Multiple blasts struck Texas refinery

Another update on the Texas Refinery Blast. "Multiple blasts struck refinery," from AP, with thanks to Bob:

HOUSTON - Federal investigators said Thursday that several explosions rocked a Texas City refinery last month in an eruption that killed 15 people, injured more than 100 and filled the sky with black smoke.

"We believe that there were a number of distinct explosions in rapid succession, possibly as many as five," said U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board member John Bresland.

Investigators still aren't sure what ignited the explosions at the BP refinery March 23.

Lead investigator Don Holmstrom said there may have been multiple ignition sources, and that some of the board's 10 investigators were conducting blast modeling to figure out the size and possible causes.

Now to my untutored eye, multiple ignition sources suggests at least the possibility that these explosions were not accidental. So why was the FBI so quick to deny it could be terrorism -- even before agents had visited the site? After all, we know the site was photographed by a "Middle Eastern man." I am not saying this was an act of jihad terrorism; I am saying, however, that this investigation is starting to smell worse and worse.

Egypt: Bomber duo on the run

"Bomber duo on the run: Egypt," from Reuters, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

CAIRO: Egyptian investigators have identified two more suspects from a deadly Cairo bombing this month and said they may be planning more attacks, a newspaper said yesterday.

The daily Al-Gomhuria reported both men had “embraced the ideas of jihad (holy war)” and were on the run, bringing to three the number of suspects evading capture for the blast that killed three tourists and the bomber on April 7....

Ah. More Misunderstanders of Islam. It's amazing that this kind of thing can be reported day after day after day and yet Islamic apologists and their allies still insist with a straight face that jihad is a spiritual struggle and that any military application of it is secondary, remote, and rare, if it exists at all. How did so many Muslims get a wrong idea of jihad? They don't answer that one, except to blame the bad old Wahhabis -- which outrages the amply documented historical fact that jihad warfare has been waged from the beginning of Islam, and by the Prophet Muhammad himself, long before Wahhabism was even a gleam in Wahhab's eye.

Al-Gomhuria published pictures of the three fugitives and named the latest two as commerce graduate Ihab Yousri Yassin and teacher Gamal Ahmed Abdul-Aal.

It said Abdul-Aal had left a letter for his family, later handed to police, saying he was leaving for “jihad”....

The ministry previously said the bomber, Hassan Raafat Bishindi, was part of a jihadist group and was tricked into thinking he had five minutes to escape after setting a bomb made from about 3kg of explosives and nails....

What is "Islamophobia," anyway?

In an article yesterday, the journalist and Islamic apologist Stephen Schwartz defined "Islamophobia" this way:

Notwithstanding the arguments of some Westerners, Islamophobia exists; it is not a myth. Islamophobia consists of:

• attacking the entire religion of Islam as a problem for the world;

• condemning all of Islam and its history as extremist;

• denying the active existence, in the contemporary world, of a moderate Muslim majority;

• insisting that Muslims accede to the demands of non-Muslims (based on ignorance and arrogance) for various theological changes, in their religion;

• treating all conflicts involving Muslims (including, for example, that in Bosnia-Hercegovina a decade ago), as the fault of Muslims themselves;

• inciting war against Islam as a whole.

While there may be by this definition some Islamophobes in the world, the definition actually obscures more than it reveals. Does the labeling as “Islamophobic” the practice of “attacking the entire religion of Islam as a problem for the world” mean that it is Islamophobic to focus attention on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet as motivations for terrorist activity? If so, then jihad terrorists worldwide are themselves “Islamophobic,” for as we have seen, they routinely point to jihad passages from the Qur’an and Hadith to justify their actions. Nor is a frank discussion of the doctrine of Islamic jihad equivalent to saying that the “entire religion of Islam” is a “problem for the world: no one is saying that tayammum (ablution with sand instead of water) or dhikr (a dervish religious devotion) or other elements of Islam pose a problem for the world.

