[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18568-18572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, because of what happened in Paris last 
week, a lot of speeches are going to be given on the floor of the 
Senate about terrorism. But it is too bad that we only seem to talk 
about the dangers of terrorism when bad things happen in the United 
States or happen in Paris or someplace else that brings the issue to 
our attention. I think what we all need to remember is that it is a 
constant danger that may not appear to us daily, but somewhere out 
there are people thinking about killing us for what we believe.
  So I rise today, again, expressing my sympathies to the people of 
Paris and those affected by Friday's terrible attacks by radical 
Islamic terrorists there. On behalf of the people of Iowa, I continue 
to stand with the people of France.
  Unfortunately, the attacks last Friday should not have been a 
surprise. Radical Islamic terrorists have been waging war against the 
United States and our allies for years. When thinking about the last 
three decades of the last century, you think about the terrorism at the 
Munich Olympics or an American being murdered on a TWA plane. Then we 
had a Jewish person in a wheelchair thrown overboard in the 
Mediterranean. There was the attempt to bring down the Twin Towers in 
1993 by car bombs. Marines were murdered in Lebanon--over 200, I think 
it was. We had the attack on the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, where 
our military people were living. We had the East African Embassy 
attacked, and we had the USS Cole attack.
  Now, all of those happened before 
9/11. Since 9/11, attacks have occurred around the world--from the 
train bombings in Madrid in 2004 to the suicide bombings in London in 
2005 to the senseless slaughter in the streets of Mumbai in 2008. My 
focus today, however, will be on the United States homeland.
  Terrorists have continued to try to attack us here on many occasions 
since 9/11. Some of these attacks have succeeded. Most of them have 
failed. Some of them have involved direct coordination with terrorist 
leaders abroad, and some have been committed by lone wolves inspired by 
terrorists overseas or the views of those terrorists. But these threats 
are ongoing, and that is what we should not fail to understand. 
Consequently, we must be vigilant to guard against those threats. We 
know that we will face them again.
  Several prominent terrorist attacks in the United States come to 
mind. We all remember the carnage at the Boston Marathon in April 2013, 
where two brothers detonated bombs at the finish line that killed an 8-
year-old boy and two others and injured hundreds more. Although the 
brothers did not appear to have direct ties with terrorist 
organizations, they were motivated by radical Islamic beliefs.
  We also remember the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, TX, where 
13 people were killed and several dozen others were wounded. 
Incredibly, the Obama administration refused to categorize this as a 
terrorist attack, in spite of the fact that the shooter had traded 
emails with then senior Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki. The shooter 
also later identified his extremist beliefs as a basis of his attack.
  But those tragedies only continued the pattern followed by radical 
Islamic terrorists since Al Qaeda hijacked and crashed airplanes into 
the Twin Towers and the Pentagon that fateful day in 2001. Soon after 
9/11, for example, British citizen Richard Reid attempted to detonate 
explosives packed in his shoe while on a flight to Miami in December 
2001. He had previously trained at Al Qaeda terrorist camps in 
Afghanistan. Thankfully, he failed, but this attempted attack put us on 
notice that these terrorists were not finished with what happened on 9/
11.
  More attacks and plots followed, perhaps less well remembered after 
the passage of time. And the passage of time is our biggest enemy here, 
as we don't think about this often enough. But they still demonstrate 
the ongoing threat we face.
  In July 2002, an Egyptian shot and killed two Israelis and wounded 
four others at the Los Angeles International Airport. Although the FBI 
did not find evidence linking the shooter to a terrorist group, the 
agency concluded the shooting was an act of terror.
  In March 2006, another radical Islamic terrorist injured six people 
when he drove his vehicle into a group of pedestrians at the University 
of North Carolina. The attacker claimed to have conducted the attack in 
order to avenge the killing of Muslims around the world by our American 
Government.
  Another example is the ``Fort Dix Six'' plot in May of 2007. In that 
case, six men planned to kill American soldiers at the military base in 
New Jersey but were arrested before they could do so. The men were 
inspired by jihadi videos.
