September 30, 2006

Stein host: All the Sandcrawler members who sent this in. We heart you.

Maybe there is justice after all. Brent Bennet has been freed! But I'm sure Andy Sullivan is near hysteria on hearing the news.

Because baby Jesus cries every time an al Qaeda operative isn't read his Miranda rights.

I've always thought there was more to the story than we were being told. The fact that it looks like Bennet will be free when he returns to the U.S. is a bit of a clue.

AP:

An American was released from an Afghan prison and flown out of the country Saturday after serving more than two years for running a private prison as part of a freelance hunt for terrorists, officials said.

Court documents filed Friday in Washington, D.C., show that U.S. officials planned to secure Brent Bennett a passport and a ticket out of the country, and an Associated Press reporter saw a man identified as Bennett board a plane for Dubai late Saturday.

It was not clear if Bennett, 29, was free or in the custody of U.S. officials. He was held in a private room at the airport and journalists were prevented from talking to him.

Bennett, former U.S. soldier Jack Keith Idema, and Edward Caraballo were arrested in July 2004 and convicted of running a private prison in Kabul after Afghan security forces raided a house and discovered eight Afghan men who said they had been abused. Idema told the AP by phone from his prison cell Saturday that there had never been any evidence the Afghans were abused.

It appears that the dictionary of political correctness may have to be revised.

From SacBee.com:

One of Southern California's most influential gay institutions has launched a controversial ad campaign that describes HIV as a "gay disease."

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's departure from 20 years of countering the idea of AIDS as a gay plague is designed to reach gay men who have grown complacent about the illness.

The message "HIV is a gay disease" and the tag line "Own It. End It" will appear on billboards and in magazines.

In Los Angeles County, about 75 percent of HIV cases are among men who have had sex with other men. But nationwide, gay and bisexual men account for about half of recent HIV transmission, according to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

I think it's safe to assume that at least some members of the gay community will protest the campaign.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

A bodyguard for the top Sunni politician in Iraq has been arrested as part of an al Qaeda cell planning suicide bombing missions on Baghdad. Color me unsurprised. Who do you expect would be working for a Sunni cleric who calls the U.S. presence in Iraq an 'occupation' and who opposes every military operation against Sunni terrorists.

You'll recall that Jill Carroll was on her way to meeting Adnan al-Dulaimi when she was taken hostage. Her kidnappers knew she was coming.

There is also evidence that someone in al-Dulaimi's office was involved in the Giuliana Sgrena kidnapping.

AP:

U.S. troops detained a bodyguard for the leader of
Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political group on suspicion the guard was preparing suicide bombings, and fearful officials on Saturday enforced a total ban on movement in this city of about seven million people.

The U.S. command said the man was believed to be a member of al-Qaida in Iraq and was preparing a series of suicide attacks inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government, parliament and the U.S. and other western embassies.

Khudhir Farhan was taken into custody Friday at the home of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the largest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press.

"Credible intelligence indicates the individual, a member of Dr. Dulaimi's personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual's cell were in the final stages of launching a series of (car bomb) attacks inside the International Zone, possibly involving suicide vests," the U.S. military said in a statement without identifying the man by name.

He is suspected of having links to a car bomb network operating in the southern area of Baghdad, the military said.

Immediately after the arrest Friday afternoon, al-Dulaimi denied that the guard had terrorist links. But when contacted by the AP on Saturday he said: "That individual joined my residence as a guard no more than a month ago, therefore I haven't got complete data about his background."

"Anyhow, they are only suspicions about his involvement, which have not been proved," al-Dulaimi said.

Even for the mainstream media, which, by its own people's admission, long ago sold any pretext of journalistic objectivity down the river, the headline that accompanies this sales pitch for Bob Woodward's new book is a stunning lie: "White House Disputes Book's Report of Anti-Rumsfeld Moves".

While any reasonable reader would expect to find a story about the Bush administration's response to the charges in WaPo reporter Woodward's recent election season political attack book against the Republicans, WaPo staff writer Peter Baker has actually written a thinly veiled sales pitch for Woodward's book.

Baker's "news report" never details any Bush administration response to Woodward's book until the eleventh paragraph where it quotes press secretary Tony Snow; then follows that immediately with quotes from Democrat Nancy Pelosi. I'm still trying to figure out what position Pelosi holds in the White House.

September 29, 2006

On CNN tonight some analyst from the New York Memes made their case that the traitor who selectively leaked Republican-damaging information from a top secret National Intelligence Estimate was by way of merely informing us about what a godawful mess the Iraq War puts us in. Sorta like, oh I don't know... Vietnam. Oh the nobility of it all. It appears that, well... the damned enemy is fighting back. Who knew?

Like, if only we'd just stayed out of Iraq, Al Qaeda and the Mullahs would've folded like a cheap suit, and we'd be right back in the world of 9/10. And this clever pundit goes on to express the hard-won "opinion" that the only reason the administration released the NIE was that they'd have been more embarassed had they attempted to "cover it up". The release, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that the full judgment of the NIE blows the NYT's case into more pieces than there are grains of sand on the world's beaches.

Never mind, in other words, that the NYT made up its mind years ago that Iraq was a "mess", and have been selling the same story issue after issue. Simplifies the whole daunting task of publication if you don't have to actually keep up with what's going on. Just trot out the reliable old meme.

Never mind that the NIE was about making judgments concerning strategy. Who knows what strategy is anyway? It's a mess, we're assured. The strategy is irrelevant, immaterial, and inscrutible. If the actual judgments in the NIE overwhelmingly suggest that, well: if we win in Iraq we've beaten Al Qaeda and the Salafists, and Islam will have no choice but to tame itself, so what? And so what if it says that should we lose in Iraq, Al Qaeda and the Islamofascist terrorists will have won a monumental victory likely to propel them into the status of heroes, providing them with the resources and sanctuary to turn this into a real contest--for which the Muslim world, and the world in general, will pay a price the magnitude of which hasn't been seen since the Holocaust, if ever. I mean, that'd just make it a fair fight and that's what wars are about, right? Balance? We wouldn't want to win, if it meant having an unfair advantage.

And besides it's just too darn much trouble to bring that complexity to anyone's attention. Far better to just interpret the document as supporting the contention that's been so carefully nurtured since the Bush administration had the audacity to suggest that changing the vile neighborhood that produces sociopaths the way Detroit produces cars might be the only way to have a future not dominated by zombies more in love with death than life. Never mind that the NIE is about destroying that sociopath factory, and that what we're doing in Iraq and environs is about the only way to accomplish that task.

But seriously, aren't these folks as vile as the suffocating French elite that would doom the planet if they thought it'd preserve their undeserved privilege a few more years. Do these folks at the NYT not know they're full of hot air? Please, they have advanced degrees. They know. But caring, that's another matter.

Perhaps, however, they've miscalculated this time. I mean, it's possible people aren't as monumentally stupid as they're expected to be, and perhaps folks'll have the audacity to infer something they're not being spoonfed by mass media? Perhaps they know a load of hooey when they see it?

Al Qaeda hasn't given up. What a shocker!

But more to the point neither have those who've given themselves the office of preserving Al Qaeda's hopes and dreams that western civilization will capitulate the way Qutb said they ought, and somehow drag defeat from the jaws of victory. Al Qaeda fights on not because we're pissing them off. They were already pissed off. They and their supporters and recruits are fighting on almost entirely because the mass media in the west preserves their hope of long term victory. Is there any doubt at all that were the west united and convinced of our own mission the sun would be setting on theirs?

It's no accident that the message of the Moveon Borg, MSM, and Al Qaeda have finally converged. Not only do Michael Moore and Bob Woodward assure us that Bush lied, but they're backed up by that stalwart of veracity, Ayman Zawahiri!

So that's settled, then.

Hey folks. I'm alive. No need to worry. Thanks for all the generous donations. I really appreciate it.

I'm still in the middle of a big project that is taking all of my time. I apologize for not returning all the e-mail and what not. I do my best with the time I have.

Thanks to all the Jawa authors who are filling in. These guys do amazing work and they all have day jobs on top of posting here.

Okay, I may pop in from time to time in the next two weeks just to give a shout out. Other than that, don't expect to hear too much from me. My little pet jawa is in good hands, though, so don't worry about it. And I am working behind the scenes on a few things--such as the Zawahiri video today. So, it's not like I'm completely gone.

Anyway, rock on and may the force be with you. Always.

News flash #1: we're propagandists. That's what we do. I think we all try to make our propaganda as focused on the "bad guys" as we can, but our propaganda is generally a brute force weapon rather than a precision munition. Sometimes, being succinct and funny takes precedence over being precise. To paraphrase Mike Ditka, some propagandists are named "Smith." Some are named "Grabowski." We're the Grabowskis. I do my best to tell the truth. If I fail to do a good job at it, I find the commenters are generally merciless--and rightly so.

News flash #2: we are at war. In the narrowest sense, we've been at war since at least October 2001, when American forces went after the Taliban in Afghanistan. The current fighting is, however, only the latest round of activity. In a broader sense, we (the West) have been at war with the Islamicists since at least the fall of the Caliphate and the ascension of Sayyid Qutb in the early 20th Century. Before that, there were the Muslim incursions into Europe centuries ago, which had been on hold since 1492. In an even broader sense, we (the religious pluralists) have been at war since Mohammed first attacked the Quraysh tribes 14 centuries ago.

Despite what some may think, we can lose this war. If we lose, it won't, of course, be on the battlefield. No army can stand against ours in a straght-up fight. If we lose this fight, we will lose it right here at home. Accordingly, propaganda is very important. We have a dedicated enemy on our hands, and that enemy seeks nothing less than an end to our way of life. Ideally, our enemy wants us to reliquish our way of life and submit to his. I'm not a big fan of Bush, but he does have one thing right: they really do hate us for our freedom.

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Early in the 20th Century, Qutb (an Egyptian Muslim) traveled to the U.S. and was appalled by what he saw here. He wrote of a church social in Colorado as if it were a scene out of Eyes Wide Shut. In general, what Qutb saw here wasn't enough to push a movie into the "PG" category, but his traditionalist eyes were seared with the images of bare American ankles and bare American shoulders.

Building on the success of the church social, Western scientists continued their groundbreaking work, inventing things like bikinis, Israel, miniskirts, feminism, porn, VHS and Pamela Anderson. And then they invented radio, television and the internet to deliver it into homes around the world. In the eyes of the Sayyid Qutbs of the world, these Western technologies threaten to turn their daughters into sluts and their sons into perverts. This is silly, of course, because--well, okay, perhaps they have a point.

At any rate, in order to counter the threat from our technology, Islamicist scientists invented the Wahhabi mosque, the suicide bomber and the videotaped beheading. These technologies are designed to save them from us, and to save us from ourselves. The first invention has been wildly successful. The last two--not so much. Of course, the Islamicists aren't too proud to use our own technology against us, including the Internet.

The Islamicists look back to a golden age, when their prophet Mohammed saved the Arabs from perverts and polytheists by enacting strict controls on every area of public and private behavior. They look forward to a time when they can do that same "favor" for the whole world. They look forward to "commanding virtue" and "forbidding vice," as demanded by their holy book. It's not enough, of course, to merely "encourage virtue" and "discourage vice." The Christian concept that "he who has no sin should throw the first stone" is alien to them. In the Islamicist view, a man is just too weak to be expected withstand temptation on his own. He is like a child who must be kept far from the candy store, lest he indulge. He must be shielded from temptation at all costs--and he must be punished severely if he succumbs to it. To the Islamicist, Islam is not something that occurs in a private life or in a mosque down the street. Islam is all-encompassing. Islam is the government, the science, the philosophy and the law. This was the "innovation" of Islam, and it is this "innovation" that the Islamicists seek to bring to the entire world.

My beliefs about the Islamicists are not my own personal paranoid fantasies. I acquired them by reading the Koran. I acquired them from the words of Mohammed. I acquired them from the words of the Islamicists themselves. If you think I've gotten them wrong, I encourage you to correct me, but please do us all the courtesy of educating yourself before you spout off. Calling me a "bigot" or an "Islamophobe" serves no other purpose but to confirm that you have nothing substantive to say. If you think I've gotten the views of the Islamicists wrong, and you think this all just some big misunderstanding about control of Shebaa Farms, please set me straight. But please don't embarrass yourself. Back it up with some substance. If you can't, please don't waste my time throwing epithets at me or anyone else who raises legitimate--though uncomfortable-- issues about the world's fastest growing Religion of Peace(tm). I get plenty of the personal attacks, and they only convince the casual observer that you have no substantive answer to my position. So back it up, or shut up.

Now, I've been told that there are many "moderate Muslims" who practice an official, but "moderate," form of Islam. I've heard those statements many times, and I've even reviewed "evidence" of this position. After reviewing this "evidence," I can only say that I do not think that word means what you think it means. There are, to be sure, more moderate and more radical official interpretations of Islam, but I have yet to see an official pluralist, secularist interpretation of Islam in which Islam accepts a permanent place within a community of equals. That is not to say that there are not individual Muslims who believe in this view of Islam. I believe there are. I believe, in fact, that there are many. I'm not, however, aware of any official, clerical recognition of a purely personal view of Islam, such as that practiced by most Christians, Jews and Buddhists, for example. I don't know of an official clerical interpretation of Islam which calls on Muslims to work toward a secular, pluralist society in which each person is encouraged to practice his or her own faith freely according to his or her own conscience. I'd be curious to know which of the major schools of Islamic thought provides for a Muslim-dominated government to "encourage virtue" but yet "permit vice." I'd be curious to know which school teaches that men and women are equal. Which of the major schools provides for equal freedom of speech for all faiths, or teaches that it's wrong for Muslims to punish apostates? Who is the imam who preaches this "moderate" Islam? Unless and until someone can answer these questions for me, I will not have much faith in the idea of an officially "moderate" Islam. "Institute Islamic control, but do it democratically" is, in my opinion, "moderate" in only a very narrow sense of that word.

Yes, there are Muslims who believe in a more broadly "moderate" (i.e., pluralist) idea of Islam. I'm all for this idea. I would like nothing better than for our all of our Muslim brothers and sisters to practice their religion in the private sphere as they see fit, and yet publicly promote secularism, accept our lack of shared faith and allow us to live as we see fit. Uncomfortable as it may be to accept, these Muslims have few, if any, allies in the upper echelons of Islam, there are far too many Muslims who are not prepared to accept pluralism as a principle and it is the Islamicists who are receiving the most philosophical and material support for the Islamic "powers that be." Pretending and lying about these facts will not serve anyone's interests, least of all those Muslims who would stand up against the radicals who work around the clock to put into practice their strident Islamicist view of the way the world should be.

Although I don't place all Muslims in the same camp as the Islamicists, I do have a serious problem with the non-Islamicist Muslims. If they are out there, why do we not hear from them? If they disagree with the Islamicist message, why are they so quiet? Don't they understand that it would be in their interests to distance themselves from the radicals and the dissemblers? They can only keep silent for so long. The uncomfortable questions are not going away.

So, the Islamicists have their philosophy and we have ours. Perhaps adult men and women need to be treated like children for their own good. Whatever the merits of their position (and there are several), it is in the very core of my marrow that grown men and women must be left free to make their own decisions--even stupid decisions. If I believe in anything, I believe passionately in free will and individual liberty, including the liberty to make mistakes. I, and many others, are willing to die for that principle. These are prices we are willing to pay. And rightly so.

As tough as it may be for the "peace at any price" crowd to accept, there is simply no room for compromise with the true Islamicists. There is no "middle ground" between the absolute moral guidance and control they seek to assert over their fellow men and women and the basic human liberty we passionately believe in. Whatever wiggle room there may be in some principles, there can be very little in these.

We are at war, friends. There is, for better or worse, no room for a permanent compromise between these two radically different views of the world. Ultimately, one side in this conflict will be brought into "submission." The only question is: which side will it be?

Michelle posts an email written by Robert Redeker in the wake of the publication of his article on Islam in Le Figaro:

I am now in a catastrophic personal situation. Several death threats have been sent to me, and I have been sentenced to death by organizations of the al-Qaeda movement. [...] On the websites condemning me to death there is a map showing how to get to my house to kill me, they have my photo, the places where I work, the telephone numbers, and the death fatwa. [...] There is no safe place for me, I have to beg, two evenings here, two evenings there. [...] I am under the constant protection of the police. I must cancel all scheduled conferences. And the authorities urge me to keep moving. [...] All costs are at my own expense, including those of rents a month or two ahead, the costs of moving twice, legal expenses, etc.

It's quite sad. I exercised my constitutional rights, and I am punished for it, even in the territory of the Republic. This affair is also an attack against national sovereignty – foreign rules, decided by criminally minded fanatics, punish me for having exercised a constitutional right, and I am subjected, even in France, to great injury.

If we continue down that path, the one sound we will be left with will be the muezzin calling us all to our daily prayers.

Every submission emboldens our enemies. We stop this pretty damn soon, or everything we know ends. If you don't draw the line here, where do we draw it? Okay, no more movies. Okay, no more cartoons. Okay, no more articles. This isn't some story in a book or a movie. This is real, folks.

It don't know about you, but this bull$h!+ makes me want to speak out more, while I still can. When they come get me, at least I'll die on my feet.

So, uh, Rusty does get lots of mail. Sorry we didn’t get to everything. Pesky real jobs! Some links from other posts may be duplicated here.

To help out Rusty and move us closer to the goal of quitting our real jobs and playing on the internet 24/7 click here.

Al-Jazeerra hacked, pajamahadeen charged.

Turnabout is fair play.

Top 9 signs that ULB is dead!

Mackers moonbat memorial.

British Foxes guard British henhouses.

Stop the ALCU makes NY times! Jay wants to vomit but doesn’t.

Another "Goodhearted, hardworking" Illegal Alien Turns Killer.

The Clintons, the Media, and the WMD Attack On America They Refused to Tell You About.

Poso 3 possibly tortured before execution.

GPO warns press on doctored photos.

Attn: Glenn Reynolds :A hunger strike for an Insta-lanche.

Contest for the best campaign slogan or bumper sticker for 2006.

Hey, Why did I not get the memo? For hot photos of Michelle in a bikini, well at least photoshops of what Michelle might look like in a bikini if she were someone else and still had her face click here.

Or, for those of you who care about stuff that matters, click here for complete translations of the articles criticizing Islamic terror that have been banned in Egypt. Robert Redeker the author of one of the op-ed pieces has been forced to go into hiding as al-Qaeda has issued a Death Fatwa against him.

I bet Rusty is jealous. Always a bride's maid and never a bride eh Rusty?

Here is the third and final installment of The Christian Science Monitors series on the drug war in Columbia.

Dana Harman at CSM: Sandro Calvani, director of the UN’s office on Drugs and Crime in Colombia (UNODC) argues that Plan Colombia’s heavy focus on aerial spraying needs to be supplemented with increased efforts to deal with the social and economic roots of Colombia’s coca industry. Specifically, he wants the US and others in the international community to offer real strategies for rural development that would ensure alternative livelihoods for poor farmers who face destruction of their chief cash crop.

“Why do Colombians go back to replanting coca? Because it’s easy, and no one talks to them about doing something else,” says Calvani. The alternative development programs that have been attempted, he says, show clear, impressive results. A UNODC survey released in June shows that 70 percent of the fields eradicated through Plan Colombia are replanted. But if farmers receive alternative development assistance, states Calvani, the percentage of coca fields replanted dives to 3 percent, with the likes of coffee, hearts of palm, and red beans being planted instead: “Once coca peasants live on licit crops for one year, they never go back to the illicit economy.”

Rioting and threats of violence from Muslim extremists have apparently triumphed once again over the First Amendment.

According to psychoanalyst Dr. Nancy Kobrin and noted feminist Phyllis Chesler, who wrote the introduction, Kobrin's new book, "The Sheikh's New Cloth: The Naked Truth about Islamic Suicide Terrorism", was to be published in November by Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc., but Dr. Kobrin's contract was suddenly cancelled over concerns for their staff's safety.

Ms. Chesler writes:

...in the wake of the Pope's mistreatment, they would not be able to provide security for their staff people were her book to inflame the "Muslim street." Dr. Kobrin's book discusses, in depth, the normalization of cruelty and child abuse, including pederasty and daughter-abuse that is pandemic in the Arab Muslim world and how such shame and honor childrearing practices renders adults vulnerable to death-cult temptations and brainwashing. She focuses on the degradation of women in the Islamic world and how that is a crucial factor in suicide terrorism.

And, of course, who can blame a small publisher when virtually every major American mainstream news source refused to publish any of the Danish cartoons that started a firestorm of Muslim violence worldwide? They claimed it was out of respect for Islam, but that would make Islam unique among major religions in being offered "respect" by the MSM. The real reason for their restraint is almost certainly this:

I've contacted Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc. to confirm what Dr. Kobrin and Ms. Chesler have shared and to get their perspective; I will update this post when they reply.

Awww yeeah!

Acceptence of this cultural art-form is not universal in Gaza (due to a lack of religious content), but is growing in popularity. Check out these fresh 'rhymes' from the controversial song "Watch Your back, Arabs." Sing along if you know the words:

"Where are the Arab people?

Where is the Arab blood?

Where is the Arab anger?

Where, where and where ...

Driving the coupe car

Smoking the cigar

Voting for the super star "American Idol"

And forgetting about our martyrs, wounded, prisoners. ... Have you heard the last news!?"

Where is the Arab anger? I assure you, young hip-hop artist, there is no shortage of that anywhere in the world:

A post at the History News Network blog today details the goings-on regarding a French Philosophy teacher whose family went into hiding after recieving death threats. The professor's crime? Saying naughty things about Islam in an op-ed:

Under the heading "In the face of Islamist intimidation, what must the free world do?", Redeker described the Koran as a "book of extraordinary violence" and Islam as "a religion which ... exalts violence and hate".

Hundreds protest in Paris over Prophet cartoons Should this post with a picture of the Prophet Mohammed? Likening Islam to Communism, he said that "violence and intimidation are the methods used by an expansionist ideology ... to impose its leaden cloak on the world".

He also argued that Muslim response to Pope Benedict's academic exposition demonstrated that they wish to limit Western freedom of speech.

Clic the pic

Yeah, that should sum it up, image-wise.

I'm not linking either. And no, we will not grant your Worker's Comp claim for Carpal Tunnel from following the links.

Now, let's fisk Dean's comments, shall we?

I can't believe you guys who are trying to apologize for me but deny that there are any genuine Islamophobes out there who think that Islam is fundamentally incompatible with freedom and democracy.

Have you not been reading my archives? Do you think I'm just imagining this shit?

Funny, I didn't know Osama was an Islamophobe. The most virulent supporters of this idea are Muslims. And no, I don't read your archives. And I don't believe you're just imagining this shit. The M'Naghten Rule basically states that the person can't distinguish right from wrong at the time the incident occurred. To put it in another way, people claiming they're insane usually aren't, insane people don't know that they're insane. Their reality is their imaginations.

Did you at least read this thread? Or this one? Or this one?

What, did you think I was making this shit up?? Like it was some paranoid fantasy I had?

Wake up god damn it. Some of your supposed allies on the right think Islam is the eternal enemy and Muslims are the real threat. Just start asking the question. I'm not making this shit up.

Lessee. no, no, no, yes, and we woke up in 1979. When will you? And if the question is about the conscience of a Conservative, all that happy crappy gets buried during wartime. Re: Normandy, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, etc, etc.

Fuck, just read Jawa Report for a week, or Little Green Footballs, or JihadWatch.

I'm no moron. Look, just LOOK at what they say every day on those sites.

Yay! More traffic! Thanks, moron!

And just answer me this:

Are MUSLIMS the enemy?

Or are MURDEROUS LUNATIC MUSLIMS the enemy?

Just look at Jihadwatch, or Little Green Footballs, or Jawa Report, or a dozen other sites. Do THEY make such a distinction? I do, and you might, but DO THEY?

I have to stop ranting now, but seriously. Do they think that MUSLIMS are the enemy? Or that terrorists are the enemy? Do they make a clear distinction, or do they not?

If this yokel actually read the Jawa Report, then he would know full well we make that distinction. If he'd provide a link to back up his wild assertions, he'd have more credibility.

This blog has always made distinctions. But, in his arrogance, Dean Esmay does not. We know, and have posted on it numerous times, that there are good Muslims out there. We've lamented that they don't speak up as often as they should. Dean Esmay makes his mistake in not realizing that Islam is not simply a religion. It is an ideology, a political force, and a way of life for its adherents.

He blathers consistently about the Koran. About how we "cherry pick" phrases from it to suit our needs. Koran, Koran, Koran, he bleats.

But has learned scholar Dean Esmay read the Sunnah and Hadith? Has he read the narrated tales of Mohammed's life from the mouths of those who served him and knew him best?

Has he read the history of Islam by the scores and scores of those who have been subjugated by it since the 7th Century?

I doubt it. I would hazard to guess that he's spent far more time delving into Christian history, all the better to shout "they do it too!!!!!"

In his post, which I didn't link to, he makes some poor analogies. He likens our criticism of Islam to, and I quote:

To me it would be akin to, in World War II, declaring ourselves at war with "Germanic People," "Latin People," and "Southeast Asians." Not Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy and Tojo's Japan. No, we would have declared that we were at war with anyone of Germanic or Latin descent, and anyone who happened to be short, yellow, and slant-eyed (to put it rudely and crassly).

Gee, someone didn't read his history book too well. He left out Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, and Romania, all part of the Axis.

But that's an aside. What he still fails to grasp is that Islam is not a race, it is not a nationality. From which hand to wipe a butt with to how one treats one's wife, it is not just a religion. It's an ideology, a political force, and, most importantly, a way of life imposed upon the people who live under its rule no matter what their individual inclination.

He also can't seem to grasp the tools of warfare. Although he claims to be a hawk, he doesn't seem to understand that in war, all weapons must be deployed in order to achieve victory.

One of the weapons in war, and a vital one it is, is propaganda.

That's one of the main functions we provide here to the war effort. The enemy has their propaganda, we have ours. Their propaganda sure as hell doesn't make any distinctions between good Christians and bad Christians, or Jews, or Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans, et. al.

Why should ours?

Their propaganda consists of videos of execution by beheading, ours is in print. Their propaganda consists of videos of IEDs blowing up Humvees, or sniper shots to a serviceman's head. Ours consists of silly line drawings and photoshops.

I'm not going to apologize to Dean for posting things that insult 1.2 billion Muslims, sorry dude. I've skimmed your blog, and frankly, you've insulted the 2.7 billion Christians on this earth just as egregiously as we have Islam.

So, to close this out, using Dean's own verbiage.

Go fuck yourself, you dhimmi traitor.

Here, I found a flag made just for you.

September 28, 2006

Teddy Kennedy, erupting after passage by the House of a bill to approve NSA surveillance of international calls between Americans and suspected terrorists, and passage in the Senate of the bill to authorize detention, interrogation, and trials of enemy combatants:

"In 40 days, we can put an end to this nonsense."

Take the Bloviator from Massachusetts at his word. When he says that using legal means to protect Americans from terrorism is "nonsense", he means what he says.

Majority Leader John Boehner summed it up well:

"To always have reasons why you just can't vote 'yes,' I think speaks volumes when it comes to which party is better able and more willing to take on the terrorists and defeat them."

Pic of Moby Ted.

(Kuwait City) Not surprising, Ayman al-Zawahri opens his mouth and people get jumpy.

From Arab Times Kuwait:

The Ministry of Interior has raised the security level around the country particularly the sea following threats issued by the deputy leader of the al-Qaeda network Ayman Al-Zawahri to strike at Kuwait, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting senior security officials.

A reliable source said the terrorist might most likely try to infiltrate into the country via the sea during the month of Ramadan.

Nevertheless, everybody would be less jumpy if Ayman Al-Zawahri's mouth were shut ... permanently.

This piece in the La Times (registration required to view) argues that the “Islamic Radicals” who use terrorism are creating a tremendous backlash and overall bad perception of Islam.

LA Times: EVER SINCE 9/11, a dark view of Islam has been gaining currency on what might be called the Western street. This view holds that, contrary to the protestations of our political leaders who claim that acts of terrorism are being carried out by a minority of extremists the real problem lies with Islam itself. In this interpretation, Islam is not a religion of peace but of war, and its 1.2 billion adherents will never rest until all of humanity is either converted, subjugated or simply annihilated.

The west faces a similar catch 22. We use secular government, not to place it above God, but so that we may all worship as we choose. This is a basic freedom born of the persecution of Christian Protestants.

The argument is circulating that by fighting the radicals we are creating more radicals. The reverse is also true. Terrorism forces us to take a “radical” view that Islam is the basis of terrorism or at least a symptom of an Islam gone very wrong. Irishpennants post on this subject states this very well(Correction: this is a quote from Robert Godwin of One Cosmos linked and used at Irish Pennant, Oops) .

Would they(liberals) ever report that terrorists are the cause of the American military that liberals so despise, and that if terrorists would only appease America, our military would stop trying to harm them? Or that Islamo-nazis have to stop their unwinnable war on the west, because it will only create more George Bushes and Tony Blairs and John Howards?

But I find the fact that there is a line to bomb very encouraging. Iraqi’s, in response to the terror, are accepting the rather radical idea that to save their nation they must fight the radicals. Thus they become radicals in opposition to the terrorist radicals. See how this works?

It’s a necessary and natural response. Before 9/11 I did have an idea that Islam was a nest for terrorism. But after 9/11 and becoming aware of and studying the words of the terrorists themselves I became more convinced they must be fought.

The same thing occurred when my eyes were opened to the terrorists snuff videos. This obviously evil practice and manifestation of Satan’s work on earth “radicalized” me even further. I felt more determined to expose their evil and fight them. Allying with anyone Muslim or not who was for freedom of expression and exposing what I see as an evil, “doctrine of terror.”

Also the absurd reaction of large portions of the Muslim community to various “insults” in an attempt to force me to respect Islam out of fear also encouraged me to do just the opposite.

I’ll not submit to fear or threat I will do the exact opposite of what those threatening me want. I will both exercise my freedom to do so and send a message that terror will not buy my respect of Islam.

Only the behavior of Muslims as a whole will earn my respect. For me to ever respect Islam then Muslims must fight and defeat the “radicals” as well as show respect to our culture and our religion.

When Muslims use the term Cross Worshipper to describe Christians in one breath and start taking Jesus with the next I see hypocrisy. It only serves to deepen my “radicalism” or opinion that Islam does not respect me. Therefore why should I pay respect to Islam?

I’ve been finishing the Dune series by Frank Herbert among other things. I read the first three as a young man and I always wanted to read the rest. If you have not read these each chapter starts with a little preface. I’m now in book five (where I found the origin of C3PO by the way) but in book four I found the following quote that I find very relevant.

Surprise? Who's talking of Surprise? Chaos is no surprise. It has predictable characteristics. For one thing it carries away order and strengthens the forces at the extremes.

Isn't that what radicals are trying to do? Aren't they trying to shake things up so they can grab control?

That's what they think they are doing. Actually they're createing new extremists, new radicals and they are continuing the old process.

What about a radical who sees the complexities and comes at you that way?

That's no radical that's a rival for leadership.

But what do you do?

You co-opt them or kill them. That's how the struggle for leadership originated, at the grunt level.

It has been said that Satan is the Prince of Lies. If you look closely at al-Qaeda and the other radical’s strategy it becomes clear who they follow.

I feel for Dean I really do. I probably do create more radicals, but who created this one? The one typing this post.

Others Hyscience, Captains’ Quarters and Big Lizards.

Update: Michelle responds to Dean's post. You know I like Dean's blog. It was one of the first blogs I started reading. I've linked some of his stuff in the past. I see via Michelle that Dean thinks a lot less of us than we do of him.

Dean Esmay:
Fuck, just read Jawa Report for a week, or Little Green Footballs, or JihadWatch.

I'm no moron. Look, just LOOK at what they say every day on those sites.

Related Bryan at Hotair defends Michelle's honor here. I'd ask for him to defend mine and Rusty's as well, but we don't have any.

From the Associated Press:

The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq said in an audio message posted on a Web site Thursday that more than 4,000 foreign insurgent fighters have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. It was believed to be the first major statement from insurgents in Iraq about their losses.
"The blood has been spilled in Iraq of more than 4,000 foreigners who came to fight," said the man, who identified himself as Abu Hamza al- Muhajir _ also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri _ the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. The voice could not be independently identified.

In any case, that's a minimum of 4,000 babyhunters who won't be coming to Manhattan to meet Allah.

Here's a picture of one of them, reportedly felled by a fifty caliber sniper rifle. If your stomach is strong, click on the second update below the image for an unblurred view.

Plan Colombia: Big gains, but cocaine still flows. That is the title of today’s segement. Despite billions of dollars an lives spent the supply of drugs flowing from Columbia still increased last year.

Dana Harman at The Christian Science Monitor: In total, since the eradication program began in 1994 (and particularly since it was ramped up in 2000), 986,925 hectares of coca plant and opium poppy have been destroyed— an area equivalent to the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Drug seizures are another pillar of the plan, and here too, there are results. Two hundred and twenty five tons of cocaine hydrochloride and cocaine base were seized in 2005, up from 125 tons in 2002, and the number of clandestine drug labs destroyed soared to nearly 2,000 last year from 317 in 2000, according to a July study by Colombia’s National Narcotics Directorate (DNE).

Despite these unprecedented eradication efforts, coca cultivation actually increased last year by 8 percent, to 86,000 hectares, according to a study released in June by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). More significantly, the amount of cocaine being produced is also increasing. According to DNE Colombia produced 776 metric tons of cocaine last year, 231 more than previous US estimates, and enough to supply almost 80 percent of the entire world market.

Apparently, politicians are no longer allowed to use the term "jihadist fascist" to describe fascist jihadists:

"Representative McCotter should use his time on the House floor to foster dialogue and mutual understanding, not to introduce hot-button terms that will further damage our nation's image in the Islamic world," said CAIR's Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid.

Walid said President George W. Bush had stopped using the term "Islamic fascist" after Muslims in America and around the world had protested that it was ill-defined and counterproductive in persuading people in the global conflict against terror.

A real shocker here. The hotbed of 1960's leftist radicalism bequeaths a legacy of empty-headed, ignorant liberal know-nothings onto the country:

The nonpartisan group that contracted the study, the Delaware-based Intercollegiate Studies Institute, said the results indicate that colleges aren't doing enough to teach their students about civics and the basic principles on which America was founded. The country faces a "crisis in citizenship" unless colleges rededicate themselves to instruction in the core principles, the group said.

"We were flabbergasted" by the results, said Josiah Bunting, who chairs the institute's National Civic Literacy Board. The study looked at campuses along the entire spectrum, he said, from the most elite — such as Harvard and Princeton — to liberal arts colleges and small religious schools.

"Almost all of these universities talk in their catalogs about a mission of educating people who will be citizens and citizen leaders," Bunting said. "That really was what prompted the study."

Here's more of the hilariously ironic findings of the study:

-53 percent of seniors could not identify the correct century when the first American colony was established at Jamestown.

-More than 75 percent of seniors could not identify that the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine was to prevent foreign expansion into the Western Hemisphere.

-Only 45 percent of seniors identified the Baath party as the main source of Saddam Hussein's political support.

Cross-posted at Mein BlogoVault.

(Eugene, Oregon) As one of only a handful of female soldiers among hundreds of young, testosterone-charged male soldiers, U.S. Army Specialist Suzanne Swift (pic) was logically approached. Swift claims she was also sexually harassed and abused. As a result, Swift went AWOL (absent without leave) for six months before she was arrested by authorities in June.

From The Register-Guard:

She said she refused to return to Iraq in January because she feared she would be subjected to a repeat of the sexually charged atmosphere that plagued her first deployment.

From February 2004 to February 2005 she was stationed in Karbala as a military police officer.

To a degree, Swift's allegations have been supported by Army investigators, however, according to Ft. Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek, "In this investigation, she has never claimed that she was abused or raped." Nonetheless, the website, SuzanneSwift.org, claims actual rape occurred in addition to sexual harassment. A 'private therapist' also weighed in with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Meanwhile, Spc. Swift's case has become the cause du jour for the leftist crowd, including the left-leaning media. Peace activists and feminists, in particular, have recharged their noise-making neurons. Consequently, the real issue regarding Suzanne Swift's failure to abide by her contractual obligation to serve and protect the U.S. as a soldier is being muddied by groups with a variety of political agendas.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

September 27, 2006

Hmmm.....

Scroll, scroll, scroll:

Bush administration officials say that Karzai and Musharraf, along with the influential and relatively moderate Iraqi Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani, are the "indispensable men" of post-Sept. 11 foreign policy for their ability to hold Islamic extremism at bay.

Note the emphasis. Rare indeed are the times that the media places qualifiers in front of "moderate" when referring to Sistani. Maybe the reporter took the time to actually look at his website, and noticed his devotion to sharia?

I can't let this post go with noting, in the quoted paragraph, that if Bush administration officials believe this is the Holy Trinity to keeping Islamic extremism at bay, we are in deep, deep shiite.

Karzai? Yeah, there's hope there, but Musharraf and Sistani? Yeesh.

Yes, it is true.

The war in Iraq is responsible for more terrorists. The war in Iraq did make us less safe.

What the Left, in their blind BDS rage, refuses to recognize is the fact that the war in Iraq has been going on for 16 years.

It started on August 2, 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

Like or lump it, that war hasn't ended. The original hostilities were concluded by a cease-fire agreement, not a peace treaty.

Which, by the way, is the same reason we're still in a state of war with North Korea, 56 years later.

But don't take it on my authority. All the evidence you need that Iraq is, and has been the central battleground in the GWO? is found in Osama Bin Laden's fatwa issued in 1998. Don't skim it, read it carefully.

One last thing before you read it. Personally, I don't blame any politician. I have, and will, always blame Mohammed (Pork Be Upon Him). My basis for that is also in the fatwa re-printed below.

Statement signed by Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin; Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu- Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, a leader of the Islamic Group; Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; and Fazlul Rahman, leader of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh

Praise be to God, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said "I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but God is worshipped, God who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders." The Arabian Peninsula has never--since God made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas--been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies now spreading in it like locusts, consuming its riches and destroying its plantations. All this is happening at a time when nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter.

No one argues today about three facts that are known to everyone; we will list them, in order to remind everyone:

First, for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.

If some people have formerly debated the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it.

The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, still they are helpless. Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, in excess of 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once against trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation.

So now they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors.

Third, if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there.

The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula.

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al- Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said "As for the militant struggle, it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life."

On that basis, and in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims

The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."

This is in addition to the words of Almighty God "And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed--women and children, whose cry is 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"

We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

Almighty God said "O ye who believe, give your response to God and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give you life. And know that God cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered."

Almighty God also says "O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of God, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For God hath power over all things."

Almighty God also says "So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith."

They're even worse and more blatant than we thought.

Jay at Stop the ACLU details a long, long legacy of hypocrisy, including this gem:

In August of 2005 the New York ACLU sued against random bag searches on the NY Subway. Ironically the NYCLU HQ has a sign warning visitors that all bags are subject to search.

Under the fold.

Rhymes With Right:

David:

Eugene:

From MSNBC:

DALLAS - 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years as part of a previously announced plan by the convenience store operator to launch its own brand of fuel.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the effects of a boycott will probably be felt most by independently owned gas stations selling the Citgo brand. Nonetheless, not buying gas with the Citgo brand on it is seen as an important symbolic gesture by many Americans.

More on Citgo boycott here.

An ABC News producer in Pakistan was phoned by Mulla Dadullah Akhund, military commander of the Taliban concerning rumors of Osama bin Laden's death that circulated recently.

ABC News reports:

Mulla Dadullah Akhund, said Osama bin Laden is alive and that there is no truth to the rumors of his death from typhoid.

"Sheikh Osama is all right. He is safe," Dadullah told ABC News' Rahimullah Yusufzai. Dadullah would not disclose the location from where he was calling.

In the past, Dadullah has issued statements to the effect that bin Laden and Taliban leader Mulla Mohammad Omar are alive and leading the resistance against U.S.-led foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Dadullah had more to say:

When pressed for evidence to show that bin Laden is alive, Dadullah hinted that there is a possibility of a tape being sent to media organizations to prove that the al Qaeda head isn't dead. Dadullah, however, declined to say as to when this tape would be made available.

The Associated Press reports that Republicans are moving ahead with legislation to satisfy Supreme Court requirements for terrorists to be detained, interrogated, and tried:

WASHINGTON - Republicans on Wednesday cleared procedural hurdles in the House and Senate on the way to giving President Bush authority to detain, interrogate and try terrorism detainees before military commissions.

While bowing to the inevitable, Democrats continued to criticize the bill. Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said defendants still won't be able to confront some classified evidence against them while allowing evidence obtained through torture.

Why don't we just use the Durbin rules for terrorist interrogations.

Lord knows how this one slipped through the al-Reuters Good News From Iraq Embargo :

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sunni tribal leaders who have vowed to drive al Qaeda out of Iraq's most restive province met the Shi'ite premier on Wednesday, marking what Washington hopes will be a breakthrough alliance against Islamist militants.

Sattar al-Buzayi, a Sunni sheikh from Anbar province who has emerged in recent weeks as a leader of a tribal alliance against Osama bin Laden's followers, said he and about 15 other sheikhs had offered their cooperation to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Grandpa says that when he was in the Phillipines all the men listened because the show played music from home at there was nothing else. Often she would tell the soldiers to write their sweethearts now, because in the morning they would be landing here or there and be killed. She was usually correct. He says this bothered the men quite a bit, the fact that she knew where they would be before they did.

CNN: CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Iva Toguri D'Aquino, who was convicted and later pardoned of being World War II propagandist "Tokyo Rose," died Tuesday of natural causes, said her nephew, William Toguri. She was 90.

Tokyo Rose was the name given by soldiers to a female radio broadcaster responsible for anti-American transmissions intended to demoralize soldiers fighting in the Pacific theater. D'Aquino was the only U.S. citizen identified among the potential suspects.

In 1949, she became the seventh person to be convicted of treason in American history and served six years in prison. But doubts about her possible role as Tokyo Rose later surfaced and she was pardoned by President Gerald Ford in 1977.

D'Aquino was born in Los Angeles on July 4, 1916, to Japanese immigrant parents. She began to use the first name Iva during her school years.

D'Aquino had recently graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and was visiting relatives in Japan when she became trapped in the country at the beginning of World War II, according to a statement Tuesday from a Toguri family spokeswoman, Barbara Trembley.

D'Aquino began working odd jobs to support herself while trying to find a way out of the country. That led to her work on a Japanese propaganda radio show manned by Allied prisoners called "Zero Hour," the statement said.

(Nairobi, Kenya) As the fundamentalist Islamic Courts Union destabilizes the country of Somalia, fearful refugees are flocking to Kenya for safety. According to Emmanuel Nyabera, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a massive relief operation may be required since the camps in Kenya have reached capacity.

From The East African:

Since September 13, more than 3,400 Somali have escaped fighting in their country to find refuge in Kenya, bringing the tally to almost 25,000 since the beginning of the year. There are more than 227,000 refugees already in Kenya, mainly from Somalia and Sudan.

Mr Nyabera said that, from interviews with UNHCR officials, it had emerged that the refugees, who are mostly women and children, were mainly from Mogadishu, Kismayu, and Lower Juba province.

Incidentally, these regions are not so far in the hands of the Islamic Courts Union.

Outside Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts are in control in the provinces of Lower Shabelle, Benadir, Middle Shabelle, Hiran, Gelgedut and parts of Mudug region.

Refugees from Baidoa -- the seat of Somalia's interim government -- have also started trickling into Kenya.

So far, the UN has only talked about East African strife and the African Union's attempt at keeping peace in Sudan failed. Unlike 1991 when Somalia was a media darling, the current situation is getting considerably less emphasis. Consequently, the march of Islamic belligerence in Africa continues.

East Africa is not a teapot yet but give it time. Sooner or later, it will whistle.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Abu Izzadeen has started a blog. Of course he won’t allow anonymous comments but if you have a blogger ID stop in and express yourself. Oh yeah Abu is a terrorist supporting scumbag who laughed at the victims of the 9/11 and 7/7 London bombings.

