Chris Christie: 'These Folks Have Not Lost Their Resolve to Want to Commit Jihad and to Hurt and Kill Americans'

Unlike the cowardly Eric Holder, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie isn't afraid to tell an obvious truth. We having enemies living among us who want us dead.

A detailed 17-page criminal complaint lays out a chilling story of two homegrown American jihadists who taught themselves to prepare for battle and steeled themselves with the teachings and videos of radical clerics who preach via the internet.

Authorities allege Alessa and Almonte trained for combat by playing paint ball, lifting weights, traveling to the Mideast and saving thousands of dollars for a second journey they hoped would end with them in the ranks of Somalia’s al Shabaab, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group in 2008.

Alessa and Almonte, both U.S. citizens, are scheduled to appear today in federal court in Newark on charges of conspiring to commit acts of terror outside of the United States. Their plotting, officials were quick to say, is a reminder of the threat posed by would-be terrorists both at home and abroad.

"We live in difficult times. We live in times that we know — and I hope we haven’t forgotten — there are people out there who want to do harm to us," Gov. Chris Christie, a former U.S. attorney, told reporters yesterday. "It’s almost nine years since 9/11. These folks have not lost their resolve to want to commit jihad and to hurt and kill Americans."

Like the five men convicted of plotting to attack Fort Dix in 2007, Alessa and Almonte were undone after being infiltrated by an undercover operative who authorities said secretly recorded them talking about their violent aspirations. And like the Fort Dix defendants, they were allegedly inspired by the sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, an eloquent American-born Muslim cleric who uses the Internet to recruit converts to extremism.

Surprise! Jersey Jihadi in Contact With al-Awlaki

Just connecting some dots the teabagger hunters on the left are disinterested in. You would think being Americans stuff like this might concern them, but I guess since there's no Tea Party connection it's a non-story.

A New Jersey nuclear plant laborer arrested in Yemen with 10 other suspected al Qaeda members was in contact with the same radical Yemeni-American cleric tied to Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, federal law enforcement officials told ABC News.

The New Jersey man, Sharif Mobley, was detained by Yemeni security forces earlier this month and taken to a hospital for medical treatment. He allegedly tried to escape from the hospital over the past weekend by grabbing a security guard's gun and engaging in a gunfight that killed one of the guards.

Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in Washington, told ABC News that details of Mobley's case "will be clearer in a couple of days."

Asked about Mobley's apparent connections with the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, Albasha said he was not surprised because radicals and extremists in Yemen seek Awlaki out.

"He is a fixture in jihad 101," Albasha said of Awlaki.

Before fleeing the United States, Awlaki taught at a Virginia mosque visited by 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour.

Since then, Awlaki has become a prominent influence with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and is believed to be in Yemen.

He also was in contact with Hasan, accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.

Mobley apparently has been on the radar of officials.

A startling portrait is emerging of a New Jersey man suspected of travelling to Yemen to train with Al Qaeda — and the potential warning signs that were missed before he allegedly opened fire at a hospital there.

The U.S. government knew about Sharif Mobley, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen, even before Yemeni officials arrested him, the Associated Press reported, citing a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The official did not provide a time frame or details about what exactly was known about him.

Another law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Mobley had traveled to Yemen with the goal of joining a terrorist group.

Realizing that goal came after Mobley managed to find employment at six different nuclear plants.

An American seized in Yemen in a sweep of suspected al-Qaida members had been a laborer at six U.S. nuclear power plants, and authorities are investigating whether he had access to sensitive information or materials that would be useful to terrorists.

Sharif Mobley, 26, worked for contractors at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland from 2002 to 2008, mostly hauling materials and setting up scaffolding, plant officials said.

At some point the left will be dragged kicking and screaming to this story, but we predict the reaction will be a familiar one: Blame Bush.

The arrest in Yemen of a New Jersey man accused of joining Al Qaeda is the latest in an alarming string of cases involving radicalized American Muslims, a trend some experts link to the duration of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If Mobley plays his cards right, Eric Holder may soon be available to represent him.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Jihadi Art Class

Aw, isn't this cute? Bloodthirsty terrorists show off their mad art skillz. This would be funny if it weren't so insane.

A cushy Saudi Arabian "rehab" center where terrorists are encouraged to express themselves through crayon drawings, water sports and video games is under scrutiny after one of its graduates re-emerged as a leader in the al Qaeda branch claiming responsibility for trying to blow up an airliner on Christmas.

Said Ali al Shihri -- a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who now heads the terror group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- obviously didn't get to the bottom of his America-hating issues while undergoing the controversial rehab for jihadis.

Inmates like Shihri are supposed to while away the days playing ping-pong, PlayStation and soccer in hopes that the peaceful environment will help them cope with their jihadist rages.

Bomb-makers and gunmen participate in art therapy to help them explore their feelings non-violently.

In between tasty picnic-style meals of rice and lamb and snacks of Snickers along with dips in the pool, participants practice Arabic calligraphy, produce dizzying Jackson Pollack rip-offs and imagine the aftermath of car bombings in crayon.

Some 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists have "graduated" from the program, including 108 former Guantanamo Bay detainees, the Washington Post reported.

The art therapy worked wonders with Shirhi, now the purported handler of the Detroit wannabe plane bomber.

Wonderful. Why don't we just give them Play-Doh and they can pretend it's plastic explosives?

Jihadi Training in the UK

Wannabe jihadis frolic in the snow in the UK. Nice to see the local youth able to save on travel expenses and get the homegrown training.

Disturbing video shows Muslim extremists training at al Qaeda camp in the Lake District

Disturbing video footage shows a gang of radical young Muslims taking part in an arduous "al Qaeda training camp" in the Lake District in preparation for the jihad.

A Muslim extremist took part in the campaign to recruit and train "jihadists" after flying to Britain posing as a student.

Pakistani-born Abdul Rahman (Photo), 25, arrived in the UK on a student visa but spent just one day at university before dropping out.

Rahman then joined up with a gang of radical young Muslims who aimed to scout, recruit and encourage others to take up arms in a holy war.

The university dropout was facing up to six years in jail after he admitted helping a terrorist suspect flee the country.

Rahman admitted handing the suspect, who was subject to a Government control order, £500 in cash to help him buy plane tickets to escape the UK.

The court heard that after the suspect escaped the UK police targeted Rahman and carried out a raid on his house.

In the house they discovered video footage of the former student taking part in a training camp in the Lake District.

During the exercise one of the men is referred to as a suicide bomber whilst two others are seen crawling, commando-style, through the snow and undergrowth near Langdale, Cumbria praising Allah and the Chechen Mujahideen.

Police also found propaganda in the house including a document refering to terrorist finishing schools called: "How Can I Train Myself for Jihad?"

The four videos are at the above link. These guys look pathetically amateurish, yet they seemingly have evil on their minds. The first clip shows them crawling in the snow, babbling about Allah, the second is a bizarre exercise featuring plenty of giggling, the third repeats the first video (hello!), while the fourth has them singing some song about martyrdom.

The videos don't seem to match the urgent nature of the story, though some may be able to identify further what's going on.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Porter, head of the Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "This man provided support to people determined to carry out terrorist acts. He was at the centre of a network that sent items including combat knives, survival equipment, radios, torches and mobile phones to Pakistan for use in terrorism. He was clearly intent on drawing others into his network."

Rahman will be sentenced tomorrow.