  In June 2009, a terrorist shot two recruiters at a military center in 
Little Rock, AR. One of the recruiters was killed, and the other was 
seriously wounded. The shooter told the judge in his case that he was a 
soldier of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
  Later in 2009, three radical Islamic terrorists were arrested just 
before they were able to conduct suicide attacks in New York City. One 
of these terrorists drove all the way from his home in Colorado to 
strike the New York City subway system with homemade explosives hidden 
inside a backpack. He later admitted in court that he was trained by Al 
Qaeda to be a part of what they call a ``martyrdom operation.'' He 
further confessed that Al Qaeda officials ordered these suicide attacks 
from Pakistan.
  Also in 2009, on Christmas Day, a terrorist often referred to as the 
Underwear Bomber attempted to blow up a bomb concealed in his underwear 
while on a flight over Detroit. Several days later, Al Qaeda affiliates 
in Yemen and Saudi Arabia claimed responsibility for that effort.
  In May 2010, a terrorist tried to set off a car bomb in the middle of 
Times Square in New York City. He was arrested while attempting to flee 
the country on a flight to the Middle East. The bomber was trained and 
financed by the Pakistani Taliban.
  More recently, the threat from radical Islamic extremism has sprung 
from the chaos in Syria. By now we are all familiar with ISIS, or the 
Islamic State. Last year, we witnessed the horrors of ISIS's brutal and 
barbaric beheading of American journalists James Foley and Steven 
Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig in Syria.
  As FBI Director Comey explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee 
earlier this year, ISIS presents a new type of Islamic extremist 
organization. For one thing, ISIS exploits social media to promote its 
terrorist agenda and encourage people within the United States to 
commit terrorist attacks. As Director Comey explained, ISIS's 
propaganda machine is like a devil on somebody's shoulder saying: 
``Kill, kill, kill;'' and ``if you can't come to Syria,

[[Page 18569]]

kill somebody where you are. Kill somebody in uniform. Kill anybody.'' 
Those are the words Comey used in paraphrasing the message that comes 
from ISIS on social media.
  ISIS's deadly message of terror is having a profound effect here in 
our country. Over the last year, the government has stopped numerous 
individuals in the United States who tried to travel to Syria to fight 
for ISIS. According to Director Comey, over 200 Americans have traveled 
or attempted to travel to Syria for this purpose. I fear that such 
individuals who successfully return home could recreate the Paris 
attack here in our country, given the training, the indoctrination, and 
the battlefield experience they received abroad. The Washington Post 
reported on November 16 that 66 men and women in the United States have 
been charged with crimes associated with ISIS, including both 
attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS or planning attacks here.
  Beyond ISIS's recruitment of Americans to fight in Syria, the Paris 
attack demonstrates the extreme dangers the group now poses here in 
North America. Look at what occurred just over the past year or so. In 
October 2014, a radical Islamic terrorist who could not obtain a 
passport to travel to Syria shot up the Parliament in Canada, killing a 
Canadian soldier on duty at the Canadian National War Memorial. The 
next day, a self-radicalized Muslim convert attacked four police 
officers on the streets of New York City with a hatchet after watching 
ISIS Internet propaganda.
  In January of this year, the FBI arrested a person in Ohio for 
plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol with pipe bombs and guns. The 
terrorist also allegedly expressed a desire to support ISIS, and he had 
posted videos and messages on social media, supporting violent attacks 
by radical Islamic terrorists.
  Later, in May of this year, two Islamic terrorists drove from Arizona 
to Garland, TX, to attack a conference center during an art exhibit. 
The center was hosting an exhibition of cartoons depicting the Islamic 
Prophet Mohammed. The pair shot and injured a security guard before 
being killed by a police officer. ISIS subsequently claimed 
responsibility for that attack.
  In June 2015, law enforcement officers in Massachusetts shot and 
luckily killed a knife-wielding member of a group of ISIS supporters 
who were plotting attacks here in the United States, along the lines of 
what Director Comey has said: Just go out and ``kill, kill, kill.'' Two 
other alleged terrorists were arrested and are being prosecuted.
  Just this month, an American was arrested in Ohio for supporting 
ISIS. He allegedly posted online detailed personal information, 
including their addresses, of 100 U.S. military members. He had then 
allegedly called on fellow terrorists to kill these military personnel 
in their homes and communities, along the lines of what the social 
networking message is from overseas to people in the United States, as 
Director Comey has reported to us: ``Kill, kill, kill.'' Just kill 
anyone.
