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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; army</title>
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		<title>Army Chaplain Punished for Mentioning Faith</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/arnold-ahlert/army-chaplain-punished-for-mentioning-faith/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=army-chaplain-punished-for-mentioning-faith</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/arnold-ahlert/army-chaplain-punished-for-mentioning-faith/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Dec 2014 05:52:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Arnold Ahlert]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chaplain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reprimand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[suicide prevention]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=248031</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Spreading holiday fear.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="color: #232323;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Praying012807.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-248032" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Praying012807.jpg" alt="Praying012807" width="309" height="208" /></a>Apparently, the Obama administration’s ostensible determination to foster “diversity” in the military is a one-way street. Army Chaplain Joseph Lawhorn was <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/12/09/chaplain-punished-for-sharing-his-faith-in-suicide-prevention-class/"><span style="color: #1255cc;">disciplined</span></a> for mentioning his faith and the Bible as part of a November suicide prevention training seminar with the 5th Ranger Training Battalion. “You provided a two-sided handout that listed Army resources on one side and a biblical approach to handling depression on the other side,” wrote Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in an official Letter of Concern. “This made it impossible for those in attendance to receive the resource information without also receiving the biblical information.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Lawhorn received the letter following orders to appear in Col. Fivecoat’s office on Thanksgiving Day. The letter <a href="http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2014/12/10/army-chaplain-joseph-lawhorn-ranger-training-complaint/20213399/?sf34573836=%5B%22%5B'1'%5D%22%5D"><span style="color: #1255cc;">continued</span></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="color: #232323;">As the battalion chaplain, you are entrusted to care for the emotional wellbeing of all soldiers in the battalion. You, above all others, must be cognizant of the various beliefs held by diverse soldiers. During mandatory training briefings, it is imperative you are careful to avoid any perception you are advocating one system of beliefs over another.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="color: #232323;">The sequence of events leading to the action taken against Lawhorn should sound familiar. The session took place Nov. 20 at the University of North Georgia. Lawhorn handed out the two-sided document, recited some scripture, and explained how he used the Bible to cope with his <i>own</i> bout of depression. A single soldier was “offended” by Lawhorn’s presentation and reported him to the <a href="http://militaryatheists.org/"><span style="color: #1255cc;">Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers</span></a> (MAAF). Writing on behalf the MAAF, former Army Captain Jason Torpy characterized Lawhorn’s presentation as &#8220;an abuse of power and a violation of regulations.” He further accused Lawhorn of engaging in “conscience protection” which he defined as &#8220;an insidious legal tool designed to allow military chaplains to use their power and authority to evangelize vulnerable military populations.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;"><span style="color: #1255cc;"><a href="https://www.libertyinstitute.org/take-action/give?gclid=CO7q9t_G3MICFYtr7AodBBUAqw">The Liberty Institute</a></span> is defending Lawhorn. Attorney Michael Berry contends the soldier who filed the complaint “exploited” the chaplain’s “vulnerability.” “It took a great amount of courage for Chaplain Lawhorn to discuss his own personal battle with depression,” Berry explained. “At no time did he consider himself to be in a ‘preacher’ role.” Berry further insisted the Letter of Concern violated Lawhorn’s constitutional rights. “Not only is it lawful for a chaplain to talk about matters of faith and spirituality and religion in a suicide prevention training class &#8211; but the Army policy encourages discussion of matters of faith and spiritual wellness,” he told Fox News’s Todd Starnes. “The fact that one person in the class was offended changes nothing.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Berry appears to be on solid ground. The passage of the last two National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA), included provisions expanding the rights of service members and chaplains to express their religious beliefs. Despite that effort, a congressional hearing on the matter taking place the same day Lawhorn was doing the seminar <a href="http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/11/20/pentagons-religious-guidance-spurred-tsunami-of-confusion.html?ESRC=eb.nl"><span style="color: #1255cc;">revealed</span></a> that a &#8220;tsunami of confusion” has been engendered among military commanders, chaplains and personnel attempting to determined the difference between religious practice and proselytization.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">It was a hearing that didn’t sit well with former marine pilot Tom Carpenter. In a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-carpenter/religious-accommodation-a_b_6207764.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">piece</span></a> for the Huffington Post, he characterized it as a “set up,” where the outcome is “preordained.” He further insisted the expansion of religious rights is &#8220;an attempt by the ultra conservative Christians in Congress to allow chaplains to witness for Christ to all service members AT ALL TIMES, [emphasis original] without fear of accountability,” and that &#8220;accommodation being considered by this committee is clearly a subterfuge to allow criticizing of LGB service members and proselytizing of all non-Christians.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Ron Crews, a retired <a href="http://www.military.com/Community/Home/0,14700,ARMY,00.html"><span style="color: #1255cc;">Army</span></a> chaplain and executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, testified at the hearing, citing what he believes was evidence of a double-standard. He noted that an article written by an Ohio Air National Guard member mentioning the importance of his faith and Jesus Christ was removed from an online newsletter, even as no action was taken against an airman writing a piece on atheism for a Moody Air Force Base newsletter.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Crews was quick to defend Lawhorn. “The chaplain did nothing wrong,” he explained. “At no time did he say his was the only or even the preferred way of dealing with depression. And at no time did he deny the validity of any other method. His story involves his faith journey. He was simply being a great Army chaplain &#8211; in ministering to his troops and providing first hand how he has dealt with depression in the past. That’s what chaplains do. They bare their souls for their soldiers in order to help them with crises they may be going through.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Adding weight to that assessment is the fact that Lawhorn is a chaplain who wears the Ranger Tab, meaning his personal stories were more than likely an effort to help his fellow Rangers identify similar tribulations in their own lives.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">In an interview with the Daily Signal, Lawhorn <a href="http://dailysignal.com/2014/12/18/punished-referencing-bible-military-chaplain-tells-side-story/"><span style="color: #1255cc;">expressed</span></a> that idea, further insisting he was only doing his job. &#8220;What I had tried to communicate with my audience is that depression can be conquered, depression can be overcome, and there are a myriad of ways of dealing with depression,” he explained. “In this particular case, I had struggled myself personally with the issue at hand I was teaching.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">He pushed back against the disciplinary action taken against him. “When I spoke about faith in particular, and in particular my Christian faith, it was clear that I was speaking from first-person account,” he maintained. “In my particular situation, it was my faith that helped me to persevere and remain resilient in the face of depression. And I was very clear to my audience that that was one way to handle depression and thoughts of suicide, but it certainly was not the only way.” Lawhorn further maintained that “any handout or any resource I provided soldiers who might need help was completely optional. It was up to them whether to take it or leave it.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Col. Fivecoat was unmoved. On Dec. 12 he sent Lawhorn followup missive, “Letter of Concern Filing Determination,” in which he maintained he had “carefully considered” Lawhorn’s rebuttal, but still decided to file the Letter of Concern in the chaplain’s local file. Col. Fivecoat determined that Lawhorn’s assertions “did not disprove nor dissuade me that your actions made it impossible for those in attendance to receive the necessary resource information without also receiving biblical information.” He further insisted the Letter of Concern was a “professional development matter&#8221; and “an administrative action,” as opposed to a “punishment.” Nonetheless the letter will remain in Lawhorn’s file “for one year or until you are reassigned outside the Ranger and Training Brigade, whichever is sooner.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Part of Lawhorn’s rebuttal included 33 letters of support from soldiers who attended the session, and those who know him personally. &#8220;They all almost universally say that he said, &#8216;I&#8217;m not telling you that using faith or religion or spirituality is the only way to deal with it. I&#8217;m not telling you it&#8217;s the correct way to deal with it. I&#8217;m just saying this was what worked for me,&#8217;&#8221; Berry explained. Berry also noted the complaining soldier didn’t give Lawhorn an opportunity to address his concerns. &#8220;Had Chaplain Lawhorn known of this, he would have happily sat down with this soldier and answered any questions or concerns he or she had,” Berry wrote to Col. Fivecoat. &#8220;Unfortunately, Chaplain Lawhorn was not given this opportunity&#8211;a professional courtesy&#8211;because the soldier in question alerted a civilian advocacy group, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, who apparently then alerted a media outlet, the Huffington Post.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), whose district includes the area where the seminar took place, also sent a letter to the Colonel, taking him to task. “I find it counterintuitive to have someone lead a suicide prevention course but prohibit them from providing their personal testimony,” Collins wrote.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">His consternation was <a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/gen-boykin-army-violated-its-own-regulations-punishing-chaplain-using"><span style="color: #1255cc;">echoed</span></a> by retired Army Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, chairman of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition (RMRFC). He insisted Lawhorn’s First Amendment rights were violated and the Col. Fivecoat’s letter was in violation of Army regulation. “You cannot either force a chaplain to do something that violates their conscience or prohibit them from following their faith,” Boykin explained referencing Section 533 of the 2013 NDAA.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">The RMRFC has pushed the matter up the chain of command, sending a letter to Secretary of the Army John McHugh. They want the Letter of Concern withdrawn, and Col. Fivecoat reprimanded. “I want somebody in the chain of command to sit him down and explain to him what the Constitution provides for in terms of freedom of religion as well as freedom of speech,” Boykin told CNS News.</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">Boykin is also vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC) that has created a <a href="https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=CHECKOUT&amp;dmy=7B14423A-FFB6-7971-6D293700BDA55783&amp;CFID=31113323&amp;CFTOKEN=7ad9faef490eb7d5-AE4A1494-DF8C-E938-F52FCE2FAD1CF48A">petition</a> requesting the same result. As of Dec. 18, it had 20,000 signatures. “We just simply cannot ignore this nor let it stand,” Boykin declared. “Even if there’s no long-term impact on the chaplain professionally, it can’t stand because commanders cannot abuse their power by abusing their subordinates over their conscience and their faith.”</p>
<p style="color: #232323;">The ultimate outcome remains to be seen, but the larger picture remains rather one-sided. The American left’s determination to socially engineer the military is as steeped in orthodoxy as any religion, yet the tenets of so-called Secular Humanism remain completely above challenge or reproach, irrespective of their effects on cohesion, morale and/or military preparedness. Moreover the notion that a <i>chaplain </i>should be disciplined for employing religion as <i>part</i> of the mix in a suicide prevention seminar is preposterous. It is clear that while the American left purports itself to be tolerant and non-judgmental, nothing could be further from the truth.</p>
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		<title>Gutting the Army</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/arnold-ahlert/gutting-the-army/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gutting-the-army</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/arnold-ahlert/gutting-the-army/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:55:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Arnold Ahlert]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hagel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spending]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=219643</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Obama administration's warped priorities. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/0224-chuck-hagel-2.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-219644" alt="0224-chuck-hagel-2" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/0224-chuck-hagel-2.jpg" width="233" height="207" /></a>On Monday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/24/hagel-proposed-budget-will-reportedly-shrink-army-to-pre-wwii-numbers/">recommended</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> reducing size of the U.S. Army to its lowest level since before the nation&#8217;s entry into WWII. &#8220;We must now adapt, innovate, and make difficult decisions to ensure that our military remains ready and capable &#8212; maintaining its technological edge over all potential adversaries,&#8221; Hagel said during a Pentagon news conference. Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, illuminated the administration&#8217;s dubious priorities. President Obama and Hagel are trying to “solve our financial problems on the backs of our military — and that can’t be done,” he explained.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The reductions are stark. The Army had already been tasked with reducing troop numbers from a wartime high of 570,000 to 490,000. Hagel proposes bringing that number down to the either 450,000 or 440,000. He defended those cuts, claiming they will allow more money to be spent on &#8220;technological superiority,&#8221; &#8220;cyber resources,&#8221; and Special Operations forces. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Retired Gen. Jack Keane </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://freebeacon.com/general-keane-proposed-budget-cuts-into-bone-of-army/">contended</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> the reductions would “cut into the bone and the capabilities of the Army,” even as he ridiculed the thinking behind them. &#8220;The assumption that’s being made in the Pentagon, and it’s almost laughable if it wasn’t so serious, is they don’t believe the United States will involve itself in a ground war of any consequence again,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;The fact of the matter is those assumptions have been made after World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War, and every single time they have been proven wrong. Here we are making that same assumption again. The Army is taking a much more severe cut, and the numbers of the Army are going down to pre-World War II numbers, which, on the surface of it, is irresponsible. Anybody looking at that knows it is far too much.&#8221; </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Actually, they don’t. The Pentagon, which has long believed that America should be capable of fighting two ground wars simultaneously, as we did in Asia and Europe during WWII, and Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years, has seemingly abandoned that idea. According to the </span><i style="line-height: 1.5em;">New York Times</i><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, more recent budget and strategy documents reveal that the military must be prepared to win one conflict decisively, and fight a holding operation with a second adversary until a sufficient number of forces could be redeployed to win conflict number two. “Our analysis showed that this [reduced] force would be capable of decisively defeating aggression in one major combat theater…while also defending the homeland and supporting air and naval forces engaged in another theater against an adversary,” Hagel contended.</span></p>
