Iraqi metalheads

The new taliban

There are as many as 10,000 Islamic schools in Karachi alone. Though the religious parties say they forbid political activities on their campuses, that's not what I found when I visited one such school in Sohrab Goth, a very poor area on the edge of Karachi.
This is a vast, sprawling, dusty neighborhood, which came into existence in the early 1980s when refugees from the war in Afghanistan poured into camps set up by the Pakistani government. The camps are long gone. Now a mix of second generation Afghans and Pakistanis live here in concrete buildings. A traditionally conservative area, women seldom leave their homes unaccompanied by men, and the Afghan traditional blue burqa is the norm.
In the 2002 elections, the religious parties made formidable gains -- for the first time in the country's history they took control of a quarter of the seats in parliament. More...

On Bhutto's assassination

Debbie Schlussel - The "moderate" Bhutto was actually a Saudi-backed, anti-Semitic, pro-Palestinian-terrorism force of instability, anarchy, and protest in Pakistan. Her return to Paki politics would only divide and conquer pro-U.S. forces in the country, allowing the more popular Islamists to dominate. That she was assassinated was not a good thing. But that she is now gone from Pakistani politics is a positive development in a myriad of ways.
The George W. Bush-orchestrated move of returning Bhutto to Pakistan from exile in the Gulf was a bad move on so many levels. It echoes the Jimmy Carter era of ushering out the pro-U.S. Shah of Iran and ushering in the never-ending Ayatollah Khomeini/Mahmoud Ahmadinejad era. This time around, Bhutto's opposition to Musharraf would have ushered out a pro-U.S. dictator, Pervez Musharraf, and ushered in Islamist chaos, HAMASastan-style.

Sharia police brutality in Iran

The girl says:
Wait a second! Lady Policewoman! … [Screaming] Let me go! [Screaming] People! Help! Help me!…

Via Kamangir

Qaeda has regrouped in Pakistan border area

Al Qaeda has regrouped in Pakistan's remote Afghan border area and begun to focus attacks on the Pakistani government and military, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.
"There is no question that some of the areas in the frontier area have become areas where Al Qaeda has re-established itself," Gates said. "But so far, we haven't seen any significant consequence of that in Afghanistan itself.
Gates said the Pentagon was looking for ways to improve the Pakistani army's counter-insurgency capabilities by providing training and equipment.
More than 400 people have been killed in suicide bomb attacks in Pakistan in recent months, most in the North West Frontier Province.

Ex-CIA official: Israel will attack Iran on its own

"I came back from a trip to Israel in November convinced that Israel would attack Iran," Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and senior adviser to three US presidents, George W. Bush among them, told the American Newsweek magazine in an article published Friday.
While some US experts doubt Israel's ability to tackle Iran alone, David Albright, of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, was quoted by Newsweek as saying that although information on the exact location of Iran's nuclear facility is incomplete, Israel's air strike on an alleged Syrian nuclear facility on September 6, widely discussed in foreign media outlets, could be seen as a test run for any future strike on Iran's facilities, as well as a direct warning to Teheran.
Riedel told the magazine his impression that Israel would venture a strike on Iran on its own was formed before the publication of the joint US intelligence agencies' report, the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). "This [the NIE] makes it [a strike on Iran] even more likely," he said.
Since the publication of the NIE, which reversed a previous American assessment by concluding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, leaders worldwide have been adjusting their publicly stated positions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
In the international scene, Russia's decision to renew fuel shipments to Iran main nuclear facility at Bushehr was interpreted by many anlysts as stemming directly from the NIE's publication.
Uzi Arad, a former Mossad official and adviser to opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu, told Newsweek that on a recent trip to Moscow, a Russian general poked fun at the naiveté of the NIE, commenting that if the Iranians had halted weapons development in 2003 it was partly because they were satisfied with progress there and wanted to devote investment to harder parts of the nuclear equation, like enrichment.

