The terror plot the FBI refuses to investigate

By Edward Olshaker

The FBI investigated the attack on Nancy Kerrigan's leg, yet refuses to look into "over-hyped" plot to bomb a synagogue and Empire State Building.

In a disturbing development the mainstream media has virtually ignored, Fox New reports:

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has opted out of the case of two New York men allegedly involved in a plot to blow up a local synagogue over concerns it is not a bona fide terrorism case...

Was this a valid judgment call, based on an assessment that the case against the two alleged plotters was weak? Or did this decision stem from a misguided, politically correct refusal to acknowledge the reality of Islamic terrorism? A New York City police official believes it is the latter:

Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne rejected the Federal critique, saying, "When somebody acquires weapons and plans to bomb the largest synagogue in Manhattan he can find, what do you call it, mischief?"

The chilling details indeed sound more like "bona fide terrorism" than mischief or hype:

Ahmed Ferhani, who is from Algeria, and Mohamed Mamdouh, who is from Morocco, were arrested after Ferhani was caught in a police sting trying to buy guns, ammunition and a hand grenade. Police and prosecutors said they laid the trap after an undercover investigator who had befriended the pair recorded Ferhani talking about attacking a city synagogue and maybe the Empire State Building.

In striking contrast, after ice skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in 1994, the FBI jumped into the case six days later. This timeline illustrates how quickly and effectively the bureau can investigate and solve a case -- and therefore what a loss it is when they decline to become involved. And it should go without saying that no city needs the FBI's anti-terror support more than still-traumatized, perpetually targeted New York.

Maybe the NYPD might have had better luck obtaining federal cooperation if they had charged Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh with plotting to hit someone on the leg with a stick.