Independence Day Thanksgiving

by Isi Leibler

As we celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the miraculous rebirth of Jewish nationhood, we should take pride in the extraordinary accomplishments achieved over such a short time. Israel represents the greatest national success story of the past century; there is no remotely comparable example of a people renewing its nationhood after 2,000 years.

Yes, we are saddened that peace with our neighbors remains a distant dream, and that much of the world has turned against us. We also realize that far from advancing democracy or human rights, the turmoil in the Arab world will almost certainly strengthen Islamic fundamentalism and intensify hatred against us and the West.

And as many of us predicted, our "peace partner" has united with Hamas, and in September will endeavor to obtain global endorsement for a Palestinian state dominated by genocidal terrorists.

But we must retain a sense of perspective and reprimand those exaggerating our shortcomings and promoting doom and gloom scenarios. We have overcome far greater threats in the past.

IN THE early years of the state we were admired as the plucky underdogs warding off barbarians. Alas, once we demonstrated our ability to defend ourselves, that changed.

Yet most of us would concur that if warding off those seeking to annihilate us obliges us to lose favor with confused bleeding-heart liberals, so be it.

In 1948, 600,000 Jews created a people's army which successfully repulsed repeated unprovoked onslaughts by its Arab neighbors. And to this day it remains on the front lines of the global battle against Islamic terror.

The IDF has no easy solution for eliminating terrorist groups.

But it has evolved into one of the most powerful military forces in the world, capable of defeating the combined armies of all our Arab adversaries. It represents a formidable deterrent which even the xenophobic Iranians would hesitate to confront, with or without nuclear power. Besides, we should bear in mind that the nuclear threat from terrorists is no less severe for those living in New York, London or any major city.

One of our major achievements was the in-gathering of Jewish exiles from all over the world: Holocaust survivors from Europe, refugees from Arab persecution, Ethiopian Jews, and the miraculous absorption of over a million Jews from the former Soviet Union.

These Jews from different cultures and societies were integrated, and emerged as a resilient nation - the largest Jewish community in the world.

We are entitled to be proud of our vibrant social, cultural and religious creativity, which flourishes despite the ongoing wars and terror. We are the only country in the region guaranteeing genuine freedom of religion. We remain a democratic oasis in a region of autocracies, dictatorships and Islamic fundamentalist regimes. We provide the vote to all citizens, regardless of race, religion or gender - including 1.4 million Arabs, who elect their own representatives, many of whom openly promote subversive behavior.

Our social welfare system, in particular our medical system, provides services for all 7.7 million Israeli citizens without discrimination, even providing amenities for Palestinians.

Economically, despite pockets of poverty, we are a veritable powerhouse. We were one of the countries least affected by the global economic meltdown. Our economy grew 7.8% in the last quarter of 2010; hi-tech and startup facilities make this tiny country second in the world, surpassed only by the United States; we are at the forefront of alternative energy development.

And despite all the media complaints, in a recent poll, 63% of Israelis described themselves as "thriving," resulting in Israel being ranked seventh out of 124 countries.

FURTHERMORE, I predict that over the next few decades there will be a substantial aliya from Western countries. Some will come because they despair about the future for their children in an increasingly anti-Semitic Europe. Others, especially from North America, will be attracted to a Jewish state in which their children are automatically provided with a Jewish education and encouraged by our thriving economy.

Regrettably, the conflict with our neighbors is intensifying.

Yet the PA-Hamas merger is not necessarily a negative development. Many of us were always convinced that the corrupt PA - which murdered more Israeli civilians than Hamas - would never become a genuine partner for peace because its primary objective has also always been the elimination of Jewish sovereignty. The difference is that while Hamas speaks the truth, and its charter unashamedly promotes genocide, the PA expresses sentiments of peace and moderation to the West, but internally incites the vilest forms of anti-Semitism.

The merger will clarify to our friends why we could never sanction a state pledged to our destruction. Should the Palestinians abort the Oslo Accords and gain recognition in lieu of negotiating with us, it would provide grounds for us to annex at least the major settlement blocs.

We harbor no illusions about achieving peace in our time, but must remain strong and resilient until our neighbors accept us as a sovereign Jewish state. We should exult that having overcome greater challenges in 1967 and 1973, when we genuinely faced annihilation, today we are better able to defend ourselves.

We are therefore entitled to take pride in our achievements.

We must inculcate an historical understanding in our young people, so they appreciate the limitations in Jewish life prior to the creation of Israel. We must explain how the Holocaust may have been averted had a Jewish state existed then. We must convey how their ancestors in the Nazi death camps never dreamt their people would rise like a phoenix from the ashes and create such an extraordinary nation. They should appreciate that they are the most blessed Jewish generation in 2,000 years.