<p>Given America&#8217;s recent track record, one might be forgiven for wondering what constitutes winning <i>period</i>, much less winning decisively. President Obama and his fellow Democrats have made it clear that troop withdrawal &#8211; on a timetable and virtually irrespective of conditions on the ground &#8212; was their top priority in Iraq, and will be their top priority in Afghanistan. In Iraq, the president&#8217;s <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203554104577003931424188806">indifference</a> towards negotiating a status of forces agreement, and his determination to leave behind an insufficient number of troops to protect the gains we made in that nation, turned victory into defeat. It is a process being repeated in Afghanistan, where President Hamid Karzai has <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/01/karzai-no-security-deal-without-peace-talks-20141259122260833.html">rejected</a> a security pact with America unless the Taliban are included in the process, and where Obama once again <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-examines-afghanistan-option-that-would-leave-3000-troops-in-kabul/2014/02/23/a0870034-9b32-11e3-ad71-e03637a299c0_story.html">wants</a> to leave behind a far smaller contingency of troops than his military advisors recommend to maintain our gains there.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Even if we had an administration committed to winning wars, it appears they are willing to sacrifice greater numbers of Americans to do so. Officials who saw an early draft of Hagel&#8217;s announcement admit that carrying out two large-scale military operations at the same time would make success more elusive, and engender higher numbers of casualties. Just as importantly, they conceded a smaller military might give rise to increased adventurism by our adversaries. Hagel seemingly concurred. “As a consequence of large budget cuts, our future force will assume additional risk in certain areas,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Those budget cuts include </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/military-spending-cuts/pentagon-set-slash-military-pre-world-war-ii-levels-n37086">far more</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> than a reduction in troops. The U-2 spy place would be abandoned in favor of drones that operate more cheaply. The A-10 “warthogs,” an entire class of Air Force attack jets capable of effective attacks against tanks, is also facing the chopping block and will be replaced by F-35s. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Navy would purchase two destroyers and two attack submarines per year, even as 11 cruisers would be decommissioned until they were modernized. Training helicopters would be retired, and the National Guard would give its more weaponized Apache helicopters to the Army in exchange for Black Hawks, better suited for disaster response and other peacetime activities. Drone growth would be diminished from an around-the-clock force of 65 Reaper and Predator aircraft to 55 in total. The Pentagon will also ask for another round Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in 2017.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On the personnel side, a one percent raise in pay would be enacted, but it would be offset by changing healthcare benefits, making personnel pay for some of their housing costs and cutting a billion dollars from commissary subsidies that allow for discounted goods for military families. General and flag officers would be subjected to a one-year pay freeze.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Hagel warned that making these cuts is a better alternative than enduring even deeper ones imposed by sequestration. Sequestration cuts would necessitate retiring an aircraft carrier, decommissioning six more cruisers, eliminating the KC-10 tanker fleet, slowing down the buying of destroyers, cutting flying hours, and dropping troop levels still further to 420,000. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, contended that number of troops would undermine the military&#8217;s ability to deploy for combat. &#8220;I&#8217;m telling you &#8212; 420 (sic) is too low,&#8221; he declared.</span></p>
<p>Sequestration itself is a farce. It reflects Congress&#8217;s seemingly permanent inability to forestall the nation&#8217;s headlong rush towards insolvency, even as it completely preserves the ever-increasing outlays required by the primary drivers of that insolvency. The nation&#8217;s spending is <a href="http://nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/">divided</a> into three main categories: interest on the debt, discretionary spending and mandatory spending. As projected for 2014, America will spend approximately $3.8 trillion for the entire budget. Servicing our national debt will consume six percent of that total. Discretionary spending will eat up another 30 percent, with the military consuming 57 percent of that discretionary slice. Mandatory spending accounts for 64 percent of our annual budget, the lion&#8217;s share of which goes to entitlement programs, such as Social Security, Unemployment and Labor programs, as well as Medicare and other Health programs.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The amount of discretionary spending is determined by annual appropriations. Mandatory spending, on the other hand, is determined by eligibility. Thus it is far easier to make cuts to the military, such as Hagel is proposing, because Congress can merely trim the budget. Changing mandatory spending requires changing eligibility criteria, such as age for Social Security or income level for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).</span></p>
<p>It is no accident that proposed cuts in mandatory spending are often referred to as dealing with &#8220;third rail&#8221; issues, in that they inevitably engender massive, and possibly career-ending resistance from a dependency-addicted nation. Such resistance is aided and abetted by a Democratic Party that derives much of its power from promoting and maintaining that dependency. In short, when cuts become inevitable, the military is vulnerable, while entitlement programs remain virtually sacrosanct.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Thus, when House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) contends that military preparedness is &#8220;being sacrificed &#8230; on the altar of entitlements,&#8221; he is spot on.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Moreover, there is an appalling lack of consistency among Democrats who </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2014/01/08/obama-extending-unemployment-benefits-creates-jobs-n1773077">insist</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> that entitlement programs and unemployment insurance create millions of jobs, even as they remain utterly sanguine about military budget cuts that will adversely affect millions of non-military Americans whose communities </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/military-spending-cuts/proposed-military-cuts-loom-over-tucson-air-force-base-n37521">depend</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> on Defense Department expenditures and activities.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said that Hagel had consulted with military service chiefs on how to go about finding the proper balance between the nation&#8217;s defense and budget requirements. &#8220;He has worked hard with the services to ensure that we continue to stand for the defense of our national interests &#8212; that whatever budget priorities we establish, we do so in keeping with our defense strategy and with a strong commitment to the men and women in uniform and to their families,&#8221; Kirby said. &#8220;But he has also said that we have to face the realities of our time. We must be pragmatic. We can&#8217;t escape tough choices,&#8221; he added.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But as noted above, the Obama administration and Democrats </span><i style="line-height: 1.5em;">are</i><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> escaping the tough choices. The Constitution </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/01/why-provide-for-the-common-defense">requires</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> the federal government to </span><i style="line-height: 1.5em;">provide</i><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> for the common defense and </span><i style="line-height: 1.5em;">promote</i><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> the general welfare of the nation. Democrats and Obama have it exactly backwards. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">That is not to say that some cuts to the military aren&#8217;t warranted. Yet for a nation awash in red ink, one that still faces serious and unforeseen threats from Islamist terror, an increasingly aggressive China, and Russia&#8217;s Vladimir Putin, who may yet play a hand in Ukraine, a serious discussion of national priorities is in order. One that puts everything on the table for the simplest of reasons: absent national security, everything else is irrelevant. There will be no victorious enemy willing to provide Americans with anything remotely resembling the massive and overly generous safety net we take largely for granted. And hope and change are not viable substitutes for military strength, preparedness and deterrence.</span></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>No Justice for Victims of Terrorist Nidal Hasan</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/lloyd-billingsley/no-justice-for-victims-of-nidal-hasans-terrorism/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=no-justice-for-victims-of-nidal-hasans-terrorism</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/lloyd-billingsley/no-justice-for-victims-of-nidal-hasans-terrorism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Aug 2013 04:52:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lloyd Billingsley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fort Hood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nidal Hasan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Terrorism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trial]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=199656</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why the Fort Hood jihadist has received better treatment than the survivors of his attack.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Nidal-Hasan_2636090k.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-199657" alt="Nidal-Hasan_2636090k" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Nidal-Hasan_2636090k-450x329.jpg" width="315" height="230" /></a>“I hear someone yell ‘Allahu akbar,’” Sergeant Shawn Manning <a href="http://www.armytimes.com/article/20130805/NEWS06/308050041/Photo-gallery-Fort-Hood-survivors-face-gunman-trial" target="_blank">told Army Times</a>. “Usually something bad is going to follow after that, so I look up at him and he started shooting. He probably fired five or six shots before he shot me in the chest.”</p>
<p>Manning, a veteran of two deployments in Iraq, was referring to Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist who gunned down 13 and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. Nearly four years later the case is finally coming to trial but it is already clear that Major Hasan received more preferential treatment than his victims.</p>
<p>Hasan is still in the Army and retains his rank of major. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/nidal-malik-hasan-salary_n_3313519.html" target="_blank">Army is still paying Hasan his full salary</a> and has received more than $278,000 since his arrest in 2009. The Army is also taking care of the paralyzing injuries Hasan sustained in the gun rampage. That was before Hasan shot the unarmed Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford once in the head and six times in the body. Lunsford played dead and then fled the building but Hasan chased him down and shot him in the back. The bullet is still there but Lunsford told reporters that the Army refused to cover an operation to remove it, and docked his pay when he was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.</p>
<p>“We don’t get passes the way Major Hasan got passes,” Lunsford <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/us/as-trial-begins-in-fort-hood-spree-experts-see-landmark-case.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">told the New York Times</a>. “Each one of us has gotten a raw deal somewhere down the line.” Shawn Manning still carries a bullet in his back and fights for the pay he lost due to the Army’s ruling that Hasan’s attack was not terrorism, therefore the wounds were not related to combat.</p>
<p>Hasan had been emailing terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki about the prospect of killing infidel American soldiers, and Hasan did everything but take out a two-minute ad on the Super Bowl to announce his jihadist intentions. True to form, he yelled “Allahu akbar,” before killing 13 people, more than twice as many victims as the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. On his website, Anwar al-Awlaki was orgasmic with joy that Hasan had done his duty. Even so, the Army refused to call Hasan’s killing spree terrorism, gun violence or a hate crime. Rather, the government proclaimed the mass murder spree a case of “workplace violence.” The trial is taking the same course.</p>
<p>Hasan, handling his own defense, claims he was acting to protect the Taliban, the Islamist forces currently battling U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Col. Tara Osborn, the Army’s replacement for judge Col. Gregory Gross, ruled that Hasan cannot make that claim in court. Col. Osborn also barred prosecutors from using the emails Hasan exchanged with Anwar al-Awlaki. Those also constitute evidence that the government and military knew about Hasan’s terrorist intentions and did nothing to stop him.</p>
<p>Major Nidal Hasan faces 13 charges of premeditated murder and 32 charges of attempted premeditated murder. If convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice he would face the death penalty but the chances that he would be executed are virtually zero. The U.S. Army has not executed an active-duty soldier since 1961, and the process is complicated.</p>
<p>Fort Hood’s commanding authority would have to affirm any death sentence for Hasan, and that would launch automatic appeals in two military courts. In the event that they upheld the sentence, Hasan could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Further, any military death sentence must be approved by the President of the United States.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama’s first response to Hasan’s mass murder was brief, low key, and failed to ascribe any responsibility to Islamic terrorism. “We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing,” the president said. Such breathtaking denial soon <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2012/lloyd-billingsley/is-the-election-delaying-nidal-hasans-trial/" target="_blank">became official policy.</a> The Obama administration’s Department of Defense issued Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood, which contains not a single reference to jihad or jihadists. Its only mention of “Islamic” is an endnote reference to “Countering Violent Islamic Extremism,” a 2007 FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.</p>
<p>Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York during the 9/11 attacks, <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2013/lloyd-billingsley/tsarnaev-hasan-and-deadly-political-correctness/" target="_blank">recently testified</a> that “the elevation of political correctness over sound investigative judgment certainly explains the failure to identify Maj. Hasan as a terrorist.” The Obama administration’s description of Hasan’s act as “workplace violence,” Giuliani testified, wasn’t just preposterous but dangerous. The Fort Hood survivors know that is true.</p>
<p>Major Nidal Hasan took 13 lives but will likely retain his own. That may inspire other Islamic terrorists to embed themselves in the Army, which further places U.S. troops in peril. Based on the way Hasan’s case has unfolded, troops victimized by such terrorism can expect little help from the U.S. military and its commander in chief. So the troops might heed the counsel of Sgt. Shawn Manning. Whenever they hear somebody yell “Allahu akbar,” something bad is going to follow. To avoid death or injury, their best option could be to deal with it right then, by any means necessary.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
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		<title>Gay Men Responsible for Most Military Sex Assaults</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/gay-men-responsible-for-most-military-sex-assaults/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gay-men-responsible-for-most-military-sex-assaults</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/gay-men-responsible-for-most-military-sex-assaults/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 May 2013 13:30:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homosexuality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sexual assault]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=190616</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“It appears that the DOD has serious problems with male-on-male sexual assaults that men are not reporting and the Pentagon doesn’t want to talk about.”]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Liberal activists speak endlessly about heterosexual rapes in the military, but remain silent about the fact that the majority of sexual assaults in the military&#8230; are homosexual.</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/military_s220x390.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-190620" alt="military_s220x390" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/military_s220x390-197x350.jpg" width="197" height="350" /></a></p>
