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Palestinian Official Calls For "Friday Intifadas" During Ramadan
From Christians Under Attack:
9 August 2011
PA Official Calls for ‘Friday Intifadas’ During Ramadan
Yasser Arafat's former advisor calls on PA Arabs to riot on Fridays during Ramadan to protest Israel's "racism."
Bassam Abu Sharif, a former advisor to Yasser Arafat and a member of the PLO, called Tuesday on all Arab Muslims and Christians in and around the world to turn Fridays during the month of Ramadan into days of intifada of the millions against what he termed “the Israeli occupation” and the “Judaizing” of Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority-based Ma’an news agency reported.
According to the report, Abu Sharif also called on Arabs to demand that the United States and Europe implement UN Resolution 242 and recognize an independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
Abu Sharif claimed that all Israeli governments have opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state and have wanted to expel the Arabs from the region. He added that his call for the ‘Friday Intifadas’ during Ramadan was made in order to protect the ‘Arabness’ of Jerusalem and Palestine.
Abu Sharif also Abu Sharif said that the Arab anger could turn into worldwide anger, causing Europe and the United States to experience large shocks because of their commitment to what he termed Israel’s “popular racism.”
Abu Sharif is the same PA official who in 2009 accused Israel of being responsible for the “assassination” of Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004.
It has been confirmed by Arafat’s doctor himself that the former PA Chairman died of AIDS.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com
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9 August 2011
PA Official Calls for ‘Friday Intifadas’ During Ramadan
Yasser Arafat's former advisor calls on PA Arabs to riot on Fridays during Ramadan to protest Israel's "racism."
Bassam Abu Sharif, a former advisor to Yasser Arafat and a member of the PLO, called Tuesday on all Arab Muslims and Christians in and around the world to turn Fridays during the month of Ramadan into days of intifada of the millions against what he termed “the Israeli occupation” and the “Judaizing” of Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority-based Ma’an news agency reported.
According to the report, Abu Sharif also called on Arabs to demand that the United States and Europe implement UN Resolution 242 and recognize an independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem.
Abu Sharif claimed that all Israeli governments have opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state and have wanted to expel the Arabs from the region. He added that his call for the ‘Friday Intifadas’ during Ramadan was made in order to protect the ‘Arabness’ of Jerusalem and Palestine.
Abu Sharif also Abu Sharif said that the Arab anger could turn into worldwide anger, causing Europe and the United States to experience large shocks because of their commitment to what he termed Israel’s “popular racism.”
Abu Sharif is the same PA official who in 2009 accused Israel of being responsible for the “assassination” of Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004.
It has been confirmed by Arafat’s doctor himself that the former PA Chairman died of AIDS.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com
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American Muslim Pleads Guilty To Using The Internet To Solicit Terrorism
From Christians Under Attack:
11 August 2011
American Muslim pleads guilty to using the Internet to solicit terrorism
Emerson Winfield Begolly pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using the Internet to urge others to commit 'real terrorism, but on a small scale.' He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
A 22-year-old American Muslim from New Bethlehem, Pa., pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using an Internet website to urge Muslim radicals within the US to engage in a wide range of terror attacks.
Emerson Winfield Begolly pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to a single charge of solicitation to commit a crime of violence.
The solicitations including urging like-minded individuals in the US to sabotage train tracks; destroy phone lines, power lines, and cell phone towers; start forest fires; and engage in isolated attacks against Americans civilians, police, and military officials.
“Real terrorism, but on a small scale,” he wrote in one of his posts. “Best as single shot, drive by, hit and run, beat down. Who are the best targets? Off duty police, off duty soldiers, gang member, family members of soldiers, government agents, workers at ammunition factory, white supremacists or black supremacists.”
IN PHOTOS: American Jihadis
He added: “It is best if targeting soldiers or police that they are off duty and out of uniform simply because [their] investigations will look usually for ‘robbery gone wrong’ or ‘revenge’ [rather than] as act of terrorism [or] revolt.”
Mr. Begolly was an active moderator on the English-language version of the militant Islamic web discussion forum, Ansar al-Mujahideen Forum.
He allegedly posted items on the forum under the names “Asadullah al-Shishani,” “Abu Nancy,” and “Goatly.”
The second count of Begolly’s indictment charges that he posted and distributed on the Internet a 101-page explosives course written by a professor who was once Al-Qaeda’s top chemical and biological weapons expert.
Begolly warned anyone downloading the document to use “anonymizing software.” He also advised downloading it to a flash drive rather than an individual’s computer hard drive.
“Begolly placed a number of postings … encouraging attacks within the United States,” the indictment says. “He suggested the use of firearms, explosives, and propane tanks against targets such as police stations, post offices, synagogues, military facilities, train lines, bridges, cell phone towers, and water plants.”
