BP On Hook for $75 Billion in Claims, 1-Man Mission American Ninja Faulkner Hunts bin Laden, News Headlines 15 June 2010

*** New Federal Reserve rules to protect consumers on credit cards, new larger estimate for oil gushing in the Gulf, Bloody Sunday apology from Britain PM.





From Denny: BP lost another nine percent of their stock value today. "Awwwww... how cares?" is the response from the Gulf Coast and here in Louisiana.

Higher levels of oil gushing in the Gulf

Scientists upped the amount of oil gushing in to the Gulf. They are figuring it at 2.5 million gallons a day as opposed to the recently revised estimate of 1.7 million gallons a day. That seemed evident to me from the new video after the top cap failed and the oil was rushing faster, along with the acknowledgment that there were underwater oil plumes from several leaks on the ocean floor.

Yesterday, BP also made a mention in passing on CNN about maybe it was 80,000 barrels a day spewing, trying to soft pedal the news that would come out today. People in this Gulf Coast region are furious at the lying and the abysmally slow and ineffective clean up. Clean up should have been the main priority from the beginning while the government and the oil industry were trying to figure out how to shut off the broken well.

American Ninja

Meanwhile, on another war front is a lone ranger kind of guy out trying to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. He was taken into custody today, along with a sword, night vision goggles, a gun, a dagger and Christian literature. He's been in Pakistan seven times now trying to find bin Laden. Like a whole country of fellow Americans, Gary Brooks Faulkner, a California construction worker, was frustrated at the terrorism from bin Laden's group and wanted to do something about it.

Faulkner, age 52, was in the mountain border province of Chitral which borders Afghanistan. It's next door to a Taliban stronghold believed to harbor bin Laden and Faulkner has already visited this area three times now. There is a $50 million bounty on bin Laden's head.

Bloody Sunday closure and apology

On yet another long time war front between Ireland and Britain about Bloody Sunday some 38 years ago, the new Brit PM actually apologized to the families of the teenagers killed that day. A new report, that took 12 years to finalize, found the teenagers not guilty. After all, they were shot in the back by police who lost their heads as the kids were not armed. At least the families and an entire nation got some closure today. Now if Britain would get as real as this for the Gulf Coast residents and this BP mess instead of lying and cheating us.

Poll against Obama's handling of oil disaster

And President Obama has a war of his own here in America with this Gulf Coast disaster. The polls are running against him and his poor, slow, disorganized response to the disaster. This poll cited is 52 percent angry with the President about his handling of the reponse. Other polls are as high as 71 percent angry and dissatisfied. Obama's political handlers better get real and start addressing the job of proper governing if they want to continue to remain comfortable collecting their pay checks. At the rate they have mishandled this crisis their boss is going to be out of office, if not at the ballot box then by impeachment or an actual grassroots coup.

Why they have not employed the super tankers to come in to the Gulf and handle this gargantuan mess is beyond me, other than BP is too cheap to pay for it, dragging their heels on paying out claims until they can slink off unnoticed. BP doesn't understand the Louisiana mentality. They will hunt BP down and wring the last dollar out of them if it takes ten life times. Yes, Southerners are that tenacious.

And what is BP's disapproval rating by Americans about this oil spill? A stunning 83 percent are furious with BP's poor handling of the clean up, the lying to the public and the government and bad handling of claims. Frankly, I'm surprised it's that low.

BP's true worth and claims capability

The good news, according to the Business sections online, is that BP has deep pockets for making this right. The real question is whether they will squirm out of their responsibilities. They generate tens of billions of dollars in cash regularly and they are sitting on some serious vast oil reserves worldwide like a rainy day bank account. Over the past five years, BP has generated a $100 million profit. Last year their profit was $16.8 billion.

Right now, according to Goldman-Sachs estimates of a worst case scenario, BP is currently looking at paying out up to $75 billion. BP claims, and I am seriously suspect of this figure, they claim they have already paid out $1.5 billion in claims. On what? They offered no itemization and expect us to take their word for it.

