Tag Archives: US

US: Muslim arrested near Pentagon videotaped himself shouting “Allahu Akbar”

by Claudia
The Pentagon, looking northeast with the Potom...

Image via Wikipedia

A Marine Corps reservist arrested for suspicious activity near the Pentagon last week has been charged in connection with a spate of shootings at military sites in the Washington, D.C., area last fall, federal officials said Thursday.

Yonathan Melaku videotaped himself shouting “allahu Akbar” after firing shots at the US Marine Corps museum and documents concerning bomb-making were found in his home…

via Always On Watch: Semper Vigilans: Yonathan Melaku: \.

More here:

Add ABC’s World News and the NBC Nightly News to James Taranto’s list of news outlets (“Losing His Religion: A Pentagon terror scare and a media taboo”) which refuse to identify Yonathan Melaku, who was caught in Arlington Cemetery with suspicious material and a notebook praising the Taliban, as a Muslim.

Related articles

Wikileaks: Al-Qaida hatred for Pope caused US worries about Vatican security

by Claudia

Saint Peter's. Vatican City

“Al-Qaida has publicly identified the Pope and the Catholic Church as an enemy (‘Crusaders’), and Vatican City attracts hundreds of thousands of American citizen visitors each year, both tourists and pilgrims,” the cable continued. 

According to the cable, the head of the Vatican Gendarme Corps Domenico Giani had sought specific security training from the FBI, including explosives ordinance training for Vatican Gendarmerie members at the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia. However, the cable reported, Giani has been “reluctant to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with the United States about Vatican capabilities and preparedness to respond to a terrorist attack.”

Well, I agree with the Vatican official in this. If not, I’m sure Wikileaks would have released their capacities “to respond to a terrorist attack”… :roll:

Photo.

Experts to Obama: Negotiate with the Taliban

by Claudia

Researchers Gilles Dorronsoro from France and Italian Antonio Giustozzi, as well as Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, were among those who said the current strategy was failing as the Taliban, ousted from government by a US-led invasion in 2001, grew in strength.

A coalition government that includes the Taliban should be the long-term goal, they said.

“We ask you to sanction and support a direct dialogue and negotiation with the Afghan Taliban leadership residing in Pakistan,” the experts said in their open letter.

“It is better to negotiate now rather than later, since the Taliban will likely be stronger next year.”

“The situation on the ground is much worse than a year ago because the Taliban insurgency has made progress across the country,” the letter said.

“The Taliban today are now a national movement with a serious presence in the north and the west of the country.”

Well, imagine these guys in the IIWW and just think what they would have been called if they would have advised to “negotiate with the Nazis”. Consider too what consequences this would have to the Taliban presence in the are: indeed their presence now would be much greater than before 2001 if ISAF ends their mission there.

‘Christmas Tree Bomber’ Mohamud Was In Touch With Al Qaeda Mouthpiece

by Claudia

Republicanmother asked me here if “Christmas Tree Bomber” was in fact a danger, considering that the bomb he had planted was given to him by FBI. It looks that, despite his friends being stunned by his arrest, he was more dangerous than he looked at first.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the Somali-American college student charged with plotting an attack on a Christmas lighting event in Portland, Oregon, was in contact with, and wrote articles for, another prominent American al Qaeda propagandist for nearly two years, authorities say.

…

The FBI affidavit alleges that Mohamud stated to undercover agents that he had wanted to take part in violent jihad since he was 15, and that he told FBI agents that he had written four articles since 2009 for two different on-line jihadist magazines edited and distributed by Samir Khan.

Khan, 24, is the Saudi-born, New York-raised editor behind Inspire magazine, the English language online publication of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. Khan, who has said he is currently hiding in Yemen, has become a rising figure in jihadist propaganda and an “aspiring” Anwar Awlaqi, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

Samir Khan is the guy who wrote “I am Al-Qaeda to the core” and “I am proud to be a traitor to US“. He also said: I am acutely aware that body parts have to be torn apart, skulls have to be crushed and blood has to be spilled in order for this (Islam’s claim to power in modern world) to be a reality“. His magazine Inspire Magazine published a list of terrorist tips recently.

