Six-Actual: Why You Need to Be in Charge - And How to Do So - In These Very Dangerous Days

By Undaunted

Why you need to be in charge – and how to do so – in these very dangerous days.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543913279

Book preview

6-Actual

Chapter 1: Suspicious minds…

Of the more than 1 billion people who swear allegiance to Islam; there are now many millions of people of that faith believing that killing any and all people who don’t agree with every single jot and tittle of Islam and all the trappings thereof is their ticket to paradise. Though many of those millions don’t have the level of commitment necessary to pick up the sword of jihad, there are still many hundreds of thousands of Qur’an-thumpers out there not only willing but fully intending to kill you and your infidel family and friends. All these so-called holy warriors are waiting for are the opportunity, and many of them are not going to wait for opportunity but will create it themselves. So, let’s focus on the radicals and what makes them that way so we can be prepared.

Guess what: you don’t know who these radicals are or where they go to church, and many of them do. You don’t know when or where they will attack so you don’t know if you’ll be in the area of operation (AO) when they do. The only thing you do know is that you can be prepared no matter who, what, where, when, why - and how. Only you can care enough to be aware of suspicious circumstances and people around you. Only you can report these observations to the proper authority. Only you can decide if you want to prepare yourself with force of legally-carried arms and ammunition and the training that can turn you into a warrior. Only you can protect you. But the killers about whom we are all so concerned are not just after you. They’re after all those folks around you as well. The cops can’t do it all, can’t be everywhere all the time. They didn’t drive in to work today just so they could wait around the corner from your house and beat the hell out of anybody who pisses you off.

We’ve all heard and read the foreboding admonition: If you see something, say something.  Yeah, right. The question is begged then: for what and whom, then, am I looking?  Well, surveillance looks like certain things to the trained eye, so let’s train your eye.  Reconnaissance AKA recon, may be a quick drive past a target just moments before an attack, or a prolonged, comprehensive assessment of a target’s vulnerabilities, basically recording information to help terrorists plan and carry out an attack. Seeing someone engaged in just one suspicious surveillance activity may not necessarily be an indicator that recon is taking place. Maybe what you’re seeing is an insurance investigator following someone suspected of fraud. So, it will be the totality of circumstances that you observe, which may add up to pre-attack recon. We’re not talking about any person(s) with particular racial or ethnic appearances but people who are involved in particular activities that seem suspicious. Remember, it’s what seems suspicious to you, not necessarily anyone else. Below are some situations that may amount to criminal or terrorist surveillance of a target.

Not to put too fine an edge on this, you should know the difference between recon, probes, and dry runs before we go on.

Recon is just sitting or standing in a location, watching a potential target to evaluate if it’s worth the time and effort to hit. Or it may involve driving or walking through or by the target once or multiple times to determine its vulnerability. If we operate under the oomph of truth then we have to plan and train for situations where terrorists aren’t attacking so they can get their grievances and demands on the 6 o’clock news and once that’s done they release their hostages and are flown away to a friendly country. That’s not necessarily true anymore. Terrorists these days are much more likely to have only one thing in mind when they launch an attack: to kill as many of the infidel as they can before they are killed themselves. So, they’re looking for a place where there are lots of people they can kill with whatever weapon(s) they have or will have at the time of their attack. And there are hundreds of thousands of places where there are lots and lots of people doing all kinds of I’m-an-easy-target things. A recon is done to assess the vulnerability of a target in order to make a determination of its vulnerability - basically asking and answering the question: can I get into (and out of, perhaps) that location and kill the people I want to kill? If the answer is yes, then an opportunity for an attack exists and a plan can be created and implemented from there. During recon, you will see note-taking gear and items so that concise records can be kept of what makes that target vulnerable. 

A probe is when recon has determined that a site is suitable as a target. Once that determination has been made, a person or persons most likely not on the team that later will be making the actual attack(s) conducts certain acts to see what security or police or the local populace will do when the attack is actually being formed or taking place. For example, a man getting off a bus who puts a full plastic milk jug in the wheel-well of that bus before he walks away may be trying to see what the bus driver, travelers and on-lookers are likely to do when, later, an IED made to look like a plastic milk jug is placed into a bus wheel-well by the person who will actually be emplacing a bomb. That act may be done several times in a city to get people used to a harmless prank carried out by some dummy whose sense of humor is just quite a bit off. Then, after several iterations, a real bomb is put in the wheel-well and BOOM! An attack this simple would not require a dry-run.

A dry-run is when the target and method of attack has been decided and the people who will actually be taking part in the attack do a sort of dress-rehearsal. Anybody ever been to a wedding rehearsal or a final rehearsal the night before the big school play or your Christmas Concert? A dry-run is like that, only different. The only difference between the dry run and the actual attack is that for the dry-run the attackers won’t be wearing uniforms if they will be when attacking, and there will probably be no weapons on any of the about-to-be-attackers because they’re so close to the actual attack date and time that they won’t want to risk being found out and the attack being thwarted or called off because of some misfortune with weapons or being discovered to be impersonating various first responders. Some acts are so blatantly suspicious that a dry-run is out of the question because even the act of rehearsing the attack is so threatening that it would create an outrage, which would probably lead to identification and capture of the terrorists before their attack could be carried out. An example of this would be an attack on a school. No terrorist group is going to do a dry-run on the school they’re planning to attack; the target would be selected through recon, weapons procured and the attack team assembled and briefed and then the school would be attacked. Easy as pie. Remember that not all attacks will have all three elements - recon, probe, and dry-run - because all three may not be required for it to be effective, so looking for a sequence and spinning a counter-measure off of that won’t necessarily work all the time. You need to understand that the things listed below may be part of a plan which may be just underway or almost ready to launch and you can’t know for sure so the best thing to do is to notify law enforcement officials of our observations and concerns as quickly as you can. Be alert and ready to respond if that’s what you determine to be best. We’ll discuss response options later.