According to the indictment, he used the forum to express his approval of the 9/11 attacks, the 2004 killing of 334 hostages – including 186 children – in Beslan, Russia by Chechen fighters, the kidnapping and beheading of American businessman Nick Berg in Iraq in 2004, and the kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002.
Begolly suggested militant Muslims in the US should attack civilian aircraft, banks, military installations, Jewish schools, and Jewish and daycare centers, according to the indictment.
“Peaceful protests do not work,” he posted in July 2010. “The [non-Muslim unbelievers] see war as [the] solution to their problems, so we must see war as the solution to our[s]. No peace. But bullets, bombs, and martyrdom operations.”
After posting the “Explosives Course” online in late December 2010, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation sought to question him. When two agents approached Begolly on Jan. 4, the encounter turned into a physical struggle.
During a scuffle, Begolly allegedly bit both agents, drawing blood, as he attempted to retrieve a loaded 9 mm handgun from his jacket pocket.
Officials said his reaction to the agents was consistent with his advice to other Muslim militants on the forum. They said he had urged his readers to always carry a loaded firearm, to resist any law enforcement encounter – by biting if necessary, and to never be taken alive.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores the need for continued vigilance against homegrown extremism and use of the Internet to incite violence,” said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a statement.
“Too often, prosecutions arise only after a perpetrator commits actions ending in tragedy,” said David Hickton, US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “On this occasion, I commend the FBI for taking proactive steps to protect the people of the United States before any such tragedy could occur.”
Senior US District Judge Maurice Cohill set sentencing for Nov. 29. Begolly faces up to 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
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11 August 2011
American Muslim pleads guilty to using the Internet to solicit terrorism
Emerson Winfield Begolly pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using the Internet to urge others to commit 'real terrorism, but on a small scale.' He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
A 22-year-old American Muslim from New Bethlehem, Pa., pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using an Internet website to urge Muslim radicals within the US to engage in a wide range of terror attacks.
Emerson Winfield Begolly pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to a single charge of solicitation to commit a crime of violence.
The solicitations including urging like-minded individuals in the US to sabotage train tracks; destroy phone lines, power lines, and cell phone towers; start forest fires; and engage in isolated attacks against Americans civilians, police, and military officials.
“Real terrorism, but on a small scale,” he wrote in one of his posts. “Best as single shot, drive by, hit and run, beat down. Who are the best targets? Off duty police, off duty soldiers, gang member, family members of soldiers, government agents, workers at ammunition factory, white supremacists or black supremacists.”
IN PHOTOS: American Jihadis
He added: “It is best if targeting soldiers or police that they are off duty and out of uniform simply because [their] investigations will look usually for ‘robbery gone wrong’ or ‘revenge’ [rather than] as act of terrorism [or] revolt.”
Mr. Begolly was an active moderator on the English-language version of the militant Islamic web discussion forum, Ansar al-Mujahideen Forum.
He allegedly posted items on the forum under the names “Asadullah al-Shishani,” “Abu Nancy,” and “Goatly.”
The second count of Begolly’s indictment charges that he posted and distributed on the Internet a 101-page explosives course written by a professor who was once Al-Qaeda’s top chemical and biological weapons expert.
Begolly warned anyone downloading the document to use “anonymizing software.” He also advised downloading it to a flash drive rather than an individual’s computer hard drive.
“Begolly placed a number of postings … encouraging attacks within the United States,” the indictment says. “He suggested the use of firearms, explosives, and propane tanks against targets such as police stations, post offices, synagogues, military facilities, train lines, bridges, cell phone towers, and water plants.”
According to the indictment, he used the forum to express his approval of the 9/11 attacks, the 2004 killing of 334 hostages – including 186 children – in Beslan, Russia by Chechen fighters, the kidnapping and beheading of American businessman Nick Berg in Iraq in 2004, and the kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002.
Begolly suggested militant Muslims in the US should attack civilian aircraft, banks, military installations, Jewish schools, and Jewish and daycare centers, according to the indictment.
“Peaceful protests do not work,” he posted in July 2010. “The [non-Muslim unbelievers] see war as [the] solution to their problems, so we must see war as the solution to our[s]. No peace. But bullets, bombs, and martyrdom operations.”
After posting the “Explosives Course” online in late December 2010, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation sought to question him. When two agents approached Begolly on Jan. 4, the encounter turned into a physical struggle.
During a scuffle, Begolly allegedly bit both agents, drawing blood, as he attempted to retrieve a loaded 9 mm handgun from his jacket pocket.
Officials said his reaction to the agents was consistent with his advice to other Muslim militants on the forum. They said he had urged his readers to always carry a loaded firearm, to resist any law enforcement encounter – by biting if necessary, and to never be taken alive.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores the need for continued vigilance against homegrown extremism and use of the Internet to incite violence,” said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a statement.
