“We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America.”
So said the Pakistani Sheikh Muburak Gilani, leader of the jihad terrorist group Jamaat ul-Fuqra. And the way that he and his organization are “dealing with evil at its roots” is to set up jihad terror training camps all over the United States -- often under the noses of government and law enforcement officials who are either indifferent or too hamstrung by political correctness to do anything about it.
Sheikh Gilani is no shrinking violet, and Jamaat ul-Fuqra is a force to be reckoned with both in the United States and elsewhere. Journalist Daniel Pearl was on his way to interview Gilani when he was kidnapped and beheaded in 2002. The following year, a member of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, Iyman Faris, pled guilty to plotting to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security included the group among “predicted possible sponsors of attacks” on American soil. And in 2006, the Department of Justice reported that Jamaat ul-Fuqra “has more than 35 suspected communes and more than 3,000 members spread across the United States, all in support of one goal: the purification of Islam through violence.” That means, of course, violence against unbelievers.
Yet despite the fact that Justice and the DHS are obviously aware of what is going on, Jamaat ul-Fuqra continues to operate, relatively unhindered, in the United States. A new documentary from the Christian Action Network, Homegrown Jihad: The Terrorist Camps Around the U.S., tells the whole shocking story. CAN spent two years visiting many of these Jamaat ul-Fuqra terror compounds, at great risk to network personnel. The documentary filmmakers dared to go inside these camps, cameras rolling, to ask compound leaders pointed questions about who they were and what they were doing.
The documentary reveals that these compounds are dedicated to the training of Muslims in terrorist activities. Most of these camps are tucked away in remote rural areas -- Hancock, N.y., Red House, Va. -- as far away from the watchful eye of law enforcement as possible. And what goes on in them is truly hair-raising: a training video that the network obtained shows American Muslims receiving training in how to fire AK-47 rifles and machine guns, and how to use rocket launchers, mortars, and explosives, as well as training in kidnapping, the murder of hostages, sabotage, and subversive operations.
Yet the State Department doesn’t include Jamaat ul-Fuqra on its Foreign Terrorist Organization Watch List. And so far the mainstream media’s reaction to the documentary has run from indifferent to hostile. CBS News ran a hit piece on the film last Wednesday, saying that “officials describe the film to CBS News as ‘sensationalistic’ and without any real foundation. According to one official, it is strictly designed to upset and inflame people and does not present a true picture of any so-called ‘homegrown Jihad’ danger. No current intelligence exists to suggest any threat connected with this group, which officials describe as ‘wannabes’ and not terrorists.”
Hamas has a message for President Obama. And who better to deliver it than Sen. John Kerry, visiting Gaza this week? A senior UN official told BBC News that the letter has been received by the UN, but would not specify if Kerry had been the one to accept it. The Massachusetts Democrat did not meet with Hamas, instead focusing on humanitarian concerns. "[The visit] does not indicate any shift whatsoever with respect to Hamas...what it indicates is our effort to listen and to learn," Kerry said.
WAYNE — Rola Awwad wants a private space for her 10-year-old son at Albert Payson Terhune Elementary School to exercise his right to Muslim prayer.
Adam Awwad, 10, praying at the Circassian Benevolent Association in Wayne after being driven there from school by his mother. The school district had offered to let him pray at recess — either outside or in a classroom while classmates are there. And that, says Awwad, is "unacceptable."
American officials have privately backed Pakistan's "Sharia law for peace" deal with Taliban militants in the Swat Valley despite publicly criticising it as a "negative development".
The deal, under which Sharia law will be introduced in the Malakhand and Kohistan districts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province if Taliban militants end their armed campaign in the Swat Valley, has been met with alarm by Nato chiefs and British and American officials.
Nato fears the deal would create a new "safe haven" for extremists, said a spokesman on Tuesday night, while a statement from Britain's High Commission in Islamabad said: "Previous peace deals have not provided a comprehensive and long-term solution to Swat's problems. We need to be confident that they will end violence, not create space for further violence."
President Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan voiced the greatest concern about the strength of Taliban militants in Swat as he ended his first visit to the region since taking up his post.
"I talked to people from Swat and they were, frankly, quite terrified. Swat has really deeply affected the people of Pakistan, not just in Peshawar but in Lahore and Islamabad," he said, while a Defence Department official described the deal as a "negative development".
On Tuesday night however, US officials in Islamabad privately backed the deal as an attempt to drive a wedge between Swat's Taliban, which is focused on its demand for Sharia law, and the al-Qaeda-linked Taliban led by Baitullah Mehsud, the notorious commander who controls much of North and South Waziristan and other tribal areas along the Afghan border.
While they expressed fears that the deal might yet be sabotaged by some Swat Taliban militants who support al-Qaeda, they said that if successful, the deal would break up the alliance between the two groups, which has caused alarm throughout Pakistan and in Washington.
And after Obama backed this plan the Taliban promptly called for Islamic law to rule the world. Just goes to show you how much it pays to negotiate with jihadist :) Great thinking Mr President.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has approved adding about 17,000 U.S. troops for the flagging war in Afghanistan, administration, defense and congressional officials said Tuesday.
