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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

U.S. Air Force veteran charged with trying to join the Islamic State

Mar 17, 2015 3:06 pm By Robert Spencer

tairodpugh2“Pugh converted to Islam in 1998 while living in Texas and became radical in his beliefs, according to ABC News. In 2001, while Pugh was a mechanic for American Airlines, a coworker reported to the FBI that Pugh said he sympathized with Osama bin Laden and was expressing anti-American sentiment, ABC reported. Pugh’s Facebook page includes pro-Palestine and anti-Israel posts and photos, as well as anti-American military posts.” — Heavy.com

“Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, U.S. Air Force Veteran, Charged With Trying to Join ISIS,” by Michael Kosnar and Daniel Arkin, NBC News, March 17, 2015:

A former U.S. Air Force mechanic has been charged with attempting to go to Syria to join ISIS, authorities said Tuesday. Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh was indicted Monday by a grand jury in Brooklyn on two charges, including attempting to provide material support to a terror organization.

The indictment said that Pugh was fired from a job in Kuwait as an airplane mechanic in December 2014. It said that he flew from Egypt to Turkey on January 10, in an effort to cross the border into Syria to join ISIS and wage violent jihad.

Turkish authorities denied him entry into the country, however, and sent him on a return flight to Egypt. He was deported from Egypt to the U.S. in January 15, after he was found carrying suspicious items, including a photograph of a machine gun.

Pugh was arrested Jan. 16, but the case has been sealed since that date.

Searches of his laptop revealed online queries about borders and crossing points controlled by the Islamic State, and videos showing ISIS executions. Posting on social media show Pugh repeatedly professed a desire never to return to the U.S., even though he has family — including children — in the country.

Pugh is a U.S. citizen whose last known address in the United States was in Neptune, New Jersey.

He served in the Air Force from 1986 to 1990 as an avionics instrument specialist, according to court documents. While in the Air Force, he reportedly received training in the installation and maintenance of aircraft engine, navigation, and weapons systems….

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Filed Under: air security, American jihadis, converts to Islam, Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) Tagged With: Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh


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Comments

  1. Spot On says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    Suprise. surprise. He was not a Christian terrorist.

  2. Alarmed Pig Farmer says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    Pugh is a U.S. citizen…

    A natural born citizen, or a legal immigrant import? Is he a Moslem and, if he is, was he born that way or did he opt in to the Ummah?

    Whatever, it’s a handy thing for him to have skills in the maintenance of airframes, avionics and jet engines. I’m sure the eggheads running the New Caliphate have their men scouring Monster.com looking for qualified job candidates for this.

    • RG says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      Get a grip, ‘pig farmer’. This guy is an American-born AMERICAN! This is what we’ve come to! HE’S A TRAITOR! Just look at his two middle names – “Nathan Webster”! I’m about to lose my cookies! LITERALLY!!!

  3. RG says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    As expected, this traitor looks exactly like the cat that just swallowed the canary. What he doesn’t know, however, is that he’s the one who’s been swallowed up – by the mouth of SATAN! Just wait till he finds out that his imam was lying about the “72” naked ladies – they’re actually demons DRAGGING HIS SOUL INTO HELL!! NO JOKE!!!!!

    • duh_swami says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 8:17 pm

      “72” naked ladies – they’re actually demons DRAGGING HIS SOUL INTO HELL!! NO JOKE!!!!!

      Yeah, but they are good looking demons…If you are going to Hell anyway 72 naked lady escorts is the way to go…

  4. PRCS says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 4:00 pm

    That he served in a branch of the U.S. military is really irrelevant. He probably likes apple pie, too.

    As the article states, he intended to “wage violent jihad”, not to maintain the Islamic State’s vast fleet of personal aircraft, airliners, and military aircraft.

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 8:51 pm

      It’s not entirely irrelevant, PRCS. It means that the American taxpayer paid for his training, and that he could have done us a great deal of harm in the service.

      But you are absolutely right—his being in the air force does not mitigate things—it makes them worse.

      • PRCS says

        Mar 17, 2015 at 9:57 pm

        ‘Could’ have, if he ‘reverted’ while in the Air Force.

        Taxpayers have paid for the training of millions of military personnel whose behavior they cannot predict; many of whom do the most despicable things post separation.

        The previous military service of Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh, and Charles Whitman, for example, was irrelevant to their later behavior..

        I didn’t say his service mitigated his behavior, only that it is irrelevant.

        The problem is Islam.

  5. ApolloSpeaks says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    BIBI EMASCULATES OBAMA

    Exit polls favor Netanyahu over Herzog 28 to 27.

    An unprecedented 4th term.

    Bibi Netanyahu the FDR of Israel.

    • Ernie says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 8:07 pm

      Thanks for this very good news ApolloSpeaks !

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 8:55 pm

      Thanks, Apollo Speaks! It’s tight, but sounds hopeful.

    • mortimer says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 8:59 pm

      Bibi is former special forces as well as being a statesman…three times a man.

  6. jay says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 4:39 pm

    These are the people our soldiers have amongst them, along side them, supposedly having their back. It’s unbelievable. My sister in the Navy said it causes so much animosity and is so toxic having these things in the military. Everyone hates them, distrusts them; but of course you can’t say that.

