Arrest of Saudi student prompts questions on visa security

China and Russia, who I believe are a big threat to us from a military and power point of view. We can’t discourage students from other countries coming to our country.”

Ruppersberger suggested that the U.S. focus on intelligence gathering and sharing, isolating trends in recruitment tactics by terrorist groups and radicalized segments of communities, both physical and online. He credited the public for alerting authorities to Aldawsari’s alleged suspicious activities and pointed to the success of certain provisions in the Patriot Act in allowing officials to respond quickly.

The chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Mike Rogers (R-Michigan), also used Aldawsari’s arrest to push for an extension of the Patriot Act’s “lone wolf” provision, which loosens the rules around when law enforcement officials can monitor individuals they suspect of terrorist activities.

“From what we’ve heard so far it looks like this was a nice piece of work by the FBI and some alert citizens in preventing a potential terrorist attack,” said Rogers in a statement. “This case also highlights the need for continued vigilance against ‘lone wolf’ terrorist threats, as well as the need for Congress to make the ‘Lone Wolf’ provision of FISA permanent so the FBI has this crucial tool at its disposal for use against precisely this type of threat.”

Congress recently passed a 90-day extension of three provisions in the Patriot Act amid much argument over civil liberty and security concerns. The provisions include greater access to roving wiretaps and business records, in addition to the “lone wolf” provision.

Ruppersberger said concerns over violating civil liberties are necessary to ensure that a proper system of checks and balances is maintained. He said, however, that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) was created for that reason.

“The most important thing for me in the Patriot Act is that you have judicial supervision,” he said. “Our country is based on checks and balances. But you need to also give those people whose job it is to protect us the resources to do their job pursuant to the Constitution.”

But King said that those civil liberty concerns go out the window when authorities are dealing with foreign nationals in the U.S. on visas.

“If they feel that that’s so much of an infringement on their freedoms or liberties, well, no one’s making them come here in the first place,” said King. “We’re not talking about American citizens. We’re talking about people who are coming here at the sufferance of the United States.”

“I realize there’s a lot of civil liberty concerns,” he said. “I quite frankly don’t share them in these cases when you’re talking about someone who is not a citizen [and] who is here because we’ve allowed them into the country [and] we’re giving them a special privilege to be here. There should be monitoring. There should be surveillance.”

The lawmakers and the FBI credit the arrest to several calls made by private citizens who were concerned about Aldawsari’s alleged actions. Napolitano has been heavily pushing a new national security campaign called, “If you see something, say something,” which asks citizens to alert authorities to suspicious behavior.

Earlier this month Aldawsari allegedly tried to buy a shipment of the chemical phenol, or carbolic acid, which can be used to make explosives, according to the FBI. But both the chemical supplier and the freight shipper contacted law enforcement officials, saying that they thought the order was suspicious.
Aldawsari allegedly canceled the order, but had previously been successful in acquiring two other chemicals that could be used to create an improvised explosive device, said the FBI.

The FBI said surveillance of Aldawsari revealed that he allegedly e-mailed himself chemical recipes, plus instructions on how to convert a cellular phone into a remote detonator and how to prepare a booby-trapped vehicle using common household items. He also allegedly purchased a gas mask, a Hazmat suit, a soldering iron kit, glass beakers and flasks, wiring, a stun gun, clocks, and a battery tester.

The FBI says that it found many of these items when they searched his house, as well as a journal that allegedly indicates his long-held desire to carry out a terrorist plot.

According to the FBI, one journal entry reads, “And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad.”

Aldawsari is currently jailed on a federal charge of Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction for which he could be imprisoned the rest of his life if convicted. Aldawsari waived a detention hearing 7 March 2011 to determine if there was sufficient evidence to detain him without bond. The filing permits the court to detain the suspect until his trial.