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President’s Afghanistan Strategy: Repudiating GEN Petraeus

President’s Afghanistan Strategy: Repudiating GEN Petraeus

Sheik Ali al-Muthaba¹  comments on “Differing views of new Afghan strategy,” article by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post, 26 December 2009

RIGHT TRUTH EXCLUSIVE. 27 December 2009.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s article, “Differing views of new Afghan strategy,” Washington Post, 26 December 2009, must leave every American patriot heart-sick. As a friend of the United States, I share in the grief of the American patriot. For what is said in claiming, while citing unnamed U.S. government officials, that “The White House's desired end state in Afghanistan envisions more informal local security arrangements than in Iraq, a less-capable national government and a greater tolerance of insurgent violence,” while at the same time an unnamed Pentagon spokesman is quoted as stating, “We need to be able to articulate winning,” is clearly that U.S. military  objectives in Afghanistan now are no longer about winning, but deflecting/ managing defeat. For does “a greater tolerance of insurgent violence” not imply a greater tolerance of the insurgent’s military and political objectives, while conceding one‘s inability to defeat the insurgency outright? How, having conceded strategic defeat, would one explain this to the mother of a soldier, who falls in the months, ahead, as the war’s original objectives are now recognized to be beyond reach?

I am saddened to note that the article illustrates a widening rift between the National Command Authority and the White House on the war‘s objectives, goals, and strategy. Understandably so, as, eventually, someone will have to be blamed for having lost in Afghanistan. The year has been good for Taliban, who are on the verge of achieving their objectives, as stated by ADM Mike Mullen, a trend not readily reversed by the President taking his time to agree upon a new strategy and now taking his time implementing it, while overall retaining a constructive ambiguity on the strategy’s objectives. Lacking clarity of purpose, in times of war, a sure recipe for defeat.

To make the point on how strong the contrasts are between the civilian and military leadership, do let us compare some of Mr. Chandrasekaran’s quotations:

Mr. Chandrasekaran reminds us that Vice President Biden told MSNBC last week: "The strategy has fundamentally changed. This is not a COIN strategy," using the military's shorthand for counterinsurgency. "This is not 'go out and occupy the whole country." He goes on to write: “Although senior-level civilians in the administration emerged from the review process thinking the mission had been circumscribed, senior military officials continue to have a different view. The result, as they see it, is that the White House has embraced McChrystal's original plan. … (In contrast) White House advisers maintain that the review process did refine the mission beyond what McChrystal had proposed over the summer. "There was a real narrowing here," the senior administration official said. "Stan has a big leadership task to adapt his original concept to the new strategic guidance."

Mr. Chandrasekaran writes: “The NSC's strategic guidance, a classified document that outlines the president's new approach, was described by the senior administration official as limiting military operations "in scale and scope to the minimum required to achieve two goals -- to prevent al-Qaeda safe havens and to prevent the Taliban from toppling the government." The use of resource-intensive counterinsurgency tactics -- employing U.S. forces to protect Afghan civilians from the Taliban -- is supposed to be restricted to key cities and towns in southern and eastern parts of the country, the official said."

Furthermore, “White House officials said the president opposes using the forces he has authorized to duplicate an expansive, Iraq-style counterinsurgency operation -- in part because he questions whether it will be possible to achieve a similar outcome in Afghanistan, which is less developed, and because he wants to start reducing troops in 18 months. The White House's desired end state in Afghanistan, officials said, envisions more informal local security arrangements than in Iraq, a less-capable national government and a greater tolerance of insurgent violence. "

In that, the President is repudiating GEN Petraeus’ approach in Iraq, realizing that, a momentary reduction in violence notwithstanding, President Bush’s surge in 2007 failed to achieve any of its stated political objectives. The President further realizing that he is confronting a similar outcome in Afghanistan. Therefore, the President is justified in narrowing the scope of U.S. political objectives in Afghanistan. The narrowing of the U.S. military mission must be seen integral to the narrowing of the political scope. And yet, as Mr. Chandrasekaran writes: “Senior military officials still think they can achieve a better outcome than envisaged by civilian skeptics in the administration by using the new forces to mount more comprehensive counterinsurgency operations. Although Pentagon strategists and McChrystal's advisers in Kabul are looking at how they can fulfill the White House desire for a less extensive mission, military officials said they are reluctant to strip too much away and weaken an approach that has come to be revered within the ranks as the only way to suppress guerrilla movements. … McChrystal's plan, the senior Pentagon official said, "is still counterinsurgency, regardless of the various agendas people are trying to spin."

President Obama’s surge in Afghanistan is President Bush’s surge in Iraq revisited. Except, President surged to buy time, while digging in deeper, whereas President Obama, having shorn up his right flank, is setting forth an exit strategy on acceptable terms to both, the United States and the insurgency. Only to find himself undercut by the military brass.
 
Mr. Chandrasekaran writes: “Two days before announcing the deployment of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, President Obama informed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal that he was not granting McChrystal's request to double the size of the Afghan army and police. …The president told McChrystal, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, to focus for now on fielding a little more than half that number by next October.” A further clear indication that the President did not approve the General’s war plan. As yet, still not officially in the public domain, as to how many additional U.S. troops the General really requested, all the while having convinced the American public that the 30k figure, the General’s low-end, was what he really was asking for at the high end.

As a result, while the President directs one thing, the military continues to plan for something else. As Mr. Chandrasekaran writes: “Ten days after Obama's speech, the U.S. command responsible for training the Afghans circulated a chart detailing the combined personnel targets for the army and police. McChrystal's goal of 400,000 remained unchanged. "It's an open issue," a senior Pentagon official said last week.” And I would have thought, the President has spoken.
 
At the same time, states Mr. Chandrasekaran, “Members of Obama's war cabinet disagree over the meaning of his pledge to begin drawing down forces in July 2011 and whether the mission has been narrowed from a proposal advanced by McChrystal in his August assessment of the war.” I thought, the President had addressed himself on this quite clearly at West Point, only, almost immediately to be corrected by SecDEF Bill Gates who, ex post Presidento, made the draw-down “conditions-based.” But for Iran, Presidents are not customarily publicly corrected by members of the Cabinet. Writes Mr. Chandrasekaran: “The result has been a wide divergence of expectations. Gates, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" the Sunday after the speech, said that perhaps only "some handful or some small number" would be withdrawn. Biden, during his MSNBC appearance last week, said a chart showing an increase in U.S. deployments this year would be "coming down as rapidly over the next two years."

Mr. Chandrasekaran writes, “The disagreements have opened a fault line between a desire for an early exit among several senior officials at the White House and a conviction among military commanders that victory is still achievable on their terms.” A term absent from the President’s thinking. While, a week after the President opted not to use the term, Mr. Gates is off to Kabul to proclaim, “we are in this thing to win.” Is is thus surprising that Mr. Chandrasekaran states, “the National Security Council is discussing ways to increase monitoring of military and State Department activities in Afghanistan to prevent "overreaching."

Mr. Chandrasekaran’s article in December would seem to confirm what I advised relevant parties on 7 October 2007, while the President was still said publicly to be deciding on the new strategy:

1. US troops in Afghanistan will be augmented. And it will be in the 30-40k range. . Which will be sold to the public as that which Gen McCrystal wanted, while it really isn’t exactly what he was asking for!!! On Afghanistan, President Obama will not fall behind President Bush on Iraq. In that, he is caught in the operant dynamic affecting all American war Presidents.

2. There will be no scaling back the Afghan war effort. NOT a term/ concept, which could not be sold to the Congressionals/ American public. Nonetheless, and I affirm my earlier message in this regard, the thrust/ primary objectives of the war SHALL change. QUIETLY. And where I speak of WH public affairs squaring circles, I reference that they will do what VEEP is advocating, while couching it in language more readily agreeable.

I had the privilege to be consulted integral to the review process. On 27 March 2009, I addressed the Inter-Agency-Working-Group at the State Department, stating: “My political friends, in both the Sunni insurgency and among the Shia militias, have warmly received the promise of the positive signal inherent in President Obama’s enlightened approach to their Freedom Struggle. Informed by both, the Indonesian and Kenyan Liberation struggles, the President’s quest, not to reform a corrupt system, but to build anew, incidentally abroad as at home, is encouraging. The Peoples of the World are encouraged to find that the President does not consider an enlightened humanism to define American exceptionalism, but the world's destiny. It is time to match the President’s rhetoric with goal-oriented action.”

The President did advance the agenda when, at West Point, declaring that in the struggle against entrenched authoritarian regimes “the United States will support movements of hope and history.” I do see potential for Taliban to rank among those movements of hope and history and do not share the view of those who view heightened clashes between Taliban and the U.S. Army inevitable. Just as, in January 2007, when President Bush announced the Iraq surge, I advised that there needed not be an inevitable Armageddon between the U.S. Army and the Jaish-al-Mehdi, subsequent to which I helped pave the way for the insertion of Iraqi and U.S. troops into Sadr City. Similar arrangements can be made in Afghanistan, if recent signaling is permitted to translate into motion en route to movement. I am encouraged to expect a conciliatory message from Mullah Omar in response to the President’s new approach.

I have myself for close to two years now been in direct contact with Taliban leadership, including Mullah Omar, whom I firmly believe, history will vindicate, just as history will vindicate the Hoyatoleslam Muqtadir al-Sadar. I have helped facilitate al-Sadr’s direct contact with Mullah Omar and arranged for their subsequent meeting in spring 2009. I am proud of this accomplishment, as I firmly believe that it is essential for the leaders of these “movements of hope and history” to meet to compare notes. I view this as essential to co-opting them in advance of reconciliation and their eventual reintegration into the political process.  

As I said at State, “I disagree with the approach taken by the U.S. towards the Taliban. Don’t cultivate moderate elements of the Taliban. Instead, cultivate the most extreme elements of the Taliban, amenable to cultivating under terms you can live with, and then let them cultivate those uncultivateable for you. That, usually, results in their elimination.”

The U.S. approach to Taliban leadership remains ambiguous. Clearly, although the overall U.S. objective of the U.S. in Afghanistan is to annihilate al-Qaeda, the plan also calls to take on Taliban. The question, as to for what purpose: to annihilate, as well, or to make amenable to political compromise? I am encouraged to hold that the latter is the case, as I am pleased to note that the President has authorized informal but direct contact with Taliban leadership. I am further pleased to note that the Pakistan Government is encouraging the White House to reach out to Mullah Omar, directly.

Therefore, I have recommended to Mullah Omar to duplicate the President’s approach: to engage militarily, if forced to, but to engage politically, wherever feasible, the draw-down of U.S. forces providing an opportunity for Taliban to declare victory, presupposing the U.S. does not take five years to accomplish the task of complete withdrawal. The insertion of Pak Taliban forces into the Afghan theater, while simultaneously reaching out to both the U.S. and U.K. Governments should be seen in this context.

An understanding can be reached: Taliban can be swayed to lay down their weapons, as a prerequisite for their inclusion in the political process and return to government. Give them health, education, youth and religious affairs, while retaining the remainder of the public portfolio. They can be swayed to tone down their public posture and, following the Saudi/ Wahabi example, keep their excesses out of the Western spot light.  Mullah Omar can retain the role of a sage on the margin of the political process, or fall victim to frailness. Past propositions for exile don’t strike his fancy.

It must be understood that for Taliban to demobilize as a military organization, as opposed to decommissioning their weapons, is a non-starter and a deal-breaker. “Peace through Strength” calls upon Taliban leadership to work for peace, while being prepared for war. Within this context, Sheik Nasrallah and Hezbollah continue to provide guide and counsel to all liberation movements. 

President Karzai is interested in meeting with Taliban, but low- and medium-level. Ostensibly, so he claims, in order to weaken Mullah Omar from within, thus making him more amenable  to subsequent overtures. The folly of President Karzai’s approach manifest in Taliban’s continued refusal to meet. My recommendation to the U.S. to overcome the road-block by direct contact with Mullah Omar. A quiet understanding between the White House and Mullah Omar now will lead the President’s approach to success, just as the Bush White House’s understanding with al-Sadr helped pave the way for aligning the Jaish-al-Mehdi with the U.S. Army, facilitating a withdrawal from Iraq under the fig leaf of battlefield success, while relinquishing the political to the Sadrist Movement. The U.K. Government, as usual, better equipped to handle this-type post-Colonial police intervention to pacify warring tribes in the far-flung corners of Empire, sharing the overall view that an accommodation with Taliban leadership is critical to mission success but, like the Americans, skeptical as to how much can be realistically achieved in the short time span given. The issue pending, as to whether to include a Taliban deputation in the London conference convened by PM Gordon Brown, which is hoped to help set the stage for a subsequent national reconciliation conference to be convened by President Karzai.

A critical issue, which remains to be squared: can Taliban be turned against Al Qaeda. In March, I told the IAWG: “I do not believe that in Afghanistan you will get Taliban to move against AQ. What would make you think they would, given that on many doctrinal issues Taliban is even more orthodox than AQ and certainly, between the two, the caliber of leadership is the greater in AQ. And they’re all inter-related. They will continue to be guided by common interest in destabilizing Pakistan. Any effort in Afghanistan, which addresses Taliban, but does not address AQ, is doomed to failure! Clearly, bin-Laden and Dr. Zawahiri will remain personas non-grata, awaiting Camry. But, a modus of infiltration must be found to co-opt the younger AQ leadership. Do you, honestly, believe in an all-out U.S. battlefield victory over AQ? I do not.”

Recent indications from Mullah Omar are helping change my assessment, presupposing that the U.S. offer is sufficiently enticing. He will address himself on this in his forthcoming message. I hold firm on the view that it is folly to attempt to separate rank and file from leadership.

The Administration is in the process of affecting a major strategic adjustment in the “Larger War,” moving the front from Iraq to Afghanistan. I am not a proponent of this move. The national U.S. interest is at stake in Iraq, because of continued U.S. reliance on affordable oil, Iraq’s potential juxtaposition in the ME and potential positioning contra Iran. … Vital U.S. national interests are not at stake in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a failed State and, like many States around the world, will remain a failed State for years to come. …Failure in Afghanistan will not adversely impact the United States. … Afghanistan is important, because we will not want to permit her, yet again, to provide safe heaven to AQ. But, if not welcome in Afghanistan, AQ will move to Sudan, Somalia, or a host of other countries. Therefore, if we do believe AQ to remain a direct threat to the U.S., let us make Afghanistan the decisive battleground, with the objective of AQ’s outright annihilation. That raises, again, the issue of capacity and intent. It also raises serious questions about strategy. …Certainly it would help pave the way for the smaller footprint, which is in the works, with an eye on Pakistan…. So I said in March.

Furthermore, I said, “I am not for a minute advocating for the United States to disengage. That would be a disaster. But, re-evaluate your priorities on the basis of (vital) national interest, upon which is dependent clear definitions of objectives over goals and fit your modalities to match your objectives, while building up your capacity. Not every crisis calls for U.S. action. That presupposes clarity of purpose, on the basis of which you must allocate the resources necessary to effect a major U.S. military expansion. Or, when that war standard has been hoisted, you will find yourself coming out short. Following 9/11, President Bush led you into battle on the cheap. Time is approaching for President Obama to mobilize the American people to the “Greater War” looming.” I am pleased to note that the President is continuing the process of re-evaluation.

 ¹.   Sheikh Ali al-Muthaba serves a Senior Commander of the Jaish al-Mehdi and is directed by Muqtadir al-Sadar to help draft the Taliban War Plan.

Tracking the Muslim terrorists

There is something big in the works by Muslim terrorists.  I'm not the only one who feels this way.  It has been over eight years since the attacks of September 11, 2001.  Several big potential plots have been uncovered and thwarted around the world.  An attack described as bigger than September 11, 2001 was thwarted with the arrest of Najibullah Zazi.  In addition, numerous home-grown jihadis have been identified and many captured, tried and punished.  At least one home-grown jihadi has had success, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.  Political Jungle notes:

I'm seeing a pattern....

Muslim Men are Missing

Homeland Security is Alarmed

ISLAMBERG HAS BECOME A GHOST TOWN.....

Penetration Even At The Pentagon: Muslim Spies Setting Muslim Policy ....

We're told that the Muslim men from Islamberg are now in Pakistan getting explosives training... "Now that the recruits at Islamberg have been trained in the basics of guerilla warfare, they have been deployed to Pakistan for advanced courses in explosives and weapons of mass destruction.  They will be returning home soon."

You won't see the MSM investigating or reporting anything indepth on Islamberg.  You can read all about it and see images taken by Dr. Paul Williams here.

