al Qaeda Arrests Remind Us We're Still a Target

FBI officials have announced that they believe they’ve uncovered a group of al Qaeda operatives planning jihad. A father and son have already been arrested in California on charges they lied to the FBI and two others have been arrested on immigration charges as authorities continues to investigate the situation.

According to reports, one suspected terrorist, Umer Hayat, has signed an affidavit admitting he received training at an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan. An American citizen, Hayat spent nearly two years in Pakistan, only returning to the U.S. in late May of this year.

Apparently, U.S. authorities had already identified Hayat as a possible threat as the man’s name appeared on no-fly lists and he was interviewed by the FBI immediately upon returning to California. It is heartening to know our intelligence system apparently worked quite well in this instance.

Nevertheless, stories like this remind us that despite the long quiet since September 11, 2001, there are still those, even American citizens, who want to wage jihad on the United States. We’re fighting a dark ideology, one that can warp even those who grew up surrounded by the bounty and freedoms of America.

The FBI should be commended for these arrests. The rest of us should try, for a moment, to remember we really are one nation with one enemy.