No Closure For the Victims of 911

Thank the 'religion of peace' and their Leftist accessories for that.

Proponents of the Ground Zero mega Mosque project are defending it on the basis of the freedoms of expression and religion. But neither liberty guarantees the erection of prayer houses at will.

These grounds are simply false. The freedom of religion is in the good hands of New York's 999 other Mosques. No one is denying them their liberty in that respect.

The question rather is, if your objective is the building of bridges, as imam Rauf alleges, is lifting your middle finger to 3,000 mourning families and 67 percent of Americans, the way to go? Of course not.

- Caption: proximity of the Cordoba project to human remains recovered - Hat tip: Ground Zero Mosque News -

Perhaps it should be clarified what kind of 'bridges' imam Rauf has in mind? Maybe our interpretation of bridging the gap between the Muslim and the Western world is a wrong assumption. If on the other hand he has an Islamic beachhead in the heart of the Dar-al-Harb in mind, this would explain his intransigence.

This event exposes the true objectives of the Cordoba Project, a name - now ditched - not chosen by accident. It has everything to do with power over infidels. No mistake, this building around the corner of Ground Zero is a trophy.

On the other hand pastor Terry Jones has had his website closed down and the full weight of the Obama administration coming down on him like a ton of bricks. Never mind his liberties.

As in many other places in the world, time and again the freedom of expression has been subordinated to public safety and national security considerations endangered by threats of Muslim rioting and terrorism. It has long become a pattern. Muslim intolerance is going to cost us our freedom as we become the constant subject of blackmail.

In a recent CNN interview with Soledad O'Brian imam Rauf - on grounds best known to himself - argued that moving the project to another location would be construed by Muslims as an attack on Islam. As usual national security was used as a crowbar. It was a thinly veiled threat.

Again: at issue is not if imam Rauf may build his Cordoba Project, but this specific location near hallowed ground. Why not move it to another location where it doesn't upset the victims of the 911 attack? The Muslim community would gain respect tremendously by such a gesture. But no.

Apparently only Muslims are allowed to take offence; it's just their feelings that must be spared. Hurting them would be Islamophobia. The sensitivities of the families of 911 and 67 percent of Americans are immaterial.

Making matters worse, some of the proponents are very well aware they are trampling on the feelings of the victims: a vigil was held on Friday instead of Saturday "out of respect for victims and families of the 911 attacks". Yes, but we're still going to shove a 13 story Islamic Center down your throat!

The issue - and that is before the stand off with pastor Terry Jones - is indicative of the bad faith of the Muslim elite in the West and the moral bankruptcy of the Left that is aiding and abetting their advances.



The stand off with pastor Terry Jones is quiet revealing. Jones was claiming yesterday an accomodation was reached with the Muslim clerics: his bonfires against the Mosque's relocation.

A spokesman for the Cordoba project is rejecting Jones' claim. He would, of course.

Jones meanwhile is shocked, shocked: "We are just really shocked," Jones said. "He clearly, clearly lied to us."

What's so shocking about Muslims exercising their birthright to lie to infidels (taqqiyah)?

They already launched the false equation of "their radicals" versus "our radicals" - as if a book burning pastor is on moral par with murderous terrorists?! But of course they do not look upon "their" terrorists as radicals. That epithet is reserved for those who go against the letter of Islam. There are no radicals on his side. Sharia law is taking care of that!

If there's one thing worse than a Swiss army knife wielding jihadist, it's a double tongued, duplicitous Muslim version of Grima Wormtongue. We've seen the type before in the person of Tariq Ramadan. There are many more who are using a toxic brew of traditional Muslim deception and Western postmodern sophistry against us.

For all his lack of sophistication and enlightenment, Jones is the only one standing up to the threats and the blackmail. At least what he's got in return were bargaining chips and Rauf et al. showing their true intentions.

As for the argument that "Muslims died on 911 too", I'm sure so did at least one Japanese. I can't recall the Japanese calling for a Shinto temple, either near Ground Zero or overlooking Pearl Harbor.

The double standard that transpires the entire event is a typical example of the postmodern dialectic. This is precisely how the mechanism of the redistribution of rights is worked. Ignore it at your peril.

The "Project" - the cultural take-over of the Western world - is right on course.

Update

- PJM: "Truths About Political Left Revealed by GZM Debate", by Dennis Mitzner
- NRO: "The Two Faces of Feisal Rauf - What’s wrong with What’s Right With Islam", by Ibn Warraq

Part I - Part II

Related

- Website of Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) (Europe: SIOE)
- Website of Ground Zero Mosque News
- Website of American Islamic Forum for Democracy

Updates

- Looking at the Left: "Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero Rally – Part I" - Part II
- PVV: "Geert Wilders' speech at the occasion of SIOA 911 rally"
- Politeia: "History of Islam and how they build victory mosques", by Pamela Kafir Liner
- Wall Street Journal: "Questions for Imam Rauf From an American Muslim", by Zuhdi Jasser
- The Daily Caller: "8 questions with Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy", by Caroline May
- Human Events: "Bonfire of the Insanities", by Ann Coulter
- Politeia: "Why Islam is an Ideology", by Dr Sam Holliday

Related dossiers

- "The Dialectics"
- "The Jihad Project"

Coping with Islamists

By Dr. Sam Holliday

The Obama administration has stated that our enemy is al-Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates. They reject any suggestion that Islam motivates our enemies. John Brennan has said "Nor do we describe our enemy as jihadists and Islamists." They do not recognize the two faces of Islam. This view does not recognize that we are in a struggle with a worldwide movement, known as the Great Jihad, motivated by the teaching of Muhammad. It is time for the Obama administration to face the reality of the Islamists Threat.

Today there are Muslims who, in accordance with the Qur’an, continue the Great Jihad. They call themselves jihadists, or holy warriors. Those who value Western Culture should refer to them as hirabahists, or unholy warriors. Islamists is an accurate name for them, since that indicates Islamic motivation, yet it does not suggest all Muslims. Islamists call the current worldwide struggle the Third Jihad, and have five goals:

1. To weaken US influence in the Middle East and South Asia and to increase the “fifth column” in Europe and the United States.

