(New) Folsom Prison Blues

I sort of missed this one thanks to Katrina. Police in California have arrested 4 committed Islamists who planned on attacking the United States government, the Israeli government and local synagogues in the Los Angeles area.

The potential for carnage was great, said Randy Parsons, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.

"Had these individuals gone undetected, their plan had the potential to inflict significant casualties within the city and county of Los Angeles."

Investigators found evidence at the homes of Washington and Patterson that showed intended targets included the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, the El-Al Airlines offices at LAX, Los Angeles area military installations, synagogues and locations where events were planned for the upcoming Jewish high holy days.

And, these men were Americans. Not agents from abroad, but three American citizens and one green card holder. This all started at the New Folsom Prison in California, according to Daniel Pipes.

American prisons are comparable to the banlieues in France, the principal recruiting grounds for a criminal form of Islam. As Frank Gaffney observes, "The alleged New Folsom State plot had better rouse us out of our stupor." Will it? Senate hearings in 2003 on prison jihadism yielded distressingly few results.

This arrest sounds like a warning that a category 5 hurricane is heading towards the US, but it could hit any city any time. I hope the government does a better job tracking this one.

{Found through Warren Bell's post at the Corner.}