Islamic Threats

Behind Al Qaeda's latest publicity tactic

Behold the latest phase in Al Qaeda's media strategy. The shadowy terror network is offering up Ayman al-Zawahiri, to any journalists with questions for its No. 2 man. The invitation, issued by the group's media arm, As-Sahaab (The Cloud), came at the end of a 90-minute video message from Zawahiri, posted on one of the group's various militant Web pages.
In the statement, released Dec. 16, Zawahiri invites "individuals, agencies and all media" to submit written questions via one of As-Sahaab's Web forums. He calls upon the "brothers" who supervise the site "to collect the questions and transmit them without alteration, whether it is coming from someone who agrees or disagrees."
This is the first time Al Qaeda has made a formal call to journalists, although it will not be the first time the radical Islamic group has granted interviews to Western media. Counterterrorism experts believe that the posting is genuine and that it is part of Al Qaeda's evolving tactics to use the Web as part of its propaganda arsenal. "This is a continuation of the efforts by Al Qaeda's senior leadership to push themselves forward in the public viewpoint," says Maj. Reid Sawyer, editor of "Terrorism and Counterterrorism" and a lecturer of terrorism studies at Columbia University.
Recent messages from both Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri have specifically called on Americans to embrace Islam and turn against the governments they deem to be enemies of Islam. Counterterrorism analysts say the offer of an online exchange with Zawahiri is part of its broader emphasis on connecting with new audiences. "While Al Qaeda has its own media institutions, it well understands that Western audiences don't necessarily tune into those sources of information," says Sawyer. Read more...

Hamas TV says group has new anti-aircraft unit in Gaza

Hamas's military wing has a new anti-aircraft unit intended to combat IAF aircraft operating over the Gaza Strip Channel 10 reported Friday evening.
In footage broadcast on Hamas's TV station, operatives were seen wearing uniforms bearing an emblem that read "Anti-Aircraft Force."
Channel 10 said that the new unit was believed to be in possession of anti-aircraft missiles.

“In black bags... chunks of flesh of Jews”

The patrol from hell

The patrol started off normal. Things were going alright during the day, and nothing really exciting or special had happened. After our break for a lunch MRE, we got word that the security force that we've hired and are working with in our area had found yet another weapons cache, so we moved out to their location to secure it. When we got there they had most of it uncovered and we basically set up security around the house that it was found in. Looking over at the pile of explosives they had was astonishing.
A lot of the rounds were rusted and just looked unstable and to add to the fact that there were just so damn many of them, we called up the bomb guys to come check things out for us. We ended up having to wait a couple hours for them to show up and during that time I ended up going inside the hose and seeing more of what they had in this cache. Theres was ever MORE stuff inside the house. Once I came back out in to the street we had a lot of time on our hands and there were a ton of these armed security guys around so we started talking with them. Many of them were pretty cool and I no longer believe that they are former militia guys that converted to what they are doing now. Many of them had bad things to say about JAM (the Shiite Militia) which used to have a big presence in the area. Read more...

Iranian blogosphere

An Iranian student at a Canadian university has been accused by fellow bloggers of being a government agent and by the Iranian regime of being “the number one source of anti-Iran news from the Iranian blogosphere for the neo-con media.” Nonetheless, Arash Kamangir says he has no intention of stopping.

"Saudi Arabia does not use terrorism..."

In editorials, the Saudi press has harshly censured Syrian Vice President Farouq Al-Shar' for stating at a National Progressive Front conference last week that the Saudi royal family was opposed to dividing Iraq out of fear of losing its control of the oil wells.
In an editorial, the Saudi daily Al-Watan said, "Al-Shar' is the most prominent element making inter-Arab relations difficult," and that "unlike others, Saudi Arabia does not use terrorism, violence, or assassinations to protect its interests."

A Spook's Slippery Tale of Waterboarding Al Qaeda

Last week, the debate over waterboarding terrorists took a slippery turn when an obscure ex-CIA officer named John Kiriakou went public to disclose that the interrogation technique many consider torture was used to allegedly break the first Al Qaeda lieutenant nabbed after 9/11. Kiriakou’s remarkable media blitz began on network evening news broadcasts on Dec. 10 and continued the next day on morning shows and cable nets as he recounted how Al Qaeda associate Abu Zubaydah was broken within 30 seconds of being waterboarded after his 2002 capture in Pakistan.
But Kiriakou’s outpouring of details about one of the most highly classified programs in the U.S. government - possibly intended to nail a book deal - may get him into hot water. Informed sources flatly denied the accuracy of one news report that CIA and Justice Department officials last week decided against investigating Kiriakou for the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
The publicity generated by the ex-operative, who a CNN anchor called the “man of the hour,” may have been intended to drum up interest in a book manuscript by Kiriakou awaiting clearance by the CIA’s publications review board.

10,000 Muslim Brotherhood to "Palestine"

The following are excerpts from an interview with Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt leader Sheikh Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef, which aired on Al-Hiwar TV on November 30, 2007.

