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In Berlin, Obama Vows to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, Bring 'Peace With Justice'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:03:00 GMT

Against a backdrop that evoked historic speeches by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, President Barack Obama vowed to "move beyond [the] Cold War" and to begin a push for reducing nuclear weapons, eventually eliminating them: "As long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe," he said.

President Obama's refrain was "peace with justice," a label he applied to a variety of causes, from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to climate change and fuel-efficient cars. He also touted several achievements of his generation, including the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, a war staunchly opposed by Germany.

Speaking after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama removed his jacket during his remarks, and made his characteristic self-references, recalling his previous speech to Berlin, a campaign visit in 2008 in which he spoke to a larger crowd at the Victory Column after being denied permission to use the Brandenburg Gate.

Obama could not, as Kennedy and Reagan had, speak about the challenge of confronting a global enemy. So he attempted to evoke a vast array of global causes and ambitions. The speech had the feel of a campaign rally, with a long list of platitudes and little of substance, beyond his pledge to start new nuclear talks.

Much of it seemed an attempt to bask in the past by imitating it. President Obama declared, for example, that "Government exists to serve the individual, and not the way around." It was a principle in which both Kennedy and Reagan believed. Yet Obama's own record in office has challenged that principle at every turn.

State Dept Confirms Taliban Concessions Within Hours of Fatal Attack on U.S. Troops

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:49:00 GMT

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that talks between the United States and the Taliban for a "political solution" to the security of Afghanistan will result in concessions from both sides. Within hours of that statement, the Taliban took credit for an attack in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of four Americans.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday morning that the Taliban have "claimed responsibility" for an attack on an U.S. air base in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of four Americans. This attack was facilitated after the Taliban announced the opening of offices in Qatar for the purpose of negotiations for a "political solution" in the Afghan region.

The State Department seems to have put no pre-conditions for the Taliban to come to the negotiation table and suggests that major concessions could be made to the terrorist group in an effort to bring security and stability to the region without the need for U.S. presence.

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki left the possibility open with reporters on Tuesday that upcoming "negotiations" with the Taliban could result in the delisting from the United States' "Most Wanted" terrorists list in order to facilitate stability in the Afghan region. When asked about the Taliban's insistence for leaders to be removed from the "Most Wanted" list, Psaki said, "There need to be negotiations, there need to be discussions. The U.S. will have some, Afghans will have some, but I’m not going to get ahead of what the end results will be."

QUESTION: And several Taliban leaders are on a most-wanted list. Is the U.S. moving ahead in delisting them? That has been one of the conditions for the Taliban.

MS. PSAKI: Again, this is just the first step in the process. There is a journey to go here. So it’s significant because we are taking a step in the process, but there need to be negotiations, there need to be discussions. The U.S. will have some, Afghans will have some, but I’m not going to get ahead of what the end results will be.

Psaki also told reporters that it was no a requirement for the Taliban to renounce Al Qaeda or terrorist activities before coming to the negotiating table to discuss transitions in the Afghan region. "This is not a pre-condition," Psaki confirmed.

QUESTION: And when you look at their statement, there is that line, “will not allow anyone to use the Afghan land to threaten anyone.” So that’s the line that you’re talking about.
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: That’s not talking directly about the – about al-Qaida, but ultimately the U.S. wants them to very directly cut their links publicly with al-Qaida, correct?
MS. PSAKI: That is the end goal, yes.
QUESTION: So this is enough?
MS. PSAKI: This is an important statement. This allows us to get the process started. And as you know, there are some end goals in this process.
QUESTION: So just to be clear on Jill’s point, the Taliban are not required to disown, disavow, or disassociate themselves publicly with al-Qaida to have --
MS. PSAKI: That is a part of the end goal of the process.
QUESTION: Right. But to begin the process, to talk with them, they don’t have to do that? This is not a precondition for them participating?
MS. PSAKI: Correct.

It appears that the Taliban are not even required to support the Afghan constitution before coming to the negotiation table for a "political solution" concerning the region. When asked if the Taliban were required to declare up front equal treatment of women and minorities would be an essential cornerstone of the region, Psaki claimed that it was a non-negotiable component of the upcoming agreement. However, the Taliban have yet to agree to those terms.

As Associated Press reporter Matt Lee pointed out, since agreement of equality was not a pre-condition, it was a negotiable clause. Psaki eventually became irritated with the back and forth and claimed that there was a "long process" ahead of the talks to stabilize the region.

It's also worth noting that the Psaki accepted the premise of Lee's assertion that the United States does not consider Afghanistan a "military victory."

QUESTION: Where in their statement does it talk about respecting the rights of women in the Afghan constitution?
MS. PSAKI: Well, that is respecting the constitution, which is an end goal of the process, is – has that included in it.
QUESTION: So that’s up for negotiation?
MS. PSAKI: No, it certainly is not. That’s something that we feel is vital.
QUESTION: Well, then, if that – but if it’s not – I don’t get it. If they haven’t agreed to respect the constitution, then it must mean that it’s up for negotiation.
MS. PSAKI: It’s not up for negotiation. That is the end goal of the process. This is just a beginning. The opening of the office is just a beginning of the process.
QUESTION: Okay. But, I mean, they have to come to that conclusion.
MS. PSAKI: Correct.
QUESTION: Well, then I don’t get why you’re so happy because they – I mean, they’re --
MS. PSAKI: I don’t – don’t indicate my --
QUESTION: Well, the Secretary said – I mean, “It’s good news, we’re very pleased at what’s taken place,” and I’m not sure I get – if they haven’t agreed to do the things that you want them to do, except for these – this one statement with the two parts of it – and – but that those are still the end goal of the – I’m not – it must mean that these are things that are up for negotiation. Otherwise --
MS. PSAKI: I don’t believe – they’re not up for negotiation. Those are – those were defined as the end goal of the process.
QUESTION: All right. So you’re hoping that the Afghans will convince the Taliban, their brethren, to respect the constitution and the rights of minorities and women in their conversations, which means that that is up for negotiation?
MS. PSAKI: It’s not up for negotiation. That is the end goal of the process of reconciliation. This is a first step in the process. I’m not overestimating or overstating what it means, but certainly, a first step is one farther step than we had just a few days ago.
[...]
QUESTION: I guess I’m just not clear on this whole negotiation, but you have a set endpoint. This is not a surrender, clearly. You don’t believe that there’s a – clearly a military victory here, so it’s not like Germany or Japan after the Second World War. So there is, in fact, a negotiation that has to go on.
But if you’ve already decided on what the end goal, the terms – obviously the end – the overreaching end goal is to have Afghanistan at peace and not a threat to anybody around it. But you – up and to that point there has to be negotiation to make it worthwhile for the Taliban. And if you don’t – if you say that – if you’ve already set out what the end goal is in terms of them having to respect the existing constitution exactly the way it’s written with the protections for minorities and women, then I don’t get how it’s a negotiation. Either you think that these are points that can be negotiated, that the Taliban have legitimate concerns that have merit and can be addressed in a negotiation, or you don’t.
MS. PSAKI: Well, our outcome and what we would like to see here, as you mentioned, has not been secret. We’ve laid this out very clearly, publicly and privately.
QUESTION: Well, I’m not saying that it is secret. I just don’t understand what they’re negotiating.
MS. PSAKI: Well, they’re negotiating how to reconcile their efforts on both sides.
QUESTION: Yeah. But the Taliban come in and the Afghans say you have to respect the constitution and every single thing that it means, and the Taliban say well, we don’t like this part or we don’t like this part. And that – but you’re saying that can’t be negotiated. So I --
MS. PSAKI: Well, Matt, clearly there are stakes from both sides that are prompting them to move back to the process here. I’m sure they will all have lots to say about that.
QUESTION: All right.
MS. PSAKI: But we feel it’s an important step forward.