“Too often, prosecutions arise only after a perpetrator commits actions ending in tragedy,” said David Hickton, US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “On this occasion, I commend the FBI for taking proactive steps to protect the people of the United States before any such tragedy could occur.”
Senior US District Judge Maurice Cohill set sentencing for Nov. 29. Begolly faces up to 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
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Two Men Killed Handling Explosives In Beirut Suburb
From Christians Under Attack:
12 August 2011
Two men killed handling explosives in Beirut suburb
BEIRUT // Two men were killed and a bystander was injured yesterday when a bomb went off in a car park in a Beirut suburb, security sources said.
The two men were believed to have been handling an explosive device when it detonated. "The explosion was very close to the bodies, so maybe they were wearing or holding the bomb," a security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The bystander received minor injuries in the blast, which also damaged cars in the area. Witnesses said they saw two bodies, lying in pools of blood, shortly after the bomb went off.
All three were taken to hospital, where the two men were pronounced dead. Police identified the dead men as Ihsan Dia and Hassan Nassar but gave no further details.
The blast happened near a car used by the son of Albert Serhan, a Lebanese judge, but it was unclear whether he was the target.
"My son is an engineer and he parks his car in that lot, along with his colleagues, near their office," Mr Serhan told Agence France-Presse.
"I have never been threatened nor does anyone in my family dabble in politics."
Shortly after the explosion, police and security forces cordoned off the area in the largely Christian neighbourhood of Antelias.
Fadi Thabet, who runs a computer shop opposite the car park, said he heard an explosion at about 11am local time. Peering from his shop window, he said he had seen one body on the ground covered in blood.
"We are very surprised to see something like this in our neighbourhood," Mr Thabet said. "There is no military here, no political offices. Just There were no immediate claims of responsibility yesterday. Police did not confirm the cause of the blast or whether it was politically or criminally motivated.
The incident rattled nerves in a country that has witnessed bombings and assassination attempts in the past.
While targeted killings have not taken place in recent years, just last month a convoy of vehicles belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was the target of a roadside bomb in the southern city of Sidon - the second such attack on the force in two months.
A wave of deadly car-bomb attacks between 2004 and 2008 targeted well-known journalists and political figures, the most high-profile of which was the murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14, 2005.
Last month, the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) named suspects in the murder - four men with ties to Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement.
Lebanese authorities submitted a report to the STL earlier this week, outlining their unsuccessful efforts to apprehend the four men. Yesterday, the STL president, Judge Antonio Cassese, released an open letter in which he made a direct appeal to the suspects - identified as Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra - to cooperate with the tribunal.
In the letter, Mr Cassese pledged that the men would be given a fair trial and that they should consider appointing legal counsel to represent them in court proceedings expected to take place later this year. If the men cannot be apprehended or do not turn themselves in, the trials will go ahead without them present.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's leader, has previously denied any involvement in the 2005 lorry bombing that left Hariri and 22 others dead. After the first STL indictment was released at the end of June, Mr Nasrallah repeated his denunciation of the court and pledged that not even in "300 years" would Hizbollah members be arrested.
Media also reported that an STL delegation was in the Lebanese capital yesterday for meetings with victims of other assassination attempts, which may have links to the Hariri murder.
Tensions were also rising in Lebanon amid concerns about the potential impact of the continuing violence in neighbouring Syria. However, with the exception of some isolated scuffles, the violence has not spilt over the border.
zconstantine@thenational.ae Next page
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12 August 2011
Two men killed handling explosives in Beirut suburb
BEIRUT // Two men were killed and a bystander was injured yesterday when a bomb went off in a car park in a Beirut suburb, security sources said.
The two men were believed to have been handling an explosive device when it detonated. "The explosion was very close to the bodies, so maybe they were wearing or holding the bomb," a security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The bystander received minor injuries in the blast, which also damaged cars in the area. Witnesses said they saw two bodies, lying in pools of blood, shortly after the bomb went off.
All three were taken to hospital, where the two men were pronounced dead. Police identified the dead men as Ihsan Dia and Hassan Nassar but gave no further details.
The blast happened near a car used by the son of Albert Serhan, a Lebanese judge, but it was unclear whether he was the target.
"My son is an engineer and he parks his car in that lot, along with his colleagues, near their office," Mr Serhan told Agence France-Presse.
"I have never been threatened nor does anyone in my family dabble in politics."
Shortly after the explosion, police and security forces cordoned off the area in the largely Christian neighbourhood of Antelias.
Fadi Thabet, who runs a computer shop opposite the car park, said he heard an explosion at about 11am local time. Peering from his shop window, he said he had seen one body on the ground covered in blood.