Interviewer: "During the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, you said that the Muslim Brotherhood was prepared to arm 10,000 young men, and to send them to Lebanon in order to support the resistance. Does this apply to Palestine too?"
'Akef: "This applies to any country under occupation. One of the principles of the Muslim Brotherhood is to rid the Arab and Islamic nation of any foreign rule. The Muslim Brotherhood must support all the forces of resistance in the Arab and Islamic world."
Interviewer: "Armed men..."
'Akef: "No, you added the word 'armed.' The government must arm these people. When I fought in Palestine, the government knew about it. The government trained and armed us. As you well know, the military commanders worked with the Muslim Brotherhood. When we fought the English in 1951 in the [Suez] Canal, the government knew about it. We would undergo weapons training within [Al-Azhar] University."
[...]
'Akef: "I'd like to go back to the issue of Al-Qaeda. There is no such thing as Al-Qaeda. This is an American invention, so that they will have something to fight for..."
Interviewer: "Thousands have carried out attacks in the Iraq in the name of Al-Qaeda..."
'Akef: "That is a lie. Who says so?"
Interviewer: "They do."
'Akef: "No, the Americans and their collaborators say this."
Interviewer: "But they claim responsibility for these attacks..."
'Akef: "Al-Qaeda has an ideology, which makes them..."
Interviewer: "You described it once as a perverted ideology."
'Akef: "Of course it is. It is a perverted ideology, which employs methods that do not please Allah. How can I kill a Muslim when this is forbidden?"

Via Atlas Shrugs

Royal Saudi Pardon For Gang Rape Victim

Saudi King 'Abdallah bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz has issued a royal pardon for the "girl from Al-Qatif" who was gang-raped.
Last month, a Saudi court sentenced the girl to six months in prison and 200 lashes for "illegally being alone" with a man at the time she was kidnapped by the seven rapists.
The king was exercising his right to intervene in judicial affairs in cases when such intervention would produce extensive public benefit.
In response to the decree the Saudi justice minister said that the pardon did not raise doubts about the integrity, fairness, and freedom of operation of Saudi judges or of the Saudi judicial system.

Infidels ("Jingle Bells")

Via Infidels are cool

Turkish troops enter northern Iraq

A group of 300 Turkish troops crossed into Kurdish territory in northern Iraq overnight and moved about three kilometres deeper into Iraq on Tuesday morning. A senior Iraqi military source said the Turkish troops were lightly armed and moved into the Gali Rash area, a mountainous district near the border.
This first ground incursion comes as Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, made an unannounced visit to Kirkuk in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Turkey says it wants to flush out Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) fighters that carry out attacks on Turkey from bases in Iraq.
Jabbar Yawar, a spokesman for the Kurdish peshmerga security force, confirmed the incursion. Yawar said: "The area they entered is a deserted area and there is no Iraqi force or peshmerga deployed there."
Fouad Hussein, head of the office of Kurdish regional president, Mahmoud Barzani, said: "We condemn this incursion. Turkey wants to transfer the problem on to the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan." A website linked to the party of Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, said as many as 700 Turkish troops had gone as far as eight kilometres into Iraq.

Hezbollah in the driver's seat in Lebanon

Hezbollah's grip over Lebanon is increasing by the day. And the West does not seem ready to stop this freight train any longer.The Croissant just reported the following two stories that prove how Hezbollah is planning its "coup": Did Hezbollah arrest UNIFIL’s commander, a few weeks ago? Iran provides armored cars to Hezbollah.While Lebanon is without a president for now, it looks like a favorite is quickly emerging: Lebanon army chief and Damascus ally General Michel Sleiman. If he were to be elected, the winner would not only be Syria, but more importantly Hezbollah.
In fact, unsurprisingly Hezbollah has been planning and implementing a secret coup for some time using a multi-pronged strategy.
First with a smart political weapon. Against all odds Hezbollah struck a deal with Christian heavyweight and formerly anti-Syrian leader, General Michel Aoun. This was the initial step in creating a major division within Lebanon's Christian community.
But that was just the beginning. Hezbollah is now trying to infiltrate Aoun's party the Free Patriotic Movement (also known as CPL), as recently reported by Kuwait's daily newspaper Al Seyassah.

Arabs against al-jazeera

Arabs in Europe have launched a public campaign to stop Al-Jazeera TV broadcasts in Europe. In a petition, they accuse the channel of fostering extremism among European Arab youth and of supporting terrorism. While the petition's initiators have not provided their names, it seems likely that they are Iraqi expatriates; although various Arab news websites, such as Elaph, have reported on the campaign, the petition itself has been posted primarily on Iraqi websites. These sites include the Iraqi news site Sotaliraq; the Iraq of Tomorrow news site; the Al-Najaf News site; the website of Al-Fayhaa TV, a liberal Iraqi station; the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan website;Bahzani, a news and opinion website focusing on the Yazidi community and other Iraqi minorities; the Yezidi Community website; the website of the Gilgamish Center for Kurdish Studies and Research; and the Kurdistan Times e-journal.

