Man Charged in Model Airplane Plot To Bomb Pentagon

garymortimer writes "A 26-year-old Massachusetts man with a physics degree was arrested and charged Wednesday with plotting an attack on the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol with remote-controlled model aircraft, authorities said. Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen from Ashland, Massachusetts, planned to use model aircraft filled with C-4 plastic explosives. As a result of an undercover FBI investigation, Ferdaus, who has a physics degree from Northeastern University in Boston, was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda for attacks on U.S. soldiers overseas. His federal public defender couldn't be reached immediately for comment."

Comments

*sigh* Not Again...

[TWX]

I have to wonder the nature of the situation when the charges are for, "attempting to provide material support", as in, was he in contact with anyone who was actually planning to bomb anything, or was everyone he interacted with affiliated with law enforcement, and they took a disgruntled man and groomed him into the position they're not charging him for.

We'll probably never really know, which is why I really dislike conspiracy type charges when there aren't several people charged.

Re:*sigh* Not Again...

[rusl]

Well you did make me RTFA retarded AC and I think that TWX is wrong: we probably will know. It seems this is another "conspiracy" of one where the FBI eggs on a crazy guy and supplies him with all the tools to turn his bad feelings into a charge they can pin on him. Given that this is the initial CNN article, and that is usually when the case for the FBI is presented most favourably because there has been no time for journalists to investigate more in-depth.... Well, you can read this and see that it's probably entrapment when described most favourably so likely will be conclusively that later on when more embarrassing facts start to be revealed.

from TFA:

""There is no information to indicate he was connected to a foreign terrorist organization. It appears he was radicalized watching videos on the internet. He was given the opportunity to back down, but he never wavered" from his intention to carry out the attacks, the source said."

"The FBI agents also gave Ferdaus six AK-47 assault rifles and three grenades, but they weren't functional,"

"he began supplying the FBI undercover agents with cell phones rigged to act as electric switches for improved explosive devices"

"Undercover federal agents also gave Ferdaus 25 pounds of fake C-4 explosives"

"The investigation also involved a cooperating witness"

"law enforcement official said Ferdaus posed no immediate danger to the public because undercover operatives kept in close contact with him"

Yep, pretty much the same story as the other "terrorists" the authorities have caught: (not the incompetent real terrorists that the public caught) Entrapment.

Re:*sigh* Not Again...

[Flyskippy1]

Yep, another case of the FBI finding a 'terrorist' by finding a mildly disgruntled guy, giving him fake weapons and explosives, suggesting a terrorist plot to him, and then 'catching' him when he did exactly what they wanted him to do.

Like these guys:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-arrests-terrorists-sting-operations-dallas-springfield/story?id=8666300

And these guys:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/11/families-struggle-in-the-_n_957365.html

Re:*sigh* Not Again...

[kylemonger]

When the FBI is involved, it always turns out to be some disgruntled sad sack or sad sacks who they talk into some terrorist act. There is an endless supply of such broken-down, weak-willed people, which gives the FBI a steady stream of good PR to keep their budget fat. I'll hold my applause until they catch someone smarter than I am.

So now we're down to catching the nutcases

[HangingChad]

A real, full-size airliner barely put a dent in the Pentagon. A remote controlled plane the size of a Cessna full of C4 would break a few windows.

This guy was a physics major and can't calculate how much C4 it would take to punch a hole in a solid concrete building?

Re:So now we're down to catching the nutcases

[RightSaidFred99]

He was going to have 6 well armed people outside the doors shooting people as they escaped. And even a small explosion would probably drive people out of the building.

Re:So now we're down to catching the nutcases

[Grishnakh]

Actually, IIRC, the Pentagon is more than just "solid concrete", and has a lot of extra reinforcements and materials in its walls to withstand bomb blasts better than normal buildings.

An R/C plane (or even a Cessna) full of C4 wouldn't have done much besides break a few windows, as you say.

I'm going to go ahead and give the terrorists the secret here about how to destroy the US. I hope I don't get prosecuted for terrorism or treason or whatever. It's pretty simple, really: just pour a lot of money into the campaigns for far right-wing Republican candidates like Bachmann, and maybe find other ways to con the voters into electing these wackos, not just in the Presidential race but in Congressional races too. After they get elected, just sit back and watch the country implode. You can also do the same by getting more Democrats elected, but it won't be quite as fast as with the Republicans (this is probably debatable though). Of course, there's lots of corporations already pouring money into these peoples' campaigns, so maybe they should be prosecuted for terrorism... Or, you can just do nothing at all and wait; we don't need terrorists to destroy this country, we're doing a great job of it all by ourselves.

Re:So now we're down to catching the nutcases

[cusco]

The walls of the Pentagram are three feet of solid ferro-concrete, they were designed to take a direct hit from a Nazi 500-pound bomb (really). The roof was later reinforced to withstand a very near miss from a Soviet nuke. I've never understood why the felt the need to cover the entire thing with kevlar, which had just been completed on the wing that was hit by the airliner. That wing had been emptied during the remodel process, almost everyone killed in the attack was in the process of moving back in.

I know far too much trivia.

Re:Christ, how stupid are we?

[monkeyhybrid]

Because denying religious people an education will make the world a safer, more peaceful and forward thinking place? I seriously doubt that.
I'm more inclined to think equal opportunities and education for all, regardless of their beliefs, is a very positive step forward.

Re:I predict

[C0L0PH0N]

I fly RC planes and am a member of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). Congress is working to implement new legislation to control "UAV's" (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which WILL legally control RC hobby airplanes. The AMA has been working with Congress and the FAA to help insure the viability and robustness of our wonderful sport, which prepares young folks for careers in avionics and space, as well as being a darned fun (and expensive :)) hobby. Here is a link to the AMA's government relations site: http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/gov.aspx. This is an issue that is hot and current. Here is the current situation, which is coming to a head in the next few months, per the AMA's website: "Information received at the recent AUVSI conference indicates the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for FAA’s proposed regulation for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is on track for release in mid December 2011. It’s anticipated the new rule will address model aircraft operations and will provide a provision for community based organizations such as the AMA to submit their own set of standards. If adopted, these standards will provide the modeling community an alternative means of complying with the sUAS rule. At this point AMA is hard at work in developing a set of standards aimed at allowing the aeromodeling enthusiasts to continue enjoying the hobby in much the same way as they do today. ". Actions like this crazy physicist certainly don't help, but they point out the wisdom of a rational approach to a hobby that can be militarized. We'll see what happens.

Re:Did anyone tell him

[rtb61]

Clearly a mentally disturbed individual, targeted, groomed and his mental delusions preyed upon to create a opportunity for public terrorism promotion and of course prop the ego and future careers of a couple of agents.

Real indicators of delusion, using a $6,500 dollar model aircraft, grandiose plots with little action (the agents did pretty much everything) and, no indication of employment whilst living with parents.

The really disturbing things about the way it is being presented are, ohh look he had a physics degree (smells of targeting all university students in science areas as potential threats) and, he took photos of buildings (why he didn't just use street view remains or the thousands of available photos on line are further indicators of deranged thinking). Also they were careful to exclude from the press releases any indication of mental disturbance in the individual, even though it seems pretty obvious.

Worse, maybe it's FBI entrapment

[Weezul]

As I understand it, all Islamic terrorists arrested inside the U.S. were put up to it by the FBI.

You see, the FBI prefers to train it's own terrorists because doing so is far easier than catching the real deal, who might be dangerous, or hard to find, or worse not exist at all. Don't you feel safer with the FBI making sure there are terrorists to catch?