FDD

ANDY McCARTHY: Is the FCNA/CAIR Anti-Terror Fatwa Bogus?

It is according to my friend, counter-terror expert extraordinaire Steve Emerson.  Steve writes of the fatwa (issued today by the Fiqh Council of North America at a press event organized by the Council on American Islamic Relations):  “Nowhere does it condemn the Islamic extremism ideology that has spawned Islamic terrorism. It does not renounce nor even acknowledge the existence of an Islamic jihadist culture that has permeated mosques and young Muslims around the world. It does not renounce Jihad let alone admit that it has been used to justify Islamic terrorist acts. It does not condemn by name any Islamic group or leader. In short, it is a fake fatwa designed merely to deceive the American public into believing that these groups are moderate. In fact, officials of both organizations have been directly linked to and associated with Islamic terrorist groups and Islamic extremist organizations.”

Steve’s argument can be accessed here.   His organization, the Investigative Project on Terrorism, has also compiled additional relevant information, accessible here.

Major Anti-Terror Operation Underway in London

After a brief media blackout, information is beginning to trickle out about this, though much of it is conflicting.  According to witnesses, three men with backpacks were taken away by police and some shots were fired.  We'll continue to update as information becomes clearer.

Update: There has been at least one more raid in another section of town as well.

Update II:  Three of the four 7/21 suspects have apparently been apprehended.

Update III:  Looks like they got the fourth suspect as well today in Rome.

WALID PHARES: CAIR must condemn al Qaida and Jihadism..

In a public relations campaign triggered today, an active American Muslim organization, the Council for American Muslim Relations CAIR, released a political commercial (PSA) on national networks responding to what it believes has become surging inquiries about violence and religion. (See CAIR TV Ad) The ad airs seven sentences:

(See my comments)

CLAUDIA ROSETT: U.N. Mystery Man: Who Is Jean-Bernard Merimee and What's His Oil-for-Food Tie?

"As investigations proliferate into the United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal, one of the more intriguing mysteries involves a former French diplomat with a direct link to the U.N.'s executive suite: Jean-Bernard Merimee..."
Read More.

CLIFF MAY: Does CAIR Care?

CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has backed a fatwa, a religious ruling, against terrorism. More here.

Encouraging, I suppose, but look at who funds CAIR and who has been associated with the group. Daniel Pipes has the story here.

Haroon Rashid Aswat

Haroon Rashid Aswat is not yet a household name, but he likely will be soon.  He was picked up last week in Zambia, and is wanted in connection to the London Bombings and a terrorist training camp that al-Qaeda attempted to set up in Oregon pre-9/11.

Update:  Stories are already coming through the pipes quickly.  "British authorities denied a U.S. request to apprehend a man believed to have ties to the July 7 London bombings weeks before the deadly attacks, sources familiar with the investigation said Thursday"

Additional Bombs Found in London

ABC News has an exclusive report on additional bombs found in the trunk of a car belonging to one of the London Bombers.  Of note: some of these bombs were loaded with nails and other objects meant to increase casualties.  This tactic, often used by Palestinian terrorists, causes some of the worst injuries related to a terrorist attack.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: Humanists Call for U.N. Condemnation of "Killing in the Name of Religion"

The International Humanist and Ethical Union says, however, that they were blocked by “the heavy-handed intervention of Islamic representatives.”

More here.

CLIFF MAY: The War Against the Free World

From today's Scripps Howard News Service:

America is not fighting a war against Islam. America is fighting a war against Islamism ... Islamists have been waging war on America for more than a generation. The seizing of the U.S. embassy in Tehran was an act of war perpetrated by the Islamists who came to power in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The Hezbollah bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 also was an act of war, as were other attacks in that decade and the 1990s. After Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden became the world's best-known Islamist. Read More.

This Week's Global Jihad Monitor is Here

Terrorists attempted -- and failed -- to launch another series of attacks against the London transportation system, an Egyptian Islamic militant was identified as the suicide bomber who killed nearly 100 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and a Dutch court sentenced the Islamist killer of filmmaker Theo van Gogh to life in prison. All this and more in this week's Global Jihad Monitor.

What Tony Blair Said

Kathryn Jean Lopez points out that Tony Blair did mention Israel in his list of countries affected by terrorism. Read the rest of her post on NRO here.

Danger Zone - Sunday night at 9pm

Tune in Sunday night at 9pm for WMAL's radio show Danger Zone.  This week's guests are Daniel Byman, Steve Pomerantz and Arnaud de Borchgrave. Read More.

