Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Ahmed are both U.S. citizens, who are accused of plotting jihad terror attacks for the “defense of Muslims or retaliation for acts committed against Muslims.” So their U.S. citizenship is hollow; their allegiance is to Islam above all. Christians and other religious believers whose allegiance is to their religion first have no trouble reconciling this with being loyal citizens; what are American Muslim advocacy groups doing to inculcate similar attitudes among Muslims in this country?
“FBI: Atlanta terror suspects met with suspects in Canadian sweep,” by Harry R. Weber for The Associated Press (thanks to Sr. Soph):
ATLANTA – Two U.S. men charged with aiding terrorists met with a group of terror suspects in Canada, and shot videos of Washington, D.C., landmarks that were later found on a computer belonging to another terror suspect in Britain, an FBI agent testified Monday.
The disclosures by FBI agent Mark Richards came during a hearing in the case of Ehsanul Sadequee and Pakistani-born Syed Ahmed, both U.S. citizens, who are accused of undergoing training to carry out a “violent jihad” against civilian and government targets, including an air base in suburban Atlanta.
Authorities say the men wanted to plan attacks for “defense of Muslims or retaliation for acts committed against Muslims.” They have pleaded not guilty to providing material support to terrorists and related conspiracy counts. No trial date has been set.
The terror sweep in Ontario in June 2006 involved an alleged plot to bomb buildings there. Charges against the suspects included participating in a terrorist group, importing weapons and planning a bombing.
Canadian authorities allege the 14 men and four youths were part of an al-Qaida-inspired cell. Prior to the arrest, some of the men allegedly purchased three tonnes of ammonium nitrate for a bomb. In September, the Crown decided to halt the preliminary hearing for the adults and proceed directly to trial.
At the time of the sweep, authorities said Ahmed and Sadequee had been in contact with some of the Canadian suspects via computer.
But Richards said at Monday’s hearing that the two men also met in Toronto in 2005 with some of the people arrested in a terror sweep there a year later. Richards also said videos of the U.S. Capitol building and other Washington landmarks that were taken by Ahmed and Sadequee were later found on a computer in the United Kingdom belonging to a terror suspect there who has since been convicted.