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Tuesday, September 29, 2009 8:56 PM CDT
OUR VIEW: Terrorist bomb plot comes to the prairie



The news last week that a Decatur man was arrested in connection with a plot to blow up the federal courthouse in Springfield was shocking.

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies deserve credit and our thanks for their attention to the possible catastrophe.

Authorities arrested Michael C. Finton, 29, of Decatur. Finton, who also went by the alias “Talib Islam,” is charged with attempted murder of federal employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

If Finton had been able to carry out his plan, it nearly could have been a repeat of the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 in which two Americans destroyed the federal building in downtown Oklahoma City, Okla. That bombing killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.

Part of the shock of this incident is that it is so close to home.

Finton lives in Decatur but previously lived in Olney and Mount Vernon, all relatively close to Mattoon and Charleston.

Kurt Erickson, chief of the Lee Enterprises’ Springfield Bureau, which serves the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier, reported that Finton’s arrest capped two years of undercover work by the FBI.

This was not a case of someone unhappy with last fall’s election or any partisan politics backlash. Authorities had been tracking Finton since August of 2007.

They learned he had converted to Islam in prison and had written a letter to John Walker Lindh, the American who was captured in Afghanistan fighting for the Taliban.

Finton later received money from someone in Saudi Arabia and traveled there in April 2008.

Last Wednesday, Finton drove a van containing what he thought were explosives and parked it in front of the federal building.

Prosecutors say Finton got out of the van, locked the door and got into another vehicle driven by an undercover FBI agent.

A few blocks from the building he entered a few numbers into a cell phone thinking it would remotely detonate the explosives.

The explosives were fakes planted by the FBI and he was arrested immediately.

Arrests don’t just happen.

“This alleged plot drives home the stark reality that we must avoid complacency and remain ever vigilant to the threats that violent extremists may pose to public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Lang last week.

Karen Spangenberg, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Springfield division, credited the cooperation of a number of law enforcement agencies with helping “neutralize potential threats before they come to fruition.”

“This case is a prime example of our commitment to protect Americans from terrorist attacks, through prevention,” Spangenberg said.

Not every investigation results in an arrest. Some may be “dead ends.”

But this case, and another similar one in Dallas last week, indicates that a terrorist attack still is possible, even in Central Illinois.

— JG/T-C Editorial Board


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lefty wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:03 AM:

" Run dun dun!!!! "

~STRANGER~ wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:09 PM:

" How would the feds have felt if a real terrorist, switched vans on their little caper?They need to stop playing before someone gets hurt. "

cedric66 wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:32 PM:

" Obama will do anything not to fight or get into an altercation with our enemies, especially Muslims. We can see it in Afghanistan, wheres he waffling big time; we saw it in his virtual abandonment of Israel during the U.N. speech; and were seeing it with Iran.

Furthermore, hes giving strength to Russia by removing the missile shield; and hes doing absolutely nothing to rein in North Korea.
When he gets through, well have so many guns and missiles pointed at us itll make it impossible to defend outselves. But maybe thats what he wants. "

father bob wrote on Sep 30, 2009 2:26 PM:

" cedric66 wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:32 PM:
"When he gets through, well have so many guns and missiles pointed at us itll make it impossible to defend outselves. But maybe thats what he wants. """""


yep..... just like the pilot of your airline secretly wants to crash his plane just to kill you. "

father bob wrote on Sep 30, 2009 3:28 PM:

" beware of those Amish terrorists! "

jrhendren wrote on Sep 30, 2009 11:26 PM:

" ~STRANGER~ wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:09 PM:
" How would the feds have felt if a real terrorist, switched vans on their little caper?They need to stop playing before someone gets hurt. "

It's called having enough evidence. Same as you can't stop a shoplifter until they have left the store. By going through with the charade of a bomb, it limits his defense. Then again you believe it to be a setup anyways right? "

The Question wrote on Oct 1, 2009 6:18 AM:

" One thing to remember. The only terrorist WMD ever used against the American people came from one of the Bush Pentagon's biological weapons labs. It was sent to the offices of two Democratic senators and several members of the news media, and killed five people, as you may recall. "

~STRANGER~ wrote on Oct 1, 2009 7:45 AM:

