Category Archives: Madrid train bombing

CAIR-Los Angeles Chief Hussam Ayloush Blames America for “Extremism” and Terrorism

1 DecpmFri, 04 Dec 2015 21:55:13 -06002015-12-04T21:55:13-06:0009 2009 – 21:55
Hussam Ayloush posing with the Muslim Brotherhood's Sheikh Youssef al Qaradawi. It is worth noting that Qaradawi has been banned from traveling to the US, the UK and France for his ties to "extremism." He has also endorsed female genital mutilation and approved Jihadists fighting the US in Iraq and attacking civilians in Israel

Hussam Ayloush posing with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Sheikh Youssef al Qaradawi. It is worth noting that Qaradawi has been banned from traveling to the US, the UK and France for his ties to “extremism.” He has also endorsed female genital mutilation and approved Jihadists fighting the US in Iraq and attacking civilians in Israel

By Christopher W. Holton

Once again we have been confronted with an outrageous statement from an official of CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood front group that has been implicated in terrorist activity.

Hussam Ayloush, the head of CAIR’s Los Angeles chapter, blamed US foreign policy for terrorism and “extremism” in the wake of the horrific San Bernardino Jihad attack that killed 14 innocent civilians and wounded 21 more.

If US foreign policy is responsible for “extremism” and terrorism, we have a few questions for Mr. Ayloush. We won’t hold our breath waiting for him to provide answers…

• Mr. Ayloush, did Boko Haram Islamic jihadists in Nigeria kidnap 300 Christian school girls because of US foreign policy?

• Mr. Ayloush, did Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Islamic jihadists assault Mumbai, India in 2008, killing 175 innocent civilians because of US foreign policy?

• Mr. Ayloush, did Chechan Islamic jihadists slaughter hundreds of school children in Beslan, Russia because of US foreign policy?

• Mr. Ayloush, did Al Shabaab Islamic jihadists slaughter 67 innocent civilians in the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya because of US foreign policy?

• Mr. Ayloush, did Jemaah Islamiyah Islamic jihadists kill 202 tourists in bombings in Bali, Indonesia in 2002 because of US foreign policy?

• Mr. Ayloush, did Islamic jihadists kill 191 innocent civilians in 2004 in the Madrid, Spain train bombings because of US foreign policy?

I could go on and on, but you get the idea…the problem clearly isn’t American foreign policy. The problem is the global Jihadist movement, of which your organization’s parent, HAMAS, is a key component.

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Boko Haram, CAIR, Homegrown Jihad, India, Indonesia, Islam, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mumbai attack, Muslim Brotherhood | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Islam, Muslims, Violent Jihad and Shariah

1 ApramSat, 20 Apr 2013 09:06:22 -06002013-04-20T09:06:22-06:0009 2009 – 09:06

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By Christopher Holton

The overwhelming majority of Muslims do not commit acts of violent Jihad, but that does not mean that there isn’t a doctrinal basis for it in Islamic scripture.

I am not talking about just a few violent verses in the Quran. The Islamic trilogy is replete with it: the Quran, the Hadith and the Sirah. (The Hadith are traditions and stories of the life of Muhammed and the Sirah is the biography of Muhammed). Moreover, in the Quran, the principle of abrogation bestows the most violent verses with the greatest strength as compared to earlier, peaceful verses.

These are facts, and if you read what the Jihadis themselves talk to each other about, EVERYTHING they do is based on contemporary interpretation of Islamic scripture.

We’re not talking about a fringe element here, folks. We’re talking about entire regimes (the Ayatollahs in Iran and Taliban Afghanistan are examples) and scores of violent Jihadist organizations around the world such as, Al Qaeda, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Lashkar e Taiba, Abu Sayyef, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Muslim Brotherhood…and many more.

To assign these beliefs to EVERY SINGLE Muslim of the 1.2 billion Muslims on the planet is wrong. But to deny the doctrinal basis in Islam for all of this violent Jihad is just as wrong and it is preventing the West from coming to grips with the global war with which we are faced, whether we want to believe it or not. There is a reason why we see Islamic terrorist organizations as well as individual Jihadis waging violent Jihad in places as geographically diverse as Boston, Los Angeles, Fort Hood, Little Rock, New York, Washington, Buenos Aires, London, Amsterdam, Toulouse, Madrid, Moscow, Beslan, Marrakech, Algiers, Benghazi, Damascus, Beirut, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Yaounde, Nairobi, Mogadishu, Timbuktu, Kaduna, Dar el Salam, Sana’a, Istanbul, Fallujah, Ramadi, Karachi, Islamabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mumbai, Amritsar, Dhaka, Hat Yai, Yala, Bali, and Mindanao.