State Dept. Unsure if Taliban Still Considered Terrorists

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:32:00 GMT

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she was "not sure" whether the Taliban is designated as a terrorist organization when a reporter pressed her on negotiations between the United States and the Islamist group during Tuesday's press briefing.

These talks come on the heels of the Taliban opening offices in Qatar, allegedly to aid the Afghan government's progress toward stability without a U.S. presence.

The international coalition recently gave primary responsibility for Afghanistan's security to the country's army and police. Now the Taliban have opened offices in Qatar to facilitate talks for a political solution.

From the Associated Press:

In a major breakthrough, the Taliban and the U.S. announced Tuesday that they will hold formal talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan but President Barack Obama warned the process won't be quick or easy.

The comments came on a day in which Afghan forces took the lead from the U.S.-led NATO coalition for security nationwide, marking a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role. It also opened the way for the full withdrawal of most foreign troops in 18 months

After months of delays, the Taliban opened a political office in the Qatari capital of Doha, paving the way for talks to begin. The decision was a reversal of months of failed efforts to start peace talks while Taliban militants intensified a campaign targeting urban centers and government installations.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has halted these talks with the United States "to protest the way the Americans are reaching out to the Taliban in efforts to find a political solution to the war." Karzai expressed his disappointment with the U.S. government for holding direct talks with the Taliban before bringing Afghan officials into the negotiations.

When reminded that the Taliban was once labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., Psaki said that she was "not sure how they’re defined at this particular moment."

QUESTION: I’m going to carry on with what Matt’s question is about – negotiating, the legality of it. I mean, in the eyes of the U.S., is Taliban a terrorist group?

MS. PSAKI: Well, I’m not sure how they’re defined at this particular moment.

QUESTION: Yeah.

MS. PSAKI: But the important thing here is that we’ve long said that moving toward a reconciliation process, of which they are a key part – the President has said this, the Secretary has said this – is an important part of moving towards a more stable Afghanistan. That’s why we support these efforts. That’s why we’ve been so engaged, why the Secretary has been so engaged, at every level of the government.

Psaki made this statement within hours of a Taliban attack that killed four American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan.

From the Associated Press:

The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack in Afghanistan that killed four American troops just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the U.S. on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country.

The deadly attack underscores the challenges ahead in trying to end the violence roiling Afghanistan through peace negotiations in Qatar with militants still fighting on the ground.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgents fired two rockets into the Bagram Air Base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday. American officials confirmed the base had come under attack by indirect fire -- likely a mortar or rocket -- and that four U.S. troops were killed.

Putin Refuses to Go Obama's Way on Syria

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:26:00 GMT

President Obama could not come to an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Syria when the two leaders met on June 17.

According to The Hill, Obama emerged from the meeting saying he and Putin had a "very useful conversation" but hold "different perspectives."

Obama said he does not want the disagreement on Syria to taint other parts of the U.S./Russian relations--particularly with it comes to "cooperation on counterterrorism, arms control, and other issues."

To that end, he and Putin released joint statements after the meeting, pledging to work together on counterterrorism and to launch a "bilateral working group" on information and communications technologies "in the context of international security." This group will "meet on a regular basis to consult on issues of mutual interest."

Obama also announced plans to sign a new nuclear non-proliferation treaty with Russia. Said Obama:

This, I think, is an example of the kind of constructive, cooperative, relationship that moves us out of a Cold War mindset into the realm where, by working together, we not only increase security and prosperity for the Russian and American people, but we also lead the world to a better place.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins

U.S. to Provide Almost $1 Billion to Syrian Rebels

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:17:00 GMT

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki joined her White House colleague Jay Carney in announcing $300 million in additional aid to the Syrian rebels on Tuesday. National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters that this would make the total financial "humanitarian" aid from the United States to the Syrian rebels to over $800 million.

Psaki told reporters that the Department was working with "Congress" to facilitate the new commitment by the United States and that the new financial aid would not be on the ground in Syria "overnight."

QUESTION: Jen, can you update us on the delivery of aid that was pledged in April, or anything since then (inaudible)?
MS. PSAKI: I did this a little bit yesterday, but let me provide you an update. So just as a repeat, 127 has been delivered; 123 is in the process of congressional notification.
QUESTION: Right.
MS. PSAKI: That can take some time, and components of it are being notified at different times. And then Congress typically has some time to review what has been proposed, and the specifics of the breakdown of the 123 is all being discussed as part of that process. So that is underway right now.
QUESTION: And the new aid that was announced yesterday?
MS. PSAKI: I don't have – the $300 million in humanitarian aid?
QUESTION: The 300, yeah.
MS. PSAKI: That, of course, will go through a process of working with Congress, but also determining the best way to get it on the ground. So it doesn't usually happen overnight, but we try to do it as quickly as possible.

Ben Rhodes was the first to announce the additional aid to the rebels while traveling with the President during a press briefing overseas. Rhodes said the aid includes "food, medical equipment, water, shelter for people both within Syria and in neighboring countries." Although aid has had trouble getting to Syrians in the past, the White House and the State Department seem confident that the latest pledged aid will arrive with little resistance.

MR. RHODES: I should add just one thing, since I meant to do it in the opening. Tonight in the dinner discussion, the President will also indicate, consistent with a call that has gone out for the United Nations for additional humanitarian assistance into Syria, that the U.S. will be providing over $300 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people. And that includes food, medical equipment, water, shelter for people both within Syria and in neighboring countries. And a significant amount of that funding will go inside of Syria -- a little less than half -- and then a significant amount will go to some of the countries bearing the burden of these refugee populations -- Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt as well. Because the international community has an obligation, even as we deal with the political situation and the security situation, to address the humanitarian situation.

So I mention that -- I meant to in the opening.

Q Is that new money, Ben, or is that money that's --

MR. RHODES: Yes, that's new money. So that will bring -- we'll have a fact sheet on that, but that will bring the total assistance that we provided on the humanitarian side to over $800 million.

Rhodes later said that it is the goal of the G8 Summit to give a total of $1.5 billion to Syrian rebels and "surrounding countries."

World View: Taliban Prepare for Return of 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:07:00 GMT

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

U.S. announces direct talks with Afghan Taliban to end war
Taliban prepares for return of 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'
U.S. dropped some pre-conditions for talks with Taliban
Afghan insurgents kill U.S. soldiers at Bagram base

U.S. announces direct talks with Afghan Taliban to end war

Taliban press conference in Doha on Tuesday (Reuters)

The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. representatives will open direct talks with Taliban representatives within the next few days, aimed at finding a political solution to the Afghan war. At the same time, Taliban representatives opened up a Taliban office in Doha, Qatar, where the talks with the U.S. will take place. According to a U.S. official:

"I think the US will have its first formal meeting with the Taliban, and the first meeting with the Taliban for several years, in a couple of days in Doha.
I would expect that to be followed up within days by a meeting between the Taliban and the High Peace Council, which is the structure that President [Hamid] Karzai has set up for talks of this nature. ...

We'll tell them what we want to talk about and they'll tell us what they want to talk about and we'll both adjourn and consult on next steps, and then have another meeting in a week or two later."

U.S. officials said that this is "an important first step," with no guarantee of success. As everyone knows, the U.S. is committed to withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan in 2014. VOA and AFP

Taliban prepares for return of 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'

As U.S. officials were announcing the start of talks with the Taliban, the Taliban themselves were giving a press conference in Doha, Qatar, at the "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." This was the name of the country Afghanistan when the Taliban ruled it, prior to September 11, 2001. According to the Taliban announcement:

"It is well known to all that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been waging jihad and striving to put an end to the occupation and form an independent Islamic system. To reach this goal, it has utilized every lawful means.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan simultaneously follows both military and political options and aims which are limited to Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate neither wants to pose harms to other countries from its soil nor will allow anyone to pose a threat to the security of countries from the soil of Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants good relations with all countries of the world, including the neighboring countries on the basis of mutual respect and, while desiring security at the country level, the Islamic Emirate wants security and justice at the world level.