Listen to past shows.

WALID PHARES: On MSNBC

Walid Phares discusses the outrage among the Muslim community in regards to suicide attacks on MSNBC.

Watch his segment here.

CLAUDIA ROSETT: Ruin By Design

From today's WSJ Opinion Journal:

To whatever extent the recent United Nations report on Zimbabwe calls attention to the brutalities of the country's tyrant, President Robert Mugabe, the U.N. has performed a service. But as far as the report translates into nothing more than a fresh bout of aid funneled via Mugabe's regime, this U.N. initiative will only compound the suffering in Zimbabwe--where the government's latest atrocity has been to "clean up" the cities by evicting hundreds of thousands of poor people, destroying their dwellings and leaving them jobless, homeless and hungry. Read More.

CLIFF MAY: How to Defeat Terrorism

From Mamoun Fandy's brave piece:

There are two methods to eliminating terrorism. These are the issuing of fatwas that detach Osama Bin laden and his followers from Islam, and the end of the West's naivety towards "moderate Islamists." There are no "moderate Islamists" but rather there are the normal Muslims who live normal lives, there are terrorists and there are the potential terrorists.

Also read this plea for a "Million Muslim March" by our friend, Ahmed H. al-Rahim.

WALID PHARES: More Arabs and Muslims reject the Terrorists' horrors

I was on MSNBC today at 1:45.  I discussed that "indeed we can clearly see a new trend coming out of the region: More Arabs and Muslims are speaking up against the Terrorists methods and violence ... not only was this visible in the recent PEW report and articulated in today's Christian Science Monitor, but it is seen and heard on Arab media and web sites."

The Danger Zone

This week's WMAL radio show Danger Zone featured Bob Barr, Bob Clifford and Arnaud de Borchgrave. Listen to this week's episode.

For the show's archives, click here.

FDD's Weekly E-Newsletter

...is now available here.

'At Least 40 Taliban' Killed

US and Afghan forces have killed another group of Taliban fighters.  This comes on top of the numerous Taliban members killed last week (and reported in the Global Jihad Monitor).

Saudi's Snag Another One

Saudi security forces have captured another member of their newly-released most-wanted list of al-Qaeda leaders in the Kingdom.

WALID PHARES: Fatal Naivete

Al Qaida attempting to infiltrate the CIA?

Is it even a question?

In today's LA Times, Michael Sulick writes that "as many as 40 possible terrorists may have attempted to infiltrate U.S. intelligence agencies in recent months, CIA expert Barry Royden reported at a national counterintelligence conference in March." Had I been free to release my instinct-based reaction, I would have said (not wrote) duh!..(well I wrote it now)

My comment is brief: Not only is  al Qaida trying to infiltrating the CIA, but it has been attempting to do so since the mid 1990s. And not only the CIA, but also the FBI and other security and military agencies. And let me add, not only through "Jamesbondian" sensational ways but by the book, and under US laws. Let me just throw this question at the memory of university professors across the nation: How many times were you approached over the past ten years to write a letter of recommendation for a student "very interested" in one of the agencies? Remember his/her reasons, research interest and ponder a little (...)

The whole issue of how the agency is recruiting for its War on Terror is of extreme importance. Two aspects to think about: How many "wrong persons" have been already recruited, and even as worrisome, how many "right persons" were not recruited! I'll come back with more on this later, including in my forthcoming book, Future Jihad, expected at the end of October.

London Police Release Names of Two Terrorist Suspects

British police have released the names of two of the men whose pictures were distributed last week in connection with the London bombings.  The two men are Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, also known as Muktar Mohammed Said, and Yasin Hassan Omar, 24.  New pictures of the suspects were also made available.

Egypt Resort Workers Protest Against Terrorist Attacks

This has not gotten much attention in the western media, but has apparently been doing fairly well in the Arab press, which is even more important.  The protesters know terrorism when they see it, even if Reuters refuses to use the term.  [Via Instapundit, who has lots of links to other anti-terror protest that took place worldwide this weekend.]

WALID PHARES: al Hurra and Pink Floyd..

Last Saturday I was invited by al Hurra TV to participate in a pan Arab forum along with clerics, intellectuals and academics from around the world to discuss the Sharm al Sheikh bombing and Terrorism in the Arab Muslim world. Two hours of raging debate between two camps. One essentially blaming the West and the US (as usual) for the surge of the "frustrated" guys, who just bomb the infidels to express their point. And an interesting other camp, which was blaming the ideologies of Terror for their hijacking of the region's political culture. Interesting statements made by an Iraqi and a Jordanian intellectuals who blamed al Jazeera for being the "propaganda tool of the Jihadists." An axis including an Egyptian and a Saudi contributors started to attack the "people of the studio" in Washington (al Hurra's headquarters). That would be me and the Jordanian professor who teaches in Colorado. You know, I have heard of the "people of the book" but not the "people of the studio" yet. I guess this was an advanced Jihadi thrust in religious studies.