The following can be classified as suspicious:

Work crews that appear to be surveying or repairing something, painting a road or a building or a fence, sweeping a sidewalk, trimming hedges, etc. are suspicious if the workers seem to be more concerned with the buildings and activities around the work area than the work itself and seem to be accomplishing little or nothing. So, if you see a service truck in the area, especially one that has strange official or commercial markings on it, or none at all, you might call the service company to see if they’ve sent out a truck or crew. Or call the police to check it out or security officers if they have the ability and authority to respond in that way.

People you don’t usually see in your AO who appear to be beggars, demonstrators, shoe-shiners, or street merchants of some sort.

People around a potential target who are making written notes or sketches, taking pictures with some sort of camera. They may be sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle, appearing to be waiting on the absent driver. You may see them using telephoto lenses or binoculars to view buildings or areas they are considering as targets. They may speak into a small recorder, or use a phone or radio that seems unusually sophisticated - a radio with extra buttons which could indicate it has the capability to send and receive encrypted transmissions.

There may be a vehicle parked close to a potential target that appears to be disabled for some reason. Maybe there’s someone with the vehicle, appearing to be working on the problem. An effective part of this ruse is for the driver to leave the vehicle, ostensibly to get help, leaving another person hiding in the rear of the vehicle to conduct the surveillance. If you’re watching a row of empty, parked vehicles and see brake lights flash on one of them but the vehicle remains in place, chances are there is someone in the driver’s seat looking at something and he or she accidentally stepped on the brake pedal, thereby giving away his or her presence inside the vehicle. Security or the cops need to be contacted in order to investigate such a situation.

Vehicles parked facing away from a target may be using side- and rear-view mirrors to watch the target location. Vehicles with more mirrors than normal are suspicious, as well as mirrors that are larger than normal.

Two or more people conducting surveillance as a team might not be sitting or standing together. They may be watching the same target from different vantage points, communicating with each other by cell phone, radio, or even with hand-signals.

Surveillance is sometimes conducted by/with women in order to increase the appearance of innocence. There may even be children in the recon group.

People who seem to be very interested in exhaustive details of transportation schedules and methods, dates and locations of large social gatherings, such as someone coming to reserve a large dining room for a special event, but who seems quite curious about whether there are any gatherings of military folk scheduled for that room in the near future. 

A vehicle parked for a long period of time in front of a building, or in a tunnel or on a bridge. If you see someone running from a vehicle parked close to a facility or structure that might be a target, then you should try to leave the area ASAP and notify the police right away. That’s not recon but is either a probe or an actual attack. It wouldn’t be a dry-run because the act is so obviously suspicious that they wouldn’t risk getting caught just practicing something so simple as driving a bomb to a spot, running from it and then detonating it when they get far enough away.

An increase in evacuations from various buildings because of bomb threat hoaxes. This could mean terrorists are making the threats and watching response procedures to determine such things as how many people actually evacuate from which buildings and where they go once evacuated and what security forces do in and around those evacuated people. This gives terrorists an idea which building would have the highest number of targets and how and when to hit the greatest number of those targets effectively. Once this determination is made, another bomb threat may be called in to the target building, or a small bomb detonated inside it, and then larger bombs which were hidden earlier in trash cans or boxes or vehicles might then be detonated in the evacuated crowd. Or shooters may open fire on the evacuated workers or residents once they rush outside to the safety of their assigned rally point - if they even have one or know where it is.

People spending more time than normal at entry and exit points to and from areas busy with pedestrian or vehicle traffic, possibly to identify areas of vulnerability or to plot attack and withdrawal routes. Again, these people may be making written notes and/or (a/o) taking pictures.

People showing an unusual interest in police a/o security personnel a/o operations, entry points and access controls, or perimeter barriers such as fences or walls. They may wear fake police, security, military, utility worker, or paramedic uniforms but would likely only do so at the time of the actual attack, not during recon, a probe or dry-run. So, if you’re often in a particular place and you see some guys hanging around there in street clothes and meeting the above criterion of suspicion and then one day you see the same crew there in security or paramedic uniforms, you may very well be witnessing the opening stages of an attack as the actors get in place for what is probably, in that case, an attack involving multiple shooters.

People who challenge or argue with some receptionist or security personnel in a corporate setting or at a school office may be probing to see what they can get away with, to test response time and tactics. On the other hand, it could be an attack - the terrorist trying to get through to an intended target, angered at being possibly thwarted; or attempting to draw in as many victims as possible with commotion and noise from the argument. Or it could be a distraction - pulling police/security from other areas to respond to the argument while the real attack is attempted in/through the area left unprotected by responding police/security.

