Category Archives: Indonesia

Islamic State Jihadis Arrested in Indonesian Bomb Plot

1 DecpmSat, 10 Dec 2016 16:37:11 -06002016-12-10T16:37:11-06:0004 2009 – 16:37

map_jabar

posted by Christopher W. Holton

Indonesian police have arrested three suspected “Islamic State-linked” Jihadists for plotting bomb attacks on Indonesia’s presidential palace.

Two men and a woman were arrested in a house in West Bekasi, West Java.

In searching the house, the police uncovered three bombs.

Indonesian police believe all three are members of the Jamaah Anshar Khilafah Daulah Nusantara (JAKDN) network led by Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian fighting with the Islamic State in Syria who authorities believe masterminded a fatal attack in Jakarta in January.

http://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/trio-arrested-for-planning-bomb-attacks-on-jakarta/703414

By terrortrends | Also posted in ISIS, Islamic State, JAKDN, Jamaah Anshar Khilafah Daulah Nusantara, Jihad, terrorist plot | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

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, Islam, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Madrid train bombing, Mumbai attack, Muslim Brotherhood | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Pew: Millions of Muslims Support Islamic State

1 NovpmThu, 19 Nov 2015 14:54:06 -06002015-11-19T14:54:06-06:0002 2009 – 14:54

By Christopher W. Holton

A new, scientific poll conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center indicates substantial support for the Islamic State (often incorrectly referred to as ISIS or ISIL) across the Islamic world.

Now Pew touts the poll by pointing out that the overwhelming majority of Muslims profess a negative view of the Islamic State, but what is more ominous are the raw numbers of Muslims who have a positive view of the Islamic State or claim to not know what their opinion of the Islamic State is…

pew-poll-63-mil-to-287-million-isis-supporters-in-just-11-countries

For instance, just about one in ten Muslims in Turkey, Nigeria, Malaysia, Senegal and Pakistan have a “favorable” view of the Islamic State. Substantial numbers claim not to know what their opinion of the Islamic State is. One in five Turks, Nigerians and Indonesians “don’t know.” One in four Malaysians and Senegalese “don’t know.” And a whopping 6 in 10 of Pakistanis claim to not know what their opinion of the Islamic State is. Less than 1 in 3 Pakistanis have an unfavorable view of the Islamic State.

Conspicuously absent from the polling are Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two nations whose populations have provided Jihadist groups with substantial financial support and who have seen numerous members of their young, military age male populations join Jihadist movements.

What this translates to in raw numbers amounts to millions of Muslims around the world with a favorable view of the Islamic State.

By terrortrends | Also posted in ISIS, Islamic State, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey | Tagged | Comments (1)

JIHAD ISN’T ALL ABOUT ISRAEL

1 JanamFri, 09 Jan 2015 10:51:00 -06002015-01-09T10:51:00-06:0010 2009 – 10:51

By Christopher Holton

If you listen to some political pundits on both sides of the aisle, you might get the misimpression that Jihadists target America and America is viewed negatively in the Islamic world because of our support for Israel.

The problem with that line of thinking is that ignores some 1400 years of Islamic doctrine.

Each Jihadist terror organization around the globe has a specific goal in mind and that is the formation of an Islamic state ruled by Shariah.

This is very important to understand because this is a common goal of all the major Jihadist organizations across the world. It is shared by Al Qaeda, HAMAS, Lashkar e Taiba, Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab and others and transcends any localized disagreements over borders and pure politics.

Israel could evaporate tomorrow and the overriding goal of the formation of Islamic states ruled by Shariah would not change a bit.

Those who blame Jihad on Israel need to ask themselves some important questions:

  • Did ISIS wage Jihad in Iraq and Syria to establish an Islamic state ruled by Shariah law because America supports Israel?
  • Did the Jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria kidnap 300 young girls this spring because America supports Israel?
  • Did the Taliban seize power in Afghanistan in 1996 to establish an Islamic state ruled by Shariah law because America supports Israel?
  • Did the Jihadist terrorist group Al Shabaab attack the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013, killing 67 innocent civilians, because America supports Israel?
  • Did the Jihadist terrorist group Lashkar e Taiba launch terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India in 2008, killing 154 innocent civilians because America supports Israel?
  • Did the Jihadist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah bomb resorts in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002, killing 202 innocent civilians because America supports Israel?
  • Did Chechen Jihadist terrorists massacre 334 people, mostly school children, in Beslan, Russia, because the US supports Israel?
  • Did Jihadist terrorists with the group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) detonate a bomb in Marrakesh, Morroco in April 2011, killing 17 innocent civilians, because America supports Israel.