On Independence Day, we will continue yearning for the peace that has eluded us. But we should also be profoundly grateful for what we have achieved, and pray that with the help of the Almighty we will continue to overcome the challenges facing us and maintain a thriving and creative Jewish commonwealth.

Source: http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=2934
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post

Isi Leibler, ileibler@netvision.net.il

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Is Obama a Serial Liar?

by Nancy Morgan

Accusing someone of lying is a serious matter. Especially when that someone is the President of the United States. Charges of that nature should be leveled based only on absolute proof of a deliberate statement, intentionally made, whose sole purpose is to deceive. Based on this criterion, President Obama is a liar. Demonstrably so. And a disturbing pattern is emerging that allows for the possibility that our president is a serial liar. Consider:

In just the last month, Obama has made several statements that are just not so. Statements made to the American public that were in direct conflict with known facts.

In April, Obama flatly stated that implementing ObamaCare will reduce the deficit by $1 trillion. A day later, the Congressional Budget Office reported that statement was 'incorrect,' pegging the "deficit savings" at $210 billion over 10 years.

In the same April 15 speech, Obama stated that the tax burden on the wealthy is the lowest it has been in 50 years. A simple fact-check proves him wrong. Obama did not correct his false statement and the media didn't either.

In January of 2009, Obama stated that it was no longer necessary to kill Osama bin Laden to win the war against al-Qaeda. On May 1, 2011, after the successful raid by Navy Seals that killed bin Laden, Obama told the nation that he made the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden a "top priority," and had instructed CIA Chief Leon Panetta to make this job number one. Which statement is correct?

Last week, several of my friends asked me if I believed that bin Laden was really dead. The questions weren't surprising, considering the mass of misinformation and conflicting accounts of bin Laden's death now emanating from the White House. It appears the question of bin Laden's demise was only settled after al Qaeda issued a statement confirming it.

What does it say about Obama's credibility when the pro-Arab al Jazeera media reports are given more credibility than our own president? Maybe that's why Columbia School of Journalism just awarded al Jazeera a journalism prize.

Giving Obama the benefit of the doubt, I'll allow for the possibility that he underwent a drastic change of heart and altered his position on bin Laden. It happens. But when added to the increasing number of statements Obama continues to make that defy reality, the facts, and common sense, I'm more inclined to believe Obama's "mis-statements" are a deliberate effort to deceive the American people.

For example: Obama told the American people that not spending money is "mortgaging America's future." Who knows, it's possible Obama actually believes this, but anyone with an ounce of common sense knows we can't spend our way out of bankruptcy.

Another blooper: Obama stated that increased drilling will not solve our energy problems. Huh? Again, the media let this statement go unchallenged. (At least Sen. Vitter called him on it.)

Obama would have us believe that the big bad oil companies are to blame for our skyrocketing gas prices, despite the fact that every energy decision made by Obama, from with holding drilling permits to increased regulatory burdens being placed on big oil, has directly resulted in raising the cost of gasoline.

Obama would like us to ignore the fact that his Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, stated in 2008 that he wants to "figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." Since then, gas prices have doubled. Mission accomplished.

Despite the pain at the pump, Obama's energy dis-information campaign has been quite successful, with a new poll showing that only 9% of Americans believe that Obama is responsible for rising gas prices.

Tailoring the facts to reflect the most favorable interpretation is an accepted prerogative of the bully pulpit. Every president will of course, spin the news to a certain extent. This is not new. But under Obama, there appears to be a deliberate campaign by the White House and many segments of the government to blatantly deceive the American people. Consider our Department of Homeland Security:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress last week that the Obama administration is trying to come up with a new yardstick to better reflect the improvements it says it has made. The Washington Times correctly noted that, unable to meet its border goals, the DHS merely moved the goals.

Arizona Sheriff Larry Deaver pretty much confirmed the Washington Time's report, testifying before Congress that the U.S. Border Patrol has told its agents to stop arresting illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico to keep the illegal immigration numbers down. In other words, deceive the American people by peddling perception as reality.

Obama and his administration are masters in getting Americans to think with their hearts instead of their brains. After all, emotions are easier to manipulate than facts. And many truths are easier to ignore than acknowledge. But not acknowledging reality, doesn't change the reality. And we ignore reality at our own peril, as we are now finding out on a daily basis.

Though not specified in our Constitution, I believe Americans should have the right to enough information to make informed decisions. Instead, we are being fed a steady stream of outright lies and deliberate misstatements. And when we the people fail to challenge our elected representatives when they lie, we not only enable them, we become complicit. We also forfeit the right to complain when reality hits us in the pocketbook while America continues its slide to the level of a third world country.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/is_obama_a_serial_liar.html

Nancy Morgan

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Meanwhile, More Blood in Syrian Streets

by Rick Moran

Syrian President Bashar Assad is no doubt thanking his lucky stars for SEAL Team Six. Without their takedown of OBL last Sunday, it is likely Assad's continuing murder of protestors in the streets might make it to page 5 or even page 4 of western newspapers.

