US security services announced Thursday they had foiled a plot by four Americans to blow up a New York synagogue and shoot down a warplane in a year-long undercover operation sure to fuel fierce debate over national security.
The alleged terrorists, all US citizens, were arrested Wednesday as they laid what they believed were bombs -- in fact duds supplied by undercover agents -- outside a Jewish temple in New York's Bronx neighborhood, authorities said.
The four were due to appear in federal court in the New York state town of White Plains later Thursday.
The allegations that they attempted to blow up a synagogue and intended to use what they believed to be a Stinger missile against a plane at a National Guard air base brought drama to a growing political debate in Washington on how to deal with jihadist plots.
President Barack Obama is embroiled in opposition from Congress over his decision to close down the controversial and secretive prison for alleged Al-Qaeda members at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He is accused by Republicans, notably former vice president Dick Cheney, of opening the country to new 9/11-style attacks.
The alleged plot in New York lacked the sophistication of 9/11, when terrorists hijacked airliners and flew two of them into Manhattan's World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon in Washington, killing nearly 3,000 people.
However the fact that the four men allegedly believed they were about to cause carnage at a Jewish center, then use a sophisticated weapon to shoot down a plane has sparked serious concern.
That all four were apparently born in the United States also raised the specter of the growth of homegrown terrorists who may be harder to detect than foreign infiltrators.
The suspects -- identified as James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen -- were all residents of Newburgh, New York and had been tracked for over a year.
The charges, which include conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and to use anti-aircraft missiles, hold a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Three of the men were US citizens and one was of Haitian descent, according to New York Governor David Paterson.
"This case clearly illustrates that the threat of terrorism in New York is persistent," Paterson said in a statement.
New York Representative Peter King said the men, who all used Arabic aliases, were Muslim and that some had converted to Islam in prison.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the "NYPD (New York Police Department) has prevented what could have been a terrible event."
Bloomberg was expected for early services Thursday at the Riverdale Jewish Center, along with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
"They wanted to kill people, they wanted to do significant damage," Kelly said. "They all have criminal records. They stated they wanted to commit Jihad (and) made very anti-Semitic statements."
They said that "if Jews would be killed, that would be all right," Kelly added, noting that the group was "totally disabled by the FBI (and now) no danger to anyone."
In their efforts to obtain weapons for the attack, the defendants dealt with an informant from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who provided the group "with an inactive missile and inert explosives."
In June 2008, Cromitie told an FBI informant about his anger over the US-led war in Afghanistan. The suspect then "expressed an interest in doing 'something to America,'" the criminal complaint said.
He also expressed interest in joining the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, which Washington designates as a terror organization, to "do jihad."
Beginning in October 2008, the informant began meeting with the four men at a house in which the FBI had concealed video and audio equipment.
The group "expressed desire" to attack targets in New York, and Cromitie "asked the informant to supply surface-to-air guided missiles and explosives," court documents said.
In April 2009, the group agreed on the synagogue they intended to attack and proceeded to conduct surveillance, including taking photographs of the warplanes at the military base.
"As alleged in the complaint, the defendants wanted to engage in terrorist attacks," said acting US attorney Lev Dassin.
"Fortunately, the defendants sought the assistance of a witness cooperating with the government. While the weapons provided to the defendants were fake, the defendants thought they were absolutely real."