Of course, the answer to each and every one of these questions is no and the questions and answers prove a point. Jihad is truly global. Tragically, it is one of the most successful “exports” in the world over the past decade.

None of the regions mentioned above have a thing to do with Israel. Most don’t have anything to do with America.

The doctrine behind global jihad is over a thousand years old. In other words, the jihadist doctrine has been around far longer than America has even been in existence.

The Jihadists are not motivated only by our actions. They don’t just react to what we do. They have their own reasons for waging violent Jihad which have nothing to do with America, Israel or anything that you or I have any control over.

The quicker our politicians—both Democrat and Republican—gain a full understanding of this, the better.

By terrortrends | Also posted in Abu Sayyaf, Afghanistan, Africa, Al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, Chechnya, India, Iraq, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic Supremecism, Israel, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Morocco, Mumbai attack, Nigeria, Philippines, Sharia, Shariah, Somalia, Syria, Taliban, Terrorist attack, terrorist group listings, Thailand | Tagged , | Comments (0)

HOLTON: The Enemy Knows We’re In A World War, But We Don’t

1 AugamWed, 20 Aug 2014 11:58:38 -06002014-08-20T11:58:38-06:0011 2009 – 11:58

Excerpt and LINK from my guest article in The Hayride…

The Islamic State is not simply an Iraqi problem or a Syrian problem. IS has metastasized into a worldwide organization with 20,000 recruits from Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, the U.S., Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Germany. Even worse, Jihadists from Boko Haram in Nigeria, Abu Sayyef in the Philippines, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Northwest Africa and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from Yemen have all pledged allegiance to IS.

There can no longer be any doubt that the global Islamic insurgency that some have been warning about for some time, amounts to a world war. Nevertheless, policymakers here in the U.S. continue to ignore or deny this reality.

Over the period of a generation, the West has allowed itself to be thoroughly infiltrated by a savage and barbaric belief system. This is evidenced by the global base of recruitment that the Islamic State has been able to take advantage of and the numerous public displays of support for IS in the West.

http://thehayride.com/2014/08/holton-the-enemy-knows-were-in-a-world-war-but-we-dont/

 

 

By terrortrends | Also posted in 5th Column, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Boko Haram, Carlos Bledsoe, Chechnya, Egypt, Europe, Genocide, Germany, Great Britain, Homegrown Jihad, Homeland Security, Hostage taking, India, Iraq, ISIS, Islam, Islamic Supremecism, Jihad, Kidnapping & Hostage-taking, Lebanon, Libya, Muslim Brotherhood, Obama, Pakistan, Philippines, Salafi Islam, September 11th attacks, Sharia, Shariah, Suicide Bombing, The Netherlands, Turkey, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, Yemen | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

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, Islam, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lebanon, London transit bombings, Madrid train bombing, 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)

Jihadi Terrorist Hides Under Burqa to Make Escape

1 NovamThu, 08 Nov 2012 06:15:20 -06002012-11-08T06:15:20-06:0006 2009 – 06:15

This isn’t the first example of such a tactic by the Jihadists. Male terrorists have used burqas as disguises in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel as well.

This is just one major reason why the burqa is problematic in the extreme in Western culture.

This also looks like an “inside job,” which would certainly not be unprecedented…

Convicted Terrorist Wears Burqa to Escape Jakarta Police Custody

Police have launched an internal investigation after a male terrorism convict escaped from a heavily guarded Jakarta detention facility, disguising himself as a woman veiled by a burqa, officials said on Wednesday. 

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar identified the escapee as 29-year-old Roki Aprisdianto, who was being held in a cell at the Jakarta Metro Police headquarters . He was serving a six-year prison term for masterminding a series of bombings in Central Java between December 2009 and January 2011. 

“[Roki] escaped on Tuesday at around 3 p.m. from the fourth floor, where he was supposed to be detained. At the time there was someone visiting him; we suspect [Roki] was wearing a burqa when he made the escape,” the police spokesman said. 