2. To use the United Nations to paralyze effective action by the United States.

3. To control the oil in the Middle East, and then use that control to weaken the economic power of the United States.

4. To eliminate Israel.

5. To continue the struggle until a Great Caliphate is created.

How many Muslims are Islamists? It is impossible to know. Clearly the leaders of the Third Jihad are Islamists. Most of the terrorists lack the necessary historical perspective or theological knowledge to be Islamists. They are motivated by feelings of envy, frustration, greed, prejudice, and hatred resulting from manipulation by the leaders. What about most Muslims? Most Muslims believe in jihad, i.e. struggle.

However, they believe in different kinds of struggles. For some Muslims it is a personal (inner) struggle. Islamists struggle for the five goals of the Third Jihad. Some Muslims belief the Qur’an prevents them from condemning Islamists, or helping to neutralize them. The critical question is: How many Muslims will struggle for modernity and integration into Western Culture?

The current threat to Western Culture is from transnational Islamists with political goals. This is a battle of wills. We have not yet neutralized them or weakened their will, and they have not weakened our will. However, this conflict will not end as long as there are Islamists who believe the Qur’an requires a Great Jihad.

Muslims are not our enemies. Our enemies are all the Islamists that want to kill us and drive us out of “Islamic lands”, and those that provide them funds, sanctuary, and moral support; this includes al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and many other groups and individuals. Islamists support an ideology that opposes modernity and Western Culture; but not all Muslims support this ideology. At this time the threat doesn't call for a Holy War; there is not justification for an overall strategy similar to those used in World War II or the Cold War. We are not yet in a Clash of Civilizations and it would be a mistake at this time to think that we are. We should attempt to handle the conflict as Irregular Warfare, until the threat from the Islamists becomes greater—or is neutralized.

Our Overall Strategy

Our overall strategy must include information dissemination (communication) that is as effective as that of our enemy. However, this should not be confused with the spreading of our own values, attitudes, and ideology about economic and political systems. The goal of our strategy should be stability (homeostatic equilibrium), not political or economic development. The immediate goals must be local security and local authority. In time, we can hope, all Muslims might learn to value the free exchange of ideas, tolerance, free market economics, and representative government and give up those aspects of Islam that are incompatible with Western Culture. In other words, conversion to what we consider best should not be the strategic goal. Our strategic goal should be stability and stopping those who want to destroy us.

Our strategy must include getting Muslims to become a counter-balance to the Islamists. But the two faces of Islam cannot fool us. On the one hand, Muslims can be outwardly moderate, understand, tolerate and peaceful when living among nonbelievers, but inwardly believe in the Great Jihad. Only those who will work against Islamists and the Great Jihad can be trusted.

To date Muslims have failed to:

• Point out that it is un-Islamic for the Islamists to claim they are conducting a Jihad (holy war), and that the so-called jihadists have perverted authentic Islam.

• Clarify the “jihad martyrdom” factor so that it is not used as a recruiting tool.

• Distinguish between offensive, defensive, and personal jihad.

• Clarify the meaning of “infidel”, so that it is not used for political purposes and the killing of innocents.

• Point out that many Islamist leaders are not clerics and have no authority to issue fatwas (religious edicts).

• Point out that the Islamists deliberately ignore or misread many passages of the Qur’an and the Islamic Jurisprudence (the Figh).

Any successful strategy against Islamists requires realism, frankness and a high degree of unity. It requires honesty from governmental officials about the threat, and honesty from a loyal opposition in domestic politics. The skeptics, ideological Luddites (those with naive political beliefs that destroy that which supports and protects them), and partisans cannot be allowed to sabotage our strategy against the Islamists. Domestic political disputes must not provide an opportunity for the Islamists to divide and conquer. The useful idiots must be exposed. We must face this threat as one nation. In Irregular Warfare motivation, dedication, unity, effort and sacrifice are just as critical to success as they are in Conventional War.

Our leaders have to be candid about the threat, and what must be done; they should not speak in generalities or in words designed not to offend Muslims. They must believe in American exceptionalism. They must be honest, accurate and frank. They must project strength and confidence. Our leaders must admit that they don't know all and can't tell all that they know. They must explain:

• That this is a protracted conflict being played out on a global field with Islamists who have their tentacles virtually everywhere.
  
• That the "organization" of the Third Jihad has many autonomous parts and they often hide behind respected religious, culture, and welfare institutions.
  
• That the legal rights and protections of individuals, determined to be appropriate for peace, are a mill stone around the neck of open, free, representative societies during Irregular Warfare; they need be appropriately revised in those situations when the actions of Islamists destroy the conditions of peace.

Unless there are such revisions, the Islamists will exploit the weaknesses of their target countries to their advantages.

The Challenge

The ideology of the Islamists is hostile to pluralistic, representative, secular government, since true believers consider Qur’an law and its Sharia derivatives the only basis for governance. This view must be recognized as a subversive ideology; it should not be legitimized as a religion. It is true that Christianity, Shinto, and other religions do not have stellar records.

However, dhimmi status (subordinate, disfranchised, residents subject to discriminatory taxation and limits on freedom) is unique to Islam. The teaching of hatred for non-believers is unique to Islam. Only when Islam controls a country, and all non-Muslims have accepted dhimmi status, can Islamists accept diversity. We value God given rights of individuals—Islamists values submission to Islamic leaders.

It is true that Islamists want to expel Western influences from all territory formerly under Muslim control. They want their politico-economic and philosophical views to be dominant. Whereas most insurgents in the past were motivated by a utopian view of a better world with economic equality and social fraternity, Islamists seek spiritual purity in the eyes of Allah. Islamists see nonbelievers as too weak, too easily tempted, too confused to govern themselves; therefore, scholar-jurists who know the way of Allah must control them. They seek to protect people from worldly temptations; therefore they attempt to remove anything that will prevent people from submitting to Allah.

The ideology of the Islamists is hostile to pluralistic, representative, secular government, since Islamic true believers consider Qur’an law and its Sharia derivatives the only basis for governance. This view must be recognized as a subversive political ideology; it should not be legitimized as a religion. It is true that in the past the leaders of Christianity, Shinto, and other religions have twisted religious doctrine into political ideologies.

However, today this is true only of Islam. Dhimmi status (subordinate, disfranchised, residents subject to discriminatory taxation and limits on freedom) is unique to Islam. Only when Islam controls a country, and all non-Muslims have accepted dhimmi status, can Islamists accept diversity. Today the teaching of hatred for non-believers is unique to Islam. Western Culture values the God given rights of individuals—Islamists values submission to Islamic leaders.