As it is, he's literally getting away with murder. The New York Times:

A military crackdown on Syria's seven-week uprising broadened Sunday, with reinforcements sent to two cities under siege and more forces deployed in a town in a restive region in the south of the country, activists and human rights groups said. Fourteen were killed in Homs, the groups said, and hundreds reported arrested.

The crackdown - from the Mediterranean coast to the poor steppe of southern Syria - seemed to mark a decisive turn in an uprising that has posed the gravest challenge to the 11-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Even though government officials have continued to hint at reforms, and even gingerly reached out to some dissidents last week, the crackdown seemed to signal the government's intent to end the uprising by force.

At least 30 tanks were said to be inside Baniyas, one of Syria's most restive locales, where the military entered Saturday. Activists and human rights groups said they had almost no information about the coastal town of 50,000, but one activist said at least six people were killed and 250 arrested since the operation began.

Fighting was also reported in Homs, Syria's third-largest city, where tanks entered Friday. Wissam Tarif, the executive director of Insan, a Syrian human rights group, said that 14 people had been killed there, but he could not confirm the casualties in Baniyas. He said that the military had also entered Tafas, a town in southern Syria.

Still no R2P doctrine being pushed by the UN - unless you believe that Assad thinks he has a "Responsibility to Protect" - himself. That appears to be the case as his tanks and military continue to roll over protestors. He has already won since western nations refuse to sanction him or his regime to any degree that would hurt. The question is, how much longer he can continue to massacre his own people before the world bestirs itself and makes Syria the pariah state it deserves to be.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/05/meanwhile_more_blood_in_syrian.html

Rick Moran

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Massive Intel Haul from OBL Compound Largest Ever

by Rick Moran

The amount of intelligence gleaned from OBL's hideout is the size of "a small college library" according to one account.

This is both good and bad. The good is, of course, the more we know about AQ's plans and operations, the better we can counter them. But the bad news is that organizing and filing all of this information is going to take some time. In fact, it is unlikely that we'll know exactly what we have until we've gone through a considerable part of the haul.

Fox News:

"The size is quite notable. It's the largest cache of intelligence information from a senior terrorist that we know of," he said.

Though he would not say whether it's yielded any hard leads, Donilon and others said the evidence challenges the notion that bin Laden was a mere figurehead before he was killed last week.

"Usama bin Laden was not just a symbolic leader of Al Qaeda. In fact, he had operational and strategic roles that he was playing," he said.

The information suggests bin Laden played a strong role in planning and directing attacks by Al Qaeda and its affiliates in Yemen and Somalia. And he was apparently determined to strike the United States again.

"This collection represents the most significant amount of intelligence ever collected from a senior terrorist," another senior intelligence official said. "The materials reviewed over the past several days clearly show that bin Laden remained an active leader in Al Qaeda, providing strategic, operational and tactical instructions to the group. Though separated from many Al Qaeda members who are located in more remote areas of the region, he was far from a figurehead. He was an active player making the recent operation even more essential for our nation's security."

The official said the records show he directed tactical details and encouraged plotting from the compound.

Operational intel will be the most valuable and it appears we may have hit the jackpot. Two questions present themselves immediately; how did Osama communicate with his far flung organization, and which plots are the closest to fruition.

If we can penetrate his communications network with any degree of coverage, it will set AQ back many months as they are forced to develop new networks. And penetrating actual terrorist plots and arresting operatives is the holy grail.

We probably won't hear much about our counterterrorism efforts as we act upon this intel. But any way you look at it, the intel coup carried out by the SEALs is going to keep our intelligence agencies busy for many months.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/05/massive_intel_haul_from_obl_co.html

Rick Moran

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Ten die in Egypt violence between Muslims and Christians

by Rick Moran

Unlike some past incidents where Muslims attacked Christian churches as congregants ran away, worshipers at two churches in Cairo didn't sit around and take it. They met the fanatics in the streets and a riot ensued:

Religious tension continues to seethe in Egypt after a violent clash between Christians and Muslims left ten dead and 190 arrested, heading for military trials.

The county's military rulers reacted swiftly after an attempt to burn down two churches set off a riot in a Cairo slum.

Mobs of ultraconservative Muslims from the Salafi religious trend converged on a church in the slum of Imbaba late Saturday following rumours of an interfaith romance.

Christians barricaded themselves inside and around the church when the demonstrations turned violent. Witnesses said people on rooftops fired into the crowd.