From his Wikepedia entry:Abu Izzadeen has described the 7/7 suicide bombers in London as "completely praiseworthy". [2]

On the eve of the anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London he was filmed preaching to a group of Muslims in Birmingham (UK) mocking and laughing at the victims of 9/11 and threatening further terror attacks in the UK. [3]

He has openly admitted that he wishes to die as a suicide bomber. [4]

Updated now with even more nuttyness. His next post makes me proud of my blogging and that says a lot.

you may have seen me in the press recently or on international television, or you may have heard me on the radio here in the UK. i am a true Muslim and want to show you that Allah is with me. i will never be arrested. i will never be jailed. i will never succumb to the kuffar who threaten me here in the UK, which is Allah's land. i am invincible because Almighty Allah wishes me to be invincible.

i have removed to the origonal welcome post as some kaffar make discusting comments[that's us ;)]. you now have to register like on the forum and should now be moderated hopefully

I am going to be greater than jesus.

Update II. Fake Fake Fake. Party over! It was fun while it lasted.

The Christian Science Monitor is running a series on “The Drug War”. In the first installment they report on the ironic massacre of US trained and financed Columbian police by US trained and financed members of the Columbian army.

Christian Science Monitor's Danna Harman: Jamundi, Colombia – Arcesio Morales Buitrago is in charge of the keys at Mi Casita. A soft-spoken man diagnosed as schizophrenic, he is the doyen of the patients at the leafy psychiatric home.

On May 22, right after the Monday afternoon bingo game, three cars skidded to a halt in front of Mi Casita. Ten men in blue jeans and police vests, and one man in a ski mask, piled out.

“Judicial police! Open up!” they shouted.

Morales, as the one responsible for the keys, scurried down the path to comply.
As he reached the green iron gate, however, Sergio Berrio, the administrator of the home, leaned out from the balcony above and screeched: “Stay back! Don’t open!”

Morales froze. That’s when the shooting started: a torrent of bullets and grenades rained down on the police from the forest above.

“The war came here,” Morales recalls incredulously, “…all the way here.”
What followed in the next 45 minutes was the massacre of one of Colombia’s best counter narcotics police units – all hand-picked and trained by the US. None survived.

This is the story of that police team killed in Jamundi four months ago – and the members of Colombia’s military that killed them. The Attorney General alleges the ambush was ordered by narcotraffickers.

The brutal attack stunned this nation, and it has prompted the US Congress to temporarily freeze funding for Plan Colombia, the $4.7-billion effort to stop the illicit drug trade. It’s the most expensive US foreign aid program outside the Middle East.

But it’s the fact that US-trained Colombian soldiers were shooting US-trained Colombian police that has shaken officials in Washington and Bogatá. And the Jamundi massacre is fueling critics who say that after almost six years, this plan to fight the drug war isn’t working – and its time for a change.

Hat Tip: Hugo.

September 26, 2006

The declassification of parts of the National Intelligence Estimate spells out the ramifications of a major triumph in the War on Terror: the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (the report was finalized in April, before Zarqawi's death).

The NIE states:

Al-Qa’ida, now merged with Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s network, is exploiting the situation in Iraq to attract new recruits and donors and to maintain its leadership role.

• The loss of key leaders, particularly Usama Bin Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and al-Zarqawi, in rapid succession, probably would cause the group to fracture into smaller groups. Although like-minded individuals would endeavor to carry on the mission, the loss of these key leaders would exacerbate strains and disagreements. We assess that the resulting splinter groups would, at least for a time, pose a less serious threat to US interests than does al-Qa’ida.

• Should al-Zarqawi continue to evade capture and scale back attacks against Muslims, we assess he could broaden his popular appeal and present a global threat.

This passage also validates the Bush administration's contention that the leaking of parts of the report was a political as well as criminal act, designed to do the maximum amount of political damage. Apparently, the leakers did not expect President Bush to declassify the report.

Mainstream media outlets have ignored the Zarqawi angle and other inaccuracies in the leaked portions, possibly because they emphasize how badly New York Times writer Mark Mazzetti's article was compromised by his partisan sources.

Coming so soon before the midterm elections, the duping of Mazzetti echoes the shameful forged Texas Air National Guard memos, released just prior to the 2004 Presidential election, which led to Dan Rather's downfall.

Osama is alive.

How can we trust the AP on this?

Bilal Hussein, anyone?

There is a pattern here. Good news for the Jihad, probably true. Bad news for the Jihad, less likely to be true.

Update to this post.

Thanks to a commenter over at Misha's, I dug a little deeper.

And found this:

After its premiere in 2003, the production by Hans Neuenfels drew widespread criticism over the scene in which King Idomeneo presents the severed heads not only of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, but also of Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha. The disputed scene is not part of Mozart's original staging of the 225-year-old opera, but was an addition of Neuenfels' production, which was last performed by the company in March 2004.

Now, Misha's commenter is dismissing this as something akin to the painting of the Virgin Mary with cow dung, or maybe the infamous Piss Christ. Yanno, "modern art."

I'm more than inclined to agree. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised that that the director didn't just take Mohammed out of the equation, and let the opera run.

However, if you read that whole story as linked, the guy refused to alter the scene.

So we have to give him credit for displaying cojones not normally found on the European continent these days.

And, while this blog has no love for the Ottomans, this guy gets a thumbs up:

The leader of Germany's Turkish Community said that while he could understand how the production could be seen as offensive, he also encouraged Muslims living in the West to accept certain elements of the traditions here, noting an opera production is not equivalent to a political point of view.

"I would recommend Muslims learn to accept certain things," Kenan Kolat told the online Netzeitung newspaper. "Art must remain free."

And, as an added bonus, thanks to Der Speigel....BEHEADED MOHAMMED!!!

Mmmmm.......fatwa.

This is just too silly to believe. These fools requested decapitation as their chosen method of execution? Their request was denied. They argued that a being shot through the heart was too painful and they would suffer for nearly two minutes.

Tempo Interactive:

The Republic of Indonesia National Police (Polri) rejected the request of three death penalty convicts of the Bali Bombing I case, Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Ali Gufron alias Muchlas for the method of death be changed to decapitation. Inspector General Paulus Purwoko, Polri spokesperson, said the legal system in Indonesia does not acknowledge that kind of punishment. “So we are not fulfilling their punishment request,”

Yeah right. I’ve had the displeasure of viewing some decapitations. Trust me the victim does not die right away. The Nepalese man‘s head lives for quite a while. Add to that the total body pain caused by severing the spinal cord and you get some idea.

It’s effing horrid.

Surely these men deserve to die. I’m certainly glad they will not get their wish. I’d recommend death by Boy Scout firing squad using Daisy Red Rider BB guns. But that’s just me.

I’m not sure what they hope to achieve with this. Either they intend to paint beheading as a “humane” execution or they intend to portray a firing squad being on the same level of cruelty.

I wonder if they have thought about what their victims suffered in the explosion they caused. Tell me just how humane that is and what justifies taking any steps to accommodate these men’s will?

Hat Tip : Stan The Infidel.

Update: Bumped, just in case some of you missed me grovelling for money yesterday. Turns out, Jawa readers are way more generous than I thought! I was hoping for tree-fiddy, and instead we had an outpouring of generosity. Thank you!

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Okay folks, it's time for the first official bleg for money. The unofficial bleg for money started over the weekend when I added a Paypal donation button and an Amazon honor system thingy to the left sidebar. Since I've added it precisely zero readers have given me money. Update: Thanks so much for the donations, a few of you rock, the following does not apply to you.

Do you know how much time I spend on this Jawa thing? A helluva lot, let me tell you!

So, how much is The Jawa Report worth to you? I know, why buy the cow when you're getting the milk for free and all that. But, come on, it's gotta be worth something.

And as I tell my students, there is a difference between a stated preference and a revealed preference. I know you say you love the Jawa, but I don't believe it. Prove it to me. We reveal how much we like something by how much we are willing to spend on it.

So, until I reach my personal goal of making one billion dollars from donations, I won't be back. I'm outta the game. Done. Kaput.

Too much? How about one million dollars?

A thousand?

I'd settle for $3.50, as long as it wasn't from Nessie dressed as a Girl Scout. That damn monster always trying to trick me.....

Anyway, it would be nice if I could at least take Mrs. Shackleford out for dinner from time to time.

So, gimme cash or else the blogger gets it. Really. If there is one thing I've learned from doing this Jawa thing is that people pay ransoms. They even express concerns over fictional hostages. Or when that hostage is a G.I. Joe doll.

As you know, there is no Rusty Shackleford. He's a fiction. Made up. And I just don't know if I have the time anymore to play Rusty Shackleford. I have a real job, and the crazy blog money just isn't rolling in like I had hoped it would.

So, if you really like Rusty's stuff, why not give him some cash? Too little cash, and we kill the character off. But with enough cash....gentlemen, we can make him stronger. Faster. He'd be the Six Million Dollar Man of the blogosphere!

I guess if we raise some money, but not enough to give Rusty those bionic arms he's always wanted, then maybe we'd have to go with a new ratings gimmick. Like marrying Rusty off to one of the minor characters on the blog. Let's say Oyster. Or Republican Jen. Or, maybe we'll go with the Cousin Oliver option. Now that would be some wild wacky stuff right there.

Anyway, you get the idea. Give me money. Now. It's a mitzvah.

UPDATE: If you donate through Paypal you should have received a thank you e-mail from me. If you donate through Amazon, do me a favor and e-mail me to let me know it was you. Amazon donations are completely anonymous.

Thanks. Another bleg and an explanation below.

But seriously, I have some other business to take care of, so I won't be blogging for the next few weeks or however long it takes. That's the real explanation for Rusty's absence. Money or no, I'm sure I'll be back. It's never been about the money.

Wait, did I just say that? It's always been about the money. My lifelong dream has been to sellout!

In any event, here's the second bleg: if you are one of the Jawa Report authors, how about ramping it up a bit while I'm gone?

Remember The Jawa motto: quantity before quality! Or is it: there is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet? I always get those two mixed up.

So, I'll see y'all when this project gets finished. Or when I make, say, a thousand bucks in tips. Whichever comes first.

CENTCOM has released the translation of a letter to Zarqawi found in the rubble of his safehouse after his death.

The letter takes Zarqawi to task for the brutality of his terrorist efforts and laments losing the hearts and minds of many Muslims who, in the words of the letter-writer, "...are ignorant and simple, and upon whom the afflictions of stultification, misguidance and corruption pile...".

The letter also confirms the authenticity of a previously intercepted letter to Zarqawi from Ayman al-Zawahiri:

I saw that their opinion centered on a group of observations and instructions, of which you will find a summary in the Doctor’s message that the Americans published.

I command you, my brother, and I am your brother and I have nothing except these words that are between the two of us and God as the third party, that you send messengers from your end to Waziristan so that they meet with the brothers of the leadership, and the rational and experienced people and the shaykhs here, because you have a greater chance to send messengers (brothers that you choose) than your brothers have here. God willing, you have the ability to enlist guys and men who have not been exposed, and who can move about and carry messages and convey responses to you and such.

The other matter is to take caution against being zealous about the name “al-Qa’ida”, or any name or organization. Although all mujahidin are our brothers, the Sunni are our brothers and our friends, as long as they are Muslims, even if they are disobedient, or insolent; whether they come into the organization with us or not, for they are our brothers, our friends, and our loved ones. We should cooperate with them, help and support them, and work together. Besides, how do you know you won’t be humbled tomorrow, while they will be strengthened?

UPDATE 1:51 EST: The GOP says EEEEHHHHH - NOPE.
- - -
(1:45 EST)They want to go into a "closed door session" in the House to figure out what the new talking points and campaign ads are going to be.

First time in 23 years House members have done this. They're absolutely freiking out. I think its safe to say that we've exposed this NIE election-year dirty trick for what it was - a Democrat hit orchestrated through sympathetic media outlets. For shame.

Bravo, Bush. Its a shame it has to come to sacrificing national security secrets to show how deceptive and one-sided our "leading" national media organs and their puppetmasters in the DNC have become.

In the civil rights battles of 20th Century, the NAACP found few better friends or more tireless champions than those it found within America's Jewish community. Given that history, I was particularly disappointed to learn that the NAACP has filed a formal civil rights complaint to force a Jewish-owned and operated medical clinic to stay open on the Jewish Sabbath:

The complaint, filed Sept. 6 with the state's Division of Human Rights, alleges that the clinic's practice of remaining closed Saturdays in observance of operators' Jewish Sabbath, unlawfully imposes their religious beliefs on others....

Willie Trotman, president of the Spring Valley branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the purpose of the complaint was to have the clinic open on Saturdays.

Those who work -- more than 80 percent of the clinic's clientele are Hispanic or black, according to a letter the clinic sent to the Human Rights Commission earlier this year -- would find it convenient to visit their doctors on a Saturday when they had the day off, Trotman said yesterday.

In his new book, the president of Pakistan indicates that he spent time figuring out if Pakistan could withstand an American attack. He concluded "no" and then switched sides and "joined" the US.

He descibes that he realized an American attack would have curshed his military, disarmed his nuclear weapons, made an alliance with India for bases and support, and handed Kashmir to India. Let's not forget that we would have closed the madrassas and cut down the roots of the tree of terrorism.

How could the Bush administration be so stupid? The Taleban is the fruit of Pakistan's efforts. Pakistani hands are soaked in America blood. Now they say they are supporters, but we all know that is a crock.

I think Musharraf is thumbing his nose at the US. His book describes Americans as ignorant, rude infidels that can be confused by a game of 3 Card Monty. It describes him as a well mannered, cool, intelligent operator - justifying his temporary alliance with the US to his Islamic base. He is effectively saying, "be patient, my brothers, these infidels are slow witted and easily tricked. Pretend to be their friends and you can get away with murder - literally".

Imagine a different world if we had stopped Pakistan's nuclear exchange program earlier (if we have at all now), closed the schools of hate, had unfettered ability to target Al Qaeda and the Taleban, blasting all their hiding spaces and shutting down all their operations.

Instead, we chose to blow up half a bridge.

I am very disappointed.

Dick Morris fact checks Clinton's weekend outburst:

Clinton said conservatives “were all trying to get me to withdraw from Somalia in 1993 the next day” after the attack which killed American soldiers. But the real question was whether Clinton would honor the military’s request to be allowed to stay and avenge the attack, a request he denied. The debate was not between immediate withdrawal and a six-month delay. (Then-first lady, now-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) favored the first option, by the way). The fight was over whether to attack or pull out eventually without any major offensive operations.

The president told Wallace, “I authorized the CIA to get groups together to try to kill bin Laden.” But actually, the 9-11 Commission was clear that the plan to kidnap Osama was derailed by Sandy Berger and George Tenet because Clinton had not yet made a finding authorizing his assassination. They were fearful that Osama would die in the kidnapping and the U.S. would be blamed for using assassination as an instrument of policy.

UPDATE : Judge Napolitano fact checks Clinton.

Jay at Stop The ACLU reports that:

S 3696 (PERA), sponsored by Sen. Brownback (R-Kan), a companion bill to H.R. 2679 (PERA), sponsored by Rep. Hostetter (R-Ind.), would amend all relevant federal laws to eliminate the authority of judges to award taxpayer-paid attorney fees to the ACLU, or anyone else, in lawsuits under the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment against veterans memorials, the Boy Scouts, or the public display of the Ten Commandments of other symbols of America’s history with a religious aspect.

By CAIR, of course.

Can't really blame the guy for pulling the ad. Who would want to risk their inventory being trashed by hordes of howling, angry, yet peaceful religionists?

Oh, that wacky Mozart. Little did he know....

Berlin's Deutsche Oper has removed the provocative staging of a Mozart opera from its schedule for fear of enraging Muslims, the opera house said in a statement.

One of three opera houses in the German capital, it cancelled director Hans Neuenfels's production of "Idomeneo", a 1781 drama set in ancient Crete, because authorities warned it could present an "incalculable security risk".

In the staging, which sparked audience protests during its premiere in December 2003, King Idomeneo presents the lopped-off heads of Poseidon, Jesus, Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed and displays them on four chairs.

German critics saw the show at the time as a radical attack on religion and religious wars.

His radical attack on religion and religious wars is now unable to be shown because of, um, a radical religion. Fancy that.

Responding to what many of us see as a cooly calculated meltdown by Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice addressed the "facts" as laid out by the former President.

From the New York Post:

Condoleezza Rice yesterday accused Bill Clinton of making "flatly false" claims that the Bush administration didn't lift a finger to stop terrorism before the 9/11 attacks.
Rice hammered Clinton, who leveled his charges in a contentious weekend interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News Channel, for his claims that the Bush administration "did not try" to kill Osama bin Laden in the eight months they controlled the White House before the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The notion somehow for eight months the Bush administration sat there and didn't do that is just flatly false - and I think the 9/11 commission understood that," Rice said during a wide-ranging meeting with Post editors and reporters.

"What we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton administration did in the preceding years," Rice added.

Of course - the portions that undermine their anti-war causes and Democrat campaigns. The papers, with their Democrat leakers in the Intel community, cherry-pick a 6-month old report to find select quotes, while omitting the rest of the report entirely. Typical, but there's no more memory hole for the rest of the story to be thrown into.

John Hinderaker and a former Intel officer (who has also seen the NIE) begin to fill in the holes in their, ahem, 'coverage' (italicized commentary from the Intel officer at In Form The Cold):

Thankfully, the actual NIE is not the harbinger of disaster that the NYT and WaPo would have us believe. According to members of the intel community who have seen the document, the NIE is actually fair and balanced (to coin a phrase), noting both successes and failures in the War on Terror--and identifying potential points of failure for the jihadists. The quotes printed below--taken directly from the document and provided to this blogger--provide "the other side" of the estimate, and its more balanced assessment of where we stand in the War on Terror.

In one of its early paragraphs, the estimate notes progress in the struggle against terrorism, stating the U.S.-led efforts have "seriously damaged Al Qaida leadership and disrupted its operations." Didn't see that in the NYT article.

Or how about this statement, which--in part--reflects the impact of increased pressure on the terrorists: "A large body of reporting indicates that people identifying themselves as jihadists is increasing...however, they are largely decentralized, lack a coherent strategy and are becoming more diffuse." Hmm...doesn't sound much like Al Qaida's pre-9-11 game plan.

The report also notes the importance of the War in Iraq as a make or break point for the terrorists: "Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves to have failed, we judge that fewer will carry on the fight." It's called a ripple effect.

More support for the defeating the enemy on his home turf: "Threats to the U.S. are intrinsically linked to U.S. success or failure in Iraq." President Bush and senior administration officials have made this argument many times--and it's been consistently dismissed by the "experts" at the WaPo and Times.

And, some indication that the "growing" jihad may be pursuing the wrong course: "There is evidence that violent tactics are backfiring...their greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution (shar'a law) is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims." Seems to contradict MSM accounts of a jihadist tsunami with ever-increasing support in the global Islamic community.

The estimate also affirms the wisdom of sowing democracy in the Middle East: "Progress toward pluralism and more responsive political systems in the Muslim world will eliminate many of the grievances jihadists exploit." As I recall, this the core of our strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

John Negroponte also chimed in with a similar denial of the NYT coverage this morning. That's some pretty damning evidence...for the NYT and WaPo. It suggests, among other things, that the papers are publishing selective intel leaks they think will be adventageous to Democrats in the upcoming elections, and are willfully ignoring evidence to the contrary (of which there is a great amount). As with all NYT and WaPo 'scoops,' the headlines and a mindless parrotting of the information chosen to run in the articles is repeated ad nauseum on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and NPR throughout the day without context or even a hint of balance. Pravda would be proud.

After Hugh Hewitt's interview with veteran political reporter Thomas Edsall (WaPo), who put the ratio of Democrats vs. Republicans at the paper at roughly 25:1, I think it is safe to say that Democrats who want this information to get out through the news media would have little difficulty finding sympathetic ears in these publications. Couple that with Bill Keller's flat out admission on his July 2 Face the Nation appearence (clip in this Hot Air video) that his paper is not objective in its war coverage, and you have a pretty damning case forming against these two "beacons of objective journalism." They are willfully skewing coverage of the war against it.

Question the timing.

More:
Captain's Quarters
Blue Crab Boulevard
Michelle Malkin (I and II)

The Sout al Kuffar team has been working around the clock on the latest video, featuring the hottest, most explosive new "boy band" on the planet: fu235.

There were a few snags along the way, but the project is closing on completion. For any of you who just can't wait for the full product, here's a teaser:

If you are in the Contact Page, and you want to join us in the Sandcrawler group, where all the fun is happening, email me at vinceautmorire@gmail.com.

To see whether or not you are on the Contact Page, go to the top of the page and click on the word "Contact."

If you are not on the Contact page, but have access to post here, you're qualified too. The more the merrier. I'm looking at you, Cranky Neocon. And Jane.

This is the last time I post about this. Period. Finis. El Quito. No Mas.

I'm tired of getting forwarded emails from Rusty asking why this one or that one isn't in the group.

So sign up, before I taunt you again.

OMFG.

Message to greyrooster, Greg, and Improbulus Maximus under the fold.

Stop tossing off to Babs, you commie pricks.

September 25, 2006

So you just got home from work on a grueling Monday, or will be soon, and you're just wiped.

Screw cooking and all that happy crappy. Make yourself a poster.

Today's submissions under the fold:

Ranba Ral:

El Presidente:

Bubbe:

Graeme:

Dave R.:

Beth again:

Oyster:

lawhawk:

Bohemian:

The Cranky Neocon:

SeeMonk:

More Darth Vag:

That’s what Michelle calls the WAPO’s lame attempt to defend the AP for hiring and keeping part time AP stringer and part time terrorist mouthpiece Bilal Hussein.

Bilal always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He was little more than an ememy propagandist. But as we all know the MSM thinks propaganda is only called such when it’s our side doing it. The enemy’s propaganda is “journalism”.

Also a Jawa Reader points out some possible problems with one of Husseins photos he was awarded the Pulitzer prize for.

More images and the apprent modifications or problems below the fold. Originals are here. I've tried to leave the ones below the fold as large as possible. I can send the images via email by request.

1. "Army man seems to be sitting on air while he fires and he has no shadow; the others have shadows. The tripod of his gun is up in the air. How can you fire with your legs at right angles as if you were sitting in chair? Why is there a tripod for a man lying down when this man is sitting on the air? When you see how false Army Man is the others look different.

2. White Trousers has his hands as if he were holding a gun though
supposedly he is feeding a ammo belt or - what is he doing? playing a
guitar in a rock band?

His left hand only has three fingers of flesh, the fourth is made of
jacket material, his index finger is way too short, especially in
relation to his other fingers which seem unusually long from the first
to the second joint.

He has a band through his hair of the same material as his jacket
which suggests that he is not wearing a mask but his features were
photoshopped out out by Bilal. This means Bilal knew who he was.
The shadow by his left foot seems wrong; the light would be coming
from his far right but the rest of the shadow suggests the light is
coming from in front slightly to the right.

3. Mortarman has a shadow under his bent left leg as if the light came
from high above and another shadow behind his right foot as if the
light came from in front of the foot and went straight back

4. Gunfeeder's features also seem photoshopped out, not a mask but it
is hard to tell

The thing I notice the most is that generally, hands in Bilal's
pictures are very strange - "Doctored Strange Hands" - which suggests
that he was seriously reworking pictures. And he and he alone has
very longwaisted people in his pictures. Maybe its all one person or
maybe his reworking leads to longwaisted people as well as to "strange
hands".

Today's submissions for the carnival will be going up in the next couple of hours.

Stupid day job.

(Basra, Iraq) Formerly a leader in Jemaah Islamiya and a July 2005 escapee from Bagram prison in Afghanistan, Omar al-Faruq (pic) was killed by British forces in southern city of Basra today. Faruq was killed while resisting arrest during a pre-dawn raid by about 200 British troops.

Faruq was an active and important terrorist, having worked with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines before beginning his career as an important liason for al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia. He admitted during questioning to being responsible for a series of church bombings in Indonesia in 2000 and several unsuccessful terrorist plots in 1999 and 2000.

Illustrating his close relationship to al-Qaeda leadership, Omar al-Faruq, aka Mehmood Ahmed Mohammed, escorted Ayman al-Zawahiri on a tour of Aceh, Indonesia, in 2000.

Cheers to the Brits on their success.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Over at The American Thinker, Noel Sheppard destroys Bill Clinton's attempt to rewrite history. In an interview yesterday with Chris Wallace, Clinton made the following bold assertion:

I think it’s very interesting that all the conservative Republicans who now say that I didn’t do enough, claimed that I was obsessed with Bin Laden. All of President Bush’s neocons claimed that I was too obsessed with finding Bin Laden when they didn’t have a single meeting about Bin Laden for the nine months after I left office. All the right wingers who now say that I didn’t do enough said that I did too much.

Newt Gingrich: "Well, I think the United States did exactly the right thing. We cannot allow a terrorist group to attack American embassies and do nothing... So this was the right thing to do."

Trent Lott: “Despite the current controversy, this Congress will vigorously support the president in full defense of America’s interests throughout the world.”

Jesse Helms: “The United States political leadership always has and always will stand united in the face of international terrorism.”

Nice try, Bill.

Read it all here.

Hat tip to Michelle. Brains, beauty and backbone in a single, compact package. If there was ever a better argument for cloning, I don't know what it was...

UPDATE: None of the above should be taken as a particular indictment of Clinton's approach to handling bin Laden. He certainly didn't do as much as he could have, but he was also in good company. The above should be taken as an illustration of the fact that the Dems are either blatantly lying or woefully misinformed when they claim, in an effort to justify their own poisonous rhetoric, that Republicans made it a practice of attacking Bill Clinton whenever he tried to combat terrorism.

This isn't exactly news to anyone with more than a handful of brain cells to rub together, but it's nice to hear one of the culprits admit it. From Howard Kurtz's column in the Washington Post (give them a little credit for publishing this):

The "mainstream media presents itself as unbiased, when in fact there are built into it many biases, and they are overwhelmingly to the left."

The man who made that comment is not some rabid right-wing critic but Thomas Edsall, a Washington Post political reporter for a quarter-century who recently accepted an early retirement offer.

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Edsall said he is pro-choice on abortion and does not think he has ever voted for a Republican presidential candidate. He said he believes that reporters vote Democratic by somewhere between 15 to 1 and 25 to 1.

Here I have proof or something like it that Rusty has been moonlighting as a used car salesman. Fatwa Fridays? Come on and admit it big guy.

CNN: CINCINNATI (Reuters) -- A car commercial proclaiming a jihad on the U.S. auto market and offering "Fatwa Fridays" with free swords for the kids is offensive and should not be aired, Muslim leaders said on Sunday.

The radio advertisement for the Dennis Mitsubishi car dealership in Columbus, Ohio, has "a whole jihad theme," said Adnan Mirza, director of the Columbus office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"They are planning on launching a jihad on the automotive market and their representatives would be wearing burqas ... ," Mirza said. "They mentioned the pope in there and also about giving rubber swords out to the kiddies -- really just reprehensible-type comments."

Details of the radio ad, which has not yet been broadcast, have been reported in the local media, but officials at the dealership declined to comment about the content of the radio spot.

Two employees at the dealership said they had been deluged with calls about the commercial.

Also See: The Civil Defense Blog.

Jules Crittenden, writing in the Boston Herald, examines the Associated Press' actions in light of the detention of AP photographer Bilal Hussein, captured by Coalition forces with al Qaeda terrorists and a weapons cache earlier this year:

The Associated Press, the reliable just-the-facts news agency you and I once knew, no longer exists. Amoral propagandists have taken over.

It is not only in the disturbing matter of Bilal Hussein, AP photograher and al-Qaeda associate, being held without charge in U.S. custody in Iraq that this is evident. But also in the departure from balanced, nonpartisan coverage that has always been the AP’s promise to us, its customers...

I look at Hussein’s photos. Terrorists trying to kill Americans. Terrorists posing with dead civilians. Bilal Hussein knows things about these men, who they are, how they operate. I’m thinking, Bilal Hussein looks like an accessory to murder. I’m thinking, I hope the U.S. intelligence agents who have him are getting good information out of him. And I’m wondering, who does The Associated Press want to win this war?

To avoid being the whole hassle of you know, shit blowing up.

ABCNEWS: "That's where we kind of agree with some of the people who've criticized our show," Stone says, "Because it really is open season on Jesus. We can do whatever we want to Jesus, and we have. We've had him say bad words. We've had him shoot a gun. We've had him kill people. We can do whatever we want. But Mohammed, we couldn't just show a simple image.”

Other networks took a similar course, refusing to air images of Mohammed — even when reporting on the Denmark cartoon riots — claiming they were refraining because they're religiously tolerant, the South Park creators say.

"No you're not," Stone retorts. "You're afraid of getting blown up. That's what you're afraid of. Comedy Central copped to that, you know: 'We're afraid of getting blown up.'"

Stan : Hey, Muhammad, there is a Toyota pickup full of blood-thirsty Jihadis hanging out of your ass!

Muhammad: No there isn’t!

Hat Tip: Glenn Reynolds via Instapundit.

Related Jawa Report Southpark censorship posts here and here.

Okay, can we all agree that former President Bill Clinton is under a heap of stress? I think so. And, as with anybody, there's a breaking point. There's that moment in time when one can't take it anymore and one must "spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."

Consequently, it's understandable that Clinton reached the breaking point in an interview with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace yesterday. Wallace asked a seemingly straightforward question about Clinton's efforts to kill Osama bin Laden and the stress-ridden former president let his temper flare. Reaching the breaking point is a character trait in everyone but the threshold varies considerably. Clinton seems to have been caught at a bad time, with a mountain of stress.

Fortunately, the release of raw emotion seemed contained during the years of his presidency. Presumably, the job was as stressful, finger on the nuclear button and all, as his current vocation but he seemed to be able to relieve that stress regularly and thereby not lose his temper and act irrationally.

Therefore, I suggest we all put Monica Lewinsky on our Christmas lists.

How much y'all wanna bet that there will be some outrage the "Muslim street" will be fuming about violently this coming Friday after "prayers?"

More whey, whey, whey, ghey Jawa Report Insomniac Theater

stein hoist: Watcher

Feel free to keep submitting to the poster carnival, but I'm hitting the rack. I'll get to new submissions after work tomorrow.

September 24, 2006

Especially when the only game on t.v. is a 35-3 blowout at the half.

(Note: best viewed with the "light background" in the top right sidebar)

Found at Ace's.

Make your own.

Update: Oh, what the hell. Let's make it a carnival. Email me at vinceautmorire@gmail.com and I'll post them below the fold. Starting with Duncan's in the comments.

Update, too: I get to keep mine above the fold:

Duncan Avatar:

Good Lt:

Darth Vag:

Atlas Juggs:

Beth:

Vicki:

Liberrocky:

Sultan Knish:

Is there something in the Venezuelan water that makes their officials stupid and obnoxious? From the Associated Press via Drudge:

NEW YORK (AP) - Venezuela's foreign minister said he was illegally detained for 90 minutes by officials at a New York airport and accused them of treating him abusively by trying to frisk and handcuff him.

U.S. officials called Saturday's incident regrettable and said they had apologized to Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. Maduro called that insufficient and said Venezuela would seek a legal challenge through the U.N. to what he called a "flagrant violation of international law" and his diplomatic immunity.

"We were detained for an hour and a half, threatened by police with being beaten," Maduro told reporters at Venezuela's mission to the U.N. "We hold the U.S. government responsible."

Not quite:

A U.N. diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said Maduro's trip was delayed because he had showed up late without a ticket, prompting extra screening.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke denied that Maduro was mistreated at John F. Kennedy International Airport when he was selected for an added security check.

"He began to articulate his frustration with secondary screening right after he went through," a metal detector, Knocke said. "Port Authority officials confronted him when the situation became a ruckus."

Having trained TSA screeners and worked with LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) interfacing with the TSA, I'll say unequivocally, that Maduro's accusations brand him as a liar, and not a very bright one at that.
The only "regrettable" part about this incident is that some milquetoast US official apologized to this horse's ass.

On review, I question whether or not Clinton's "rage" at Chris Wallace wasn't coldly calculated, and part of the Democratic midterm election playbook.

Fox News reports closer to the middle than any other major news organization. It is necessary for Democrats to try to cast Fox as far right wing in order to minimize their influence on the electorate. They also need to keep their radical left base happy.

Thus, a manufactured Clinton tantrum serves two purposes. He can try to portray Wallace as a biased journalist, while throwing red meat to the far left loons without explicitly acknowledging them.

Anyone who doubts that Clinton is capable of such a deception should remember his finger-wagging performance when he lied to America about his relationship with Monica Lewinski. Anyone who doubts his ability to simulate emotion on demand should remember the notorious videotape of Clinton, returning from a friend's funeral, when he went from laughter to abject grief in midstride, after spotting the camera.

Clinton's snit with Chris Wallace was probably as "spontaneous" as a linebacker blitzing a quarterback.

Clinton may, indeed, experience genuine emotions, but they are not for public display.

Related: Jay at Stop the ACLU has a good roundup of reaction to Cintons' performance.

In "Voting to Kill, How 9/11 Launched the Era of Republican Leadership" (Simon & Schuster, $15.95) Jim Geraghty has created a handbook for how Democrats can regain power (not that many will read it, or take the lessons to heart if they do), or how Republicans can maintain their current advantage. Geraghty, a former mainstream journalist, describes in precise detail both the reasons for Republican success since that awful day in September, and the self-defeating actions of the Democratic party since.

"Page-turner" may be an unusual way to describe what at first glance appears to be a wonky trade paperback about politics, but it applies to "Voting to Kill". Geraghty's relaxed and readable style as he brings to life the history that led up to and followed 9/11 will have readers who thought they knew recent history poring through the book to find out what happens (more accurately, "what happened") next. The author's remarkable access to GOP operatives working behind the scenes during the 2004 election gives his book an undeniable air of authority.

Geraghty's central premise, that Democrats as a party have grossly underestimated the transformative effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was borne out in 2004, when Geraghty went against conventional wisdom to predict a Bush victory on his blog, TKS, and again, with the recent purge of Joe Lieberman. He explains the rise of the left-wing fringe, its struggle with Democratic moderates, and its potential to devastate the Democratic party, making it an electoral loser for years to come.

If there's a weakness in "Voting to Kill", it's that Geraghty is too quick to ring down the era of mainstream media influence, and usher in the Day of the Blog. And Geraghty underestimates both the extent of leftward slant within the mainstream media, and the pervasiveness of its influence in selecting stories and how they are framed. For example, Geraghty leaves unchallenged this quote in his book from Mickey Kaus: "...And [ABC's Mark] Halperin is known as a relatively non-partisan straight shooter." This is the same Mark Halperin who wrote in an ABC memo:

It goes without saying that the stakes are getting very high for the country and the campaigns - and our responsibilities become quite grave...

We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that.
...

It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest. Now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right.

Geraghty's meticulous dissection of recent history points to tough times still ahead for the Democratic party. Is he right? Is national security still THE issue? We'll find out in the midterms, but the President's recent surge in approval would indicate that Geraghty has hit the nail on the head again.

Geraghty got it right when almost no one else did. "Voting to Kill, How 9/11 Launched the Era of Republican Leadership" explains how he did it.

Recommendation: buy this book, but don't tell your liberal friends about it; it would be too useful for them.

Today's New York Times announces that the Iraq War worsens the threat of terrorism. The source of the information is the classified National Intelligence Estimate, the principle authoritative document for a defined national security issue. The disclosure came courtesy of "several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document."

So much for security clearances, eh?

The Times also notes that "some government officials were unhappy with the structure and focus of earlier versions of the document" and, therefore, it took two years to complete. Apparently, unhappiness is an excuse for not producing. I presume that readers of the National Intelligence Estimate just have to guess which parts were prepared by the happy and the unhappy government officials.

It might be asserted that unhappiness in government employment led directly to the headline-grabbing nugget that the Iraq War worsens terrorism. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the story had been largely drafted before the unhappy government officials were even consulted. It happens sometimes, an opinion searching for a basis, flimsy or otherwise.

Even so, it's hardly news that the Iraq War inflames terrorists. What doesn't? Publishing cartoons of Mohammad in Denmark, or anywhere else, and Playboy magazine in Indonesia worsens terrorism. Sending girls to school in Afghanistan and the mere existence of Israel fires up the fanatics. And, don't dare let the Pope read a book or a nun will be murdered and churches will be firebombed. The list goes on. Abu Ghraib. Gitmo. A movie by Theo Van Gogh. Everything and anything seems capable of worsening the threat of terror.

As a tactic, terrorism is not going to disappear. Therefore, it must be fought, globally and in Iraq. Interestingly, the NYT mentions that Iraq has become the primary training ground for terrorists since they no longer can go to Afghanistan. Simple logic tells us that Iraq is the place to dedicate military resources if the goal is terrorist bud-nipping. Unfortunately, simple logic doesn't apply when a newspaper's opinion pieces are masqueraded as news.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

September 23, 2006

More fodder for the Jawa Report Insomniac Comedy Theater

Oh, whey, whey ghey.

Stein hoist: screw the stein hoist, the lazy-ass Dane could have posted this himself. Dirty kafir.

Oh, BTW, USC beat unranked Arizona...20-3. Nebraska beat Troy (not Troy State, moron) 56-0.

According to my computer, 28-10 win against ranked opponent vs. 20-3 win vs. unranked opponent = drop in BCS.

No Auburn for you, beeeeyotch.

And, since I'm steering the Sandcrawler again anyone whose email is on the Contact Page should email me if they would like to become part of the most hap-hap-happening place on the interblogidohexiwebs, the Sandcrawler (wouldn't you like to join? neener neener neener)

What is the Sandcrawler? Well, it's where we meet to exchange links, chit chat, and make fun of certain commenters.

We may, and it's a big "MAY" open the Sandcrawler to a select few commenters Oyster.

Because we heart Oyster. Mmmmmmmmmm aphrodisiac.

Once again, we attempt to cleanse the mind of gruesome Jihadi videos with teh funny.

Classic. Simply classic.

First TDPB post, with photos of inscriptions.

Arizona has erected a supposed memorial to the victims of 9/11 that not only looks like an Islamic crescent from the air (reminiscent of the "crescent of embrace" proposed for the Flight 93 memorial), but features America-bashing inscriptions.

From the East Valley Tribune:

One inscription states, “You don’t win battles of terrorism with more battles.” Another: “Congress questions why CIA and FBI didn’t prevent attacks.” And another reads, “Erroneous US air strike kills 46 Uruzgan civilians,” referring to a wedding reportedly hit by mistake in Afghanistan.

“It’s a worldview that is critical of America, and in many cases cheapens 9/11,” said Greg Patterson, a lobbyist and consultant who operates the EspressoPundit blog, where he and his readers have been critical of the memorial. “It is bent on attacking the Bush administration’s take on the war, at the expense of the memory of 9/11.”

Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said he was stunned to learn of the inscriptions. “To politicize it to me is absolutely outrageous, instead of a memorial to remember those who have sacrificed their lives,” he said.

Tomorrow's headlines today!

So, who will be in the BCS championship this year?

Prediction:

Auburn vs. USC

Sorry, but Ohio State looked pretty weak today.

Nebraska is playing....Troy State?

A new report suggests that news that Osama bin Laden was killed are actually part of a secret CIA ruse meant to distract people about the real intent of the so-called "war" on terror. The report also says that the CIA feigned bin Laden's death:

So they simply whisk him off to some safe house for a few months - give him a make over (including cosmetic surgery) and the "Osama bin Laden" we all knew of is officially dead. The man formerlly known as Osama gets a new identity, a huge bank account, and lives happily ever after.

A new video released by the Mujahidin Shura Council of Iraq shows new footage of the desecration of the bodies of Thomas Tucker and Kristian Menchaca. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video. Graphic Images and link to video below.

A previous video had been released of the mutilation of Tucker and Menchaca's bodies by al Qaeda in Iraq. This one includes new footage and has a high production value. The video shows the bodies being dragged through the streets, beaten, and kicked.

The video is a propaganda piece which tries to link the killings of the two American soldiers in Iraq to the murder of a 14 year old Iraqi girl and her family. The video calls the desecration of Tucker and Menchaca's bodies retaliation for alleged abuses by U.S. soldiers.

Most of those abuses have been thoroughly debunked--such as in Fallujah, cited in the video-- or are cases in which the U.S. has prosecuted the abusers.

The video shows the burning of bodies in Afghanistan by U.S. soldiers. What the video does not say is that the bodies were being burned for sanitary reasons. To stop the spread of disease.

Near the end of the video, the two U.S. soldiers' bodies are burned.

The claim that Tucker and Menchaca were killed and desecrated in retaliation for the rape and murder of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and her family is also not true. The allegations of the murder were not made until after the two were killed.

It is ironic that the video also shows images of Pfc. Justin Watt, who is the chief witness against at least 5 members of his platoon being prosecuted for crimes revolving around the incident.

The terrorists in Iraq celebrate the desecration of the bodies of soldiers, while we prosecute those involved in the very incident they claim to be retaliating for.

According to SITE:

Reciprocation, or tit-for-tat attacks, is emphasized throughout the video. An al-Jazeera interview with Mohammed Taha al-Janabi, Abeer’s uncle, begins the illustration of American crimes, followed by narration of an inhabitant of al-Fallujah describing American crimes during the second battle in that city. Also, the Mujahideen Shura Council points to the burning of Taliban Mujahideen in Afghanistan as additional justification for their acts against the two American soldiers in al-Yusufiyah. Stories of Muhammad’s companions and Islamic scholars who acted in kind to crimes committed against them are presented as vertically scrolling text atop an image of one of the American soldiers.

A message within the video reads: “The Mujahideen, Allah willing, will stay on the companion’s path, “tit for tat” in being harsh on the apostates and the Crusader infidels and the splitters by dispersing and hurting them, destroying their troops, killing them, and wishing to offer the biggest sacrifices for the God of earth and the skies”.

A third soldier died in the attack.

Their bodies were later recovered not far from where they had been kidnapped. The US military now says that their corpses were found tied together with a bomb between them. Three roadside bombs were planted around the bodies. The bodies had been decapitated.

This video shows the true face of the enemies we fight. However you feel about the war in Iraq, this should enrage you. They are ruthless barbarians who boast about killing those they have taken hostage.

We show you these images so that you will understand what it is we are up against. The video and images should enrage you. If you do not have righteouss anger after seeing this, you are beyond hope.

And if you cannot see the difference between a terrorist organization that celebrates the murder and desecration of civilians (see our hostage or our beheading archives for many examples) and the U.S. military who treats as crimes and prosecutes those accused of similar things, then you are a moral idiot.

WARNING: Graphic images & video below. Please do not proceed if you are under 18, a friend or relative of the family of the victims or of any soldiers in Iraq, or do not want to be filled with anger towards our enemies in Iraq.

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Last chance. Images & vud below. We're serious, the family or friends of the victims do not need to see this.

Remember the 'falling man' images from 9/11? That victim's family did not need to see those images either. Sadly, the rest of us did. To truly grasp the evil nature of our enemies.

If you have forgotten what it is we are up against, please proceed. If you remember the evil nature of the jihadis we fight, then no need. Continue your support of our troops.

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Hat tip: Tribeca.

Please e-mail Rusty at the Contact information above for a copy of the video.

Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta today! First, bin Laden is reportedly dead. Or dying. Or whatever. In any event, I don't believe it. But it's the kind of rumor I dig. Thanks to everyone that e-mailed it to me. The way I read the report, though, was not that bin Laden is dead, but that he is very sick. (knock on wood either way)

But a much bigger story is that the leader of Ansar al Sunnah, Muntasir al-Jibouri, has been captured! This is big news. And unlike the bin Laden 'news', this one seems likely to be true.

We should be shouting for joy that the leader of Ansar al Sunnah has been captured. This should just as big as when we got Zarqawi. It is that important.

Ansar al Sunnah's organizational structure is not as well know as al Qaeda's. It appears, though, that al-Jibouri's voice can be heard on at least two hostage murder videos-and probably many many more (thanks to Mike for the reminder). Like Zarqawi, al Jibouri is said to have personally murdered many of Ansar al Sunna's victims.

For awhile, Abu Musab al Zarqawi and the terrorist bastards at Ansar al Sunna appeared to be in a pissing match over who could behead the most civilians. Just this month the group posted a gruesome video of the beheading of 3 Iraqis.

