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SUDAN: TEDDY BEAR HATE CRIMINAL CONVICTED
By Charles Johnson
Gillian Gibbons, who perpetrated the heinous teddy bear of blasphemy on an unsuspecting Sudan, has been convicted of blasphemy, but will not face the lash for her crime.
KHARTOUM, Sudan - British teacher Gillian Gibbons has been convicted of inciting religious hatred for letting her pupils name a teddy bear Muhammad and sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan, one of her defense lawyers said Thursday.
“The judge found Gillian Gibbons guilty and sentenced her to 15 days jail and deportation,” said Ali Mohammed Hajab, a member of her defense team.
The director of the school employing Gibbons, however, noted that since she had already spent five days in prison, she would serve only 10 days.
“It’s a very fair verdict, she could have had six months and lashes and a fine, and she only got 15 days and deportation,” said Robert Boulos of the Unity High School, adding they would not appeal the decision.
Oh yes, very fair.
UPDATE: Mohammed Bear, school surplus stock, now available on eBay. (Hat tip: Dhimmi Watch.)
HAMAS: 'NO ROOM FOR JEWS'
By Charles Johnson
On the 60th anniversary of the UN vote that created the state of Israel, Hamas demands that the UN “correct its mistake.”
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblogHamas on Thursday called on the UN to rescind the 1947 decision to partition Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.
The group said in a statement, released on the 60th anniversary of the UN vote, that “Palestine is Arab Islamic land, from the river to the sea, including Jerusalem... there is no room in it for the Jews.”
Regarding the partition decision, Hamas said that “correcting mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of, but prolonging it is exploitation.” Thursday, November 29, 2007
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DICKIE SCRUGGS, HILLARY FUNDRAISER
By Ed Morrissey
The buzz around Trent Lott's departure from the Senate had focused on his familial connections to now-indicted Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, Lott's brother-in-law. However, the political connections go in an entirely different direction. Scruggs has had his latest fundraiser canceled -- by Hillary Clinton (via Memeorandum):
A Dec. 15 fund-raising event for Hillary Clinton at the home of prominent Mississippi trial laywer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs is off, now that Scruggs has been indicted for bribery.Bill Clinton was set to be the star attraction at the event at Scruggs’s Oxford, Miss., home. Hillary Clinton wasn’t scheduled to attend. It was the first event that Scruggs, who made a fortune suing the tobacco industry in the 1990s, had offered to host for Clinton, a campaign spokesman said. It was canceled on Wednesday, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided his home and the federal indictment was announced. ...
Over the years, Scruggs has been a generous donor to Democrats, but he’s also given money to Republican candidates. He gave $4,200 to Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2005 but hadn’t made a donation yet to her presidential bid. Scruggs’s brother-in-law is Sen. Trent Lott (R., Miss.), who just announced his intention to leave the Senate before the end of the year.
Norman Hsu, the Fujian donor scandal, Peter Paul, and now Dickie Scruggs. It seems rather more like a pattern than a series of coincidences, doesn't it? Thursday, November 29, 2007
www.captainsquartersblog.com
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CLINTON, PART II
By Mike Lester
www.townhall.com/funnies
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ABOUT THAT ECONOMY...
By Ed Morrissey
As the presidential election continues to draw nearer, we keep hearing about our collapsing economy from the usual media hysterics. The housing market is near collapse! The credit crunch! The subprime markets are melting, melting, I say!
Well, what about the actual economy?
Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2007, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent. The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the advance estimates issued last month. In the advance estimates, the increase in real GDP was 3.9 percent ...
The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, equipment and
software, federal government spending, nonresidential structures, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by a negative contribution from residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
It appears that we're growing our way into a panic on the economy. It may be the first recession in history initiated by a 5% annual GDP growth rate. It won't be the first attempted by scare tactics in the run-up to an election.
Not only has growth continued, it increased in Q3 in multiple areas. PCEs rallied to a 2.7% increase, almost double from Q2. Export growth almost tripled from Q2, from 7% to nearly 19%, thanks to the weak dollar. Private inventories grew almost 1%, up from 0.22% in Q2. Real sales increases ticked up slightly, from 3.6% in Q2 to 3.9% in Q3. Gross domestic purchases increased 3.4%, compared to 2.4% in Q2.
