He was on the FBI's Most Wanted List. No one is saying how he was captured after ten years on the run, but a Syrian who hijacked the US Marines' recruiting website with a message that our troops should side with the enemy is now behind bars here in the United States.
Ahmad Umar Agha was a member of the so-called "Syrian Electronic Army, " a hacking group. They created campaigns that sought to undermine the Marines and those seeking to join that proud and potent military force.
"Agha deployed his hacking skills in the service of Assad's regime [in Syria] to silence reporting on the regime's atrocities, intimidate its opponents, and incite U.S. servicemembers to refuse their orders," Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said in a statement.
And the Marines were not the only target. The Justice Department says that, over a period of years, "Agha hacked approximately 47 Western media entities, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and U.S. and allied government entities."
To be sure, there are many more Agha's out there, but the fact that a relentless international manhunt brought him to justice sends a message that the United States will find you, prosecute you, and – upon conviction – will put you behind bars.
We also need to appreciate that there is an undeclared war that many of us do not see but is real nevertheless. Our enemies are using this cyber warfare in an effort to harm our nation, pit citizen against citizen, sow disinformation, and now leverage artificial intelligence for the purpose of reducing America's role in the world.
We need to be on guard and vigilant against the Aghas of the world for they have one purpose, and that is to harm our nation and our ability to stand as a freedom-loving firewall against radical Islamic forces that still view 9/11 as a day of celebration.
Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
