my "2nd home" on CNN

'Islamic radicals' arrested in plot to kill Fort Dix soldiers
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six "Islamic radicals" involved in a plot to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey were arrested Monday night, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said Tuesday.

One of the suspects was born in Jordan, another in Turkey, the U.S. attorney's office said. The rest are believed to be from the former Yugoslavia, "either U.S. citizens or living illegally in the United States," the office said in a statement.

"Their alleged intention was to conduct an armed assault on the army base and to kill as many soldiers as possible," according to the statement.

The six are expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Camden on Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

The district attorney scheduled a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the case.

The men were planning to use automatic weapons to shoot soldiers at the Army post, according to a federal law enforcement source and a senior government source.

The men, some of whom were related to each other, had been doing surveillance and planning "for a while," and they trained in the Poconos Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania, according to the federal law enforcement source.

They played paintball and test-fired weapons, a law enforcement source said.

New Jersey state troopers and the FBI were involved in investigating and arresting the suspects. An informant played a key role in the investigation, the sources said.

One of the sources said there is a video and an audiotape of the planning.

The Newark Star-Ledger reported on its Web site that the men took a videotape of their practice sessions to a store to have it burned to a DVD, and that a store employee contacted the FBI because of the video's contents.

Sources told the Star-Ledger the men were lured to a meeting with an FBI informant posing as an arms dealer. The newspaper's sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

While authorities are glad to have arrested them, the individuals are "hardly hard core terrorists," one law enforcement source said.

Another source said that while the allegations are "troubling," they are "not the type that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up."

Fort Dix is used to train members of the Army Reserve and National Guard for missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.

It was used in 1999 to house ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo, according to the Defense Department Web site.

article courtesy of CNN

it's really bizarre to me. i live in bordentown, nj, and as you can see by the map, we live really close to dix.

http://www.dix.army.mil/

my mom and her family lived on base while my grandpa was active duty mstr sgt. my uncle wilfredo was born there, this was my mom's family last stop and once he retired, they moved to bordentown.

my parents met and married on base. i grew up near ft. dix, so every week i was there for swimming lesons, camp, brunch, dinners @ the O Club(Officer's Club), Mass(when we knew we were going to be on base shopping on sundays). my grandfather would take me with him to the commissary when it opened at 7AM and i would help him shop. he then took me to the cafeteria at the PX. this was the older buildings, when the cafeteria actually served fresh made buffet style food, not fast food like today.

4th of july was always fun. we'd go to base always for the live band, canons and watch the fireworks.

my uncle wil helped to build the new px & comissary and the burger king, & quickie mart on base too. dave & i had our wedding reception at club dix(the o club is closed).

before we got married i was able to go on base and go tax free shopping at the px(comissary i couldn't unless my parents were with me) with my ID. and i had access to all the other on base ammendities too.

my dad, a retired lt. col. army, goes there almost everyday with my grandfather, to sit and drink coffee with the other vets and gossip. it's cute ;) my dad when he can, still volunteers at his 404th unit. people on base know him and my grandfather and those that know their rank will offer a salute in passing, even though they are not in uniform. more of a show of respect :)

people on base are great, friendly, and are always there to help you out. it's a huge piece of land and you can easily get lost there ;)

let's hope that this sort of thing doesn't happen again...anywhere....even with stupid terroist without their own video/dvd equipment :P