Iranian Sleeper Cells Have Been Hiding in America
. . . They've already been uncovered in New York City
by Gregory Hoyt: National headlines today have focused on the tension between Iran and America. But the conversation we need to also be having is about the threat here on the homefront.
The Big Apple is being a host to more terrorists than you’d imagine, with three sleeper agents from Hezbollah, the deadly Iranian-controlled terrorist organization, having been arrested since 2017.
With the apprehension of Alexei Saab last year in the city, it’s telling of what Hezbollah might be planning. Also, despite all the fake news mourning the death of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian major general that Trump eliminated was as thick as thieves with one of America’s greatest terroristic threats.
Back in July of 2019, Alexei Saab had what was thought to be a run of the mill interview with a New York City Police Detective and an FBI agent.
Saab was seemingly well prepared to be interrogated by investigators. After all, what terrorist organization plant wouldn’t be?
Authorities made it seem like they were trying to get Saab to let information slip out during the questioning. The truth was that Saab was trying to see how much the investigators legitimately knew about him and his activities.
But Saab didn’t know that while he was being interviewed at a hotel by police and the FBI, a separate team was already inside his home executing a search warrant. Once the team gathered what they needed, investigators told Saab that it was time to cuff up.
While that was one potential crisis averted, it’s disturbing to know what Saab was doing here while in the United States.
Saab’s terrorist leaders set him up to look like an everyday immigrant living in New Jersey. He worked as a software engineer and made his way back to Lebanon to give his handlers from the ranks of Hezbollah detailed information on how to target New York landmarks, critical infrastructure, government buildings and Israeli targets.
Prior to 9/11, Hezbollah was America’s most tangible terrorist threat, having killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization before it. The group had bombed U.S. embassies, kidnapped and killed U.S. diplomats, and deployed car and truck bombs that decimated a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and a Jewish community center in Buenos Aries.
Even after the 9/11 attacks, Hezbollah was still trying to enact terror attacks within the United States. In 2011, they plotted to employ Mexican drug gangs to bomb an Italian restaurant in Washington, just to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States. More on that below.
Considering all the terrible acts that Hezbollah has done and continues to try to do, why are people in the mainstream news media crying about Qassem Soleimani? This man, since 1998, has helped develop, finance and direct Hezbollah, along with many other Iranian proxy organizations, to commit acts of terrorism that benefit Iran.
Soleimani managed to use these terrorist groups to attack Iranian adversaries, while managing to leave enough distance between these groups and the Iranian military so that he could claim that it wasn’t an effort on the direct behalf of Iran.
Honestly, the death of Soleimani is something to be celebrated, as it puts an end to two decades of murders against Americans all over. The use of sleeper agents to study major cities to find vulnerabilities is something that commanded the swift action against him.
However, there are still looming threats, as someone was quick to replace Soleimani in the wake of his death.
It seems that the successor will likely employ the same kind of tactics that Soleimani used over the years, using groups like Hezbollah to target the United States and Israel.
The fact of the matter is that we’ll never be able to measure just how much potential devastation was avoided with the apprehension of sleeper agents within New York City, but it’s comforting to know that they were apprehended before they could strike.
Thanks to the amazing work by both the FBI and the NYPD, countless terrorist plots have been thwarted based upon the joint efforts.
Now back to the plot for Washington D.C. in 2011.
In that year, secret talks were held in Mexico between a member of a Mexican drug cartel, Los Zetas, and an operative of the Quds Force, Manssor Arbabsiar.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss planning a detonation of C-4 explosives at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. which was a popular choice of Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Adel-al-Jubeir. The meeting was actually part of a DEA operation, which was being recorded.
Several further meetings were held over the next few months in Mexico to discuss planned strikes against the Israeli Embassy in Washington, in addition to the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Argentina. They also discussed new trafficking lanes for the movement of opium between the Middle East and Mexico.
In July of that year, Arbabsiar returned to Mexico and continued meeting with the DEA informant. He reiterated that his leaders in Iran had plans for additional violence in addition to the Saudi ambassador’s assassination.
The informant informed the DEA that Arbabsiar had recruited four men to carry out the plot and would charge $1.5 million. Nearly $50,000 in advance payments were wired to an FBI-controlled bank account, which validated the conspiracy.