Again; it’s not necessarily what they look like, though that shouldn’t be ignored. It is what they are doing, when and where they are doing it, a combination of indicators that amount to a suspicion in your mind. If you can’t logically and reasonably explain it to yourself, then get on the phone and report it. The threat isn’t going away and the clues are not hiding from you so you need to be more than just aware of your surroundings, but always alert and proactive in your daily life, no matter where you go, no matter with whom you spend your time or call a friend.

Speaking of clues, there is much evidence that groups of terrorists are already here, living among us and waiting for the right time to launch deadly attacks. Daniel Pipes Director of The Middle East Forum wrote a piece on what sleepers might look like, some of it here:

… ways do exist to distinguish the likely sleepers from other Muslims. To begin with, all known sleepers till now have been young men. (The only women arrested for Al-Qaeda activities were two Algerians producing fake credit cards and passports in Leicester, England.) Perhaps the militant Islamic networks will one day go beyond this self-imposed limitation, but for now it appears to be one way of winnowing down the pool of potential suspects.

It is hard for sleepers to maintain a perfect cover. Connections to foreign countries offer one set of warning signals:

Arrival from countries where violent militant Islamic groups (such as Al-Qaeda) are known to operate;

Long, unexplained absences; or absences for vague purposes of religious education, charity work, or pilgrimage;

Travel to hot spots where Muslims are fighting non-Muslims (Bosnia, Chechnya, Lebanon, Kashmir);

Travel to countries where militant Islam rules (Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan).

Sleepers must prepare themselves for their operations, and this can leave telltale indications:

Study of technical subjects (such as electrical engineering or computer sciences) that would help pull off an operation.

Collecting information on subjects (e.g., crop-dusting planes) that could help in carrying out an operation.

Working in an area (such as import/export) that serves as a cover for preparing for an operation.

Engaging in para- or military training, perhaps under guise of preparing to do security work (e.g., serving as a bodyguard).

Physical training.

Possession of such artifacts as detonators and a protective suit against chemical and biological weapons.

Purchase of chemicals and other dual-use materials.

Scouting out military bases, government buildings, and other potential targets; practicing routines; and otherwise rehearsing for an operation.

Possession of instructions for conducting of either a spiritual nature (how to prepare for one’s suicide death) or a practical nature (how to smuggle detonators).

Some attitudes raise red flags:

Support for militant Islamic groups and fronts.

Outspoken support of Muslims in combat against non-Muslims.

Excusing violence against Americans on the grounds that American actions provoked the problem. 

Disparagement of Western civilization in favor of Islamic civilization.

Fury at the West, for reasons ranging from the personal (unemployment) to the global (policy toward Iraq). 

Bigoted statements against non-Muslims in general (infidels) or specifically against Jews, Christians, or Hindus.

Seeing moderate Muslims as apostates from Islam.

Conspiracy theories about Westerners (e.g., the CIA arranged for the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center to boost its funding levels). 

Accusing the West of trying to destroy Islam.

Hoping to apply Islamic law in the United States.

Disregard for the U.S. legal system where it prohibits something permitted by Islamic societies (such as polygamy or the honor killing of women).

Problems having to do with identity are a further indication:

Fraudulent personal identities, sometimes with inconsistencies. (Zacarias Moussaoui presented himself as French, but when spoken to in French not only could not reply but became belligerent.)

A cover story that does not ring true. (A young Arab, recently arrived in Spain, wants to buy a watch repair shop and the owner agrees to sell, but something seems not right—He had fat fingers, so how was he going to fix watches?) 

Evasive about his background (I’m from the Middle East rather than giving a country name).

Losing passports or other documentation so as to get new ones.

Acquisition of multiple identities and their careful use. (The only time [the shoe-bomber, Richard] Reid appears to have used his real name is when flying.)

Social activities can offer clues:

Membership in militant Islamic groups or front organizations.

Financial support for those groups or fronts. 

Active involvement at mosques known for their militant Islamic orientation.

Close friendships or family ties with other suspects.

Immersion in a purely Muslim environment.

Avoiding contact with the larger society: friendly but standoffish, in the words of a former assistant U.S. attorney. Say ‘hello’ but don’t talk. Let people see you, but don’t bring attention to yourself, in the words of an Al-Qaeda advisory.

Other miscellaneous pointers to look for include:

Choosing to live in areas where many cultures are represented and an easygoing attitude toward different customs is evident (northern New Jersey, southern Florida, Leicester or Bradford in England, Hamburg in Germany). 

Sending or receiving large amounts of money.

A preference for cash transactions.

Criminal activity, especially reliance on counterfeited money and smuggling.

A promising career that failed, descent into drugs and alcohol, then redemption through Islam.

An offer to work for the enemy’s intelligence services.

Enrolling in university studies in the liberal arts, then switching to engineering or the sciences.

These are admittedly imprecise indicators; a Muslim who exercises and makes anti-Hindu statements cannot automatically be suspected of planning a suicide operation. Rather, the above signals must be seen in the context of a whole personality and a wider pattern of behavior. Precisely because the legitimate search for sleepers is open to abuse, it requires an unusual degree of common sense, sensitivity, and restraint.

Good stuff. Thank you, Daniel Pipes. Remember to report your suspicions to law enforcement as quickly as you can. Be thorough in the information you provide and make sure you get the name of the person to whom you give the information, and a reference number of the report, if there is one. Follow up on your initial report to see what’s being done and if you come across more information. If it ain’t on paper, it didn’t happen.

