Hamas in their own words

VIEWED OVER 100,000 TIMES ON THE INTERNET [ http://www.memritv.org/video.html ]

Within the first week of its release, the MEMRI viral video "Hamas: In Their Own Voices," has been viewed over 100,000 times on the Internet. It is still available for download, for a limited time only.

The video, a compilation of MEMRI TV clips that aired prior to the current Gaza crisis, includes statements by Hamas leaders calling for the annihilation of Israel and of all Jews, for death to America, and for the Islamic conquest of the world.

Featured are Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, Hamas MPs Mushir Al-Masri and Fathi Hamad, Hamas MP and cleric Yunis Al-Astal, Palestinian Legislative Council acting speaker Sheikh Ahmad Bahr, and Hamas clerics Wael Al-Zarad and Muhsen Abu 'Ita.

Viewers will also see Hamas military training for adults and children, anti-American speeches at rallies including burning of the American flag and calls of support for "The Afghan Mujahideen," Hamas Al-Aqsa TV children's shows, and more.

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Click here to get the link to embed the video on your blog and website

Visit http://www.MEMRITV.ORG for Other Clips from Hamas and Al-Aqsa TV

To see other clips on Hamas, visit the MEMRI TV pages for Al-Aqsa TV

( http://www.memritv.org/content/en/tv_chann...ndiv.htm?id=175 ) and for Hamas ( http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/95.htm ) – as well as the new MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) website ( http://www.memrijttm.org/ ).

Visit THEMEMRIBLOG.ORG for the Most Up-To-Date Middle East News

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Technorati tags: hamas, Khaled Mash'al, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, Hamas MPs, Mushir Al-Masri, Fathi Hamad, Hamas MP, Islamc cleric, Yunis Al-Astal, Palestinian Legislative Council, Sheikh Ahmad Bahr, Hamas clerics, Wael Al-Zarad, Muhsen Abu 'Ita, Hamas military training, anti-American, American flag, Afghan Mujahideen, Israel

Five Radical Islamists Convicted of Conspiring to Kill Soldiers at Fort Dix

Courtesy of the FBI:

Five Radical Islamists Convicted of Conspiring to Kill Soldiers at Fort Dix

Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
Dec 22, 2008

CAMDEN – A jury today convicted five men on charges they plotted to kill members of the U.S. military, Acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced.

After 5½ days of deliberations, which began Dec. 17, the jury convicted Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, brothers Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka and Serdar Tatar on Count One of the seven-count Superseding Indictment that charged them with conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military. The jury acquitted each of defendants of Count Two, which charged attempt to murder members of the U.S. military.

For the conspiracy conviction only, each of the defendants faces a sentence of any number of years up to life in prison.

The case was tried by Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Hammer, Jr., Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Terrorism Unit. U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler, who presided over the 12-week trial, scheduled sentencing of the three Duka brothers for April 22. Judge Kugler scheduled sentencing of Shnewer and Tartar on April 23.

The remaining counts of the Superseding Indictment, which was returned in January, charged the three Duka brothers, who are illegal immigrants, and Shnewer with firearm offenses; including possession of machine guns. See below for conviction details on each of the defendants.

The defendants’ arrests occurred on May 7, 2007, in Cherry Hill as Dritan and Shain Duka were meeting a confidential government witness to purchase four automatic M-16 rifles and three semi-automatic AK-47 rifles to be used in a future attack on military personnel. The other defendants were arrested at various locations at about the same time.

“These men planned, trained and ceaselessly talked unambiguously about their intention to ambush and kill U.S. soldiers,” said Marra. “The word should go out to any other would-be terrorists of the homegrown variety that the United States will find you, infiltrate your group, prosecute you and send you to a federal prison for a very long time.”

“Vigilance was the key to disrupting the dangerous terrorists convicted today and we are glad they are off the street,” said Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI. “We appreciate the tip from an alert citizen who reported this suspicious activity to law enforcement. Without tips from concerned citizens or cooperation from our law enforcement partners, it is much more difficult to safeguard our nation and protect the
United States from terrorist attack.”