Choudary speaks about “World Wide Sharia Law”

by Claudia

(Found).

“They may say something to you in front of CNN, but I can assure you that behind your backs they are standing with their Muslim brothers and sisters saying: We hope the Americans and the British are pushed out of our countries and we can implement the Sharia.

…You withdraw your troops, stop supporting the pirate State of Israel and then perhaps we can have a dialogue and discussion.

Does the work of a Muslim includes imposing Sharia Law on everyone who is not a Muslim, including Americans?

Look: the Sharia Law is the divine law sent by god to the final messenger prophet Mohammed… It would take manking out of the shackles of man-made law, into the perfection and beauty of divine law, so I want that everywhere. I want Sharia Law everywhere. Surely it’s a very noble thing to invite someone to a superior way of life… I believe the Americans and the British have been living under the darkness and oppression of man-made law for many decades…. But in fact, when people look at Islam, when they look at the Sharia, they will see it has a solution for every single problem that is facing America and Britain nowadays...

Mr. Choudary, are you communicating with inv¡dividuals within the USA and encouraging them to participate in attacks of this sort?

Of course I am. You know, I am participating and communicating with people all around the world….

Mr. Choudary, based upon your answer, I believe, and I believe many prosecutors were listening to your answer, you violate US Law, you deserve to be arrested, prosecuted and jailed for the rest your life”.

Geee :lol:

NOTE: I have not copied all the video’s content, but I believe that is enough.

Some notes on Wikileaks documents

by Claudia

First thing, a war is a war. It’s not a very loving and caring thing to do, specially when the other “team” is using children, women or elderly people, as spies or as suicide bombers. Or even persons whose intelligence level is disputable or who have psychiatric problems. In every war, since the beginning of mankind there have been episodes which any sane person would find disgusting if he had been told about them.

That said, and considering the insistence on Human Rights abuses on the Iraqi war (someone caring to see how many times Saudi Human Rights abuses in peaceful time are on newspapers and magazines’ main pages? Oh, no, please, these guys have oil!!), there are other things I would like to point out:

  1. Firstly, the immediate consequences for Iraqi PM could be devastating. “There has been no evidence found in the documents that Mr. Maliki was aware of the grisly acts of torture and beatings. However, the timing of the documents’ release comes just as his Shiite bloc, known as State of Law, has made gains in securing the majority of parliamentary seats needed to form a new government“. Now, his opponents, Mr. Allawi and Haider Mulla, both want an investigation on the leaked documents, specially about some illegal detentions. Well, accountability is natural in any democracy, although let’s hope Islamist terrorists don’t profit from this information. As they are brutal by nature, they don’t care about publicity or accusations. Something which obviously make themselves a little different from “peaceful” politicians.
  2. Secondly, the Iraqi WMD: there is an article in Wired (found) that speaks about how Wikileaks warlogs prove their existence: “WikiLeaks’ newly-released Iraq war documents reveal, U.S. troops continued to find chemical weapons labs, encounter insurgent specialists in toxins, and uncover weapons of mass destruction“. Of course, we have to wonder why these warlogs weren’t published to show their existence, something which would have ended a lot of speculations and ferocious critics on the subject.
  3. And thirdly, the participation of Iran and Syria in the Iraqi war, supporting the so-called “insurgence“, is clear considering the content of the documents. Most of the people are speaking about Iran, that “provided paramilitary training to Shiite Muslim insurgents“, something not specially striking if we consider the good relationship between Al-Sadr, the Iraqi cleric in “charge” of the Mahdi militia, and Iranian Govt, among other data. But there were smuggling operations from Iraq to Syria documented in those documents, with Syrian guards’ support. But not only smuggled things were passing through the Syrian-Iraqi borders: “The WikiLeaks documents describe hundreds of “foreign fighters”, including dozens of Syrian citizens, using the country’s remote eastern desert as a transit point into Iraq. In June 2005, Iraqi border police engaged a group of men who crossed the border illegally to recover a disabled vehicle – which was “believed to be used in smuggling [operations].” The police came under fire – not from the men recovering the vehicle, but from Syrian border guards“.