But the star of the show was a cleric from an undisclosed location in Saudi Arabia, who claimed he was Salafi, but accused al Qaida, al jazeera and Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradawi of (read well) "hijacking Salafism"! He further accused the Muslim brotherhood of being in cahoot with al Qaida. Sheikh Musa was amazing. He got the applause of the "democratic camp" in the debate. When we asked him -on air- why don't we hear from his views, he said "I have no money, no TV, no web site."

Well, "the War of ideas" must be more imaginative. Here is a cleric from the dunes of Arabia, fighting by himself against the Sith Lords of al Qaida. As for al Kimmi in Egypt (see previous post), he is a sort of a lonely Jedi in the Sahara.

He surely deserves Pink Floyd's "Hello, hello, is there anyone out there?.."

Walid Phares

Alert: Blasts kill 83 in Egyptian Red Sea resort

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - At least 83 people were killed and 200 injured when car bombs ripped through shopping and hotel areas in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday in the worst attack in Egypt since 1981.

Link: Reuters

WALID PHARES: Jedi al Kimmi in trouble in Egypt

Mr Sayed al Kimmi is an Egyptian intellectual who advocates freedom of thinking and pluralism. He, and some of his friends have launched an intellectual movement calling for the restoration of Egypt's ancestral identity. He would be the equivalent of a writer and lecturer calling for the renaissance of native cultures, such as Indians in the United States.

Many of his books were banned by Al Azhar, (University and Islamic religious authorities in Egypt) because he criticized Islamic theology. He struggles for the pre-Arab Pharaonic identity of Egypt, the longer period of history Egypt has known over 5,000 years. He was regarded as an apostate by religious leaders although not charged officially. However, he was threatened by JIhadi Salafists who resent the fact that he calls for the return to pre-Islamic culture. He told his entourage that he received emails he believed were from Al Qaida threatening to kill him.

4 Suspects Identified

London police will hold a news conference shortly where they will release information on 4 suspects tied to yesterday's failed bombings in London.  Police also shot and killed a man at a Tube station this morning that was apparently linked to the attacks.  As always, more details as they come.

Update:  Police confirmed that the shooting this morning was directly linked to yesterday's attacks.  The bombs yesterday were apparently homemade, and all detonated, but only partially.  Police also released pictures of the 4 suspects, from CCTV footage:

Update II: An arrest has been made.

WALID PHARES: London: Behind Infidel Lines

From today's FrontPageMagazine.com:

"We have to wait and see if these incidents are terrorism related." When I heard this sentence uttered by anchors quoting officials in Great Britain after Thursday's explosions in London's subways, I told myself: Western instincts are still numbed, even though progress in popular mobilization is clear. Read More.

Pentagon Report Cites Progress in Iraq

The most recent Pentagon report on Iraq cites progress on political, economic and security fronts.  The report also informed Congress that Iraqis are still intent to move towards democracy despite the insurgents.

More from the Associated Press here.

Alert: Confirmed - 4 sites in London

FDD's Walid Phares on MSNBC  commenting on the new London attacks - now.

NBC’s Keith Miller reports that London authorities have arrested at least two suspects.

CLIFF MAY: If You Don't Have Enough to Worry About

From his NRO post:

In 1998, an official People's Liberation Army publishing house brought out a treatise called "Unrestricted Warfare," written by two senior army colonels, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. …

Cols. Qiao and Wang write approvingly of Al Qaeda, Colombian drug lords and computer hackers who operate outside the "bandwidths understood by the American military." They envision a scenario in which a "network attack against the enemy" — clearly a red, white and blue enemy — would be carried out "so that the civilian electricity network, traffic dispatching network, financial transaction network, telephone communications network and mass media network are completely paralyzed," leading to "social panic, street riots and a political crisis." Only then would conventional military force be deployed "until the enemy is forced to sign a dishonorable peace treaty."…  Continue reading Cliff's post here.

CLIFF MAY: The Gaza Gamble

From today's Scripps Howard News Service:

In a few weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to turn Gaza over to the Palestinian Authority. Angry protests have shaken Israel. Gun battles have broken out among rival Palestinian factions inside Gaza. Meanwhile, terrorists continue to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. And this is the easy part. Read More.