“Moderate and reasonable Muslims” who support the Third Jihad—such as CAIR, the Holy Land Foundation, ISNA, Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination League--are a greater threat than terrorists. Such “moderates” are Islamists since they do not reject those parts of the Qur’an that call for a Great Jihad.

They hid their true intent and consider it in keeping with the Qur’an to deceive non-believers. They use our legal system to silence and punish free speech critical of Islamists or their sources of financing. They are the lead elements of the “fifth column” seeking to weaken Western Culture and prepare the way for Islamic domination of the world.

It is Islamists—not all Muslims—who want the Third Jihad to be a worldwide movement that will cause all non-believes to submit.

More effective ways to neutralize the tactics, techniques and strategies of the Third Jihad must be used in the future if it is to be defeated. We must defeat, deter, or neutralize our enemy. In Irregular Warfare there is never the final victory of Conventional War—success is defined by stability. First, we must recognize that killing Islamist leaders will not end the Third Jihad.

The leaders represent an important segment of our enemy, but not its totality. Second, we do not want to make Islam or an entire Islamic culture our enemy. Third, we must recognize that the demise of Israel will not mean an end of the Third Jihad, even though Israel will always be used to rally support for the Third Jihad. Fourth, we must recognize that withdrawal from the Middle East will only embolden the Islamists and make the final Clash of Civilizations more likely.

Strategy to Defeat the Third Jihad

The best strategy for defending Western Culture includes:

1. Assure that the Middle East and South Asia are stabilized and that worldwide no state is willing to support Islamists attempting to overthrow those in authority.

2. Work toward energy independence through:

• Developing the massive U.S. oil resources so that our economy is not dependent on sources that our enemies can disrupt. This would include the conversation of coal and natural gas into oil.
  
• Reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and using less energy overall, while maintaining our standard of living.
  
• Developing new sources of energy—primarily proven nuclear energy systems, such as those non-SL1 systems abandoned by the Army in the 1960s.

3. Adopt a policy of containment until the faults within the Third Jihad cause its ideological certitude to collapse, allowing other Muslims to neutralize the Islamists. Pursue such policies, both overt and covert, to hasten this collapse.

4. Face the fact that communication superiority is a prerequisite for success in Irregular Warfare--just as air superiority is a prerequisite for victory in Conventional War. To date we have been ineffective in the strategic communication campaign to strengthen the will of our own people, to weaken the will of our enemies, and to gain the support of people around the world. In the current battle of wills strategic communication is the center of gravity. This conflict is not to be won through economic, diplomatic, and military means.

5. Develop a message as effective as Muhammad's in winning hearts and minds. Then develop a sociopolitical structure to communicate that message which is more effective than that of the global revivalist movement known as the Third Jihad.  Recognize that the true believers of the Third Jihad are willing to suffer, sacrifice, deceive, kill, conquer, and die for their cause. Recognize that we need true believers in our cause, i.e. the principles and ideals of Western Culture.

6. Encourage respected leaders and scholars of the Islamic world to condemn in religious terms those using violence in the name of Islam. Also condemn as “useful idiots” those in the West who give aid, comfort and support to Islamists.

7. Take actions to strengthen pride in Western Culture. The weakening of the will in Europe and America, and ability to protect Western Culture as it developed in the modern era (from 1500 to the 1960s), has many causes. Partly it is the result of actions by those disillusioned by World War I and World War II, and partly it is the result of the cycle of rise and decline common to all groups. The ability to counter the Third Jihad depends on strengthening the will and unity of all of those who value Western Culture.

8. Designate any Muslim an Islamist, even if he or she claims to be a moderate, if that person will not condemn the Islamists and renounce that portion of the Qur’an that calls for the Great Jihad.

Life and liberty requires knowledge of your enemies and the ability to destroy or neutralize those enemies.

Dr Sam Holliday is Director of the Armiger Cromwell Center

All publications copyright © 2010 Armiger Cromwell Center. Permission is granted to forward this article by e-mail to friends or colleagues on a fair use basis. For reprint permission, contact Armiger Cromwell Center at armigercc@comcast.net

All posts by Sam Holliday on Politeia

Related dossiers

- The Unholy Alliance"
- "The Jihad Project"
- "In Defense of Liberty"
- "Legal Jihad"
- "The Balkan Caliphate"
- "Stop Islamization of Europe/America"
- "Eurabia"
- "Islamization=Apartheid"
- "Apostating Islam"

Fighting Multiculturalism With Culturism

Last night a coalition of Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, and Christians had a rally in New York City's Times Square protesting a Muslim's attempt to punish the program South Park for showing Mohammed.

 This is the video. Make it viral ...

Terror is an Art Form in Iran (Updated)

A bomb blast in Tehran  on Tuesday January 12 claimed the life of Iranian physicist, Masoud Ali Mohammadi (50), a professor at Tehran University and described as a "well known figure" in Tehran. He is said to be a nuclear scientist as well as the author of several articles on quantum and theoretical physics in scientific journals. He was a member of academic associations related to experimental science and received his doctorate in 1992.

State controlled media reported he "was martyred in a terrorist act by anti-revolutionary and "arrogant powers' elements" and quoted Iran's foreign ministry spokesman saying Mohammadi was a "devoted revolutionary professor". Yet he does not seem to have been connected to the Iran's nuclear program or the regime.

Although he was not an outspoken or visible supporter of Iran's opposition Green movement, he publicly backed opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the disputed June Presidential election. Before the election, pro-reform Web sites published Mohammadi's name among a list of 240 university teachers who supported Mousavi.

That makes him entirely dispensable to the regime, who have been quick to point the finger at Iran's inside and outside enemies: the opposition, America and Israel. Opposition sources fear the regime will use the assassination as an excuse for further crack downs.

Tensions are running high in Tehran where hard-liners - at the instigation of the regime - are calling for the execution of opposition leaders. Informed sources say what is keeping them from using the "China model" crack down on the resistance are the military and the Revolutionary Guard, who for now appear to have taken the side of the people.

