Religious head incited killers

(Compiler's note: Once again we have witnessed an Islamic terrorist attack incited and justified through appeals to Islam by its perpetrators. On one level it is understandable why so many in the West are unwilling or unable to connect the militant ideology of political Islam to the thousands of Islamic terror attacks that have been committed worldwide since 9/11. We extol the virtues of tolerance and pluralism and believe others in the world do so as well, so it is easy to dismiss such attacks as the work of a few “extremists,” rather than the product of adherence to an ideology.

The fatal flaw in this thinking is this: How can we successfully win a war on Islamic terrorism if we don’t correctly define the threat doctrine that motivates its adherents?

It is argued that most of the world’s Muslims are not terrorists. While true, this fact is irrelevant. Most of the world’s Muslims have never read the Qur’an or the Hadith in a language they can understand. They have not read the hundreds of passages that call for jihad against infidels, nor do they renounce such passages. They do not organize en masse to denounce the terrorist acts perpetrated by other Muslims in the name of Islam, nor do they denounce the frequent exhortations to world subjugation found in the holy books of Islam.

Yes, there are Muslims who have denounced the Mumbai attacks. But examine their denunciations closely and you will be hard-pressed to find renunciations of the supremacist doctrine of political Islam -- the foundation for jihad -- which emanates from its holy books. This is the justification commonly cited by terrorists for their actions. We in the West must come to grips with the uncomfortable fact that terrorism is a symptom of this militant, supremacist ideology. Terrorism is a means to an end, not an end in itself. And it is but one of many means used by those who are devoted to the supremacist ideology of political Islam.)

by Bruce Loudon

THE al-Qa'ida-linked Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists suspected over the Mumbai massacre were trained in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and were incited by speeches from their leader in Lahore.

As the sole surviving terrorist was interrogated in Mumbai, security sources told The Australian that 10 terrorists were picked by LET for the suicide mission.

They were ordered to "kill until your last breath" and murder up to 5000 people.

They did so after provocative speeches by Hafiz Mohammed Saeed last month in Lahore, capital of the Punjab.

Saeed, described as LET's supreme religious and political head, declared in one speech: "The only language India understands is that of force, and that is the language it must be talked to in."

The email claiming responsibility for the Mumbai attack minutes after it started last Wednesday was generated on a computer based in Pakistan.

And a satellite telephone captured from the terrorists revealed calls made to numbers in Pakistan during the attacks, reports said.

Officials said the terrorists' route to Mumbai had been recorded on GPS co-ordinates contained in the satellite phones.

Sources said the 10 terrorists -- most of whom were believed to be Pakistanis -- were ordered to undergo training to attack Mumbai.

The captured gunman, Ajmal Amir Kamal, 21, reportedly told intelligence sources the group had trained openly in Muzaffarabad before heading to the nearby Mangala dam for lessons in marine commando techniques.

The group then visited Rawalpindi, which adjoins Islamabad, the Pakistan capital and site of the Pakistan army headquarters.

From there, the group took a train to the port city of Karachi, where, heavily armed, they boarded a freighter for the trip to Mumbai. Along the way, they became nervous about Indian coastguard activity and almost aborted the mission.

They "dragooned" a less conspicuous, passing fishing boat into service, shooting dead four of its crew members. The skipper of the fishing boat and another crew member took them closer to Mumbai before they, too, were killed. One was decapitated and the other had his throat slit.

Close to shore, they transferred to small speedboats for the run into the two landing points they had selected in Mumbai - Sassoon Docks and Badhwar Park, on Cuff Parade.

Conflicting evidence obtained by intelligence agencies suggests that the group may have had local support, and that one or more of its members may have been staying locally, possibly even in the Taj Mahal hotel.

A British link to the attacks was raised over the weekend when a senior Indian official claimed that Britons were among the militants.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Maharashtra state, in which Mumbai lies, was quoted on an Indian television station as saying that British citizens had been detained.

British MP Patrick Mercer, a former Tory security spokesman, said he had been given information that at least two of the terrorists had credit cards and other identifying documents that linked them to Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in northeast England.

The claims, however, were not substantiated by official British sources, who said there was no evidence "at this stage" that Britons had taken part in the attacks, although they acknowledged that events were "moving fast" and more information was emerging about the nationality of the terrorists.

