A Rockford man who dreamed of becoming a terrorist was indicted Thursday on charges of trying to use hand grenades to blow up garbage cans at a shopping mall.

The rest of the world is getting the short version, which restates the charge to pack more punch: 

A man accused of plotting to use hand grenades in an attack on holiday shoppers was indicted Thursday on charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.

But at the Jerusalem Post, the story begins: 

A Muslim convert was indicted on charges of trying to use hand grenades to blow up garbage cans at a shopping mall.

A Muslim convert was indicted on charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.

... but that's a different story. 

 

For the record, here's the short version, the story from AP that's getting published almost everywhere:

CHICAGO (AP) - A man accused of plotting to use hand grenades in an attack on holiday shoppers was indicted Thursday on charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.

Derrick Shareef, 22, was arrested Dec. 6 by an FBI-led anti-terrorism task force following a sting operation in which an undercover informant secretly tape-recorded his plans.

Shareef was arrested when he met an undercover agent to trade a pair of stereo speakers for four hand grenades and a handgun to use at the CherryVale shopping mall in Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, federal prosecutors said.

Shareef is being held in the government's Metropolitan Correctional Center pending a court hearing. No date has been set.

 Defense attorney Michael B. Mann, who was appointed to represent Shareef at his initial court appearance in December, was unavailable for comment. A message left on his office voicemail was not immediately returned.

Prosecutors have said they were convinced Shareef had operated alone and there had been no imminent danger to the public.

As I've pointed out in previous articles, the feds can be quite certain that "Shareef had operated alone" since his only "accomplice" was the FBI "stinger" known in the affidavit as CS (Confidential Source).

 

The prosecutors also know that there was no imminent danger to the public because Shareef was never in possession of any sort of weapon, nor a vehicle, nor a plan to bomb the CherryVale Mall, nor even the rudimentary knowledge that fragmentation grenades do more damage when detonated in the open then when enclosed in a garbage can!

 

Dangerous fellow, this Derrick Shareef! 

 

The longer piece from the AP's Mike Robinson, which starts like this:

A Rockford man who dreamed of becoming a terrorist was indicted Thursday on charges of trying to use hand grenades to blow up garbage cans at a shopping mall.

contains the following additional paragraphs:

It was unclear after the grand jury indictment was announced late Thursday whether Shareef had hired another attorney.

Shareef was arrested when he met an undercover agent in a parking lot to trade a pair of stereo speakers for four hand grenades and a handgun.

He was charged in the two-count indictment with attempting to use weapons of mass destruction at Rockford's 130-store CherryVale Shopping Center during the Christmas shopping rush.

Federal prosecutors said the weapons of mass destruction were the hand grenades which he planned to use to blow up garbage cans in the center.

The indictment also charged Shareef with attempting to maliciously damage and destroy property by means of arson and explosives.

The arson and explosives count carries a mandatory minimum on conviction of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years. The weapons of mass destruction count carries a maximum of life. Both counts carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

Inintial news reports mentioned the trade -- a pair of speakers for what Shareef supposed were weapons -- and raised my suspicions about this setup right from the start. But that's another story. 

 

Now here's the Jerusalem Post version of the same article:

Muslim convert indicted in terror plot on US mall

A Muslim convert was indicted on charges of trying to use hand grenades to blow up garbage cans at a shopping mall.

Derrick Shareef, 22, was arrested December 6 by an FBI-led anti-terrorism task force following a sting operation in which an undercover informant secretly tape-recorded his plans.

Federal prosecutors who announced the arrest said they were convinced Shareef had operated alone and there had been no danger to the public. Shareef is being held in the government's Metropolitan Correctional Center pending a court hearing. No date has been set.

Is this a candidate for the short list of things that make me angry?

 

Oh, no, I am WAY TOO COLD for that!

 

And so is the Jerusalem Post, which features a new blog from Bibi Netanyahu:

 

Iran can still be stopped

If Olmert's government reacts limply to Iran's statements about its intentions to destroy Israel, why should we expect the world to act against them?

Baker and Hamilton described the current mood in their report: "The majority of the political establishment in Israel has grown tired of a continuous state of a nation at war."

What can we say about such words when even Olmert himself said similar things during an address he gave last year in the US: "We are tired of fighting. We are tired of being heroes. Tired of winning. Tired of beating our enemies."

When even Israel's leadership sends out a message of fatigue and weakness, why should we be surprised that the world agrees?

The main principle which we should follow is this: The key to promising the existence of Israel is developing strength.

And so on. And on and on. And on and on and on and on and on. Some blogger!

 

Bibi Netanyahu makes me look terse. I would never have thought that possible.

 

He also invokes all the code phrases for "more killing, more killing, more killing", which I don't. So that's another easy way to tell us apart.

 

Here's a third major difference: I will gladly point you to convincing evidence that Derrick Shareef is a victim of deliberate and very slick entrapment, and that the "threat" of terrorism in the heartland of America is vastly overrated (and mostly provoked by FBI sting operations).

 

In other words, most of the so-called opposition is bogus and/or bound to be ineffective, because it's not just that the "War on Terror" is being fought the wrong way; it also appears that the "enemy" is largely exaggerated and/or fabricated.

 

Welcome to 1984, twenty-three years later. And then some.

 

Of course, Bibi Netanyahu would never mention anything of the sort.

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