Al Qaeda's Dumbest Terrorists
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfreedman/2011/09/26/al-qaedas-dumbest-terrorists/ One of the least publicized things about al Qaeda is that for every cunning
terrorist mastermind, there are other members who would merit coverage on a
show similar to "America's dumbest criminals."
I present some of my favorite, "dumbest terrorists":
Jose Padilla and Binyam Mohammed. These two planned to detonate a dirty
bomb in a U.S. city - by stealing uranium from a passing truck and then
enriching it by swinging it around in a bucket.
Salman al-Taezi and Walid Ashibi. These Yemenis were part of a cell that
plotted to attack embassies in Yemen, including the Cuban embassy - "because
of Guantanamo Bay" other cell members later explained to investigators.
While the two were preparing a missile, Ashibi trudged across a carpeted
room and unwittingly ignited it with the static energy he had created -
causing it to fire into Taezi and kill him. Ashibi himself collapsed and
died moments later.
Abu Jaffar al Hada. In 1999, the brother-in-law of 9/11 hijacker Khalid
al-Mihdhar decided to fish on Lake Duranta in Afghanistan using electricity.
He was electrocuted after one of the al Qaeda members onshore misinterpreted
his signal and switched the current on.
A certain Yemeni explosives trainer. Toward the end of a class at the
Banshiri training camp (in Afghanistan) with new Chinese Uigher recruits,
this trainer told them "and don't do this" while putting two ends of an
explosive wire together - killing himself along with almost everyone else in
the class.
Abu Jandal. Bin Laden's personal bodyguard tried to impress U.S
interrogators with his knowledge of history - by reciting the plot of Mel
Gibson's Braveheart movie.
Abdullah Hassan al Asiri. This terrorist pioneered the underwear bomb in
2009 while attempting to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin
Nayef, but prematurely detonated it and only killed himself.
Salman al-Adani and Taha al-Ahdal. The two were selected to be suicide
bombers for a January 3, 2000, attack on the U.S. navy vessel, USS The
Sullivans. But they forgot to plan for the changing tide, and their boat got
stuck in the sand. They abandoned it and went home to sleep, not bothering
even to tell the other plotters. The boat was found the next morning by
local fishermen, who claimed ownership, and on arriving at the scene the
plot leader had to buy it back.
Iyman Farris. In 2003 this naturalized U.S. citizen plotted to use a
blowtorch to cut the suspension cables of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Highlighting the incompetence of al Qaeda members not only provides
merriment at the expense of those who have caused so much pain, but also
serves an important tactical purpose.
One of the most effective recruiting tools used by terrorist groups is the
offer to otherwise unremarkable individuals the chance of international
fame. The mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, for example, hatched
the plot partly out of a desire to attain the same global notoriety as his
cousin Ramzi Yousef - the architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Governments therefore unwittingly help terrorist groups recruit when they
talk up the brilliance and dangerousness of terrorists, as others, with
similar mindsets and backgrounds, figure they too can achieve such infamy.
It is appropriate to applaud our investigators when a terrorist is stopped,
but there is no benefit in pretending that fools are masterminds.
After Padilla was arrested - much to the bewilderment of the FBI Agents who
uncovered the plot and arrested him - Attorney General John Ashcroft
declared at a press conference that they had "disrupted an unfolding
terrorist plot" that could have caused "mass death and injury." Padilla, who
later made it onto the cover of Time magazine, certainly had the intent -
and therefore belongs in prison - but is a brain surgery away from the
capability.
If the government had instead ridiculed Padilla and mocked al Qaeda for
sending an idiot, it's highly unlikely that his example would have inspired
anyone to join al Qaeda. If anything, potential recruits might have had
second thoughts. Death or life in prison, along with international ridicule,
is hardly appealing - even to fools.
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