  More chilling than a lot of this is the video released earlier this 
week. On Monday, ISIS released a video warning countries against 
participating in air strikes in Syria. The video claimed that ISIS 
would attack these countries just as it attacked France last Friday. 
The video specifically threatened to attack this city, right here, 
Washington, DC.
  According to the New York Times just this morning, ``at least three 
dozen people in the United States suspected of ties to the Islamic 
State were under heavy electronic or physical surveillance even before 
the Paris attacks.'' That ought to wake us all up to the dangerous 
environment that exists.
  It is all too obvious that we will continue to face attacks from 
radical Islamic terrorists in the future. We ought to remind ourselves 
every day about this potential threat. So to help remind us both of 
that certainty and that we must be prepared for it, I ask unanimous 
consent to enter into the Record a long list of terrorist attacks in 
the United States that I prepared from public sources. The list may not 
include each and every attack by terrorists, but it does include a wide 
variety of attempted and planned attacks against our citizens. Because 
of space limitations on material submitted for the Record, a more 
complete and annotated list can be found on my website. That list also 
includes a separate list of individuals prosecuted in the United States 
for attempting to leave the country to fight for ISIS.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Radical Islamic Terrorist Attacks and Plots in the United States Since 
                                  9/11


                         I. Successful Attacks

       July 4, 2002: Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41-year-old 
     Egyptian national, shot and killed two Israelis and wounded 
     four others at the El Al ticket counter at Los Angeles 
     International Airport. Although the FBI did not find evidence 
     linking Hadayet to a terrorist group, the agency concluded 
     the shooting was an act of terrorism because of Hadayet's 
     stated anti-Israel views and opposition to U.S. Middle East 
     policy.
       March 5, 2006: Mohammed Reza Taheri-Azar injured six people 
     when he drove a Sport Utility Vehicle into a group of 
     pedestrians at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Taheri-Azar 
     claimed to have conducted the attack in order to avenge the 
     killing of Muslims around the world by the U.S. government.
       July 28, 2006: Naveed Afzal Haq shot and killed one woman, 
     and wounded five others, at the Jewish Federation building in 
     Seattle, Washington. During the shooting, Haq spoke with a 
     911 dispatcher and said ``these are Jews and I'm tired of 
     getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by 
     the situation in the Middle East.''
       June 1, 2009: Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad shot two military 
     recruiters at a Little Rock, Arkansas Army/Navy Career 
     Center, killing one and seriously wounding the other. 
     Muhammad had previously converted to Islam and spent 
     approximately 16 months, beginning in 2007, in Yemen. 
     Although no independent, public confirmation of Muhammad's 
     ties to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula exists, Muhammad 
     wrote to the judge in his case stating that he was ``a 
     soldier'' of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and undertook 
     his attack as revenge for U.S. killing of Muslims in Iraq and 
     Afghanistan.
       November 5, 2009: Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army Major 
     serving as a psychiatrist, shot and killed 13 people and 
     wounded several dozen others at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan 
     stated that his motive was jihad to fight ``illegal and 
     immoral aggression against Muslims'' in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
     Hasan had earlier exchanged 18 e-mails with Anwar al-Awlaki, 
     an important, U.S.-born leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian 
     Peninsula.
       April 15, 2013: Tamerlan Tsarnaey and his younger brother, 
     Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, detonated two bombs within moments of each 
     other near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 
     three people and injuring hundreds more. Although the 
     brothers were motivated by radical Islam to carry out the 
     attacks, they did not appear to have had any direct ties to 
     Islamic terrorist organizations.
       October 23, 2014: Zale Thompson attacked four New York City 
     police officers with a hatchet, injuring two of them (one 
     critically) at a Queens, New York shopping district. The 
     police shot and killed Thompson, and a bystander was injured 
     in the process. Thompson appears to have been a self-
     radicalized Muslim convert who had posted ``antigovernment, 
     anti-Western, anti-white'' messages online.