Okay, so that covers pretty well the terrorists who were probably born in some miserable hell-hole of a country and managed to find their way out of that mess and drag their asses over here. But what about people who were born in the West and then took the next step and became what is often described as a ‘homegrown terrorist". I’ve read much about the fear HGT are supposed to be spreading here and there, thither and yon, throughout our bright and great land and how we’re supposed to be scared. Fear: a choice one makes. Some time back al Qaeda put out the poop directing that huge, spectacular attacks need not be the standard, advising their HGT that smaller, less sophisticated attacks could be just as effective at killing and striking terror into the hearts of the infidel. So, let’s take another look at the HGT phenomenon as a reminder to all of us how easy it is for some people to turn into the monsters under the bed, and just down the street.

Where do we start? What easily-seen manifestation of galactically crass ignorance can we see all around us pretty much every day, which may tell us that someone might be leaning to the left to a sufficient degree that the gravity of radical Islam just might topple them into the dust? How about the keffiyeh, a sure sign that you’re either right or you’re wrong about who are the real terrorists. Why are people so wrong for wearing a simple scarf? Because it was popularized as a political statement by an evil POS, Yassir Arafat; a venomous, treacherous, murderous dirt-bag who is considered the father of modern terrorism. Though the scarf is often called a Palestinian scarf, he was not Palestinian; but Egyptian. You can read his horrid biography online if you’d like, and anyone who wears so much as a hat-pin honoring him or his people and their plight is ignorant and uneducated. If you don’t know the true history of the Arab/Israeli conflict then you need to educate yourself on that vital subject in order to learn the truth.

Anyway; let’s say you have an acquaintance that seems like a normal Western guy or girl, but then you begin to sense something’s not right whenever you spend time together. Could be anything. Maaaaybe they’ve chosen Islam as their religion. Fair enough; we all make choices and we all have to live with the consequences, intended or un… except if you’re a Kennedy or a Clinton. But what indicators might you see in the lifestyle and behavior of your brand new, shiny Muslim or Muslimah? Offered for your consideration:

Won’t drink any form of alcohol.

Refuses to touch pork products, including gelatin. So, jello-shooters are out the window, eh?

No more going to fortune-tellers.

No more trips to the casino or Vegas.

Need for prayer 5 times a day.

Hatred for Jews and Christians.

Hatred for Israel and America, and Great Britain while they’re at it.

Arguing Islamic law with every-freakin’-body.

Hysterical compassion for Palestine and the cause.

Changing their name, a/o those of their children to something Arabic or Islamic-sounding.

Setting up email accounts or social media pages with jihadi, Islamic, a/o Arabic-sounding usernames a/o themes.

Wearing Muslim garb.

New-found appreciation for certain animals. Incomplete list: Goats and sheep and cattle, buffalo, fish, camels, gazelle, bunny wabbits, ducks, pigeons, sparrows, partridges, owls in K-mart signs, doves, and cuddly-wuddly sharks.

Aversion to other animals. Incomplete list: All insects, snakes, lizards, gecko, mice (none of that Mickey Mouse crap for the kids), rats (no Chuck E Cheese parties), hedgehogs, weasels, frogs, lions, tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, cats, jackals, apes, dogs, falcons, hawks, kites and fuzzy squirrels.

Desire to give money to the needy, usually some shady radical Islamic charity.

Attending local university Muslim Student Association meetings and diversity events.

Will listen to Muslim music only, no more Every sha-la-la-la, every Wo-o-o-o.

Islamic/halal websites saved on Favorites task bar. Not suggesting you pry or spy, but the sites may be in open sight/plain view.

No more cussing - no fuckin’ way, man. 

No more television or movies - unless it woos Muslim children to kill the evil Jews or tells the sad tale of some martyr about to meet one of his virgins who was, of course… murdered by the evil Jews.

Overt practice of every Islamic precept, to the point of obsession.

Reading Islamic books and listening to Islamic preaching on tape, CD or DVD.

Refusal to buy using credit - except for online gay porn sites.

Shopping only at hahal markets.

Debating religion at work - and just about everywhere else.

Switching from a toothbrush and paste/gel to miswak.

Openly rebuking Muslims considered less zealous and sincere.

Attitude that everything Muslims do, think and say is godly and good, while insisting that anything and everything non-Muslim is demonic.

Frequently peppering their speech with Arabic-isms they either really don’t know or can’t pronounce. 

Chattering at length about their Islamic identity and their Muslim-ness. 

They see anti-Muslim bias that didn’t a/o doesn’t exist. Again, Islam is not a race.

Viewing themselves as the sole arbiters and practitioners of truth and quickly passing judgment on anyone not as wise a/o zealous as are they.

Believing that what they view as good is absolute truth; and what they don’t know or understand is bad just because it hasn’t been revealed to them.

Insisting that questioning Islamic tradition and religious innovation is forbidden.

Perhaps you’ll see the Palestinian flag worn as a garment a/o hung on a wall.

A newly-converted Muslim is called a Muallaf. New converts sometimes obtain a certificate of conversion from an Islamic center, organization or mosque. Perhaps you would see one of these certificates proudly displayed on a wall in your friends’ home.

To help converts start a new life, they might receive money from others in the local Muslim community, so you might come to realize that most if not all their debts have all been paid mysteriously.