Credit card reforms from Federal Reserve

Another war front is that of the American consumer attempting to keep their heads above water with job cutbacks, hours cutbacks, job loss and a chaotic economy. Some good news on the credit card front for consumers. The Federal Reserve adopted new rules today about late payment charges and other penalty fees. Late payment fees could not exceed $25. Penalty fees are not to be higher than the dollar amount associated with the customer's violation. The Fed also barred "inactivity" fees when customers don't use the accounts to make new purchases. The Fed also prohibited multiple penalty fees on a single late payment.




BP faces huge tab, has deep pockets

Scientists up estimate of leaking Gulf oil

Poll: Majority disapprove of spill response - AP poll found 52 percent unhappy with Obama's handling of disaster

Opinion: How oil spills like BP's can reshape politics, from the Amazon to America - Like oil pollution in Ecuador and California years ago, the BP Gulf catastrophe could – and should – lead to profound political change across America.

Gary Brooks Faulkner: 'American ninja' hunting Osama bin Laden

Cameron apologizes for 'Bloody Sunday' in 1972 - U.K. leader says he's 'deeply sorry' for death of 13 protesters in N. Ireland

Setbacks cloud U.S. plans to leave Afghanistan - 'There's not much sign of the turnaround that people were hoping for'


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Predictions for 2010

I don't own a crystal ball, nor do I have any special psychic powers or connections to the Almighty that would grant me privileged insight. But I do understand a little bit about what is going on in the world, and it's a challenge to look ahead and try to figure out what a new year may bring.

The following are 10 predictions that I am willing to make for the new year that we just began. Every year brings with it major news developments, exciting sporting accomplishments, political intrigue, public scandals, celebrity gaffes, natural disasters, and other headlines. We can take a look back at the end of 2010 and see how I faired with these:

1) Israel-Iran War: There is just no way that Israel can allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. If the mullahs are not overthrown and Ahmadinejad kicked out on his apocalpyse-desirous can in the first few months of the year, Israel cannot wait much longer. It's a bit of an upset that the Israelis have waited this long. This will be huge.

2) American Congress: The Republican Party will make major inroads in both Houses of Congress in the 2010 mid-term elections. Probably not enough to take over either House, unless of course the Obama administration continues to bury the U.S. in debt and continues to take over private industry. My bet is the Dems up for election will paint themselves moderately enough to salvage a slight Dem majority.

3) Terrorism in the West: There will be a moderate-to-major successful Islamofascist terrorist attack somewhere in either Great Britain or the United States this year. The radical Islamists have sworn to keep coming at us, they continue to make actual attempts, and we keep getting lucky most times. Our luck will run out somewhere, some time.

4) American Financial Debacle: Unemployment will continue to rise, credit will continue to remain tight, the housing market will continue to stagnate. The policies that the Obama administration is utilizing simply do nothing to spur ongoing economic growth. There will be calls for more stimulus, just what we need (sic). At some point in the year the Fed will raise interest rates to stave off inflation, worsening many areas of the economy. The stock market will end the year lower than the final 2009 levels.

5) Natural Disaster: The world has been rocked in recent years by major tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, more so than at any time. Or does it just seem that way because we now have 24-hour news coverage? In any event, the U.S. got away without a major hurricane striking the mainland in 2009. We won't be as lucky in 2010, and look for at least one other major event elsewhere in the developed world this year.

6) The Sports World: Predicting champions is the longest of long shots, but here goes. The Super Bowl will see the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots. How's that for a homer pick? Want another one? Okay, the Philadelphia Phillies will defeat the New York Yankees in a World Series rematch. The Chicago Black Hawks will win the Stanley Cup by downing the New Jersey Devils. The Cleveland Cavaliers will upend the LA Lakers for the NBA title. Kansas wins the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

7) Olympics Incident: The Winter Olympics are being held in Vancouver next month. The largest sporting event on earth remains the greatest attraction for television, athletes, fans - and terrorists. Watch for some attack or attempted attack at some venue. If Vancouver lucks out, or makes it's own luck with tremendous security, the real challenge is next. London hosts the 2012 Summer Olympics, and that one should be a real security challenge.