Read the Spanish Translation.

CLAUDIA ROSETT: All the Secretary-General's Men: the Tangled Web of U.N. Cronyism

From today's New York Sun:

Reforming the United Nations is a tall order at the best of times. Today it stands no chance at all unless it starts by removing the network that during Kofi Annan's more than seven years as secretary-general has already helped him "reform" the world body - twice. Read More.

London Tube Stations Evacuated

Three London Underground stations have been evacuated following reports of incidents on trains.  According to CNN, no casualties have been reported in any of the incidents and police said they were not treating the evacuations as a "major incident."  More info as its available.

Update: Reports are now coming in that London police are stating that three small "devices" detonated inside Underground stations.

Latest Global Jihad Monitor Released

FDD's weekly compendium of stories on the Global War on Terrorism, the Global Jihad Monitor, is now available.  This week's Monitor reports on stories from Iraq, the U.S., Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Israel/PA, Australia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the UK, and more.

Saudi Security Forces Uncover Bomb Materials

The Saudi Interior Ministry has announced that its security forces have uncovered a terrorist hideout south of Ryadh filled with bomb making materials.  The raid apparently took place yesterday, but was not announced until hours after the U.S. Embassy warned American citizens to be on the alert for possible attacks in the kingdom.

US Issues Warning Of Possible Attack in Saudi Arabia

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a warning to American citizens today stating that it had "received indications of operational planning for a terrorist attack or attacks in the Kingdom."  No specific details are available.

CLAUDIA ROSETT: Was Former U.N. Official Wrongly Accused in Oil-for-Food Probe?

From today's Fox News.com:

The secretive Volcker inquiry into the more than $110 billion United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal plans to issue a third interim report later this month — to tie up “loose ends” from the previous two reports, as a committee spokesman recently put it. [Read More]

CLIFF MAY: Should the U.S. Negotiate with Terrorists?

This  cartoon from Ash-Sharq al-Awsat (June 28) shows why not.

Our friend, AEI scholar and former Pentagon official Michael Rubin, observes that it “illustrates the perception within the Middle East that the U.S. outreach to the insurgents is a sign of weakness, not of compromise.

“It is a lesson we should have learned: Our empowerment of Baathists in the Fallujah brigade, the 101st’s embrace of Baathists and Islamists in Mosul, and the CPA’s re-Baathification all backfired and led to violence.

“Regardless, it is not our place to negotiate with insurgents:  The Iraqi government is elected and we should not undercut their authority nor disrespect their sovereignty."

Read more of my postings at National Review Online.

CLIFF MAY: Sassy Suicide Bombers

This won’t surprise you: Britain’s left-wing Guardian newspaper has a “trainee journalist” on staff who is a member of Hizb Ut Tahrir – an Islamist organization so radical it is banned even in Germany, Russia, Holland and a number of Arab organizations.

Read the rest of my post on National Review Online.

CLIFF MAY: Germany Needs a 'Patriot Act'

Germany's highest court has freed a suspected al-Qaeda financier.

“The court's main argument was that Germany's law implementing Europe-wide warrant powers did not provide for judicial review of extradition orders.” 

Mamoun Darkazanli “is known to have associated with the Hamburg cell of 9/11 hijackers, and is accused of being a high-level al Qaeda contact in Europe.” Details here.

See this posting and more on National Review Online.

ANDY McCARTHY: Did the CIA "Out" Valerie Plame?

From today's National Review Online:

With each passing day, the manufactured "scandal" over the publication of Valerie Plame's relationship with the CIA establishes new depths of mainstream-media hypocrisy. A highly capable special prosecutor is probing the underlying facts, and it is appropriate to withhold legal judgments until he completes the investigation over which speculation runs so rampant. But it is not too early to assess the performance of the press. It's been appalling. [Read More]

CLIFF MAY: Reporters' Notebook

This morning I have a post showing that The Nation’s David Corn -- not syndicated columnist Bob Novak -- was the first to reveal that Valerie Plame was an undercover operative. It further suggests that David did so based on information provided to him by none other than Joseph C. Wilson IV.

While working on that piece, I had an exchange with David and, with his permission, I thought I’d share that with you. 

Read the rest  on NRO.

CLIFF MAY: Lessons of London

Among the things we should learn from the terrorist attack on London is that it is wrong to believe – as many still do -- that if we just leave the radical Islamists alone they will leave us alone.

