Archive for the ‘Middle East’ Category

You can’t win hearts, minds of radical Islam

by Speranza ( 177 Comments › )
Filed under Afghanistan, Islamic Terrorism, Islamists, Political Correctness, Politics, Taliban at March 7th, 2010 - 1:00 pm

Well as the saying goes “It is impossible to win the hearts and minds of the heartless and the  mindless”. The thought that so many Westerners and Israelis have that the Muslims and/or Arabs will start to loves us and ignore the commands of the Koran because we give them indoor plumbing are condescending and naïve. As Mohammed Hassan Yousef (the son of a Hamas founder who left Islam for Christianity after serving as an Israeli agent for many years) said the other day in an interview “The cruelest Muslim terrorist has more humanity and morality then the God he serves”. He also rejected the notion of a difference between “moderate” and “radical” Islam because as another heroine Ayaan Hirsi Ali has said “there is only one Koran”. These people can never be placated or bought off, only defeated.

by Ralph Peters

A good first step in waging war is to figure out why your enemy is fighting. For over eight years, we’ve refused to do that in Afghanistan. In the recent Marine offensive against the Taliban in Marjah, this resulted in a clear geographical objective, but a vague pacification mission targeting a stick-figure enemy. Tactical success is built on strategic quicksand.

We’re mired in Afghanistan because successive administrations in Washington have conflated the hayseed Taliban with al Qaeda’s cosmopolitans. These organizations have different ethnic compositions and profoundly different goals: The first is a regional actor with local aspirations, and the latter an international force with global ambitions. Instead of exploiting the differences between them, our policies encourage them to cooperate.

To regain our strategic footing, we need to see Taliban cadres as they are, without ideology or emotion clouding our vision.

Our reluctance to understand the Taliban on its own terms is strikingly evident in our insistence that Islam isn’t a factor. A confederation of franchises, the Taliban has multiple interests, from a regional power-struggle to local issues that vary between valleys. But the common identity of Taliban fighters is that they’re 100% Muslim and overwhelmingly Pashtun, members of a stateless ethnic group of 40 million straddling the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

[...]

Our current hearts-and-minds approach that seeks to avoid “unnecessary” combat gets it exactly wrong: Religious warriors can’t be bought with new roads, wells and vaccinations. On the contrary, over two millennia of religious revolts tells us that fanatic uprisings can only be subdued by killing the true believers.

[..]

Before we open fire, it’s helpful to open our eyes. In Afghanistan, we’re imagining the enemy we want, rather than seeking to understand the enemy we face.

Read the rest here:
You can’t win hearts, minds of radical Islam

Adam Gadahn- traitor

by m ( 154 Comments › )
Filed under Al Qaeda, Islamic Terrorism, Islamists, Pakistan, Terrorism at March 7th, 2010 - 11:00 am

YES!, no? maybe?

KARACHI, Pakistan — Pakistani intelligence officers say they have arrested Adam Gadahn, the American-born spokesman for al-Qaida.

Gadahn has been wanted by the FBI since 2004 and two years later was charged with treason.

Hattip to RIX!

This Adam Gadahn:
Adam Gadahn Praises Nidal Hasan, Calls for More Lone Wolf Attacks

UPDATE:
Hattip to My 2 Cents:
Breaking: Pakistanis capture American-born Taliban commander? Update: AP, NBC reporting Gadahn captured
Hattip to Fritz Katz:
Key Al-Qaeda operative netted in Karachi

He doesn’t tell the truth

by m ( 121 Comments › )
Filed under Barack Obama, Guest Post, Leftist-Islamic Alliance, Turkey at March 6th, 2010 - 2:30 pm

Blogmocracy in action!
Guest post by: Et Norsk Troll


Here is a *perfect* example of why I no longer listen to any speeches that President Obama gives (He doesn’t tell the truth):

Obama on the “Importance of US-Arrmenian Relations”

The money quote:

As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.” –January 19th, 2008)

Compare the above quote with this statement that I found today:

Obama against Armenian ‘genocide’ bill
The money quote:

Obama against Armenian ‘genocide’ bill” –March 6th, 2010

Why bother listening to this person? Why should I waste my precious time and resources listening to someone who so easy lies?

Better to turn off the TV, Radio or whatever and go read a good book or something.

Thoughts? Comments?

~Norsk Troll

Previously at the Blogmocracy:

Turkey recalls Ambassador after US vote on Armenia ‘genocide’
Islamo-Fascist Turks turn against Israel
Islamo-Fascists continue to consolidate power in Turkey
Voices From Around The World The Media Missed
Turkey wants Israel barred from UN
Turkey Flips on Israel
Turkey:The Most Anti-American Nation

Turkey recalls Ambassador after US vote on Armenia ‘genocide’

by Speranza ( 68 Comments › )
Filed under Holocaust, Islamic Supremacism, Islamic Terrorism, Islamists, Turkey at March 5th, 2010 - 3:00 pm

In days long numbered with the past, my college Political Science professor referred me to a historical novel based on a true incident  called “The Forty Days of  Musa Dagh” by Franz Werfel. The book detailed the defense of Mount Moses by the Armenians facing deportation and genocide by the Ottoman Empire. As Turkey moves more and more into the Islamist camp – we should be reminded that the first 20th century genocide was against Armenia. Adolf Hitler was reported to have said to his Nazi acolytes regarding the coming extermination of the Jews “Who remembers the Armenians?”  Remember that the next time the Turks start bellyaching about the Palestinians.

