It turns out my fears about the potential danger of a new al Qaeda cell in the USA and a planned coordinated bombing attack, which I outlined in depth here, was not so far fetched after all. Zazi has been indicted on charges of attempting to carry out a WMD attack here in the US:

The Justice Department today announced that Najibullah Zazi, 24, a resident of Aurora, Colo., and legal permanent resident of the United States from Afghanistan, has been indicted in the Eastern District of New York on a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction (explosive bombs) against persons or property in the United States.

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The government’s detention memo further states that “Zazi remained committed to detonating an explosive device up until the date of his arrest, as exemplified by among other things, traveling overseas to receive bomb-making instructions, conducting extensive research on the internet regarding components of explosive devices, purchasing—on multiple occasions—the components necessary to produce TATP [Triacetone Triperoxide] and other explosive devices, and traveling to New York City on September 10, 2009 in furtherance of the criminal plan.”

We still face the problem that his cohorts remain at large and possibly not all identified. Hopefully our intelligence and law enforcement personnel are not being hampered by Attorney General Holder’s witch hunt. It is about time the paranoid left grow up and realize there are murderously insane people out there still trying to produce the next 9-11.

Update: More details here:

Zazi – who has denied terrorist involvement – was accused of buying bomb-making materials from shops near his Aurora, Colo., home and apparently cooking them up in a hotel suite earlier this month.

While at the hotel on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, Zazi tried several times to reach an unidentified individual “seeking (the) correct mixture of ingredients to make explosives,” the memorandum said.

“Each communication (was) more urgent in tone than the last.”

One day after checking out of the hotel, Zazi searched the Internet for Queens home improvement stores that carry the bomb ingredient muriatic acid, the feds said.

The indictment said Zazi’s plotting began more than a year earlier – back in August 2008.

The indictment charges that Zazi’s Sept. 10 trip from Colorado to New York was part of his plan to “detonate improvised explosive devices within the United States.”

Still trying to find the detailed indictment these news sources are citing.

Update: Here is the detention memo with the details. This should be a wake up call to all those who think the war on terror is over. Some interesting excerpts:

Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) records show that on August 28, 2008, Zazi and others flew from Newark Liberty International Airport to Peshawar, Pakistan via Geneva, Switzerland and Doha, Qatar.

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The notes contain specifications for, among other explosives, the explosive Triacetone Triperoxide (“TATP”), which is the explosive used in the 2 005 London train bombings and intended to be used in the 2 001 “shoe bomb” plot by Richard Reid.

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During July and August 2009, Zazi and others associated with Zazi purchased unusually large quantities of hydrogen peroxide and acetone products from beauty supply stores in the Denver metropolitan area.

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The evidence will further establish that individuals associated with Zazi purchased unusual quantities of hydrogen and acetone products in July, August and September 2009 from three different beauty supply stores in and around Aurora.

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Also on September 6 and 7, Zazi attempted to communicate on multiple occasions with another individual – each communication more urgent in tone than the last – seeking to correct mixtures of ingredients to make explosives. Included in the communications were requests related to flour and ghee oil, which are two ingredients listed in the bomb-making instructions. Zazi repeatedly emphasized in the communications that he needed the answers right away.

I am hoping we see new arrests very soon.

Tags: al-Qaeda, Bomb Threat, Terrorist, Zazi