Our President Barack Hussein Obama isn't doing America any good.  With plans to bring the remaining Guantanamo Cuba detainees to American soil for trial in American courts, Obama would be well to remember the September 23, 2009, attempt by Michael C. Finton, a prison convert to Islam, (aka Talib Islam) to trigger a bomb packed in a van that he parked outside of the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield, Illinois.

The NEFA Foundation has released the 23rd report in the "Target: America" series; a PowerPoint presentation examining  ...  (Counterterrorism Blog)

Richard at Freedom's Zone reports:

Obama's Affection for Islam (Does it play a role in his decisions affecting our national security?)

Given Barack Hussein Obama's decision to bring Islamic terrorists to American soil (also here), and risk having our courts turn them loose to commits acts of terror on America from inside the country, it seems appropriate to remind readers of Obama's Muslim roots and his adoration of Islam.

From an August 07, 2009 YouTube compilation (some quotes are without context, but the words are indeed those of Barack Obama and the meaning is clear):

Obama admits that he is a Muslim. Obama bowing before a Muslim king. Obama talking about his Muslim family. Obama quoting from the Koran. Obama defending Islam. Obama visiting a Mosque. And many more clips of Obama and his Muslim connections.

Little wonder his administration won't make any references to Islamic terrorism and bends over backwards to accommodate the American left's aiding and abetting of radical Islam.

Cross posted from Hyscience

 

The terrorists have a new battle field, the Internet.  Iranian terror gang hacked Twitter last night.  Anti-Islam and anti-terror blogs and websites are hacked on a regular basis.  Terrorists get access to terror training materials and terror recruiting groups via the Internet.

Beware of Imams in sheeps clothing.  New Dark AgeAlert:  Muslim televangelist take his message to millions.  

Amr Khaled is trying to modernise the face of Islam  BBC: Amr Khaled's unique brand of Muslim preaching has made him one of the most popular preachers in the world.

Such is his appeal, he was recently named the 13th most influential person in the world by Time Magazine.

Slowly but surely women in Islam are speaking out.  Rusty at the Jawa Report shares:  "Al Qaeda's #2 wife" Omayma Hassan Ahmed Mohammed Hassan" just sent me this pic. She wants all sisters to break out from the chains of the mujihadeen."

All of this while the president is worried about a non-existing boondoggle called climate change and the good folks at Fort Hood are getting lectures on Islam as they try to recover from Hasan's massacre there.  Several politicians who get it have written a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates:

17 December 2009

 

The Honorable Robert Gates

Secretary of Defense

The Pentagon

Washington, D.C.

 

Dear Secretary Gates:

 

It has come to our attention that the Department of Defense has invited Louay Safi, a top official at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), to give lectures on Islam to our troops at Fort Hood. If this is indeed true, we respectfully request that you end this practice.

 

According to the Justice Department, ISNA is a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization with a network of known and suspected Islamic terrorist organizations spread throughout the world. The Brotherhood and its partner organizations regularly espouse violent jihad and anti-Semitism.

 

More specifically, ISNA was identified by the Justice Department at the successful Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing conspiracy trial as an unindicted co-conspirator. Literature distributed by ISNA at its annual convention in Washington in July featured books and pamphlets portraying prosecution of terrorist and terror-supporters as “anti-Muslim bigotry;” revisionist history that denied Arab and Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel; and anti-Semitic tracts.

 

Safi himself has been connected to an entity called the “Safa Group.” Search warrants executed in 2002 were supported by an affidavit alleging its involvement in moving large sums of money to terrorist fronts. He was also caught on a 1995 FBI wiretap of Sami al-Arian. Safi was concerned that an executive order, issued by President Clinton prohibiting financial transactions with terrorist organizations, would negatively affect al-Arian. In April 2006, al-Arian pled guilty to a charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad – a specially designated terrorist organization.

 

The Muslim Brotherhood is dedicated in its own words to “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands.” What better way to carry out its plans to “sabotage” our efforts than to have one of its own invited to lecture on Islam to the very troops called to defend this country against those the Brotherhood supports. We ask that you immediately stop any lecturing by Louay Safi or ISNA affiliated speakers.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

W. Todd Akin                                            Sue Myrick

Member of Congress                              Member of Congress

 

Trent Franks                                              Todd Tiarht

Member of Congress                               Member of Congress

 

Cathy McMorris Rodgers                        Jeff Miller

Member of Congress                              Member of Congress

 

Phil Gingrey                                             Paul C. Broun

Member of Congress                             Member of Congress

 

Rodney Alexander                                 Steve King

Member of Congress                            Member of Congress

 

Kenny Marchant                                     John B. Shadegg

Member of Congress                             Member of Congress

 

Ralph M. Hall

Member of Congress

Yes my friends, there is something big on the terrorist's agenda.  They are recruiting, training, planning, and unfortunately they have assistance from the dhimmis inside the United States and in our very own government.

Muslim spies in our government and Pentagon, helping make US policy.  Gates thinking what the victims of Islamic terror need is ... a lecture on Islam from a Muslim.  Be on the lookout, be aware, be afraid.

Joe Biden Speaks

Stabilizing Pakistan and defeating al-Qaeda are America's main strategic interests in South Asia, according to VP Joe Biden.  I'm not a big fan of Biden, most times he has diarrhea of the mouth, speaking before thinking. 

...  ‘Al Qaeda’s not in Afghanistan,’ said the US vice president.

His response led to a discussion on how US policy-makers insisted that their main strategic interests were in Pakistan, yet they were spending 50 times more money in Afghanistan.

Asked to explain why, the vice president said: ‘Yes. And our focus should be Pakistan and Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.’

He then explained that those were America’s strategic interests but ‘we would be in real trouble if a vacuum is created and there’s chaos in the government and Afghanistan falls’.The consequences of such a failure were unfathomable, he added.

‘No one knows what the Iranians do with that. No one knows what the Pakistanis do with that, no one know what the Russians do with that, no one knows what the Chinese do with that, no one knows what the Indians do with that.’

That’s why, Mr Biden said, he believed that the US troop surge in Afghanistan would also help stabilise Pakistan. The Americans were in constant contact with the Pakistanis on this particular issue, he added.  (DAWN.com)

We've been told lately by some in the administration that there are only 100 al-qaeda in Afghanistan.  My response to that is: (1) How do we know there are only 100?;  (2) If we know there are only 100, then we must know where they are, and if we know that why... don't we take them out?  Could it be our ridiculous ROE, rules of engagement?

While the debate rages in Washington, the Marines on the ground are mostly on their own. Even with Paz’s squad being attacked from three sides, a bombing run is not automatic. The Marines not only have to prove that civilians won’t be hurt, they also must guarantee that the bombs won’t so much as scratch civilian homes.  (more)

As Murdoc Online says, "And now the best way to make sure your house doesn’t get bombed is to invite in some Taliban fighters."   Where’s the strategic victory in that?"  You might want to read a story in Marine Times on the new rules of engagement in Afghanistan and Murdoc Online's comments.

My opinion, if those are our rules of engagement, just bring all our troops home from the Middle East.   If we are not going to go all out to gain a decisive victory, why are we there at all?

There is no doubt that Pakistan and the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan are our biggest concern in the region right now.  However, even as Joe Biden seems to realize, the entire region could blow at any time considering each country and their particular idiosyncrasies and problems.

The Truth About Pakistan and Afghanistan

Osama bin Laden is the goose that lays platinum eggs.

If we killed or captured Osama and Zawahiri, the Pakistanis might not be able to milk us for more tribute money. We could draw down our troop presence next door. And the Pakistanis would lose the mighty profits squeezed from our supply route into Afghanistan.

The Pakistanis don't want us to remain in Afghanistan forever, but they're not ready to hit the brakes on the gravy train, either. They're of two minds -- and the greedy side tends to win in the short term.

And as long as we "need" Pakistan, Islamabad will be able to sponsor more terror attacks on India, counting on us to intervene before New Delhi retaliates.

Why on earth would they hand over Osama?

My mistake became clear with the passage of time: Eight years after 9/11, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency must know where Osama hangs his turban. The ISI has connections even among the state's most virulent enemies. It's impossible to believe that, after this much time has elapsed, it has no idea where Osama's hiding. He could even be under the ISI's active protection. --Ralph Peters, New York Post (hat tip R.J. Godlewski)

At CBS Tom Engelhardt has what he calls the speech that Obama should give concerning Afghanistan.  You can go read his article and the proposed speech, but here's the key paragraph:

... let me say as bluntly as I can that I have decided to send no more troops to Afghanistan. Beyond that, I believe it is in the national interest of the American people that this war, like the Iraq War, be drawn down. Over time, our troops and resources will be brought home in an orderly fashion, while we ensure that we provide adequate security for the men and women of our Armed Forces. Ours will be an administration that will stand or fall, as of today, on this essential position: that we ended, rather than extended, two wars. (read it all)

I'll let you decide whether you think this is the right thing for Obama to do.  But we all know this is what his base wants.  We all know the history in Afghanistan.  As I've said before, if we can't fight a war with everything we've got to WIN it, then bring the troops home.

It's a Nuclear, Nuclear, World...

You probably remember the nuclear site in Syria that the Israelis took out.  That seems to be the tip of the nuclear iceberg. (more below)  You may also remember Iranian General Ali Reza Asgari who suddenly disappeared from Iran, is reported to have defected to the West and is now being held in prison in Israel.  Asgari was very knowledgeable about Iran's nuclear program and could be very helpful to the Israelis.

According to the report, an investigation by Iranian security officials showed that "Asgari was kidnapped by the Mossad in cooperation with the British and German intelligence services, and was ultimately transferred to Israel." 

The report was published on the "Alef" news website, which is affiliated with conservative parliament member Ahmad Tavakkoli, one of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's main critics.  (via email, hat tip Michael)

 The Last Crusade points out recent reports on nukes, click the links to read the articles:

IAEA inspects nuclear research reactor in Syria

IAEA wants to inspect three secret Syrian nuclear sites

Three more secret Syrian nuclear sites?  And just who is behind these sites?  North Korea? Iran?  Both?  Hezbollah? 

India’s nuclear plants on alert for possible terror attack 

Iran digs hundreds of missile silos – some for misdirection

REPORT: Pakistan has more nukes than India

Saudi Arabia and France Discuss Nuclear Development As Iran Moves Forward  (Realite EU)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has started a one-day-trip to Saudi Arabia, in order to meet with King Abdallah in Riyadh. [1] Among other issues such as the Middle East peace process, the two leaders are also expected to discuss the Iranian nuclear weapons development program. [2]

Also on Sarkozy’s agenda during his visit is the signing of an agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France that could lead to the sale of French atomic energy technology to the Gulf kingdom. [3]

However, it seems that the kingdom intents to build up its own nuclear capacities as well. In August 2009 Saudi minister Abdullah Al Hosain disclosed to the Saudi daily Al Watan, that a research center in Riyadh is currently working on plans for Saudi Arabia's first nuclear plant. [4]

Alirza Nurizadeh, an expert from the Arab-Iranian Center for Strategic Studies in London states that such an initiative by Saudi Arabia counters Iranian nuclear ambitions. Mustafa Ozjan, a Turkish Middle East analyst concurs: "the construction of nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia is a response to Iran's attempts to become a nuclear power in the region." [5]

On March 3rd 2009 Saudi Foreign Minister at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo called for a joint Arab strategy, a common vision to deal with the "Iranian challenge" including its nuclear drive. [6]

On December 16, 2008, Saudi Arabia and other GCC states met with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany to express their concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and to support for the efforts of the six world powers to pressure Iran to halt potential nuclear-weapon development activities. [7] The Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal urged Iran to comply with its nuclear obligations to spare the Middle East "devastating conflicts, futile arms races and serious environmental hazards."

On March 29, 2008, Saudi Arabia's leading newspaper Okra Reports wrote that the Saudi Shura Council is preparing "national plans to deal with any sudden nuclear and radioactive hazards that may affect the kingdom following experts' warnings of possible attacks on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactors." [8]

Iran triggering arms race in the region

Iran’s developing missile program and test firing, in defiance of UN Security Council Resolutions, causes grave regional security concerns and has cascading effects on leading GCC states particularly Saudi Arabia, to bulk up their militaries. [9]

Saudi Arabia, like other GCC states, has massively improved its deterrence capacity with conventional weapons. Since 2003, Arab military spending has increased to unprecedented levels. The weapons purchased by the GCC states seem well-suited to counter Iranian threats. [10] Saudi Arabia is procuring long-range strike fleets, refueling capabilities, and standoff weapons. It signed agreements to buy at least seventy-two state-of-the-art fighter aircraft. [11] In a deal worth $1.5 billion, the Royal Saudi Air Forces asked the Pentagon to upgrade its AWACS and aerial tanker aircraft with advanced communications and surveillance/ air traffic management systems. [12]

Saudi Arabia along other GCC states strengthen security alliances with Western countries. In 2006, the U.S. launched a Gulf Security Dialogue in which bilateral military committees increase U.S.-GCC security cooperation. [13]

Diplomatic relations

Since the establishment of the Shiite Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iran have had an increasingly difficult relationship. [14] Saudi Arabia fears a nuclear Iran with growing influence of Shiite populations in surrounding neighbor states and inside the kingdom itself. Officials in Riyadh feel that Tehran is threatening the physical security of the Saudi kingdom and even banding together with the Shiite population, which lives in the oil rich regions of Eastern Saudi Arabia. [15] Saudi Arabia is also involved in an extensive number of proxy-wars with Iran: In Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan, Yemen and other places. Experts say that the confrontation between the two strong powers in the region can increase if one of the sides transfers to the military use of nuclear energy. [16]

---

Footnotes below the fold:  

The whole world awaits the American decision

Afghanistan is the subject and the whole world awaits America's decision on how the war there will proceed.  Actually the world awaits Barack Obama's decision, which most likely will be the decision of the Left, the decision of the anti-war crowd.  More importantly the soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan await Obama's decision because they are the ones getting shot at and killed by improvised explosive devices.  From journalist Mina Al Oraibi, for Asharq Alawsat Newspaper, interview with Gen. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary-general of NATO and the former prime minister of Denmark, Christian Science Monitor:

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen:  "Of course, the United States is the lead nation, the biggest contributor (of forces in Afghanistan) and therefore obviously the whole world awaits the American decision. It's more important to make the right decision than to hurry. So I recognize the need for thorough analysis in Washington. But, to my mind, there is no doubt about the way forward: It is to ensure a stronger Afghan ownership."  

Mina Al-Oraibi:    What are the main challenges that face the Arab world and NATO?

Anders Fogh Rasmussen:    The countries within the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative share our interests in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, because if Afghanistan is left behind, there is the risk of it [instability] spreading to the region, not to speak of the risk of destabilizing neighboring Pakistan, a nuclear power.  [snip]

All in all, the international community needs a reliable partner in Kabul. I think there is a need for a new compact, a new contract, between the international community and the new government in Afghanistan; a new contract in which we make it clear that it is a prerequisite for continued international commitment to Afghanistan that the Afghan government provides good governance in the broad sense of the word.  [snip]

I am happy to note that the NATO ministers of defense agreed recently with [top US commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A.] McChrystal's counterinsurgency approach.

Yes, Afghanistan, India, Iran all are on the brink and Obama dithers while the world waits.

Terrorist Passport

From The Jawa Report:

At Last Pakistan Finds 9-11 Suspect's Passport

Unfortunately Said Bahaji was not found with his passport.

Via CNN: Sherwangei, Pakistan (CNN) -- A passport bearing the name of Said Bahaji, a suspect linked to the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, has been found in a town captured by the Pakistani military.

The passport was found in South Waziristan, where the Pakistani military has been battling to wrest territory from the Taliban in Pakistan. It contained a Pakistani visa issued in August 2001 showing that the bearer entered Pakistan on September 4, 2001, and appeared unusually new for a document eight years old.

...Bahaji is suspected of having fled Germany for Pakistan on September 3, 2001, after receiving a tip that the attacks were imminent.

Bejeebus! (continue reading Rusty's take, very interesting)

From CBS:  Pakistan: Passports Linked to 9/11 Found - Weeks into U.S.-Backed Assault on Waziristan, Pakistan Military Seeks to Show Progress

Another passport, from Spain, bears the name of Raquel Burgos Garcia. Spanish media have reported that a woman with the same name is married to Amer Azizi, an alleged al Qaeda member from Morocco suspected in both the 9/11 attacks and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

Her family in Madrid has had no news of her since 2001, according to Spanish media. Her passport included visas to India and Iran, and the army displayed a Moroccan document with Burgos Garcia's photo and other information.