  7. Sam says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 4:44 pm

    Another isolated instance which has nothing to do with the “real” religion of peace.

  8. Daniel Triplett says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    In 1945, we’d put him in front of a firing squad after a 30 minute trial.

    But Obama and Holder will secretly reward their Muslim brother. Just like Bergdahl.

    • mortimer says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 8:04 pm

      How many traitors are there on the government’s payroll?

      • Michael Copeland says

        Mar 18, 2015 at 5:13 am

        U.S. citizen Samir Khan explained:
        “I am a traitor to America because my religion requires me to be one.”
        There are many muslims in the US Government.
        They are subject to the same religious requirements as Samir Khan.
        See Mark’s comment March 13, 2015 at 11:22 pm where he lists them:
        http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/03/cias-brennan-islamic-state-not-islamic-theyre-psychopathic-thugs

        • Daniel Triplett says

          Mar 18, 2015 at 8:10 pm

          A public firing squad for all Muslims in our government. This is WWIII. The future of the free World is at stake. I’ll volunteer for rifle duty.

  9. Walter Sieruk says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 5:04 pm

    First, ISIS gets people who have violent intent for the cause of Islam and who really want to engage in the violence and killing of jihad not only from America but Canada as well as from different countries of Europe. Second this whole wicked Islamic power of ISIS should not have gotten this far in the first place. In that the heinous jihad entity ISIS should not have gotten this much land ,wealth and power. One of the reason that this hideous jihad entity ISIS had come to might that is has come now is ,for a large part ,the fault and blame of incompetent and arrogant Obama. That’s to put it mildly. For example the scholar and author Erik Stakelbeck in his book which is entitled ISIS EXPOSED on page 24 informs the reader about Obama that “the advice of his top commander on the ground, General J. Austin III[who recommended keeping twenty-four thousand U.S, troops in Iraq]. and other top military officials ,President Obama had authorized the complete withdraw of American troops from the country.” This foolishness and folly of Obama is in great contrast to the wisdom of Sun Tzu in THE ART OF WAR which instructs “He will win who had the military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”

  10. No Fear says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    Those damn radical buddhists…..

  11. mortimer says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    How many jihadists are in the US military?

    They had better find out before another Nidal Hasan conducts an individual jihad.

    • PRCS says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 11:02 pm

      Before another Nidal Hasan conducts an individual jihad?

      Remember Pvt. Abdo?

      http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/28/exclusive-us-military-serviceman-arrested-in-second-alleged-attack-on-ft-hood/

  12. Nimrod says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 8:13 pm

    The U.S. military really needs to consult with Zuhdi Jasser to develop a jihadi test, the details of which should be kept classified. Any Muslim in the military who fails the jihadi test gets kicked out immediately. Egypt ought to use the same test in their military.

    I’m talking about something like a specialized version of the MMPI combined with a polygraph.

    Commanding officers also ought to have to take an Islamic history and belief test to make sure they don’t still believe all of this politically correct taqiyya. Any who still believe the politically correct nonsense, and don’t know the warning signs of jihadism, ought to get demoted or discharged because they’ll just end up enabling the next Ft Hood jihadi.

  13. gravenimage says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    This Jihadist as in our military, and then worked as a mechanic for a commercial airline. Think of the havoc he could have caused there.

    How many more of these Jihadists are in our armed forces? How many working for Infidel airlines?

  14. Bezelel says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    I guess I’m lucky but I cannot understand the fascination with isis. His family (that includes children) will probably have trouble understanding that too, I hope. Oh and the charges,” Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh was indicted Monday by a grand jury in Brooklyn on two charges, including attempting to provide material support to a terror organization.” Who does he think he is? The president?

  15. Pushy Galore says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    For some, Islam is like a psychological virus that infects the mind of its converts, who, once infected want to kill everything that isn’t them. TI have no idea why the world is pussy-footing around this bunch.

    • citycat says

      Mar 17, 2015 at 10:48 pm

      Maybe Earthlings are divided by religious books
      If Islam was not a religion, well, it wouldn’t exist, would it?

  16. PRCS says

    Mar 17, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    The guy is 47 years old.

    He enlisted at 18 in ’86, serving until ’90–eleven years before 9/11.

    Some here are making the assumption that he was a Muslim during his enlistment. He apparently ‘reverted’ in ’98–long after his enlistment ended.

    I have no reason to think that his military service is relevant to his current behavior.

    Hannity is now claiming he was trained in ‘specialty’ weapons–whatever that means. Another Fox reporter says he ‘studied weapons systems’. A four engine AC-130 gunship is a ‘weapons system’.

    The guy was an aircraft mechanic in the service, and in his later civilian employment.

    That he could have done damage while working as a civilian aircraft mechanic is true, but when one thinks about it–lot’s of filthy kuffar fly on aircraft maintained by Muslims–around the world.

  17. Mahendra Singh says

    Mar 18, 2015 at 1:02 am

    http://heavy.com/news/2015/03/tairod-nathan-webster-pugh-isis-terrorist-syria-charged-us-air-force-mechanic-arrested/

    !. He was trying to cross into Turkey
    2. He was fired from his job in Kuwait
    3. A co-worker told the investigators about his love for Bin Laden
    4.He is married to an Egyptian, has US born child or children
    5. Prosecutors say he sought out his ISIS job on the internet

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