Theodore's World

Jihad Incorporated-Steve Emerson’s guide to militant Islam in the U.S.
Frontpage Mag
Frontpage interviewed Steve Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, one of the largest archival data centers of militant Islam. He started the organization in 1995 after a film he did, Jihad in America.
He works closely with law enforcement, Congress and the media. His organization’s mission is to investigate and expose the threat of radical Islam. He is the author of the new book, Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the U.S., which covers every radical Islamic operation, prosecution and incident on American soil, or against American targets, in the last 10 years.
FP: So what inspired you to write this book?
Emerson: It was really the collaborative product of my research staff. We felt that a reference book was needed in which all Islamic terrorist groups, operations and prosecutions connected to the US could be found in one place. It’s really a history of radical Islam in the US.
FP: How do you go about your work in collecting data on the bad guys?
Emerson: We collect data in numerous ways. From websites, list serves, publications, informants, undercover recordings, government records, court documents, and sources. We have acquired close to 4 million documents and 18,000 hours of audio and video of radical Islamic gatherings, conferences or speeches.
FP: Who are your “consumers”?
Emerson: Well, we really have no traditional “consumers” since we don’t sell our information and we don’t take a penny of government financing. But we do work closely with law enforcement, Congress and the media. Each “consumer” has a different institutional interest. Law enforcement wants to make cases; Congress wants to exercise oversight and disseminate original information; and the media wants news.
FP: Tell us some of the key players in the terrorist network. And which groups are the most influential among the jihadi groups today?
Emerson: Well, today, the terrorist hierarchy has changed considerably from the pre-911 days. Al Qaeda is still the grand-daddy but it obviously lacks the punch and reach it once had. Instead, there are mini-Al-Qaedas that have formed, either in Asia, the Middle East or the West. Jamat Islamiya in southeast Asia has become more of an Al Qaeda surrogate. Hamas, while largely maintaining a hudna, is busily reinforcing and re-invigorating itself with new weapons and explosives for the day that it deems advantageous to attack Israel. Hezbollah, which survived intact in its war with Israel, was actually hurt militarily more than some had estimated. It does however have a worldwide presence.
The threat against individuals or governments deemed to be “enemies of Islam” is growing in its dimensions. The killing of Theo Van Gogh, the recent threats against the Pope, the Danish cartoon controversy all highlighted the growth of threats against high profile targets in the West’s backyard.
FP: Can you talk a bit about the organizations in the Middle East, aside from al Qaeda, that pose a threat to us?
Emerson: Well, I would say that Hezbollah poses the greatest threat to American interests today. They have their own ideological hatred of the United States and they are also effectively controlled by Iran. Islamic Jihad, because of its closeness with Iran, could easily put Americans in its crosshairs.
FP: How entrenched are the jihadists in the US today? Are there different gradations of jihadists?
Emerson: There are essentially two types of jihadists. The hard-core military jihadists who are prepared to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States. They have already been indoctrinated. All they await is a charismatic leader or the external order that gives them a green light. Secondly, there is the far greater number of what I call “cultural jihadists.” The cultural jihadists are not willing to carry out attacks themselves, but rather, they provide the moral support for the military jihad­ists.
They are the ones that believe that Israel or the US carried out 9-11. In the trial of the would-be NYC Herald Square bomber, an undercover informant for the NYPD recounted an astonishing observation. He said that as he made his rounds among two different mosques, he encountered a virulent hatred for the United States. For example, I can show you a tape of a Hamas rally held in New Jersey where thousands of people in attendance—women, children and men—are all chanting slogans such as “We buy paradise with the blood of the Jews.” Do I think that all of them are terrorists? Of course not. But they are cultural jihadists.
The cultural jihadists provide the environment for the military jihadists.
Beyond the physical threat posed by jihadists, there is the issue of free speech being increasingly curtailed by virtue of radical Islamic groups–masquerading as “civil rights” groups–labeling anyone who criticizes militant Islam as racist or as defaming the Prophet Mohammed. The threat of violence during the Danish cartoon episode was the real reason why 99% of US newspapers refused to republish the cartoons. The flip side of this problem lies in the refusal of mainstream media–with some exceptions–to investigate the backgrounds or report the ulterior agenda of these Islamic “civil rights” groups. That’s a dereliction of journalism 101. Why do they do it? Sometimes they are deceived, other times they are sympathetic to the cause of the group.
FP: Illuminate for us the support system for the jihadists that exists within our own borders.
Emerson: There are different tiers. The largest tier is what I called in the previous question the cultural jihadists. They are not willing to carry out attacks but they provide moral support for such attacks. There is the financial infrastructure. Radical Islamic charities had served as a main conduit for terrorist operations and organizations but Treasury has been quite successful at closing the charities whose financing could be linked to terrorist groups. As a result of this pressure, terrorist groups are resorting increasingly to getting their funding from organized retail theft, in which they traffic in stolen or pirated goods (like baby formula), car theft, counterfeit production or bust-out schemes.
FP: To what extent do mosques provide cover for terrorists?
Emerson: Mosques have tended to serve as save havens and meeting points for Islamic terrorist groups. Of course, we are not referring to all mosques but there are at least 40 episodes of extremists and terrorists being connected to mosques in the past decade.
FP: To what extent do terrorists use the Internet for communication?
Emerson: The virtual jihad has now become a dominant mechanism for terrorist communications among themselves, to the outside world and to gather new recruits.
FP: Numerous Muslim American organizations make lobbying efforts to influence the top echelons of the federal government. How successfully are these and what damage do they do?
Emerson: I don’t blame the Islamic radical groups for lobbying. I blame the recipient institutions for legitimizing them. The FBI, for example, has mandated outreach to Islamic groups. That’s a good thing to do in principle. But unfortunately, the groups designated as deserving of being recognized by the FBI have disproportionately revolved around groups that are tethered to radical agendas, such as CAIR and MPAC. In turn, this crowds out authentic moderates whose voices need to be reaffirmed in the community. And it strengthens the hands of the cultural jihadists who tell their followers not to cooperate with the FBI or law enforcement. That’s precisely the wrong message the government wants to communicate.