At least six of the dead were Muslims.

The incident follows the bombing of a church on New Year's day that left 21 dead and sparked clashes between the country's minority Christians and riot police.

"This is something that's very much seething underneath," said CTV's Martin Seemungal, reporting from Jerusalem, noting that since Egypt's recent revolution, "people are wondering, and Christians in particular are very concerned, how they are going to be treated in a new Egypt."

They've already gotten an answer to that question.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/05/ten_die_in_egypt_violence_betw.html

Rick Moran

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Why Pakistan knew it could hide OBL

by Mark Steyn

As my old friends at The Spectator in London pointed out Monday morning, I scooped the entire planet in breaking the news of Osama bin Laden's death: "Osama bin Laden is dead, says Mark Steyn." This was in The Spectator's edition of June 29, 2002, which turned out to be a wee bit premature. I jumped the gun, much like Osama's missus in Abbottabad, but by nine years.

Nor, to be honest, was a teensy-weensy near-decade discrepancy in the date the only problem with my scoop. Much of that Spectator piece was preoccupied with the usual assumptions about Public Enemy Number One – caves, dialysis, remote wild Pakistani tribal lands where Western intelligence hasn't a hope of penetrating unless you turn a cousin of the village headman, etc. All these assumptions prevailed until a few days ago, when it emerged that Osama, three wives and 13 children had been living in town in a purpose-built pad round the corner from the Pakistani Military Academy for over half a decade. Brunch every Sunday with a couple of generals at his usual corner table at the Abbottabad Hilton? Eggs Benedict, hold the ham?

The belated dispatch of Osama testifies to what the United States does well – elite warriors, superbly trained, equipped to a level of technological sophistication no other nation can match. Everything else surrounding the event (including White House news management so club-footed that one starts to wonder darkly whether its incompetence is somehow intentional) embodies what the United States does badly. Pakistan, our "ally," hides and protects not only Osama but also Mullah Omar and Zawahiri, and does so secure in the knowledge that it will pay no price for its treachery – indeed, confident that its duplicitous military will continue to be funded by U.S. taxpayers.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/05/why_pakistan_knew_it_could_hid.html

Mark Steyn

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

How Apprehensive Should an Israeli Be?

by Ron Lipsman

Think of the average beleaguered Israeli as he contemplates his environment during any period in recent times. On the north, south, and east, he is confronted by bloodthirsty enemies (Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran) who make no secret of their intense desire to kill him, his family, and his countrymen. Other neighbors (Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq) harbor the same thoughts but are more circumspect about expressing them. And, of course, there are the two neighbors (Egypt, Jordan) with whom he is "at peace" -- but it is a frigid peace, not supported by those country's citizens, whose attitude, he believes, could easily blossom into hostility and belligerence.

When he casts his eye farther abroad, the beleaguered Israeli finds a European continent that -- a mere seventy years after the Holocaust -- has reverted to virulent anti-Semitism, now expressed openly as anti-Israel opinion and policy. He takes some solace that his country has established successful economic and political connections with distant but important nations like India, Japan, Australia, and even China. But these nations are unlikely to provide significant aid in any forthcoming conflagration. Worst of all, the Israeli is tortured by the thought that his longtime friend, benefactor, and protector, the United States of America, is now led by a man and an administration that are hostile to his country and its interests. He senses that the people of the U.S. are still with him, but it is the treacherous, Muslim-praising leader who will make the critical decision on any day that the Israeli Prime Minister has to call for help -- God forbid!

Most demoralizing of all is the weak nature of his country's leadership. Barak, Livni, Olmert, and all the other left-wingers act as if they are ready to surrender and move to New Jersey. Even Netanyahu continues to disappoint. He talks the talk, but he repeatedly fails to walk the walk. How he allowed himself and his nation to be completely humiliated by Obama was disgraceful. And Bibi seems to have bought into the Oslo delusion that has wreaked political havoc on his nation for eighteen years. Where is King David? Israel needs him desperately.

Now, on top of all the above, the Israeli's region has been racked by political convulsions whose origins are unclear, whose leadership is mysterious, whose meaning is uncertain, and whose outcome for relations between Israel and its neighbors is unpredictable. Given the history of the Middle East, given what little we know of what is transpiring, and considering the proclivities of the Arab street as measured in recent polls, it is virtually impossible to be optimistic that any of these upheavals will prove beneficial to Israeli-Arab relations.

Furthermore, the situation is so confusing that it is difficult for Israel to prepare contingency plans. Will Egypt revert to a frontline state of military confrontation? Will Abdullah survive? If Assad falls, could what replaces him be even worse? How shall Israel deal with simultaneous attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah, and perhaps Syria or Iran? Might Egypt or Jordan or even Saudi Arabia join the fray? What to do about nascent Iranian nuclear weapons? Can Israel hang on until the back-stabbing Obama administration is dismissed, and will a new U.S. administration restore formerly friendly relations?