       May 3, 2015: Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi began shooting 
     outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas during an 
     art exhibit hosted by an anti-Muslim group called the 
     American Freedom Defense Initiative. The center was hosting 
     an exhibition of cartoon adaptations depicting the Islamic 
     Prophet Muhammad. The pair shot and injured a security guard 
     before being killed by a police officer. The Islamic State of 
     Iraq and Syria subsequently claimed responsibility for the 
     attack, though the group did not provide evidence of how it 
     was involved with the shooters or in the attack.
       July 16, 2015: Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez--who reportedly 
     had been in various locations in the Middle East for nearly 
     seven months last year--shot at government personnel in two 
     military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, first 
     through a drive-by shooting at a recruiting center, then by 
     traveling to a naval reserve center and continuing to fire. 
     Before being killed by police, Abdulazeez killed four 
     Marines, and wounded another Marine, a Navy sailor, and a 
     police officer. The Navy sailor died from his wounds two days 
     later. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of 
     terrorism.


                   II. Unsuccessful Attacks and Plots

       December 22, 2001: British citizen Richard Reid attempted 
     to detonate explosives packed in his shoes while on a flight 
     from Paris to Miami. The airplane's crew and passengers 
     subdued him, and the plane landed safely in Boston. Reid had 
     previously received training at Al-Qaeda terrorist camps in 
     Afghanistan.
       May 8, 2002: Jose Padilla was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare 
     International Airport and

[[Page 18570]]

     subsequently accused of plotting to attack the United States 
     with a radiological weapon (a ``dirty bomb''). He had 
     previously spent several years in the Middle East, and the 
     U.S. government produced evidence at his trial indicating he 
     had attended an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
       May 1, 2003: Iyman Faris pled guilty to providing material 
     support to Al-Qaeda and providing information to Al-Qaeda 
     about potential targets in the United States--including a 
     bridge in New York City.
       August 2004: A group of men in the United Kingdom, led by 
     Al-Qaeda ``member or close associate'' Dhiren Barot, were 
     arrested for being part of an Al-Qaeda plan to bomb the 
     International Monetary Fund, New York Stock Exchange, 
     Citigroup and Prudential buildings in the United States, as 
     well as targets in the United Kingdom. Barot had earlier 
     scouted the American targets while visiting the United States 
     in 2000 and 2001.
       August 2004: Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay were 
     arrested after conducting surveillance at the Herald Square 
     subway station in Manhattan. The pair were planning to attack 
     the station with explosives in response to actions by 
     American military forces in Iraq.
       August 31, 2005: Kevin James, Hammad Samana, Gregory 
     Patterson, and Levar Washington were indicted on charges to 
     wage war against the United States through terrorist 
     activities. The men planned attacks against targets including 
     American military and Jewish institutions, located in 
     Southern California.
       November 24, 2006: Uzair Paracha was convicted of 
     conspiring to help an Al-Qaeda operative member suspected of 
     planning bombing attacks in Maryland to enter the United 
     States. Paracha was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.
       June 23 2006: Seven men, known as the ``Liberty City 
     Seven,'' were arrested for being involved in a plot to blow 
     up the Sears Tower in Chicago as part of an Islamic jihad. 
     Attorney General Gonzales stated later that year that the 
     plotters had promised to fight ``a full ground war against 
     the United States.''
       July 7 2006: Three men were arrested in Lebanon for 
     plotting to bomb transit tunnels underneath the Hudson River 
     in New York City. The men intended that the New York 
     financial district would then be flooded. The FBI discovered 
     the plot and gathered information on it through emails and 
     chat-room postings on web forums used to recruit Islamic 
     terrorists.
       December 8, 2006: Derrick Shareef was charged with plotting 
     to detonate hand grenades at a shopping mall in Illinois 
     during the Christmas shopping season. Shareef was a Muslim 
     convert who reportedly had discussed his desire to wage jihad 
     against civilians and had also spoken of attacking government 
     facilities.
       2007: Sabrihan Hasanoff and Wessam Hanafi, beginning in 
     2007 and at the direction of Al-Qaeda members in Yemen 
     performed surveillance on several potential targets, 
     including the New York Stock Exchange, for future terrorist 
     attacks in the United States. El-Hanafi forwarded the report 
     to Al-Qaeda.
       May 2007: Six men planned to kill American soldiers at Fort 
     Dix, New Jersey, but were arrested before they could do so. 