It was impossible to determine whether the passports are genuine, and German and Spanish officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Recommended reading for Friday morning:

Forty-five years ago, Ronald Reagan video

40 GOP Senators Sign Letter to Reid Demanding Internet Posting of Healthcare Bill.

StopJarrett.com:

There’s a new website dedicated to exposing White House senior adviser/Chicago consigliere/real estate mogul Valerie Jarrett.

Call her out.

Sting says Obama 'sent from God' (Jawa Report)

"In many ways, he's sent from God,"...as a plague upon our country.

Israel as an Al-Qa`ida Target: Sorting Rhetoric From Reality.  Counterterrorism Blog

Alan Grayson breaks down — or rather, simulates it, Michelle Malkin.

Death of transparency, Pt. 98,765: Pelosi blocks public from public option event

NRA sues Seattle, Nickels over gun ban in parks, NRA.

Comprehensive List of Taxes In Pelosi Health Bill

The Lady Killer, Patnum Peperium

Democrats Desecrate The Flag, Again, video

Experts say green "brainwashing" is scaring preschoolers.

Blame the Mosques

Report number 21 in the "Target America" series is on the September 2009 New York/Denver terror plot arrests.  Najibullah Zazi and his yet un-arrested co-conspirators planned to use TATP explosives in New York City.  The report is a very interesting read, especially the timeline.  My conclusion is that all these homegrown terrorists can be traced back to a mosque and an imam.

Unconfirmed reports allege that Zazi went to an Aurora, Colorado U-Haul rental location the week before his trip to New York to inquire about truck rentals. The store’s surveillance tapes were taken as evidence; however, the U-Haul representative was unable to confirm whether the individual seen on the tape was in fact Najibullah Zazi.⁵⁷ Additionally, a CNN report quotes a “former counterterrorism official familiar with the case” as saying that a group of Afghan men tried to use three different credit cards to rent a truck on September 9 at a rental office in Queens, New York, but the cards were declined. The men, who held driver’s licenses from Florida and Ohio, were also unable to use cash. A U-Haul staff member identified one member of the group as Naiz Khan.⁵⁸

In a joint FBI/NYPD investigation of Zazi, handwritten instructions were discovered on Zazi’s laptop, which included specifications for Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). The instructions had been downloaded to his computer from one of Zazi’s three email accounts in June 2009.⁵⁹  

Zazi is connected to three email accounts, all three of which were used while he was in Pakistan. At his upcoming trial, the government intends to prove that Zazi used his email accounts to further his effort to manufacture explosive devices.⁶⁰

The notes on Zazi’s computer listed ghee as a substance that can be used as an initiator;⁶¹ ghee is a clarified butter that is a common ingredient in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine.  [snip]

On the evening of August 28, 2009, Zazi rented a hotel room with a kitchen in Aurora, Colorado, in order to experiment with explosive material ingredients. He stayed at the hotel again on September 6-7 to continue his experimentation.⁶⁸  [snip]

The FBI found traces of acetone residue on the hotel room stove hood.⁷⁰ [snip]

Radicalizing Influences

According to reports, Zazi became a fan of Zakir Naik, a controversial Indian Islamic scholar who advocates the most fundamental practice of Islam, including the death penalty for apostates.⁸³

Zazi reportedly viewed Naik’s lectures on YouTube.⁸⁴

Naik’s web site features a link to the official Tanzeem-e-Islami (TeI) site.⁸⁵ TeI is a Deobondi Islamist group that promotes the establishment of an Islamic state. TeI member Qayyum Abdul Jamal was the oldest of the 18 suspected conspirators in the Toronto terror plot in 2006. Jamal led prayers at a small mosque where several of the conspirators prayed.

Zakir Naik (Source: www.ilovezakirnaik.com)

As stated earlier in this report, Zazi attended a mosque in Flushing that was split between supporters of Al-Qaida and the Taliban and those who did not support them. The debates would have exposed Zazi and other young worshipers to various perspectives, including the viewpoints of those who supported Al-Qaida.

It all comes back to the mosques.

Rusty at the Jaw Report wonders if we are beginning to see a pattern.

Read the entire report here (pdf)

What about the women Obama?

President Obama must do everything in his power to help free Middle Eastern women from illiteracy, poverty, forced veiling, forced, arranged marriages to first cousins, polygamy, purdah, etc. Alas, thus far, he has flattered their jailers and crowed about America’s support for the hijab. Perhaps our President should talk to the Kuwaiti parliamentarians.  --Dr. Phyllis Chesler,  Why Bin Laden Really Turned to Terrorism - The Final Shame: American Female Soldiers

As US President Barack Obama continues to put off making a decision on a plan forward in Afghanistan he needs to think about his wife and daughters -- what if they were woman living in Afghanistan or Pakistan under Taliban sharia rule?  It's not a pretty thought.  It's not just our soldiers, both men and women, Obama needs to think about.  The Taliban and al-Qaeda both want to install Islamic law wherever they gain control.

The Obama administration is continually floating trial balloons that we should accept the Taliban rule, that the Taliban isn't so bad, that they don't work with or agree with al-Qaeda.  To that I say rubbish! We are told that we must differentiate, at least for tactical purposes, between Taliban in Afghanistan and Taliban in Pakistan.

 We are told that the Taliban will assume power, either in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. We are told it’s up to the U.S. to come to terms, which of the two countries it is. We are told there is benefit to Taliban in Afghanistan, to hold out for Pakistan, at least a real country, as opposed to the sandbox. We are told that there is benefit to the U.S. to concede to Taliban in Afghanistan, while retaining Pakistan.  That's pretty scary if you ask me.

The Taliban in Afghanistan are attacking as part of strategy to sway White House decision making.  American soldiers are dying.  American anti-war protesters are pushing Obama to get out of Afghanistan or at the very least not to send any more troops.  The Generals are telling Obama the war will be lost without further soldiers and supplies.  While the death toll rises, Obama refuses to take a stand.  What about all those who have lost their lives already and what about those who remain?  What about the women and children?

...  the women sure are growing restless in the Lands of the Burqa. For example, two female Kuwaiti Members of Parliament, Rola Dashti and Aseel Al-Awadhi, are defying the country’s powerful Islamist movement by refusing to wear hijab, or the headscarf, in Parliament.  [snip]

Osama bin Laden would not be pleased by naked-faced Muslim women—and in positions of public power. That fact alone might inspire him to further acts of terrorism.  [snip]

Psychologically, unconsciously, Osama has denied needing to be protected by a strong woman, namely a mother, when he was an infant, and his denial goes so far that he chose to becomes a serial killer, a mass murderer; he specializes in killing life. He is an anti-Mother. Osama takes his rage out on America, Jews, Christians, Israelis because, in his eyes, they have freed their women; indeed, to him, such countries are therefore like women and must be subordinated.  [snip]

Thus, the experience of naked-faced women in positions of power (in the American military or in the Kuwaiti Parliament) as “shaming” men, is one major component of Islamic terrorism. There is no appeasing this misogynist madness. One must stand against it.  --Dr. Phyllis Chesler, Chesler Chronicles

We are led to believe that an all-out Pakistan Army ground offensive into Waziristan is imminent, yet they will not meet their objective and may be further weakened as a result.  The United States must do all it can to avoid a Pakistan-Indian military confrontation and to prevent the Pakistan nukes from ending up in the wrong hands.  In fact, we are told that Pakistan could be a precursor to a larger war in the region.

We know that Iran has long been causing problems in Iraq, now they are helping the Taliban in Afghanistan. Iran is stirring the pot in many places in many ways, while at home they go unchallenged in their ongoing efforts to go nuclear.  Iran's hatred for Israel continues to boil.

It is the Taliban’s objective to draw India and Pakistan into open war.  In Afghanistan it is the Taliban's objective to re-gain control and establish Islamic sharia rule.  Just this past week we had the Taliban attack on  Pakistan’s army headquarters in Rawalpindi,  and the Kabul Embassy attack.  The Taliban are against schools, against girls learning anything or even showing the tip of their nose in public.  They are treated worse than livestock. 

Around the world women and children are raped, tortured, imprisoned, by Muslim men.  Muslim men are pretending to be Hindus to lure Hindu girls into marriage, then force them to accept Islam once they are married, according to Nripendra Nath Mondal, president of BHBC Unity Council of Joypurhat,  Bangladesh (AINA)  Just do a search for Muslim treatment of women around the world and there is more material than you have time to read.

Washington is continually floating trial balloons about accepting the Taliban rule.

So I ask you President Obama... "What about the women and children?"

Other reading:

Deaths from unsafe abortion remain a severe problem, killing 70,000 women a year, more than half the deaths, about 38,000, are in sub-Saharan Africa, which was singled out as the region with by far the lowest rates of contraceptive use and the highest rates of unintended pregnancies, according to the report, three years in the making,  compiled by the New York-based Guttmacher Institute.  (AP)

Truth Serum Interview with 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad

Nobel Peace Prize Winner's Safe Schools Czar Argues Murdering Name Callers Not Aberrant Behavior, Rhymes With Right

The End of America, Book and Video

Big Bang scientist 'planned to blow up oil refinery in terror attack that would wipe out city the size of London', Daily Mail

Ayatollahs cast growing shadow in Latin America

Ayatollahs cast growing shadow in Latin America

By Roman D. Ortiz

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s nomination last month of Ahmad Vahidi as defense minister starkly illustrates the danger posed by Iran’s Latin America penetration. Vahidi is wanted by Interpol in connection with the truck bombing of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires 15 years ago that killed 85 people and wounded more than 300. Argentine investigators accuse Iran of planning and financing this attack and Hezbollah of executing it.

Responding to criticisms of his foreign policy during a pre-election debate in June, Ahmadinejad declared: “When the Western countries were trying to isolate Iran, we went to the U.S. backyard” — Latin America.

The Obama administration must take note. Ahmadinejad’s regime promises to have strategic repercussions in America’s neighborhood. The expansion of Iranian influence in the Western Hemisphere — diplomatic, economic, military and terrorist infrastructure — has been rapid.

In little more than two years, the number of Iranian diplomatic representatives in the region has increased from six to 11 and the number of diplomatic personnel has grown proportionately. This multiplication of Iran’s ties with Latin America has been the result of a strategic convergence.

Headbangers United Against Obama

I was listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio yesterday and he was talking about the political situation here in the US.  He said Democrats think Republicans are all wrong, Republicans think Democrats are all wrong, Republicans think Barack Obama can't do anything right ... "well of course he's done some good things."  So I started thinking, what has Obama done that was good and right?  .... thinking..... thinking ...  

OK, I'll give Obama credit for continuing the drone missile attacks in Pakistan and

Afghanistan on the terrorists.  Good for Obama.   

I will also give Obama credit for finally allowing US Navy Seals to shoot Somali pirates, from the USS Bainbridge.  It took him four days and very constricting Rules of Engagement before the Seals were allowed to do what they do best. 

Other than those two things, I can't think of anything else that Obama has done right.  Help me out folks.

While we are thinking, here's the latest news of our dear leader:

Obama says: Climate Change an 'Irreversible Catastrophe' If Not Addressed, (Fox)

President Obama urges Mideast progress. (USA Today)  Translation:  Obama wants Israel to bend over.

Analysis: Why everyone is saying no to Obama, By AMIR MIZROC, Jerusalem Post 

White House Attacks Freedom of Speech in Effort to "Win" Health care Debates by Making Debate by the Other Side Illegal, Hyscience

Obama's Energey Secretary yesterday:  Steven Chu: Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’ When It Comes to Energy,(Wall Street Journal)

 

When it comes to greenhouse-gas emissions, Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees Americans as unruly teenagers and the Administration as the parent that will have to teach them a few lessons.

Energy Secretary Chu: A teaching moment (AP)

Speaking on the sidelines of a smart grid conference in Washington, Dr. Chu said he didn’t think average folks had the know-how or will to to change their behavior enough to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

“The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act,” Dr. Chu said. “The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is.” (In that case, the Energy Department has a few renegade teens of its own.)

Another Czar on the way:  Obama to pick border czar for Customs commissioner, (USA Today)

Folks, does it feel to you like we are banging our heads against a brick wall these days?  Do you get up in the morning dreading what the news will bring?

I'm truly worried about this nation.  How much more damage by Obama and his cronies can America take?

We cannot get discouraged.  This is a fight for the United States of America.  Sorry folks, we don't seem very united right now.

What "good" things has Obama done that I have missed?  Any?

The terror plot thickens

We are now learning that officials have recorded conversations between Najibullah Zazi

and known al-Qaeda operatives, we know the code word to attack was "wedding", and we know that the formula for TATP was found on Zazi's laptop computer.

TATP  (Acetone peroxide (triacetone triperoxide, peroxyacetone, TATP, TCAP)

referred to by Islamic terrorist organizations as Mother of Satan,  is an organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive acrid odor.  It is relatively easy to make and is believed to have been used in the July 2005 London bombings, and has also been reported as the explosive favored by suspects arrested on August 10, 2006 who allegedly intended to destroy airplanes flying from the United Kingdom to the United States .  (more)

TATP has been used by suicide bombers in Israel, and was chosen as a detonator in 2001 by the thwarted "shoe bomber"

Richard Reid. It can be as or more powerful than military analogs.  (Global Security)

Now we see why authorities considered this threat to be a Madrid-style attack bigger than September 11, 2001.

See videos of TATP explosions here.

Joel Henry Hinrichs III blew himself up when his backpack containing two to three pounds of TATP exploded as he sat on a bench 173 yards west of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium filled with 84,000 fans, just before halftime at the OU-Kansas State.  Better him that the 84,000 innocent people.    (The Norman Transcript)  (Images via Officer.com)

There are still unanswered questions about Hinrichs, about his connections to Islam, about his Pakistani roommate, and whether he intended to enter the stadium and blow everyone up.  The apartment was full of TATP in various forms and stages of development and Islamic Bomb-Making documents, Other Jihad Materials Reportedly Removed from his apartment.  There are many Islamic terror connections in Oklahoma.  (InFoWars)

From CBS 2 HD, via NTA)

Bob Strang is a terrorism expert who said the FBI’s intense pressure on Zazi’s family may have been what caused him to crack and make the partial confession.

“This has been a hot case, something the government has been focused on for a while and it is now just coming to a head,” Strang told CBS 2 HD.

The ties between Najibullah Zazi and al-Qaida are growing. A source who gets high-level intelligence briefings told CBS 2 HD that law enforcement officials have recorded a number of conversations between Zazi and a known al-Qaida operative in Pakistan.

The key parts of the conversation? The operative told Zazi what to say if stopped by police, and there is also a reference to a “wedding,” which American agents believe is a code word for an attack.

Sources said the formula for the explosive TATP was found in Zazi’s computer when they seized his car, and with President Barack Obama coming to the UN next week, the FBI felt it needed to act.  Source

  See my previous posts on Zazi here, here, here.

(Hit "refresh" or "reload current page" at the top of your browser/webpage to see the latest published articles and comments.  TypePad has changed, upgraded and this is one of it's quirks.  Sorry.)

Madrid-type terror attack on New York subways

According to the New York Post Najibullah Zazi is connected with operatives who planned to detonate nine explosives-laden backpacks to kill "as many people as possible".  In fact,  brand new backpacks were indeed found in the raided apartments.  The plot involved backpack bombs meant to detonate in subways and elsewhere in New York city.
Unnamed sources said Zazi is "an al Qaeda associate received top-level training in bomb-making at a Pakistani terrorist camp."

The Aurora Colorado home of Najibullah Zazi  has been searched in the  Madrid-like bomb plot investigation.  Authorities also searched a second location in suburban Colorado,  belonging to the relatives of Najibullah Zazi, hours after they searched Zazi's home.

Several brand new black backpacks were found in the apartments in Queens New York.   Backpacks were used in the Madrid train bombings.

Najibullah Zazi was schooled in demolitions and military tactics along with several other men; all eventually settled in Queens, according to the sources.

But when Zazi got wind that he was being watched, he hightailed it back to Aurora, Colo., where he now lives, although he was shadowed on the plane by FBI agents.[snip]

Law enforcement also is trying to track down former confederates-in-arms whom he may have met over the past week, the sources said.  (New York Post)

Zazi has a wife in Pakistan.  I suppose his visits to Pakistan were just conjugal visits???

Zazi was born in Afghanistan and later immigrated with his family to the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., Jaji said. There he graduated from high school...

In 2007, Zazi reportedly met and married a woman in Peshawar, Pakistan, while visiting family. He returned to the U.S. and since then has gone back about twice a year for visits, including about six or seven months ago, Jaji said. His intention is to become a U.S. citizen and bring his wife to the U.S.

He and attorney Charles Fife represent many Denver taxi drivers from the Middle East or Africa. The possibility that some of them might have terrorist links has crossed their minds, they said. But that thought never arose with Zazi.