From Charles Krauthammer’s most recent column:

Early news reports of the London bombings mentioned that police found no suspects among known Islamist cells in Britain. Come again? Why in God's name is a country letting known Islamist cells thrive, instead of just rolling them up?

British Islamists had spoken of a "covenant of security" under which Britain would be spared Islamic terrorism so long as it allowed radical clerics free rein. Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed, for example, a Syrian-born, exiled Saudi cleric granted asylum 19 years ago, openly preaches jihad against Britain. He is sought by the press for comment all the time. And, a lovely touch, he actually lives on the British dole -- even though he rejects the idea of British citizenship, saying, "I don't want to become a citizen of Hell."

The full column is here.

CLIFF MAY: Sign of Progress?

In some key Muslim countries, support for suicide bombings and other acts of violence has "declined dramatically," while growing majorities or pluralities of Muslims surveyed now say democracy can work in their countries and is not just a political system for the West.

Hat tip to Captain's Quarters which has more here. 

Poll Finds Drop in Muslim Support for Terrorism

This story from the Washington Post (on the new Pew survey) seems to show some positive signs in regard to Muslims' views on terrorism and democracy in the Middle East.  The results from Jordan are extremely troubling however, as is the general attitude towards Jews and Christians throughout the region.

New Issue: Global Jihad Monitor

The latest edition of the Global Jihad Monitor is now available.  It includes stories on terrorist attacks in London, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and elsewhere.

CLIFF MAY: What's Left?

Cliff's latest Scripps Howard article looks at the 'left wing' supporters of the Iraq War:

The war in Iraq is a neo-conservative project, right?  Yes, in the sense that in the aftermath of 9/11, President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have come to believe that “the defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom.”

But little noticed is the fact that some of the strongest supporters of this revolutionary idea are on the left.

Read the Spanish Translation.

MEDIA: Cliff May on CNN

Discussing Valerie Plame.

TRANSCRIPT

Here's the latest from CNN.

Cliff on India

Cliff spoke at a press conference sponsored by the US- India League. He discussed the need for new alliances to fight for freedom, democracy and human rights.

Read More about the event.

Read Cliff's prepared remarks.

CLIFF MAY: More on Rove

In his conversation with Matt Cooper was Karl Rove responding to Joe Wilson’s claim that Vice President Cheney sent him on the mission to Niger? Read the rest on NRO

CLIFF MAY: Anti-History

Juan Cole, the President of the Middle East Studies Association, continues to  blame Israel for all sorts of strange things, making up the evidence as he goes along, all in an apparent attempt to persuade readers to share his antipathy for the Jewish state. But Martin Kramer slices and dices him -- it's here and it's well worth reading.

CLAUDIA ROSETT: Saddam and al Qaeda

Claudia's new Opinion Journal article comments on the President's position towards the Saddam - al-Qaeda connection:

...There's another speech Mr. Bush still needs to give. That would be the one in which he says: I told you so--there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

CLIFF MAY: No Regrets

The man accused of killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh said he acted out of his religious beliefs and would do “exactly the same” if he were ever set free.

“I take complete responsibility for my actions. I acted purely in the name of my religion,” Mohammed Bouyeri told the court in Amsterdam.

The story is here.

CLIFF MAY: Rove

Two possibilities and a world of difference between them:

1) Rove knowingly exposed a covert CIA agent as a way to “punish” Joe Wilson.

2) Rove was asked why the Bush administration would send someone like Joe Wilson to Africa on a secret mission for the CIA. Rove answered: “We didn’t. His wife works at the CIA. She got him the assignment.”

Read the rest of my post on NRO.

The Weekly E-Newsletter

...is now available.

CLIFF MAY: Laqueur on London

Longtime terrorism scholar Walter Laqueur’s essay in today’s WSJ is well worth reading. To read more, see my post in NRO.

What Do You Think Churchill Would Call Them?

According to the Telegraph:

The BBC has re-edited some of its coverage of the London Underground and bus bombings to avoid labelling the perpetrators as "terrorists", it was disclosed yesterday….The BBC's guidelines state that its credibility is undermined by the "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgments". Consequently, "the word 'terrorist' itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding" and its use should be "avoided", the guidelines say.

Australia Fights On

Reuters reports that Australian PM John Howard and his cabinet have decided to deploy up to 400 more troops, including elite forces to Afghanistan.

Hat tip: Little Green Footballs.

From Srebrenica to Baghdad

On the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica slaughter, it is useful to consider what the genocide has taught us about intervention.

No Surrender!

An interesting article by Christopher Hitchens on the London bombings from The Scotsman.