Defining as “Islamophobic” the condemnation of “all of Islam and its history as extremist” is similarly problematic — and not just because of the sloppy imprecision of the word “extremist.” Jihad and dhimmitude are and always have been part of Islam. Yet no religious commandment of any religion has ever been uniformly observed by its adherents, and no law has ever been universally enforced. Jews and Christians in Islamic lands were able at various times and places to live with a great deal of freedom; however, this does not contradict the fact that the laws of the dhimma always remained on the books, able to be enforced anew by any Muslim ruler with the will to do so.

Likewise, it may be “Islamophobic” to deny “the active existence, in the contemporary world, of a moderate Muslim majority,” but this also is beside the point. The existence of a moderate Muslim majority is not a question of “Islamophobia” or lack thereof, but of fact. But it is a fact that is very hard to ascertain with certainty -- not least because of the problem of definition: it’s useless to affirm that there is a “moderate Muslim majority” without clearing up the meaning of the word “moderate.” What makes a moderate Muslim? One who does not and never will engage in terrorist acts? That would make moderates an overwhelming majority of Muslims worldwide. Or is a moderate one who sincerely disapproves of those terrorist acts? That would reduce the number of moderates. Or is a moderate Muslim one who actively speaks out and works against the jihadists? That would lower the number yet again. Or finally, is a moderate Muslim one who actively engages the jihadists in a theological battle, trying to convince Muslims on Islamic grounds that jihad terrorism is wrong? That would leave us with a tiny handful.

Notwithstanding that fact, however, it would be silly for anyone to treat “all conflicts involving Muslims…as the fault of Muslims themselves,” or to incite “war against Islam as a whole.” To go to war with Islam as a whole — grizzled sheepherders in Kazakhstan and giggly secretaries in Jakarta as well as bin Laden and Zarqawi — would be absurd and unnecessary. But what does Schwartz really mean by saying that those who would advocate “war against Islam as a whole” are “Islamophobic”? Would that include among the Islamophobes those who recognize that Islamic jihad has been declared against us and advocate resistance to that jihad?

All this indicates that “Islamophobia” is virtually useless as an analytical tool. To adopt it would be to allow oneself to submit to the most virulent form of theological equivalence, and to affirm, against all the evidence, that every religious tradition is equally capable of inspiring violence. It would be to deny the very sensible observation of the eminent atheist (and, late in life, theist, but not Christian) philosopher Antony Flew (thanks to Daniel): “Jesus is an enormously attractive charismatic figure, which the Prophet of Islam most emphatically is not.” To recognize this is not base theological one-upmanship, but a step toward the recovery of realism in the analysis of Islamic jihad, and of a sense that in Western civilization there is something worth defending.

Even worse than all this, however, is the way the charge of “Islamophobia” is used to silence opponents of the jihad ideology -- as has been illustrated abundantly at Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch.

Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer guest hosting the Laurie Roth Show tonight

That's right: Jihad Watch will be on the air tonight on the Laurie Roth Show. You can listen at the Laurie Roth Show website, as well as on many stations around the country. I'll be hosting the show from 7PM to 10PM Pacific Time; that is, 10PM to 1AM EST.

I hope to hear from you. The call in number is 1-800-837-9680.

Global terror attacks tripled in 2004

Not that anyone in power would like you to know. From the Christian Science Monitor, with thanks to Jihad Watch News Editor Rebecca Bynum:

Terror attacks around the world tripled in 2004, rising from 175 in 2003 to 655 last year, according to statistics released by the US government's National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) Wednesday. The figure includes the children killed in the Beslan massacre in Russia, and the victims of the Madrid train bombings.

Terror attacks in Iraq - 198 - were nine times the previous year's total. The numbers did not include attacks on US troops.

The US State Department held a briefing Wednesday on its global terrorism report (formerly called 'Global Patterns of Terrorism,' now called the Country Report on Terrorism) Wednesday, but did not include the statistics on actual attacks, on the order of Secretary of State Condelezza Rice, the Washington Post reported. Ms. Rice had said she wanted US terrorism officials to decided whether or not to release the figures.

The Herald of Scotland, however, reports that the NCC released the statistics after it was pressured to do so by several congressmen. The Herald also reported that former senior counterterrorism official Larry Johnson said the State Department balked at releasing the data because "it might lead to the public perception that America is losing the global war on terror."