The Obama administration is expected to announce on Tuesday that it will send one additional Army brigade and an unknown number of Marines to Afghanistan this spring and summer. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement.
About 8,000 Marines are expected to go in first, followed by about 9,000 Army troops.
The new forces represent the first installment on a larger influx of U.S. forces widely expected this year. Obama's decision would get several thousand troops in place in time for the increase in fighting that usually comes with warmer weather and ahead of national elections in August.
The additional forces partly answer a standing request from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, who has sought as many as 30,000 additional U.S. forces to counter the resurgence of the Taliban militants and protect Afghan civilians.
The United States has slightly more than 30,000 troops in Afghanistan now.
The new units are a Marine Expeditionary Brigade unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and an Army Stryker brigade from Fort Lewis in Washington state.
Ahead of his first foreign trip, Obama told a Canadian news organization that the United States will seek a more comprehensive, diplomatic approach to Afghanistan, where the U.S. has been engaged in war since 2001.
"I am absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means," the president said in a White House interview with Toronto-based Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Obama is scheduled to make a quick day trip to Ottawa on Thursday.
JERUSALEM – Tzipi Livni, who hopes to be appointed Israel's prime minister-designate, said Monday Israel must give up considerable territory in exchange for peace with the Palestinians, drawing a clear distinction with her rival, Benjamin Netanyahu.
She told a convention of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations, "we need to give up half of the Land of Israel," using a term that refers to biblical borders that include today's Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
She explained that such a withdrawal would be for the good of Israel, to maintain it as a Jewish state....
NEW YORK - A New York City police department officer was arrested today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) agents and New York Police Department ( NYPD ) Internal Affairs detectives.
Yaniris Balbuena, 31, of Otisville, New York was charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York with conspiracy to commit money laundering. She has served as an NYPD officer since March 2000. During the time of the conspiracy, she was the common law wife of a known narcotics trafficker who operated in the Bronx, New York.
According to cooperating witnesses, during the time of the conspiracy Balbuena received thousands of dollars in drug proceeds and laundered the money by depositing the cash into bank accounts she controlled. Banking records for approximately nine accounts owned or controlled by Balbuena show that she received and deposited more than $230,000 of unexplained cash into her bank accounts, an amount which far surpassed her legitimate income.
"Seizing and disrupting large cash payments such as this is a vital part of our nation's fight to stop illegal drugs, and prevents drug traffickers from realizing profits," said Peter J. Smith, special agent in charge for ICE's Office of Investigations in New York. "ICE's unique investigative authority allows our special agents to track down these individuals and roll-up money laundering operations to substantially stem the flow of drug money."
In addition to ICE, the Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the NYPD, the United States Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Secret Service and the New York State Police. It is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which is a federally-funded crime fighting initiative.
Balbuena is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty.
Dozens of Islamic extremists have returned to Britain from terror training camps in Somalia, the British security services believe.
Intelligence analysts are worried that they may attempt to launch attacks in this country or use the kudos from having trained and fought in Somalia to try to attract new recruits. The issue was raised by Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, in his first interview last month.
In the US, the outgoing head of the CIA, Michael Hayden, has said that Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in late 2006 “catalysed” expatriate Somalis around the world.
An investigation for Channel 4 News, to be broadcast tonight, also reveals that a suicide bomber who grew up in Ealing is thought to have blown himself up in an attack in Somalia that killed more than 20 soldiers.
Hmmm... It couldnt have anything to do with the fact she is Israeli could it?
CNN) -- The Israeli tennis player refused an entry visa to Dubai has told CNN she is "very, very disappointed" to have been denied the opportunity to play.
Shahar Peer was due to fly into the United Arab Emirates for the start of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sunday, but was informed on Saturday night by telephone that she wouldn't be granted a visa.
She had just finished playing in the Pattaya Open in Thailand, where she reached the semi-final.
"They really stopped my momentum because now I'm not going to play for two weeks and because they waited for the last minute I couldn't go to another tournament either," Peer told CNN from Tel Aviv. "So it's very disappointing and I think it's not fair."
Her sentiments were echoed by the chairman and chief executive of the Women's Tennis Association, Larry Scott, who said the decision could lead to the termination of professional tennis in the UAE.
"This runs counter to everything we were promised and I think it is a real setback, not only for international tennis, but the whole international sporting community will take note of this," Scott said.
He told CNN Peer's visa refusal has precedence: last year an Israeli men's doubles team was denied entry to Dubai. He said the Emirate cited security reasons following recent unrest in the region. Don't Miss
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"At that time I was in Dubai, I made it clear to the authorities, the representatives of the government, that next year when our top players wanted to play this very prestigious tournament all of them had to be allowed to play," Scott said.
"They had a year to work on it and solve it. We've spent time through the year discussing it. We were given assurances that it had gone to the highest levels of government," Scott said. "I was optimistic they would solve it. And we've made crystal clear to the government to the tournament organizers that there could be grave repercussions not just for tennis in the UAE but sports beyond that."