The assassination comes during growing international frustration over the nuclear issue and the detention of 33 Mourning Mothers. The International Campaign for Human Rights said more than 100 police and plainclothes officers broke up a gathering of the Mourning Mothers in Laleh Park on Saturday afternoon. The group, formed by women whose children have been killed in recent anti-government protests, gathers every weekend at the park to call attention to the deaths.

Perhaps not yet a "China model" crack down, but five people arrested after protests during the recent Ashura holy day could face the death penalty. They will be tried for Moharebe, or waging war against God - a charge punishable by execution.

One news web site affiliated with a prominent cleric is stating the assassination is probably the work of the People's Mujahedeen under the direction of Israeli agents. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said there are "signs of the triangle of wickedness by the Zionist regime, America and their hired agents visible in the terrorist act".

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast and at this stage there could only be speculation as to possible motives for the attack, including state terrorism and agitation. The People's Mujahedeen have denied any involvement.

Update:

JAN. 17: Ellian concurs in a post that Masoud Ali Mohammadi must have been killed on the orders of the regime itself; probably by the Quds Division of the Revolutionary Guard, sort of a Foreign Legion consisting of expat terrorists trained in Iran. The assassination was probably carried out by a Hezbollah Lebanese named Abu Nasr. Pictures of him have surfaced on Al Jazeera TV and elsewhere. It wouldn't be the first time. It even happened in Europe: a Kurdish leader was assassinated by a Quds operative in Berlin. The killer was apprehended and convicted.

- Caption: the 'funeral' of Masoud Ali Mohammadi, directed by the regime, mourners made up of security personnel. It was also an occasion for more arrests - 

Mohammadi's violent death will mark the beginning of more terror against the opposition. The message is, should Khamenei fall, the Quds Division will turn Iran into a new Lebanon. It is estimated that some 3,000 armed, Arab operatives are active in Iran. The Revolutionary Guard proper is still thought to be on the side of the opposition. If they manage to neutralize the expat terrorists, this will be very good news for Lebanon, Iraq and the entire Middle East as well.

JAN. 18: Looks like this was picking a fight.

RealClearWorld: "Iran vows revenge on Israel over professor's death"

Related: 

- "Persian Power Play" (dossier)
- "Ellian Blogs" (compilation)

In Times of Crisis, Build a Fence

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Hamas on Monday to "watch their step, and not to cry crocodile tears if they force Israel to take action". This prelude to the cycle of violence is usually evaded or censored out by Israel's critics, reversing cause and effect.

Israeli security experts have been cited saying Hamas is slackening in the prevention of home-made rockets being fired from Gaza, which triggered operation Cast Lead a year ago. Palestinian politics is a snake pit. The ceaseless insurgencies against Israel serve the purpose of uniting Palestinians behind groups as Fattah and Hamas, reason why efforts to bring peace in the area have so far eluded us. Security experts say dissent against Hamas is growing in Gaza: the next intifada has already been predicted.

- Photos: abundance on Gaza's markets - Hat Tip: Atlas Shrugs -

But Barak seemed to blame a genuine ineptness on the part of Gaza's rulers, saying "the deterrence achieved during Operation Cast Lead still exists, and it is strong. The fire in recent days stems from Hamas' inability to rein in Jihad bodies and independent groups". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile promised a "powerful response".Yesterday an Israeli air strike killed three militants.

The battles come in the midst of Israel unfolding plans to close off the southern border with Egypt, erecting an almost half a million dollar fence along two segments in an effort to stem the infiltration of migrant workers and terrorists. Barak remarked with understatement that "good fences make good neighbors."

Last week one Egyptian police officer, and at least a dozen Palestinians were wounded in a battle along the Egypt-Gaza border. The Egyptians opened fire on Palestinians who were pelting them with rocks on the orders of Gaza's Hamas rulers to protest the delay of the British based Viva Palestine "aid convoy" at the Egyptian port of El-Arish. They soon lost control over the situation.

More than 500 international activists accompanied the convoy, bringing tons of supplies and vehicles. It consisted of British, American, Jordanian and Turkish activists and politicians, including the infamous George Gallaway.

Scuffles at the port broke out late Tuesday when authorities told the organizers that out of the nearly 200 vehicles, some 59 could not enter Gaza through Egypt, but must go through Israeli terminals. More than 50 activists and over a dozen members of the security forces were injured. The "peace activists" briefly seized a police officer and four of his men. They were later released, some with broken ribs.

"We are activists. We condemn the Israeli siege to start with. We will only enter through an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing," said Wael al-Sakka, a Jordanian activist. Alice Howard, a spokeswoman for the group, said organizers were negotiating with an Egyptian security official, who said he would come back with answers. But instead, 2,000 riot police returned, spraying the activists with water cannons, and hurling rocks.

True in style Al-Sakka was blaming the police, who are "too high-strung". Egypt has come under fire from Arab and Muslim groups for cooperating with Israel in its blockade of Gaza. The blockade was imposed after Hamas violently seized control of the territory in a bloody coup against Fatah.

Related: 

- "Middle East Peace" (dossier)
- DNA: "Islamabad to turn into a walled city"

How Dutch Thrift Thwarted Islamic Christmas Terror Plot

Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad has sat down in Miami with Jasper Schuringa, the man who jumped and subdued the Muslim terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day flight NW253. Here's a short translation.

"As I jumped him I saw the fear in his eyes"

He's still shocked about what happened. "It was truly a bizarre experience. But I'm thankful I'm alive." He felt rage as he jumped the Muslim terrorist. "I was so angry he wanted to kill all these people. Together with another person I dragged him to the front of the plane. There I tore up his clothes to see if he was hiding any more explosives. I even checked his shoes. The passengers on the plane got a second chance and I didn't want to waste it."

He realizes if Umar had it his way, he'd be dead by now. "I was seated quite close to him; had he succeeded I wouldn't even have been aware of what happened. But for passengers in the front and in the back of the plane it would have been hell. They would have crashed and burnt alive. I can't understand why somebody would want to do such a thing. All those children! Why should you want to kill them? I saw the fear in Umar's eyes as I jumped him: apparently he does have feelings."

"Umar thought he was already in Heaven ... then he saw me"

He's exhausted. He hasn't had a rest since his name jumped to the front pages of the newspapers. He watches as CNN shows the remains of Umar's underwear. "Are those his knickers?" he asks. "I touched those!" The bandages have been removed from his hands, but the wounds are still visible. He got that when he doused the fire.