"Last year was bad [said Mr. Johnson]. This year is worse. They are deliberately trying to withhold data because it shows that as far as the war on international terrorism is concerned, we're losing."
A spokesman for the State Department admitted that there had been a "dramatic uptick" in terrorism, and said the government will provide the public with "all the information it needs for an informed debate."...

That'll be the day. Let's see the government hold a seminar featuring an honest and open discussion of the role of Islam in today's global terror, the policy implications of this, and positive ways this can be dealt with in a way beneficial to both non-Muslims and Muslims.

Bloomberg News quotes the report as saying that "an increasing number of terrorist groups are seeking weapons of mass destruction."

"Although Al Qaeda remains the primary concern regarding possible WMD threats, the number of groups expressing interest in such material is increasing, and WMD technology and know-how is proliferating in the jihadist community," the report said.

The Washington Post reports that the actual number of terror-related incidents may in fact be higher than even the total released by the NCC Wednesday. The counter terrorism organization is working on a new list, to be released in July, that aims to use "new, more realistic, definitions of terrorism."

As an example of the rules under which the State Department, and his center for the listings distributed Wednesday, have operated, Brennan said the report lists only one of two Russian airliners that suicide bombers blew out of the sky last year. The one that counted had an Israeli aboard. The other had all Russians, which made it a domestic incident.

"It makes no sense to have the definition of terrorism depend on checking the nationality of all the victims," Brennan said.

Indeed.

Speech by ex-leader of neo-Nazi group at Islamic gala appears to be on, again

William Baker update. From the Palm Beach Post, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

To the disappointment of Jewish leaders, a speech by the former chairman of a neo-Nazi group will go on as planned.

A day after a lawyer representing an Islamic group said William Baker probably would not appear at a gala Saturday night, Mohammad Jawad Al-Qazwini said Wednesday he didn't plan to cancel Baker's speech.

"The decision made on our behalf to bring Mr. Baker was not against the Jewish community," said Al-Qazwini, the imam of the Boca Raton-based Assadiq Islamic Educational Foundation. "He will be strictly speaking about the prophet Mohammed. He will be strictly speaking about the Islamic faith."

Al-Qazwini said he is continuing to investigate Baker's background and might decide to cancel the speech at the celebration of the birthday of Islamic prophet Mohammed at the event at the Boca Raton Marriott Hotel.

"It's still not certain if he's coming or not," he said. "We're still in the process of due diligence."

However, those familiar with Baker said they can't imagine why a background check would take so long.

"A two-minute Internet search would have revealed who they were dealing with," said Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in Melrose Park, Pa. "Mr. Baker has a long track record of extremism, anti-Semitism and associating with Holocaust deniers."

Texas: man sentenced for aiding jihadists

Mark Robert Walker update. No mention here that he is a Muslim or may have been motivated by the jihad ideology, although it is pretty clear from his actions. "Man sentenced for aiding terror group," from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

(April 29, 2005) — A 19-year-old with Irondequoit ties was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for aiding a terrorist organization.

Mark Robert Walker, whose family moved to Irondequoit from Washington state in June, pleaded guilty to "attempting to make a contribution of goods and services to a specially designated terrorist organization."

The plea came in federal court in El Paso, Texas, where Walker, who had been a college student in Laramie, Wyo., was detained Nov. 6 at the Mexican border. Prosecutors determined Walker, who also used the name "Abduallah," was an administrator of an Islamic Web site that supported the terrorist group Al-Ittihad Al-Isiami.

The group was placed on the list of specially designated global terrorist organizations on Sept. 24, 2001, by President Bush.

Iran military journal eyes nuclear EMP attack on U.S.

From WND, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

WASHINGTON – In the latest evidence Iran is seriously planning an unconventional pre-emptive nuclear strike against the U.S., an Iranian military journal has publicly considered the idea of launching an electromagnetic pulse attack as the key to defeating the world's lone superpower.

Congress was warned of Iran's plans last month by Peter Pry, a senior staffer with the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack in a hearing of Sen. John Kyl's subcommittee on terrorism, technology and homeland security.