"He wasn't like that at all," Mangnall said. "He seemed pretty normal."  (Denver Post)

I hope the officials, Homeland Security, FBI, and other agencies, have this right.  If not, look for a huge lawsuit by  Najibullah Zazi against everybody involved in the raids and investigations, including the New York City police and whoever released this information to the press prematurely.   In every report I have read, and they are many, every person interviewed by the media who was related to, or knew, or worked with Zazi stated that he was a hard worker, a good Muslim, who loves America and had never said one word against this country.  Either he's a really bad terrorist who has kept a good cover, or he's an innocent man who has been smeared.  Time will tell.

This may have been September 12, 2001 thinking, in that the authorities jumped too soon and may not have a case, but may have also thwarted a terrible attack.

Authorities are checking Home Depots, credit card numbers, and purchases of a certain chemical that could be used for bomb making.

Najibullah Zazi is in Colorado talking to the media via telephone, professing his innocence.  He has hired an attorney, Art Folsom.   He had recently traveled to Pakistan before he showed up in New York last Thursday with bomb-making documents, law enforcement officials told ABC News.   (NTA)

Zazi told the Associated Press he recently visited New York City -- and was subject to what he described as a routine traffic stop Sept. 10 on the George Washington Bridge, which connects New York City and New Jersey. But he said he was allowed to leave and return to Denver.  (more)

Homeland Security, FBI and other officials are on the ground in large numbers in Colorado today continuing the investigation.

Other sources, Denver Post,  The New York Times,  The Post ,  ABC News,   The Daily News,

*** Fearful of a Madrid-style subway train bombing, authorities are poised to make more raids to seize bomb-making materials at locations in Queens, sources said Wednesday. The FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team arrived in New York in anticipation of the offensive to thwart a Denver-based terror cell with ties to Al Qaeda, police sources told the Daily News.***  (New York Daily News)

See my original reporting when the New York raids were initiated. 

It's September 10, 2001 all over again:

WASHINGTON – Agents of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are feuding over bomb investigations — racing each other to crime scenes, failing to share information and refusing to train together, according to a draft report obtained by The Associated Press.  (AP, more here)

Other  news:

FBI director says turf problems linger with ATF

A judge in England is pleased because a rapist has now converted to Islam.

The Mujahideen had to be reminded not to have sex with little boys -- at least until they could start growing a beard.  Funny, I thought there was no homosexuality in Islam, at least not in Iran.

Terrorists need a physical safe-haven as well as the anonymity of the internet.  They need to have some kind of contact with their leader, somewhere to physically train.

Planck's Constant thinks:  Yale Demonstrates Why Muslims Should be Banned

But now there are millions of Muslims living in the US and what is the result?

We find out that Yale University removed all images of Mohammed from a forthcoming book on the Danish Cartoon Affair in fear of a Muslim violent reaction (1).

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment was serving in Afghanistan on the Pakistan border when he was taken by Taliban.  The image here is a screen grab from a Taliban propaganda video released July 18, 2009.  In the video it is obvious that Bowe is being coached in broken English from someone out of camera view, but whose shadow appears to the right of Bergdahl.  It is also obvious that Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl is scared, and who would not be in his position, fearing for his very life.

Also obvious is that the video has been edited, cut and spliced, to meet the needs of the Taliban.  You can go view the video here, unfortunately there is a tacky commercial prior and after Bergdahl speaks, thanks to ABC I presume.   It is heartbreaking to hear Bergdahl  say, "I am scared -- scared I won't be able to come home," Bergdahl says in the video. "It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."  

Bergdahl is from Hailey, a town of about 7,000 people in central Idaho where he worked as a barista and was active in ballet.  [snip]

"He joined the ballet. Then he joined the Army," [snip]

Bergdahl's family issued a statement asking people to keep the soldier in their thoughts and prayers, but told The Associated Press they were asking that the media respect their privacy.  (Continue)

The video shows Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl in Afghan dress, being prompted in English by his captors to call for U.S. forces to be withdrawn from Afghanistan. 

The military confirmed the identity of the native of Ketchum, Idaho, saying he served with the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment.

"We condemn the use of this video and the public humiliation of prisoners. It is against international law," said Col. Greg Julian, a military spokesman. "We are doing everything we can to return this soldier to safety."   (Continue)

"The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam"

Hotels are increasing security after the suicide bombings at the Jakarta JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels that killed eight people yesterday, and now we learn they are probably linked to the mastermind of the Bali bombings.  Excuse me for expecting the obvious -- why didn't they increase security after the bombings in Mumbai India???  Perhaps they did, but it really doesn't matter when we allow the terrorists to book rooms and hold anti-American conference and recruiting sessions in our US hotels.  That's right, Hizb ut-Tahrir, a global Sunni network with reported ties to confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Al Qaeda in Iraq's onetime leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who is committed to establishing an international Islamic empire (caliphate) and has operated discreetly in the U.S. for decades, is now out in the open.   (Fox)

On July 19 Hizb ut-Tahrir is holding a conference entitled, "The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam," at a posh Hilton hotel in a suburb of Chicago.  That's right, Chicago... home town of Liberals, dirty politics, Barack Obama, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and on and on.  Fits right in with the Chicago way.  Welcome to America, at least for now.

"Hizb ut-Tahrir is one of the oldest, largest indoctrinating organizations for the ideology known as jihadism," Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told FOXNews.com.

Phares said that Hizb ut-Tahrir, rather than training members to carry out terrorist acts like Al Qaeda, focuses instead on indoctrinating youths between ages of 9 and 18 to absorb the ideology that calls for the formation of an empire — or "khilafah" — that will rule according to Islamic law and condones any means to achieve it, including militant jihad.

Hizb ut-Tahrir often says that its indoctrination "prepares the infantry" that groups like Al Qaeda take into battle, Phares said.

"It's like a middle school that prepares them to be recruited by the high school, which is Al Qaeda," he said. "One would compare them to Hitler youth. ... It's an extremely dangerous organization."  (read much more at Fox)

US President Barack Obama's "foreign policy wife" Hillary Clinton is in Mumbai for five days, staying in the same hotel that was bombed.  Wonder if she's wearing her head scarf or burqua?   Which leads me to Dr. Phyllis Chesler's latest bombshell, the anticipation of untold numbers of Muslims here in the US.:

America’s New Immigration Policies Regarding Battered Women and Palestinians

Fellow Americans: Prepare to receive the entire female population of Pakistan sometime soon. And that’s just for starters. I don’t oppose this—but I honestly don’t know if we can economically afford to do it. Given the recession/depression, I rather doubt we can. But get ready for something like this to happen anyway.

Today, the Obama administration reversed a Bush-era policy and opened the way for “foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the United States.” The battered women will have to meet “strict conditions for asylum” and will also have to show that “domestic abuse is widely tolerated in their country…that they could not find protection from institutions at home or by moving to another place within their own country.”  (continue at Pajamas Media)

No wonder over 70% of Americans like Sarah Palin.  I'd love to hear her thoughts of both topics, the terrorists holding recruitment seminars inside the US and unlimited immigration.

The FBI, CIA, police, counterterrorism experts, and any other alphabet organization we have in the US needs to be present both openly and undercover to observe, identify, and possibly arrest members and supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir.  Seems like a 'hey duh" to me, but then again I'm a Conservative and against terrorists, unlike many Obama supporters.

 

Know The Enemy and Destroy Him

One day after abortionist George Tiller was killed in a church, news breaks of two soldiers being shot by a Muslim in front of an Arkansas recruiting station.

Yet, did the Obama Administration deploy U. S. Marshalls to protect churches? NO! Did they deploy Marshalls to protect Army Recruiting Centers? No! Or to protect the children? Certainly not.

Did they deploy U. S. Marshalls to protect abortion clinics? YES!  (Special Guests)

Arkansas Matters reports: 

Private William Long, 23, of Conway, died from his injuries as he arrived at the hospital. 

Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, was also shot, and was rushed into surgery after arriving at the hospital. Chief Thomas says he is expected to recover. 

Bernie at Planck's Constant reports:

Muslim convert who said he was opposed to the U.S. military shot two soldiers outside an Arkansas recruiting station, killing one of the soldiers. Sheikyermami over at Winds of Jihad wonders if Obama will condemn this Muslim as he has the Christian killer of George Tiller.

Excellent question and I'm still waiting to hear Barack Obama say anything in defense of, in honor of, or in sympathy to these soldiers.

The suspect arrested was under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from Yemen.

The investigation was in its preliminary stages, authorities said, and was based on the suspect’s travel to Yemen and his arrest there for using a Somali passport.

Just after 5:00 this evening, Little Rock Police say Abulhakin Muhammad, also known as Carlos Bledsoe, will be charged with capital murder and 16 counts of terroristic acts after a shooting at an Army/Navy recruitment center on Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock.  (Arkansas Matters via NTA)

Five Character Flaws That Are Destroying America's Future, according to John Hawkins:

1) Lack Of Personal Responsibility;
2) Short Attention Spans;
3) Excessive Self-Esteem;
4) Short Term Thinking/Instant Gratification;
5) Immorality;

I would add at least one more to that list:  Failure to identify, name, and punish our enemies.  Barack Obama is preparing to give his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.  Robert Spencer writes the speech that Obama should give, but won't.  He may not bow down and kiss the hand of any leaders on this trip, but his words will be the same -- America is bad, we should be ashamed, we'll try to do better.    He will make America appear weak, which we are under his leadership.  Obama does not know the enemy.  Asia Times reports:

Wrong venue for Obama's Muslim speech
By Spengler

Why should the president of the United States address the "Muslim world", as Barack Obama will do in Egypt this Thursday? What would happen if the leader of a big country addressed the "Christian world"? Half the world would giggle and the other half would sulk.

There is no such thing as a Christian world...  [snip]

What does it mean, though, to address the "Muslim world"? As a matter of practice, the Muslim world is just as fractured as the Christian world, even more so in the absence of any religious authority like the Catholic Church, which claims doctrinal authority over a billion people. Muslim religious authority is exercised ad hoc. The quasi-animist Islam of Sumatra and the Wahhabi Islam of Saudi Arabia have about as much in common as Midwest Methodists and Nigerian Pentecostals. But there is a great gulf fixed between the terms, "Christian world", and "Muslim world". No denomination of Islam will abandon its pretensions at official status, and all aspire to world power.

To speak to the "Muslim world", is to speak not to a fact, but rather to an aspiration, and that is the aspiration that Islam shall be a global state religion as its founders intended. To address this aspiration is to breathe life into it. For an American president to validate such an aspiration is madness. [snip]

For his trouble, Obama will get more bloodshed in Pakistan, more megalomania from Iran, more triumphalism from the Palestinians, and less control over Iraq and Afghanistan. Of all the available bad choices, Obama has taken the worst. It is hard to imagine any consequence except a steep diminution of American influence.

The fruits of appeasement continue.

Syed Haris Ahmed, accused of conspiring in 2005 to commit terrorist acts, is on trial this week.  Like others before him, Ahmed's lawyer portrays him as "confused, isolated, searching and not guilty of supporting terrorism".  He had the inclination but did not have the means to carry out any terror acts and in fact never did any terror acts.  I'm waiting for the obligatory "he's such a good boy"...

Abulhakin Muhammad, also known as Carlos Bledsoe, who shot the soldiers at the recruitment center, went to Yemen.  Syed Haris Ahmed bought a one-way ticket and went to Pakistan in hopes he could join the Taliban.  Ahmed along with his cohorts went to Washington D.C. to take pictures of potential terror sites and also traveled to Toronto Canada and visited like-minded individuals at a Mosque there.

Both the killer of Dr. Tiller and the killer of our soldier were already under investigation by the FBI, so their history was enough to get them on law enforcements radar, but not enough to prevent them from killing.  Syed Haris Ahmed was arrested before he could kill.  Good for us, lives were saved, death was prevented.  What will the verdict be?  What punishment if any will Ahmed get for his plan and intention to kill Americans?  Time will tell.

Our prayers go out to the family of Private William Long and to Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula, who we hope will have a full recovery.

As for Barack Obama:  Stay home and shut up.

Other reading:

Rearranging the Chairs on the Deck of the Titanic, The Independent Institute

Pakistan here we come ... maybe

Baitullah Mehsud has promised 300 suicide bombers and terrorist shooters, led by five top Taliban commanders, are on their way to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Lahore, Pakistan and plan to attack the capital and certain local officials of foreign embassies.  Pakistan’s Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said security measures had been adopted to thwart such  threats.

Kamal Shah added that the Northern Areas Scouts (NAS), a paramilitary force under the Army  command, would reach Islamabad within a couple of days to help the civil administration in maintaining peace in the capital.  [snip]

The five Taliban commanders are identified by intelligence agencies as Shikaari, Inayatullah,  Walid, Mujahid and Abdali, Interior Ministry sources said. They said all the  terrorist commanders were close aides of Baitullah Mehsud.

(Image:  Outside the Red Mosque in Islamabad) (Daily Mail)

At some point the United States will be officially in Pakistan, we have no choice -- they have nukes and the bad buys want those nukes.  At some point we will have to be in Somalia too.  Iraq is already seeing an uptick in violence as Obama reduces the US footprint there and pulls troops out.  Pakistan should be on the top of Hillary Clinton's 'to do list'.

Nor, would she [Secretary of State Hillary Clinton] want to tackle the difficult question of why Somali-Americans "disappear" from Minnesota to go train with Somali terrorists. And, she certainly would not want to discuss the implementation of Sharia law in Somalia since we don't have a "foreign contingency" policy with respect to Somalia a member of the all Muslim Arab League. Furthermore, her recollection of the history of the Barbary Wars...um...a long...time ago is so pathetic...So, it's just the usual ha-ha-ha.  -- Ruth King

Nothing to worry about, Hillary and Obama are on the case.  Fred Thompson tells Newsmax that President Barack Obama is revealing his “naivete, ineptitude and arrogance” as he deals with matters of national security.  It truly appears that the Left is anti-war except when it comes to the Bush administration and Conservatives. 

Obama promised to bring everybody together, but there can be no middle ground between the Left and Conservatives unless Conservatives reject their beliefs, because the Left sure won't.   In fact it appears the Obama administration will continue on the socialist path, including health care, even if they end up offending everybody, even their far Left base.

Israel Matza asks, "How bad is the Obama administration for Israel?", and references this interview with Victor Davis Hanson at Front Page Magazine.  We could reasonably expand that question to, "How bad is the Obama administration for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, Somalia,... America???"  Carl says:

It would not be surprising if Obama has adopted the views about Israel of three men who helped form him politically: Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers and Rashid Khalidi. That was what was behind all the alarm bells when those connections came into the limelight last summer. Unfortunately, most American Jews ignored those connections, jerked their knees and voted Democratic anyway. Now, we are all paying the consequences.

The Taliban declared their peace deal with the Pakistani government "worthless".  Most of know that any peace deal with the terrorists is simply a lie or a pause in violence in order for the bad guys to re-group and re-arm.  President Asif Ali Zardari said Pakistani intelligence thought Osama bin Laden — recently offered sanctuary by militants in the area covered by the peace pact — might be dead.  Well, we've heard that before.

The Obama administration seems to have declared war on the swine flu, and we all know they wouldn't want to waste a crisis -- so now the swine flu is a crisis -- the economic council has been called together to figure out how the government can make some money off the virus.  The Grouch puts the swine flu panic in perspective here.  On the torture controversy, which will have grave influence on our foreign policy and keeping America safe, Rob Miller at the American Thinker says:

One important tool we're not using at all is the technique of humiliation. We are, after all, dealing with an honor/shame culture, and one that relies on the promise of the Islamic version of paradise in exchange for being a martyr in the jihad against the infidels as a primary recruiting tool. Eliminating that payoff with, say, the threat of an execution followed by a pigskin burial might work wonders when it comes to loosening tongues.

And actually following through a few times would get around and undoubtedly impact recruiting for people like al-Qaeda in a significant way.

Of course, to use techniques like that, we actually have to admit we are in a war. As far as I'm concerned, we still haven't.

I say let's declassify Obama's birth certificate while we're at it.

Pakistan may truly be United States President Barack Hussein Obama's first big test, and to fail this test will have consequences not just for America, but for the entire world.  Victor Davis Hanson sums up the situation as he always does -- with great clarity,  Obama's Foreign Policy Disasters:

Obama has confused a number of issues: intractable problems like North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, Islamic terrorism, etc. both pre- and post-dated George Bush; they present only bad and worse choices, and are predicated on different agendas of authoritarians that hinge on whether the United States can or cannot deter their regional megalomaniac dreams.