MI5 and British counter-terrorist police are keeping in close touch with their counterparts in India and are alert to the possibility that Britons with Pakistani origins might have been involved. Significant numbers of young British Pakistanis have taken part in terrorist training in Pakistan.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that there was no evidence of Britons being involved, and the Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "We obviously will want to work very closely with the Indians but it is too early to say whether or not any of them are British."

Malaysian police are investigating reports that Malaysian-issued credit cards were found in the belongings of the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia had no links with the terrorists, responding to an Indian report that nine of the gunmen claimed to be Malaysian students when they travelled to Mumbai several months ago.

Terror analyst Praveen Swami said that at a meeting of key LET leaders in Lahore on October 19, LET leader Saeed, who insists he is only head of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa welfare organisation, made plain his view of Pakistan's neighbour.

"India, he claimed, was building dams in (Indian-controlled) Jammu and Kashmir to choke Pakistan's water supplies and cripple its agriculture," Mr Swami reported Saeed as saying.

"Earlier, in an October 6 speech, Saeed claimed that India had 'made a deal with the United States to send 150,000 Indian troops to Afghanistan' and that it agreed to support the US in its existential war against Islam.

"Finally, in a sermon to a congregation at the Jamia Masjid al-Qudsia (mosque) in Lahore at the end of October, Saeed proclaimed that there was an 'ongoing war in the world between Islam and its enemies'.

"He claimed that 'crusaders of the East and West have united in a cohesive onslaught against Muslims'."

US, British Reports Warn Bio-terrorism is a Growing Threat

by Anthony L. Kimery

The biological threat is greater than the nuclear'

Two new reports caution that terrorists are more likely to use biological weapons in the near future than they are nuclear weapons. Terrorists might even try to employ a pandemic-capable strain of avian flu, British homeland security authorities warned.

A new report from Britain’s Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) Commission on National Security in the 21st Century warned that terrorists’ use of biological warfare is one of the biggest emerging threats that’s posed by terrorists in the foreseeable future.

Similarly, the final report of the US Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism released today concluded that the United States more likely can expect a terrorist attack using biological weapons rather than nuclear weapons before 2013.

"The biological threat is greater than the nuclear; the acquisition of deadly pathogens, and their weaponization and dissemination in aerosol form, would entail fewer technical hurdles than the theft or production of weapons-grade uranium or plutonium and its assembly into an improvised nuclear device," the report concluded.

“The Commission’s report is an urgent call to action that should trigger strong, coordinated steps to improve our country’s ability to prevent proliferation and thwart terrorist attacks using nuclear and biological weapons," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation, in an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon. "As the report notes, we must make it harder for terrorists to get their hands on weapons of mass destruction – the deadliest weapons on Earth - and we need to better prepare our communities to respond to any possible attacks.”

The IPPR report stated that "acts of bio-terrorism carried out not only by organized groups but by individuals with expertise and access to a laboratory, are a serious 21st century threat."

“The biggest danger may come from state weakness and the possibility that terrorists might gain access to state laboratories and facilities that are insufficiently secure,” the report noted.

"This in turn could allow a terrorist to buy genes for use in the engineering of an existing and dangerous pathogen into a new more virulent strain," the report said, stressing that while Al Qaeda remains the "most significant terrorist group of the current era … lone individuals with relevant experience can now be more dangerous than before."

The IPPR report warned that bio-security challenges must be treated "every bit as seriously as other, more traditional threats to security."

The report’s authors caution that terrorists might actually consider trying to genetically engineer a virulent avian influenza strain into a form that can be transmitted between humans, or even infect themselves with a naturally occuring pandemic capable strain once it emerges to become bio-martyrs.

HSToday.us reported several years ago that intelligence indicated that Al Qaeda had discussed infecting willing members with a pandemic flu strain as a method of terrorism. These bio-martyrs would then fan out, criss-crossing the world spreading the virus.

The March 2007 HSToday cover story, Viral Visions, further reported on the potential capabilities of terrorists and rogue states to develop hybrid, or designer, pathogens that could be used as terror weapons.

Click here for additional information.

Homeland Security: Turn to God in time of terrorism

To whom should Homeland Security officials turn when faced with terrorist threats?