Side note  – Armenia was the first nation to ever convert to Christianity.

by Giles Whittell

One of the worst massacres of the 20th-century came back to haunt international politics yesterday when a powerful Washington panel voted to call the murder of about 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey “genocide”.

After more than three hours of debate, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs narrowly approved a resolution calling on President Obama to “characterise the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide”.

The vote went ahead despite last-minute pleas from the White House and State Department and triggered a furious reaction from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister.

“We condemn this resolution, which accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it did not committ,” he said. As Armenian observers applauded the vote on Capitol Hill, the Turkish Ambassador to Washington was recalled.

[...]

The vote, with 23 congressmen in favour and 22 against, will also jeopardise historic efforts begun last year to create normal diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia.

“We are seriously concerned that this resolution approved by the committee despite all our warnings will harm Turkey-US ties and efforts to nomalise Turkey-Armenia relations,” Mr Erdogan added.

Mr Obama promised as a candidate to break with longstanding US practice and start calling the First World War era killings genocide if elected to the White House. He broke the promise last year, refusing to use the word on a visit to Ankara, where he praised Turkey as a model Muslim democracy.

Read the rest here: Turkey recalls Ambassador after US vote on Armenia ‘genocide’

Crossing The Line: The Intifada Comes To Campus

by Bob in Breckenridge ( 110 Comments › )
Filed under Al Qaeda, Anti-semitism, Dhimmitude, Fatah, Hamas, Hate Speech, Hezballah, Islamic Invasion, Islamic Terrorism, Islamists, Israel, Jihad, Leftist-Islamic Alliance, Palestinians, Progressives, Sharia (Islamic Law), Terrorism at March 4th, 2010 - 4:00 pm

As most of us here already know, the true bigots and anti-Semites are on the left. You know, those understanding, tolerant and all-caring liberals/progressives. Yeah right. Piss on those scumbags. Most college campuses are nothing but places of intolerance, ignorance and anti-Semitism, where it’s not only okay to attack Israel and call for its destruction, but downright “chic”.

But just don’t protest the worldwide jihad the muslims are committing on a daily basis against Christians and Jews, and followers of other religions or no religion at all. Here’s a 6 minute video from some of our institutions of higher “learning”, along with a viewing guide-

VIEWING GUIDE

Shaping the World

College is a time for social action, student protest and the formulation of ideas and worldviews; a time to broaden one’s mind and for students to begin to shape the world they live in. In North America, college students have been instrumental in some of the biggest protest movements of the 20th Century, including the fight to end the Vietnam War, Women’s Rights and the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the activism continues with students fighting against the genocides in Tibet and Darfur and the war in Iraq.

Anti-Israel or Anti-Semitic?

There is one issue that seems to evoke more hostility then any other – Israel. Israel’s Operation Cast Lead at the close of 2008 evoked feelings of resentment and hatred from people throughout the world. There was something “different” about the protests that this war sparked as the line between anti-Israel policy and anti-Semitism became blurred. These protests weren’t just against Israel but also against the Jewish People. Around the world, synagogues and Jewish graves were desecrated and anti-Semitic chants were shouted at protests – even on the streets of America.

[…}

Please read the whole viewing guide here: crossing the line, intifada comes to campus

The Arab lobby – Racking up victories

by Speranza ( 97 Comments › )
Filed under Islamic Finance, Islamists, Leftists, Politics, Saudi Arabia at March 4th, 2010 - 11:00 am

For all the talk about AIPAC, the Israel lobby and various alleged nefarious grassroots lobbyists for the Jewish state – nobody can touch the Saudi lobby for influence in this country. Ex ambassadors are lured by Saudi money to become lobbyists or heads of Saudi funded think tanks, universities are endowed to create Islamic studies departments, former politicians and cabinet appointees (the late Spiro Agnew, Paul Findley and the odious Brent Scowcroft) are also bought off, all to spread the lies about the peacefulness of Islam and the Arab world.

by Benny Avni

The legend of the Jewish lobby’s influence over US policies continues to grow — even as the Arab lobby, led by the Saudis, keeps racking up successes.

With petrodollars and tender loving care spent lavishly on universities, ex-diplomats, PR firms and gullible journalists, the Arab Lobby constantly pushes two contradictory story lines:

* Arabs seek peace with Israel.
* There’s no place for a Jewish state in the Middle East

This week, Saudi-led Arab countries have convinced Western reporters that they’re advancing the peace process with Israel. Meanwhile, universities in America, Canada, Europe and the Arab world are marking “Israeli Apartheid Week” — a vile campaign meant to return the “Zionism is racism” equation to the top of the world’s agenda.