In an article titled, "Electronics to Determine Fate of Future Wars," the journal explains how an EMP attack on America's electronic infrastructure, caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon high above the U.S., would bring the country to its knees.

"Once you confuse the enemy communication network you can also disrupt the work of the enemy command- and decision-making center," the article states. "Even worse today when you disable a country's military high command through disruption of communications, you will, in effect, disrupt all the affairs of that country. If the world's industrial countries fail to devise effective ways to defend themselves against dangerous electronic assaults then they will disintegrate within a few years. American soldiers would not be able to find food to eat nor would they be able to fire a single shot."

WND reported the Iranian threat last Monday, explaining Tehran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure.

Terror Convention in Iran

From the VOA, with thanks to Skeetstreet:

The group called the Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign held a registration meeting recently in Iran's capital, Tehran. The group's aim is to boost its roll of volunteers willing to carry out suicide attacks in Israel and Iraq.

The Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs is often described as "a shadowy group" with no official Iranian government backing. But the Reuters news agency says that "the presence of President Mohammad Khatami's adviser on women's affairs and a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leant some official backing" to the group's latest meeting.

A so-called religious decree by Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani was read aloud at the meeting. Echoing previous statements by Supreme Leader Khamenei, the decree said that suicide attacks are "permitted and relevant in the holy war for the good of Allah."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that recruiting suicide bombers in the name of Islam violates the fundamental tenets of "a great world religion." This violent cause "has nothing to do with Islam," says Ms. Rice:

"Islam is a peaceful religion. And so the notion that somehow flying airplanes into buildings or strapping a belt on yourself and blowing up other people is in the service of Islam is something, I think, that clearly perverts the religion and is resented by most respected Islamic scholars for very good reason. By the way, I think probably rejected too by most people, because who wants that to be the future for your children?"

When even the "reformist" Qaradawi has endorsed it, I wonder which respected Islamic scholars she has in mind.

President George W. Bush envisions a far different future for the people of Iran than signing up for missions of death:

"I believe that the Iranian people ought to be allowed to freely discuss opinion, read a free press, have free votes, be able to choose among political parties."

"I believe," said Mr. Bush, "that Iranians should adopt democracy; that's what I believe."

Terrific, George. Now if you would speak realistically about why they might oppose democracy, as being against the will of Allah and his command to implement Sharia law, and about how you intend to combat that point of view, we might be getting somewhere. Call me, will you?

Workers Charged With Taking Payoffs for IDs

Of course, this has nothing to do with terrorism — you can gather material for pipe bombs and put pictures of Osama bin Laden and Iraqi beheadings on your wall and it will still have nothing to do with terrorism. But what is to have prevented jihad terrorists from obtaining some of these licenses? From AP, with thanks to EPG:

WASHINGTON — Thousands of illegal immigrants have obtained driver's licenses in three states, federal authorities said Thursday, highlighting a security hole that the Sept. 11 hijackers exploited.

Three employees of Florida's motor vehicles agency were among 52 people arrested in a bribery scam that put driver's licenses in the hands of at least 2,000 illegal immigrants, officials said. The case, announced Thursday, follows similar arrests in Michigan and Maryland over the past week.

"With a valid driver's license, you establish an identity," said Michael Garcia, assistant secretary of the Homeland Security Department.

"There's no way to identify whether that identity is valid — that you're not on a terrorist watch list, that you're not a criminal. It gives you a bona fide," said Garcia, who heads the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that coordinated the arrests.

He said the cases do not appear to be related and there was no evidence of any terrorist connection.

Akbar Sentenced to Death for Grenade Attack

He's really sorry now, but last month he stabbed an MP. Oh, never mind: that was just an "opportunistic stabbing." From AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A military jury sentenced a soldier to death Thursday for a grenade and rifle attack on his own comrades during the opening days of the Iraq invasion, a barrage that killed two officers and that prosecutors said was driven by religious extremism.

Sgt. Hasan Akbar, who gave a brief, barely audible apology hours earlier, stood at attention between his lawyers as the verdict was delivered. He showed no emotion....