Bin Laden pondered attacking Japanese oil tankers to wreck the Japanese economy

Frustrated at Japan’s support for the U.S.-led war on terror, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden once contemplated sabotaging the Japanese economy by attacking oil tankers headed to Japan, a former member of the terrorist group told Kyodo News in a recent interview.
If true, bin Laden’s remarks, made while he was hiding in Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan in November 2001, would indicate that Japan’s decision to support the United States in the war on terror put it squarely on the al-Qaida leader’s hit list.
The former member, a Saudi Arabian citizen who refused to be named, joined al-Qaida in 1997 and was appointed as one of bin Laden’s guards after the latter escaped to Tora Bora in November 2001 amid intense U.S. military activity aimed at killing or capturing the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks earlier that year.
During their struggle to survive in the rugged mountains, a close aide to bin Laden told the source that “the Sheikh” was frustrated with Japan’s political stance.

Tehran's Most Valuable Partner: The Role of Germany in the Iranian "Nuclear Crisis"

As one of Iran’s most important trading and negotiating partners, Germany plays a significant role in shaping European and international public opinion. Given Berlin’s growing influence in international relations, and its ties with the various stages of negotiations regarding the Iranian nuclear crisis, the world has become accustomed to adding Germany to the five permanent members of the Security Council in determining the process and fate of the Iranian nuclear case.
Germany, under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel, is in alliance with the United States to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But it differs on the methods. While Washington places “all options on the table,” Berlin excludes a military solution to protect its interests in Iran.
The Iranian-German relations are some of the oldest bilateral relations in modern history. Riza Pahlavi leaned toward Nazi Germany in WW II, and even the name change of his country from Persia to Iran (meaning the country of Aryans), connecting Iran with Germany on the racial level as well. His son, Mohammed Riza Pahlavi married Thuraya Isfandari, of German maternal origins. More...

The West is Wrong on Kosovo

President Bush declared a "war on terror" after the Jihadist attacks on the United States in 2001. But now his administration supports independence for terrorist-sponsoring Muslims in the Balkans and in the Palestinian territories.
Granting Jihadist Muslims independence in Kosovo after they have conducted ethnic cleansing of non-Muslims will establish an extremely dangerous precedent. Not only is it immoral to sacrifice the freedom or perhaps existence of smaller nations, be that the Serbs or the Israelis, in order to save your own skin. As the example of Czechoslovakia demonstrated during WW2, it is also counterproductive. Supporting independence for Muslim Albanians in Kosovo will not lead to stabilization of the Balkans; it will rather lead to the Balkanization of the West. The new thug state will serve as a launching pad for Jihad activities against non-Muslims, just like an independent Palestinian state would do in the Middle East.

Rice, UN to Israel: Don´t build in Jerusalem

After meeting Livni at the NATO meeting, Rice lambasted the routine housing construction in the east part of Jerusalem as a violation of the US-imagined peace process. Rice misses the massive illegal construction by Arabs throughout the Land of Israel.

Yet Another Bogus Iraqi Massacre Report

On Sunday, December 2, 2007, the mainstream news headlined their news reports with a horrible slaughter story from Iraq. In the reports 13 people were slaughtered by Al-Qaeda and their homes were torched in the village of Dwelah, Iraq.
Voices of Iraq even carried the story twice and reported that 8 houses were torched.
But... days later, the US cannot find any evidence of this attack after searching the area for several hours!
The AP slipped this in their report today:

The U.S. military could not confirm Saturday's attack, saying American aircraft searched the area for several hours and found no evidence of the killings.

Via Gateway Pundit

French search journalist’s home over Qaeda article

French authorities have searched the home of a journalist and placed him under official investigation for publishing a document on Al Qaeda that was classified a defence secret, a judicial source said yesterday.Guillaume Dasquie was placed under official investigation overnight – one step short of pressing charges in France – after spending two nights in detention, the source said.Paris prosecutors said a second person, detained at the same time as Dasquie, had also been placed under official investigation, but declined to give the person’s name.The investigation relates to an article published in Le Monde in April entitled Sept 11, 2001 – The French knew a lot about it, in which Dasquie cited reports by the DGSE foreign intelligence service dating back to 2000 and 2001.Dasquie, an independent journalist, is accused of possessing classified defence documents and divulging classified files and information, the source said.“I’m profoundly upset by what I have gone through,” Dasquie, who was released on bail, was quoted as saying by Le Monde. “The aim of my arrest was really to get to know my sources.”