Soldiers having fun on their downtime. Just outside Ramadi Iraq

Palestinians rejoice after hearing about the September 11

Rice: Palestinian struggle echoes battle for US independence
The Jerusalem Post
WASHINGTON – In her first-ever appearance before an American-Palestinian crowd, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated her personal commitment and that of the US administration to the creation of an independent Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.

“I believe that there could be no greater legacy for America than to help to bring into being a Palestinian state for a people who have suffered too long, who have been humiliated too long, who have not reached their potential for too long, and who have so much to give to the international community and to all of us,” Rice told an audience of several hundred guests at a gala event of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), a US group working to promote the idea of an independent Palestinian state.

“I promise you my personal commitment to that goal,” Rice concluded.

Rice compared the vision of Palestinian statehood to that of American independence and the civil rights battles in one of the strongest endorsements from the Bush administration to the idea of an independent Palestinian state.

“I should never have grown up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama to become the secretary of state of the United States of America,” Rice said, adding that eventually, once these visions do come true, “we wonder why did anyone ever doubt that it was possible.”

Rice emphasized US support to the Palestinian people, by increasing the American foreign aid to the Palestinians to $468 million, and by putting in place an international mechanism which will allow transfer of financial assistance to the Palestinians without going through the Hamas government.
She said that now, after several months of having Hamas in power, the Palestinian people are holding Hamas accountable for the situation in the territories.

“Hamas now faces a hard choice that it has always sought to avoid: Either you are a peaceful political party, or a violent terrorist group – but you cannot be both,” Rice said.

The secretary of state also stressed the importance of backing moderate leaders in the Arab world, such as Mahmoud Abbas in Palestine, Fuad Siniora in Lebanon and Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq. She said that one of the goals of her recent trip to the region, her sixth trip since becoming secretary of state, was to “build a support for those people who are trying and who need our help more than ever now.”
Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine, said Wednesday that the fact that Rice came to speak at the American-Palestinian event has great importance. At the same time, Asali stressed that it does not reflect a change in policy toward the region, though “sometimes symbolism is more important than substance.”

Wild Thing’s comment…….
Condi either you are speaking for President Bush or you are one freaking loose cannon and God help the United States and and God help Israel!!!! I have no idea if you are speaking for Bush, I hope not, because these things you have been saying lately and other things you have said for some time just send me over the edge.
Condi needs to read this and open her eyes about the Palestinians.
I never saw this photo of this cell phone before, just saw it while searching for the photo above.

