Interesting! The NY bombing suspect is a US citizen

[jmowreader]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/19/494550583/new-york-names-person-of-interest-in-chelsea-bombing-ahmad-khan-rahami
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3796768/Ahmad-Rahami-sued-local-police-New-Jersey-claiming-persecuted-Muslim.html
http://heavy.com/news/2016/09/ahmed-khan-rahami-wanted-poster-chelsea-23rd-street-bombing-explosion-suspect-name-photos-facebook-page-terrorist-tannerite/

His name is Ahmad Khan Rahami. He was born in Afghanistan in 1988, moved with his family to the US (it doesn't say when, sorry, but it was quite a while ago because...), and obtained his US citizenship.

Here's what's really interesting to me: in 2002, Rahami, his father Mohammed Sr., and Ahmad's brother Mohammed opened a fried chicken joint styled First American Fried Chicken. (Don't visit their Yelp page if you want to preserve your fading hope for humanity.) In 2011 they filed a federal suit against the city and the cops for "a reckless disregard and deliberate indifference for plaintiff's constitutional rights of liberty, due process and equal protection." The cops' side of the story: the restaurant was a persistent neighborhood nuisance. It stayed open all night and drew "large, loud crowds." The City Council voted to impose a 10pm closing time because the crowds at the restaurant were keeping the neighbors up all night. Naturally, the Rahamis ignored it.

He's also got a rap sheet - obstruction of justice and resisting arrest are his favorite crimes.

He seems to be more a generic American asshole than an international terrorist.

[duncang]

1. IIRC he was 7 when they moved here.

[Warpy]

2. It seems he traveled to Afghanistan to discover his roots

now that the Russians are long gone and much of the fighting has stopped. There he discovered religion and people who know him say his personality changed profoundly after that trip.

But yes, he sounds like your typical, run of the mill asshole who uses religion as his excuse to act out against a world that doesn't put him onto the pedestal he feels he deserves.

[loyalsister]

6. I'm sure he discovered a lot of them are dead

because of the war we encouraged Afghanistan to continue. Apparently he was a survivor of our cold war victory, but I expect he heard all about it when he visited Afghanistan. Why are my uncles, brothers, cousins dead? Why can't they read? Why did they die so young?......

We facilitated the increased influence of the Afghan Mujahideen which became a centralized organization amid tribal conflicts, and evolved into Al-Qaeda. This in a country where the majority were children.

Though not justifiable, it is possible to understand how such warped thinking comes about. After they won the cold war for us, we left Afghanistan alone with dangerous forces in charge and a population primed for indoctrination.

[malaise]

3. Moved in 1995 n/t

[EX500rider]

4. Rahami's appearance and behaviour began to change after he visited his native Afghanistan....

.....about four years ago. After returning from his trip, he grew a beard, began wearing traditional Muslim robes and prayed in the back of the store.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37410115

[elleng]

5. Ahmad Rahami: Fixture in Family’s Business and, Lately, a ‘Completely Different Person’

'He presided behind the counter of a storefront New Jersey fried chicken restaurant, making his home with his family in an apartment above it. To some of his friends, Ahmad Khan Rahami was known as Mad, an abridgment of his name rather than a suggestion of his manner, and they liked the fact that he gave them free food when they were short on money.

Other than that, his other known obsession was souped-up Honda Civics that he liked to race. In recent years, though, some friends noticed a marked change in his personality and religious devotion after what they believe was a visit to Afghanistan, where he was born.'>>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/nyregion/ahmad-khan-rahami-bombing-suspect.html?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016167168

[AngryAmish]

7. generic American asshole

Right.