He looks relaxed, but his eyes are red from lack of sleep. I haven't had the time to go out with friends or grab a beer. My phone nearly exploded. He makes clear he hasn't been paid for interviews. Not a penny. Only recently it dawned on him how close to death he's been. "Only Saturday I learnt the amount of explosives were sufficient to blow us all up. Later I heard Umar acted on behalf of Al Qaeda. Then it dawned on me what had happened. Wow!"

He believes he isn't  traumatized psychologically. "I'm surprised myself. I was quite calm in the plane, and also afterwards. It's said you break down once adrenaline levels normalize. So I expected to collapse once I'd arrived in Miami, but no, I'm still standing. The film maker recalls the moment, just before landing in Detroit. He heard a thudding noise and somebody screamed "fire". Next to me sat a pilot. We looked at each other and realized, this isn't good. I looked at Umar. A normal person gets up on his feet when his chair's on fire, but not him. Then I knew. This is a terrorist attack."

He jumped six chairs and two aisles to the left hand side of the plane and grabbed him. "I had to yank hard to rip the explosives from his body. In the meantime I tried to douse the fire. How I knew what to do? I didn't. Perhaps I'd seen it done in a movie."

It's almost as if the Frisian knew what was coming. Eight years ago he wrote the film script 'Destination Amsterdam' that eerily resembles what happened on Christmas Day. "It's about a suicide bomber plotting to kill a politician at Amsterdam Airport. But the bomb fails to explode. Like Umar's. He thought he was already in Heaven ... but then he saw me."

After landing at Detroit Schuringa was interrogated extensively by the FBI. They wanted to keep me there even longer, but he demanded to continue his trip to Miami. "I'd worked so hard the last couple of days. I just wanted to take a break and see my girl friend."

The shoes and clothes he'd been wearing were confiscated for forensic purposes. FBI agents quickly bought him clothes from a golfshop at the airport. "I looked like a clown! The pants were too large and they'd bought me weird slippers I refused to wear." Bare footed he trotted to his connecting flight. No, he isn't afraid of flying. "What are  the odds of this happening again?"

He isn't aware of the commotion he has caused in his homeland. He frowns at the word 'statue'; he doesn't think he's a hero. "I was at the right place, at the right time, that's all there's to it. Besides, I wasn't alone - others helped too." All the attention takes some getting used to. "I'm a fairly reticent person. It's rather strange that all of a sudden everyone knows who I am."

Another paper - De Telegraaf - reported this morning Schuringa has been moved to an FBI safehouse in Miami.Unlike the Dutch National Counter Terrorism Coordinator, who advised no extra precautions were necessary for thwarting Al Qaeda, the FBI isn't taking any chances.

Proverbial Dutch frugality may have saved the day. In the article his parents relate how their son originally planned to fly a day earlier. But the Christmas Day ticket was much cheaper, so he took that flight.

Earlier posts on this subject:

- "The Case of the Undocumented Crotch Bomber"
- "Christmas Cracker Turns Man-Made Disaster Escape"

Related:

- Telegraph: "Detroit terror attack: A murderous ideology tolerated for too long" - Telegraph View: Jihadist Islamism is comparable to Nazism in many respects. The British public realises this; so do the intelligence services. Hat Tip: American Power
- BBC: "Obama to receive reports on plane bomb security lapses"
- WSJ: "Court Freed Somali Plane Suspect"
- NY Daily News: "White House attacks Cheney over his accusations that administration is soft on terror", by Catey Hill

The Case of the Undocumented Crotch Bomber

On the minor matter of the crotch bomber's missing passport, this just in from The Washington Times:

"Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab reportedly boarded the aircraft by impersonating a Sudanese refugee who did not have a passport, a ruse officials in Amsterdam apparently accepted. It is certain that al Qaeda had tested this method at Amsterdam before."

Neither that, or the fact that he didn't carry any luggage triggered an alert in the ever intrepid Amsterdam Airport security personnel.

Regarding the case of the missing passport, this has been going on for donkey's years. The first thing refugees bound for the Netherlands do after boarding a plane, is flush their passport through the toilet. It's a "known issue".

This act of sabotage makes it possible to stretch the admission process into years, if not decades. It exponentially improves the chance of some Leftist Government proclaiming a general pardon on asylum seekers on the grounds of  "prolonged and inhumane process".

In the past there have been attempts to shift the responsibility to the airlines, but judging by the case of the Islamic crotch bomber we can see the problem still hasn't been resolved to any satisfaction. It's now caught up in the vital matter of international security and counter terrorism.

While citizens may be fined or worse for not carrying identification, Leftist politicians are of the opinion it's inhumane to send refugees back to some hell hole in the horn of Africa just because - through a fault of their own - they're unable to identify themselves. That is, unless the party political affiliation is another than their own; in such case you may well become the target of the national blood sport.

Some may remember the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, currently a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, formerly MP in the Dutch Parliament for the right-wing Liberal VVD party. She was forced to give up her seat (bad auto translation, original article) when it transpired her real name was Hirsi Magan.

While this is emphatically not a case of a missing passport, it does illustrate refugees may have reason to conceal their identity. Hirsi Ali was on the way to her unknown fiance in Canada, when in transit she decided to elope from the arranged marriage.

There's also news on the 'naked' body scans, and why they're not yet deployed on Amsterdam Airport. While it's true that the technically advanced apparatus is very expensive, indeed almost prohibitively so, it would appear the employment of security implements has now been outsourced to the European level! The European Commission is still pondering privacy considerations.

Several news outlets are reporting a mysterious “well-dressed Indian man” tried to intervene on Abdulmutallab’s behalf and browbeat an airline employee in to overlooking the fact that the wanna-be martyr lacked a passport. Intelligence want to know "who's this mysterious Indian".

Perhaps they're profiling a South Asian, maybe a Pakistani or a Sri Lankan. I'm sure he wasn't among the chorus of Amsterdam Airport security personnel, festively cheering and applauding the man-made disaster of 9/11 when that happened.