Clinton appointed Judge, communist, American hater, terrorist lover says ONLY 28 months. Well he can go to hell!

Former civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart appears with her husband Ralph Poynter, right, at a rally in front of Manhattan federal court before her scheduled sentencing.
(AP Photo)
Oct 16, 2006
NEW YORK — Civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart was sentenced to two years and four months months in prison on a terrorism charge Monday for helping an Egyptian sheik communicate with his followers on the outside.
Stewart, 67, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, smiled, cried and hugged supporters after U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl announced he was dramatically reducing the 30-year prison sentence called for by federal sentencing guidelines.

“If you send her to prison, she’s going to die. It’s as simple as that,” defense lawyer Elizabeth Fink told the judge before the sentence was pronounced.

The sentence was met with claps and cheers outside the courthouse, where about 200 supporters of Stewart had gathered.

“This is a victory for the movement,” one of Stewart’s supporters said.

The motley crowd was a mix of graying Vietnam-war era leftists–some in wheelchairs–with younger, anti-Iraq war activists. It also included several filmmakers working on projects related to the case.
The judge said Stewart could remain free pending appeal, a process that could take more than a year.
Koeltl said she was guilty of smuggling messages between the sheik and his followers that could have “potentially lethal consequences.”

He called the crimes “extraordinarily severe criminal conduct.” But he cited more than three decades of dedication to poor, disadvantaged and unpopular clients that had left her destitute even though she worked on more than 70 cases at once.

“Ms. Stewart performed a public service, not only to her clients but to the nation,” Koeltl said.

Outside court, Stewart said she thought the sentence was “a victory for doing good work all one’s life.” She added: “You get time off for good behavior usually at the end of your prison term. I got it at the beginning.”

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said he had no immediate comment.
Stewart was convicted in 2005 of providing material support to terrorists. She had released a statement by Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind sheik sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted in plots to blow up five New York landmarks and assassinate Egypt’s president.
Prosecutors have called the case a major victory in the war on terrorism. They said Stewart and other defendants carried messages between the sheik and senior members of an Egyptian-based terrorist organization, helping spread Abdel-Rahman’s call to kill those who did not subscribe to his extremist interpretation of Islamic law.

In a letter to the sentencing judge, Stewart proclaimed: “I am not a traitor.” “The end of my career truly is like a sword in my side,”

Stewart said at her sentencing. “Permit me to live out the rest of my life productively, lovingly, righteously.” In a pre-sentence document, prosecutors told Koeltl that Stewart’s “egregious, flagrant abuse of her profession, abuse that amounted to material support to a terrorist group, deserves to be severely punished.”

In a letter to the judge, Stewart asked for mercy, saying she did not intentionally enter into any plot or conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization. She believes the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made her behavior intolerable in the eyes of the government and gave it an excuse to make an example out of her.

“The government’s characterization of me and what occurred is inaccurate and untrue,” she wrote. “It takes unfair advantage of the climate of urgency and hysteria that followed 9/11 and that was relived during the trial. I did not intentionally enter into any plot or conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization.”

“This case had nothing to do with September 11, your honor,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Dember said at the sentencing.

“What she was doing was smuggling terrorism messages and smuggling out Abdel-Rahman’s responses.” Earlier, about 150 Stewart supporters who could not get inside the capacity-filled courtroom stood outside the courthouse, chanting “Free Lynne, Free Lynne.”

As she entered the courthouse, Stewart shouted to them “I love you” and “I’m hanging in there.” “It’s not just Lynn Stewart who is a victim, it’s the Bill of Rights that’s the victim,” said Al Dorfman, 72, a retired lawyer who was among the Stewart supporters standing outside.

Another 200 supporters jammed the hallways outside the courtroom.
Stewart was arrested six months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, along with Mohamed Yousry, an Arabic interpreter, and Ahmed Abdel Sattar, a U.S. postal worker.
The indictment against Stewart, Yousry and Sattar was brought by former Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2002.
Koeltl sentenced Sattar to 24 years in prison on Monday.
Convicted of conspiracy to kill and kidnap people in a foreign country, he could have been sentenced to a life term.
Koeltl said he departed from the federal sentencing guidelines for Sattar because no one was killed or injured as a result of the crimes and because of Sattar’s lack of previous crimes and restrictive prison conditions.

