Jihad Jane,what would possess her to do such a thing?

[panamania79 2]

For nearly a year, a middle-aged woman from suburban Philadelphia used her computer to fashion a new, frightening identity, federal court documents say.

The stream of Internet messages in which she sought assistance to wage violent jihad in Asia and Europe literally transformed her, the documents allege, from 46-year-old Colleen LaRose to "Jihad Jane."

By March 2009, federal prosecutors say she was communicating with at least three unidentified co-conspirators, including one who directed LaRose to "go to Sweden… and kill" a Swedish citizen, identified by two federal law enforcement officials as cartoonist Lars Vilks.

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The officials, who have been briefed on the investigation, asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to comment publicly. Vilks' 2007 depiction of the Prophet Mohammed in the body of a dog angered Muslims. At least three Swedish newspapers reprinted the drawing Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

"Only death will stop me here that I am so close to the target!" she wrote as Jihad Jane in a Sept. 30 e-mail, court papers say.

The plot was disrupted and LaRose now sits in federal prison, accused of conspiring to assist terrorists. If convicted, she will face up to life in prison.

Her case is the latest in a string of domestic terrorism probes in which defendants have turned to the Internet for financial, moral and operational support to plan attacks against the U.S. and its allies, court papers say.

Court records allege that others used the Internet to further their plans: accused terrorist Najibullah Zazi, the Denver airport shuttle driver charged with plotting attacks against the New York City transit system; Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, charged with the shooting deaths of 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas; and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian charged with the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an airliner over Detroit.

Radical, English-language Islamist websites that promote a violent jihad, or holy war, against the West have become more effective at recruiting Americans and providing a place for armchair terrorists to meet and plan attacks in the U.S. or abroad, experts say.

The sites used to simply "spread terrorist propaganda," says Evan Kohlmann, an investigator at the anti-terrorist Nine Eleven/Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation, which analyzes terrorist organizations and activities. Now, the sites are used to assemble groups "to have a real impact in the real world."

Kohlmann says the websites have "matured" from fan sites into serious sources of militant ideology and places to organize. He estimates 1,000 extremists are active on "a handful" of most-visited English-language sites and that "a significant minority, if not a majority" are Americans.

LaRose recruited men and women on the Internet to join her effort to become a "martyr" in her own jihad, court documents say. The documents do not indicate how close she came to carrying out her threats.

One of LaRose's first Internet posts, the documents say, was a June 20, 2008, message on YouTube saying she was "desperate to do something to help" the Muslim people.

"This case shows the use terrorists can and do make of the Internet," says Philadelphia U.S. Attorney Michael Levy. "It demonstrates yet another real danger lurking on the Internet."

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

The cartoonist drew a picture of their religious hero and he must PAY! How dare he!!!

[JINNY 2]

Jihad Jane is said to not be religious nor practice any religion. Her motivation seems not to be religious but power seeking. I think this shows a psychological aspect of someone who joins terrorist organizations not for religious reason but for some gains in personal power. People who feel small or weak often seek ways to feel bigger or more powerful. This kind of networking she did utilizing YouTube and other sites is something of a modern day phenomena where like minds can connect and feed status to each other.

[panamania79 2]

The cartoonist drew a picture of their religious hero and he must PAY! How dare he!!!

Some religious hero,marrying 10 year olds

[caybee 21]

Her ex said she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.