Islamism Series: Farewell, War on Terror

R.I.P. Pvt. William Long (left)...
Did you notice in his Cairo speech to the Muslim world last week that President Obama did not use the word "terrorism"? Interesting in light of reports that some in the Obama administration no longer refer to actions against al-Qaida and the Taliban as the "war on terror," instead calling them an "overseas contingency operation." But why? What is the reasoning behind this?

Apparently, the president believes that in order to forge a "new start" with the Muslim world, America must spotlight the common ground between the two cultures. Emphasizing atrocities committed by terrorists under the banner of Islam obviously does not aid that strategy. So out with the war on terror, in with the spirit of cooperation.

Some conservatives find this appalling. They say it shows weakness on the part of Obama. I disagree. As long as the United States stays strong on the battlefields and in the security area, diplomatic euphemisms don't mean very much. Obama wants more friends in the Arab world, and he's willing to give Muslims a rhetorical break to get them.

That, of course, pleases the American left, and herein lies a problem. The liberal media are now actively downplaying Muslim terrorism, and that was vividly demonstrated last week when an American Muslim in Arkansas shot two soldiers. One of them, 24-year-old Pvt. William Long, was killed.

The cold-blooded murder of Long by Carlos Bledsoe, aka Abdulhakim Muhammad, was a shocking story. But if you were watching Katie Couric on the "CBS Evening News," you missed it, as Couric did not mention the murder. On ABC, Charles Gibson ignored the story, as well. On NBC, Brian Williams spent less than two minutes on the situation.

But the network news operations and most other national media enthusiastically covered the murder of late-term abortion doctor George Tiller by a pro-life zealot. According to a new study by the Pew Research group, Tiller's murder received 90 percent more news coverage than the crime against Long. Unbelievable.

It is flat-out wrong for the news media to under-report a story where an American Muslim guns down two American soldiers in a small Arkansas town. Just a few years ago, that kind of journalistic irresponsibility would have been severely criticized. But not now. Today, news reporting is a different story.

As has been well documented, the American media are now in the ideology business, and Obama has been a big beneficiary of that. Not only did most journalists vote for him, as the president recently pointed out, but the media actively aided his candidacy by providing him with favorable coverage. And that continues to this day.

The news media may believe they are helping Obama by avoiding the constant violence of Muslim terrorism, but the practice is putting all of us in danger. How many more Bledsoes are roaming around?

Good question. Unfortunately, you won't get an answer on the nightly news.

NOTE: This article is presented as a continuation of the "Islamism Series", all of the entries for which may be viewed by clicking in to that below label.

WRITTEN by Bill O'Reilly and published at Human Events on June 13th, 2009

What Are You Prepared to Do?

In the motion picture "The Untouchables", Kevin Costner plays legendary FBI man Elliot Ness. He is trying to break the grip of organized crime on the city of Chicago, and is running into obstacles at every turn when his partner puts things into clear resolve. Sean Connery's grizzled veteran police character turns to Ness and asks the key question: "What are you prepared to do?" It is this very response that is the key question that needs to be asked when talking about the big problems in our world today. There are many well meaning people in America who are concerned about Third World hunger. There are many well meaning people who are concerned about AIDS in Africa. There are many well meaning people who are concerned about illicit human and drug-trafficking. There are many well meaning people who are concerned about illegal aliens flooding into the United States. There are many well meaning people who are concerned about ethnic cleansing in various nations. There are many well meaning people who fully understand the danger from and are concerned about the spread of radical Islam. But most of these people don't have a clue as to what they should do next. Many simply resort to the easiest thing for them individually: they write a check. "Hey, if I mail off $20 to some organization each month, I can feed one child. If everyone did that, we could feed all the children." Nice sentiment, but is it true? The organization doesn't take your $20 and go shopping for the child whose photo and alleged 'bio' they sent to you. They pool all the money sent by people like you, and put it together in trying to improve conditions in some particular village or country. There are many good people, Christian missionaries and others, out there trying to do this good, necessary work. Unfortunately as often as the food and medical shipments get through to the village, they are even more frequently intercepted by military regimes in those nations, and sometimes by the governments themselves, and dispersed to a privileged few. That is the reality of what happens to the supplies bought by the check that you write. It is exactly what happened to the massive amounts of food and supplies purchased by the huge 'USA for Africa' effort that culminated in the storied 'Live Aid' concerts of the mid-1980's. In the end, a lot of people heard some good music, donated some money, and went home feeling good about themselves. But they never bothered to look into what all this happiness actually accomplished. That is the nature of much of liberal idealism: everyone be nice and take care of one another. All we are saying is give peace a chance. Feed the world. It takes a village. Why can't we all just get along? But that is not in any way effective in the reality of trying to actually accomplish something. The unfortunate fact of real life is that there are bad people in the world who simply will not allow that to happen. These people are motivated only by power and their own greed. The check that you write, the rock concert that you attend, the time that you donated in packing and shipping goods, none of it matters to them. When the boat arrives with the rice and medicine and equipment, they will steal it for themselves. There is only one way to deal with the situation. Think about it. Unfortunately, liberal idealists never want to 'go there'. Words like 'security', 'force', and 'war' are dirty words to them. You cannot simply buy stuff here in America, send it over on boats, and dump it on some dock in Africa. You need to then secure the supplies as they are unloaded and shipped to villages, and then need to ensure that the supplies are actually dispersed to the people for whom they were intended. This all takes security forces on the ground. And when the inevitable local warlords and militants try to steal the supplies, it will take more than waving a flag and saying 'sorry, this is not for you' to make them stop. And you won't solve the problems by one ship load of food and supplies. If you really want to stop hunger in Africa, then you will need to continue such shipments repeatedly. You will need to help the people learn to build and grow on their own, using their own natural resources. All of this will require continued security. But the evil people don't want your help. They just want you to go away so that they can return to dominating the region and controlling the people, abusing them for whatever purposes they desire. This is what you have to be willing to overcome. But you don't want to commit our American troops to Africa to fight these evil people, because that will take a near permanent commitment, at least will take decades. It will cost thousands of young Americans their lives fighting in the jungles of Africa to help build a civilization that can sustain itself. It will take decades and cost thousands of young American lives fighting in the fields of South America and the streets of America to truly win the War on Drugs. It will take decades and cost thousands of young American lives to fight off those who use ethnic cleansing as a tactic in Africa or Eastern Europe. But liberal idealists have already proven that they are not willing to continue similar efforts in the Middle East to help free people and protect nations from the grip of Islamofascism, right? The question for all those good meaning people in America who have legitimately big hearts and really want to help make the world a better place remains the same as it ever was: "What are you prepated to do?"

