Six Arrested in Alleged Fort Dix Murder Plot

[The Old Guy]

Originally Posted by Five-O

Soldiers on a military installation (that follow the law) are essentially defenseless to an armed attack by a motivated foe. MP's/DOD police would be the force to meet any armed threat and would take too much time to react and respond. How many wives and kids would die at the PX or pool or Burger King before these assholes were killed. Highly restrictive gun regulations prohibit soldiers from carrying or having ready access to a personal firearm. How many installation commanders are ready to review/relax the personal weapon regulations on our Fort's and bases so we can better protect our families?? Looking back at the tragedy that was VA TECH how wise and or practical is it to reley on LE/MP etc for our saftey and the saftey of our families. They can not be every where and I believe we must bear the burden of protecting our loved ones and ourselves....I know I do.

Without too much detail, during the earlier to mid-80's when Flint Kaserne became a hot spot for possible terrorism operations (hit) the CofC authorized weapons to be carried by soldiers 24/7 for a short period of time.

I know different time and place than what we know today, but you never know what is out there.

[Ret10Echo]

3 brothers get life sentences in Fort Dix case
By GEOFF MULVIHILL –

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Three immigrant brothers involved in a plot to kill military personnel, possibly on Fort Dix, were sentenced Tuesday to spend the rest of their lives in prison.

The government had said the men were familiar with the Army post because their father's pizza shop delivered there, and it presented the case as one of the most startling examples of homegrown terrorism.

Dritan, Eljvir and Shain Duka professed their innocence in courtroom speeches before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler handed down their sentences. Two other men were to be sentenced Wednesday.

All five were convicted by a jury in December of conspiracy to kill military personnel but were acquitted on attempted-murder charges. Four of them also were convicted on weapons offenses.

Two of the Duka brothers, Dritan and Shain, were given sentences of life plus 30 years because of one of the weapons counts against them.

Defense lawyers and the men's relatives said the sentences were expected, but the relatives also said they were unjust.

The men also were ordered to pay a total of $125,000 in restitution to the Army, which beefed up security at Fort Dix after hearing about the investigation into the plot.

In meting out the sentences, the judge agreed with prosecutors that the case was shocking.

"But for the intervention of the FBI, at some point in the future," he said, "they would have killed people."

Early in the daylong court proceeding, the judge asked Deputy U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick whether it made sense to sentence the conspirators to life in prison with no chance of parole given that people convicted of murder in most states at least have the possibility of parole.

"Yes it is," Fitzpatrick said. "The fact that they didn't have an opportunity to carry it out should not be a benefit."

The men were arrested in May 2007. Prosecutors say they had taken training trips to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and scouted out Fort Dix and other military sites.

Five service members in uniform sat in the back of the courtroom as the sentences were handed down Tuesday.

During the sentencing hearing, the Duka brothers told the judge they were innocent and were convicted because of their unpopular political views. They blamed the government's use of two convicted criminals as paid informants in the case, claiming those informants cajoled them into saying they would take up arms against the U.S.

"The innocent are in prison while the true criminals are being rewarded heavily," lamented Shain Duka, 28.

"Being in prison and knowing you are innocent is a great feeling in the sight of God," said Eljvir Duka, 25.

Relatives and a neighbor of the men also spoke in the hearing, laying out how the brothers were brought to the United States illegally as boys from the former Yugoslavia as their parents sought a better life.

The brothers were raised for a time in Brooklyn, then moved to Cherry Hill, a comfortable suburb of Philadelphia, a dozen years ago after Dritan Duka, now 30, had gotten into legal trouble.

All three had criminal histories dating to their teenage years. Among them: drug offenses, eluding police and driving with a suspended license.

Michael Huff, a lawyer for Dritan Duka, said that becoming more involved in the Muslim faith turned them around.

The men, all school dropouts, owned a pizza shop together and later a roofing company.

Their father, Ferik Duka, told how they supported the family when he was injured in a car accident and were known for taking pizza to homeless people.

"I wish all the children of human beings," the elder Duka said, "are like my sons."