In the long-term, Obama's nontraditional heritage and charisma make little difference; on the other hand, serial apologies, "Bush did it", the "reset button" ad nauseam, trumpeting the "I was only (fill in the blank) when that happened" etc. have a brief shelf life, and achieve only a transitory buzz, similar to a Bono-celebrity tour.

He needs to cut out the messianic style, and realize that millions of brave souls, who invest at great danger in democracy, freedom, open markets, etc. around the world, count on an American President for moral support and guidance against a bullying Russia, Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Chavez's thugs, Castro jailers, et al.

When they see Obama's moral equivalence, they realize they are on their own and must cut their own deals to survive--understanding that multicultural trendiness is now a cynical cover for moral laxity and 'can't we all get along?' appeasement   ...   (FrontPageMag)

Pakistan is ready to explode, being taken over by the Taliban and al-Qaeda -- the same Taliban that kills people accused of adultery or most anything else and wants sharia law in all of Pakistan and the entire world -- while Obama is spending more money than anyone could ever imagine, taxing corporations and individuals, cutting the military, creating more government jobs and not one single civilian job, pushing more government programs onto the backs of the working folks.  It's only been 100 days, just think where we will be in 3 years 265 days.  God help us.

.

(State of the State Comics, hat tip David, click to enlarge).

(by R. J. Godlewski, click to enlarge)

Rainbows and Unicorns Around the World With Obama in Charge - NOT **UPDATE**

"Like it or not, the United States of America is no longer the world's policeman. This was the message of Barack Obama's presidential journey to Britain, France, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Iraq this past week."  --Caroline Glick, Surviving in a Post-American World

If you have any doubts about Caroline Glick's statement the United States no longer the world's policeman, simply look at the world situation today.  Consider that Barack Obama is now the self-proclaimed leader/citizen of this new world.  Somali Muslim pirates have taken not one, but two American ships in the past week and are still holding the captain of one hostage in a small life boat and holding the American Navy at bay.  While we should send Navy seals out to that boat to surprise the 4 pirates, slit their throats, rescue the captain, and then blow the pirate's boats, including their mother ship, to smithereens -- under Obama all people want to talk about doing is prosecuting the pirates.  OMG.

Somewhere between apologizing for American history - both distant and recent; genuflecting before the unelected, bigoted king of Saudi Arabia; announcing that he will slash the US's nuclear arsenal, scrap much of America's missile defense programs and emasculate the US Navy; leaving Japan to face North Korea and China alone; telling the Czechs, Poles and their fellow former Soviet colonies, "Don't worry, be happy," as he leaves them to Moscow's tender mercies; humiliating Iraq's leaders while kowtowing to Iran; preparing for an open confrontation with Israel; and thanking Islam for its great contribution to American history, President Obama made clear to the world's aggressors that America will not be confronting them for the foreseeable future.   --Caroline Glick

The federal intelligence agencies on Thursday put the Mumbai police on a high state of alert informing them that militants of Al-Qaeda were planning to attack the Saudi Arabian consulate in Mumbai and that there is high possibility of Saudi aircraft being hijacked from Indian airports.   A truck bomb in northern Iraq killed five U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi policemen today. 

During the four-day Easter weekend in England, Muslim terrorists who used student visas to enter the country had identified crowded shopping malls and nightclubs as likely targets as they sought to maximize casualties, according to counter-terrorism sources.   

Anti-terror police in Turkey on Thursday detained 30 people on suspicion of belonging to al-Qaeda, the Anatolia news agency reported.   The Austrian public prosecutor’s office has reportedly been investigating an Austrian cell of worldwide terror network Al-Qaeda for three years.   An al-Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for a suicide attack on a convoy carrying the South Korean ambassador in Yemen last month.  

Iran is using Chinese companies as fronts to buy nuclear equipment in the United States.

All the above is happening on Barack Obama's watch, not George W. Bush's watch.  And there is much more to be worried about.   Fred Burton and  at Strategic Forecast write:

Tehrik-i-Taliban: A Specious Claim and Brash Threats, April 8, 2009,   StratFor.com

When we wrote our Global Security and Intelligence Report last week on Baitullah Mehsud and the Manawan attack, we had no intention that the piece would be part of a series, but several developments over the past week have compelled us to once again write about Pakistan — and Mehsud and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in particular.

First, on April 4, eight paramilitary police were killed in a suicide bombing against their camp in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. This attack was the second suicide bombing in Islamabad in less than two weeks, and followed closely on the heels of the March 23 attack on the headquarters of the Police Special Branch in Islamabad. After the April 4 attack, one of Baitullah Mehsud’s deputies, Hakimullah Mehsud (who, like Baitullah, is a member of the large Mehsud clan) contacted the press to claim credit for the attack and threatened that the group would carry out two suicide attacks per week in Pakistan. According to press reports, Hakimullah Mehsud said: “We have shown enough restraint, previously, we were striking once in three months, but from now onward we will go for at least two suicide attacks a week.”

On April 5, a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in Chakwal, a Punjab city located approximately 50 miles southeast of Islamabad. The attack killed at least 22 people and injured another 35. About 2,000 people had gathered at the mosque for Majlis Aza, an annual Shiite celebration. The bomber reportedly detonated himself when guards stopped him in the crowd at the mosque’s front gate.

Umar Farooq, the spokesman of the shadowy militant organization Fedayeen al-Islam (FI), called The Associated Press the same day to claim credit for the Chakwal attack. Farooq said his group staged the attack on the mosque as part of a “campaign against infidels.”

Oddly, on April 4, Baitullah Mehsud (or someone claiming to be him) called Reuters to claim responsibility for the April 3 shooting at a U.S. immigration center in Binghamton, New York. “They were my men,” the caller told the AP. “I gave them orders in reaction to U.S. drone attacks.” This claim was quickly discounted by eyewitness accounts of the shooting. According to surviving victims and other witnesses, the Binghamton shooting was carried out by a lone gunman, Jiverly Voong, who was a Vietnamese immigrant with no apparent links to Islam or the Taliban.

Background on Mehsud

Before plunging into the Binghamton claims and threats to attack the continental United States, let’s take a quick look at the man behind them, Baitullah Mehsud. As STRATFOR has previously discussed, Mehsud, who is only in his mid-30s, is a member of a new generation of militant leaders in Pakistan’s tribal badlands. As part of this new generation, Mehsud has endeavored to systematically remove or undermine the established tribal leaders in South Waziristan, usurping power and thus severing many of the tools of influence the Pakistani government held in the region. This process of killing off the old tribal leadership has been a significant contributing factor to what we have previously referred to as the “Talibanization” of Pakistan. In some ways, Mehsud personifies the struggle between al Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence organizations for influence and control of Afghan and Pakistani jihadists.

Since Mehsud operates largely outside of its control, the government of Pakistan has come to view Mehsud (and others like him) as a larger threat to Pakistan than the Afghan Taliban or the foreign jihadists — like al Qaeda — that Mehsud considers allies. Indeed, Pakistan has long tried to play up the importance of Mehsud to the United States and has been quite agitated that, until relatively recently, the United States was not targeting Mehsud’s TTP organization. When the United States finally did turn its sights on Meshud and his network, the TTP responded by launching attacks against the Pakistani authorities. Indeed, Hakimullah Mehsud said the group was stepping up the tempo of their attacks precisely because of the U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks directed against the TTP.

As we noted last week, although Baitullah Mehsud tells journalists that he is ready to be martyred, the UAV attacks against the TTP do pose a very real threat to him, and to the viability of his organization. The scope of this threat is made evident by their response to the attacks.

However, there is also another dynamic that threatens the TTP, and that is the efforts of the Pakistanis and the Americans to try to split the nationalist militants from those who are more internationally focused. That is, split those groups who want to carry out jihad to create a transnational caliphate (like al Qaeda) from those groups whose primary interest is establishing more localized control — like the Taliban in Afghanistan prior to the U.S. invasion. This approach is very similar to the approach coalition forces took in Iraq to separate al Qaeda in Iraq from the more nationalistic Sunni tribal militants in places like Anbar province.

While the United States is attempting to divide the jihadists on the Afghan side of the border, the Pakistanis are attempting to do the same among those in Pakistan. If the Pakistanis and Americans are able to split the more nationalist jihadists (like the Haqqani network) away from the more internationalist jihadists (like al Qaeda and the TTP) this could leave al Qaeda and the TTP isolated and far more vulnerable — which is why this process is seen as a threat by Mehsud and company. Indeed, divisions already exist with groups like the Haqqani network, which opposes attacks inside Pakistan.

Claims and Threats

Into this mix, Mehsud has injected threats to hit the United States and has made the strange claim of credit for the Binghamton shooting. Let’s examine the Binghamton claim first. We were quite surprised — and a bit embarrassed — to see this claim come out only a couple of days after we wrote in our security weekly that a prominent militant leader like Mehsud did not have to take credit for other people’s attacks, and that lying about such things would hurt his already well-established reputation.

Initially, we thought that perhaps the claim was some sort of psychological operation by the Pakistanis or Americans designed to make Mehsud look like a fool or a nut. However, when days passed and the TTP issued no retraction, it became apparent that Mehsud had actually made the claim for some reason. Also, despite his carefully crafted public image of never displaying his face, Mehsud is a media animal, who, as his frequent calls to Reuters, The Associated Press and Pakistani journalists testify, loves to see his name in print. With all the coverage surrounding the Binghamton claim, he undoubtedly was aware of the event. Had the claim been orchestrated by an intelligence agency seeking to discredit him, he would have quickly denied it — just as he quickly denied the claims that he was behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

As to the threat to attack the United States, one must use a two-step test: 1) Does the actor behind the threat possess the capability to carry out the threatened action? and 2) Does the actor possess the intent to do so? When we look at the capabilities of the TTP, the group has not demonstrated the ability to operate as a transnational organization. We have seen instances of grassroots-type jihadists elsewhere who were allegedly trained at TTP camps, but providing paramilitary training to grassroots jihadists is different from actually training and dispatching operatives to conduct attacks on your behalf.

The technical skills and tradecraft required to conduct an act of terrorism are very different from those needed to be an insurgent, and are very different from the subjects taught in basic military — or paramilitary — training. Even if the grassroots operatives are trained in some of the more technical skills of terrorism such as bomb-making, there are still important tradecraft skills that must be acquired and honed before a person can become a successful transnational militant capable of conducting acts of terrorism in a hostile environment. We define terrorist tradecraft as the set of subtle skills needed to maintain secrecy and operate within a hostile environment. These skills are foundational to the success of both the individual jihadist and his network anywhere, but they are acutely critical while conducting transnational operations.

Merely being able to travel internationally with ease is something many guerrilla fighters cannot do. More refined tasks, such as conducting preoperational surveillance in a major metropolitan area, maintaining secure communications, establishing cover for status and cover for action while undertaking operational activity, or acquiring weapons without arousing unwanted attention, are simply things not taught to most guerrilla fighters, and they are skills that require a great deal of practical training in order to master.

So far, the TTP has shown an ability to successfully operate inside Pakistan and Afghanistan, but its operations to date have been somewhat rudimentary (like the Marawan attack) and have not shown an advanced degree of nuance or sophistication. Likewise, the group has not demonstrated the ability to train and dispatch operatives to a major western city like New York or London in order to conduct an attack. (Al Qaeda has demonstrated this ability but the TTP has not.) When all is said and done, employing an improvised explosive device manufactured at a camp in Pakistan against a target in Pakistan is a far cry from employing it against a target in London.

Now, with regard to the second step of the test — intent. Is the TTP really planning to strike Washington, D.C., New York and London? This is a question that almost every major intelligence and law enforcement agency in the West began to focus on following Mehsud’s public statements in a January 2008 interview with Al Jazeera that he wanted to attack the United States and the United Kingdom. “We pray to God to give us the ability to destroy the White House, New York and London,” Mehsud said during the interview. “And we have trust in God. Very soon, we will be witnessing jihad’s miracles.”

But does such a public statement — or even his March 31 statement in which he threatened strikes against Washington, D.C. in response to U.S. UAV attacks — really translate into intent? This is where the intent side of the equation gets very fuzzy. Merely stating that one is going to do something is not necessarily a clear indication that there is real intent to do so.

Indeed, there is a good argument to be made that if Mehsud truly intended to strike the United States or United Kingdom he would remain silent about his aspirations in order to help ensure the operational security of any operatives he has dispatched abroad to conduct such strikes. Certainly, Osama bin Laden did openly declare war against the United States in August 1996 and again in February 1998, but he never mentioned specific targets in those declarations and was certainly far more circumspect with his statements as his operatives got closer to actually executing attacks. In fact, bin Laden even went so far as to deny responsibility for many of the early al Qaeda attacks and initially denied responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

Calculations

Mehsud is neither stupid nor crazy. Such people do not become major militant leaders at age 35 in the violent world of Pakistan’s tribal areas. He is clearly rational and quite Machiavellian. What he is doing, therefore, likely has some rational explanation beyond the fact that he likes to hear his name mentioned by the media. While the threats against the United States and United Kingdom may be explained away under the “media debutante” rationale, unless Mehsud made a terrible miscalculation in taking credit for the Binghamton shooting, there must be some other overriding reason to risk damaging his reputation as a militant leader with a specious claim.

As seen by the U.S. reaction to the 9/11 attacks, any successful large-scale attack on American soil could have dire consequences for Mehsud. Such a strike could, at the very least, serve to steel U.S. resolve to stay in Afghanistan, or it could motivate the United States to dramatically increase its focus on totally destroying the TTP. Additionally, if Mehsud is truly intent on hitting the United States or United Kingdom, we should see him begin to hit American and British targets within his current operational sphere, i.e., within Pakistan, before graduating to American and British targets overseas.

There is another possibility. Perhaps Mehsud does not possess the intent to attack Washington, New York or London. Maybe his threats — along with the Binghamton claim — are intended to scuttle the emerging U.S. strategy of dealing with factions of the Taliban in an effort to divide them and isolate the more radical elements.

If Mehsud does fear such a strategy — and he has reason to, following its successes in Iraq — it is possible that his recent antics are an effort to influence public perception inside the United States regarding the Taliban. As the United States reaches out to factions of the Afghan Taliban in an attempt to split them from al Qaeda, et al., Mehsud threatens the United States and attempts to link the Pakistani Taliban to a shooting in Binghamton, New York. Even though the link to the shooting was quickly and officially discounted, it is a safe bet that it will live on for a long time as an urban legend or rumor, especially among the more conspiracy-minded. Such perceptions are going to make the strategy of negotiating with any Taliban (Afghan or Pakistani) appear to be less tenable for many Americans.

At the same time, Mehsud could be using his rhetoric in an attempt to steer the more nationalist jihadists in Pakistan and Afghanistan toward his more transnational agenda. In any case, Mehsud’s efforts to shape opinion at home or abroad could explain his recent posturing, however bogus or brash it might be.

Obama was right about one thing,  Muslims have done so much for America and the  world, if you like terror, killing, rampaging, getting offended, and spreading sharia law.  They've really done a lot!  Where are those rainbows and unicorns???

**UPDATE**  Painter Dan Lacy provides the following painting, which is on eBay and can be purchased, get bidding folks.

 

Children on Terrorist Watch List in UK. What makes a child become a terrorist?