"We are very surprised to see something like this in our neighbourhood," Mr Thabet said. "There is no military here, no political offices. Just There were no immediate claims of responsibility yesterday. Police did not confirm the cause of the blast or whether it was politically or criminally motivated.
The incident rattled nerves in a country that has witnessed bombings and assassination attempts in the past.
While targeted killings have not taken place in recent years, just last month a convoy of vehicles belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was the target of a roadside bomb in the southern city of Sidon - the second such attack on the force in two months.
A wave of deadly car-bomb attacks between 2004 and 2008 targeted well-known journalists and political figures, the most high-profile of which was the murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14, 2005.
Last month, the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) named suspects in the murder - four men with ties to Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement.
Lebanese authorities submitted a report to the STL earlier this week, outlining their unsuccessful efforts to apprehend the four men. Yesterday, the STL president, Judge Antonio Cassese, released an open letter in which he made a direct appeal to the suspects - identified as Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra - to cooperate with the tribunal.
In the letter, Mr Cassese pledged that the men would be given a fair trial and that they should consider appointing legal counsel to represent them in court proceedings expected to take place later this year. If the men cannot be apprehended or do not turn themselves in, the trials will go ahead without them present.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's leader, has previously denied any involvement in the 2005 lorry bombing that left Hariri and 22 others dead. After the first STL indictment was released at the end of June, Mr Nasrallah repeated his denunciation of the court and pledged that not even in "300 years" would Hizbollah members be arrested.
Media also reported that an STL delegation was in the Lebanese capital yesterday for meetings with victims of other assassination attempts, which may have links to the Hariri murder.
Tensions were also rising in Lebanon amid concerns about the potential impact of the continuing violence in neighbouring Syria. However, with the exception of some isolated scuffles, the violence has not spilt over the border.
zconstantine@thenational.ae Next page
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CAIR In Retreat; Turns To Iranian State Media As Last Resort
From CSP and Big Peace:
CAIR In Retreat; Turns To Iranian State Media As Last Resort
Center for Security Policy
Aug 12, 2011
By Adam Savit
So far in 2011, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has posted 30 video clips from 24-hour news networks to its official YouTube channel. Six were from CNN and two were from Fox News Channel. The remainder must be from MSNBC, right?
Wrong. The other 22 clips were from PressTV, the state-owned 24/7 English-language propaganda network of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Possibly because of their proven ties to Hamas and unindicted co-conspirator status in the Holy Land Foundation trial, CAIR talking heads are no longer regularly featured on the "big three" 24-hour cable news networks in America. Hence twenty-two of the high-value messaging videos featuring prominent national staff that CAIR chose to put on its YouTube channel were produced in Iran, while only 8 were produced in the U.S.
PressTV is now the self-appointed propaganda arm for CAIR, a job that no one else will do. For example, "Video: Anti-Muslim Hate Promoted by Vocal Minority (CAIR)," and a recent hit piece on Pamela Geller's new book: "Video: Leading Islamophobe Publishes New Anti-Islam Book (CAIR)."
The genius of PressTV is its generic name, slick production values and the American-accented English of its hosts, which leads the casual viewer to believe they are just another American cable outlet. In fact PressTV is produced and broadcast from Tehran, with bureaus in London, Washington, Seoul, and Iranian vassal states Syria and Lebanon.
PressTV hosts/presenters include former British MP George Galloway, a close friend of Saddam Hussein in the 1990s and supporter and funder of the Hamas regime in Gaza; and Tariq Ramadan, European-Muslim "intellectual," and grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna who was denied a
U.S. visa for alleged ties to Hamas. You may remember PressTV's recent report on American Muslim "mourners [honoring] the life and legacy of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Ayatollah Khomeini.
PressTV may be one of the two friendly outlets still open to CAIR leaders. Last Friday the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reported that CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad had appeared via telephone on the Hamas-linked Palestinian network Al-Quds TV on July 23, alongside the head of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood group, the Islamic Action Front.
This lack of support in the American media reflects a lack of support by American Muslims for CAIR as shown in a recent Gallup poll "examining U.S. Muslims' political, social, and spiritual engagement 10 years after September 11," which found that only 12% of Muslim-American men and 11% of Muslim-American women felt that CAIR, the nation's highest-profile Muslim group, represented their interests.
And when the American networks come to CAIR with questions based on CAIR's past associations with terrorists, CAIR's leadership shies away. For example, this June when Fox News reported on a controversial February 5, 2002 luncheon that included top Pentagon lawyers, Jihadist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, and CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, Mr. Awad was apparently not available for comment:
Fox News sent questions to Awad through a spokesman at CAIR, including whether he had provided positive recommendations for Awlaki to either the FBI or the Defense Department immediately after 9/11.