8) Celebrity Deaths: We all know there will be some. The usual suspects this time around include Billy Graham, Nancy Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Dick Clark, Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kirk Douglas, Betty Ford, Nelson Mandela, Jerry Lewis, Fidel Castro, Osama bin Laden and Abe Vigoda, who I personally think may never die. But the real challenge is predicting the younger folks who really shouldn't go, but who end up in accidents or overdoses or as homicides/suicides. Put me down for a couple on the longshots: Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan.

9) Science and Sci-Fi: There will continue to be no proof of intelligent life on other planets. No flying saucers or other beings will visit/invade the earth. The H1N1 virus will fade from the headlines amid warnings from the medical community that some major disease will eventually break out among humans that will indeed cause a worldwide crisis, and they will be right - eventually. By the way, your life can already be tracked via things like GPS on your cellphone and via your debit/credit card usage. This will become even more invasive in the coming year.

10) Weight Loss: Okay, here is the biggie. Yours truly will lose weight, a great deal of it, and get in the best shape that I have been in since my police academy days two decades ago. This is the one that I hope actually comes through for me. Well, this and the Republicans making strong Congressional gains. I am starting the effort this coming week. Wish me luck.

So there go ten areas where I am willing to go out on the limb with some general and specific predictions. It will be a great year for some, a terrible year for others, the last year on earth for some, the first year for others. In short, in the end it will be pretty much like any other year. It's all ahead of us right now. It will be interesting to take a look back in 11 months or so and reflect on this article with the knowledge of the reality of what actually occurred.

9/11

"The British are Coming!" "Remember the Alamo!" "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy" "9/11"

All of these phrases are now burned by history into the collective American consciousness, automatically bringing us back to times when our nation was under attack right here on our own soil. However, the first three are actually a bit misleading in that regard. Neither the British attacks in the Revolutionary War, the Mexican attack in Texas, or the Japanese attack in Hawaii happened in an official state of the Union.

In the first, the United States was not a fully formed, world recognized, independent nation, but instead was fighting for some type of independence from the British empire. It shouted a warning among the American colonists that British troops were approaching, and is usually specifically related to the midnight ride of Paul Revere. It also hearkens us back to a time when British 'red coats' were firing on Americans, burning homes and businesses, and marching across the land that we now know as the United States of America.

The battle at the Alamo mission also was not fought on what was then technically United States soil, but was fought between the Republics of Mexico and Texas in the aftermath of the Mexican revolution. It was a decade before Texas would officially become a U.S. state. The Texian forces fighting for their independence from the Mexican government where vastly outnumbered, yet fought off the Mexican troops valiantly before finally being overrun and massacred. The incident rallied Texians to eventual victory, and ultimately to statehood.

Again, the Japanese sneak attack in Hawaii did not technically take place on an official state in the Union. On December 7th, 1941, Hawaii was an annexed American territory and the site of an extremely strategic naval base located at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombs and kamakazi pilots virtually wiped out the American Pacific Naval fleet that morning, it not only sparked our entry into World War II, but also showed the importance of Hawaii to our interests, resulting in full statehood by 1959.

Most people alive today know full well of the events of 9/11 as they relate to more attacks on American soil, attacks this time on an official state (New York) as well as on the seat of our government (Washington, D.C.), along with a thwarted attack that ended in the loss of American lives in Pennsylvania.

Here in Philadelphia and along much of the American east coast, today is a dark, gloomy day on which the rain pours from the skies. I will refrain from talk of it being tears for the lives of the nearly 3,000 victims lost that day. The only reason that I point out the bleak weather conditions today is to relate how stark the contrast it is with that absolutely gorgeous late summer morning, now eight years ago.

America awoke and began it's commute to work on that Tuesday morning with little thought of the radical Islamic assault that was fully planned and already operational. Despite repeated threats and actual attacks leading up to that day, most Americans had their heads in the sand regarding men such as Osama bin Laden and groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda. We were virtually untouchable and absolutely indestructible as a nation. All that went away in just a couple of hours.

Despite the magnitude and suddeness of those attacks, the loss of all of those lives, the televised attacks on and collapse of the iconic Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, a jet airplane ramming through the core of our national defense at the Pentegon, the grounding of American air traffic for almost a week, and the subsequent wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan we seem to have learned little.

