Mass. man to plead in remote-controlled plane Pentagon bomb plot

[Robb]

Source: Christian Science Monitor

BOSTON -- A Massachusetts man charged with plotting to fly remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives into the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol plans to plead guilty to two charges, his lawyers and prosecutors said in a plea agreement filed in federal court Tuesday.

Rezwan Ferdaus, a Muslim-American from Ashland with a physics degree from Boston's Northeastern University, was arrested in September after federal employees posing as al-Qaida members delivered materials he had allegedly requested, including grenades, machine guns and what he believed was 24 pounds of C-4 explosives.

In the plea agreement, prosecutors and Ferdaus' lawyers say Ferdaus will plead guilty to attempting to provide material support to terrorists and attempting to damage and destroy federal buildings by means of an explosive. Prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed to request a 17-year sentence.

Under the agreement, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss four other charges.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0710/Mass.-man-to-plead-in-remote-controlled-plane-Pentagon-bomb-plot

[Arctic Dave]

1. Wait! You are telling me it is illegal to fly remote control

planes to blow things up and kill people?

The irony is immense.

[permatex]

2. OMG, I must be stupid,

or in dire need of some coffee, it just hit me what you meant. Your right, the irony is immense.

[Nihil]

9. Hmmm ... I see what you did there ...

> Wait! You are telling me it is illegal to fly remote control
> planes to blow things up and kill people?
> The irony is immense.

Well done!

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Aparently he had no clue that any plane flown into the Pentagon

would disappear without a trace.

[Atman]

4. Glad they pointed out that he's not an American...he's a MUSLIM American.

Big difference. Americans don't do this kind of shit, but MUSLIMS do...even American ones.

Oh, wait, there was this Timothy McVeigh guy, but I never heard of him called a Christian American. Oh, never mind.

Keep the fear alive!

[siligut]

5. Or that Terry Nichols is a Mormon American.

[RZM]

10. What's so bad about providing details about the guy? Isn't that media's job?

It's possible that his religious affiliation was a motivating factor in his plans. Thus it's not a bad idea to put it in the story. I don't understand how reporting facts constitutes 'keeping the fear alive.'

Stories about McVeigh frequently mentioned that he was an anti-government nut. Was that 'keeping the fear alive?' Or was it relevant information the public should know?

[Atman]

11. If it is possible that his religious affiliation was motivation...

...then where is that in the story? No discussion about it at all, just pointing out that, you know, he's one of those evil Muslims. What possible rationale is there for pointing out his religion? Does the police blotter in the local paper indicate "John Dough: Presbyterian: pulled over for DUI"? What offing difference does his religion make, unless it actually makes a difference, in which case it should be reported upon and investigated further. Pure fear-mongering.

[RZM]

12. I'll keep that in mind next time a Christian shoots an abortion doctor

I'll check back with you to make sure you're expressing the proper outrage if their religious affiliation is mentioned in the story.

Because by your logic, the accused will have to make some sort of statement explicitly tying the crime to their religion. If such is lacking (as it seems to be here), then I trust you'll take the media outlet to task and complain about fear-mongering.

[4th law of robotics]

14. +1

If it were a Christian shooting an abortion doctor people would be outraged if his religion weren't mentioned often enough in the article.

[Atman]

16. Thank you for completely missing the point.

By your logic, you applied no logic.

Of course, you could actually try to read what I posted.

[4th law of robotics]

13. It seems like his religion was a factor here

Al-Qaeda isn't an agnostic social club.

[JackRiddler]

6. What, again? Been there, done that.

[slackmaster]

7. Religious fanaticism strikes again

[surrealAmerican]

8. Note that he did not need to be held for years ...

... tortured, or tried by a military tribunal. Our justice system can cope with terrorists.

[4th law of robotics]

15. It does help that he was inept.

Let's hope all the competent terrorists are dead by now.