I mention that “smuggling operations” because there were satellite photos that allegedly proved that Iraqi WMD had been smuggled to Syria. Will Wikileaks’ released documents provide more evidence about that claim?

US: New Dept. of Homeland Security Advisor is an Islamist

by Claudia

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s appointment of “de-radicalization” expert Mohamed Elibiary (pitured) to the Homeland Security Advisory Council earlier this month has thus far drawn little attention from Congress or the media, despite his record of criticizing successful terrorism prosecutions and praising Islamist ideologue Sayyid Qutb.

Elibiary recommended the writings of Qutb, who is credited with inspiring the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist groups like al Qaida and Hamas, as offering “the potential for a strong spiritual rebirth that’s truly ecumenical allowing all faiths practiced in America to enrich us and motivate us to serve God better by serving our fellow man more.”

Elibiary also criticized the indictment and subsequent convictions of the Holy Land Foundation and five former officials for providing more than $12 million to Hamas, depicting the case as a defeat for the United States. He suggested that the convictions were part of a U.S. government policy of “denying our civil liberties and privacy at home” while pursuing anti-terror policies that have “left thousands of Americans dead, tens of thousands maimed, trillions of taxpayer dollars squandered and our homeland more vulnerable than ever.”

… Elibiary, president and CEO of the Freedom and Justice Foundation, has also come under fire for allegedly threatening a Dallas Morning News columnist and speaking at a December 2004 conference in Dallas paying tribute to the Ayatollah Khomeini.

via New Dept. of Homeland Security Advisor is an Islamist.

Are they trying to “radicalize” or to “de-radicalize” Muslims? :roll:

US: Gadahn is back!

by Claudia
Gadahn “cautioning” infidels with love about their future if they don’t convert to Islam

American al-Qaida spokesman urges Muslims to carry out attacks in US, Europe | StarTribune.com:

“An American spokesman for al-Qaida is urging Muslims in the United States and Europe to carry out attacks there.

In a video posted on militant websites Saturday, Adam Gadahn directed his appeal to Muslim immigrants in what he called the ‘miserable suburbs’ of Paris, London and Detroit as well as those traveling to the West to study or work.

Gadahn grew up on a farm in California and converted to Islam before moving to Pakistan in 1998 and reportedly attending an al-Qaida training camp. He has been wanted by the FBI since 2004.”

US: Man who admitted plotting to blow up Dallas office tower ‘intended to die’ for bin Laden

by Claudia

The Canadian Press: FBI: Man who admitted plotting to blow up Dallas office tower ‘intended to die’ for bin Laden:

“Hosam Smadi did two things before pushing the button he hoped would blow up a 60-story office tower and kill thousands of people that still bother FBI officials 13 months later.

Hosam Maher Smadi

An undercover agent posing as an al-Qaida terrorist offered Smadi ear plugs. He declined, saying he wanted to hear the explosion. Then he used his cellphone to secure a ghastly souvenir — a final picture of the building before it blew.

The inside story of the investigation, compiled from court documents and interviews with FBI officials in Dallas, is a tale of how the FBI stayed ahead of the would-be terrorist, giving him a decoy bomb and preventing him from harming anyone.

FBI officials offer a different portrayal of the meek, mild and apologetic young man who spoke politely to the judge during his two day sentencing hearing, which ended Tuesday with Smadi receiving 24 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

“He absolutely believed he had found al-Qaida, was committing an act on the scale of 9-11 and that he was going to get away with it,” Tom Petrowski, the supervisory agent who led the FBI operation, told The Associated Press. “He loved (Osama) bin Laden more than his parents. He said he would die for him, intended to die for him, expected to die for him. He believed to the core that this was his destiny.”

What a love story…

Background:
US: Jordanian man gets 24 years for attempting to blow Dallas skyscraper.