“Today's verdicts underscore the need for continued vigilance against homegrown terror threats,” said Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “While these defendants were not members of an international terrorist organization, their involvement in weapons training, their surveillance of domestic targets and their discussions of killing U.S. military personnel posed a serious threat that required the law enforcement disruption and the prosecutions upheld by the jury today.”

In convicting the defendants, the jury found that one member of the group conducted surveillance at Fort Dix and Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia. The co-conspirator obtained a detailed map of Fort Dix, where they hoped to use assault rifles to kill as many soldiers as possible,
according to trial testimony and evidence.

During the trial, the jury viewed secretly recorded videotapes of the defendants preforming small-arms training at a shooting range in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and watching training videos amongst themselves that included depictions of American soldiers being killed and of known foreign Islamic radicals urging jihad against the United States.

The defendants and the charges on which each was convicted are as follows:
• Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 23, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the members of the U.S. military, and the attempted possession of AK-47 semi-automatic assault weapons to be used in the attack.
• Dritan Duka, 30 of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military; possession of machine guns; possession and attempted possession of machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence; and two counts of possession of firearms by an illegal alien.
• Shain Duka, 27, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military; possession of machine guns; possession and attempted possession of machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence; and two counts of possession of firearms by an illegal alien.
• Eljvir Duka, 25, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military, and possession of firearms by illegal aliens. The jury acquitted on one count of possession and attempted possession of machine guns in furtherance of a crime of violence.
• Serdar Tatar, 25, of Philadelphia: conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military.
A sixth co-defendant, Agron Abdullahu, 26, of Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County, pleaded guilty before Judge Kugler on Oct. 31, 2007, to aiding and abetting the Duka brothers’ illegal possession of weapons. Abdullahu was arrested on May 7, 2007, along with the defendants convicted today. On March 31, 2008, Judge Kugler sentenced Abdullahu to 420 months in federal prison.

The charge of conspiracy to murder members of the U.S. military carries a sentence of any number of years up to life in prison. The charge of possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment. The charge of attempted possession of AK-47 semi-automatic assault weapons to be used in the attack carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. Each count of unlawful possession of machine guns carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison.

Marra credited the Special Agents of the FBI's Philadelphia Division and the FBI South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Fedarcyk, in Philadelphia, for investigation of the case.
Marra and Fedarcyk also thanked investigators with member agencies of the FBI South Jersey Joint Terrorism Task Force, which comprises ICE’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John P. Kelleghan, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, under the direction of the Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk, NJ State Police, under the direction of Col. Joseph "Rick" Fuentes, Superintendent, and the Delaware River Port Authority Police, under the direction of Chief Dave McClintock, for their tireless efforts on the investigation.

Additionally, Marra and Fedarcyk would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance and support: the U.S. military services at Fort Dix, Fort Monmouth, Dover Air Force Base, and the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia, along with the Cherry Hill Police Department, Mt. Laurel Police Department, Cherry Hill Fire Department, Camden County Sheriff's Department, Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, and N.J. Homeland Security.

Press Releases | Philadelphia Home

Technorati tags: american jihad, fort dix, joint, us military, war on terror, radical islamists, terrorists among us, conspiracy to kill us soldiers

Report: Obama to Offer Israel 'Nuclear Umbrella' Against Iran

Courtesy of Fox News , as reported from Haaetz:

U.S. president-elect will offer Israel a strategic pact designed to fend off any nuclear attack on the Jewish state by Iran, an Israeli newspaper reports.

President-elect Barack Obama will offer Israel a strategic pact designed to fend off any nuclear attack on the Jewish state by Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday.

Haaretz, quoting an unnamed source, said the Obama administration would pledge under the proposed "nuclear umbrella" to respond to any Iranian strike on Israel with a "devastating U.S. nuclear response."

Granting Israel a nuclear guarantee would essentially suggest the U.S. is willing to come to terms with a nuclear Iran, the paper reported.

According to the paper's source, Obama's nuclear guarantee would be backed by a new and improved Israeli anti-ballistic missile system. The Bush administration took the first step by deploying an early-warning radar system, which enhances the ability to detect Iranian ballistic missiles.

Secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton had raised the idea of a nuclear guarantee to Israel during her campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency. During a debate with Obama in April, Clinton said that Israel and Arab countries must be given "deterrent backing." She added, "Iran must know that an attack on Israel will draw a massive response."

Clinton also proposed that the American nuclear umbrella be extended to other countries in the region, like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, if they agree to relinquish their own nuclear ambitions.

Obama said this week that he would negotiate with Iran and would offer economic incentives for Tehran to relinquish its nuclear program. He warned that if Iran refused the deal, he would act to intensify sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Granting Israel a nuclear guarantee essentially suggests the U.S. is willing to come to terms with a nuclear Iran. For its part, Israel opposes any such development and similar opposition was voiced by officials in the outgoing Bush administration.

"What is the significance of such guarantee when it comes from those who hesitated to deal with a non-nuclear Iran?" asked a senior Israeli security source.

"What kind of credibility would this [guarantee have] when Iran is nuclear-capable?"
The same source noted that the fact that there is talk about the possibility of a nuclear Iran undermines efforts to prevent Tehran from acquiring such arms.

A senior Bush administration source said that the proposal for an American nuclear umbrella for Israel was ridiculous and lacked credibility. "Who will convince the citizen in Kansas that the U.S. needs to get mixed up in a nuclear war because Haifa was bombed? And what is the point of an American response, after Israel's cities are destroyed in an Iranian nuclear strike?"

The current debate is taking place in light of the Military Intelligence assessment that Iran has passed beyond the point of no return, and has mastered the technology of uranium enrichment. The decision to proceed toward the development of nuclear arms is now purely a matter for Iran's leaders to decide. Intelligence assessments, however, suggest that the Iranians are trying to first accumulate larger quantities of fissile material, and this offers a window of opportunity for a last-ditch diplomatic effort to prevent an Iranian bomb.

Source: Obama's atomic umbrella: U.S. nuclear strike if Iran nukes Israel

By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent

Related articles:

Israel worried by report Iran has tripled its missile arsenal

Zbigniew Brzezinski: Israel's push for Iran strike may hurt U.S. ties

Iran rejects Barack Obama's 'failed' carrot and stick policy

 

Technorati tags: israeli, Iran, nuclear Iran, Obama, strategic pact, nuclear umbrella, haaetz, anti-ballistic missile system, early warning system, iranian ballistic missles, tel aviv, middle east, pre-emptive strike

Portents of A Nuclear Al-Qaeda

Courtesy of Washington and by permission from the author, David Ignatius, Link to the article: Here

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen is paid to think about the unthinkable. As the Energy Department's director of intelligence, he's responsible for gathering information about the threat that a terrorist group will attack America with a nuclear weapon.

With his shock of white hair and piercing eyes, Mowatt-Larssen looks like a man who has seen a ghost. And when you listen to a version of the briefing he has been giving recently to President Bush and other top officials, you begin to understand why. He is convinced that al-Qaeda is trying to acquire a nuclear bomb that will leave the ultimate terrorist signature -- a mushroom cloud.

We've all had enough fear-mongering to last a lifetime. Indeed, we have become so frightened of terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001, that we have begun doing the terrorists' job for them by undermining the legal framework of our democracy. And truly, I wish I could dismiss Mowatt-Larssen's analysis as the work of an overwrought former CIA officer with too many years in the trenches.

But it's worth listening to his warnings -- not because they induce more numbing paralysis but because they might stir sensible people to take actions that could detect and stop an attack. That's why his boss, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, is encouraging him to speak out. Mowatt-Larssen doesn't want to anguish later that he didn't sound the alarm in time.

Mowatt-Larssen has been gathering this evidence since a few weeks after Sept. 11, when then-CIA Director George Tenet asked him to create a new branch on weapons of mass destruction in the agency's counterterrorism center. He helped Tenet prepare the chapter on al-Qaeda's nuclear efforts that appears in Tenet's memoir, " At the Center of the Storm." Now that the uproar over Tenet's mistaken "slam dunk" assessment of the Iraqi threat has died down, it's worth rereading this account. It provides a chilling, public record of al-Qaeda's nuclear ambitions.