In fact, the last two quarters show strong growth, after the soft Q1 number of 0.6%. There may well be weak points in the American economy, but it hardly looks like a moment for panic. The growth seen over the last two quarters gives every indication that the Bush-era expansion continues apace, and that our economy remains resilient and strong. Thursday, November 29, 2007
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TAKING THE FIGHT TO AL QAEDA IN THE NORTH
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| Map of Salahadin province and the Za'ab Triangle region. Click map to view. |
As al Qaeda in Iraq attempts to re-establish its networks in the Northern provinces, the Iraqi military and Multinational Forces Iraq have been shaping the battlefield in the north for a showdown with the terror group. Iraqi and US forces received a big boost the past week when a significant number of Iraqis formed a Concerned Local Citizens group in the region. Meanwhile, the Islamic Army of Iraq in Mosul has vowed to dig in and fight the Coalition.
Iraqi and US forces have been focusing on the northern region -- delineated by the provinces of Ninewa, Tamin, Salahadin, and Diyala -- since major counterinsurgency operations began this summer. Operation Lightning Hammer II was launched Mosul, Tal Afar, and in the Za'ab Triangle region in September as a corps-sized operation, with over 26,000 troops committed to the fight. The Za'ab region, roughly outlined by the intersections of northern Salahadin, southwestern Tamin, and southeastern Ninewa, contains some of the toughest cities in Iraq, including Baiji and Hawija.
On November 5, US and Iraqi forces launched Operation Iron Hammer, a division-sized operation, in the city and regions surrounding Kirkuk. Kirkuk sits just northeast of the Za'ab Triangle region. Iron Hammer consisted of elements from four Iraqi Army Divisions and three US brigades. Over 200 insurgent suspects were captured, including three high-value al Qaeda leaders. A large amount of explosives and weapons caches were also found.
Iron Hammer was followed by Operation Raging Eagle, another division-sized operation that also focused on Kirkuk and the surrounding regions. Over fifty al Qaeda operatives were captured during the operation.
In the north, US and Iraqi forces look to be forcing the battle away from the major cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, as well as away from Kirkuk's vital oilfields. "They want to go north into Kirkuk and wreak havoc there, and that's exactly what we're trying to avoid," said Army Major General Mark Hertling, the top US commander in northern Iraq, in an interview with the Associated Press. Over 200 al Qaeda in Iraq fighters are believed to have taken shelter in the towns and villages in the Hawija region.
As the fight looks to be shaping up in the Za'ab Triangle region, Iraqi and US forces received a major break by receiving reinforcements from Iraqis in the region. On November 28, the Associated Press reported over 6,000 Iraqis joined the Concerned Local Citizens movement in the Hawija region. The Concerned Local Citizens are typically tribal groups and former insurgents who form local auxiliary police units to fight al Qaeda in Iraq and protect their local communities.
The number of 6,000 Concerned Local Citizens in Hawija, however, may be inaccurate. In response to an inquiry from the The Long War Journal to Multinational Forces Iraq, Colonel Don Bacon stated that the actual number in the Hawija region is 2,500, with the possibility that 6,000 was the number of recruits pledged by tribal leaders.
The provinces of Ninewa, Tamin, Salahadin, and Diyala have seen a spike in participation in the Concerned Local Citizens movement. Tamin now has over 8,000 Concerned Local Citizen, Salahadin 4,000, and Diyala 10,000, according to data obtained by The Long War Journal. Ninewa has only 1,500 participants, but "there is a large Iraqi Army and Police presence which may mitigate against a large CLC [Concerned Local Citizens] program in this province," according to a source in Multinational Forces Iraq who wishes to remain anonymous.
Iraqi and Coalition efforts to move the fighting from the major cities may be difficult to achieve. The Islamic Army in Iraq in Mosul has vowed to continue the fight in the northern city. Upset that some of its groups have broken with the insurgency and are supporting the government in Concerned Local Citizens movements, the Mosul branch has formed al Fatih al Mubeen. Elements of the Islamic Army in Iraq have sided with al Qaeda and joined its Islamic State of Iraq. Thursday, November 29, 2007
HUNTING AL QAEDA IN IRAQ'S PROPAGANDA CELLS
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| Image from recently released al Furqan / al Qaeda in Iraq execution video. Click to view. |
After a nearly two-month lull in videos released by al Furqan, al Qaeda in Iraq's primary propaganda arm, two new videos of attacks on US forces have been released over the past three days. Al Qaeda in Iraq is attempting to reestablish its propaganda presence in Iraq, while Multinational Forces Iraq is seeking to dismantle the network.