In light of all this, it would not be surprising if the state of apprehension of our beleaguered Israeli were indeed very high. And yet, Israel and its citizens appear to go about their affairs seemingly almost oblivious to the sea of troubles that engulfs them. Business is humming -- especially in the technology sector. The arts are flourishing. Social life is vibrant. The IDF exudes confidence. Immigration continues at a modest but steady pace. Morale has not plunged. Are their heads up their derrières? Or is there some reasonable explanation?

I believe that there is, and I will attempt to provide it -- although in the end, the reader may wonder about its reasonableness. Yes, there are grave causes for concern. The threats are real, exigent, and existential. The ability to meet them demands wisdom and courage -- qualities that have not always been present in sufficient quantities among Israel's leaders. The consequences of a failure to deal with any of the threats that might materialize could be cataclysmic.

So what? What's new? Our average Israeli responds, "We'll deal with it. Ain Breira!" In short, the more things change, the more they stay the same. From before its birth, Israel has constantly faced overwhelmingly negative odds and insurmountable obstacles:

• In the '30s and '40s, while millions of its potential citizens were slaughtered in Europe, a ragtag bunch of settlers had to cope with murderous Arab raids and pogroms, a hostile British administration, a fragile economy, severe internal political schisms, and a lack of international support. Yet the State was created.
• In the '50s, the young nation faced marauding fedayeen, the absorbtion of more than a million extremely poor and unsophisticated immigrants, a socialist economy, and the extreme enmity of its neighbors. Yet the foundation of the State was laid, the Army was formed, and the desert began to bloom.
• In the '60s, Israel's crises were Pan-Arab nationalism, betrayal by its French benefactor, an indifferent world grown Holocaust-weary, Nasser, and another betrayal -- this time by Lyndon Johnson. Yet Israel triumphed in the Six Day War and emerged a regional power.
• The '70s brought the devastating Yom Kippur War, a U.N. resolution declaring Israel a racist entity, an even more socialist economy, and hyperinflation. Yet Israel underwent its first peaceful transition of power to a political party other than Labor, and the Sephardic community was nearly completely integrated into society.
• In the '80s and '90s, Israel had the misfortune of the first intifada, the first Lebanon debacle, and the Oslo calamity. Yet Netanyahu (as prime minister and later as finance minister) broke the socialist yoke and opened Israel to free markets and entrepreneurial activity befitting its populace, and the results have been spectacular.

Now the '00s and '10s bring all that was mentioned earlier. But in fact, throughout the entire eighty-year scenario, the enmity of the Arab/Moslem world has been constant, the support of the rest of the world has been tepid at best and totally absent at worst, and existential threats have been ever-present. Yet Israel and its people have survived -- even prospered. As if to highlight that assessment, after a century of Jews bemoaning the fact that Moses selected the one parcel of land in the Middle East devoid of oil, Israel has recently discovered abundant quantities of natural gas in its offshore environs.

The recreation of the nation of Israel after nearly two millennia of statelessness is one of the greatest historical events of the last five hundred years. Whether this happened through the grace of God, the power of faith by an ancient people, or the fickle whim of chance, the people of Israel are keenly aware of their special place in history. Neither they nor their God is about to let the advent of such a miracle be washed away in less than a century.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/how_apprehensive_should_an_isr_1.html

Ron Lipsman

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

America’s Worst Ally

by Ryan Mauro

After receiving $20 billion in U.S. aid over the past decade, Pakistan is unmistakably America’s worst “ally,” having committed the ultimate betrayal: Hiding Osama Bin Laden. Now, Pakistan is angrily protesting the raid that killed him, refusing to give access to 11 of those arrested in his compound and is supporting terrorists likely to try to avenge his death. Pakistan is not an ally worth defending as President Obama did in his address to the country; it is an enemy worth punishing.

It is inconceivable that the Pakistani government did not know of Bin Laden’s presence at the Abbottabad compound that was obviously designed to hide someone of enormous importance. It is now known that Bin Laden’s next-door neighbor, living only 80 yards away, was Major Amir Aziz, a senior army officer. The country’s premier military academy is about a mile away, which General Petraeus visited in February of last year. Many retired intelligence and military personnel live in the affluent city and it is only an hour away from Islamabad.