Fox News also asked whether Awad attended a fundraiser at UC Irvine on Sept. 9, 2001, for the defense of Jamil al-Amin who was later conficted of killing a sheriff's deputy in Atlanta Georgia. Documents show Awad provided a video message for the fundraising event and al-Awlaki went to the fundraiser. On Sept. 10 of that year, al-Awlaki, who has documented ties to three of the five Sept. 11 hijackers, flew back to Washington, landing on the morning of Sept. 11.
Fox News contacted CAIR multiple times over a 10 day period and there was no response after the initial contact when a spokesman asked for questions to be submitted.
CAIR is under siege from many directions these days. This June the IRS revoked CAIR's former non-profit tax-exempt status. Perhaps a full disclosure of CAIR's financial records would expose funding from Iran and other foreign sources. But the American public may never know, because CAIR failed to file the required non-profit Form 990 tax returns for three consecutive years.
While CAIR shrinks from American media outlets, patriotic Muslim Americans are filling the gap. Former U.S. Navy medical officer Dr. Zuhdi Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) in the wake of the 9/11 attacks "as an effort to provide an American Muslim voice advocating for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, and the separation of mosque and state." Dr. Jasser proudly displays 30 videos from his 2011 appearances on cable news shows on his website - and all of them are from networks based in the United States.
Dr. Jasser is one of the founders of a new coalition of like-minded Muslim groups called the American Islamic Leadership Coalition. Their motto: "As American Muslim leaders, we come together to defend the US Constitution, uphold religious pluralism, protect American security and cherish genuine diversity in the practice of our faith of Islam."
Meanwhile, CAIR is in a state of siege: running away from the IRS, running away from the American media, running away from the American public, and even running away from American Muslims.
Originally published at BigPeace.com
CAIR In Retreat; Turns To Iranian State Media As Last Resort
Center for Security Policy
Aug 12, 2011
By Adam Savit
So far in 2011, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has posted 30 video clips from 24-hour news networks to its official YouTube channel. Six were from CNN and two were from Fox News Channel. The remainder must be from MSNBC, right?
Wrong. The other 22 clips were from PressTV, the state-owned 24/7 English-language propaganda network of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Possibly because of their proven ties to Hamas and unindicted co-conspirator status in the Holy Land Foundation trial, CAIR talking heads are no longer regularly featured on the "big three" 24-hour cable news networks in America. Hence twenty-two of the high-value messaging videos featuring prominent national staff that CAIR chose to put on its YouTube channel were produced in Iran, while only 8 were produced in the U.S.
PressTV is now the self-appointed propaganda arm for CAIR, a job that no one else will do. For example, "Video: Anti-Muslim Hate Promoted by Vocal Minority (CAIR)," and a recent hit piece on Pamela Geller's new book: "Video: Leading Islamophobe Publishes New Anti-Islam Book (CAIR)."
The genius of PressTV is its generic name, slick production values and the American-accented English of its hosts, which leads the casual viewer to believe they are just another American cable outlet. In fact PressTV is produced and broadcast from Tehran, with bureaus in London, Washington, Seoul, and Iranian vassal states Syria and Lebanon.
PressTV hosts/presenters include former British MP George Galloway, a close friend of Saddam Hussein in the 1990s and supporter and funder of the Hamas regime in Gaza; and Tariq Ramadan, European-Muslim "intellectual," and grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna who was denied a
U.S. visa for alleged ties to Hamas. You may remember PressTV's recent report on American Muslim "mourners [honoring] the life and legacy of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Ayatollah Khomeini.
PressTV may be one of the two friendly outlets still open to CAIR leaders. Last Friday the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reported that CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad had appeared via telephone on the Hamas-linked Palestinian network Al-Quds TV on July 23, alongside the head of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood group, the Islamic Action Front.
This lack of support in the American media reflects a lack of support by American Muslims for CAIR as shown in a recent Gallup poll "examining U.S. Muslims' political, social, and spiritual engagement 10 years after September 11," which found that only 12% of Muslim-American men and 11% of Muslim-American women felt that CAIR, the nation's highest-profile Muslim group, represented their interests.
And when the American networks come to CAIR with questions based on CAIR's past associations with terrorists, CAIR's leadership shies away. For example, this June when Fox News reported on a controversial February 5, 2002 luncheon that included top Pentagon lawyers, Jihadist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, and CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, Mr. Awad was apparently not available for comment:
Fox News sent questions to Awad through a spokesman at CAIR, including whether he had provided positive recommendations for Awlaki to either the FBI or the Defense Department immediately after 9/11.
