He first crossed my radar about a month ago when everyone got their panties in a bunch when the government subpoenaed his Hotmail account. Without much more information to go on, it seemed like a big ol' violation of civil liberties.

But now, as it turns out, the reason his email was subpoenaed is because he's been busted for allegedly trying to collaborate with Al-Qaeda to bomb the Alaskan pipeline. According to the CIA, he sought funding for this mission on a number of militant Islamic message boards and fell into a sting operation that was masterminded by a judge in Montana who poses as an Al Qaeda operative--just for fun. He needed $40,000. The day he was arrested, Reynolds’ net worth was $24.85.

From the article:

Authorities said Reynolds’ letters, computer drawings and e-mails spelled out his plot to detonate trucks filled with propane along the Alaskan pipeline. This included “information on explosive devices, site plans and placement of explosive devices.” He also allegedly planned to blow up sections of the Transcontinental Pipeline, a natural-gas pipeline that runs from the Gulf Coast, through Pennsylvania, to New Jersey and New York City.

What's Reynolds' rebuttal to all this? "He claimed he was trying to lure this terrorist group in," [Assistant U.S. Attorney] Gurganus reportedly said in court.

It's a pretty spurious claim, given Reynolds' checkered past. He seems the perfect portrait of a crazy dude: failed soldier of fortune, delusions of grandeur, wanted to build a castle, had a van full of electronics and owned guns and grenades. Lived with mom. Menacing and attempted arson convictions. Paintball enthusiast. According to his ex-father-in-law, a "John Wayne wanna-be."

But still, c'mon folks. Here's a guy who has very limited knowledge of Islam, of terrorist organizations, and of the Alaskan pipeline. The guy spent most of his time--when he wasn't caring for his legless mother--messing around with a van that was mostly parked in front of his house.

That's not even the most interesting part of this story. Let's look at Shannen Rossmiller, the Montana judge who caught this American jihadist. She first gained notoriety for catching National Guardsman Ryan Anderson, who in 2004 was convicted of attempted espionage.

How did this woman become such an expert on tracking down terrorists on American soil? Well, according to this article, "Rossmiller began trolling the Internet for potential terrorists after Sept. 11, 2001. Stunned and angered by the attacks on the United States, Rossmiller read the Koran, studied radical Islamic culture, and learned enough Arabic to lurk in chat rooms and ensnare jihadists....She had fractured her pelvis after slipping in the tub, and the convalescence afforded her the time to start her new avocation." Would that we all had this much time on our hands.

Interestingly enough, when you dig a little bit deeper, you come across stuff like this, a reprint of a Seattle Times article. Rossmiller is apparently part of a group of web vigilantes terrorism consultants called 7Seas who take themselves quite seriously even though they have very few qualifications. She admits it herself.

Nobody in 7Seas speaks Arabic, and Rossmiller might spend weeks translating a posting using software and a dictionary [Ed note: Huh, I thought she taught herself Arabic while she was laid up?].....The details of the personalities she assumes are just as painstakingly assembled. Their street addresses are real. She knows the address of the nearest mosque and the name of its imam. A message pops up on her computer to remind her when it would be prayer time, so she remembers to stop what she's doing....She has software that "proxies" her computer address to that area, making it appear to all but the most savvy Internet user that she's physically there. It helps that her husband, Randy, is a computer technician....Rossmiller spends hours researching the philosophical underpinnings of terrorist groups. If she were a Kashmir radical, she points out, her motivations would differ from those of a Saudi Arabian or Afghan....Her postings can be brazen. Rossmiller says the goal is to flush out terrorists, and being timid or obtuse doesn't get it done.

In this interview with Rossmiller here, she adds

"Some helpful skills that a person should possess for doing internet counterintelligence work include, but are not limited to: foreign language skills; on going knowledge of terrorist groups and individuals associated with those groups; ability to analyze information for threats and apply critical thinking skills; .... basic word processing skills.... It is not necessary that a person be wholly proficient in all of these skills, as good skills are usually developed “in the field” in my experience."

Hmm, what about multitasking? What about the ability to think outside of the box? I should punch up my resume.

You should go check out the Wayback Machine's archive of the 7Seas website. It reads a lot more like the "corporate consulting firms" I've copywritten for than a buncha self-styled Elliott Nesses. Interestingly, considering where Rossmiller lives, they have seemingly little interest in the Aryan or patriot movements in America or elsewhere. They mention looking for steganography and coded messages in internet forums, but how is this possible if they have to spend a week at a time translating a single page? (By 2005, they've changed their tune and adopted more buzzwords. E-Jihad! Tactical turnkey control! Someone attended a weekend conference!)

So essentially, what she's saying is that she's capable of capturing the most hapless of aspiring terrorists--the next generation of Jose Padillas. How is this at all helpful to us? Is she fooling anyone with this ruse? If you read Jihad for Dummies and use English to Arabic on Babelfish, are you going to suss out anyone but the dumbest of aspiring criminals? I doubt it. Rossmiller and her compadres, as good intentioned as they might be, are wasting the CIA's time, and if anything, Al Qaeda (and whoever else) are aware of this posse comitatus and are steering quite clear of them. The fact that she managed to catch only the most peripheral and hapless of aspiring jihadists out there is proof of this.

Of course, I await further developments before I put my final sneering stamp of disapproval on this whole mishegoss.

Further developments!

• Apparently Reynolds' attempted arson charge stemmed from the time he tried to kill his parents by blowing their house up. (Great quote from the story: "Apparently something was in there, still marinating in his brain. It's a strange one," said Drew Outhouse, the longtime highway superintendent.)


• One of his bombing targets--a refinery in Perth Amboy, NJ--no longer exists.


• Reynolds: "I'm not a terrorist! I'm a secret double-agent!


• Quelle fucking surprise: Feds Say Suspect May Not Be Much of a Terrorist Threat