In Cairo yesterday, the Arab League gave its nod of approval for the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, to participate in indirect talks with Israel. This is meant to show us that the Arab countries are seeking peace.

Yet, in reality, Israelis and Palestinians have publicly conducted direct talks since the early 1990s. The Palestinians broke off those talks last year under increasing pressure from leading Arab countries, which hoped President Obama would lean hard on the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

[...]

Only a well-oiled PR machine can explain how the Saudis manage to harness such dear liberal values as oppression of women: Even though women there aren’t even permitted to vote or drive, the Saudis managed for years to get good grades from the UN Development Program, which marks “improvement” in women’s status as progress.

But selling the “improvement” line — to the United Nations or to gullible New York Times columnists — isn’t enough. They have to add insult to injury by telling the Times’ Maureen Dowd that women suffer worse in Israel, thanks to “religious militants”.

Please read the whole thing here: The Arab Lobby: Racking up the victories

The UN’s “Palestine”: The Real Apartheid State

by WrathofG-d ( 127 Comments › )
Filed under Anti-semitism, Fatah, Gaza, Hamas, Hezballah, Islamists, Israel, Judaism, Middle East, Palestinians, Religion, Terrorism, United Nations, World at March 2nd, 2010 - 8:30 am

It is long overdue that those who support Israel begin to go on the offensive against the enemies of Israel, here and abroad, and make them spend all their time and money defending their existence.

Luckily for the Pro-Israel crowd this can be done with simple facts and the truth.  What better time to start this campaign then now?

The “Palestine” envisaged by the UN is an apartheid state in the making…

And since its inception in 1994, the newly constituted Palestinian Authority, created by the PLO, has prepared the rudiments of a Palestinian State, modeled  on the rules of Apartheid and institutionalized discrimination:

1. The right of Palestinian Arab refugees and their descendents to return to Arab villages lost in 1948 will be protected by the new Palestinian state.

2. While 20% of Israel’s citizens are Arabs, not one Jew will be allowed to live in a Palestinian State

3. Anyone who sells land to a Jew will be liable to the death penalty in the Palestinian State

4. Those who murder Jews are honored on all official Palestinian media outlets.

5. Palestinian Authority maps prepared for the Palestinian State depict all of Palestine under Palestinian rule

6. PA maps of Jerusalem for the Palestinian State once again delete the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem

7. Recent PA documents claim all of Jerusalem for the future Palestinian State.

8. The right of Jewish access to Jewish holy places is to be denied in the new Palestinian State.

9. The Draft Palestinian State Constitution denies juridical status to any religion except for Islam.

10. No system which protects  human rights or civil liberties will exist in a Palestinian State

{READ THE REST}

Print; distribute; copy, paste & mass e-mail; wheat-paste, post to Anti-Israel websites, mention everywhere the topic comes up or is appropriate….

Who lost Iran?

by Speranza ( 90 Comments › )
Filed under Ahmadinejad, Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Iran, Progressives at February 27th, 2010 - 4:01 pm

Who lost Iran? The Left did. Starting with Jimmy Carter and continuing with cynical Democratic ex presidents  (and a current president) we’ve seen appeasement, obstructionism, and out and out sabotage of Republican presidents who actually wanted to confront the mad mullahs who are on the verge of obtaining a nuclear bomb.

The Left printed a false story (either in Newsweek or Time Magazine – I forget which one) that the Defense Intelligence Agency claimed that Iran had abandoned its nuclear ambitions years ago, the Left (in the form of the unspeakable Zbigniew Breszinski a former NSC head under Carter) wants American planes to confront any Israeli planes that that fly over Iraq to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities (something that will never happen by the way). By the way does anyone for a moment think that had Saddam remained in power he would have sat back and allowed Iran to go nuclear without trying to get a hold of a bomb himself?

by James Lewis
“Who lost China?” was the Republican slogan in the 1950s, after Mao Zedong conquered China and turned it into a Communist tyranny. Jozef Stalin was in power in the Soviet Union at the time and controlled half of Europe. China and Russia were both nuclear-armed tyrannies, and democracy was in retreat all over the world.

[...]

We are once again threatened by a fast-rising rogue state, run by a totalitarian, suicidal cult, soon to be armed with nuclear weapons. The life-or-death question for the coming elections should therefore be: Who lost Iran?

We have to pin that tail on the donkeys who let it happen. The Left is always boasting about their “compassion” and “progressivism” — and most recently, they are boasting that they are “the educated class,” when they have nothing but abysmal ignorance to show. Grandiose boasting and abysmal performance — who does that remind you of?  It’s a shocking sight. But as long as the Left controls the organs of propaganda, the schools and the media, it will be an uphill battle to tell the simple truth.

[...]