The British police have identified 200 schoolchildren, some as young as 13, as potential terrorist.  It would be interesting to read what actions by a child would identify them as a potential terrorist.  Lloyd deMause in The Emotional Life of Nations, Chapter 3:  The Childhood Origins of Terrorism, writes:

In order to understand this new battle, it would be useful to know what makes a terrorist—what developmental life histories they share that can help us see why they want to kill "American infidels" and themselves—so we can apply our efforts to removing the sources of their violence and preventing terrorism in the future. The roots of current terrorist attacks lie, I believe, not in this or that American foreign policy error but in the extremely abusive families of the terrorists. Children who grow up to be Islamic terrorists are products of a misogynist fundamentalist system that often segregates the family into two separate areas: the men's area and the woman's area, where the children are brought up and which the father rarely visits.¹ Even in countries like Saudi Arabia today, women by law cannot mix with unrelated men, and public places still have separate women's areas in restaurants and work places, because, as one Muslim sociologist put it bluntly: "In our society there is no relationship of friendship between a man and a woman."² Families that produce the most terrorists are the most violently misogynist; in Afghanistan, for instance, girls cannot attend schools and women who try to hold jobs or who seem to "walk with pride" are shot.³

Young girls are treated abominably in most fundamentalist families. When a boy is born, the family rejoices; when a girl is born, the whole family mourns.4 The girl's sexuality is so hated that when she is five or so the women grab her, pin her down, and chop off her clitoris and often her labia with a razor blade or piece of glass, ignoring her agony and screams for help, because, they say, her clitoris is "dirty," "ugly," "poisonous," "can cause a voracious appetite for promiscuous sex," and "might render men impotent."5 The area is then often sewed up to prevent intercourse, leaving only a tiny hole for urination. The genital mutilation is excruciatingly painful. Up to a third die from infections, mutilated women must "shuffle slowly and painfully" and usually are unable to orgasm.6 Over 130 million genitally mutilated women are estimated to live today in Islamic nations, from Somali, Nigeria and Sudan to Egypt, Ethiopia, and Pakistan. A recent survey of Egyptian girls and women, for instance, showed 97 percent of uneducated families and 66 percent of educated families still practicing female genital mutilation.7 Although some areas have mostly given up the practice, in others—like Sudan and Uganda—it is increasing, with 90% of the women surveyed saying they planned to circumcise all of their daughters.8

The mutilation is not required by the Qu´an; Mohammad, in fact, said girls should be treated even better than boys.9 Yet the women have inflicted upon their daughters for millennia the horrors done to them, re-enacting the abuse men inflict on them as they mutilate their daughters while joyfully chanting songs such as this:

"We used to be friends, but today I am the master, for I am a man. Look—I have the knife in my hand…Your clitoris, I will cut it off and throw it away for today I am a man."10

As the girls grow up in these fundamentalist families, they are usually treated as though they were polluted beings, veiled, and sometimes gang-raped when men outside the family wish to settle scores with men in her family.11 Studies such as a recent survey of Palestinian students show that the sexual abuse of girls is far higher in Islamic societies than elsewhere, with a large majority of all girls reporting that they had been sexually molested as children.12 Even marriage can be considered rape, since the family often chooses the partner and the girl is as young as eight.13 The girl is often blamed for her rape, since it is assumed that "those who don't ask to be raped will never be raped."14 Wife-beating is common and divorce by wives rare—in fact, women have been killed by their families simply because they asked for a divorce.15 It is no wonder that Physicians for Human Rights found, for instance, that "97 percent of Afghan women they surveyed suffered from severe depression."16

It is not surprising that these mutilated, battered women make less than ideal mothers, reinflicting their own miseries upon their children. Visitors to families throughout fundamentalist Muslim societies report on the "slapping, striking, whipping and thrashing" of children, with constant shaming and humiliation, often being told by their mothers that they are "cowards" if they don't hit others.17 Physical abuse of children is continuous; as the Pakistani Conference on Child Abuse reports:

A large number of children face some form of physical abuse, from infanticide and abandonment of babies, to beating, shaking, burning, cutting, poisoning, holding under water or giving drugs or alcohol, or violent acts like punching, kicking, biting, choking, beating, shooting or stabbing…18

Islamic schools regularly practice corporal punishment—particularly the religious schools from which terrorist volunteers so often come—chaining up their students for days "in dark rooms with little food and hardly any sanitation."19 Sexual abuse—described as including "fondling of genitals, coercing a child to fondle the abuser's genitals, masturbation with the child as either participant or observer, oral sex, anal or vaginal penetration by penis, finger or any other object and [child] prostitution"—is extensive, though impossible to quantify.20 Even mothers have been reported as often "rubbing the penis [of their boys] long and energetically to increase its size."21 According to the recent survey of Palestinian students, boys report having been used sexually even more often than girls—men choosing to rape little boys anally to avoid what they consider the "voracious vaginas" of women.22 In some areas, children are reported to have marks all over their bodies from being burned by their parents with red-hot irons or pins as punishment or to cure being possessed by demons.23 Children are taught strict obedience to all parental commands, stand when their parents enter the room, kiss their hands, don't laugh "excessively," fear them immensely, and learn that giving in to any of their own needs or desires is horribly sinful.24 All these childrearing practices are very much like those that were routinely inflicted upon children in the medieval West.25  (continue reading at PsychoHistory)

In this particular case we are talking about Muslim children in non-Islamic schools.  Well, sort of, because they are UK schools where the country has basically submitted to Islamic law. 

Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire Police and Britain’s most senior officer in charge of terror prevention, according to the Daily Times,  told the independent that the “Channel project” had intervened in the cases of at least 200 children who were thought to be at risk of extremism, since it began 18 months ago. The number has leapt from 10 children identified by June 2008.

Vigilance: “The programme, run by the Association of Chief Police Officers, asks teachers, parents and other community figures to be vigilant for signs that may indicate an attraction to extreme views or susceptibility to being ‘groomed’ by radicalisers,” the paper said.

“What will often manifest itself is what might be regarded as racism and the adoption of bad attitudes towards ‘the West’. One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society. But when we went back to his teachers they remarked on the things he used to write. In his exercise books he had written comments praising Al Qaeda. That was not seen at the time as being substantive. Now we would hope that teachers might intervene, speak to the child’s family or perhaps the local imam who could then speak to the young man,” Sir Norman was quoted as saying.  (continue at The Daily Times)

Palestinian, Hezbollah, Hamas, children are regularly taught and encouraged by both parents to become suicide bombers and terrorists toward Israelis.  The parents consider this something to be proud of and if any blame is to be given, it is attributed to Israel.

From the BBC, hat tip Michael:  A pregnant teenager was stabbed to death in her bedroom in a ferocious and sustained attack by her husband's secret lover, Harmohinder Kaur Sanghera.  Sana Ali, 17, of Bury, Greater Manchester, received 42 wounds.  (No they were not Methodist, or Catholic, of Buddhist, or Hindu ...)

The court heard Ms Sanghera, who denies murder, had been having an affair with Mrs Ali's husband Sair since July 2005.

Mr Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told the court that the relationship continued despite the Alis' arranged marriage in December last year.

Stabbed in stomach

Mr Wright said Mrs Ali's murderer had deliberately lifted her top and stabbed her in her abdomen at her Throstle Grove home. She was 11 weeks pregnant.  [snip]

He said the relationship between Mr Ali and Ms Sanghera, a 23-year-old dentistry student in Birmingham, ended after the attack in May this year.

Mrs Ali was born in Pakistan and had been considered to marry her cousin who was also a Shia Muslim, the court heard.

Mr Ali and Ms Sanghera, a Sikh known as Mindy, started a relationship in 2005, but hid it from his parents.

Mr Wright said: "He did not tell the defendant he was engaged to be married. (continue at BBC)

An arranged marriage?  At what age was Ms. Ali married?  Was she forced to marry and to have sex against her will? 

We've all seen pictures like these before.  A source of pride for the Muslim parents, a point of shame and sadness for others.

 

 

Most of us believe that children are born innocent.  They are a product of their environment and heredity, nurture and nature.  Are some people in this world going to do evil things no matter how good their parents are and no matter what is in their genes?  YES.  But the converse is also true.  Many children born to vile parents, raised in the worst of circumstances -- turn out to be some of our most wonderful citizens and leaders.  God gave us all freedom of choice.  We can choose to submit to the evil influences, or we can choose to rise above and reject them. 

We are all responsible for our own actions.

___________________________________________________________________

Trackposted to Nuke's, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary's Thoughts, Allie is Wired, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

America's Terrorism Top Ten

CIA Chief Michael Hayden provides a list of his top ten terror threats:  Al-Qaeda, violence in Mexico, Iran's nuclear program, Europe and the war on terror, instability caused by the low price of oil, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korea, China, and the Middle East.  What Hayden did not include in his list is home-grown terrorism and I think that is one of America's biggest threats.

Outgoing CIA Chief Michael Hayden lists Top Ten Terror Threats

1. Al Qaeda: “It is the organization that has the capacity to most threaten the physical safety of America and Americans. So it remains job No. 1. And we have talked about some successes and so on, but it is resilient, and therefore we have to continue to keep an eye on Al Qaeda,” he said.

2. Violence in Mexico: “Our good friend and neighbor Mexico had this horrible surge in violence that may cause — in fact has caused — us to talk with our Mexican friends, in more meaningful and deeper ways, to discover ways that we can cooperate against what we now view to be, and has always been, a common problem. …

“What you’ve got is President Calderon, very heroically, taking on drug cartels that I think everyone agrees threaten certainly the well-being of the Mexican people and the Mexican state, and taking them on in a very, very progressive way. Now, it is not quite the same thing as Colombia, where you had a politically motivated movement, the FARC, merging with narcotics organizations. Here it is largely in the business of crime but the effects could be just as dangerous, certainly to the well-being of the Mexican people.”

3. Iran’s nuclear program: “I included Iran, in terms of as they move forward in their own decision-making process, as they continue to churn out LEU, low enriched uranium, they do it at great cost, diplomatically and economically with regard to sanctions. They seem to be doing it with a purpose. As that quantity of that stockpile grows, you would think that at some point in that process, they are going to have to make a decision as to what it is they are going to do with it. So that is something we have to keep a close eye on as well.”  (continue reading at Fox News, hat tip National Terror Alert)

A Maggie Valley,North Carolina man, 48 year old David Hicks, has been arrested on terrorism charges.  Police say they found all of the ingredients needed to commit a terrorist act.  The ingredients were  a grenade and grenade detonators, 71 boxes of ammunition, and eight different firearms.  Any of you reading this could have eight different firearms, and maybe 71 boxes of ammunition, and possibly a grenade.  Detectives also found an email Hicks had recently written, saying that because of the outcome of the November election, he’d soon be leaving Maggie Valley to head for the Texas-Mexico border to help “protect our nation against illegal immigrants.”  (ABC)

This man does not sound like a terrorist to me, home-grown or otherwise.  What about the terrorism being taught in Mosques around our nation?  Anybody listening in on that?  I sure hope so.   How about keeping an eye on the pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah, anti-American and anti-Israel protests in our own streets. 

Pakistan Strike

A  United States military drone killed at least 20 people inside Pakistan.  I remember during the campaign Barack Obama claimed that if he was president and if we had actionable intelligence of terrorists in Pakistan, that he would give the order to strike inside Pakistan.  I may be assuming too much, but did Obama know about the strike ahead of time?  Where's the outcry from the anti-war crowd?  Where are the images of innocent women and children?  Oh wait!  It happened under Obama's watch, so it's all OK.

A U.S. Predator drone fired three missiles at a compound about two miles from the town of Mirali in the tribal area of North Waziristan about 5:15 p.m., according to a Pakistani security official and local residents.  [snip]

At least 132 people have been killed in 38 suspected U.S. missile strikes inside Pakistan since August as the administration of President George W. Bush stepped up pressure on Pakistan to pursue more aggressively Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents in the country's tribal areas.   (Washington Post)

In response to similar questions, Michelle Malkin says "Change has come to America."  That's right, the difference is not necessarily what is happening, it is under whose reign it happens.  Obama can do no wrong in the eyes of his flock.

It also helps that our intelligence experts say the strikes have improved in precision with each new strike, which means fewer 'innocents' are involved.  Improved intelligence, thank you US Military and citizens on the ground, and improved relations with Pakistan, has also improved the precision of these stsrikes.  Apparently the Obama White House indicated that it will proceed cautiously in Pakistan and Afghanistan where the CIA has dominated U.S. strategy since 2001.

Thank goodness for this.

As for the future terrorists that may be captured, and no gitmo to hold them,... I say we may have to stop capturing terrorists.  Know what I mean???

A Saudi man released from Guantanamo after spending nearly six years inside the U.S. prison camp is now the No. 2 of Yemen's al-Qaida branch, according to a purported Internet statement from the terror network.

The announcement, made this week on a Web site commonly used by militants, came as President Barack Obama ordered the detention facility closed within a year. Many of the remaining detainees are from Yemen, which has long posed a vexing terrorism problem for the U.S.  (AP)

Removing Iran from list of terror organizations?  European Union diplomats have reached tentative agreement to remove an Iranian opposition group from the 27-nation bloc's list of terrorist organizations, officials said Friday.  I doubt the United States will follow the EU lead.

Good News Friday: Dead Terrorists and More

Two terrorists who happen to be Kenyans, Usama al-Kini and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, the head of al-Qaida's operations in Pakistan and his top aide, were killed in a U.S. missile strike on New Year's Day.  Well, that's something to celebrate!  Where were these bad guys operating and where were they killed?  Pakistan: in the tribal region of South Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

. . . They were high on a U.S. list of most wanted terrorism suspects.

Al-Kini is believed to be responsible for several attacks, including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad in September that killed more than 50 people.

He and Swedan were also indicted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

What?  No announcement from the media that they were "really nice boys"?  Thank You U.S. Military!!!

Sarah Palin fights back against media malpractice, from Right Pundits:

Sarah Palin was interviewed for an upcoming documentary on media malpractice. Here is a video of her interview.

Sarah Palin on Media Malpractice - Video

Documentary filmmaker John Ziegler interviewed Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as part of his documentary on ‘Media Malpractice’. In this interview, she talks about the media coverage of her 2008 campaign for the vice presidency.  (continue the commentary at Right Pundits)

Israel says NO!  She will not lay down and die.

The competition and voting is over.  Here's the winning entries for the Watcher of Weasels Council:

Please read and share this week’s important winning entries!

Winning Council Submissions

• First place with 2 1/3 points! - The Razor - ‘Physician Shortage’ and the Free Market
• Second place with 1 2/3 points - Joshuapundit - It’s Hard Out There For A ( Hamas) Pimp
• Third place with 1 1/3 points - (T*) - The Provocateur - Jews, Israel and the Democratic Party
• Third place with 1 1/3 points - (T*) - Cheat-Seeking Missiles - Portrait of an Arse as a Dead Man
• Fourth place with 1 points - (T*) - Rhymes With Right - On The Conflict Against Hamas
• Fourth place with 1 points - (T*) - Soccer Dad - Nyt: hamas upgrades = success / israel defends = disaster
• Fifth place with 2/3 point - (T*) - Right Truth - It’s a Terrifying World
• Fifth place with 2/3 point - (T*) - Mere Rhetoric - Concise List Of Middle East Failures That Were Going To Happen Anyway But That Foreign Policy Experts Will Now Blame On Israel
• Fifth place with 2/3 point - (T*) - The Colossus of Rhodey - Dopey WNJ Letter of the Week
• Sixth place with 1/3 point - Bookworm Room - Taking Reagan’s Name in Vain

Winning Non-Council Submissions

• First place with 2 2/3 points! - Ron Rosenbaum.com/Pajamas Media - Some differences between Hamas and the Nazi Party
• Second place with 2 points - Natan Sharansky/WSJ - “HOW THE U.N. PERPETUATES THE ‘REFUGEE’ PROBLEM”
• Third place with 1 2/3 points - (T*) - Commentary - Gaza and the Law of Armed Conflict
• Third place with 1 2/3 points - (T*) - Middle America News - A Warning for America from South Africa
• Fourth place with 2/3 points - (T*) - Debbie Schlussel - Schlissels of Israel Report: HAMAS Missile Missed Us By That Much; My Cousins’ School Hit
• Fourth place with 2/3 points - (T*) - Michelle Malkin - Who says conservative bloggers don’t do reporting?
• Fourth place with 2/3 points - (T*) - Daled Amos - Surge: Israeli Style
• Fourth place with 2/3 points - (T*) - The New Criterion - Introduction: The dictatorship of relativism
• Fifth place with 1/3 point - The Terror Wonk - Managing Gaza

Bad News:

Barack Hussein Obama reveals personal details of his secret service agent and family.

It's a Terrifying World

We've been keeping such a close eye on Israel and Gaza, other hot spots around the world have dropped from the news.  Reading Laer's great site, I realized that many of us had put India and Pakistan on the back burner even after the atrocities committed in Mumbai by Muslim terrorists.  Today India handed over to Pakistan a dossier on its probe into the Mumbai terror attacks.    From the Daily Times:

 ...  an Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman said that the material handed over to the Pakistani high commissioner included interrogation reports of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone gunman arrested after the attacks; details of the attackers’ communication links with ‘elements in Pakistan’ and data retrieved from GPS and satellite phones.  [snip]

Pakistan has decided to form a joint investigation team of its intelligence agencies – including the FBI and IB – to examine the ‘evidence’ handed over by India, a private TV channel reported.

It would be great if these two countries could work together on this and perhaps arrest the people behind the scene who are also responsible for the brutal attacks, mutilation, terror and ultimate deaths of so many innocent people.  From AFP:

New Delhi has blamed the attacks -- which left 172 people dead including nine of the gunmen -- on the banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir.

Boucher refused to reveal any details of the evidence he had seen, but said it was "clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil."

He however said Pakistan's crackdown on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity with links to LeT, showed the country's "commitment to eliminate sources of terrorism on Pakistani soil".

Barack Obama will have his plate full when he takes office.  Whether the Israel - Gaza fighting is over by that time really does not matter.  The Arab-Muslim hatred for Israel never cools and will constantly be a problem around the world.  Iran, who wants Israel gone as most Muslims do, is still working on their nuclear program, still arming Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as entering Iraq to cause whatever troubles they can there.  