The sentence will be reviewed by a commanding officer and automatically appealed. If Akbar is executed, it would be by lethal injection.

"I want to apologize for the attack that occurred. I felt that my life was in jeopardy, and I had no other options. I also want to ask you for forgiveness," Akbar told the jury before it deliberated in the sentencing phase.

His life was in jeopardy. But it was in jeopardy from the Iraqis and other Muslims he thought he was defending, not from his fellow Americans.

Five Misunderstanders of Islam held in France for recruiting Iraq fighters

"Five held in France for recruiting Iraq fighters," from AFP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

PARIS, April 28 (AFP) - Five suspected Islamic militants have been detained in France by intelligence agents who believe they were part of an operation to send volunteers to fight against the US army in Iraq, officials said Thursday.

The four suspects arrested Sunday in the Paris area and a fifth detained Monday in the southern port of Marseille were placed in preventive detention, sources close to the investigation said.

One of the five suspects, 39-year-old Moroccan national Said Al-Maghrebi, had been sought for months by several police forces across Europe.

They were arrested as part of an anti-terrorist investigation launched last September after evidence emerged of a so-called "Iraqi network" recruiting Islamic militants to fight US forces there.

Jihadist website: ‘Bin laden dead’

This is a curious story. Why would they announce his death if he is not dead? If he died, and the death were verified, there would certainly be displays of mourning from the tiny minority of extremists worldwide -- and if the media cared or dared to notice these displays, we would get some idea of how tiny that minority really is. ‘Bin laden dead,’ from Ynet News, with thanks to Gabrielle Goldwater:

The London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Friday that the site Minbar Ahl al-Sunnah wa-al-Jama'ah declared, “We now report that the al-Qaeda organization has announced the death of Osama Bin Laden.”

One of the writers on the site, working under the pseudonym “The Mujahiddin’s Pen,” added: “Osama Bin Laden is dead... Where are the mourners? Where those who sent themselves into the towers and tall buildings?”...

Well, sir, they're, um, dead. But anyway, I thought Mossad and the CIA pulled off that particular caper. It is getting so hard to keep all this straight.

Omar Bakri, a radical Islamic leader in London, told the newspaper that the style of the announcement seemed authentic. However, he thought it was a forgery designed to cause tumult.

Dr. Hani al-Sibai, head of the al-Maqrizi Center for Historical Studies, said, “If Bin laden was really dead, the name of his replacement, Ayman al-Zawahari, would have been announced.”

The Egyptian Islamist Yaser a-Sari told the newspaper that Bin Laden is alive and will soon put out a new videotape. A-Sari said the purpose of the report was designed to prepare followers psychologically for the al-Qaeda leader's death – something that could happen at any moment.

UPDATE: See also this from Reuters: "No evidence bin Laden 'dead'" (thanks to Jeffrey Imm for the link).

Al-Qaeda threatens Europe from Balkans

Good thing "there are not now and never have been, in recent times, 'Muslim militants' in Kosovo, aside from a handful of individuals and some Saudi and other Gulf Arab-state cells operating through relief agencies." "Terrorism: Al-Qaeda Threatens Europe from Balkans, say Experts," from AKI, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Belgrade, 28 April (AKI) – A group of prominent right-wing American analysts, supported by several Serbian academics, have claimed that the greatest terrorist threat to Europe comes from the Balkans, particularly from Bosnia and Kosovo which still maintain links to al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist organisations. The experts were delegates at a two day conference, sponsored by the Belgrade University, that attracted terrorism specialists from the region, the United States and Europe.

Yosef Bodansky, the director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Conventional Warfare in Washington, said that the Balkans was a “springboard for Islamic extremism” in Europe and that Iran was the main driving force behind it.

According to Bodansky, Iran was among leading countries that finance and support Islamic terrorism directed against the United States and Europe. “The final goal of Islamic terrorist groups and organizations is to turn America into an Islamic republic and to secure world domination through it,” Bodansky told the meeting.