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'.

Incredible 9/11 Video

I was going to write today on the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, but there is just so much information out there, and so many perspectives that have already been shared, that it was difficult to decide from what angle I wanted to approach it this time. Then I came across a video at the National Terror Alert website, and I knew that the best thing to do would be to simply share that video. It was shot as a home video by a couple living in an apartment building just 500 yards from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, with a remarkable view and incredible real-time commentary from the couple as they viewed things happening live that tragic, unforgettable morning.

View the video here: 9/11 VIDEO and never forget!

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.

Islamic Terrorists Aren't Poor & Ignorant

Nearly everyone on earth is aware that Islamofascism is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, problems facing today's world. Here in America, the iconic Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York were bombed in 1993 before finally being collapsed in the attacks of 9/11. What some are not aware of is that the United States continues to be attacked, more than a dozen and a half attempts (at least) since that infamous date in 2001. Included among these were Jose Padilla's plans in 2002 to set off a 'dirty bomb', Dhiren Barot's plan to attack the New York Stock Exchange in 2004, Kevin James and the plot to attack the National Guard facilities in Los Angeles in 2005, Narsearl Batiste & crew and their 2006 plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago, the mammoth plot in summer of '06 to simultaneously blow up numerous airliners flying from Britain to the U.S. using liquid explosives. Right here in our own backyard, we had the May 2007 plot to attack the soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Who are these terrorists, and what do they want? Contrary to theories pushed by certain sociologists and liberal thinkers, terrorists are not poor, stupid, and ignorant. According to an article titled "What Makes a Terrorist?" published in the November/December 2007 issue of 'The American' magazine, the highly-respected Pew Research Center conducted a Global Attitudes Project public opinion survey during February 2004 in Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, and Turkey in an attempt to answer just that question. Their findings show that those who both support and engage in terrorism activities are more highly educated and much better off financially than most in the region. A similar study by the Rand Corporation found that almost 60% of suicide bombers among the Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza had more than a high school education. Nasra Hassan, a U.N. relief worker in the region conducted interviews with hundreds of militants, and stated "none of them were uneducated, desperately poor, simple-minded, or depressed." The article states what is a simple fact: people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for a cause have diverse motivations. Some motivated by nationalism, some by religious fanaticism, some by historic grievances, etc. Facts seem to pretty clearly support that the majority of terrorists have education and means. They know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it, and they do it willingly and happily. What Islamofascist proponents want is to reestablish the worldwide Caliphate and unite the world under Islam and their own political leadership. To this end, they want to strike down western civilization, which is led by the United States and Great Britain, and which is highlighted in what they see as their own region of the Middle East by the nation of Israel. Defeat the U.S., Britain, and Israel by either or a combination of physical destruction or political weakening of power, and the Islamic Caliphate can more easily take control. That is what they want, and they won't cut any deals to 'live and let live'. If we "bring home the troops" that will only stop one side from fighting. The Islamic terrorists are not poor and ignorant. Far from it, they are coming for us, they will keep coming unless we utterly defeat them and their ideology. And in doing so, they are well aware of what they are doing, what price they will have to pay, and how long it may take to accomplish.