GMU Students Plan Terrorist Strike in Northern Virginia

Richard Morrison (aka "Virginia Patriot") spotted a news report on CNN that describes how students at George Mason University are making plans for a terrorist attack on a soft target in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Don't fret, however. It's all an exercise for a class taught by a former State Department counter-terrorism analyst, Dennis Pluchinsky. Pluchinsky is the co-author of Europe's Red Terrorists: The Fighting Communist Organizations and co-editor of European Terrorism Today and Tomorrow. He collaborated on both books with the well-known terrorism expert, Yonah Alexander.

The description of his terrorism class in the course catalogue is as bland as a toaster:

475 Theory and Politics of Terrorism (3:3:0). Explores the origins of terrorism and traces its development from early states to a modern mode of conflict. National, regional, and global perspectives are presented.

The money quote in the CNN report? "It's scary how much is on the Internet. One thing I've learned through this class is there's nothing you can't find on the Internet."

Indeed.