The responsibility of the Left for this looming disaster is undeniable. Who enabled the viciously anti-American Khomeini revolution, right at the height of the Cold War? (Jimmy Carter!) Who allowed the suicide cult of Khomeini to get the biggest weapons of mass destruction ever? (Jimmy! Bill! Barry!) Who radicalized the Democratic Party, so that a once-decent group of mainstream politicians were replaced by radical Lefties? (The Left.) Who constantly sabotaged efforts by sane US presidents — all Republicans — to stabilize the Middle East? (Jimmy! Bill! Barry!) Who failed to protect this country against the biggest terror attack ever? (Bill!) And who didn’t lift a finger to keep the Khomeini fascists from getting strategic missiles and nukes? (Barry!)

There you have it. Who lost Iran? The Left. The Left has constantly sabotaged US defenses, always agitating to expose the civilized world to nuclear terror.  Who blocked anti-missile defenses in Poland and Czechoslovakia? (Yes.) If ever the world has been led by a suicide cult this is it.

Bush and Cheney were trying to stop the two dangerous powers in the Gulf: Saddam and Iran. As a direct result George W. Bush was bruised and bloodied for two terms. The Left — Carter, Clinton and Obama — go out of their way to surrender to Islamic Fascism whenever they can. Obama just appointed a Muslim Brotherhood agitator to be his ambassador to the Organization of Islamic States.

At some point we’re no longer looking at stupidity and ignorance on the Left, but rather at real malevolence, a real desire to destroy this country and civilized life. When you see the same people always driving the school bus into the same marsh, over and over again, you have to finally realize they are really acting out of destructive hatred. And that is how they sound on their “progressive” websites: They are filled with rage and hatred. These are just not normally constructive people.

[...]

When — not if — Ahmadinejad gets his fingers on the nuclear button, it is our responsibility to pin that tail on the donkeys. The media will scream and Blame Bush for Iranian nukes. We have to tell the truth, and ensure that it is never forgotten.

[...]

Once that nuke goes off, Americans must come to their senses.

Obama is not the Messiah. He’s more like the Prince of Darkness.

Read the rest: Who Lost Iran?

When rhetoric rules the roost

by Speranza ( 87 Comments › )
Filed under Europe, Hamas, Israel, Terrorism at February 26th, 2010 - 10:00 am

Yes the Euro-dhimmis default instinct is to always blame israel. The assassination of that Hamas fellow in Dubai seems to me to be a joint collaboration of several intelligence agencies, including Israel. Two of the alleged assassins seem to have fled to Iran of all places, and the use of over 30 assassins to knock off one guy seems to be a bit “over kill” and not the usual Mossad standard operating procedure. I highly recommend a book by Robin Shepard (a Briton) called “A State beyond the Pale: Europe’s Problems with Israel”

by Caroline Glick

There is something pathetic about what passes as European foreign policy these days. Quite simply, more often than not, the concerted positions of the EU member nations have nothing to do with any of their national interests.

Take the EU’s initial response to the killing of Hamas terror-master Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on January 20. A senior terrorist engaging in the illegal purchase of illicit arms from Iran for Hamas-controlled Gaza is killed in his hotel room. The same Dubai authorities who had no problem with hosting a wanted international terrorist worked themselves into a frenzy condemning his killing. And of course, despite the fact that any number of governments, (Egypt and Jordan come to mind), and rival terrorist organizations, (Fatah, anyone?) had ample reason to wish to see Mabhouh dead, Dubai’s police chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim blamed Israel.

Not only did he blame Israel, to substantiate his claims, Tamim released what he said was video footage of alleged Mossad operatives who entered Dubai with European and Australian passports.

Relying only on Tamim’s allegations – EU leaders went into high dudgeon. Ignoring the nature of the operation, the basic lack of credibility of the source of information, and the very interests of Europe in defeating jihadist terrorism in the Middle East and worldwide, the chanceries of Europe squawked indignantly and threatened to cut off intelligence cooperation with Israel.

[...]

Contemporary European statecraft stands this traditional foreign policy model on its head. Today rhetoric rules the roost. If actions are taken at all, they are adopted in the service of rhetoric. As to national interests, well, the Lisbon Treaty which effectively bars EU member states from adopting independent foreign policies took care of those.

With national interests subordinated to the whims of bureaucrats in Brussels, Europe does little of value in the international arena. As for its rhetoric, as the EU’s rush to threaten Israel for allegedly killing a terrorist shows, it is cowardly, ineffectual and self-defeating.

If the Mossad did in fact kill Mabhouh then the operation was an instance in which Israel distinguished itself from its European detractors by acting, rather than preening.

Read the rest here: When rhetoric rules the roost

~Open Thread: Purim 5770 Edition~

by WrathofG-d ( 188 Comments › )
Filed under Humor, Iran, Israel, Judaism, Middle East, Music, Open thread, Religion, World at February 25th, 2010 - 12:30 pm

Netizens, for the Jewish people Purim begins this weekend on Saturday night.  Thus from me to you and your families, I wish you all a very joyous month of Adar, and a blessed and happy Purim sama’ach!…even if you don’t celebrate it!

