Assorted Babble: Miami: Tues. in the Liberty City 7 Terrorists' Trial

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Miami: Tues. in the Liberty City 7 Terrorists' Trial

On the path to jihad, yes they were, the Liberty City 7 on trial now in Miami. Dangerous and willing to kill many in the name of Allah, thank goodness for our law enforcement for thwarting their deadly plans.

A group of young minority men dubbed the Liberty City 7 were at the most advanced stage of becoming Islamic terrorists on the path to jihad, a government witness testified in their federal trial Tuesday.

Raymond Tanter, a longtime terrorism expert who teaches at Georgetown University, cited a recent New York City Police report on the 'radicalization process' to categorize the seven defendants' mindset.

They each face up to 70 years in prison on charges of conspiring to support al Qaeda to blow up federal buildings in five cities, including Miami, and Chicago's Sears Tower in an alleged insurrection against the United States.

The report, released in August, identifies four stages to Islamic radicalization: pre-radicalization, self-identification, indoctrination, and jihadization.

Tanter placed each member of the Liberty City 7 in the final stage as a prosecutor inquired about each one's status -- starting with the group's alleged ringleader, Narseal Batiste.

''Mr. Batiste falls into the jihadization, or fourth, stage of the radicalization process,'' he told prosecutor Allyson Fritz, before repeating the same response for the six others.

Then he added: ``The defendants have organized themselves as if they are a military organization, with a definite hierarchy and leadership.''

It is a scary thought of more of these terrorists plotting and you know they are, just waiting on the right opportunity. Another thought to be frightened by is if a Democrat is elected President. This trial should be reminder for needing leadership in our country that is tough on terror.

Tanter's testimony sparked calls for a mistrial by the defense when he ventured beyond explaining the radicalization process and offered his opinion about Batiste's intentions. In doing so, the professor explained there are two definitions of jihad: ''introspection'' (making the world a better place) and ''violent'' jihad (expanding Islamic extremism globally).

''I strongly believe that he was talking about violent jihad, not introspection,'' said Tanter, referring to Batiste's recorded statements.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard denied a motion for severance and mistrial made by defense attorney Albert Levin, who represents Patrick Abraham.