The Pakistani government is reacting to the exposure of its guilt by bashing the raid, with its officials describing it as “cold-blooded.” The upper house of its parliament is accusing the U.S. of violating the country’s sovereignty and the government is threatening “disastrous consequences” if there are any more unilateral raids. The army has announced that it will reduce the number of U.S. troops in the country to “minimum essential” levels and the Army Chief of Staff said there will be a “review on the level of military/intelligence cooperation with the United States” if another raid is carried out. Pakistan may also forbid future drone strikes, as it was pushing for an end to them shortly before Bin Laden was killed.

President Obama’s announcement that Bin Laden had been killed was designed to protect relations with Pakistan from the inevitable outrage.

“It’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to Bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, Bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people…it is essential that Pakistan continues to join us in the fight against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates,” Obama told the nation.

Senator John Kerry does not downplay Pakistan’s treachery but cautions against jeopardizing the relationship. Senator Richard Lugar has not shied away from pointing his finger at the Pakistani government but likewise said, “Distancing ourselves from Pakistan would be unwise and extremely dangerous.”

It is true that Pakistan’s limited cooperation has been critical to the prosecution of the War on Terror. More than two-thirds of the killings and arrests of Al-Qaeda members have occurred on Pakistani soil. However, there is a clear pattern of the highest terrorists living in comfortable areas under the control of the Pakistani government, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Ramzi Binalshibh, called the “20^th hijacker.” As Richard Miniter writes, “Bin Laden’s mansion-hideout in Pakistan was not the exception, but the rule.”

No amount of limited cooperation can make up for the fact that Pakistan is guilty of the greatest sin of hiding Bin Laden; an offense that was the primary reason for the U.S. military’s overthrow of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Pakistan will not give the U.S. access to 11 of those arrested from Bin Laden’s compound and is threatening to become even less cooperative in the fight against terrorism. The Pakistani government is also sponsoring radical Islamic terrorists including the Taliban that are battling U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and will seek to carry out retaliation for Bin Laden’s death.

A September 2007 government document listed Pakistan’s ISI intelligence service as one of 65 “terrorist and terrorist supporting entities.” The ISI was named alongside Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah. Yet, there is an eagerness to preserve the relationship with the government that is in charge of the ISI. U.S. intelligence has concluded that the ISI gives the Taliban “strategic planning guidance” and its S-Wing directly supports the Taliban’s Shura Council in Quetta, the Haqqani network and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar; all forces actively sponsoring terrorism and killing American soldiers. The director of the ISI from 1987 to 1989, Hamid Gul, is a close friend of these three groups and others including Al-Qaeda.

A British think-tank determined that “There is thus a strong case that the ISI orchestrates, sustains and shapes the overall [Taliban] insurgent campaign” and in the words of the author, it is “official ISI policy” that is approved of by the top government officials. Up to 7 of the 16 members of the Taliban’s Shura Council are ISI agents, which means that the ISI not only supports the Taliban but plays a significant role in directing it. A senior Taliban source reported that in early April 2010, President Zardari and a senior ISI official even met with 50 top imprisoned Taliban members and told them that they’d be released once foreign pressure was alleviated.

Documents released by WikiLeaks further detail Pakistan’s duplicity. They show that the ISI participates in meetings with the Taliban to organize the dispatching of fighters to Afghanistan, directly recruited terrorists in Peshawar and even discussed the assassinations of Afghan officials. A Taliban commander says the ISI pays the families of suicide bombers and the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul is blamed on the ISI in one file. The intelligence agency is also reported to have offered $15-30,000 to those who murder and kidnap Indians in Afghanistan in 2007. The Afghan government claimed that the ISI dispatched a three-man terrorist cell to kill President Karzai in 2008.

Another group fully-backed by the Pakistani government is Lashkar e-Taiba, whose leader has publicly mourned Bin Laden’s death. It is the group that carried out the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 164 people and is in bed with Al-Qaeda. It is a top candidate to try to carry out a retaliatory attack. The current chief of the ISI has been accused of being involved in the Mumbai attacks and the group freely operates in Pakistan under the name of Jamat ud-Dawa. Around the time of the Mumbai attacks, Lashkar e-Taiba said it ran over 200 schools and many hospitals and charities. Only a handful of these have been closed.

On October 11, 2001, President Bush declared a “war against all those who seek to export terror and a war against those governments that support or shelter them.” The Pakistani government has supported and sheltered the most wanted terrorist. As American soldiers are in harm’s way in Afghanistan, it supports those trying to kill them. As terrorists groups mourn Bin Laden’s death and undoubtedly plan a response, it gives them safe harbor.

This is not an “ally” worthy of $20 billion in aid. The U.S. cannot allow the government that protected the murderer of 3,000 innocent Americans in a single day to go unpunished.

