17 February 2012

Idiot of the Week: Amine el-Khalifi?

The Washington Post makes the case better than I can:

Amine el-Khalifi, 29, was picked up while carrying an inoperable MAC-10 automatic weapon and a fake suicide vest provided to him by undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaeda associates, U.S. officials said....Khalifi, “who is illegally present in the United States, was charged today by criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States,” the Justice Department said later in a news release. 

*   *   *
 U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said the complaint alleges that Khalifi “sought to blow himself up in the U.S. Capitol Building.” He said Khalifi “allegedly believed he was working with al-Qaeda and devised the plot, the targets and the methods on his own.” 

I guess what I don't understand about this entrapment business is why you have to humor the poor mark to the point of allowing him for some few glorious moments to believe he's on the short track to martyrdom. The way these things work, you'd think someone was filming him so they could put the footage on some comedy reality show. Otherwise, what's the point? -- or is letting him make an idiot of himself part of our psychological war on terror?

My advice to future idiot wannabe-terrorists is this: if some nice man gives you a suicide vest for an attack on an American target -- test it first!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My guess is that if they didn't allow him to prove his intent by attempting to act, their case would be weak at best.

My opinion is that if people this stupid and gullible are the best terrorist can recruit, why are we so afraid?

hobbyfan said...

"Stupid is as stupid does"==Forrest Gump.

Half the problem with the terror fanatics is that they think that by martyring themselves, they're assured a place in Heaven. No, they're not. They're sacrificing themselves to avoid prosecution and any possible repercussions should they talk.