     This plot is popularly known as the ``Fort Dix Six'' plot, 
     and the men appear to have been inspired by Jihadi videos
       June 3, 2007: Four men were indicted for plotting to blow 
     up jet-fuel tanks and a fuel pipeline at John F. Kennedy 
     International Airport in New York City. Assistant Attorney 
     General Kenneth Wainstein said that the men ``sought to 
     combine an insider's knowledge of JFK airport with the 
     assistance of Islamic radicals in the Caribbean to produce'' 
     a ``devastating attack.''
       January 28, 2009: Bryant Neal Vinas pleaded guilty to 
     joining Al-Qaeda and developing a plan with Al-Qaeda 
     leadership to conduct an attack on the Long Island Railroad 
     in New York.
       February 26, 2009: Christopher Paul, also known as Abdul 
     Malek, was sentenced for conspiring to use weapons of mass 
     destruction against targets in Europe and the United States. 
     Paul, who had received terrorist training at overseas 
     terrorist camps in Afghanistan, and had subsequently joined 
     Al-Qaeda, had worked with an Islamic terror cell in Europe to 
     prepare to attack targets in the United States.
       May 20, 2009: Four men were arrested for plotting to bomb 
     Jewish synagogues in New York City after they had planted 
     what they thought were bombs near two synagogues. The men 
     also allegedly planned to shoot down U.S. military planes 
     operating out of Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, 
     New York. The men were apparently angry over the U.S.-led war 
     in Afghanistan, and one told an FBI informant that he'd be 
     interested in joining a Pakistan-based terrorist group ``to 
     do jihad.''
       September 2009: Daniel Patrick Boyd and Hysen Sherifi were 
     charged with plotting to kill U.S. military personnel at the 
     Quantico marine base in Virginia. They had undertaken 
     reconnaissance of the base and had practiced attacking the 
     base in July. Boyd, along with several other suspects, had 
     earlier been charged with international terrorism charges in 
     August, but those charges did not concern attacks in the 
     United States. Prosecutors played a tape during Boyd's 
     detention hearing where he decried the U.S. military, decried 
     the struggle of Muslims, and mentioned the honor of 
     martyrdom.
       September 2009: Najibullah Zazi, and later Adis Medunjanin 
     and Zarein Ahmedzay, were arrested for planning to conduct 
     suicide attacks with homemade explosives in the New York City 
     subway system. All three had received weapons training from 
     Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and Zazi admitted in court that he 
     was trained by Al-Qaeda to be part of a ``martyrdom 
     operation.'' Evidence indicates that senior Al-Qaeda 
     officials ordered the attacks. According to the indictment 
     against Medunjanin, before being arrested for the planned 
     subway attacks, on January 7, 2010, Medunjanin attempted to 
     conduct an attack in New York City by intentionally crashing 
     his car on the Whitestone Expressway.
       September 24, 2009: Michael Finton, also known as Talib 
     Islam, was arrested and charged for attempting to kill 
     federal employees by detonating a car bomb at the federal 
     building in Springfield, Illinois. He was arrested after he 
     attempted to detonate what he thought was the bomb, but which 
     was in fact a fake bomb. Finton reportedly idolized (and had 
     written to) American-born Taliban member John Walker Lindh.
       September 24, 2009: Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, an illegal 
     immigrant from Jordan, was arrested for placing, with the 
     intent to detonate, what he thought was a car bomb outside of 
     the 60-story Fountain Place office tower in Dallas, Texas. 
     FBI undercover agents met with Smadi over several months 
     while posing as members of an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell. 
     According to the FBI, Smadi ``stood out based on his vehement 
     intention to actually conduct terror attacks in the United 
     States.''
       December 14, 2009: Ehsanul Islam Sadequee and Syed Haris 
     Ahmed were sentenced for their earlier terrorism convictions 
     in support of terrorism. Among other activities, Sadequee and 
     Ahmed had driven to and taken videos--for use by ``the jihadi 
     brothers abroad'' with whom the pair were connected via the 
     internet--of targets in Washington, DC., including the U.S. 
     Capitol, the World Bank, the Masonic Temple, and a fuel tank 
     farm.