Talking Terror: From bin Laden’s Employ to Witness Protection

NYT - Jamal Al-Fadl, a former payroll manger for Osama bin Laden, walked into a United States Embassy in Africa in 1996 and offered his services. His timing was fortuitous: American authorities were in the early stages of their own investigation into Mr. bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
Mr. Fadl pleaded guilty to conspiracy, entered the witness protection program and “became the first Al Qaeda cooperating witness,” Patrick J. Fitzgerald, a federal prosecutor who had led the investigation, has testified. Mr. Fadl provided a wealth of information, including details of Mr. bin Laden’s global banking network, how he used companies as fronts for terrorist activities and the identities of his operatives and associates.

Taliban 'hanged boy, 12, for spying for UK'

Taliban fighters hanged a 12-year-old boy from a mulberry tree, claiming he was passing information on Taliban roadside bomb attacks to police and British forces, Afghan police have said.
The gruesome murder, which occurred in Sangin, an area held by British forces since driving out the Taliban in April, sparked outrage among politicians, who accused the al-Qaeda-linked militant group of atrocities against villagers. It was the second execution of a child attributed to the Taliban in three months.
"If this is true and the age is right it is an unforgettable crime," said Haji Mohammed Anwar Khan, the head of Helmand provincial council.
"If someone is a child their mind is not considered sufficiently mature to be held responsible under Sharia law. This is just a crime and we condemn it."
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, also accused the Taliban of hanging a 15-year-old boy above a gas stove and lighting the flame beneath him, burning him alive, but it was unclear if he was referring to the same incident.

Ahmadinejad proposes international Islamic courts

AKI - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the creation of two international Islamic courts, based on the model of the United Nations' International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice - both located in the Dutch city of the Hague. "These institutions can become a model for true justice in the world and relieve Islamic countries from appealing to international courts," Ahmadinejad said.Under the Iranian leader's plan, the first Islamic tribunal should try "international criminals, aggressor countries, war crimes and anything else that embitters the life of Muslims."He said a second judicial institution would "resolve controversies between Islamic countries."Ahmadinejad has already proposed the creation of a commission composed of Islamic jurists to make the operation of Islamic tribunals more uniform and to offer a single interpretation of Sharia or Islamic law.

A Judge Warns: France Should Prepare for Civil War

The second night of Villiers-le-Bel marks an escalation that the media and the government would probably prefer to hush up, but which may be the start of a new stage: the use of firearms. In truth, the surprise is not that the rioters began to use them, but first, that they hadn't done it sooner [...] and second, that they are still confining themselves to hunting rifles and lead shot. The suburbs however have been armed for a long time with caches of quality war weapons, lethal weapons, against which the bullet-proof vests will be useless.
In other words the situation is explosive in both meanings of the word. It seems that from one riot to the next the techniques harden, the methods become more professional and the police and gendarmes will soon have to confront, if they have not already, experts in urban guerilla warfare [...]
I am convinced that up until now we have been lucky that the thugs and future murderers in the suburbs have not yet dared to use their fire power. I hope that the public authorities will become aware of the imminence of calamity and especially that they will finally seek solutions. More...

Leaked aid map of Afghanistan reveals expansion of no-go zones

Almost half of Afghanistan is now too dangerous for aid workers to operate in, a leaked UN map seen by The Times shows.
In the past two years most foreign and Afghan staff have withdrawn from the southern half of the country, abandoning or scaling back development projects in rural areas and confining themselves to the cities or the less risky north. The pullback compounds the problems of the Government in Kabul, which has struggled to extend its authority to the regions and provinces, which are increasingly lawless or Taleban controlled.
Development has always been touted as a key factor in Western efforts to win over Afghans and bolster support for President Karzai but in the past six years little has been done on the ground in the critical south and east.
The failure to help ordinary Afghans or to rebuild areas damaged by fighting in provinces such as Helmand has caused huge resentment and is exploited by Taleban propaganda. More...

Former UN ambassador John Bolton: The Flaws in the NIE

The headline finding — that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 — is written in a way that guarantees the totality of the conclusions will be misread. In fact, there is little substantive difference between the conclusions of the 2005 NIE on Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the 2007 NIE. Moreover, the distinction between “military” and “civilian” programs is highly artificial, since the enrichment of uranium, which all agree Iran is continuing, is critical to civilian and military uses. Indeed, it has always been Iran’s “civilian” program that posed the main risk of a nuclear “breakout.”
The real differences between the NIEs are not in the hard data but in the psychological assessment of the mullahs’ motives and objectives. The current NIE freely admits to having only moderate confidence that the suspension continues and says that there are significant gaps in our intelligence and that our analysts dissent from their initial judgment on suspension. This alone should give us considerable pause.