US: Number of Muslims "thriving" according to statistics

by Claudia

The Land of the Free | The Weekly Standard:

“Some immigrants from the Middle East are Christians escaping persecution… But the vast majority are Muslims. Plausible estimates of the number of Muslims in America vary widely, from 1.3 million to five million. But there is a consensus that Muslim Americans’ share of the population is climbing.

According to a large survey by the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), the number of people in America who described themselves as Muslims more than doubled between 1990 and 2008, from 527,000 to 1.35 million.

By other measures, too, American Muslims are thriving. According to the ARIS study, 35 percent of American Muslims age 25 years and older have college degrees, a share equal to or higher than that of any other religion except Judaism and “Eastern religions.” And a Cornell University study found that Muslim Americans generally earn more money than Americans of other religions.

The deeper irony in the ongoing debates over religious liberty and freedom of speech in America is that these debates wouldn’t even be allowed to take place across most of the Muslim world.

A December 2009 Pew Forum survey on religious freedom found that 70 percent of the world lives in areas of high restrictions of religion. Many of those affected are Christians living in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East.

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of religion is defined as the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. No matter how it is defined, religious freedom is not a right enjoyed by most of the approximately 12 to 17 million Christians in the Middle East.”

Western countries are so Islamophobic that Muslim immigration is coming towards them, not the other way round. When are we going to start speaking about “non-Muslim-phobia” in the Islamic countries?

US: Jordanian man gets 24 years for attempting to blow Dallas skyscraper

by Claudia

jordanian-man-24-years-attempting-blow-dallas-skyscraper from rawstory.com – StumbleUpon

A 20-year-old Jordanian man was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison for attempting to bomb a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas in September 2009, the Justice Department said.

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi originally pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction after his arrest last year, which followed an undercover sting operation.

But the Justice Department said in May that Smadi had changed his plea to guilty after agreeing to a plea deal.

“The court’s sentence of Mr. Smadi sends a clear message that there is a serious price to be paid by those who may be willing to carry out acts of violence in this country to further terrorist cause,” Assistant Attorney General David Kris said.

Federal agents arrested Smadi in Dallas in late September after he dialed a cell phone number in an attempt to trigger a truck bomb he had parked underneath the office building.

US: Police label shots at Pentagon as a ‘random event’

by Claudia

Police label shots at Pentagon as a ‘random event’ – Yahoo! News:

“Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as ‘a random event.’ No one was injured in the pre-dawn incident in which shots were fired into two windows at the sprawling Defense Department just across the Potomac River in suburban Virginia.

Steven Calvery, director of the civilian Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that a number of his officers reported hearing five to seven shots fired at about 4:55 a.m. EDT near the south parking lot of the Pentagon. The Pentagon building and the roads leading it were briefly shut down as officers did an initial sweep of the area.”

US: Imam, wife accused of marriage fraud

by Claudia

Arlington imam, wife accused of marriage fraud | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

Ibrahim Dremali
A prominent Islamic scholar who has battled accusations of extremist beliefs has been arrested along with his wife on federal charges that they married other people to get U.S. citizenship.
Ibrahim Abdelrahman Dremali and Safaa Rashad Eissa were arrested by immigration agents, Arlington police and the FBI on Oct. 6 on a warrant out of Des Moines , Iowa . They were released on their own recognizance after appearing before a federal judge in Fort Worth the same day.
They are scheduled to enter pleas Nov. 12 in Iowa on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which can carry a five-year sentence, and procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, which can result in 10 to 25 years in prison.
Dremali, who earned degrees in geology and Islamic law in Cairo , immigrated to the U.S. in 1989 and has served as an imam, or Muslim spiritual leader, in south Florida, Iowa and Austin and worked at Islamic schools.
… Reached by phone this past week in Arlington, Dremali said he was too sick to talk. He was originally supposed to report to court Wednesday in Des Moines. His attorney, Alfredo Parrish, sought a delay because doctors treating Dremali, who has hepatitis C and is awaiting a liver transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, said he cannot travel.
Parrish declined to talk about the marriage fraud allegations or accusations that his client is an extremist. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment on what’s taken place in the past,” he said.
He also declined to elaborate on meetings he has had with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about Dremali and whether they result in additional charges.