Mowatt-Larssen argues that for nearly a decade before Sept. 11, al-Qaeda was seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. As early as 1993, Osama bin Laden offered $1.5 million to buy uranium for a nuclear device, according to testimony presented in federal court in February 2001. When the al-Qaeda leader was asked in 1998 if he had nuclear or chemical weapons, he responded: "Acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so."

Even as al-Qaeda was preparing to fly its airplane bombs into buildings, the group was also trying to acquire nuclear and biological capabilities. In August 2001, bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, met around a campfire with Pakistani scientists from a group called Umma Tameer-E-Nau to discuss how al-Qaeda could build a nuclear device. Al-Qaeda also had an aggressive anthrax program that was discovered in December 2001 after bin Laden was driven from his haven in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda proclaimed a religious rationale to justify the WMD attacks it was planning. In June 2002, a Kuwaiti-born cleric named Suleiman Abu Ghaith posted a statement on the Internet saying that "al-Qaeda has the right to kill 4 million Americans" in retaliation for U.S. attacks against Muslims. And in May 2003, at the same time Saudi operatives of al-Qaeda were trying to buy three Russian nuclear bombs, a cleric named Nasir al-Fahd issued a fatwa titled "A Treatise on the Legal Status of Using Weapons of Mass Destruction Against Infidels." Interrogations of al-Qaeda operatives confirmed that the planning was serious. Al-Qaeda didn't yet have the materials for a WMD attack, but it wanted them.

Most chilling of all was Zawahiri's decision in March 2003 to cancel a cyanide attack in the New York subway system. He told the plotters to stand down because "we have something better in mind." What did that mean? More than four years later, we still don't know.

After 2004, the WMD trail went cold, according to Mowatt-Larssen. Many intelligence analysts have concluded that al-Qaeda doesn't have nuclear capability today. Mowatt-Larssen argues that a more honest answer is: We don't know.

So what to do about this spectral danger? The first requirement, says Mowatt-Larssen, is to try to visualize it. What would it take for al-Qaeda to build a bomb? How would it assemble the pieces? How would the United States and its allies deploy their intelligence assets so that they could detect a plot before it was carried out? How would we reinvent intelligence itself to avert this ultimate catastrophe?

A terrorist nuclear attack, as Tenet wrote in his book, would change history. If we can see how this story might end, perhaps we can deflect the arrow before it hits its target.

The writer is co-host of PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues. His e-mail address is davidignatius@washpost.com.

washingtonpost.com readers have posted over 187 comments about this item. View All Comments »

Technorati tags: george tenet, cia, iran, nuclear weapons, al qaeda, David Ignatius, Mowatt-Larssen, Bush, Energy Department, DOE, Osama bin Laden, wmd, new york subway, Nasir al-Fahd, fatwa, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Pakistani scientist, us intelligence, Iran, Iraq, global war on terror, bin laden, Umma Tameer-E-Nau

.

The Mother of Modern Terrorism

Courtesy of CBNNews.com

WASHINGTON - Iran still nags the U.S. almost 30 years following the hostage crisis that helped bring down a presidency.

The faces have changed but the White House still faces off with Tehran.

This time it's over charges of supplying weapons used to kill Americans in Iraq, pursuing nuclear weapons calling for the end of Israel.

The Mother of Modern Terrorism

Iran declared war on the U.S. in 1979. They've been killing Americans non-stop ever since then, and no American president has ever responded.

Conservative Michael Ledeen, author of The Iranian Time Bomb, calls Iran the "mother of modern terrorism." He says three decades of failed American diplomacy have continued under President Bush.

"As far as I can tell he doesn't have an Iran policy," Leeden said. "Even after several years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it was quite clear we were drowning in information that the Iranians were supporting both sides of the terror war against us, where Iranian weapons, Iranian intel agents, even Iranian troops were on the ground killing Americans.