<p>Instead of denouncing the culture of homosexual sexual abuse, they practice a &#8220;Don&#8217;t Ask, Don&#8217;t Tell&#8221; policy toward it, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/20/victims-of-sex-assaults-in-military-are-mostly-sil/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&amp;utm_medium=RSS">while demanding that the militar</a>y bring in more homosexuals to commit even more sexual assaults.</p>
<blockquote><p>More military men than women are sexually abused in the ranks each year, a Pentagon survey shows, highlighting the underreporting of male-on-male assaults.</p>
<p>When the Defense Department released the results of its anonymous sexual abuse survey this month and concluded that 26,000 service members were victims in fiscal 2012, which ended Sept. 30, an automatic assumption was that most were women. But roughly 14,000 of the victims were male and 12,000 female, according to a scientific survey sample produced by the Pentagon.</p>
<p>“It appears that the DOD has serious problems with male-on-male sexual assaults that men are not reporting and the Pentagon doesn’t want to talk about,” Elaine Donnelly, who heads the Center for Military Readiness, said. She noted that only 2 percent of assailants are women.</p></blockquote>
<p>The problem will now only get worse as the gay agenda dominates the military. There was a reason that gay men were kept out of the military.</p>
<p>Women are still being assaulted at a higher rate than men, but the homosexualization of the military will even up those numbers with truly ugly results.</p>
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		<title>U.S. Army Equates Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity with al-Qaeda and Hamas</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/robert-spencer/u-s-army-equates-catholicism-and-evangelical-christianity-with-al-qaeda-and-hamas/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=u-s-army-equates-catholicism-and-evangelical-christianity-with-al-qaeda-and-hamas</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/robert-spencer/u-s-army-equates-catholicism-and-evangelical-christianity-with-al-qaeda-and-hamas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Spencer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[al Qaeda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[catholicism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Evangelical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religious extremism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=184787</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All in a day’s work in the Obama administration.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2013/robert-spencer/u-s-army-equates-catholicism-and-evangelical-christianity-with-al-qaeda-and-hamas/640x392_62907_146184-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-184792"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-184792" title="640x392_62907_146184" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/640x392_62907_1461841-450x300.jpg" alt="" width="270" height="180" /></a><a href="http://nation.foxnews.com/religion/2013/04/05/us-army-labeled-evangelicals-catholics-examples-religious-extremism">Fox News</a> reported last week that “the U.S. Army listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania….The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism.”</p>
<p>The list is headed “Religious Extremism”; heading it is “Evangelical Christianity (U.S./Christian),” followed by “Ikhwan or Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt/Muslim)” and then “Ultra-Orthodox” (Israel/Judaism),” making for a politically correct trifecta of the three main monotheistic religions. Also on the list are “Al Quaeda [sic] (Transnational/Islam)’; “Hamas (Palestinian/Islamist)”; Abu Sayyah [sic] (Philippines/Islam)”; “Ku Klux Klan (U.S/Christian)”; and “Catholicism (U.S./Christian),” among others.</p>
<p>The list also includes “Islamophobia” as a form of “religious extremism” – apparently based on the assumption, common among Leftists, that those who oppose the global jihad and Islamic supremacism are Christian fanatics motivated only by some quest for religious one-upmanship.</p>
<p>The idea that there is <em>any</em> factor unifying these disparate groups is howlingly absurd, and this list would be laughable if it weren’t coming from the U.S. Army. Apparently this is the politically manipulative and ridiculous nonsense that has <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2011/robert-spencer/obama-adminstration-bans-the-truth-about-islam-and-jihad/">replaced truthful information about Islam and jihad</a>. On October 19, 2011, the Executive Director of an Islamic organization called Muslim Advocates, Farhana Khera, wrote a letter to Barack Obama’s then-Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and current CIA director John Brennan. It was signed by 57 organizations, including many with ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA); Islamic Relief USA; the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); the Muslim American Society (MAS); and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).</p>
<p>The letter denounced U.S. government agencies’ “use of biased, false and highly offensive training materials about Muslims and Islam.” Ignoring the factual accuracy of the material about which they were complaining, the Muslim groups signing the letter demanded that the task force “purge <em>all </em>federal government training materials of biased materials”; “implement a mandatory re-training program for FBI agents, U.S. Army officers, and all federal, state and local law enforcement who have been subjected to biased training”; and more to ensure that only the message about Islam and jihad preferred by the signatories would get through to intelligence and law enforcement agents.</p>
<p>The very same day that Khera sent her letter, Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole declared at a conference in Washington that he had “recently directed all components of the Department of Justice to re-evaluate their training efforts in a range of areas, from community outreach to national security.” This “reevaluation” removed all references to Islam in connection with any examination of Islamic jihad terror activity. The Obama administration placed off-limits any investigation of the beliefs, motives and goals of jihad terrorists. Accordingly, in February 2012, the government purged more than 1,000 documents and presentations previously used in training programs that the Muslim groups had deemed inaccurate or offensive to Muslims.</p>
<p>And now we see what the Obama administration has replaced that material with. The implications of the U.S. Army’s “Religious Extremism” list are quite ominous. Evangelical Christianity, Catholicism and “Islamophobia” are forms of “Religious Extremism” on par with al-Qaeda and Hamas? Then how long will it be before the Obama administration goes to war against them, as it has repeatedly declared that it is at war with al-Qaeda?</p>
<p>Note also: Obama has repeated many, many times that we are not at war with Islam, and the mainstream media line is that to suggest otherwise would be evidence of “hatred” and “bigotry.” But apparently it is not “hatred” and “bigotry” for the U.S. to declare that Catholicism is the same sort of thing as al-Qaeda. Now, the list does include “Sunni Muslims,” but specifies those in Iraq &#8212; we already know that there is no possible way that the Obama administrations means to classify all Sunni Muslims as “extremists.”</p>
<p>And the list also apparently specifies that only Catholicism in the U.S. is a form of “religious extremism.” But that’s bad enough: where are the Catholics flying planes into buildings, bombing Baptist churches, and threatening to conquer the nation and subjugate non-Catholics under the rule of church law?</p>
<p>This is not going to end well.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
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		<title>Women in Combat</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/walter-williams/women-in-combat/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=women-in-combat</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/walter-williams/women-in-combat/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Feb 2013 04:10:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Walter Williams]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COMBAT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Men]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[standards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strength]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Women]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=176374</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The great fraud of "gender neutral" standards. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2013/nicholeh/women-in-combat/attachment/516748686/" rel="attachment wp-att-176377"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-176377" title="516748686" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/516748686.jpg" alt="" width="256" height="183" /></a>A senior Defense Department official said the ban on women in combat should be lifted because the military&#8217;s goal is &#8220;to provide a level, gender-neutral playing field.&#8221; I&#8217;d like to think the goal of the military should be to have the toughest, meanest fighting force possible. But let&#8217;s look at &#8220;gender-neutral playing field.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Army&#8217;s physical fitness test in basic training is a three-event physical performance test used to assess endurance. The minimum requirement for 17- to 21-year-old males is 35 pushups, 47 situps and a two-mile run in 16 minutes, 36 seconds or less. For females of the same age, the minimum requirement is 13 pushups, 47 situps and a 19:42 two-mile run. Why the difference in fitness requirements? &#8220;USMC Women in the Service Restrictions Review&#8221; found that women, on average, have 20 percent lower aerobic power, 40 percent lower muscle strength, 47 percent less lifting strength and 26 percent slower marching speed than men.</p>
<p>William Gregor, professor of social sciences at the Army&#8217;s Command and General Staff College, reports that in tests of aerobic capacity, the records show, only 74 of 8,385 Reserve Officers&#8217; Training Corps women attained the level of the lowest 16 percent of men. The &#8220;fight load&#8221; — the gear an infantryman carries on patrol — is 35 percent of the average man&#8217;s body weight but 50 percent of the average Army woman&#8217;s weight. In his examination of physical fitness test results from the ROTC, dating back to 1992, and 74,000 records of male and female commissioned officers, only 2.9 percent of women were able to attain the men&#8217;s average pushup ability and time in the two-mile run.</p>
<p>In a January report titled &#8220;Defense Department &#8216;Diversity&#8217; Push for Women in Land Combat&#8221; (http://tinyurl.com/axn9l93) Elaine Donnelly, director of the Center for Military Readiness, points to U.S. Army studies showing that women are twice as likely to suffer injuries and are three times more undeployable than men. Women are less likely to be able to march under load — 12.4 miles in five hours with an 83-pound assault load — and to be able to crawl, sprint, negotiate obstacles with that load or move a casualty weighing 165 pounds or more while carrying that load.</p>
<p>Plus, there are muscle-challenging feats, even for men, such as field repairs on an M1A1 Abrams tank.</p>
<p>Then there&#8217;s the pregnancy issue, which makes women three to four times as likely as men to be undeployable. And once deployed, they often have to be medically evacuated, leaving units understrength. Finally, there&#8217;s another difference between men and women rarely considered in deliberation about whether women should be in combat. All measures of physical aggressiveness show that men, maybe because of testosterone levels 10 times higher, are more aggressive, competitive and hostile than women. Those attributes are desirable for combat.</p>
<p>Here are a couple of what-if questions. Suppose a combat unit is retreating in mountainous terrain in Afghanistan, where a person&#8217;s aerobic capacity really makes a difference, and the women in the unit can&#8217;t keep up with the men. What would you propose, leaving the women behind to possibly be captured by the Taliban or having the unit slow down so the women can keep up, thereby risking causalities or capture? What if a male soldier is washed out of the Army&#8217;s Advanced Infantry Training program because he cannot pass its physical fitness test whereas a female soldier who can&#8217;t perform at his level is retained? Should male soldiers be able to bring suit and be awarded damages for sex discrimination? How much respect can a male soldier have for his female counterpart, who is held to lower performance standards?</p>
<p>There&#8217;s another issue. The Selective Service System&#8217;s website has the following message about draft registration: &#8220;Even though the Secretary of Defense has decided to allow women in combat jobs, the law has not been changed to include this. Consequently, only men are currently required to register by law with Selective Service during ages 18 thru 25. Women still do not register.&#8221; How can that, coupled with differences in performance standards, possibly be consistent with the Defense Department&#8217;s stated agenda &#8220;to provide a level, gender-neutral playing field&#8221;?</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
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		<title>Obama’s New Peacekeeper Army</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obamas-new-peacekeeper-army/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=obamas-new-peacekeeper-army</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obamas-new-peacekeeper-army/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:52:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nation building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soldier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.N]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=174905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome to a military establishment in which victory is no longer a relevant concept. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/obamas-new-peacekeeper-army/enduring-freedom/" rel="attachment wp-att-174914"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-174914" title="Enduring Freedom" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/sharana-prt.jpg" alt="" width="293" height="230" /></a>Sending women into combat, like the end of the ban on official homosexuality, has been met with worried remarks about its impact on the &#8220;warrior culture.&#8221; But the new military that the left has been building for some time now is not interested in warriors; it wants peacekeepers.</p>
<p>The old army fought for a nation. The new one fights for vague concepts such as human rights or international law. Its goals are as intangible as those of the ideology it serves. It doesn&#8217;t fight actual enemies, but concepts and social problems. It fights against climate change, poverty and obesity. It fights for education, tolerance and the right of everyone to the gender of their choice. It isn&#8217;t really the army; it&#8217;s the hall monitors of the United Nations, the State Department, NATO and every liberal group on the planet.</p>
<p>Their ideal new soldier is not a warrior; he speaks three languages, appears non-threatening and can direct refugees, hand out aid to them and quickly pick up the local culture and religion. He is uncritical when witnessing child molestation, human sacrifice or any other quaint local custom. He is willing to die, not for his country, but to win the hearts and minds of the locals. He will not fire in self-defense if there is a single unarmed man, woman or child within twenty miles.</p>
<p>The new soldier is a policeman of the world, watching crimes that he isn&#8217;t allowed to stop. He is a diplomat with a gun. He isn&#8217;t there to shoot anyone, except as an absolute last resort. He is there, smiling and handing out candy, to convince the locals that even though we bombed their country, frightened their sheep and wiped out a lot of their smuggling income, that they should not hate the United States of America.</p>
<p>The old army projected the hard power of killing the people who wanted to fight us until they were either dead or willing to switch to competing with us by making transistor radios and electric shavers. The new army projects the soft power of winning over the locals so that they don&#8217;t want to fight us anymore. It&#8217;s not about winning wars; it&#8217;s about preventing the need for wars, even when already in the middle of a war.</p>
<p>To do all this our military has to become less American and more European, less imperial and more multilateral, an international consensus building exercise with bullets that aren&#8217;t meant to be fired. It has to become more tolerant and accepting. It has to lose the &#8220;warrior culture&#8221; and swap it in for the urban liberal culture that values consensus over performance and ideological conformity over all else.</p>
<p>The left is not comfortable with an army that is out of step with its values. A large standing army is a dangerous thing. Neutering it will take generations, but the left just won another four years in which it can have its way with national defense. And its way is to hollow out every institution, religion, workplace and family until they exist for no other reason than to pass on and implement its ideas.</p>