No single indicator above is necessarily proof that someone is leaning toward becoming radicalized but if you see several that don’t pass - like a childish phase - you should pay close attention and consider notifying your local PD, and then the FBI. Below is their official schtick on someone who might be radicalizing:

Conversion to Islam is not radicalization. The FBI defines violent extremists as persons who engage in, encourage, endorse, condone, justify, or support in any way the commission of a violent act against either the U.S. government, its citizens, or its allies to achieve political, social, or economic changes or against others who may possess opinions contrary to their own radicalized ideology.

The FBI assesses the radicalization process as four stages: preradicalization, identification, indoctrination, and action. Each one is distinct, and a radicalized individual may never reach the final stage.

Preradicalization

Conversion may be to a religion or a commitment to another form of the religion. An individual’s motivation is critical to the process and not always static. For example, people who initially convert to gain acceptance may reinterpret their faith if the group they join is composed of Muslim extremists.

Motivation: In a jilted-believer conversion, internal frustration and dissatisfaction with the current religious faith leads the individual to change belief systems. The new system can be initially religious in tone or secular. Conversion attempts to resolve inconsistencies between what the person has come to believe and was taught to believe.

A protest conversion may be an attempt by people to identify themselves apart from or to rebel against a society or circumstances they perceive as oppressive. Additionally, faith reinterpretation is another form of an intrinsically driven conversion where individuals alter their religious tradition through introspection and evaluation. This motivation refers specifically to those born into Muslim families but choose to follow a more extremist form of Islam, including such individuals as Faysal Galab, Tasein Taher, and Shafal Mosed of the Lackawanna Six. Galab, Taher, and Mosed drank alcohol, used drugs, and had relationships with non-Muslim women —all forbidden by the Qur’an —before converting. After this transition, it was easier for Kamal Derwish, who primarily influenced their newfound Islamic path, to convince them to participate in jihad as a way of absolving their sins.

Acceptance seeking, a form of extrinsic conversion, is a fundamental human motivation. Individuals have a pervasive drive to form and maintain at least a minimum quantity of lasting and significant interpersonal relationships. However, the product of these relationships can have positive or negative consequences for the people involved. Those with weak social ties may benefit from the solidarity that extremist groups provide.

Stimulus and Opportunity: Converts who proceed through the radicalization process often are driven by a respected, frequently older, extremist with whom they have come into contact. Interactions between converts and Islamic extremists can occur in a variety of venues. For example, in mosques, extremists can observe other Muslims’ commitment to the faith and their reactions to the Islamic message given by extremist religious leaders. In prisons, extremist recruiters can identify a population disaffected with society and use their operational skills and propensity for violence to further their cause. In Islamic and secular universities, they can find curious individuals who question society, as well as their own beliefs. Further, extremists can interact with others in businesses, which provide a private setting to conduct meetings and further indoctrinate new converts, and in Internet chat rooms where vulnerable individuals from around the world can gather to discuss Islamic doctrine.

The radicalization Process

Identification: In this stage, individuals identify themselves with a particular extremist cause and accept a radicalized ideology that justifies violence or other criminal activity against perceived enemies. Accepting the cause leads people to become increasingly isolated from their former lives. New converts often seek and follow guidance from imams, more senior followers, on how to live every detail of the religion, becoming more committed to the newfound faith. Converts’ social connections with other like-minded individuals can strengthen this dedication. In addition, overseas travel may accelerate the radicalization process by providing networking and experience (e.g., religious or language instruction and basic paramilitary training) that later may support operational activity.

Indoctrination: Indoctrination can involve becoming an active participant in a group or being initiated within the recruit’s self-created jihadist environment. Through various activities with the group and increasingly demanding and significant roles within it, converts see their potential as a jihadist and, ultimately, can become convinced of the need for further action to support the cause.

Formal recruitment into a terrorist group usually will occur before or during indoctrination. Recruitment plays an important role in any terrorist organization, and radicalized individuals can use their experience to spot, assess, and encourage potential recruits to follow the same path. This process also could include vouching for new recruits or helping them establish their extremist credentials. A charismatic recruiter with limited training or participation in jihad can transform that experience into a particularly enticing recruitment tool for individuals susceptible to an extremist message. Extremist Islamic clerics can play a major role because of their knowledge of Islam, their ability to provide religious justification for terrorist attacks, and the emotional hold they can have over impressionable recruits.

In the case of Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh (JIS), Kevin James, the group’s founder, propagated JIS ideology and recruited adherents inside and outside prison mainly by disseminating the JIS manifesto and through direct meetings with inmates. James also sought new recruits without prison records who could benefit the group through their occupations, abilities, or access to sensitive locations.

Action: The final stage consists of supporting or engaging in terrorist activities. Although this action can be violent or nonviolent (e.g. financing), it always intends to inflict damage on the enemy. Some individuals who reach this stage will attempt to participate in a terrorist attack.

Every action has three stages: preparation, planning, and execution. During any of these, recruits can try to stop participating. However, they may be so caught up in the group’s activities that they will engage in behaviors they otherwise would not consider. Attack preparations can include target selection, casing, financing, and forming distinct operational cells.

