War on Islam Course

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey made a good choice in condemning a military course that straddles on bigotry and misinformation.

US condemns 'war on Islam' course

American Hostage Pleads to Obama

This will be a tough situation for Obama since the United States does not negotiate with terrorists.  Also, it's apparent that the airstrikes have taken a toll on al Qaeda.

Al-Qaida releases video of American hostage

Subsidies at Issue for Iran

The current arguments between Ahmadinejad and the ruling clerics are food and energy subsidies. It will be difficult for Ahmadinejad to find a balance between cutting subsidies and managing sanctions.
Ahmadinejad's support in parliament wanes - http://pulse.me/s/8WUTQ

Bin Laden Documents Reveal Splits in al-Qaida

Follow the link below to read the U.S. Government's analysis of the seized Bin Laden documents. Also featured is Nelly Lahoud, who I highlighted previously as one of America's true Islamic scholars. She provides additional analysis.

Bin Laden was frustrated with the direction of the extremist movement, and, supposedly, there were no ties to Iran or the Pakistani military. Plus bin Laden frowns upon newly sworn American citizens who attack their homeland because they have committed to protecting it -- I can't explain this!

Gary Thomas | Washington

A selected set of documents seized from the compound of Osama bin Laden last year sheds new light on the terrorist leader. The documents highlight what was, at times, an apparently difficult relationship between al-Qaida's core group, headed by bin Laden, and its affiliates. 

The documents, analyzed and released by the U.S. Military Academy [the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point], show bin Laden in his final years as frustrated with the strategy and tactics of the franchise al-Qaida groups in the Middle East and North Africa.

Nelly Lahoud, one of the authors of an analysis accompanying the released documents, said the papers challenge the widely held assumption of strong unity between bin Laden and the core group of al-Qaida's leaders holed up in Pakistan with him, and their affiliates elsewhere.

“However, bin Laden does come across as outmoded by the new generation of regional jihadi groups. He doesn’t seem to be seeing eye to eye [in full agreement with them]. He’s more methodical in terms of the operations that he would like to plan, whereas he sees them as being kind of too risky, and they’re more enthusiastic than they should be with respect to their operations,” said Lahoud.

Correspondence between bin Laden, associates

The 17 documents released Thursday - 175 pages in the original Arabic - are in the form of letters between bin Laden and his associates between 2006 and 2011. The three longest and most revealing letters are by bin Laden himself, written between 2010 and late April of 2011 - just one week before a raiding party of U.S. Navy commandos killed bin Laden [on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan]. 

Lahoud cautions that the al-Qaida letters now made public are only a tiny window into al-Qaida and the terrorist leader who was once the world’s most wanted man. In fact, she said, it is not even clear if the affiliate groups ever received the bin Laden letters. Nevertheless, bin Laden is clearly displeased that al-Qaida affiliates undercut their cause by staging attacks that killed fellow Muslims. 

Lahoud said bin Laden wanted the affiliate groups to concentrate their efforts on the United States, not on their home countries, where they need public support.

“One of the interesting metaphors he uses is this malignant tree. He wants to focus on the trunk of the tree. He believes the United States is the trunk of the tree, whereas all the other branches are kind of like the apostate Muslim regimes that he considers to be apostates, and NATO or Britain," she said. "And he says we really shouldn’t waste our time on the branches. We should really just try to get rid of the trunk of the tree. Once the trunk is off, the rest will fall.”

Bin Laden often critical of fellow terrorists

One letter has the al-Qaida leader refusing a request by its Somalia-based affiliate al-Shabab for formal union with al-Qaida central. Al-Shabab and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP], based in Yemen, also were scolded by bin Laden for seeking his blessing to declare an Islamic state in their respective countries. 

Bin Laden also comes across as sharply critical of fellow jihadists like Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born AQAP figure killed in a U.S. drone strike last year, and the Pakistani Taliban. He was dismissive of lone-wolf attackers in general. Specifically, he singled out Faisal Shahzad, the man who launched the failed 2010 bomb attack in New York City’s Times Square. 

Lahoud said bin Laden was critical of Shahzad for, of all things, violating his U.S. citizenship oath.

“He doesn’t mind people who already have citizenship to mount attacks against the United States. But he does mind that those who have acquired citizenship, and therefore have sworn an oath not to threaten the United States, violate their oath,” she said.

Stuart Caudill, a co-author of the report analyzing the documents, said there is no evidence of any alliance between Iran and al-Qaida. In fact, he said, the relationship between Iran and al-Qaida was sometimes even antagonistic because of Iran’s detention of al-Qaida operatives and some members of bin Laden’s family.  

Remaining questions, unfulfilled evil

One key unanswered question is how bin Laden managed to evade detection while living for years in Abbottabad, a city not far from Islamabad that has many associations with the Pakistani military. Caudill said the letters provide no answers. 

“It’s inconclusive as to what relationship, if any, but based on the documents there’s no references to institutional Pakistani support by members of the government or the security services," said Caudill. "And really the only references to Pakistani intelligence are to avoiding their monitoring, making sure that [al-Qaida hideouts] are not discovered by Pakistani intelligence.”

Lahoud said bin Laden seemed to be genuinely pleased by the Arab Spring, which was then in its early stages. In one letter dated just a week before he died, he called for education and media outreach in the region to make new converts to the jihadi cause.

“His plan was to incite the people who had not yet revolted and exhort them to rebel against the rulers. But mainly we see he wanted to educate and warn Muslims from those who might tempt them to settle for half-solutions. So he doesn’t want people to be sort of tempted by the political process, like the Muslim Brotherhood.”