“I am not a terrorist, your honor,” Sattar told the judge before he was sentenced.

“I am not a violent person. I am a human being. I am an American. I am a Muslim who practices and believes strongly in his religion,” Sattar said.

Wild Thing’s comment……
This makes me sick to my stomach, totally sick. I am tired of being angry and I am tired of seeing how the enemy within…..the LEFT is destroying our great America inch by inch. I will never give up, it just isn’t in me to do such a thing. We have the grandest county on this earth. In my world, the American Flag will always fly, Veterans and our troops will always be appreciated for all they do. But the warrior in me is also on 24/7 alert to the enemy and more and more my anger grows toward them and more and more I want them to know it. Let others be diplomatic, let others keep quiet when they could speak out. Not me, I want them to know how they disgust me, how evil I think and know they are!!
This is a travesty the woman gave info from a terrorist to his henchmen on the outside. Treason is now on the same level as failing to use your turn signal. Those charged with enforcing our laws almost entirely ignore it.
If there was any justice at all she would have been stood up against a wall and shot!!
Well this idiot freak Judge John George Koeltl, was appointed by Clinton so what else is new.
Federal Judicial Service: Judge, U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York Nominated by William J. Clinton on April 26, 1994, to a seat vacated by Shirley Wohl Kram; Confirmed by the Senate on August 9, 1994, and received commission on August 10, 1994.
Also this woman and her associate Sattar aided in the assassination of the Afghan Northern Alliance leader Masood, the “Lion of Panjir.”
Remember the Rosenbergs, they were executed. Their grandchildren (Robert and Rachel Meeropol) worked for and with Lynne Stewart. The Meerpol’s are active in America hating traitorous activities here in the US. They wrote on behalf of this dirty b*tch.

“Her case is an example of the way in which the government is equating individuals who represent terrorists with terrorists themselves — that language of ‘if you’re not with us you’re against us’,” said Rachel Meeropol of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

And there is this as well……………..
MAY 2003 : (CUNY LAW SCHOOL STUDENTS ATTEMPT TO AWARD ATTORNEY LYNNE STEWART THE SCHOOL’S ‘PUBLIC INTEREST LAWYER OF THE YEAR’ AWARD AT THEIR GRADUATION CEREMONIES- CUNY’S CRIMINAL LAW SOCIETY HONORED HER INSTEAD AT A PRIVATE CEREMONY)
Stewart has absolutely no remorse for what she did, and plays the martyr’s role to perfection: “…don’t ask me what I was doing! Ask what the government was doing listening in!” she told WW3 Report. “…They suckered me…I really see it all as part of the right-wing parade orchestrated by Bush [* My note: at the time she was taped, Clinton was president, not Bush] and Ashcroft [* My note: at the time she was taped, Janet Reno was the Attorney General, not Ashcroft] , which really masks their economic goals, to exploit the Third World and divert Americans’ attention from the fact that our economy seems to be tanking right now. If I am the poster-child now for the anti-Ashcroft forces, I’m happy to be that.”
These kinds of sentiments only encouraged leftist law students at the City University of New York to attempt to present her with the school’s Public Interest Lawyer of the Year award at graduation ceremonies last month. A group of students gave administrators a petition containing 73 names—more than half of the graduating class—in an effort to reward Stewart for her betrayal of her country and its citizens.
This turned out to be an award too far, however. After the award was leaked to the press, CUNY law school dean Kristin Booth Glen informed students via e-mail that Stewart would not be honored because that “could lead to consequences that could be damaging.”
This brought out the martyrs brigade again. Kathryn Hudson, the CUNY law student who spearheaded the effort to fete Stewart, fumed, “If you can’t have free speech at a law school, where can you have it?” Said graduate student, Kavita Pawria, “There is an irrational fear being used to suppress civil liberties.”
Stewart herself got into the act, saying, “The students seem to carry on a long tradition of reminding institutions of their responsibilities. They are willing to take the risk, but Dean Glen apparently is not.”
Stewart ended up feeling quite feted, however, as CUNY’s Criminal Law Society honored her at a private ceremony prior to graduation. Considering CUNY law students’ abysmal 50 percent passage rate on the bar exam, engineering this small victory was quite resourceful.
— ” Cheerleaders for Terrorism: Radical lawyer Lynne Stewart continues her support for Islamic terror ,” By Erick Stakelbeck, FrontPageMagazine.com, Wednesday, June 17, 2003 posted June 18, 2003

* Blue Star Chronicles ( Beth)
* Six Meat Buffet
* Stop the ACLU
* Sister Toldjah
* Michelle Malkin
* Captain Ed

If the Iranian nuclear facilities are ever taken out, it will be the Israelis who do it, and this is the plane they will use.
This is the Israeli F-16I Sufa (‘Storm’) made at Lockheed Martin’s production line in Texas.