Here is the general Purim story (in which the hero is a Woman), in Lego form:

Purim is Judaism’s most dramatic, fun-filled holiday. When else can you dress up like a bunny rabbit and eat doughy triangles filled with prunes and poppy seeds?

Purim occurs on the 14th of Adar. (In certain walled cities like Jerusalem, “Shushan Purim” is celebrated on the 15th of Adar.)

The main event is reading the Book of Esther.  Set in Persia 2,300 years ago, the “Megillah” (as it is commonly called) recounts how a seemingly unrelated series of events spun together to save the Jewish people from annihilation. The quickie version is as follows:

When King Achashverosh throws a huge six-month party and the queen refuses to follow orders, she is replaced by a new queen – Esther the Jewess. Esther’s uncle Mordechai, the leader of the Jews, uncovers a plot to assassinate the king — putting him also in a favorable position with the king. All this comes in handy when Haman, the king’s top advisor, obtains a decree to have all the Jews destroyed.

In the end, through a complex twist of events, Esther gets the decree reversed, Haman is hanged on the gallows, and Mordechai becomes prime minister.

The name Megillat Esther (Scroll of Esther) actually mean “revealing the hidden.” Unlike every other book in the Bible, Megillat Esther never mentions God’s name even once. The hidden hand of God is revealed through the maze of events. There are no coincidences.

Megillat Esther teaches us that life challenges work out for the best, because what appears as obstacles are really opportunities to develop ourselves for the better. And it all comes from God’s invisible hand that guides our fate, every step of the way.

-More information can be found here, and videos here.  Last year’s post can be found here.

{The Article}

One major aspect of the month of Adar, and of Purim specifically is the idea of JOY!  So, whether you are Jewish or not, enjoy this open thread and be happy!

-Oh, did I mention that one of the commandments of Purim is to drink heavily?

“The Green Prince”

by Eliana ( 55 Comments › )
Filed under Hamas, Israel, Terrorism at February 24th, 2010 - 7:30 pm

The son of a Hamas founder whose conversion to Christianity was so shocking that Al Qaeda commented on it and blamed Hamas for letting it happen is releasing more about his story…

Hamas founder’s son worked for Shin Bet for years
Ha’aretz

By Avi Issacharoff

The son of a leading Hamas figure, who famously converted to Christianity, served for over a decade as the Shin Bet security service’s most valuable source in the militant organization’s leadership, Haaretz has learned.

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a Hamas founder and one of its leaders in the West Bank. The intelligence he supplied Israel led to the exposure of a number of terrorist cells, and to the prevention of dozens of suicide bombings and assassination attempts on Israeli figures.

The exclusive story will appear in this Friday’s Haaretz Magazine, and Yousef’s memoir, “Son of Hamas” (written with Ron Brackin) will be released next week in the United States. Yousef, 32, became a devout Christian 10 years ago and now lives in California after fleeing the West Bank in 2007 and going public with his conversion.

Yousef was considered the Shin Bet’s most reliable source in the Hamas leadership, earning himself the nickname “the Green Prince” – using the color of the Islamist group’s flag, and “prince” because of his pedigree as the son of one of the movement’s founders.

During the second intifada, intelligence Yousef supplied led to the arrests of a number of high-ranking Palestinian figures responsible for planning deadly suicide bombings. These included Ibrahim Hamid (a Hamas military commander in the West Bank, Marwan Barghouti (founder of the Fatah-linked Tanzim militia) and Abdullah Barghouti (a Hamas bomb-maker with no close relation to the Fatah figure). Yousef was also responsible for thwarting Israel’s plan to assassinate his father.

“I wish I were in Gaza now,” Yousef said by phone from California, “I would put on an army uniform and join Israel’s special forces in order to liberate Gilad Shalit. If I were there, I could help. We wasted so many years with investigations and arrests to capture the very terrorists that they now want to release in return for Shalit. That must not be done.”

I wish he could help bring Gilad Shalit home, too!

The story of Yousef’s spiritual transformation appeared in Haaretz Magazine in August 2008. Only now, however, is Yousef exposing the secret he kept since 1996, when he was first held by Shin Bet agents seeking to enlist him in infiltrating the upper echelon of Hamas.

Their efforts proved successful, and Yousef was released from prison in 1997. His former handler, who no longer serves with the security service, says Yousef collaborated with Israel because he wanted to save lives.

“So many people owe him their life and don’t even know it,” said the handler, named in Yousef’s book as Captain Loai. “People who did a lot less were awarded the Israel Security Prize. He certainly deserves it.”

“The Green Prince” has a message for Israel:

With his memoir, Yousef hopes to send a message of peace to Israelis. Still, he admits he is pessimistic over the prospect of Israel signing a peace agreement with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, let alone Hamas.

