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NY Times said:By LIZ ROBBINS
Published: November 27, 2010
A Somali-born teenager attempting to detonate what he believed was a car bomb in a packed downtown Portland Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Friday night was arrested by authorities, who had spent nearly six months tracking him and setting up a sting operation, officials in Oregon said.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, is pictured in his arrest record photo on Friday in Portland Oregon.
The bomb in a van parked off the Pioneer Courthouse Square was a fake — planted by F.B.I. agents at the culmination of the elaborate sting — but “the threat was very real,” said Arthur Balizan, Special Agent in Charge of the F.B.I. in Oregon, who identified the suspect as Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a 19-year-old naturalized citizen.
...
“This defendant’s chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people — even here in Oregon — who are determined to kill Americans,” Dwight C. Holton, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon said.
...
According to the affidavit, Mr. Mohamud was in e-mail contact with an unnamed associate in Pakistan in August 2009, who referred him to another an associate overseas. In June 2010, undercover agents F.B.I. first got into contact with Mr. Mohamud, guiding him toward the Friday night event, but asking him repeatedly if he was prepared to commit the act, which would include the murder of children.
“I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured,” Mr. Mohamud said to undercover agents, according to the affidavit.
He referred to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, calling the destruction “awesome.”
The best thing about these terrorists are that they're stupid, and thank God most of them are. What's interesting is that according to the story, the FBI gave him multiple chances to back out and even let him know women and children will be killed and he had no hesitation it seems. It's also worth noting that this guy isn't a grandmother... but a Muslim by name. (Or is that too un-PC?) I'm wondering how many more such acts will be attempted around the country and isn't it interesting that these attacks (last year the underwear bomber and now this year) are targeting Christmas - whether for maximum crowds or is it a added feature it's also a Christian holiday?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/us/28portland.html