We Were Protected

The children and I had just enjoyed a great day at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry). We decided to drive through downtown Portland and see the giant Christmas Tree at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Traffic was pretty congested and at one point we were stuck on the corner of Yamhill Street and 6^th Avenue for about 10 minutes. Finally, at about 5:40 I called Jon at home to check when the Christmas Tree lighting was scheduled for and ironically he learned that it was happening this very night, in fact it should be taking place right as we were talking. That helped to explain all the backed up traffic, but it didn’t explain the flashing police lights of about 10 police cars in the intersection right in front of us. We had wanted to continue going north on 6^th Avenue and pass Pioneer Courthouse Square on our left, but an officer was insisting we turn left and leave that area immediately. We turned left and headed up a few more blocks. I attempted to turn right to see if I could circle around the other side to see the tree, but traffic was still so backed up that we aborted the plan and I decided to drive away from it all and head home. The kids were disappointed. They love seeing Christmas Lights, and this particular Christmas Tree is huge and breathtaking. I assured them I would bring them back a different evening, it was just too busy and not right for tonight.

Later that evening there was a Breaking News Report announcing that a terrorist had planted a car bomb at Pioneer Courthouse Square at the intersection of Yamhill Street and 6^th Avenue. He attempted to detonate it with the hopes of killing or injuring all those attending the Christmas Tree lighting event, but when it wouldn’t detonate he called his “source,” which was actually an FBI undercover operative (who had made him a fake bomb). The authorities moved in and arrested him at 5:42 (which explained all the police cars). Little did we know that all of this was happening just across the street from where we were “stuck” in traffic. Had this man truly gotten in contact with the wrong people, we would have all been killed or severely injured.

Apparently, this Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a Somali-born U.S. citizen began this plot back in August 2009. Mohamed was determined to participate in violent jihad since he was 15. He made many attempts to contact associates overseas to help him in his terrorist plot. In June 2010, an FBI undercover operative contacted Mohamud giving the impression that he was an associate of the other contact Mohamud had made in Pakistan. Mohamud agreed to meet with the FBI operative and told him he had written articles that were published in Jihad Recollections, an online magazine that advocated holy war. Mohamud indicated that he intended to become “operational,” meaning he wanted to put an explosion together, but needed help. Mohamud told FBI operatives that he had identified a potential target for a bomb: the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square on Nov. 26, 2010. The FBI operatives cautioned Mohamud several times about the seriousness of his plan, noting that there would be many people, including children, at the event, and that Mohamud could abandon his plans at any time with no shame. Mohamud allegedly responded he was looking for a “huge mass that will. . .be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays.” He mailed bomb components to the FBI operatives, who he believed were assembling the device. He also mailed them passport photos so he could sneak out of the country after the attack. He gave them a thumbdrive that contained detailed directions to the bomb location and operational instructions for the attack. On Nov. 4, Mohamud and the FBI operatives traveled to a remote spot where they detonated a bomb concealed in a backpack as a trial run. On the drive back the FBI operatives quizzed Mohamud about whether he was capable of looking at the bodies of those who would be killed in his planned Portland attack. He said, “I want whoever is attending that event to leave either dead or injured.” This is definitely a chilling reminder that there are people, right here, who are determined to kill Americans.

We are so grateful for the good work of law enforcement, which protected so many of us today. It makes me shudder to think how differently our evening could have been had this man gotten in contact with the wrong people instead of FBI undercover operatives. We would have been many of the unfortunate ones who were right there at the heart of the destruction (stuck in traffic just yards from the vehicle). We know we were protected by far more than law enforcement today. We were reminded of our family prayer that morning, asking for our family to be protected in their activities. We know our prayers were heard and we have many prayers of gratitude to be given.