New York Police Commisioner Raymond Kelly (left) talks to the media Tuesday while Imam Maan Al-Sahlani listens following a meeting at the Al-Khoei Islamic Center in New York City 1/3/2012. According to a secret NYPD document, Al-Khoei Islamic Center was under investigation for possible ties to Iran. Credit: Seth Wenig / AP

I always begin my write ups discussing timely "coincidences" and this one is not different. Yesterday, Greg Miller of the Washington Post wrote about a CIA report that stated Iran is willing to attack on US soil:

An assessment by U.S. spy agencies concludes that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States, highlighting new risks as the Obama administration escalates pressure on Tehran to halt its alleged pursuit of an atomic bomb.

Coincidentally, a secret ten page document exposing details of the known CIA and NYPD joint surveillance of Muslims was released to the media yesterday afternoon. In this document, both the target and the goals of the surveillance were clearly stated. The CIA and NYPD were profiling and surveying Shi'a organizations and mosques in the entire tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) in order to find links to Iran and to groups in South Lebanon. Was this "leak" the works of  a Good  Samaritan, who felt the NYPD has wronged fellow Muslim New Yorkers? I don't believe so. The release of this so called "secret" document coincides too perfectly with the CIA report published that same day. 

A few Shi'a leaders, especially those who had aligned themselves with dubious organizations and individuals in the past, have previously expressed their support for the joint CIA/NYPD surveillance. Citing threats from the Sunni-Wahaabi group, they were under the false pretense that the surveillance would actually be protecting them. Little did they know that the protection was in reality an investigation. 

For the regular readers of this site, this soon-to-be released AP report linking Shi'a institutions to Iran should not come as a surprise. There have been numerous articles published on Oppression.org regarding a secret war and the propaganda building up against Iran. Although the main public enemy in the media is touted as being Al-Qaeda, there is not much corporate (read monetary) gain by attacking Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is not linked to any country the US does not already control. In contrast, the gains of attacking Iran would be both monetary and strategic. 

Similar to how the WMD case was made against Iraq before the preemptive strike, the US government must build a case prior to attacking Iran. The government is looking for soft targets. Since they have perfected the art of entrapment, they understand very well the personality and psyche of the perfect victim. From previous "terrorist" cases, they have established a profile of the type of Muslim that will fall into their entrapment schemes. This person is motivated less by doctrine and more by emotions. His emotions tell him that his people are victims of oppression, and if given the chance he would liberate his people. He is a radical zealot by emotions--his vulnerability. 

A Shi'a counterpart to a Wahaabi will likely not be a pro-Iranian Shi'a but a Shi'a who is secular and anti-Wahaabi in nature. He is driven by his disdain and utter hatred towards the Wahaabi as they refer to his people as infidels and call for their murder. This particular Shi'a will likely be of Pakistani or Iraqi descent who has witnessed Wahaabi groups (such as Taliban or Al-Qaeda) bombing or assassinating other Shi'as. He will do whatever it takes to take down the supposed roots of anti-Shi'a violence. The US government will exploit these Shi'as because they are the most vulnerable and easily subjectable to an entrapment scheme. 

Since Obama took office, there have been close to a dozen cases in which individuals or institutions have been linked to Iran. A few victims have been sentenced to life imprisonments, including the mayor of a major Guyanese city. 

Let this be an early warning to the Shi'a communities in the US. The reality is your centers and mosques are bugged and you have informants in your midst. Be proactive rather than reactive--take the appropriate steps to sweep your places of worship, be weary of strange behavior and questions, and educate your congregations. Most importantly, know your rights as US citizens and never give up your civil liberties.

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Download: Secret NYPD Document