Source: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/05/06/americas-worst-ally/

Ryan Mauro

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Show the Photographs

by Alan M. Dershowitz

The photographs of Osama bin Laden’s dead body should be released for public scrutiny. The President’s decision to withhold photographs of Bin Laden’s dead body is only the last in a series of terrible mistakes in the handling of the dead terrorist’s body. Although there should be no doubt that Bin Laden is actually dead, there are grave doubts as to the circumstances surrounding his death. Was he shot in cold blood? Was he standing or lying down when he was shot? Was he shot in the back or in the front? Were his hands raised in surrender? Was he actively resisting?

Many of these doubts could have been resolved if Bin Laden’s body had been subjected to the usual investigatory techniques routinely employed in homicide cases. His body should have been subjected to an autopsy, to forensic testing by an experienced medical examiner, to extensive photographing of entrance and exit wounds, to paraffin testing for gun powder residue, and to other such forensic examination.

Burying his body at sea constituted the willful destruction of relevant evidence, which naturally gives rise to suspicions that there was something to hide. I fully credit the administration’s explanation that the reason for the hasty burial at sea was the desire not to offend religious Muslims and not to create a shrine to a dead mass murderer. I believe that the President acted properly in ordering the targeted assassination of the world’s most culpable and dangerous terrorist and that our armed forces complied with the law in killing Bin Laden. But many reasonable people around the world will wonder whether the decision to destroy the best evidence may also have been based on a desire to suppress the whole truth.

In my nearly half century of representing defendants charged with homicide, I have come to know that the best evidence of how a person died comes from the body of the deceased. Dead bodies often talk more loudly, clearly and unambiguously than live witnesses. Bin Laden’s body should have been preserved as long as necessary to gather all relevant evidence, notwithstanding the requirements of Sharia Law. When a Muslim or a Jew is the victim of a homicide in the United States, religious considerations do not trump civil requirements. Their bodies are generally sent to the medical examiner for thorough examination. Notwithstanding religious prohibitions, autopsies are performed and organs removed for testing. No special exception should have been made for Bin Laden’s body.

The President’s decision to suppress the remaining photographic evidence is disturbing on many levels. First, it is wrong on its merits. The public is used to seeing visual portrayals of dead bodies. They are routinely shown on television and in movies. Anyone who has served as a juror or a courtroom observer in a homicide cases has seen bodies riddled with bullets or afflicted with stab wounds. We are mature enough to endure viewing such visual evidence if we choose to. Nor is there any real risk that these photographs will inflame Muslim or Arab sensibilities, any more than the photographs of Saddam Hussein did.

On a more fundamental level, I have serious doubts whether the President has the legal or constitutional authority to suppress these photographs. As Commander in Chief, he had the authority to order the kill operation, but in a country governed by the First Amendment, the President may lack the authority to decide what is published and what is suppressed. It would establish a terrible precedent for the Commander in Chief to be given the sole authority to determine what the public has the right to see and know, especially when the sole justification for suppression is a matter of judgment regarding the possible offensiveness of the photographs.

In a democracy, doubts must always be resolved in favor of disclosure, particularly in a matter of such great public interest and controversy. Surely Congress has at least equal authority to decide what to do with the photographs. Moreover, the press may have the right to obtain and publish these highly relevant items of evidence as part of its duty to inform the public. Some media will surely challenge the President’s decision, and if they do I hope they win. The great Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis taught us nearly a century ago that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” The remaining evidence of how Bin Laden was killed—the photographs and the results of any forensic tests that may have been hastily performed—should be exposed to the sunlight of publication. Only then will the virus of doubt be disinfected.

Source: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/05/06/the-photographs-should-be-released/

Alan M. Dershowitz

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Al-Qaida's New Battle Hardened, Difficult Leader

by IPT News

In the wake of Osama bin Laden's demise, his likely successor is his longtime deputy and collaborator, Egyptian jihadist Ayman al-Zawahiri. The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $25 million for Zawahiri, who officials have said was responsible for the planning of 9/11, the bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.

It remains to be seen whether Zawahiri will be able to recruit and inspire a new generation of jihadists the way bin Laden did. Veteran observers of al-Qaida say bin Laden was a media-savvy, charismatic figure and a good listener. Zawahiri, by contrast, has a record "of alienating his colleagues, fighting over dogma, even within the Islamist movement," said journalist Steve Coll. "And as a communicator, he is less effective. His books are turgid and dogmatic." During a recent online chat with fellow jihadists, Zawahiri sounded "defensive and argumentative. He sounded unappealing as a leader."

Shortly after 9/11, Zawahiri and bin Laden appeared together on video discussing the suicide attacks. "This was not just a human achievement. It was a holy act," Zawahiri said. "These 19 brave men who gave their lives for the cause of God will be well taken care of. God granted them the strength to do what they did. There's no comparison between the power of these 19 men and the power of America, and there's no comparison between the destruction these 19 men caused and the destruction America caused."