Who are Ansar al Sunna, you say? I don't blame you for not knowing, I blame the ignorant press. And the Democrats. The press because they speak of insurgents in Iraq, and not terrorists. And the Democrats because they speak as if any one who is not formally within al Qaeda is not a terrorist. Eg., Saddam did not support terrorists because there was no link to al Qaeda. Idiots.

Ansar al Sunnah is the second worst terrorist organization in Iraq. They are probably made up of the remnants of Ansar al Islam, and mostly operate in Iraq's North. They are also Kurds. Occasional they pull off an operation in Kurdistan, but the Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters, secularists) have effectively wiped them out. The Kurds know what to do with Islamist terrorists. They kill them.

So, Ansar pretty much sticks to areas bordering Kurdistan now, where there are sizeable Kurdish minorities or mixed areas.

How bad are they? Think Zarqawi bad. You know, murdering hostages. Beheading them. Killing collaboraters and apostates. The whole Salaafi nine yards. Scroll to the end of this post for some of their most nefarious deeds.

They even cooperate with al Qaeda from time to time. In fact, al Qaeda and Ansar al Sunnah both have a mutual terrorist lineage in Ansar al Islam. You'll recall that Abu Musab al Zarqawi was once a member of that group before the invasion. After the war, Zarqawi took the Arab and foreign fighters out of Kurdistan and into Anbar and formed Tawhid wal Jihad, which later became al Qaeda.

Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud took the remaining Kurds and formed Ansar al Sunna. It is not clear to me when Muntasir al-Jibour became the leader of Ansar or if one is the spiritual leader and the other the on-the-ground leader.

Recently a rumor began circulating on jihadi boards that Ansar al Sunnah was going to join the Salaafist umbrella group called the Mujahidin Shura Council. Evan Kohlmann thought it was a bad sign.

Me? Did I mention I was a prophet? This is what I said upon hearing those rumors about Ansar al Sunna joining the Mujahidin Shura Council:

Lastly, from a counter-terror standpoint, Ansar joining the MSC could be used to our advantage. For those who think about these things, let me leave it at: Kirkuk, Peshmerga, fahget about the Geneva Conventions, and then connect the dots from there.

Long time Jawa readers know just how much we despise Ansar al Sunnah. To refresh your memory on just how bad Ansar is, here are a few reminders. This is just a sample of how bad Ansar is:

Army of Ansar al-Sunnah Website: Japanese Hostage Akihiko Murdered

Ansar al Sunna Beheads 3 On Video [Images/Video]
Ansar al Sunna Kills 3 Iraqis on Video
Iraqi, Turk Beheaded by Army of Ansar al-Sunna
Ansar al Sunna beheads Turkish truck driver on video
Ansar al Sunnah murders Barie Nafi'a Daoud Ibrahim on video

12 Nepalese Hostages Killed, 1 Beheaded by Ansar al Sunna
Ansar al Sunnah beheads 'CIA spy'
Ansar al Sunna beheads yet another 'CIA agent'
Army of Ansar al-Sunna Attacks 'CIA' Vehicle (Images & Video)
Ansar al Sunnah beheads Iraqi officer
Marine Snipers Attacked; Ansar al-Sunnah Claims to Hold One Marine Hostage
Army of Ansar al-Sunnah--In SWEDEN!?!?!
Ansar al-Sunna finds 'Safe Haven' in Sweden, Issues Death Fatwa Against Christian Minister
Army of Ansar al Sunnah Praises John Kerry for Criticizing Bush--claim proof terrorism works

Who am I to resist rumors of war with Iran?

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Regional French newspaper L'Est Republicain, quoting a confidential source in French intelligence reports that Osama bin Laden has died of typhoid. The source notes an email circulated among French officials based on information from the Saudis.

CBS reports that the account in the French newspaper stems from an actual secret document and that the French are investigating the leak.

The information comes from a brief to French president Jacques Chirac based on Saudi intelligence sources. The Saudis seem to have confidence in the report but will not confirm without further corroboration, like locating bin Laden's burial site.

What a way to start Ramadan? Catch the murdering thug Muntasir al-Jibouri. Priceless.

From Aljazeera.net:

Iraqi state television has reported that the leader of Ansar al-Sunna, a group with links to al-Qaeda in Iraq, has been captured along with two of his aides.

Muntasir al-Jibouri was arrested in the town of Muqdadiya, about 80km northeast of Baghdad, in the troubled province of Diyala, the report said.

And, because of Ramadan, Jibouri will have to spend his days fasting, getting cranky from not eating, and having nothing to blow up.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

September 22, 2006

Don't have a cow, man, sure they had eight months...but you had eight years.

And now for something completely different. Since you're in the mood to watch videos, be sure to check out my latest.

But, then, he's not quite dead yet.

CHICAGO — Minister Louis Farrakhan said in a letter to followers this month that he is seriously ill, and he asked the Nation of Islam's leaders to carry on in his absence to make sure the movement "will live long after I and we have gone."

Farrakhan, 73, said he began suffering pain earlier this year similar to 1998, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent surgery. He said doctors discovered an ulcer in his anal area during a visit to Cuba in March.

Hmm...

Castro ill, Farrakhan ill. Anal ulcers. Discovered during a trip to Cuba.

Hmm...

This totally surprising story just in Via Haaretz:

OSLO - Norwegian authorities on Friday presented details of an alleged plot to decapitate the Israeli ambassador to Oslo and blow up the Israeli and American embassies in the city.

The four suspects, three of them of Muslim background, are also charged with firing at the city's synagogue last week, causing damage but no injuries.

The evidence against the suspects was revealed in the course of extending the suspects' remand, and is based on recordings of their conversations obtained by bugging devices placed in the lead suspect's car.

Jewish community representatives say they are shocked by the alleged plot....

..."They discussed in detail how to harm the Israeli and American ambassadors," prosecutor Uni Price said Thursday.

At the head of the group of suspects is allegedly a 29-year-old Pakistani-Norwegian with an extensive record of violence.

According to Price, the suspect consistently expressed "radical Islamic views."

Two other suspects are also in custody, one of Pakistani and the other of Turkish background, both 28.

Sound like al-Qaeda 3.0. Whew! I was worried it might be the MSM there for a minute. Since they seem so worried about who's a joooooo and all.

Abu Izzadeen interviewed by BBC4.

Listen to the virulent hate. (requires Realplayer)

The only law is Sharia law, the only truth is Allah's.

stein hoist: steve-o.

I often wonder why we don’t here more from the Moderate Muslims. We know they are out there. We know they are reasonable. I don’t believe in Islam but as far as I’m concerned your relationship with God is your business. That is right up until something in my nation blows up in the name of Allah. Then I tend to get a bit upset.

Jpost: A Bangladeshi Muslim journalist arrested in the past for advocating ties with Israel now faces charges of sedition, a crime punishable by death in Bangladesh, and will likely be put on trial by the end of the month, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

In a court session on Tuesday in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, a state-appointed judge ruled that the government's case against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury could proceed to trial and that the hearings would commence within 15 days.

As editor of The Weekly Blitz, an English-language newspaper published in Dhaka, Choudhury aroused the ire of Bangladeshi authorities after he printed articles favorable to Israel and critical of Muslim extremism.

Bangladesh does not recognize Israel's existence and refuses to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

In November 2003, Choudhury was arrested at Dhaka's international airport just prior to boarding a flight on his way to Israel, where he was scheduled to deliver an address on promoting understanding between Muslims and Jews. His visit to Israel would have been the first by a Bangladeshi journalist....

...In a May 20, 2005 opinion piece published in the Post, Choudhury wrote: "As a journalist, I counteracted the biased 'news' that promoted hatred of Israel and Jews, condemned terrorism, promoted the free exchange of ideas and urged Bangladesh to recognize Israel."

Describing the moments immediately before his 2003 arrest, he wrote: "Though physically still in Dhaka, my heart ached to kiss Israel's holy soil."

So it appears that being moderate is also a capital crime, at least in Bangladesh. If you are published in a Jewish newspaper or don’t want to kill the jooooos the Islamists will take your livelihood, harass your family and last but not least they kill you. No wonder.

Iran is set to stone to death a young woman for the crime of adultery. Muslims constantly tell me that they believe Jesus is a prophet. Are we talking about the same Jesus here?

John 8: 3-11

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Her execution has been stayed, for now, thank God, but adultery is still a capital offense in Iran.

The disgusting part of what many human rights groups are urging is that Iran stop execution by stoning.

The real problem is not stoning, but the death sentence for adultery!

And many Lefties want to compare fundamentalist Christians with the mad Mullahs of Iran. Are they out of their frigging minds?

If Monica Lewinsky was Persian, she'd be dead.

John 11:35:

Jesus wept.

UPDATE: Down! We get shiite done!! If the link below comes back online, let us know. The FBI--thanks to your complaints--is also now on the case!
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Hezballah’s TV station al-Manar is using a US server in Atlanta, GA today to broadcast its live internet feed. The hosting provider is Global Net Access. Remember Hezballah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and it is against the law to provide them services to distribute their propaganda here. I have the hosting information below as well as the complaint and abuse email addys and phone numbers.

The link to the al-Manar feed is here, mms://207.210.95.42/live.

OrgName: Global Net Access, LLC
OrgID: GNAL-2
Address: 55 Marietta St, NW
Address: Suite 1720
City: Atlanta
StateProv: GA
PostalCode: 30303
Country: US

ReferralServer: rwhois://rwhois.gnax.net:4321

NetRange: 207.210.64.0 - 207.210.127.255
CIDR: 207.210.64.0/18
NetName: GNAXNET
NetHandle: NET-207-210-64-0-1
Parent: NET-207-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Allocation
NameServer: DNS1.GNAX.NET
NameServer: DNS2.GNAX.NET
Comment:
RegDate: 2005-04-12
Updated: 2006-01-09

OrgAbuseHandle: ABUSE745-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: Abuse
OrgAbusePhone: +1-404-230-9150
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@gnax.net

OrgTechHandle: ENGIN7-ARIN
OrgTechName: Engineering
OrgTechPhone: +1-404-230-9150
OrgTechEmail: engineering@gnax.net

Gnax contacts page.

Related Jawa Report pestering of al-Manar here and here and here and here. Here too.

Persistant little cusses, aren't we?

James sends us this link to al-Manar's programming guide. They may use this page and others like it to allow access as they get booted from place to place

Hat Tip: Michael Hampton.

UPDATE by Rusty: Just as a reminder, it's not just Hezbollah that is considered a terrorist organization. Al Manor is on the Terrorist Exclusion list too.

UPDATE II: Several people have already notified the FBI about this. But any case against those that broke the law could take some time. In the interim, be sure to keep pressure on the hosting company. The hosting company may not have known what it's servers were being used for, but they no longer have that excuse.

UPDATE III: Another reminder. People go to jail for doing business with al Manor.

Update IV by Howie: I can no longer access the link. It appears this link is dead now. We get sheeyat done!

Update V by Rusty:

Keep checking the link. If it comes back up, let us know. Pat yourselves on the collective back.

But taking terrorists off the internet is a lot like a game of whack-a-mole. At the very least, though, we can make sure American corporations are not enabling terrorists. We'll leave that for the French!

Michelle notes a growing movement for a broad boycott of Hugo Chavez' CITGO.

As Michelle notes, our own See-dubya was on this idea a while back.

I've been personally boycotting CITGO for a while now, and I plan to continue indefinitely, despite the fact that the two closest stations to my house are CITGO stations.

We don't have much of a choice as to whether to buy gas, but most of us have choices as to where.

(Beirut, Lebanon) Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is in Beirut to deliver a victory speech today. Apparently Hezbollah won something. I think it's a sense of denial.

From ynetnews.com:

Tens of thousands of people are streaming into Beirut for the 'divine victory' rally where victory celebrations will be held by Hizbullah in Dahiya, Beirut, following the war with Israel.

The rally is expected to begin at 4:30 p.m. and according to the Arab media, people began arriving from across the city and villages in south Lebanon from Thursday evening in order to find space.

The Israeli government is accusing Palestinian terrorists of using the armored vehicles of the Western press.

Gee, ya think?

Ynet news:

Armored vehicles that were given to foreign news agencies operating in the country with the authorization of the State of Israel, may be used by hostile groups to carry out terror attacks against Israel, Director of the Government Press Office Danny Seaman warned in a letter addressed to Shin Bet Head Yuval Diskin....

"To the best of our knowledge, all of the vehicles' owners have been violating the conditions for a long time now, despite our requests. This is not the first time we are warning that these vehicles will be used by hostile agents to carry out a terror attack against Israel. The recent incident in Gaza only illustrates the danger," Seaman wrote the Shin Bet chief.

Flashback: Rocket ride

Imagine that.

Abbas throws them a lifeline, and they spit and ululate in his face.

The row centres on agreeing a political agenda for the unity coalition that is clear enough in recognition of Israel to satisfy the West but vague enough for Hamas to say it does not contradict their charter, which calls for Israel's destruction.

From the AP (San Fran) -

An American pro-democracy activist who was jailed in Vietnam for more than a month on suspicion of plotting against the communist government returned home to a crowd of supporters.

Peace and love, dood.

The Religion of Free Speech and Freedom of Religion in Africa. Blasphemy against the 'Prophet' Mohammed is a capital offense under Islamic law.

Reuters:

Nigerian authorities have imposed a night curfew on the northern town of Dutse after Muslim mobs burned 11 churches over what they said was blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammad by a Christian woman, police said on Thursday.

Scores of houses and shops owned by Christians were also torched in the capital of remote Jigawa state during a riot on Wednesday sparked by a disagreement between a Muslim man and a Christian woman, police spokesman Haz Iwendi said.

No one was killed in the riot but up to seven people were injured, Iwendi said.

"Eleven churches and so many houses and shops were burned. The house of the Anglican bishop was also ransacked," he said, adding that hundreds of Christians fled their homes to military and police barracks fearing further attacks.

Flashback, ROP Iraq:

According to the website Islam Memo, one Christian was killed in Baghdad after the Pope's speech two days ago. The speech created a wave of anger throughout the Islamic world, including Iraq. A poster has been placed in many Baghdad mosques for the previously unknown group, "Kataab Ashbal Al Islam Al Salafi," (Islamic Salafist Boy Scout Battalions). This group threatens to kill all Christians in Iraq if the Pope does not apologize in three days in front of the whole world to Mohammed.

Sources at Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital announced on Saturday the death of a second Assyrian Christian who fell victim to multiple stab wounds at the Assyrian market in the Doura District. His murder comes a day after the attack on Syriac Catholic Church in the Ashar district of central Basra where another man was murdered.

Christian Leaders in Iraq have asked their parishioners to be extremely cautious and not to leave their homes as a new group called the young Brigades of Fundamental Islam ' has distributed papers announcing the slaying of all Iraqi Christians in three days if the Pope does not Apologize.

According to the insurgency-loyal news website, islammemo.cc, the bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church has also taken his plea to the central government of Iraq and the coalition forces in hopes that they intervene and offer protection to the native Christians.

Muslim terrorists in Iraq are using kidnapped hostages as suicide bombers. Or is that homicide bombers? Better make that murder victim bombers.

The report also suggests that the terrorists are turning to hostages because they can't find enough people to voluntarily blow themselves up. Apparantly Allah has run out of virgins.

JPost:

Insurgents are now using unwitting kidnap victims as suicide bombers - seizing them, booby-trapping their cars without their knowledge, then releasing them only to blow up the vehicles by remote control, the Defense Ministry said.....

It was unclear from the Defense Ministry's statement whether the insurgents are using kidnap victims because they are having trouble finding recruits for suicide missions.

(NE Ohio) On Tuesday, the teacher in my son's 12th-grade American Government class complained that Al Gore actually won the 2000 presidential election and George Bush was named President because of his buddies. Specifically, the teacher said it was relationships with brother Jeb Bush and Florida SecState Katherine Harris coupled with a majority conservative Supreme Court that made George Bush President of the U.S.

I sense an underlying distaste for the American form of representative democracy on the part of this teacher. Possibly, she's not the best match for teaching American Government.

September 21, 2006

Was accuracy.

The human comedy in THE LOOMING TOWER is very illuminating. Bin Laden, for example, emerges not as the fearless jihadist and scourge of the Soviets but as a laggard and faint-heart with a tendency to call in sick before battle and, if pressed into service, to pass out during it due to his blood pressure. The "nap" he took during the battle of the Lion's Den in 1987 is spoken of by awed al-Qaeda types as evidence of his cool under fire, but it seems more likely he just fainted. In Afghanistan, the local lads were hard and brave, the Arab volunteers they dismissed as "useless."

In addition to begging you not to read this, the Jawa Report begs you to avoid Amazondotcom, Barnesandnobledotcom, Bordersdotcom, Alibrisdotcom, and any other racist, zionist, jooooo run site that would sell this book.

We would also admonish you not to physically visit any bookstores in the near future, but, that's only because we're a bunch of couch-bound lazy-asses.

Or is it desk-bound, I get confused with this wireless laptop thingie. Depends on where I can smoke and where I can't.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

The things I do for my readers.

Like sitting through the tedious 27 minutes and 53 seconds of "Ludicrous Diversion", which offers conclusive proof that paranoid conspiracy fantasies about terrorist attacks are not limited to imbeciles in the United States.

This video mysteriously appeared a few days ago on Google video, and a Brit who calls himself, appropriately enough, "The Fruitceller" has posted the video to YouTube in three parts. If you're feeling particularly masochistic, do go and view it.

Unbelievably, the 7/7 London Bombings conspiracy case laid out in this video is even weaker than the uneducated guesswork of the US "Truth Movement", which believes that 9/11 was a massive plot by the government (utterly demolished by Popular Mechanics here).

Here's the short version, which they could have laid out in a three minute video, instead of wasting 27 minutes and 53 seconds of my life: there is a massive conspiracy between the British government, the British mainstream press, the American government, the American mainstream press, and the Spanish government (cell phones were used to detonate the Spanish bombs, too - booga-booga-booga). In other words, only a few conspiracy bloggers are not in on the deal. The conspiracy' ultimate goal: total world domination! [cue menacing organ music]

This is typical of the statements made:

"Even if these videos [jihadi suicide videos from two of the bombers] are genuine, they are not evidence that the men were responsible for the London bombings"

If this video were simply the product of a couple of teenagers who took "V For Vendetta" a little bit too seriously it wouldn't be so bad. But the fact is, "Ludicrous Diversion" is very slickly produced and professional in appearance. Let me indulge in my own conspiracy theory here: it was made by UK-based jihadis hoping to muddy the waters as much as possible, as the American "truthers" have attempted to do here.

It wasn't centuries ago, it's happening right before our very eyes.

Closer upper, just in case you missed it.

stein hoist: Roberto Espencero (a little Hugo lingo for ya)

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Pay particular attention to the lead sentence in this story from Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush and Senate Republicans hammered out a deal on Thursday for interrogating and trying foreign terrorism suspects, and Bush hailed it for preserving his program for CIA questioning of detainees.

"I'm pleased to say that this agreement preserves the most single -- the most potent tool we have in protecting America and foiling terrorist attacks, and that is the CIA program to question the world's most dangerous terrorists and to get their secrets," Bush said of the deal.

"The measure also creates military commissions that will bring these ruthless killers to justice," Bush said on a trip to Orlando, Florida, adding he hoped Congress would send him the legislation before it wraps up its business next week."

But what about the dog that didn't bark? The Reuters story says, "...Republicans hammered out a deal..."

This is a tremendously important deal with huge implications for America's national security...and the entire thing is being handled by one political party, which begs the question: why aren't Democrats involved in protecting the United States from terrorist attack?

Update: It must be a good deal, because, as Stop the ACLU reports, the ACLU has already condemned it.

After reading this story, I am so mad I could kick someone...square...in the...n*ts...

Apparently the president of Pakistan, our ernstwhile ally, thought it was rude of the US to threaten bombing them back into the stone age.

WTF?!?

Now, I am perhaps more upset with Pres. Bush to have not bombed him, the madrassas, the ISI, the Taleban and Al Qaeda into absolute oblivion. You can't fight half a war, any more than you can bomb half a bridge.

The insolence of this man is unbelievable.

And so is the stupidity of the Bush administration. Why would any semi-intelligent person (or group) warn a target before attacking?

Here is the other thorn in my side. Pakistan and the ISI are like a tree and Al Qaeda and the Taleban are the fruit. You can pluck the fruit, smash it, burn it, and throw it away. But next season, the fruit will sprout again. To stop this, you need to uproot the tree itself and sow the earth.

Un-F'n-Believable!

Many of you know Stan the Infidel from our comments section. What you may not know about Stan is that he is a Christian minister in Indonesia. He runs a website called Persecuted Infidels in Indonesia.

Stan informs us that Indonesia has just executed 3 Christians--who Stan believes are innocent-- for their alleged part in sectarian violence. The vast majority of the victims of that violence have been Christian. To date, no Muslims have been prosecuted.

I wonder if Abu Bakar Ba'asyir thinks the massacre of Christians by Muslims in Indonesia is as bad as half naked women?

For more, check out Stan's Persecuted Infidel blog.

Un-freaking-believable. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud holds up a photo taken of the Qana incident as proof (his words) that Israel targetted civilians. The photo is of Hezbollah operative Salam Daher (aka, "Green Helmet Guy") posing as a relief worker and staging the bodies of dead children.

Charles notes that the photo is like one of the many taken by Adnan Hajj of Green Helmet guy at Qana, but there were also dozens of other photogs at the staged media event. Can you imagine if it turns out that this particular photo is actually one of Hajj's?

Charles Johnson has video of Salam Daher (aka, "Green Helmet Guy") directing the scene at Qana to make sure the press took the pictures Hezbollahh wanted them to take.

Allah reminds us that Lahoud is a Syrian puppet whose term expired in 2004 but who was given an extra three years by the Lebanese parliament after Damascus applied “pressure.” Oh, and he's got photographic evidence of a bad gay thing going with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Meanwhile Snapped Shot (hat tip: Llarwynn) has the full transcript of Emile Lahoud's speech. Here are a few of the money quotes (emphasis mine):

From July 12 through August 14, my country was subjected to 'a barbarous aggression and to a rarely seen campaign of savage dismemberment, when hundreds of fighter jets emptied their loads of heavy and banned bombs, targeting mostly civilians, killing and maiming thousands, and destroying all that made Lebanon a viable state. Obviously, this was a premeditated Israeli "sentence" to destroy my country and everything it stood for,

The evidence? Staged photos from a Hezbollah propagandist.

Here is a bigger photo

I can't be certain the photo is one that Adnan Hajj personally took, or one of the many other photogs there. Literally dozens of similar ones are out there.

If someone finds this particular photo online, please let me know. The fact that I can't find it suggests it might be one of Hajj's.

UPDATE: Green Helmet Guy video bonus! I'll never get tired of All Your Fakes Are Belong to Us.

Okay, so Abu Bakar Ba'asyir didn't say naked women were more dangerous than terrorists terrorist bombs--he actually said half-naked women are more dangerous than the Bali bombs.

The Bali nightclub bombing killed 202 people.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is the Indonesian head of Jemaah Islamiah, which seeks the establishment of an Islamic State in Southeast Asia. Ba'asyir was convicted for a minor role in the Bali bombings

Antara News via Stan the Infidel:

"If you ask which are more dangerous, half-naked women or the Bali bombs? The answer is of course women who bare their bodies," Ba'asyir was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

To be more exact, this half naked picture of Indonesian model Andara Early (safe for work)

is more dangerous than the murder of 202 people.

Consider me guilty of crimes worse than mass murder!

Actually I think Hugo Chaves did smell brimstone at the UN the other day. But it didn’t come from Bush. The stink of evil came from Hugo’s #1 buddy Iranian president and Chaves’ fellow servant of Shaitan Mahmoud Ahmedinajad.

BBC: On 15 August, 2004, Atefah Sahaaleh was hanged in a public square in the Iranian city of Neka.

Her death sentence was imposed for "crimes against chastity".

The state-run newspaper accused her of adultery and described her as 22 years old.

But she was not married - and she was just 16...

...In terms of the number of people executed by the state in 2004, Iran is estimated to be second only to China.

In the year of Atefah's death, at least 159 people were executed in accordance with the Islamic law of the country, based on the Sharia code.

Since the revolution, Sharia law has been Iran's highest legal authority.

Alongside murder and drug smuggling, sex outside marriage is also a capital crime.

Only China executes more people than Iran. Adjust that for population and per capita Iran becomes one of the most oppressive murderous regimes on the planet.

Of course Ahmadinejad is upset by the truth.

CNN: Bush told Iranians their rulers "have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons."

Ahmadinejad responded by saying he didn't know what the president "is actually thinking when he makes remarks like that."

"This is not the kind of language you speak talking with a great nation. It is an insult to a great nation," Ahmadinejad said.

Also see Rush Limbaugh.

RUSH: Let me go back to Ahmadinejad, his speech last night. First thing I saw was a couple of wire reports. One from the Associated Press: Iran Tells UN Nuclear Program Peaceful. I read the piece, and compared to what Ahmadinejad actually said, they leave it out! They leave out the main thing that he did. The primary message in his appearance last night.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Even as Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was receiving applause at a Harlem church, Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY), as partisan a Democrat and vociferous a critic of the Bush administration as you will find, was condemning Chavez' "devil" remarks at the United Nations yesterday.

From Rangel's official website:

WASHINGTON - I want to express my extreme displeasure with statements by the President of Venezuela attacking U.S. President George Bush in such a personal and disparaging way during his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly.

It should be clear to all heads of government that criticism of Bush Administration policies, either domestic or foreign, does not entitle them to attack the President personally.

George Bush is the President of the United States and represents the entire country. Any demeaning public attack against him is viewed by Republicans and Democrats, and all Americans, as an attack on all of us.

I feel that I must speak out now since the Venezuelan government has been instrumental in providing oil at discounted prices to people in low income communities who have suffered increases in rent as heating oil prices have risen sharply. By offering this benefit to people in need, Venezuela has won many friends in poor communities of New York and other states. I am surprised that American oil companies have not stepped up to provide that kind of assistance to the poor.

Venezuela's generosity to the poor, however, should not be interpreted as license to attack President Bush. Those who take issue with Bush Administration policies have no right to attack him personally. It was not helpful when President Bush referred to certain nations as an "axis of evil." Neither is it helpful for a head of state to use the sacred halls of the United Nations to insult President Bush.

"No questions? Guess I said it all, huh?" Rangel said, as it took several moments for reporters to react to his statement and begin asking questions.

And now, some words I never thought I'd write: Bravo, Mr. Rangel, well done.

Update:Pelosi calls Chavez a thug:

"Hugo Chavez fancies himself a modern day Simon Bolivar but all he is an everyday thug," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference, referring to Chavez' comments in a U.N. General Assembly speech on Wednesday.

"Hugo Chavez abused the privilege that he had, speaking at the United Nations," said Pelosi, a frequent Bush critic. "He demeaned himself and he demeaned Venezuela."

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a democrat, today defended Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's United Nations speech in which Chavez called President George Bush the devil. Harkin said the comments were "incendiary", then went on to say, "Let me put it this way, I can understand the frustration, ah, and the anger of certain people around the world because of George Bush's policies." Harkin continued what has been frequent criticism of the president's foreign policy.

"We tend to forget that a few days after 9-1-1 thousands, thousands of Iranians marched in a candlelight procession in Teheran in support of the United States. Every Muslim country was basically on our side. Just think, in five years, President Bush has squandered all that."

I do not support torturing any prisoners in the custody of the U.S. But I also do not support giving those who have violated the Geneva Conventions the protections of those Conventions. To do so undermines the rule of law and, in fact, works against our interest in seeing that those Conventions are followed.

My latest piece at Townhall, Carrots and Sticks: The Geneva Conventions are not an Entitlement:

The idea behind the Conventions is that if you agree to abide by their rules, your captured combatants will be treated humanely. Human treatment is an inducement to follow the rules of war.

That is called a carrot.

But there is also a negative inducement. If you do not agree to abide by their rules, your captured combatants will not be treated humanely. At least, there is no legal guarantee that they will. The prospect that you will have no legal protections against pain and suffering if you get captured is an inducement to follow the rules of war.

That is called a stick.....

What the Democrats and some Republicans are offering to terrorists is no inducement at all to follow the rules of war.

They are, in fact, creating an entitlement for terrorists.

UPDATE: Does torture sometimes work? Apparently so.

September 20, 2006

Killing him wasn't enough, apparently they want his son too.

Here's why he was murdered.

Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir was on both the Glenn Beck radio and t.v. shows today.

Sandcrawler crewmembers are (hopefully) working on getting some audio. If we can't do it, you can subscribe to Beck's Insider thingie for a month for a measly 7 bucks to hear it. It was in the second hour of the radio show. The radio is better than the t.v. interview.

UPDATE: Hot Air has the audio up here. Saving you a buck or two.

Some relevant points made:

Was warned to not embed with NATO troops in Afghanistan anymore.

Osama is alive, and won't do video because the CIA can target him anywhere in the world based on the video. Which makes sense, and doesn't. Osama was pinpointed by geologists in a video he released after 9/11 by the rocks he was sitting in front of in the video. They were rocks found only in one part of the world. Ever since, if you haven't noticed, AQ videos have a curtain behind the speaker, or are inside. Oh, and I'm not talking about AQ in Iraq videos. The main men, so to speak. Osama, Ayman, Azzam the Asstard.

Reiteration of the call for all Muslims to leave America. Why? Because American Muslims are a "shield." However, if they stay, the attack will go on anyway.

Details of a meeting between Adnan Al-Shukri Jumaa and AQ leadership in Khost, Afghanistan two months ago.

I blinked and almost missed it. Hamir doesn't claim Adnan Al-Shukri Jumaa smuggled nukes across the southern border, he uses the phrase "dangerous materials." Wow, what a relief.

Reports that he was told that the terrorists working to carry out this attack are not using Muslim names, they are hiding behind Western sounding names and related documents, such as passports.

There is no timeframe for any attacks, inside U.S. or Afghanistan. Backs up 300 suicide bomber claim by saying that shortly after he returned to Pakistan, suicide attacks began in Afghanistan, which is true.

Say's that Osama has completed the "cycle of warnings." Under Islamic law, the defender is given three warnings before being attacked. Says that Osama is trying to legitimize his actions with Islamic scholars who criticized him for 9/11.

Doesn't believe they're bluffing. Said in earlier interviews with Osama, he didn't believe he'd ever strike America. He was proven wrong.

Once again says "very dangerous materials" have been smuggled over the border. Doesn't specify what.

Says it's an "open secret" that AQ is in Lebanon, and is allied with both Iran and Hezbollah. Says that Osama forged an alliance with Hezbollah when he was still in the Sudan. Says that Iran is providing arms and money to both AQ and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Finally, I can't make it out well, but the name of the AQ person he talked to sounds like Abu Daoud. I've backed it up and re-played it numerous times. It still sounds like Abu Daoud.

Which is interesting, because Abu Daoud masterminded the 1972 Munich slaughter, and Abu Daoud was also captured in Iraq.

Since the first Abu Daoud is obviously a hero to the Islamotards for killing those filthy joooo athletes bravely in cold blood, it's only logical that future Islamotards would appropriate his name.

Sadly, Ahmad Shah Massoud doesn't seem to be popular in Islam, since the man who carried it warned us of 9/11, and was assassinated two days before.

Well, I guess I saved you 7 bucks. Like I said, hopefully we can get some actual audio of the interview.

As for the concern about being "alarmist." I think that's just silly. I also think that it's more a worry that the Left, or so-called "Moderates" are going jump your shit.

BFD, I say. Ask anyone if they think we're going to be hit by terrorists again, and even if they don't circulate within the media/blogosphere bubble, chances are they'll say yes.

Frankly, most people, despite what you think, are walking around plenty alarmed already. They're just not outspoken about it like we are. They know that it's not "if" but "when."

They also know, quite well, that when it all boils down, there ain't a damned thing we can do about it. So the thing to do is to live your life normally.

But keep your eyes peeled.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff admits that Osama bin Laden may be in Pakistan. The Blotter:

"We believe he is somewhere between Bajaur, Pakistan, and the province of Kunar in Afghanistan," he said at a meeting connected to his appearance at the United Nations.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Allahpundit has teasers of tonight's video up here.

Ace seems to think this is nothing to get excited about. And it's not. If by heartened you think that we'll actually find bin Laden in Pakistan. We won't.

Try looking farther south. No farther. No, keep going. Now turn west. There you go. That's where you're going to find bin Laden. Call it a hunch.

But still, I like my President to act like he's got a set of gonads. Big old ones.

And tonight, Bush has got the biggest balls of all.

Journalistic ethics be damned if those ethics include balancing coverage by hiring stringers with known ties to people killing American soldiers. If it is ethical to hire an enemy propagandist, then I'm just not sure what ethics really mean.

Call it ethics if you want. I call it treason.

Don't you just love it when the ethical thing to do gets people killed?

Ethics.

Michelle Malkin's latest column on the Bilal Hussein mess:

Let me repeat that: An Associated (with terrorists) Press journalist gets caught with an alleged al Qaeda leader and tests positive for bomb-making materials. That. Is. News. How does a news organization explain away its decision to sit on it for five months? Like this: "The AP has worked quietly until now, believing that would be the best approach."

The best approach to journalism? No. The best approach to suppressing a damning connection to terrorists.

The mainstream media enjoys mocking bloggers as journalistic wannabes who don't do any "real" reporting and have no concern for the "public interest." But as in the case of the Reuters photo-faking debacle this summer, it is bloggers in their little home offices -- not the professionals on the ground thousands of miles away -- who smoked out a war story with profound national security implications. Well before I reported on Hussein's capture, military bloggers and media watchdog bloggers had raised persistent questions over the past two years about Hussein's relationship with terrorists in Iraq and whether his photos were staged in collusion with our enemies. (For a thorough overview, see http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/cat_bilal_hussein.php.)

Ethics.

Michelle also has inciteful analysis on her blog today.

Oh, and way to go NY Times. Ethics above love of country and the safety of our soldiers, as I always say.

Also, don't miss out on another find about Bilal Hussein from Dan Riehl. Ethics.

More on ethicsgate from the guys at Powerline:

Nowhere in the AP's response is there any recognition of, let alone response to, the fundamental criticism that we and others have leveled: news organizations like the AP should not pay photographers to consort with terrorists and take photos that the terrorists evidently believe will advance their interests. The AP apparently considers this practice to embody an appropriate neutrality between the terrorists on one side, and their victims and American soldiers on the other. And they don't seem to understand why that view is controversial.

Nina Hagen's Freedom Fighter: the truth about the Left remix. Via our friend Bob at Powerclam. Warning: possibly not safe for work do to pics of really skanky, smelly, and ugly nude war protesters---yeah, I know that's redundant.

Not to challenge anyone's high esteem toward reporters, but it turns out that the history of reporters working actively against the US is nothing new. And I don't mean Dan Rather. I mean, bona fide secret agent stuff.

Read the story here.

Wonder why the US feels the need to detain reporters from such esteemed agencies as AP and Reuters?

Not anymore.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

My God, it must be embarrassing for anyone over the age of ten to be a Venezuelan today after Hugo Chavez's incredibly immature meltdown addressing the UN yesterday.

From the Associated Press:

UNITED NATIONS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez took his verbal battle with the United States to the floor of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, calling President Bush "the devil."

"The devil came here yesterday," Chavez said. "He came here talking as if he were the owner of the world."

UPDATE by Rusty: Video highlights here. What, an Leftist America hater using Noam Chomsky as the basis of his anti-American rant? Can't be! Because Chomsky says he loves America. Because true love, Chomsky love, is really about hating every thing your country does.

Because Chomsky just wants us to have a better country.

It's the kind of love you find between a man and a woman. The kind of man that loves his wife so much that he is forced to beat the bitch up. It's for her own good.

I believe I have a copyright out on calling Noam Chomsky a mass murderer.

Query: Which is worse: The Noam Chomsky or the Hot Carl?

Professor Chaos tells me he'd rather get the hot carl any day.

Abu Izadeen and other minions of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed interrupt a press conference by the Home Secretary about terrorism shouting "how dare you come to a Muslim area".

How dare you come to a Muslim area!

How dare you come to a Muslim area!

Just follow Allah's links here to see the video.

If that isn't a rejection of British legal sovereignty and an out and out declaration of open rebellion, I don't know what is. The Home Secretary says Izadeen does not believe that "Muslim areas" are part of Britain. He's right, he doesn't.

Sky News--the British Fox--tries to be fair and balanced. So, who do they interview to get a response to Izzadeen's outcries during their prime time news (not shown in video linked above)? Anjem Choudary, the head of the The Society of Muslim Lawyers and the man who was recently seen in front of Westminister Cathederal calling for the death penalty for the Pope. He says Britain is to be blamed for terrorism, not Muslims.

Both Choudary and Abu Izadeen are followers of exiled cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed.

Bryan seems the Home Secretary's restraint is admirable. Not me. Where's a taser when you really need one?

Hat tip: Glen Jenvey.

I almost hate to have to explain The Jawa Report philosophy of the gays, but we have so many new readers that a brief introduction is in order.

There's good gay and bad gay.

Good gay? Two hot chicks.
Bad gay? Everything else.

Which pretty much means all gay is bad. But, of course, there's bad gay and there's Andrew-Sulliva-bad-gay which is the top of the bad gayometer.

With that in mind, we present you with two stories that score a ten on the Sulli scale. One having to do with the former bad-gay-in-denial governor of New Jersey. The other deals with the I'm-not-bad-gay-but-I-have-sex-with-men type.

Oh, the humanity!

Good gay palette cleansing below

No Pope required. This man was killed before Pope Benedict’s speech. So what motivated the African Taliban to kill this Christian? He didn’t want to play “Chant to the Moon God”.

Michael Ireland : MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (ANS) -- Somali Christian sources report that Ali Mustaf Maka'il, a 22-year-old college student and cloth merchant, who converted from Islam to Christianity eleven months ago, was shot and killed in the Manabolyo quarter of Mogadishu on September 7.

According to a report from The Barnabas Fund, quoting a Christian source inside Somalia, the gunman was loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU), the Islamist organization that took power in Mogadishu in early June 2006 and now controls much of southern Somalia.

The report states: "The gunman shot Ali in the back after he refused to join a crowd chanting Qur'an verses in honor of the lunar eclipse. (Solar and lunar eclipses are significant in Islam and are accompanied by special congregational prayers.) The ICU confiscated his body for 24 hours before delivering it to the grieving family."

The Barnabas Fund says: "It seems that under the new Islamist rulers, who include hard-line jihadi elements, the tragic history of persecution and martyrdom for Somalia's tiny Christian community is set to continue and most likely to worsen."

The group reports that in July 2006 there were unconfirmed reports that three Christians had been shot and killed by Islamists as they returned home from a prayer meeting.

It adds: "In October 2005 an evangelist and house church leader, Osman Sheik Ahmed, was shot dead by Islamist radicals. Children of Christian Somali refugees in Kenya have been kidnapped by Muslim relatives and taken to Islamic institutions in Somalia for 'rehabilitation.' "

The Barnabas Fund explains that the leader of the ICU, Hassan Dahir Aweys, promised to implement shari'a in all areas he controls.

"According to shari'a, apostates (those who leave Islam for another religion), must be killed. ICU leaders have even threatened to kill as apostates Muslims who are lax in their prayers, claiming this is commanded by shari'a. Several Muslims have been publicly flogged for drug related offences since the ICU took control."

Hmm “head tax”. That’s a funny name. Appropriate though, as it is a tax paid to keep your head.

Hat Tip: Ansar al-kufir

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Students at a Texas elementary school assembly rose while "parent volunteers" recited a pledge of allegiance to the flag of...Mexico:

During a short school assembly Friday, several parent volunteers read a pledge of allegiance to the Mexican flag. Since a parent complained on the Chris Baker show on NewsRadio 740 KTRH that afternoon, the issue has become a focal point of some Houston talk radio shows.

At about 10 a.m. Friday, students and parents gathered in the gym for an assembly commemorating Diez y Seis de Septiembre, Sept. 16, when Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain. The school’s bilingual classes from different grade levels performed songs, Williams said.Everyone was given a small Mexican flag and a group of six or seven parents recited the pledge from a script, Williams said. The students did not recite it, he said.

Via Jihad Watch:

Muslims in Hamas-controlled Gaza have formed an ad hoc terrorist group promising to attack Christian targets to avenge the Pope’s choice of a quotation insinuating that Islam is prone to violence.

Man, I'm cringing at the keyboard offering this idea, but, here goes.

Enlist the IRA.

A terrorist is a terrorist, and we despise them all.

However, if the IRA is as devoted to their Catholicism as they claim to be, then they should have no problem issuing threats of tit-for-tat concerning the current Islamoseething against the Pope.

And the Muslims, I believe, would take them, unlike us, very seriously. After all, many IRA terrorists learned their craft in the Bekaa Valley.

You would think that they'd be at the forefront of the backlash, marching down the streets of Dublin burning Mohammed in effigy and tossing Molotov cocktails at mosques.

Hell, it's not like we haven't allied ourselves with odious people before, think Stalin. Nor are we shying away from odious regimes now, think Saudi Arabia.

So enlisting the IRA to combat terrorists with terrorism, no, the threat of future terrorism, may not be such a bad idea. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

And, if I were really that naive, I'd think that any of this was plausible. But hey, one can contemplate, right?

I call this my Dirty Dozen scenario.

September 19, 2006

Muslim girls gone WILD!!!!!

stein hoist: Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!

I just love this response by the AP to Dan Riehl's query as to whether or not Bilal Hussein held the camcorder as Michael Moore's minutemen murdered an Italian civilian.

Here is some of it according to the AP and via the blogfather, Charles Johnson:

This AP story explains that masked insurgents stopped Hussein and other AP journalists, including an AP video journalist, at a roadblock and took them to the site where the blindfolded body lay, already stiff with rigor mortis. They propped the body up and allowed the journalists to photograph and videotape it.

And here is the original story, as run by the AP. Italics and higlights are mine:

Iraqi militants said they shot and killed an Italian citizen after he tried to break through a guerrilla roadblock on a highway outside the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi.

Masked gunmen took three Iraqi journalists to a location in the desert outside Ramadi on Wednesday and showed them the blindfolded body, one of the journalists recounted.

Photos showed the body of the man in jeans and a leather jacket, a white rag tied around his eyes, propped up on a sandy incline. Two masked gunmen posed with their automatic rifles pointed at the body.

100 bucks says that single source is....Bilal Hussein. In any event, all three are Iraqi stringers.

Another troubling aspect to the original AP story is its headline: Iraqi militants say they shot Italian who tried to break through checkpoint

And here is the lead paragraph:

Iraqi militants said they shot and killed an Italian citizen after he tried to break through a guerrilla roadblock on a highway outside the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi.

But read the actual content of the story and you realize something else happened:

told by the militants that the man had tried to run the roadblock on Monday, hit and killed one of the gunmen, then crashed the car. The gunmen said they then "executed" the man.

Much later than that. In fact, so much later that Santoro's 'corpse' is seen with his hands tied behind his back and with a blindfold on. To spin his murder as just a casualty of war disgraces his memory and is an outrage!

No bias at the AP. Nope.

And what about the portions of the video and the photographs taken by Bilal Hussein which were taken indoors? Something else is going on here folks.

And all this from a witness who is being detained in Iraq right now for his known ties to al Qaeda.

Thank you for clarifying that AP. You're a peach.

Actually, I don't believe we are at war with Islam. I do believe we are at war with Islamists and that when given the choice between siding with Islamists or the Great Satan, most Muslims side with the Islamists. We are the other and all that.

That is, they see themselves as part of a different civilization than ours. They may hate the Taliban, but they hate it even more when we fight the Taliban.

So, we are at war with Islamic Civilization. Don't want to be, but we are.

And maybe I'm way off here, but I believe Islamism and Islamic Civilization might have something to do with, I dunno, Islam.

And, in the end, it doesn't matter what Bush says because a whole lot of Muslims are already at war with us and a great deal more believe we are at war with Islam.

Anyway, go see the video of Bush at the U.N. here. Lots of different ways you can take it. Personally I see the role of the President not so much to speak truth to power, but to try and win friends and influence people. So, kudos for saying what has to be said, and kudos for doing what had to be done when it came to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Forget the Islamists! We've gotta be on the lookout for cosmic cataclysms from 470 million years ago!

