Davids Against Goliaths

[Annie]

http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2006/02/delta-team-of-davids-shannen.html

Monday, February 13, 2006
A Delta team of Davids: Shannen Rossmiller nabs another one
By TigerHawk at 2/13/2006 06:51:00 PM
[Judge Jihad]
Some of you will surely remember the stories a couple of years ago about Shannen Rossmiller, a municipal judge in the tiny town of Conrad, Montana. Without any brief from federal authorities, Judge Rossmiller stays up late prowling jihadi web sites and luring would-be killers into online conversations with various of her personae. In 2004 her work led to the capture and conviction of a National Guardsman named Ryan G. Anderson, who sought to assist al Qaeda in attacks on the United States. Daniel Pipes has lots of background in a post called "Shannen Rossmiller, American hero."

Well, she's done it again.

Michael Curtis Reynolds, 47, has not officially been charged with terrorism, but a prosecutor at a hearing said that Reynolds tried to "provide material aid to al Qaeda" and that the case "involves a federal offense of terrorism," The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in its Sunday editions.

CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reports that a tip from Shannen Rossmiller - a judge from Conrad, Montana who in 2004 helped snare a Washington state national guardsman who was considering defecting to al Qaeda – was what pointed the FBI to Reynolds.

"Rossmiller was scanning terrorist websites when she noticed a post from Reynolds seeking $40,000 dollars to by fuel trucks to blow up refineries in New Jersey and Wyoming and a section of the Alaska oil pipeline," said Pinkston.

Posing as an al Qaeda banker, Rossmiller promised the money, set up a date and time for the rendeszvous near Pocatello, Idaho, and notified the FBI. They set up a sting.

Rossmiller is doing valuable work, because she is interdictin



g the amateur wannabes who could do serious damage without any directive from any cave. She is unlikely to capture the experienced heart of al Qaeda's leadership -- the veterans trained and trusted since those halcyon days in the Afghani training camps -- but she will watch our backs for approaching yahoos. Stratfor noticed Rossmiller's work in a letter titled "Turning the tables on the amateurs," and makes precisely this point:

There is no question that jihadists and other extremist groups use the Internet for various purposes. White supremacists, anarchists and right-wing hate groups use it not only to release propaganda, but to communicate, coordinate and plan operations as well. The Internet, however, works both ways: It also allows law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies to monitor and infiltrate such groups. With some skill and luck, law enforcement and intelligence agencies posing as members or sympathizers can use the Internet to penetrate the organizations and obtain enough evidence to bring a particular cell down.

Jihadist groups use the Internet to post statements and videos for their propaganda purposes because it provides near-real-time access to a wide audience. Authorities usually shut down sites linked to known militant groups, but the Webmaster often just moves to another Internet address. Experienced militants such as al Qaeda, however, would not use the Internet to plan and coordinate a significant operation for the reasons illustrated in this case: They could be monitored -- and caught.


So, Judge Rossmiller is unlikely to nail the heart of the jihad, but in her work shows that a -- dare I write the words -- Army of Davids can defend the homefront.

One by one