Update: DutchNews are reporting on a press conference held by the relevant Minister: strings are being pulled and full body scanners will be put to good use shortly. Until such time body searches will be carried out manually. Also: she denied the crotch bomber wasn't carrying a passport. We've put the matter to consideration of a law-and-order absolutist MP. No doubt to be continued. More on NRC.

Earlier posts:

- "Christmas Cracker Turns Man-Made Disaster Escape"

Related (updating throughout):

- BBC: "US aware 'Nigerian' prepared for terror attack"
- Mediaite: "Echoes Of 9/11? Gov. Had Plenty Of Warning About Christmas Day Attack"
- Washington Times: "EDITORIAL: Christmas day's recycled terrorists" - Releases from Gitmo are coming back to haunt us"
- TransWorldNews: "Somali Man Suspected of Attempting to Carry Explosives onto Plane"
- NRC: "Controversial scanners will be used on Amsterdam-US flights"
- CBS: "U.S. Intel Lapses Helped Abdulmutallab" - CBS News Exclusive: CIA Had Info on Person of Interest Dubbed "The Nigerian" in August But Officials Failed to Connect Dots

Christmas Cracker Turns Man-Made Disaster Escape

A young Amsterdam entrepreneur has become the toast of the town. The 32 year old partner in a media company, Jasper Schuringa grabbed hold of the Nigerianse Muslim terrorist Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab (23) and narrowly averted a Christmas man-made terror disaster over Detroit.

Northwest Airlines Airbus flight NW-253 from Amsterdam to Detroit carrying 278 passengers, was on approach to Detroit, just lowering the landing gear, when a Nigerian male passenger attempted to ignite a powdery substance attached to his legs.

Al Qaeda's perverted wish to cause maximum harm may have helped the situation. Had the Nigerian succeeded in triggering an explosion in midair, the casualty rate would have been hundred percent. But the terrorist waited until approach to Detroit, in the hope of causing also casualties on the ground.

Schuringa watched Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab trying to set his underpants on fire. He looked him in the eye, jumped him and held him subdued until landing. Schuringa was also hurt in the assault. His parents are so proud of him. A friend, Kasem Challiou was contacted by Schuringa after the event; he has told the press the jihadist was covered in explosives. Delta Airlines initially mentioned  something concerning firecrackers. American authorities later officially declared it a major terrorist man-made disaster thwarted.

In an interview with CNN (below) Schuringa says not to have hesitated for a second. Which is a small miracle given the advice Dutch citizens get from their authorities, never to act on impulse but always to call in the experts: the nanny state at its most insidious. Not so Schuringa: "I didn't give it a thought", he said. "I just wanted to save the plane".

Just 20 minutes prior to the landing in Detroit the Nigerian grabbed a powdery substance, mixed it with a fluid and set fire to it. A series of minor explosions followed. He claims to have acted on the orders of Al Qaeda.

What stands out in the affair is the rank incompetence all round: the general security situation failed, as well as - luckily - the terrorist, son of a prominent, wealthy family in Abuja. Engineering colleges in London and a terror crash course in Yemen, to no avail. The amount of explosives, a semtex component, is said to have been sufficient in quantity, but Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab didn't manage to ignite it.

The Border Police and the National Anti Terror Coordinator in Amsterdam are baffled. The FBI have also arrived on the scene, aghast how the panty bomber could stroll around the airport for three hours, carrying the explosives along in a bag.

Elsevier Magazine is reporting that security at Amsterdam Airport is wanting. The article claims officials are often barely trained. Pentrite is invisible to current detection apparatus. But it can be detected by 'naked scanners'. More accurately called "millimeter wave scans", these devizes are currently undergoing trials at Amsterdam Airport.

- Caption: ABC: "EXCLUSIVE: Photos of the Northwest Airlines Bomb - Accused Bomber Abdulmutallab's Underwear, Explosive Packet and Detonator" - 

Passengers say to have hardly been searched. Security officials might have wanted to search Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, had they been aware who he was. He is among the 550,000 names in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database (TIDE). Smaller watch lists trigger additional airport screening, but intelligence officials said there wasn't enough information to move Abdulmutallab into those categories. He was put on the database only after the US visa had already been issued.

! Update Dec. 29: on the matter of the missing passport, this just in from The Washington Times: "Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab reportedly boarded the aircraft by impersonating a Sudanese refugee who did not have a passport, a ruse officials in Amsterdam apparently accepted. It is certain that al Qaeda had tested this method at Amsterdam before." Well, this has been going on for donkey's years. The first thing refugees do after boarding a plane is to flush their passport through the toilet. It's a "known issue". (Read "The Case of the Undocumented Crotch Bomber".

Rand Simberg, a recovering aerospace engineer and a consultant in space commercialization, space tourism and Internet security, writing yesterday on Pajamas brings a few politically incorrect suggestions to bear how the general security situation might be improved.



Related:


! Newser: "Ex Gitmo Inmates Linked to Bomb - Al Qaeda Leaders Did Art Therapy, Were Freed in Saudi Arabia"
- IBD: "Yes, Janet, There Is A 'War On Terror'"
- RedState: "Seven Things Wrong With The Anti-Terrorism Policies of the TSA"
! Mediaite: "Possible Link Between Northwest Airlines Terrorist And Fort Hood Shooter?", by Glynnis MacNicol
- NRC: "Unused body scan could have revealed explosive powder"
- MEF: "The System "Worked Really Very, Very Smoothly" in Detroit?", by Daniel Pipes
- FoxNews: "Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Attempted Bombing of U.S. Plane"
- NewsMax: "Foiled Terror Attack Should Be Wake-Up Call"
- NewsMax: "Napolitano Concedes Airline Security System Failed"

Continued in "The Case of the Undocumented Crotch Bomber

A Sinister Gathering in the City of Light Bulbs

Today in the southern Dutch town of Eindhoven - original seat of the Philips light bulb emporium - a five day international convention of Islamists is kicking off. It's keeping domestic and international secret services off the Christmas pudding. Authorities fear the gathering will be used to raise funds for international jihad.

The meeting is organized by the Al Waqf al Islami Foundation, also based in Eindhoven. Venue is the Al Furqan Mosque, listed as radical and under continued observation by the AIVD Intelligence Service. At least one board member has been connected in the past with fund raising for Al Qaeda.