The radical Islamists who attacked us that morning were not representatives of any particular nation. We were not attacked that morning and at other times by Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Iran, or Libya, or Egypt, or any single Middle Eastern or Arabic nation or group of nations. We were attacked by radical groups operating within those nations who are inspired by the Koran and their faith to conquer the world on behalf of Islam.

In past wars and battles, whether fought to form the United States as with Britain, to expand the United States as with Mexico, or to defend the United States as with Japan the enemy was usually an easy to define nation-state. It had borders, populations, armies, resources, and allies that were usually easily definable. To win, you had to defeat the other guys in head-to-head physical combat. There was a measure of ideology that needed to be defeated as well, but ultimately if you won the physical battles and suppressed the enemy troops and their leaders, you were the clear winner.

I put it to you that it is no different now. We still need to win that physical battle. But as with those past conflicts, this is also a war of ideologies, and we must also win on that front to ever have a long-lasting peace. This war must be fought and won on two fronts, both of which we must be willing to support and sustain if we want to win.

On one hand we must support and sustain the ideological war that is raging within Islam itself. There are moderate forces within that religion, the 2nd largest on the planet with an influence over approximately 1.5 billion people, or almost 1 in every 5 people on the planet. The radical forces calling for that religion to control the world not only religiously, but also sociologically, financially, politically is growing. We must support in every way the forces within Islam that want to maintain it as a part of the whole where the world is concerned, not as a world domination ideology.

On the other hand, we must be willing to back that financial and rhetorical support up with our armed forces. The radical Islamist groups are heavily armed, well equipped, and train regularly. And their numbers and influence are growing, as is their technology. It is just a matter of time before nuclear weapons are in the hands of radical Islamic terrorist regimes. Once that happens, these groups will use these weapons to further their agenda in Israel, Europe, and here in America. Until such elements are effectively wiped out, we are going to have physical battles to fight.

There will be a number of remembrances across the country and around the world today on the 8th anniversary of those radical Islamic attacks on September 11th, 2001. There will be a few television programs this evening that will recall the events of that day. If you have not yet seen them, I can highly recommend four different films that you need to watch.

"9/11" was perhaps the best documentary on the day of the attacks, and is available by clicking on to the title of this article through Amazon. This and "United 93" are probably the two best films ever made to this point. "World Trade Center" is also a well made dramatic depiction of the New York attacks. Finally, the documentary film "Obsession" tells the full story of the radical Islamic problem across the world today.

9/11 was not the beginning of this world-wide ideological struggle, and we will not likely see the end any time soon, if ever. There will be further dates to remember, catch-phrases to live in infamy. Today we should remember those who lost their lives that day, as well as those who fought and continue to fight for victory in the continuing ideological struggle against the forces of radical Islam. Those forces are still out there, still bent on that same world domination, and the United States of America continues to stand as the best defense against their aggression.

The Castrated States of America

In just 100 days Obama has moved us from a war footing to a wuss footing. Yes sir, from a foreign policy/national defense standpoint, Barack is making Jimmy Carter look like a full-on badass. The President is dead set on taking off our rowdy body armor and replacing it with a petite glittered bustier; he's insisting that our General Pattons become generally passive. A one-eyed, myopic circus freak can see this.

Yep, forget the G.I. Joe, Johnny Get Your Gun image America used to tout. Obama would rather us morph into a chatty Jiminy Glick before those who want us dead.

You just know Osama and his boys are in some Pakistani cave smoking a hookah piled high with blonde Lebanese hash as they praise Allah and laugh their butts off at how stupid and soft we've become in just a few months while they plot their next "manmade disaster," as Janet Napolitano would call it.

I'm certain that this recent transition from bold to bland is making all the "progressives" feel smarmy as they imagine in their warm and fuzzy heart of hearts that they have just climbed up a couple rungs on the evolutionary ladder.

However, no matter how chuffed the daft Left feels about our metamorphosis from strength to slop, millions of implacable Muslims and rogue dictators around the planet will continue to abhor us regardless of whether or not we go metrosexual. They do not believe in evolving and are currently fetching some C4 to blow up the ladder the Left pretends we are ascending.