Check this out (emphasis mine) from Gregg Easterbrook's fascinating column entitled "Cosmic thoughts - Bummer Edition" today at ESPN.com (scroll down slightly more than halfway if the page toploads) (or ABC):

Recently, I was creeped out by this supernova. Detected Feb. 18 by Swift, a satellite launched to look for gamma-ray bursts, the exploding star already was the 24th supernova discovered at that early point in 2006. As instruments improve, exploding stars appear more common than cosmologists had expected, and that's not the best news we might have heard. Coded GRB 060218, this star detonation began as a gamma-ray burst that lasted 33 minutes -- absolutely stunning because previous gamma-ray bursts from space have lasted a few seconds at the most. The gamma rays came from 470 million light-years away. That was discomfiting because strong gamma-ray bursts usually emanate from what astronomers call the "deep field," billions of light-years distant and thus billions of years back in the past. A distance of 470 million light-years means the GRB 060218 supernova happened 470 million years ago. That is ancient by human reckoning, but many cosmologists had been assuming the kind of extremely massive detonations thought to cause strong gamma-ray busts occurred only in the misty eons immediately after the Big Bang. The working assumption was that since life appeared on Earth, there had been no stellar mega-explosion. Now we know there has.

For several days as the giant dying star GRB 060218 collapsed, this single supernova shined brighter than all 100 billion other suns in its galaxy combined. The detonation was so inexpressibly luminous that, though 470 million light-years distant, it could be seen by telescopes on Earth. And not just fancy telescopes at the tops of mountains: A few days after the Swift satellite detected the gamma-ray surge, an amateur astronomer in the Netherlands sighted the forming supernova through a backyard telescope. The stellar coordinates hit the Web -- it was at RA: 03:21:39.71 Dec: +16:52:02.6 -- and soon amateur astronomers the world over were marveling at the glistening beacon from the cosmic past. This explosion released so much energy that it happened 470 million years ago yet the light could travel for that protracted period, plus pass through the gas and dust of roughly a hundred galaxies along the way, and still illuminate mirrors of backyard telescopes on Earth.

Now here's what creeped me out: had GRB 060218 happened in our galaxy, life on Earth would have ended Feb. 18.

...read it all if you dare.

ht: Rush Limbaugh show
Cross-posted at Mein Blogovault.

The devil is in the details, or so I have always heard, so when one of Dean Esmay's fillins gave a list of fatwas against terrorism as evidence that Muslims are against terorrorism, I figured Ali had at least bothered to read them. She hasn't.

Of course, her larger point is well taken--sharia is useless. Indeed it is. More than useless I'd call it. How about evil? I do not use the term evil lightly here. I believe any system of law that takes away certain inherent liberties is evil. Right up there at the top of that list would be the right to choose one's own religion. But useless will do for now.

The second point--that fatwas are useless--is also well taken, if not completely wrong. Fatwas are very useful because religious authority is claimed by those who do evil. Bin Laden issued a fatwa against America before 9/11 for the precise reason that he knew that people seek moral justification for their acts.

Last, let's get to these 'fatwas against terroror'.

Since I don't have time to refute all of the fatwas, we'll just start from the top of the first link provided and go down from there.

But before we do, can we agree that condemning 9/11 is not the same as condemning terrorism? One may condemn a particular act of terrorism without condemning terrorist tactics in general.

Also, can we agree that one may condemn terror in general but redefine 'terrorism' in such a way as to make the condemnation meaningless? Such is the case in dozens of reported 'condemnations' by mainstream Muslim leaders who, in their condemnation, qualify their remarks by making sure the reader understands that killing Zionists is not really terrorism.

Last, one may be against 'terrorism', but be guilty of a number of equally great sins. Terror is a tactic. One may be against the tactics used by al Qaeda, but be for the goals of al Qaeda. Okay, so you condemn using airplanes as a missile---do you also condemn stoning women to death for alleging rape?

The list linked to at Dean's World is one that has been widely circulated and popularized by the MAS and CAIR. You can actually find the same list posted in the comments section of several websites.

The entirety of the first 'fatwa against terrorism is no longer available in English on the web. The first signator is Mustafa Mashhur, head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt at the time of the 9/11 attacks. The official stance of the Muslim Brotherhood is the deportation of Jews of European ancestry out of Palestine. But don't worry, the Muslim Brotherhood wants to remove the Zionist entity peacefully, and ethnically cleanse Palestine with the help of the Europeans who would take the Jews back.

The next signator is Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. Besides condemning the Pope last week, the most notorious action of Jamaat in recent weeks has been its succesful campaign against the Musharraf effort to overturn the Hudood laws. The Hudood laws in Pakistan require four male witnesses to rape. Women who accuse men of raping them without four male witnesses are subject to the death penalty.

Qazi also openly supports Hamas and Hezbollah, both international terrorist organizations.

The most ironical of all the signators (40 we are told, but only 7 are named) is that of the Shiekh Ahmad Yassin, the founder of Hamas. Yes, that Hamas.

So, as evidence that Muslim religious leaders are against terrorism, we are given a fatwa issued by the head of a terrorist organization? Irony. True irony. And not the Alanis Morissette kind either.

Let's move on to the second 'fatwa against terror'. You can read all of it here.

It is not actually a fatwa against terror, but one which allows Muslims to serve in the military. The relevant part is that Muslims are allowed to fight against 'the real' perpertrators of 9/11. You know, the real ones. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

You may know the man behind the fatwa from his website Islam Online. Here is the man often cited as the most influential 'moderate' Muslim in the world:

An influential Sunni Muslim cleric who once condoned attacks on U.S. civilians in Iraq has issued a religious edict saying it is permissible under Islam to kidnap in wartime - but not to kill the hostages.

Let's go to fatwa #3, signed by the highest religious authority in the Sunni Muslim world, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyid Al-Tantawi. This is the same man that routinely describes Jews as "the enemies of Allah, sons of pigs and apes." He's a man who believes that during the Islamic Golden Age, "Jews were forced to wear a shoulder patch with a picture of a monkey and Christians had to wear a patch with a picture of a pig. These images had to be affixed to the doors of their respective homes."

Some Golden Age you got there al Tantawi.

And although al Tantawi has been widely reported as issuing a fatwa against suicide bombing in Israel, he did take backs, saying that those that kill Israeli women and children are martyrs worthy of praise.

Shall I go on? Frankly, I just don't have the time.

The larger point being that even so-called moderate Muslim leaders--the ones which liberal Muslims often go out of their way to cite as examples that Islam is just like any other religion--cannot condemn terrorism without either redefining terror or defending the ends of the terrorists if not their means.

Some religion of peace you got there.

This says nothing on whether Islam is inherently violent, but it goes a long way in understanding why so much violence comes out of the Islamic world today.

When authority figures justify acts of violence as a religious duty, there is no doubt that the faithful will follow.

State of emergency declared in Thailand. Possible coup attempt. If successful, I've no idea what this would mean to the war on terror. Thailand is in a hot war with Muslim rebels in the south.

Mary Katherine is covering.

Sacre bleu! From your moral superiors in Frogland -

President Jacques Chirac has broken ranks with the US and Britain by calling for the suspension of UN Security Council action against Iran during negotiations over its nuclear programme.

For shame.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot - yeeeargh, me hardies!

Notice that the police have gone out of their way to mention that security has been beefed up around churches and mosques, even though it is Muslims making all the violent threats. Fair and balanced and all that. Although, dare I say it, shouldn't they be really concerned about London's synogagues? Because, as we all know, the Pope is just a pawn of the J-O-Os.

But it is good to see that our good friend Anjem Choudary is now under investigation. I disagree with these draconian speech laws but I also want to see Choudary in jail. Call me inconsistent, its totally true in this case. I can live with that.

This is Local London:

POLICE are stepping up patrols outside the capital's churches and mosques amid fears of a backlash against comments made by the Pope.

Reassurance patrols by faith and neighbourhood teams, put in place at the weekend, will continue at both Catholic and Christian churches and mosques, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said....

The Metropolitan police has since launched an investigation into Sunday's demonstration after receiving 25 complaints from members of the public.

Some of them relate to the words of Anjem Choudary, former UK head of the controversial Islamic group Al-Mahajroun, who allegedly told the crowd: "Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment."

Ansar al Sunnah has worked with al Qaeda in the past. A couple of times we even saw Zarqawi operatives on Ansar al Sunna murder videos. It looks like Ansar may be formally coming into the jihadi big tent. CT blog:

As-yet unsubstantiated reports have begun circulating on radical Arabic-language Internet chat forums that a major effort is now underway to bring the notorious Ansar al-Sunnah Army in Iraq officially under the umbrella of Al-Qaida's Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC).

Personally, I don't think it matters either way. What the second phase of the Iraq war has shown us is that operational control really is insignificant and that the tactics of al Qaeda 3.0 are even more effective than that of al Qaeda 3.0, perfected under Zarqawi.

Also, it seems to me that the MSC is nothing more than a unified PR front. Instead of Ansar issuing their own statements, they will simply feed their propaganda through the MSC machinery.

Lastly, from a counter-terror standpoint, Ansar joining the MSC could be used to our advantage. For those who think about these things, let me leave it at: Kirkuk, Peshmerga, fahget about the Geneva Conventions, and then connect the dots from there.

You can view the entire movie Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West here. We had it up in late July, then the link died, but now it's back up again. Thanks to QT Monster for the tip and for his commentary here.

Judy sends along this link with the idea that it's not so much what Robert Biddinto is explaining as who. Fingers pointed in Greg's direction. Others have already e-mailed me this, we may have even linked it, but come on.....Greg. How can I not post it? Biddinto:

Observe that in political conspiracies of this sort, we often see the whack-job left and the moonbat right meet and blend. Nutcase "paleolibertarians" on the Lew Rockwell website, tinfoil-hat John Birch conservatives, chromosome-challenged Marxist ideologues from the Workers World Party, and envy-eaten Eurotrash intellectuals all wind up on the same side, and doing the same thing: feeding the paranoid delusions of anti-American radical Islamists. They constitute a de facto coalition of paranoid malice, united in only one respect: in their shared hatred for the great Satan, the U.S. government....

[Conspiratorialists] tend to be powerless, frustrated people living in social isolation, who have no contact with the Big Shots whom they assume run everything, and no inkling about how high-level decisions are really made. Many of these people do have highly honed deductive capacities, however: they are rationalists par excellence, who have the tenacity to meticulously follow any random premise or fact down a long, attenuated deductive chain, to the most absurd conclusions imaginable. How? By evading or explaining away any inconvenient empirical fact to the contrary that might blow their grand theories to smithereens. In fact, theorizing is the sole source of their pride: impotent in the social world, all they have left to exercise control over are the contents of their skulls. So they take great solace and pride from their ability to add 2 and 2, and concoct the totally creative 9.

Ooooh, I'm so offended. I may yawn and scratch my balls after seeing that one.

That is, if I'm not busy drinking beer, eating pork products, and letting my wife out of the house by herself.

Well, hell, let's start this religious war right here and now.

I mean, lets rekindle.

No, that's not right either.

Okay, I'll just fire off my own sucky photoshop in response.

Please note, Allah is not my God. Al' lah was the name of the pagan Arab's moon god. Which Mohammed appropriated in his efforts to gain converts before he had the military strength to kill them if they didn't convert to Islam.

Therefore, any attempts to claim that I'm blaspheming God with this crappy p-shop is rendered moot.

At any rate, I think it's ridiculous that I have to offer up these thoughts. Since God can see into my heart, I think He knows that I'm not visualizing Him this way.

Just Allah and Mohammed. The former a fictional character, the latter with a current address in Hell.

September 18, 2006

The Associatedantiamerican Press quote:

Islamic leaders around the world issued more condemnations of the pope's comments, but some moderates in the Middle East appeared to be trying to put a damper on the outrage, fearing it could spiral into attacks on Christians in the region.

Now read the article, and show me where the "moderates" are.

I'm reprinting the article in full below the fold, as it is written now, because these articles have been known to change.

As it stands, this article, except for the above quoted paragraph, shows no evidence of "moderates" trying to "defuse the situation."

And notice, too, that AP just has to throw in the thoughts of the Egyptian Copts, whose Pope denounced Pope Benedict's speech.

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida in
Iraq warned
Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and
Iran's supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff's remarks on Islam.

Protests broke out in South Asia and Indonesia, with angry Muslims saying Benedict's statement of regret a day earlier did not go far enough. In southern Iraq, demonstrators carrying black flags burned an effigy of the pope.

Islamic leaders around the world issued more condemnations of the pope's comments, but some moderates in the Middle East appeared to be trying to put a damper on the outrage, fearing it could spiral into attacks on Christians in the region.

On Sunday, Benedict said he was "deeply sorry" over any hurt caused by his comments made in a speech last week, in which he quoted a medieval text characterizing some of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman" and calling Islam a religion spread by the sword.

Benedict said the remarks came from a text that didn't reflect his own opinion, but he did not retract what he said or say he was sorry he uttered what proved to be explosive words.

The
Vatican on Monday sought to defuse the anger, ordering papal representatives around the world to meet with leaders of Muslim countries to explain the pope's point of view and full context of his speech.

Roman Catholic leaders stepped forward to defend the pontiff. At an Italian bishops' conference, Cardinal Camillo Ruini underlined the bishops' "total closeness and solidarity to the pope" and said they deplored interpretations of the pope's comments "which attribute to the Holy Father ... errors that he has not committed and aim at attacking his person and his ministry."

Few in the Islamic world were satisfied by Benedict's statement of regret.

"The pope's words have caused a deep wound in the hearts of Muslims that won't heal for a long time, and then only after a clear apology to Muslims," Egypt's religious affairs minister, Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq, wrote in a column in the government daily Al-Ahram on Monday.

An influential Egyptian cleric, Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, called for protests after weekly prayers on Friday, but maintained they should be peaceful.

Extremists said the pope's comments proved that the West was in a war against Islam.

Al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross," saying "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq,
Afghanistan,
Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose the 'jizya' tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (being killed by) the sword."

Islam forbids drinking alcohol and requires non-Muslims to pay the "jizya" tax, though those who convert are exempt. The tax, sometimes called a head tax, has not been imposed in Muslim nations in about 100 years, though Islamic militant groups have tried to force non-Muslims to pay it on a local level in some countries.

"You infidels and despots, we will continue our jihad (holy war) and never stop until God avails us to chop your necks and raise the fluttering banner of monotheism, when God's rule is established governing all people and nations," said the statement by the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups in Iraq.

Al-Qaida in Iraq said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose the 'jizya' tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (being killed by) the sword."

Islam forbids drinking alcohol and requires non-Muslims to pay the 'jizya' tax, though they were exempt if they converted to Islam.or early 20th century, though Islamic militant groups have tried to force non-Muslims to pay it on a local level in some countries.

Another Iraqi extremist group, Ansar al-Sunna, challenged "sleeping Muslims" to prove their manhood by doing something other than "issuing statements or holding demonstrations."

"If the stupid pig is prancing with his blasphemies in his house," the group said in a Web statement, referring to the pope, "then let him wait for the day coming soon when the armies of the religion of right knock on the walls of Rome."

In Iran, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used the comments to call for protests against the United States. He argued that while the pope may have been deceived into making his remarks, the words give the West an "excuse for suppressing Muslims" by depicting them as terrorists.

"Those who benefit from the pope's comments and drive their own arrogant policies should be targeted with attacks and protests," he said, referring to the United States.

The anger recalled the outrage earlier this year over cartoons depicting the prophet published by a Danish paper. The caricatures, which Muslims saw as insulting Muhammad, set off large, violent protests across the Islamic world.

So far, protests over the pope's comments have been smaller. However, there has been some violence: Attackers hurled firebombs at seven churches in the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip over the weekend, and a nun was shot to death in Somalia.

Some 200 Khamenei loyalists in the Syrian capital, Damascus, held a protest Monday at an Islamic shrine, dismissing the pope's apology. "The pope's sorrow was equivocal," read one banner.

Dozens protested outside the Vatican Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and schools and shops in the Indian-controlled section of
Kashmir shut their doors in protest.

"His comments really hurt Muslims all over the world," Umar Nawawi of the radical Islamic Defenders' Front said in Jakarta. "We should remind him not to say such things which can only fuel a holy war."

Islamic countries also asked the U.N. Human Rights Council to examine the question of religious tolerance. Malaysia's foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, said Benedict's apology was "inadequate to calm the anger."

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood said the anger should not be allowed to hurt ties with the Middle East's Christian minorities. But worries among Christians in the region are high.

Guards have been posted around some churches, and the head of Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, disassociated himself from Benedict's statements.

The Dominican mission in Cairo also criticized Benedict's words, saying he chose a text for his speech that "revived the polemics of the past."

"These comments, seen by many Muslims as hurtful, risk encouraging extremists on all sides," it said in a statement, "and put in danger all the advances in dialogue made in recent decades."

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

The Guardian reveals the horrors of the secret CIA torture chambers:

Details emerged yesterday about the seven interrogation techniques the CIA is seeking to be allowed to apply to terror suspects...

The techniques sought by the CIA are: induced hypothermia; forcing suspects to stand for prolonged periods; sleep deprivation; a technique called "the attention grab" where a suspect's shirt is forcefully seized; the "attention slap" or open hand slapping that hurts but does not lead to physical damage; the "belly slap"; and sound and light manipulation.

Those diabolical bastards, have they been recruiting fraternity rush chairmen?

Via Stop the ACLU.

... if the War on Terror ever becomes a War on Islam:

[Mike Gallagher] described what he said was an off-the-record session with Bush and a gaggle of radio right-wingers, including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

Bush told them "we'll lose" if the War on Terror becomes a fight between Christianity and Islam, Gallagher said.

"Remind me never to invite you to an off-the-record session," Coulter told him.

AP reporter Bilal Hussein a security threat with ties to insurgents? Nah, can't be! He's a reporter.

Can I just take a moment and gloat? I've been calling Bilal Hussein a security threat for nearly 2 years now! I think my first thoughts on him went something like, why haven't we killed that guy yet?

An enemy propagandist is an enemy with a weapon.

Anyway, Michelle sends along word that the Pentagon has spoken about Bilal Hussein and has updated and bumped her post. I'm so happy, I thought I'd give this its own post. Al Reuters:

The Pentagon said on Monday that an Iraqi photographer working for The Associated Press and held by the U.S. military since April was considered a security threat with "strong ties to known insurgents."...

"All indications that I have received are that Hussein's detainment indicates that he has strong ties to known insurgents, and that he was doing things, involved in activities that were well outside the scope of what you would expect a journalist to be doing in that country," he said.

In three separate "independent objective reviews," Whitman told reporters, "it was determined that Hussein was a security threat and recommended his continued detention."

When the story of the Iraq war is finally written we will learn that many lives would have been spared had we simply not allowed a free press. You cannot have a free press in a war zone.

UPDATE: Did AP reporter Bilal Hussein video the murder of Italian hostage Salvatore Santoro? Our original post about the civilian Italian hostage Salvatore Santoro murdered is here.

Dan Riehl has the video of Santoro's murder here.

As suspected, it was followers of exiled cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed who organized a rally yesterday outside of London's Westminster Cathederal calling for the death penalty for the Pope's blasphemy.

Here is the call for the protest on a password protected internet forum run by Omar Bakri Mohammed from exile in Lebanon where he directs his followers in Britain. Click the image for a larger view.

Several groups founded by Bakri Mohammed have been banned in Britain, including al Mujahiroun and al-Ghurabaa, but each time his followers simply rename the group and continue to preach the same hate and violence.

If that wasn't enough, our friend Glen Jenvey also recorded Bakri Mohammed's latest diatribe against the Pope. If you listen closely, and can get past the heavy accent, you can hear the Shiekh in one breath denouncing the Pope for saying that Islam is spread by the sword and in the next breath confirming that jihad is, in fact, violent and that Islam is, in fact, spread by the sword.

He then goes on and on saying that jihad is to institute a government where people are free to choose Islam, but an Islam based not on distortion etc. In other words, under a government of sharia where it is illegal to criticize Islam. When you criticize Islam, they cut your head off for that.

Right click to download Omar Bakri Mohammed calling for violent jihad against the Pope here.

As soon as I saw this picture of yesterday's protests....

....I knew that it was the same group that organized the anti-cartoon jihad in London. And it was Bakri Mohammed's followers who organized it and put out the call to....

UPDATE: Not surprised:

A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.

Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment". Choudary's appeal for the death of Pope Benedict was the second time he has been linked with apparent incitement to murder within a year....

The 39-year-old lawyer organised demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in February in Denmark. Protesters carried placards declaring "Behead Those Who Insult Islam"....

"Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment."

He added: "I am here have a peaceful demonstration. But there may be people in Italy or other parts of the world who would carry that out .

FYI--Anjem Choudary is head of The Society of Muslim Lawyers, which you may recall was one of the groups that organized an event in Birmingham mocking the victims of the 7/7 London bombings. Who organized that event? Followers of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed.

Oh and Choudary was once the spokesperson for the now banned al Ghurabaa. So, under British law you cannot belong to al Ghurabaa since it has been banned, but its members can keep on doing and saying the exact same things?

Update via one of Allah's many links...and thanks to Michelle Malkin for the linky-love.

Update: Forgot to mention it was Slapstick Politics where the Allah's link took me. They have more on Choudary.

UPDATE: Video: Pipes on Muslims and the Pope. Expect more violence.

British Muslims threaten the Pope, British blogger captures images of it after mass yesterday at Westminster Cathederal.

I just love the "Jesus will rise the sword of Islam" quote. It just has that all your messiahs are belong to us feel to it.

I'd bet 100 bucks that it was followers of Omar Bakri Mohammed who organized this.

Joee reports that the Islamists were chanting "Pope Benedict you will pay, the Mujhidin are coming your way" and "Pope Benedict watch your back". Definitely has that al Mujahiroun feel to it.

UPDATE: Confirmed. Bakri Mohammed followers organized protest calling for Pope's execution.

Charles Johnson has the video here.

One more picture. It's something to think about.

Go check out Joee's Blog for more, including one image which reads "Jesus is the slave of Allah."

Via Hyscience who got it from Dan Riehl, both of whom have interesting commentary.

Definitely don't miss Michelle's roundup of it here and the video version here. Don't piss off those Muslims, esse. Those guys are loco.

UPDATE: Apparantly it was the other members of the Pentavarite (think the ghost of the Colonel) who used their sock-puppet to disparage the religion of peace.

UPDATE: Video: Pipes on Muslims and the Pope. Expect more violence.

Bluto's first Youtube movie. It's got a good beat, and you can dance on Zarqawi's grave to it.

Once more we have hard nipples er I mean hard hitting commentary about the Pope converting to Islam or something. I dunno.

Putzboy : Howie, see if I try to educate you ignorant bastards again!

Ah the glory of Allah and his mujahidin in the Associated Press! Bilal Hussein, an AP reporter who help get his organization the Pulitzer, has been detained by the U.S.--for five months. This is the guy who has a close working relationship with al Qaeda in Iraq.

That's right, al Qaeda. If the AP employs a guy who has access to al Qaeda, isn't there some sort of affirmative duty to report those contacts to the Iraqi government? And by not sharing that information does that not make the AP culpable in the deaths of thousands of Iraqis murdered by al Qaeda in Iraq?

And since al Qaeda in Iraq has also murdered foreigners, including Americans, it seems like the families of victims here might have legal recourse in U.S. courts.

We've been covering this for a long time now. Please see our Bilal Hussein archives for a complete history.

Michelle Malkin e-mails about the latest Bilal Hussein news. AP:

The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing...

The military said Hussein was captured with two insurgents, including Hamid Hamad Motib, an alleged leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. "He has close relationships with persons known to be responsible for kidnappings, smuggling, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and other attacks on coalition forces," according to a May 7 e-mail from U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jack Gardner, who oversees all coalition detainees in Iraq.

"The information available establishes that he has relationships with insurgents and is afforded access to insurgent activities outside the normal scope afforded to journalists conducting legitimate activities," Gardner wrote to AP International Editor John Daniszewski.

And thanks to Michelle for e-mailing...it does wonders for the ego.

UPDATE: And to Jim who also has more.

Two Islamic Militant Groups The Mujahdeen Shura Council and , Ansar al-Sunnah have declared open war on Christians. First they insult Christians by describing them as, “cross worshippers.” This is an accusation of idolatry.

Times Online UK:Today an internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq’s branch of al Qaeda, threatened reprisals against "worshippers of the cross" for the Pope's remarks.

"We shall break the cross and spill the wine. ... (you will have no choice but) Islam or death," said the statement, citing a hadith (saying of the Prophet Mohammed) promising Muslims that they would "conquer Rome... as they conquered Constantinople".

"We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya. God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the Mujahideen."

As usual with such statements, the authenticity could not be verified. It was posted on an internet site often used by al-Qaeda and other militant groups. It continued: "The Pope in the Vatican turns in the orbit of Bush. His remarks form part of the mobilisation for a crusade announced by Bush, to raise the morale of the crusader armies."

Two other armed groups in Iraq, Jaish al-Mujahedeen (the Mujahedeen’s Army) and Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya (League of Jihadists in Iraq), have already threatened the Vatican with reprisals in statements posted on Islamist internet websites.

Another militant group in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, today also vowed to fight Christians in retaliation.

"You will only see our swords until you go back to God’s true faith Islam," it said in a separate statement, which called the Pope "Satan’s hellhound in the Vatican", saying he was "proud today of his hatred towards Muslims".

"The day is coming when the armies of Islam will destroy the ramparts of Rome," it added in the statement addressed to "Crusaders".

Islamic rulers in the past have forced Jews to wear small cows around their neck to remind them of the Golden Calf episode from the Old Testament. However it appears they did not learn the lesson very well as they are still bowing to a giant cube in the center of Mecca. It’s not that shape of the idol that matters.

I'm also offended by the claim I read the other day that if Jesus returned tomorrow he would be a Muslim. I can think of nothing more Anti-Christ than Muhammad's teachings. I find it an insult to Jesus.

Of course the followers of the religion of peace do have one solution to my faith. Kill me.

I have some material saved up. Stay tuned I'll be going for a Fatwa.

Via Stan the Infidel comes this news of an Australian Archbishop who says what we're all thinking.

News.com.au:

"The violent reactions in many parts of the Islamic world justified one of Pope Benedict's main fears," Cardinal Pell said in a statement.

"They showed the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats and actual violence.

"Our major priority must be to maintain peace and harmony within the Australian community, but no lasting achievements can be grounded in fantasies and evasions."...

"It is always someone else's fault and issues touching on the nature of Islam are ignored.

From John at WuzzaDem, of course.

I'm not ready to blame YouTube just yet. A few videos I flagged over the last couple of days have disappeared. But, videos like this remain.

I also don't know how to stop YouTube, an American company, from allowing these videos. Boycott? YouTube is worldwide, a blogger uprising will have the same effect that the current boycott on Google is having.

I guess that the best I can do is ask that if you're surfing around YouTube, take a moment to search for terms like "jihad," "kafir," and the like and flag jihadi videos if you find them.

It's probably just wishful thinking, but, maybe, just maybe, YouTube is sharing what they know about the Islamotards posting this crap with the proper authorities.

September 17, 2006

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Becoming the most notable Democratic Party financial supporter: $$billions$$

Unsuccessfully trying to influence American elections: $$billions$$

Comparing the Bush administration to Nazis on CNN: Your immortal soul.

Having a filthy, stoned out hippy be the first to publicly embrace your cause: Priceless.

September 16, 2006

You win this round, Rusty, but they come to our house next year.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

NYT Teaches Reporters How to Flout Law

The Fitzpatrick Plame investigation has spurred the New York Times into examining how their reporters conduct themselves. Apparently, the Gray Lady wants her staff to act more like terrorists and drug dealers. Reporters are being told to delete emails, destroy notes, and use disposable cell phones in order to stymie future investigations.

From the New York Observer:

Mr. Barstow [NYT investigative reporter] said he suggests disposing of story drafts and cutting back on telephone and e-mail contact with sources—or using disposable cell phones for important calls. Reporters should be wary of meeting sources at their offices, Mr. Barstow said, so as to avoid sign-in sheets and security cameras.

In another point of conflict between bureaucracy and confidentiality, Mr. Barstow said he has recommended altering Times expense-sheet forms so that a reporter does not have to list the names of sources who have been taken out for lunch or dinner.

And what about the original paper trail that reporters create for themselves? The very first discussion question on Mr. Keller’s memo promoting the seminar was “Should a reporter keep his notes?”

From The Conservative Voice via Ace of Spades.

According to the latest line from the handicappers in Las Vegas, USC is laying 17 points to Nebraska. The over/under is 56. Take the points with Nebraska for a sure win. Game time is 8 pm EDT.

However, USC is sorely distracted by the Reggie Bush allegations so the door is open for a Husker surprise. Final score: Nebraska 28, USC 27.

For the sake of full disclosure, I'm originally from Nebraska. A bias is conceivable. Go Big Red!

[Update]

Oops!

USC 28 - Nebraska 10

Reason number 2,084 to respect Pope Benedict XVI:

In a speech Tuesday, Pope Benedict quoted Byzantine emperor Manuel II:

Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

Demands that the Pope apologize followed, and I was dismayed at this morning's headlines that suggested that the Pope capitulated. But read these stories closely, as they all essentially report the same thing:

Pope Benedict XVI "sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful ..."

Given Pope John Paul II's propensity to chastise America over any use of its power while saying nothing to the totalitarian leaders of the East (and later Middle East), Benedict's remarks and his apparent resolve are quite refreshing.

SHOCKING UPDATE:

AP: Five Churches Attacked

Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, following remarks by Pope Benedict that angered many Muslims.

In any event when The Jawa Report had just two readers, Chaos was one of them--only he went by the name Leopold Stotch back then I think. The other one was Bill Dauterieve who recently became a Jawa author. But not Stotch. Noooo, Stotch thinks he's too good for that.

I got news for you Stotch, you're right down here in the sewer with the rest of us. If you won't write for us, then we'll just steal your schtick and post it.

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Buddhist teachers arming themselves against Muslim mobs. Religion of Peace and all that.

CNN:

Teachers have one of the deadliest jobs in southern Thailand, with 44 killed by the bombs and bullets of an Islamic insurgency since 2004.

So the teachers are learning how to shoot back.

The Chulabhorn naval base, on the Gulf of Thailand in Narathiwat province, opened its heavily guarded gates on a recent weekend to a training course for 100 public school teachers, mostly Buddhist men and women who say bringing a gun to school has become essential.

"You'd never see a teacher anywhere else in Thailand carrying a gun," said Sanguan Jintarat, head of the Teachers' Association that oversees the 15,000 teachers in the villages and towns of the restive south. "But, we need them, or we'll die."

That teachers -- not to mention Buddhist monks, bank tellers and motorcycle mechanics -- have become targets in the insurgency illustrates how badly law and order has degenerated in southern Thailand since the violence flared in January 2004.

At first insurgents targeted mainly civil servants, soldiers and police officers. Attacks then spread to businesses that serve soldiers: restaurants, outdoor markets, garages. And now come attacks that seem to have no rationale at all, such as the murder last month of an elephant trainer who was shot seven times by gunmen who had lined up with children to buy tickets for a show.

More than 1,700 people have been killed across Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat -- the only Muslim-majority provinces in this otherwise peaceful, tourist-friendly Buddhist country.

Among them was a teacher gunned down at his blackboard in July as his 4th graders watched in shock, and a Buddhist art teacher clubbed by a village mob in May until her skull shattered.

UPDATE: ROP strikes again in Thailand.

Click the abve image to see a much larger view at Grouchy Old Cripple's place. Who I've met and who is, indeed, grouchy, old, and a cripple.

Perhaps traitor is too extreme of a word. Oh, wait, what else do you call a sitting U.S. Senator that travels the world warning our enemies of our nefarious plots against them?

Traitors, indeed.

Gateway Pundit has found a video of Adnan Shukrijumah. As we have previously reported, Shukrijumah is wanted by the FBI as part of an al Qaeda plot to detonate a dirty bomb in the U.S. A Jawa reader also informed us yesterday that she believes she saw the al Qaeda dirty bomber recently in Austin Texas.

Go check it out and keep your eyes peeled.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

They can get their hair styled and wear business suits. They can sit in a modern TV studio and mimic the back-and-forth of American Sunday morning news shows. They can even bamboozle the Western media into spreading their propaganda for them.

But they can't hide the bloodlust of their barbaric nature.

Michelle has posted a pic that's making the rounds in the Muslim world:

I've no idea what the chicken scratchings say. I'm sure it's something lovely, likely something about him being a "crusader" and coming around to eat Muslim babies.

Is it just me, or is this the sh!ttI@$t-quality propaganda ever? WTF??? Did that last raid kill off all your good artists? No room in the al-Qaeda budget for Photoshop? Scared the FBI's gonna come by and check Osama's hard drive for pirate software? I wonder what Maddox would have to say about this level of work.

September 15, 2006

Who needs the comment section?

The outcome isn't in doubt. The only question is how much did this year's USC running back cost?

An eight-month probe uncovers evidence that Reggie Bush and his family appear to have accepted improper benefits from prospective agents while at USC.

Tomorrow's headlines today. Only at The Jawa Report.

Reader poll: How bad will USC beat Nebraska tomorrow? Leave your answer in the 'new comment thingy' below. Unless you're Vinnie. In which case you better stop wasting time commenting and begin drinking immediately. It's gonna take more than a little buzz to get through tomorrow's ass pounding.

Update: Allahpundit has the video trailer posted here.

Take away the plot to kill Bush and the advertisement that it's part of the "school of terror", and it's actually a decent video game. The game is called The Night of Bush Capturing and is basically a modified version of the old Quest for Saddam game.

The Global Islamic Media Front is a propaganda outlet for al Qaeda 3.0 and other wannabes.

I would describe it as Doom for the the Salafist jihadi generation. In addition to fighting George Bush and Tony Blair, the user also fights the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. The al Qaeda 3.0 jihadis have no love for the Shia.

Here is how SITE describes it:

The game... features six-levels, culminating in a gun battle with a character representing U.S. President George W. Bush. Each of these stages, given titles such as: “Jihad beginning,” “American’s Hell,” “Searching for Bush,” and “Bush hunted like a rat,” contain a Mujahid with several weapons traveling around a U.S. forces’ camp, which is covered with pictures of Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. War nasheeds, jihadist songs, play in the background of each level. Upon completion of the game, “Takbir Allahu Akbar” is shouted.

....According to the advertisement, the game was distributed for “terrorist children”.

Related question: Will Tipper Gore be outraged?

A Jawa Report reader e-mailed us about a possible sighting of Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, a man wanted by the FBI in connection with a plot to detonate a dirty bomb in the United States. A few days ago we ran a story about reports of an imminent attack by Adnan G. El Shukrijumah (aka, Adnan Al-Shukri Jumaa).

The reader, who some of you have met in the comments section before, also commented about it over at Ace of Spades HQ. Ace has those comments reprinted here. She has spoken with the FBI.

UPDATE: The reader has actually fed us original stories before---that is, like many of you, she is a 'source' we have used in the past. I don't want to say who it is without her permission, but I will say that she is believable in my book. At the very least she did see someone who looked like the suspect.

I cannot verify the veracity of the claims, but here is some of the e-mail she sent to us:

He came to my community looking for a house to rent earlier this year!

He was very nervous and when I asked for an ID, he showed me a Mexican Consular ID! He refused to fill out a visitor's card. I went to make a copy of it and he took it back from me. Took it from my hand. Most apartment complexes require a copy of ID to show an apartment.

I deal with quite a few Hispanics and this guy was NOT hispanic. The skin coloring was wrong, the nose was too big (hispanics have a tendency to have flatter noses and facial structures) and the main thing: this guy spoke PERFECT English!

Almost everyone that I have dealt with that comes in with consular IDs require an interpreter! He followed me to a house (Don't recall what he was driving), I showed him inside the home, but he did not seem interested in the house.

Instead, he walked the perimiter to see how close the neighboring homes were, checked to see if you could hear anything from inside the home from outside in the yard. He refused to come back to the office to get an application, got in his vehicle and left.

Just very odd! It stuck in my mind because it was such a strange encounter. My assistant AND my daughter were in the office when he came in initially. They both recognized the picture, without my prompting (I had them look at it to be certain). (I sent the photo to my assistant late last night, with no other information. She had no idea what it was. First thing she said this morning was: That picture, wasn't that the weird guy that came in early this year?)

I called the FBI today and reported it. They kept going returning to question as to whether I was sure it was a consular ID. I am familiar with them because my company requires a valid STATE ID, the consular ID is not considered valid identification. They concurred that is was most likely the guy they were looking for.

WOW!

I debated all night with myself as to whether or not to call.

In property management, some of the residents want to treat me like I am their mommy. They come to me with vague complaints or suspicions, whining about how "you (meaning me) should do something".

The first thing I ask is: have you called the authorities? I then tell them: If you have NOT spoken to the authorities about this, DO NOT come to me - I cannot, as manager, report a crime or suspicious activity that I did not witness myself. I am not a law enforcement officer!

THAT helped me decide to call the FBI.

I have to hold myself to the same standards that I expect others to follow! We cannot put our heads in the sand and hope that someone else calls!

When I finally made the call, I was as nervous as a cat trying to cover up crap on concrete!

Will be interesting to see if the FBI contacts me again!

I have to say that I am STILL freaked about this.

Just a couple of years ago, a guy was arrested here in Austin, taking video of the Capitol, Mansfield Dam, University of Texas, etc. (possible targets) that was supposed to have ties to terrorism.

This has absolutely blown my mind!

Will keep you informed...

The probability of it turning out to be Adnan G. El Shukrijumah is low, but the risk associated with that probability is about as high as it goes. Better safe than sorry.

Let's hope it turns out to be just 'some Puerto Rican' (South Park inside joke). But I do know that the e-mailer was serious and that this is not a joke, as Allah thinks it might be.

UPDATE: Geraghty has this analysis up at NRO. I'll remind readers that we have been hearing persistant rumors about Adnan G. El Shukrijumah being in the U.S. since 2003. So, as Jim says, keep your eyes peeled and report anything to the FBI. Better to be safe than sorry

Pope Benedict really put his foot in his mouth by reading quotes from a 14th century Byzantine Emperor. These quotes reflected the Emperor's analysis if Islam. Hint: He wasn't too impressed. Hint 2: They spread their faith through steel and blood.

Fox News has the story.

So now there are protests all over the Islamic world, you know, places like Britain and India. Next thing you know, they will protest the Pope for stating that Jesus is the Son of God, a blasphemy in the view of Muslim scholars.

This could have been a golden opportunity for Muslims to refute the undeserved stereotypes that the Western media has foisted on them. I mean, spreading faith through the sword? That's ridiculous. Was it by the sword that Islam spread to such diverse places as Jerusalem, Persia, Pakistan, and...

What? It was.

Well, so did Christianity. And they learned to overcome that misinterpretation of their own religion. So I am sure that the Muslims have developed a modern, moderate, tolerant, diverse brand of religious ideology that plays well with the other religions of the...

What? Really? They didn't?

Well, I am sure the Byzantine Emperor's face was covered in egg when he realized that his biased and misinformed understanding of Islam was so far from the truth. I mean, it's not like any Muslims ever attacked the Byzan....

What? I see.

Sorry Muslims, I did all I could to protect your good names. Guess the rest of the work is up to you.

UPDATE by Rusty: Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?---the Turkish version of Becket?

This is a picture of Muslims burning the Pope in effigy after he quoted a previous pope on the violent history of Islam:

There was no caption to this pic, but it looks like the same theme:

If you're Catholic, please remember not to be offended that the Muslims are burning your Holy Father in effigy. Being offended at such a thing would be terribly unenlightened of you. Besides, years ago some European Catholics did a lot of impolite, medieval things to some Muslims--including stealing Andalusia. Under Muslim rules, this entitles all Muslims to hate all Catholics (and all Europeans) forever--or at least as long as there ARE any Catholics or Europeans.

(Wazirabad, India) A force of 125 female Indian police officers is preparing to deploy to Liberia as UN peacekeepers to assist in the nation's recovery from years of civil war.. The women are aged 25 to 30 and attached to India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

According to battalion commander Sunita Dhundia, her tanned and toned physique glistening in the sun-drenched drill field,

"We're prepared to take casualties. My girls know the hazards of the call of duty -- they have to do it, they're soldiers."

I think it warrants noting that the UN also seems to have finally figured out how to solve the problem of male peacekeepers committing rampant rape, as is occurring in the Congo and elsewhere. Just send people less prone to be rapists, such as women.

Tactically, it's ground-breaking and innovative, however, the success of sending an all-female peacekeeping force remains to be seen. I'll pray for their safety and success.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

The Austrians are very busy dealing with critical and pressing issues:

(AP) - Organizers of a campaign trying to clear Vienna's streets of dog droppings are urging residents to record how many droppings they see in the space of five minutes and report the figure as part of an impromptu census.

Reality is often stranger than fiction.

Oriana Fllaci has died. A hero devoted to upholding the values of Western Civilization. A voice of warning in Europe's wilderness.

We hope Europe will wake up, but doubt it.

WaPo:

Veteran journalist and writer Oriana Fallaci, a former war correspondent best known for her abrasive interviews and provocative stances, has died, Italian news reports said Friday. She was 76....

Fallaci, a former Resistance fighter and war corespondent who was hardly seen in public, had lived in New York for years....

Her recent publications _ including the best-selling book "The Rage and The Pride," which came out weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 _ drew accusations of inciting hatred against Muslims.

She will be missed. Hat tip: Tom

Appeasement gets you everywhere:

PARIS - Al-Qaida has for the first time announced a union with an Algerian insurgent group that has designated France as an enemy, saying they will act together against French and American interests.

They should look on the bright side. When the Eiffel Tower falls like the WTC did, the Palestinians will weep in sorrow, rather than dance with joy.

1. We're unapologetic geeks.

2. Everyone needs a break from beheading videos from time to time.

Hit the play button to learn reason #3.

3. I'm evil, and that song is now stuck in your head...

...AGAIN!!!!!

Muahahahaha.

September 14, 2006

An artist's conception of resident conspiracist Truther troll Greg.

stein hoist: Cox & Forkum

Only they can save Dog the bounty hunter now...

Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find... The Three Amigos!

Sorry Bill, I..... just couldn't resist

If you have watched the show "Dog the Bounty Hunter", you know that Duane Chapman is a hard edged bounty hunter with a heart of gold. He is gruff and action oriented, but demonstrates a Christian love towards those he captures. He understands that people make mistakes and have to face the consequences of their actions. He is one of the good guys.

A few years ago, he captured a rich American serial rapist that hid away in Mexico. That is a good thing. However, bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico (watch out Yule Brenner). So, The Dog ended up in jail for his effort to bring an American a-hole to justice. He posted bail and promptly came home.

Now the Mexican authorities want him back to face charges for his illegal actions. WTF? He did nothing to their citizens and had no intention of ever going back. Ever. But a US Federal judge signed the warrant for his arrest and they are in the process of beginning the extradition process to send him to Mexico.

Again. WTF?

How about a federal judge spend time working on extraditing illegal aliens from the US back to Mexico. The US judge argues that he is just enforcing treay obligations. So, we have a treaty that sends American good guys who capture American bad guys to face prison time in Mexican prisons, but no agreement for Mexico to help gather their wayward citizens illegally in this country.

I could go on and on, but, come on, WTF?!?

Radical Islam's shiny-happy face to America, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has given us its list of Congressdhimmis who support their 'interests'.

Wow, the fifth column named! This is a lot like Sen. Joseph McCarthy's infamous list. Only this time ithe list is real and the Commies did Joe a favor by publishing it themselves.

Among those that scored 100% on CAIR's list is the next Speaker of the House should the Democrats win: Nancy Pelosi.

Why does The Manchurian Candidate--the good one...the one directed by John Frankenheimer--suddenly come to mind?

Go check out the other traitors here.

UPDATE: Not so fast.

The All-Seeing Pirate Ragnar notes in the comments that all the Congressdhimmis got a 100% rating and the rest got a 0% rating. Which probably indicates that the rating is based on a single vote.