Intelligence services are primarily interested in the goings-on in the periphery of the conclave. But a spokesman of the Al Waqf Foundation has declined to take any responsibility for what happens outside the mosque. He said discussions will center on Muslim affairs, but that the convention is open to anyone.

Among the key note speakers are renowned Islamic scholars from all over the world. One of them, a Saudi imam, is blacklisted in his country for his radical views.

The Council's theme is also suspect: "Challenges concerning the integration of Muslims in the Netherlands". Intelligence say it is cover for the actual agenda: raising funds for terrorist operations and the prevention of Muslim integration.

De Telegraaf newspaper is reporting that Dutch imams who support integration have unanimously condemned the convention. "An imam who lives and works in Saudi Arabia has a completely different life experience and frame of reference than one who lives in the Netherlands".

"If one poses the question if his wife is allowed to drive a car, the answer will be no, as it would be in Saudi Arabia. And that would stand in the way of integration", one source is reported as saying. "These kinds of Councils frustrate the good intentions of Dutch imams".

For what that is worth.

Related: 

- "Philips Communist Recommendation"

- "In Defense of Liberty"

- "The Jihad Project"

- "Stop Islamization of Europe"

- "Eurabia"

- "Apostating Islam"

Afghanistan: the Road to Nationhood - Part I

Image via Wikipedia

"Losing the war is not an option"

by Arend Jan Boekestijn (original article in Dutch)

Pundits are fond to cite George Orwell lately: the fastest way to end a war is to lose it. Afghanistan has divided the West. We have acted so recklessly that it appeared at times as if losing the war was indeed the object. But it would have dire consequences for Western security.

For those who are taking pleasure in debunking Obama: losing the war in Afghanistan is no option. As long as Europe seeks strength in diversity, appeasement and cashing in on peace divident we shall have to settle for Obama. Defeat is nothing less than an affirmation of the jihadists' view that the decadent West has no staying power.

Failure would be a colossal encouragement to even widen the front. In case you're not so sure: defeat in Afghanistan means that the Pakistani jihadists, who won't rest until they've appropriated the national nuclear arsenal, will be able to use Afghanistan as a hide out. To use the word defeat in such a situation, reveals a shocking deficit in responsibility.

It is wiser to learn of ones mistakes. In Afghanistan the US and NATO have chosen for a light military presence. This forced the Afghan President Hamid Karzai into making deals with warlords that were in their economic tribal interests. Some were even included in the Government: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Like half a century ago in South Vietnam, when President Ngo Dinh Diem was given to understand that he must democratize, Karzai was driven to an act of similar political suicide given the lack of a loyal opposition. This weakened his position even further. Karzai is quite literally consumed by paranoia. At night he rides his chauffeur driven car through Kabul, hoping to discover what is really going on.

Finally Karzai's political system was made to absorb such insane amounts of aid, that corruption, endemic in this patrimonial system, rose to alarming levels. In Africa many political systems have been corrupted by development aid, but that is insignificant compared to the intervention in Afghanistan. The mistakes in Africa were multiplied hundred fold.

And yet, in all this gloom over this fest of follies and flubs there's some reason for optimism. First of all, it is encouraging that Obama, like his predecessor George Bush, albeit reluctantly, chose for a surge. Admittedly, 30,000 extra troops is minimal, and half of what General McCrystal's requested, but Obama has come through in spite of severe opposition in his own party.

It is very well possible that 30,000 troops are too few to force a breakthrough in the war, but that sounds hollow from the mouth of an inhabitant of a continent whose contribution is only minimal compared to the American effort. Why doesn't Europe do more?

Secondly, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has shaded somewhat Obama's assurance that withdrawal would go ahead in the summer 2011. That will only happen if the circumstances allow. This is not without significance, because the famous 3-D approach - Defense, Diplomacy and Development - can only succed if the West shows fortitude.

We are talking here of a decades long involvement, not just a few years. Anyone who believes the West will never be able to muster the staying power may be right, but should stop complaining about severe damage to the alliance and a potentially fatal defeat in the fight against political Islam. It's not an attractive perspective. Moreover, alternative presence on the ground, like cruise missiles and drones, offer even less chance of success. Whether we like it or not, we won't fix this problem without boots on the ground.

The question is also if the economic crisis will allow America the cost of a major contingent after 2011. If not, we're in deep trouble as the EU is still unable to act militarily. The word 'still' reflects politeness rather than realism. There is no cause for joy over the economic resilience of Obama's country either.

Neither is there about Obama's inquisitiveness. But he steered wisely clear of mentioning democratization in the same breath as failing states. That's a bonus. Anyone who witnessed the blood-curdling spectacle of the Afghan election can rest assured. Ballots without functioning institutions and a loyal opposition - in other words, without a civil society - are a recipe for instability and in-fights.

Elections in closed societies are of a different nature than we're accustomed to. In civil societies temperatures may rise, but they lead to legitimization because the new Government reflects the results of the ballot box, irrespective how disastrously difficult a governing coalition may be formed.

In the absence of a civil society the dynamics of the ballot box potentially undercut the understanding between the leaders of the oligarchy not to use force. As a result few can resist the temptation of vote-rigging. And that is precisely what happened in Afghanistan. When the second candidate withdrew, the Americans had no choice but to endorse Karzai. His legitimacy is at an all time low.

Above anything else Afghanistan needs stability and order. Only then there's the chance of a meaningful relationship between the center and the periphery. It is up to us to shield the Afghan regime from becoming a safe-house for those who wish to destroy Western civilization. Jihadists from Pakistan using Afghanistan as a launching pad to topple the regime in Islamabad, is also a hazard that must also be averted.

Before we can safely speak of stability we need to ask ourselves why we're training an Afghan standing army. For Karzai? I don't think so. He's a dead man walking. A military corps will only bring stability if it reflects the existing balance of power, giving it legitimacy in the 19th Century meaning of the word. This will not enthuse everyone in the West.

The American proposal to finance tribal militias is very dangerous, but not inept. A tribal balance of power at the provincial and central level is not trivial. The alternative, training Afghan armed forces, is not without its problems either. The current army is tribally unbalanced and it is no wonder upto a third has deserted. It's fairly easy for the Taliban to infiltrate such an artificial construct.

