"Another series of terrorism arrests, another series of allegations that the government essentially manufactured them."

The arrested Brooklyn ISIS guys were not a threat to the U.S.—or probably to anyone.: "...a Times story this week under the wonderful headline “Eager to Join ISIS, if Only His Mother Would Return His Passport,” is pretty reassuring about the actual level of threat the group poses to the U.S.

The fact that this plot to wage holy war against the infidel depended on 19-year-old Akhror Saidakhmetov being able to sweet-talk his mom into giving him back his passport isn’t the only indication in the FBI’s case against the men, released just after their arrest, that we aren’t exactly dealing with future Bin Ladens here...

This would appear to be the latest in a long line of cases in which not-so-bright guys with dreams of jihad are nudged along (in some cases borderline entrapped) by FBI informants. Other examples have included the guy who attempted to detonate a dud bomb given to him by the bureau outside the Federal Reserve, the guy who attempted to detonate a fake suicide vest outside the capital, and the guy who tried to blow up a fake bomb at a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland. All these men are serving lengthy prison sentences, though it’s not clear they would have gone as far as they had without the involvement of FBI informants posing as co-conspirators."

Via Morning links: DOJ expected to criticize Ferguson PD for racial bias - The Washington Post: "Another series of terrorism arrests, another series of allegations that the government essentially manufactured them."