" Jr, I once saw a shoplifter get nabbed right in the isle at WM by a secret shopper.Once someone obviously conceals an item for the purpose of depriving that store of that item the thief is caught,only if the item/s are placed in a questionable place do they wait outside for the arrest.(They should have their hands removed on the spot, that way when you see "nubby" people walking around in your store they can be watched more closely.)
BTW whats shoplifting got to do with the fbi coaching and giving an obvious lame duck wannabe terrorist a fake bomb to explode? "

father bob wrote on Oct 1, 2009 8:34 AM:

" September 30, 2009
TERRORIST ATTACK WIPES OUT ENTIRE STATE OF VERMONT!

Vermont, a state with a population of 621,270 was wiped out in a recent terrorist attack.

Well, not really, but if you figure 40,000 Americans die each year for lack of health insurance, and the Republicans defeated Hillarys health care reform in 1993, thats how many people have died. (1640,000=640,000)

Thanks to the health insurance industry and the Republican Party, they have killed over 640,000 American citizens since 1993. If that were to happen in one day, surely it would be labled a terrorist attack of the worst order. But because they make a profit, people threaten to leave the Union, to start a civil war, to protect the terrorists!

~TZ~ "

Becky wrote on Oct 1, 2009 8:40 AM:

" cedric66 wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:32 PM:

" Obama will do anything not to fight or get into an altercation with our enemies, especially Muslims."

Cedric, we are still in Iraq, building up our forces in Afganistan, bombing Pakistan, and threatening Iran. They just nabbed 4 domestic terrorists last week and stopped 2 bombings. All under Obama's administration. So please, tell me, what the heck are you talking about?.....again. "

Mama says wrote on Oct 1, 2009 10:58 AM:

" USA was warned years ago terrorism would spot bigger cities and government and state buildings. WE live in smaller area and we watch when see vehicles/people we do not know, and have called LAW checkout if sits too long in area. We have some kids who ride bikes, pedal scooters, skating down the roads and who knows could stop some kidnapper. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
We report drunken drivers too.
GLAD to see the FBI on the job. "

jrhendren wrote on Oct 2, 2009 12:22 AM:

" ~STRANGER~ wrote on Oct 1, 2009 7:45 AM:
" Jr, I once saw a shoplifter get nabbed right in the isle at WM by a secret shopper.Once someone obviously conceals an item for the purpose of depriving that store of that item the thief is caught,only if the item/s are placed in a questionable place do they wait outside for the arrest.(They should have their hands removed on the spot, that way when you see "nubby" people walking around in your store they can be watched more closely.)
BTW whats shoplifting got to do with the fbi coaching and giving an obvious lame duck wannabe terrorist a fake bomb to explode? "


First off, the "secret shopper" was in the wrong in that the customer can always claim they were going to pay for it. There must be no doubt they did not pay for the item in question. I have dealt with this problem several times when working in retail. It has to do with the fact that by letting, not "coaching" a would be, not "lame duck wannabe terrorist" believe he was detonating a bomb, it removes doubt to a jury. It provides substantial evidence for the prosecution. I know the FBI and prosecution are the bad guys in your eyes, but sorry your wrong. Again, Good work to the FBI for stopping this plot against innocent people. "

jrhendren wrote on Oct 2, 2009 12:52 AM:

" The Question wrote on Oct 1, 2009 6:18 AM:
" One thing to remember. The only terrorist WMD ever used against the American people came from one of the Bush Pentagon's biological weapons labs. It was sent to the offices of two Democratic senators and several members of the news media, and killed five people, as you may recall. "

You got that wrong again TheQuestion. The Anthrax could have very well have been under the Clinton Pentagon, and had not been weaponized at that time.