Of course, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers its religious and national duty to gain independence from the occupation and, for that purpose, has utilized every legitimate way and will utilize it in future too."

The Taliban said that there were five main reasons why they deemed necessary to open an office in Qatar:

First: To reach understanding and initiate talks with countries of the world for the purpose of improving relations with them.
Second: To support a political and peaceful solution which includes end of occupation of Afghanistan and establishment of an independent Islamic system and true security, which the nation wants and aspires.
Third: To hold meetings with Afghans as time may demand.
Fourth: To initiate contact with the United Nations, as well as with international, regional and non-governmental organizations.
Fifth: To put political statements at the disposal of media regarding current political developments.

Gulf Times (Doha)

U.S. dropped some pre-conditions for talks with Taliban

As the 2014 withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan approaches, the U.S. has been forced to drop some previously announced pre-conditions for peace talks with the Afghan Taliban.

The Taliban made the following commitments:

They would "support" an Afghan peace process.
They would oppose the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries.

The last is an allusion to Osama bin Laden's use of Afghan soil to launch the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. However, recent attempted attacks on Europe and America have been launched from AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) in northern Africa and AQAP (Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula) in Yemen.

The U.S. has dropped some other pre-conditions for talks:

The Taliban will not forego suicide further suicide attacks or other violence in Afghanistan, as it's pursuing the political process.
The Taliban will not sever links with al-Qaeda.
The Taliban will not accept Afghanistan's constitution and, in particular, will not agree to protections for women and minorities.

The Taliban are expected to demand that all foreign troops be pulled out of Afghanistan in 2014, and that the U.S. not be permitted to leave behind a small force. Dawn (Pakistan)

Afghan insurgents kill U.S. soldiers at Bagram base

Several hours after the Taliban were announcing peace talks with the United States, insurgents killed four U.S. soldiers in an attack on Bagram Air Force Base near Kabul in Afghanistan. BBC

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Whistleblower: State Dept. 'Harassed' Her Children

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:17:23 GMT

The State Department whistleblower who revealed alleged cover-ups of misconduct under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has paid a price for her honesty, according to her attorney.

Former State Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigator Aurelia Fedensisn told Foreign Policy through a legal representative that she has since had "law enforcement officers camp out in front of her house, harass her children, and attempt to [get her to] incriminate herself."

On June 10, Breitbart News reported that Fedenisn pointed to an internal State Department Inspector General memo that showed "recent investigations were influenced, manipulated, or simply called off." These investigations were launched based on allegations of sexual assault and of members of Sec. Clinton's security detail engaging in prostitution while "on official trips in foreign countries."

The memo also included allegations of an "underground drug ring" run near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which was used to supply State Dept. contractors with drugs.

After Fedenisn blew the whistle on these issues, current investigators from the OIG went to her house and talked to her children, at least one of whom is a minor--Fedenisn was not home at the time. The investigators asked Fedenisn's son and daughter to tell them where their mother currently works and asked for her cell phone number. They then sat parked in front of the house for hours.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.

Islamic Jihad's Summer of Radicalization

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:15:00 GMT

Summer camp conjures up bucolic images of swimming and other outdoor fun, but thousands of Palestinian children will experience something quite different, as exhibited in a report issued Thursday by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

In addition to learning scouting, first-aid, and other traditional skills, kids at a Palestinian Islamic Jihad camp receive hands-on training in gruesome terror tactics, and play a variation on "capture the (Israeli) flag" that involves a young boy being dragged by his arms as the children learn the art of kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

Up to 10,000 children ages 6-16 attend each session of the "Generation of Faith" camps.

Dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with the Islamic Jihad's logo, children work with real AK-47s and face explosions and fiery burning tires in an all too memorable "war zone," Britain's Daily Mail reports.

This is just the latest example of Palestinians targeting youngsters with messages of war and glorifying death. These campers may have seen a back-to-school program aired by Hamas-controlled television called The Gifted that showed a 2-year old boy in military garb and aiming an assault weapon "at the occupying terrorists."

"We'll wear the battle-vest of self sacrifice and follow the path of the Shahids," a child narrator says as the younger boy, his face hooded, stoops down with his weapon. Hamas also runs a program for high school students called "Futuwwa" that trained thousands of teenaged boys on handling a Kalashnikov rifle and throwing grenades.

The Islamic Jihad's camp director said the goal is "to raise an outstanding generation of believing [Muslims] that are well aware of their goals in the conflict with the Zionist enemy and who adhere to the honorable Koran and to the Prophet's sunna, as [Islamic Jihad founder] Dr. Fathi Al-Shqaqi ordered us to do," the MEMRI report said.

One camper notes that he will be "an outstanding [fighter] like the honorable martyrs Muhammad Al-Sheikh Khalil, Mahmoud Al-Zatma, and Yasser Abu Al-'Aish." Those are three senior Islamic Jihad commanders involved in numerous attacks against Israel.

The camp's emphasis on training is no coincidence. Israeli Defense Forces recently reported a sharp rise in attempted kidnappings, documenting 27 cases this year alone. The children of Gaza have a rich selection of role models from which to choose.

Guest Column: The 'Sex Jihad'

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:52:56 GMT

News emerged a few weeks ago in Arabic media that yet another fatwa had called on practicing Muslim women to travel to Syria and offer their sexual services to the jihadis fighting to overthrow the secularist Assad government and install Islamic law. Reports attribute the fatwa to Saudi sheikh Muhammad al-'Arifi, who, along with other Muslim clerics, earlier permitted jihadis to rape Syrian women.

Muslim women prostituting themselves in this case is being considered a legitimate jihad because such women are making sacrifices—their chastity, their dignity—in order to help apparently sexually-frustrated jihadis better focus on the war to empower Islam in Syria.

And it is prostitution—for they are promised payment, albeit in the afterlife. The Quran declares that "Allah has purchased of the believers their persons [their bodies] and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain (Yusuf Ali trans. 9:111).

On the basis of this fatwa, several young Tunisian Muslim girls traveled to Syria to be "sex-jihadis." Video interviews of distraught parents bemoaning their daughters' fates are on the Internet, including one of a father and mother holding a picture of their daughter: "She's only 16—she's only 16! They brainwashed her!" pleads the father.

Most recently, the Egyptian-based news service Masrawy published a video interview with "Aisha," one of the Tunisian Muslim girls who went sex-jihading in Syria, only to regret her actions. While in Tunisia, Aisha said she met a Muslim woman who began talking to her about the importance of piety, including wearing the hijab; she then went on to talk about traveling to Syria to help the jihadis "fight and kill infidels" and make Allah's word supreme, adding that "women who die would do so in the way of Allah and become martyrs and enter paradise." (According to mainstream Islamic teaching, dying in jihad is the only guaranteed way to avoid hell.)

Aisha eventually came to the conclusion that she was being exploited in the name of religion and left.

While news that Muslim girls in hijabs are prostituting themselves in the name of Islam may surprise some, Islamic clerics regularly issue fatwas permitting forbidden things—so long as they help the jihad. For instance, not only did the original "underwear bomber" Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri hide explosives in his rectum to assassinate Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayef—they met in 2009 after the 22-year-old Asiri "feigned repentance for his jihadi views"—but, according to Shi'ite talk-show host Abdullah Al-Khallaf, he had fellow jihadis sodomize him to "widen" his anus to fit more explosives.

Al-Khallaf read the fatwa that purportedly justified such actions during a 2012 Fadak TV episode.

