Sharif Mobley

Colleen LaRose, aka "Jihad Jane," and Sharif Mobley are similar in that they're both natural-born U.S. citizens. They're both at war with their country.

First, a little about Jihad Jane:

A Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane" was indicted for allegedly helping terror groups in attempts to carry out attacks in Europe and Asia.

Colleen R. LaRose, 46, is alleged to have recruited people, particularly women, who had the ability to travel in Europe to "wage violent jihad," the U.S. Department of Justice said. LaRose has been in federal custody since October. An indictment naming her was made public Tuesday.

LaRose allegedly wrote in an e-mail messages that it would be "an honor and great pleasure to die or kill for" Islamic holy war.

...U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy, at a news conference about LaRose, said the woman was "another very real danger lurking on the Internet" and the blonde, blue-eyed woman's alleged acts "shatters any lingering thought that we can spot a terrorist based on appearance."

I wouldn't say Jihad Jane "shatters any lingering thought" about being able to spot a terrorist based on appearance. However, she reveals that being an Islamic radical, hating and plotting to kill infidels, is not just a passion embraced by young Arab men. Her existence doesn't change all that we know about likely terrorists, but she does point out the critical need to monitor anyone suspected of terrorist activity.

She's a perfect example of why the Patriot Act is so terribly important in safeguarding the nation.

Once again, Mr. Russ "I voted against the Patriot Act" Feingold is exposed as clueless and naive and dangerous.

Now, about Sharif Mobley:

He was raised in New Jersey, where he was on the high school wrestling team and earned a black belt in karate. Nearly a decade later, Sharif Mobley is under arrest in Yemen, suspected of being an al-Qaida member and accused of killing a guard in an attempt to break out of a hospital.

While some acquaintances were startled by the news out of the Middle East on Thursday, a former classmate said that Mobley had strong religious views in high school, often trying to convert friends to Islam, and became increasingly radical, especially after they graduated in 2002.

Roman Castro, 25, who did a tour with the Army in Iraq, said the last time he saw Mobley, about four years ago, Mobley yelled, "Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!"

The FBI, the State Department and other authorities said they were trying to gather information about Mobley. But the allegations appeared to illustrate a phenomenon U.S. intelligence officials have warned about: American Muslims becoming radicalized and joining terrorist movements overseas.

Mobley, a 26-year-old natural-born U.S. citizen, was identified by Yemeni officials as a Somali-American. Mobley moved to Yemen about two years ago, supposedly to learn Arabic and study Islam, a former neighbor said.

Before that, Mobley worked for several contractors at three nuclear power plants in New Jersey from 2002 to 2008, PSE&G Nuclear spokesman Joe Delmar said. Mobley carried supplies and did maintenance work at the plants on Artificial Island in Lower Alloways Creek, and worked at other plants in the region as well.

He satisfied federal background checks as recently as 2008, Delmar said, adding that the plant is cooperating with authorities.

The fact that this radical worked at nuclear power plants is frightening.

If reports of Mobley's exhibition of radicalism are true, then it would appear that federal background checks are too lax.

A friend of Mobley's says he knew that the guy was radicalized.

Sharif Mobley had strong Muslim views as early as high school. But his old friend Roman Castro knew he had radicalized when he saw him about four years ago.

Castro, an Army veteran who did a tour in Iraq, said Mobley had only these words for him in a chance meeting: "Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!"

...U.S. officials fear that Yemen is becoming the next significant terrorist staging ground because of signs that lower-level al-Qaida operatives have been moving into the country, and the Pentagon has proposed spending $150 million to help Yemen battle insurgents.

The al-Qaida branch in Yemen was linked to the failed Christmas Day airliner bombing attempt. And Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood last year, had exchanged e-mails with an extremist cleric in Yemen.

Americans are valuable to terrorist groups, in part because they can travel without arousing much suspicion.

"The U.S. passport is the gold standard," said Fred Burton, a former U.S. counterintelligence agent who is now a vice president at STRATFOR, a global intelligence company in Austin, Texas.

Mobley graduated from high school in 2002 in the rural southern New Jersey town of Buena, and later lived in Philadelphia and Newark, Del. Castro said that in the past few years, Mobley organized religious pilgrimages to the Middle East for other Muslims.

Mobley's mother, Cynthia Mobley, told WMGM-TV in Atlantic City, N.J., that her son is "an excellent person who's never been in trouble" and "a good Muslim."

As his father, Charles Mobley, pulled out of the family's driveway on the way to see a lawyer Thursday, he said, "I can tell you this: He's no terrorist."

What's Mobley's mother's definition of "a good Muslim"? What's Mobley's father's definition of a terrorist?

If his friend, Roman Castro, could recognize the signs of Mobley's radicalization, then it's hard to believe that his mother and father didn't pick up any warning signals.

I think of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab's father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, and how he warned authorities about his son's radicalization. That's such a different response compared to the reaction of Mobley's parents.

Even though the warnings were ignored and Mutallab was not kept from boarding a plane on Christmas Day, with the plan to blow it up, at least his father did the right thing.

Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, made no secret of his radicalism, but all the signs that he was dangerous were dismissed by authorities.

That's what's scary -- ignoring the threats.

...Mike Drewniak, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said that his office had been told that Mobley was always supervised, caused no problems and was not believed to have breached security at the plants.

It's unclear whether Mobley worked at any of the region's other power plants. Joe Szafran, a spokesman for Exelon Corp., which owns nuclear plants at three facilities in eastern Pennsylvania, referred questions to the FBI.

An FBI spokesman did not immediately return a call, but a law enforcement official told The Associated Press that authorities don't believe Mobley's job at the nuclear plant was related to his activities in Yemen. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Also, Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, said there was no immediate connection between Mobley's activities or capture in Yemen and his work at the plants.

This nuclear plant stuff is really troubling.

I'm also troubled by the Obama administration's approach when it comes to dealing with terrorists. That's the scariest part of all.