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November 29th, 2010
04:44 PM ET

Portland mayor to revisit opting out of FBI's terrorism task force

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/CRIME/11/29/oregon.mayor.task.force/story.oregon.suspect.mcsd.jpg caption="Mohamed Osman Mohamud is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia.." width=300 height=169]
CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) - Three days after the arrest of a suspected terrorist in Portland, Oregon, Mayor Sam Adams is rethinking a decision he made five years ago not to participate in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to officials.

Apparently the mayor was so impressed with how well they city's police worked with the FBI to capture Mohamed Osman Mohamud, he has requested a meeting with federal officials to discuss the matter, said communications director Roy Kaufmann.

The 19-year-old was arrested Friday after he attempted to detonate what he thought was a vehicle bomb near a tree-lighting ceremony in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, law enforcement officials said.

Kaufmann said concerns over civil rights issues led to Adams' decision not to become a member of the regional joint task force, which is composed of representatives from local, state and federal agencies.

"It's a very precarious battle between civil rights and security," said Kaufmann, "and we want to make sure that people's civil rights are not violated."

New leadership in the Justice Department and the White House has been cited as a reason for the mayor wanting to revisit his decision, Kaufmann said.

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Filed under: 360° Radar • Terrorism
soundoff (4 Responses)
  1. Robin

    I have to think his lawyer probably has a good case. Being a registered nurse for 23 years,I watched this news and woundered why didn't someone that really cared step in at the beginning and hospitalize this young man. I feel the FBI wasted a lot of money,and time appearing to want the pomp and circomstance of carrying this on and on. One has to think;what if they screwed up and the bomb went off.

    November 30, 2010 at 1:57 am |
  2. Mike

    Just imagine if all of the money we spent going to war against a suicidal extremist religion, was spent on more projects like this. Would terrorism be a threat?

    November 29, 2010 at 11:23 pm |
  3. Jim

    Or perhaps Sam Adams is being forced to join the anti-terrorism task force or else he'll be blackmailed.

    So the FBI invites potential terrorists to create terrorism, builds their bombs for them and then arrests them...

    Will the real terrorist please stand up?
    Men with balls, please question 9/11, your god and country depend on you.

    November 29, 2010 at 5:38 pm |
  4. Charles Emanuel

    New leadership in the Justice Department and the White House has been cited as a reason for the mayor wanting to revisit his decision, Kaufmann said.

    The plot to kill Portland citizens had nothing to do with the Mayor's decision to revisit his previous decision to opt out of the terrorism task force. Yeah right! The new leadership at Justice has been in place for 18 months. The Mayor must be a slow thinker.

    November 29, 2010 at 5:22 pm |