It is Israel ‘s choice of aircraft to take out the Iranian atomic weapons factory. They have conformal fuel tanks that frees up three under wing hard points for ordinance. You’ll see the beauty of the design when you see a photo of the aircraft with the exterior conformal fuel tanks. We are already delivering two of them per month to Israel . They do not have to wait until they have them all to strike.
If you like cool airplanes then open up the web site for the F-16I Sufa (‘Storm’) At their web site they have many more photos and also an extended write up of the plane.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) chose to acquire the latest version of the world renowned Lockheed Martin F-16 over additional purchases of the more expensive twin engine Boeing F-15I – for which the IAF placed an order for 25 in 1997. The estimated $4.5 billion dollar F-16I deal ($45 million per aircraft) will be financed by the annual U.S. military aid package and concludes the largest Israeli military purchase in history. Each F-15 cost approximately $84 million.
The F-16I is a heavily modified two seat version of the U.S. Air Force’s F-16D Block 50/52-series fighter. In addition to the new and more powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine, the F-16I boasts numerous internal and external advancements and modifications. For example, the Sufa has been customized with new avionic technologies, internally mounted FLIR (forward looking infrared) viewers, and cutting edge weapon system hardware provided by the Israeli defense company Lahav – a division of Israel Aircraft Industries.
Israel had originally ordered 50 F-16Is in 2001 but increased the purchase to 102 after deciding against the procurement of additional F-15Is.
With the arrival of the 102 F-16Is, Israel will have a total of 362 of the jets – the largest fleet in any country in the world behind the United States.
The Sufa jet has an unrefueled combat strike radius well in excess of 500 miles. The extended flight range enables the IAF to attack targets well within Iran and Libya without having to refuel.

Wild Thing’s comment……
When I saw the photo’s of this plane I got goosebumps. It has a lot of extras that are great as well from what I can tell from reading the article about it. I love it when our military and Israel’s have the very best and lots of the very best for the troops.

M1A2 Abrams Main Battle tank stuck in the mud! What happens when two LTs get on one tank

Wild Thing’s comment……..
I love the sense of humor of our troops. They go through a lot for us, things we will never know about. And we can never thank them enough for all they do.

October 15, 2006
DEBKAfile
The powerful spectacle of Iran’s be-turbaned supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei clutching an automatic rifle, displayed exclusively by DEBKAfile, drew on the belligerent imagery of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein. The Iranian media suppressed this particular shot in its coverage of his sermon at Tehran University Oct. 13, the third Friday of Ramadan. But the AK 47 toted by the ruler of the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism was not missed by the political and military leaders in his audience and accentuated his war message.
DEBKAfile’s Tehran sources reveal that the Iran’s leaders took three fateful steps ahead of Khamenei’s performance:
1. They pointed up the tradition initiated by the father of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of marking the last Friday of Ramadan as International al Qods Day – “Jerusalem Liberation Day.”
2. Khamenei’s aides leaked word that his decision to hold the sermon of Oct. 13 was prompted by his discovery that the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was heading for the Persian Gulf and would be deployed in operational mode opposite Iran’s shores by Oct. 21.
3. In Beirut, Iran’s surrogate Hizballah announced the cancellation of its annual military parade on al Qods day, i.e. Oct. 20.
Military circles in the United States and Israel interpret these steps as meaning that Iran will be standing by in battle positions the day before the Eisenhower reaches its destination. DEBKAfile military sources have been reporting since late August that Iran’s political and military leaders have resolved not to wait passively for an American attack but to go instead for a pre-emptive strike against US forces in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, as well as targeting Israel.
On October 7, DEBKAfile reported:
Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites – whether from Lebanon, or Golan, using Hamas to launch an offensive from Gaza, or a combination thereof. The Bush administration would then have to divide its attention and military might among three warfronts simultaneously.
Khamenei devoted much of his sermon to the Lebanon war waged between Israel and Hizballah in July and August.