They should turn to God, according to one state's law.

When Kentucky formed its state Office of Homeland Security in 2006, it listed the department's initial duty as "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Homeland Security must proclaim God's protection in its reports. The office also features a plaque at its Emergency Operations Center declaring, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."

State Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, included the stipulation to acknowledge God in an amendment to the legislation. Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved it, according to the report. ....

Inside As-Sahaab: The Story of Ali al-Bahlul and the Evolution of Al- Qaida’s Propaganda

Mr. al-Bahlul was no ordinary footsoldier or conventional military commander in the service of Al-Qaida. Rather, he had been personally chosen by Usama Bin Laden in order to help develop another key battlefront in Al-Qaida’s war on the United States: the “media jihad.” The story behind Mr. al-Bahlul and his personal recollections of serving as the chief of Al-Qaida’s As-Sahaab Media Foundation offer unprecedented insights into the history of As- Sahaab, its mission, and how it has evolved over time into the global phenomenon that exists today. ....

Click on the title above to read a most interesting investigation on the above individual.

World at Risk: The Report of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism

by Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, Bob Graham, Jim Talent

Synopsis

"The greatest danger of another catastrophic attack in the United States will materialize if the world's most dangerous terrorists acquire the world's most dangerous weapons." -- The 9/11 Report

On May 18, 2008, Congress established the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan committee charged with investigating the nation's approach to halting the spread of nuclear and biological weapons.

Recommended by the 9/11 Commission and mandated by Congress, the Commission's report will serve as a measure for the next Administration's national security strategy. Both Senators McCain and Obama have acknowledged that terrorist acquisition of a nuclear or biological weapon is the greatest threat to national security; this is the first Commission to examine how well the United States has prepared itself to prevent such a threat. The Report analyzes the current threat posed by WMDs, assesses how well our government is positioned to respond to WMDs, and makes recommendations on what the next President and Congress must do in order to better prevent this threat. Since May, the Commission has interviewed over 200 experts inside and outside of government. They have met with counterterrorism and intelligence officials at home and abroad who are working to stop proliferation and terrorism.

The report is expected to include information about U. S. counterproliferation efforts across the globe. Its findings might pressure the next administration to overhaul the government's national-security operations. It is also expected to identify bioterrorism as the nation's greatest threat. "My own assessment at this point is the more likely form ofattack is going to be in a biological weapon," said Graham, who adds that we are "very exposed" to biological attacks.

Several commissioners are focused on threats from countries that possess or aspire to make nuclear weapons, such as Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. Some urge U.S. counterproliferation efforts to pay stronger attention to Pakistan as the government grows more unstable. They identify the need to prevent others from emulating A. Q. Khan, who pioneered the development of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and traded in weapons technology.

Written as a clear, compelling narrative, the Report is poised to be a ground-breaking, headline-making event. This is a true benchmark in American foreign policy.

Biography

Established by House Resolution 1 in May 2008, the Commission of the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism is chaired by former Senator Bob Graham.
Members of this bipartisan committee include Vice-Chairman Jim Talent, Timothy J. Roemer, Wendy R. Sherman, Graham T. Allison, Richard Verma, Henry Sokolski, Stephen Rademaker, and Robin Cleveland.

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Vintage to Publish World At Risk "Instant Book" Tomorrow

By Dermot McEvoy -- Publishers Weekly, 12/2/2008 6:48:00 AM

Vintage will publish an "instant book" about the threat of WMDs to United States security. World At Risk: The Report of the Commission of the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism by Senator Bob Graham, chairman, and Senator Jim Talent, vice chairman, along with other commission members, will be published in a Vintage paperback original and retail at $10.95. Vintage will release the book tomorrow, the same day the commission will report its findings to President Bush, Vice President-elect Biden and the joint Congressional Leadership.

Recommended by the 9/11 commission and mandated by Congress, the Commission for the Prevention of WMD Proliferation’s report will serve as a measure for the next Administration’s national security strategy. This is the first commission to examine how well the U. S. has prepared itself to prevent such a threat. World at Risk analyzes the current threat posed by WMDs, assesses how well our government is positioned to respond to WMDs, and makes recommendations on what President-elect Obama and Congress must do in order to better prevent this threat. Since May, the commission has interviewed more than 200 experts inside and outside of government. "My own assessment at this point is the more likely form of attack is going to be in a biological weapon," said commission chairman, Senator Graham, who adds that we are "very exposed" to biological attacks.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6618836.html

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In an interview on FoxNews today, Senator Graham is concerned that such an attack will occur by 2013. He is concerned about anthrax & the flu as well as other bio-weapons.