<p>The only way that liberals will ever accept the military is through the liberalization of the military into a force that projects their social values and fights to promote them abroad through human rights peacekeeping operations. And when the peacekeeping force arrives in Timbuktu, Aleppo or Ramallah, it has to carry with it the liberal standard and convey to all the natives that the United States is wonderful because it represents gay rights, girl power and the war on childhood obesity.</p>
<p>The natives will not be impressed, nor will the men and women who will have to do far more shooting and dying than the plan called for, but Washington D.C. will be gratified, and the worst of the bunch, the ones who eagerly take to the party line and do none of the fighting but all of the talking, will move up the promotion ladder. Those who do not will be tried for war crimes in a new army that reflects the liberal belief that war is the ultimate crime.</p>
<p>Much of this has already happened. The United States no longer fights wars, it engages in military reconstruction projects. The aftermath of World War II has become the template for every war with the conflict as a prelude to the nation-building exercise. Occupation becomes the purpose of war and also the bloodiest part of the war. And the wars can hardly even be called wars because they are never truly fought.</p>
<p>The &#8220;Shock and Awe&#8221; punch is always pulled as the jets fly overhead but never hit hard enough in the new soft power age. The war is taken to the enemy just enough to cost a lot of lives, but not enough to defeat him. Instead of a definite trajectory, there is only an endless twilight, a holding action being fought by a new generation of men realizing that like their fathers, they are no longer in it to win it.</p>
<p>The real war is being waged by politicians using troop deployments as counters for cobbling together coalitions of the people they are fighting into a working government. Yesterday&#8217;s insurgent is tomorrow&#8217;s ally arriving to be armed and trained as a police officer or soldier and the day after tomorrow&#8217;s enemy, unexpectedly turning his weapon on the men who trained him.</p>
<p>These are not the wars of a warrior culture, but of the police patrols in the more dangerous parts of Detroit, Miami or Chicago. Long senseless conflicts in which victory is not even a relevant concept, and the only hope for going home lies in following the rules of community policing when breaking bread and working out truces with the local gangs and their drug dealing warlords long enough for them to throw together a sham government that will allow Washington D.C. to declare another humanitarian mission accomplished.</p>
<p>The new general has all the problems of an empire, without any of the power and freedom of action of an empire. The new colonel is looking to write a book about the lessons he learned from meeting other cultures in the hopes of getting the attention of the boys upstairs who are always concerned with finding new ways of winning the hearts and minds of the people sending soldiers home in body bags. The new captain is growing a beard and learning Urdu. The new lieutenant is making sure that all the transsexual servicethings are comfortable and serving in a friendly welcoming environment. And the new soldier is there to represent a country that he no longer recognizes in a country where everyone is trying to kill him.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
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		<title>Russia’s Caucasian Problem –  and Ours</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/lloyd-billingsley/russia%e2%80%99s-caucasian-problem-%e2%80%93-and-ours/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=russia%25e2%2580%2599s-caucasian-problem-%25e2%2580%2593-and-ours</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/lloyd-billingsley/russia%e2%80%99s-caucasian-problem-%e2%80%93-and-ours/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2012 04:35:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lloyd Billingsley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[latino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslims]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[north caucasus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Olympics 2014]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Race]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=139905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Time to scrap the politically correct race classification system.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/091030_Russiansoldiers2.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-139958" title="091030_Russiansoldiers2" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/091030_Russiansoldiers2.gif" alt="" width="375" height="245" /></a>Russia’s Krasnodar region will host the Winter Olympics in 2014 and governor Aleksandr Tkachev is already working on security. As <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/world/europe/russian-to-use-cossacks-to-repel-muslim-migrants.html?ref=world">Ellen Barry of the <em>New York Times</em></a> put it, Tkachev “has enlisted the area’s Cossacks as an auxiliary police force to prevent darker-skinned Muslims from the North Caucuses from moving there.” Apparently the ethnic Russians of Kasnodar don’t like Caucasians and consider them “outsiders,” most of the time.</p>
<p>“When Caucasians win three gold medals, they’re Russians,” noted state official Gadzhimet Safaraliyev. “But when they move somewhere, they are unwanted individuals.” Governor Tkachev doesn’t want them in Krasnodar, so he has given 1,000 Cossacks powers beyond those of the police. For their part, the Cossacks are already experienced in ethnic cleansing. They served as shock troops for the czars and seven years ago they reportedly drove out a local population of Meskhetian Turks.</p>
<p>The North Caucasians are Muslims but that is not likely the issue because Tkachev’s example was ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Whatever the motive, these events confirm that what passes for democracy in Russia is not exactly strong on freedom of movement. Imagine if David Cameron had deployed Gurkhas to keep the Welsh or Irish out of London during the Olympics on the grounds that the English consider them outsiders. But the Russians manage to get some things right.</p>
<p>They know that the only Caucasians are people from the actual <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/100270/Caucasus">Caucuses region</a>. That is not the case in supposedly enlightened America. For example, if governor Tkachev moved to Los Angeles and managed to get arrested, the police would profile him as a “male Caucasian.”  So would government officials, university administrators and editorial writers, despite the obvious reality that governor Tkachev is not a Caucasian. Neither are millions of Americans of Swiss, Russian, British, Belgian, Polish, Latvian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or French descent, among others.</p>
<p>American misuse of Caucasian is longstanding and has served up fodder for satire. In Evelyn Waugh’s 1948 <em>The Loved One</em>, set in Los Angeles, Dennis Barlow is arranging a funeral for Sir Francis Hinsley and is asked if the deceased is Caucasian. “Certainly not,” a stunned Dennis replies. “He was purely English.” Even so, Caucasian duly became part of a politically correct classification system that makes no sense on any level.</p>
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		<title>What Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner Really Showed Us About Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/ryan-mauro/what-lt-col-shalom-eisner-really-showed-us-about-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-lt-col-shalom-eisner-really-showed-us-about-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 04:35:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Mauro]]></dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=131749</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["Israeli brutality" debunked. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/F120417UL04-635x357.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-131769" title="F120417UL04-635x357" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/F120417UL04-635x357.gif" alt="" width="375" height="247" /></a>The media firestorm over Israeli Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner never seems to end. It all started when video was posted of Eisner violently striking a protester with his rifle, sparking outrage throughout the world. Immediately, the video was shown as proof of Israeli brutality. But is this really a fair depiction?</p>
<p>Eisner was immediately <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4216423,00.html">condemned</a> by Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff. The Israeli media relentlessly covered the incident. He was suspended, has been banned from holding command posts for two years, was <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-officer-reassigned-striking-activist-16286473#.T6bIaevPPng">reassigned</a> to a training school and is still under investigation. It is very possible that he will face further punishment.</p>
<p><em>That</em> is the real story here. Israel’s furious reaction to the video debunks what its enemies claim it proves. If the Israelis were so inhumane, this wouldn’t be such a big story. There is no other country in the Middle East that would react the same way if roles were reversed. Ironically, the controversy is showing what is so good about Israel, even if no one notices.</p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/it-all-started-when-an-israeli-officer-hit-the-man-who-broke-his-fingers/2012/04/16/">context</a> is also needed here. A group of about 250 anti-Israel activists were stopped as they tried to get on Highway 90, as the IDF requires advance notice of such crossings as a security precaution. Keep in mind, the group was part of the <a href="http://www.stoptheism.com/">International Solidarity Movement</a>, a group that says it is non-violent but supports “the Palestinian right to resist Israeli violence and occupation via legitimate armed struggles.” In other words, ISM <em>supports</em> violence.</p>
<p>The ISM-affiliated group began illegally blocking the road and the stand-off continued for <em>two hours</em>. The Israeli soldiers didn’t open fire or forcibly disperse them. Eisner was assaulted, breaking two of his fingers. You can see his bandaged fingers in the video. After a Danish anarchist got in his face, Eisner lost his temper and whacked him in the face with his rifle. The ISM got what it wanted, all on tape. A second <a href="http://youtu.be/A6p9pyjKBKc">video</a> surfaced, showing Eisner hitting some others as they tried to force their way past the Israeli soldiers.</p>
<p>The founders of the ISM sought to supplement the jihadists’  violent campaign with a political and psychological campaign. Lee Kaplan, an expert on the ISM and founder of <a href="http://www.stoptheism.com/">StoptheISM.com</a>, says that a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, was instrumental in its creation. His website describes the group as “a front group for Yasser Arafat’s PLO and its affiliated Palestinian terrorist groups, such as the PFLP and Hamas. It works in conjunction with the Palestinian Authority&#8217;s propaganda ministries by Saudi funding through the Muslim Students Association on our U.S. and Canadian campuses.”</p>
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		<title>Winds of War?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/david-meir-levi/winds-of-war/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=winds-of-war</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 04:49:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Meir-Levi]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[al Qaeda]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Hezbollah]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Nuclear Weapons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=131239</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Could Israel face a nine-front conflict? ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_Chief_of_Staff_Visits_Joint_Infantry-Armored_Forces_Exercise_Dec_2010.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-131329" title="Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_Chief_of_Staff_Visits_Joint_Infantry-Armored_Forces_Exercise,_Dec_2010" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_Chief_of_Staff_Visits_Joint_Infantry-Armored_Forces_Exercise_Dec_2010.gif" alt="" width="375" height="249" /></a>On <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-approves-call-up-of-22-idf-battalions/#.T6I41QCSLRQ.email">Thursday, May 3, Israel mobilized six reserve battalions</a> and received the government’s permission to mobilize 16 more, a security measure due to potential problems in the Sinai desert and the volatile situation in Syria, or so we are told.  But the mobilization of 22 battalions means that there is more to this situation than meets the eye.</p>
<p>Eight months ago the present writer discussed the <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2011/09/07/nine-fronts-in-the-next-war/">probability of a nine-front war</a>.  Despite the low-key tone of “a security measure,” Israel now seems to be close to that situation.</p>
<p>Almost-nuclear Iran; Hezbollah; <a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/cook/2012/05/03/the-wages-of-the-sinai/">the Sinai</a>, with its entrenched al-Qaeda bases and other terror groups; Egypt, if the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has its way; Syria; and the two internal fronts of <a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2012/05/02/hamas-and-the-arab-spring/">Hamas</a> and the PA if they can get their acts together, comprise seven of the nine fronts.</p>
<p>Let’s look first at Iran.</p>
<p>Iran is in deep trouble economically, as its <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120502-711203.html">oil production is the lowest in 20 years</a> and its <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/why-this-round-of-iran-nuclear-talks-is-different-1.428167">mullocracy is losing popularity</a> with its rank and file.  The nuclear option for which it has been in hot pursuit for 10 years has now turned into a political liability with voters as sanctions slowly impair the economy. The decline is &#8220;the result of the country&#8217;s growing isolation due to its nuclear program,&#8221; <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/they-re-scared-in-tehran-1.428167">so the mullahs are scared</a> because <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/10/israel-alone-against-the-islamic-republic/">the time may be ripe for another round of internal unrest</a> and open demonstrations for regime change.</p>
<p>The mullahs&#8217; popularity has not been enhanced by<a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/10/israel-alone-against-the-islamic-republic/"> Israel’s ten years of successful covert operations</a> against Iran’s WMDs; and <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-gets-fourth-dolphin-class-submarine-from-germany-1.428039">Israel’s newly purchased nuclear submarine</a>, with nuclear-armed cruise missiles giving Israel expanded &#8220;second-strike&#8221; capabilities in case of an Iranian nuclear attack, will soon be added to its Persian Gulf fleet, and offer Iranian leaders the opportunity to reconsider their disdainful attitude toward MAD.</p>
<p>The mullahs desperately need a distraction for their unhappy voters.</p>
<p>Hezbollah is better armed now than it was before the 2<sup>nd</sup> Lebanon War, and has successfully cowed the UN “peace keepers.”  But it has suffered a <a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136709/mona-yacoubian/hezbollah-after-assad">loss of popularity due to its support for Assad</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/world/middleeast/hezbollahs-syria-policy-puts-it-at-risk.html?pagewanted=all">growing isolation</a>.  That can be remedied most easily by opening a northern front with renewed missile and other terror attacks against Israel. Such an action would justify more Iranian efforts to achieve nuclear capacity.</p>
<p>And as is the case with Hezbollah, if Iran gave Syria the order, it would be a boon and a blessing for Syria to join in.  Assad could turn attention from the slaughter of its innocents and call for Syrian unity in the great jihad against Israel.</p>
<p>Egypt and the Sinai are a bit more complicated.</p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/cook/2011/08/17/the-eagle-has-landed%E2%80%A6in-sinai/">The Sinai is a haven for drug smuggling</a>, human trafficking, gun running, and terrorist groups including al-Qaeda; but the <a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/cook/2012/05/03/the-wages-of-the-sinai/">Egyptian armed forces have not been able</a> to clean up the mess.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eagle">Operation Eagle</a>, almost a year old, is a total failure, for which, true to form, the <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/19747/Egypt/Politics-/In-Sinai-everything-is-possible-Egyptian-armys-Ope.aspx">Egyptian government blames Israel</a>.</p>
<p>And compounding this problem is the uncertainty about Egyptian politics.  MB leaders have made clear that they want to renew the state of war with Israel. Currently the Egyptian army is still in control, but with a significant Islamofascist majority in the Egyptian Parliament and an MB candidate the front runner for presidential elections, Egypt could turn into an active military enemy overnight.</p>