The Dubai government issued a short statement through the state-owned news agency, saying that Peer was informed while in Thailand that she would not receive a visa.
The agency quoted an official source in the organizing committee saying, "The tournament is sponsored by several national organizations and they all care to be part of a successful tournament, considering the developments that the region had been through."
Earlier an official source who did not want to be named, told CNN: "We should check what happened in New Zealand, when Peer was playing there with all the demonstrations against Israel during the attacks on Gaza. We have to consider securing the players and the tournament."
In January, a small group of about 20 protestors waved placards and shouted anti-Israel slogans outside the main entrance to the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland.
They were moved on before Peer played her match.
The Israeli player told CNN she's received phone calls of support from her fellow players.
"'All the players support Shahar," world number six Venus Williams told The New York Times, adding, "We are all athletes, and we stand for tennis."
(CNN) — A California man sold his 14-year-old daughter to an 18-year-old man for cash, beer and meat — then called police when the prospective bridegroom didn’t live up to his end of the deal, authorities said Tuesday.
Marcelino de Jesus Martinez faces felony charges, according to police in Greenfield, California.
Marcelino de Jesus Martinez, 36, of Greenfield, California, was arrested Monday and booked into the Monterey County Jail, Greenfield police said in a statement. He faces felony charges of receiving money for causing a person to cohabitate, police said.
Martinez had arranged through a third party to have his daughter marry the older teenager, identified by authorities as Margarito de Jesus Galindo, of Gonzales, California. In exchange, Galindo was to pay Martinez $16,000 and provide him with 160 cases of beer, 100 cases of soda, 50 cases of Gatorade, two cases of wine, and six cases of meat, Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier told CNN.
Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims trudged through snow-covered sidewalks in Dearborn Sunday afternoon in a procession to remember the death of a Muslim leader killed in 7th century Iraq. Advertisement
The 2-mile procession featured colorful flags in honor of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Islam's prophet, religious songs, and cries of "We support you, Oh Hussain."
The worshippers started at the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center on Warren Ave., the main commercial strip of Dearborn, and then walked to nearby Hemlock Park. There, they recited poetry and tapped their chests in mourning rituals known as latmiya.
Dearborn Police Lt. Wayne Seccombe estimated the crowd was between 2,000 and 5,000.
"We are here as lovers of Imam Hussain, lovers of freedom, of justice, of democracy," said Imam Husham Al-Husainy, the head of the Karbalaa center and the parade's organizer. "Imam Hussain is still alive with us, even though he was martyred 1400 years ago. His spirit is still alive."
The parade was held close to the 40th day after the death anniversary of Imam Hussain, who was killed in battle. Shi'ite Muslims, a minority among the broader Muslim community, remember Hussain every year during a holiday known as Ashura.
Forty days after the anniversary of Hussain's death is another holy day called Arbaeen, around which a procession is often held. In Iraq, millions have taken part in such processions after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, such public displays of Shi'ite religious belief were often banned.
You may remember Husham Al-Husainy mentioned in this story. He was the one that lead the prayer at the Texas Senate asking for Allah to convert them to Islam. SEE HERE
You may also remember this little run in he had with Sean Hannity. Where he wouldnt answer any questions
"A little state control wouldn't hurt anybody," declared Jerry Brown, California's Democrat attorney general, in on air comments yesterday about the possible reinstatement of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."
"You have a point of view and I have a point of view and they are different. I think the clash can sometimes illuminate the two better than just a one sided presentation," stated Brown, during an exclusive interview with Michael Savage broadcast on the top talker's national radio show.
Savage countered by positing any revival of the "Fairness Doctrine" is aimed at muting conservative talk radio. Brown replying by stating Savage's suggestion had the "tinge of paranoia."
It "would not apply to any other element of the media. It's aimed strictly at us in the minority in the media," Savage shot back. "And they want us controlled and constrained and removed from the airwaves. They only want to hear progressive voices that laud Obama and laud the liberal way."
Retorted Brown: "I don't think that's a fair description of what's going on and it has a tinge of paranoia connected to it."
Savage, however, claimed Brown was using "Soviet tactics" by attempting to paint critics of the Fairness Doctrine as paranoid.
"That's what they used to do in the Soviet Union with dissidents Jerry. They would accuse dissidents of being paranoid," Savage said. "A country that is supposedly free must have dissent."
JIHADISTS are celebrating the worst tragedy in Victoria's history.
Terror watchdogs said fundamentalists had blogged on websites across the globe, applauding the lives lost and destruction.
Senior analyst at SITE Intelligence Group Adam Raisman said they were posting pictures of burnt homes and devastated victims and "taking joy in the scenes".
One jihadist wrote: "It would be an act of revenge for Australian's participation in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Bushfires victims said they were stunned.
"We're minding our own business and trying to cope with all this and they are celebrating our suffering," said Denise McCann who lost her home in the Kinglake blaze.
Regional Islamic Council vice-president Dr Ameer Ali said the comments did not represent the wider Muslim community.
"They have no idea what they are talking about," he said.