“The war isn’t finished,” he said. “And the losers will certainly not remain idle. These evil forces are already hard at work to remedy their defeat and Islamic nations need to remain vigilant and ready to react with determination against any other potential attack.”

The supreme ruler continued: “One of the projects of the Americans, Zionists and their allies is to come to Lebanon under the United Nations, officially to defend the Lebanese from the attacks of foreign forces and then change the cards on the table and fight our Hezbollah brothers.”

By smearing as fraudulent UN Resolution 1701 which expanded UNIFIL and enforced a ceasefire in Lebanon, Khamenei made a pointed attempt to discredit the world body ahead of the Security Council sanctions session called for this week to punish Iran for continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of UN resolutions.

He was also warning “the foreign forces” (UNIFlL) that “the war was not finished.” A central them of his sermon was therefore “resistance” as “the key to victory.”

The Supreme leader said the Hezbollah (armed by Iran and Syria) had achieved “a unique historic victory” for Islam over “arrogance and colonialism” (Americans and Israelis). “The Lebanon war changed the political equations in the region.”

Settling accounts with the British and the Americans, Khamenei commented, “The British are experts in pursuing that policy (of divide and rule) and they have taught the Americans how to sow the seeds of discord among Shias and Sunnis in Iraq.

Referring to the situation in Iraq, he said, “The crisis in Iraq preceded the one in Lebanon, and its intensity has aggravated today, because Iraq, Lebanon, and other events in the region are all rings of a broken American chain.”

The Iranian ruler laid great stress on “International Qods Day” as the day of “resistance” for the entire Islamic Umma against “the oppression and injustice observed by the Zionists and their supporters.”
DEBKAfile’s Iran and Islamic sources note that the Kalashnikov in the supreme ruler’s hand spoke louder than his bellicose rhetoric.

Wild Thing’s comment……
Well, I see that his aim is basically correct. Now if he can only reach the trigger with his toe!!
There is nothing powerful about brandishing a weapon while giving a sermon. In fact it makes the person doing that just a wimp… a wimp quivering and hiding behind the real power, the power of a firearm.

This is one of the top Al Qaeda operatives Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, better known as Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Omar Abdel Hakim)

A past quote of his:

In December 2004, In December 2004, Abu Musab al-Suri, issued a statement on the Internet explaining, “if I had been consulted about [the September 11] operation, I would have advised them to select aircraft on international flights and to have put weapons of mass destruction aboard them… now that the American administration has revealed the evil and wickedness of its forces… it is not a far cry from justice to adopt the slogan, ?Dirty Bombs for a Dirty Nation?… Let the American people?those who voted for killing, destruction, the looting of other nations? wealth, megalomania, and the desire to control others?be contaminated with radiation!”

Al Qaeda leader ‘in secret CIA jail’
A suspected al Qaeda leader, accused of being involved in September 11 and planning the 2004 Madrid train bombings, has been imprisoned in a secret US jail for the past year, Spain’s El Pais newspaper reported today.
Mustafa Setmarian, 48, a Syrian with Spanish citizenship, was captured in Pakistan in October 2005 and is held in a prison operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency, Pakistani and European security service officials told El Pais.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Spain declined to comment on the report.
Setmarian’s 2005 capture was reported in May of this year after the United States put a $5 million bounty on the head of the alleged founder of al Qaeda’s Spanish network.
A photograph of the red-haired Setmarian has been removed from the US Federal Bureau of Intelligence’s most-wanted web page.
Pakistan has not answered requests from Madrid about the whereabouts of Setmarian, wanted in Spain for allegedly training September 11 hijackers in Afghanistan and ordering Madrid commuter train attacks that killed 191 people, according to El Pais.
Spain’s high court is unable to request his extradition as he has not been officially imprisoned, the newspaper reported.
Spanish high court officials were not immediately available to comment.
Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon in June complained US officials were concealing information on his whereabouts.
Amnesty International has reported Setmarian’s disappearance. The human rights organisation says dozens of Islamic radicals captured in Pakistan are held in clandestine jails operated by the United States and other countries.
Setmarian is married to Elena Moreno, a Spanish woman who says he is held in a secret CIA jail.