<p>The other two fronts are internal.</p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2012/05/02/hamas-and-the-arab-spring/">Hamas is the loser in the Arab Spring</a>: losing popularity, losing Iranian and Syrian support due to its backing of the MB’s revolt in Syria, facing competition from other more aggressive terror groups, and facing the impatience of its own rank and file due to its <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/wp-admin/gazans-blame-hamas-for-economy-lack-of-terrorism-against-israel">not killing enough Jews</a>.  <a href="http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2012/p43epressrelease.html">Polls</a> taken earlier this year found “a significant decline in the popularity of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and a decrease in the positive evaluation of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.”</p>
<p>Hamas may also be losing some control over its terror cohorts who have continued rocket attacks on Israel despite Hamas-mandated cease-fires. When <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/15/hamas-battle-gaza-islamists-al-qaida">Hamas has exercised its authority</a>, the results have backfired.  <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/17/world/la-fg-palestinian-delay-20110717">When Hamas forces wiped out one al-Qaeda unit supported by Iran</a>, for instance, <a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2011/01/31/al-qaeda-grows-in-gaza/">a serious crisis developed</a> with Tehran.</p>
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		<title>&#8216;Kick in the Gut&#8217; for Al-Qaeda Killers</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/ryan-mauro/kick-in-the-gut-for-al-qaeda-killers/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=kick-in-the-gut-for-al-qaeda-killers</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:40:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ryan Mauro]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=95789</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Elite commando possibly killed, while Somali terror chief meets his demise. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Ilyas-Kashmiri.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95857" title="Ilyas-Kashmiri" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Ilyas-Kashmiri.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="499" /></a></p>
<p>On June 3, Al-Qaeda may have suffered its biggest blow since the killing of Osama Bin Laden when a drone strike targeted Ilyas Kashmiri, an elite commando and possible replacement for the terror chief. Pakistani officials are certain of his demise but U.S. officials are skeptical. If Kashmiri was killed, then Al-Qaeda has lost one of its most prized operatives, and the West can celebrate the loss of a terrorist whose skill earned him the <a href="http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-05-10/news/29547056_1_ilyas-kashmiri-al-zawahiri-terror-attack">nickname</a> “the commando commander.” And on June 11, the head of Al-Qaeda’s operations in East Africa was <a href="http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16026/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=9N2s45bj">killed</a> in Somalia, making him possibly the third senior commander to be killed in six weeks.</p>
<p>The fate Kashmiri is unfortunately unclear at this time. The Pakistani interior minister was <a href="http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/06/ap-al-qaida-commander-dead-pakistan-minister-says-060611/">quoted</a> as saying, “I can confirm 100 percent that he is dead,” but <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/05/us-pakistan-kashmiri-idUSTRE7530XS20110605">said</a> to <em>Reuters</em> that he was “98 percent sure.” Prime Minister Gilani is similarly confident. A spokesman for Kashmiri’s group, Harakut-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), <a href="http://www.theindiadaily.com/ilyas-kashmiri-dead-in-us-drone-attack-bbc-report/">confirmed</a> his death to the Pakistani <em>Dawn</em> newspaper, as has a <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/05/ilyas-kashmiri-killed-in-us-drone-strike.html">spokesman</a> for a Taliban commander connected to the bombed compound. A HUJI commander named Qari Mohammad Idrees also said Kashmiri is dead. The Pakistanis also <a href="http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=180293">arrested</a> a man alleged to have hid Kashmiri in the days following the strike.</p>
<p>U.S. officials believe the odds are that Kashmiri is alive. The Pakistani Taliban has denied his death. Strangely, HUJI <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/06/huji_releases_photograph_of_il.php">posted</a> a photo online that it claimed was of Kashmiri’s corpse, but it was really of a terrorist killed in the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai. The statement announcing his death that accompanied the photo had two <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/06/questions_emerge_ove.php">misspellings</a> of the group’s name. There is reason to be skeptical of the Pakistani government’s claims. It incorrectly announced his death in September 2009, and it has an interest in declaring Kashmiri dead. He was one of five terrorists that the U.S. is demanding immediate action against, alongside Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mullah Omar, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Atiya Abdel Rahman. The Pakistanis were <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/capture-ilyas-kashmiri-and-mullah-omar-by-july-us-to-pakistan-109631">reportedly</a> given until July to cooperate.</p>
<p>It is difficult to make sense of why HUJI commanders would confirm his death while the Pakistani Taliban would deny it. The distribution of a false photo of Kashmiri is further puzzling. “So did HUJI botch the photograph, or are they attempting to fake Kashmiri&#8217;s death?” <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/06/huji_releases_photograph_of_il.php">asks</a> Bill Roggio of <em>The Long War Journal</em>.</p>
<p>Kashmiri has been <a href="http://www.investigativeproject.org/2022/illyas-kashmiri-pakistans-frankenstein">described</a> as “the most effective, dangerous and successful guerilla leader in the world.” A look at his background shows why his death would be such a setback for Al-Qaeda. He served as a commando in Pakistan’s elite Special Services Group where he trained the mujahideen battling the Soviets in Afghanistan. He lost an index finger and an eye in the fighting. He then went on to train militants in Kashmir to fight India. He joined the HUJI and ultimately became its chief of operations.</p>
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		<title>Jihad’s Child Suicide Bombers</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/frank-crimi/jihad%e2%80%99s-child-suicide-bombers/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=jihad%25e2%2580%2599s-child-suicide-bombers</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2011 04:30:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Frank Crimi]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[The Taliban’s spring offensive begins with the suicide bombing of a 12-year-old boy. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/child.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-92926" title="child" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/child.jpeg" alt="" width="350" height="244" /></a></p>
<p>Despite the Taliban’s denial that it uses children as human explosives, its spring offensive began with a suicide bombing by a 12-year-old boy. The attack is just one more sign that the militant group and its terrorist allies are increasing their efforts to recruit, train and utilize child suicide bombers.</p>
<p>The young terrorist’s suicide <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110501/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan">blast</a>, which killed four Afghan civilians and wounded twelve in the Afghan province of Paktika, was roundly <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110501/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan">condemned</a> by Afghan President Hamid Karzai as “inhumane and against all Islamic principles.”</p>
<p>Yet, it was one of two such suicide <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/07/c_13863924.htm">attacks</a> carried out by child bombers in eastern Afghanistan over the past several weeks, attacks that killed over 15 people. Soon after those assaults, Afghan authorities showed off five captured would-be suicide bombers &#8211;all under the age of 13 &#8212; trained by Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan.</p>
<p>As one Afghan intelligence official <a href="http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE7461A420110507">said</a>, “They have been told that infidels are in Afghanistan … and they have been encouraged to go for Jihad.” In a disturbing <a href="http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE7461A420110507">twist</a>, one of the captured bombers thought he would survive the attack when he was told by his instructors that “the (infidels) will be killed and you will live.”</p>
<p>For its part, the Taliban <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/08/us-afghanistan-taliban-beards-idUSTRE7470R820110508">denied</a> using children as human explosives, saying they do not use “beardless” or underage boys in their militant operations. According to a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/08/us-afghanistan-taliban-beards-idUSTRE7470R820110508">statement</a> released by the terror group, “Those who haven&#8217;t grown a beard due to being underage are prohibited to spend time with the mujahedeen in residential and military centers.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the Taliban, that statement contradicts its past <a href="http;/centralasiaonline.com/cocoon/caii/xhtml/en_GB/features/caii/features/pakistan/main/2011/04/11/feature-02">claims</a> to have trained anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand juveniles as suicide bombers. In fact, the Afghan government places the figure of trained child suicide terrorists closer to 5,000.</p>
<p>While the number of suicide bombers can range from as little as age seven to over forty, most suicide bombers are under the age of 18. Sadly, the recruitment and training of these children is not only extensive and well organized, but <a href="http://jafrianews.com/2011/02/09/us-strategy-to-fuel-the-taliban-with-suicide-bombers/">growing</a>.</p>
<p>To that end, suicide training factories have sprouted up all over the Afghan-Pakistan border, with most located in the Pakistani province of Waziristan. There, it’s been <a href="http://www.indiandefencereview.com/geopolitics/Waziristan-Fedayeen-e-Islam-Training-1000-suicide-bombers.html">estimated</a> that the Fedayeen-e-Islam have trained over 1,000 suicide bombers at three facilities. More disturbingly, many suicide training centers have been designated into junior and senior camps.</p>
<p>The Pakistani army <a href="http://al-shorfa.com/cocoon/meii/xhtml/en_GB/features/meii/features/main/2011/04/23/feature-01">found</a> one such junior camp, equipped with computers, video equipment and literature, where children as young as age 10, according to one army officer, “knew about the planting of explosives, making and wearing and detonating suicide jackets.”</p>
<p>The increased demand for child bombers comes as the Taliban have focused its efforts on attacking an expanding list of civilian targets, sites which include schools, mosques, markets, government offices and other public places.</p>
<p>Tragically, the <a href="http://outernationalist.net/?p=2157">results</a> have been all too effective. In the month of February alone, Afghanistan saw suicide bombings in the capital of Kabul that killed 10 civilians; an attack in Khost that killed nine; an attack in Kandahar that killed 18; an attack in Jalalabad that killed 40; and an attack in Kunduz that killed 28.</p>
<p>To some, the emphasis on suicide bombings is seen as a sign of the terror group’s desperation. <a href="http://surgar.net/english/-news-pg-Special-reports-From-Surgar-Inn-651.html">According</a> to one Afghan army commander, the Taliban and its terrorist allies have “no ability to conduct large scale operations anywhere, so he has switched tactics.” As district leader Hamdullah Nazak, a reported survivor of 11 attempts on his life <a href="http://surgar.net/english/-news-pg-Special-reports-From-Surgar-Inn-651.html">said</a>, “Of course. It’s the only way for the Taliban now.”</p>
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		<title>Will Sadr’s Islamist Army Return to Iraq?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/aymenn-jawad-al-tamimi/will-sadr%e2%80%99s-islamist-army-return-to-iraq/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=will-sadr%25e2%2580%2599s-islamist-army-return-to-iraq</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Followers of the radial anti-American cleric flex their muscles.  ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/image2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-91061" title="image" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/image2.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="318" /></a></p>
<p>On April 9 2011, eight years after American forces toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, followers of the radical anti-American cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr held a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/09/us-iraq-protests-idUSTRE73816Z20110409?pageNumber=1">demonstration in Baghdad</a> to commemorate the end of the Baathist government and to demand an end to the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. Some protestors waved placards bearing slogans such as “Occupiers Out!” and “No America!” as they burned American and Israeli flags.</p>
<p>To the sound of wild cheers from the crowds, Salah al-Ubaidi, a spokesperson for the Sadrist movement, read a speech from the influential Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, affirming that any extension of the U.S. “occupation” beyond the end of 2011 will lead to an “escalation of military resistance work and the withdrawal of the order freezing the Mahdi Army.” However, the presence of U.S. forces beyond the official 31 December 2011 deadline is a real possibility in light of the belief echoed amongst Iraqi military officials that the country’s security forces will continue to need American assistance in training.</p>
<p>The day following the protest, a <a href="http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/36527.htm">Sadrist leader claimed</a> that a special military wing of the Mahdi Army, known as the “Promised Day Brigade,” was still undertaking operations to resist the presence of the U.S. military by “carrying out daily and qualitative strikes at [American] headquarters and the airplanes in different regions of Iraq.” He added that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was part of the occupation of Iraq, and that the Iraqi government should break off diplomatic ties with Washington.</p>
<p>Playing on anti-occupation sentiments has been an essential part of the Sadrist strategy since the invasion in 2003, and it has not been an unsuccessful tactic. For example, the <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/8171/white-elephant-in-baghdad">International Crisis Group points out</a> that the gargantuan U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad “is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country.” Indeed, extending over 104 acres (42 hectares), the embassy is ten times larger than the second biggest embassy complex (the U.S. mission in Beijing) and is only slightly smaller than Vatican City. However, some Iraqi politicians, such as <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,476464,00.html">Jalal Talabani</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/world/middleeast/06iraq.html?_r=1&amp;pagewanted=print">Hoshyar Zebari</a>, have welcomed the embassy as a symbol of raw assertion of American power.</p>
<p>Following the march in Baghdad, reports emerged of militia activity. <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/iraqis-fear-return-of-the-mahdi-army"><em>The National</em> featured a story</a> on Sadrist graffiti appearing in the Iraqi capital and the southern provinces, heralding the return of the Mahdi Army. In an interview, a former commander of the Shi’ite militia group said that Sadrist militiamen were preparing to fight the Americans by gathering firearms. It is yet to be seen if these reports can be verified.</p>
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		<title>Obama&#8217;s Social Justice Army Spared the Chopping Block</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2011/michellemalkin/obamas-social-justice-army-spared-the-chopping-block/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=obamas-social-justice-army-spared-the-chopping-block</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:06:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Michelle Malkin]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Goodbye, AmeriCorps. Hello, FoodStampCorps.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/project_americorps_nccc.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-90708" title="project_americorps_nccc" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/project_americorps_nccc.gif" alt="" width="375" height="299" /></a></p>
<p>So much for the new era of fiscal responsibility. The federal government&#8217;s dependency drones have been spared the chopping block. After vowing to eliminate funding for President Obama&#8217;s bloated $6 billion AmeriCorps social justice army, House Republicans retreated — and will shrink the AmeriCorps budget by a minuscule 6.7 percent.</p>
<p>Politicians originally sold AmeriCorps as an alternative to big government — a program to &#8220;renew the ethic of civic responsibility and the spirit of community throughout the United States.&#8221; With bipartisan support, the program has morphed into an all-purpose progressive slush fund. Instead of reining in the national service boondoggle, Washington has turned taxpayer-subsidized helping hands into a legion of Nanny State handout helpers. Goodbye, AmeriCorps. Hello, FoodStampCorps.</p>