After praising Allah and declaring that sodomy is forbidden in Islam, the fatwa asserted:

However, jihad comes first, for it is the pinnacle of Islam, and if the pinnacle of Islam can only be achieved through sodomy, then there is no wrong in it. For the overarching rule of [Islamic] jurisprudence asserts that "necessity makes permissible the prohibited." And if obligatory matters can only be achieved by performing the prohibited, then it becomes obligatory to perform the prohibited, and there is no greater duty than jihad. After he sodomizes you, you must ask Allah for forgiveness and praise him all the more. And know that Allah will reward the jihadis on the Day of Resurrection, according to their intentions—and your intention, Allah willing, is for the victory of Islam, and we ask that Allah accept it of you.

While all these sex-fatwas may seem bizarre, they highlight two important (though little known in the West) points. First, that jihad is the "pinnacle" of Islam—for it makes Islam supreme; and second, the idea that "necessity makes permissible the prohibited." Because making Islam supreme through jihad is the greatest priority, anything and everything that is otherwise banned becomes permissible. All that comes to matter is one's intention, or niyya (see Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi's discussion along these lines).

As for the intersection between sex and violence (jihad), it was once explored by the Arabic satellite program Daring Question, which aired various clips of young jihadis giddily singing about their forthcoming deaths and subsequent sexual escapades in heaven. After documenting various anecdotes indicative of jihadi obsession with sex, Egyptian human rights activist Magdi Khalil concluded that "absolutely everything [jihad, suicide operations, etc.] revolves around sex in paradise," adding, "if you look at the whole of Islamic history, you come up with two words: sex and violence."

Indeed, Islam's prophet Muhammad maintained that death during jihad not only blots out all sins—including sexual ones—but it actually gratifies them:

The martyr is special to Allah. He is forgiven [of all sins] from the first drop of blood [that he sheds]. He sees his throne in paradise, where he will be adorned in ornaments of faith. He will wed the 'Aynhour [a.k.a. "voluptuous women"] and will not know the torments of the grave, and safeguards against the greater terror [hell]. … And he will copulate with 72 'Aynhour (see The Al Qaeda Reader, p. 143).

This goes to one of the many seeming contradictions in Islam: Muslim women must chastely be covered head-to-toe—yet, in the service of jihad, they are allowed to prostitute themselves. Lying is forbidden—but permissible to empower Islam. Intentionally killing women and children is forbidden—but permissible during the jihad. Suicide is forbidden—but permissible during the jihad—when it is called "martyrdom."

One may therefore expect anything from would-be jihadis, regardless of how un-Islamic the means may otherwise seem.

Even so, this uncompromising mentality, which is prevalent throughout the Islamic world, especially along the frontlines of the jihad, is the same mentality that many Western leaders and politicians think can be appeased with just a bit more respect, well-wishing, and concessions from the West.

Such are the great, and disastrous, disconnects of our time.

Raymond Ibrahim is author of the new book, Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians (published by Regnery in cooperation with Gatestone Institute, 2013). A Middle East and Islam expert, he is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and associate fellow at the Middle East Forum.

US Announces Negotiations with Taliban

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:00:00 GMT

The United States and the Taliban announced on Tuesday that formal talks will begin on coming to an agreement to rule Afghanistan. Tuesday also marked the formal transition to Afghan leadership in terms of military force from the NATO coalition. The Taliban has opened a political office in Doha, Qatar, which should provide them a home base from which to conduct negotiations. Obama celebrated the opening of the office.

Taliban Spokesman Mohammad Naim has announced that the Taliban will not accept the use of Afghan soil as a base for military operations, and supports negotiations. The Obama administration stated that US representatives will start bilateral negotiations with the Taliban.

Current Afghan leader Hamid Karzai will also be sending representatives to Qatar. “We are hopeful that after starting negotiations in Qatar, immediately the negotiations and all the peace process should move into Afghanistan,” Karzai said. “Afghanistan shouldn’t be center of the discussions outside of the country.” Karzai also stated that the talks would commence without “any immediate precondtions.”

Marine General Joseph Dunford, the top US commander in Afghanistan, also celebrated the beginning of talks: “My perspective has always been that this war is going to have to end with political reconciliation and so I frankly would be supportive of any positive movement in terms of reconciliation particularly an Afghan led and an Afghan owned process that would bring reconciliation between the afghan people and the Taliban in the context of the Afghan constitution.”

Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013).

Pentagon Opening Navy SEALs, Army Rangers to Women

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:43:57 GMT

As early as June 18, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is expected to announce that the Pentagon is opening the Navy SEALs and the U.S. Army Rangers to women.

Although the timeline for incorporating women into the teams is still under review, The Hill reports SEALs will begin allowing enlistment first, as early as next month. The Army expects to have adjusted their training requirements to fit women by July 2015.

The SEALs have long been associated with secret combat and counter-terrorism operations. SEAL Team Six will forever be remembered as those who carried out the daring night raid to kill Osama bin Laden.

The Army Rangers "specialize in small-unit combat tactics [and] airborne assault operations," and are viewed as the "main entryway into Army Special forces."

All female units, "known as Female Engagement Teams, already work alongside American regular and special forces to train and equip U.S.-backed local militias in Afghanistan."

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.

World View: 80,000 Hezbollah-Trained Syrian Soldiers Ready to Retake Aleppo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:33:00 GMT

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

80,000 Hezbollah-trained Syrian soldiers ready to retake Aleppo
Hamas rebukes its former ally, Hezbollah, over Syria
Israel toughens law against 'Price Tag' attacks

80,000 Hezbollah-trained Syrian soldiers ready to retake Aleppo

Kuwaiti protesters burn a picture of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (AFP)

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime's army, with some 80,000 military forces trained by Hezbollah, is preparing to launch a massive ground offensive to recapture the city of Aleppo. Hezbollah and the regime army cooperated two weeks ago in the stunning recapture of Qusair, which was accomplished by flattening the entire city with heavy weapons, killing thousands of civilians, combined with street to street fighting by Hezbollah militants. Hezbollah claims that their fighters will not be participating in the battle of Aleppo, but that it will be "supervising and providing military tactical advice on how to coordinate and conduct the offensive." The recapture of Aleppo will mark a significant turning point in the Syrian war, and might signal that the end of the war is near, with a significant victory for al-Assad, Hezbollah, Iran and Russia, and significant humiliation for Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United States. Al-Arabiya (Dubai)

Hamas rebukes its former ally, Hezbollah, over Syria

The fallout from Hezbollah's active participation in the Syrian war on the side of president Bashar al-Assad continues to grow. Most Mideast Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, used to love (Shia) Hezbollah because of its leadership in the "resistance" to Israel. But Hezbollah has opened a continually growing Shia-Alawite versus Sunni fault that's becoming increasingly vitriolic each day. Thus, the official Saudi Press Agency published a statement calling Hezbollah a "loathsome, sectarian" group. And last week, Egypt did an about-face and severed all diplomatic relations with Syria, and the Arab nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) voted to impose sanctions against Hezbollah. On Monday, Hamas, which used to be a close ally with Hezbollah and even had its headquarters in Damascus, Syria's capital city, is now slamming Hezbollah, and demanding that it withdraw from Syria. Sectarian tensions are growing across the Mideast, and the coming battle of Aleppo, and an expected Shia-Alawite victory, will only exacerbate them further. The National (UAE) and Al-Arabiya and Bloomberg

Israel toughens law against 'Price Tag' attacks

I've reported on several occasions about so-call "price tag" attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank. The phrase "price tag" is frequently used by far-right Israeli settlers to denote revenge attacks against Palestinians or IDF soldiers in response to moves by the Israeli government to evacuate illegal West Bank outposts, or as retribution for attacks by Palestinians. The attacks have usually been against mosques or other property, and sometimes even Christian property, but they've occasionally crossed the line into violence against Palestinians. However, no one has ever been prosecuted for "price tag" attacks. Israel's cabinet on Sunday issued a statement saying that "Price Tag" organizations will now be designated as "illicit organizations," which will allow the authorities to seize properties and bank accounts belonging to group members, and to take more severe measures against them in courts. However, Israel stopped short of designating them as "terrorist organizations." Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified this decision by saying that this Jewish group cannot be compared with "terror organizations" such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, because that also reflect badly on Israel Middle East Monitor and Reuters

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Iranian Nuclear Program Progresses with Activation of Plutonium Facility

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:56:10 GMT

On June 8, Iran inaugurated the main nuclear fission container at the country's heavy water reactor in Arak, part of Iran's plutonium production facility. Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) director Fereydoon Abbasi called the inauguration of this container, "an important step in the advancement of the project."