In warfare, your enemy’s reality becomes your reality. To defeat him, you better understand him. You better understand his motivations and his goals. In short, you need to know what makes him tick. We understood what made the Nazis tick, we had Mein Kampf as a doctrinal guide. We understood what made the communists tick, we had The Communist Manifesto and other works as a doctrinal guide. But we REFUSE to even TRY to understand what makes the Jihadis tick because we fear that the reality will be too frightening. We are in willful denial: “The violence simply cannot have anything to do with Islam because there are too many peaceful Muslims in the world.”

That is missing the point entirely. The fact that the majority of Muslims do not know Islamic doctrine and thus do not adhere to it is not particularly remarkable or surprising. How many Catholics are truly highly familiar with the doctrinal aspects of their faith?

The fact remains that there are violent Jihadists around the world who commit acts of war and they both justify it on Islamic scripture and carry out these acts to promote Islam. The doctrinal basis is found in Islamic law, known as Shariah. The Jihadists’ goal is to impose Islamic law and Islamic law is the code which they follow. (If you are skeptical of this, go pick up a copy of the excellent work by Raymond Ibrahim, The Al Qaeda Reader, and read what the enemy writes and says.) To deny the doctrinal basis in Islam for violent Jihad is becoming more and more suicidal as a civilization with each new incident that we in turn deny.

The latest example is of course in Boston. Two Jihadis, perhaps members of a Jihadist organization, or perhaps so-called “lone wolf” actors, committed atrocious acts of violent Jihad, killing several innocents and wounding many more. Despite evidence on social media and YouTube, as well as accounts of the Jihadis’ devout Islamic beliefs, the simpletons in the news media and even in our own government are pondering aloud what their motivation could possibly have been. Hours and hours of TV coverage in the so-called “mainstream” media go by with nary a mention of the word “Islam.” The elephant in the room is being ignored.

Some “experts” are quoted as taking comfort in the belief that the two Tsarnaev brothers may not have had any operational connection with any known terrorist organization, such as Al Qaeda. This is 180 degrees out from reality and these “experts” completely miss the point.

The fact that the Tsarnaev brothers may have “only” been inspired to commit Jihad on their own is not cause for celebration or relaxation. It is cause for alarm and it would seem to be part of a disturbing pattern that has been emerging over the years:

• Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, aka Carlos Bledsoe, apparently acting on his own after receiving terrorist training in Yemen, shot two US Army soldiers outside a Little Rock, Arkansas recruiting office, killing one, Private William Long and wounding another.

• Major Nidal Malik Hasan, apparently acting on his own, after years of conversing with Al Qaeda Imam Anwar Al Awlaki, shot and killed 13 fellow US Army soldiers and wounded 39 more.

These types of attacks are indicative of a revolutionary critical mass in which centralized direction and control is no longer necessary. Jihadis around the world are now waging violent Jihad in Al Qaeda-like fashion after reading web postings and listening to sermons. This presents a whole new series of challenges for security services and makes the use of military force much less effective. Infiltrating organizations such as Al Qaeda and Hezbollah has been extremely difficult. But how does one infiltrate lone wolf actors like the Tsarnaev brothers? Who does the US military go after in the wake of the Boston attacks?

This new reality makes identifying and understanding the Islamic doctrinal basis of our Jihadist enemies all the more important, yet with each passing attack, we seem to be getting further and further away from doing so.

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Boko Haram, Boston Marathon bombings, Carlos Bledsoe, Fort Hood Massacre, Great Britain, Hezbollah, Homegrown Jihad, Homeland Security, India, Indonesia, Islam, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lebanon, London transit bombings, Mali, Morocco, Mumbai attack, Muslim Brotherhood, Nidal Malik Hasan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sharia, Shariah, Somalia, Syria, Taliban, Tanzania, Terrorist attack, terrorist group listings, Thailand, The Netherlands, Toulouse, Tsarnaev brothers, United Kingdom, Yemen | Comments (3)

Was Bin Laden in Charge and Will his Death Defeat Jihad?

1 MaypmSun, 15 May 2011 14:59:23 -06002011-05-15T14:59:23-06:0002 2009 – 14:59

In the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, there is a debate as to the extent that Bin Laden was operationally in charge of Al Qaeda. There have also been those who have naively speculated that Bin Laden’s death means an end to the war on terror or even Jihad altogether.

It seems apparent that Bin Laden was actively communicating with Al Qaeda elements, but it wasn’t in real time. He used a system of couriers to relay messages via email and the internet, but went to great pains to securely communicate. This means no direct internet connection and no phones, cellular, satellite or landline.

This would preclude any real dialogue with operators and cells. It seems as if Bin Laden was able to communicate in general terms about his “commander’s intent,” but was in no position to take part in detailed planning. Bin Laden wanted his followers to carry out mass casualty attacks, he wanted the attacks to occur on important anniversaries and holidays, and he was especially interested in attacks on trains, which is not hard to believe given that Jihadists have been targeting trains in the UK, Spain, France, Germany and India in recent years.