Related:Islamic Center of Boca Ratón @ Investigative Project on Terrorism. Among other things:

The ICBR co-sponsored an October 2000 rally during which Hezbollah flags were present and participants chanted, “with jihad we’ll claim our land, Zionist blood will wet the sand.”[2] According to an Islam Online account, during the rally Dremali “urged the crowd not to be sad for those who were martyred and not to be afraid to die for what they believe in.” [3] Following this, the crowd joined in a mock funeral procession chanting, “Haya ‘ala al-jihad (live for the jihad).” [4]

US: FBI warned years in advance of Mumbai attacker’s terror ties

by Claudia
FBI warned years in advance of Mumbai attacker’s terror ties | Raw Story:
NBC news reports that US officials were warned not once but twice about a US businessman who was planning to launch terrorist attacks against targets in Mumbai. But unlike the first warning, the second was never passed on to the FBI.

The second warning, which came from David Coleman Headley‘s second wife, came less than a year before the Mumbai attacks of November, 2008. Those attacks involved a series of coordinated bombings of at least 10 locations over three days and resulted in 166 deaths injuries in India’s largest city. The first warning came two years earlier, from Headley’s ex-wife.

The FBI arrested Headley in Chicago last year and accused him of running reconnaissance missions for the Mumbai attacks. He pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

…In three interviews with federal agents, Headley’s wife said that he was an active militant in the terrorist group Lashkar-i-Taiba, had trained extensively in its Pakistani camps, and had shopped for night vision goggles and other equipment, according to officials and sources close to the case. The wife, whom ProPublica is not identifying to protect her safety, also told agents that Headley had bragged of working as a paid U.S. informant while he trained with the terrorists in Pakistan, according to a person close to the case.

Federal officials say the FBI “looked into” the tip, but they declined to say what, if any, action was taken. Headley was jailed briefly in New York on charges of domestic assault, but was not prosecuted. He wasn’t captured until 11 months after the Mumbai attack, when British intelligence alerted U.S. authorities that he was in contact with al Qaeda operatives in Europe.

In the four years between the wife’s warning and Headley’s capture, Lashkar-i-Taiba sent Headley on reconnaissance missions around the world. During five trips to Mumbai he scouted targets for the attack, using his U.S. passport and cover as a businessman to circulate freely in areas frequented by Westerners. He met in Pakistan with terrorist handlers, including a Pakistani major accused of helping direct and fund his missions, according to court documents and anti-terror officials.

US has denied they had specific information about the attack:

“The United States regularly provided threat information to Indian officials in 2008 before the attacks in Mumbai,” said Michael Hammer, spokesman for the National Security Council. “Had we known about the timing and other specifics related to the Mumbai attacks, we would have immediately shared those details with the government of India.”

Background:
Mumbai bombings: Headley’s plea is a “step forward in justice for victims”.

Mumbai attacks: what is going to happen about Mr. Headley?
CIA Expert: ‘Headley plea revealed Qaeda’s European links’.
Mumbai attacks: India May Get Access To Headley.

US: Scrutiny on Islamic finance

by Claudia

Islamic finance has faced scrutiny in the United States, with critics suggesting the $1 trillion industry was a front to funnel funds to terrorists or a plot by Muslims to spread a system of Islamic principles known as sharia, which includes a ban on interest.
The Center for Security Policy, a US think tank, last month issued a report titled “Sharia: The Threat to America“, which said that practices promoting sharia were “incompatible with the constitution” and should be “proscribed.” The report was presented on Capitol Hill and endorsed by some Republicans.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich has also been busy on the speaking circuit, calling for a federal law to ensure sharia, and sharia-compliant finance by extension, is not recognised by any U.S. court.
“If there’s a choice, and the return and risk analysis is comparable but one place is opening their arms to Muslims while politicians in another country are making them feel unwelcome, of course Muslims will go to the jurisdiction that is more welcoming,” said Jawad Ali, managing partner and deputy global head of Islamic finance at King & Spalding.