Second, the NIE is internally contradictory and insufficiently supported. It implies that Iran is susceptible to diplomatic persuasion and pressure, yet the only event in 2003 that might have affected Iran was our invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, not exactly a diplomatic pas de deux. More...

Fred Thompson: We should be skeptical of the NIE

The accuracy of the latest NIE on Iran should be received with a good deal of skepticism. Our intelligence community has often underestimated the intentions of adversaries, including Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea. And are all of the CIA detractors now going to take intelligence pronouncements at face value? It’s awfully convenient for a lot of people: the administration gets to say its policies worked; the Democrats get to claim we should have eased up on Iran a long time ago: and Russia and China can claim sanctions on Iran are not necessary. Who benefits from all this? Iran.
More...

Last bid to find Nazis in S America

A Jewish human rights group has launched a last-ditch initiative to find Nazi war criminals who may still be hiding in South America.Among those still believed to be alive and living in Argentina or Chile is 93-year-old Aribert Heim (photo), known as "Doctor Death," who has a $450,000 bounty on his head.
The reward, which includes money pledged by Germany and Austria, is part of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's "Operation: Last Chance," which began in Europe in 2002 and is now being expanded to South America. More...

Iran's Response to Western Warnings: 'First Strike,' 'Preemptive Attack,' Long-Range Ballistic Missiles, 'Asymmetric [Guerilla] Warfare'

As the Iranian nuclear crisis escalates, Iranian officials have stepped up their threats against the West. Although regime spokesmen have stressed that Iran's security doctrine is defensive, the threats issued by senior Iranian leaders and officials indicate that Iran's actual strategy for responding to a Western attack is taking on increasingly offensive and deterrent characteristics.
While in February 2003, then-defense minister Ali Shamkhani stated, "Iran has a deterrent defensive doctrine, which means that it will in no way take an offensive measure... Iran's objectives are of a defensive nature," - the new strategy is gradually revealed in both deeds and statements by regime spokesmen.
The offensive elements of this doctrine include a "first strike" and "preemptive attack"; the development of long-range ballistic missiles (the Qadr and the Ashura) with ranges of up to 2,000 km; and the development of an "asymmetrical [guerilla] warfare" tactic - that is, suicide bombings in the Persian Gulf, whether to close off the Strait of Hormuz or to hit targets in the Gulf countries. More...

Who's Who of Presidential Campaign National Security Advisers

An investigation into who is advising Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on counterterrorism, national security and foreign affairs. A complete list of the major presidential candidates' top wisemen on these important national issues...
The presidential campaigns of Democrat Christopher Dodd and Republican Fred Thompson would not disclose their advisers. But in the case of Thompson, the reporting yielded two names. There also are some security experts advising multiple candidates, such as National Security Network director Rand Beers, who are not included on the master list. A former career counterterrorism official at the National Security Council who worked on John Kerry's unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid. He is counseling Democrats Joe Biden, Dodd, Clinton and Obama.
Read the full list at the Mouth of the Potomac Blog.

Via Counterterrorism

The Wife of Dead Terrorist

According to Suha Arafat, 44, she receives a pension from the Palestinian Authority of $10,000 (£5,000) a month -- a large sum to many Palestinians but far from the exorbitant figures being bandied around on the eve of Arafat’s death...

Iraqis & Americans Rebuild Bombed Bridge in 3 Days

Via Gateway Pundit

Emailing Egypt: No christians please

Hanan Turk is a half hairsalon/half restaurant that is just for girls, where no men are allowed to enter and no music will be played. Their promotional e-mail lists a number of perks to those who want to frequent the place:


Advantges of Sabaya Café (The Hijaby girl's equivalent to paradise is the Sabaya):
-You have the freedom of taking your veil/neqab off.
-Meeting muslim girls who are willing to get closer to Allah.
-Getting the opportuinity of being inspired by real stories by the same girls you meet.
-You can have parties.
-Learn how to shun sin… since You won't be exposed to songs or movies JUST CARTOONS AND RELIGIOUS SHOWS.
-Enjoy the feeling that you'r making everything which is not allowed outdoors and Allah won't be mad at you :D

P.S. Attending Sabaya will be very useful from both the life and religiousprespective, since you will be helping in changing the wrong perceptions about both Neqabis/Hegabis that were already inheritiedages ago.
First: please don't invite Christian girls , because they aren't allowed to the place... Second: inform all your friends that if the number of visitors increased remarkably in the coming year... inshAllah next year they may be able to open a branch in mohandesen or down town... We ARE IN DIRE NEED OF A PLACE THAT CONTAINS US 'NEQABIS' OR 'HEGABIS' SO PLEASE THINK BEFORE U GO ANOTHER CAFE.