If that is the case, the rating system is pretty worthless. A scale cannot be based on a dichotomous choice. If you voted for whatever it was the CAIR was for, you got 100%, if you voted against it nada.

So, the rating system is flawed and borderline meaningless. Not entirely meaningless, just borderline so.

What CAIR really wants to say, if we are right, is that "these people voted once the way we thought they should." But that one time must have been a whopper.

It seems to be a single vote from 2005. What was the vote that CAIR was so passionate about?

UPDATE part deux: Rob tells me that he's contacted Vote Smart about it. They are going to try to get back to him tonight. Check his post out for updates on that.

Update: Turkish hostage Yildram Tek murdered by Iraqi terrorists.
------------------------

In July a group calling itself the Lions of Justice (sometimes rendered Lions of Truth or Lions of Righteousness) Brigade kidnapped a Turkish man named Yeldram Tek. A video of Tek was released in late September in which the unknown group demanded that Turkey close down the company which Tek works for and which it claims has contracts with the Coalition in the South of Iraq.

Yesterday, the group released a new video making the same demands. This time the terrorists threatened to murder Yeldram Tek if the company was not closed. Tek, who is from Istanbul, was given 72 hours in the ultimatum.

The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video released on an Islamist bulletin board. Click the image to the right for larger view.

Tek is shown wearing an Orange jumpsuit, reminiscent of the clothes which hostages in Iraq are often forced to where as a visual linking to Abu Ghraib. He is strapped to a chair and a guard holds an AK-47 to his head as he pleads for his government to meet the demands for his life.

While the video is visually akin to the many Sunni Salafi hostage videos of the past, Tek is said to have worked in Samawa, which is a mainly Shia area. Are they Sunni or Shia? Another difference is the low quality of the tape--you can even see the battery level of the camcorder. In the past years these videos have become increasingly sophisticated and usually include a nasheed (or Islamic song), a branding stamp, and several edited portions.

More of Michael Moore's 'minutemen' at work in Iraq. We pray for his immediate and unconditional release.

Jihad Watch has the AP story.

A deputy prime minister of Iraq is challenging a Senate report which claims there was no link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. As you read Barham Salih's account of how jihadi operatives of Ansar al Islam tried to murder him, keep in mind a few things.

Ansar al Islam was a Salafi Kurdish jihad organization. While it had no love for the Hussein regime, it's main target were the secularist who have dominated Kurdish Iraq for years.

Many leading Ansar al Islam operatives were known to have received training at al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. They were also heavily funded by bin Laden's network. Among them is a name you might recognize. A name we at the Jawa Report were following long before the world was aware of him: Abu Musab al Zarqawi.

After the liberation of Kurdistan from Saddam, the two main secular parties and their Peshmerga fighters effectively stamped out Ansar al Islam. Abu Musab al Zarqawi fled Kurdistan with a band of Arabs and founded a new terror organization called al Tawhid wal Jihad---where he first began beheading infidels. The Kurds who fled formed a group called The Army of Ansar al Sunnah--the same group which just posted a gruesome video of three Iraqi National Guardsman being beheaded.

Later, he renamed the group al Qaeda in Iraq and pledged loyalty to Osama bin Laden.

But before he and the other Ansar al Islam terrorists officially pledged loyalty to bin Laden, they had been trained by al Qaeda and shared exactly the same goals. There is no mystery here that the groups were allied.

NY Sun:

In a speech in which he challenged the belief of war critics that Iraqis' lives are now worse than under Saddam Hussein, Barham Salih said, "The alliance between the Baathists and jihadists which sustains Al Qaeda in Iraq is not new, contrary to what you may have been told." He went on to say, "I know this at first hand. Some of my friends were murdered by jihadists, by Al Qaeda-affiliated operatives who had been sheltered and assisted by Saddam's regime."

A Kurdish politician who took his high school exams from inside a Baathist prison, Mr. Salih said he was the target of the alliance between jihadists, Baathists, and Al Qaeda in 2001, when a group known as Ansar al-Islam tried to assassinate him. In 2002, envoys of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two Kurdish parties sharing sovereignty over northern Iraq between the two Iraq wars, presented the CIA with evidence that the organization that tried to kill Mr. Salih had been in part funded and directed by Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard....

he added, "There were links between Ansar al-Islam and Al Qaeda. The information at time [in 2002] was quite different. Now, we could not prove this in a court of law, but this is intelligence."... The DIA concludes that Ansar al-Islam "receives assistance" from Al Qaeda but is not a branch of the terrorist organization.

John from Powerline adds:

There is no doubt that Ansar al Islam was a dangerous terrorist group; among its activities was the production of ricin to be used in terrorist acts in Europe. The left's conventional defense of Ansar al Islam is that it was located in the northern part of Iraq, and therefore under the presumed dominion of the Kurds. But so what? They were in Iraq, and Saddam not only tolerated but supported them. The Kurds had no ability to drive them out. The idea that Saddam is insulated from al Qaeda because Ansar was only supported by al Qaeda, but was not a "branch" of al Qaeda, is the kind of silliness liberals engage in on this issue. Ansar was a terrorist Islamic group, and Saddam both harbored and supported them.

Likewise with the claim that Saddam had no idea that Zarqawi was inside Iraq for over a year before the Iraq war began, conducting terrorist operations from Iraqi soil. I think that claim is highly unlikely, and that Saddam, at a minimum, tolerated Zarqawi and the other al Qaeda refugees from Afghanistan because of their shared goals. But again, what is the point? Zarqawi organized and carried out, from Iraq, the assassination of American diplomat Laurence Foley, in Jordan, in December 2002. So again, there is no question Saddam's government harbored terrorists who carried out terrorist acts against the United States from Iraqi soil.

After seeing this pic of Chairman Mao as a member of KISS over at Simon World, I couldn't help but wonder whether it was good, bad, or just plain ugly?

The GWOT? Good, bad, and ugly.

The good.

Hezbollah lost?

Telegraph via Kate at Small Dead Animals:

Nato forces claimed last night to be on the verge of achieving their first major success against the Taliban since the launch of their campaign to pacify southern Afghanistan.

The militia's fighters were reported to be scrambling to escape from an operation to crush them inside a corridor bounded by a road and a river west of the strategically vital city of Kandahar.

BIONIC. FREAKING. ARMS. Via Naked Villany. Next stop: Shark-laser hybrids!

Another sentencing in the Bali bombing....wants to kill again after he serves his 15 year sentence. Allahu akhbar!

The bad.

Opinion Bug: Army whistleblower in Iraqi civilian rape/murder case receiving threats.

Another day in the life of the ROP. Misunderstanderers attack Catholic school in Kashmir.

What is a day in Dar al Islam without a beheading? Journalist found beheaded in Kashmir.

ACLU wins right not to sign "I am not a terrorist pledge".

The ugly.

Arianna Huffington: Big deal if the Kurds are free from genocide!

French journalists being sued for defamation over questioning the veracity of claims my French TV that Israeli soldiers killed a child named Mohammed al-Dura. The death started the Second Intifada. Fweedom of speech in Fwance.

Ugliest of them all? You don't want to see it.

No, I'm serious.

Turn back now.

Avert your eyes!

I warned you, didn't I? Click the image above. I promise less of Rosie and more of Michelle and Mary Katherine. Call it a palette cleansing.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

From MSNBC:

U.S. military officials tell NBC News they had “high-level” Taliban fighters in their gunsights during a July reconnaissance flight but decided not to fire. The decision to pass on the target angered some in the military, but commanders say they have “no regrets.”

Because they knew that their most powerful enemy, the American mainstream media working in the best interests of the Democratic party, would seize on the opportunity to attack them.

Here's what the headlines would have been like had the Army wiped out what they suspected were Taliban troops and leaders:
Drone Attacks Mourners at Funeral
Muslims Protest Desecration of Funeral Service
Senators Murtha and Durbin Demand Investigation Into Authorization of Funeral Attack

You don't believe it? Here's a story that followed a successful missile strike in Pakistan, again from MSNBC:

Pakistan Islamic groups decry U.S. after strike

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Islamic groups vowed Monday to keep up their anti-American protests over a purported CIA airstrike that Pakistan says killed innocent civilians instead of the apparent target — al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader.

Of course the locals sheltering the militants claimed that everyone was innocent; other reports even included this photo of an inert shell, describing it as part of the missile:

Not only does the military have to face a determined enemy on the battlefield, they have to watch their backs against the enemy within.

I posted this in August when the cease-fire began to take effect (in agreement with this excellent Tigerhawk post.) There was initially a flurry of depression from the right that Israel had lost in the world's eyes, even if it had strategically and tactically decimated Hezbullah's capabilities in Lebanon. I also caught some flak at the Jawa Report for advancing this notion.

Well, the smoke has had time to clear, and Hezbullah is now being percieved by many Arabs as the real loser.

Don't get me wrong. I deep down wish Israel was able to completey take off the gloves and pound those militant Iranian/Syrian-supported savages into the desert sands once and for all, as well as send a cruise missle or 700 into Assad's house and Akhmadinnerplate's offices. This desire for total WWII-style domination, however, shouldn't have distracted from the real physical damage Israel had done to Hezbullah's capabilities and resources in the Litani region (and the lack of real physical damage Hezbullah had done to Israeli infastructure or capability).

Propaganda is wonderful, but as we saw in Reutersgate, much of the 'victory for Hezbullah' was media-fueled smoke and mirrors from start to end. And the winds of time more often than not will blow the smoke away.

ht: Captain's Quarters
Cross-posted at Mein BlogoVault.

Here is the original source Video Hisb Allah claimed was their attack on an Israeli Ship. Via A Train Wreck in Maxwell.

Hisb,allah was busted for this fakery by Andrew Bolt of the Herald sun. See our post here. This was part of the recent uproar over the use of fake, staged and altered photos from Lebanon. See our post here. The result was the firing of reuters stringer Adnan Hajj and the inspiration for such great videos as this one and this one too.

Downright batshit crazy, I tell ya.

Oops, I meant to say batsh*t.

September 13, 2006

Ah, I already feel much better. For my sanity and to the insane in the comments section who want to kill Arabs. Meet Fawzeya Mohamed, Ms. Egypt. An Arab and a Muslim. The kind of Muslim I like. The naughty kind.

The Army of Ansar al Sunna, part of the Sunni 'resistance', has released a gruesome video showing the beheading murders of three Iraqi National Guardsmen. WARNING: Graphic images from the video are posted below.

While the mainstream media will show you images of dead children killed in Lebanon, they will not show you these images. Why is that? Why is it okay to incite people against Israel through images of dead children but similar images are deemed too offensive if they might incite people to react against the terrorists we are fighting in Iraq? This is more than hypocrisy.

This jihadi propaganda snuff film is like many beheading videos released by terrorists in Iraq. It introduces us to the 'apostates' who are forced to confess, and then cuts to a scene of the three being murdered. It's disgusting and gruesome.

The three are alive as their heads are slowly cut off with a knife. Their terrorists captors--or 'freedom fighters' if you are Michael Moore--scream Allahu Akhbar (God is Great) as they murder the victims then proudly display the decapitated bodies.

Beheading videos were once a mainstay of jihadi propaganda from Iraq. However, in the last year we have seen less of these gruesome snuff videos--presumably because they did not help the terrorists in their effort to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis. The last video of hostages being murdered by jihadis was from al Qaeda beheading several Russian diplomats--but even al Qaeda edited out the actual murder, showing only its after effects.

The return of videos of beheaded hostages may mark a turning point in the war in Iraq. A negative turning point. As the Commissar has been pointing out over and over lately, the 'resistance' forces in Anbar have been successful in using force and coersion to undermine efforts at stabilizing the region. Certainly beheading videos send a message of fear to those who wish to see the democratic government succeed.

The video is different, though, than other beheading videos of the past. It has a much higher production value to it with many more edits. It juxtaposes the murder of the three National Guardsman with images and allegations of Sunnis being killed by the Shia dominated government and links the hostages to the American 'crusaders'. The three are accused of being part of a Shia 'death squad'.

Like other beheading videos, the victims are pronounced guilty of 'apostasy' under sharia or Islamic law. Apostasy is considered a capital offense under traditional Islamic law. Then they are killed.

We have posted some very disturbing and graphic images below. But the images pale compared to the gruesome video in which the victims can be heard dying while the murderers yell God is great.

We show you these images because we want you to see the true face of our enemies. They are not 'freedom fighters' as some suggest. They are cold-blooded murderers who wish to gain power in Iraq turning it into a Taliban-like state where apostates are murdered--like they are in this video--but backed by the force of the state.

This is who we are fighting in Iraq. Behold the face of our enemies.

WARNING: Graphic, gruesome, and disgusting images from the video are posted below.

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SCROLL DOWN FOR GRAPHIC IMAGES: WARNING, DO NOT PROCEED IF UNDER 18 OR IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE THE HORROR OF THE IRAQI 'RESISTANCE' AS IT REALLY IS.

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LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK

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According to Michelle, "all proceeds will be donated to the Families of Freedom scholarship fund for children and spouses of those murdered on September 11."

Do you remember Jay's rap from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back? Just the first two lines of it.

Yeah, that's how I'm feeling right now about the war on radical Islam.

First, there are our allies. Check, out this analysis of the present state of Pakistan. Hint: it aint good. For every hot Pakistani bikini model it looks like there are hundreds of crazies willing to kill her and it isn't getting better, it's getting worse.

Second, there are the don't-question-our-patriotism liberals in the academy. Okay, so its not alright for me to question the aesthetics of bad-gay homosexuality but it is okay for the former President of Iran to call it a crime punishable by death? All in the name of what? Starting a dialogue. I feel dirty being part of this profession today. I mean, more dirty than usual.

Third are the idiot scholars and senior diplomats that the media often turn to for 'analysis'. I heard Zbigniew Brezezinski on the radio the other day talking about how there was no such thing as an ideological battle between the West and Islamist extremist. It's not so much that I blame Carter's National Security Advisor for being an idiot who doesn't know how to read al Qaeda's own statements as much as I blame the morons at NPR for giving him time to spread this lunacy.

NPR also ran a segment by an 'expert' who says that we should let Islamists take control of Muslim countries so that people will see that the adoption of Sharia is not the path to utopia. This is the let them come to power so they can fail approach. Which is fine, except this asshat of an expert failed to mention that Islamists have been in power in Afghanistan (Taliban) and failed, and are presently in power in Gaza, Sudan, Somalia, and Iran---all signs pointing toward no utopiayet--- yet Muslims all over the world continue to clamor for this self-imposed slavery! Nice theory asshole.

But I expect moderate Muslim countries to be in reality barbaric states with only a lukewarm commitment to helping us fight Islamist forces. I expect liberals in the academy to be idiotic f*cktards who jump on every opportunity to criticize the smallest mote in our own eyes while ignoring the beam in the eyes of our enemies. I expect the media to turn to so-called experts and senior diplomats who's expertise consists of nothing more than the worst foreign policy in American history and contrarian theories based on no evidence.

All this is par for the course. No big deal. Expected.

What is really putting me in a mood, though, is the notion that Republicans in Congress are now in a race to the bottom with the Democrats over who can be weakest against an enemy that wishes both parties nuked.

What are the first lines of Jay's rap again? Repeat those over and over again.

UPDATE: Double eff-eff-eff, mother-effing-eff.

Waking Holger, posting at my own blog home (Sammenhold), notes yet another disappointing demonstration, via NPR, of the immeasurable depths of leftist moral relativism:

Without any apparent moral reference Dr. [Howard] Zinn plodded through the tired 'analysis' of the GWOT, claiming that President Bush is no different than Osama. None. Even given the opportunity to re-state or clarify, simply added more emphasis that he believes there is no difference.

At one point, David Frum, former speechwriter to Bush Senior, and editor of National Review, among other things, was on the show to comment.

Dr. Zinn, demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of history or human nature, stated that all the problems of the world relating to terrorism are caused by the GWB war machine. All of them. If we simply stopped the fighting, all terrorism would stop. . . .

To which David Frum responded "Tell that to the Danes."

Thank you to the good folks at Bizland for taking down two websites belonging to the Islamic Army in Iraq.

And thank you Jawa readers for raising a stink about this. Sometimes it just takes a little noise to grab the attention of those in charge. Frankly, most customer service agents just aren't prepared to handle complaints about terrorist websites.

However, it would be nice if corporate America would do their jobs and police themselves rather than forcing us to do it for them.

(Stellarton, Nova Scotia) I noticed a provocative piece in today's Toronto Star which hints that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a very special personal relationship with Ottawa's most eligible bachelor, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

During a spring visit with Rice in Washington, MacKay, who turns 41 two weeks from today, had gushed that the two shared a "chemistry" and conceded he had always been a "fan."

MacKay steered clear of any such fawning talk yesterday. But it was obvious he was smitten with one of the world's most powerful women as they exchanged a handshake and double-cheek kiss. The feeling appeared mutual. Rice, who has never married, repeatedly called MacKay by his first name and seemed in no rush to finish up her morning agenda.

"This has been a lovely trip, Peter," she told him.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Oh my god so funny. Smoking Newports is bad gay. Having to bum them is even more bad gay.

Via Ace and LGF:As soon as we got up to ground level, 2 other dudes our age came over to us to bum a ciggerette(now that is an indication of their intelligence, you spell cigarette this way, Marlboro)…. … “ya’ll dont REALLY beleive terrorists brought those buildings down, DO YOU????” “Hell no dawgs, that’s why it says ‘INVESTIGATE’.” After realizing we were both citizens of Reality, we stood around and talked for a few minutes, smoked our Newports, then parted ways.

I was happy and wanted to smoke weed now, so me and my boy took a walk and found an empty alleyway to smoke in. Then when I was lighting up, my boy started freestyling and said “I hate to see how Trees heart’s gon’ be breakin/ cuz him and Alex parted ways before the picture was taken.”

Hat Tip : Larwyn again. Who wrote this? I suspect mommy's boy above other candidates below. Photo credit El Marco.

A couple of real winners here.

Newport boy again.

It always amazes me when some people become concerned or alarmed when the Pope says anything critical of another religion. It's almost as if they expect religious leaders to not really believe that they have the truth and that the other guys are wrong.

We'll see how much flack the Pope gets for this statement, even if he was quoting another source. NY Times:

He began his speech, which ran over half an hour, by quoting a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologus, in a conversation with a “learned Persian” on Christianity and Islam — “and the truth of both.”

“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread the sword by the faith he preached,” the pope quoted the emperor, in a speech to 1,500 students and faculty.

He went on to say that violent conversion to Islam was contrary to reason and thus “contrary to God’s nature.”

Several experts on the Catholic Church and Islam agreed that the speech — in which Benedict made clear he was quoting other sources on Islam — did not appear to be a major statement on, or condemnation of, Islam.

Still, they said that the strong words he used in describing Islam, even that of the 14th century, ran the risk of offense.

“Certainly he closes the door to an idea which was very dear to John Paul II — the idea that Christians, Jews and Muslims have the same God and have to pray together to the same God,” [Marco Politi, the Vatican expert for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica ] said.

At the end of that summer, he devoted an annual weekend of study with former graduate students to Islam. In that meeting, and since, he has reportedly expressed skepticism about Islam’s openness to change, given its view of the Koran as the unchangeable word of God.

Hat tip: Alex

See-Dubya is running a post this morning pointing out that an Iranian film claiming to show Iran’s capability to stop shipping in the Persian Gulf is actually a Chinese film of the Chinese military.

See Dubya via Junkyardblog: Oooh, don‘t mess with us, they threatened by implication. If America gets fresh, we can hit your oil tankers in the Straits of Hormuz from our subs and bring the world to a standstill.

But what they ran was actually Chinese footage of a Chinese submarine testing a Chinese missile in China.

Here is the orginal FOXNEWS report.

Exclusive footage of Iran's newest missile.

Dutch Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donne thinks it's okay to stone women to death if they've been caught in adultery. He also believes that the principle of democracy is so important that rape victims can be given the death penalty if they cannot produce four male witness as per the Quran.

Oh, and he's a member of the Christian Democratic Party. I'm sure Jebus would be proud.

This is the problem with the democracy-above-all-advocates. They would trade your liberty to the principle that the masses have the final say. Even if those masses wish to oppress themselves and you.

Myrtus:

He says: "I'm certain of one thing: if two thirds of all Dutch people would want to implement Sharia tomorrow, then this possibility should exist. Would it be possible to stop this legally? It would be scandalous to say: that's not allowed! The majority counts. That is the essence of democracy."

He made these statements in the book "Het land van haat en nijd" = The land of hate and malice, which is due to hit the bookshelves today.

Hat tip Larwyn who continues to feed me stories so fast I can hardly keep up!

UPDATE: Just to clarify, I've taken what Piet Hein Donne has said to the logical extreme--but it is the extreme. The point of this is not that Donne actually supports sharia, only that someone who takes the position that democracy is the end game, and not the means to an end, is in a problematic position.

Further, reader Danny from the Netherlands writes to clarify Donne's position. Apparently, his words have been taken out of context. The context in which Donne was writing, says Danny, is that democracy can be abused to reach evil ends (If I am reading Danny's letter correctly).

In other words, Donne is taking the exact opposite of the position that he is being reported as taking! He opposes sharia to the point that even if it was adopted through legal and demcratic means, it's still a bad deal. I can't imagine the media ever getting something like that wrong. Nope, never.

Good one from Jonah Goldberg....who is a J-O-O and thus must be part of the cover up. RCP:

The masons of dementia build upon a bedrock of one absolute truth: Bad things happen, and someone must be responsible. Upon this bedrock they pile convenient and selective facts like bricks. Contradictory facts are clever lies. When Popular Mechanics debunked 9/11 hokum, the immediate response from conspiratorialists was "cover-up!" and "CIA front!" because in this perverted faith, denying the ultimate truth must be proof of a lie.

This rough beast slouches toward sedition because it assumes not that our leaders are knaves or even mere criminals, but that they are murderous Supermen with no loyalty to nation, decency or law. Our Constitution is a fraud, a charade for the rubes some of us naively call citizens. If you disagree, you're either fool or "in on it." In his 1964 essay, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," Richard Hofstadter demonstrated that this fever of the mind is as old as America itself and its outbreaks flare up across the ideological landscape. What is so sad and frightening is that this diseased thinking is reaching epidemic proportions. More than a third of Americans believe the U.S. government was likely to have been involved in 9/11.

September 12, 2006

A Yemeni man buys a one way ticket with a fork in the road.

Unfortunately for him, he had to take a detour. Hopefully, eventually, to a federal prison.

He'll still be able to get married, only he'll have to change his last name to "You my bitch."

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

From the New York Post:

September 12, 2006 -- WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11. No, I didn't help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause. However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing.
The only time I raised my voice in protest against these men who killed thousands of innocents in the name of Allah was behind closed doors, among the safety of friends and family. I did at one point write a very vitriolic essay condemning their actions, but fear of becoming another Salman Rushdie kept me from ever trying to publish it.

Well, I'm sick of saying the truth only in private - that Arabs around the world, including Arab-Americans like myself, need to start holding our own culture accountable for the insane, violent actions that our extremists have perpetrated on the world at large.

Yes, our extremists and our culture.

Every single 9/11 hijacker was Arab and a Muslim. The apologists (including President Bush) tried to reassure us that 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam, but was a twisting of a great and noble religion. With all due respect, read the Koran, Mr. President. There's enough there for someone of extreme tendencies to find their way to a global jihad.

Via Stop the ACLU.

The closing scene of "Path to 9/11", which depicts the collapse of the World Trade Center, was one of the most moving and riveting movie scenes I've had the opportunity to view in recent years.

My hat's off to writer Cyrus Nowrasteh and director David Cunningham for the quality of this production.  And I thank ABC and Disney for sticking by their guns and showing the film largely intact, despite a full-court press by the Democrat leadership, who spent most of last week whining that the film wasn't fair to the Clinton legacy.  What a bunch of babies.  I'd have preferred that the Dems not have the ammunition to knock the production, but despite taking certain liberties with the details, Nowrasteh's script definitely gets the important things right.  And he doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the performance of the Clinton or Bush administrations in fighting terror.  To be fair to both presidents, 99% of us didn't take Osama bin Laden seriously before 9-11.  What a difference one day can make.

As FBI agent John O'Neill, Harvey Keitel put in the excellent performance we've long since come to expect from him, while Donnie Wahlberg kicked some serious ass as CIA agent "Kirk."  Quite a different character from Carwood Lipton, the quiet soldier he played in Band of Brothers.  I hope to see a lot more from him.  It takes some serious talent to be able to play both Milton "red stapler" Waddams and Richard Clarke, but the chronically-underappreciated Stephen Root clearly has the talent to knock both roles out of the park.  Finally, a pissed-off Patricia Heaton on a rampage is pretty much the sexiest thing I've seen this year.  Wow.

If you didn't catch it on ABC, find someone who TiVo'd it, or grab it on DVD when it comes out.  It's worth watching.

Cross-posted to The Sammenhold Blog.

A Pakistani journalist says that his sources in al Qaeda and the Taliban are claiming that nuclear material has already been smuggled across the Mexican border into the U.S. and that an operation bigger than 9/11 will be carried out during Ramadan--which begins later this month.

Hamid Mir, who is the only journalist ever to interview both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, claims that he learned this information on a recent trip to Afghanistan last month.

So, the guy does have a track record, but considering that he got the information from al Qaeda and the Taliban....well, these guys aren't exactly reliable sources. So, yeah the headline is alarmist, but blame my editor and not me.

A man called Adnan Al-Shukri Jumaa (Juma, Jumah) is presently in the U.S. and has been assigned the task of detonating the nuclear material. The report does not say whether an actual nuclear bomb was smuggled in or only material to be used for a 'dirty bomb'.

Reports about Jumaa have been circulating for years. His real name is Adnan G. El Shukrijumah and he is wanted by the FBI. Shukrijumah has long been rumored to be inside the U.S. awaiting orders to detonate a dirty bomb.

Last month, rumors began circulating that Shukrijumah had been seen in Honduras.

ADNKI:

The Pakistani journalist also gave a brief background on Adnan Jumaa. Born in Saudi Arabia, he moved to the US where he met a group of a Al-Qaeda members in the Al-Farouq mosque in New York in 2000. He then traveled to an Arab state and from there to Pakistan then Afghanistan. He left there two years ago and since then has smuggled nuclear material from Mexico to the US. Jumaa has earned the nickname "Al-Qaeda nuclear whizz" and is tagged to play the same role in a future attack as Mohammed Atta did in the 9/11 attacks.

In March 2003 the FBI announced that it was seeking a link between Adnan and others accused of terroris, saying Adnan Jumaa "or maybe one of his several nicknames" had appeared in intelligence information gathered after the arrest of Khalid Sheik Mohammad.

Western media had reported in earlier times that Adnan Jumaa was a Saudi pilot, but the Saudi Ministry of Interior security spokesman lieutanent Mansour Al-Turki said in a statement to Al-Watan newspaper two months ago that Adnan Jumaa is not a Saudi citizen, he was living in the kingdom until he was eleven years old and left along with his parents, who are not Saudis, twenty years ago.

Oh, he also says that Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar just met to plan the attacks.

File under: Alarmist news from unreliable sources, but alarming enough to keep an eye out.

Hat tip to Patrick al Kuffar at Clarity and Resolve.

UPDATE: Dan Reihl has more on the Canada connection.

UPDATE: Allah has more here and Gateway Pundit here. Both make important points, Allah especially on some other chatter about this guy.

UPDATE: Dean Barnett, filling in for Hugh, recycles an old essay, with some important facts on the threat of suitcase bomb. Bottom line, al Qaeda doesn't have them.

A reader also points out that I misread part of the story, and the Ramadan threat applies only to Afghanistan and not the nuke threat.

Also, I'm actually trying NOT to be alarmist here. Hence, all the caveats about the unrealiability of the source. But, worst-case scenario stuff should always worry us to the point of prevention, but not panic. I have home-insurance even though the likelihood of my house catching on fire is low.

The Mujahidin Shura Council--the Salafi umbrella organization in Iraq which includes al Qaeda--has officially responded to President Bush's Sept. 11th speech. Here it is in it's entirety.

Lots of interesting things to note here. I've highlighted a few, with commentary in italics. One interesting note is that the MSC declines to give dhimmi status to those they conquer. Instead, those under the new Caliphate will be given the choice of Islam or death. Be sure to read to the end where the MSC states the true goals of Salafist Islam-- world domination.

----------------------

An announcement of the Mujahidin Shura Council of Iraq (MSC) about the last speech of the American’s dog Bush

All praise and thanks are Allah’s, the Lord of all that exists. And peace be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions in entirety.

The foolish American’s dog Bush said: “we won’t let the Islamic System of rule (caliphate) comes back again in Iraq“.

Hence, we say to him: you -the crusaders- have no place in this world but we will settle and in the hereafter life we will gain our God pleasure. So go to the hell American’s dog Bush!

You and your companions will be defeated as you see what happens everyday on the various lands of Iraq and we will get the victory in the end and the caliphate (the Islamic system of rule) will come back to judge by the law of Allah and at that time we will break the cross, shed the wine and we wont accept jiziya (Islam or Death).

The jiziya is the tax traditionally paid by non-Muslim dhimmis in Muslim states. Dhimmis are non-Muslims considered under the protection of Muslims, but in practice have always been second-class citizens (for instance, the testimony of Christians is not equal to that of Muslims in Islamic law). What the MSC is suggesting above is that the normal choice given to non-believers of conversion or becoming a dhimmi will not be offered. Instead, all 'crusaders' will be killed.

That what Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) promised us and ask the last Romans - if they can answer you – to tell you when they were scared by our knights Saad, Khaled, Almothanna, Alqaqa’a, Salahedine and Nooredine. We are following their footprints and you- the enemies of Allah - will fall down in the hell and you will see.

The 'Romans' referred to here are the Eastern Romans of the Byzantine Empire and of the crussaders and the names listed are those who fought them.

You Bush are a liar but it was true when you said that we are the enemies of democracy and won’t accept such a system and any other rule system but the rule of Allah. Who promised you to be the victorious? You are the loser and we will be the victorious as Allah promised us.

About which freedom you are talking about? You deceive only yourself and wise people won’t be misled by your tricks.

We are the free people not you -the Western people - because we are the slaves of Allah and we follow only Allah judgment. So taste the fires of the Mujahideen and you will be frightened –by the help of Allah- all of your life.

It's interesting how radicals always change the definitions of things. For instance, Communists often talked about 'true democracy'. The same here. Only the 'slaves of Allah' are truly free.

You –The Mujahidin- :The hypocrites will say: “Do you think that the Islamic State will comeback again? That is nearer to be magic then to be real!” . If they say that you should remember what Allah said in his Holy Quran : (When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease (of disbelief) said: "These people (Muslims) are deceived by their religion." But whoever puts his trust in Allah, then surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.) 49, AlAnfal.

And say to them “Allah will give us the victory in our war against the Romans and their final capital Rome and his Prophet Mohammed said that in the right Hadith and as we were the victorous when we attacked Istanbul. Allah said : (Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: 'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.) 55,AlNOOR.

Your Mujahidinn Brothers will fight to the end and until Allah’s Law controls the world. It is one of two great ends: The victory or The Shahada (martyrdom)

Allah is great,

'' Honor, power and glory belong to Allah, to his messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not. ''

The media committee of Mujahedin Shura Council of Iraq

Alfajr media center

Hat Tip: Robert.

Special correspondant to The Jawa Report, El Marco, was at Ground Zero for the fifth anniversary of 9/11. To his dismay, this is some of what he saw. Truthers on parade. Where is the Ohio National Guard when you need them?

Luckily, there were some patriots at Ground Zero as well.

Proud Navy Dad

Cuban refugee who knows what 'peace' really means

You can see the rest of El Marco's photos from Ground Zero here.

Help, I'm being oppressed!

NYTIMES:

At times, Mr. Zubaydah, still weak from his wounds, was stripped and placed in a cell without a bunk or blankets. He stood or lay on the bare floor, sometimes with air-conditioning adjusted so that, one official said, Mr. Zubaydah seemed to turn blue. At other times, the interrogators piped in deafening blasts of music by groups like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

What I got you got to get it put it in you.

Update by Howie: By the way, you may torture yourself here Master Rusty.

When I first saw images of torture coming out of Abu Ghraib it made me think of my big brother. If this is torture, I thought, then my big brother was guilty of numerous Geneva Convention violations growing up!

Of course, we later learned that there was real torture at Abu Ghraib, and not just an ugly chick is pointing at my pee-pee 'torture'. But these proved to be the exception to the rule and many have now been prosecuted for these crimes.

But, it seems, even at our worst, the Iraqis long for the good old days of naked human pyramid stacking, fake electric shocks, dog-scaring, purple nurples, titty twisters, and various other evil and nefarious American practices.

Telegraph:

The notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad is at the centre of fresh abuse allegations just a week after it was handed over to Iraqi authorities, with claims that inmates are being tortured by their new captors....

"The Americans were better than the Iraqis. They treated us better," said Khalid Alaani, who was held on suspicion of involvement in Sunni terrorism....

The witness said that even in the thieves' section prisoners were being treated badly. "Someone was shouting 'Please help us, we want the human rights officers, we want the Americans to come back'," he said.

Help, I'm being oppressed!

Breaking news!

(Damascus) Several sources are reporting loud explosions and heavy gunfire in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. One witness stated that it appeared the U.S. Embassy was being attacked. A security source said that Syrian police may have foiled a bomb attack against the Americans.

Emergency vehicles rushed to the area and security forces have sealed off the neighborhood where several embassies, security installations and diplomats' residences are located.

No official confirmation of the events has been issued.

From Bloomberg, nervous investors pushed U.S. stock-index futures downward after news of the attack.

[Update 0525 EDT]

It's now reported that three attackers were killed when a car bomb was detonated. Apparently, the three tried to drive into the embassy compound and were met with gunfire from the guards. They then blew themselves up. No damage assessment yet. No American casualties reported.

According to Interior Minister General Bassam Abdel Majid speaking on state television, "A terrorist operation targeted the US Embassy. Security forces have brought the situation under control. Three terrorists were killed and one was wounded."

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Update by Rusty: This is classic al Qaeda 3.0. Mark my words.

Keep throwing martyrs our way, AQ wannabes. We know what to do with them.

Above: Marine looks down from U.S. Embassy in Syria after the failed attack (via: Sticky Notes)

UPDATE by Rusty: Did you mark those words? Breitbart:

The al-Qaida offshoot group, called Jund al-Sham, has been blamed for several attacks in Syria in recent years, the Syrian ambassador, Imad Moustapha, said in comments to CNN.

Rhymes with Right brings our attention to this email he received about Liberty and Justice co-blogger Isaac Schrodinger's possible deportation from Canada to Pakistan. It seems this jerk gets a sick thrill at the prospect of Isaac being sent home and killed for apostasy.

See related post here.Also see ibloga’s post here.

From: revbronco@yahoo.com ken hoop
To: RHYMESWITHRIGHT
Date: Sep 10, 2006 8:43 PM
Subject: POOR GUY, ALL HE DOES IS PRAISE ISRAEL BOOHOOO

i HIPE THE PAKI AUTHORITIES NOTICE WHO SUPPORTS
HIM,LIKE THE ASSHOLES AT IBLOGA WHO RUN THE JUVELINE
YET MALICIOUS & LIBELLOUS POST UNDERNEATH..
http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2006/09/lets-all-pitch-in-for-isaac.html
.

(Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India) The supreme Muslim body for Sunnis, Darul Uloom of Deoband, recently issued Fatwa 837 declaring life insurance illegal under Sharia Law.

From Times Now:

"Fatwa had rightly stated that insurance of life is against Shariyat (Islamic laws). No true Muslim should go for it, because Islam prohibits gambling and earning through interest; and insurance is nothing less than gambling," said Khalid Rashid, Vice-President, All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Sunni religious leader.

However, there isn't common agreement among all Muslim leaders. According to Kalbe Javwad, a prominent Shia leader:

"In Shias, there is no such ban. This controversy has been raised for the first time; it has no big meaning for Shias. In Iran, there is no such ban on getting life insured."

Look, their guiding belief system sanctions and, some would say, encourages killing. There are "honor killings" and a variety of homicidal and suicidal acts of martyrdom, all ostensibly conducted with the approval of higher spiritual authority. An ambitious entrepreneur wouldn't need a John D. Rockefeller intellect to figure out how to rake in some lucrative life insurance payouts.

Muslims are more than adept at regularly killing each other in large numbers already. They don't need a profit motive.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

September 11, 2006

A message from across the pond for our resident conspiracist troll.

Gunscribe remembers Mary S. Jones.

UPDATE: Resolved. Bizland has taken down the two websites. Thank you Bizland and to concerned readers who helped them clean house.

A Massachusetts company has ignored pleas to take down two websites belonging to a well known terrorist organization. The Burlington, MA, Bizland company has not responded to complaints to its legal department that its servers are being used by fronts for the Islamic Army in Iraq.

The websites of The Al Boraq Media Organization features various propaganda messages from the 'Iraqi resistance'. It is registered to an organization called 'iaisite' to a Baghdad address. Many of the Islamic Army in Iraq's previous websites included the term 'iaisite' in the url, including iaisite.org which is also hosted by Bizland.

The Islamic Army in Iraq is notorious for producing propaganda videos of attacks on American and Iraqi forces and has threatened to extend their terrorism to American soil. The group also claimed the murder of American hostage Ronald Schulz and Italian Red Cross worker Enzo Baldoni.

Countless others have been killed by the Islamic Army in Iraq, including many American soldiers.

Complaints can be sent to Bizland at: legal@bizland-inc.com

What, you mean a Muslim celebrates the deaths of Western infidels? I don't believe it for a minute!

I mean, that's an outrageous claim.

And although the Sun calls this an exclusive, it's not. The Jawa Report had it first, only I thought the more important part of the tape was that Bakri was jailed and set free, was sad about the arrest of Abu Abdullah, had been questioned about the failed airline plot, and knew those involved in raising money for terror in Britian.....but this part is also interesting:

HATE preacher Omar Bakri claimed 14 British servicemen died in revenge for 14 terror arrests in London.

The sick exiled cleric gloated to followers that he was “so happy” at the RAF Nimrod crash in Afghanistan on September 2 which killed everyone on board....

“Allah has his own soldiers and I was so happy. I was just thanking Allah

Thanks to Glen Jenvey for the tip.

Muslim means "one who submits". I am not a Muslim. I will not submit.

On 9/11 let us not forget that terrorists continue to murder in the name of Allah in Iraq.

The media is always whining about how we are treating the enemy. Casting us as the evil violators of the rules of war. This video shows the truth.

While we work through our differences on how to try prisoners of war--well not prisoners of war really, more like war criminals who in WWII would have been shot on sight---these men take prisoners and routinely execute them on video.

While the media depicts our men as criminals for rare instances of crimes, we work for justice trying and punishing each man convicted and openly condemn their actions.

We pay restitution and make apologies. Our enemy will hail these war crimes as victories and the perpetrators will be promoted and praised.

Reuters will tell you about it. Reuters will show bloody pictures of dead babies galore from Lebanon. Why won’t Reuters show you these?

Reuters: The video by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by al Qaeda in Iraq, showed two men in military uniforms giving their personal details on camera while holding military identification cards.

Their comments were barely audible, but one man could be heard saying: "I call on my brothers in the national guard to cooperate with the mujhaideen ... This is a message to my colleagues in the national guard, the collaborators."

The video, posted on an Internet site often used by militant groups, then showed the blindfolded men being killed by a single shot in the head. One of the men could be seen shaking and sobbing before the shooting.

Al Qaeda and other militant groups in Iraq often target members of the country's U.S.-backed military and police forces, which they regard as traitors and collaborators with the occupation.

To be sure these men were Muslim. Iraqi men fighting to give their nation a chance for a better future. As Rusty often points out most of the people killed by the terrorists are Muslim. I’ve been searching for an English translation of their identity.

You’ll have to excuse me for associating these war criminals with Islam. They keep babbling on and on about Allah. Last time I checked Allah was their word for God. They call out to him to be sure he sees their murderous abominations.

Here is the original text posted with the video.

The media committee : Download a video showing : " Confessions of two national guards elements and their execution according to Allah's rule

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

O’ Allah, straighten up our aim and make us stand firm

All Praise and thanks are Allah’s, the Lord of all that exists. And peace be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions in entirety.

Allah is great,

“Honor, power and glory belong to Allah, to his messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.”

The media committee of Mujahedeen Shura council of Iraq

Alfajr media center

As we waste our time this week trying to decide who is to blame more. Bill Clinton or George Bush remember each has made errs in judgement. But the ultimate responsibility lies with the terrorists like these.

Now you tell me who is fighting on the side of good. Remember that is the eternal conflict. What is justified in the fight for good vs. evil? This is their vision of the fight for good. I have some frame grabs below as well as links to the video. See for yourself.

Updated: Links to video now available. See the links at the end of the extended entry.

Flash Embed now Available.

Warning graphic images below.

If you are under 18 do not continue. Also consider if you really want to see it. If you have seen the evil of these things before there is probably no need for you to view this one. However if you have never witnessed this before and feel you must know the truth we have posted it so that you may. As far as these types of videos go this one is less graphic than most. Still it is very real and can be disturbing. They disturb me while grabbing the frames for posts. You cannot undo watching it. Please choose carefully.
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They start of course with banner of the Mujahedeen Shura council.

Surprise Surprise, Youtube has rejected hosting the video. If anyone is willing to host the video email us. We have a couple prospects and we hope to have it up soon.See links below.

We have the video available in both real and windows media formats by request. Email Howie and I’ll see what we can do. ROPMA.

Tigerhawk does a run-down on the Clinton Administration's history as regards bin Laden. He makes some very good points, not the least of which is that the ratings for "The Path to 9/11" will likely be considerably higher because of the Dems' antics than it would've been if they'd just moved on. Idiots.

Another good point he makes is that Clinton's disregard of the terrorist threat in the 1990s put him in some pretty good company. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.

I really enjoyed the show. Mr. Wahlberg (do we still call him "Donnie"?) has come a long way from his days with the New Kids on the Block. I enjoyed Wahlberg's performance as Sgt. Carwood Lipton in the "Band of Brothers" series. The passionate, outspoken "Kirk" is a completely different character from the quiet, humble leader we saw in Lipton, but Wahlberg pulled both off well. Harvey Keitel was, of course, excellent as John O'Neill.

In general, I thought the casting was outstanding. One casting change I would've made: Khalid Sheikh Mohamed definitely should've been played by Ron Jeremy.

In other news, OpFor remembers September 11, 1565.

9/11 was not a tragedy. A tragedy happens by mistake or because of natural forces. A tsunamai is a tragedy. A car accident is a tragedy.

9/11 was an attrocity. Attrocicities are committed. An attrocity is the result of planned action.

Islamic extremists murdered American citizens on a mass scale on 9/11. It was premeditated action.

If I hear one more person call 9/11 a tragedy, I think I will blow a friggin fuse.

Further, if I hear one more person blame Clinton for 9/11---just one more--I will go apeshit. Same goes with Bush.

Bush and Clinton did not murder almsot 3,000 people on September 11, 2001. Muslim terrorists did.

Whatever the pre-9/11 failings were, these were not the result of Clinton or Bush. They were the result of a mindset. That mindset was of treating terrorism as a law enforcement problem and not part of a war.

The terrorists declared war on us, and we, in return, wanted to serve the terrorists a subpoena.

And all those decisions that seem so crystal clear to us now as mistakes that could have averted 9/11, the counterfactual what ifs--like "what if we had bombed Usama when we had a chance"--add up to exactly zilcho when it comes to pinning the blame. Mistakes are always made. That is the human condition.

The attrocities of 9/11 were committed by Osam bin Laden and al Qaeda and no one else.

Don't make me go midieval on yor asses!

What a marvelous smell you've discovered....and what a way to kick off 9/11.

Remember to add Berkely Breathed to my list of asshats. In yesterday's Opus cartoon, Breathed depicts the world's most famous cartoon penguin having a nightmare of all the terrors of the post 9/11 world. Because, you know, we have as much to fear from an IDF soldier as we do from a suicide bomber.

Here's a frame.

I always knew Breathed was on the Left, but I didn't realize he was on the fringe Left.

As an old Bloom County fan, this is just depressing.

Hat tip Ilan.

Clinton Censorship and his failures that led to 9/11.