Unfortunately, what this probably means is that the loss of Bin Laden will not operationally hinder Al Qaeda. It may hurt the group’s morale and it may erode some of the group’s financial and moral support, but it might also energize those who seek to avenge Bin Laden’s death at the hands of US special operations forces.

Al Qaeda doctrinal leader Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri still lives and he has been by far more active in communicating in recent years than Bin Laden was. Anwar Al-Awlaki is still at large in Yemen and he has been the one who has successfully trained and inspired Jihadi attacks on US targets in recent years, such as the Fort Hood Jihadi murderer, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Underwear Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Little Rock Jihadist murderer, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (aka Carlos Bledsoe) and the unsuccessful plot to send bombs embedded in printer cartridges from Yemen to the US on board cargo and passenger airliners.

Muslim Brotherhood apologist Peter Bergen maintains that Awlaki is a small player and that the war on terror should end with the killing of Bin Laden, but this is hardly surprising that Bergen essentially built a career around Bin Laden, including perpetuating the illusion that Bergen himself was some sort of expert on Jihad because he had managed to spend a few hours with Bin Laden in a tent 13 years ago or so.

On top of all this, there is the additional issue of groups and organizations sympathetic to Al Qaeda and allied with Al Qaeda, but not actually part of Al Qaeda. Two significant organizations fall into this category: the Taliban and Lashkar e Taiba.

The Taliban need no introduction, but many people do not realize two things about the Taliban: Taliban leader Mullah Omar specifically declined to merge with Al Qaeda and refused to take an oath of loyalty to Bin Laden. Because of this, Bin Laden exercised no operational control over the Taliban. Second, the failed Times Square bomb plot appears to have been a Taliban operation, vice an Al Qaeda operation: https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/new-york-times-square-car-bomb-bulletin/

The significance of this is that the Taliban are willing and able to attempt terrorist attacks here in America. Adding to this worry is the recent news that six American Muslims, including Imams at a Florida mosque, appear to have been raising money for the Taliban: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387185/Imam-Florida-mosque-sons-arrested-charges-financing-Taliban-Pakistan.html  Moreover, there is no ignoring the Taliban’s recent bombing attack against a Pakistani paramilitary training facility in northern Pakistan, which was declared as vengeance for Bin Laden’s death–with the promise of more to come.

Unfortunately, the slaying of Osama Bin Laden will have no operational impact on Taliban operations.

Then there is Lashkar e Taiba, the Pakistani Jihadi terrorist group which carried out the horrific Mumbai attacks. Again, this is a group that is often misidentified as an Al Qaeda affiliate, but, like the Taliban, LeT is a separate, standalone organization that declined to pledge any oath to Osama Bin Laden.

What does LeT have to do with America? Two things:

1. The Jihadist who conducted recon ahead of the Mumbai attacks was an American from Chicago named David Coleman Headley:

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/18-american-jihadist-terrorists/

In fact, Headley also conducted recon on an Indian nuclear power plant as well:

https://terrortrendsbulletin.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/chicago-jihadi-conducted-recon-on-nuke-plant-for-lashkar-e-taiba/

2. LeT is known to be active in America:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/927uxqry.asp

Members of the group fought against US forces in Iraq back in 2004. The group is known to have a presence in Germany and the UK as well.

These are just two examples of Jihadi organizations that pose a threat to America that will not be impacted at all by the death of Bin Laden.

Then there is the “lone wolf” threat, the so-called “sudden jihad syndrome” threat in which enraged Muslims commit acts of violence because they were inspired by organizations like Al Qaeda and people like Osama Bin Laden. There have been examples of this, the most recent being the case of a Yemeni-American who tried to storm the cockpit door of an American Airlines flight whilst screaming “AllahuAkbar!” Fortunately, the reinforced door was securely locked and there were a retired Secret Service agent and retired police officer on board who subdued the subject:

http://www.examiner.com/headlines-in-san-francisco/did-yemen-man-yells-allahu-akbar-incident-outside-cockpit-door-video

Officials have issued warnings about such “lone wolf” attacks in the wake of Bin Laden getting his brains blown out:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/05/10/bin.laden.attacks/

What of Al Qaeda itself? At least four Al Qaeda affiliates have either declared their intent to avenge Bin Laden’s death or issued veiled threats to carry on with the Jihad:

Somalia’s Al Shabaab, including Daphne, Alabama-born Jihadist, Abu Mansur Al-Amriki, mourned Bin Laden’s passing in a radio communication, confirming, incidentally, Al Qaeda’s role in fighting US forces in Somalia way back in 1993:

http://www.raxanreeb.com/?p=95817

In Indonesia, Jemmaah Islamiyah leader Abu Bakar Bashir, mourned Bin Laden and issued a veiled threat:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/jemaah-islamiyahs-abu-bakar-bashir-says-death-of-bin-laden-wont-kill-al-qaeda/story-fn3dxity-1226049072983

And, finally, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (which has been especially active in hostage taking in recent months and years) and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, both vowed to carry on with Jihad after Bin Laden’s death:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.312069e9fc4253641862a854552f7c85.8b1&show_article=1

http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/05/al_qaeda_affiliates_weigh_in_o.php

None of this takes two other significant Jihadi terrorist threats into account: Hezbollah and HAMAS.