Imaging guru: 'Certification' of birth time, location is fake

(Compiler's note: Another must read. This is not going to just go away.)

By Bob Unruh

A document expert contends the "Certification of Live Birth" Barack Obama's campaign posted online to rebut charges the president-elect fails the Constitution's natural-born citizen requirement is criminally fraudulent.

The Obama campaign has told WND such allegations are "garbage," but Dr. Ron Polarik, who holds a Ph.D. in instructional media specializing in computer technology such as printers, scanners and digital imaging, disagrees. His analyses have been posted online in a YouTube video, which also is embedded here:

Polarik explained to WND his four months of research on the images, including nearly 1,000 test images using actual scans and photographs of real certificates, indicate there are several "giveaways" on the image itself. For example, the document has gray and white between the lettering, not green pixels as the rest of the background document, suggesting someone cut-and-pasted or typed new information that was embedded on top of the background.

Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. and thus a "natural born American" as required by Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution? If you still want to see it, sign WND's petition demanding the release of his birth certificate.

Also, Polarik said although the Obama form has a border like that used in Hawaii in 2007, the seal is like that used in 2006 or 2008, but not 2007. His full report is posted at Polarik.blogtownhall.com.

In Polarik's view, there has to be a significant reason for a political candidate and campaign to go to such lengths.

"Obviously, there's something very critical to hide, or they wouldn't have spent the million dollars in legal fees to prevent the release of his original birth certificate," Polarik told WND.

"There's absolutely something to hide," he said. "If he was born in Hawaii they would have had a luau that would be continuing today.

"Not that the people who voted for him would care," he said, "but they used this forged document to convince the American voters.

"It's a scary thought to have someone who essentially begins his presidency as a criminal," he said, because the use of a faked document as identification is, in fact, a crime, he noted.

"It would be hard to perform as president from behind jail cell door at Leavenworth," he said.

The video has Polarik's face and voice disguised, and he confirmed to WND he's using an assumed name because of the threats. Independent verification of his credentials was not immediately available.

Polarik said the issue of the birth location is a "chink" in Obama's armor, but the Democrat also has declined to release information about his college years, about his selective service and about his passports, including on what nation's passport he traveled to Pakistan two decades ago when it was illegal to go there as a U.S. citizen.

Polarik describes his findings and conclusions on the video.

Polarik's conclusions were disputed, however, by another blog, the Hackerfactor.com.

Writer Neal Krawetz argues the "missing green" is a result of the compression algorithm used to generate the image. He also insists there's no validity to alarms over the border, because "we don't know the history of the actual image (was this a scan converted to JPEG, resaved as another JPEG, etc.). What we do know is that the image is at a very low quality, and JPEG loses fine details when saved at a low quality."

"I and other analysts have been unable to identify any sign of digital manipulation," the blogger wrote.

He also said Polarik is just "wrong" about the seal issue, and he addressed the second-fold dispute.

"I must admit that I do not see the second fold. However, I have scanned many pieces of folded paper and not seen folds (scanners pick up color, not texture)," Krawetz wrote.

Meanwhile, Dan Purdy of Forensic Document Examination Services Inc. told WND that the origins of the Internet images aren't known. He raised questions over whether the "original" was a photocopy, the equipment used to create the digital image and the compression processes of the various formats.

Those factors, he wrote, "make it exceedingly difficult to properly interpret fine details in the image."

WND columnist Janet Porter has written extensively about the birth certification issue.

"Look, we're not asking for the world here. Neither is the Constitution. Some pretty basic requirements like being 35 years old, having 14 years residency in the United States, and being a natural born citizen. When Senator John McCain was questioned about it, he showed his birth certificate without hesitating. When Barack Obama was asked by courts including the U.S. Supreme Court, he ducked and hid behind the right to privacy," she writes.