Source.

Terror: Magazine linked to US citizen suggest terrorism tips

by Claudia

The magazine which has published this is US citizen Samir Khan’s one, in which he stated he was “proud” to be a traitor to US:
An online Al Qaeda magazine has released tips with images on planning terrorist attacks. The English language online magazine is believed to be led by American citizen Samir Khan, currently living in Yemen, according to CNN.

The violent article, titled “The Ultimate Mowing Machine,” advises the use of pickup trucks to “mow down the enemies of Allah.” It encourages the use of a four wheel drive truck, citing “the stronger the better.”

“To achieve maximum carnage, you need to pick up as much speed as you can while still retaining good control of your vehicle in order to maximize your inertia and be able to strike as many people as possible in your first run,” the article reads.

There are many other terror tactics in the magazine, including the use of firearms to shoot up a Washington, D.C. restaurant.

The site caught the eyes of counter terrorism officials because it is written in perfect English, including the correct us of colloquials.

“The concern is that this magazine will reach kids who have never really been very interested in violent jihad before,” says a counter terrorism official who has been tracking Khan for years.

“The magazine seems to make it fun and accessible. It used to be to get into this you needed to speak Arabic. Now you don’t — English subtitles, English translations of extremist videos, that’s the norm now.”

Source.

US: Taliban oppression poster girl unveils new nose

by Claudia

Taliban oppression poster girl unveils new nose – Telegraph:

“The image of Aisha, 19, without a nose, prompted a worldwide outpouring of sympathy after it appeared on the cover of Time Magazine accompanying an article highlighting the plight of women in Afghanistan. 

She appeared before the cameras to receive an Enduring Heart award at a benefit for the Grossman Burn Foundation, which paid for her surgery, in Los Angeles. 

Maria Shriver, wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s and California’s first lady, presented the award. 

“This is the first Enduring Heart award given to a woman whose heart endures and who shows us all what it means to have love and to be the enduring heart,” Miss Shriver said. 

Aisha, whose surname has never been disclosed, responded: “Thank you so much.” 

When Aisha was 12, her father vowed to repay a debt by promising her in marriage to a Taliban fighter. She was handed over to the fighter’s family, abused and made to sleep in a stable with animals. 

She was caught after trying to escape and her nose and ears were sliced off by her husband as a punishment. 

“When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out,” she told CNN. “In the middle of the night it felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes and I couldn’t even see because of all the blood.” 

After being left for dead in the mountains, she crawled to her grandfather’s house and was taken to an American medical facility.”

US: "I am proud to be a traitor to America"

by Claudia

Former Charlotte man admits to being “al Qaeda to the core” – WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-:

“A man WBTV has been following for over three years is publicly admitting to being in al Qaeda in a new article he published in an online magazine.

We started investigating Khan and his anti-American blog in 2007. He ran the blog from his parent’s north Charlotte home. Soon after our reports, he shut the site down.

Back then we approached Khan in a parking lot at the company where he worked. At the time, he denied helping recruit for the terrorist network. (That company, Convergys, said it did not know about his blog and after our questions, let him go as an employee.)

Based on this new article, it seems Khan is no longer hiding his feelings.

The article is titled “I am proud to be a traitor to America“. It is published in “Inspire Magazine” — a slick al-Qaeda online publication written in English. This new edition is only its second issue ever.

Khan was reportedly connected to the first issue, but now his link is obvious. In his featured article he confesses, “I was quite open about my beliefs online and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I was al Qaeda to the core.”

The entire article is described as, “the story of the Muslim American jihadi, Samir Khan. After working a few years in the jihad media sector in America, he packed his bags and left for Yemen to help the mujahidin. This is an account of how he happily became a traitor to America.”

He also writes, “I am an individual convinced that Islam’s claim to power in the modern world is not going to be as easy as walking down a red carpet or driving through a green light. I am acutely aware that body parts have to be torn apart, skulls have to be crushed and blood has to be spilled in order for this to be a reality“.”

Really peaceful, hein?