Stability will only be possible in Afghanistan if the Westminster model is neatly tucked away, to gather dust somewhere in a nondescript drawer. Think tribal, practical, undeterred, and bide your time. All other options, democratization, abandonment or just providing development aid, will lead to an instable order, at odds with vital Western interests.

What should the Netherlands do? Forget about being a leading ISAF nation, but recoup, and go back to the area where vital interests are at stake: the Greater Middle East. And to those who think that the West lacks the political will to endure this fight over longer stretches of time, I can only advise you to seek refuge under the bed.

Arend Jan Boekestijn is a historian, associated with the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. His book "De Prijs van een Slecht Geweten" (The Price of a Bad Conscience") (Uitgeverij Aspekt) will hit the bookstores today.

NRC: "Dutch politician asks if aid really aids"

In a new book, former politican Arend Jan Boekestijn joins the choir of people challenging the usefulness of development aid. >>>

Read also part II in this series, "Of Development Aid, Nation-Building and Unification", by Dr Sam Holliday

Related dossiers:

- "The Afghan Front"
- "Pakistan's Double Bubble"
- "The Finer Points of Warfare"
- "The Propaganda Hirabah"
- "Narco Wars"

Related:

- Pat Dollard
- Michael Yon

- The Armiger Cromwell Center (click Afghanistan*New)

- ISAF (NATO) Official Page

Obama, As Good As His Word (on GITMO)

Bringing the 9/11 Soldiers of Allah to a civilian Court in New York - a thousand yards removed from where the towers once proudly stood - was one of the most cherished wishes of the anti America front, from tranzie centrists, to the dimwitted Left and the mentally debilitated anti war brigade.

Now, in power, President Obama is as good as his pre election word - on this point at least.

Apparently with a reference to their occupation of choice in the world of business, the victims of 9/11 in the eyes of psychotic postmodernists are merely "little Eichmanns", dimishing their interests to the point of irrelevance. Moreover, the wish to see politically correct justice done trumps New York as a prime platform for an Islamist propaganda tool. So Attorney-General Eric Holder announced this week to go ahead with it anyway.

The message came against the backdrop of four recently averted terrorist assaults, and the media spectable surrounding the Fort Hood massacre which practically resulted in a parallel reality, so unshaken is the constructed narrative.

All the evidence of Muslim involvement was censored into oblivion; Pre Traumatic Stress Syndrome was spontaneously discovered. To date the narrative is that the Major is a lone, isolated, over-worked and under-paid psychopath of which there are many, many others. The "logic": if you are able to willfully ignore the evidence of terrorist infrastructure behind the attack, the theory of a lone loon stands. Any sleeper cells or self-ignitors can rest assured they will ever be connected to Islamic terrorism.

No one has as yet acknowledged, let alone commented or explained, the truly amazing coincidence of Major Hasan being on the Obama transition team. You can't make this stuff up!
Update on Nov. 17: Presidential Transition Task force on Homeland Security reacting to Major Hasan's participation.

The greatest insight into the Muslim mindset came from Major Hasan himself: he thought Muslim military personnel should be exempted from deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan because obviously "Muslims shouldn't be killing Muslims", something they do on a daily basis on a heartwrenching scale justifying it by religious ordainment; but it also implies the message, it's okay to kill anyone else.

There's really no advantage in having the trial of the 9/11 terrorists in New York, other than the Obama throwing his far Leftist base a bone. The prosecution of CIA operatives apparently has whetted their heavily politized appetites (the Left loves purges).

It's all the holier-than-thou attitude of transnational ideology at the expense of the safety of the American people (all bigoted, middle class Eichmanns, so who cares?). As if justice by military Tribunal is somehow inferior to justice brought by a civilian Court.

Needless to say that the progressive transnationalists assembled in the UN and NGO'ism are mumbling approval. This is after all what the revulsion of the Bush administration was all about. But they won't have to bear the responsibilities of the umpteeth consecutive mistake piled on by Team Obama.

Of the many reasons why this counts as another enormity, let's just highlight one aspect in particular: to abandon the War on Terrorism paradigm for a matter of law enforcement. As Dr Walid Phares, Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies explains, the 9/11 Commission itself defined the event an act of war and found the US at fault for not having determined it as such.

PJTV: "Worms Headed for the Big Apple: Dr. Walid Phares on the Terrorists Going to Trial in New York City"

Terrorism has just become a win/win/win proposition for the Islamist hirabahists: if you succeed, all is well and you find your carnal reward in heaven; should you be preempted you earn yourself a prime propaganda and recruitment tool on a first class site at maximum media exposure.

Caroline Glick in an unrelated case recently explained the mistake of handling terrorism as a law enforcement issue. As it happens, Team Obama just nixed the Global War on Terror paradigm altogether, substituting it for an array of vacuous, postmodern epithets of the Hope-and-Change variety.

Listing the overwhelming disadvantages of this course of action is enough to make you want to drop out of the discourse, like Red Square, who's seen it all happen before back in the USSR. He's showing it for what it is, and getting a wee bit snarky:

The People's Cube: "Hell yeah, shut Gitmo and ship'em to my neighborhood!"

The dangerous ramifications of this move are all too obvious; we're not even going to discuss them here. Instead, we'd like to lend a hand to Michigan Coalition to Stop GITMO North with our graphics, which also work as topical signs at the Tea Parties. They can be signs, posters, T-shirts, and even billboards, since we made them in vector format that can be stretched to a larger size without any loss of image quality.

Download the files below. Those who would rather order a ready-made poster, postcard, coffee mug, or a shirt can do so in one of our stores at Zazzle.com. >>>

We encourage you to do so: this is real quality for money. Will no doubt be continued.

Oh, and while you're at it, help fight political correctness and send a Christian Christmas card to the White House (and your own self-loathing Government) this year:

Barack Hussein Obama, President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20500 USA

Jan Peter Balkenende, PM
Buitenhof 34
PO Box 20001
2500 EA The Hague
Netherlands

[your Government's address here]


Updates:

- New York Post: "City blocks are locked & loaded - Iron ring of security for 9/11 thugs"
- Pajamas TV: "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Trial Will Be a Three-Ring Circus" (video)
- Pajamas TV: "National Security Review: The Enemy is Watching: Giving the 9/11 Mastermind Exactly What He Wants" (video)
- Pajamas Media: "Why Would Obama Take Such a Risk with KSM?", by Leon de Winter