Hezbollah has not issued any comments on Bin Laden’s death, but a former Hezbollah leader mourned Bin Laden as a hero who defended Islam:

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=45936

Hezbollah has not targeted Americans with terrorism in recent years, but they did take an active combat and advisory role against US forces in Iraq and they are believed to have a substantial presence inside the USA. Most recently, reports have once again surfaced of the group’s presence along the American-Mexico border:

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4692389/terror-on-the-border/

What could touch off renewed attacks by Hezbollah? A confrontation with Iran for one.

The same can be said for the Palestinian Jihadist terrorist group HAMAS. Like Hezbollah, HAMAS is greatly dependent on Iran for financing, arms and training. Any confrontation with Iran carries with it the danger of HAMAS terror attacks. Many Americans do not remember that Palestinian terrorists used to target Americans with regularity. They stopped, not out of love for America, but to avoid being targeted by American power. HAMAS has the same basic goals as Al Qaeda and issued a eulogy honoring Bin Laden in which they bestowed upon him the honorific title “Sheikh:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdDapb1rrvk

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488479/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-Hamas-condemns-killing-of-bin-Laden.html

HAMAS is known to have conducted extensive fundraising inside America and, like Hezbollah, is believed to have a major presence inside our country.

So, we have no answers but certainly some educated guesses:

• Bin Laden was unlikely to have played an active operational role in Al Qaeda in recent times; most likely he was limited to expressing “commander’s intent” via intermediaries with little or no direct contact with operatives around the globe.

• The Jihad will of course continue.  Jihad is not limited to a few groups and it didn’t commence on September 11th, 2001. It’s been going on for a millennium and is based on Shariah doctrine, not just the personal philosophy of Osama Bin Laden. Jihad, however, can be made dormant for a period through strong resistance since, according to Shariah, Muslims are specifically not supposed to wage Jihad if they are not strong enough to do so, therefore the situation is far from hopeless.

Al Qaeda and its affiliates have pledged to continue the Jihad and allied Jihadist groups still pose an independent threat above and beyond Al Qaeda. In fact Bin Laden’s death may ironically spur them to action. This says nothing of the threat from Jihadists that were not aligned with Bin Laden, such as Hezbollah and HAMAS, who pose an ongoing, if dormant, threat to Americans.

Now is no time to rest or become complacent. Just the opposite.

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Abu Sayyaf, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Carlos Bledsoe, Faisal Shahzad, Fort Hood Massacre, Germany, Great Britain, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Homegrown Jihad, Homeland Security, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, London transit bombings, Mexico, Mumbai attack, Muslim Brotherhood, Nidal Malik Hasan, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Palestinian terrorism, Philippines, Somalia, Sudden Jihad Syndrome, Taliban, terrorism funding, Times Square bomb attack, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, Yemen, Zawahiri | Comments (0)

Ongoing Osama Bin Laden Slaying Thread

1 MaypmMon, 02 May 2011 14:18:29 -06002011-05-02T14:18:29-06:0002 2009 – 14:18

By now all of our readers are aware of the fact that Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden over the weekend in a daring raid in Pakistan.

Rather than rehash what is already being reported, TTB will establish an ongoing thread on this monumental event, with links to news articles and analysis from around the world:

Philip Klein at the Washington Examiner points out the years of work, hunting, training and rehearsals that went into accomplishing the mission of taking out Bin Laden. It is also important to point out that if not for the detention center at Guantanomo Bay, Cuba and enhanced interrogation techniques, both of which President Obama has opposed, we’d have never gotten close to finding Bin Laden:

Some time after Sept. 11, detainees held by the U.S. told interrogators about a man believed to work as a courier for bin Laden, senior administration officials said. The man was described by detainees as a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and “one of the few Al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin laden.”

Two years ago, intelligence officials began to identify areas of Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated, and the great security precautions the two men took aroused U.S. suspicions. 

While the two brothers, the couriers, had no known source of income, the compound was built in 2005 and valued at $1 million.

