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RAMSTACK: Terror cases likely to pile up in courts

By Tom Ramstack | Monday, December 29, 2008

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The Justice Department's war footing showed in prosecutions it announced last week against foreign-born Islamic men accused of spying in the United States.

In one case, a jury convicted five men of plotting to kill members of the U.S. military stationed at Mid-Atlantic military bases. In the other case, a 67-year-old Iraqi restaurant owner in Laurel, Md., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.

As President Bush leaves office within weeks while the wars that began during his administration continue, national security analysts say the courts are likely to be tied up handling terrorism threats long after the nation gets a new commander in chief.

"The mainstream thinking is that al Qaeda is continuing to look for opportunities to attack the United States," said Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East specialist for the Congressional Research Service, a research agency for Congress. "Al Qaeda wanted to change the U.S. way of life before the United States was ever in Iraq and Afghanistan."

If there is a change in spying patterns, it is most likely to involve the Iraqis, he said.

Mr. Bush identified former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as a threat that needed to be neutralized. President-elect Barack Obama has set a goal of getting the United States military out of Iraq.

While the antagonism with Iraqi agents is likely to diminish as the war subsides, he said, al Qaeda's hostility is deeply rooted in religious beliefs.

"I don't see much change," Mr. Katzman said. "None of the official security institutions of the United States have given any signal they're going to drop their guard because we have a new president."

Last week's convictions were part of an increasing number of prosecutions of accused terrorists or spies, according to attorneys who participated in the prosecutions.

Unlike the financial schemes and drug busts commonly prosecuted by the Justice Department, the spying cases involve sensitive issues of international politics and terrorism. They are handled by attorneys in the department's national security section.