Fox News also asked whether Awad attended a fundraiser at UC Irvine on Sept. 9, 2001, for the defense of Jamil al-Amin who was later conficted of killing a sheriff's deputy in Atlanta Georgia. Documents show Awad provided a video message for the fundraising event and al-Awlaki went to the fundraiser. On Sept. 10 of that year, al-Awlaki, who has documented ties to three of the five Sept. 11 hijackers, flew back to Washington, landing on the morning of Sept. 11.
Fox News contacted CAIR multiple times over a 10 day period and there was no response after the initial contact when a spokesman asked for questions to be submitted.
CAIR is under siege from many directions these days. This June the IRS revoked CAIR's former non-profit tax-exempt status. Perhaps a full disclosure of CAIR's financial records would expose funding from Iran and other foreign sources. But the American public may never know, because CAIR failed to file the required non-profit Form 990 tax returns for three consecutive years.
While CAIR shrinks from American media outlets, patriotic Muslim Americans are filling the gap. Former U.S. Navy medical officer Dr. Zuhdi Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) in the wake of the 9/11 attacks "as an effort to provide an American Muslim voice advocating for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, and the separation of mosque and state." Dr. Jasser proudly displays 30 videos from his 2011 appearances on cable news shows on his website - and all of them are from networks based in the United States.
Dr. Jasser is one of the founders of a new coalition of like-minded Muslim groups called the American Islamic Leadership Coalition. Their motto: "As American Muslim leaders, we come together to defend the US Constitution, uphold religious pluralism, protect American security and cherish genuine diversity in the practice of our faith of Islam."
Meanwhile, CAIR is in a state of siege: running away from the IRS, running away from the American media, running away from the American public, and even running away from American Muslims.
Originally published at BigPeace.com
Obama Killed Osama, And Then Ignored His Own Advice
From CSP:
Obama Killed Osama, And Then Ignored His Own Advice
Center for Security Policy
Aug 12, 2011
By David Reaboi
John Nolte at Big Hollywood picked up something interesting from a Maureen Dowd column. The Obama administration, it seems, has granted an unusual amount of access to the team behind The Hurt Locker (writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow) for an upcoming campaign-season film about the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
As Nolte point out, the timing of the film's release has not been missed at the White House. Look for Hollywood to be a willing participant in this elaborate Obama re-election commercial, which is intended to remind voters of an increasingly desperate president's only shining hour.
In addition to the desperate obvious ‘October surprise' quality of this stunt, the cynicism revealed by the White House's active facilitation of this film is breathtaking. It tells us something important about the Obama White House, and its readiness to abandon its most dearly-held beliefs and even its worldview on the alter of political expediency.
On nearly every issue, the president and others from his administration (not to mention the media) lecture us on the need to be sensitive to the feelings and self-image of the Muslim world. This time, however, the White House believes a bounce in the final weeks before the conclusion of a tough re-election campaign is more important than (as the president himself put it, "spiking the football" by antagonistically) reminding the world who was responsible for Bin Laden's death.
Regardless of the merits or failings of the Obama administration's concern for the feelings of the Muslim world, cooperating with the filmmakers displays an inconsistency that should not go by unremarked upon. Sometimes this hypersensitivity, when translated into policy, is laughably unserious- like the re-tooling of NASA to "reach out to the Muslim world." After killing Bin Laden, Obama himself insisted America keep its celebrations subdued and decline to "spike the football," even going so far as to protect the dignity of the arch-terrorist's corpse so as not to antagonize the ‘Arab street.'
More insidious, however, is the compromises the Obama administration is willing to make on issues of free expression when criticism of Islam comes into play. A lone man in Florida threatening to burn a koran was enough to to imperil American national security half a world away, both Obama and his chief general said. Obama's State Department, too, is increasingly embracing the Shariah-adherent definitions of free speech promoted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference- which plans to enforce blasphemy of Islam. Of course, American free speech is circumscribed by the threat actual violence from a Muslim world even its biggest apologists implicitly concede is highly combustible.
If the delicate emotions of the Muslim world- manifested in the degree to which they're ready to cause violence and mayhem worldwide- are enough to circumscribe the First Amendment of the Constitution, shouldn't it also discourage a movie about killing a famous Muslim? But alas, not hurting the feelings of Muslims by showing ‘Crusader' soldiers killing a Mujahid in cold blood (on Pakistan's Islamic soil) is trumped by the importance of Obama's reelection.
Last month, a Zogby poll revealed that the antipathy of much of the Muslim world to Barack Obama can be traced to the killing of Bin Laden. As Alana Goodman summarized the report at Commentary, "In all six countries surveyed - Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia - the majority of respondents said killing bin Laden made them "less favorable toward the U.S.'"
What could possibly "spike the football" any more than a flashy action film, blasted into the homes and theaters of that very same Muslim world, still smarting from Obama's triumphant dispatch of the world's most wanted terrorist?