Via SandMonkey

Summer in Haifa

Mentality of the 'ghetto'

Bat Yeor: The people of Israel are unworthy of their ancestors. The post Oslo Jew has returned to the pre- Holocaust mentality of the 'ghetto' Jew. The Jew that doesn't want to be noticed, the Jew who will do anything to appease those that hate us, just to live in peace. Instead of asserting OUR rights, OUR will that we have a right, are the rightful heirs of Israel and Jerusalem, we are acting as if we have no rights and instead are begging, begging, our enemies to recognise us and accept us! Behaving like beggars! Ans the silence of American Jews, well it's the ghetto mentality mixed with those that have assimilated into American culture, the let's not rock the boat crowd. More...

Terrorism: New Bin Laden video 'must be posted to Western websites'

Dubai, 27 Nov. (AKI) - A new al-Qaeda video containing Osama Bin Laden's latest message "must be posted to Western websites," the terror network's media arm as-Sahab has ordered cyber jihadists. "You must spread the new message from Sheikh Osama bin Laden in every way, especially via Western websites," said As-Sahab, which produces al-Qaeda's videos and audiotapes.
In a web message announcing the imminent posting of bin Laden's new message, entitled "To the European people", As-Sahab also gives instructions on how best to distribute the new video."
Any means of distributing the video should be used in order to get the truth across to them about their war which they are losing and reveal to them the reality which they ignore," said As-Sahab. More...

Teacher in Sudan held over teddy bear named Muhammad; faces 40 lashes

A seven-year-old Sudanese student today defended the British teacher accused of insulting Islam saying he had chosen to call a teddy bear Mohammad because it was his own name.
Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher, was arrested on Sunday after complaints that she had insulted Islam's Prophet by allowing the bear to be named Mohammad.
She is facing a third night in jail without being formally charged.
The boy said: "The teacher asked me what I wanted to call the teddy. I said Mohammad. I named it after my name." He said he was not thinking of Islam's Prophet when asked to suggest a name, adding most of the class agreed with his choice.
Described as “timid and polite,” Ms Gibbons - facing 40 lashes for the 'offence' - had told friends how she was loving her life in the country.

She was said to be “deeply distressed” in a police cell last night after learning she faces the barbaric lashing under the Muslim state’s strict sharia law.
More...

Via Drudge Report

Doku Umarov declares Islamic Caucasus Emirate

While al Qaeda in Chechnya and the greater Chechnya rebel movement has suffered a serious setback over the past two years, a nucleus of the terror movement remains. Doku Umarov, one of the last remaining original leaders of the Chechen rebellion and a close associate of al Qaeda, has declared an Islamic emirate in the greater Caucasus region.
On November 22, the Kavkaz Center, an al Qaeda-linked website promoting the jihad in Chechnya, published Umarov's declaration of the Caucasian Emirate. Umarov, who is now the "Amir of Mujahideen in Caucasus," emphasized the importance of implementing sharia, or Islamic law, and the responsibility of Muslims to "fight the infidels."
"We, the Mujahideen, went out to fight the infidels not for the sake of fighting but to restore the Sharia of Allah in our land," said Umarov. "I declare ethnic, territorial and colonial zones carrying names of 'North-Caucasian republics', 'Trans-Caucasian Republics' and other such terms as outlawed."
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Israeli Cabinet Minister: 'I am a Muslim first, and a government minister second.'

"The laws of the State of Israel do not apply at the Temple Mount," Culture Minister Raleb Majadele said in response to a question on the issue submitted by MK Arieh Eldad.
Majadele said, "I am a Muslim first, and a government minister second."

Islam and slavery

By putting this image on the sidebar of you blog, or as your avatar in a forum, or somewhere else on the web, you will also become part of Lars Vilks’ art project. By displaying the Modoggie flag you will not only support free speech, but actually exercise it!The flag this time is not the Swedish flag, because — considering the cowardly behavior of the Swedish Prime Minster, as well as some Swedish companies — it’s not clear that it’s Sweden that should be supported. But there is a transformative process going on in Sweden that definitely should be supported. And we do so with a flag that is close enough to the Swedish flag for making such a connection. Close enough for Islamic fanatics to burn such a flag in Pakistan, and this is also how this flag became part of Vilks’ work of art. The flag — that is in fact the flag of the Swedish island Öland — is already emerging as a symbol of freedom of art and a free press, as well as of Islamic stupidity. And it fits the idea of being part of movement for creative freedom. More...