Another National Police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Suhardi Alius, put the time of escape at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, saying the lone police officer on duty on the floor, Brig. Sumardiyanto, only found out about the jailbreak after visitation hours were over at 3 p.m. 

“At the time there were dozens of women with veils who visited detainees. They all came and were told to leave their [identity cards], but we never make [visitors] open their veil before [visiting detainees],” Suhardi said. 

Suhardi said it was possible that one of the visitors carried an extra burqa or that one woman in a burqa left the facility without wearing her veil. 

The police spokesman admitted that the guards had failed to keep track of some 23 visitors who were wearing burqas that day during the identity card screening process. 

Tuesday is the only day of the week when some 70 terrorism convicts and suspects at the facility are allowed visitors. 

Ten police officers responsible for guarding the facility, including three counterterrorism officers, are now under investigation by the police’s internal affairs division. Three terrorism detainees have also been questioned as witnesses. 

“There is negligence,” Suhardi said, adding that the preliminary investigation had ruled out police officers’ involvement in the escape. “We will evaluate [the incident] and tighten security. For visitors with veils, we will place them in a special place and so on.” 

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said police are also examining footage from the facility’s detention cameras. 

Roki was arrested last year along with five of his followers, all of whom have been imprisoned. The terrorist cell was said to be responsible for a series of bomb attacks in Klaten, Kartasura and Solo, all in Central Java. 

The group had targeted churches and police posts. Police said the group is funded by the so-called Hisbah Team, led by slain terrorism suspect Sigit Qordowi, Sigit is said to be responsible for two suicide bomb attacks in 2010.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/convicted-terrorist-wears-burqa-to-escape-jakarta-police-custody/554811

By terrortrends | Also posted in burqa, escape, Jemaah Islamiyah | Comments (2)

So, the Obama State Department declares the “War on Terrorism” Over

1 MayamFri, 04 May 2012 10:24:19 -06002012-05-04T10:24:19-06:0010 2009 – 10:24

Late last week a State Department spokesman uttered “The war on terror is over.”

That utterance was followed  up by President Obama’s surprise trip to Afghanistan (“coincidentally” on the anniversary of the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, or so we are told…). While in Afghanistan, Obama gave a political speech aimed at folks back home in America in which he echoed the sentiments of his State Department spokesman in essentially declaring Al Qaeda beaten.

Before we deconstruct this politically motivated fantasy, we should probably point out that we are not now, nor were we truly ever engaged in a “war on terrorism.” We don’t want to belabor the point because many observers have pointed out this reality over the years. Terrorism is a method, not an enemy. As the late philosopher and columnist Jeff Cooper said shortly after President Bush named this struggle the “war on terrorism:” “Give us an enemy we can shoot at, Mr. President.”

But it was not to be. Obama stopped referring to the war on terrorism as soon as he came into office, his administration floating the term “overseas contingency operations” instead.

That drew instant and widespread ridicule and we haven’t heard the term mentioned much since it was originally floated after Obama got into office.

We should have paid closer attention. This wasn’t just about changing names. This was about ending the war effort. The goal in changing the name was to prepare the American people for an end to the war. Obama came into office knowing he was going to end the war–unilaterally. The fact is, the war and the threat of terrorism don’t help liberals get elected. There was a reason why the word “terrorism” was never uttered at the 2004 Democratic National Convention when the Democrats nominated Senator John Kerry.

The DNC did the polling and the focus groups and found out that the issue was a loser for them. Ever since, the hard left has been hell bent for leather on ending the war effort.

Obama’s State Department spokesman claimed last week that “since most of Al Qaeda’s is now dead” Islamists have other places to turn for legitimate inclusion in the political process.

There is so much to comment on here that we hardly know where to begin.

First of all, most of the original members of Al Qaeda were dead before Obama even got into office. Most estimates were that some 75% of Al Qaeda’s leadership had been killed or captured in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. The killing of Osama Bin Laden just over a year ago likely did not add much to the operational degradation of Al Qaeda. Despite claims to the contrary, it is highly unlikely that Bin Laden still exercised operational control over Al Qaeda around the globe at the time of his death. So, this is hardly a new development as the Obama State Department spokesman implies.

We now know from seized documents and from former intelligence operatives that Bin Laden had, for years, limited his communications with the outside world, including Al Qaeda, to a single human courier. There is simply no way he could possibly have maintained operational authority or control over the organization in such circumstances.