All this fuss and trauma to the Muslim world can be averted with a little tweaking, by making Bin Laden into a villain designated as acceptable in Hollywood, a Serbian terrorist or a anti-government Tea Party type.
Obama Killed Osama, And Then Ignored His Own Advice
Center for Security Policy
Aug 12, 2011
By David Reaboi
John Nolte at Big Hollywood picked up something interesting from a Maureen Dowd column. The Obama administration, it seems, has granted an unusual amount of access to the team behind The Hurt Locker (writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow) for an upcoming campaign-season film about the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
As Nolte point out, the timing of the film's release has not been missed at the White House. Look for Hollywood to be a willing participant in this elaborate Obama re-election commercial, which is intended to remind voters of an increasingly desperate president's only shining hour.
In addition to the desperate obvious ‘October surprise' quality of this stunt, the cynicism revealed by the White House's active facilitation of this film is breathtaking. It tells us something important about the Obama White House, and its readiness to abandon its most dearly-held beliefs and even its worldview on the alter of political expediency.
On nearly every issue, the president and others from his administration (not to mention the media) lecture us on the need to be sensitive to the feelings and self-image of the Muslim world. This time, however, the White House believes a bounce in the final weeks before the conclusion of a tough re-election campaign is more important than (as the president himself put it, "spiking the football" by antagonistically) reminding the world who was responsible for Bin Laden's death.
Regardless of the merits or failings of the Obama administration's concern for the feelings of the Muslim world, cooperating with the filmmakers displays an inconsistency that should not go by unremarked upon. Sometimes this hypersensitivity, when translated into policy, is laughably unserious- like the re-tooling of NASA to "reach out to the Muslim world." After killing Bin Laden, Obama himself insisted America keep its celebrations subdued and decline to "spike the football," even going so far as to protect the dignity of the arch-terrorist's corpse so as not to antagonize the ‘Arab street.'
More insidious, however, is the compromises the Obama administration is willing to make on issues of free expression when criticism of Islam comes into play. A lone man in Florida threatening to burn a koran was enough to to imperil American national security half a world away, both Obama and his chief general said. Obama's State Department, too, is increasingly embracing the Shariah-adherent definitions of free speech promoted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference- which plans to enforce blasphemy of Islam. Of course, American free speech is circumscribed by the threat actual violence from a Muslim world even its biggest apologists implicitly concede is highly combustible.
If the delicate emotions of the Muslim world- manifested in the degree to which they're ready to cause violence and mayhem worldwide- are enough to circumscribe the First Amendment of the Constitution, shouldn't it also discourage a movie about killing a famous Muslim? But alas, not hurting the feelings of Muslims by showing ‘Crusader' soldiers killing a Mujahid in cold blood (on Pakistan's Islamic soil) is trumped by the importance of Obama's reelection.
Last month, a Zogby poll revealed that the antipathy of much of the Muslim world to Barack Obama can be traced to the killing of Bin Laden. As Alana Goodman summarized the report at Commentary, "In all six countries surveyed - Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia - the majority of respondents said killing bin Laden made them "less favorable toward the U.S.'"
What could possibly "spike the football" any more than a flashy action film, blasted into the homes and theaters of that very same Muslim world, still smarting from Obama's triumphant dispatch of the world's most wanted terrorist?
All this fuss and trauma to the Muslim world can be averted with a little tweaking, by making Bin Laden into a villain designated as acceptable in Hollywood, a Serbian terrorist or a anti-government Tea Party type.
What People Are Saying About National Security, Defense Spending, And The Debt
From The Heritage Foundation and The CATO Institute:
National Security
What People Are Saying About National Security, Defense Spending, and the Debt
by Scott Nason, Janice Smith
The Heritage Foundation
August 10, 2011
Backgrounder
Washington policymakers, facing unprecedented deficits and drastic measures to deal with a $14.3 trillion debt, are considering cutting the budget for national defense. Yet as former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, his successor Leon Panetta, and other U.S. officials like Admiral Mike Mullen have said, defense spending is not the cause of our fiscal problems. Even eliminating the entire defense budget would not solve our budget woes. Neither the Administration nor Members of Congress should lose sight of their constitutional obligation to provide for the full defense of America. They would do well to consider the following sage statements from a number of current and former policymakers and experts from the U.S. and overseas.