Mosul and Iraq´s next war

Daniel Pipes - About 100,000 Turkish troops, backed by aircraft and tanks, are poised to enter Iraq for counterterrorism purposes. But once there, they might just stay permanently, occupying the Mosul area, leading to dangerous regional consequences.
To understand this danger requires a refresher in Turkish irredentist ambitions harking back to the 1920s. The Ottoman Empire emerged from World War I on the losing side, a predicament codified in 1920 by the Treaty of Sèvres imposed on it by the victorious Allies. With Kemal Atatürk's military victories of 1919-22 and the reassertion of Turkish power, however, Sèvres was never applied. Instead, the Treaty of Lausanne, signed in 1923, established all of Turkey's present borders but for the one with British-occupied Iraq. For Iraq, Lausanne stipulated a provisional boundary.
The Kuwait War of 1991 led to a further collapse in Iraqi authority north of the 36th parallel, prompting Turkish forces to engage in hot pursuit across the border 29 times, feeding Ankara's Mosul ambitions. These aspirations culminated in 1995, when approximately 35,000 Turkish troops entered northern Iraq in "Operation Steel," leading Turkey's President Süleyman Demirel explicitly to re-open the 1926 file: "The border is wrong," he said. "The Mosul Province was within the Ottoman Empire's territory“. More...

Syrian response to Israel

Philippines government: agreement with Islamic separatist group on boundaries for Muslim homeland

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Clashes reported in Palestinian refugee camp near Beirut

The incident involved a shootout with automatic rifles Friday morning in the Bourj el-Barajneh camp, south of Beirut. The officials said three people were wounded - two from the Palestinian mainstream Fatah group and one from the rival Syria-backed radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
An official of the PFLP-GC in the camp, Ramez Mustafa, described the incident as a squabble between two families, the al-Bashirs and the al-Habets. He said the squabble erupted into a gunfight near the Palestinian group's offices after Friday noon prayers.
Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are generally known for lawlessness and armed groups vying for control. The Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon was the scene of heavy fighting between Lebanese troops and al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants from May to September. That battle left around 400 people dead, including Lebanese soldiers, Islamic militants and civilians. More...

Egyptian blogger being tortured in prison

SandMonkey via Solomonia:
Abdel Karim Soliman is an Egyptian blogger sentenced to prison for 4 years for 'vilifying religions' and defaming the president was tortured. He was ordered and supervised by an investigation officer in Borg Alarab prison. Karim was also ordered into a solitary cell where he was assaulted again and had one of his teeth broken; this assault's date came to mark one year since Karim was sent to jail.

The Ayaan Hirsi Ali Security Trust Fund

The preferred and most immediate way to assist Ms. Hirsi Ali in the financing of her private security protection is through the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Security Trust.The trust fund can accept both US and international funds and is entirely for the purpose of financing Ms. Hirsi Ali’s security.

Make checks payable to the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Security Trust.
The mailing address is:
Bank of Georgetown
1054 31st Street, N.W., Suite 18
Washington, DC 20007

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali Trust Tax Identification Number: 75-6826872]

If you’d rather do a wire transfer, here’s how:
Account Name: Ayaan Hirsi Ali Security Trust
Account Number: 1010054748
Bank Name: Bank of Georgetown
Bank Address: 1054 31st Street, N.W., Suite 18. Washington, DC 20007
Bank Telephone: 202-355-1200
Bank Routing Number: 054001712

For more information please contact the representatives for Ms. Hirsi Ali: John MatteoorMackenzie McNaughton. Their telephone contact is 202.457.1600

Vía Gates of Vienna

Russia to begin shipping fuel to Iran's Bushehr reactor

Russia will soon start shipping fuel to Russia's Bushehr nuclear reactor, the state-run producer said Friday.
According to Reuters, inspectors from the IAEA will arrive at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant to begin sealing the fuel for shipment later this month, and will be working through November 29.
"We are ready to provide IAEA specialists with all the conditions they need to do their work," Konstantin Grabelnikov, Novosibirsk deputy head, said in a statement.

AFP: Iraqis push Al Qaeda out of last stronghold in Baghdad

A local militia calling itself the “revolutionaries of Adhamiyah” took over the Sunni district on the east bank of the Tigris on November 10 in a swift and audacious raid that sent Al-Qaeda fleeing from its last stronghold in Baghdad.
On Friday, members of the “revolutionaries of Adhamiyah” controlled main roads into the neighbourhood as well the square housing the famous Abu Hanifa mosque where Saddam Hussein made his last public appearance before fleeing Baghdad in 2003 as US-led forces invaded the country…
“Our men seized 11 car bombs and discovered several clandestine bomb-making workshops,” said the chief of the “revolutionaries of Adhamiyah”, surrounded by armed bodyguards.
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