In October 2011, Arbabsiar and an Iran-based member of Quds Force, Gholam Shakuri, were arrested by federal agents, according to a report in the New York Times.
Both men were charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, among several other charges. Arbabsiar confessed to the charges and cooperated with federal authorities.
The foiled terrorist plot was deemed at that time to be a success for the DEA, FBI and Mexican authorities, while some noted that the United States had been lucky that the person recruited by agents of Quds Force under the direction of Soleimani had been a federal informant.
What the operation did confirm is that state sponsors of terror such as Quds Force had a propensity to work with non-state actors in Mexico such as drug cartels to carry out their dirty work.
So, as we have confirmed, Soleimani was a bad dude, having not only been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops, but who had also plotted to carry out the assassination of the Saudi ambassador on American soil, as well as bombing the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina.
At the time, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the murder plot at a news conference in Washington, D.C. and said it was “directed and approved by elements of the Iranian government and, specifically, senior members of the Quds Force.”
He added that “high up officials in those agencies, which is an integral part of the Iranian government, were responsible for this plot.” Thank you, Mr. Holder. Holder of course was the attorney general under Barack Obama.
So as far back as 2011, the American government, including the president at that time, Obama, was aware of Soleimani’s involvement in terrorist activities.
Back to present time. After the strike in Iraq which killed Soleimani, the Democrats acted like Trump had taken out Gandhi.
Sleepy Joe Biden woke up from his typical stupor to tweet the following:
Bernie Sanders said in a tweet:
“Trump’s dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars. Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one,” he said.
Senator Elizabeth Warren left the teepee to issue the following tweet:
“Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans.
But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war.” Pete Buttigieg, who was mayor of a small town somewhere, had his press secretary issue the following statement, which said in part:“As a former military intelligence officer on the ground in Afghanistan, I was trained to ask the hard questions before acting. A commander-in-chief must do the same.
Before engaging in military action that could destabilize an entire region, we must take a strategic, deliberate approach that includes consultation with Congress, our allies, and stakeholders in the Middle East,” he said. We could go on, but you get the point. The contrast between the killing of Soleimani and that of Osama bin Laden and how the “opposition” parties treated the two is striking.
-------------------
Gregory Hoyt writes for Law Enforcement Today.
Tags: Gregory Hoyt, Iranian Sleeper Cells, Hiding in America, Law Enforcement Today To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
 |
| Image Added |
The Big Apple is being a host to more terrorists than you’d imagine, with three sleeper agents from Hezbollah, the deadly Iranian-controlled terrorist organization, having been arrested since 2017.
With the apprehension of Alexei Saab last year in the city, it’s telling of what Hezbollah might be planning. Also, despite all the fake news mourning the death of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian major general that Trump eliminated was as thick as thieves with one of America’s greatest terroristic threats.
Back in July of 2019, Alexei Saab had what was thought to be a run of the mill interview with a New York City Police Detective and an FBI agent.
Saab was seemingly well prepared to be interrogated by investigators. After all, what terrorist organization plant wouldn’t be?
Authorities made it seem like they were trying to get Saab to let information slip out during the questioning. The truth was that Saab was trying to see how much the investigators legitimately knew about him and his activities.
But Saab didn’t know that while he was being interviewed at a hotel by police and the FBI, a separate team was already inside his home executing a search warrant. Once the team gathered what they needed, investigators told Saab that it was time to cuff up.
While that was one potential crisis averted, it’s disturbing to know what Saab was doing here while in the United States.
Saab’s terrorist leaders set him up to look like an everyday immigrant living in New Jersey. He worked as a software engineer and made his way back to Lebanon to give his handlers from the ranks of Hezbollah detailed information on how to target New York landmarks, critical infrastructure, government buildings and Israeli targets.
Prior to 9/11, Hezbollah was America’s most tangible terrorist threat, having killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization before it. The group had bombed U.S. embassies, kidnapped and killed U.S. diplomats, and deployed car and truck bombs that decimated a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and a Jewish community center in Buenos Aries.
Even after the 9/11 attacks, Hezbollah was still trying to enact terror attacks within the United States. In 2011, they plotted to employ Mexican drug gangs to bomb an Italian restaurant in Washington, just to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States. More on that below.
