Islamism Series: al Qaeda's Black Death

When most people think of attacks or attempted attacks by Muslim radicals against the United States, Israel, England, and others who they perceive as their enemies we think of bombs and guns. The radical Muslim group Hamas continues to bombard Israel with rockets from Gaza, prolonging a conflict that the Israelis tried to halt days ago. But it is not just these 'conventional' weapons that we need to be concerned with when addressing the problems of Radical Islam.

The British tabloid 'The Sun' recently published a report that al Qaeda members in Algeria had been killed during experiments with a strain of the bubonic plague. A report in the Washington Times stated that a U.S. intelligence official dismissed that claim, but did say that the terror group had to close a base of operations in the African nation after an experiment with 'unconventional weapons went awry' killing at least 40 al Qaeda operatives. The experiment was believed to likely be either biological or chemical in nature.

Intelligence officials estimate that Muslim terror groups have been pursuing biological and chemical weapons for at least a decade. The Times article goes on to quote a 2005 U.S. commission report that the al Qaeda bio/chem weapons program "was extensive, well organized, and operated two years before" the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States.

In January of 2003, British authorities arrested seven men in connection with an effort to produce ricin, the poison that killed a dozen people and sent over 3,000 to Tokyo-area hospitals after it was released on that city's subway system back in 1995. At least one of the men had spent time at an al Qaeda training camp, and during their investigation authorities found an al Qaeda manual that included a recipe for making the poison.

The fact is that Islamic terror groups are exploring and experimenting with many ways of attacking the West, and they are not going to stand down in these efforts just because we have elected a new president. Whether our presidents name is Bush or Obama, the Muslim radicals see their struggle with our way of life. They will continue their war on us whether or not we bring any or all of our troops home from the Middle East.

This year in the Philadelphia police department's MPO curriculum one of the courses is titled "Crisis & Emergency Management." It is a scenario-based course that presents four different scenarios outside of the usual, day to day law enforcement experience and asks for ideas on how to handle them. It also presents some of the resources available above the police department level, and explores how and when these resources would be made available.

One of the scenarios involves a bio-terror attack such as the type that al Qaeda has been planning. It is hoped that we here in the City of Brotherly Love never have to deal with such a scenario in reality, but that in attending this class our officers may have a little better picture of how we will respond should it ever come to pass.

Whether the al Qaeda experiment in Algeria involved bubonic plague, which killed 1/3 of Europe's population in the 14th century and became known as 'the black death', or some other agent is relatively unimportant. What remains most important is that we understand that radical Islam and its tens of millions of adherents continue to look for ways to attack freedom loving people everywhere, especially in Israel, Europe, and here in the United States. The very real plague of this radical Muslim ideology is a virus that must be stamped out, and against which we must remain on the offensive.
NOTE: This is a continuation of the "Islamism Series" articles, all of which can be viewed by clicking on that below label.