Can you say, naïve? I knew you could.

Conservative commentators are taking Obama to task, stating that Barack is putting us in a pre-9/11 mindset. A pre-9/11 mindset? I think you boys and girls are being too nice. Forget pre-9/11... this is pre-7/11. And from a security standpoint, sooner or later his policies are going to make life in the US, let's say, really inconvenient.

Now, should Charlie Gibson ever interview you non-Kool Aid swillers on TV and in the course of the interview lower his tortoise shell reading glasses and contemptuously ask you with that oleaginous look on his face, "So, Mr. or Ms. Conservative, exactly what is the Obama Doctrine?" From what BHO has said and done in the last 100 daze, you can tell Chuck's tacky backside it's this: The Obama Doctrine is the systematic emasculation of those aspects and entities that, heretofore, have kept us safe. It is the politically correct castration of our nation's cojones, or tomatoes, or testicles or whatever you want to call 'em.

Yes, according to our Gelding-In-Chief, everything is our fault, our strongest allies are to be dissed, bows are to be given to Saudi Kings, high fives go to Hugo, Ahmadinejad gets a bromance vid from BHO via YouTube, and talks are conducted with Cuba about burning a Cohiba with the Castro brothers. In addition, Obama's administration says Israel is the pain in the middle east, the US should throw billions at rogue nations, we ought to nuke our nukes . . . all the while blaming everything on GW, telling the world Islam doesn't spawn terrorists, and forbidding our interrogators to interrogate those who wish us dead. What's next, BHO? A détente with el Diablo?

Yeah, what I've deduced from Obama's teleprompter is this: The Obama Doctrine is, essentially, that America sucks. Everything is our fault. And to go forward, we must castrate everything that has kept us secure, because, y'know, we wouldn't want to continue to be safe and strong anymore, right?

WRITTEN by Doug Giles and posted at ClashRadio.com on May 4th, 2009

Islamism Series: Back to Afghanistan

For a land-locked nation that is basically a pile of rock and sand, Afghanistan holds some serious sway in the international community. The reasons are many, but they are sometimes difficult to graps until you look more closely.

Afghanistan is bordered on the west by an Islamic nuclear-power wannabe ruled by a mad President in Iran, and on the east by the already nuclear-powered and increasingly fractious Pakistan. There is even a small slice of northeastern Afghanistan that borders up against a Communist behemoth known as China. Along its northern borders lie a trio of former Soviet states in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Its land-locked status means that it has virtually no natural water supplies. There are no seas against which it borders, no rivers running through it, no lakes in which water has gathered. In short, there is very little of the life-sustaining, not to mention economy-sustaining water that is necessary for a country and people to survive, let alone thrive.

The median age is less than 18 years, which might make you wonder where are all the adults? Many of them are simply dead, as the average life expectancy is only a little over 44 years. Because of the poor economic conditions there is a high risk of infectious diseases and wide-scale problems with other illnesses such as malaria, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and 'bird flu' influenza strains. So why does everyone care so much about a country that is so desolate and so inhospitable? Simply because of its strategic location as a 'buffer zone'.

Afghanistan was founded in 1747 when Ahmad Durrani was able to organized the native Pashtun tribes into one people. For a long time it served as a buffer between the Russian and the British empires before gaining independence from Britain in 1919.

In the 1970's, the Soviets propped up a Communist government there, and then directly invaded the country in 1979 to put down rebellions from various native Afghan tribes and groups. This led to a decade-long war in which the rebels emerged victorious thanks to aid from the international community, most notably the United States (see the film 'Charlie Wilson's War'.)

In the aftermath of the Soviet-Afghan war there was continual civil war in the country, with the Taliban finally emerging with control in the mid-1990's. The population is 99% Muslim, and the Taliban demanded observance of a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. They also allowed the use of Afghan territories by Osama bin Laden and his radical Islamic followers, which al Qaeda used to operate terrorist training camps.

