View Full Version : Did Arabic Translators Attempt to Poison Ft Jackson Soldiers???
Warrior-Mentor
02-18-2010, 18:26
Army Investigates Alleged Attempt by Soldiers to Poison Food at Fort Jackson
Fox News
February 18, 2010
The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that soldiers were attempting to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
The ongoing probe began two months ago, Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, told Fox News.
The Army is taking the allegations “extremely seriously,” Grey said, but so far, "there is no credible information to support the allegations."
The suspects were part of a Arabic translation program called "09 Lima" and use Arabic as their first language, two sources told Fox News. Another military source said they were Muslim.
Grey would not confirm or deny the sources’ information.
Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.
Sure would be a shame if DIVERSITY were a casualty.
SOURCE:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586721,00.html
Warrior-Mentor
02-18-2010, 18:45
CBN Exclusive: Five Muslim Soldiers Arrested at Fort Jackson in South Carolina
Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News Terrorism Analyst
CBN News has learned exclusively that five Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson in South Carolina were arrested just before Christmas. It is unclear whether the men are still in custody. The five were part of the Arabic Translation program at the base.
The men are suspected of trying to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson.
A source with intimate knowledge of the investigation, which is ongoing, told CBN News investigators suspect the "Fort Jackson Five" may have been in contact with the group of five Washington, DC area Muslims that traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad against U.S. troops in December. That group was arrested by Pakistani authorities, also just before Christmas.
Coming as it does on the heels of November's Fort Hood jihadist massacre, this news has major implications.
SOURCE:
http://blogs.cbn.com/stakelbeckonterror/archive/2010/02/18/cbn-exclusive-five-muslim-soldiers-arrested-at-fort-jackson-in.aspx
The Reaper
02-18-2010, 18:54
I have said from the conception that the 09L program is a disaster which is going blow up in people's faces and get soldiers killed.
Muslims are not Eastern Europeans fleeing communist oppression, as Muslims in the U.S. military have frequently demonstrated.
There is no reward worth the risk this program presents.
TR
LongWire
02-19-2010, 02:57
I have said from the conception that the 09L program is a disaster which is going blow up in people's faces and get soldiers killed.
Muslims are not Eastern Europeans fleeing communist oppression, as Muslims in the U.S. military have frequently demonstrated.
There is no reward worth the risk this program presents.
TR
While I tend to agree, I wish there was a better system in place to vet the applicants.
I have worked with quite a few of these guys (09Lima), some excellent, some not so much, but it would a shame to kill the program because we can't screen them well enough to merit their service and security clearance.
I agree that the guys we are hiring are already in a high risk group of peoples that wish to do us harm, I just feel that there should be a better system in place. As far as I know the Army still has high numbers of gang members inside as well. Yes these groups agenda is different from the goals of the muslim groups, but it is still an insult to those serving honorably as well as a big time security risk.
As far as the Five Terrorists in question, Hang Em High!!!! :munchin
Why not seek out first rate Arab and Farsi linguists who are Middle Eastern Christians, Jews and apostate Muslims? :confused:
http://www.israpundit.com/2007/?p=3774
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/cia-launches-muslim-recruitment-drive/
Would it be to simple and naive to suggest that all candidates to the 09L school first go to S.E.R.E. classes,, for additional credit??? :D:D:D:D
Warrior-Mentor
02-19-2010, 07:11
As far as the Five Terrorists in question, Hang Em High!!!!
Due process my friend....they're "Soldiers." A Court Martial will suffice. I trust the military judicial system to find out what happened.
Why not seek out first rate Arab and Farsi linguists who are Middle Eastern Christians, Jews and apostate Muslims? :confused:
http://www.israpundit.com/2007/?p=3774
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/cia-launches-muslim-recruitment-drive/
Stop using common sense to solve simple problems!
What we care about is their religion, NOT their Arabic Language skills and their loyalty to the oath they swear to support and defend. ;)
Warrior-Mentor
02-19-2010, 07:24
Feb 18 2010, 9:43 pm by Marc Ambinder
The Mystery At Ft. Jackson -- Did CBN Get It Wrong?
CBN News.com says it has a major exclusive: " CBN News has learned exclusively that five Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson in South Carolina were arrested just before Christmas and are in custody. The five men were part of the Arabic Translation program at the base."