URL: www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/08/What-People-Are-Saying-About-National-Security-Defense-Spending-and-the-Debt
National Security
What People Are Saying About National Security, Defense Spending, and the Debt
by Scott Nason, Janice Smith
The Heritage Foundation
August 10, 2011
Backgrounder
Washington policymakers, facing unprecedented deficits and drastic measures to deal with a $14.3 trillion debt, are considering cutting the budget for national defense. Yet as former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, his successor Leon Panetta, and other U.S. officials like Admiral Mike Mullen have said, defense spending is not the cause of our fiscal problems. Even eliminating the entire defense budget would not solve our budget woes. Neither the Administration nor Members of Congress should lose sight of their constitutional obligation to provide for the full defense of America. They would do well to consider the following sage statements from a number of current and former policymakers and experts from the U.S. and overseas.
URL: www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/08/What-People-Are-Saying-About-National-Security-Defense-Spending-and-the-Debt
Time For A National EMP Awareness Day
From The Heritage Foundation and The CATO Institute:
National Security
Time for a National EMP Awareness Day
by James Jay Carafano
The Heritage Foundation
August 08, 2011
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) produced by the detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or as the result of unusually powerful solar activity (often called severe space weather) could produce catastrophic destruction in the United States. Congress has long deliberated this threat, but it has not produced substantive legislative guidance or demonstrated effective oversight. The Administration and federal agencies remain mostly ambivalent. It is time to make August 15 National EMP Awareness Day to wake up America’s nation’s leaders. This should be recognized as a clear and present danger—one that could be devastating if it finds the nation ill-prepared.
National Security
Time for a National EMP Awareness Day
by James Jay Carafano
The Heritage Foundation
August 08, 2011
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) produced by the detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or as the result of unusually powerful solar activity (often called severe space weather) could produce catastrophic destruction in the United States. Congress has long deliberated this threat, but it has not produced substantive legislative guidance or demonstrated effective oversight. The Administration and federal agencies remain mostly ambivalent. It is time to make August 15 National EMP Awareness Day to wake up America’s nation’s leaders. This should be recognized as a clear and present danger—one that could be devastating if it finds the nation ill-prepared.
Security Assistance Act: Responsibly Tying Foreign Policy Budgets To Security Demands
From The Heritage Foundation and The CATO Institute:
National Security
Security Assistance Act: Responsibly Tying Foreign Policy Budgets to Security Demands
by Helle Dale
The Heritage Foundation
August 10, 2011
The Security Assistance Act of 2011, which authorizes appropriations for the State Department for fiscal year 2012, represents a strong, back-to-basics answer to the Obama Administration’s overly ambitious attempts at redefining U.S. foreign relations. The bill’s aim is to tie American foreign affairs budgets to the country’s national security demands. Especially at a time of budgetary constraints, it only makes sense to refocus U.S. foreign policy and foreign aid on what is identifiably in the U.S. national interest. When Congress returns from recess, “back to basics” should be the mantra.
National Security
Security Assistance Act: Responsibly Tying Foreign Policy Budgets to Security Demands
by Helle Dale
The Heritage Foundation
August 10, 2011
The Security Assistance Act of 2011, which authorizes appropriations for the State Department for fiscal year 2012, represents a strong, back-to-basics answer to the Obama Administration’s overly ambitious attempts at redefining U.S. foreign relations. The bill’s aim is to tie American foreign affairs budgets to the country’s national security demands. Especially at a time of budgetary constraints, it only makes sense to refocus U.S. foreign policy and foreign aid on what is identifiably in the U.S. national interest. When Congress returns from recess, “back to basics” should be the mantra.
U.S.-Philippines Partnership In The Cause Of Maritime Defense
From The Heritage Foundation and The CATO Institute:
Foreign Policy/International Affairs
U.S.–Philippines Partnership in the Cause of Maritime Defense
by Renato De Castro, Walter Lohman
The Heritage Foundation
August 08, 2011
Backgrounder
Recent developments in the South China Sea illustrate the urgent need for the Philippines to shift its focus from internal security to maritime defense. Internal security will continue to be important to the Philippines, as active insurgencies are not yet securely behind it. But the Philippines can and must find a way to perform both missions adequately. It is in the United States’ interest that it be able to do so. The U.S.–Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement, deeply embedded consultation mechanisms, and a century of friendship, cooperation, and mutual sacrifice give the U.S. the framework to assist its longtime ally. It need only be fully employed.
Foreign Policy/International Affairs
U.S.–Philippines Partnership in the Cause of Maritime Defense
by Renato De Castro, Walter Lohman
The Heritage Foundation
August 08, 2011
Backgrounder
Recent developments in the South China Sea illustrate the urgent need for the Philippines to shift its focus from internal security to maritime defense. Internal security will continue to be important to the Philippines, as active insurgencies are not yet securely behind it. But the Philippines can and must find a way to perform both missions adequately. It is in the United States’ interest that it be able to do so. The U.S.–Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement, deeply embedded consultation mechanisms, and a century of friendship, cooperation, and mutual sacrifice give the U.S. the framework to assist its longtime ally. It need only be fully employed.
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