       December 25, 2009: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian 
     citizen, attempted to blow up the commercial airliner he was 
     flying on over Detroit by igniting high explosives concealed 
     in his underpants. Several days later, Al-Qaeda's affiliate 
     in Yemen and Saudi Arabia claimed responsibility for the 
     attempted attack. Abdulmutallab later plead to the charges 
     against him and read a statement in court saying ``I 
     attempted to use an explosive device which in the U.S. law is 
     a weapon of mass destruction, which I call a blessed weapon 
     to save the lives of innocent Muslims, for U.S. use of 
     weapons of mass destruction on Muslim populations in 
     Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and beyond.''
       May 1, 2010: Faisal Shahzad attempted, but failed, to 
     detonate a car bomb in Times Square in New York City. 
     Evidence indicated that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the 
     attempted attack, and that Shahzad was in contact with the 
     group via the internet while living in the United States. 
     Shahzad was attempting to flee the country through a flight 
     to the Middle East when arrested.
       May 2010: Paul and Nadia Rockwood, from King Salmon, 
     Alaska, were arrested for lying to the FBI about having 
     compiled a list of 20 domestic terrorism targets, including 
     members of the U.S. military, the media, and two religious 
     organizations. The couple had also begun to acquire 
     components for mail bombs. Rockwood, who had earlier 
     converted to Islam and was studying the writings of Anwar al-
     Awlaki, sought to ``exact revenge by death on anyone who 
     desecrated Islam.''
       October 20, 2010: Zachary Adam Chesser, a supporter of 
     designated foreign terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, pleaded 
     guilty to charges that included soliciting other jihadists 
     online to murder U.S. citizens in the United States. Among 
     other things, he pleaded guilty to taking specific, repeated 
     steps to encourage jihadists to attack the writers of an 
     American television show for the way the show had depicted 
     Muhammad.
       October 27, 2010: Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. 
     citizen, was arrested for plotting to bomb multiple 
     Washington, D.C. metro stations Ahmed believed he was 
     conspiring with Al-Qaeda operatives in plotting the attacks.
       November 26, 2010: Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a Somali-
     American, attempted to wage jihad by trying to ignite what he 
     thought was a real bomb, but which was a fake bomb supplied 
     by an undercover officer, at a Christmas tree lighting 
     ceremony in Portland, Oregon. Among other statements Mohamud 
     made regarding the attacks, he said ``I want whoever is 
     attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or 
     injured.''
       December 8, 2010: Antonio Martinez, also known as Muhammad 
     Hussain, was arrested after a sting operation for plotting to 
     blow up the Armed Forces Career Center in Catonsville, 
     Maryland. Martinez, a Muslim convert, was motivated to plot 
     the attack because he was upset that the U.S. and other 
     militaries were fighting Muslims.
       February 24, 2011: Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a Saudi Arabian 
     student in the United

[[Page 18571]]

     States, was arrested for planning and having begun to build 
     bombs for use in various terrorist attacks in America. 
     Targets of the attacks included former President George W. 
     Bush's home, hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants, 
     nightclubs, and the homes of American soldiers who had been 
     stationed in Iraq at the Abu Ghraib prison. Aldawsari 
     described in his journal, as well as on blog postings, his 
     desire for violent jihad.
       May 11, 2011: Ahmed Ferhani, a native of Algeria, and 
     Mohamed Mamdouh were arrested for plotting to attack Jewish 
     synagogues in New York City. The pair were arrested after 
     purchasing several handguns and one grenade. The two were 
     said to be ``committed to violent jihad.''
       June 23, 2011: Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif and Walli Mujahidh 
     were arrested after purchasing machine guns and grenades for 
     the purpose of conducting a suicide attack against a federal 
     building housing the Military Entrance Processing Station in 
     Seattle. The pair's motive was to conduct physical jihad in 
     the United States, as they were upset about U.S. military 
     activities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen.
       July 27, 2011: Naser Jason Abdo, a U.S. Army Private who 
     had been Absent Without Leave (AWOL), was arrested in a plot 
     against Fort Hood, Texas. He was found with jihadist 
     materials, weapons, explosives instructions, and materials. 
     The explosives instructions were from an Al-Qaeda explosives 
     course manual.