In another letter, Adam Gadahn, a U.S.-born extremist who calls himself "the American al-Qaida," advised his colleagues in the terrorist network's leadership to disassociate al-Qaida from any other group that mounted an attack in al-Qaida's name without consulting the core leadership. Gadahn also proposed that al-Qaida should mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington in a way that would burnish the terrorists' reputation and stature. Bin Laden longed to replicate the 2001 attacks, but he never did.

Arab Spring Reformers Could Learn From Václav Havel and Velvet Revolution

The Editor took this illegal photo of Wenceslas Monument from behind a building in
Prague in February of 1989. Soviet guards arrested people who took photos of sensitive
national monuments.  Later that year, this would be ground zero for the Velvet Revolution.

As editor, today's passing of Václav Havel caught me by surprise.

Being in Czechoslovakia in 1989, the year the Velvet Revolution began and Communism ended, Havel's name was always a constant reminder that a new era was rising from the oppression of the Soviet Union. He was a person that you felt understood his people and their struggles. His involvement with Prague Spring's economic and democratic reforms and the human rights manifesto Charter 77 was dangerous, but he knew that it was essential.

Prague in 1989 was edgy. As I wandered through its streets, you could sense the fear of death as the Soviet troops patrolled the region looking for any signs of opposition. Havel must have slept with one eye open, not knowing when his life would end. But, his approach to revolution, peaceful and non-violent, was what drew me to him.

If only the reformers of Arab Spring could learn from Havel. He saw the dangers of the Warsaw Pact and Communism, and he opposed them with dignity and decency. Even though his initial moral acts against the oppressive regime seemed far-fetched, he knew that over time, they would gain in popularity. He was a champion of things that made sense. He will be missed, but let's hope that his approach to revolution will be the new standard.

Unrest in Syria Has Origins With Islam's First Civil War

The request by Arab League observers to be allowed into Syria to monitor the government's response to civil unrest remains uncertain. If Syrian leaders do not respond, then economic sanctions from its neighbors will be initiated.

But Syria's conflict with humanitarian groups and it being accused of potential crimes against humanity is nothing new for the Middle East country. It had conflicts with the early Islamic world back in the late 7th century.

Umayyads Are Not Related

After the fourth successor of Mohammad, Ali, dies in 661 C.E., the age of the "Rightly Guided" caliphs ends, and it creates a power vacuum between Ali's son Hasan and the Umayyad leader Mu'awiya.

Umayyads are descendants from a common ancestor that includes Muhammad's clan, but Umayyads are not directly related to the prophet. They also rejected Muhammad's teaching until it suited them.

Seat of the Caliph Moves to Syria

Hasan's and Mu'awiya's soldiers eventually face each other, which sparks the first Islamic civil war (fitna). The situation ends with a truce, and Mu'awiya assumes the leadership. He moves the capital of the caliphate from Kufa to Damascus, hoping to establish more control, and Syria is brought into the center stage of Islamic tensions.

Most Muslims today agree that Umayyads should not have been caliphs at all. The Umayyads are not in power very long, lasting only 89 years, and the capital is subsequently moved, but Syria still remains a scar in the early development of Islam.

Terrorism in China?

Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region

China has been forced to adopt a new definition for terrorism since the communist country is experiencing increased terrorist attacks in its western provinces. By formalizing a definition, China can target specific groups from other criminal enterprises, freeze bank accounts that fund terrorist activities, and promote international cooperation. China defines the goal of terrorism:

"to create terror in society, harm public security or threaten national institutions and international organizations and by using violence, sabotage, intimidation and other methods to cause or intend to cause human casualties, great loss to property, harm to public infrastructure, chaos to the social order and other severe social damage."

The Uighurs, a Turkic and traditionally Muslim ethnic group, located in China's western Xinjiang region has been accused of starting riots and carrying out bombings and other acts of violence. They are claimed to be supported by Pakistan's Turkistan Islamic Party and the East Turkistan Islamic Movement. These groups operate in Pakistan's tribal regions where Islamabad is ineffective.

Related Links
A Recent History of Unrest in Xinjiang
Xinjiang Province: Terror Across Central Asia

Gaddafi: Last Moments and his Killer

There is much uncertainty about how Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi died, but the following videos might shed light on his last moments pleading for help and the person responsible for killing him. The videos are graphic and are not yet authenticated.

Last Moments



His Killer

Gadhafi's Death and the Arab Spring

The video summarizes the current state of the Arab Spring. It has toppled three dictators and is rattling the regimes of four others. It's a run away train, but the real problems have yet to emerge. How will the new governments be structured? What is the new role of women? How will they develop their economies? How will Islam be integrated? These are daunting questions that the new leaders must address if any progress is to be made.

 

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer: Dumb and Dumber

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have been keeping themselves out of the spotlight after their return from an Iranian prison. Their stupidity in deciding to "hike" along the Iranian border continues to be problematic not only to conservatives, but to liberals as well. A California newspaper printed a letter to the editor questioning the actions of Fattal and Bauer.

Bail or ransom?
Recently, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were released from an Iranian prison, after paying $500,000 each for "bail." I had not heard until recently that Sarah Shourd had also paid $500,000 "bail" for her release. This is a total of $1.5 million for the release of three hikers.

It is my understanding that "bail" allows people to leave jail and continue their lives while awaiting trial. If these three are not being required to return to an Iranian court, should this not be called ransom?

I would sure like to know if American tax dollars were used to pay any, or all, of this $1.5 million in ransom? 

Please don't get me wrong. I do not believe that these three people belonged in prison, but I think there should be some penalty for stupidity.

Saying that this trio was just hiking near the Iran-Iraq border during an active war is like saying that Jane Fonda was just on vacation in Vietnam in the 1970s.

George Withers
California