According to The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), this development has "several ramifications" for Tehran and the international community:

It will force the international community to recognize Iran as a nuclear power.
It shows that Tehran has decided to break through the deadlock in the nuclear talks by shifting the focus to plutonium enrichment while moving uranium enrichment to the back burner.
The plutonium plant theoretically provides Iran with some protection against being attacked "because attacking a plutonium reactor that has been activated and is operating will have, inter alia, very grave environmental consequences."

Tehran claims the purposed of the heavy water reactor is "to produce Isotopes for medical purposes."

However, MEMRI cites an article on the Iranian website Irannuc.ir, which claims "a heavy water reactor could be the easiest path to weapons grade plutonium."

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.

Libor Criminal Charges Imminent

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:35:10 GMT

British prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges against UBS AG and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes for allegedly attempting to rig the all-important Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate), reports the Wall Street Journal.

The Libor is a benchmark interest rate used to set an estimated $800 trillion in financial instruments.

So far, British officials have not filed any criminal charges; the U.S. Justice Department charged Hayes and another associate late last year with conspiracy to commit fraud. However, as the Journal notes, if British prosecutors successfully prosecute Hayes, he would not face U.S. charges due to British double-jeopardy laws that prevent someone charged in the U.K. from being extradited for the same crime.

Hayes has remained mum about his alleged role in Libor rigging. In January, however, he sent a text message to the Journal that said “this goes much much higher than me.”

U.S. and British officials are expected to bring several additional criminal charges stemming from the Libor rate-rigging scandal.

Several banks have already paid hefty fines and penalties for alleged involvement in Libor manipulation. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) paid U.S. and British authorities $612 million; Switzerland's UBS AG agreed to fork over $1.5 billion; and Britain's Barclays Plc has shelled out $453 million.

Clinton: Israel Must Make Peace or Disappear

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:05:00 GMT

In a speech that will no doubt incentivize Palestinians to continue their campaign of terror and warfare against Israel, former President Bill Clinton told Israel that it would have to make peace with the Palestinians if it wanted to remain Jewish and democratic. He said that thanks to demographic changes, Israel will have to separate from the Palestinian population in order to maintain its majority.

This theory has been proved false repeatedly. Israel’s demographic majority in Israel will remain strong for decades upon decades. But the goal of the left is to create pressure on Israel – the party willing to come to the negotiating table – while doing nothing whatsoever with regard to the Palestinians.

In point of fact, all that Clinton’s speech will do is ensure that Palestinians do not come to the table. After all, if Israel will be destroyed unless it capitulates, what is the incentive for the Palestinians to deal?

Questions Surround U.S. Gunrunning to Syrian Rebels

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:10:08 GMT

The CIA is gearing up to send weapons to rebel groups in Syria through Turkey and Jordan, the Washington Post reported on Friday. This is an expanded program over the effort during the past year to maintain supply routes into the war torn country for nonlethal material, U.S. officials told the Post.

But U.S. officials involved in the planning of the new policy of increased military support announced by the Obama administration Thursday said that the CIA has developed a clearer understanding of the composition of rebel forces, which have begun to coalesce in recent months. Within the past year, the CIA also created a new office at its headquarters in Langley to oversee its expanding operational role in Syria.

“We have relationships today in Syria that we didn’t have six months ago,” Benjamin J. Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said during a White House briefing Friday. The United States is capable of delivering material “not only into the country,” Rhodes said, but “into the right hands.”

The confidence conveyed by Rhodes’s statement is in contrast to the concerns expressed by U.S. intelligence officials last year that the CIA and other U.S. spy agencies were still struggling to gain a firm understanding of opposition elements — a factor cited at the time as a reason the Obama administration was unwilling to consider providing arms.

Although the Obama administration policy is touted as new, in January, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) asked then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her testimony on Capitol on the terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi if the CIA was involved in a gun-running operation through Turkey.

“Is the U.S. involved in any procuring of weapons, transfer of weapons, buying, selling, transferring weapons to Turkey?” he asked.

Senator Clinton responded, “To Turkey? I will have to take that question for the record. Nobody has ever raised that with me.”

“It’s been in news reports that ships have been leaving from Libya and that they may have weapons and what I’d like to know is the annex that was close by, were they involved with procuring, buying, selling, obtaining weapons and were any of these weapons being transferred to other countries, any countries, Turkey included?” the Kentucky Republican asked Clinton.

“Well, Senator, you’ll have to direct that question to the agency that ran the annex and I will see what information is available,” Clinton said.

“You’re saying you don’t know,” Paul clarified.

“I do not know. I don’t have any information on that,” Clinton answered.

Additionally, questions regarding Congress’ knowledge of any U.S. gunrunning going to the Syrian rebels prior the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi remain. Only members of the House and Senate’s “Super 8” (consisting of both parties’ leaders in both chambers, along with House and Senate Select Intelligence committee chairs and ranking members) would be required to be briefed on such an operation. Any information they receive from these briefings are classified.

On January 24, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) t old talk radio host Laura Ingraham in response to Paul's remarks on gunrunning, “I’m somewhat familiar with the chatter about this and the fact that these arms were moving towards Turkey, but most what I know about this came from a classified source and I really can’t elaborate on it.”

However, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Ranking Member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, claim to have been unaware of any gunrunning going through Turkey.

“I’m not familiar with that,” Chambliss told Breitbart News in February when asked if he could respond to Paul’s assertions.

Feinstein told Breitbart News she never knew about the gun running allegations.

House Select Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-MI) was confident that there was no gun running “in any shape or form” that happened in Libya.

"I get to see all of that stuff. I have seen nothing that would allow me to conclude that the U.S. government was in any way, shape, or form involved in gun running in Libya. I looked at it all."

"If it’s there I have not seen it. I think I would have found it," he said. "I think there were some other things that were happening and people got confused, but the United States government was not running guns (from the annex)."

Ranking member of the House Intel Committee Rep. Dutch Ruppersberg (D-MD) agreed with Feinstein and Chambliss, telling Breitbart News in May, "I’ve heard nothing about it. I don’t know. We don’t get to that minutia sometimes--the Gang of 8." He explained, "We get the most sensitive information, that even our own committees can’t [get.]"

Ruppersberg added, “The checks and balances is [the White House] give us information--very sensitive information--the check and balance issue, but they don’t have to tell us everything or we’d be sitting having Gang of Eight breifings all day long. That’s the answer. I don’t know,” said Ruppersberg.

Report: Kim Jong Un Hands Copies of 'Mein Kampf' to Top Officers

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:01:00 GMT

A report from New Focus International, a North Korean news organization that runs underground to avoid the scrutiny of the tyrannical government, senior government officials got copies of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf for Kim Jong Un’s birthday in January.

Only a few copies were handed out, since most books are banned in the country; such gifts are called “hundred-copy books” in North Korea. According to the report, the book was not intended to idolize the anti-Semitic aspects of Nazism, but to focus in on Hitler’s plans for economic recovery in the country. “Kim Jong Un gave a lecture to high-ranking officials, stressing that we must pursue the policy of Byungjin in terms of nuclear and economic development,” the government source said. “Mentioning that Hitler managed to rebuild Germany in a short time following its defeat in World War One, Kim Jong Un issued an order for the Third Reich to be studied in depth and asked that practical applications be drawn from it.”