Considering all the terrible acts that Hezbollah has done and continues to try to do, why are people in the mainstream news media crying about Qassem Soleimani? This man, since 1998, has helped develop, finance and direct Hezbollah, along with many other Iranian proxy organizations, to commit acts of terrorism that benefit Iran.
Soleimani managed to use these terrorist groups to attack Iranian adversaries, while managing to leave enough distance between these groups and the Iranian military so that he could claim that it wasn’t an effort on the direct behalf of Iran.
Honestly, the death of Soleimani is something to be celebrated, as it puts an end to two decades of murders against Americans all over. The use of sleeper agents to study major cities to find vulnerabilities is something that commanded the swift action against him.
However, there are still looming threats, as someone was quick to replace Soleimani in the wake of his death.
It seems that the successor will likely employ the same kind of tactics that Soleimani used over the years, using groups like Hezbollah to target the United States and Israel.
The fact of the matter is that we’ll never be able to measure just how much potential devastation was avoided with the apprehension of sleeper agents within New York City, but it’s comforting to know that they were apprehended before they could strike.
Thanks to the amazing work by both the FBI and the NYPD, countless terrorist plots have been thwarted based upon the joint efforts.
Now back to the plot for Washington D.C. in 2011.
In that year, secret talks were held in Mexico between a member of a Mexican drug cartel, Los Zetas, and an operative of the Quds Force, Manssor Arbabsiar.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss planning a detonation of C-4 explosives at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. which was a popular choice of Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Adel-al-Jubeir. The meeting was actually part of a DEA operation, which was being recorded.
Several further meetings were held over the next few months in Mexico to discuss planned strikes against the Israeli Embassy in Washington, in addition to the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Argentina. They also discussed new trafficking lanes for the movement of opium between the Middle East and Mexico.
In July of that year, Arbabsiar returned to Mexico and continued meeting with the DEA informant. He reiterated that his leaders in Iran had plans for additional violence in addition to the Saudi ambassador’s assassination.
The informant informed the DEA that Arbabsiar had recruited four men to carry out the plot and would charge $1.5 million. Nearly $50,000 in advance payments were wired to an FBI-controlled bank account, which validated the conspiracy.
In October 2011, Arbabsiar and an Iran-based member of Quds Force, Gholam Shakuri, were arrested by federal agents, according to a report in the New York Times.
Both men were charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, among several other charges. Arbabsiar confessed to the charges and cooperated with federal authorities.
The foiled terrorist plot was deemed at that time to be a success for the DEA, FBI and Mexican authorities, while some noted that the United States had been lucky that the person recruited by agents of Quds Force under the direction of Soleimani had been a federal informant.
What the operation did confirm is that state sponsors of terror such as Quds Force had a propensity to work with non-state actors in Mexico such as drug cartels to carry out their dirty work.
So, as we have confirmed, Soleimani was a bad dude, having not only been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops, but who had also plotted to carry out the assassination of the Saudi ambassador on American soil, as well as bombing the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina.
At the time, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the murder plot at a news conference in Washington, D.C. and said it was “directed and approved by elements of the Iranian government and, specifically, senior members of the Quds Force.”
He added that “high up officials in those agencies, which is an integral part of the Iranian government, were responsible for this plot.” Thank you, Mr. Holder. Holder of course was the attorney general under Barack Obama.
So as far back as 2011, the American government, including the president at that time, Obama, was aware of Soleimani’s involvement in terrorist activities.
Back to present time. After the strike in Iraq which killed Soleimani, the Democrats acted like Trump had taken out Gandhi.
Sleepy Joe Biden woke up from his typical stupor to tweet the following:
My statement on the killing of Qassem Soleimani. pic.twitter.com/4Q9tlLAYFB— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 3, 2020
When I voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, I feared it would lead to greater destabilization of the region. That fear unfortunately turned out to be true.— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 3, 2020
The U.S. has lost approximately 4,500 brave troops, tens of thousands have been wounded, and we’ve spent trillions.
But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war.”
Before engaging in military action that could destabilize an entire region, we must take a strategic, deliberate approach that includes consultation with Congress, our allies, and stakeholders in the Middle East,” he said.
-------------------
Gregory Hoyt writes for Law Enforcement Today.
Tags: Gregory Hoyt, Iranian Sleeper Cells, Hiding in America, Law Enforcement Today To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 1:00 PM - Post Link
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home