His bio:

Biography: Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al-Suri and Umar Abd al-Hakim, was a key figure in al-Qaeda before his apparent capture in Pakistan in November 2005. Nasar was born in 1959 in Syria where he joined the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, a fundamentalist organization, was heavily repressed by the Syrian government, prompting Nasar to write a book that would make him famous in Islamist circles, “The Syrian Experiment.” In the book, written under the pseudonym Abu Musab Suri, Nasar issued a call to action against the ruling Asad regime in Syria. He has also written under the pseudonym Umar Abd al-Hakim.
Nasar, a Spanish citizen by marriage, formerly directed and taught at terrorist training camps in Afghanistan where he met with Usama bin-Laden and was known to be an expert in the use of poisons.
Nasar moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 where he served as a European intermediary for al-Qaeda. He traveled widely to Europe and Afghanistan during the late 1990s before finally moving his family to Afghanistan in 1998.
Prior to September 11, 2001, Nasar tried to organize his own extremist group, but following the attacks, he pledged his loyalty to Usama bin Laden as a member of al-Qaeda. Nasar worked closely with Midhat Mursi al-Sayid ‘Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khabab al-Masri) to train extremists in poisons and chemical during his time in Afghanistan, and was also involved in training at the al-Ghuraba terrorist camp.
Nasar was indicted in Spain in 2003 for training al-Qaeda “sleeper” agents to be sent to Spain, Italy and France, and the U.S. Government offered a $5 million reward for his capture. He is viewed by American intelligence officials as a “propagandist,” a man valuable for his wealth of influence and contacts within the Islamist terrorist movement but not seen as an actual planner of terrorist attacks. Reports claim that he had a close relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and was operating out of Iraq at some point, yet these reports have been denied by some American sources. Other unconfirmed press reports suggest that he may have had a role in the March 11, 2004 Madrid Bombings.

Wild Thing’s comment……
Isn’t that special .. the leftist group Amnesty International is trying to get him freed!!! Sheesh! double sheesh!
The first rule of FIGHT CLUB is you DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB.
These articles make capturing terrorist out to be some sort of bad thing. The point I belive is , Is he in a secret jail or is his location just being kept secret? I believe the latter and I believe its probably a good idea. This whole thing about secret jails is way overblown.

So what is happening with Iran? Are they deciding to do what has been asked of them. Does anything that is being done about North Korea effect the thought proeceess in Iran and their defiance?
Let’s take a look at some of the latest information we have:
Start here to see the flow of what is happening…………….
* N Korea sanctions ‘should sway’ Iran
news.com.au

Tough U.N. sanctions on North Korea should help convince Iran to suspend its suspected nuclear weapons program, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said overnight.
“I hope the lesson they learn is that if they continue to do nuclear weapons they will face the same kind of isolation and friction” that North Korea now faces, Ambassador John Bolton said on CNN’s Late Edition.

* Iran says sanctions threat part of psychological war
Tehran

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday Western threats to impose sanctions were part of a “psychological war” and the Islamic Republic was more determined than ever to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.
Iran’s state television Web site said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini described “the issue of imposing sanctions on Iran as a psychological war against Iran.”
“The Iranian nation does not fear possible sanctions and — more determined than in the past — it continues its way toward the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” he was quoted as saying.

* Israel calls for tough UN action on ‘demented’ Iran
JERUSALEM (AFP)

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations urged the Security Council to take tough measures against “demented” Iran for its nuclear program in the wake of North Korea’s declared atomic test.
“The international community should learn the lessons of what occurred in North Korea,” Danny Gillerman told army radio. “North Korea was only the preview. Iran will be the feature film, which, if no one takes serious action, will be projected throughout the whole world.”
Gillerman called for “much harder sanctions to be imposed on a demented Iranian regime that seeks to destroy a UN member state (Israel), and totally denies the Holocaust, while preparing to perpetrate a second Holocaust.”
But, “I do not anticipate more significant and firmer sanctions against Iran than those being considered for North Korea.”
Israeli leaders called for the North Korean test to serve as a wake up call to the international community on the risks of nuclear proliferation and prompt a zero-tolerance policy with Tehran.