"Despite the recent loss of numerous cells across Iraq, the media wing of al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) has produced a second video product, which the al Fajr Media Center posted Tuesday night on the main Jihadi message boards," Nick Grace of Threatswatch reported. "The one minute video, called 'Destruction Of An-American Hummer Vehicle,' is the latest in the ongoing ISI media series 'Roman and Apostate Hell in al-Rafedain Land' and, according to the accompanying Web statement, shows an IED attack on a hummer in the az-Zobayer bin al-Awaam region of Diyala Province." The first video released showed the brutal execution of nine Iraqis, purportedly Shia who served in the Interior Ministry’s police commando unit in Diyala province.
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| Image from recently released al Furqan / al Qaeda in Iraq execution video. Click to view. |
Multinational Forces Iraq began to heavily target al Qaeda's media apparatus over the summer of 2007. The capture of Khalid Abdul Fatah Da’ud Mahmud al Mashadani, a senior al Qaeda in Iraq and Islamic State of Iraq leader and close associate of al Qaeda commander Abu Ayyub al Masri, was the first major blow against al Qaeda's media network. Mashadani, also known as Abu Shahed, was al Qaeda's media emir. He confirmed that Abu Omar al Baghdadi, the purported leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, is an imaginary figure created by himself and al Masri.
After Mashadani's capture, the Coalition began rolling up numerous al Qaeda media cells and operatives of al Furqan. "Since the surge began, we’ve uncovered eight separate al Qaeda media offices and cells, have captured or killed 24 al Qaeda propaganda cell members and have discovered 23 terabytes of information," said Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, the chief Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Forces Iraq during a press briefing at the end of October.
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| Image from recently released al Furqan / al Qaeda in Iraq execution video. Click to view. |
Since that briefing, several more cells have been dismantled and scores of al Qaeda media operatives have been killed or captured. During the month of November, Special Forces teams killed two media operatives and captured 44 suspected associates of the cells.
On November 12, Coalition Special Forces hunter-killer teams captured the media emir of Diyala province. In a separate operation in Samarra, the Special Forces teams "targeted an al-Qaeda media headquarters and safe house, also believed to be used by foreign terrorists." One terrorist was killed after reaching for a suicide vest, while another seven were captured. Six days later, Special Forces "captured one wanted individual and detained 10 other suspects while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq's media network" in Baghdad and Samarra.
The city of Samarra and the surrounding regions have become a hub of activity for al Qaeda in Iraq's propaganda outlets. From November 22-25, Coalition Special Forces hunter-killer teams conducted multiple raids against al Qaeda's media and courier networks in the Samarra region. One member of al Qaeda's media network was killed and 25 captured during a series of raids over the course of four days.
The flurry of activity began on November 22, when the Special Forces teams killed one member of a propaganda cell and captured two. In follow-on raids the next day, the teams captured seven members of al Qaeda's media network. "One of the targeted buildings is believed to be used as a propaganda production facility and meeting location for senior leaders," Multinational Forces Iraq reported.
Two days later, Coalition Special Forces teams captured a "wanted individual [who] is believed to be involved in al-Qaeda in Iraq media networks and was involved in attacks against Coalition forces." Fourteen other al Qaeda media and courier operatives were captured during coordinated operations.
Based on the number of raids in Samarra, the city is clearly a major hub of activity for al Furqan, if not the headquarters for the media organization. Grace notes that while the jihadis are excited about the return of al Furqan videos, some members of the forums are stating the organization is now on the move.
“There is a tremendous amount of chatter on the Internet about al-Furqan's sudden return,” Grace said. “Mujahideen inside Iraq have posted assurances on key Jihadi message boards that new videos are on the way but that they are in the process of moving. One fighter wrote that 'it takes time for moving such an infrastructure and find a safe place with ... traitors around.'”
Al Qaeda in Iraq has suffered serious setbacks in Iraq over the past year, and its media operations has not faired well under the Iraqi and Coalition onslaught. As noted at Threatswatch, al Qaeda in Iraq's media wing is desperate to produce propaganda for multiple reasons. The terror group needs to demonstrate to its financial backers, supporters, fellow jihadis, the Iraqi people, and the wider world that it is capable of conducting meaningful operations. This is vital for fundraising, for the morale of its forces, and to demoralize the West and the Iraqi people. Wednesday, November 28, 2007
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LARGEST SUNNI VOLUNTEER MOBILIZATION LAUNCHES
By Ed Morrissey
The US surge strategy has pushed al-Qaeda to the outer edges of western Iraq and convinced native insurgents to switch sides and fight against the foreign terrorists. AQI has attempted to find a toehold on the perimeter to keep from getting swept out of Iraq entirely, and they have relied on their usual methods of terrorism to gain the acquiescence of the locals. As a result, the US has accepted 6,000 Iraqi Sunnis in a volunteer force to man checkpoints and fight AQI -- the largest volunteer mobilization in Iraq:
Nearly 6,000 Sunni Arab residents joined a security pact with American forces Wednesday in what U.S. officers described as a critical step in plugging the remaining escape routes for extremists flushed from former strongholds.The new alliance — called the single largest volunteer mobilization since the war began — covers the “last gateway” for groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq seeking new havens in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.