Even then for the longest time our soldiers were told take it easy on the Iranians. It's only in the last several months that we've been able finally to shoot Iranians, capture Iranians and so forth and look at the reaction. The Iranian regime is furious, screaming."

Ledeen, whose son is a Marine now serving in Iraq, says the U.S. would be justified to take out terror-training camps inside Iran.

"We know Iraqis are brought into Iran for training in bases in Iran, and then they're sent back into Iraq, armed, trained, funded by the Iranians," he said. "And they come into Iraq to kill our guys."

U.S. Options Regarding Iran

Contrary to his image as eager for war with Iran, Ledeen is opposed to a U.S. bombing or invasion of Iran.

"Iran is a big country - 70 million people. Great killers. Very fanatical. Hate us passionately. You want to take them on, you have to be really serious. It takes a lot of effort. Lot of risk. Lot of money will probably cost some lives, if not our theirs. And it's unpleasant and there's every chance that you'll fail," Leeden said.

What are U.S. options? A White House push for tougher U.N. sanctions has been blocked by Russia and China. Critics of continued diplomacy question how America can bargain with Iran's mullahs who believe America's destruction is sanctioned by god.

"We've offered every carrot and brandished every stick by now," Leeden said. "You know, Einstein's definition of a madman is somebody who keeps doing the same thing, hoping to get a different result some day."

Iranian Revolution?

Ledeen believes a more lethal weapon exists: revolution.

"If you did a little check list on conditions for revolution: economic misery, political opposition to the regime, suffering by the people, long traditions of self-government and awareness of modern democracy and how it works and so forth. Iran fulfils every condition," he said.

"So Iran, if you're looking for a country where the people hate the regime, we know from the regime itself, from it's own public opinion polls, that 70 plus percent of the Iranian people hate the regime," Ledeen said.

But he believes that would require unprecedented action from the United States.

"They're terribly embittered right now because this administration has given all kinds of speeches about how they stand behind the Iranians - 'We hope Iran will become free, and so forth' - but we've never done anything. They are waiting to see us do something to support them.

America's concerns for its soldiers in Iraq, Israeli security on the line and a potential nuclear threat, the Iranian time bomb is ticking.

It's a bomb that could set off a diplomatic breakthrough , or a countdown to war.

INSIDE IRAN:

• Signs of the Apocalypse
• A Rising Chorus
• The Young and the Restless
• The Ultimate Martyrdom
• Truth and its Consequences

Technorati tags: iran, america, apocalypse, martyrdom, time bomb, iranians, terrorism, iraq, tehran, shah of iran, jimmy carter, nuclear option, israel, iranian revolution

.

The War: According to the People Who Are Already There.

Email from Michael Yon:  Link to the online version.

Greetings:

Iraq is on the mend, al Qaeda is on the run, and the civil war has abated to a point where the term "civil war" no longer applies.

Accurate war coverage is increasingly important.  Even prominent seemingly well-informed persons can get it wrong, such as retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez who previously commanded the war in Iraq.  His recent public statements –selectively excerpted and then widely dispersed by the hot winds of media – made it clear that this former senior commander is far out of touch with the current situation. 
But there are commanders with a finger on the pulse. 

When earlier this year I wrote about the 1-4 CAV transforming an abandoned seminary in a Baghdad neighborhood that had been decimated by civil war, the "surge" had not even begun; but already pundits, politicians and editors had declared it a failure. Though I'd spent only a few days with LTC Crider and his 1-4 CAV soldiers at the new COP Amanche, I ended the dispatch on a note of hope based on observation. I recently received an email from LTC Crider with an update on that Baghdad neighborhood.  Please read "Achievements of the Human Heart" and see for yourself.

I was in al Basra province when I saw news reports claiming that Basra city had descended into chaos in the wake of an announcement about the draw down of British Soldiers.  I emailed the facts about Basra to several bloggers who hold the media accountable, and the resulting effort got the attention of Tom Foreman who anchors CNN's "This Week at War."  We were able to make a CNN interview, and the result is a segment that accurately reflects a complex and changing situation.  Bravo to CNN for setting the record straight, and to the tireless bloggers who are making a substantial difference in the way news about the war is delivered.

