Posts on “Seas of David” in June 2006

Veteran FBI Terror Buster Questions Miami Case

Another question arises about the government's case against Miami's alleged al Qaeda operatives.

Mike German spent 16 years in the FBI; for over a decade, he went undercover to bust up domestic terrorist groups around the country. I called him to get his opinion on the "Seas of David" case.

He wouldn't discuss the specifics of the case, but it's clear he's got some concerns about it.

"Cases like these generally hinge on who reached out to who first," German told me. In other words, did the Seas of David boys go around to mosques and surf the web, trying to find an al Qaeda hookup? Did they put the word out on the street they were looking to tell bin Laden they were at his disposal? Or did the government show up (undercover) on their doorstep, offering al Qaeda to the men unsolicited?

If the members did reach out to al Qaeda, "the indictment doesn't mention that," German said. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, only that if it did, and the feds didn't mention it in the indictment, someone's very bad at writing indictments. "I've never seen somebody not put those relevant facts in an indictment," said German.

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Brother Corey, The Public Face of Seas of David

As Justin mentioned, CNN had an exclusive interview with a man who identified himself as the spokesman of the Seas (or Seeds) of David cult late Thursday night -- in front of the group's temple/warehouse.

He was nervous, a little raw -- clearly no Tony Snow. But he's perhaps the best window we're likely to have into the minds of the group members, who looked to their leader ("my prince") for religious leadership, karate instruction and contracting work.

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Seas of David? Or Seeds of David?

There seems to be some confusion.

The group of seven men arrested in Miami, accused of trying to provide material support to al Qaeda, were a cult-like group that met in an abandoned windowless warehouse they called "The Temple." That much everyone agrees on.

But the name of the group itself. As CNN's Jeanne Meserve explained last Thursday, "there seems to be a little bit of confusion of whether it's Seas of David, Seeds of David. I defer to John [Roberts], who says he believes it's Seeds."

Roberts was onto something: "Seeds of David" is a recognizable Judeo-Christian image. "Seas of David," on the other hand, doesn't seem to make any sense.

Unfortunately, knowledge of religious symbolism isn't always that useful when you're covering crackpot cults. CNN's John Zarella described an encounter with a group member, "Brother Corey," who cleared up the issue:

Brother Corey walks up to me. I'm standing literally right here, and he walks up to me and says, "I'm a representative. I'm authorized to speak on behalf of our organization."

I asked him what the name of the group was, and, you know, he said that -- gave me the name of the group, and then we started the interview. I began to talk with him. He was detailing to me different things about the organization. He called themselves the Seas, S-E-A-S, Seas of David. Could be the Seeds of David, but he insisted it was Seas of David.

Whatever, dude, Zarella seems to say. It's your cult, call it whatever you want.

The AG's Seven Sunni (Sonny?) Samurai

I must admit, the Miami "Seas of David" terror bust, so important the Attorney General himself gave a press conference, has captured my attention.

You know, the "al Qaeda" guys the FBI rounded up last week, the extremely dangerous crew of "homegrown terrorists" who walked around in hoods, stood sentry by their warehouse hideout in ski masks and combat boots, studied the Bible and watched martial arts movies, and -- according to the FBI -- was planning to blow up the Sears Tower.

The way the federal prosecutors tell it, the crew hooked up with an al Qaeda representative -- in truth, an FBI informant posing as an AQ guy. Over time, the seven men pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, expressed an interest in attending an al Qaeda training camp, talked about blowing up FBI offices, took pictures of the FBI headquarters in Miami, and so on.

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Will Terror Charges Stick to Miami's Keystone Qaeda?

Mmm. Josh has been pointing out some salient differences between the recently busted-up terror "cell" in Miami and, er, a real terrorist group.

Now, Newsweek's Mark Hosenball says some are wondering if the feds can get charges to stick on these boys. "Some civil-liberties activists complained that the informant's prodding may have helped create a plot that otherwise wouldn't have existed," he writes. In other words, the band warn't even creative enough to think of blowing up the Sears Tower on their own?

They certainly had a flair for the dramatic. Outside the warehouse HQ the seven would-be terrorists called "The Temple," the men "took turns standing guard outside the door, dressed up in makeshift military uniforms and combat boots. Sometimes they covered their faces with ski masks," reports Hosenball.

Because nothing hides a sleeper cell better than a uniformed guard wearing a ski mask and combat boots in sweltering Florida heat.


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