A Florida congressman has called for action to rid the United States of known terrorist training camps and facilities, which he says have proliferated over the past two decades.
“The destruction of the World Trade Center is a wakeup call to America. Clearly, things have got to change,” said Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., a medical doctor and vice-chairman of the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee of the House Science Committee. “We have been asleep at the switch as these very terrorists practice their militant ways right under our noses.”
Weldon made his comments following a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee on terrorism. At the hearing, the Florida Republican presented footage from a 1994 Public Broadcasting Service documentary “Jihad in America.”
“This video footage of Muslim extremist bases of operation right here in our own nation from which they launch acts of terror against America and the world is most troubling,” Weldon said. “Well-known terrorists and their organizations have been holding international terrorism conferences, not in the Middle East, but in places like Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Georgia.”
The video documents a concerted effort by Muslim extremists to train children to engage in violence and to divert money from dozens of tax-exempt charities to fund acts of terror, according to a statement released by Weldon’s office.
“Coming to the United States gives them a platform that they can use for the rest of the world. They can produce their films, their videos and their publications. They can collect money,” said Oliver Revell, a former FBI agent and terrorism expert, who added that many such terrorist groups had established networks across the U.S.
“We in the … law-enforcement communities cannot collect public information unless they have an ongoing criminal investigation. So those things that you as a journalist … may know … law enforcement will not necessarily and probably will not know,” Revell added.
The video “got everyone’s attention” at the committee hearings, Brendan Curry, a spokesman for Weldon, told WorldNetDaily.
“Everyone’s scrambling for a copy of it, and we’ve sent copies to every member of the House,” he said, adding that some “members of the Senate are now inquiring about a copy.”
“It’s gaining the attention it deserves, [but] it’s too bad it’s after the fact,” Curry said.
“Terrorism is the new evil empire of the 21st century. If we fail to take action to end terrorism, we will subject our children and grandchildren to future acts of violence,” Weldon said. “Today is the day for real action.”
Weldon’s comments came the day the Pentagon – damaged but far from out of action – issued orders to the armed forces to begin mustering personnel and equipment for what will likely be the first shots fired by the U.S. in its new war on terrorism. Some 100 fighters, aerial refueling aircraft and heavy bombers, along with Army troops and Navy warships, are reported enroute to the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
Meanwhile, other U.S. leaders also made strong statements yesterday that seem to preclude U.S. military action.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, in response to an edict issued by Islamic clerics in Afghanistan asking suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden to leave, said, “We want action, not just statements.”
“The sooner he leaves and is brought to justice, the better off I think the world will be,” Powell, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said.
He also gave an indication of the Bush administration’s overall battle plan in the war on terrorism.
“Once we have dealt with al-Qaida, the network, Osama bin Laden, the individual, we will then broaden that campaign to go after other terrorist organizations and forms of terrorism around the world,” Powell said.
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