<p>Yes, across the Internet, the feds are recruiting AmeriCorps VISTA (&#8220;Volunteers in Service to America&#8221;) workers to apply for jobs as publicists for the welfare state. Their mission: to sign up as many people to federal food stamp rolls as possible. Because, you know, the record-breaking 12 million that have been added since Obama took office is apparently not good enough.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a typical job ad in Boston: &#8220;AMERICORPS VISTA: FOOD STAMP COORDINATOR (INTERNSHIP) Through this project, the Elderly Commission will be able to provide information, assistance and support to senior citizens of Boston in applying for food stamps. Develop a full knowledge of the Food Stamp program and application process. Assist seniors in senior housing and community centers to fill out Food Stamp applications; assist seniors with gathering necessary proofs together for applications; follow up with the Department of Transitional Assistance to ensure seniors receive awarded benefits. Recruit volunteers to be trained on the application of the Food Stamp program.&#8221;</p>
<p>In New York, Philadelphia and a total of 30 sites across the country, AmeriCorps and the Department of Agriculture are funding the &#8220;National Anti-Hunger and Opportunity Corps&#8221; to &#8220;increase access to food stamps.&#8221;</p>
<p>National Affairs managing editor Meghan Clyne reports that the administration is roping in left-wing churches to aggressively promote food stamps. With institutional support from first lady Michelle Obama, the FoodStampCorps will train church members to apply for food stamps after religious services; and &#8220;&#8216;encourage eligible families to enroll their children in (government-subsidized) school meal programs&#8217;; if organizations operate day-care or after-school programs, they are advised to pursue reimbursement for meals and snacks through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (a federally funded, state-administered welfare program).</p>
<p>Places of worship are asked to serve as feeding sites for the Summer Food Service Program — another federally funded, state-run welfare project.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Turkish Jihadists Attack Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/phyllis-chesler/turkey-attacks-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkey-attacks-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Phyllis Chesler]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[There were no freedom seekers aboard the anti-Israel “freedom flotilla.”]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/weaponsmarmara1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61675" title="weaponsmarmara1" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/weaponsmarmara1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="266" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Visit <a href="http://www.newsrealblog.com/">NewsReal</a></strong></p>
<p>One may describe Hitler as a “vegetarian” (which he apparently was) but he was still a genocidally exterminationist Jew-hater whose relentless racism and imperial ambitions led to the death of more than 60 million people.</p>
<p>One may also describe the Turks on board the “freedom flotilla” (Orwell himself could not have suggested a better logo) as “humanitarian activists.” But they are still pro-terrorist Turkish jihadists whose mission was to kill Jews, one way or the other. This was a mission which aimed to further demonize the already shamefully tarnished reputation of the Jewish state. This mission planned to force a violent confrontation; were Israeli soldiers to dare defend themselves and if Muslims are therefore martyred—even better public relations, even better for international lawfare against the Israel.</p>
<p>The so-called “humanitarians,” at least on one boat, came armed with metal bars and knives. They were fighters, not pacifists, and they called out traditional Islamic battle cries: “[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!&#8221; According to <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&amp;doc_id=2323">Palestinian Media Watch</a>:</p>
<p>“Khaibar is the name of the last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad&#8217;s army in 628. Many Jews were killed in that battle, which marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia. There are Muslims who see that as a precursor for future wars against Jews. At gatherings and rallies of extremists, this chant is often heard as a threat to Jews to expect to be defeated and killed again by Muslims.”</p>
<p>“This <a title="http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DgYjkLUcbJWo" href="http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DgYjkLUcbJWo" target="_blank">video</a> shows Israeli soldiers being beaten with long and heavy metal rods on one of the Turkish boats.<span style="color: blue;"> </span>Jeff Dunetz (“<span style="color: navy;"><a title="http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/" href="http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">YidWithLid</a></span>”) has a series of disturbing and informative videos in which we can see the planned nature and intensity of the Turkish-Palestinian violence against Israeli soldiers—an attack which involved stabbings, beatings, firebombing attempts, throwing soldiers overboard, etc.”</p>
<p>Earlier today, Israel&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=176968">Danny Ayalon</a> said that the Turkish-led flotilla was: “An armada of hate and violence in support of Hamas’ terror organization and was a premeditated and outrageous provocation. The organizers are well known for their ties with global jihad, Al-Qaeda, and Hamas. They have a history of arms smuggling and deadly terror. On board the ship we found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces. The organizers intent was violent, their method was violent, and the results were unfortunately violent. Israel regrets any loss of life and did everything to avoid this outcome.”</p>
<p>Indeed, the death count currently stands at an estimated nine (mainly Turkish) dead and 34 wounded. Predictably, the Arab, European, and liberal media are viewing Israel as the vicious aggressor; as committing “<a href="http://www.opednews.com/flyer/news_20100531_1.html">obscene</a>” acts. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6B75044C-34A6-4672-88F5-DEC519326043.htm">Al-Jazeera’s website</a> calls what happened “a massacre.” They refer to the dead as “martyrs.”</p>
<p>Some say that the Israeli commandos could have used taser guns, rubber bullets, or simply sent far more soldiers onto each boat. But the Israelis initially boarded the boats armed with paintball guns. And one wonders: How many Israeli soldiers can fit on a boat? One Israeli now suggests that Israel should have surrounded all the boats, stopped them dead in their tracks, shot out their motors.</p>
<p>Said I: And then done what with them?</p>
<p>Said he: Negotiate.</p>
<p>Said I: Are you crazy? Negotiate with terrorists? And then feed them, house them, coddle them—terrorists who would not even agree to bring food and a note to Gilad Shalit? Incredibly, Israel has been doing just that, treating the wounded terrorists in Israeli <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=176977">hospitals</a> and preparing to intern the remaining “activists” in <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-gaza-aid-convoy-can-unload-cargo-in-ashdod-for-inspection-1.292560">air-conditioned tents</a> in Ashdod.</p>
<p>Said he: There should have been better military planning.</p>
<p>I am sure that Monday morning quarterbacking is always more ingenious than what happens in the moment of battle. The problem is that, once again, the Israelis are being attacked for having defended themselves and the jihadists are still being seen as “martyrs.”</p>
<p>Why did Turkey attack Israel? How much Iranian support did they have? Turkey was once a haven for Jews in flight from the Christian Inquisition.</p>
<p>Once, long ago, Muslim Turkey gave asylum to <a href="http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/nasi-dona-gracia">Dona Gracia HaNasi</a>, the noble and generous leader of the Jews who had fled from Christian Spain and Portugal. Dona Gracia, a widow, was the wealthiest Jew of her time and, after living in Italy, found final refuge in Constantinople in 1552. Some wealthy Jews still live in Turkey today—yes, despite the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,103157,00.html">bombing</a> of two Turkish synagogues in 2003. I wonder how safe they are and for how long.</p>
<p>As to women? Locked up in harems—but if they were lucky/most unlucky, perhaps in the Sultan’s own harem or seraglio. For example, in 1784, a French girl, <a href="http://ottoman-empire.suite101.com/article.cfm/aimee-dubucq-de-rivery-the-french-sultana">Aimee Dubucq de Rivery,</a> was kidnapped on the open seas by Algerian pirates who sold her into the Turkish Sultan’s harem. Aimee became known as “Naksh,” The Beautiful One, for her fair skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Improbably, incredibly, Aimee became the mother of the next Sultan, whose name was Sultan Mahmoud II, the Reformer. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wilder-Shores-Love-True-Life-Eberhardt/dp/0786710306">Some see</a> the influence of the Sultan Valideh (The Veiled Sultan) in Selim’s letter of friendship to King Louis XVI—and in other pro-European gestures and customs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dhimmi.org/English.html">Myths</a> die hard. People still believe that Jews, Christians and other infidels lived safe and happy lives in Muslims lands. This is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Islamic-Antisemitism-Sacred-History/dp/1591025540/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1275323769&amp;sr=1-2">Big Lie</a>.</p>
<p>As a matter of historical fact, the Turks have a long and bloody history of cruelty and genocide. They colonized the entire Middle East, forced conversions or murdered those who resisted. Islamic gender and religious apartheid flourished.</p>
<p>To this day, the Turks continue to deny the Armenian genocide. And, the days of Kemal Ataturk are long gone. In the early 1920s, Ataturk imposed a secular democracy upon the Islamists and unveiled the women.  Now, the Islamists are winning again: Women are veiling, honor killings are on the rise (both in Turkey and among Turks in Europe). Recently, a father and grandfather heartlessly <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/7161701/Teenage-girl-buried-alive-in-Turkey-for-talking-to-boys.html">buried</a> a 16-year-old daughter and granddaughter alive for the “crime” of presumably talking to boys. I have also written about a great Turkish feminist hero, my friend <a href="http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2009/11/30/“i-hope-the-west-does-not-give-in”-an-interview-with-seyran-ates/">Seyran Ates</a>, here; Ates was shot for her work among Turkish immigrant girls and women in Berlin. Her 15-year-old client died. Ates, a lawyer, was left for dead—but miraculously survived.</p>
<p>And we nearly admitted Turkey into the European Union. One wonders if they would have intensified their anti-Israel Islamism had they been accepted as “Europeans,” or whether their candidacy was merely a calculated move in tandem with pre-existing pro-Iranian plans. For years, Turkey has <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/turkey-pm-if-you-don-t-want-iran-to-have-nukes-give-yours-up-1.5055">opposed</a> sanctioning Iran for its nuclear program. Turkey was among the first to <a href="http://www.euronews.net/2009/10/27/spotlight-on-iran-turkey-relations/">congratulate Ahmadinejad</a> on his re-election victory. During 2009, Turkey improved its economic ties to Iran.</p>
<p>I am waiting for the United Nations and for the United States to condemn this unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.</p>
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		<title>The New Korean War</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/stephenbrown/the-new-korean-war/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-new-korean-war</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2010 04:27:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stephen Brown]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Kim Jong-il puts his tyranny's armed forces on war footing.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em> </em></p>
<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/new.gif"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61140" title="new" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/new.gif" alt="" width="375" height="464" /></a></p>
<p>President Obama may soon discover his  predecessor, George Bush, was more than correct in designating  North  Korea an “Axis of Evil”  state.</p>
<p>As the  United  States announced on Monday it would conduct joint  naval exercises with the South Korean navy in response to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKS_Cheonan_sinking" target="_blank">sinking of a South  Korean warship</a> two months ago, North  Korea, the nation deemed responsible for the  disaster that cost 46 lives, raised tensions by putting its military forces on a  war footing.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LE26Dg01.html" target="_blank">Asia Times</a></em> reported yesterday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, in a military  broadcast, placed his million plus armed forces on “combat readiness,” causing  concern worldwide about North Korean intentions as well as a drop in major stock  markets.</p>
<p>“We  do not hope for war but if South Korea, with the United States and Japan on its  back, tries to attack us, Kim Jong-il has ordered us to finish the task of  unification left undone during the…(Korean) war (in 1953),” the military  broadcast stated.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LE26Dg01.html" target="_blank">North Korea, of course, denies</a> that it sank the South Korean corvette, <em>Cheonan</em>, on March 26, but the evidence  states otherwise. An international commission made up of experts from  Australia,  America and  Sweden investigated the sinking and  concluded North  Korea was guilty of the atrocity after finding North  Korean torpedo parts in the wreckage raised from the sea bottom.</p>
<p>“The  evidence is quite compelling,” said Ban Ki-moon, United Nations secretary  general. “There is no controversy.”</p>
<p>North  Korea also has a long history of committing  terrorist acts against South  Korea. In 1983, North Korean agents bombed a South  Korean delegation in Burma, killing several members. In 1987,  North  Korea was also blamed for blowing up a South Korean  airliner in flight. In another naval incident in 2002, four South Korean sailors  were killed in an exchange of gunfire with North Korean patrol boats.</p>
<p>Besides  joint naval exercises with the United  States, the South Korean government has responded  with punitive measures. All trade with  North  Korea will be cut off as well as access to shipping  lanes through South Korean waters that North Korean ships use to shorten voyages  to China.</p>
<p>South  Korea will also again name  North  Korea as its “principal enemy”, a designation  dropped in 2004 during a warming of relations. According to a <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/world/asia/26korea.html?hp" target="_blank">New York  Times story</a></em>, North Korea was  first named a “principal enemy” in 1994 after threatening “to turn Seoul into a  ‘sea of fire’ ” during the crisis over its nuclear weapons program.” After the  <em>Cheonan</em> incident, Kim Jong-il has  threatened South  Korea with “all-out war” if sanctions are applied.</p>
<p>The  world is now waiting to see whether Kim Jong-il will actually carry out his  threat to engulf the two countries in war or whether he is simply staging a  tantrum to extort aid from Western countries as he has done in the past.</p>
<p>Although the two  Koreas are still technically at war,  outwardly, the war scenario appears the most unlikely one. Both North and  South  Korea know the latter is not going to initiate any  military action against the North over the <em>Cheonan</em> incident. As columnist Donald  Kirk states, South  Korea is doing so well economically, possessing one  of the world’s fastest growing economies, it does not want to risk its  hard-earned prosperity and high living standards in a destructive war. Kirk and  other military analysts have pointed out a further reason for  South  Korea’s avoiding war over North Korean provocations  like the <em>Cheonan</em>:  Seoul would bear the brunt of any North  Korean attack due to its location close to the North Korean border.</p>
<p>“The North  still has thousands of artillery pieces within range of metropolitan Seoul and  the nearby port of Inchon as well as missiles with the range to reach anywhere  in the South, and nobody in South Korea really wants to challenge that,”  <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LD29Ae01.html" target="_blank">Kirk writes</a>.</p>
<p>For  North  Korea’s part, war also does not appear to be an  option. Its army is in a very dilapidated condition. Years of sanctions and a  ramshackle economy have left the North Korean armed forces with no money for  training, maintenance or for purchasing new equipment.  North  Korea’s biggest military threat is its 60,000  commando troops, many of whom have been moved close to the border. In case of  war, it is thought the North Koreans’ plan, due to their army’s movement  limitations, would be to occupy Seoul and then seek a  ceasefire.</p>