My thought is that Clinton’s credibility was too damaged at the time. The wag the dog accusations were a result of this. Also this had a big effect on Somalia. No one was willing to follow Clinton into a war. And Clinton being who he is didn’t have the gumption to do the right thing.

Our failures emboldened al-Qaida. I also must note that we as conservatives also failed to see the danger. Blinded by politics we also failed to properly judge the threat and lend support to our fighting men and women and the badly wounded president.

Of course President Clinton’s personal failures cannot be excused but our failure to look beyond that cannot be excused either. Had Clinton been able to control his trouser mouse or the right been able to control the hunger for political advantage there may be 2996 more Americans alive today.

There is plenty of blame to go around. The real question is do we have the stones to keep up the fight. Our metal is being tested. Bin-laden has stated the war will continue until we convert to Islam, accept Dhimification, surrender or give up. He expects we will. Make him wrong, very wrong.

Here is the full version of the as Sahab produced 9/11 video in which al Qaeda is shown planning the attrocity. Deny that you truther twits.

Complete video in two parts here. Just scroll down a couple of paragraphs.

For the ADD in our midsts, highlight video here.

Allah's brief guide to hings to look for in part 1:

7:25 — Wail al-Shehri, one of the “muscle” hijackers on Flight 11, names Bosnia as among the crimes against Muslims that he hopes to avenge by attacking, um, America.
25:00 — AQ lays out the neocon conspiracy. If you watch nothing else on this video, watch this. See if any of it rings a bell.
28:50 — Fat Adam Gadahn makes his first appearance, accusing the Bush administration of having plotted to invade Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 before the attacks took place — thus making 9/11 a “preemptive” strike.
54:15 — The “smoking gun” footage, showing Osama meeting with 9/11 architect Ramzi Binalshibh. “Abu Abdullah,” who’s credited with supervising all stages of the planned attacks, is Bin Laden’s nom de guerre.

Things to look for in part 2:

1:05 — Fat Adam returns with high praise for the hijackers.
3:25 — A re-enactment of hijacker training with boxcutters.
11:03 — Jihadi jujitsu.
15:25 — Another one of the “muscle” hijackers, Mohand al-Shehri, speaks at an AQ meeting in Afghanistan. This clip was featured in the AQ video “The Nineteen Martyrs” that was released on the first anniversary of 9/11 in 2002. In that film, the clip of al-Shehri proceeds to show him handing the mike off to yet another hijacker, Abdulaziz al-Omari, whose martyrdom video was incorporated into that tape.
29:45 — Fat Adam makes his last appearance, marvelling that never in his wildest dreams did he think the “heroes” of 9/11 were plotting an attack on “enemy soil.”

Who are you remembering today?

Another Michelle, is my answer.

September 10, 2006

The First Amendment remains intact, despite the Democrats' legal eagles.

The Jawa Report has also intercepted a super-sekret email from an anonymous high-level Kos Administration operative:

Updates will be added as they come in. Don't be fooled, little ones. The Clinton legacy America is still in danger of complete and utter destruction from the GOP/Rove attack machine as long as ABC is broadcasting this TV show, so that may change. We'll will be remembered as heroes if we survive these broadcasts (once ABC's licenses get pulled). Have faith, commrades.

I can hear the screams of my oppressed leftwing compatriots from my open window, crying tears for truthiness to emerge through the veil of the long, dark night of BuchCo fascism. A dark day for the United States. We'll survive this unforgivable injustice. Somehow.

-end transmission-

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Just in case anyone has forgotten who our enemies are:

Since this celebration of mass murder, the Palestinians have elected a terrorist organization, Hamas, as their government. This is a diseased culture. Perhaps the best solution would be to imprison the adults, and have the children raised by civilized human beings.

Courtesy of Tom Brokaw and NBC - the right wings maniacs that they are.

And don't forget about the Sandy Berger's theft of critical documents from the National Archives. Imagine if a Bush Admin. official had been caught doing the same thing - just look at how far out the CIA leak non-story/leftwing fantasy got before it was smashed into litte bits by the facts. But, hey - its a Democrat, so stealing, destroying and altering damaging classified information from the National Archives to whitewash the Democrats' failures in capturing Bin Laden is A-OK! If anyone asks, threaten to sue them, censor them and pull their licenses. Willie's got a 'legacy' to protect!

ht: Ann Althouse
Cross-posted at Mein Blogovault.

September 09, 2006

We here at the Jawa Report normally don't shy away from posting graphic images illustrating the depravity of the global jihad, but I really wrestled with the idea of posting this.

However, it's up to you whether or not to click on the play button.

By way of Plains Feeder.

Update: Who needs ABC?

Read it.

This too.

The true Path to 9/11.

You can look here, too.

And this.

Links courtesy of Patrick's sidebar.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

In a victory for common sense and common decency, the Oregon Supreme Court has overturned a lower court decision that would have barred Boy Scouts from public schools. From the Boy Scouts of America legal issues website:

Boy Scouts of America welcomes today’s decision from the Oregon Supreme Court declaring that the Portland Public School District did not discriminate against an atheist student by permitting Boy Scouts to make presentations and distribute informational flyers.

An atheist mother represented by the ACLU complained that allowing Boy Scouts to recruit in public schools on the same basis as other groups discriminated against her atheist son who attends Portland public schools. In today’s decision reversing a lower court decision, the Oregon Supreme Court emphatically concluded that “nothing that occurred in any public school program, service, or activity was discriminatory at all.”

“Giving Boy Scouts equal access is not discrimination,” said Scouting spokesperson Robert H. Bork, Jr., “it is the law.”

Yes quite the hub hub over this. Thanks to everyone who sent me mail this week. My apologies for not getting to all of it.

DNC engaging in blatant cybersquatting.

Original(prior to recall)Scholastic 9/11 study guide at Reilworldview. Actually Howie forgave the terrorists that day. That does not relieve them of the ass kicking they deserve.

Never Forgive, Never Forget.

Get yer Original 9/11 bootleg copies here.

Not White Water now it's White Wash.

Editing was in response to political pressure at stickynotes.

ABC, The network that gave This Week to Geeeeorge Stephanopolis! and was furiuos at David Brinkley for spouting off against Bill Clinton after his second election is involved in a vast right wing conspiracy! Give me a break. It's the joooooooooos.

Hugh Hewitt attempts to educate leftard. Lefttard hangs up on him.

Holy Batshit Rusty! They are everywhere!

The Saddam Dossier

Powerline Forward

Broad Advances

Joint Forces

The Vanguard Moves Forward

Rolling Out

Gearing Up

The Gathering

The Day After.

If only more people could do this. In my state you have to ask the mugger to wait while you rummage through the trunk. Remove weapon from case. Load weapon. Fire. Normally by that point it's a bit late. Maybe this guy will think twice next time. Go get em little old ladys with big guns.

15,000.

Absofrigginglutely insane.

Say you were from Pakistan. Say you came to Canada and became a blogger speaking out against Islamic terror. Would you be say a bit worried about the attachment of your head to ther rest of you? Say you blog with Mushiloon? Does that result in an automatic link from The Jawa Report?

Via Michael van der Galien at Liberty and Justice: As all of you who have read (some of) his articles will know, Isaac is very critical about radical Islam. He witnessed the results of a culture of radical Islam, he saw the effects of this ideology of hatred and ignorance, how people are forced to live, first-hand. As a result, he understands that Muslim extremists do not just pose a threat to the West, but also to every single person living in 'Muslim countries'.

As a result, it should be obvious to anyone with any basic knowledge about this subject, it is not exactly safe for him, an apostate, to live in a country in which Muslim extremists have quite some power. He came from Pakistan, was educated in Saudi Arabia, later in the United States and now lives in Canada.

He is currently involved in the battle of his life: in January 2007 one judge will decide whether he should be granted refugee status in Canada or be deported to Pakistan.

Update: Also at Isaac Schrodinger's own blog blog here. It seems the hearing is on his birthday.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

In a letter timed to avoid the weekly news cycle, lawyers for former President Bill Clinton have demanded that ABC pull their controversial miniseries, "The Path to 9/11":

"The Path to 9/11" not only tarnishes the work of the 9/11 Commission, but also cheapens the fith anniversary of what was a very painful moment in history for all Americans. We expect that you will make the responsible decision to not air this film.

Sincerely,

Bruce R. Lindsey
Chief Executive Officer
William J. Clinton Foundation

Douglas J. Band
Counselor to President Clinton
Office of William Jefferson Clinton

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Likely the French themselves don't even know whether they're deliberately helping Hizballah re-arm or simply turning a blind eye to avoid unpleasantness.

From The Jerusalem Post:

France announced on Friday that the international naval force designated to patrol Lebanon's territorial waters would not be authorized to employ force to stop ships from entering or leaving Lebanon.

A spokesman for the French defense ministry said that the international craft would only provide assistance for Lebanese ships, and would not interfere with other nations' boats, Israel Radio reported.

FRENCH CAPTAIN: Ahoy! Please to heave-to zo zat we may inzpect your cargo!
SYRIAN CAPTAIN: We are carrying aspirin and diapers.
FRENCH CAPTAIN: But what are zose large, oblong containers on your deck?
SYRIAN CAPTAIN: Diaper boxes, you meddling dog. Here is a Hershey bar. Go and tell your mother that I am ready for her attentions.
FRENCH CAPTAIN: Very good, m'sieur. Carry on.

Via Captain's Quarters.

It all depends on what the meanig of the word "dead" is. This boys mother was injured. But the reporters with their Hizb, Allah "minders" either failed to follow through or were not allowed to. They also were not allowed or failed to photgraph her being taken away in an ambulance. See the Egyptian Sandmonkey and Big Pharaoh for more details. Personally I would think a happy ending correcting a reported death and orphaned boy would be big news. Guess not.

This one too.

Let's compare the Book of Joshua

to

The holly quoran.

You are absolutely right, Ralph Peters, the Book of Joshua is violent. What you failed to acknowledge is that in that book of the Bible, the Hebrews actually get defeated at one point.

Or, as you leftards like them, the Jooooooooooooosssssss.

We don't take "selected passages" from the holly quoran, like you take from the Bible, we take it all in. The Koran, the Sunnah and Hadith.

We also don't advocate killing every Muslim man, woman, and child.

We don't have to. The people who are the true believers of Mohammed's prophecies are doing that quite well on their own.

I thought I would be more pissed after watching United 93 but I was wrong. Thanks to guys like Ralph, I realized that moral equivalence soothes the soul.

Forgive me, Allah, I humbly apologize for what happened at Jericho as described in the Book of Joshua. Please stop sending people to drop airplanes out the sky.

Pretty please?

September 08, 2006

People like Ralph Peters and Christopher Hitchens tend to prove the old adage about a stopped clock being right twice a day.

A better analogy would be a ship with a stuck rudder, forcing it to port. Eventually it will turn right from time to time.

Ralph's latest column shows the ship veering left again:

Ultimately, our military actions can only buy time. The long overdue liberal reformation within the Islamic world can only be carried out by Muslims themselves. Those who believe in Islam with all their hearts will have to be the ones who defeat those who hijacked their faith.

Emphasis mine.

Unfortunately for Mr. Peters, that last paragraph in his column is horribly misguided.

It's those who believe in Islam with all of their hearts who are the ones doing the slaughtering. It's they who are killing those who are Muslim, but, just not Muslim enough.

Not us. CAIR (and Ralph Peters) may wail and moan all it wants, but there hasn't been anything remotely resembling a backlash against Muslims in this country, even after 9/11.

I was going to stop there, but I re-read the column and had to comment on this:

As for the books and Web sites listing all those passages encouraging violence against the infidel, well, we could fill entire libraries with bloody-minded texts from the Christian past. And as a believing Christian, I must acknowledge that there's nothing in the Koran as merciless as God's behavior in the Book of Joshua.

Notice the CHRISTIANS DID IT TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! meme beloved by the left. What utter tripe. Bunkum, bullshit, fucking nonsense.

Hey Ralph, there's a big difference you missed. CHRISTIANS AREN'T RECITING THE BOOK OF JOSHUA AS THEY CUT OFF THE HEADS OF INNOCENT MUSLIMS. As a matter of fact, Christians aren't cutting off the heads of Muslims, period.

Can Islam reform? Yes. But it's not going to be the peaceful "liberal" reformation that Ralph envisions. It's going to be a bloody uprising by people sick and tired of things like being denied the right of companionship of man's best friend.

Christianity was founded by the man known as the Prince of Peace. Its various schisms and fractures have been, for the most part, peaceful.

Islam will reform itself with a bloody revolt, "moderates" or no "moderates."

Because, as the Bible Ralph Peters so fervently believes in says, "Those who live by the sword, shall perish by the sword."

And if you think I'm pissed now, wait an hour and a half. I'm to go watch United 93 on DVD.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University is looking for help. According to an ad placed at the American Poliitical Science Association's website (password protected, but I'm a member) the Reuters Institute seeks a Ph.D. in political science and:

You will engage in research on aspects of the relationship between journalism on the one hand and politics and society on the other. The successful applicant may be expected to make a major contribution to an Institute project analysing and reporting on the state of the world's media via a comparative study of selected countries.

Given the bias in academia, don't hold your breath for whatever report comes out of this.

No mention whether photoshopping skills are required, but I bet they couldn't hurt.

Hat tip to the esteemed political scientist, the world renown Professor Chaos, who apparently spends the majority of his day cruising the APSA website looking for a job at a university in a Red State. Hot coeds prefered. Where does Bethany go to school again?

PS--Professor Chaos says I should apply under my own name. Now that would be a hell of a coup!

Steven Jones has been placed on paid leave while BYU reviews his involvement with the 911 Truth Movement.

Deseret News:"BYU has repeatedly said that it does not endorse assertions made by individual faculty," the statement said. "We are, however, concerned about the increasingly speculative and accusatory nature of these statements by Dr. Jones."

Last fall, BYU faculty posted statements on the university Web site that questioned whether Jones subjected the paper to rigorous academic peer review before he posted it at physics.byu.edu. Jones removed the paper from BYU's Web site Thursday at the university's request.

I'm live-blogging the manhunt fof accused cop-killer Ralph "Bucky" Phillips with information from a source close to the investigation. Troopers now say they have him "contained" and are proceeding cautiously.

More at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

Two of the Bali bombers have been convicted with what seem like light sentences for their role in the mass murder. Oh, and at least one of them believes Allah is proud of him for helping kill 202 people. Allah seems like such a loving and caring god.

Jakarta Post:

The Denpasar District Court sentenced two men on Thursday to eight and 18 years in prison respectively for their roles in last year's Bali restaurant bombings.

Muhammad Cholily, 28, was found guilty of assembling bombs used in the Oct. 1, 2005, attacks. Calling his 18-year sentence "the sweetest birthday gift", Cholily smiled and gave the thumbs-up after getting the sentence, which was three years longer than had been recommended by prosecutors. He was born on Sept. 8.

"In the eyes of Allah there is no guilty person," Cholily said as quoted by AFP....

But the judge said he had refrained from handing down an even longer prison term for Cholily, who was found guilty of supplying the equipment used in the attacks, because the bomb-maker had admitted his crime.

Hot Muslim chick Mariyah Moten has won honors at the Miss Bikini Universe 2006 pageant as Miss Pakistan. Pakistan was less than pleased and has started an investigation. No word yet on if Canada or the US will extradite her to face Pakistani justice (ie be murdered aka Honor killing).

Yahoo News:ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities are investigating how a Pakistani-born American woman entered a "Miss Bikini" pageant in China as a representative of predominantly Muslim, conservative Pakistan....

Moten, a student of hotel management at the University of Houston, was born and brought up in the Pakistani city of Karachi, news reports said. She moved to the United States with her family eight years ago.

More hot Muslim chick pics or her and others here and here and here.

Non-Partisan Group Begins National Security Advocacy Campaign
Progress For America began running ads yesterday:

WASHINGTON - Progress for America (PFA) today began an issue advocacy effort that includes television advertising on national cable and on broadcast in Missouri, placing a sharp focus on the War on Terror. The first flight of ads began today and runs through next week.

"In the 1990s we reacted to terror, and re-actions are what led us to the horrific tragedies of 9/11. We must fight terrorists abroad so we don't have to face them at home," said David Beamer, father of flight 93 hero, Todd Beamer. "The will to fight and win the War on Terror will help ensure my son is one of the last people to die in a terrorist attack, instead of one of the first."

You can watch the ad at the link above.

Thanks to The White Trash Republican.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

Five Make that 31 and climbing murdered by the Religion of Peace in India. The last time Muslim terrorists murdered Indians in Mumbai, the Indian government banned The Jawa Report and a few other websites fearing backlash from its own citizens. Who will India blame this time?

Interestingly, the blast was outside a mosque. Too moderate? Shia? We'll soon see.

Daily India:

At least five people were killed and scores injured Friday afternoon when two blasts rocked the Maharashtra town of Malegaon, just two months after the 7/11 Mumbai bombings.

The bombs, placed near an old mosque, went off around 2 p.m. - when devotees were coming out after their Friday prayers in Nashik district's Malegaon town, about 200 km from Mumbai.

Wow. I didn't know there was video of a drone over bin Laden's Afghanistan base. Gateway Pundit cites a sourse saying that you can see bin Laden himself in the video.

Pretty damning of the Clinton administration, I'd say. But, as Vinnie says here, ultimately the responsibility for 9/11 goes back to bin Laden and even further to Mohammed, and not Clinton or Bush.

The mighty Digger posted this on Conservative Thinking early this morning:

I regularly write on immigration over at my main website and those of you who have followed me on Conservative Thinking know that it is almost my exclusive domain here.

Lately I have been working overtime on a new immigration website that allows you to view reports on Senators and House Representatives and their position on immigration. With so many speeches and soundbites floating around there is no other way to really tell their position on immigration without reviewing their voting record.

I am now proud announce the launch of Immigration Stance.

I have researched and culled together all the details I could find and put them into reports that show the stance of the politician on such issues as border security, anchor babies and foreign work visas.

This should be a handy tool for those of you looking for analysis, so that you can judge how well you are being represented in Congress on the issue of immigration.

So, head over and check out your congressmembers position on immigration.

It appears to be a very thorough breakdown of every member of Congress's stance on immigration policy and reform. I'd highly suggest you check it out.

CLINTON FELLATED, BIN LADEN NEGATED!

Roundup/rant here.

Vinnie is right, but I had to get one more dig at the People's Party of the Demokrat Collective in there.

Does wringing our hands over whether or not ABC edits a dramatic *koff* re-enactment *koff* of the events leading up to 9/11 really matter?

Blame whoever you want. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, et.al.

I blame Mohammed.

That's the true story of why 9/11 happened.

1400 years of incessant warfare perpetrated by a mad camelfucker who convinced just enough people that he had heard the true voice of God.

If nobody listened in the 7th century, why should we expect anyone to listen now?

September 07, 2006

As Rusty would say:

"bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha."

The moral of the story. If you blog, and you take yourself that seriously, you will be mocked.

Endlessly. Even by your own side.

Which is why I love the Jawa Report. We're a bunch of adolescents who refuse to grow up. Even when we're serious.

United 93 came out on DVD Tuesday.

Just sayin'.

Me? I'm putting the finishing touches on that bunker I started before August 22nd, because Ahmagonnameetallah proclaimed that bad things happen to people who don't debate him at the U.N.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

From Yahoo!:

A majority of Canadians believe U.S. foreign policy was one of the root causes that led to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and Quebecers are quicker to criticize the U.S. administration for its international actions than other Canadians, a recent poll suggests.

"There are a lot of people who think we should be listening closely [to extremist groups] and that there is an opportunity to dialogue with these sort of groups," said Jedwab Wednesday. "So it is showing a real ideological divide on some of these issues."

NewsBusters reports that ABC has agreed to alter its miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" due to threats from former President Bill Clinton and his allies, as well as implications of reprisals against ABC from congressional Democrats should they win a majority in the midterm elections.

Al Jazeera has just run video showing Osama bin Laden meeting with some of the 9/11 hijackers. The video was produced by al Qaeda's media arm as Sahab. Earlier today as Sahab had announced on an Islamist message board that it would release a "September 11th" video on the internet soon.

The Jawa Report will have the unedited video soon and will post it at Hot Air. UPDATE: Go to Hot Air to see CNN edited video.

Update: The video shows some of the hijackers training with bin Laden prior to 9/11. It also features the "martyr" statements of Wail M. Alshehri (alt, al-Shehri). One of two brothers who helped hijack American Airlines flight 11 and crash it into the WTC. The other "martyrdom" video is of Ahmed Alghamdi (alt, al-Ghamdi).

UPDATE: Interesting. The entire thing has English subtitles.

CBS News reports:

The video showed bin Laden sitting with his former lieutenant Mohammed Atef and Ramzi Binalshibh, another suspected planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings.

Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001. Binalshibh was captured four years ago in Pakistan and is in U.S. custody, and this week President Bush announced plans to put him on military trial.

In the video, bin Laden was wearing a dark robe and white headgear walking in a mountainous area. He smiled as he greeted several men, which the tape said were Sept. 11 hijackers.

UPDATE: Allah has the following screencaps and has vid from CNN up. We're working to get the unedited video right now. It is of Wail M. Alshehri.

UPDATE: BBC:

The channel said it showed al-Qaeda leaders "preparing for the attacks and practising their execution".

UPDATE: Laura Mansfield:

The tape is over 5 years old but contains previously unseen footage. Khalid bin al Shibh is shown, as is Wael al Shehi, and Al Ghamdi.

It shows footage of Bin Laden and his associated reportedly planning for and training for the September 11 attacks.

Andy Cochran at the CT Blog has more.

Michelle reminds us (tongue in cheek) that if you convert, you have nothing to fear which is wonderful news to the thousands of Muslims murdered by the jihadis.

UPDATE: Amen to Blue Crab Boulevard: Yes, I know that won't make a bit of difference to some of the most deranged denialists, but it will at least help some people not to get sucked into that fever swamp.

Update: Stop theACLU: I’m sure it is no coincidence in the timing of the release. Wizbang: Lots of al Qaeda video and audio just days before 9/11.

When will the "Truthers" begin to question the timing? I mean, an election is just around the corner.

And some Muslims fasting to celebrate 9/11. Yes, I said celebrate.

UPDATE: Misha: The people in the video are all CIA and Mossad operatives cleverly disguised as terrorists and, if you look very closely, you can briefly see the shadow of Karl Rove high-fiving Dick Cheney.

Sister Toldjah: It’s not a question of IF they’ll be reacting that way, [conspiracies, questioning the timing] but when.

Ankle Biting Pundits has a great essay about why the video would not be admissible in a criminal court. Why does that matter? Because here is video proof that bin Laden was behind 9/11, yet if the Democrats have their way the war on terror would be fought in the courtroom and not on the battlefield.

AJ Strata:

It is one of the random ironies of 9-11: it happened two months before the time of our national elections.

UPDATE: Llarwyn e-mails and wonders why the news agencies are so insistent about the video being "at least 5 years old" which would date it in the Bush administration. Could there be political reasons for this? I don't think so. Seems to me the reason for the 5 year date is just to help put at rest the Truthers claim that bin Laden was a scapegoat.

I just got this e-mail message from "Miriam Kofi". Her father was bombed by the evil Zionist J-O-Os in Lebanon. Of course, now she's in the Ivory Coast where the daughters of several disposed dictators solicit me for money fortnightly. Send her money so she can go to school in the USA. She swears this is not a scam. I believe her. Now excuse me while I go take my pet Sasquatch out for a walk.

My fellow people
Greetings in the name of allah

I am miss Mariam Orand Ferai .I am from Libanon .I am
the only surviving daughter of Mr and Mrs Ferai .My
father worked in texes for 11years.It was last two
years that he went on retirement then we had to go
home to reside Now a heavy crisis has broken out in my
country Libanon even up till thkis moment.My father was
shattered into pieces by the recent bomb bast.My
mother was badly wounded but I escaped with her with
the help of a boat driver and we landed into Ivory Coast
where I we neither communicate nor understand what
poeple around speaks.I managed to take my mother to
hospital but she couldn't make it.Now I am left alone in
his foregn land where I know no one with a language
barrier.

Belovd this is the reason why I have decided to bring
this ugly situation of mine to your understanding as well
as asking for your help.This is the story of my life which
brings me into seeking for your help.I am rendered
homeless without parents, relatives, or friends who can
be of a help to me because of the language barrier
betwen me and the people here around me please help
me before I give up too .It is so much on me please.5
1)Can you help me in the retrievements of
this fund on my behalf from the bank
(2)Can you make an arrangement for me to come over
to your country to further my Education and to secure
a resident permit in your country?
(3) Can you honestly take me as your own and help
me?
5) Can I completely trust you?
.
(6) What percentage of the total amount in question
will be good for you after the money is transfered into
your account?

Please,Consider this and get back to me as soon as
possible so that i can forward the documents to you
after we have agreed on the conditions for your
assistance. My life is not safe here and i need to be out
of here as soon as possible I will find it difficult to travel
and clear it myself alone with my little or no
experience. I am waiting for your urgent reply with your
contact phone number so that I can give you the
contact of the bank so that you can contact them as if
you are my guardians.
Thank you so much.
Best Regards,
Miss Mariam Orand Ferai

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

That's the question posed by a CBS News/New York Times poll, which interprets the results as criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the War on Terror:

Compared with five years ago, 39 percent of Americans say they feel less safe now, compared with only 14 percent who say they feel safer. Forty-six percent say they feel the same.

Fanatical Muslims succeeded in pulling off the most devastating terrorist attack in history five years ago; does it seem reasonable to assume that they won't keep trying to repeat that success? This is not a criticism of the Bush administration's response to 9/11. Who would have believed on September 12, 2001 that Bush would succeed in foiling followup attacks for five years? Not me; I expected another attack within the year.

So, why should I not feel more safe now than five years ago unless I believe that the Bushies are bungling the War on Terror? Because the terrorists have gained powerful new American allies since 9/11. Democrats, whose initial, and correct, reaction was characterized by Al Franken's demand that terrorists be interrogated with "...a red hot poker up the ass..." have decided that it's to their political advantage to shift their sights towards Bush and the Republicans.

How can anyone feel more safe when one of our major political parties has decided that the greater danger to America is their own countrymen, who happen not to share all of their political views?

How can anyone feel safer when two Ivy League universities actively collaborate with our enemies, admitting Taliban members and providing a platform and credibility to representatives of tyrannical regimes?

How can anyone feel safer when the New York Times, one of the patrons of this very poll, feels comfortable betraying their own country by publishing classified documents relating to active counter-terrorism programs?

Newt takes to task the modern peace Democrats for their ignorance and the Bush Administration for their failure to will the fight necessary to win against the forces of Islamofascism. If it wasn't for his personal failings and the fact that everyone in the media hates him, he'd be a great candidate for President.

Opinion Journal:

The first and greatest lesson of the last five years parallels what Lincoln came to understand. The dangers are greater, the enemy is more determined, and victory will be substantially harder than we had expected in the early days after the initial attack. Despite how painful it would prove to be, Lincoln chose the road to victory. President Bush today finds himself in precisely the same dilemma Lincoln faced 144 years ago. With American survival at stake, he also must choose. His strategies are not wrong, but they are failing. And they are failing for three reasons.

(1) They do not define the scale of the emerging World War III, between the West and the forces of militant Islam, and so they do not outline how difficult the challenge is and how big the effort will have to be. (2) They do not define victory in this larger war as our goal, and so the energy, resources and intensity needed to win cannot be mobilized. (3) They do not establish clear metrics of achievement and then replace leaders, bureaucrats and bureaucracies as needed to achieve those goals.

Religion of beheading blasphemers watch. Mohamed Taha had been convicted of blasphemy by the Islamist government of the Sudan, but was released after apologizing and paying a fine. But apparently the apology wasn't enough, Taha was kidnapped and beheaded for his crime against Islam by those who thought that the government's suppression of his newspaper wasn't good enough.

Via SeeMonk, this from the Washington Post:

A Sudanese newspaper editor who infuriated Muslim fundamentalists last year by printing an article that concerned questions about the parentage of the prophet Muhammad was found dead Wednesday in Khartoum, the capital.

Masked gunmen abducted Mohamed Taha, editor in chief of Al-Wifaq, from his home Tuesday. His decapitated body was found Wednesday in another section of the city. His head was beside the body, and his hands and feet had been bound, the Reuters news service reported...

Last year, Taha published an article that referred to a centuries-old text by a Muslim historian that raised questions about the prophet's lineage. Religious leaders in Khartoum denounced Taha's work, and scores of protesters called for his death.

Prosecutors tried Taha for blasphemy, a charge that can carry the death penalty under sharia , or Islamic law, in Sudan. Taha, who was fined about $3,000, apologized in print for upsetting Muslims. His newspaper also was temporarily suspended from printing.

What I'm looking at this morning. Hey, you could waste your time doing worse things.

Mitt Romney smacks down fascist Iranian and Harvard with a single blow.

Pirates and terrorists, the same thing? No, but both are organized non-hierarchically and are composed of diffuse networks and therefore we could learn a thing or two about fighting terrorists with the experience of fighting pirates.

Saudi woman keeps slaves....in Boston.

NYT: Now Gitmo has ‘Real’ Terrorists. Not like all those, you know, 'scapegoats' in there now.

Blair to quit. Sad day.

On Sullie and Bush. Every one on the Left is now a "true Conservative".

What's changed since 9/11? Everything.

Bomb proof toilet. Funny and true. Is there anything the Chinese can't do?

The battle of the Bridges at Nasiriyah. Wow.

The Washington Times has picked up our story about Democratic nominee for Congress Dr. Bob Bowman and his incredible conspiracy theories. Bowman believes Vice President Dick Cheney was behind 9/11.

Not to be outdone by other conpsiracy theorists who are even more crazy, Bowman also believes the Trilateralist Commission secretly runs the world economy. I wish this was a joke, but it's not. Bowman actually claims these things on his own website and Bowman actually just won the Democratic primary in Florida's 15th district.

Our original story Democrats Nominate 9/11 Conspiracy Theorist Bob Bowman in Florida is here.

Washington Times Inside Politics:

After learning of Mr. Bowman's primary victory, blogger Rusty Shackleford (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu) posted video of Mr. Bowman speaking at a June "9/11 Truth" symposium.

"The official story ... of 9/11 is a bunch of hogwash -- it's impossible," Mr. Bowman told the symposium. Referring to a "cover-up" of the facts about the 2001 attacks, Mr. Bowman said that "high levels of our government don't want us to know what happened and who was responsible."

Who was responsible? "I think the case is pretty clear that it's highly placed individuals in the administration, with all roads passing through [Vice President] Dick Cheney," Mr. Bowman told the gathering in Los Angeles, suggesting that the Bush administration was guilty of "high treason and conspiracy to commit murder."

And just in case you missed the updates yesterday, here is Bowman from his own website on the New World Order conspiracy:

The New World Order got its start with Charlie Wilson (chairman of General Motors and later Secretary of Defense) and Krupp Industries in Hitler’s Germany in the 1930s. It got a big push from David Rockefeller in 1960 with the Trilateral Commission, and reached its fruition under George H. W. Bush. It incorporates the IMF, the World Bank, the G-8, and the WTO. It rules the world on behalf of the billionaire industrialists and bankers. It is global capitalism run amok. It manipulates public opinion through its corporate media monopolies. If we can’t take back America, there’s not much hope for the rest of the world.

A rebuttal video of the Loose Change II video. Loose Change is a video produced by conspiracy theorists.....or was it?

It's a long video, but if you have "Truther" friends who are into the 9/11 conspiracy--like Democratic candidate Dr. Bob Bowman--then you might want to get them to watch this.

Updated by Howie: Conspiracy Theory: Hard hitting data research by men using brain. Never mind their head is inside their rectums.

Hat Tip: Mark.

Rob interviews Major Mike McNamara, just back from Iraq. I'm listening to the podcast now (click link then scroll down) and it's very ineresting to here about his experiences in Iraq.

Apparently Hamas has decided to promote softball as it's new official sport. You really have to see this.

September 06, 2006

Now this is vlogging.

UPDATE by Rusty: Bloggers all over the place flirting with each other. Me? You'll get no such pleasure. Besides, I'm happily married to the very hot Mrs. Shackleford, who I've seen naked.

So, in an effort to spread the felicity of marital bliss, let's hook these bloggers up. It worked for our own blogger Vinnie (more commonly known around here as Pete Carrol's biyatch) and Merri (more commonly known around here as that Helen Keller chick).

Jack M. winks at Mary Katherine, but rumor has it Mary Kate is only into IDF dudes. Bethany winks at Allah, Allah has this reaction.

A warning to Jack M. and Allah: rumor has it Professor Chaos also wants to throw his hat into the Mary K. and Bethany suitor ring.

Let the games begin and cue the Benny Hill theme song!

We at the Jawa Report are pleased to introduce our new mascot:

We don't know her name, nor do we really care.

Swiped from.

Update: The (you're not the) boss (of me, who do you think I am, Allahpundit?) orders more pics. I did find one. Call her our alternate mascot.

Democrats in Florida's 15th district have nominated a 9/11 conspiracy theorist to run for Congress.

Dr. Bob Bowman had 55 percent over 45 percent for John M. Kennedy. The winner will face incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Weldon.

But don't worry, it's okay for him to "quesion" 9/11, because Dr. Bob Bowman is a retired Air Force officer. See how that works, if you served in the military, you get the pass from the Democrats.

At least he's no chickenhawk.

Plus he's got a Ph.D. I mean, that would get me to vote for him right there.

And for you Catholics out there, it just gets worse. He's a former "Archbishop" of the "United Catholic Church"....where gays, lesbians, and abortion rights activists who are out of Communion go to congregate.

Here's his website.

Doesn't it just make you proud to be a Democrat?

Source:

The former head of the Star Wars missile defense program under Presidents Ford and Carter has gone public to say that the official version of 9/11 is a conspiracy theory and his main suspect for the architect of the attack is Vice President Dick Cheney.

"The exercises that went on that morning simulating the exact kind of thing that was happening so confused the people in the FAA and NORAD....that they didn't they didn't know what was real and what was part of the exercise," said Bowman

"I think the people who planned and carried out those exercises, they're the ones that should be the object of investigation."

Asked if he could name a prime suspect who was the likely architect behind the attacks, Bowman stated, "If I had to narrow it down to one person....I think my prime suspect would be Dick Cheney."

Bowman said that privately his military fighter pilot peers and colleagues did not disagree with his sentiments about the real story behind 9/11.

UPDATE: Found it in two places. I had heard of Bowman from commenters, both of whom cite Bowman as an authority figure. Here's one: MA Mosque Claims U.S. Government Behind 9/11. Here's the other: Charlie Sheen: CIA, Jews, Space Aliens Caused 9/11

And do you want to know how I found out that Bowman had won? I was monitoring a "moderate" Muslim message board in the UK. These "moderates" were ecstatic that Bowman had won. I'm not kidding, you don't get more mainstream than these guys.

UPDATE: Video of Bowman and much more below the fold. Says: "The official 9/11 story is hogwash..is impossible...prove that high levels of our government don't want us to know what happened and who was repsonsible." Hmm, maybe it was the Mossad? No?

"...all roads lead to Cheney.... High treason and conspiracy to commit murder." Freaking amazing!

UPDATE: Allah says that District 15 is secure and has a lot more. Here's praying. But commenter Leatherhelmet over at LGF links to this guy in Washington State who is also a 9/11 conspiracy nut. Guess which party?

His name is Joshua Smith, and like DR. Bob he's pursuing a post-graduate education in, get this, "space studies". And by profession he's a "technologist". Technologist studying space studies?

And as long as we've offended Catholics with Dr. Bob's non-affiliation, we'll go ahead and offend Latter Day Saints--Mormons. Josh Smith claims he is a practicing Mormon. Now about that excommunication thing....

Anyway, Smith says:

This may be hard to believe if you've not given it much thought, but it must be said anyway. Current scientific evidence does not support the government's official explanation of what happened. In fact, the official 9/11 report has clear inconsistencies, ambiguities, and in some cases, outright impossibilities.

Will the Democrats treat these nutjobs the way the Republicans treated David Duke? Sadly, I think the answer is no.

UPDATE: Just plain crazy vs. treasonously crazy--Allah finds out that Smith's opponent is Baghdad Jim McDermott.

And it turns out that Frank J. of IMAO fame may soon be represented by Doc Bob. He lives in his district. Bwahahahahahaaaa!!!!!

Frank J finds more from Doc Bob and has a whole list. Get this, Bob is against violent video games because they lead to our soldiers shooting their guns more often.

UPDATE:Sister Toldjah e-mails to let me know that Dr. Bob's website is still running the 9/11 conspiracy stuff right now. That I knew. But what I didn't know was that just above it he would go off on the.....wait for it....Illuminati and Trilateralist Commission!

The New World Order got its start with Charlie Wilson (chairman of General Motors and later Secretary of Defense) and Krupp Industries in Hitler’s Germany in the 1930s. It got a big push from David Rockefeller in 1960 with the Trilateral Commission, and reached its fruition under George H. W. Bush. It incorporates the IMF, the World Bank, the G-8, and the WTO. It rules the world on behalf of the billionaire industrialists and bankers. It is global capitalism run amok. It manipulates public opinion through its corporate media monopolies. If we can’t take back America, there’s not much hope for the rest of the world.

Anyway, here is what the Democrats in Florida just nominated:

9/11: The truth about 9/11 is that we don’t KNOW the truth about 9/11, and we should. I will sponsor (and have already lined up co-sponsors for) legislation initiating a truly independent investigation of 9/11. There is mounting evidence of complicity by elements of our own government.

If they have nothing to hide, why are they hiding everything? Why are they hiding audiotapes of FAA and NORAD controllers? Why are they hiding videotapes of whatever hit the Pentagon? Why are they hiding the black boxes? Why did they destroy most of the forensic evidence showing that three buildings at the World Trade Center were brought down by thermite demolition charges? If the thermite residue found on severed steel beams didn’t bring down the towers, what did? (Never before in history did steel skyscrapers fall because of fire, and THREE of them did on the same day … one of which wasn’t even hit by an airplane!) Why did four hijacked airliners fly around for up to an hour and 45 minutes without being intercepted? Why were normal procedures not followed? (If normal procedures HAD been followed, the aircraft would have been intercepted with 20 minutes to spare, the twin towers would still be standing, and thousands of dead Americans would still be alive.) If it was massive incompetence, why has no one been fired? … or demoted? … or court martialed? (Instead they were promoted or given the medal of freedom!) If Osama bin Laden was really suspected, why did our government violate its own “no-fly” order to hurriedly fly the bin Laden family out of the United States before they could be questioned? Why does the “Osama bin Laden” in the “confession” videotape have a nose about an inch shorter than the real Osama bin Laden? Why have half a dozen of the 19 “hijackers” turned up in other countries … alive and well? Were there really any hijackers at all, and if there were, were they patsies? Who made millions on short sales of United and American Airlines? Where is the tens of billions of dollars worth of missing gold that was stored in the World Trade Center?

The American people and the families of those who died on 9/11 deserve the truth, and we do not yet have it. The above are but a tiny fraction of the unanswered questions not even raised by those who “investigated” the 9/11 tragedy. The most unbelievable of all the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11 is the OFFICIAL conspiracy theory told us by our government. The Kean-Hamilton commission report was a whitewash, a cover-up, and a bundle of deception. If a new investigation identifies those responsible, they should be indicted for treason. And those who covered up the treason should themselves be indicted as accessories after the fact.

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

From the Daily Mail (UK) via the Drudge Report:

The 9/11 terrorist attack on America which left almost 3,000 people dead was an "inside job", according to a group of leading academics.

Around 75 top professors and leading scientists believe the attacks were puppeteered by war mongers in the White House to justify the invasion and the occupation of oil-rich Arab countries.

This site features a petition signed mostly by the sort of people you'd expect to sign such a document, demanding, in part, that NYS AG Eliot Spitzer investigate 9/11 as an inside job. Since Eliot is busy running for governor, it's doubtful that he wants something quite this wacky on his resume right now. The kindest interpretation to put on their motives is that they don't really believe their own hogwash, but want to make ensure a strong turnout of the clinically paranoid at the midterm elections.

Interestingly, several documents on the Scholars for 9/11 Truth website, which is mentioned in the Daily Mail article, are hosted by Information Clearing House, a website that, as I discovered (update here) in February of 2005, has ties to Iraqi terrorist organizations.

UPDATE: Video here.

Here is the full text of the Bush speech as transcribed by the White House.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thanks for the warm welcome. Welcome to the White House. Mr. Vice President, Secretary Rice, Attorney General Gonzales, Ambassador Negroponte, General Hayden, members of the United States Congress, families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks on our nation, and my fellow citizens: Thanks for coming.

On the morning of September the 11th, 2001, our nation awoke to a nightmare attack. Nineteen men, armed with box cutters, took control of airplanes and turned them into missiles. They used them to kill nearly 3,000 innocent people. We watched the Twin Towers collapse before our eyes -- and it became instantly clear that we'd entered a new world, and a dangerous new war.

The attacks of September the 11th horrified our nation. And amid the grief came new fears and urgent questions: Who had attacked us? What did they want? And what else were they planning? Americans saw the destruction the terrorists had caused in New York, and Washington, and Pennsylvania, and they wondered if there were other terrorist cells in our midst poised to strike; they wondered if there was a second wave of attacks still to come.

With the Twin Towers and the Pentagon still smoldering, our country on edge, and a stream of intelligence coming in about potential new attacks, my administration faced immediate challenges: We had to respond to the attack on our country. We had to wage an unprecedented war against an enemy unlike any we had fought before. We had to find the terrorists hiding in America and across the world, before they were able to strike our country again. So in the early days and weeks after 9/11, I directed our government's senior national security officials to do everything in their power, within our laws, to prevent another attack.

Nearly five years have passed since these -- those initial days of shock and sadness -- and we are thankful that the terrorists have not succeeded in launching another attack on our soil. This is not for the lack of desire or determination on the part of the enemy. As the recently foiled plot in London shows, the terrorists are still active, and they're still trying to strike America, and they're still trying to kill our people. One reason the terrorists have not succeeded is because of the hard work of thousands of dedicated men and women in our government, who have toiled day and night, along with our allies, to stop the enemy from carrying out their plans. And we are grateful for these hardworking citizens of ours.

Another reason the terrorists have not succeeded is because our government has changed its policies -- and given our military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel the tools they need to fight this enemy and protect our people and preserve our freedoms.

The terrorists who declared war on America represent no nation, they defend no territory, and they wear no uniform. They do not mass armies on borders, or flotillas of warships on the high seas. They operate in the shadows of society; they send small teams of operatives to infiltrate free nations; they live quietly among their victims; they conspire in secret, and then they strike without warning. In this new war, the most important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists, themselves. Captured terrorists have unique knowledge about how terrorist networks operate. They have knowledge of where their operatives are deployed, and knowledge about what plots are underway. This intelligence -- this is intelligence that cannot be found any other place. And our security depends on getting this kind of information. To win the war on terror, we must be able to detain, question, and, when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America, and on the battlefields around the world.

After the 9/11 attacks, our coalition launched operations across the world to remove terrorist safe havens, and capture or kill terrorist operatives and leaders. Working with our allies, we've captured and detained thousands of terrorists and enemy fighters in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and other fronts of this war on terror. These enemy -- these are enemy combatants, who were waging war on our nation. We have a right under the laws of war, and we have an obligation to the American people, to detain these enemies and stop them from rejoining the battle.

Most of the enemy combatants we capture are held in Afghanistan or in Iraq, where they're questioned by our military personnel. Many are released after questioning, or turned over to local authorities -- if we determine that they do not pose a continuing threat and no longer have significant intelligence value. Others remain in American custody near the battlefield, to ensure that they don't return to the fight.

In some cases, we determine that individuals we have captured pose a significant threat, or may have intelligence that we and our allies need to have to prevent new attacks. Many are al Qaeda operatives or Taliban fighters trying to conceal their identities, and they withhold information that could save American lives. In these cases, it has been necessary to move these individuals to an environment where they can be held secretly [sic], questioned by experts, and -- when appropriate -- prosecuted for terrorist acts.