       September 28, 2011: Rezwan Ferdaus was arrested, following 
     an FBI undercover operation, and charged for plotting to use 
     a remote-controlled aircraft filled with explosives to attack 
     the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. Ferdaus planned to commit 
     violent jihad with the materials, and hoped to cause a 
     ``psychological impact'' by killing Americans--who he 
     referred to as ``enemies of Allah.''
       November 20, 2011: Jose Pimentel was arrested for building 
     and plotting to detonate pipe bombs in and around New York 
     City. Pimentel's intended targets included U.S. military 
     personnel who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. postal 
     facilities, and police. Pimentel was described as an ``Al-
     Qaeda sympathizer,'' though he is believed to have worked on 
     his plot alone.
       January 7, 2012: Sami Osmakac, a naturalized U.S. citizen 
     from Kosovo, was arrested for plotting to use weapons and 
     explosives ``to create mayhem'' in Tampa, Florida. He planned 
     to conduct a car bombing, then take hostages, and to finally 
     detonate a suicide belt he would be wearing. Osmakac told an 
     FBI undercover agent that ``We all have to die, so why not 
     die the Islamic way?''
       February 17, 2012: Amine El Khalifi, a Moroccan who was 
     illegally inside the United States, was arrested following an 
     FBI sting operation for plotting to carry out a suicide 
     bombing inside the U.S. Capitol building. When arrested near 
     the Capitol, Khalifi was carrying what he believed to be a 
     loaded automatic weapon and a suicide vest.
       September 15, 2012: Adel Daoud was arrested, following an 
     FBI undercover investigation, for attempting to detonate what 
     he thought was a car bomb in front of a bar in Chicago. Daoud 
     had earlier expressed his interest online in engaging in 
     violent jihad in the United States or overseas.
       October 17, 2012: Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, a 
     Bangladeshi, was arrested following a sting operation for 
     plotting to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan. He 
     was arrested after attempting to detonate what he thought was 
     a 1,000 pound bomb near the door of the bank. Nafis undertook 
     his plot on behalf of ``our beloved Sheikh Osama bin Laden.''
       November 29, 2012: Raees Alam Qazi and his brother, 
     Sheheryar Alam Qazi, both naturalized U.S. citizens of 
     Pakistani descent, were arrested for plotting to attack New 
     York City, possibly at Times Square. Raees, inspired by Al-
     Qaeda (members of which he had tried to contact) had recently 
     traveled to New York to attempt to obtain explosives for the 
     attack.
       December 13, 2013: Terry Lee Loewen, an avionics 
     technician, was arrested following an FBI sting operation for 
     attempting to explode a car bomb in a suicide attack at the 
     Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita, Kansas. Loewen is a 
     Muslim-convert who had said to an FBI employee that ``I have 
     become `radicalized' in the strongest sense of the word, and 
     I don't feel Allah wants me any other way.''
       September 15, 2014: Mufid A. Elgeeh was charged with 
     encouraging and helping prepare two other people to go to 
     Syria and join ISIS. He had also allegedly plotted to shoot 
     U.S. military members in the United States who had returned 
     from Iraq. Elgeeh was arrested after purchasing two handguns, 
     ammunition, and silencers.
       February 25, 2015: Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev was 
     charged for offering online to kill the U.S. President if 
     ordered by ISIS. He, along with Akhror Saidakhmetove, 
     allegedly then planned to travel to Syria to wage jihad on 
     behalf of ISIS.
       April 2, 2015: Noelle Velentzas and Asia Siddiqui were 
     arrested, following a sting operation, for plotting to 
     detonate explosives in the United States. The two allegedly 
     discussed possible targets online and had acquired both 
     multiple propane tanks and instructions on how to turn the 
     tanks into bombs. Siddiqui had allegedly contacted members of 
     Al-Qaeda on repeated occasions.
       April 10, 2015: John T. Booker was arrested, after a sting 
     operation, for allegedly trying to detonate a car bomb at the 
     Fort Riley military base in Kansas on behalf of ISIS. Booker 
     allegedly had spent months discussing different plans of 
     attack before deciding on a suicide attack against the base, 
     and had begun acquiring components for a vehicle bomb before 
     becoming the subject of the FBI operation. He also allegedly 
     repeatedly stated that he wished to engage in violent jihad 
     on behalf of ISIS.