<p>Analysts, like the military news publication <em><a href="http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/South-Korea-Plans-To-Invade-The-North-6-26-2009.asp" target="_blank">Strategy  Page</a>,</em> state that the modern, well-equipped South Korean army, which  produces many of its own weapons and is supported by a strong economy, has a  plan to throw back such an invasion and then move into the North. Such a plan to  cross the border would also be implemented if the North Korean state ever  collapsed. American forces in South Korea, which numbered 42,000 before 9/11,  now stand at about 30,000 and would come under South Korean command in case of a  conflict.</p>
<p>But  common sense may play no part in a Stalinist dictatorship’s decision to go to  war, especially one struggling to survive. Reports have been coming out of  North  Korea that the people are again facing starvation  like in the 1990s when an estimated two million died. A poor harvest this year,  the failure of a currency reform scheme last year and the repressing of private  farmer’s markets have again left the long-suffering North Koreans destitute.</p>
<p>North  Korea also cannot look to  China, its main ally, for help.  China, like other countries, has refused  food aid as long as North  Korea refuses to give up its nuclear weapons  program. Not wishing to support an economic cripple,  China also vainly wanted  North  Korea to adopt free market reforms and become  self-sufficient like it did. Like South  Korea, China fears a North Korean collapse and  the millions of hungry Korean refugees that would flood over its border seeking  food.</p>
<p>Unlike in the 1990s though, North Korean citizens are  reported to be more restless regarding their cruel, state-sponsored fate. The  underground black market is reported as thriving, indicating a disregard for the  government, as the people are becoming more aware of what is happening outside  their country, especially on the North Korean-Chinese border, where smuggling  and Chinese cell phones, although illegal, have connected North Koreans with the  modern world.</p>
<p>To  block this unrest from becoming a popular uprising and detract people’s  attention from their misery, the North Korean government may do what the  Argentinean military junta did in 1982 when faced with a similar disastrous  economic situation and restless population: launch a military adventure. And  with the 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the start of the Korean War next month,  Kim Jong-il may see that as a sign to “finish the task” of reuniting the Koreas,  especially while his government still controls the population.</p>
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		<title>Finkelstein&#8217;s Slander Against Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/joseph-klein/finkelsteins-slander-against-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=finkelsteins-slander-against-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:06:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joseph Klein]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[The Jewish-collaborator and Hamas-apologist is at it again. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/finkelstein.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-57826" title="finkelstein" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/finkelstein.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="427" /></a></p>
<p>Norman Finkelstein, the professional Israel-basher, appeared before the United Nations Correspondents Association in New York on April 7<sup>th</sup> to hawk his newest diatribe against Israel entitled <em>‘This Time We Went Too Far.’</em> Finkelstein claimed in his book that he was providing “an accurate record” of the “suffering” that the Gazan population “endured” as a result of the “merciless Israeli assault.”  He urged the UN correspondents to publicize his message about what he called the “bloodletting in Gaza.”</p>
<p>Finkelstein was referring to Operation Cast Lead, which Israel launched in December 2008 to put a stop to the incessant rocket attacks launched from Gaza by Palestinian terrorists against civilians living in Southern Israel.</p>
<p>In his remarks to the UN correspondents, Finkelstein said that it was inaccurate to characterize what happened in Gaza as a war.  He described it as a “massacre” deliberately designed by the Israeli government and military to terrorize the people of Gaza with “disproportionate force.”  The real reason for Israel’s invasion, Finkelstein asserted, was to teach Arabs a lesson after Israel’s “defeat” in Lebanon in 2006.</p>
<p>To support his thesis that Israel used unreasonably disproportionate force against a defenseless civilian population and engaged in a “massacre” rather than a war, Finkelstein cited testimony from unnamed Israeli soldiers who were quoted as saying that they did not engage any combatants on the Hamas side.  He also referred, as an example of Israel’s true intentions, to former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said at the time that &#8220;Israel demonstrated real hooliganism during the course of the recent operation, which I demanded.&#8221;</p>
<p>Often associated with rowdiness at soccer games, “hooliganism” is a slang word that in the worst dictionary definition of the term refers to willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others.  Let us suppose for the moment that this is what Livni actually meant and that “willful wanton and malicious destruction of Palestinian property” in Gaza reflected Israel’s true intentions.  Is Israel expected to stand by and let Hamas and its other terrorist allies shoot rockets into Israeli civilian centers all day and night long, day after day &#8211; following repeated Israeli warnings to stop or face the consequences &#8211; without finally inflicting real damage to Hamas’ infrastructure in return?  The use of disproportionate force to inflict damage against the enemy’s infrastructure was the only means available to stop Hamas’ campaign of aggressive violence against Israeli civilians.</p>
<p>If destroying the enemy’s infrastructure were considered a “war crime” or a “crime against humanity,” then Abraham Lincoln deserves to be branded a war criminal for endorsing the strategy of his general Ulysses S. Grant who took command of the Union Army with the goal of seeking &#8220;the utter destruction of the Confederacy&#8217;s capacity to wage war.&#8221;  Grant ordered his subordinates, &#8220;To strike against [the enemy] and break it up, get into the interior of the enemy&#8217;s country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can upon their war resources.&#8221;</p>
<p>Cruel, yes, but the strategy put an end to the four year Civil War.</p>
<p>I understand that this is a crude comparison, but Israel was at war with terrorists determined to destroy the Jewish state and who refused to heed Israel’s many warnings to stop the rocket attacks meant to kill and terrorize innocent Israeli civilians.  On the other hand, Finkelstein does not believe there was any war in Gaza at all to bring to an end, which would possibly justify what Israel did.  But he completely ducked my question concerning the Hamas Covenant’s threat of annihilation of Israel, backed by Hamas’ terrorism campaign.  Didn’t Israel have a legitimate existential fear for its survival, I asked him?  His response indicated the twisted nature of this Hamas apologist’s way of thinking.</p>
<p>First, Finkelstein said that my question was made up of “99% fantasy,” even though I was quoting from the Hamas Covenant:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it&#8221; (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).”</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”</p></blockquote>
<p>I also quoted Al-Zahar, the overall leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip who said:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I hope that our dream of having an independent state on the entire territory of historical Palestine will be realized one day.&#8221; This dream, he added, &#8220;will become real one day. I&#8217;m certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>After refusing to directly respond to my question, Finkelstein said that even if this threat to Israel’s existence were real (which he continued to deny was the case) it would not justify Israel’s actions.  This regular mocker of his fellow Jews’ Holocaust suffering (which had included his own Holocaust survivor parents) gave an incredible response to a question from another UN correspondent, who had asked him to compare the Nazi horrors with Israel’s alleged war crimes.  Finkelstein said that he saw little difference between Jewish children being murdered in gas chambers by the Nazis and Palestinian children being burnt by white phosphorous in Gaza.</p>
<p>The loss of any innocent child’s life – whether Palestinian or Israeli – is tragic. Perhaps Israel could have done more to avoid some deaths and serious injuries in Gaza, even though the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan observed that in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza the Israeli army “did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.”  But even assuming the accuracy of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ worst case figure of 313 children killed among the 1414 Palestinians who died over a 23-day period (which defined a child as anyone under the age of 18), does that really compare with the more than 1.2 million Jewish children deliberately exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust?</p>
<p>By 1945, the Germans and their collaborators killed nearly two out of every three European Jews.  In the Gaza Strip, the Arab population grew from 82,500 to 1,428, 757     between 1948 and 2006.  There were no Jews at all living in Gaza in 2006.  The Palestinians were handed a golden opportunity to govern themselves and create the foundation for an independent state.  After Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza, there was no blockade of the borders. Only after Hamas came to power, bringing with it the real potential to make good on its threat to annihilate Israel, did Israel take more defensive precautions that included a blockade.   Finkelstein never mentioned that Hamas smuggled arms into Gaza, crossed the Israeli border to kidnap an Israeli soldier who is still languishing in Hamas’ hands if he is alive at all, and launched thousands of rockets targeted to hit schools and other Israeli civilian centers.</p>
<p>After Finkelstein got through excoriating Israel for what he called a “terrorist attack on a civilian population” and denying that Israel was engaged in a real bona fide war with a terrorist enemy sworn to Israel’s destruction, he went on to defend the findings of the <em>Goldstone Report</em> that had been commissioned by the anti-Israel United Nations Human Rights Council.  He called the report’s findings incontrovertible and its conclusion that Israel “might” have committed crimes against humanity the most “cautious” of all human rights reports.  Finkelstein claimed that the only reason Israel and its supporters were trying to debunk the report was because they were particularly upset about the credentials of the prime author, Judge Richard Goldstone of South Africa &#8211; a Jew and a self-described committed Zionist as well as a distinguished international jurist.</p>
<p>First of all, Finkelstein conveniently left out of his praise of the <em>Goldstone Report</em> the part about Hamas’ own violations of international human rights law. Second, he neglected to mention the biased composition of the panel serving with Judge Goldstone that conducted its fact-finding mission in Gaza at the UN Human Rights Council’s behest.</p>
<p>The fact-finding mission had pledged to impartially assess “all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed” in the Israel-Gaza conflict. International law requires such impartiality – an ingredient missing in virtually every UN-sponsored investigation of Israel and sadly missing in this case.</p>
<p>For example, prior to seeing any evidence a panel member, Professor Christine Chinkin, had publicly declared that one of the parties—Israel—was guilty.  She remained on the panel even after this obvious bias was pointed out.  Another biased member of the four person panel, Ms. Hina Jilani, was quoted as stating in 2005: &#8220;Israel is depriving Palestinians of their basic human rights using security as an excuse.&#8221;  A third member of the panel, Irish Colonel Desmond Travers, showed his anti-Israel bias and motivation to find Israel guilty irrespective of the facts when in an  interview he accused Israeli soldiers of having killed Irish soldiers in Lebanon with &#8220;a significant number who were taken out deliberately and shot (in southern Lebanon.).&#8221; There was no credible evidence presented for that allegation either.</p>
<p>Poor Judge Goldstone, even assuming he brought to his task the most honorable of intentions, was outnumbered 3-1.</p>
<p>How was the majority’s bias reflected in the Goldstone mission’s fact-finding?  It simply ignored inconvenient evidence that contradicted the majority opinion that Israel was guilty as charged.  For example, Israel produced photographic evidence that Gaza mosques were used to store rockets and other weapons.  That could not be, said Desmond Travers.  &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe the photographs… Those charges reflect Western perceptions in some quarters that Islam is a violent religion.&#8221;</p>
<p>Finally, the <em>Goldstone Report</em> applied an outdated notion of international law that, in its interpretation, requires a democracy to sit back and wait for its citizens to be murdered in droves by armed terrorists before responding with overwhelming military force to prevent more attacks.  Israel has the right to defend its innocent civilian citizens from attack by whatever means it deems necessary after fair warning and less forceful measures were tried without success.</p>
<p>Norman Finkelstein said that he is working with Arab nations and others to wrangle an invitation to address the United Nations General Assembly about Israel’s alleged “crimes” against the Palestinians.  Of course, his arrogant pitch for attention and 15 minutes of fame should be rejected out of hand.  But knowing the present composition of the General Assembly, he may well get that invitation.  If he does, the United States and its allies should insist on a rebuttal address by someone like Professor Alan Dershowitz who can cut this provocateur down to size.</p>
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		<title>CAIR’s Fort Hood Hijacking</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/joe-kaufman-and-beila-rabinowitz/cair%e2%80%99s-fort-hood-hijacking/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=cair%25e2%2580%2599s-fort-hood-hijacking</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joe Kaufman and Beila Rabinowitz]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[An Army soldier stationed at Fort Hood gets involved with radical Muslim groups.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/fort.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-56586" title="fort" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/fort.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="368" /></a></p>
<p>Army Specialist Zachari Klawonn is upset. He claims that there is a campaign of hate aimed at him coming from his fellow soldiers. He says that he is especially upset at them referring to him as “terrorist.” Yet, if this truly upsets him as much as he contends it does, how can he then reconcile his turning to groups <em>associated with terrorism,</em> specifically CAIR and its Florida political front, UVA?</p>
<p>Klawonn has a disturbing duality about him. While he dons Army green camos adorned by the Stars and Stripes, prior to relocating from his Fort  Hood digs, in his barracks prominently hung a black and white checkered keffiyeh, a symbol of anti-Western violence.</p>
<p>It is this duality that currently rules his life.</p>
<p>Klawonn, a 20-year-old Muslim, is intensely proud of his heritage. He flaunts his Islamic roots to a point which some could consider provocative. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/03/23/GA2010032304398.html">On his wall, next to his keffiyeh</a>, was placed a 5’ x 3’ Moroccan flag. As well, his room contained a Qur’an (draped by his ‘dog tags’) and prayer rug, visible to all.</p>
<p>For Klawonn, his strong attachment to his religion was both a blessing and a curse – a curse because, according to him, others target him for it, calling him horribly offensive names. This was especially the case, following the massacre that took place at Fort  Hood perpetrated by fellow Muslim soldier Nidal Malik Hasan.</p>
<p>On November 5, 2009, Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire at a soldier processing center (Soldier Readiness Facility), murdering 13 and injuring over 30 others. The victims of the attack were getting ready to be deployed overseas. At the time, Hasan, himself, was soon to be deployed to Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Hasan was shot four times and apprehended. Two other suspects were taken into custody and later released.</p>
<p>According to the <em>Washington Post,</em> in an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/23/AR2010032303766.html">article about Klawonn’s alleged troubles</a>, Klawonn was heading to the scene of the shooting, when the shooting commenced. It states, “Klawonn was there, too… His unit had just returned from Korea and was headed to the site of the shootings, a soldier processing center, when the killing began.”</p>
<p>According to the piece, Klawonn was “pressed” to explain the “brutal act and extremist philosophy” of Hasan. Klawonn said that, while he did not “sympathize” with Hassan, he “secretly felt an understanding of at least some of the pressures Hasan faced.” According to reports, Hasan faced a similar type of treatment Klawonn is alleging himself.</p>
<p>Klawonn stated, “[W]hen I read about the discrimination he experienced, I have to say, I can believe it. It doesn&#8217;t excuse what he did, but it explains maybe a tiny part of it. He was a high-ranking officer. A major. At that level, you demand respect…”</p>