One source says that Kim Jong Un has been ratcheting up his wild behavior in an attempt to create some sort of charisma. “One source says there have been many overt attempts to imbue Kim Jong Un with an ‘intimidating charisma,’ such as having him shout very forcefully at associates … and even throwing things at people,” says the paper’s international editor, Shirley Lee.

Inhofe Blasts Obama's $170 Million Military Biofuels Giveaway

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:54:06 GMT

On Sunday, Ranking member of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) blasted the Defense Department’s plan to “contribute $170 million to a massive federal giveaway to private biofuels companies.” He said the plan is further evidence of the Obama Administration’s “use of taxpayer dollars to fund the president’s hobby as a venture capitalist.”

In an op-ed published in Politico, Inhofe suggested the Obama Administration’s plan to support the construction of commercial biofuel refineries was not only another instance of crony capitalism, it was misguided on the plan’s merits as well.

“At a time when our military is tasked with defending us from a growing array of threats while enduring the biggest cuts of any federal agency under sequestration, now is not the time for speculative adventurism with precious declining defense dollars,” wrote Inhofe.

Inhofe also cited recent news that U.S. oil production recently hit an all-time high, thus providing the U.S. economy with a small patch of opportunity.

"If we are seriously interested in ensuring energy security over the next 50 years, why would we invest diminishing defense resources today to try to establish a competing interest to the fastest-growing sector of our economy?” asked Inhofe.

Inhofe added: “Rather than use our military as a piggy bank to fund the president’s domestic energy agenda, we should be ensuring that every scarce defense dollar is going toward maintaining our military as the best-trained and best-equipped fighting force in the world.”

This is not the first time Obama’s military biofuels agenda has come under fire. Last year, as part of Obama’s commitment to “green” the U.S. military, the United States Air Force spent $639,000 on 11,000 gallons of alcohol-to-jet fuel from Gevo Inc., a Colorado biofuels company, at $59 a gallon. One of Gevo’s venture capital funders is Vinod Khosla, a top Democratic fundraiser. Since 1996, Khosla has donated $474,534 — 86% of which went to Democrats.

Cruz, Lee Introduce Military Religious Liberties Amendments to Senate

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:19:00 GMT

Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are introducing two amendments in the full Senate to protect the religious rights of those in the U.S. armed forces. Last week, the two amendments passed in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The amendments intend to:

Strengthen existing law so that the rights of conscience of military service members are protected and their expressions of religious faith in an appropriate manner are not discriminated against or subject to retaliation. Rep. John Fleming’s (R-LA) corresponding amendment in the House has elicited a veto threat from the White House.
Instruct the Defense Department Inspector General to investigate reports of religious discrimination against troops who share their religious beliefs and also investigate any undue influence outside groups exert over Pentagon policy on religious matters. An anonymous survey would be mandated determining whether the Pentagon is preventing chaplains from doing their jobs or forcing them to perform actions that violate their consciences.

Sen. Cruz stated:

Freedom of religious expression is vital to our military culture, and I am deeply concerned by recent reports that servicemen and women have been prevented from exercising this fundamental Constitutional right. No soldier should fear a court martial for expressing his or her faith or made to fear negative reprisals for reporting threats to their freedom to worship God. The men and women of the military risk their lives every day to protect our Constitutional rights, and they should not be forced to surrender their religious liberty to do so.

Sen. Lee added, “The religious liberties of our men and women in uniform deserve strong protections. The amendment ensures the rights of servicemen and women to practice and share their faith and puts in place strong oversight to guarantee their rights of conscience.”

Roughly 25,000 military chaplains have been aiding the U.S. armed forces since 1775; more than 300 of them have died in the line of duty.

Documents Obtained by JW Reveal FBI Training Curricula Purged of Material Deemed 'Offensive' to Muslims

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:54:00 GMT

Political correctness is dangerous, even deadly, especially when it is practiced by one of the nation’s most important law enforcement agencies.

Judicial Watch recently released hundreds of pages of FBI memos and other documents revealing that, in 2012, the agency purged its anti-terrorism training curricula of material determined by an undisclosed group of “Subject Matter Experts” (SME) to be “offensive” to Muslims. The excised material included references linking the Muslim Brotherhood to terrorism, tying al Qaeda to the 1993 World Trade Center and Khobar Towers bombings, and suggesting that “young male immigrants of Middle Eastern appearance … may fit the terrorist profile best.”

These discoveries all stem from our investigation of a February 8, 2012, meeting between FBI Director Robert Mueller and various Islamic organizations. During the meeting, Mueller reportedly assured the Islamic groups in attendance that the agency had ordered the removal of presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI offices around the country that were deemed “offensive.”

As reported by NPR: “The FBI has completed a review of offensive training material and has purged 876 pages and 392 presentations, according to a briefing provided to lawmakers.”

To get the full story on the FBI’s attempts to placate Muslims, perhaps to the detriment of our national security, we filed a FOIA request on March 7, 2012. Specifically, we sought access to records detailing the meeting as well as “any and all records setting criteria or guidelines for FBI curricula on Islam or records identifying potentially offensive material within the FBI curricula on Islam.” We also asked for records detailing the directives to withdraw FBI presentations and curricula on Islam.

Predictably, the agency stonewalled, forcing JW to file a lawsuit on July 18, 2012. Six months later, January 15, 2013 we received our first batch of documents, followed by a second grouping on April 16, 2013. And here’s what we discovered regarding the reasons given by the FBI’s SME for purging “offensive” training documents:

“Article is highly inflammatory and inaccurately argues the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization.”

“Page 13 inaccurately states that AQ [al Qaeda] is responsible for the bombing of the Khobar Towers and that AQ is ‘clearly linked’ to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.”

“The overall tenor of the presentation is too informal in the current political context.”

“The Qur’an is not the teachings of the Prophet, but the revealed word of God.”

“Remove references to mosques specifically as a radicalization incubator.”

“Remove sweeping generality of ‘Those who fit the terrorist profile best (for the present at least) are young male immigrants of Middle Eastern appearance’”

“author seems to conflate ‘Islamic militancy’ with ‘terrorism’ and needs to define the difference and use it in their analysis”

In its May 22, 2013, article on some of the Judicial Watch revelations, The Washington Examiner reported, “While the Muslim Brotherhood is not on the U.S. State Department’s official list of international terrorist organizations, some of its offshoots, including the Palestinian group Hamas, are.” Ironically, FBI Director Mueller, who ordered the purge of “offensive” material – including the exoneration of the Muslim Brotherhood – has described the organization as a group that supports terrorism in the US and overseas.

As we recently learned from the Boston Marathon terrorist attack, the country is less safe when we allow radical Muslim organizations to tell the FBI how to train its agents and do its job. The FBI’s purge of so called “offensive” material is political correctness run amok, and it puts the nation at risk. The Obama administration needs to stop putting the tender sensibilities of radical Islamists above the safety of the American people.

Judicial Watch has two major events going on. Today, Monday June 17^th, at 8 p.m. ET, Judicial Watch’s hard-hitting documentary District of Corruption will have its national television broadcast premiere on AXS TV. Then on Thursday June 20^th, Judicial Watch will host a panel discussion on the continuing Obama IRS scandal. Be sure to catch both of these exciting events!

IRS: We Investigate Pro-Israel Groups for Terrorism Ties

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:47:00 GMT

Eliana Johnson of National Review Online reports that Cincinnati-based IRS agent Gary Muthert told the House Oversight Committee that the IRS does, in fact, subject pro-Israel tax-exempt groups to higher scrutiny--by sending their applications to a special IRS unit that investigates them for ties to terrorism.

It is unclear whether the IRS subjects anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, or Islamic groups to the same scrutiny. However, the revelation could provide a partial explanation of why pro-Israel groups such as Z Street were subjected to excessive inquiry and delay. Johnson notes that, as reported by Breitbart News, anti-Israel groups had been pressuring the Treasury to investigate (only) Jewish charities for assisting beneficiaries in the disputed West Bank--though not even those groups thought to describe such activities as "terrorism."

