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Statement by Congressman Michael McCaul, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, on the indictment of Barry Bujol of Hempstead who had direct ties to al Qaeda. Hempstead is in Congressman McCaul's district.

June 4, 2010
“In recent days I have discussed the potential of small scale attacks in the United States. While much of our focus has been on New York and Washington, we are seeing once again that terrorist connections exist in our own back yard. We have now repeatedly seen connections between Anwar al-Awlaki and al Qaeda to the Houston area and to Texas. In addition to Barry Bujol, Major Nadal Hasan, the Fort Hood terror suspect, had direct ties to Awlaki. The Times Square bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was reportedly funded by friends that once lived in Houston; the Christmas Day bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, attended the al Maghrib Institute in Houston; and last September, Hosam Smadi was arrested and charged with attempting to use a WMD in downtown Dallas. We must not think that Texas is immune to the terror threat our nation faces.
“Our law enforcement should be commended for their work tracking Bujol and preventing him from traveling to the Middle East. I remain committed to ensuring that the Houston fusion center, which I visited this week, has the resources and access to information necessary to be fully aware of the threats that exist in the fourth largest city in the country. Fusion centers are the eyes and ears of our Intelligence Community at the local level responsible for gathering and analyzing intelligence from local, state and federal authorities. This latest terror arrest only reinforces the need for information-sharing and partnership between all levels of government.”