After exploring every angle for months, they concluded that all signs pointed to this being bin Laden’s residence.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/05/raid-got-bin-laden-was-culmination-years-work-sr-admin-official-s?utm_source=feedburner+BeltwayConfidential&utm_medium=feed+Beltway+Confidential&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BeltwayConfidential+%28Beltway+Confidential%29feed&utm_content=feed&utm_term=feed

Here are some articles with brief introductions to SEAL Team 6, also known as DEVGROUP, the unit that carried out the mission that killed Bin Laden:

http://nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/the-secret-team-that-killed-bin-laden-20110502

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-team-that-killed-bin-laden-seal-team-6-2011-5

From the same source, here is a Timeline for the operation to kill Bin Laden:

http://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-of-bin-laden-discovery-2011-5

Here is an article with some thoughts on how Al Qaeda may retaliate against the US for killing Bin Laden. It lists possible categories of targets. We think some of the targets are certainly likely, but that this list may not go far enough, given what we know of Al Qaeda’s prior plans. There is reason to be worried about shopping malls for instance. Security breaches at chemical and bio facilities seem remote, but attacks on petrochemical refineries and similar facilities would certainly be a concern. The article also assumes that airports and airliners are off the target list, though Al Qaeda’s history suggests they will keep trying in this sector, especially after the successful attack in an airport terminal in Moscow not long ago. We have airliners bottled up tight, but there is no security to speak of in airport terminals, where large numbers of passengers have to stand in line and are vulnerable. Then there are sporting events and music concerts. Jihadists attacked a group in Africa watching the World Cup on TV last year. Not a great article, but not a total waste of time either…

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-will-al-qaeda-militants-get-their-revenge-2011-5

Here is a similar article from ABC News, including a report that a US Marine NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) Warfare unit has been urgently recalled from Japan. This indicates that there is at least some concern that Al Qaeda or its allies could have a WMD capability of some sort…

http://abcnews.go.com/US/osama-bin-laden-triggers-security-alert-recall-marine/story?id=13505844

The US Department of Homeland Security has issued an advisory about potential retaliation, though it includes scant few details:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/02/general-us-bin-laden-warnings_8444923.html

One of the most promising aspects of the Bin Laden raid is the potential treasure trove of intelligence captured. No doubt, Al Qaeda operatives and supporters around the globe are holding their breath and scrambling because they can’t be certain if the next knock on the door, or the next helicopter that passes by, could be some of America’s finest come to bring down death and destruction on them…

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20058885-503543.html

CBS News has also published a story on one intriguing aspect of this event, namely that waterboarding at Gitmo produced the initial intelligence that made it possible to track down Bin Laden. It is entirely possible–in fact LIKELY–that had Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not been waterboarded, we’d still be guessing where Bin Laden is today. And had he, and other Al Qaeda terrorists, not been classified as enemy combatants and housed in detention at Gitmo, they would never have undergone the waterboarding in the first place. It is worth noting that President Obama is now taking credit for an operation that could never have occurred had he had his way with regard to Gitmo and “enhanced interrogation” techniques…techniques which we no longer employ by the way…

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20058921-503544.html?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea

Another article that credits “enhanced interrogation techniques” for uncovering the intelligence that enabled US forces to find and kill Bin Laden–Obama has ended the use of those techniques…

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13512344

Now we have an article from The Telegraph in Great Britain that alerts us to the reality that Al Qaeda will not be stopped by Bin Laden’s death. The organization has been franchising itself globally for some time. It even suggests that Bin Laden was never fully in control of the global Jihadist movement, something that TTB definitely agrees with:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488662/Al-Qaeda-The-next-generation.html

In fact, Al Qaeda has affiliates around the world now and tomorrow’s Al Qaeda leaders may comes from several affiliated terrorist organizations:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/following_bin_ladens_death_al_qaeda_affiliates_in_africa_middle_east_poised_to_produce_new_leaders/2011/05/02/AFaJIwYF_story.html

The next two articles are sad reminders of the tens of thousands of lives Osama Bin Laden’s evil touched through violent Jihad. Back in August of 1998, hundreds of people were killed in East Africa in what was, up to that point, Al Qaeda’s bloodiest attack. Then in 2002, Al Qaeda struck in Bali, Indonesia, killing hundreds of mostly Australian tourists…

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/tears-kenyas-1998-us-embassy-bombing-somalias-al-114638162.html

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/relief-for-bali-bombing-victims-following-osama-bin-ladens-death/story-e6frf7jo-1226048732274

We find the whole emphasis on handling the monster Bin Laden’s remains according to “Islamic tradition” to be troubling as hell. It was almost as if we were showing respect for a mass murderer. Had he been any religion other than Islam there would have been no thought or mention of the religious aspects of how his remains were to be treated. The SEALs do the heavy lifting while the geeks continue to insist that we chase our tails.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/02/bin-laden-given-religious-funeral-prior-sea-burial/

National Journal has aerial photos of Bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan. Hard to believe the Pakistani military didn’t know he was there…

http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/pictures-u-s-photos-of-the-bin-laden-compound-20110502#photo_0

It’s almost impossible to believe that the Pakistani military didn’t know where Bin Laden was. The available evidence suggests that they were harboring him…

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PAKISTAN_BIN_LADEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-02-18-25-32

Now that Bin Laden is dead, his sympathizers and allies are making threats. In Great Britain, a guy who really needs to be in prison, Anjem Choudary, has predicted another “7/7” attack as a result of Bin Laden’s death…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8487822/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-followers-warn-of-another-77.html

As a result of veiled and overt threats, we are seeing examples of increased security and warnings from terrorism experts.