It has been interesting to watch how the Arab world has responded to the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.  Talk about family bickering, oh my.  Egypt may turn out to be the black sheep of the Arab - Muslim family.

Iran criticizes Arabs over Gaza Crisis
Iran’s president told the Arab League, it must act quickly to end Israeli attacks on Gaza adding that setting up a committee or making speeches was not enough. But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not suggest specific action by Arab states, some of which non-Arab Iran has criticised for not doing enough to protect Palestinians after more than 380 deaths.

Iran’s Support of Hamas Unnerves Egypt
The Israeli attack on Gaza has shown a new face of Iran in the Gulf region that is unnerving many Arab states. Traditionally Iran has supported oppressed Shiite minorities in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Lebanon, not only to empower them but also as a way to spread its creed of political Islam.

Neighbors / The Muslim Brotherhood - Iran's brothers -in-arms?
In recent weeks, Egypt and Iran have waged a tough media and diplomatic campaign against the backdrop of Iran's support for Hamas and Iran's intention, according to Egypt, to expand its sphere of influence in the Middle East. At the end of last week, for example, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, accused Egypt of not doing enough to protect Palestinians in Gaza.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah Urges Egyptian Officers to Rebel Against Their Regime's Policies, Calls For Demonstrations in Arab and Muslim World to Pressure Governments
On December 28, 2008, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, launched an unprecedented attack on the Arab regimes, particularly that of Egypt, accusing them of collaborating with Israel. Speaking on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, Nasrallah called for demonstrations to be held throughout the Arab world to pressure the Arab regimes to halt the Israeli offensive, and to compel Egypt to open the Rafah crossing.

Egyptians blame Hamas, yet are angry at Cairo as well
A sustained Israeli ground operation in Gaza would sharply increase public pressure on President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to do more to help the Palestinians of Gaza, despite widespread feelings here that the radical group Hamas provoked the current crisis.

Renowned Arab Thinker Lafif Lakhdar: Hamas Is Bringing Disaster upon the Palestinians
On October 17, 2008, liberal Arab thinker Lafif Lakhdar posted an article on the reformist e-journal www.elaph.com, in which he characterized Hamas as another link in the chain of Palestinian rejectionism, i.e., in their tendency to refuse all suggestions of compromise. This tendency, he said, is rooted in religious extremism and brings disaster upon the Palestinians. Lakhdar called on the Palestinians to take stock of their situation and start making realistic decisions based on pragmatic political considerations.

I think it's important to look at some connections and complications Obama may run into.  Hillary Clinton will be the new Secretary of State and her husband's connections are interesting.  Iran is just one example, but I'm sure many more will surface.

Clinton's Iranian Connection
The New York-based Alavi Foundation, which supports Iranian causes, contributed between $25,000 and $50,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation. This can be best described as the ultimate chutzpah, for on the very same day, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York indicted the president of the Alavi Foundation, Farshid Jahedi, "on a charge of obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying documents required to be produced under a grand jury subpoena concerning the Alavi Foundation's relationship with Bank Melli Iran and the ownership of a Manhattan office building."

Sanctions are the only solution the United Nations seems to have, yet we know they do not work.  One recent example:

Sanctions don't stop Hewlett-Packard from selling in Iran
Behind an unmarked door on a crowded side street in Tehran, a stack of Hewlett-Packard printers rises to the ceiling. A fleet of motorbikes swarms outside as deliverymen wait to take printers to buyers across the sprawling capital. HP printers have become a top seller here, despite a comprehensive embargo that prohibits the company from sending its products to Iran.

Last but not least we have this surprise:

Iranian newspaper reportedly closed for Gaza article
A newspaper close to former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been closed down for publishing an article the authorities said was sympathetic to Israel, the official IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.[…] "The reason for the closure of the newspaper is because it published an article yesterday in which it sanitised the Zionist regime's crimes in Gaza," Mohammad Parvizi of the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry told IRNA.

Up to this point, most of the terror situations involved Muslims.  But there are a few instances where bad guys other than Muslims are involved, and Obama will be faced with these problems too.

Violence along the Mexico - United States border increases daily.  There has been a  string of kidnappings in Mexico, singling out people with children or spouses in the United States who can pay a ransom.

“The relatives of Mexicans in the United States have become a new profit center for Mexico’s crime industry,” said Rodolfo García Zamora, a professor at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas who studies migration trends. “Hundreds of families are emigrating out of fear of kidnap or extortion, and Mexicans in the U.S. are doing everything they can to avoid returning. Instead, they’re getting their relatives out.”  (NYT, hat tip Marcus Wilder)

These kidnappings for money are the least of our worries here in the Untied States.  Organized crime and terror  are nothing new in Mexico and had been slipping and sliding back and forth across the US border for years.  Drug lords and rival drug gangs routinely kill innocents as well as police, border agents.  Beheadings of Mexican law enforcement is not new either, but the fact that it is increasing and drawing closer to America is something we need to be very worried about.

The following video was sent to me by a reader.  It is the handiwork of Mexican drug lords.  More detailed information on the video in upcoming articles.  The video could be titled "coming to an American town near you". YouTube rejected the video, but Google accepted it:

From Strategic Forecast:

in Chilpancingo, Guerrero state, authorities discovered the severed heads of eight soldiers and a former state police director in a lot next to a large retail store. Next to the heads was a note that read, “For each one of mine that you kill, I will kill ten soldiers.” The bodies were found in two locations along nearby highways.

Authorities believe that the soldiers were killed in retaliation for an army firefight with a drug gang in the town of Teloloapan, which left at least three drug traffickers dead. Officials believe the beheaded soldiers in this case had been kidnapped randomly as they were leaving nearby army barracks. The former police director was reportedly abducted outside a bull fighting arena.[snip]

(click to view map)

Dec. 15

• A report released by Mexico’s national human rights commission estimates that approximately 99 percent of crimes in the country go unpunished.   (continue reading at StratFor)
  

January 2, 2009:  Twelve people were killed in northern Mexico close to the US border, including eight in Ciudad Juarez, in the latest violence attributed to the country's brutal drug war. (ABC)

The Dallas News reports:  'Drug-related violence in Mexico, already at unprecedented levels, is expected to escalate further this year, with targets likely to include top Mexican politicians and law enforcement agents and possibly even U.S. officials, according to diplomats and intelligence experts on both sides of the border.'

From the LA Times:  'The body count grows steadily, each massacre seemingly more gruesome than the one before. The flow of drugs to America and Europe continues virtually unabated.'  Representatives from Peru, Columbia and others offer their complaints and suggestions for curbing the flow of drugs through Mexico. 

Terry Nelson, Federal agent for 30 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Customs Service and the Department of Homeland Security, says:  "The Department of Justice reported [this month] that Mexican cartels are America's "greatest organized crime threat" because they "control drug distribution in most U.S. cities." If what we've been doing worked at all, we wouldn't be battling Mexican drug dealers in our own cities or anywhere else."  Unfortunately Mr. Nelson thinks "that legalizing and effectively regulating drugs will stop drug market crime and violence by putting major cartels and gangs out of business."

'Interviews with agents in numerous federal and local law enforcement agencies, border residents, and drug-war journalists paint a picture of a war beyond anything anyone has ever seen here before, an epidemic of murder and sadistic violence...'  The author of this article blames the United States and gun rights in bordering US states for the firepower the drug cartels have.  Obviously an America-hating Liberal.

The truth is Mexico is encroaching on Southern America.  The US citizens who live along our southern border know this better than anyone.  Illegal aliens cross their property, destroy their belongings, bring violence, drugs, and in many cases disease into our country.  The people who transport illegals for money are happy to transport terrorists, anybody or anything, for a price. 

The solution to this problem is the same as it is for Islamic terrorists around the world who attack American interests -- American military strength, rejecting multiculturalism, rejecting political correctness, rejecting illegal aliens on US soil, insisting on assimilation for ALL newcomers to the United States no matter what country they come from and no matter what religion they are, and finally securing our borders.

 * * *

(Thanks to Insights Into Today's Middle East for some background links)

Christians Under Attack

It's not new that Christians are persecuted, attacked and killed for no other reason that they are Christians.  Yesterday The Telegraph published an article about David Fulton, 60, a former army major, and his wife Fiona, 46, who were convicted of sedition after sending critical emails about Gambia and its president, Yahya Jammeh.  According to the article, they spent nine years preaching Christianity in the overwhelmingly Muslim country, became embroiled in a conflict that began with attacks on their property and ended with a series of attempts on Mr Fulton's life.  (hat tip Marcus Wilder, the Naive Abroad)

The Fulton's home and car were burglarized and attacks on their property became routine.   Mr. Fulton was attacked by two Muslim men, and in their correspondence, they wrote how they believed that three men who had been helping with their missionary work had been poisoned and killed after Mr Fulton found a note on one of the men's bodies that read "one less Christian".

Missionaries sentenced to year's hard labour in Gambia were victims of violent campaign.
The British missionary couple who were sentenced to a year's hard labor in an African prison last week led an extraordinary life of adventure and daring. 

David and Fiona Fulton (right) with their children Iona and Luke and adopted baby Elizabeth Photo: PA

He began to carry a gun for his own safety and one friend said the missionary's way of life was like something out of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Mr Fulton is now confined to a cell, eating only food that is brought to him by friends because of fears that he will be poisoned.  (continue reading at The Telegraph)

The Fulton's story is chilling.  Like all Christian missionaries, all they wanted to do was help the people of Gambia, carry out the Lord's Will for their lives, and share the Love of Jesus.  But, we all know how that goes over with Muslims:

In sentencing the couple, the magistrate wrote: "These two British convicts are without doubt the enemies whose real motive must be to destroy the peace, love and harmony that has coexisted between Muslims and Christians for generations in this country."

The Fultons are just one story of Christians being abused, tortured, imprisoned, and worse.  Read about Nousheen Bibi, a teenage Christian girl in Pakistan.

SARGODHA, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A Christian teenage girl, who was abducted and enslaved by a Muslim, was with her parents Saturday, January 3, after a local court ordered police to free her, Christians said.

Police reportedly carried out the order on December 13, transferring Nousheen Bibi to her parents, after three months of captivity in the home of her former Muslim employee, a woman from the area of Shahzad Park in the Pakistani town of Sargodha.  (continue reading at Christians Under Attack)

Of course it is necessary to state that Muslims don't treat their own children any better than they treat Christian children.  The Taliban demands that all girls be wed to jihadists, Dhimmi Watch:

Another consequence of a mindset that views women as possessions, and considers all of the earth to be rightfully entitled to Muslim believers, particularly those who wage jihad.

"Girls to marry militants, orders Taliban," from the Times of India, January 2 (thanks to all who sent this in):

ISLAMABAD: On the heels of their crusade against girls going to schools, the Taliban have now issued new dictum in the areas under their sway asking parents of the grown up daughters to marry them to militants or "face dire consequences".  (continue at Dhimmi Watch)

It's not always the Muslims attacking Christians.  In this report it is the Hindus in India:

Christians attacked in India, Baptist World Alliance

Several Christians were killed and a number of churches and homes burnt by Hindu militants in Orissa state in eastern India.

The incidents, which began on December 23 and lasted for several days, reportedly left an estimated 10 Christians dead, while some 90 churches and approximately 600 homes were torched.

On December 23, “Fifty to 70 Hindu radicals pulled out Pastor Junas Digal from a parked bus, paraded him on the road, all the way beating him with sticks and hands, and finally shaved his head to claim him a Hindu,” Swarupananda Patra, General Secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation, reported to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).

According to Patra, on Christmas Eve, December 24, in Bamunigham in the Kandhamal District of Orissa, two Christians were shot and injured, many shops operated by Christians were destroyed, 20 churches were damaged, and three churches were razed to the ground.

Christians in Lebanon don't attend church much, probably because they fear for their lives.  However the Iraqi Christians who fled to Lebanon are packing the pews.  (AINA)

Please pray for Christians across the globe, no matter where they are.  Pray for their safety, pray for their mission, pray that you and I can be as strong as they are.

The Pakistan-India pot is simmering, ready to boil over...

The old saying, "a watched pot never boils" may be true in the kitchen, but with Pakistan and India a rolling boil is taking place before our very eyes.  Pakistan canceled army leave and redeployed some troops Friday in a sign of rising tension with India.  It's not going to be pretty...

The United States urged both sides to refrain from further raising tensions, already high after India blamed Islamist militants based in Pakistan for attacks on Mumbai last month that killed 179 people.

The latest strains followed media reports in Pakistan and India that "several" Indian nationals had been held in the last two days after bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan.

The foreign ministry in New Delhi warned Indian citizens on Friday that "it would be unsafe for them to travel (to) or be in Pakistan."  (Reuters)

Here in the United States we sit back in the comfort of our homes and the safety of the last bastion of freedom on the globe, and think, "That's over there, we don't have to worry about violence like that here."  That's a true statement, for now, but don't think for a minute violence like we see in India, Pakistan, Israel, and other places can't happen here, because it can. We need leaders who will stand firm.  Nile Gardiner writes in The Telegraph about George W. Bush:

The broader war against Islamist terrorism has also been a success. There has not been a single terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, and for all the global condemnation of pre-emptive strikes, Guantanamo and the use of rendition against terror suspects, the fact remains that Bush's aggressive strategy actually worked. ...

The decision by Bush, with Blair's support, to sweep the Taliban out of Afghanistan was a brilliant move, one that not all U.S. presidents would have taken ...

Bush's decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power will make it less likely that rogue regimes, Iran and North Korea included, will seek to militarily challenge American power. The memory of the invasion of Iraq and the unequivocal message that sent is by far the most effective deterrent to Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.

If superpowers do not demonstrate an ability and a willingness to wield power (as Britain did on numerous occasions at the height of the Empire) their hegemony will be increasingly challenged. President Bush exercised U.S. military power to stunning effect in both Iraq and Afghanistan, an important reminder that America was still a force to be reckoned with after the 1990s humiliation of Somalia and the half-hearted missile strikes against Bin Laden in Sudan. In an age of growing threats and challenges, the projection of hard power matters, and America's next president would be wise to take heed.

Stratfor says:

As Stratfor reported Dec. 22, there is a high probability of India using military force against Pakistan after Dec. 26, when a deadline expires for Pakistan to deliver on Indian demands to crack down on Islamist militant proxies that threaten India. With low expectations that Pakistan has the will or capability to deliver on these demands, India has spent the past month preparing for military action against Pakistan. Pressure is now ratcheting up on both sides of the border, with Indian Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, air officer commanding-in-chief of the Western Air Command, telling reporters Dec. 24 that as many as 5,000 targets in Pakistan have thus far been identified, while saying that many of the militants hiding out in camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have already fled.

It should be noted that the area of Rajasthan where Indian troops are deploying and where villagers are preparing to evacuate is a long distance from Kashmir, where conflict between India and Pakistan typically takes place. Barmer district is adjacent to Jaisalmer district, where India’s Southwestern Air Command is located. Any attacks based out of the Barmer district would involve mechanized and armored forces that could threaten the core Karachi-Hyderabad-Islamabad corridor — Pakistan’s only transit corridor that links the Pakistani heartland of Punjab with the coast. Given that cash-strapped Pakistan is a net food and energy importer and is already flirting with bankruptcy, India has a military opportunity at hand to cut off Pakistan’s economic lifeline. Furthermore, a potential cutoff would likely complicate the flow of fuel and supplies to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.  (continue reading at Strategic Forecast)

The Telegraph has a must read article,  Indulgence of Islam is harming society:

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Britain: the number of Muslims has grown from 1.6 million to two million since 2000. Moreover, every major public institution has changed its policies to accommodate the demands of Islamic "community leaders". The Government, the Opposition, the police, schools, the Church of England, the BBC and now Channel 4 are all helping Muslims construct a parallel Islamic state.

Early next year, the think tank Civitas will publish a survey of 100 British Muslim schools. Entitled When Worlds Collide, it will argue that some of them are pushing pupils into ghettos. Young women, in particular, are forbidden to pursue career opportunities. "Every year, an incalculable number of Muslim young women are lost to the wider world," says the report. One school website links to al-Qaeda; another directs pupils to a scholar who advocates the murder of Jews.  [snip]

According to Murray, "what we are seeing is the state deferring to a seventh-century Arabian tradesman as a source for secular law". He was speaking on Christmas Eve. The next day, Ahmadinejad spoke to the nation. Yesterday it was reported that Baroness Butler-Sloss, one of Britain's most senior legal figures, wants Sharia divorces to be enshrined in law. For the first time in decades, religion is moulding public life in this country; but that religion is not Christianity.   (The Telegraph)

The US is not the UK, ... yet.  We have already followed in the UK's steps on many issues.  I suppose the UK thinks they are making a bargain... give in and stay safe, but they are sorely wrong. 