       June 12, 2015: David Wright and Nicholas Rovinski were 
     charged with conspiring to commit attacks against persons 
     inside the United States, which was intended to further 
     ISIS's objectives and therefore constituted material support 
     to that group. Wright and Rovinski also allegedly intended to 
     behead a man who had organized a conference in Garland, Texas 
     that featured cartoons depicting Muhammad. Moreover, Wright 
     and Rovinski allegedly conspired with Usaamah Abdullah 
     Rahim--Wright's uncle--who was shot and killed after 
     attacking police officers. The FBI stated that Rahim had been 
     under surveillance because he had bought fighting knives and 
     spoken of imminently attacking ``boys in blue.'' Rahhim, when 
     confronted by the police on a sidewalk, menaced the officers 
     with a military-style knife before shooting him when he 
     refused to drop the knife.
       June 17, 2015: Fareed Mumuni and Munther Omar Saleh were 
     arrested for allegedly conspiring to attempt to assist ISIS 
     in committing a terrorist attack in the New York area. Mumuni 
     and Saleh allegedly charged, with knives, at law enforcement 
     officers who were trying to arrest them. Mumuni also 
     allegedly told authorities that he had pledged his support to 
     ISIS.
       June 19, 2015: Robert McCollum, who changed his name to 
     Amir Said Abdul Rahman Al-Ghazi, was charged with, among 
     other offenses, attempting to provide material support to 
     ISIS. He allegedly had pledged his support to ISIS via social 
     media, took steps to create propaganda for the group, and had 
     tried to persuade others to join ISIS too. He allegedly had 
     also expressed his desire to conduct an attack on the United 
     States, and had attempted to purchase an assault rifle.
       July 13, 2015: Alexander Ciccolo was arrested on gun 
     charges after purchasing two pistols and two rifles from an 
     undercover FBI informant. His apartment allegedly was loaded 
     with bomb-making equipment and jihadi paperwork. Ciccolo 
     allegedly had planned to travel to a town with a state 
     university where he could attack students at the college. 
     Ciccolo was turned in by his father, who said his son was 
     inspired by ISIS, had said he is ``not afraid to die for the 
     cause,'' and reportedly characterized America as ``Satan'' 
     and ``disgusting.''
       July 28, 2015: Harlem Suarez was charged with attempting to 
     use a weapon of mass destruction against a person or property 
     within the United States. Suarez came to law enforcement 
     attention following Facebook posts he made with Islamic 
     extremist rhetoric and promoting ISIS. Suarez allegedly had 
     told a confidential FBI source that he wanted to make a 
     ``timer bomb,'' which was to include galvanized nails and for 
     which he had purchased components, to be buried and detonated 
     at a beach in Key West, Florida.
       November 12, 2015: Terrence McNeil was arrested in Ohio for 
     soliciting the murder of members of the U.S. military. He had 
     disseminated ISIS rhetoric and detailed U.S. military 
     personnel information for 100 military members, then called 
     on fellow terrorists to kill the military personnel in their 
     homes and communities.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. These lists include successful attacks that harmed 
Americans as well as unsuccessful attempts that did not--often thanks 
to law enforcement's efforts. What is common to all the attacks is that 
they were undertaken by terrorists who coordinated with radical Islamic 
extremists, were inspired by them or by those who shared their views. 
The listed attacks should serve as a reminder that we must always be 
vigilant. We must never forget that radical Islamic extremists are 
waging war against us. We must always be prepared to fight this battle 
and to defend against their attacks.
  I am grateful this Thanksgiving season for the people in this country 
who do the difficult work of protecting us from terrorists every day. 
We must continually strengthen our country's ability to win this war. 
We must ensure that our military and Special Forces have the ability to 
take the fight to the terrorists overseas, wherever they are lurking. 
We must ensure that our intelligence agencies have the tools needed to 
identify terrorists and their plots, while preserving the civil 
liberties that make our country very special. And we must ensure that 
law enforcement is able to use the lawful

[[Page 18572]]

tools provided by Congress, consistent with our Constitution and 
approved by our courts, to help stop these terrorist attacks.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________