By Michael S. Schmidt
Washington — Federal prosecutors (click here) plan to file charges against Enrique Marquez, a friend and neighbor of the couple who carried out the massacre in San Bernardino, Calif., earlier this month, according to law enforcement officials.
The Justice Department could make the charges public as early as Thursday. It would be the first time anyone has been charged in connection with the shooting on Dec. 2, which left 14 people dead.
Mr. Marquez, who converted to Islam several years ago, bought the two assault rifles that Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used in the shooting, according to law enforcement officials. They said Mr. Marquez has told investigators that he bought the guns for Mr. Farook, who believed he could not pass the required background check....
If we could read minds we might better understand the reasons for breaking the law and causing mass deaths, but we can't, so we are left with speculation.
Why would Farook not purchase his own gun. I don't think he had the money to carry out the purchase or otherwise. The idea he had to take loans in order to provide some kind of asset to the support of his child and mother after his death lends itself to the concept of conspiracy.
I think money is a larger reason for the buy by someone else, but, the idea Farook's identity wasn't attached to a gun purchase would not elevate any suspicions if their radicalism was discovered by intelligence agencies. Just because the USA intelligence agencies didn't find social sites interesting doesn't mean the people planning the assault isn't thinking about it.
I understand Director Comey stated there was absolutely no reason the Farook couple would have been suspected. That might be the case for his practice, but, it is not the case with the NSA. The email metadata connected to the USA never picked this up. It should have. The communications between the Farroks and Europe and the middle east had to have been gathered in any NSA net operation.
That is the issue. The FBI might not have any suspicions, but, the FBI also relies on the NSA to provide any communications where danger to Americans may be a problem.
FOX News is also stating Director Comey is calling the killing of our Marines in Chattanooga is a terrorist attack. The USA is failing to pick up important information to protect the country. The funding set aside for the NSA metadata sweeps is very expensive. The building alone where these activities take place was an enormous investment after the 2001 attacks.
Basically, what the heck are we doing? Our investments haven't paid off as it should and now we are faced with how are we going to adequately address these problems? If Comey is saying there was no way to know these attacks were planned or going to happen; then we have a real problem, don't we?
In the 1950s it was "Duck and Cover." The terror in the country was attached to nuclear weapons. So, since 2001 the USA has their terror served up to them AGAIN with nothing that works to protect us. It is a concern and my best recommendation is for local governments to have their own security council. Let them get to know the town, merchants and all possible holes in their security fabric. Neighborhoods should have neighborhood Captains that carry concerns to the local security council. The Captains could be volunteers, but, please don't arm them otherwise we have Trayvon Martin all over again.
Neighborhoods (Watch) is legitimate where information exists to help define danger to citizens. I really do think it is the only viable answer. Then have regular meetings, let's say every six months, with FBI contact perhaps state by state to report the concerns as reported to the SBI. Not that the SBI has to wait to report activities in the state to the FBI. If there is a systematic review of potential danger, we can become better at detecting these dangers and moving against it.
The examples to power such review of neighborhoods are within the USA experience in the face of failure such as Chattanooga, Boston and San Bernardino. Let's learn from them and find a way to LEGALLY provide surveillance. There has to be a way.