Following 9/11, the U.S.-led coalition invaded, destroyed the terrorist camps, and drove the Taliban from power. This began a process of attempting to install a democratic government and elected leadership, which ultimately led to the current democratically-elected government of Hamid Karzai (pictured). Many felt that the U.S. lost focus from this important rebuilding program when it switched gears and invaded Iraq.

With the Afghan situation appearing under control, President Bush redeployed many American forces to topple the regime of dictator Sadaam Hussein in Iraq. As noble as removing the evil Hussein from power may have been, it did allow the Taliban to begin slowly regrouping and regaining some influence in Afghanistan.

The new American President Barack Obama inherited both the Iraq and Afghanistan situations when he took office. It is his position that Iraqi defense forces and the Iraqi government are becoming strong enough that they will soon be able to stand on their own, and is planning to slowly draw down U.S. presence in that area. At the same time he plans to increase the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

There is an upcoming international conference on Afghanistan that will take place at The Hague and which will be attended by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along with leaders from all of the world nations having a stake in Afghanistan's short and long term future.

With both the historical and current instability in that region of the world, and with their significant strategic locations, successful democracies in both Iraq and Afghanistan are worthy and important efforts. The Afghans absolutely need and deserve more U.S. support, not just military but also economic and in other areas. But the Iraqis cannot be abandoned to fend for themselves to the point where the loss of 4,000 American lives over a half decade ends up being for nothing.


President Obama is basically taking us back to Afghanistan, and that is a good and necessary thing. But at the same time we need to be very careful in the process of drawing down in Iraq. In the 'big tent' meeting at The Hague, two groups with a stake in Afghanistan's future which will not be represented are the Taliban and al Qaeda. But the groups who do meet should not forget their presence or their interest.

Radical Islamic forces are still fighting in both countries to undermine the American-led efforts, convinced that if they just wait us out we will eventually retreat to our own homeland and leave these Middle East countries with little defense against their continuing Jihad.

NOTE: This is a continuation of the Islam Series, all items of which can be read by clicking the below label of that name.

Islamism Series: Fort Dix and Beyond

Two headlines blared across the tops of the front pages of Philadelphia's two major newspapers within the past four days. The Bulletin was first when last Thursday their front page headline read "Islamic Terrorists Forming Cells in US", and the Inquirer followed suit on Sunday when in reference to the Fort Dix case the headline read "They were going to do it".

Here are the cold, hard facts for everyone who has not yet caught on to what this 'Islamism Series' is all about: organized Islamic forces with the full backing of some Arab nations and with the tacit support of others are at war with the West. They see the United States, Great Britain, and Israel as their main enemies in this war.

The war did not end with the election of Barack Obama, just as it did not begin with the election of George W. Bush. It will not end with the closing of Guantanamo Bay. It will not end with the withdrawal of American troops from the Middle East. It will not end with the death or capture of Osama bin Laden.

The leadership and forces of Islam have made it abundantly clear how this will end: with the end of our civilization, or theirs. Their dream is to reestablish what they call the Islamic Caliphate under Sharia Law, that Islamic rule by Muslim religious, legal, and cultural laws.

To begin this process they want to destroy Israel and take control of the entire Middle East. Then, united under a leader they will call the Caliph, they wish to spread their influence and ultimately their control to the surrounding regions of Europe and Asia, spread down into Africa, and ultimately the world over, including here in America. They have vowed to see the Islamic flag flying over the White House.

The Inquirer story spoke in reference to the Fort Dix case wherein "five foreign-born Muslims...had intended to carry out an attack on the Army base" (at Ft. Dix, New Jersey.) Jurors interviewed by the Inquirer stated that "the defendants had taken serious steps toward an armed attack on the Burlington County base."

The details of the plots made by these men to attack an American military installation here on American soil are frightening enough. But what perhaps is more frightening is the scene inside the courtroom each day, when jurors stated that "large extended families" of the men were regularly present. One must wonder as to the feelings regarding the United States and the West of these family members and friends, now living here in America and raising families with these same beliefs.

The Bulletin article of Thursday, January 22nd spoke to intelligence sources who claim that the terrorist group Hezbollah is expected to be a major threat here in the United States by 2014. If the idea that this is five years away gives you any comfort, consider this: do any of you plan on not being alive five years from now? Didn't think so.