Huge -- if true. Damaging and politically sensitive. Evidence of extensive infiltration of the U.S. Army by jihadists.
But the Army says it's not true. No one has been arrested. The National Security Council was not aware of any arrests, a spokesperson said.
After the Ft. Hood massacre, the Army increased its counterintelligence presence at Ft. Jackson, a training base, because it is home a large number of non-citizen Muslims recruited under the Army's "09-Lima" translation program.
A few months ago, special agents from the Army's Criminal Investigation Division opened an investigation after receiving a tip that some Muslims at the base had communicated with others overseas, and that a group of Muslim non-citizens had tried to poison other soldiers. That investigation is open -- but no evidence has been found to support the tips, according to the Army.
A routine and basic background check is conducted before any recruit is allowed into the program, but nothing rigorous. That's because the translators at Ft. Jackson don't handle active work. They're trained -- given the whole Army drill sergeant basic routine. Many become citizens after their training finishes. They're then embedded with U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There has been tension between the drill sergeants there and the recruits, because the drill sergeants fundamentally mistrusted them, and because they're Muslim and many aren't Americans.
Officially, the program is called the "O9L Translator/Interpreter Program." It was stood up by the Army in early 2004 in response to intelligence community complaints that Arabic-language translators were in short supply.
SOURCE:
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/02/clearing_up_the_mystery_at_ft_jackson.php
SO this is all the Drill Sergeants' fault? :confused:
We need to continue to track this as the dust settles to find out what happened...ideally a copy of the police report with statements or a decent investigative jouranalist with interviews from both sides of the story...
Warrior-Mentor
02-19-2010, 14:30
SOURCE:
http://blogs.cbn.com/stakelbeckonterror/archive/2010/02/19/fort-jackson-the-latest.aspx
Fort Jackson: The Latest
Erick Stakelbeck
February 19, 2010
This morning, I spoke to Army CID spokesman Christopher Gray and learned more details about a possible poisoning plot that I first reported here yesterday after CBN confirmed with Patrick Jones of Fort Jackson's Public Affairs Office and a reliable source with intimate knowledge of the investigation. Here is the latest on what we do know.
According to Gray, the Army is investigating allegations that a group of soldiers from the 09 Lima program (more on that later in this post) at Fort Jackson--which is based in South Carolina--had talked about poisoning food in the base's mess hall. The men were questioned about two months ago, around Christmas. Gray said that to protect the integrity of the investigation, he could not comment further. He stressed that the investigation is "open and continuing."
CBN News also spoke to a Department of Homeland Security official with knowledge of the investigation who wished to remain anonymous. The official confirmed that the investigation was ongoing and said that someone in the Lima 09 program overheard five Muslim colleagues talking about poisoning food at the base. The person then reported the men, who were brought in for questioning.
The DHS official stressed that after the terrorist massacre at Fort Hood, the Army is taking a zero tolerance policy towards any potential threatening statements and is now extremely sensitive about any allegations in that regard.
Terrorism expert Patrick Poole, an anti-terrorism consultant for the U.S. military and law enforcement, told CBN News that "if this incident had become public in late December while the military was still working on the Ft. Hood report it would have no doubt been catastrophic. What exactly happened at Ft. Jackson and why is this only coming out now? That's a question that Congress should be asking. "
"As noted in the Washington Times last month," Poole continued. "My colleagues and I have been warning of jihadist threats - both external and internal - for several years. The Pentagon has entirely ignored us and the Ft. Hood report released last month is evidence of the culture of willful blindness that wants to pretend this threat doesn't exist. Regardless of how the Ft. Jackson incident is resolved, it demonstrates that this threat is not going away."
I spoke today to Army spokesman Christopher Garver, who said the five men are not currently in custody. He was unclear whether the men who were questioned were U.S.citizens. And that brings us to another interesting wrinkle to this story.
According to my colleague, CBN Military Correspondent Chuck Holton, the 09 Lima program, which these men are a part of:
...is specifically geared towards non-US citizens who bring to the table one very in-demand skill - the ability to speak fluent Arabic, Dari, Pashto, or some other needed language. But these recruits also have a handicap - their grasp of the English language is not sufficient to allow them to make it through basic training. So the 09 Lima program puts them through a sort of pre-basic basic, where they learn American culture, Army culture and work on their English language skills. Once they finish the course, they are then able to enter normal basic training. It' is a very small program, with something less than forty recruits in each class.