Israel is Not the Problem

About a week or so ago we suddenly began hearing stories in the news about Israel bombing targets in Gaza, Israel attacking in the Gaza Strip, and so on. The picture that was painted was one of the State of Israel suddenly waking up one morning and deciding to attack, attack, attack for no particular reason. This perception was foisted on the American people by what has become a decidedly anti-Israeli American media. Think about it from any reasonable perspective. How would you feel if Mexico was lobbing bombs and missiles at targets in California or Nevada or Texas, destroying businesses and buildings, killing hundreds of Americans? Then one day the U.S. decided enough was enough, and fought back by attacking strongholds in Mexico where those who were attacking us were operating. Suddenly the world press is all over their broadcast news and in their newspapers with stories that the U.S. was attacking Mexico. How would that make you feel? Do you think that the Europeans and those in the Middle East, Asia, Africa who were reading these headlines and listening to the talking heads on the news broadcasts would get the full picture, or would they simply be left with the impression that the Americans were being bullies with the poor, little Mexicans? That is exactly what is happening with Israel, and it is a dangerous game. The 'Arab-Israeli conflict' as it has come to be known in modern times has no resolution. Despite what peaceniks and politicians will say, there can be no resolution, and the reason is very clear once you understand the two sides to the dispute. On one side you have Israel, which only wants to live in peace and would never do any aggressive harm to any of its neighbors. That is a fact and the utter truth. The only thing that Israel asks in return is not to be attacked, to be left alone and to allow itself to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people, which is the land of Israel's birthright since God Himself set aside the land for that purpose. Whatever your belief in God and His promises, the fact is that the modern State of Israel was formed thanks to an agreement brokered by that group that most liberals love - the United Nations. In 1947 the UN struck an agreement that partitioned what was known at that time as the land of Palestine into two sections, one Jewish and one Arab. A year later, the Jewish section declared itself independent as the State of Israel. The Arab nations surrounding Israel disagreed with the decision, and immediately attacked Israel. The Israelis prevailed in this fight, as well as in numerous other wars and battles over the ensuing three decades. Despite usually being outnumbered and surrounded, Israel has managed to defend itself successfully against the attacks of its Arab neighbors time after time. There remain disputes over sections of territory, notably what is known as the 'West Bank' and the 'Gaza Strip'. Israel sees these as strategically necessary to its defense, because the Arabs have frequently used these areas as launching pads for attacks. The Arabs see them as simply being Arab lands, with Israel having no legitimate claim. Israel has actually caused part of this problem in one way. They had control of these areas, but gave them up in previous 'peace' negotiations. They failed to remember their own lessons, that you cannot negotiate with groups that wish only to destroy you, and you certainly cannot give up land to them that only brings the territory they control even closer to your territory. Here is a basic fact that you need to understand. These Arab lands that surround Israel, from Iran to Egypt, from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, from Lebanon to Syria, do not recognize that Israel itself should even exist as a nation, and they ultimately want it erased from the map. That is a fact that you need to understand. It precludes any longterm peace agreement, because the fact is that no matter what deal these Muslim nations agree to from time to time, they have always returned ultimately to attacking Israel. There has been concern in recent years that Iran or some other radical Muslim group or nation will construct or obtain a nuclear weapon. Should that happen, there is no doubt in my mind that they will use that technology against Israel, it would just be a matter of time. You need to understand that despite the manner in which America's former 'mainstream media' presents the situation, Israel is not attacking anyone, they are defending themselves. Hamas is a radical Sunni Islamic political organization operating in the Palestinian region, and they are aggressively anti-Israeli. They had been lobbing bombs and missiles against Israel for some time before Israel finally responded last week. But you had not heard of those attacks in our American news, had you? That is the fact, and that is the attitude that much of the media here has towards Israel. This was no suddenly aggressive Israeli action, despite the suddenness of the situations appearance in our media. Israel is not the problem, the radical Islamists are the problem - again. Someday America may wake up to understand that we are truly in the middle of a World War, one that will continue against us and other western and non-Muslim nations, even if we pull out of the Middle East and cease fighting from our side. They will not stop, not against us, not against Israel, not against Europe. The radical Islamists are the problem, not Israel, and until we utterly destroy their ideology as we destroyed Nazi ideology, these problems will continue, this war will continue.

Islamism Series: Infiltration of America

Steven Emerson, one of the nation's leading terrorism experts, states it appropriately when he says that "only by knowing how the terrorists' networks operate...can we be vigilant in detecting any new activity." There are at least three significant foreign Islamic terror groups operating in America today: Hamas, al Qaeda, and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad.) These groups receive support from, and give it to, countries such as Sudan, Egypt, and Afghanistan. They are here for the sole purpose of attacking America and Americans right here in our homeland, and they were getting more successful at it until the increased efforts of the Bush administration in the post-9/11 world slowed them. But they have not stopped, they continue to plot and plan and make attempts, and without continued strong security and intelligence on our part they will succeed again, probably on an even larger scale than 9/11. Emerson has divided the terrorists activities into four categories: recruitment, fund-raising/money-laundering, networking, and direct organization. In recruiting, the Islamofascists love to find willing participants in Jihad who already hold American passports, at times finding these people among naturalized U.S. citizens of Middle Eastern descent. People who can generally travel freely into and out of the country, and within the country, with little suspicion. Other recruitment, orientation, and indoctrination can come from websites and newspapers, and the terrorists actively use our freedoms against us. We cannot stop anyone from preaching violence unless a standard of "clear and present danger" is met. As Emerson states, "We cannot stop groups from gathering to share their political views, even if one of those views is that the U.S. must be destroyed." In the areas of fund-raising and money-laundering, there have been conferences held right here on U.S. soil in which attendees were exhorted to directly donate at that time to fund the Jihad. Other times, charities such as the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development have made appeals for donations to support widows and orphans of the Middle East conflict, never telling the donors that the funds would go to fight and support continued Jihadist activities. They have smuggled contraband cigarettes for funding as well, participated in sham marriages to gain citizenship. Networking can be accomplished by using organizations such as CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) and MAYA (Muslim Arab Youth Association) among others with legitimate sounding names. These organizations may often publicly preach one message, while their members often exhibit what Emerson calls "contrary behaviors" in collaborating and facilitating the work of terrorists. Emerson rightly feels that these organizations must take responsibility for the things that take place at their conferences. Direct organizing has at times been accomplished by what Emerson has called "terror networks operating under their own names" such as the ARC (Advice & Reform Committee), formed under direct orders by Osama bin Laden to the man indicted in the bombing of the American embassies in Kenya & Tanzania back in 1998. Though ARC was never incorporated in the U.S., it kept two mailing addresses here in Denver and Kansas City. The fact remains that the vast majority of Muslims here in America are peaceful and genuinely moderate, subscribing to what Emerson describes as "the strong Islamic tradition of tolerance and human dignity." And yet it is the extremists who continue to have the most influence simply because they are the most active. That activism, combined with the funding of Saudi Arabian subscribers to Wahhabism, which supports the spread of Islam through violence, has led to what a prominent cleric has stated has been a takeover of "more than 80% of the mosques that have been established in the U.S." It is clear that the mix of radical idealism, Saudi cash, willing naturalized recruits, and modern technology are placing America in danger. Despite stronger intelligence capabilities thanks to efforts such as The Patriot Act, the infiltration of America is well under way, and it is important that we all both know this and remain awake and aware to any emergence in our own communities through schools, mosques, community centers, and other outlets. It is also important that we all recognize the successful role that this Act and other law enforcement and intelligence efforts have played in keeping us relatively safe since 9/11, and that we continue to support these efforts and the politicians who will continue their implementation.