<p>Since he enlisted, Klawonn has personally filed a number of complaints with his commanders about what he perceives as intolerant acts against him. He says that one of the toughest things he has had to endure is his fellow soldiers referring to him as “terrorist.” This is dubious, however, as Klawonn has begun to associate himself with groups connected to terrorism.</p>
<p>One of these groups is CAIR or the Council on American-Islamic Relations.</p>
<p>CAIR was founded by Hamas operatives in June 1994, and from 2007 through 2008, CAIR was named by the U.S. Justice Department a party to the financing of millions of dollars to Hamas.</p>
<p>Klawonn solicited CAIR to write a letter on his behalf to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, complaining of the Army’s treatment of him.</p>
<p>Another group Klawonn has gotten involved with is United Voices for America (UVA), an organization headed by the former Executive Director of CAIR-Tampa and former “unofficial spokesman” for convicted terrorist Sami al-Arian, Ahmed Bedier.</p>
<p>Klawonn, at the behest of his mother, Mina, attended one of UVA’s events this past March 11th. His mom had “collapsed in tears,” when she found out that he had joined the U.S. millitary, and his friends and mosque associates were more than concerned that he was “going to kill fellow Muslims,” so it was probably important to all of them for Klawonn to get involved in a radical Muslim group like UVA.</p>
<p>The event was titled Muslim Capitol Day, and it took place in Tallahassee,  Florida. According to UVA, the purpose of it was to lobby the state legislature on such universal issues as education reform and stimulation of the economy, but overshadowing those alleged objectives were two separate <a href="../2010/03/24/assault-at-muslim-capitol-day-2/">assaults that were carried out during Muslim Capitol Day</a> by one of UVA’s members, Bassem Alhalabi.</p>
<p>Alhalabi, who had previously been found guilty of shipping U.S. military equipment to Syria, was charged with one count of battery. A warrant was issued for Alhalabi’s arrest on March 19th, and on March 22nd, he was taken into custody by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.</p>
<p>Ironically, just as in the case of Klawonn being on his way to the soldier processing center when the Hasan massacre began, <a href="http://www.americansagainsthate.org/Zachari_Klawonn_and_Bassem_Alhalabi.html">Klawonn was photographed next to Alhalabi</a> at a UVA luncheon held shortly before <em>Alhalabi’s attacks</em> took place.</p>
<p>Of course, these things might be nothing more than mere coincidences – cases of being at the wrong place at the wrong time – but his recent experiences in high school were nothing of the sort.</p>
<p>In 2008, Klawonn wrote and performed rap songs with a group of teens from his hometown, Bradenton,  Florida, which, according to a district spokesperson, <a href="http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080606/NEWS/806060407?Title=No-grad-stage-for-racy-rapper">“threatened bodily harm”</a> and contained “mention of weapons.” One of the lyrics discussed “taking a knife” to a school administrator. Disciplinary action was taken against many of the participants.</p>
<p>Klawonn’s friends who were involved in making these songs were from Braden  River  High School, the school that Klawonn was expelled from one year earlier, after police discovered a gun in the car he was driving on campus.</p>
<p>All of this is a concern, as, according to the <em>Washington Post,</em> Klawonn is “at the top [of his unit] in weapons qualifications and is the only one in his battalion to be invited to try out for the Special Forces.” Furthermore, Klawonn suffers from bouts of depression and has had to see a psychiatrist at least six times since enlisting.</p>
<p>No doubt, all of this must give his superiors pause. Indeed, his Fort  Hood commanders have stated that he fits a “similar mold” to terrorist Nidal Hasan.</p>
<p>Now, Klawonn says that he will devote the remaining two years he has committed to the Army to fight for the rights of Muslims in the military. That seems like a dangerous proposition, given his activity with pro-terror organizations. In the very least, CAIR and UVA will use him as a pawn to do lasting harm to the military.</p>
<p>Of course, no one wishes to discuss the worst case scenario…</p>
<p><em>Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate, the founder of </em><em>CAIR</em><em> Watch, and the spokesman for Young Zionists.</em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p><em>Beila Rabinowitz is the Director of Militant Islam Monitor.</em></p>
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		<title>Al-Qaeda Reeling</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/stephenbrown/al-qaeda-reeling/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=al-qaeda-reeling</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/stephenbrown/al-qaeda-reeling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:07:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stephen Brown]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[The latest Adam Gadahn video suggests that the terrorists are on the run.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/alqaeda.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-53705" title="alqaeda" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/alqaeda.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="338" /></a></p>
<p>While many are disappointed American turncoat Adam Gadahn  was not the al-Qaeda operative arrested in Pakistan, as<a href="http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Pakistan-Retracts-News-of-Capturing-US-Born-al-Qaida-Spokesman-86861167.html"> erroneously reported</a> on Monday, there is still good cause to celebrate: Al  Qaeda is on the run.</p>
<p>And it is a fitting irony that Gadahn’s latest <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih0pB_62_60">propaganda video</a>,  released last Sunday, serves as an indicator al-Qaeda’s time in  Pakistan may be running  out. In it, al-Qaeda’s English-language spokesman unsurprisingly praises  Fort  Hood murderer, Nidal  Hasan, and callously calls on al-Qaeda sympathizers in the West to launch  similar homicidal attacks.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t make the  mistake of thinking that military bases are the only high-value targets in  America and the West. On  the contrary, there are countless other strategic places, institutions and  installations which, by striking, the Muslim can do major damage,” said the  first American charged with treason since World War  II.</p>
<p>But it was Gadahn’s telling potential al-Qaeda terrorists  they need not travel abroad (meaning Pakistan) for training that constituted the  video’s most unusual moment as well as the least commented on.</p>
<p>This statement, as one analyst noted, raises the question  as to whether al-Qaeda is any longer in the position to train recruits. Gadahn’s  call for individual operators to instead use “a little imagination and planning  and a limited budget”, like in 9/11, to stage independent attacks rather than  travel to al-Qaeda’s notorious training camps on the Afghan-Pakistan border  indicates it isn’t.</p>
<p>If such is the case, the principle reason for al-Qaeda  withdrawing its long-standing invitation to would-be terrorists is that  Pakistani and American anti-terrorist measures are proving very successful.</p>
<p>The most effective of these  has definitely been the Pakistani army’s ongoing offensive launched against  Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Pakistan’s rugged border  area with Afghanistan a year ago last  October. In seventeen months of fighting, more than two thousand radical  Islamist fighters have been reported killed for about two hundred army  casualties. Thousands of the Taliban’s tribal fighters, realizing the futility  of resisting a modern, well-equipped army, have simply melted away or retreated  over the border into Afghanistan or into  North  Waziristan.</p>
<p>Besides large losses in  personnel, al-Qaeda and the Taliban also suffered a crippling blow when ousted  from their strategic base in South  Waziristan. It was in this harsh,  mountainous region, western intelligence agencies believe, that al-Qaeda’s  terrorist training facilities were mainly located.</p>
<p>The Pakistani army is also keeping up the pressure, not  allowing the jihadists a breathing space. Last January, it captured a  well-developed <a href="http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20100304.aspx">cave complex</a> in  the Bajaur district near the Afghan border that was “a major headquarters” for  al-Qaeda. Seventy-five Islamists were reported killed defending the complex that  may have been the headquarters of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s  second-in-command. And just yesterday, a Pakistani air strike killed several  Islamists.</p>
<p>American drone attacks in  Pakistan’s tribal areas  have also contributed to the Taliban’s and al-Qaeda’s decline, killing many  mid-level and senior cadres. A <a href="http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/22-us-drone-strike-in-malay-khan-area-aj-02">recent  drone attack</a> killed five Islamists in North  Waziristan where a high-ranking Taliban  perished from a Hellfire missile attack last December.</p>
<p>Gadahn strongly indicated in  his video the drone attacks are badly hurting al Qaeda. In another irony, the  American terrorist castigated the American weapon as a form of terrorism,  complaining about…“American drones violating Islamic air space and terrorizing  Muslim populaces from Miranshah (in Waziristan) to  Mogadishu (in  Somalia).”</p>
<p>Life under the drone has become so dangerous  that many senior Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives have moved to  Karachi,  Pakistan’s teeming, lawless  port city. With a population of 15 million, they hope to hide among the city’s  one million Pashtuns, many of them refugees from  Afghanistan and  Pakistan’s tribal regions.  Karachi is where the man  mistaken for Adam Gadahn, Abu Yahya, another American convert to radical Islam,  was arrested on Sunday.</p>
<p>Yahya may have been betrayed  by the extensive informer network both Pakistani and American intelligence  agencies have set up inside Pakistan. Rewards for  information leading to the arrest of sought-after Islamists have also been very  helpful in this respect In the shadow world of terrorism, everything has a  price, so Gadahn, who has a <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/gadahn_a.htm">million dollar  reward</a> on his head, may yet land in American  custody.</p>
<p>Many leading Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives have already been arrested in  Pakistan by American and  Pakistani intelligence forces. <a href="http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20100226.aspx%20http:/www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20100226.aspx">Fourteen  were reported captured</a> in the last few weeks alone. Such long-overdue  success, hindered by former Pakistani president and military ruler Pervez  Musharraf, is due to the civilian government under President Asif Zardari and  the army putting pressure on Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, to act.</p>
<p>The ISI created the Taliban  and was always reluctant to crack down on its creation, believing, like  Musharraf, it would be a good asset in any war against  India. An ISI-controlled  Taliban was also viewed as a means for  Pakistan to extend and  maintain its influence in Afghanistan. Moreover, there  were Islamists in the ISI who sympathised with the Taliban and al Qaeda, but  these, according to <a href="http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20100226.aspx%20http:/www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20100226.aspx">one  report</a> have been purged because of internal and foreign pressure including  from the United  States  government.</p>
<p>The Pakistani security  services are also more serious about preventing western volunteers from reaching  al Qaeda camps. A five-man group of would-be jihadist warriors from  Washington  D.C. were arrested last  year in Pakistan. Last September,  another group made up of Swedes, Turks and Russians en route to an al-Qaeda  training camp were arrested at a Pakistani army  checkpoint.</p>
<p>After last Sunday, American security and intelligence  forces are probably working extra hard to hunt down Adam Gadahn, among other al-Qaeda and Taliban assets. The American public would like to see his capture not  just to bring a traitor to trial, but also so that they never again have to view  his pathetic videos.</p>
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		<title>Napolitano Stumbles Upon Islamic Jihad</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/jamie-glazov/napolitano-stumbles-upon-islamic-jihad-4/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=napolitano-stumbles-upon-islamic-jihad-4</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:04:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jamie Glazov]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Will the Obama administration now make an issue out of where Hasan got his “violent Islamic extremism” from? ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Napolitano2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52027" title="Napolitano" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Napolitano2.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="374" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Visit <a href="http://www.newsrealblog.com">Newsreal</a></strong></p>
<p>Wow, according to Fox News, <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2392" target="_blank">Janet Napolitano</a> just described what happened at Fort  Hood as “violent Islamic extremism.”</p>
<p>This is quite a step. How long did it take her to figure this one out?</p>
<p>It must be hard, after all, when you’re a person who heads Homeland Security but who has no idea who the 9/11 hijackers were – and thinks that they<a href="../2010/01/25/brown%E2%80%99s-national-security-victory/"> came from Canada</a>. It’s really difficult when your first instinct after Abdulmutallab almost blew himself up on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, is to say that the airport security “system worked.”</p>
<p>Hmmm, I wonder if Napolitano will now confirm that thirteen American heroes lost their lives at Fort Hood precisely because of people like her, who have created a culture in which naming<em> Islamic extremism </em>and crystallizing its roots is disallowed? Major Nidal Malik Hasan would have been thrown out of the army a long time before his shooting spree if members of the army were not afraid to get in trouble for violating “diversity” and felt safe to point a finger at a Muslim who was preaching hate and violence against non-Muslims.</p>
<p>Will Napolitano and the <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1511" target="_blank">Obama administration</a> now make an issue out of where Hasan got his “violent Islamic extremism” from? Indeed, from where oh where could Hasan have possibly got the idea that he was supposed to kill the kafir? Hmmm, could it have been from the Verse of the Sword of the Koran (9:5)?</p>
<p>Hmmm, could it have been from all the other Koranic verses? (i.e. 9:29).</p>
<p>This is just all so mysterious.</p>
<p>Is the Obama administration now going to talk about how Hasan’s and Abdullmutallab’s actions, and, well, you know, things like 9/11, just might have something to do with the fact that <a href="http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=30886">61% of the Koran</a> is devoted to the hatred of non-Muslims, that 75% of the Sira (the life of Mohammed) is devoted to jihad, and that 20% of the Hadith is in reference to the necessity of subjugating and killing the infidel?</p>
<p>I wonder, could any of this have anything to do with the fact that <a href="http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=30886">nowhere in Islamic theology is there even <em>one positive reference</em></a> to kafirs and even the slightest suggestion that a Muslim should love them as much as he loves himself?</p>
<p>How do we win this terror war if our administration not only refuses to fight the enemy on many realms, but to even name him?</p>
<p>The issue here is not to demonize Muslims. Many Muslims, like Tarek Fatah and Irshad Manji, are fighting to reform Islam and to bring it into the modern and democratic world. We must support them. Millions of Muslims suffer from persecution under Sharia Law. We must help them. The key is that it is time to be honest about what Islamic theology inspires and sanctions. The key is that the onus is on the Muslim world to confront these teachings and to negate them if there is to be any possibility for an end to this conflict.</p>
<p>Napolitano’s step is a positive one. But do we hold our breath for the Obama administration to step up to the plate and to name not only <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/guideDesc.asp?catId=124&amp;type=issue" target="_blank">Islamic jihad</a> as our enemy, but to also name the Islamic theology that spawns it?</p>
<p>*</p>
<p><strong>To get the whole story on why the lib-Left and the Obama administration refuse to name the jihadist enemy, read Jamie Glazov’s new book, <em><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.amazon.com/United-Hate-Romance-Tyranny-Terror/dp/1935071602');" href="http://www.amazon.com/United-Hate-Romance-Tyranny-Terror/dp/1935071602">United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny and Terror.</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/united4.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-52031" title="united" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/united4.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="515" /></a><br />
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