Middle-East Democracy Digest

Highlighting leading commentators from the Greater Middle East speaking out on political and economic reform, religious tolerance, and women's and human rights. Read More!

Subscribe to the MEDD.

Bribery? At the U.N.?

According to Claudia's new New York Sun article:

The Manhattan District Attorney's office has opened a criminal investigation into the former head of the U.N. oil-for-food program, Benon Sevan, the DA's office has just confirmed for the first time.

The probe, apparently well advanced, involves allegations of commercial bribery related to Mr. Sevan's role as executive director from 1997-2003 of the oil-for-food relief program for Iraq, then under U.N. sanctions against the former regime of Saddam Hussein. Mr. Sevan was picked for the job by Secretary-General Annan.

Campus Recruiters

Al-Qaeda "is secretly recruiting affluent, middle-class Muslims in British universities and colleges to carry out terrorist attacks in this country," according to the Times of London, citing leaked Whitehall documents.

The paper said that a network of "extremist recruiters" is circulating on campuses targeting Muslims with "technical and professional qualifications," particularly engineering and IT degrees.

"Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan police chief, revealed separately last night that up to 3,000 British-born or British-based people had passed through Osama Bin Laden's training camps."

There's also this estimate: "Intelligence indicates that the number of British Muslims actively engaged in terrorist activity, whether at home or abroad or supporting such activity, is extremely small and estimated at less than 1%."

But that still means there may be as many as 16,000 potential terrorists or active terrorist supporters in Britain. The story is here.

To the White House

"We are going to the White House so that Islam will be victorious, Allah willing, and the White House will become Muslim House." MEMRI translates what "the face of the next generation of Muslims in America" says when he's in Egypt. Hat tip: Kathryn Lopez.

Why No Protest?

Did any of those gathered in Scotland to protest the G8 protest the terrorist bombings in London? Why not? Discuss among yourselves.

The Kind of Email That Makes My Day

"We have a son in Baghdad. He is a West Point grad and career US Army officer. He recently sent us an email that reads exactly like your column. I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper (owned by the NYT) criticizing an editorial calling Iraq a 'quagmire.' ... Lordy, Cliff, where are these journalists coming from?"
- Alan G. Pankratz

The column to which Mr. Pankratz refers is here.

Fellow Blogs Bombings

Former FDD Academic Fellow Derek Catsam has been following the aftermath of the London bombings in his blog.

The Proper Response

The G8 leaders were appropriately outraged, but that's not enough. If terrorism is to be defeated, terrorism must not just fail -- it must be seen as counter-productive, as a tactic that sets back the causes it claims to champion.

To accomplish this, Blair should have said that since the terrorists are demanding that Britain remove its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, he will send additional troops to both countries. Other G8 leaders should have said that they, too, will now take additional measures in support of the coalition effort.

Danger Zone! Sunday night at 9pm

This Sunday's groundbreaking, hard-hitting WMAL radio show Danger Zone will feature Dana Priest, Professor Donald Losman and FDD's Tanya Gilly-Khailany. [Read More]

Is it War?

Andy McCarthy examines this question in light of the London terrorist attacks in his latest NRO piece.

Motives and Root Causes

On the BBC today one British official was quite puzzled that the terrorists would strike during the G8, a time when world leaders were addressing “poverty, inequality and injustice.”

That presupposes that the terrorists care about “poverty, inequality and injustice.” How stupid do you have to be to believe that someone who takes money from a Saudi billionaire to buy bombs cares about “poverty and inequality”? How ignorant do you have to be to believe that to Radical Islamists “justice” means anything other than infidels choking on their own blood, their civilization burning and a glorious, renewed caliphate arising from the ashes?

Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens provides some perspective on the London attacks.

Iran's New President Threatens to Kill Americans

We can't say he hasn't warned us. The Regime Change in Iran blog has more.

Galloway First Pol To Try To Score Political Points From London Attack

George Galloway has released a statement on the terrorist attacks in London this morning.  True to form, he blames the attack on the British government and their involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Israel Was NOT WARNED Before London Attack

Initial claims that U.K. officials had warned Israeli officials about the possibility of an attack have been officially denied by the Israelis.  According to Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, there was a warning given to the Israelis, but it came in after the first bomb went off.

Egypt Envoy to Iraq - Killed

Zarqawi's group has announced on the internet that they have murdered the Egyptian envoy to Iraq.  This follows the group taking responsibility for the abduction earlier in the week.

What is to be Done?

CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour just asked some expert whether there is anything that can be done to prevent such attacks.