Islamism Series: Introduction

This is the first part in what will be an ongoing series of postings relating to the serious problems posed to American society, and indeed to free peoples all around the world, by what I am going to term 'Islamism', and what has been given other names such as 'Islamofascism' and as taught this year in Pennsylvania MPO (municipal police officer) classes as 'Radical Islam'. At the bottom of each posting is a series of 'labels', and you click on the one named 'Islamism Series' in order to view all postings that come in this continuing series.

Since the beginning of 2008, I have been teaching a class at the Advanced Training Unit of the Philadelphia (PA) Police Department titled "Radical Islam", and it has been an eye-opening educational experience. Between the lessons learned in the teaching of this class, as well as a course that I took a few years back at CCP on the topic of terrorism with its text "Terrorism and Homeland Security" by Jonathan R. White, and my own personal reading done since 9/11 of books such as "American Jihad" by Steven Emerson, "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East" by Martin Sieff, and "Holy War on the Homefront" by Harvey Kushner (all of which I highly recommend), the fact that Islamism is perhaps the overall biggest threat to American society in today's world has been driven home to me. Just as eye-opening has been what I perceive to be an incredible lack of recognition of this fact by the American public, lulled back to sleep by the American media's political agenda, in the wake of the historically outrageous and devastating attacks that occured just seven short years ago. Islamism is defined as a set of idealogies that holds Islam, the Muslim faith, is not only a religion but also should be considered as a political system. Islamists would say that to call it a political system is to trivialize it, that the truth is that Islam should be a "complete way of life." However you want to slice it, and by whatever words you want to associate it, Islamists believe that Islamic law (Sharia) must be the primary source of law and cultural identity within a state. Islamists believe that there can indeed by peace on earth: when Islam dominates and controls the world, and anyone who refuses to accept Islam is either subjugated under it or is killed. There is a naive belief of some that we should either ignore this threat to the world, or that we should try to negotiate with it. Those who feel this way take the position of Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama, that we need to "bring home the troops" and "end the war" in the Middle East. The fact is, this war was declared on us, not by us, and it was declared on us by an enemy who will not stop fighting until they control the world. If we come home, only one side has stopped fighting in the war, which will continue without us, and we will ultimately reap the tragic consequences of our failure to stomach this true battle of civilizations. Perhaps the first lesson that the American public needs to learn is this: Islamism only allows for what they term the 'Three Choices'. First, they invite you to Islam, to join or convert. If you do so, they will have no problem with you. However, fail to convert, the second choice given to you is to pay a tax, what they term the 'Jizya', and you need to do so "with willing submission". This means that you as an individual and a society will pay some type of financial and material tax to the Muslim world in order to continue practicing your faith under their "protection", but you will be subjugated under their ultimate control as a 2nd-class citizen of the Muslim world. If you do not wish to either convert or pay the tax, then your third option is to fight. Period, end of story. There is not fourth option. There is no "live and let live", no "you go your way, I'll go mine." Islamism leaves no option to individuals or to nations other than to join, be subjugated, or be destroyed. Choose not to believe this? Then you are simply ignorant. That is not meant as a slander against you, it is meant that you simply are not educated enough on the subject of Islamism to have a valid opinion. My advice would be, rather than simply choosing to not believe based on nothing other than some pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, that you should begin to read and educate yourself on this topic. Following these Islamism Series postings will be one good way. I will point out many different facets of Islamism along the way, relating to terms that you have heard but perhaps do not fully understand, such as Jihad and Abrogation. I will discuss specific groups such as Hamas and al Qaeda and Hezbollah. I will discuss individuals such as Muhammad, Osama bin Laden, Sayyid Qutb, Ayatollah Khomeini, Hassan Nasrallah, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad among others. Also, I will discuss specific attacks against the United States and the West, including the 9/11 attacks, the London and Madrid subway bombings, the Beslan school takeover, and others. There will be idealogy, religion, politics, history, and much more along the way, with at least one posting coming in this "Islamism Series" each week. Again, if you miss an excerpt, click below on the "Islamism Series" label to find all the postings. Most importantly, through this series, the books recommended earlier, and any other source you wish to use, get yourself educated. Just a small look into it will awaken you to just how big a problem we face.