Some of these individuals are taken to the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It's important for Americans and others across the world to understand the kind of people held at Guantanamo. These aren't common criminals, or bystanders accidentally swept up on the battlefield -- we have in place a rigorous process to ensure those held at Guantanamo Bay belong at Guantanamo. Those held at Guantanamo include suspected bomb makers, terrorist trainers, recruiters and facilitators, and potential suicide bombers. They are in our custody so they cannot murder our people. One detainee held at Guantanamo told a questioner questioning him -- he said this: "I'll never forget your face. I will kill you, your brothers, your mother, and sisters."

In addition to the terrorists held at Guantanamo, a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency. This group includes individuals believed to be the key architects of the September the 11th attacks, and attacks on the USS Cole, an operative involved in the bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and individuals involved in other attacks that have taken the lives of innocent civilians across the world. These are dangerous men with unparalleled knowledge about terrorist networks and their plans for new attacks. The security of our nation and the lives of our citizens depend on our ability to learn what these terrorists know.

Many specifics of this program, including where these detainees have been held and the details of their confinement, cannot be divulged. Doing so would provide our enemies with information they could use to take retribution against our allies and harm our country. I can say that questioning the detainees in this program has given us information that has saved innocent lives by helping us stop new attacks -- here in the United States and across the world. Today, I'm going to share with you some of the examples provided by our intelligence community of how this program has saved lives; why it remains vital to the security of the United States, and our friends and allies; and why it deserves the support of the United States Congress and the American people.

Within months of September the 11th, 2001, we captured a man known as Abu Zubaydah. We believe that Zubaydah was a senior terrorist leader and a trusted associate of Osama bin Laden. Our intelligence community believes he had run a terrorist camp in Afghanistan where some of the 9/11 hijackers trained, and that he helped smuggle al Qaeda leaders out of Afghanistan after coalition forces arrived to liberate that country. Zubaydah was severely wounded during the firefight that brought him into custody -- and he survived only because of the medical care arranged by the CIA.

After he recovered, Zubaydah was defiant and evasive. He declared his hatred of America. During questioning, he at first disclosed what he thought was nominal information -- and then stopped all cooperation. Well, in fact, the "nominal" information he gave us turned out to be quite important. For example, Zubaydah disclosed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- or KSM -- was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and used the alias "Muktar." This was a vital piece of the puzzle that helped our intelligence community pursue KSM. Abu Zubaydah also provided information that helped stop a terrorist attack being planned for inside the United States -- an attack about which we had no previous information. Zubaydah told us that al Qaeda operatives were planning to launch an attack in the U.S., and provided physical descriptions of the operatives and information on their general location. Based on the information he provided, the operatives were detained -- one while traveling to the United States.

We knew that Zubaydah had more information that could save innocent lives, but he stopped talking. As his questioning proceeded, it became clear that he had received training on how to resist interrogation. And so the CIA used an alternative set of procedures. These procedures were designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our Constitution, and our treaty obligations. The Department of Justice reviewed the authorized methods extensively and determined them to be lawful. I cannot describe the specific methods used -- I think you understand why -- if I did, it would help the terrorists learn how to resist questioning, and to keep information from us that we need to prevent new attacks on our country. But I can say the procedures were tough, and they were safe, and lawful, and necessary.

Zubaydah was questioned using these procedures, and soon he began to provide information on key al Qaeda operatives, including information that helped us find and capture more of those responsible for the attacks on September the 11th. For example, Zubaydah identified one of KSM's accomplices in the 9/11 attacks -- a terrorist named Ramzi bin al Shibh. The information Zubaydah provided helped lead to the capture of bin al Shibh. And together these two terrorists provided information that helped in the planning and execution of the operation that captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Once in our custody, KSM was questioned by the CIA using these procedures, and he soon provided information that helped us stop another planned attack on the United States. During questioning, KSM told us about another al Qaeda operative he knew was in CIA custody -- a terrorist named Majid Khan. KSM revealed that Khan had been told to deliver $50,000 to individuals working for a suspected terrorist leader named Hambali, the leader of al Qaeda's Southeast Asian affiliate known as "J-I". CIA officers confronted Khan with this information. Khan confirmed that the money had been delivered to an operative named Zubair, and provided both a physical description and contact number for this operative.

Based on that information, Zubair was captured in June of 2003, and he soon provided information that helped lead to the capture of Hambali. After Hambali's arrest, KSM was questioned again. He identified Hambali's brother as the leader of a "J-I" cell, and Hambali's conduit for communications with al Qaeda. Hambali's brother was soon captured in Pakistan, and, in turn, led us to a cell of 17 Southeast Asian "J-I" operatives. When confronted with the news that his terror cell had been broken up, Hambali admitted that the operatives were being groomed at KSM's request for attacks inside the United States -- probably [sic] using airplanes.

During questioning, KSM also provided many details of other plots to kill innocent Americans. For example, he described the design of planned attacks on buildings inside the United States, and how operatives were directed to carry them out. He told us the operatives had been instructed to ensure that the explosives went off at a point that was high enough to prevent the people trapped above from escaping out the windows.

KSM also provided vital information on al Qaeda's efforts to obtain biological weapons. During questioning, KSM admitted that he had met three individuals involved in al Qaeda's efforts to produce anthrax, a deadly biological agent -- and he identified one of the individuals as a terrorist named Yazid. KSM apparently believed we already had this information, because Yazid had been captured and taken into foreign custody before KSM's arrest. In fact, we did not know about Yazid's role in al Qaeda's anthrax program. Information from Yazid then helped lead to the capture of his two principal assistants in the anthrax program. Without the information provided by KSM and Yazid, we might not have uncovered this al Qaeda biological weapons program, or stopped this al Qaeda cell from developing anthrax for attacks against the United States.

These are some of the plots that have been stopped because of the information of this vital program. Terrorists held in CIA custody have also provided information that helped stop a planned strike on U.S. Marines at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti -- they were going to use an explosive laden water tanker. They helped stop a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi using car bombs and motorcycle bombs, and they helped stop a plot to hijack passenger planes and fly them into Heathrow or the Canary Wharf in London.

We're getting vital information necessary to do our jobs, and that's to protect the American people and our allies.

Information from the terrorists in this program has helped us to identify individuals that al Qaeda deemed suitable for Western operations, many of whom we had never heard about before. They include terrorists who were set to case targets inside the United States, including financial buildings in major cities on the East Coast. Information from terrorists in CIA custody has played a role in the capture or questioning of nearly every senior al Qaeda member or associate detained by the U.S. and its allies since this program began. By providing everything from initial leads to photo identifications, to precise locations of where terrorists were hiding, this program has helped us to take potential mass murderers off the streets before they were able to kill.

This program has also played a critical role in helping us understand the enemy we face in this war. Terrorists in this program have painted a picture of al Qaeda's structure and financing, and communications and logistics. They identified al Qaeda's travel routes and safe havens, and explained how al Qaeda's senior leadership communicates with its operatives in places like Iraq. They provided information that allows us -- that has allowed us to make sense of documents and computer records that we have seized in terrorist raids. They've identified voices in recordings of intercepted calls, and helped us understand the meaning of potentially critical terrorist communications.

The information we get from these detainees is corroborated by intelligence, and we've received -- that we've received from other sources -- and together this intelligence has helped us connect the dots and stop attacks before they occur. Information from the terrorists questioned in this program helped unravel plots and terrorist cells in Europe and in other places. It's helped our allies protect their people from deadly enemies. This program has been, and remains, one of the most vital tools in our war against the terrorists. It is invaluable to America and to our allies. Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland. By giving us information about terrorist plans we could not get anywhere else, this program has saved innocent lives.

This program has been subject to multiple legal reviews by the Department of Justice and CIA lawyers; they've determined it complied with our laws. This program has received strict oversight by the CIA's Inspector General. A small number of key leaders from both political parties on Capitol Hill were briefed about this program. All those involved in the questioning of the terrorists are carefully chosen and they're screened from a pool of experienced CIA officers. Those selected to conduct the most sensitive questioning had to complete more than 250 additional hours of specialized training before they are allowed to have contact with a captured terrorist.

I want to be absolutely clear with our people, and the world: The United States does not torture. It's against our laws, and it's against our values. I have not authorized it -- and I will not authorize it. Last year, my administration worked with Senator John McCain, and I signed into law the Detainee Treatment Act, which established the legal standard for treatment of detainees wherever they are held. I support this act. And as we implement this law, our government will continue to use every lawful method to obtain intelligence that can protect innocent people, and stop another attack like the one we experienced on September the 11th, 2001.

The CIA program has detained only a limited number of terrorists at any given time -- and once we've determined that the terrorists held by the CIA have little or no additional intelligence value, many of them have been returned to their home countries for prosecution or detention by their governments. Others have been accused of terrible crimes against the American people, and we have a duty to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice. So we intend to prosecute these men, as appropriate, for their crimes.

Soon after the war on terror began, I authorized a system of military commissions to try foreign terrorists accused of war crimes. Military commissions have been used by Presidents from George Washington to Franklin Roosevelt to prosecute war criminals, because the rules for trying enemy combatants in a time of conflict must be different from those for trying common criminals or members of our own military. One of the first suspected terrorists to be put on trial by military commission was one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards -- a man named Hamdan. His lawyers challenged the legality of the military commission system. It took more than two years for this case to make its way through the courts. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the military commissions we had designed, but this past June, the Supreme Court overturned that decision. The Supreme Court determined that military commissions are an appropriate venue for trying terrorists, but ruled that military commissions needed to be explicitly authorized by the United States Congress.

So today, I'm sending Congress legislation to specifically authorize the creation of military commissions to try terrorists for war crimes. My administration has been working with members of both parties in the House and Senate on this legislation. We put forward a bill that ensures these commissions are established in a way that protects our national security, and ensures a full and fair trial for those accused. The procedures in the bill I am sending to Congress today reflect the reality that we are a nation at war, and that it's essential for us to use all reliable evidence to bring these people to justice.

We're now approaching the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- and the families of those murdered that day have waited patiently for justice. Some of the families are with us today -- they should have to wait no longer. So I'm announcing today that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and 11 other terrorists in CIA custody have been transferred to the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. (Applause.) They are being held in the custody of the Department of Defense. As soon as Congress acts to authorize the military commissions I have proposed, the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on September the 11th, 2001, can face justice. (Applause.)

We'll also seek to prosecute those believed to be responsible for the attack on the USS Cole, and an operative believed to be involved in the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. With these prosecutions, we will send a clear message to those who kill Americans: No longer -- how long it takes, we will find you and we will bring you to justice. (Applause.)

These men will be held in a high-security facility at Guantanamo. The International Committee of the Red Cross is being advised of their detention, and will have the opportunity to meet with them. Those charged with crimes will be given access to attorneys who will help them prepare their defense -- and they will be presumed innocent. While at Guantanamo, they will have access to the same food, clothing, medical care, and opportunities for worship as other detainees. They will be questioned subject to the new U.S. Army Field Manual, which the Department of Defense is issuing today. And they will continue to be treated with the humanity that they denied others.

As we move forward with the prosecutions, we will continue to urge nations across the world to take back their nationals at Guantanamo who will not be prosecuted by our military commissions. America has no interest in being the world's jailer. But one of the reasons we have not been able to close Guantanamo is that many countries have refused to take back their nationals held at the facility. Other countries have not provided adequate assurances that their nationals will not be mistreated -- or they will not return to the battlefield, as more than a dozen people released from Guantanamo already have. We will continue working to transfer individuals held at Guantanamo, and ask other countries to work with us in this process. And we will move toward the day when we can eventually close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

I know Americans have heard conflicting information about Guantanamo. Let me give you some facts. Of the thousands of terrorists captured across the world, only about 770 have ever been sent to Guantanamo. Of these, about 315 have been returned to other countries so far -- and about 455 remain in our custody. They are provided the same quality of medical care as the American service members who guard them. The International Committee of the Red Cross has the opportunity to meet privately with all who are held there. The facility has been visited by government officials from more than 30 countries, and delegations from international organizations, as well. After the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe came to visit, one of its delegation members called Guantanamo "a model prison" where people are treated better than in prisons in his own country. Our troops can take great pride in the work they do at Guantanamo Bay -- and so can the American people.

As we prosecute suspected terrorist leaders and operatives who have now been transferred to Guantanamo, we'll continue searching for those who have stepped forward to take their places. This nation is going to stay on the offense to protect the American people. We will continue to bring the world's most dangerous terrorists to justice -- and we will continue working to collect the vital intelligence we need to protect our country. The current transfers mean that there are now no terrorists in the CIA program. But as more high-ranking terrorists are captured, the need to obtain intelligence from them will remain critical -- and having a CIA program for questioning terrorists will continue to be crucial to getting life-saving information.

Some may ask: Why are you acknowledging this program now? There are two reasons why I'm making these limited disclosures today. First, we have largely completed our questioning of the men -- and to start the process for bringing them to trial, we must bring them into the open. Second, the Supreme Court's recent decision has impaired our ability to prosecute terrorists through military commissions, and has put in question the future of the CIA program. In its ruling on military commissions, the Court determined that a provision of the Geneva Conventions known as "Common Article Three" applies to our war with al Qaeda. This article includes provisions that prohibit "outrages upon personal dignity" and "humiliating and degrading treatment." The problem is that these and other provisions of Common Article Three are vague and undefined, and each could be interpreted in different ways by American or foreign judges. And some believe our military and intelligence personnel involved in capturing and questioning terrorists could now be at risk of prosecution under the War Crimes Act -- simply for doing their jobs in a thorough and professional way.

This is unacceptable. Our military and intelligence personnel go face to face with the world's most dangerous men every day. They have risked their lives to capture some of the most brutal terrorists on Earth. And they have worked day and night to find out what the terrorists know so we can stop new attacks. America owes our brave men and women some things in return. We owe them their thanks for saving lives and keeping America safe. And we owe them clear rules, so they can continue to do their jobs and protect our people.

So today, I'm asking Congress to pass legislation that will clarify the rules for our personnel fighting the war on terror. First, I'm asking Congress to list the specific, recognizable offenses that would be considered crimes under the War Crimes Act -- so our personnel can know clearly what is prohibited in the handling of terrorist enemies. Second, I'm asking that Congress make explicit that by following the standards of the Detainee Treatment Act our personnel are fulfilling America's obligations under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. Third, I'm asking that Congress make it clear that captured terrorists cannot use the Geneva Conventions as a basis to sue our personnel in courts -- in U.S. courts. The men and women who protect us should not have to fear lawsuits filed by terrorists because they're doing their jobs.

The need for this legislation is urgent. We need to ensure that those questioning terrorists can continue to do everything within the limits of the law to get information that can save American lives. My administration will continue to work with the Congress to get this legislation enacted -- but time is of the essence. Congress is in session just for a few more weeks, and passing this legislation ought to be the top priority. (Applause.)

As we work with Congress to pass a good bill, we will also consult with congressional leaders on how to ensure that the CIA program goes forward in a way that follows the law, that meets the national security needs of our country, and protects the brave men and women we ask to obtain information that will save innocent lives. For the sake of our security, Congress needs to act, and update our laws to meet the threats of this new era. And I know they will.

We're engaged in a global struggle -- and the entire civilized world has a stake in its outcome. America is a nation of law. And as I work with Congress to strengthen and clarify our laws here at home, I will continue to work with members of the international community who have been our partners in this struggle. I've spoken with leaders of foreign governments, and worked with them to address their concerns about Guantanamo and our detention policies. I'll continue to work with the international community to construct a common foundation to defend our nations and protect our freedoms.

Free nations have faced new enemies and adjusted to new threats before -- and we have prevailed. Like the struggles of the last century, today's war on terror is, above all, a struggle for freedom and liberty. The adversaries are different, but the stakes in this war are the same: We're fighting for our way of life, and our ability to live in freedom. We're fighting for the cause of humanity, against those who seek to impose the darkness of tyranny and terror upon the entire world. And we're fighting for a peaceful future for our children and our grandchildren.

May God bless you all. (Applause.)

NY Post columnist Andrea Peyser gives Katie Couric a first class asswhooping (sorry for the coarse language, but that's what it is) for her tortured debut behind the CBS Evening 'News' anchor desk. A sample:

Her face was Botoxed beyond normal human endurance, proving that even pampered, overpaid news babes possess the courage to suffer for their art.

And for the first time in history that a female was allowed to deliver a network's evening news alone, Katie chose to wear an unfortunate white blazer - the result, no doubt, of some jokester lying to her face when Katie asked, "Does this make me look fat?"

And the day after Labor Day, to boot!

For this they pay her a reported $15 million a year?

The best that can be said about Katie Couric was that she did not trip over her 5-inch stiletto heels when she toddled across the floor of the set, crossing her bare legs like some ridiculous tramp.

The worst that can be said about Katie is that she did not fall flat on her face - which would have provided a much-needed break in the tension.

ht: Drudge

Cross-posted at Mein BlogoVault.

UPDATE: Bush did not say what many in the press reported he would prior to the speech. Full text of speech posted below.

I'm speechless. Really.

When John from Stop the ACLU sent me the news I was shocked. But I'm not sure that the headline being run by Drudge is even accurate. The transfer of 14 people out of secret locations and to Guantanamo doesn't exactly seem to be the definition of "Geneva Convention rights". Nor does trying them in military or civilian courts. And the Gitmo captives are not POWs, have never been called that, and have never been treated as such!

We're in unchartered territory here baby.

Fox News:

President Bush is expected to announce Wednesday the transfer of 14 key terrorist suspects from secret CIA custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

The suspects will be transferred to Defense Department custody as a first step in preparing them for trial, a senior administration official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the president's announcement was still pending, said the suspects would be afforded some legal protections consistent with the Geneva conventions.

In addition to Sheik Mohammed, believed to be the No. 3 Al Qaeda leader before his capture in Pakistan in 2003, the suspects include: Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged would-be Sept. 11 hijacker; and, Abu Zubaydah, who U.S. intelligence officials believe was a key link between Usama bin Laden and many Al Qaeda cells. Zubaydah also was captured in Pakistan, in March 2002.

UPDATE: "some legal protections consistent with the Geneva Conventions" is not the same thing as receiving POW status! For Chrissake.......

UPDATE: Michelle liveblogged it.

So, today I'm sending Congress legislation to specifically authorize the creation of military commissions to try terrorists for war crimes.

So to my good friend Bob--also a victim--let's ease off on the impeachment talk.

UPDATE: Ace gets it right as he liveblogs it:

Wants Congress To Repudiate Supreme Court Decision On Granting Geneva Protections For Terrorists: Congress must list the "specific, recognizable offenses" that will invoke a War Crimes prosecution against interrogators.

Nice. Make Congress specifically say what is illegal -- and, by their omission, what is legal.

Congress dare not make belly-slapping illegal.

Put up or shut up.

Two days, two great speeches. My support for Bush rising a little each day.

UPDATE: Who are the 14 detainees? The Blogfather Charles Johnson was also liveblogging this and links to this document detailing their biographies.

UPDATE: Video here.

UPDATE: Full text of speech posted below.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thanks for the warm welcome. Welcome to the White House. Mr. Vice President, Secretary Rice, Attorney General Gonzales, Ambassador Negroponte, General Hayden, members of the United States Congress, families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks on our nation, and my fellow citizens: Thanks for coming.

On the morning of September the 11th, 2001, our nation awoke to a nightmare attack. Nineteen men, armed with box cutters, took control of airplanes and turned them into missiles. They used them to kill nearly 3,000 innocent people. We watched the Twin Towers collapse before our eyes -- and it became instantly clear that we'd entered a new world, and a dangerous new war.

The attacks of September the 11th horrified our nation. And amid the grief came new fears and urgent questions: Who had attacked us? What did they want? And what else were they planning? Americans saw the destruction the terrorists had caused in New York, and Washington, and Pennsylvania, and they wondered if there were other terrorist cells in our midst poised to strike; they wondered if there was a second wave of attacks still to come.

With the Twin Towers and the Pentagon still smoldering, our country on edge, and a stream of intelligence coming in about potential new attacks, my administration faced immediate challenges: We had to respond to the attack on our country. We had to wage an unprecedented war against an enemy unlike any we had fought before. We had to find the terrorists hiding in America and across the world, before they were able to strike our country again. So in the early days and weeks after 9/11, I directed our government's senior national security officials to do everything in their power, within our laws, to prevent another attack.

Nearly five years have passed since these -- those initial days of shock and sadness -- and we are thankful that the terrorists have not succeeded in launching another attack on our soil. This is not for the lack of desire or determination on the part of the enemy. As the recently foiled plot in London shows, the terrorists are still active, and they're still trying to strike America, and they're still trying to kill our people. One reason the terrorists have not succeeded is because of the hard work of thousands of dedicated men and women in our government, who have toiled day and night, along with our allies, to stop the enemy from carrying out their plans. And we are grateful for these hardworking citizens of ours.

Another reason the terrorists have not succeeded is because our government has changed its policies -- and given our military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel the tools they need to fight this enemy and protect our people and preserve our freedoms.

The terrorists who declared war on America represent no nation, they defend no territory, and they wear no uniform. They do not mass armies on borders, or flotillas of warships on the high seas. They operate in the shadows of society; they send small teams of operatives to infiltrate free nations; they live quietly among their victims; they conspire in secret, and then they strike without warning. In this new war, the most important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists, themselves. Captured terrorists have unique knowledge about how terrorist networks operate. They have knowledge of where their operatives are deployed, and knowledge about what plots are underway. This intelligence -- this is intelligence that cannot be found any other place. And our security depends on getting this kind of information. To win the war on terror, we must be able to detain, question, and, when appropriate, prosecute terrorists captured here in America, and on the battlefields around the world.

After the 9/11 attacks, our coalition launched operations across the world to remove terrorist safe havens, and capture or kill terrorist operatives and leaders. Working with our allies, we've captured and detained thousands of terrorists and enemy fighters in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and other fronts of this war on terror. These enemy -- these are enemy combatants, who were waging war on our nation. We have a right under the laws of war, and we have an obligation to the American people, to detain these enemies and stop them from rejoining the battle.

Most of the enemy combatants we capture are held in Afghanistan or in Iraq, where they're questioned by our military personnel. Many are released after questioning, or turned over to local authorities -- if we determine that they do not pose a continuing threat and no longer have significant intelligence value. Others remain in American custody near the battlefield, to ensure that they don't return to the fight.

In some cases, we determine that individuals we have captured pose a significant threat, or may have intelligence that we and our allies need to have to prevent new attacks. Many are al Qaeda operatives or Taliban fighters trying to conceal their identities, and they withhold information that could save American lives. In these cases, it has been necessary to move these individuals to an environment where they can be held secretly [sic], questioned by experts, and -- when appropriate -- prosecuted for terrorist acts.

Some of these individuals are taken to the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It's important for Americans and others across the world to understand the kind of people held at Guantanamo. These aren't common criminals, or bystanders accidentally swept up on the battlefield -- we have in place a rigorous process to ensure those held at Guantanamo Bay belong at Guantanamo. Those held at Guantanamo include suspected bomb makers, terrorist trainers, recruiters and facilitators, and potential suicide bombers. They are in our custody so they cannot murder our people. One detainee held at Guantanamo told a questioner questioning him -- he said this: "I'll never forget your face. I will kill you, your brothers, your mother, and sisters."

In addition to the terrorists held at Guantanamo, a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency. This group includes individuals believed to be the key architects of the September the 11th attacks, and attacks on the USS Cole, an operative involved in the bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and individuals involved in other attacks that have taken the lives of innocent civilians across the world. These are dangerous men with unparalleled knowledge about terrorist networks and their plans for new attacks. The security of our nation and the lives of our citizens depend on our ability to learn what these terrorists know.

Many specifics of this program, including where these detainees have been held and the details of their confinement, cannot be divulged. Doing so would provide our enemies with information they could use to take retribution against our allies and harm our country. I can say that questioning the detainees in this program has given us information that has saved innocent lives by helping us stop new attacks -- here in the United States and across the world. Today, I'm going to share with you some of the examples provided by our intelligence community of how this program has saved lives; why it remains vital to the security of the United States, and our friends and allies; and why it deserves the support of the United States Congress and the American people.

Within months of September the 11th, 2001, we captured a man known as Abu Zubaydah. We believe that Zubaydah was a senior terrorist leader and a trusted associate of Osama bin Laden. Our intelligence community believes he had run a terrorist camp in Afghanistan where some of the 9/11 hijackers trained, and that he helped smuggle al Qaeda leaders out of Afghanistan after coalition forces arrived to liberate that country. Zubaydah was severely wounded during the firefight that brought him into custody -- and he survived only because of the medical care arranged by the CIA.

After he recovered, Zubaydah was defiant and evasive. He declared his hatred of America. During questioning, he at first disclosed what he thought was nominal information -- and then stopped all cooperation. Well, in fact, the "nominal" information he gave us turned out to be quite important. For example, Zubaydah disclosed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- or KSM -- was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and used the alias "Muktar." This was a vital piece of the puzzle that helped our intelligence community pursue KSM. Abu Zubaydah also provided information that helped stop a terrorist attack being planned for inside the United States -- an attack about which we had no previous information. Zubaydah told us that al Qaeda operatives were planning to launch an attack in the U.S., and provided physical descriptions of the operatives and information on their general location. Based on the information he provided, the operatives were detained -- one while traveling to the United States.

We knew that Zubaydah had more information that could save innocent lives, but he stopped talking. As his questioning proceeded, it became clear that he had received training on how to resist interrogation. And so the CIA used an alternative set of procedures. These procedures were designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our Constitution, and our treaty obligations. The Department of Justice reviewed the authorized methods extensively and determined them to be lawful. I cannot describe the specific methods used -- I think you understand why -- if I did, it would help the terrorists learn how to resist questioning, and to keep information from us that we need to prevent new attacks on our country. But I can say the procedures were tough, and they were safe, and lawful, and necessary.

Zubaydah was questioned using these procedures, and soon he began to provide information on key al Qaeda operatives, including information that helped us find and capture more of those responsible for the attacks on September the 11th. For example, Zubaydah identified one of KSM's accomplices in the 9/11 attacks -- a terrorist named Ramzi bin al Shibh. The information Zubaydah provided helped lead to the capture of bin al Shibh. And together these two terrorists provided information that helped in the planning and execution of the operation that captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Once in our custody, KSM was questioned by the CIA using these procedures, and he soon provided information that helped us stop another planned attack on the United States. During questioning, KSM told us about another al Qaeda operative he knew was in CIA custody -- a terrorist named Majid Khan. KSM revealed that Khan had been told to deliver $50,000 to individuals working for a suspected terrorist leader named Hambali, the leader of al Qaeda's Southeast Asian affiliate known as "J-I". CIA officers confronted Khan with this information. Khan confirmed that the money had been delivered to an operative named Zubair, and provided both a physical description and contact number for this operative.

Based on that information, Zubair was captured in June of 2003, and he soon provided information that helped lead to the capture of Hambali. After Hambali's arrest, KSM was questioned again. He identified Hambali's brother as the leader of a "J-I" cell, and Hambali's conduit for communications with al Qaeda. Hambali's brother was soon captured in Pakistan, and, in turn, led us to a cell of 17 Southeast Asian "J-I" operatives. When confronted with the news that his terror cell had been broken up, Hambali admitted that the operatives were being groomed at KSM's request for attacks inside the United States -- probably [sic] using airplanes.

During questioning, KSM also provided many details of other plots to kill innocent Americans. For example, he described the design of planned attacks on buildings inside the United States, and how operatives were directed to carry them out. He told us the operatives had been instructed to ensure that the explosives went off at a point that was high enough to prevent the people trapped above from escaping out the windows.

KSM also provided vital information on al Qaeda's efforts to obtain biological weapons. During questioning, KSM admitted that he had met three individuals involved in al Qaeda's efforts to produce anthrax, a deadly biological agent -- and he identified one of the individuals as a terrorist named Yazid. KSM apparently believed we already had this information, because Yazid had been captured and taken into foreign custody before KSM's arrest. In fact, we did not know about Yazid's role in al Qaeda's anthrax program. Information from Yazid then helped lead to the capture of his two principal assistants in the anthrax program. Without the information provided by KSM and Yazid, we might not have uncovered this al Qaeda biological weapons program, or stopped this al Qaeda cell from developing anthrax for attacks against the United States.

These are some of the plots that have been stopped because of the information of this vital program. Terrorists held in CIA custody have also provided information that helped stop a planned strike on U.S. Marines at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti -- they were going to use an explosive laden water tanker. They helped stop a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi using car bombs and motorcycle bombs, and they helped stop a plot to hijack passenger planes and fly them into Heathrow or the Canary Wharf in London.

We're getting vital information necessary to do our jobs, and that's to protect the American people and our allies.

Information from the terrorists in this program has helped us to identify individuals that al Qaeda deemed suitable for Western operations, many of whom we had never heard about before. They include terrorists who were set to case targets inside the United States, including financial buildings in major cities on the East Coast. Information from terrorists in CIA custody has played a role in the capture or questioning of nearly every senior al Qaeda member or associate detained by the U.S. and its allies since this program began. By providing everything from initial leads to photo identifications, to precise locations of where terrorists were hiding, this program has helped us to take potential mass murderers off the streets before they were able to kill.

This program has also played a critical role in helping us understand the enemy we face in this war. Terrorists in this program have painted a picture of al Qaeda's structure and financing, and communications and logistics. They identified al Qaeda's travel routes and safe havens, and explained how al Qaeda's senior leadership communicates with its operatives in places like Iraq. They provided information that allows us -- that has allowed us to make sense of documents and computer records that we have seized in terrorist raids. They've identified voices in recordings of intercepted calls, and helped us understand the meaning of potentially critical terrorist communications.

The information we get from these detainees is corroborated by intelligence, and we've received -- that we've received from other sources -- and together this intelligence has helped us connect the dots and stop attacks before they occur. Information from the terrorists questioned in this program helped unravel plots and terrorist cells in Europe and in other places. It's helped our allies protect their people from deadly enemies. This program has been, and remains, one of the most vital tools in our war against the terrorists. It is invaluable to America and to our allies. Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland. By giving us information about terrorist plans we could not get anywhere else, this program has saved innocent lives.

This program has been subject to multiple legal reviews by the Department of Justice and CIA lawyers; they've determined it complied with our laws. This program has received strict oversight by the CIA's Inspector General. A small number of key leaders from both political parties on Capitol Hill were briefed about this program. All those involved in the questioning of the terrorists are carefully chosen and they're screened from a pool of experienced CIA officers. Those selected to conduct the most sensitive questioning had to complete more than 250 additional hours of specialized training before they are allowed to have contact with a captured terrorist.

I want to be absolutely clear with our people, and the world: The United States does not torture. It's against our laws, and it's against our values. I have not authorized it -- and I will not authorize it. Last year, my administration worked with Senator John McCain, and I signed into law the Detainee Treatment Act, which established the legal standard for treatment of detainees wherever they are held. I support this act. And as we implement this law, our government will continue to use every lawful method to obtain intelligence that can protect innocent people, and stop another attack like the one we experienced on September the 11th, 2001.

The CIA program has detained only a limited number of terrorists at any given time -- and once we've determined that the terrorists held by the CIA have little or no additional intelligence value, many of them have been returned to their home countries for prosecution or detention by their governments. Others have been accused of terrible crimes against the American people, and we have a duty to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice. So we intend to prosecute these men, as appropriate, for their crimes.

Soon after the war on terror began, I authorized a system of military commissions to try foreign terrorists accused of war crimes. Military commissions have been used by Presidents from George Washington to Franklin Roosevelt to prosecute war criminals, because the rules for trying enemy combatants in a time of conflict must be different from those for trying common criminals or members of our own military. One of the first suspected terrorists to be put on trial by military commission was one of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards -- a man named Hamdan. His lawyers challenged the legality of the military commission system. It took more than two years for this case to make its way through the courts. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the military commissions we had designed, but this past June, the Supreme Court overturned that decision. The Supreme Court determined that military commissions are an appropriate venue for trying terrorists, but ruled that military commissions needed to be explicitly authorized by the United States Congress.

So today, I'm sending Congress legislation to specifically authorize the creation of military commissions to try terrorists for war crimes. My administration has been working with members of both parties in the House and Senate on this legislation. We put forward a bill that ensures these commissions are established in a way that protects our national security, and ensures a full and fair trial for those accused. The procedures in the bill I am sending to Congress today reflect the reality that we are a nation at war, and that it's essential for us to use all reliable evidence to bring these people to justice.

We're now approaching the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- and the families of those murdered that day have waited patiently for justice. Some of the families are with us today -- they should have to wait no longer. So I'm announcing today that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and 11 other terrorists in CIA custody have been transferred to the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. (Applause.) They are being held in the custody of the Department of Defense. As soon as Congress acts to authorize the military commissions I have proposed, the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on September the 11th, 2001, can face justice. (Applause.)

We'll also seek to prosecute those believed to be responsible for the attack on the USS Cole, and an operative believed to be involved in the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. With these prosecutions, we will send a clear message to those who kill Americans: No longer -- how long it takes, we will find you and we will bring you to justice. (Applause.)

These men will be held in a high-security facility at Guantanamo. The International Committee of the Red Cross is being advised of their detention, and will have the opportunity to meet with them. Those charged with crimes will be given access to attorneys who will help them prepare their defense -- and they will be presumed innocent. While at Guantanamo, they will have access to the same food, clothing, medical care, and opportunities for worship as other detainees. They will be questioned subject to the new U.S. Army Field Manual, which the Department of Defense is issuing today. And they will continue to be treated with the humanity that they denied others.

As we move forward with the prosecutions, we will continue to urge nations across the world to take back their nationals at Guantanamo who will not be prosecuted by our military commissions. America has no interest in being the world's jailer. But one of the reasons we have not been able to close Guantanamo is that many countries have refused to take back their nationals held at the facility. Other countries have not provided adequate assurances that their nationals will not be mistreated -- or they will not return to the battlefield, as more than a dozen people released from Guantanamo already have. We will continue working to transfer individuals held at Guantanamo, and ask other countries to work with us in this process. And we will move toward the day when we can eventually close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

I know Americans have heard conflicting information about Guantanamo. Let me give you some facts. Of the thousands of terrorists captured across the world, only about 770 have ever been sent to Guantanamo. Of these, about 315 have been returned to other countries so far -- and about 455 remain in our custody. They are provided the same quality of medical care as the American service members who guard them. The International Committee of the Red Cross has the opportunity to meet privately with all who are held there. The facility has been visited by government officials from more than 30 countries, and delegations from international organizations, as well. After the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe came to visit, one of its delegation members called Guantanamo "a model prison" where people are treated better than in prisons in his own country. Our troops can take great pride in the work they do at Guantanamo Bay -- and so can the American people.

As we prosecute suspected terrorist leaders and operatives who have now been transferred to Guantanamo, we'll continue searching for those who have stepped forward to take their places. This nation is going to stay on the offense to protect the American people. We will continue to bring the world's most dangerous terrorists to justice -- and we will continue working to collect the vital intelligence we need to protect our country. The current transfers mean that there are now no terrorists in the CIA program. But as more high-ranking terrorists are captured, the need to obtain intelligence from them will remain critical -- and having a CIA program for questioning terrorists will continue to be crucial to getting life-saving information.

Some may ask: Why are you acknowledging this program now? There are two reasons why I'm making these limited disclosures today. First, we have largely completed our questioning of the men -- and to start the process for bringing them to trial, we must bring them into the open. Second, the Supreme Court's recent decision has impaired our ability to prosecute terrorists through military commissions, and has put in question the future of the CIA program. In its ruling on military commissions, the Court determined that a provision of the Geneva Conventions known as "Common Article Three" applies to our war with al Qaeda. This article includes provisions that prohibit "outrages upon personal dignity" and "humiliating and degrading treatment." The problem is that these and other provisions of Common Article Three are vague and undefined, and each could be interpreted in different ways by American or foreign judges. And some believe our military and intelligence personnel involved in capturing and questioning terrorists could now be at risk of prosecution under the War Crimes Act -- simply for doing their jobs in a thorough and professional way.

This is unacceptable. Our military and intelligence personnel go face to face with the world's most dangerous men every day. They have risked their lives to capture some of the most brutal terrorists on Earth. And they have worked day and night to find out what the terrorists know so we can stop new attacks. America owes our brave men and women some things in return. We owe them their thanks for saving lives and keeping America safe. And we owe them clear rules, so they can continue to do their jobs and protect our people.

So today, I'm asking Congress to pass legislation that will clarify the rules for our personnel fighting the war on terror. First, I'm asking Congress to list the specific, recognizable offenses that would be considered crimes under the War Crimes Act -- so our personnel can know clearly what is prohibited in the handling of terrorist enemies. Second, I'm asking that Congress make explicit that by following the standards of the Detainee Treatment Act our personnel are fulfilling America's obligations under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. Third, I'm asking that Congress make it clear that captured terrorists cannot use the Geneva Conventions as a basis to sue our personnel in courts -- in U.S. courts. The men and women who protect us should not have to fear lawsuits filed by terrorists because they're doing their jobs.

The need for this legislation is urgent. We need to ensure that those questioning terrorists can continue to do everything within the limits of the law to get information that can save American lives. My administration will continue to work with the Congress to get this legislation enacted -- but time is of the essence. Congress is in session just for a few more weeks, and passing this legislation ought to be the top priority. (Applause.)

As we work with Congress to pass a good bill, we will also consult with congressional leaders on how to ensure that the CIA program goes forward in a way that follows the law, that meets the national security needs of our country, and protects the brave men and women we ask to obtain information that will save innocent lives. For the sake of our security, Congress needs to act, and update our laws to meet the threats of this new era. And I know they will.

We're engaged in a global struggle -- and the entire civilized world has a stake in its outcome. America is a nation of law. And as I work with Congress to strengthen and clarify our laws here at home, I will continue to work with members of the international community who have been our partners in this struggle. I've spoken with leaders of foreign governments, and worked with them to address their concerns about Guantanamo and our detention policies. I'll continue to work with the international community to construct a common foundation to defend our nations and protect our freedoms.

Free nations have faced new enemies and adjusted to new threats before -- and we have prevailed. Like the struggles of the last century, today's war on terror is, above all, a struggle for freedom and liberty. The adversaries are different, but the stakes in this war are the same: We're fighting for our way of life, and our ability to live in freedom. We're fighting for the cause of humanity, against those who seek to impose the darkness of tyranny and terror upon the entire world. And we're fighting for a peaceful future for our children and our grandchildren.

May God bless you all. (Applause.)

Cross-posted from The Dread Pundit Bluto

If the message of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami sounds familiar, it's because liberal Democrats have been spouting the same nonsense since the '04 elections.

NEW YORK -- On the eve of his first trip to Washington, former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami warned that U.S. military action in the Middle East has backfired, producing greater terrorism, imperiling the future of Iraq and damaging America's long-term interests.

Governor Mitt Romney declared yesterday he would not allow any state resources to be used to protect a former Iranian president during his visit to the Boston area this weekend, and he sharply criticized Harvard University for inviting Mohammed Khatami to speak on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Meanwhile, Democrats, lead by weasels like Dick Durbin, one of the worst domestic enemies American servicepeople and the Constitution have, are busy seeking an American defeat by trashing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

American "mainstream" liberals: coordinating a propaganda campaign with a representative of one of the most repressive and dangerous regimes on the planet.

Steven Stalinsky notes what the Arab press and various Islamsits are saying about the future of the U.S. and of Europe. Not to be alarmist, but according to them we are doomed, DOOMED, DOOMED!

While the prospect of the U.S. breaking apart is laughable, the notion of a completely dhimmified Europe in 50 years and a new European caliphate in 100 is not so funny. One estimate cited in the article suggest that in 50 years up to 30% of Europeans will be Muslim.

The problem is not terrorism, it never has been. Terrorism is a method by which some Islamists wish to come to power. Very few people openly support terrorism. The real problem is the goal of the terrorists which is shared by their Salafi and Khomeinist allies--the institution of sharia law.

The Sun:

The Arab press has been full of articles on the end of Sheik Omar bin Bakri, a Beirut-based, Syrian-born British Islamist and former leader of Al-Muhajirun, an organization in Britain, gave an interview to the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat on July 7. "What is today called ‘Londonistan' is in fact ‘Heretistan,' that is, dar al-kufr [the abode of heresy]," he said. "I think that loyal Muslims in Britain will one day turn it, with Allah's help, into ‘Islamistan,' that is, dar al-islam [the abode of Islam]. … Then the great Islamic dream will be fulfilled — that we will see the banner [proclaiming] ‘There is no God but Allah' flying over Big Ben and the British Parliament."America. Walid Nouhad wrote in the Bahrain daily Al-Wasat on June 20 on the coming "breakup of the United States … in the same fashion as those empires that came before it." America's "destiny" is to be "just like the Soviet Union" when "it falls apart," Saud Mokhtar wrote in the Saudi daily Al-Madinah on July 10.

"Our aim is to put down roots in the European continent, and to act quietly and in accordance with the laws, so that one day we may see all of Europe Muslim!" the Turkish fundamentalist leader Nijmuddin Erbakan, a former Turkish prime minister who headed the Islamic Welfare Party, said, according to an April piece on the Arabic reformist Web site Elaph.com by a Germany-based Kurdish journalist, Tarek Hamo.

Previous statements like "Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror" and take over Rome — by one of the most influential clerics in Sunni Islam, Sheik Yousef Al-Qaradhawi — are well-known.

In another headline-making instance, Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris said on Palestinian Authority TV on May 13, 2005: "The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world."....

Blog-brother Zombie e-mailed to let me know that he has a major update to his Red Cross Ambulance debunking. The updates come in response to those in the MSM and blogosphere who have tried to debunk the story.

In it, Zombie takes Greg Mitchell, Martin Chulov and Sarah Smiles -- all of whom wrote articles targetting him and defending the reality of the attack -- and give them the most thorough ass-whipping you've ever seen.

Yes, it's that good. Even if you've seen it once, you won't want to miss the updates. Check it out.

And if you haven't yet seen Sout al Kuffar's--the guy who brought you the now viral "All your fakes are belong to us" vid---new vid Rocket Ride (Hezbollywood Remix), check it out.

The backlash is just so terrible. Rantburg:

Around 35 percent of travellers in London said they had felt nervous or uncomfortable in the last year because of someone with a south Asian or north African appearance on an underground train or bus. Of that number, nearly half said they had moved seats or sat down away from them

(Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) Missing from the U.S.-leased air base at Manas International Airport is a 33-year-old female American Air Force officer, Maj. Jill Metzger.

From RIA Novosti:

The woman was last seen Tuesday in a city mall after she left a group of fellow servicemen from the Manas Air Base while they were shopping.

"We are currently filing with Kyrgyzstan's Interior Ministry and the National Security Service an official notification on the missing U.S. soldier," the spokesman said.

September 05, 2006

According to BBC Asian Radio Network polling, 10 percent of Asian Brits condone murder of people "who disrespected their family's honor." Of course, only females can be subjected to honor killings since, for some reason, males don't seem to be capable of besmirching a family's honor.

Ten percent of the Asian population in Britain may sound like a small minority but not when it's correlated to actual census data. About four percent of 60 million Brits are classified as minority Asians. This equates to approximately one-quarter million people believing that honor killings are acceptable.

Although the polling was arguably unscientific, the results are meaningful since they show that a significant number of people are vocal supporters of the practice. Personally, I suspect that many, many more people effectively support the practice by not voicing opposition to it.

Don't worry, the Pakistani equivalent of the Taliban have promised not to harbor foreign troops or launch raids over the Afghanistan border in return for Pakistani troops leaving the area. With no Pakistani troops in the area, we'll just have to take the Taliban's word for it. They can be trusted, right?

IHT:

The accord calls for Pakistani troops to stop their hugely unpopular military campaign in the restive Pakistani region, in which more than 350 soldiers have died, along with hundreds of militants and scores of civilians.

But the agreement, which one official said offered an "implicit amnesty" to foreign and local militants, highlights the Pakistani military's inability to crush a violent pro-Taliban insurgency on its own soil.

Pakistani forces had no alternative but to reconcile with the militants, whose knowledge of the terrain and determination to protect their region would have forced the conflict to continue, said Rusul Basksh Rais, a Pakistani political analyst.

"The military was not in a position to defeat the tribes," Rais said. "But Pakistan can't afford to - and I believe won't - let this area become a sanctuary for the terrorists."