India has some tough decisions to make in the very near future. 

Mad Dogs Off The Leash! a/k/a Islamic Terrorists

Later I will be posting an interview with the relatives of the Jewish Rabbi and others who were targets of Islamic terrorists in Mumbai, India.  Now I want you to consider that the terrorists are a new breed of bad guys -- the next generation terrorist.  Consider also that the United States needs to be prepared for this upgrade evil.  The torture the Jews endured was so bad, that even the medical examiner could not speak of it, he could not get the images of what these people had endured out of his mind.

Consider also that these twenty-first century barbarians chose Western, Jewish, non-Muslim people to brutally torture -- just for the fun of it.

From arturoafc54 at Peace and Freedom Global Future:

 

In Mumbai, it is now apparent that the terrorists that struck the hotels and other sites, killed nearly 200, tortured Jewish prisoners before putting them to death, and threw around hand grenades indiscriminately, were not your grandparents terrorists.

Because the Indian police captured one terrorist alive and a wealth of material and forensic evidence, we know several facts about the Mumbai terrorists:

–The surviving terrorist has told authorities he and the others were trained in Pakistan by the Islamist militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba.

–The terrorists were well armed with modern, first-rate automatic weapons and hand grenades.

–They used every conceivable modern technology to assist them in their deadly task: cell phones, GPS, Blackberries, text messaging and other tools were found.

–They had prepared physically and mentally for a long siege.  The dead terrorists are “beefy” well muscled men who seem to have worked out physically for months recently. There is some evidence that the terrorists used steroids.

–The susviving terrorist has spoken about mental and Islamic readiness and the fact that none of the terrorists had any fear of death.

–The terrorist, though Islamic fanatics, used cocaine, LSD and other drugs to assist them to stay awake and “one the edge.” Syringes, paraphernalia, and steroids were found on some of the terrorists.

–At least one terrorist wore a shirt bearing the Versace logo; a kind of Muslim taboo.  The use of the logo indicates that these men are unafraid to embrace what some Muslims consider “decadent.” 

The wearing of the “decadent” logo might seem a small, seemingly unimportant fact. But it could be evidence, combined with the drug use and other evidence, that these terrorist are unencumbered by any religious, cultural,  moral or other restrictions.

A criminal psychologist schooled in terrorism told Peace and Freedom, “these are mad dogs off the leash.”

Related:
Mumbai Terror Survivor Bought Cheap and Promised Pay “Dead or Alive” By Pakistan Handlers

 
This image taken from NDTV shows a man wearing a T-shirt with a “Versace” logo carrying an automatic weapon as he enters a train station in Mumbai, late November 26. The man, Ajmal Amir Kamal, 21, is being interrogated in a safe house in Mumbai, reports said.(AFP/NDTV/File)

Pakistan's Struggle

John E. Carey at Peace and Freedom '08 has been a faithful supporter of the struggles in Pakistan.  He provides regular reports from on the ground from journalist Muhammad Khurshid.  Today the two men join forces and give us an excellent overview of the present situation:

Pakistan:  A Very Personal Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Against Militant Terrorists:

On February 10 of this year, Pakistani journalist Muhammad Khurshid joined with me to write a commentary essay for the Washington Times.  We started by asking, ”Given just 10 minutes with a candidate running for the White House in the United States, or ten minutes of discussion with a citizen-voter in America, what points should be made about Pakistan?”

A lot has changed in Pakistan and in the U.S. since that time.  President General Musharraf is no longer the dominant political figure in Pakistan.  Now, as we write, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari is in China currying favor and gaining much needed financial backing. That support from China to Pakistan is needed, in Mr. Zardari’s view, due to doubts about his U.S. ally and because of Mr. zardari’s inability to deliver on very basic promises.  Pakistan’s new government is unable even to deliver round-the-clock electricity to the nation’s capitol, Islamabad, and the safety and security of the Pakistani people is eroding steadily due to an onslaught of terrorist killings.

Chinese honour guards march past Beijing’s Tiananmen Square during a lavish official welcome ceremony for Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, outside the Great Hall of the People October 15, 2008. Zardari arrived on Tuesday for his first visit to China as president, and has said he wants his four-day trip “to remind the leadership of the world how close our relationship is”. Pakistan is set to usher in a series of agreements with China during the trip, highlighting Islamabad’s hopes that Beijing will help it through economic and diplomatic troubles.REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA)

 

The U.S. has doubts about Mr. Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widow, who was called “Mr. Ten Percent” for his corruption and bribe-taking during his wife’s administration of Pakistan.   And Americans wonder if he is truely committed to the war against terrorists.

Many Pakistanis say that the U.S. is raining down missiles upon Pakistan’s innocent civilians — missiles from unmanned Predator drones.  The U.S. says the cross-border attacks from Afghanistan are eliminating Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists.  Terrorist inside Pakistan are waging a daily war of bombings, killing and kidnapping that have surpassed the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The devestation of Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel is the most visible evidence of this hate and death campaign.

In short there is a growing crisis of confidence among Pakistanis — and growing fear among top U.S. policy makers that the U.S. may indeed “lose” Pakistan to militant Islamic extremists.

For my friend Muhammad Khurshid the changes in Pakistan are personal and very real.  He has lost his job as a journalist at a major Pakistani newspaper — dismissed apparently because he still supports U.S. objectives in Pakistan, he defies the Taliban and al-Qaeda and he questions the Zardari regime.

The Pakistani Army has entered Muhammad’s homeland in the Bajaur Agency of the tribal areas, creating at least 200,000 refugees and displaced persons, and probably more.  Muhammad has had friends and relatives killed and he has lost track of his own wife and family several times.  He has taken to asking Western journalists for funds and support.

 
Pakistani army soldiers take up positions in the troubled tribal areas in early October.
(AFP/File/Chand Khan)

In short, Pakistan is now at a cross roads that cannot be ignored.  An uncerttain and problematic economy and government have fueled militant extremists that are exploding in numbers and ferocity.

“Given just 10 minutes with a candidate running for the White House in the United States, or ten minutes of discussion with a citizen-voter in America, what points should be made about Pakistan?”

First, we would remind both Senators Obama and McCain and all Americans that the number one task of the President of the United States is his role as Commander in Chief of the armed forces, as defined in Article II of the Constitution.  Then we would suggest that the president has great singular responsibility and authority to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, ” as his oath states.  He is also tasked with defending the United States “against all enemies” and is the man who, arguably, has more singular authority than anyone else for the conduct of war, the preservation of the United States and the safety of Americans against the assaults from enemies including terrorists.

We ask God to watch over our friend Muhammad.  But we aslo ask God to keep in the fore of our presidential candidates’ minds the ongoing global conflict which has been tipping increasingly toward Pakistan.

  (continue reading)

U.S. College Student Arrested in Pakistan

From National Terror Alert:

A U.S. citizen was arrested on unspecified charges Monday in a rugged tribal area of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan and is forbidden to most foreigners, a Pakistani official said. Jude Kenan, a Florida college student, was arrested in Shabqadar, in the Charsadda district of the Mohmand Agency in North Waziristan, said Pakistan Police Station House Officer Qayum Khan.

Officers were investigating what the man was doing in the border area, which is believed to be a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden and other foreign extremists, said one officer, Pir Shahab.

Kenan was leaving the tribal areas through the Yakaghund police checkpoint when he was arrested, Khan said.

The only foreigners allowed in the district are those permitted by the Interior Ministry.

Authorities said Kenan had a U.S. passport as well as a camera, laptop and dagger. Kenan said he was in the region to meet “Habibullah,” the police official said.

Habibullah is a proper name in Afghanistan and is the name of an Afghan detainee who died in U.S. custody in 2002. The name means “God’s beloved” or “God’s favorite” in Arabic.

Kenan has been moved to the Shabqadar police station for further questioning, Khan said.

A U.S. embassy spokesman said he had no information on the arrest.

Asked whether he was believed to be a journalist, a tourist, a researcher, or a suspected militant, Shahab said: “These are the questions we are trying to investigate.”

Source

Other reading:

ACLU Pressure Registrars to Illegally Allow Out-of-State College Students to Vote in Virginia

Sarah Palin Rocked

Just finished watching the VP debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin.  There is no question in my mind that Sarah Palin won this debate.  She looked a little nervous at the very beginning, but it only took her a few minutes to get comfortable. 

Mort Kondracke said Palin was feisty, informal, that she said nothing embarrassing, and that made the better of the debate over Biden.  Bil Kristol said that she did very well and the emails he had received from conservatives reflect they are very happy with Palin's performance.  Kirsten Powers said of Biden that he did no harm and did not take the bait from Palin. 

Fred Barns said Palin revived the enthusiasm for McCain - Palin saying, "This is exactly the way I expected her to perform!"  Fred Barns continued, "She knew exactly when she won this debate.  At 9:55 pm, when she said to Gwen Ifill, "Can we go back to Afghanistan?""

Kirsten Powers thought Palin gave too many 'mini stump speeches'.  Brit Hume asked about the "contrast between her words, the way she speaks, mid-West 'speak', strikingly different than Joe biden's 'Senate speak' ... wondering if that did Palin any good or damage.  Greta Van Susteren liked the  plain talk, the mid-Western talk, of Sarah Palin and thought she made a connection to the average person listening.

Karl Rove said Palin did great.  He does not think Biden did good at all.  Rove says that Biden made ten statements that were WRONG. 

The group of potential voters interviewed by Frank Luntz almost 100% thought Sarah Palin won the debate over Biden.  The potential voters did not like the edited interviews by Gibson, Couric and the MSM's biased representation of Palin.   Also the Democrats, Independents, and Republicans in the Luntz group all were exceptionally pleased with Palin's comments on personal responsibility on things like the financial situation.

As all readers of Right Truth know, we are very big on personal responsibility here and are very pleased that Sarah Palin brought out this very important point.

A few odd comments from the debate, in my opinion:

(1)  Joe Biden said that Bankruptcy Courts should be able to reduce interest and principle for home owners so they don't lose their houses.  I think this is a very dangerous statement.  People  need to take personal responsibility for the contracts they sign.  They owe a certain amount of money and should be required to pay that.  If the government wants to decrease interest rates, extend the years to pay the loan off, ... fine ... but reduce the principle, no way.

(2)  Joe Biden said that "climate change is clearly man made. We know what the cause is, man made."  We do not know any such thing.  In fact the majority of expert scientists recently say the opposite.

(3)  Joe Biden mentioned that a large number of madrassas had recently been build along the Afghanistan - Pakistan border, and that the U.S. should be building schools there.  This is just crazy for many reasons.  More madrasses may have been built in that region, but suggesting that we build secular schools along side them is not the answer.  The area needs to be cleared of terrorists first to make it safe for not only men and women, but children.  If the Petraeus plan is implemented in Afghanistan, making nice with the locals would come in time.

(4)  Sarah Palin stated that she and John McCain believed in the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.  I expected Joe Biden to have some response to that statement, but did not say anything. 

(5)  Joe Biden said, "My house is my total investment."  What, does he expect the voters to believe he has no other investments?  No retirement, no stocks, no savings???

 Fact Check from USA Today By Ken Dilanian and Richard Wolf,

A look at some of the claims made by Sen. Joe Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the vice presidential debate Thursday night in St. Louis:

LIVE VIDEO: Watch the debate now

LIVE BLOG: Follow all the debate questions

Tax votes

The claim: Palin said Sen. Barack Obama voted 94 times to increase taxes.

The facts: Non-partisan FactCheck.org called that count, which has been cited before by Republicans, "inflated and misleading." Examining the 94 votes at issue, FactCheck.org found that 23 were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all; they were against proposed tax cuts.

Seven were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on a relative few, either corporations or affluent individuals, according to FactCheck.org, which is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

The 94 tally includes two, three and even four votes on the same measure.

Tax rate changes

The claim: Palin said Obama's plan to raise the top income tax rate would affect "millions of small businesses." Biden responded that the vast majority of small businesses do not report more than $250,000 in income.

The facts: The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, citing 2003 data from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, said in a report that 436,000 tax filers with small-business income — 1.3% of the 32.8 million filers with small-business income — were subject to the top income tax rate. Another Tax Policy Center analysis concluded that "roughly 97% of small businesses would not be affected at all by increases in the top two tax rates."

Health care

The claim: Palin said Obama wants a "universal, government-run program" and "health care being taken over by the feds."

The facts: Obama's health-care plan does not call for a government takeover. In fact, it isn't even universal. It would only cover all children. Obama's plan would give Americans the opportunity to have government health insurance, but they also could pick a private plan.

Energy

The claim: Biden said he has "always" supported clean coal. He said "a comment made at a rope line was taken out of context" by John McCain's campaign.

The facts: In the video, recorded at the beginning of Biden's bus trip across Ohio last week, he is seen responding to a question about why the campaign is supporting clean coal. "We're not supporting clean coal," he says. "Guess what? China is building two every week, two dirty coal plants. And it's polluting the United States, it's causing people to die."

As the exchange continues, Biden says: "China's gonna burn 300 years of bad coal unless we figure out how to clean their coal up, because it's gonna ruin your lungs, and there's nothing we can do about it. No coal plants here in America. Build 'em, if they're gonna build 'em, over there and make 'em clean because they're killing you."

Mortgage crisis

The claim: Biden said McCain said he was "surprised" by the subprime mortgage crisis.

The facts: McCain's use of the word "surprised" came in response to a leading question in New Hampshire last December. At the time, he compared it to the dot-com collapse of the late 1990s, adding: "I was surprised at other times in our history. I don't know if surprised is the word." Later in the same interview, he said, "When I say 'surprised,' I'm not surprised when in capitalist systems that there's greed and excess."

Troop funding

The claim: Each vice presidential candidate said the opposing presidential candidate voted against funding U.S. troops in Iraq.

The facts: Palin's charge that Obama voted against funding the troops is true. But Obama said at the time that he wanted to fund the troops, but the bill in question didn't include a requirement that President Bush begin bringing troops home. Similarly, Biden's charge that McCain also voted against funding is true — because the bill in question included a timeline for withdrawing troops, and McCain opposes timelines.

Diplomacy

The claim: Biden said Obama did not say he would meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "This is simply not true about Barack Obama," he said. "He did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad."

The facts: At a news conference in New York City in September 2007, Obama was asked, "Senator, you've said before that you'd meet with President Ahmadinejad … would you still meet with him today?" He replied: "Yeah, nothing's changed with respect to my belief that strong countries and strong presidents talk to their enemies and talk to their adversaries."

Your turn, what do you think???

Saad bin Laden Leaves Iran, Goes Home to Papa in Pakistan

Osama bin Laden's son, Saad bin Laden, has returned to Pakistan.  Does this mean that papa bin Laden is dead or injured and his next-in-line is coming home to take over?  Or is this part of the re-grouping and re-organizing of al-Qaeda?  Where has Saad bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leadership been lately?  In IRAN !!!

Osama bin Laden’s son, Saad has returned to Pakistan according to messages posted on a Jihad web forum.

Al Qaeda is consolidating its leadership in the territory under its control in Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden’s son and heir apparent, Sa’ad bin Laden, has returned to Pakistan from his safe haven in Iran, according to messages posted on a Qaeda jihad Web forum known as al-Hesbah.

An organization that tracks and translates discussions on such forums, the SITE Institute, provided its subscribers with a summary of messages describing what it said was an escape by Sa’ad bin Laden from an Iranian prison. American counterterrorism officials, however, have considered him to be under a permissive version of house arrest since the American invasion of Afghanistan, in 2001.

The move of Sa’ad bin Laden to Pakistan tracks with the movements of other senior jihadists to the country since Al Qaeda re-established a safe haven in the 10,500-square-mile area that comprises the provinces along the border with Afghanistan.

It also could signal a new phase of Iran’s relationship with Al Qaeda. For the last year, public messages from the terrorist organization’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, have accused Iran of collaborating with America in fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Leaders of the Iraqi tribal uprising against Al Qaeda, however, have said Iran has collaborated with their foes.

While Al Qaeda, a Sunni Salafist organization, regards the Shiite theocracy of Iran as an apostate form of Islam, the two sides in the past have worked together through Iran’s Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian army. In 2001, following the American invasion of Afghanistan, most of Al Qaeda’s leadership fled to Pakistan. But others, including Sa’ad bin Laden and Saif al-Adel, fled to eastern Iran.  (continue reading at The New York Sun , hat tip National Terror Alert)