“Hamas cannot make peace with the Israelis. That is against what their God tells them. It is impossible to make peace with infidels, only a cease-fire, and no one knows that better than I. The Hamas leadership is responsible for the killing of Palestinians, not Israelis,” he said. “Palestinians! They do not hesitate to massacre people in a mosque or to throw people from the 15th or 17th floor of a building, as they did during the coup in Gaza. The Israelis would never do such things. I tell you with certainty that the Israelis care about the Palestinians far more than the Hamas or Fatah leadership does.”

Haaretz exclusive: Hamas founder’s son worked for Shin Bet for years

“The Green Prince” should meet with every leader in the western world including Obama. They need to hear what he knows as an insider about Israel’s worst enemies!

Radical Islam: Israel and the West

by m ( 84 Comments › )
Filed under Anti-semitism, Islamic Terrorism, Islamic hypocrisy, Islamists, Israel, Terrorism at February 24th, 2010 - 3:30 pm

The following is reproduced in full- with permission:

Radical Islam: Israel and the West

On February 16, 2010, The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism (SICSA) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem hosted a seminar featuring Prof. Bernard Lewis, a world expert in the field of Middle Eastern studies and Islam entitled “Radical Islam: Israel and the West.”

The exclusive seminar was moderated by Prof. Robert S. Wistrich, the Center’s director and a world expert on anti-Semitism.

Muslims and the West

Prof. Lewis began by explaining that “this is the first time in 1,000 years that the Muslim world is in charge of their own affairs.” In this post-Communist era, “the Russians can’t play a role, and the Americans don’t want to play a role.” This change has created a painful new awareness in the Muslim world and has raised questions regarding why Muslim countries have fallen behind the West. There seems to be two very different answers to this question.

The first approach claims that Western Imperialism is to blame. The supporters of this view place the blame squarely on the United States and Israel (“the ‘illegitimate offspring’ of the United States”), who they see as the face of Western Imperialism today. They believe that modernization is a betrayal of their Islamic heritage and the only solution is to return to authentic Islam, no matter the sacrifice. This is what radical Islam is claiming to be doing.

The second approach claims that the Muslim world has no one to blame but themselves for their current state of affairs. In other words, the Muslim countries haven’t fallen behind the West as a result of Western Imperialism but as a result of their own actions – it is a “self-inflicted condition.” Supporters of this view agree that the solution lies in the modernization of Muslim countries – no finger pointing, just hard work to make it happen.

Prof. Lewis summed it up as follows: “It is important to realize that the greatest tragedy of the Middle East is a result of reforms introduced in the Middle East by Arab and Muslim rulers, not Europeans in the 19th and 20th Centuries.”

Europe and Islam

Prof. Lewis also discussed the concern that Muslims may take over Europe. He pointed out that it is hard to address this issue because there aren’t any reliable statistics regarding the number of Muslims in Europe. However, one indication that this concern may be well-founded is a rise in the number of Muslim names being given to children, and in some European countries these names are now the most popular.

Historically, it is important to remember that the Muslims made two previous attempts to conquer Europe – the first was in the 7th Century and the second in the 19th Century. The third attempt, which we are witnessing today, seems to have a much better chance at success. This current conquest is being waged in the form of peaceful migration rather than military aggression. As such, it is that much harder for Europe to defend itself.

What (the Muslims) are saying in Europe is that they want the same rights that the Muslims granted Christians and Jews in the classic Muslim state. These seem to be very legitimate claims and they imply that Muslims in Europe aren’t looking to take over Europe, they just want to ensure their basic rights as citizens. “The only question remaining for us to answer regarding the future of Europe,” quipped Prof. Lewis, “is will it be an Islamized Europe or a European Islam?”

Iran

When asked about the current situation in Iran, Prof. Lewis was very optimistic. “The regime is extremely unpopular, there is a great desire for change and the prospect in Iran is encouraging.”

He explained that “the revolution has reached the Napoleon stage” and as such “we shouldn’t give Iran the gift of Patriotism.” We must be very careful not to slip into the trap of strengthening the resolve of the Iranian radicals by questioning their rights to Nuclear weapons, giving them a reason to unite their people from within.

Radical & Moderate Islam

One development that does concern Prof. Lewis is the growth of radical Islam in several Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia is the most extreme example (“Wahhabism is the official religion of Saudi Arabia at the present time.”) and Turkey is also showing signs of a change in ideology (“What is happening in Turkey is alarming as it appears to be the first successful attempt to undo the Kemalist Revolution.”).

The good news, however, is that not all Muslims or Arabs are extremists or Jihadists, and we must support and strengthen these moderates. Prof. Lewis pointed out that authentic Islam is not about violence (“Sharia law states not to harm non-combatants and that suicide in all forms is forbidden”.) and that moderates (i.e. “those who don’t make the headlines”) are more than willing to accept the modern world and the West.

This article was compiled by the staff of The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism (SICSA) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Center (www.sicsa.huji.ac.il) is dedicated to an independent, non-political approach to the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge necessary for understanding the multi-faceted phenomenon of anti-Semitism.

Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah), Hamas and Islamic Jihad Threaten New Religious War against Israel

by Eliana ( 160 Comments › )
Filed under Fatah, Hamas, Israel, Jihad, Judaism, Terrorism at February 24th, 2010 - 9:30 am

The same ole terrorists are going nuts over Israel again due to Israel’s decision to spend NIS 400 million ($106 million) to preserve 150 heritage sites across Israel, including the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem.

Mahmoud Abbas — Chief Cook and Holocaust Denier of the confused people who call themselves by a name they can’t pronounce (“The Balestinian Beeble”) — is threatening a new religious war against Israel. Ismail Haniyeh (Hamas) is calling for another intifada. Abu Ahmed (Islamic Jihad) is being slightly more explicit in his description of the “new rules” of their same old terrorist games:

…in the next six months, the rules of the games are expected to change and the attacks will not only be against the settlers in the West Bank, but also within the entity, as we are aware of the fact that the soft underbelly and the biggest pain are when the attacks take place deep inside the enemy’s territory.

Palestinian group threatens attacks over heritage sites

First of all, nearly all of the suicide bombings and most of the 10,000 rockets fired since the Oslo Accords have been aimed at Jewish civilians inside the green line. The Arab world has been threatening to either push the Jews into the sea or to turn Israel’s streets red with Jewish blood for decades and decades. There’s nothing new here — no change in the rules of the games.

These terror groups never stopped the suicide bombings as a matter of choice. Israel stopped them with nightly IDF raids against terrorists and the security fence.

Mahmoud Abbas is calling on his “inner Arafat” in directing his threats at Israel in the context of demanding help from the international community for peace talks he’s refusing to hold:

“We expect the European Union to play an active role, which will complement the American role. Any delay will lead to a termination of the peace options and will send the region into a new swirl of violence.

Abbas, Haniyeh: Heritage sites will ignite a war

Israel’s response to Mahmoud Abbas and the other terror leaders:

The Prime Minister’s Office responded Tuesday to the Palestinians’ war and intifada threats following the decision to include Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs in the list of Israel’s heritage sites slated to be renovated and preserved.

According to Nir Hefetz, head of the National Information Directorate, “This is a false and hypocritical campaign. The State of Israel is committed to the freedom of worship of all religions in all holy sites, and this is what is it doing in practice.”

According to Hefetz, “Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs are burial sites of Israel’s forefathers dating back more than 3,500 years. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the nation’s foremothers – Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel – and are definitely worthy of preservation and renovation.”

Hefetz added that “these days, the re-maintenance of the entrance plaza and the way leading to the Muslim’s prayer hall in the Cave of the Patriarchs is being completed. Israel will work in a similar way to maintain the site used by Jews arriving at the Cave of the Patriarchs.”

PM’s Office: Abbas’ war threats hypocritical

Mahmoud Abbas has a better tailor than Yassir Arafat, but he’s still Arafat’s second in command. He’s still a terrorist with a PhD in Holocaust Denial.

What Israel really needs to do is to add Joseph’s Tomb to the list of heritage sites and restore it:

In the early days of the al-Aqsa Intifada, on the morning of October 7, 2000, Israel withdrew the small contingent of IDF border policemen who had been guarding the site of the Tomb of the Patriarch Joseph and its Yeshiva. The holy site was located in Shechem in Samaria, the town the Arabs call “Nablus”. Over the preceeding days, the Tomb had been attacked with gunfire, stones, and firebombs. The IDF defenders in the compound withstood the attacks and stopped several attempts by armed Palestinians to break in. An IDF border policemen was wounded, and the heavy rioting prevented his evacuation for treatment in time to save his life.

In order to prevent further loss of life and to lower tensions in the area, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak authorized the temporary evacuation of the site, based on the agreement of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to safeguard the location, in accordance with their obligations under the Oslo Accords to protect holy sites, Jewish and Christian, and ensure access by all. The PA also pledged to prevent any vandalism and to return the Tomb to its original state after the violence settled down.

The PA pledge was brazenly violated about two hours after the Israeli evacuation, when a Palestinian Arab mob entered the Tomb compound and began to systematically destroy everything in sight, including all remnants of the Yeshiva. The furniture and books that were left behind were burned by the mob. The Palestinian police stood by, failing to prevent any of these violent activities, despite their committment to guard the Tomb. Within hours, Joseph’s Tomb was reduced to a smoldering heap of rubble. Within two days, as an Associated Press dispatch reported, “the dome of the tomb was painted green and bulldozers were seen clearing the surrounding area,” as the Palestinian Arabs sought to transform the biblical Joseph’s resting place into a Moslem holy site.

What happened at Joseph’s Tomb in October 2000?

Israel’s Cabinet Decision to include the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb in the list of heritage sites across Israel won in a unanimous vote. They’re saying that it won’t be overturned.

Good!

Please make plans to build the Third Temple while you’re at it!

