Army Soldier Arrested After Buying Smokeless Powder

[allingeneral]

Interesting. Anyone else here ever buy 6 pounds of smokeless gun powder? Maybe the cops will visit you if you do. I'm glad they caught this guy.

Frickin' "Conscientious Objectors". You can't trust them. Anytime someone claims that status, they should be immediately placed in a watch program of some sort and/or deported and their US citizenship should be deleted from their profile. (JMHO)

The Story:

KILLEEN, Texas (Reuters) - An Army soldier arrested with suspected bomb-making materials near Fort Hood, Texas, was hatching a "terror plot" to attack military personnel, police said on Thursday.

Naser Jason Abdo, 21, was arrested on Wednesday after materials that authorities said could have made a bomb were discovered in his motel room in Killeen, a small city just outside the base.

"Military personnel were a target," Killeen Police Chief Dennis Baldwin told a news conference in response to a question about whether Abdo planned to attack Fort Hood.

Fort Hood was the scene of a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in November 2009. A U.S. Army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was charged in that case and will face court martial next March.

Baldwin said Abdo was being held at the Killeen city jail pending federal charges. He was jailed on a warrant for a separate charge of child pornography.

Abdo, a private first class who military officials said was approved as a conscientious objector to Iraq and Afghanistan wars, had been absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, since July 4.

Authorities said Abdo was a native of the Dallas area and said they were unaware of any personal connection to Fort Hood or Killeen, where he had only been for "a matter of days."

Abdo told police about targeting military personnel, Baldwin said without elaborating. "I can tell you that he's a very dangerous individual and he is where he needs to be."

The police chief described Abdo's plans as a "terror plot" and said his targets appeared to be "general military personnel" either in public or on a the nearby Army base.

FBI Special Agent Eric Vasys said there was nothing to indicate Abdo was acting with anyone else. Abdo was arrested after a "concerned citizen" reported that he had firearms and smokeless gunpowder, Vasys said.

Employees at the Guns Galore gun shop in Killeen told Reuters Abdo came into their store earlier this week wearing a burned orange University of Texas Longhorns T-shirt.

"What kind of raised a red flag at the point in time is he asked the manager, 'What is smokeless powder?'" said gun store employee Greg Ebert, who said Abdo purchased six, one-pound canisters of smokeless powder, three boxes of shotgun shells and one magazine for a semi-automatic pistol.

Ebert called police after Abdo left the gun store. Working with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and other enforcement agencies, police caught Abdo quickly and "without incident," Baldwin said.

In June, the U.S. military approved Abdo as a conscientious objector to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that status was put on hold after he was charged with child pornography in Kentucky.

Abdo applied for conscientious objector status in 2010 because he said Islamic standards prohibited his service in the U.S. Army in any war, military officials said.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-arrest-sol ... 52473.html

[OakRidgeStars]

More about the Texas gun dealer responsible for stopping a Jihadi plot.

From the NRA news.

[Kreutz]

I'm glad they caught this guy.

Agree.

Frickin' "Conscientious Objectors". You can't trust them. Anytime someone claims that status, they should be immediately placed in a watch program of some sort and/or deported and their US citizenship should be deleted from their profile. (JMHO)

Disagree, we had a handful in my company and they were good guys, they picked an MOS that didn't require them to be armed( we were mechanized infantry so it was medics and scouts that had a few of them), but were still able to contribute.

This pedophile was only objecting to the possibility of killing his fellow Muslims (because they never ever do that right?) and was happy to murder as many infidels as he could.

[Pumbaa]

Remember this was the shop where Hassan bought his ammo for the Hood killings. So I am sure they were still pretty jinked up about things. Also this kid was acting weird and did not know what the hell he was buying, so I am sure that gave the seller pause too.

[gunderwood]

Frickin' "Conscientious Objectors". You can't trust them. Anytime someone claims that status, they should be immediately placed in a watch program of some sort and/or deported and their US citizenship should be deleted from their profile. (JMHO)

Disagree, we had a handful in my company and they were good guys, they picked an MOS that didn't require them to be armed( we were mechanized infantry so it was medics and scouts that had a few of them), but were still able to contribute.

This pedophile was only objecting to the possibility of killing his fellow Muslims (because they never ever do that right?) and was happy to murder as many infidels as he could.

Agreed.

I was also thinking about the civilian application of the term. Having a conscientious about excessive government spending putting our children in debt and objecting to it, is a far cry from blowing up the Federal Reserve or something. Same goes for if you are not certain the War on Drugs is working and/or that there aren't more effective ways of protecting society. Etc.

Having a conscience is a good thing. Having the strength of character to object to things you consider immoral or unethical or unprofessional (e.g. that Ohio cop thread) is also a good thing. Injustice would flourish otherwise. That doesn't make you a terrorist, regardless of you vocation.

[jim100]

I'm glad they caught this guy.

Agree.

Frickin' "Conscientious Objectors". You can't trust them. Anytime someone claims that status, they should be immediately placed in a watch program of some sort and/or deported and their US citizenship should be deleted from their profile. (JMHO)

Disagree, we had a handful in my company and they were good guys, they picked an MOS that didn't require them to be armed( we were mechanized infantry so it was medics and scouts that had a few of them), but were still able to contribute.