There are major developments to share with readers in upcoming dispatches. If things go at-least-mostly according to plan (which is all we can hope for in war), and if I can rely on the help of readers who share my frustration with the lack of accurate reporting, we can  significantly widen the stream of news flowing from Iraq so more people can obtain a truer picture.  This will require the will and generosity of readers.  But more on that, soon.

 
Michael Yon
Basra, Iraq

October 12 - Final Response Forthcoming From Iran’s Ahmadinejad?

Courtesy of National Terror Alert Center:

October 12 - Final Response Forthcoming From Iran’s Ahmadinejad?

October 11, 2007

Tomorrow, October 12, 2007 is the last Friday of Ramadan and the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has issued a statement, vowing to liberate “all of Palestine” with some sort of “final response” to Iran’s enemies.

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said the message would be sent to coincide with Quds Day, held each year on the last Friday of Ramadan.

On September 19th the following article appeared in the Islamic Republic News Agency

Supporters of the Zionist regime will receive their response during the world Quds Day’s rallies, government spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Elham, said Wednesday.
The spokesman made the remarks during his weekly press conference while commenting on the current visit to the occupied Palestine of the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Quds Day is held each year on the last Friday of Muslims fasting month of Ramadan after it was nominated by the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, as a day to voice the protest of the Islamic Ummah against the Zionists.
The day falls on October 12 this year.
“The US loses all opportunities to cooperate with regional and other world states by trying to support a regime (the Zionist regime) which is now at its weakest political and social position,” Elham said.
He warned that Washington’s insistence on its wrong policies and arrogant approaches would have no result “but further political disgrace” for itself. Referring to the approaching World Quds Day, the spokesman stressed, “Supporters of the Zionist regime will definitely receive the final response for their support on that day.”
Source http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/men...9796134418.htm

So what does this mean?
No one really knows. Ahmadinejad has made these types of threats before, most recently leading up to an August 22nd date, in which he indicated by several references that he would be giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This threat was surrounded with a great deal of talk of the return of the 12th Imam.

The 12th Imam
See Pamela’s article at Atlas Shrugs for more on this.

Is Ahmadinejad once again “crying wolf”, or in this case “nukes”. No one really knows for sure, but much has changed in the middle east since August. Tensions have increased along with and Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric and many are beginning to believe some type of confrontation is inevitable.

All of this needs to be viewed within the same context as the Iranian radicals. Ahmadinejad and those in Iran who are aligned with him in his beliefs, believe they are leading Iran into a new “Persian Empire” and that a religious war against Israel and the U.S. will herald the arrival of the Muslim “messiah” known as the “Mahdi”.

Because of their prophetic perspective and their belief that they must prepare the way for the “Mahdi,” many would not be surprised if the Iranians attempt to begin this effort to bring on the Mahdi by launching a military action against the United States and/or Israel in the very near future. Is October 12th, the date they have selected? We will apparently know the answer soon.

A few interesting points about this date in history.
October 12th, 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia (modern day Iran) conquers Babylon (modern day Iraq). Very significant date in history for Iran.

October 12th, 1492 - Christopher Columbus discovers America.

October 12th, 2000 - The USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members.

October 12th, 2002 - Terrorists detonate bombs in Kuta, Bali, killing 202 and wounding over 300.

October 12th, 2007 - Al Quds day — also known as “Jerusalem Day”, or the “International Day of Al-Quds”. This day is celebrated in an annual event opposing Israel’s control of Jerusalem, or Al-Quds in Arab

Other items to consider…
The Rhetoric
Ahmadinejad has continued to call for for “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” along with his mantra to “wipe Israel off the map”. Many countries including Israel and the U.S. have made it clear that Iran will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Mysterious Strike Inside Syria
Israel is still maintaining silence several weeks after Syria complained that Israeli aircraft invaded its airspace in a mysterious incident that raised tensions and triggered a welter of US media speculation about possible targets for the operation. Explanations for what anonymous US officials have said was a strike inside Syria range from suggesting it was aimed at the shipment of weapons to Hizbollah from Iran, to saying Syria may be building a nuclear facility with North Korean help.