"Radiocarbon dating conducted by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in June 2002 established that the anthrax was cultured no more than two years before the mailings. " - The New York Times June 23, 2002

Wait that means it very well could have been under President Clinton also:

"Beginning during the Clinton administration, the US began genetically engineering a more potent variant of the anthrax bacterium. Supposedly, this was done to help the US come up with defenses against such a bacterium being used against the US by terrorists or another country." - New York Times

Now I am not saying it was definitely made under Clinton, as you say with Bush, but it very well could have been. Do you always have to play politics? "

The Question wrote on Oct 2, 2009 8:56 AM:

" The anthrax came out of the Pentagon biological weapons program and was used against the American people, presumably in an act of right wing terrorism, since the targets were Democrats and the news media, two favorite devils of the nut-bag right.
The terrorists struck DURING the Bush administration, which FAILED to STOP or to PUNISH that act of terrorism. Just another of Bush's many disastrous failures, which right wingers lie about when they say Bush "kept us safe since 9-11." "

father bob wrote on Oct 2, 2009 9:17 AM:

" On this date in 2001 NATO and the World stood behind US military strikes on Afghanistan in response to events surrounding 9/11. The United States received support from just about all nations, even those subsequently attributed to be members of an Axis of Evil. These sentiments were the beginning of the loss of worldwide sympathy for the plight of the United States. The attack on Iraq, directly supported by false intelligence was an action planned before Bush 43 took office.

We are still paying the price of that plan through the loss of national treasure, national reputation, and most importantly U.S., Allied and Iraqi lives. The Coalition of the Willing is shrinking to a coalition of one.

~TZ~ "

cedric66 wrote on Oct 2, 2009 3:05 PM:

" copy and paste-----copy and paste!!!! "

father bob wrote on Oct 2, 2009 5:06 PM:

" cedric66 wrote on Oct 2, 2009 3:05 PM:
" copy and paste-----copy and paste!!!! """"


yep, at least you'll notice the connotation: "~TZ~".......where's your's???? "

jrhendren wrote on Oct 2, 2009 11:34 PM:

" The Question wrote on Oct 2, 2009 8:56 AM:
" The anthrax came out of the Pentagon biological weapons program and was used against the American people, presumably in an act of right wing terrorism, since the targets were Democrats and the news media, two favorite devils of the nut-bag right.
The terrorists struck DURING the Bush administration, which FAILED to STOP or to PUNISH that act of terrorism. Just another of Bush's many disastrous failures, which right wingers lie about when they say Bush "kept us safe since 9-11." "


You have issues. I'm sorry to tell you this but everything in the world that is wrong is not Bush's fault. Clinton messed up things also. I know being to the extreme left that you are you are not allowed to admit it, but hey we both know. Also once again I post cited facts, you post opinions, such as "presumably in an act of right wing terrorism". Even CNN never went that far as to say such a thing. You and the Clinton stick with your "right wing conspiracy" theory. "

The Question wrote on Oct 3, 2009 10:38 AM:

" History's verdict is in, jr. Bush was the worst president in modern memory, probably in history. We will be decades cleaning up the disasters and constitutional crises created by that fascist ape and his power-mad organ grinder of a vice president, if we can salvage this nation at all. The jury is still out on that one. "

cedric66 wrote on Oct 4, 2009 11:34 AM:

" The Question wrote on Oct 3, 2009 10:38 AM:

" History's verdict is in, jr. Bush was the worst president in modern memory, probably in history. We will be decades cleaning up the disasters and constitutional crises created by that fascist ape and his power-mad organ grinder of a vice president, if we can salvage this nation at all. The jury is still out on that one. "


"CHICAGO FAILS TO GET THE OLYMPICS "!!!! iT WAS BUSH'S FAULT" "

The Question wrote on Oct 4, 2009 4:23 PM:

" "CHICAGO FAILS TO GET THE OLYMPICS "!!!! iT WAS BUSH'S FAULT" "
---
Bush, the American torturer and lying war criminal, is the reason much of the world now hates the U.S., Seedy. So you could well be right, and for the first time, too. "

Harry Potter wrote on Oct 4, 2009 6:09 PM:

" Bush, the American torturer and lying war criminal, is the reason much of the world now hates the U.S., Seedy. So you could well be right, and for the first time, too. "

Poor seedy gets outsmarted at every turn. lol! "

jrhendren wrote on Oct 4, 2009 10:44 PM:

" The Question wrote on Oct 3, 2009 10:38 AM:
" History's verdict is in, jr. Bush was the worst president in modern memory, probably in history. We will be decades cleaning up the disasters and constitutional crises created by that fascist ape and his power-mad organ grinder of a vice president, if we can salvage this nation at all. The jury is still out on that one. "