Under the pact, no militant in North Waziristan will shelter foreign militants.

Is my love affair with Bush about to be rekindled? Perhaps.

Hot Air has the vid, but I find that readinga Bush speech is much more satisfying than listening to them. Let's face it, he's a terrible speaker. But this speech is awesome!

How awesome? I think we are in boner territory here. Yes, that awesome.

He even gets al Qaeda 3.0.

Apparently some one up there understands a) the threat b) the scope of the threat c) the changing nature of the threat.

Bush on a) the threat:

We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us -- and we need to take their words seriously....

Now, I know some of our country hear the terrorists' words, and hope that they will not, or cannot, do what they say. History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible mistake. In the early 1900s, an exiled lawyer in Europe published a pamphlet called "What is to be Done?" -- in which he laid out his plan to launch a communist revolution in Russia. The world did not heed Lenin's words, and paid a terrible price. The Soviet Empire he established killed tens of millions, and brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war. In the 1920s, a failed Austrian painter published a book in which he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state in Germany and take revenge on Europe and eradicate the Jews. The world ignored Hitler's words, and paid a terrible price. His Nazi regime killed millions in the gas chambers, and set the world aflame in war, before it was finally defeated at a terrible cost in lives.

Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say? America and our coalition partners have made our choice. We're taking the words of the enemy seriously. We're on the offensive, and we will not rest, we will not retreat, and we will not withdraw from the fight, until this threat to civilization has been removed.(Applause.)

The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men without conscience -- but they're not madmen. They kill in the name of a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil, but not insane. These al Qaeda terrorists and those who share their ideology are violent Sunni extremists. They're driven by a radical and perverted vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women and children in the pursuit of political power. They hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call a "caliphate," where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology. Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks -- in his words -- "a great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the righteous caliphate."

This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We know this because al Qaeda has told us. About two months ago, the terrorist Zawahiri -- he's al Qaeda's second in command -- declared that al Qaeda intends to impose its rule in "every land that was a home for Islam, from Spain to Iraq." He went on to say, "The whole world is an open field for us."....

This charter states that "There will be continuing enmity until everyone believes in Allah. We will not meet the enemy halfway. There will be no room for dialogue with them." Another document.... declares that their vision of Islam "does not make a truce with unbelief, but rather confronts it." The confrontation calls for the "dialogue of bullets, the ideals of assassination, bombing, and destruction, and the diplomacy of the cannon and machine gun."

According to their public statements, countries that have -- they have targeted stretch from the Middle East to Africa, to Southeast Asia. Through this strategy, al Qaeda and its allies intend to create numerous, decentralized operating bases across the world, from which they can plan new attacks, and advance their vision of a unified, totalitarian Islamic state that can confront and eventually destroy the free world.

Al Qaeda continues to adapt in the face of our global campaign against them. Increasingly, al Qaeda is taking advantage of the Internet to disseminate propaganda, and to conduct "virtual recruitment" and "virtual training" of new terrorists. Al Qaeda's leaders no longer need to meet face-to-face with their operatives. They can find new suicide bombers, and facilitate new terrorist attacks, without ever laying eyes on those they're training, financing, or sending to strike us.

As al Qaeda changes, the broader terrorist movement is also changing, becoming more dispersed and self-directed. More and more, we're facing threats from locally established terrorist cells that are inspired by al Qaeda's ideology and goals, but do not necessarily have direct links to al Qaeda, such as training and funding. Some of these groups are made up of "homegrown" terrorists, militant extremists who were born and educated in Western nations, were indoctrinated by radical Islamists or attracted to their ideology, and joined the violent extremist cause. These locally established cells appear to be responsible for a number of attacks and plots, including those in Madrid, and Canada, and other countries across the world.

As we continue to fight al Qaeda and these Sunni extremists inspired by their radical ideology, we also face the threat posed by Shia extremists, who are learning from al Qaeda, increasing their assertiveness, and stepping up their threats

WARNING: The following speech contains truths that some on the extreme Left might find offensive and make them feel all icky inside.

Full text of the President's speech:
-------------------

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.) Thank you all. Please be seated. General Hendrix, thank you for the invitation to be here. Thanks for the kind introduction. I'm honored to stand with the men and women of the Military Officers Association of America. I appreciate the Board of Directors who are here, and the leaders who have given me this platform from which to speak. I'm proud to be here with active members of the United States military. Thank you for your service. I'm proud to be your Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

I am pleased also to stand with members of the diplomatic corps, including many representing nations that have been attacked by al Qaeda and its terrorist allies since September the 11th, 2001. (Applause.) Your presence here reminds us that we're engaged in a global war against an enemy that threatens all civilized nations. And today the civilized world stands together to defend our freedom; we stand together to defeat the terrorists; and were working to secure the peace for generations to come.

I appreciate my Attorney General joining us today, Al Gonzales. Thank you for being here. (Applause.) The Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, is with us. (Applause.) Three members of the United States Senate -- I might say, three important members of the United States Senate -- Senate President Pro Tem Ted Stevens of Alaska. Thank you for joining us, Senator. (Applause.) Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. (Applause.) The Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, John Warner of Virginia. (Applause.)

I thank Norb Ryan, as well, for his leadership. I do appreciate all the folks that are at Walter Reed who have joined us today. I'm going to tell the parents of our troops, we provide great health care to those who wear the uniform. I'm proud of those folks at Bethesda and Walter Reed -- are providing you the best possible care to help you recover from your injuries. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for joining us here today. May God bless you in your recovery. (Applause.)

Next week, America will mark the fifth anniversary of September the 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. As this day approaches, it brings with it a flood of painful memories. We remember the horror of watching planes fly into the World Trade Center, and seeing the towers collapse before our eyes. We remember the sight of the Pentagon, broken and in flames. We remember the rescue workers who rushed into burning buildings to save lives, knowing they might never emerge again. We remember the brave passengers who charged the cockpit of their hijacked plane, and stopped the terrorists from reaching their target and killing more innocent civilians. We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted this harm on our country -- an enemy whose leader, Osama bin Laden, declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day -- I quote -- "an unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in humankind before them."

In five years since our nation was attacked, al Qaeda and terrorists it has inspired have continued to attack across the world. They've killed the innocent in Europe and Africa and the Middle East, in Central Asia and the Far East, and beyond. Most recently, they attempted to strike again in the most ambitious plot since the attacks of September the 11th -- a plan to blow up passenger planes headed for America over the Atlantic Ocean.

Five years after our nation was attacked, the terrorist danger remains. We're a nation at war -- and America and her allies are fighting this war with relentless determination across the world. Together with our coalition partners, we've removed terrorist sanctuaries, disrupted their finances, killed and captured key operatives, broken up terrorist cells in America and other nations, and stopped new attacks before they're carried out. We're on the offense against the terrorists on every battlefront -- and we'll accept nothing less than complete victory. (Applause.)

In the five years since our nation was attacked, we've also learned a great deal about the enemy we face in this war. We've learned about them through videos and audio recordings, and letters and statements they've posted on websites. We've learned about them from captured enemy documents that the terrorists have never meant for us to see. Together, these documents and statements have given us clear insight into the mind of our enemies -- their ideology, their ambitions, and their strategy to defeat us.

We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us -- and we need to take their words seriously. So today I'm going to describe, in the terrorists' own words, what they believe, what they hope to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish it. I'll discuss how the enemy has adapted in the wake of our sustained offensive against them, and the threat posed by different strains of violent Islamic radicalism. I'll explain the strategy we're pursuing to protect America, by defeating the terrorists on the battlefield, and defeating their hateful ideology in the battle of ideas.

The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men without conscience -- but they're not madmen. They kill in the name of a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil, but not insane. These al Qaeda terrorists and those who share their ideology are violent Sunni extremists. They're driven by a radical and perverted vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women and children in the pursuit of political power. They hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call a "caliphate," where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology. Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks -- in his words -- "a great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the righteous caliphate."

This caliphate would be a totalitarian Islamic empire encompassing all current and former Muslim lands, stretching from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We know this because al Qaeda has told us. About two months ago, the terrorist Zawahiri -- he's al Qaeda's second in command -- declared that al Qaeda intends to impose its rule in "every land that was a home for Islam, from Spain to Iraq. He went on to say, "The whole world is an open field for us."

We know what this radical empire would look like in practice, because we saw how the radicals imposed their ideology on the people of Afghanistan. Under the rule of the Taliban and al Qaeda, Afghanistan was a totalitarian nightmare -- a land where women were imprisoned in their homes, men were beaten for missing prayer meetings, girls could not go to school, and children were forbidden the smallest pleasures like flying kites. Religious police roamed the streets, beating and detaining civilians for perceived offenses. Women were publicly whipped. Summary executions were held in Kabul's soccer stadium in front of cheering mobs. And Afghanistan was turned into a launching pad for horrific attacks against America and other parts of the civilized world -- including many Muslim nations.

The goal of these Sunni extremists is to remake the entire Muslim world in their radical image. In pursuit of their imperial aims, these extremists say there can be no compromise or dialogue with those they call "infidels" -- a category that includes America, the world's free nations, Jews, and all Muslims who reject their extreme vision of Islam. They reject the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the free world. Again, hear the words of Osama bin Laden earlier this year: "Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us."

These radicals have declared their uncompromising hostility to freedom. It is foolish to think that you can negotiate with them. (Applause.) We see the uncompromising nature of the enemy in many captured terrorist documents. Here are just two examples: After the liberation of Afghanistan, coalition forces searching through a terrorist safe house in that country found a copy of the al Qaeda charter. This charter states that "There will be continuing enmity until everyone believes in Allah. We will not meet the enemy halfway. There will be no room for dialogue with them." Another document was found in 2000 by British police during an anti-terrorist raid in London -- a grisly al Qaeda manual that includes chapters with titles such as "Guidelines for Beating and Killing Hostages." This manual declares that their vision of Islam "does not make a truce with unbelief, but rather confronts it." The confrontation calls for the "dialogue of bullets, the ideals of assassination, bombing, and destruction, and the diplomacy of the cannon and machine gun."

Still other captured documents show al Qaeda's strategy for infiltrating Muslim nations, establishing terrorist enclaves, overthrowing governments, and building their totalitarian empire. We see this strategy laid out in a captured al Qaeda document found during a recent raid in Iraq, which describes their plans to infiltrate and take over Iraq's western Anbar Province. The document lays out an elaborate al Qaeda governing structure for the region that includes an Education Department, a Social Services Department, a Justice Department, and an "Execution Unit" responsible for "Sorting out, Arrest, Murder, and Destruction."

According to their public statements, countries that have -- they have targeted stretch from the Middle East to Africa, to Southeast Asia. Through this strategy, al Qaeda and its allies intend to create numerous, decentralized operating bases across the world, from which they can plan new attacks, and advance their vision of a unified, totalitarian Islamic state that can confront and eventually destroy the free world.

These violent extremists know that to realize this vision, they must first drive out the main obstacle that stands in their way -- the United States of America. According to al Qaeda, their strategy to defeat America has two parts: First, they're waging a campaign of terror across the world. They're targeting our forces abroad, hoping that the American people will grow tired of casualties and give up the fight. And they're targeting America's financial centers and economic infrastructure at home, hoping to terrorize us and cause our economy to collapse.

Bin Laden calls this his "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan." And he cited the attacks of 9/11 as evidence that such a plan can succeed. With the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden says, "al Qaeda spent $500,000 on the event, while America lost -- according to the lowest estimate -- $500 billion -- meaning that every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars of America. Bin Laden concludes from this experience that "America is definitely a great power, with unbelievable military strength and a vibrant economy, but all of these have been built on a very weak and hollow foundation." He went on to say, "Therefore, it is very easy to target the flimsy base and concentrate on their weak points, and even if we're able to target one-tenth of these weak points, we will be able to crush and destroy them."

Secondly, along with this campaign of terror, the enemy has a propaganda strategy. Osama bin Laden laid out this strategy in a letter to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, that coalition forces uncovered in Afghanistan in 2002. In it, bin Laden says that al Qaeda intends to "launch," in his words, "a media campaign to create a wedge between the American people and their government." This media campaign, bin Laden says, will send the American people a number of messages, including "that their government will bring them more losses in finances and casualties." And he goes on to say that "they are being sacrificed to serve the big investors, especially the Jews." Bin Laden says that by delivering these messages, al Qaeda "aims at creating pressure from the American people on the American government to stop their campaign against Afghanistan."

Bin Laden and his allies are absolutely convinced they can succeed in forcing America to retreat and causing our economic collapse. They believe our nation is weak and decadent, and lacking in patience and resolve. And they're wrong. (Applause.) Osama bin Laden has written that the "defeat of American forces in Beirut" in 1983 is proof America does not have the stomach to stay in the fight. He's declared that "in Somalia, the United States pulled out, trailing disappointment, defeat, and failure behind it." And last year, the terrorist Zawahiri declared that Americans "know better than others that there is no hope in victory. The Vietnam specter is closing every outlet."

These terrorists hope to drive America and our coalition out of Afghanistan, so they can restore the safe haven they lost when coalition forces drove them out five years ago. But they've made clear that the most important front in their struggle against America is Iraq -- the nation bin Laden has declared the "capital of the caliphate." Hear the words of bin Laden: "I now address the whole Islamic nation. Listen and understand. The most serious issue today for the whole world is this Third World War that is raging in Iraq." He calls it "a war of destiny between infidelity and Islam." He says, "The whole world is watching this war," and that it will end in "victory and glory, or misery and humiliation." For al Qaeda, Iraq is not a distraction from their war on America -- it is the central battlefield where the outcome of this struggle will be decided.

Here is what al Qaeda says they will do if they succeed in driving us out of Iraq: The terrorist Zawahiri has said that al Qaeda will proceed with "several incremental goals. The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq. The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of caliphate. The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq. And the fourth stage: The clash with Israel."

These evil men know that a fundamental threat to their aspirations is a democratic Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself. They know that given a choice, the Iraqi people will never choose to live in the totalitarian state the extremists hope to establish. And that is why we must not, and we will not, give the enemy victory in Iraq by deserting the Iraqi people. (Applause.)

Last year, the terrorist Zarqawi declared in a message posted on the Internet that democracy "is the essence of infidelity and deviation from the right path." The Iraqi people disagree. Last December, nearly 12 million Iraqis from every ethnic and religious community turned out to vote in their country's third free election in less than a year. Iraq now has a unity government that represents Iraq's diverse population -- and al Qaeda's top commander in Iraq breathed his last breath. (Applause.)

Despite these strategic setbacks, the enemy will continue to fight freedom's advance in Iraq, because they understand the stakes in this war. Again, hear the words of bin Laden, in a message to the American people earlier this year. He says: "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever."

Now, I know some of our country hear the terrorists' words, and hope that they will not, or cannot, do what they say. History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible mistake. In the early 1900s, an exiled lawyer in Europe published a pamphlet called "What is to be Done?" -- in which he laid out his plan to launch a communist revolution in Russia. The world did not heed Lenin's words, and paid a terrible price. The Soviet Empire he established killed tens of millions, and brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war. In the 1920s, a failed Austrian painter published a book in which he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state in Germany and take revenge on Europe and eradicate the Jews. The world ignored Hitler's words, and paid a terrible price. His Nazi regime killed millions in the gas chambers, and set the world aflame in war, before it was finally defeated at a terrible cost in lives.

Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say? America and our coalition partners have made our choice. We're taking the words of the enemy seriously. We're on the offensive, and we will not rest, we will not retreat, and we will not withdraw from the fight, until this threat to civilization has been removed. (Applause.)

Five years into this struggle, it's important to take stock of what's been accomplished -- and the difficult work that remains. Al Qaeda has been weakened by our sustained offensive against them, and today it is harder for al Qaeda's leaders to operate freely, to move money, or to communicate with their operatives and facilitators. Yet al Qaeda remains dangerous and determined. Bin Laden and Zawahiri remain in hiding in remote regions of this world. Al Qaeda continues to adapt in the face of our global campaign against them. Increasingly, al Qaeda is taking advantage of the Internet to disseminate propaganda, and to conduct "virtual recruitment" and "virtual training" of new terrorists. Al Qaeda's leaders no longer need to meet face-to-face with their operatives. They can find new suicide bombers, and facilitate new terrorist attacks, without ever laying eyes on those they're training, financing, or sending to strike us.

As al Qaeda changes, the broader terrorist movement is also changing, becoming more dispersed and self-directed. More and more, we're facing threats from locally established terrorist cells that are inspired by al Qaeda's ideology and goals, but do not necessarily have direct links to al Qaeda, such as training and funding. Some of these groups are made up of "homegrown" terrorists, militant extremists who were born and educated in Western nations, were indoctrinated by radical Islamists or attracted to their ideology, and joined the violent extremist cause. These locally established cells appear to be responsible for a number of attacks and plots, including those in Madrid, and Canada, and other countries across the world.

As we continue to fight al Qaeda and these Sunni extremists inspired by their radical ideology, we also face the threat posed by Shia extremists, who are learning from al Qaeda, increasing their assertiveness, and stepping up their threats. Like the vast majority of Sunnis, the vast majority of Shia across the world reject the vision of extremists -- and in Iraq, millions of Shia have defied terrorist threats to vote in free elections, and have shown their desire to live in freedom. The Shia extremists want to deny them this right. This Shia strain of Islamic radicalism is just as dangerous, and just as hostile to America, and just as determined to establish its brand of hegemony across the broader Middle East. And the Shia extremists have achieved something that al Qaeda has so far failed to do: In 1979, they took control of a major power, the nation of Iran, subjugating its proud people to a regime of tyranny, and using that nation's resources to fund the spread of terror and pursue their radical agenda.

Like al Qaeda and the Sunni extremists, the Iranian regime has clear aims: They want to drive America out of the region, to destroy Israel, and to dominate the broader Middle East. To achieve these aims, they are funding and arming terrorist groups like Hezbollah, which allow them to attack Israel and America by proxy. Hezbollah, the source of the current instability in Lebanon, has killed more Americans than any terrorist organization except al Qaeda. Unlike al Qaeda, they've not yet attacked the American homeland. Yet they're directly responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans abroad. It was Hezbollah that was behind the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 Americans. And Saudi Hezbollah was behind the 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, an attack conducted by terrorists who we believe were working with Iranian officials.

Just as we must take the words of the Sunni extremists seriously, we must take the words of the Shia extremists seriously. Listen to the words of Hezbollah's leader, the terrorist Nasrallah, who has declared his hatred of America. He says, "Let the entire world hear me. Our hostility to the Great Satan [America] is absolute. Regardless of how the world has changed after 11 September, 'Death to America' will remain our reverberating and powerful slogan: Death to America."

Iran's leaders, who back Hezbollah, have also declared their absolute hostility to America. Last October, Iran's President declared in a speech that some people ask -- in his words -- "whether a world without the United States and Zionism can be achieved. I say that this goal is achievable." Less than three months ago, Iran's President declared to America and other Western powers: "open your eyes and see the fate of pharaoh. If you do not abandon the path of falsehood, your doomed destiny will be annihilation." Less than two months ago, he warned: "The anger of Muslims may reach an explosion point soon. If such a day comes, America and the West should know that the waves of the blast will not remain within the boundaries of our region." He also delivered this message to the American people: "If you would like to have good relations with the Iranian nation in the future, bow down before the greatness of the Iranian nation and surrender. If you don't accept to do this, the Iranian nation will force you to surrender and bow down."

America will not bow down to tyrants. (Applause.)

The Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies have demonstrated their willingness to kill Americans -- and now the Iranian regime is pursuing nuclear weapons. The world is working together to prevent Iran's regime from acquiring the tools of mass murder. The international community has made a reasonable proposal to Iran's leaders, and given them the opportunity to set their nation on a better course. So far, Iran's leaders have rejected this offer. Their choice is increasingly isolating the great Iranian nation from the international community, and denying the Iranian people an opportunity for greater economic prosperity. It's time for Iran's leader to make a different choice. And we've made our choice. We'll continue to work closely with our allies to find a diplomatic solution. The world's free nations will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)

The Shia and Sunni extremists represent different faces of the same threat. They draw inspiration from different sources, but both seek to impose a dark vision of violent Islamic radicalism across the Middle East. They oppose the advance of freedom, and they want to gain control of weapons of mass destruction. If they succeed in undermining fragile democracies, like Iraq, and drive the forces of freedom out of the region, they will have an open field to pursue their dangerous goals. Each strain of violent Islamic radicalism would be emboldened in their efforts to topple moderate governments and establish terrorist safe havens.

Imagine a world in which they were able to control governments, a world awash with oil and they would use oil resources to punish industrialized nations. And they would use those resources to fuel their radical agenda, and pursue and purchase weapons of mass murder. And armed with nuclear weapons, they would blackmail the free world, and spread their ideologies of hate, and raise a mortal threat to the American people. If we allow them to do this, if we retreat from Iraq, if we don't uphold our duty to support those who are desirous to live in liberty, 50 years from now history will look back on our time with unforgiving clarity, and demand to know why we did not act.

I'm not going to allow this to happen -- and no future American President can allow it either. America did not seek this global struggle, but we're answering history's call with confidence and a clear strategy. Today we're releasing a document called the "National Strategy for Combating Terrorism." This is an unclassified version of the strategy we've been pursuing since September the 11th, 2001. This strategy was first released in February 2003; it's been updated to take into account the changing nature of this enemy. This strategy document is posted on the White House website -- whitehouse.gov. And I urge all Americans to read it.

Our strategy for combating terrorism has five basic elements:

First, we're determined to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur. So we're taking the fight to the enemy. The best way to protect America is to stay on the offense. Since 9/11, our coalition has captured or killed al Qaeda managers and operatives, and scores of other terrorists across the world. The enemy is living under constant pressure, and we intend to keep it that way -- and this adds to our security. When terrorists spend their days working to avoid death or capture, it's harder for them to plan and execute new attacks.

We're also fighting the enemy here at home. We've given our law enforcement and intelligence professionals the tools they need to stop the terrorists in our midst. We passed the Patriot Act to break down the wall that prevented law enforcement and intelligence from sharing vital information. We created the Terrorist Surveillance Program to monitor the communications between al Qaeda commanders abroad and terrorist operatives within our borders. If al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, we need to know why, in order to stop attacks. (Applause.)

I want to thank these three Senators for working with us to give our law enforcement and intelligence officers the tools necessary to do their jobs. (Applause.) And over the last five years, federal, state, and local law enforcement have used those tools to break up terrorist cells, and to prosecute terrorist operatives and supporters in New York, and Oregon, and Virginia, and Texas, and New Jersey, and Illinois, Ohio, and other states. By taking the battle to the terrorists and their supporters on our own soil and across the world, we've stopped a number of al Qaeda plots.

Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes and terrorists who would use them without hesitation. Working with Great Britain and Pakistan and other nations, the United States shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear trading cartel, the AQ Khan network. This network had supplied Iran and Libya and North Korea with equipment and know-how that advanced their efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. And we launched the Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of more than 70 nations that is working together to stop shipments related to weapons of mass destruction on land, at sea, and in the air. The greatest threat this world faces is the danger of extremists and terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction -- and this is a threat America cannot defeat on her own. We applaud the determined efforts of many nations around the world to stop the spread of these dangerous weapons. Together, we pledge we'll continue to work together to stop the world's most dangerous men from getting their hands on the world's most dangerous weapons. (Applause.)

Third, we're determined to deny terrorists the support of outlaw regimes. After September the 11th, I laid out a clear doctrine: America makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror, and those that harbor and support them, because they're equally guilty of murder. Thanks to our efforts, there are now three fewer state sponsors of terror in the world than there were on September the 11th, 2001. Afghanistan and Iraq have been transformed from terrorist states into allies in the war on terror. And the nation of Libya has renounced terrorism, and given up its weapons of mass destruction programs, and its nuclear materials and equipment. Over the past five years, we've acted to disrupt the flow of weapons and support from terrorist states to terrorist networks. And we have made clear that any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization. (Applause.)

Fourth, we're determined to deny terrorist networks control of any nation, or territory within a nation. So, along with our coalition and the Iraqi government, we'll stop the terrorists from taking control of Iraq, and establishing a new safe haven from which to attack America and the free world. And we're working with friends and allies to deny the terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas across the world. By helping governments reclaim full sovereign control over their territory, we make ourselves more secure.

Fifth, we're working to deny terrorists new recruits, by defeating their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom -- by spreading the hope of freedom across the Middle East. For decades, American policy sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by pursuing stability at the expense of liberty. The lack of freedom in that region helped create conditions where anger and resentment grew, and radicalism thrived, and terrorists found willing recruits. And we saw the consequences on September the 11th, when the terrorists brought death and destruction to our country. The policy wasn't working.

The experience of September the 11th made clear, in the long run, the only way to secure our nation is to change the course of the Middle East. So America has committed its influence in the world to advancing freedom and liberty and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and radicalism. (Applause.) We're taking the side of democratic leaders and moderates and reformers across the Middle East. We strongly support the voices of tolerance and moderation in the Muslim world. We're standing with Afghanistan's elected government against al Qaeda and the Taliban remnants that are trying to restore tyranny in that country. We're standing with Lebanon's young democracy against the foreign forces that are seeking to undermine the country's sovereignty and independence. And we're standing with the leaders of Iraq's unity government as they work to defeat the enemies of freedom, and chart a more hopeful course for their people. This is why victory is so important in Iraq. By helping freedom succeed in Iraq, we will help America, and the Middle East, and the world become more secure.

During the last five years we've learned a lot about this enemy. We've learned that they're cunning and sophisticated. We've witnessed their ability to change their methods and their tactics with deadly speed -- even as their murderous obsessions remain unchanging. We've seen that it's the terrorists who have declared war on Muslims, slaughtering huge numbers of innocent Muslim men and women around the world.

We know what the terrorists believe, we know what they have done, and we know what they intend to do. And now the world's free nations must summon the will to meet this great challenge. The road ahead is going to be difficult, and it will require more sacrifice. Yet we can have confidence in the outcome, because we've seen freedom conquer tyranny and terror before. In the 20th century, free nations confronted and defeated Nazi Germany. During the Cold War, we confronted Soviet communism, and today Europe is whole, free and at peace.

And now, freedom is once again contending with the forces of darkness and tyranny. This time, the battle is unfolding in a new region -- the broader Middle East. This time, we're not waiting for our enemies to gather in strength. This time, we're confronting them before they gain the capacity to inflict unspeakable damage on the world, and we're confronting their hateful ideology before it fully takes root.

We see a day when people across the Middle East have governments that honor their dignity, and unleash their creativity, and count their votes. We see a day when across this region citizens are allowed to express themselves freely, women have full rights, and children are educated and given the tools necessary to succeed in life. And we see a day when all the nations of the Middle East are allies in the cause of peace.

We fight for this day, because the security of our own citizens depends on it. This is the great ideological struggle of the 21st century -- and it is the calling of our generation. All civilized nations are bound together in this struggle between moderation and extremism. By coming together, we will roll back this grave threat to our way of life. We will help the people of the Middle East claim their freedom, and we will leave a safer and more hopeful world for our children and grandchildren.

God bless. (Applause.)

A new video from our very own Sout al Kuffar of "All your fakes are belong to us" fame. Spread the word.

Have you been a victim of an Israeli missile attack and don't even know it? Are you a victim of delayed onset missilosis? Then contact the law offices of Nasrallah, LLP.

I blogged the discovery of this field here. Today news that one of the test wells is producing 6000 bpd. A very respectable yield indeed, in my area a few hundred is considered a good well.

Chron.com: WASHINGTON — A trio of oil companies led by Chevron Corp. has tapped a petroleum pool deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico that could boost the nation's reserves by more than 50 percent…

…A test well indicates it could be the biggest new domestic oil discovery since Alaska's Prudhoe Bay a generation ago…

…During the test, the Jack 2 well sustained a flow rate of more than 6,000 barrels of oil per day, but analysts and executives believe the payoff could be much larger than that…

Mexico can't drill at that depth - its a different ballgame. Govt regulations prevent outside investment/assistance.

Nine arrested in Denmark on terror related charges. Any bets on their religious affiliation? I'm going with Buddhist.

It has come to my attention that Crocodile Hunter’s death was recorded on Video. I’ve obtained a copy of er, uhh, a video.

So it didn’t exactly happen that way, but close.

Some people live a very long very safe life. Adds up to X amount of living. Some people live a bit differently. I think Steve got all he could out of life. He lived and died on his own terms. X squared if you will.

He represents something we Americans miss and admire about the Aussies. They still have it, whilst here that kind of true grit is fading rapidly. The best way I know to honor him is to carry on his tradition of humor in the face of danger and sorrow.

Updated below.

Cross posted to Howie's Moisture Farm.

Update from Eonline:

He was developing a TV series for his daughter, Bindi, and working on a $40 million expansion to Australia Zoo. He had just completed five weeks of crocodile research in Queensland's Lakefield National Park and signed with Disney and IMAX to make a 3D movie.

"Steve said to me on the boat, on Croc One...as we were leaving to go out for this doco, 'John, I've had the best month of my life'. I said, 'Gee, that's a big statement, Steve' and he said, 'No, it's the best month of my life,'" Stainton recalled.

"And that's great."

You read that right, Hezbollah in Venezuala. Actually, they call themselves Hezbollah Latin America. Their goal? Bringing the Khomeinist Islamic Revolution to the Western hemisphere.

Right: A meeting of Hezbollah in Venezuela somewhere on the Guajira Peninsula.

Hezbollah has been active in Latin America for some time. In 1992 the 'Party of God' bombed the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. In 1998 Argentina expelled several Iranian diplomats after finding evidence of their involvement in the attack. In 1995 Hezbollah bombed the AMIA Jewish Community Center, again in Buenos Aires.

This is Hezbollah in Venezuela's website. One odd thing about it is that the links page takes you to Mexico's Al Markaz As Salafi-- a very un-Khomeinist site.

Check out Clint Taylor's vid at Hot Air, in which he relates this from Hezbollah in Latin America:

Hezbollah Latin America is looking into setting explosives against an allied organization of U.S.A. in Latin America.

The serious reason the launching for Hezbollah Latin America like an international movement, spreading the rejection to the attacks of Israel against Hezbollah Lebanon, showing our solidarity and endorsement to Hezbollah in its fight against Zionism and North American Imperialism.

The explosive apparatus will be of low power and will not cause injuries to people or property but will spread leaflets with slogans of Hezbollah Latin America against the occupation and against the Imperialism of USA.

In this form Hezbollah will appear before public opinion, national and international, like an Islamic revolutionary movement, that works to establish in all countries of Latin America, and from these countries to open a new space of Islamic resistance.

Venezuela Today seems to concur with my assessment. Gustavo Coronel notes that the leader of the group is named Teodoro Darnott, now called "Commander Teodoro". Commander Teodoro has been a member of Hugo Chavez's political party in the past and called his communal project for the Wayuu tribe, Jehovah Nisi--a very evangelical Christian sounding name.

As Coronel notes:

It is not clear when Commander Teodoro decided to switch, once more, philosophical preferences, to become a follower of Hezbollah. The little information I have on him suggests that he is a very uncultured person, certainly not an expert on the Islamic religion or ways of life. At some point in time the real Islamic fanatics probably contacted him.

Coronel also notes:

So far, they seem limited to holding rather "incestuous" meetings among the members of the tribe, to talk about exotic religious concepts that probably do not hold much appeal to them, and to wearing Islamic attire in Venezuelan territory, a cultural statement probably mostly designed to counterbalance Western culture.

UPDATE: Part II from Clint Taylor and he reaches much of the same conclusions as I do.

Pointvlog is running this Video here.

Nice contrast between the sweet voice and ROP images. The coolest part is the credit to The Jawa Report at the end. Be sure to watch that! ROPMA!

Hat Tip: Jason

Youtube copy here.

It looks like Ahmadinejad is attempting to start his own cultural revolution by purging the universities of liberals and secularists. And, like Mao's culurual revolution, the madman of Tehran wishes the purges to come from the bottom up.

He's encouraging students to purge the universities. It may seem infeasible, given the anti-regime stance of students, but the right mix of top down pressure and looking the other way when "extremists" "go too far" has been known to get results in the past.

This is worrisome because Iran's universities are the locus of opposition to Khomeinism, sharia, and religious conservatism. When we hear, as we do so often, that the Iranian street despises the ruling Mullahs, it is almost always university students giving those sentiments voice.

If Ahmadinejad succeeds in purging the universities, then the last best hope for peaceful regime change in Iran will have been crushed.

AP:

Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Tuesday for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from the country's universities, urging students to return to 1980s-style radicalism.

The president, in his role as head of the country's Council of Cultural Revolution, does have the authority to make such changes. But his comments Tuesday seemed designed more to encourage hard-line students to begin a pressure campaign on their own, thus forcing universities to oust the teachers.

Iran retired dozens of liberal university professors and teachers earlier this year. And last November, Ahmadinejad's administration for the first time named a cleric to head the country's oldest institution of higher education, Tehran University, despite protests by students.

HT: Howie

Frequent commenter and Vietnam Veteran Russ Vaughn wonders why corporations are unwilling to help vets and their families. Sad.

The BBBC celebrates 9/11 the only way they know how, by pointing out that searching for terrorists is akin to a "witch hunt".

"Witch hunt"???

I do not think those words mean what the Beebs thinks they mean.

Last time I checked, there were no such things as "witches". Which is why pursuing witches--the very definition of a "witch hunt"--was so stupid and fruitless.

There were no such thing as witches celebrating the dark mass in the woods in the light of the full moon. That is an imagined reality constructed out of ignorance.

But to deny that there are terrorists, or that terrorists are almost always Muslim, is reality denied out of willed ignorance.

CDR Salamander has the story and vid to back up the claim.

Update by Howie: A reader emails that the entire video is available here. Also here at Hot Air.

More at Mein BlogoVault.

Here's today's dose of inconvenient truth for the not-so-loyal antiwarbots and wayward Deaniac/Lamont Democrats. Read 'em and weep, Donks.

October 9th, 1999, From a Letter to President Clinton Signed by Senators Levin, Lieberman, Lautenberg, Dodd, Kerrey, Feinstein, Mikulski, Daschle, Breaux, Johnson, Inouye, Landrieu, Ford and Kerry:

"We urge you, after consulting with Congress and consistent with the US Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions, including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."

Joe Biden - August 4, 2002
"This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world, and this is a guy who is in every way possible seeking weapons of mass destruction."

Chuck Schumer - October 10, 2002
"It is Hussein's vigorous pursuit of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, and his present and future potential support for terrorist acts and organizations that make him a danger to the people of the united states."

John Kerry - January 23, 2003
"Without question we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator leading an impressive regime. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. And now he's miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. His consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction."

Sandy Berger - February 18, 1998
"He'll use those weapons of mass destruction again as he has 10 times since 1983."

Senator Carl Levin - September 19, 2002
"We begin with a common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations, is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."

Senator Hillary Clinton - October 10, 2002
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock. His missile delivery capability, his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists including Al-Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."

Madeleine Albright - November 10, 1999
"Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."

Oh, yes. There is MUCH more below the fold.

Robert "KKK" Byrd - October 3, 2002 "The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of '98. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons."

Al Gore - September 23, 2002
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter, and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."

Joe Biden - August 4, 2002
"I think he has anthrax. I have not seen any evidence that he has smallpox, but you hear them say, Tim (Russert), is the last smallpox outbreak in the world was in Iraq; ergo, he may have a strain."

Bill Clinton - December 17, 1998
"Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq.... Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors."

Hillary Clinton - October 10, 2002
"In the four years since the inspections, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability and his nuclear program."

Dick Gephardt - September 23, 2002
"(I have seen) a large body of intelligence information over a long time that he is working on and has weapons of mass destruction. Before 1991, he was close to a nuclear device. Now, you'll get a debate about whether it's one year away or five years away."

Russell Feingold - October 9, 2002
"With regard to Iraq, I agree Iraq presents a genuine threat, especially in the form of weapons of mass destruction: chemical, biological and potentially nuclear weapons. I agree that Saddam Hussein is exceptionally dangerous and brutal, if not uniquely so, as the president argues."

Johnny Edwards - January 7, 2003
"Serving on the intelligence committee and seeing day after day, week after week, briefings on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and his plans on using those weapons, he cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons. It's just that simple. The whole world changes if Saddam ever has nuclear weapons."

John Kerry - January 31, 2003
"If you don't believe...Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me."

Bill Nelson - September 14, 2002
"I believe he has chemical and biological weapons. I think he's trying to develop nuclear weapons, and the fact that he might use those is a considerable threat to us."

Al Gore - September 23, 2002
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

Tom Daschle - February 11, 1998
"The (Clinton) administration has said, 'Look, we have exhausted virtually our diplomatic effort to get the Iraqis to comply with their own agreements and with international law. Given that, what other option is there but to force them to do so?' That's what they're saying. This is the key question. And the answer is we don't have another option. We have got to force them to comply, and we are doing so militarily."

Bill Richardson - May 29, 1998
"The threat of nuclear proliferation is one of the big challenges that we have now, especially by states that have nuclear weapons, outlaw states like Iraq."

Hillary Clinton - October 10, 2002
"It is clear, however, that if left unchecked Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capability to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."

Al Gore - December 16, 1998
"[I]f you allow someone like Saddam Hussein to get nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons, how many people is he going to kill with such weapons? He has already demonstrated a willingness to use such weapons..."

Madeleine Albright - February 1, 1998
We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and the security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."

Nancy Pelosi - December 16, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."

Al Gore - September 23, 2002
"We know that he has stored nuclear supplies, secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

John Kerry - October 9, 2002
"I will be voting to give the president of the US the authority to use force if necessary to disarm Saddam because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."

Ted Kennedy - September 27, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."

Jay Rockefeller - October 10, 2002
"There was unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years. We also should remember that we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."

Joe Biden - August 4, 2002
"[H]e does have the capacity, as all terrorist-related operations do, of smuggling stuff into the United States and doing something terrible. That is true. But there's been no connection, hard connection made yet between he and al-Qaida or his willingness or effort to do that thus far. Doesn't mean he won't. This is a bad guy."

Madeline Albright - February 18, 2002
Iraq is a long way from (here), but what happens there matters a great deal here, for the risk that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest national security threat we face -- and it is a threat against which we must and will stand firm."

Jane Harman - August 27, 2002
"I certainly think (Hussein's) developing nuclear capability which, fortunately, the Israelis set back 20 years ago with their preemptive attack which, in hindsight, looks pretty darn good."

Dick Durbin - September 30, 1999
"One of the most compelling threats we in this country face today is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Threat assessments regularly warn us of the possibility that North Korea, Iran, Iraq, or some other nation may acquire or develop nuclear weapons."

Bill Nelson - August 25, 2002
"[M]y own personal view is, I think Saddam has chemical and biological weapons, and I expect that he is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. So at some point, we might have to act precipitously."

Nancy Pelosi - October 10, 2002
"Yes, he has chemical weapons. Yes, he has biological weapons. He is trying to get nuclear weapons."

Evan Bayh - August 4, 2002
"I'm inclined to support going in there and dealing with Saddam, but I think that case
needs to be made on a separate basis: his possession of biological and chemical weapons, his desire to get nuclear weapons, his proven track record of attacking his neighbors and others."

Bill Clinton - February 17, 1998
"We have to defend our future from these predators of the 21st Century.... They will be all the more lethal if we allow them to build arsenals of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. We simply cannot allow that to happen. There is no more clear example of this threat than Saddam Hussein."

Hillary Clinton - January 22, 2003
"I voted for the Iraqi resolution. I consider the prospect of a nuclear-armed Saddam Hussein who can threaten not only his neighbors but the stability of the region and the world, a very serious threat to the United States."

Joe Biden - August 4, 2002
"We know he continues to attempt to gain access to additional capability, including nuclear capability."

Johnny Edwards - February 6, 2003
"The question is whether we're going to allow this man who's been developing weapons of mass destruction continue to develop weapons of mass destruction, get nuclear capability and get to the place where -- if we're going to stop him if he invades a country around him -- it'll cost millions of lives as opposed to thousands of lives."

Joe Biden - August 4, 2002
"First of all, we don't know exactly what he has. It's been five years since inspectors have been in there, number one. Number two, it is clear that he has residual of chemical weapons and biological weapons, number one."

Senator Bob Graham - December 8, 2002
"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has and has had for a number of years a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."

John Kerry - February 23, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has already used these weapons and has made it clear that he has the intent to continue to try, by virtue of his duplicity and secrecy, to continue to do so. That is a threat to the stability of the Middle East. It is a threat with respect to the potential of terrorist activities on a global basis. It is a threat even to regions near but not exactly in the Middle East.

This stupid:

Phew, glad that problem is solved.

Guess he ran out of space to put in words like "illegal" and/or "bill."

Personally, I don't go there much anymore. I can find all the stuff he links to on my own, thankyouverymuch.

September 04, 2006

It's not just that they urge appeasement, they let go unchecked lie after lie about what al Qaeda really wants. It's beyond disgusting. See the video of the BBC urging appeasement here.

British tax money at work lying about al Qaeda and urging appeasement. The ghost of Neville Chamberlain haunts the halls of the Beebs.

Update: Ace being, well, Ace:

So let me get this straight: We are to do everything Osama bin Ladin demands of us, in hopes that this will placate him, but that's not appeasement?

Shiekh Omar Bakri Mohammed, the exiled British Muslim cleric, was detained by Lebanese police last week and then released after passing a bribe. He was questioned about his possible involvement with the foiled sky terror plot. Bakri denied any involvement.

In a conversation last night between al-Muhajiroun followers in Britain and Bakri in Lebanon, Omar Barki Muhammed related details of his detainment in Lebanon. Bakri claimed that the Lebanese authorities detained him at the request of the British or Americans.

The conversation was one of many secretly recorded by Glen Jenvey.

Bakri Mohammed claims that he was shown pictures of suspects in the plot to blow up American bound airplanes by the Lebanese authorities questioning him. He admitted to them that he had met some of the alleged plotters, but claims he did not know them by name.

Pakistan has arrested what it calls the leader of the sky-terror plot, a 25 year old Birmingham man named Rashid Rauf. Rauf is a member of Omar Bakri Mohammed's now banned al-Muhajiroun group.

Bakri was also asked by his al-Muhajiroun followers about jihad training and recruitment at the Jameah Islameah School. Bakri indicated that he knew the school's owner, Balil Patel. Bakri seemed to be pleased that the Patel was not among those arrested.

The conversation also turned to Abu Abdullah. Abu Abdullah, an assistant to jailed cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri at the Finsbury Park mosque, is now among the 14 men arrested in London on suspicion of involvement in terrorist recruiting and training centered around the school.

In last night's conversation, Bakri Mohammed can be heard praying for Abu Abdullah's release from prison and his al-Muhajiroun followers repeating the wish or saying ameen (amen).

In previous conversations secretly recorded by Jenvey between the exiled cleric and British al-Muhajiroun followers, Shiekh Omar Bakri Mohammed has raised funds for the 'mujahidin'.

Bakri Mohammed also claims that he was released after a bribe was given to the Lebanese authorities detaining him. He also believed that this bribe would keep him immune from further arrests.

Three al Muhajiroun members were arrested in Manchester last night on suspicions of plotting an assassination. While British police would not clarify who was the target of the assassination plot, it seems clear that Tony Blair was the intended victim.

The three are all described as of being Asians of Pakistani heritage and in their mid to late 20s.

If you would like to e-mail Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, and personally ask him about his connection to British terror plots, Glen tells me that you can reach him at obmuk@hotmail.com.

Developing......

Abu Abdullah, Abu Hamza al-Masri #2 man at the Finsbury Park mosque, is now among the 14 men arrested in London on suspicion of involvement in terrorist recruiting.

Allah has a great video of Abu Abdullah here as well as some more on the jihadi training camp in Britain.

Times Online:

A FORMER henchman of Abu Hamza al-Masri is among the 14 men arrested in London on suspicion of involvement in terrorist recruiting.

Abu Abdullah, 42, assumed the leadership of the Supporters of Shariah group when Abu Hamza, the former imam of Finsbury Park mosque, was arrested in May 2004.

Check out these ironical videos of Abdullah below in front of the Finsubry mosque. Here's a guy who publicly calls for jihad, calls terrorists martyrs, and yet who has the balls to decry the stereotype of Muslims as terrorists.