Facilitation, a key component of any terrorist attack, can be accomplished by operatives dedicated to the support role or waiting for a separate attack, supporters unwilling or unable to perpetrate a terrorist attack, or unwitting participants. It can include providing financial assistance, safe houses, false documents, materials, attack plans, surveillance, or travel assistance. Individuals unable or unwilling to carry out a violent terrorist attack still can further the goals to which they subscribe. For example, facilitators play a key role in obtaining funding for a terrorist operation through such criminal activities as fraud, scams, embezzlement, or theft and some may even involve violence.

Back to your friend who’s dipping his or her toe into the waters of Islam, or doing a nicely tucked cannonball into it. Below are some Islamic a/o Arabic household a/o personal items you may suddenly see appearing in their home:

Flavored miswak sticks - Muslim tooth-picks or brushes, regular and flavored. They look like twigs with frayed ends. Not recommended by your local infidel dentist but rumored to please the so-called god of Islam. According to Muslim lore, the greatest benefit of using the stick is gaining the pleasure of Allah. Ooo. Yay. Supposedly, the reward of prayers is multiplied 70 times if miswak was used before offering them.

While you might have seen just regular filthy infidel food spread around your friend’s house, you might find food and other items with a halal mark or label on it after his or her conversion. Find samples of the label at ifanca.org   

Prayer beads, called misbaha or tasbih, come in strings of 33 or 99. Usually there is a divider between each 11 or 33 beads. The beads are used to practice the zikr, a form of meditation, during which 99 sacred names of Allah a/o some verses of the Qur’an are repeated. The beads help to count the number of repetitions. When 33 beads are used, one would cycle through them three times to equal 99 reps. What makes these beads different from other religious strings is that they come in lengths of 33 or 99 beads. The beads or tassels on the end are decorative, with no religious significance. 

Digital watches and other devices with qibla finder, which lets the wearer know which way Mecca is so he can pray in the right direction to please his god. Hmmm, the Christian God is… everywhere.

Prayer rugs. When praying, the head of the rug or mat must be pointed toward Mecca. Placement of these rugs or mats in a convert’s domicile would be meaningful as most area rugs are placed in parallel/perpendicular alignment with walls a/o furniture, but a prayer rug would be laid so the head of it points in the direction to Mecca, which could mean the rug alignment may be visibly off-kilter in relation to furniture a/o walls. Too, the mat could be placed in an out-of-the-way spot in the house or apartment, and your friend might not want you to stand or walk on it or to get near it.

As for Muslim prayer times, there is no exact time set for salaat, but Muslims try to pray at the following times of day:

Fajr, before dawn

Dhuhr, shortly after the day’s work has begun

‘Asr, in the late afternoon, before finishing the day’s work

Maghrib, just after the sun goes down

‘Isha, before going to bed for the night

Someone who converts to Islam is called a maullaf. I think some maullaf (plural: maullafi?) would not be loud about their conversion and the big changes would be seen in the privacy of his or her home. But, from what I’ve read, a maullaf more likely to lean toward jihad would be proud of his conversion to the point of being arrogant, ergo I would expect some public display of conversion easily seen by passers-by on the street - keffiyeh, hijab, maybe even public prayer, etc. - no matter where he or she lives. A muallaf in a small town might be shy about going public at first and so might seek encouragement at a mosque in a local city, and if/when he became jihad-inclined, I’d expect to eventually see a lot of co-religionists from the city mosque showing up at his place - coming often and staying late - accompanying him or her around town, sort of showing the Muslim colors. It’s going to come down to the totality of the circumstances you observe over time, with some hints to watch for shown above. That time may stretch over a few weeks or even a few years. Anything more from me would be speculation.

I came across a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) entitled, American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat. One of the most notable problems with the document is the level of honesty with which authors Jerome P. Bjelopera and Mark A. Randol wrote. While they do declare that poverty is not the cause of Islamic jihad, they can’t seem to pull the trigger on the idea that it’s Islam itself that needs to be reformed or dismantled in order to stop those poor misguided knuckleheads who end up jihading across the planet. There are several citations in the CRS report of attacks on malls being planned and trained for, but then being thwarted by one means or another. Hmmm. Well, what about all the wannabe jihadists who are still out there and who have picked a mall as their target and are now training and waiting for the right day? The report also spends lots of time dreaming about how everything can be solved if only Muslims and non-Muslims can just cooperate in the anti-terror efforts being made by law enforcement agencies here and abroad. The authors and those who believe their report are fooling themselves willfully. But, alas, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which was once the largest Islamic charity in the United States but has been shut down for funneling charitable contributions to the jihad terrorist group Hamas) openly encourages Muslims - radical and moderate - in the US to not cooperate with the FBI and other counterterrorism and law enforcement agencies. Now that you know what kind of help we can expect from Muslims who listen to CAIR, back to the malls. These are perfect targets for anyone with a bad attitude and things he or she can make go BOOM, BANG or POOF. We see rising threats of mayhem and murder from radical Muslims all over the world. In fact, we’re looking at more than just threats, we’re looking at more and more acts of violence against the infidel wherever radical Muslims have enough people to scare the local populace and intimidate the police.

Anyway, some tips to remember well: if an action by a terrorist is more than a recon, which means it’s an attack, you may see activity such as described below, whether at a mall or at the local merry-go-round. Remember, it’s not necessarily how they look in terms of their ethnicity or where it appears they may have been born. It’s what they are doing. Your intuition might pick up something that doesn’t look or feel right. Listen to your intuition.

