Saudi Man Charged with Plotting Terrorist Attack
Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari was a Saudi national on scholarship to a college in Texas and had been plotting for years. OK, I don’t know how forthcoming the Saudi government is about the educational background of its students, but I would have vetted rigorously if I were on that scholarship committee. Not because he was Saudi. I believe it should be done across the board for any foreign national applying to study in the United States. Not just for scholarships, but for admission to the university. I would try to find as many essays written and obtain character references. I’d even administer psychological testing before they even have a shot at entrance.
I do not believe in denying education to foreign nationals. I still regret not studying abroad when I was in college and carefree. It can be a very enriching experience if they come here, or if some of our students choose to study abroad. We just have to be extremely selective of the students who will have the privilege.
Spinny Liberal 
February 24th, 2011 at 12:55 PM
How does one get Freshly Pressed?
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February 24th, 2011 at 1:16 PM
You know, I have no idea? Maybe they have special FP readers? I love reading them, though. They’re usually very well deserved.
February 24th, 2011 at 5:02 PM
Amateurs like this with no obvious connection to specific violent groups are almost impossible to weed out. They’re usually not much of a threat either. And your security services did catch him. Pity him if he gets sent back to Saudi Arabia because murderous intent or not, I don’t think any human being deserves the treatment he’ll get.
In the mean time thousands of Saudi students study in the US and the overwhelming majority are not plotting violence.
February 24th, 2011 at 6:02 PM
Really? I read this Time magazine article about militias in the United States. It said that the “lone wolves” are the ones that are most threatening. Sometimes, they’ve left the groups because they feel like nothing is being done. So they end up as the ones killing a whole bunch of people at the Holocaust museum or holding people hostage at the Discovery Channel HQ. I don’t know if this theory would apply to international terrorism. What do you think?
I’m glad we caught him. IMHO, that’s what our money should be going towards…intelligence vs. ground troops in Afghanistan.
Thanks for commenting!
February 24th, 2011 at 9:31 PM
This gentleman in Texas did not help our cause of acceptance of all people.
February 24th, 2011 at 9:36 PM
Definitely not. And it doesn’t help the cause in TX – especially since I saw an anti-Islamization blog out of your state when I was tag surfing.