The article states that an official government report has concluded that the Iranian-backed Islamic terror group "has been forming sleeper cells throughout the United States" that could become operational at any time, and that this threat should be much more potent within those next five years.

For those unfamiliar, a 'sleeper cell' is a group of people who live and blend in with our culture, right in our own neighborhoods and work places. But these individuals, despite their outward appearances and actions, are prepared to join together and attack America whenever they are called upon to be activated to such a purpose.

They basically lay low in the weeds waiting for orders. Those orders might not come for months, years, even decades. When they finally come, the attack could be anything from a major nuclear, biological, radiological, or chemical one against a large target such as a sporting event or a downtown area, to one by more conventional methods such as the use of guns, knives, and grenades at a shopping mall or at a school.

The one thing that these recent articles at the front of Philadelphia's own major newspapers highlights is that Americans of all parties, affiliations, and ideologies need to understand exactly what is going on in this war.

The Philadelphia police department and all police officers within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania received training in 2008 that introduced them to the ideas, practices, and plans of these groups in a course titled 'Radical Islam', so law enforcement is very much aware of the dangers. From the Fort Dix case and prior, and that Hezbollah 2014 threat and beyond, this blog will continue with important and timely articles of interest.

NOTE: Simply click on to the 'Islamism Series' label below to read all entries in the series.

Islamism Series: Challenging Obama

Welcome to the real world, President-elect Obama. It was one thing to use speaking eloquence and the Chicago political machine to rise to power. It was one thing to win a U.S. Senate seat, and then use dissatisfaction with the status quo to rise to the Presidency. But that inexperience is about to catch up to you. A few years in the Senate, most of it spent running for President, is simply not enough experience to be the leader of the free world. We in America and the entire Western world have to hope that the man is a fast learner. Just a day after Barack Obama received his first official security briefing from the Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, the New York Sun reports that Obama and the American public will soon receive a video address from none other than Osama bin Laden himself. Fanatical hate preacher Omar Bakri has led chats in extremist Arabic chat rooms announcing that the new video will likely come when Obama names his cabinet, and will warn Obama that "We will fight him if he fights against Islam." A key Iraqi al Qaeda propagandist, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, made an internet speech in which he told Obama that "it's better for you and us to withdraw your forces and return to your homes." Obama has pledged that he will redeploy American resources in the Middle East in order to go after bin Laden in the Afghani tribal regions where the al Qaeda leader is believed to be hiding. However, the CIA apparently has far greater intel on the whereabouts of al Qaeda's #2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, which might lead to addressing efforts to go after him first. President George W. Bush will meet directly with Obama on Monday in a further effort to update him on homeland defense, among other issues. In a recent speech in front of various White House staffers, President Bush stated that the terrorist threat is a main reason that they “all of must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running.” During the campaign, Obama pledged to give commanders a new mission in Iraq: to successfully end the war with a 'responsible and phased' withdrawal of troops. Dissatisfaction with the prosecution of the war was a key component to Obama's election victory. It was also yet another sign that the American press and public simply do not have the fortitude at this stage to win this vital struggle between civilizations and ideologies. The Obama camp and many of its followers simply do not believe the magnitude of the threat that Islamofascism poses to Israel, the United States, and the world. Either that, or they know and simply do not care, choosing instead to focus on other issues for now, and deciding to deal with military issues as they develop in the future. In other words, they are choosing to once again put a band aid on a longterm serious problem, rather than address it now and completely. This is a recipe for disaster that will likely play out now in an Obama administration. Islamofascists will view any U.S. withdrawal as an opportunity, and a victory. They will rightly say that they again simply waited us out, that they knew we could never defeat them long term, that we simply didn't have the stomach for it. They will consolidate their power in the Middle East once we leave, including increased pressure on Israel, igniting even worse conditions than exist today. The Veep-elect, Joe Biden, stated in the run-up to the election "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama...we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy...he's gonna need help...because it's not gonna be apparent initially that we're right." It's a shame that those of us who know this will be the outcome have not been able to convince enough of America, but apparently it will take another 9/11, or worse, to awaken that sleeping giant fully. I have to hope that the President-elect is finally exposed to the reality of the situation in the coming days, weeks, and months, and changes his tune on what needs to be done. Otherwise, the Islamofascists will seriously challenge a President Obama, judging correctly that he will do little or nothing to stop them.
NOTE: All items in the 'Islamism Series' can be viewed by simply clicking on that below 'Label'.