They may make obvious or awkward attempts to blend into a crowd. It’s different than recon because in recon, they’re just watching, not really worried about getting caught because they’ve got the perfect excuse: I swear officer, I was just standing here taking pictures of the paint on the ferry bridge because I’d like that color in my kitchen. Why are you hassling me, huh? Just another case of the man messin’ with me cuz I’m …

They may be dressed in bulky, heavy clothing that seems out of season - winter coats in July. Yes, I suppose there may be some gangsta fashion statement being made by that get-up, but you have to contextualize the whole thing. Some 16-year old with his hat on crooked and a coat that’s waaaay too big for him - and the obligatory drooping pants - is probably up to some minor mischief at worst. Put that same coat on someone who appears to be in his or her late 20’s/early 30’s and suddenly we’re not talking just about puffy coats anymore. We may be talking about some sort of weapon under or in that coat. Put this same person in a crowded mall and add all or a couple of the variables mentioned here or seen there and you might have a problem on your hands.

Bombs can be made to fit into brassieres and fake baby-bumps, so no one is above suspicion. 

Some bombers are sedated in order to make them more obedient to their handlers. The sedative might cause excessive sweating and mild shaking. 

They might be walking slowly because they’re thinking deeply about what they’re about to do, looking to the sides to see if anyone is coming up behind to try to stop them. 

They might walk along, appearing hesitant, as though they don’t want to reach a particular point, probably the target.

They might be muttering, perhaps some religious phrase or prayer. If the phrase that the person is whispering/saying/shouting sounds something like maybe Allah-hu akbar, my guess is you’ve got a serious problem there. Decide what you’re going to do in that case, but don’t just stand there. 

Attackers may seem to be trying to stay away from security or police personnel. When doing a recon, they will be less concerned about bumping into security or the cops because they’re most likely not carrying weapons at that time but possibly only surveillance items, previously described. When terrorists are about to attack, they will want to avoid contact with security and the police (unless security/cops are the intended target, of course) because at the time of attack, they’re probably armed. Maybe with firearms, maybe a belt/vest bomb, maybe just a cell phone intended as a remote detonator. 

People who don’t usually carry a weapon or a bomb on their person tend to touch that item to make sure it’s in the right place. So, terrorists might repeatedly and nervously adjust and poke parts of their clothing, not just have their hands in their pockets to fish for coins or flavored lip balm. Someone touching themselves in a manner that indicates they are feeling for something (as opposed to scratching) or maybe adjusting something under their clothing may be carrying a weapon of some sort.

A well-groomed, clean-shaven, heavily-perfumed male terrorist might have cleaned up because he feels he’s about to meet his Maker and wants to be clean for that appointment. It’s called ritualistic hygiene. If you know for certain that you saw the same guy just the day before and then he had a bushy beard and was a real slob, the sudden change might add another suspicion to your list. A female terrorist might clean up in a similar way, but probably wouldn’t need the shave. 

Terrorists might be wearing obvious disguises such as police, security, utility worker, or EMT uniforms. They wouldn’t wear a uniform like that while on recon because of the risk of getting caught early in preparation for the mission. They’d use uniforms in an attack in order to quickly get to or away from their target.

They might have on, or put on in front of you, a fabric headband upon which are written words in a foreign language, sort of a badge announcing their martyrdom. If you see that, trouble’s there, not on the way.

So, let’s put some of the bullets above together and imagine now that you’re out minding your own business and you see a woman you’ve never seen before, so you have no frame of reference as to what might be unusual about her in a way that makes her suspicious. Things that might catch your attention: she’s walking slowly, looking over her shoulder now and then, maybe muttering something as she shuffles along that sounds like, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un (Verily we belong to Allah and truly to him shall we return). This is a common Muslim prayer said by those who know they’re nearing death. A bit far-fetched, but maybe she’s got a compass of some sort and seems overly concerned with facing toward Mecca so she can pray her last prayer towards the Kaaba. Maybe she’s carrying a backpack that looks a bit too bulky/heavy to be holding normal, day-to-day stuff - maybe there are oily stains on it that could be residue from the manufacture and placement of the IED in the pack. Maybe you’ll notice what appear to be wires going from the pack or her bag/bundle to her hand - not elastic cords but wires or cables that appear to be capable of carrying an electrical charge. Maybe she’s got a small metal/plastic device in her hand that doesn’t look like a cell phone or such device and it has a wire going up her sleeve or toward her waist.

If you see any/some/all of these suspicious people/activities, you should notify the police ASAP. And, it’s probably okay to do so with your cell phone because the bomb is set up to detonate when a particular number is sent to it, and that number is not yours… is it?

The best response is probably to back off and have bystanders move quickly and calmly away. If you’re armed, you’d better be sure this bad-guy you’re about to draw down on is a bona fide bad-guy/girl. Remember, it’s your decision, not mine. Not here and now, not there and then, if it ever begins to happen in front of you. If you decide to shoot, a head-shot probably will work as long as you put your bullet in the right spot. And don’t scoff at the thought of shooting a bomber in the head. I’ve been told by those who do not know that police will never do that because the bomb may be detonated by a dead-man switch, one that is activated if the bomber releases the switch. The facts are these: first; in August 2005, the International Association of Chiefs of Police advised all law enforcement agencies that head-shots on terrorist bombers are really a good idea, if not the best idea. Secondly; bombs with dead-man switches are more likely to be used by barricaded hostage-takers - a situation where a SWAT sniper would probably be on-scene - than a suicide bomber in a crowded shopping mall who suddenly yells Allah-hu akbar, a situation where a SWAT sniper would probably not be on-scene. So, if you’re at the mall or on the street and faced with a guy or girl with what appears to be or is asserted to be a bomb, then the odds are in your favor that the detonator is a two-button system: one button or switch arms the device, the other button or switch detonates it. 

