Rossmiller's work has been valuable, leading to the convictions of two despicable Americans who sought to ally themselves with the likes of Osama bin Laden and wage war on their own country.
It all began on 9/11. Perhaps still in a daze from all that had transpired earlier that day, Rossmiller slipped while getting out of the tub. A broken pelvis kept her in bed for six weeks. She spent the time learning everything she could about radical Islam.
Others may have done that. But it didn't stop there for Rossmiller. She began studying the Arabic culture, even learning the language. She pretended to be a Muslim and visited radical Islamist Web sites where "Death to America" was a common greeting.
It was on the Internet in 2003 that she encountered Ryan Anderson. The National Guardsman stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington state was scheduled for deployment in Iraq. But he had another idea.
In e-mails to Rossmiller, who he thought was a terrorist, Anderson discussed how to disable U.S. tanks and kill their crews. Rossmiller contacted federal agents, who used her testimony to court-martial Anderson and send him to prison for life.
Rossmiller's testimony was also key to the terrorism conviction two weeks ago of Michael Curtis Reynolds. The Wilkes-Barre man, thinking Rossmiller was with al-Qaeda, hatched a scheme to blow up the transcontinental gas pipeline, a Wyoming refinery, and the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
The nation owes Rossmiller its gratitude for her voluntary service. Her methods have even taught the FBI a thing or two. But her extraordinary efforts should not encourage others. It's dangerous business. Police in her hometown worry that the terrorist world will seek retribution. Rooting them out should be a job for professionals.
