Illegal Immigrants Helped Plan Fort Dix Attack

At least half of the Islamic militants arrested this week for plotting a deadly attack at a New Jersey Army base are in the United States illegally, adding fuel to the argument that illegal immigrants present a major national security threat.

The six Islamic radicals from Yugoslavia and the Middle East were planning a massive attack against soldiers at Fort Dix as part of a jihad against the United States. The goal was to kill as many soldiers as possible in the name of Allah and attack American warships in Philadelphia.

Three of the men are illegal aliens, three are residents and one is a U. S. Citizen, according to federal authorities who filed a 27-page complaint this week. It outlines a lengthy and sophisticated plan that included serious weapons training, the use of rocket-propelled grenades to hit lots of soldiers simultaneously and detailed surveillance of the military base.

The complaint includes testimony and recordings from Federal Bureau of Investigation informants who said one of the would-be terrorists bragged about how easy it is to hit an American base, especially Fort Dix. A simple map features target areas with 100 to 200 individuals, the defendant told the FBI informant.

Recordings presented into evidence feature one of the militants saying that he doesn’t care if he is arrested because he is doing it in the name of Allah and another says: “In the end, when it comes to defending your religion, when someone is trying to attack your religion, your way of life, then you go to jihad.”

The FBI began investigating the militants last year after the owner of a store reported a disturbing video he had been asked to copy onto a disc. It depicted ten men in the early 20s shooting assault weapons while calling for jihad and shouting Allah is great in Arabic.