The Question wrote on Oct 4, 2009 4:23 PM:
" "CHICAGO FAILS TO GET THE OLYMPICS "!!!! iT WAS BUSH'S FAULT" "
---
Bush, the American torturer and lying war criminal, is the reason much of the world now hates the U.S., Seedy. So you could well be right, and for the first time, too. "


Once again all your opinion. Then again that is all you ever use is your opinion those darn facts hurt you to much. "

The Question wrote on Oct 5, 2009 7:25 AM:

" According a 20-country poll coordinated by the Project on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, more people around the world trust the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin than trust George W. Bush. Bush was considered less trustworthy than former head of the KGB not only in Russia but in Argentina, Mexico, Britain, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and South Korea.
According to a report in the Guardian, of Britain, among the French, 75 percent said their view of the United States had gotten worse or much worse since Bush became president. In Canada, 77 percent made a similar statement. And in Switzerland, the percentage of those with an increasingly negative view of America under Bush topped out at 86 percent.
So the world hates Bush, and with good reason.
Facts, jr. Try them sometime. "

jrhendren wrote on Oct 5, 2009 11:51 PM:

" The Question wrote on Oct 5, 2009 7:25 AM:
" According a 20-country poll coordinated by the Project on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, more people around the world trust the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin than trust George W. Bush. Bush was considered less trustworthy than former head of the KGB not only in Russia but in Argentina, Mexico, Britain, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and South Korea.


I tried looking up your stats you gave from the PIPA website. I could not find your article you quoted form. Could you maybe give a better citation of when this poll occurred. Secondly, take a look at some of the countries you have listed here. Not the most reliable are they.
________________________________________

According to a report in the Guardian, of Britain, among the French, 75 percent said their view of the United States had gotten worse or much worse since Bush became president. In Canada, 77 percent made a similar statement. And in Switzerland, the percentage of those with an increasingly negative view of America under Bush topped out at 86 percent.
So the world hates Bush, and with good reason.
Facts, jr. Try them sometime. "

As for the guardian story lets see.

"In France 25 percent of voters say relations with the U.S. are tense, against 38 percent who say they are friendly and 39 percent who think they are neutral" - The Guardian

"Only 23 percent of Mexicans describe relations as friendly and 28 percent say they are tense. In Canada, which has just re-elected a Conservative minority government, voters are strongly supportive of a Democratic presidency; 43 percent say relations with the U.S. are friendly and 14 percent tense." - The Guardian

Out of those 75% who have a lesser view, most still see the U.S. as friendly or neutral. Mexico is really as you would expect it to be about even. Canada like wise, though wanted us to have a Democrat president, still considered the U.S. for friendly then less. As you said, "Facts, Try them sometime". Though I must admit it was nice to see you cite a source for once. "

cedric66 wrote on Oct 6, 2009 2:30 PM:

" Becky wrote on Oct 1, 2009 8:40 AM:

" cedric66 wrote on Sep 30, 2009 1:32 PM:

" Obama will do anything not to fight or get into an altercation with our enemies, especially Muslims."

Cedric, we are still in Iraq, building up our forces in Afganistan, bombing Pakistan, and threatening Iran. They just nabbed 4 domestic terrorists last week and stopped 2 bombings. All under Obama's administration. So please, tell me, what the heck are you talking about?.....again. "

Well, if we are doing so great there, why can't we get any air support for our troops when they need it and why do we have to retreat when the Taliban hide behind the citizens there. This is war and you are supposed to fight to win. Our troops are brave men and we shouldn't handicape them in any way!!! Think about it!!! "

cedric66 wrote on Oct 7, 2009 6:53 AM:

" It all boils down to this:

When GWB was in office the Left bad mouthed him and insisted that the fight wasn't in Iraq but in Afghanistan.

Now Obama has to follow through on Afghanistan. Right. He does nothing because he has no idea of what to do. The troops aren't any part of their thinking, only what is politically right for the Democrat Party. I'm sure Rahm Emanuel is tearing his hair trying to find a way out that will appease their S.F. and NY liberal nutcases

With liberals it's all about their political power.

I despise them! "

 


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