A World Without Israel
Ahmadinejad recently used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to againa unveil a vision of a world without Israel, in which America and Europe would be freed of what he said was Zionist oppression.

600 Missiles Pointed At Israel
Six hundred Iranian Shihab-3 missiles are pointed at targets throughout Israel, and will be launched if either Iran or Syria are attacked, an Iranian website affiliated with the regime reported. “Iran will shoot at Israel 600 missiles if it is attacked,” the Iranian news website, Assar Iran, reported. “600 missiles will only be the first reaction.”

Russians Evacuated?
there are numerous unconfirmed reports that Russian nuclear technicians have evacuated from their assignment at the Bushehr nuclear reactor facility and returned to Russia without explanation, this according the Khorramshar News Agency.

This action, if true, would suggest the possibility that the Russians were tipped off that some sort of military action was imminent, perhaps October 12, the end of Ramadan.

The New Moon
October 11th is the start of the new moon, which is when the US military, particularly the US Air Force likes to begin any aerial bombing attacks because it is easier to avoid aircraft detection when there is no moon to illuminate attacking planes or ground forces.

Conclusion:
We’re not good at making predictions and we won’t attempt one here. We will all have to wait and see if anything happens.

(Our guess…massive protests in Iran and several speeches…but we could be wrong)

Feel free to kick in your 2 cents in the comments.

"Watch your six"

Be ever Vigilant,
Bos'un

Technorati tags: iran, amanamedjihad, bushehr nuclear facility, ramadan, russia, Ramadan, Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, liberate, Palestine, final response, Quds Day, The 12th Imam, Jerusalem Day, International Day of Al-Quds, muslim, terrorism suspects, counterterrorism

Report: Al-Qaeda Big Threat to Homeland

Courtesy of CBN News

Al Qaeda Threat

CBNNews.com - A new White House report says that al-Qaeda poses the number one terrorist threat to the American homeland.

The report comes as Congress is considering expanding the government's powers to spy on suspected terrorist at home.

While America hasn't been hit by a terrorist attack since 9/11, it hasn't been for lack of effort by al-Qaeda.

STAKELBECK ON TERROR:
Bin Laden Not Hiding in Tribal Areas?

The White House says the group is stepping up its efforts to place agents within the United States -- and calls it the "most serious and dangerous" terrorism threat.

The report comes on the heels of a recent warning by U.S. intelligence that attacks by al-Qaeda against European cities may be imminent.

A common problem facing both the U.S. and Europe is al-Qaeda's establishment of a safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas.

It's in that lawless region, the White House says, that al-Qaeda is able to plan and train freely for attacks against the West.

Technorati tags: terror, al-qaeda, bin laden, tribal areas, pakistan, war on terror, domestic terrorism, threats, threat condition

SILENCE IN SYRIA, PANIC IN IRAN

Posted by permission of the author, Dr. Jack Wheeler, To the Point News

SILENCE IN SYRIA, PANIC IN IRAN

One of India's top ranking generals assigned to liaise with the Iranian military recently returned to New Delhi from several days in Tehran - in a state of complete amazement.

"Everyone in the government and military can only talk of one thing," he reports.  "No matter who I talked to, all they could do was ask me, over and over again, ‘Do you think the Americans will attack us?' ‘When will the Americans attack us?' ‘Will the Americans attack us in a joint operation with the Israelis?' How massive will the attack be?' on and on, endlessly.  The Iranians are in a state of total panic."

And that was before September 6.  Since then, it's panic-squared in Tehran.  The mullahs are freaking out in fear.  Why?  Because of the silence in Syria.

On September 6, Israeli Air Force F-15 and F-16s conducted a devastating attack on targets deep inside Syria near the city of Dayr az-Zawr.  Israel's military censors have muzzled the Israeli media, enforcing an extraordinary silence about the identity of the targets.  Massive speculation in the world press has followed, such as Brett Stephens' Osirak II? in yesterday's (9/18) Wall St. Journal.