There are very visible signs of increased security in New York and Washington, the two targets of the September 11th attacks:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-02/security-heightened-in-new-york-washington-following-killing-of-bin-laden.html

Logan Airport in Boston was one of the airports transited by the September 11th hijackers a decade ago. Today, that airport has instituted tighter security precautions:

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/east_boston/2011/05/at_logan_airport_and_around_bo_1.html

There is understandably widespread euphoria across America about Bin Laden’s demise, unfortunately, the Jihadist’s death may not make us any safer. This analysis comes from Steve Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism:

That threat could come from “lone wolf” terrorists as much as from al-Qaida followers. In recent years, bin Laden has been viewed more as an iconic figure for al-Qaida rather than the controlling hand he enjoyed before the 9/11 attacks. The group has split into smaller, autonomous cells and networks, and its ubiquitous Internet presence reaches

In February, U.S. intelligence officials identified Yemen-based American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki as a bigger threat than bin Laden. Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan and attempted Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad are among those Awlaki communicated with or inspired. During his sentencing, Shahzad defiantly told the court he tried to wage war against America because he believed the country was at war with Islam.

Meanwhile, a series of plots by homegrown radical Islamists were prevented only because of pro-active sting operations initiated by the FBI.

To close out this posting for 2 May, Jihadists around the world are making threats to avenge Bin Laden:

Jihadists in the Philippines have declared Bin Laden a martyr:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/05/02/11/moro-rebels-call-bin-laden-martyr

Hamas has condemned the killing of Bin Laden:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/02/hamas-leader-condemns-killing-usama-bin-laden/

The Taliban have vowed to avenge Bin Laden’s death:

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/osama-how-he-died/

Less well-known Jihadis have chimed in on Bin Laden’s death too:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-militants-idUSTRE74147320110502

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Guantanomo, Homeland Security, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Lashkar-e-Taiba, LIFG Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, London transit bombings, Morocco, Obama, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Taliban | Comments (0)

Ron Paul: Blame America First for Jihad

1 ApramTue, 26 Apr 2011 06:22:11 -06002011-04-26T06:22:11-06:0006 2009 – 06:22

Ron Paul is at it again.

But let’s not get to worked up about the crazy old loon. After all, he’ll be 76 in August. That will make him 77 by the time the next president is inaugurated. That’s nearly the age President Reagan was when he left office after two terms.

Ron Paul isn’t in this race to win. He’s one of those perpetual candidates for president who just adores the attention.

In his latest appearance on Fox News, Paul manages to stick to his McGovern-like “Blame America First” script with the tired old assumption that Jihad is being waged against us just because we are in Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or especially because we are an ally of Israel. Paul appears to be a disciple of Michael Schuerer, who has been spouting that line since BEFORE he left the CIA.

Anyway, the good folks at Gateway Pundit posted Paul’s appearance. My comments follow the link:

http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/crazy-ron-paul-still-blames-the-us-for-islamic-extremism-video/

Here are my thoughts:

It is interesting that Ron Paul bases his entire philosophy on the global Islamic insurgency on the opinions of Michael Sheuer. Michael Sheuer epitomizes all that is wrong with America’s bureaucratized counterterrorism apparatus. First of all, he broke longstanding CIA regulations at the encouragement of his politicized superiors to write a book while in active service. This alone makes him a scumbag in my book. Thousands of honorable CIA operators could have done the same, but none did. There is a reason. It’s called honor. Second, Sheuer had a uniquely disturbing career in the CIA. A career analyst with no field experience, he was somehow allowed to become a case officer and eventually found himself in charge of the CIA unit tasked with killing or capturing Bin Laden. He failed miserably. Moreover, if you actually read his work, it is readily apparent that Sheuer has at best a superficial level of knowledge of Islamic threat doctrine. He is appallingly ignorant for someone who was in the position he was in. This has resulted in his belief that we are only being attacked because of things we have done and especially for our support for Israel.

I ask my friends:

Is Jemmaah Islamiya attempting to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia because the US supports Israel?

Are the Chechyan jihadists waging Jihad against Russia because the US supports Israel?

Is Abu Sayyef attempting to establish an Islamic state on Mindanao because the US supports Israel?

Are Jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in southern Thailand because the US supports Israel?

Have Nigerian Jihadists attacked innocent Christians repeatedly because the US supports Israel?

Is Al Shabaad conducting terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia on innocent civilians because the US supports Israel?

Are Jihadists attempting to create an Islamic state in India’s Kashmir because the US supports Israel?

Have Jihadists killed thousands in attacks on innocent civilians in Morocco, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, the UK, Spain, Jordan and Bangladesh because the US supports Israel?

Are young Jihadis rioting in France because the US supports Israel?

Why is all this happening? Could it be that there is something more to this global violence than the simple “blame America first” concept that Ron Paul supposes?

Why hasn’t he bothered to learn about the enemy threat doctrine?

