Scholar: Fort Dix suspects behaved like terrorists

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 9, 2008




CAMDEN — An expert in terrorism says the men accused of plotting an attack against soldiers on New Jersey's Fort Dix behaved the way terrorists do.

Evan Coleman, who testified in the trial for the men today, is likely the last witness called by prosecutors in a trial now in its 26th day.

He said that the jihadist propaganda videos found on computers belonging to two of the men are "some of the classics'' and have been found on the computers of homegrown terrorists around the world.

Prosecutors are trying to persuade jurors that the suspects were working on an attack that could have been one of the most devastating examples of homegrown terrorism in the United States.

Coleman, who is an analyst and consultant on terrorist matters, said the fact that the men also tried to buy guns and engaged in what the government calls training bolster the likelihood that they were planning to strike.

He also said that the haphazard way the men seemed to act -- goofing off at firing ranges and never meeting to discuss details of an attack -- didn't mean they were not going to carry one out.

"It doesn't take a lot of sophistication to kill people,'' Coleman told jurors.
"Ultimately, it comes down to interest. It doesn't take a lot of thought to create chaos.''

On cross-examination, Coleman did concede that the presence of the videos did not prove the men were willing to engage in terrorism.

The five suspects in the case are all foreign-born Muslims who spent years in the comfortable Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill. They face charges including attempted murder and conspiracy to kill military personnel. All five men face life in prison if they're convicted.

No plot was carried out before the men were arrested in May 2007.

Defense lawyers for the men say their clients were not seriously planning anything.

The defense could start calling witnesses as soon as this afternoon -- and the jury deliberations could start in about a week.





http://www.app.com/article/20081209/NEWS/81209057