Islamism Series: The Mujahideen and the Taliban

One of the most difficult hurdles for someone to overcome in understanding the meaning behind the many stories that they hear bandied about the airwaves and internet is basic definitions: who are we talking about, what exactly are they doing, why are they doing it, and how does it affect me? The stories, people, cultures, and issues are usually not easily definable in the few short sentences or paragraphs that a blog or column allows in order to really educate someone. When discussing the issues of radical Islam here, I usually try to be as simplistic as possible, because that is all that space allows, and it is enough to paint a picture that gives someone a basic education on the issue. Anyone who has paid attention to the news over the past decade or more has heard of both the terms 'mujahideen' and 'taliban', but few know who or what these terms represent. The most that many know is that they might have something to do with Afghanistan, and something to do with the war. Let's try to give you a basic primer. First, in our modern terminology a 'mujahideen' is generally one who struggles as a fighter for a radical Islamic cause and is inspired by religion and idealogy. Picture yourself in the Afghanistan of the late 1970's. The government of your country is aligned with the Soviet Union, and you don't like that, so you join a group which actively fights your own government to free itself from that influence. Your government asks the Soviets to come in and directly join the fight against your group, which is joined by other anti-Soviet and anti-government groups in this struggle, which you perceive to be largely about defending your Muslim faith. These groups joined in this struggle are the beginning of what we know today as the 'Mujahideen' forces. They fight in and around Afghanistan throughout the 1980's against the Soviet troops and their influence. You are largely supported with funds and weapons from the outside by forces that wish to see the Soviets fail, including the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, and even Iran. Finally in the late '80's, the Soviets pull their troops out, and you are seen in your country as victorious defenders and heroes. Ronald Reagan himself calls you "freedom fighters", and you are portrayed positively in a number of western films. A key leader in those battles was a Saudi national named Osama bin Laden, who not only used his vast monetary fortune to help support the war effort, but also personally fought himself. In the aftermath of the Soviet pullout, various mujahideen groups fight one another for control in a devastating civil war that lasted for years. In an attempt to bring some order, a new group known as 'The Taliban', literally meaning 'students', was formed from among some of the students from the most restrictive Muslims schools. They wrestled control at the capital of Kabul around 1996, and then ruled over Afghanistan through 2001. During their rule they instituted the most strict and severe form of Sharia (Islamic law), including the mistreatment of women, that the Muslim world had ever seen. The Taliban had a very strict interpretation of Islam, and refused to allow other strains of the faith to gain a voice. They began an attempt to spread their views and their power into neighboring Pakistan as well. Mullah Mohammed Omar (pictured above) was considered the Taliban leader during this time, and he went into hiding at the start of the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, when the United States and others went into the country to begin addressing radical Islam by driving out the Taliban. After gaining control of the country, the U.S. and NATO powers began to assemble and help support a new, democratic Afghani government. Omar continues in hiding as a wanted man for supporting and hiding Osama bin Laden, who had gone on from his heroic mujahideen days to become the leader of a world-wide Islamic terrorist organization known as al Qaeda, which perpetrated those 9/11 attacks. After being driven from Afghanistan, The Taliban eventually gathered its remaining forces and adherents in the tribal areas of Pakistan and began to reconstitute itself, and now has begun fighting back in an attempt to overthrow the U.S.-backed Afghani government and regain control. The bottom line: the Mujahideen who fought the Soviets and the Taliban who fought America are both radical Islamic groups wishing to gain territorial and political power to back and strengthen their radical religious beliefs. These are exactly the types of groups, and both Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden the kinds of people, the we desperately need to eliminate in order to crush the oppression of Islamism and help the freedoms of democracy spread throughout the world.

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.