of Muslims by American troops.

If your memory is a little hazy on the above, don’t be alarmed because this incident which involved the assassination of one Private William Long and the injury of one of Long’s colleagues at the hands of an obvious Islamic jihadist back in June of last year has been effectively swept under the carpet as the Commander-in-Chief who couldn’t get out of his way fast enough to condemn the murder of abortionist, Dr. George Tiller, has still failed to make a single comment regarding the murder of an idividual in his chain of command.

And for some news from a more recent event; from Time Magazine:

The U.S. military's just-released report into the Fort Hood shootings spends 86 pages detailing various slipups by Army officers but not once mentions Major Nidal Hasan by name or even discusses whether the killings may have had anything to do with the suspect's view of his Muslim faith. And as Congress opens two days of hearings on Wednesday into the Pentagon probe of the Nov. 5 attack that left 13 dead, lawmakers want explanations for that omission.

(John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 commission and Navy Secretary during the Reagan Administration, says a reluctance to cause offense by citing Hasan's view of his Muslim faith and the U.S. military's activities in Muslim countries as a possible trigger for his alleged rampage reflects a problem that has gotten worse in the 40 years that Lehman has spent in and around the U.S. military. The Pentagon report's silence on Islamic extremism "shows you how deeply entrenched the values of political correctness have become," he told TIME on Tuesday. "It's definitely getting worse, and is now so ingrained that people no longer smirk when it happens."

The apparent lack of curiosity into what allegedly drove Hasan to kill isn't in keeping with the military's ethos; it's a remarkable omission for the U.S. armed forces, whose young officers are often ordered to read Sun Tzu's The Art of War with its command to know your enemy. In midcareer, they study the contrast between capabilities and intentions, which is why they aren't afraid of a British nuclear weapon but do fear the prospect of Iran getting one.

(italics, ours)

And this from USA Today:

In the wake of a mass shooting allegedly by a military psychiatrist, the Army's top doctor acknowledged his service needs to improve how it manages medical officers, including using more candor in reviewing their officers' performance.

But Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, told USA TODAY there's no evidence his staff "could have predicted" that Maj. Nidal Hasan, the man accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas, "could have become a mass murderer."

(italics, ours)

Because nothing says inactionable intelligence like having a business card that says, “servant of Allah”, a shoddy record of medical performance and inappropriate discussion of his Muslim faith at work, email exchanges with a radical Yemeni cleric and reportedly shouting “Allah Akbar” while he was shooting up Ft. Hood.

Missing all that is one thing. To perpetuate that incompetence once you’ve been caught with your pants down, though, is entirely another and because of that this jack-ass Schoomaker ought to be relieved of his command immediately.

OK. So there you have it. Looks like we’re pretty much on our own and dependent upon the likes of citizen-heros like Todd Beamer and the Flying Dutchman in our fight against Islamic jihad.

We're in the best of hands.

And down the memory hole we go

Nidal Hasan, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and who….?

Chief Thomas said investigators believe that Mr. Muhammad acted alone. He seemed to be familiar with the Army recruiting office because it was not far from his home, the chief said, but might have been on the prowl for anyone in uniform.

If you are wondering who Mr. Muhammad is, he is Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad who back in June of ’09 gunned down Private William Long and injured another member of the Army while they were on break outside a Little Rock, Arkansas recruiting office.

If your memory is a little hazy, you can’t be blamed because no one really wants to talk about this, certainly not the President who still has not made a single statement nor mention of the first political/religious-motivated assassination of a member of our armed forces here on our soil (going from memory – if we’re wrong, please correct us).

You might think a terrorist attack of that nature might get some ink and coverage of it would be extensive. You would think.

We did a Google search for “Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad” and the first six pages are all news and internet postings in the immediate aftermath of the assassination but nothing dated much past one or two weeks of the incident.

Finally, on page 7 we get some info from a crime news aggregator that Muhammad’s lawyers filed a motion back in October for more time to go through the evidence. The current trial date is Feb. 15th. That’s it. That’s all we know about this trial at this time.

But like Hasan and Abdulmutallab, we take great comfort in the fact that Muhammad acted alone and was not, repeat not, part of some larger terrorist plot.

It's just a matter of perspective (UPDATED)

(UPDATE #1):

Take this for what it’s worth…

In doing some homework for this post, we entered “Private William Long murder” into the Google search engine. Here is the search result page. Two things: Almost without exception, what appears at the top of the page is “News Results for (whatever search words you entered)”. The News Results for… does not appear at the top of our search for William Long as it does for “Obama health care”. Also, one has to get to the 5th page of search results to actually find a hard news story from a news site on Private Long’s murder. Virtually every other search result was blog reaction to or cable T.V. commentary on Long’s murder.