"Ironically, when Obama was running for the State Senate, he won by disqualifying every candidate who ran against him in the primary, including a guy who had been through a nasty and salacious divorce. Even though he had a small child who could be hurt by the information being made public, a court decided that the public's right to know; outweighed this poor fella's right to privacy, and he backed out. Obama clings to the 'right to privacy' regarding his own qualifications, just not his opponents."

She also noted the issue won't go away, and recommended a visit to ObamaForgery.com to review what's happening.

"These are the facts," she wrote. "The Constitution requires the president to be a natural born citizen. Obama's grandmother said she was there when Barack was born in Kenya. Obama refuses to release his original birth certificate. Instead of a birth certificate, Obama's campaign posted a certification given to those born abroad. Experts have called even that document an 'obvious forgery.'"

"Our Constitution still matters," she said.

Her group, Faith2Action, is working on funding for the purchase of time for a new television ad on the issue.

In the Philadelphia Bulletin, constitutional lawyer Edwin Vieira said a multitude of problems could result.

"Let's assume he wasn't born in the U.S.," Vieira told the newspaper. "What's the consequence? He will not be eligible. That means he cannot be elected validly. The people and the Electoral College cannot overcome this and the House of Representatives can't make him president. So what's the next step? He takes the oath of office, and assuming he's aware he's not a citizen, then it's a perjured oath.

The "eligible" President-elect Obama

"He may have nominated people to different positions; he may have nominated people to the judicial branch, who may have been confirmed, they may have gone out on executive duty and done various things," said Vieira. "The people that he's put into the judicial branch may have decided cases, and all of that needs to be unzipped."

"Let's say we go a year into this process, and it all turns out to be a flim-flam," he told the newspaper. "What's the nation's reaction to that? What's going to be the reaction in the next U.S. election? God knows. It has almost revolutionary consequences, if you think about it."

He continued, "[The birth certificate], in theory, should be there. What if it isn't? Who knows, aside from Mr. Obama? Does Russian intelligence know it isn't there? Does Chinese intelligence know it isn't there? Does the CIA know that it isn't there? Who is in a position to blackmail this fellow?"

Vieira expressed confidence Obama eventually will be forced to produce documentation.

"Let's assume that an Obama administration passes some of these controversial pieces of legislation he has been promising to go for, like the FOCA (Freedom of Choice) Act," he told the newspaper. "I would assume that some of those surely will have some severe civil or criminal penalties attached to them for violation. You are now the criminal defendant under this statute, which was passed by an Obama Congress and signed by President Obama. Your defense is that is not a statute because Mr. Obama is not the president. You now have a right and I have never heard this challenged, to subpoena in a criminal case, anyone who has relevant evidence relating to your defenses. And you can subpoena them duces tecum, meaning 'you shall bring with you the documents.'"

WND founder and editor Joseph Farah has launched a program to allow concerned voters to express their desire directly to the U.S. Supreme Court for the issue to be resolved.

A conference among the justices is scheduled Friday on a New England challenge to Obama's eligibility.

"The case is brought by Leo C. Donofrio against Nina Wells, the New Jersey secretary of state, and questions whether Obama is a 'natural-born citizen' as required by Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution," Farah reported.

"It would seem a simple matter to resolve," he said. "Barack Obama could have put this issue to rest long ago by producing a complete birth certificate from Hawaii. Instead, he has chosen to stonewall the matter, citing a website post of what can only be characterized as a partial representation of a birth certificate – one that has been criticized as a forgery.

"Meanwhile, some of Obama's own Kenyan relatives claim to have been present at his birth in Mombasa. This controversy, which some have dismissed as frivolous, is as serious as the literal meaning of the Constitution itself."

The nation's Electoral College, the process through which Obama is to be formally voted as the next president, will meet Dec. 15, and his inaugural is scheduled Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, more than 125,000 have signed WND's petition seeking full disclosure of Obama's information.

The petition cites the U.S. Constitution's requirement that no one can be sworn into office as president without being a natural born citizen. It also asserts there are questions about Obama's reported Hawaii birth, that the Democrat has refused repeated calls to document his birth, that activist judges have declined to require him to shed light on the issue and that Hawaii – at the time of Obama's birth – allowed parents whose children were born in other locations to register the birth there.

WND's petition is available online, and more information is available at this link.

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