Portland Officials Rejected Federal Task Force That Saved City From Massive Terror Attack
Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, November 28, 2010, 9:31 AM
The FBI thwarted a bomb plot at the tree lighting at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday night. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a Somali-born U.S. citizen, was arrested 18 minutes before the tree lighting was to occur. (The Oregonian)
Politically correct Portland officials voted not to participate with federal agents in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Federal agents this week saved Portland citizens from a massive terror attack.
Byron York at The Washington Examiner reported:
In 2005, leaders in Portland, Oregon, angry at the Bush administration’s conduct of the war on terror, voted not to allow city law enforcement officers to participate in a key anti-terror initiative, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. On Friday, that task force helped prevent what could have been a horrific terrorist attack in Portland. Now city officials say they might re-think their participation in the task force — because Barack Obama is in the White House.
Reading the FBI affidavit describing Islamist terror suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud’s plan to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square is a chilling experience. Mohamud, a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen who attended Oregon State University, told undercover FBI agents he dreamed of performing acts of jihad in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans would die. “Do you remember when 9/11 happened when those people were jumping from skyscrapers?” Mohamud asked the agents, according to the affidavit. “I thought that was awesome.”
In months of preparation with men he thought were co-conspirators but were in fact undercover agents, Mohamud backed up his talk with action. After initially making email contact with Islamist radicals in Pakistan, he took part in constructing what he hoped would be an extraordinarily powerful bomb, scouted the best location for the attack, parked the van containing the bomb near the Christmas tree crowd, and, finally, dialed the cell phone number he believed would detonate the explosives. “I want whoever is attending that event to leave either dead or injured,” Mohamud said of the 25,000 people expected to take part in the event.
That Mohamud was arrested and no one was hurt is a testament to good intelligence and law enforcement work. Having Mohamud behind bars has undoubtedly saved lives in Portland; had he not encountered the undercover FBI agents, he might have worked with actual terrorists to construct a bomb, or he might have simply gotten a gun and carried out “an operation here, you know, like something like Mumbai,” as he told the agents.
What is ironic is that the operation that found and stopped Mohamud is precisely the kind of law enforcement work that Portland’s leaders, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, rejected during the Bush years.
Even after the bomb plot was thwarted this week the former mayor of Portland says there is no need to rejoin the FBI task force.
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Published May 16, 2012 at 7:37 pm - 46 Comments
Mac commented:
Liberal: An individual who will expose their own children to possible death rather than ever admit they’re wrong.
Chisum commented:
You can’t fix stupid!
IOpian commented:
Unfortunately they will learn nothing from this. For a worldview that envisions the world as it ought to be it is interesting that they cannot comprehend the world as it might have been. They can learn nothing. It will actually take a bomb going off and killing many before they will be motivated to take necessary measures to prevent it from happening again.
Iconoclast commented:
Is the threshold requirement for the position of Mayor of Portland a full lobotomy? Both those guys (current & former office holders) come across like their skulls were packed with wet clay just before they planted their ears firmly between their cheeks.
jojo commented:
And the terrorist get a license to kill-
you can write Portland off-
Chisum commented:
Mohammed Coefficient: 200%
“You know there’s going to be a lot of children there?” an FBI operative asked Mohamud. “You know there are gonna be a lot of children there?”
Mohamud allegedly responded he was looking for a “huge mass that will … be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays.”
Mohamud dismissed concerns about law enforcement, explaining that, “ … It’s in Oregon; and Oregon, like, you know, nobody ever thinks about,” according to the affidavit.
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/11/mohammed-coefficient-200.html
Ceroth commented:
Iconoclast you are right. I live here in Potland, Oregon, and that is not a typo, and both Vera Katz and the present pervert mayor, the cupcake Sam Adams; what a smear on a noble name; are both morons of the first order.
Chippy commented:
It’s, “America’s fault syndrome.”
This is why American citizens are losing their freedoms. It’s another excuse to impose socialism in the name of feeling less guilty all for the common good.
Big T commented:
As Michael Savage says:Liberalism is a mental disorder.
PaleRyder commented:
You have to realize that here in the toilet of Portland,that resisting any who want to protect and serve is the democrat way. This city,this state is overrun and ruled by the hate-America first ideology of the democrat party and their buddies who wish us all dead. They are more concerned with the rights of our enemies and their protection then any of the American citizen. It has become the trademark of the entire left in this country.
OregonNative commented:
As I remember the reason for Portland rejecting the JTTF was that the mayor at the time, Tom Potter, could not qualify for a security clearance level that would allow him to be privy to the JTTF operations. The rejection was just a selfish little temper tantrum on the part of him and the buffoons of the City Council.
I highly doubt much of that will change with current administration and council which are worse. Oregon would actually be a nice state without the lunatic left city of Portland.
Retcorpseman commented:
The next time, when one of these Mohammadans succeeds, they will be screaming from the roof tops how the fed government didn’t do enough. Perhaps at that point they will awaken from their liberal fantasy and embrace the reality of good and evil. Or more likely that it was a plot by the government to expand the war or something to that effect.