This suggests that his death did not add substantially to the degradation of Al Qaeda’s operational capability.

Bin Laden was barely involved any more. He wasn’t even in a position to raise money–his chief role for years in the past. Nor did he find it necessary to issue frequent videotaped messages to his followers or to the world at large, something he took great pride in doing earlier in Al Qaeda’s war against the West.

Because of this, Bin Laden’s death cannot be accurately  described as ending Al Qaeda. Perhaps we are on the cusp of defeating Al Qaeda in the Afghan-Pak theater of operations, but that is not due to Bin Laden’s death. Bin Laden’s death was in reality a byproduct of the campaign against Al Qaeda in that region over a period of years, starting way back in 2001.

Moreover, Al Qaeda globally is far from finished. The organization has evolved into an umbrella group for Jihadists around the globe. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is active in Africa. Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula is locked in an active, violent insurgency in Yemen. Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s successor and always the organization’s ideologue, is still at large. His Jihadist brother, released from prison in the so-called “Arab Spring” is back in operation in Egypt.

Then there are the Al Qaeda affiliates that don’t identify themselves as Al Qaeda, but certainly operate in a similar fashion. There’s Aby Sayyaf in the Philippines, which has kidnapped and murdered Americans in the past. There’s Al Shabaab in Somalia, which recruits heavily from the Somali refugee community here in the USA. There’s Boko Haram, which is making life in Nigeria a living hell for Christians. There’s Jemaah Islamiyah in Malaysia and Indonesia, which has attacked Westerners, including the 202 deaths in the Bali, Indonesia bombing in 2002. And of course, the Taliban themselves, who are allied with Al Qaeda and gave them a launching pad for operations in the 1990s.

All of these organizations still exist. We are told now that Bin Laden did not have a high regard for these affiliates, but that doesn’t necessarily make them any less of a threat.

But let’s not forget the Jihadist terrorist organizations that operate and who are not overtly aligned with Al Qaeda. These serve as a reminder that the enemy isn’t just “Al Qaeda,” despite what the Obama administration wants you to believe. We should not take too much comfort in the fact that most of these organizations operate overseas and don’t regularly target Americans. They don’t view Americans any differently than they view other Westerners or kafirs.

There is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines, which, like Abu Sayyef, has targeted Americans in the past. There’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the horrific Mumbai attacks in 2008. Keep in mind that LeT used an American to conduct reconnaissance for that operation and their captured literature showed plans to target the American homeland. There are the Islamic Jihad Union in Uzbekistan and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Kashmir. There’s Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has known operatives in the US. And, along those same lines, we have HAMAS, which currently only targets Israel, but which has an extensive network in the US.

Most ominously, given the threat from Iran, is Hezbollah, described by more than one US official as the “A” team of terrorism. Congressional investigations estimate that they have thousands of supporters and hundred of operatives here in the US. A very recent report indicates that Hezbollah has a network centered on Shia mosques here in the US as well.

But this all misses the basic point. We are on the receiving end of a global Islamic insurgency. It’s not a homogenous insurgency by any stretch. Many of the insurgent groups are completely unrelated and some even hate each other. But they are all united in one goal: establishment of Islamic rule under Shariah law.

This war did not start on September 11th, 2001, with Al Qaeda’s attacks on the US homeland; it had been raging on a lower level overseas for decades. And the war will not end with the death of Osama Bin Laden, or the outright defeat of Al Qaeda, or the inevitable NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The declaration of victory is purely for domestic political consumption, which is very sad and dangerous indeed.

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Center for Security Policy Vice President Christopher Holton is available for speaking engagements on the subjects of terrorism, terrorism financing, Shariah, Shariah-Compliant Finance and Jihad. For more information, contact him at chris@christopherholton.com

By terrortrends | Also posted in Abu Sayyaf, Afghanistan, Africa, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Shabaab, Al Shahab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, Egypt, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamic Jihad, Islamic Jihad Union, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Nigeria, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Taliban, Uncategorized, Yemen, Zawahiri | Comments (1)

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, Iran, Iraq, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, London transit bombings, Madrid train bombing, 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)

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, Islam, Israel, Jemaah Islamiyah, Jihad, Kenya, Madrid train bombing, Nigeria, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Taliban, Thailand, United Kingdom, Yemen | Comments (1)