Holton continues:
Here's the interesting part. According to Lt. Col. Frank Demith, these recruits are offered an "expedited citizenship program, once they serve one day of honorable active duty."
Military service has always been a way for non-citizen US residents to obtain citizenship, and thousands have performed honorably in service to our country before it actually became their country.
Though the Army must certainly have a thorough vetting process in place to try and avoid a scenario like that described by Erick Stakelbeck's recent blog, in the case of the 09 Lima program, the ability to receive "expedited American citizenship" must present a tempting opportunity for jihadi extremists with ulterior motives.
This is relevant not only because of the Fort Hood case, but because in the last month, there was an incident (see here) of an interpreter in Afghanistan murdering U.S. troops
Stay tuned to this blog for more details as they unfold.
And so it goes...
Richard
Friday Update on Fort Jackson Investigation of Poison Threat
Fort Jackson, SC (WLTX, CBS) - Three of the five Fort Jackson soldiers being investigated for claims of making threats have been cleared, CBS News reports.
Late Thursday, the Christian Broadcasting Network's website and Fox News reported that some soldiers were under investigation on claims they threatened to poison food at the training base. Previous Coverage: Reports Surface of Investigation of Food Poison Plot at Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson officials confirmed to WLTX Thursday night that the investigation started in December to look into "potential verbal threats against fellow soldiers."
Friday, CBS National Security Correspondent David Martin reported that the investigation began as a result of someone who claimed to have overheard other soldiers talking about poisoning the food. Martin has discovered that five soldiers were originally under investigation, but at least three have now been cleared.
Martin goes on to report that no arrests were made, although the group was brought in for questioning.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division, the group in charge of the investigation, told WLTX that, "we have not found any credible evidence to substantiate the allegations."
"While the investigation continues there is currently no credible evidence to substantiate the allegations," the military said in a written statement. "At no time was there any danger to the Fort Jackson community."
The base also said that no one was poisoned.
The Army Times, a sister publication of WLTX, reported that the soldiers were in the Army as part of the 09L translator and interpreter military occupational specialty. The program prepares junior enlisted soldiers who are native or heritage speakers of a Middle Eastern language to serve as military interpreters during tactical, operational and strategic missions.
Since the investigation began, 09L training was moved from Fort Jackson to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., as part of a base realignment action.
Fort Jackson puts more than 50,000 men and women through entry-level and advanced training courses every year. Its food service spans an array of some 13 dining halls and about 40,000 hot meals are served on the base daily.
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=84222
Warrior-Mentor
02-20-2010, 07:58
And so it goes...
Richard
You say "And so it goes" as if it's over. Only 3 of 5 have been cleared.
Will the other 2 be cleared? Don't know - but it's not dead yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh8mNjeuyV4
You say "And so it goes" as if it's over.
A logical inferrence of the pattern of the phrase's use on my part and knowledge of its origins - combined with a reading of the local news article I posted - should not have led to such a misconception on anybody's part.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Surf n Turf
03-01-2010, 11:27
Update from American Thinker --
Wonder why they were discharged ?
SnT
No 'poison food plot' at Fort Jackson but 4 Muslims discharged from army?
Given the whitewash of what happened at Fort Hood, the news that an army investigation has concluded there was no plot to poison the food at Fort Jackson but that 4 of the 5 translators involved have been dismissed from the army, I think some further clarification is in order.
In fact, the way this story has been played by the army leaves a lot of questions unanswered. It was left to a Congressman, Representative Joe Wilson, to announce the news that the investigation revealed that there was not an effort to poison food," Wilson said. The probe also showed the men had not been disloyal.
So why were 4 of the 5 dismissed from the army? Petty theft, according to Wilson. Sounds reasonable. Except if the investigation into the food poisoning threat is over, why did they seize and are still analyzing the soldiers' laptops?
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/no_poison_food_plot_at_fort_ja.html
So why were 4 of the 5 dismissed from the army? Petty theft, according to Wilson. Sounds reasonable. Except if the investigation into the food poisoning threat is over, why did they seize and are still analyzing the soldiers' laptops?
Welllllllllll....maybe contact information and data concerning the theft issue stored in the laptops memories - just a wild guess. :rolleyes:
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin