30 Terrorist Plots Foiled: How the System Worked Jena Baker Mcneill, James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and Jessica Zuckerman

30 Terrorist Plots Foiled: How the System Worked Jena Baker Mcneill, James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and Jessica Zuckerman

No. 2405 April 29, 2010 30 Terrorist Plots Foiled: How the System Worked Jena Baker McNeill, James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and Jessica Zuckerman Abstract: In 2009 alone, U.S. authorities foiled at least six terrorist plots against the United States. Since Septem- ber 11, 2001, at least 30 planned terrorist attacks have Talking Points been foiled, all but two of them prevented by law enforce- • At least 30 terrorist plots against the United ment. The two notable exceptions are the passengers and States have been foiled since 9/11. It is clear flight attendants who subdued the “shoe bomber” in 2001 that terrorists continue to wage war against and the “underwear bomber” on Christmas Day in 2009. America. Bottom line: The system has generally worked well. But • President Obama spent his first year and a half many tools necessary for ferreting out conspiracies and in office dismantling many of the counterter- catching terrorists are under attack. Chief among them are rorism tools that have kept Americans safer, key provisions of the PATRIOT Act that are set to expire at including his decision to prosecute foreign ter- the end of this year. It is time for President Obama to dem- rorists in U.S. civilian courts, dismantlement of onstrate his commitment to keeping the country safe. Her- the CIA’s interrogation abilities, lackadaisical itage Foundation national security experts provide a road support for the PATRIOT Act, and an attempt map for a successful counterterrorism strategy. to shut down Guantanamo Bay. • The counterterrorism system that has worked successfully in the past must be pre- served in order for the nation to be successful In 2009, at least six planned terrorist plots against in fighting terrorists in the future. the United States were foiled. This has led some to wonder whether the U.S. is experiencing the results of • Continued success requires that the White a resurgence in terrorism. However, these latest acts House and Congress work together to ensure that the military, law enforcement, and intel- were not a new phenomenon: At least 30 terrorist plots ligence communities have the tools they against the U.S. have been foiled since 9/11. It is clear need to defend the country. that terrorists continue to wage war against America. President Barack Obama, however, took office This paper, in its entirety, can be found at: determined to shed the idea of a war on terrorism. http://report.heritage.org/bg2405 Besides an obvious change in lexicon—from the “glo- Produced by the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies bal war on terror” to “overseas contingency operation” of the and from “terrorism” to “man-made disaster”—there Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies were even more consequential actions, including the Published by The Heritage Foundation decision to prosecute foreign terrorists in U.S. civilian 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002–4999 (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. No. 2405 April 29, 2010 courts, dismantlement of the CIA’s interrogation onstrates that he was in communication with al- abilities, lackadaisical support for the PATRIOT Act, Qaeda via the Internet before the attack and that the and an attempt to shut down Guantanamo Bay U.S. government had what should have been dam- within President Obama’s first year in the White aging intelligence on Major Hasan before the inci- House. The danger of this new attitude was revealed dent occurred. all too quickly by the near-miss airline bomb plot of While still questioning what led to the failure to Christmas Day 2009. act on the known intelligence in the case of the Fort Undoubtedly, the nation wants to be successful Hood shootings, the U.S. experienced a near-miss in fighting terrorists. The U.S. counterterrorism sys- attack on Christmas Day 2009. That day, Nigerian tem has worked successfully in the past, as demon- citizen Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab—whose own strated by the foiled plots, and it can work father had alerted U.S. consulate officials in Nigeria successfully in the future. But continued success to his son’s radical leanings—attempted to detonate requires the White House and Congress to work a bomb on a Northwest flight landing in Detroit. His together to ensure that the military, law enforce- bomb failed to ignite, and passengers restrained ment, and intelligence community have the tools him so that he could not try again. they need to defend the country. At the same time, it The startling failure of authorities to connect the is essential that the Administration lay out its coun- dots and bring together valuable pieces of informa- terterrorism