Apparent American Jihadist Sharif Mobley's Work History from 2002-2008 at US Nuclear Power Plants Has Increased Concerns over a Possible Planned Attack
The Associated Press has just reported that apparent American Jihadist Sharif Mobley, who federal and Yemeni authorities have confirmed today was detained by Yemen for suspicion of Al-Queda membership and subsequently killed at least one Yemeni in an escape attempt, is a longtime holder of extremist religious views. The AP reports on comments from an acquaintance of the 26-year-old Buena, New Jersey resident Sharif Mobley:
BUENA, N.J. — He was raised in New Jersey, where he was on the high school wrestling team and earned a black belt in karate. Nearly a decade later, Sharif Mobley is under arrest in Yemen, suspected of being an al-Qaida member and accused of killing a guard in an attempt to break out of a hospital.
While some acquaintances were startled by the news out of the Middle East on Thursday, a former classmate said that Mobley had strong religious views in high school, often trying to convert friends to Islam, and became increasingly radical, especially after they graduated in 2002.
Roman Castro, 25, who did a tour with the Army in Iraq, said the last time he saw Mobley, about four years ago, Mobley yelled, “Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!”
The FBI, the State Department and other authorities said they were trying to gather information about Mobley. But the allegations appeared to illustrate a phenomenon U.S. intelligence officials have warning about: American Muslims becoming radicalized and joining terrorist movements overseas.
Mobley, a 26-year-old natural-born U.S. citizen, was identified by Yemeni officials as a Somali-American. A former neighbor said he moved to Yemen about two years ago, supposedly to learn Arabic and study Islam.
Authorities say he was rounded up in an al-Qaida sweep and shot two guards in a Yemeni hospital during an escape attempt. His parents say he is innocent.
Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, pictured above, is facing trial soon for killing a US Army soldier in Little Rock, Arkansas after visiting Yemen
If Mr. Castro’s account is accurate, it will be interesting to see what information, if any, the FBI or State Department or CIA or National Counterterrorism Task Force (“NCTC”) had previously gathered on Mr. Mobley and whether Mobley was on any of the many watch lists America learned about in the aftermath of the Christmas Day attempted bombing. Furthermore, this apparent instance of homegrown Islamic extremism could be compared to “Jihad Jane” or Mr. Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who also is an American citizen who also traveled to Yemen in search of Jihad. Mr. Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad is the domestic terrorist who killed a US Army soldier and seriously wounded another back in June of 2009 at a Little Rock, Arkansas US Army recruiting center. We can only hope that no more American jihadists are lurking in Yemen or America or elsewhere waiting to strike. At the time of the Little Rock shooting, Stratfor, a news site for intelligence professionals, speculated on the role of the politics on the FBI’s tracking of radicalized Americans:
However, politics have proved obstructive to all facets of counterterrorism policy. And politics may have been at play in the Muhammad case as well as in other cases involving Black Muslim converts. Several weeks ago, STRATFOR heard from sources that the FBI and other law enforcement organizations had been ordered to “back off” of counterterrorism investigations into the activities of Black Muslim converts. At this point, it is unclear to us if that guidance was given by the White House or the Department of Justice, or if it was promulgated by the agencies themselves, anticipating the wishes of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.
As STRATFOR has previously noted, the FBI has a culture that is very conservative and risk-averse. Many FBI supervisors are reluctant to authorize investigations that they believe may have negative blow-back on their career advancement. In light of this institutional culture, and the order to be careful in investigations relating to Black Muslim converts, it would not be at all surprising to us if a supervisor refused to authorize a full-field investigation of Muhammad that would have included surveillance of his activities. Though in practical terms, even if a full-field investigation had been authorized, due to the caution being exercised in cases related to Black Muslim converts, the case would most likely have been micromanaged to the point of inaction by the special agent in charge of the office involved or by FBI headquarters.
Considering the similarities in the cases of Sharif Mobley and Little Rock killer Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, it will be interesting to review the history and progress of American investigations of Mobley, if any, that occurred prior to the public disclosure of Mobley’s activities in Yemen. Finally, Mobley’s history as an activist Democrat in New Jersey who worked on former Governor Jim Corzine’s turnout drive in 2005 (as reported first by the NY Daily News) is sure to liven up the political discussion of today’s news.
UPDATE: More details are surfacing regarding Sharif Mobley’s background, including this troubling information that Mobley worked at US nuclear power plants from 2002 until 2008, when Mobley apparently headed off for Yemen. Considering the attractiveness of nuclear power plants to terrorists, this new information about Mobley’s ties to US nuclear power plants could increase speculation about a possible Mobley role in a planned Al-Queda attack on US nuclear power stations:
A spokesman for a group of nuclear power plants in New Jersey says a U.S. man charged in Yemen with being a member of al-Qaida had previously worked at the plants.
PSEG Nuclear spokesman Joe Delmar says Sharif Mobley worked as a laborer for several contractors at its three plants on Artificial Island in Lower Alloways Creek from 2002 to 2008 carrying supplies and doing maintenance work.
Delmar says he satisfied federal background checks as recently as 2008.
He says that the 26-year-old Mobley also worked at other plants in the region. Delmar says the plant is cooperating with authorities.
Nuclear reactors remain a tempting target for terrorists, requiring ever vigilant security measures.
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