Turkish police arrest 50 in move against anti-Islamist coup

by Speranza ( 168 Comments › )
Filed under Islamists, Turkey at February 23rd, 2010 - 8:30 am

Well that is too bad if it is true. Islamists need to be overthrown and the Erdogan government is reverting back to pre Kemal Ataturk policies. The Turkish Army was always the guarantor of secularism and I do hope that the Islamists will be gone soon – preferably by elections, if not by other means. Remember – the Islamists may take power democratically but they will never rule democratically. Under Erdogan, Turkey has become increasingly hostile towards the West and Israel and has made overtures towards Iran and Syria.

by Suna Erdem

Turkish police arrested the former heads of the Navy and Air Force along with several other senior military officers yesterday in a sweep against top brass linked to a coup plan against the Islamist-leaning Government.

The existence of Sledgehammer, a detailed plot hatched in 2002-03, came to light last month. The arrests could be a spectacular milestone in the democratic history of Turkey, where four previous governments have been ousted by the military but no one has come to trial.

“This morning our security forces began a detention process,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister, said during an official visit to Spain.

By the end of the day almost 50 people — including Ibrahim Firtina, the former Air Force commander, and Ozden Ornek, the former Navy commander, five other senior former generals and seven serving soldiers — had been detained in a series of early-morning raids in nine cities. They were taken to Istanbul for questioning by anti-terrorism police.\

Police carrying out the raids entered military schools — from where previous coups were fomented — and the Mehmetcik Foundation, which helps the families of dead soldiers and veterans. Other teams searched the house of the former General Cetin Dogan, who used to head the First Army in charge of the region around Istanbul. He was credited with masterminding the so-called Sledgehammer plot. His lawyer said that he believed the police would be seeking a warrant for Mr Dogan’s arrest.

Another former First Army chief, Ergin Saygun, and the retired admirals Ahmet Feyyaz Ogutcu and Lutfi Sancar, were also arrested, as was Engin Alan, a well-known name among the military who spent much of his career in special forces or anti- terror squads fighting the Kurdish insurgency in southeast Turkey.

Many soldiers were named and their duties were outlined in the Sledgehammer plans, which could explain the swift arrests.

The plot, which was discovered by the independent Turkish daily, Taraf, was the most detailed coup plan ever to come to light in Turkey. It included more than 5,000 pages of scanned documents, CDs of slides and 48 hours of audio recordings, which were seen by The Times. Computer files had digital imprints dated 2002 or 2003, apparently tracing them to military computers.

Read the rest: Turkish police arrest 50 in move against anti-Islamist coup

Meir Dagan: the mastermind behind Mossad’s secret war

by Speranza ( 129 Comments › )
Filed under Hamas, Islamic Terrorism, Israel, UK at February 21st, 2010 - 5:00 pm

First off – a warning! Uzi Mahnaimi is a notoriously inaccurate journalist when it comes to Israel. He once wrote in 1998 that Israel was planning an ethnic bomb which could distinguish between Jews and Arabs.
Nevertheless this Meir Dagan is a fascinating person and the British should have had their own Meir Dagan when the IRA was terrorizing Britian, to sow mayhem amongst the U.K.’s enemies.

by Uzi Mahnaimi

IN early January two black Audi A6 limousines drove up to the main gate of a building on a small hill in the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv: the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli secret intelligence agency, known as the “midrasha”.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, stepped out of his car and was greeted by Meir Dagan, the 64-year-old head of the agency. Dagan, who has walked with a stick since he was injured in action as a young man, led Netanyahu and a general to a briefing room.

According to sources with knowledge of Mossad, inside the briefing room were some members of a hit squad. As the man who gives final authorisation for such operations, Netanyahu was briefed on plans to kill Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a member of Hamas, the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza.

Mossad had received intelligence that Mabhouh was planning a trip to Dubai and they were preparing an operation to assassinate him there, off-guard in a luxury hotel. The team had already rehearsed, using a hotel in Tel Aviv as a training ground without alerting its owners.

The mission was not regarded as unduly complicated or risky, and Netanyahu gave his authorisation, in effect signing Mabhouh’s death warrant.

Typically on such occasions, the prime minister intones: “The people of Israel trust you. Good luck.”

[..]

The new chief soon began to restore Mossad’s reputation for lethal operations. The tone of his directorship is set by a photograph on the wall of his modest office in the Tel Aviv headquarters. It shows an old Jew standing on the edge of a trench. An SS officer is aiming his rifle at the old man’s head.

“This old Jew was my grandfather,” Dagan tells visitors. The picture reflects in a nutshell his philosophy of Jewish self-defence for survival. “We should be strong, use our brain, and defend ourselves so that the Holocaust will never be repeated,” he once said.

One hit he masterminded was in Damascus two years ago against Imad Mughniyeh, a founder of Hezbollah and one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. Mughniyeh was decapitated when the headrest of his car seat exploded — close to the headquarters of Syrian intelligence.

Read the rest:
Meir Dagan: the mastermind behind Mossad’s secret war