* Iran to pursue atomic work despite pressure: agency
TEHRAN (Reuters)

Iran’s president said Tehran would keep up its nuclear activities despite Western countries’ mounting threats and pressures, the student news agency ISNA reported on Sunday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was defiant at a meeting with a group of conservative officials on Saturday, saying Iran was determined to press on with its nuclear work.
“The threats and pressures against Iran’s nuclear activities will not tarnish the will of the Iranian nation to continue its way (of achieving nuclear technology),” Ahmadinejad said.
“The nation will not be intimidated by the threats and will continue on its path vigorously,” ISNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
Iran’s case has been sent back to the Security Council after it failed to halt uranium enrichment, a process the West fears Iran is using to develop atomic bombs despite Tehran’s denials.
Iran has shrugged off the threat of sanctions in the past. Analysts say the world’s fourth largest oil exporter, which is enjoying an oil revenue windfall, may feel it can cope with the modest penalties likely to be imposed initially.
Ahmadinejad said the request by Western countries for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment was illegal.
“If they succeed in imposing their illegal demand on us they will increase the pressure to impose extra demands,” Ahmadinejad said. “By God’s grace they will not be able to stand against the Iranian nation,” he said.

* Iran Offers Russia and America a Package Deal
Global research.ca
Ahmadinejad makes an offer to take control of the entire Near East. Komersant reported that the Iranian leadership has worked out its own plan to come to a peaceful accord with the West. Teheran has made offers to Russia and the United States that would not only allow the Islamic Republic to keep its nuclear program but also to take control of the entire Near East.
In making his argument for why Iran and the West would do better not to quarrel, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, “the Iranian nation is becoming more powerful, stronger, and more steadfast by the day, while you are becoming ever weaker and more isolated.”

Wild Thing’s comment…..
Both Almondjoy and Kim Il seem to be lunatics of the highest order that in a real world would be in strait jackets. Their form of insanity though is dangerous and concerning. And both countries will gladly martyr their civilians.
I don’t have a clue how people like this can be even talked to. It doesn’t seem to do any good. At least not so far anyway. They have no respect for life, behave like some mad comic book character that is out to destroy the world. There is no reality they can focus on to bring them around. The high they live on …. their ego’s is impossible to penetrate.

N. Korean Ambassador to UN, Park Kil-yon, walks out after the resolution(against N. Korea) is adopted
On the morning of Oct. 15(S. Korean time), UN Security Council was convened and ambassadors of member nations declared N. Korean nuclear test as a threat to international community. As soon as they unanimously approved the resolution for sanction against N. Korea, N. Korean Ambassador to UN, Park Kil-yon, announced N. Korea’s view and walked out of the meeting 10/15/06 (UN Headquarter = Yonhap News)
(UN Headquarter = Yonhap News) Cho Bok-rae, Kim Kye-hwan = U.S. Ambassador to U.N., John Bolton, was enraged at the walk-out of N. Korean Ambassador to UN, Park Kil-yon, from the conference room, after rejecting the resolution. His angry remarks also drew fire from Russian delegation.

Ambassador Bolton was upset over Park’s behavior, and said, “It is the contemporary equivalent of Nikita Khrushchev pounding his shoe on the desk,”,and loudly demanded to consider expulsion of N. Korea from UN.

Then, Russian Ambassador to UN, Vitaly Churkin, told the Chairman of the Security Council, Japanese Ambassador, Oshima Kenjo, to ask Bolton “not to use an inappropriate metaphor even when he is upset,” a scene reminiscent of repeated clashes between U.S. and Soviet Union at UN during Cold-war days.

After the resolution was approved, N. Korean Ambassador walked out of the conference room, announcing that N. Korea “totally reject” the resolution, and any further pressure from U.S. would be regarded as a declaration of war.

Talking to reporters gathered outside the Security Council conference room, he maintained that the nuclear test is justifiable in light of U.S. nuclear threat and hostile policy, and the Security Council resolution applied double standard and lacked fairness. He condemned the resolution as ‘gangster-like act.’

Japanese Ambassador said he was surprised at the Park’s rejection of the resolution, but it was not unexpected, and expressed his displeasure, saying, “N. Korea showed the same reactions when a resolution (against N. Korea) was adopted after July missile launches.”

Wild Thing’s comment….
Gotta Love Mr.Bolton! giggle He is great!! I watched this on TV and Bolton called it like he saw it, and was right on target. Bolton said, “I’m addressing the empty chair there” and then went into the Krushchev shoe-banging analogy. He was right to call out the North Koreans for their boorish behavior.