The following video is a moving tribute in support of those fighting for freedom in Iran.

There are a number of GRAPHIC IMAGES so viewer discretion is strongly advised.

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Dear Members of the Fort Hood Community,

We the undersigned would like to offer you our deepest gratitude. Every day you put Americans first. You make great sacrifices in order to protect our freedoms, and for that we are grateful.

On November 5h, we all felt the loss of those 13 brave individuals. We would like you to know that our thoughts and prayers are with their families and the entire Fort Hood community during this difficult time.

Thank you for your devotion to our great country. It is only because of your decision to serve, that we are here today.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Our hearts go out to the family members of all those killed in a deadly shooting at the Ft. Hood Army Base on Thursday.  13 were left dead with others injured in a shooting spree.

According to reports, many of the casualties were undergoing final medical screenings before being sent off to join American forces in Afghanistan.

Details are being reported all across the media, as President Obama has called the shootings “tragic” and “a horrific outburst of violence.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/06/texas.fort.hood.shootings/index.html

Governor Rick Perry of Texas ordered all Texas flags to be lowered to half-mast until Sunday.

While most mainstream media are being careful not declare this an act of violence motivated by radical ideology, some outlets are already reporting that the assailant was a devout Muslim, and disgruntled with the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/army_muslim_major_kills_at_ft_hood_XGrZPwVI9UdcsxpV42AdnK

You can be sure that we will be watching closely as details about this tragedy unfold.

“Don’t have your guy come down there and tell me we can’t pull more than three Arab guys out of line for additional security screening, and then tell us after 9/11 that we should have thrown five guys like that off our planes.”
—Edmond L. Soliday, former United Airlines vice president of security operations, referring to the transportation secretary’s civil-rights attorney.  Quoted in Infiltration, by Paul Sperry

The Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune reports this week on a settlement reached in a case where six Muslim clerics “were removed from a U.S. Airways jet after passengers and airline employees reported that the six were engaging in suspicious behavior.”  CAIR is calling it a “victory for justice and civil rights.”  Is this “victory for… civil rights” potentially a dangerous loss for Americans of all faiths?

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, worries about the impact of a settlement reached under such circumstances…

“Terrorism operates on fear,” says Jasser.  “Transportation authorities don’t know when, where or how terrorists will strike, so they must be vigilant.” After this settlement, he adds, the men and women charged with protecting the public will have to contend with a “competing fear” as they make tough decisions: “They may ask, ‘If I detain and question someone who is acting suspiciously, will I cost my employer thousands of dollars, or even lose my job?’”

This chilling effect may lead to risky changes in airport security policies and pilot training, Jasser warns. As a result, officials may miss “vital nuances” in behavior that put the rest of us in danger.

Although the judge in this case believed that the officers were in the wrong, lawsuits have often been used by Islamist groups as a means of silencing debate, rather than protecting civil rights.  The Legal Project of the Middle East forum, commenting on several high profile cases, quotes Steven Emerson saying, “Legal action has become a mainstay of radical Islamist organizations seeking to intimidate and silence their critics.”

The case happened under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC).  You can contact their director of public affairs, Patrick Hogan, to voice your support for the actions airport security took to protect Americans.  Be sure to cc your local newspaper or television station, so your voice gets heard, saying that you support practices that safeguard American lives.

For more information on how Islamists are using the law as a tool, and measures being taken to counter this, you can visit the Legal Project of the Middle East Forum here. 

You can read the entire Star Tribune article here.

This is the letter that Marriott sent out to everyone who wrote them to cancel the CAIR banquet. (See here). Needless to say the CAIR banquet was not canceled and the letter below is a complete joke. When did terrorism become a race, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation? I urge everyone to boycott Marriott and let’s work now to make sure that next year the CAIR banquet finds it difficult to find a location.

Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for your message. We are a hospitality company providing public accommodations. In no way do we support or endorse any group or individual by virtue of accepting their business. We embrace all people as our customers, associates, owners & franchisees, regardless of race, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.
Regards,
Marriott Customer Care

On CAIR’s website, the following statement appears in a page addressing Urban Legends:

Disinformation: CAIR has not condemned Osama bin Laden

Fact: Our condemnations can be easily found on www.cair.com.

Fact: CAIR has said Bin Laden was complicit in the 9/11 attacks and condemned al-Qaeda  

In a December 13, 2001 release titled “CAIR: Video Shows Bin Laden’s Complicity in 9-11 Attacks,” CAIR stated: “For anyone who was not convinced of Osama bin Laden’s complicity in the events of September 11, the content of this videotape should remove all doubt.“

In a September 11, 2006 release titled “CAIR: U.S. Muslims Repudiate Al-Qaeda Rhetoric, Worldview,” CAIR stated: “As Muslims, we will continue to condemn Al-Qaeda and ensure that the rest of the world learns the true message of Islam and its teachings of peace, justice and compassion for all” and “In light of the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we feel the need to once again condemn and repudiate Al-Qaeda and its myopic worldview.”

