CAIR Targets FBI for Arresting Tampa Jihadist

Yugoslavian born, would-be Islamic terrorist Sami Osmakac planned massive destruction in Tampa, FL. He apparently made it onto the FBI's radar when he told an unidentified person that he wanted to purchase an al-Qaeda flag. Subsequent requests made by Osmakac about wanting to carry out multiple terror attacks before killing himself led to an FBI sting operation that took him down before he could do any damage.

Apparently, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) thinks he's just another innocent Muslim targeted by the FBI:

Via IPT:

Despite Osmakac's commitment to carry out multiple deadly attacks, CAIR officials went on the offensive against the FBI for capturing another "innocent" Muslim. Trying to create tension between Muslim Americans and law enforcement is part of CAIR's regular response to government counterterrorism investigations.

Executive Director of CAIR San Francisco Zahra Billoo was quick to paint the arrest as a scam, stating that she was "wondering how much of the thwarted terror plot in Florida was seeded by the FBI, [a]ppreciating that even the MSM mentioned the informants." Dawud Walid, Executive Director of CAIR-Michigan, released a tweet saying, "it is not the job of civil rights groups to be commending the FBI on their use of informants, given the FBI's history."

The Director of CAIR's Florida chapter, Hassan Shibley, gave a more lukewarm and confusing response to news of the arrest. Although he stated that Osmakac "was no friend or supporter of the Muslim community" and that the Muslim community had played a "vital role" in his arrest, he also expressed "concern about a perception of entrapment."

"The weapons and explosives were provided by the government. Was he just a troubled individual, or did he pose a real threat?" said Shibly to the press this morning. As the day progressed, he was quoted casting additional mistrust of the government's intentions. "I think the fear at the point is that he was just mentally disturbed...I think that community members hoped that by reporting him, he could get the proper assistance," Shibly explained to MyFoxTampaBay.

The details of the case make plain the intentions of the plotter.

Notice that Shibley credited the Muslim community for helping the FBI to arrest Osmakac. A little later in Emerson's article, we find that there were Muslims who knew of Osmakac's intentions and did nothing.

He also talked of taking down Tampa Bay area bridges to "crush the whole economy" in the region and to create food crisis, but concluded it need more people. Osmakac also lamented that he was unable to inspire other local Islamists to enter the plot with him, indicating that other local Muslims knew of his plot and had not reported him.

The FBI should identify all of the individuals Osmakac attempted to recruit and question them. If there are applicable charges, they should be filed.

After all, Islamic terrorism is a crime, not an act of war.

Read it all.