Recall back in December when Google (despite the disclaimer that story placement is a result of a computer algorithm) admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. This obviousness bore itself out in our quixotic quest for the satircal “Obama – Obey” icon.

(here endeth the update)



Hey, here’s a place that makes mention of Private Long. You remember Private Long, don’t you? Yeah, we know – the events in Iran have justifiably dominated the news cycle but, as with us, this place wants you to know they have not forgotten about the assassination of a member of our armed forces at the hands of an Islamic extremist. Well, they haven’t forgotten about Private Long, if the Private Long you are referring to is private long-term health insurance.

The Mudville Gazette has more, here.

We’re not letting this one go. From floating the idea of making wounded service members pay for their own treatment of battlefield injuries to failure to even comment on the murder of Private William Long this administration has shown an extraordinary callousness to members of the military – a callousness of which we will continue to call them out.

Evil that must be spoken out against

The following is a statement from the President regarding the shooting today at the Holocaust museum:

"I am shocked and saddened by today’s shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms. No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world.

"Today, we have lost a courageous security guard who stood watch at this place of solemn remembrance. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this painful time."

(We understand the pressure the White House must've felt to release this statement in such a hasty manner as the name of the statement's anonymous deceased security guard who gave his life in the line of duty is Stephen T. Johns, 39, of Temple Hills, Md.)

We wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by the President and would hope he is crafting similar language to honor the life of Private William Long and condemn the act of another hate-filled monster who assassinated Long a week and a half ago and which will be on display at the White House.gov site

Relatively anonymous religious fanatic assassin had him some more plans

The Arkansas man accused of killing an Army recruiter and wounding another had used the popular Google Maps application to investigate recruiting centers in at least five states, as well as Jewish institutions, a day-care center, a post office and a Baptist Church, according to a report issued Tuesday evening by the Department of Homeland Security, ABC News has learned.

Recruiting centers in New York, Atlanta, Louisville and Philadelphia were on a list of possible targets, based on evidence found in the home of the suspect, Muslim-convert Abdulhakim Muhammed, according to the report.

The report was prepared based on the evidence seized in a search of Muhammed's home that included information indicating that he had used Google maps to investigate various locations.

In other news today, guess who still doesn't have a statement up at their website regarding the killing of Private William Long at the hands of this jihadist after falling all over itself to release a statement regarding the murder of abortion doctor, George Tiller?

Questions left begging (UPDATED)

(UPDATE #1):Just when we are falling all over ourselves with praise for the guy, he goes and pulls something like this.

We apparently have a statement from the White House regarding the religiously-motivated assassination of Private William Long. It reads as follows:

“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”

Thank god the wait is over... there are a couple of problems with this situation, however.

First, we have yet to see the above statement at the White House.gov web site under “statements and releases” where the statement regarding the murder of Dr. George Tiller resides.

Secondly, is the language. Tiller’s murder left the President “shocked and outraged” but Long’s merely “saddened”. And Tiller’s death is rightly called a “murder” by the President, yet Long’s death is placed in the “loss” category…. like freaking baseball standings.

Semantics, you say? “Words have meaning”, or so we have been told.

Solving the banking crisis, getting the economy back on its feet and navigating the country’s way through a hostile climate abroad is tough, difficult, complex stuff. This ain’t.

This is about as simple as you can get and yet the guy still manages to completely botch it.

This one is in the category of the "worst idea ever" although that particular "worst idea ever" is still #1. "A" for effort, though, sir.



There is an old adage about being in a house of ill repute with currency adorned with the busts of dead U.S. Presidents overflowing one’s pockets and yet that person still not being able to fulfill the terms of the commonly-understood house contract that would apply perfectly to our President.

(here endeth this sorry, sad-sack update)




We know this is going to sound like gotcha politics, though it is not meant to be. Could the fact that President Obama has not expressed his shock and outrage of the murder of Private William Long at the hands of an Islamic extremist have anything to do with the fact that he’s attempting to make nice with the Islamic world in the Middle East right now?

We reiterate what we said before – murder is wrong - so how is it then that one religiously-motivated assassination warrants an immediate response from the White House yet another religiously-motivated assassination does not?

For a man who did his best to downplay any connections to Islam during the campaign (a subject which we refuse to address) and who tried to bolster his credibility with the military, this omission is, at best, tone deaf and at worst, a disgustingly shameless planned negligence

Sir, may we remind you that you had no official connection to George Tiller yet you are William Long’s Commander-in-Chief. It is incumbent upon you to respond accordingly.

We'll be standing by.