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Texan Charged as Jihadist
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by publicreader | February 14, 2007 at 06:26 pm
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The Associated Press and several other news organizations are reporting that Daniel Joseph, Maldinado,a 28 year old American citizen and last resident in Houston, Texas, appeared Tuesday before Judge Calvin Botley in Houston on a charge of training with al-Qaida in Somalia. He was arrested last month in Kenya as he fled after the Ethiopians invaded Somalia, and was brought to the United States on Monday. The detention hearing will be held soon.
a former Houston man arrested in Kenya last month has been charged in Texas with teaming with al-Qaida to overthrow the Somali government and form an Islamic state there.
Maldonado, a Muslim convert, will be charged with collaborating with al-Qaida in Somalia and the Islamic Courts Union, an organization that occupied much of Somalia and controlled the capital, Mogadishu, before the Ethiopians invaded the country with U.S. assistance in December, 2006.Maldonado allegedly told FBI agents in Kenya the he " would be fighting the Somali militia, and that turned into fighting the Ethiopians, and if the Americans came, I would fight them too.."
Ethiopia's invasion was successful in dislodging the Islamic Courts Union, but a planned African peacekeeping force has caused controversy in the region. Uganda will likely send troops, but the move has caused parliamentary squabbles. South Africa refused the request.
The Ethiopians have said that they will withdraw quickly, and want to avoid a protracted occupation. Some of the leading Islamic Courts figures have fled to Yemen, where they have been offered the status of "guests ". Yemen denies offering political asylum.
Related: Ethiopia/Somalia Timeline
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Leonard Brody
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 01:09 on February 15th, 2007
It's always Texas.... but he may have only lived here for 2 months. From the Houston Chronicle:
Apparently, he came to Texas for a reason, though. The leads opening the investigation began in Houston, but officials wouldn't comment further.
It's interesting to me that he was open to being a suicide bomber (if he was wounded), but now he has requested to be held closer to his parents and children in New Hampshire.
Link to more from Houston Chronicle
Another interesting note from lonestartimes.com: he was a blogger. They give this as a link to his blog: http://danielaljughaifi.wordpress.com/
As for the Ethiopians leaving and the hopes of an AU peacekeeping force, here's an interview with the former US ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn, where he discusses theories on what will happen next: http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2007-02-14-voa34.cfm
at 09:52 on February 15th, 2007
Thanks for the links, especially the blog one. I didn't mean to pick on Texas: I am an ex myself. The ambassador is a little more optimistic than some people in the Ethiopian parliament.
at 16:21 on February 15th, 2007
Only kidding on the Texas thing... I'm more sensitive to it, I think, because I live in a very small, rural town that is a perverse blend of Mayberry and The Twilight Zone. I find myself defending Texas often (especially to people in the NE), but I start to waiver when I see the local element around here ;)
What I'd like to know more about is why he came to Houston from Boston for those two months.
Agreed on the ambassador. I think he was indulging in fantasy on those last comments on basically the whole world coming together to work on sharing power.
at 07:25 on February 16th, 2007
I used to live in Maylight too!. I would also like to know why the guy came to Houston... I do hope someone will be asking that, but I'm a person of limited faith- based on our track record of investigating these things.
at 12:28 on February 16th, 2007
At NowPublic, this is high praise from NowPublic editors! Your story is now on the home page for awhile, and everywhere else the “good stuff” box shows up. Many thanks for your great work.