The part of the brain that controls movement - the Primary Motor Cortex - is just left of the brain’s midline, about 2 inches above the left ear. If you have a shot from that angle, put your round about 2 inches above the left ear and that control area will be destroyed so the brain cannot send a message to the hand to push down on the Arming button or the Detonate button. If you have to take a shot from an angle different than that perfect shot, then figure out where you need to aim on his or her head in order to get the bullet to pass through the skull and brain to get to that motor-control spot. For example, if you’re facing the bomber, put your round just to the right of the midline of his or her face and about 2 inches above his or her left eye. Bingo. Take into account up and down angles that may exist because you’re on higher or lower ground than the bomber or because you may be taller or shorter than that dirt-bag. Remember: if you decide to take the shot, you may have to make the shot first. By that I mean that you may have to move up, down, or laterally in order to get any shot at all. If you’re in a crowded place you might hesitate, thinking that your bullet might pass through or miss the bad-guy and strike an innocent passer-by. Okay, that could happen. But what might happen if you do not shoot? Dozens of people might be killed by the bomb blast. 

Keep in mind that the terrorist wearing the bomb may not be holding the detonator at all; but his handler over there on the corner has it in his sweaty, twitching hand. The last fact is this: tip-of-the-spear SWAT teams have in place a protocol for taking head-shots on bomb-wearing terrorists. They will, in certain situations, take that shot. If you end up taking that shot because the totality of circumstances compelled you to do so, you’re not going to get in trouble just because you did something cops will not do -because they will do it.

Again, probably the best thing for you to do is to move away from the suspect. Try to get some cover between you and the attacker(s). If just getting down on the ground is your only option, try to have your feet pointed in the direction of the coming blast. Why? Because the leather/rubber in the soles of your shoes will stop bomb stuff better than the hair on the top of your head.

If something goes Boom! and you can still move, maybe it would be best just to stay put till cops and EMTs arrive. There might be a secondary explosive in the area set to be detonated away from the first explosion when the first responders begin to… respond. And that second explosion might get you, too. I’ll leave this basic tactic alone for now but will add later some thoughts about what to do in event there is a second attack - sometimes called an in situ attack - as follow-on to the first bomb blast. An in situ attack is an attack on the people already on-scene at the first attack. That second attack may be another bomb detonated by remote control by someone who can observe the scene and maximize death and destruction when he or she sees the greatest number of people, made up mostly of First Responders. An embedded attack is when terrorists with firearms are in that in situ group with the intention of attacking the survivors and inbound responders.

Okay, so now you have a better understanding what a terrorist might look at various stages in his or her career path. And, we’ve touched on a what-to-do item or two.

Let’s move on, shall we?

This next portion is adapted from NYPD, "in the West: The Homegrown Threat. Prepared by: Mitchell D. Silber and Aaron Bhatt, Senior Intelligence Analysts, NYPD Intelligence Division. NYPD posted the ‘radicalization paper at their website, and then took it down. Why? Probably for the same reason LAPD shelved plans for mapping their Muslim community. Leaders blinked. I want to say again that I have no axe to grind with Muslims who mean me and my co-religionists and countrymen no harm. But I will never submit to Islam regardless of who’s pushing the envelope or swinging their sword. Period.

Special thanks to my faithful companion and wingman, ‘Short-round’, for his tireless research and sense of humor. Since The Project he has been reliable and relentless in his digging for information that will, I’m sure, ultimately save the world as we know it. And it’s kept him off the streets, too. So, with thanks to Mitchell and Aaron and NYPD Intel, here is their approximation of what you might see over time as a man or woman turns from what some call moderate Islam to radical, deadly Islam.

STAGE ONE

Ordinary people

Most have never been arrested or involved in any kind of legal trouble

Middle class with ordinary jobs

15-35-year-old males

Usually from Middle East, North Africa, South Asia

Live in Muslim neighborhoods

May go to mosque

May have a Western name

Dress and eat like Westerners

May have friends who are non-Muslim

May have no particular political beliefs Seeking self-identity/‘meaning of life’

STAGE TWO

May go through a significant emotional crisis

Become less friendly

Changes name from Western to Arab/Muslim name

Suddenly pays off loans because Islam forbids paying interest on loans

Finds excuses for not being with non-Muslim friends

Stops going to Western entertainment venue, eating Western foods

May begin to carry Noble Qur’an, a translation from KSA

May begin an affiliation with the Islamic Thinkers Society

Begins to explore community involvement, volunteering at youth clubs in order to indoctrinate and recruit

Begin to meet at places which incite and encourage radicalization - cafes, cab driver hang-outs, flop-houses, prisons, student associations, NGOs, hookah bars, butcher shops and book stores

Converts may have recently left their families for Islam

STAGE THREE

Stops going to mosque

Spends more and more time with cell

Begins to blame the West for all Islamic problems in the world

Reinforces jihadi commitment by playing jihadist videos/DVDs/jihadi video games that