Stephens and most everyone else have missed the real story.  It is not Israel's silence that "speaks volumes" as he claims, but Syria's.  Why would the Syrian government be so tight-lipped about an act of war perpetrated on their soil?
The first half of the answer lies in this story that appeared in the Israeli media last month (8/13):  Syria's Antiaircraft System Most Advanced In World.  Syria has gone on a profligate buying spree, spending vast sums on Russian systems, "considered the cutting edge in aircraft interception technology."

Syria now "possesses the most crowded antiaircraft system in the world," with "more than 200 antiaircraft batteries of different types,"  some of which are so new that they have been installed in Syria "before being introduced into Russian operation service."

While you're digesting that, take a look at the map of Syria:

Notice how far away Dayr az-Zawr is from Israel.  An F15/16 attack there is not a tiptoe across the border, but a deep, deep penetration of Syrian airspace.  And guess what happened with the Russian super-hyper-sophisticated cutting edge antiaircraft missile batteries when that penetration took place on September 6^th.
Nothing.

El blanko.  Silence.  The systems didn't even light up, gave no indication whatever of any detection of enemy aircraft invading Syrian airspace, zip, zero, nada.  The Israelis (with a little techie assistance from us) blinded the Russkie antiaircraft systems so completely the Syrians didn't even know they were blinded.

Now you see why the Syrians have been scared speechless.  They thought they were protected - at enormous expense - only to discover they are defenseless.  As in naked.

Thus the Great Iranian Freak-Out - for this means Iran is just as nakedly defenseless as Syria.   I can tell you that there are a lot of folks in the Kirya (IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv) and the Pentagon right now who are really enjoying the mullahs' predicament.  Let's face it:  scaring the terror masters in Tehran out of their wits is fun.

It's so much fun, in fact, that an attack destroying Iran's nuclear facilities and the Revolutionary Guard command/control centers has been delayed, so that France (under new management) can get in on the fun too. 

On Sunday (9/16), Sarkozy's foreign minister Bernard Kouchner announced that "France should prepare for the possibility of war over Iran's nuclear program."
All of this has caused Tehran to respond with maniacal threats.  On Monday (9/17), a government website proclaimed that "600 Shihab-3 missiles" will be fired at targets in Israel in response to an attack upon Iran by the US/Israel.  This was followed by Iranian deputy air force chief Gen. Mohammad Alavi announcing today (9/19) that "we will attack their (Israeli) territory with our fighter bombers as a response to any attack."

A sure sign of panic is to make a threat that everyone knows is a bluff.  So our and Tel Aviv's response to Iranian bluster is a thank-you-for-sharing yawn and a laugh.  Few things rattle the mullahs' cages more than a yawn and a laugh.

Yet no matter how much fun this sport with the mullahs is, it is also deadly serious.  The pressure build-up on Iran is getting enormous.  Something is going to blow and soon.  The hope is that the blow-up will be internal, that the regime will implode from within.

But make no mistake:  an all-out full regime take-out air assault upon Iran is coming if that hope doesn't materialize within the next 60 to 90 days.  The Sept. 6 attack on Syria was the shot across Iran's bow.

So - what was attacked near Dayr az-Zawr?  It's possible it was North Korean "nuclear material" recently shipped to Syria, i.e., stuff to make radioactively "dirty" warheads, but nothing to make a real nuke with as the Norks don't have real nukes (see Why North Korea's Nuke Test Is Such Good News, October 2006).

Another possibility is it was to take out a stockpile of long-range Zilzal surface-to-surface missiles recently shipped from Iran for an attack on Israel.

A third is it was a hit on the stockpile of Saddam's chemical/bio weapons snuck out of Iraq and into Syria for safekeeping before the US invasion of April 2003.

But the identity of the target is not the story - for the primary point of the attack was not to destroy that target.  It was to shut down Syria's Russian air defense system during the attack.  Doing so made the attack an incredible success.

Syria is shamed and silent.  Iran is freaking out in panic.  Defenseless enemies are fun.

Technorati tags: dr. jack wheeler, to the point, syria, north korea, zilzal surface to air missile, wnd, saddam, Dayr az-Zawr, russia