Part of the answer – a part you won’t hear often – is this: When terrorists are captured they must be effectively interrogated in order to find out what they know about terrorist plots, cells and procedures.

No, that doesn’t mean torture. Yes, that does mean subjecting enemy combatants to “stress and duress,” using the most effective psychological methods to influence them to reveal what they know.

But if you do that, do not expect to be popular with the International Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International etc.

Terrorism as Extreme Public Relations

Tony Blair said it was “particularly barbaric” that this terrorist attack has taken place while the G8 is meeting, while world leaders were working on such problems as African poverty.

But of course that’s the point. Now the G8 will be all about them – the terrorists, their grievances, their demands, their power.

The Enemy's Strategy

Cliff's new Scripps Howard column is on the debate over victory in Iraq:

Our enemies in Iraq have never won a battle against American forces. They hold not a single province, city or town. In fact, militarily they have achieved virtually nothing. So why is there a debate over who is winning? Here's why: Our enemies in Iraq are not aiming for a military victory. They are aiming for a psychological victory, to be followed by a political victory. By littering the streets of Iraq with bodies, they mean to demoralize Americans and cause politicians in Washington to begin to accept the prospect of retreat and defeat. [Read More]

Another Scandal at the U.N.? How Surprising...

Claudia's newest NRO peice, Another Scandal Corner, discusses the newest OIl-for-Food revelations:

Here's the $19.2 billion question: Among the investigators now dredging the depths of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, is anyone focused on the biggest riptide of cash that flowed from Saddam Hussein via one of the U.N.'s most obscure channels?

That would be the $19.2 billion in Iraqi oil money disbursed by the U.N. over the past 12 years, not in the name of Iraqi relief, but as reparations for Saddam's 1990-1991 invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Read More.

GJM

This week's Global Jihad Monitor is now available.  If you want to receive the weekly  Monitor directly in your inbox, just send a note to GJM@defenddemocracy.org.

And We're Off... Again

With only a few weeks to go before Europeans take off on vacation to escape the summer heat and the American tourists, FDD Senior Fellow Avi Jorisch and I are off to Europe again to continue CATM's campaign against Hezbollah television.  This trip's target... the French satellite company Globecast.  Wish us luck!  Not only must we face down opponents of America but we may have to brave another heatwave similar to the one that hit us last trip.   The global war on terrorism does not come with air conditioning.

Is Russia Really Ready?

As leaders of the G8 gather today in Gleneagles, Scotland, FDD asks whether Russia is still qualified to be a member nation in an ad running in today's Financial Times and in an op-ed by Cliff. Read More.

Back from Beirut

Upon his return from Lebanon, Ambassador Carlson had these thoughts:

A City of great food, a jazzed-up downtown with no more bombed-out buildings no corpses on the corners, but still a land of significant political confusion, a fragile pastiche of competing and contradictory factions..

We watched some of the elections in Lebanon.  They were free and fair, as things go in the Mideast: No bombs, no polling place intimidation by thugs, no ballot box stuffing, not that you could see.  But the money was flowing like water from a summer fire-hydrant. Votes were being bought and sold, widely and deeply.

Andy McCarthy on Judicial Review Panel

FDD Senior Fellow Andrew McCarthy will participate in a Constitution Project forum on Monday, July 11, entitled, "Post 9/11 Limits on Judicial Review: What Role for the Courts in Counter-Terrorism Efforts?" For more information and registration details click here.

Some Quick Links to Stories That You May Have Missed

The latest Global Jihad Monitor will be available tomorrow evening, but these links to some stories you may have missed over the long weekend can whet your appetite...

• A pro-government cleric has died after being shot by suspected Taliban militants in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.   [Link]
• Suspected insurgent houses raided in Iraq.  [Link]
• Islamic militants claim Dagestan bomb, vow more.   [Link]
• Saudi Arabia says kills top al-Qaeda militant.  [Link]
• Hamas wont join Abbas’ government.  [Link]
• 50 terror groups now thought to have a presence in Canada.  [Link]
• Six jailed in Tunisia for ties to Iraq insurgents.  [Link]
• Six attackers killed in raid on Indian holy site.  [Link]

Lots more tomorrow...

The Weekly E-Newsletter

...is now available.

You Take the High Road

In his new NRO article, Cliff discusses Russia's democratic shortcomings as the G8 summit approaches

Fixing the U.N.

U.N. reform is vital, which is not to say that it's likely. Among the issues now being debated is whether there should be additional permanent members on the Security Council.