[Ret10Echo]

Bump................

Final 2 Ft. Dix defendants sentenced
By Troy Graham

Inquirer Staff Writer

A federal judge yesterday sentenced Mohamad Shnewer - often described as the lead defendant in a terrorist plan to attack Fort Dix - to life plus 30 years in prison.
The judge then gave 33 years to codefendant Serdar Tatar, the only one of five men convicted in the plot who did not receive at least a life term.

District Judge Robert B. Kugler, sitting in Camden, said he believed Tatar, unlike the others, was not motivated by radical Islamic views.

"That makes a difference," Kugler said. "He's the only one I have any hope for rehabilitation."

Tatar, 25, was the last defendant to be sentenced over two days, and his family gave lengthy and emotional pleas to spare him the punishments of his cohorts.

"When you give a life sentence, that's it," said his sister, Serpil. "We are all in jail for our whole lives."

On Tuesday, Kugler gave life terms to Cherry Hill brothers Dritan, Eljvir, and Shain Duka, and added 30 years to Dritan and Shain's sentences for gun charges.

All five men, foreign-born Muslims raised primarily in Cherry Hill, were convicted in December of conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers. A jury acquitted them of attempted murder charges.

The Dukas strenuously argued their innocence during their hearings Tuesday, as Shnewer did yesterday, though less forcefully. Tatar said he took responsibility for his actions, but argued he had no intentions of harming anyone.

"I'm not an extremist, anything close to a radical," he said. "I'm a patriot. I love my country."

All the defendants intend to appeal their convictions.

None took the stand during trial, so the sentencings were the first time the public has heard from men once cited as the country's premier example of homegrown terrorism.

Prosecutors said the men, who all came to the United States as children and had no ties to terrorists overseas, were inspired largely by watching violent, al-Qaeda produced videos on the Internet.

They hatched a plan to strike back at the United States, fixating on Fort Dix as their main target, prosecutors said. They were arrested in May 2007, after Dritan and Shain Duka attempted to buy machine guns from a government informant.

Two informants infiltrated the group and recorded hundreds of hours of conversations, which were at the core of the government's case.

Prosecutors said yesterday Shnewer was at the "epicenter" of the conspiracy. They reminded the judge of some of Shnewer's proclamations, such as saying he dreamed of killing Jews in Israel and talking about how they could attack a column of humvees at Fort Dix and "light the whole place up."

Shnewer, whose attorney portrayed him as a bumbling, overweight outsider, took responsibility yesterday for making those statements, but said he never intended to carry out any attacks.

"I don't consider myself a jihadist," he said. "I might have spoken like a jihadist, but I don't have what it takes . . . because I could never see myself taking another life."

His family members described Shnewer, who turned 24 on Tuesday, as a gentle soul, and said he made his most inflammatory statements in an attempt to fit in with the tough talk of the informant, Mahmoud Omar.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to see the other part of my brother," said his sister, Inas, a Rutgers sophomore. "It's just sad to see him here. We're all just sure he's innocent."

Of all the defendants, Tatar's voice appeared the least on the informant recordings, and he had the smallest role in the conspiracy.

The jury fiercely debated his fate, according to one juror who spoke to The Inquirer. Kugler also said he wrestled with Tatar's sentencing, staying up most of the night thinking about it.

Born in Turkey, Tatar was working at a Philadelphia 7-Eleven at the time of his arrest. His main act in the conspiracy was supplying a map of Fort Dix, taken from his family's pizza shop, which delivered to the base.

Tatar, who applied unsuccessfully to become a police officer with several departments, also approached a Philadelphia police sergeant and told him that Omar had been pressuring him for the map.

By then, prosecutors said, Tatar had agreed to take part in the conspiracy, saying, "I'm in, honestly, I'm in."

He subsequently gave the map to Omar, then lied about it to the FBI - a decision that seemed to have sealed his fate. Prosecutors said lying showed Tatar hadn't gone to police as a concerned citizen.

"I do believe he went to the police to find out what he could about Omar's status as an informant," Kugler said yesterday.