Does this reflect CAIR’s actual view on Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda? The above statement is a clear condemnation. However, as we will see, other responses by CAIR to the attacks and its perpetrators raise questions about its motivations in making the above statements, and also helps call into question its role as a representative of American Muslims. Read more…

The Daily Star (Lebanon), citing a nuclear industry trade publication, reported that “Iran’s supply of low-enriched uranium – the potential feedstock for nuclear bombs – appears to have certain “impurities” that “could cause centrifuges to fail” if the Iranians try to boost it to weapons grade… There may be more time on the Iranian nuclear clock than some analysts had feared.”

It has also been reported in the Wall Street Journal that Iran has “agreed to ship much of its stock of low-enriched uranium abroad, a move that should temporarily curb its ability to build a nuclear weapon.”

This sounds like great news: The Iranians are incapable of making weapons grade fuel, and are sending their uranium abroad.  Does this mean it’s time to celebrate? Read more…

The Investigative Project on Terror (IPT) reports on a new book about CAIR, based on six-months of insider access to the group.

Among the findings in Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that’s Conspiring to Islamize America:

–The organization self-touted as “America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group” has seen its membership plummet since 2000, and now has around only 5,000 members (of a total U.S. Muslim population of well over over two million.)

–Over 60% of its operating budget comes from Persian Gulf sources.  (Paul Sperry, co-author of the book, touched on this subject several years ago, writing about the Kuwaiti role in the purchase of CAIR’s U.S. headquarters.)

–CAIR has actively worked against U.S. law enforcement agencies, by, in one case, coaching a mosque leader not to cooperate with the FBI.

CAIR’s initial response to the book, rather than directly responding to its claims,  has been to publish a character assassination of one of the authors.

For the time being, intelligence agencies have severed their relationship with the group in the wake of a recent terror-funding trial in which the group was listed as an unindited co-conspirator.  Nevertheless, as the IPT article notes, CAIR still has congressional supporters and a $2.7 million annual operating budget.

Groups like IPT are active in educating policy makers and other Americans about CAIR and other Islamist threats.  Through education, together we can make informed decisions on how to address the problems currently confronting us.   “Muslim Mafia” is available at Amazon.com.

Michael Ledeen reported a few days ago that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—who has been in ill health for years—has fallen into a coma, with speculation that he may not recover.

Ledeen notes that he has previously announced the death of Khamenei prematurely. That said, if the reports are true, will this be the death knell to a regime that has oppressed its citizens, is perceived as a threat by its neighbors, and also, through its support of Hezbollah and other groups, has promoted terror around the world? Or, will the government’s practices continue the status quo, under different stewards?

There are a number of possibilities. Among them:It’s been suggested that the power of Iran’s revolutionary guard exceeds that of the supreme leader, indicating much of the real power in Iran resides in a military institution that may not be poised for significant upheaval in the wake of Khamenei’s death.

Ledeen’s informant says that “a bloody clash will develop between the powers behind [Ayatollah Ali] Rafsanjani, who will immediately claim temporary religious authority and overall control, and the powers behind Ahmadinejad who will scramble in order to regain control and ensure their survival.”

It’s also possible that the whole concept of a “supreme leader” could be peacefully done away with in favor of a ruling council. This could thrust opposition figure Rafsanjani into a more dominant leadership position, given that he heads the council which elects the supreme leader. (The phrase ‘opposition figure’ is used here loosely. Rafsanjani is a man who, during the Iran-Iraq war, “ridiculed commanders because … [they] wanted to prohibit the families from sending their children to the front,” according to scholar Matthias Küntzel. Additionally, when Rafsanjani was president, Iran was already covertly pursuing its nuclear program.)

In light of this, one message to walk away with, from reports of Khamenei’s death—if they are true—is that euphoria—if any—should be at best muted and short-lived. Vigilance will still be needed against a government that has shown itself to be a threat to many of its own citizens and to other states; in the advent of the death of its supreme leader, there is reason to suggest the situation would not necessarily change dramatically for the better.

Whether one is a policy maker or a grass-roots activist, there is still much that needs to be done. Among the groups active on these issues are the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Last week, Professor Juan Cole proposed that the intent of Iran’s nuclear program is not bellicose. Rather, the Iranian government is developing a nuclear energy program “which would allow the production of an atomic bomb on short notice if an extreme danger to national autonomy reared its ugly head.”

Among his supports is that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “gave a fatwa [religious edict] in 2005 that no Islamic state may possess or use atomic weapons.” He also writes that “after exhaustive espionage and investigation that there is no weapons program now and that there hasn’t been one for some time.” Both claims sound great. Unfortunately, they’re both misleading.

Regarding the 2005 fatwa:

The Federation of American Scientists noted that no copy of the alleged edict exists. Additionally, other Iranian clerics have publicly supported the development of atomic weapons. Mohsen Gharavian, a well-connected Qom theologian, said that “the spiritual leaders of the extremist [circles in Iran] have accepted the use of nuclear weapons as lawful in the eyes of shari’a [Islamic law].”

On the development of weapons:

Read more…