Those vying hardest: Japan, Germany, Brazil and India. The administration has made it known that it supports Japan's inclusion. I would argue that India, a longstanding democracy and one of the world's most populous countries, also deserves consideration.

I don't think Brazil is ready for such a responsibility. As for Germany, the European Union already has two members -- France and the United Kingdom -- on the Security Council. Germany would represent a third EU seat. That shouldn't happen -- unless we also add Texas or California as a second U.S. seat.

BTW: Whether expanding the Security Council is a good idea or not, how does that constitute reform, how does that fix anything that's broken?

Lessons Learned

Beyond the question of Saddam's ties to al-Qaeda is the question of what lessons should be learned from 9/11. For example, in the 1990s, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden took over Afghanistan and the United States did nothing about it. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were the consequences of that inaction.

Were we, in this decade, to let al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi take over Iraq, what would be the likely consequences?

And to those who don't want to fight Zarqawi and al-Qaeda in Iraq, a question: Where would you prefer to fight them?

In the war now being fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, America's primary purpose is not to punish terrorists for acts they have committed in the past. That is secondary. Surely, our primary mission ought to be to eliminate terrorists who are planning attacks in the future.

The U.S. has not always responded seriously when people made it clear they intended to kill us. That mistake should never be made again.

A Reason to Pop the (French) Champagne

A REASON TO POP THE (FRENCH) CHAMPAGNE: European al-Qaeda figures has been captured -- thanks to cooperation between French and American counterintelligence officials working together at a top secret center in Paris. Vive La France!

But if the center, code-named Alliance Base, is top secret, how come there was a report on it on the front page of Sunday's Washington Post?

BTW, my Scripps Howard column is on CIA leaks (and illogic) and it makes the argument that there is no such thing as an experienced suicide bomber.

Also BTW, the detained al-Qaeda honcho's name is Christian Ganczarski. I wonder if naming your son Christian is a risky thing to do -- like naming your daughter Chastity.

Hamas to Join PA?

The AP reports that Abbas has invited the terrorist group Hamas to join his Cabinet, as the Palestinians prepair for the Israeli withdrawal next month.

Working for Their Freedom

As Americans prepare to celebrate our democracy, it is a good time to welcome and encourage the advance of freedom around the world. Read More.

And the Connections Continue...

In a follow up to his piece, It's All About 9/11, Andy continues to research further connections between the 9/11 attacks, al-Qaeda and Iraq in this new NRO piece.

U.S. Finishes African Anti-Terror Training

The U.S. military has completed an anti-terror training program in Africa.  CNN reports: "Starting June 6, 700 U.S. troops ran about 2,100 soldiers from nine North and West African nations through counterterrorism exercises including mock patrols, target practice -- even airborne parachute drills that sent hundreds of African soldiers drifting from U.S. C-130 transport aircraft."

Turks Kill Attempted Suicide Bomber

Turkish police may have averted a terrorist attack this morning in Ankara.  Turkish TV caught the event on tape.  I'll post a link when available.

Update: Al Jazeera claims the bomber has been identified.

Update II:  Video is available here.  The clip that is 3:13 long is the complete raw video.

Jakarta Police Make More Terrorist Arrests

Indonesia continues to make apparent inroads against Jemaah Islamiah.  Though generally not covered extensively in the Western press, Indonesia has launched numerous raids against this dangerous group over the past year.  More info on past actions can be found in the Global Jihad Monitor archive.

FDD Academic Fellow Sergeant Joseph Skelly Awarded Bronze Star

Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2005) - The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) congratulates 2003-2004 Academic Fellow Dr. Joe Skelly on being awarded the Bronze Star for his “exceptionally meritorious service” in Iraq.

“Sgt. Skelly epitomizes all the good that U.S. forces are accomplishing on behalf of the Iraqi people,” said David Silverstein, FDD vice president of campus programs. Read the full press release.

July 4th in the Middle East - Day of Celebration?

Walid explores how July 4th impacts the Middle East:

Americans understand an intractable portion of the Islamic world opposes America and all she stands for. What many Americans do not know this Fourth of July weekend is how much Middle Easterners know about America's ideals, values, and revolutionary principles of liberty.

Read his full Front Page Magazine article.

September 11 and the Collapse of National Unity

Daniel Henninger questions how American society shifted from united to divisive in his new Opinion Journal piece, From Ground Zero to Bagdhad.

Fool Me Once...

Roger L. Simon highlights Claudia's research into the Oil-for-Food scandal.
http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2005/06/fool_me_once_sh.php