In 1998, Zawahiri wrote in the jihadist journal Al-Mujahidoun that "America is now controlled by the Jews, completely." He added that the United States "uses Israel to attack its neighbors and to slaughter those who are living peacefully there." According to Zawahiri, "If we are a nation of martyrs – as we claim – all that we need is courage of heart and the will of killers and the belief in what we claim to be love of death for God's sake."

Born in Egypt on June 19, 1951, Zawahiri came from a family of doctors and religious scholars. His father was a pharmacology professor at Cairo University and his grandfather was grand imam of al-Azhar University, long an ideological center for Islamism.

Zawahiri joined the Muslim Brotherhood as an adolescent. He was arrested by the Egyptian government in 1996 for forming an underground Muslim Brotherhood cell. That same year, the Egyptian government, headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, executed Brotherhood theoretician Sayyid Qutb.

"The Nasserite regime thought that the Islamic movement received a deadly blow with the execution of Sayyid Qutb and his comrades," Zawahiri later wrote. "But the apparent surface calm concealed an immediate interaction with Sayyid Qutb's ideas and the formation of the nucleus of the modern Islamic movement in Egypt."

Nasser died in 1970, and his successor, President Anwar Sadat, attempted to co-opt the Brotherhood, releasing many of the group's members from jail. They were permitted to preach their doctrine, so long as they didn't resort to violence. They used their new-found freedom to begin laying the groundwork for the overthrow of the Sadat government.

Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University in 1974 and went into the Egyptian Army, serving as a surgeon for three years. After leaving the Army, he joined a coalition of Islamist cells calling itself Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

He was among scores of militants arrested and tried in connection with Sadat's October 1981 assassination. During the opening day of the trial, Zawahiri said the accused were "the real Islamic front and the real Islamic opposition against Zionism, Communism and imperialism." He said authorities were conducting the prosecution as part of a "conspiracy of evacuating the area in preparation for the Zionist infiltration."

Zawahiri was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment for illegal weapons possession.

He left Egypt in 1985 and went to Peshawar, Pakistan, where he treated mujahedeen fighting the Soviets. That was where he met Osama bin Laden, and the two became close – linked together as "Afghan Arabs." In 1989, with the Soviets defeated and Afghanistan descending into chaos, Zawahiri and bin Laden moved to Sudan.

Veteran journalist Lawrence Wright writes that, from his base in Sudan, Zawahiri and his Egyptian Islamic Jihad group launched a bombing and assassination campaign to destabilize Egypt. In 1990, it assassinated Egypt's parliament speaker.

Subsequent attacks targeted Egypt's interior minister and other officials. A November 1993 attempted car bombing targeting Egypt's prime minister, injured 21 bystanders , and killed a 12-year-old schoolgirl.

"The unintended death of this innocent child pained us all, but we were helpless and we had to fight this government, which was against God's Sharia and supported God's enemies," Zawahiri wrote in his memoirs.

The Egyptian government launched a ferocious crackdown after Zawahiri's group tried to assassinate President Hosni Mubarak during a 1995 visit to Ethiopia. Tens of thousands of actual or suspected Islamists were jailed. In retaliation, Zawahiri dispatched suicide bombers to blow up the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. The attack by two suicide bombers killed 16 people and wounded 60.

By 1996, pressure from the United States and Saudi Arabia forced Sudan to kick out al-Qaida. By 1996, bin Laden, Zawahiri and al-Qaida relocated to Afghanistan, where the Taliban gave them sanctuary.

In 1997, the State Department named Zawahiri as a leader of a group called Vanguards of Conquest - an Islamic Jihad faction believed to have been behind the massacre of 58 foreign tourists at Luxor, Egypt that year.

Zawahiri has also been indicted in the United States for masterminding the August 7, 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in which 224 people were killed.

In 1998, he joined bin Laden in announcing the World Islamic Front's Statement Urging Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders. The men issued a fatwa declaring: "We – with God's help, call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill Americans and plunder their money wherever they find it."

In 1999, Zawahiri was tried in absentia in Egypt and sentenced to death.

Tawfiq Hamid, who worked with Zawahiri when the two were part of Jamaa Islamiya, an Egyptian jihadist group, warned against underestimating Zawahiri in his new role as bin Laden's successor. Zawahiri's superior organizational skills and dedication to violence could make him more dangerous than bin Laden.

"He's much more powerful as a leader – much more organized," Hamid said. "When you listen to him, you can tell clearly that he has the ambition and is dedicated 100 percent to achieve this mission."

Source: http://www.investigativeproject.org/2819/al-qaida-new-battle-hardened-difficult-leader

IPT News

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.