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Abu Sayyaf, Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, appeasement, India, Indonesia, Islam, Israel, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Nigeria, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Taliban, Thailand, United Kingdom, Yemen | Comments (1)

America’s Wrongheaded Approach to Jihad

1 DecamTue, 29 Dec 2009 10:40:42 -06002009-12-29T10:40:42-06:0010 2009 – 10:40

In the wake of the miraculously failed Christmas day Jihadi attack over the skies of Detroit, we are starting to see our governmental mechanisms crank into gear to institute policies to prevent terrorists from attacking us successfully.

Never mind that it was that very governmental bureaucracy which enabled the Jihadists to penetrate secure areas with explosives and come close to killing 270 people on Christmas day. It was our incompetent governmental bureaucracies which granted a known Jihadi a visa to enter the United States. It was our governmental bureaucracies which let him get on an airliner without a passport. It was our governmental bureaucracies which failed to recognize classic warning signs: ticket paid for in cash, no checked luggage.

Nevertheless, Janet Napolitano, who is evidently conflicted between whether the security system worked like clockwork or failed miserably, has had her department of Homeland Security see to it that no one stands up for the last hour of any flight (an order which has evidently already been rescinded) and Transportation Security personnel are redoubling efforts to tighten access to airliners.

Meanwhile, President Obama managed to tear himself from the links to declare the terrorist an “isolated extremist,” perhaps the worst mischaracterization made by a sitting president since Richard Nixon declared himself “not a crook.” Obama then promised a dragnet to find those responsible. What complete and utter hogwash.

This security and law enforcement approach used against those who are at war with us will never work.

We can button up airliners tighter than a drum and do body cavity searches of passengers and you know what will happen?

The Jihadists will drive a truck loaded with TNT through the front door of the terminal at a major airport the day before Thanksgiving and kill hundreds.

Or they’ll target subways and trains like they did in Madrid, London and Paris.

Or they’ll target shopping malls or schools.

Until we realize that this is a war and not a law enforcement problem and that these terrorists have a common thread, whether they are lone wolves or part of cells, it will keep getting worse.

The problem is Islam. Not Muslims, but Islam as practiced by a core of Muslims who largely control the Islamic world. Their goal is to implement sharia law. Their goal is not for you and me to convert to Islam, but to impose sharia on us. That is what they are fighting for and sharia is their doctrine as well. We ignore this at our peril. The reason for everything they do can be looked up in books that they wrote. Not just the Noble Quran, but books like “Reliance of the Traveler” and “Milestones” and “The Quranic Concept of War.” If you really want to understand where the enemy is coming from, buy these books on Amazon and read them.

http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Traveller-Classic-Islamic-Al-Salik/dp/0915957728/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262102462&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Milestones-Sayyid-Qutb/dp/0934905142/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262102522&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Quranic-Concept-of-War/dp/8170020204/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262102577&sr=1-1

Then download Stephen Coughlin’s thesis from the Center for Security Policy web site. It’s free and it should be the handbook for fighting the war of ideas.

http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/p16600.xml?genre_id=3

There is a global Jihadist insurgency and insurgencies are 80% political/ideological not military. We can win the military side. But we aren’t even fighting the other 80%. And that’s what manufactures guys like this Nigerian, who was, like most Jihadist terrorists, wealthy and educated, even privileged. (This is NOT about poverty; don’t let anyone tell you that.)

The Jihadis are indoctrinated for years in mosques and madrassas. They don’t go “radical” by accident. It is a system. Go to the MEMRI web site and take a look at state-run television in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Palestinian territories and even Egypt. You will be shocked at what you see and hear, especially on the programs targeted at children. Jihadis are not born. They are created. Furthermore, they aren’t created because the USA supports Israel or because the USA overthrew Saddam Hussein in Iraq or the Taliban in Afghanistan. Their agenda is much wider, longer and deeper than that.

The Jihadists did not slaughter hundreds of school children in Beslan, Russia because the USA supports Israel or because US troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Jihadists killed 241 US servicemen in Beirut in 1983, blew up the World Trade Center in 1993, blew up a USAF barracks in 1995, blasted our embassies in east Africa in 1998, attacked the USS Cole in 2000 and flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th 2001 before a single American soldier or Marine set foot in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Jihadists didn’t kill 200 Australian tourists in Bali, Indonesia because the US supports Israel. They didn’t slaughter dozens in Mumbai, India because the US is in Iraq. They aren’t killing people in southern Thailand because the US is in Afghanistan. And the Islamic insurgency in the Philippines predates all of this.

There must be something else at work.

It’s called Jihad.

You can expect some type of Jihadist incident involving Americans to be in the news every week from now on. Some incidents will be violent Jihad like Fort Hood and Flight 253. Others will be civilizational or “stealth” jihad, such as refusing to allow bomb-sniffing dogs near Muslims based on some notion of religious “freedom.” This is the environment that fighting a politically correct war for 8 years has created. Get used to it.

