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San Bernardino shooter apparently was in touch with terror subjects
[CNN] Syed Rizwan Farook -- who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the San Bernardino shooting massacre -- apparently was radicalized and in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Farook's apparent radicalization contributed to his role in the mass shooting of 14 people Wednesday during a holiday party for the San Bernardino County health department, where Farook worked, sources said.

Still, it wasn't necessarily the only driver behind the carnage, as workplace grievances may have also played a role. President Barack Obama
I bowled a 129. It’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something...
hinted as much Thursday when he said that the attackers may have had "mixed motives."

David Bowditch, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office, told news hounds Thursday that Farook had traveled to Pakistain.

And two government officials said no red flags were raised when he'd gone to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
for several weeks in 2013 on the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are required to take at least once in their lifetime. It was during this trip that he met Malik, a native of Pakistain who came to the United States in July 2014 on a "fiancée visa" and later became a lawful permanent resident.

Officials had previously said neither Farook and Malik were known to the FBI or on a list of potentially radicalized people. Nor had they had any known interactions with police until Wednesday.

Yet Farook himself had talked by phone and on social media with more than one person being investigated for terrorism, law enforcement officials said.

The communications were "soft connections" in that they weren't frequent, one law enforcement official said. It had been a few months since Farook's last back-and-forth with these people, who officials said were not considered high priority.
"...were not considered high priority"...? But in a preceding paragraph Farook and Malik were said to be "unknown" to the Bureau. So where are we? Is this another Boston bomber wait and see what happens scenario, or a Bureau sting or source operation gone terribly wrong? Smells badly already, or is it just my anti-gummit paranoia ?
I can't imagine doing that job. Even if they are right 99.9% of the time, and most of the rest are Faisel the Fizzle Bombers and kids caught at the airport on their way to Syria, there are still Farooks in the data. Perhaps a more proactive approach would clear the underbrush.

Posted by: Fred 2015-12-04
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=437492