35WD commented:
Vera Katz, the mayor who ordered American flags removed from city fire trucks after 9-11 so as not to offend anyone.
As for Sam “The Pediphile” Adams, he cannot be bothered by trivialities like national security. Way too many bike lanes and bike bridges to build. We don’t need no stinking Joint Terrorism Task Force in the City of Rose.
arnonerik commented:
The good people of Oregon need to set aside their bongs long enough to reconsider how well they are being protected by the partisan far Left officials they enthusiastically put into power. They got lucky once. Are they willing to take their chances again?
valerie commented:
And if a bomb actually goes off, these morons are going to lead the charge to dump our civil liberties. Stupid people are so predictable.
My thanks to the FBI, who protected the citizens who elected those ingrates, anyway. They are dumba$$es, but they’re our dumba$$es.
It is my deepest wish that the FBI, our military, and civilian law enforcement agencies are quietly finding ways to co-operate despite the badly-worded mess of laws passed by the US Congress, and the abysmal stupidity and grandstanding by some of our state and city governments.
Missy8s commented:
Our stupid city is also a criminal alien sanctuary and they give out driver’s licenses and voter cards without establishing citizenship or legal residence.
Oregon used to be a very nice place to live…
If I ever win the lottery I’m leaving Oregon and taking every last nickel of the money with me!
ebayer commented:
Why
Why are we wasting our taxpayer money protecting these partisan leftists?
They’re not interested in security,so don’t give it to them.
Let these people fend for themselves,pull the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force out…NOW!!
Missy8s commented:
Oregon is the home of Alf, Elf, MeCha, LaRaza and PETA these alone should cause DHS to list Oregon as a state sponsor of terrorism!
olm commented:
They do not think they need protection. This is a liberal utopia where gays, illegals and anything eco friendlly is king.
Don’t worry the intellectual elite downtown know that there will never be a threat here. We have too many bike lanes.
greenfairie commented:
Portland will probably make Mohamud the Grand Marshal of next year’s tree lighting.
apodoca commented:
“Mohamud, a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen who attended Oregon State University, told undercover FBI agents he dreamed of performing acts of jihad in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans would die. “Do you remember when 9/11 happened when those people were jumping from skyscrapers?” Mohamud asked the agents, according to the affidavit. “I thought that was awesome.””
I want the Jesuits to get ahold of him. When they’re done with him, he’ll be 180 degrees from where he is now.
ss252 commented:
Wow, you guys are as f…ed up as we here in California..
Unbelievable that a elected official can keep their job after literally putting his electorate in grave danger..
This dude should be arrested today, when will AMERICA WAKE UP?
I know after the bomb does go off and kills 5,000 and half of them children….What will BEHAR AND WHOOPIE say then?
Stuart commented:
Behar and Whoopie will blame a racist America and, oh yes, George Bush.
olm commented:
Tha’t who Portland critters blame too. Just read the comments on the local outlets. Christians and Bush are totally at fault.
Mac commented:
Liberal: An individual who believes cowardice is a virtue.
gek36tbikbu commented:
“Federal agents this week saved Portland citizens from a massive terror attack.”
Not really. The agents found a wannabe terrorist and gave him a fake bomb. There is no evidence he had other sources for a bomb or would have tried to set off a bomb without the help he got from federal agents.
I’m perfectly happy to see this nut in jail but I wish you would reign in the hyperbole. It doesn’t help do anything useful except confuse people.
aprilnovember811 commented:
As far as I’m concerned they don’t deserve protection. Let them protect themselves.
aprilnovember811 commented:
“As Michael Savage says:Liberalism is a mental disorder.”
He’s right. These people are following a cult called Liberalism or socialism. They are the ones who would gladly drink the Kool Aid from that other marxist Jim Jones. Did you know he had ties to Jerry Brown and Jimmy Carter?
http://www.tothepointnews.com/content/view/4277/2/
Iconoclast commented:
@ Mac #26 . . . . BRAVO !!!
Is your consummate definition of a liberal a quote or your original words ? If the former, would you please cite the author? If it’s yours and you’d like attribution, ask admin to send you my eml addy – fer damn sure, I’m going to use this one.
chuck in st paul commented:
Basically the same thing as Europe in the Cold War. They let us finance 90% of it and supply 95% of the troops and material while they nuanced around in ever decreasing circles as the Russian Bear got nastier and nastier – he hadn’t been fed in quite awhile.
When it was over, the Euroweenies were left with armies barely capable of getting to the end of the block and arriving with any weapons or ammo (see the Serbian attrocities for reference). In the mean time they whine and snivel that America is a super power. I truly believe they can’t see cause and effect in their socialist dream world.
Portland officials will flounce about and piffle this and piffle that and go right back to stuck on stupid. Next time the adults may not be there to keep the wolves from the door. These assclowns will learn nothing from this.
grizzlybare commented:
Oregon…inhabited by, AND governed by…..Space Cadets.