Let me give you an example of what we’re up against. The best example is Saudi Arabia. Some in the US refer to the Sauds as “allies” in the “war on terrorism.” But if the Sauds are really at war with Al Qaeda and the Jihadists, then why don’t we hear about lots of attempts on the lives of Saudi princes (and there are thousands of Saudi princes)? They are not hard to find. Go to a casino or disco in London or Monte Carlo and you can find them and often without tight security. Since Al Qaeda was founded in 1989, the number of Saudi royals killed by their terrorism stands at 0. In that time, there was only a single documented attempt by an Al Qaeda terrorist on a Saudi prince, who just happened to be the minister of the Interior, in charge of a large portion of security forces.

In Saudi Arabia when you are caught shoplifting, under their Sharia law, you have a good chance of getting your hand chopped off as punishment. A woman gets 100 lashes for the crime of adultery. The Sauds behead people for more serious crimes.

Yet, when a Saudi is caught on the battlefield as a member of Al Qaeda by US forces in Iraq or Afghanistan and is turned over to the Sauds, what happens to them?

They are sent to rehab. In rehab they are issued crayons and paint for art therapy. (I am not joking.) After rehab, they are released.

Why do you suppose this is?

I’ll tell you why. Because they haven’t committed a crime as far as the Sauds are concerned. Shoplifting gets your hand chopped off, Jihad doesn’t even get you a slap on the wrist.

Does anyone still believe that the Sauds are our allies?

The Jihadists get funded, they get trained and they get granted safe haven. This happens a number of ways and from a number of sources and we need to go after them. Use our strengths to go after the ideological and financial and training sources. Until we do, expect this to get worse and worse. Taking our shoes off before getting on the airplane isn’t going to help one damn bit.

By terrortrends | Also posted in Afghanistan, airliner bombing, Al Qaeda, appeasement, Detroit, Failed terrorist attack, Homegrown Jihad, Homeland Security, India, Iraq, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamikaze attack, Israel, Jihad, London transit bombings, Mumbai attack, Napolitano, Nidal Malik Hasan, Nigeria, Obama, Salafi Islam, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Shariah, Suicide Bombing, Taliban, terrorism funding, Terrorist attack, Thailand, The Netherlands, Wahhabism | Comments (1)

Oh the Irony: Bomb-sniffing dogs on Vancouver transit worry Muslim leader

1 DecpmFri, 11 Dec 2009 12:58:43 -06002009-12-11T12:58:43-06:0012 2009 – 12:58

Over the years, Islamic jihadist terrorists claiming to act in the name of Islam have targeted mass transit systems around the world.

This occurred in 1995 in the Paris Metro rail system when the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) detonated a series of bombs which killed 8 innocent victims and wounded 122:

Then, on 6 February 2004, Chechen Jihadist terrorists set off an Islamikaze attack in the Moscow Metro rail system which killed 41 innocent victims:

On 11 March 2004, Islamic jihadist terrorists thought to be affiliated with, or inspired by, Al Qaeda set off a series of bombs in the Madrid rail system, killing 191 and wounding over 1,800 innocent victims:

On 7 July 2005, Islamic jihadist terrorists affiliated with, or inspired by, Al Qaeda, bombed transit targets in London, killing 56 and wounding 700 innocent victims.

No doubt because of this history, security authorities in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada are taking appropriate measures to guard against such an attack, especially during the upcoming Olympic Games to be held there.

The transit police in Vancouver are planning on using specially-trained bomb-sniffing dogs to detect explosive devices in the Vancouver transit system. Dogs are extremely effective at this type of duty because they have a keen sense of smell and seem never to tire or suffer from lapses which severely effect their job performance. Dogs have successfully detected explosive devices in security situations for decades around the world.

So what does a local Muslim leader in Vancouver, Shawket Hassan,  have to say about all this?

He is “worried” about bomb sniffing dogs because dogs are considered unclean in Islam and Muslims might get touched by such dogs while on their way to pray.

Note that Mr. Hassan has expressed no “worry” about the threat of terrorism to the transit system. He has only express worry about the possibility of getting dog saliva on his person.

It’s difficult not to think of the victims in Paris, Moscow, Madrid and London when you read Mr. Hassan’s comments. Those people were killed by terrorists who openly stated that they believed that they were acting in the name of Islam. Someone might want to remind Mr. Hassan that dogs don’t discriminate according to religion. The bomb-sniffing dogs will be protecting innocent Muslims who ride the Vancouver transit system as well as everyone else.

Mr. Hassan should be thanking Allah that such animals exist on earth to protect us all from evil.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/12/10/bc-bomb-dogs-vancouver-transit-muslims.html?

By terrortrends | Also posted in Al Qaeda, Chechnya, Islamic Jihad, Jihad, London transit bombings, Terrorist attack, United Kingdom, Vancouver Olympics | Comments (6)