Z Street, Johnson observes, was not told that its application was being reviewed for possible terrorism ties, but rather that it was being scrutinized for possible conflicts with the Obama administration's foreign policy. The administration has worked closely with a left-wing non-profit called J Street to push Congress toward a tougher approach to Israel, and to attack critics of the Obama administration's policy and its appointees.

The irony of pro-Israel groups being screened for terror, when some of those groups exist primarily to assist victims of terror, is compounded, Johnson notes, by the fact that there is a record of anti-Israel groups supporting terror, such as the Holy Land Foundation, to which Muslim groups such as CAIR were linked.

World View -- Report: Iran Sending 4,000 Troops to Aid Assad in Syria

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:41:00 GMT

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Sunni Islamist terrorists conduct another horrific attack in Pakistan
Report: Iran sending 4,000 troops to aid Assad in Syria
U.S. will put F-16s and Patriot missiles into Jordan
Bank Of America Lied To Homeowners And Encouraged Foreclosures

Sunni Islamist terrorists conduct another horrific attack in Pakistan

Bombed out bus next to women's university campus sign on Saturday (Dawn)

The al-Qaeda linked terror group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), an offshoot of the Pakistan Taliban, is claiming responsibility for a horrific double suicide attack in Quetta on Saturday. A female suicide bomber was able to sneak onto a school bus carrying female college students. After everyone was seated, she blew herself up, killing 14. The survivors were transported to a hospital, and there another suicide bomber blew himself up, causing maximum carnage. LeJ militants then launched a gunfight at the hospital, killing another 11, until they were subdued. Similar kinds of attacks in the past have specifically targeted the Shia Muslim ethnic Hazaras. According to an LeJ spokesman on Sunday:

"The suicide attack on the bus was carried out by one of our sisters. She boarded the student bus and blew herself up. Then we carried out a second suicide attack at the hospital and our fighters killed several people. We did this because security forces killed our fighters and their wives in Kharotabad."

This is a lie by the LeJ spokesman, since LeJ has carried out many similar attacks in the past, and has previously issued a statement that said, "Our mission [in Pakistan] is the abolition of this impure sect and people, the Shias and the Shia Hazaras, from every city, every village, every nook and corner of Pakistan."

A web site reader posted the following in the Generational Dynamics forum:

"Having been in Afghanistan for a year and dealing with the indigenous population is not reported in the media that in the regional life and the local culture is very hierarchical unlike in the North America/Western Europe zone. The Hazara is on the bottom of the tribal hierarchy because they are nomadic goat and sheepherders. They rent out their services to the highest “bidder”. Since they have no “land” or tribal claim, they are like the old cattlemen of the American west. Now many refugees are moving back to Afghanistan from Pakistan and trying to reclaim villages that they left one or two generations ago when the Russian or Taliban moved in and guess who is grazing their sheep on “their” land? Also, the borders are basically non-existent. The Af/Pak border is a line on the map drawn by Lord Durand and is a border control/tax collection station on the A75 between Spin Buldak, Af and Quetta-Chapman/Pakistan. The Hazara walk over the border with their sheep all the time. The more industrial of the Hazara have settled in Quetta and scattered all over Balochistan, and guess who sees the Hazara as competitors for jobs and other resources? The local Baloch ethnic/tribe group. Last, there is hardly any intermingling or marriage between the local groups, just old antagonisms from centuries ago. Remember, in that area where the Hazara live, memories and feuds go back generations and centuries."

Pakistan's new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has promised to end these terrorist attack by means of negotiated peace talks with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP - the Pakistan Taliban). Just as peace negotiations have no chance in Syria, they have no chance with the TTP or LeJ, either. Daily Times (Pakistan) and Dawn (Pakistan)

Report: Iran sending 4,000 troops to aid Assad in Syria

According to a news report, Iran will send 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers to Syria to support the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad. The introduction of Hezbollah's troops into Syria has already had several serious consequences in the Mideast -- Egypt's decision to cut all diplomatic ties with Syria, and the Obama administration's announcement that it will supply small arms to Syria's rebels. The introduction of 4,000 Iranian troops, if true, will raise the Sunni versus Shia vitriol in the region to a new high. For years, Generational Dynamics has been predicting a new genocidal Mideast war, re-fighting the war between Jews and Arabs that followed the 1948 partitioning of Palestine and creation of the state of Israel, and now events seem to be gathering steam for a Sunni versus Shia war that will engulf the entire region, and pull in other nations, including the United States. Independent (London)

U.S. will put F-16s and Patriot missiles into Jordan

The United States said on Saturday it will keep Patriot missiles and F-16 jet fighters in Jordan after joint military exercises end next week. According to the State Department:

"The secretary [John Kerry] reaffirmed that the United States continues to work aggressively for a political solution with the goal of a second Geneva meeting, but that the use of chemical weapons and increasing involvement of Hezbollah demonstrates the regime's lack of commitment to negotiations and threatens to put a political settlement out of reach."

This appears to be one more consequence of Hezbollah's invasion of Syria by troops fighting in support of Bashar al-Assad's army. Reuters

Bank Of America Lied To Homeowners And Encouraged Foreclosures

The government created the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in 2009 in response to the foreclosure epidemic and to encourage banks to give homeowners loan modifications, allowing some borrowers to stay in their homes. This followed a scandal when it was revealed that bank employees "robo signed" documents without verifying them as is required by law. Now, six former Bank of America employees are accusing the bank of purposely sabotaging the HAMP program, forcing homeowners unnecessarily into foreclosure instead of modifying the loans, and then lying both the homeowner and the government about what they were doing.

What's remarkable about this story is that it's so unremarkable. We're living in a time when an entire generation of bankers purposely created tens of trillions of dollars in fraudulent synthetic mortgage-backed securities, and then sold them as AAA risk free. We're living at a time when bankers manipulated Libor for their own profit, when CNBC analysts lie every day about stock valuations, and when the White House lies every day about having used the IRS to target political enemies. And it's worth pointing out again: The Obama justice department adamantly refuses to investigate and charge bankers who participated in the fraud that caused the financial crisis, or who perpetrated the IRS targeting. So, Bank of America employees defrauding homeowners and lying to the government is nothing special. It's just what happens every day these days. Reuters

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Snowden Leaks 'Detailed Records' About IP Addresses NSA Hacked in China, Hong Kong

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:56:00 GMT

NSA leaker Edward Snowden showed a Hong Kong newspaper classified documents that revealed the specific IP addresses in Hong Kong and China the National Security Agency may have hacked.

Snowden gave the information to the South China Morning Post, which reported on Saturday that though the "detailed records" cannot be independently verified, they "show specific dates and the IP addresses of computers in Hong Kong and on the mainland hacked by the National Security Agency over a four-year period" and "also include information indicating whether an attack on a computer was ongoing or had been completed."

The documents indicated the NSA attacks on civilian computers in Hong Kong had a success rate of more than 75%, according to the publication. The NSA reportedly also hacked Chinese University, described as being "home to the Hong Kong Internet Exchange which is a central hub of servers through which all web traffic in the city passes."

"The primary issue of public importance to Hong Kong and mainland China should be that the NSA is illegally seizing the communications of tens of millions of individuals without any individualized suspicion of wrongdoing," Snowden told the paper in an interview last week. "They simply steal everything so they can search for any topics of interest."

The Hong Kong government is investigating the report. Snowden, who fled the United States for Hong Kong before revealing classified information about the NSA's phone and Internet spying programs, is apparently still hiding there, hoping Hong Kong's laws will protect him from possible extradition.

