THE UNIVERSITY DARLY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9. 2007
NEWS
5A
>> HOMELAND SECURITY
Six arrested in terror plot
Plan was to attack Ft. Dix, kill as many U.S. soldiers as possible
BY WAYNE PARRY ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT DIX, N.J. — Six foreignborn Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers — a scheme the FBI said was foiled when the men asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about ihad.
The defendants, all men in their 20s from the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East, include a pizza deliveryman suspected of using his job to scout out the military base.
Their goal was "to kill as many American soldiers as possible" with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and guns, prosecutors said.
"Today we dodged a bullet. In fact, when you look at the type of weapons that this group was trying to purchase, we may have dodged a lot of bullets," FBI agent J.P. Weis said. "We had a group that was forming a platoon to take on an army,
They identified their target, they did their recommission. They had maps. And they were in the process of buying weapons. Luckily, we were able to stop that."
Authorities said there was no direct evidence connecting the men to any international terror organizations such as al-Qaida. But several of them said they were ready to kill and die "in the name of Allah," according to court papers.
Investigators said they infiltrated the group with two informants well over a year ago and bided their time while they secretly recorded the defendants, five of whom lived in Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb about 20 miles from Fort Dix.
"This is what law enforcement is supposed to do in the post-9/11 era — stay one step ahead of those who are attempting to cause harm to innocent American citizens," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said.
Weis saluted the unidentified New Jersey store clerk who noticed the suspicious video as the "unsung
hero" of the case. "That's why we're here today — because of the courage and heroism of that individual," the FBI agent said.
In addition to plotting the attack on Fort Dix, the defendants spoke of assaulting a Navy installation in Philadelphia during the annual Army-Navy football game and conducted surveillance at other military installations in the region, prosecutors said.
One defendant, Eljvir Duke, was recorded as saying: "In the end, when it comes to defending your religion, when someone ... attacks your religion, your way of life, then you go ijad."
The six were arrested Monday night trying to buy AK-47 assault weapons, and other weapons from an FBI informant, authorities said.
They appeared in federal court Tuesday in Camden and were ordered held without bail for a hearing Friday. Five were charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. military personnel.
Mike Dener/ASSOCIATED PRESS
U. S. Attorney Christopher Christie, center, surrounded by federal and state police officials, holds a news conference on the steps of the U.S. District Courthouse in Camden, N.J., on Tuesday, to announce the arrests of six foreign-born Muslims who are accused of plotting to attack the Army's Fort Dix and massacre scores of U.S. soldiers.
>> ENVIRONMENT
BY H. JOSEF HEBERT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Corporations unite against global warming
WASHINGTON - General Motors Corp., and nearly a dozen other major companies, have joined the growing number of businesses calling for limits on greenhouse gases to combat global warming.
General Motors on Tuesday became the first automobile manufacturer to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of corporate executives that wants Congress to enact an economy-wide mandatory cap on carbon dioxide emissions.
The group announced the addition of 14 new members including General Motors, PepsiCo, Royal Dutch Shell's U.S. subsidiary and two environmental organizations. Shell, which became the third oil company to join the group, had made its decision known last week.
"With this lineup of companies and environmental groups endorsing it, a carbon cap is clearly the consensus solution to climate change," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, one of the original coalition members.
"We especially applaud (the coalition) for recognizing the important role that technology can play in achieving an economy-wide solution" to climate change, said GM Chairman Rick Wagoner.
General Motors said in a statement that the automaker views "the need to promote energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as both a business necessity and an obligation to society."
In March, Wagoner said at a congressional hearing that GM was ready to discuss carbon constraints "as part of a broader climate change strategy."
Also joining the industry coalition, known as USCAP, were: Alcan Inc., the Canadian-based aluminum company; American International Group; Boston Scientific; ConocoPhillips; tractor manufacturer Deere & Co.; Dow Chemical Co.; Johnson & Johnson; the technology conglomerate Siemens Corp.; Marsh Inc., and two environmental groups, the National Wildlife Federation and the Nature Conservancy.
The coalition announced in January its intention to press Congress for so-called cap-and-trade legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Its original 10 members included BP America, Duke Energy Corp. and General Electric Co.
There have been a number of climate bills introduced in Congress, calling for mandatory limits on greenhouse gases which scientists fear will cause a warming of the Earth if atmospheric concentrations are not stabilized by mid-century.
Jacquelyn Martin/ ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY HARRY DUNPHY ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to American soldiers with a trip to the National World War II Memorial Tuesday, winding up her six-day American visit.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, greets World War II veterans, including Joseph Montgomery Jr., 83, right, during a visit to the National WWII Memorial in Washington on Tuesday. The visit was part of a six-day trip to the United States.
Queen visits WWII memorial
Accompanied by former president George H. W. Bush, a veteran of the war, and his wife, Barbara, the queen placed a wreath in honor of the 400,000 U.S. soldiers who died. It said: "In memory of the glorious dead."
Afterward there was a drum roll and a bugler played taps.
》 ROYAL VACATION
Dressed in a blue suit and hat, the queen then joined a park ranger for a walk around a fountain at the center of the memorial, stopping to look at the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument before veterans of the war, some in wheelchairs.
The video link was one-way, so the crew members could not see the queen standing by silently wearing a large yellow hat.
The crew members — American Suni Williams and two Russians, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov — answered questions from British-born NASA astronaut C. Michael Foale, who stood next to the queen at the center.
the U.S. capital. The queen started off with a trip to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Maryland, where she heard three astronauts describe their work aboard the international space station.
One of the veterans Marjorie
After hearing from the astronauts, the British monarch toured Goddard and helped plant a tree in the garden commemorating her visit. The flight center is home to the largest organization of scientists and engineers in the United States, according to NASA.
It was a full day of sightseeing in
Gallun, 85, who said she served in the Marine Corps told the queen: "We are happy to have you here."
She was to conclude her Washington visit by hosting a dinner for the Bushes at the British Embassy Tuesday night, a return favor for the white-tie state dinner Bush put on for the royal couple Monday night at the White House.
The queen politely replied: "We are happy to be here."
Outside the memorial, there was a crowd of several hundred behind a picket fence, on which two Union Jacks were draped. The crowd applauded as the queen's limousine went by.
It was the British monarch's first visit to the war memorial, which was dedicated in 2004. The queen, a teenage princess during World War II, served her country in the war as a driver in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women's branch of the British Army.