U.S. commanders have tried to build a ring around insurgents who fled military offensives launched earlier this year in the western Anbar province and later into Baghdad and surrounding areas. In many places, the U.S.-led battles were given key help from tribal militias — mainly Sunnis — that had turned against al-Qaida and other groups.
The 200 checkpoints manned by these Iraqi volunteers will identify potential problems much more quickly than American checkpoints. These people know the area and their neighbors; strangers will stand out immediately. Foreigners sent to Iraq to kill and maim Iraqis will stick out like sore thumbs to the native security forces.
At the same time, the new program will help employ young Sunnis in gainful efforts. The security forces will receive almost the same salary as local police officers. That allows them to make a living and keep busy, not falling into the trap of boredom and frustration that led many of the young men towards the insurgencies. It also gives them an opportunity to serve their tribes and reinforce the sense of community that AQI attacks when seizing villages and imposing their brutal control.
Sheikh Khalaf Ali Issa understands this better than most. In his capacity as mayor of Zaab, he has seen what AQI does to Iraqis when they arrive. They have already killed 476 of his citizens, and he has seen for himself the AQI strategy of frightening locals into submission through murder and mayhem. AQI has made itself into America's best advertisement in Iraq.
This latest mobilization shows that Issa is not alone. The Iraqis have had enough of terrorism, and want the US as a partner for their own protection. AQI has failed utterly in its mission to create a blood-drenched Caliphate on the basis of human sacrifice in Iraq.
GIVE UP, AND WE'LL CONSIDER IT A DEAL
By Ed Morrissey
Osama bin Laden seems rather desperate to get the Western nations out of Afghanistan. In a new audio tape partially released by al-Jazeera, Osama tells Europeans that the American-led invasion of Afghanistan was unfair, because Mullah Omar's government didn't know about the 9/11 plot. Osama insists that he kept it very quiet:
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on the Europeans to stop helping the United States in the war in Afghanistan, according to excerpts of a new audiotape broadcast Thursday on Al-Jazeera television.Bin Laden said it was unjust for the United States to have invaded Afghanistan for sheltering him after the 9/11 attacks, saying he was the "only one responsible" for the deadly assaults on New York and Washington.
"The events of Manhattan were retaliation against the American-Israeli alliance's aggression against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and I am the only one responsible for it. The Afghan people and government knew nothing about it. America knows that," the al-Qaida leader said.
The message appeared to be another attempt by bin Laden to influence public opinion in the West. In 2004, he offered Europeans a truce if they stopped attacking Muslims, then later spoke of a truce with the United States. In both cases, al-Qaida then denounced the countries for not accepting its offers.
At the time, Osama claimed it as retaliation for "occupying" Saudi Arabia, but let's not quibble. He has once again admitted 9/11 as an al-Qaeda operation for whatever twisted reasons suit his purpose. At least that much should put to rest most of the lunatic-fringe truther conspiracies -- if the conspiracy lunatics had any rational thought at all.
Let's take him at face value on his claim of injustice, though. If he was correct, then he should have told Mullah Omar to extradite him and his AQ fanatics to the United States before the invasion. We offered Omar the opportunity to do that before we invaded Afghanistan, but Omar refused to surrender Osama or his henchmen, specifically because he said the US lacked proof of Osama's involvement. If Osama objected to an invasion that we specifically declared would remove Omar from power, perhaps he should have tapped Omar on the shoulder and said, "Hey, bud, I have something important to tell you ..."
To take this line of thought even further, we could declare the deal still open. Let Osama and his AQ nutcases deliver themselves to the American military for detention, completely and without any conditions, and we will help broker a political solution for Omar's survival. The Afghans appear willing to have some sort of reconciliation with the Taliban if they would stop trying to reinstall their dicatorship, and we could help find common ground, if any exists. But until Osama and the entire AQ network surrenders to us, then the war continues.
If Osama wants justice, let him take that deal. If Omar wants to survive this war, he could simply give up Osama, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the rest of the AQ lunatics. Until then, we offer Osama and Omar a healthy cup of shut the hell up.
