Many of you have read the headline this weekend (and the article is posted below). “NC Jihadists found Guilty!” They were targeting Marine spouses and families.
This is not the first time families were targeted. This won’t be the last. We can never assume that we are not at risk just because we are in the United States or in another Country in garrison. This doesn’t mean we should be paranoid, but we should always be mindful and careful — in our neighborhoods (and yes even on military installations as some are easy to access), our emails, Facebook, twitter, blogs, and even what you say in the grocery line. Stay alert and don’t take your safety for granted because your husband is a member of the US Armed Forces!
I have written several articles here on You Served about the importance of OpSec and possible dangers. Here are a few of them that may be of help. Please share them and never be afraid to say something to a spouse who is not adhering to Operational Security (OpSec) or Personal Security (PerSec):
You have every right and a responsibility to your family and your spouse to keep them safe. Anyone being reckless is not only being reckless with her own family, but with yours as well.
OpSec, Facebook, Twitter, etc… why it matters
Smart Phones and OpSec Concerns
Homefront OpSec
The Op in OpSec doesn’t stand for Optional!
Guilty: North Carolina Jihadists Who Targeted Marine Corps Wives And Children
Three members of a home-grown terror ring who conspired to attack the Quantico U.S. Marine Corps base and foreign targets were sentenced Friday to between 15 and 45 years in federal prison.
Hysen Sherifi, 27, will serve 45 years in prison; Ziyad Yaghi, 23, got nearly 32 years; and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 24, was sentenced to 15 years. They faced the possibility of life in prison. Each said they would appeal their convictions and claimed innocence. Dozens of members of Raleigh’s Muslim community made the five-hour round-trip to coastal New Bern to witness the hearing for the men who supporters believe were unjustly convicted.
Defense attorneys argued for lesser sentences since the men were convicted of discussing terrorism rather than committing terrorist acts.
“I believe I am innocent. There was no conspiracy,” said Serifi, who called his guilty verdict unfair and prosecutors tyrants.
But U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan said the men went beyond talk to planning violence.
Yaghi was a “self-starter” in pursuing holy war against those deemed un-Islamic and brought several potential jihadi recruits to ringleader Daniel Patrick Boyd, whose rural Johnston County home was a warehouse of weapons, Flanagan said. Yaghi traveled to Jordan and Israel to look for avenues to join other militants and to scout targets for an attack. READ MORE