strategy to the American people, tion has led Americans to question whether author- including next steps for aviation security, visa secu- ities were doing what needed to be done to keep rity, and intelligence and information sharing. them safe. Specifically, questions center on whether Terrorism and the Obama Administration the homeland security system worked, why it worked in the past, and whether it will work in the future. Homeland security and counterterrorism were relatively unexamined issues during the 2008 pres- How the System Has Worked idential campaign. Terrorism was not in the fore- Based on public information, the U.S. has foiled front of Americans’ minds; the downward-spiraling at least 30 terrorist attacks since 9/11. In two cases, economy and lost jobs were understandably front the outcome was the result of sheer luck. The foil- and center. ing of the rest was the result of good law enforce- The discovery of the Zazi plot in September ment and effective intelligence gathering and 2009 served as the first in a series of wake-up calls information sharing. to the nation on the state of national security. 1. Richard Reid, December 2001. A British Najibullah Zazi was arrested after purchasing large citizen and self-professed follower of Osama bin quantities of chemicals from beauty supply stores in Laden trained in Afghanistan, Reid hid explosives a plot to detonate TATP bombs on the New York inside his shoes before boarding a flight from Paris City subway. This plot was considered extremely to Miami on which he attempted to light the fuse serious and was in the later stages of development with a match. Reid was caught in the act and appre- when Zazi was apprehended—which made the plot hended on board the plane by the flight attendants deeply troubling to many Americans. and passengers. FBI officials took Reid into custody Shortly thereafter, in November 2009, were the after the plane made an emergency landing at Bos- Fort Hood shootings. This attack, perpetrated by ton’s Logan International Airport.1 Major Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army psychologist, was In 2003, Reid was found guilty on charges of not a foiled plot. Hasan went on a shooting ram- terrorism, and a U.S. federal court sentenced him to page, killing 12 and wounding 31. Evidence dem- life imprisonment.2 1. Pam Belluck, “Crew Grabs Man; Explosive Feared,” The New York Times, December 23, 2001, at http://www.nytimes.com/ 2001/12/23/us/crew-grabs-man-explosive-feared.html (April 16, 2010). page 2 No. 2405 April 29, 2010 30 Terrorist Plots #1. Richard Reid attempts to detonate explosives hidden 2002 inside his shoes on a flight from Paris to Miami (December Against the U.S. 2001). Foiled Since 9/11 #2. Jose Padilla is arrested and charged with planning a “dirty bomb” attack on the U.S. (May 2002). Sheer luck and civilian bravery played roles in thwarting some of these attacks. #3. Six U.S. citizens of Yemeni descent (the Additionally, U.S. efforts in the war on “Lackawanna Six”) are arrested for conspiring terrorism, including operations in with terrorist groups after attending an al-Qaeda Afghanistan, have helped to weed out training camp (September 2002). terrorist sanctuaries before they can organize 2003 attacks. Finally, domestic counterterrorism tools put in place since 9/11 have helped #4. Iyman Faris is arrested for conspiring to use stop terrorists from operating on U.S. soil. blowtorches to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge (May 2003). Individuals directly involved in plot #5. Thirteen members of the Virginia Jihad Network are arrested on weapons charges. Seven are also charged with #6. Nuradin M. Abdi is arrested and charged for conspiring to support terrorist plotting to bomb a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio organizations including al-Qaeda, (November 2003). 2004 the Taliban, and Lashkar-i-Taiba (June 2003). #7. Members of a terror cell led by Dhiren Barot plan attacks on financial institutions in New York, Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J. #8. James Elshafay and Shahawar Martin Siraj are (August 2004). arrested for plotting to bomb a subway station near Madison Square Garden before the Republican #9. Yassin Aref and Mohammad Hossain are charged National Convention (August 2004). with plotting to purchase a grenade launcher to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat (August 2004). 2005 #10. Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat are arrested in California for allegedly lying to the FBI about Hamid’s #11. Four members of a radical Islamic prison group attendance at an Islamic terrorist training center in founded by Kevin James are arrested in Los Angeles Pakistan (June 2005). and charged with conspiring to attack National Guard facilities, synagogues, and other targets (August 2005). #12. Michael C. Reynolds is arrested for a plot to blow up an oil refinery, a gas refinery, and pipelines in #13.

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