THE SIX-WEEK EMERGENCY
By Ed Morrissey
How long does it take to get to the end of a political emergency? Longer than it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, but shorter than it takes to get to the next election, at least in Pakistan. Pervez Musharraf now says he expects to cancel the PCO that sent his nation into a paroxysm of unrest by December 16th, the first time that he has given an end date for the state of emergency:
Musharraf's decision to end emergency rule by Dec. 16, revealed in a television address to the nation, came the same day he was sworn in as a civilian for his second five-year term as president. He resigned as army chief on Wednesday.Seeking to end months of political crisis, Musharraf urged Pakistan's leading opposition figures — former prime ministers Sharif and Benazir Bhutto — to participate in the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections. ...
In announcing an end to the four-week state of emergency, Musharraf went partway toward meeting the opposition's concerns but said nothing about restoring the judges he purged or changing the makeup of the caretaker government.
If Musharraf expected this to smooth the waters, he will be disappointed. Nawaz Sharif, who just returned to Pakistan, has decided to boycott the Parliamentary elections anyway. Sharif has a conspicuous ally in cricket star Imran Khan, who staged a brief hunger strike when Musharraf's forces detained him in the first days of the emergency decree.
Will Benazir Bhutto join Sharif? So far, she has played coy. Her spokesperson says that decision has not yet been made. Bhutto pledged to boycott the elections if all other parties did, but clearly Musharraf's PML-Q will contest for seats on January 8th. Bhutto and Sharif have mostly opposed each other for the last two decades, and are unlikely allies even against Musharraf. Bhutto's return was widely seen as a way for Musharraf to marginalize the religious elements that bolster Sharif, but the PCO split Bhutto away from Musharraf, at least for now. A decision to campaign could allow Bhutto to win a significant parliamentary faction at Sharif's expense.
The end of emergency rule is a welcome development, although the judiciary shake-up doesn't instill confidence in the rule of law for Pakistan. Had Musharraf used this time for a massive strike against the radical Islamists, perhaps that would have been more encouraging. As it is, it looks more like an attempt to secure his own power while offering little against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Thursday, November 29, 2007
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A CAIR PLANT AT THE YOUTUBE DEBATE
By Charles Johnson
Imagine my Surprise: Muslim YouTube questioner was former CAIR Intern. Thursday, November 29, 2007
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog*
FORMER SOVIET URANIUM FOR SALE IN SLOVAKIA
By Ed Morrissey
Slovakian authorities arrested three men in connection to a plot to sell radioactive material that could have formed the core of a terrorist weapon. Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian tried to sell almost a pound of uranium powder that would have served as the center of a so-called "dirty bomb", one that would spread radioactive material to contaminate inhabited areas. So far, the target of the trio's marketing remains unclear:
Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian arrested in an attempted sale of uranium were peddling material enriched enough to be used in a radiological "dirty bomb," Slovak authorities said Thursday.First Slovak Police Vice President Michal Kopcik said the three suspects, who were arrested Wednesday afternoon in eastern Slovakia and Hungary, were peddling just under a pound of uranium in powder form that investigators believe came from somewhere in the former Soviet Union....
It remained unclear to whom the suspects were trying to peddle the material.
Four years ago, the Czechs arrested two Slovaks in a similar attempt to peddle natural depleted uranium. Given the proximity of Slovakia to the former Soviet republics, Eastern Europe clearly has become the focus of illicit nuclear-material trade. While that doesn't necessarily narrow the list of potential buyers too far, it also doesn't eliminate the worst of the terrorist groups, either.
How much risk is there in dirty bombs? No one really knows the answer. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a fact sheet on the technical hurdles of deploying a radiological dispersal device (RDD), and they seem very significant. Almost all of the damage would come from the explosion, not the radiation, as the explosion would disperse it so far that its effects would be minimal. An RDD would not, as commonly supposed, shut down vast swaths of a city -- except through panic, which could kill commerce in an RDD-attacked area.
The biggest problem for nuclear proliferation is the transfer of weapons-grade fissile material, or a complete nuclear weapon. The uranium dust in Slovakia could not form part of either, and as Iran has amply demonstrated, getting the source material does not equate to deriving weapons-grade substances without years of effort and billions in research. In that sense, the Slovakian trade in uranium does not pose a large threat -- but it certainly doesn't make us feel safer, either. Thursday, November 29, 2007
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THE FIGHT BEGINS
By Chuck Asay
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