Samantha Power: The Quintessential 'Blame America First'-er

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:51:00 GMT

The United Nations has long been a cesspool of hostility towards the United States, Israel, and freedom more generally. It is dominated by those who promote and protect our enemies’ interests, while undermining ours. Worse yet, we pay much of the UN’s budget.

Past presidents have responded to this travesty by sending ambassadors to the UN who unapologetically challenged that agenda. In particular, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and John Bolton were proud of our country and tirelessly championed its values.

It is, therefore, a particularly repugnant irony that President Obama wants to entrust Dr. Kirkpatrick’s former post to Samantha Power, a woman who epitomizes the left-wing partisans President Reagan’s ambassador famously characterized as the “Blame America First crowd.”

The contrast between Mr. Obama’s choice and these three former U.S. representatives could hardly be more stark. Prior to joining the Obama administration in 2003, Power compiled a record as a Harvard professor journalist, author, activist, and commentator that reads like a parody of an ivory tower leftist’s reflexive anti-Americanism, Israel-hatred, and infatuation with transnational progressivism.

Examples abound in her writings, speeches, and media appearances. Among the most instructive are the following (emphases added):

Power sees America as an enemy of freedom, rather than its indispensable defender: “Some anti-Americanism derives simply from our being a colossus that bestrides the earth. But much anti-Americanism derives from the role U.S. political, economic and military power has played in denying such freedoms to others.” (New Republic, March 3, 2003)

Power exemplifies the absurd yet “politically correct” notion that there is only a connection between some Muslims on the one hand and terrorism on the other if we say there is. This contention ignores reality; those who adhere to the Islamist doctrine of shariah must engage in jihad. Yet Power insists: “All we talk about is ‘Islamic terrorism.’ If the two words are associated for long enough it's obviously going to have an effect on how people think about Muslims.” (New Statesman, March 6, 2008)

Power confirms that her activist agenda of remaking the world, rather than a commitment to objective reporting, prompted her to join the Fourth Estate: “I got into journalism not to be a journalist but to try to change American foreign policy. I'm a corny person. I was a dreamer predating my journalistic life, so I got into journalism as a means to try to change the world.” (Salon, February 18, 2008)

Power insists on subordinating the United States to the dictates of the “international community”: “Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our power legitimately. That belief – that we are acting in the interests of the global commons and in accordance with the rule of law – is what the military would call a 'force multiplier.' It enhances the U.S. ability to get what it wants from other countries and other players." (New Statesman, March 6, 2008)

Ditto: “The United States must cease its reliance on gratuitous unilateralism. We make rules and create international institutions precisely in order to bind states when their short-term interests would otherwise lead them toward defection…" (New Republic, March 3, 2003)

Power’s commitment to transnationalism prompts her to trivialize the infringement on U.S. sovereignty entailed in submitting to the “interests of the global commons” and the authority of “international institutions”: “Only U.S. resources and leadership can turn such institutions [as the International Criminal Court] into forces for the international stability that is indispensable to U.S. security. Besides, giving up a pinch of sovereignty will not deprive the United States of the tremendous military and economic leverage it has at its disposal as a last resort. (New Republic, March 3, 2003)

Although Power has subsequently made a point of apologizing for and professing bewilderment about a particularly egregious example of her anti-Israel sentiments and her attachment to the “responsibility to protect” – in this case Palestinians from Israeli oppressors, the following statement was both clear and seemingly menacingly heartfelt at the time: “…It may more crucially mean sacrificing – or investing, I think, more than sacrificing – billions of dollars, not in servicing Israel’s military, but actually investing in the new state of Palestine, in investing the billions of dollars it would probably take, also, to support what will have to be a mammoth protection force, not of the old Rwanda kind, but a meaningful military presence. Because it seems to me at this stage (and this is true of actual genocides as well, and not just major human rights abuses, which were seen there), you have to go in as if you’re serious, you have to put something on the line." (Video interview with Harry Kreisler)

Samantha Power’s alarming transnationalism is also expressed in her enthusiasm for the U.S. to redistribute its wealth to less developed nations, as envisioned in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Power’s reflexive willingness to run down her country as a cheapskate when it comes to foreign assistance ignores our generous underwriting of the United Nations and the unmatched magnanimousness of the American people through private charity. Particularly illuminating is her insistence that we must aid – and although unsaid here, for that matter, intervene militarily on behalf of – countries as long as we have no interest in them: “I think the United States must change its relationship to the Millennium Development Goals. It would make an enormous difference practically and in terms of public diplomacy if we were not second-to-last among rich countries in giving aid away; if we were giving money away, investing in societies that actually don’t have anything to do with our national security. The instances where we make sacrifices strictly in order to benefit other people are so few and far between. Even our democracy rhetoric is so rooted in a story about security and how non-democracies become threats and so on." (Interview with the one-worlder organization Citizens for Global Solutions)

Republicans on the committee that will shortly consider her nomination may wish to reflect on her contempt for that panel when the GOP ran it: “The Senate Foreign Relations Committee seems largely toothless. It is not your father’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee, not your mother’s. No hearings on sensitive issues and that means no meaningful oversight.” (Citizens for Global Solutions interview, cont'd)

The single most troubling quote, however, comes from Power’s 2003 New Republic article. In a carefully crafted essay – not a slip of the tongue, not an ill-considered, off-hand remark on television – she accuses her country of criminal conduct justifying the sort of abasement that post-World War II Germany’s chancellor engaged in to atone for the sins of the Nazis:

U.S. foreign policy has to be rethought. It needs not tweaking but overhauling. We need: a historical reckoning with crimes committed, sponsored, or permitted by the United States... Instituting a doctrine of the mea culpa would enhance our credibility by showing that American decision-makers do not endorse the sins of their predecessors. When Willie Brandt went down on one knee in the Warsaw ghetto, his gesture was gratifying to World War II survivors, but it was also ennobling and cathartic for Germany… (New Republic, March 3, 2003) [emphases added]

The American people do not need to populate the United Nations with any more anti- or post-Americans, especially as their “representative” to that organization. Someone who equates the United States with Adolf Hitler’s Germany, someone who has for years derided the U.S. contribution to freedom and a better planet, someone who yearns for a new world order in which our nation is not only unexceptional but subject to the dictates of others, is not someone we want anywhere near Turtle Bay.

What we need now, more than ever, is an American patriot at the UN. The Senate must reject Samantha Power, who will share – and help promote – the United Nation’s rabid enmity towards and relentless undermining of this country and the cause of freedom.

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. formerly acted as an Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Reagan. He is President of the Center for Security Policy, a columnist for the Washington Times, and host of the nationally syndicated program Secure Freedom Radio.

Saudi Arabia Expands Grand Mosque, Endangers Islamic Relics

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:40:00 GMT

Saudi Arabia is expanding the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to wire reports, which contains the Kaaba, so that 2.2 million people can visit there simultaneously. The area of the Mosque will be increased by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet).

Because of the construction, only half of the normal number of pilgrims making the haj from Saudi Arabia and 20% of foreigners will be able to do so this year. 3.1 million Muslims made the haj in 2012, with the bulk of the number coming from outside Saudi Arabia.

The Kaaba is a cube-shaped building within the Grand Mosque; Muslims face it when they pray.

There is controversy over the expansion; some Muslims are upset with the destruction of ancient and historical relics of islam’s past, including the removal of Ottoman and Abbasid columns. Dr, Irfan al-Alawi, executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, said, “It matters because many of these columns signified certain areas of the mosque where the Prophet sat and prayed. The historical record is being deleted. A new Muslim would never have a clue because there’s nothing marking these locations now. There are ways you could expand Mecca and Medina while protecting the historical heritage of the mosque itself and the surrounding sites.”

The Bayt al-Mawlid, an area which contains the building where Muhammad was born, will be removed under present plans of construction..

But many senior Wahabis want to destroy the historical Islamic sites that link to Mohammed because they fear it encourages idol worshipping.