This pedophile was only objecting to the possibility of killing his fellow Muslims (because they never ever do that right?) and was happy to murder as many infidels as he could.

+1

[rlbellco72]

Kind of makes one wonder why he joined the Military. I mean it's not like he didn't know that he might have to go fight a war.

[gunderwood]

Kind of makes one wonder why he joined the Military. I mean it's not like he didn't know that he might have to go fight a war.

The reality is that in today's high tech military, most of the soldiers are not combat soldiers. For every guy actually fighting there are several back at base or on the other side of the world supporting him. I'm not trying to degrade service, but rather just pointing out that it takes only one guy to fly an F-22 and a whole slew of them and contractors to keep it flying.

[seeknulfind]

What a mess. On the one hand, at what point does buying smokeless powder, et. al. warrant a visit from authorities? Then again, buy 6 lbs when you have to ask what it's for could be considered a bit of a tip off.

Then you have the insanity of a contentious objector "serving" in the Army. That alone is just nuts.

Finally,what is it with Killeen TX? I just watched several accounts of Suzanna Gratia Hupp's ordeal in 1991, then the Fort Hood incident and now this. Coincidence?

Andy

[KaosDad]

Guys - there is a bright, shining star in this opera: Greg Ebert. He smelled a rat and called him out. Thank God for Greg. This man should at least be given the "Freedom Medal" or (better yet)have his house paid off.

As for the confessed perp: a wall, a blind fold and six riflemen.

[Kreutz]

Finally,what is it with Killeen TX? I just watched several accounts of Suzanna Gratia Hupp's ordeal in 1991, then the Fort Hood incident and now this. Coincidence

I was stuck in Ft Hood, and Killeen is a massive ghetto as it is, throw in jihadists and the odd pyscho spree shooter, and they wind up in the news alot.

[gunderwood]

What a mess. On the one hand, at what point does buying smokeless powder, et. al. warrant a visit from authorities? Then again, buy 6 lbs when you have to ask what it's for could be considered a bit of a tip off.

IMHO, it's not the quantity, but the lack of basic knowledge that was the tipoff.

Then you have the insanity of a contentious objector "serving" in the Army. That alone is just nuts.

Why? I personally don't have a problem with killing when it's necessary (e.g. war and self-defense), but I respect those that do have a problem so long as they aren't trying to take my rights away. I'm all for CC/OC, but we all probably know someone who shouldn't do so simply because they have issues of conscience where they couldn't do what is necessary.

Furthermore, most of the military are non-combat roles. What's wrong with someone who wants to serve the country/society, has the requisite abilities (e.g. IT, mechanical, administrative, etc.), but has a problem with directly killing people themselves? If you want a combat MOS and then want an objection, that's just silly IMHO.

[seeknulfind]

What a mess. On the one hand, at what point does buying smokeless powder, et. al. warrant a visit from authorities? Then again, buy 6 lbs when you have to ask what it's for could be considered a bit of a tip off.

IMHO, it's not the quantity, but the lack of basic knowledge that was the tipoff.

Then you have the insanity of a contentious objector "serving" in the Army. That alone is just nuts.

Why? I personally don't have a problem with killing when it's necessary (e.g. war and self-defense), but I respect those that do have a problem so long as they aren't trying to take my rights away. I'm all for CC/OC, but we all probably know someone who shouldn't do so simply because they have issues of conscience where they couldn't do what is necessary.

Furthermore, most of the military are non-combat roles. What's wrong with someone who wants to serve the country/society, has the requisite abilities (e.g. IT, mechanical, administrative, etc.), but has a problem with directly killing people themselves? If you want a combat MOS and then want an objection, that's just silly IMHO.

gunderwood,

You're probably right about the lack of knowledge thingy.

My thought on the Contentious Objector bit is not someone's objection to killing, I don't have a problem with that. But according to the article "Islamic standards prohibited his service in the U.S. Army in any war". My reasoning here is to ask what capacity could he then serve that would not compromise his beliefs? I know I tend to be literal in the extreme but if he operates a paper shredder for the latrine, he is still in some way "serving the U.S. Army".

My own warped logic says he should stay out of military service.

Andy

[Sensai]

Maybe I'm tainted by seeing too many "concientious objectors" change their minds in Vietnam. All but one, that I knew, asked for a gun sooner or later. Concientious objectors in an all volunteer army makes as much sense as hookers in the church choir or a vegan waiter at a steak house. The only way this guy wanted to serve his country was with Fava beans and a nice Chianti. As a member of the service, his plans to kill fellow service members is an act of treason. I agree with KaosDad, a firing squad is due.

As far as there being non-combat jobs in the Army, everyone who makes it through basic training has a secondary MOS (military occupational specialty) of infantryman. That's not by accident, it's by design. It's even more pertinent in the battlefield of today where there is no front line and no safe rear area. Obviously, by these latest two events at Ft. Hood, even our bases in our own country aren't safe from enemy attack!

OBTW: Ignorance of smokeless powder was definitely a factor in his getting nabbed. Everybody knows that it's cheaper to by an 8 pound keg than six one pound cans!

[RugerJoe]

Janet Napolitano keeps telling me that it is angry white men that are the real terrorist threat nowadays. I'm so confused.