But the judge also noted Tatar was almost never heard in the wiretaps espousing the radical views of Shnewer and the Dukas. Only once did he invoke religion, when he agreed to give the map to Omar.

"I'm doing it in the name of Allah," Tatar said.

Prosecutors argued yesterday Tatar wasn't heard on the recordings more often only because he did not know the informants well and did not trust Omar.

But Deputy U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Tatar's invoking of Allah as justification for giving the map demonstrated his radicalism. Kugler disagreed.

"I am simply not convinced that he was driven by any ideology or religious fervor," he said.

Kugler did not attempt to explain what might have been Tatar's motivation, leaving prosecutors wondering about the judge's thoughts.

"Mr. Tatar strikes me as somewhat of a follower," said acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra. "Maybe that's what the judge was thinking of."

Overall, Marra said he was "gratified" with the sentences, which he said sent a strong message to any potential homegrown terrorists.

"We're going to catch you and hopefully catch you before you do it," he said. "And we're going to punish you severely."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Pete]

"Being in prison and knowing you are innocent is a great feeling in the sight of God," said Eljvir Duka, 25.

Insha' allah

Allah must want you in prison.

[SF_BHT]

Glad they finally got what they deserve.... Too bad we have to pay for it.

[Stras]

Can't wait for Bubba to make them his bit**s..... yeah, Allah willed it you to be in a cell with Bubba.......

We need to use the Turkish prison system... where the only way you get food is if your family brings it to you, and you're charged for being provided a cell and bed to stay in during your stay.

that may cut down on the crime rate.

God Bless Joe Arpaijo in AZ.

[greenberetTFS]

A federal judge yesterday sentenced Mohamad Shnewer - often described as the lead defendant in a terrorist plan to attack Fort Dix - to life plus 30 years in prison.

What does that mean life "plus" 30 years........ Does it mean after your dead they'll wait an additional 30 years then remove you from your cell and then they bury you........... Sentences like that don't make any sense to me ,does it to you?

GB TFS

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

A federal judge yesterday sentenced Mohamad Shnewer - often described as the lead defendant in a terrorist plan to attack Fort Dix - to life plus 30 years in prison.

What does that mean life "plus" 30 years........ Does it mean after your dead they'll wait an additional 30 years then remove you from your cell and then they bury you........... Sentences like that don't make any sense to me ,does it to you?

GB TFS

"Life in prison" means 20 years if you're a good boy.

Life + 30 (or "life and a day")means he'll never walk out alive.

It also depends on which prison system you get locked up in...

Originally Posted by greenberetTFS

A federal judge yesterday sentenced Mohamad Shnewer - often described as the lead defendant in a terrorist plan to attack Fort Dix - to life plus 30 years in prison.

What does that mean life "plus" 30 years........ Does it mean after your dead they'll wait an additional 30 years then remove you from your cell and then they bury you........... Sentences like that don't make any sense to me ,does it to you?

GB TFS

Perhaps it garuntees he will never be eligible for parole? One can only hope so.

Personally I think we should follow thier laws and behead them on national television. It will send a message or as Moshe Dayan said, "It is not an eye for an eye, it is two eyes for one. " Until these terrorists and thier masters understand, fullly understand, that we, as Americans are willing and able to protect our land and our people in any manner that suits us and gets our point across then this crap will continue to happen. I hope Bubba puts sand in the vaseline.

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

"Life in prison" means 20 years if you're a good boy.

Life + 30 (or "life and a day")means he'll never walk out alive.

It also depends on which prison system you get locked up in...

OK, TS, But why don't they just say the sentence is life in prison "with no parole". But, I got your point................

GB TFS

[grog18b]

Originally Posted by Stras

Can't wait for Bubba to make them his bit**s..... yeah, Allah willed it you to be in a cell with Bubba.......

That would be nice, but... They will find allies, and spread their messages behind bars, as well as recruit more to their cause. They will spent their lives educating others in their beliefs. They now have an audience, and a forum for their teachings.

Their heads should be on pikes lining the main entrance to Fort Dix.