Mauritania: Jihad is over, if you want it

"Mauritania: Terrorist cell said linked to Al Qaeda dismantled, police," from IRIN, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

NOUAKCHOTT, 28 April (IRIN) - The government of Mauritania claims to have arrested the leaders of a terrorist cell that the US military has linked to Al Qaeda.

The detainees are allegedly part of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), close to the outlawed Armed Islamic Group (GIA) that has operated in neighbouring Algeria for more than a decade, said a government statement issued this week.

"The dismantling of this structure has entered a new phase with the arrest on Monday ... of the main leaders of the organisation," read the statement.

The statement said seven people had been arrested but police sources said 18 suspects had been placed under arrest in two days of raids against alleged Islamists.

Journal prods: Kill Americans

From the Chicago Tribune, with thanks to Skeetstreet:

CAIRO - An Internet journal purportedly issued by Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia appeared for the first time in several months Wednesday and asked why Muslims on the Arabian Peninsula have not heeded a call to hunt down Americans.

The magazine Sawt al-Jihad, or Voice of Holy War, said its reappearance was one of the last orders of Saud Homood Obaid al-Otaibi, a wanted militant killed in a battle with security forces in a Saudi town April 3.

"Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," the name used by the Saudi branch of Al Qaeda, posted the journal on an Islamic Web site known as a clearinghouse for militant statements.

The opening article of Wednesday's issue refers to the fighting in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and asks: "Those who weren't able to respond to the call of jihad, what deters you from hunting down Americans, killing the enemies of God, the crusaders and apostates in the Arabian Peninsula and other countries?"

Let's see. What should deter them. Maybe...human decency?

Jihad jinx: Jammu-Kashmir militants bankrupt

This is the sort of problem the Saudis have been quite happy to fix in other places -- and with their money comes their ideology. "Jihad jinx: J-K militants bankrupt," from the India Monitor, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Friday April 28, 2005,New Delhi:The militants are going through a rough patch in the Valley of Jammu and Kashmir. In a recent interception of communication between the outfits by the security agencies, its been discovered that the outfits are going through a crunch situation at present.

Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizb-ul-Mujahhiddin (HM) are facing manpower, money, weapon and ammunition crisis. And they have started communicating the urgency for these to their people across the border.

"The militants are in a very desperate situation currently. They are sending SOS messages to their people across the border to help them out," said BSF DIG K Srinivasan from Srinagar.

In the latest interception a fortnight back, LeT cadres in the Valley sounded desperate as they asked for ammunitions and weapons.

Jihad set to resume in Gaza

From the Washington Times, "Army says fighting likely after pullout"

...In an interview in Tel Aviv this week, a senior military source told United Press International that the militant Palestinian groups' leaders and operational commanders assume the calming-down period -- or tahadiyah in Arabic -- will not last long...

Members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade "whose commitments are conditional" want to resume fighting, the source said.

The groups are arming, recruiting, training and planning for the next round of fighting, the senior officer said.

Thousands of guns, including Kalashnikov assault rifles and handguns, are smuggled from Egypt into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Prices have dropped, indicating some of the demand has been met.

Other weapons include rocket-propelled grenades, explosives, anti-tank rockets and probably Strella anti-aircraft missiles, the source said.

Some go to the Gaza Strip and some are smuggled across Israel's Negev desert to the West Bank. They are sold to individual Palestinians or to groups that store them. Hamas has its own smuggling system, the officer said.

Egypt and the Palestinian Authority are making "a greater effort that in the past" to stop the traffic but are not doing all they can, he said.

They know who the smugglers are but instead of going after them, they try to seal the tunnels that pass under the narrow Israeli strip at the southern edge of Gaza.

In some instances, Israel provided the Palestinian Authority with the smugglers' names.

"They promised to take care of it, and I have not seen that done," the source said.

Instead, Palestinian security officials warned smugglers that the Israelis were on their trail, he said. The Egyptians, too, "could do much more to stop the smuggling. They know the smugglers quite well," he added.

The second major Palestinian militant effort is directed at developing rockets that can hit the Israeli town of Ashkelon, north of the Gaza Strip. The town of 100,000 is near strategic sites such an electric power plant.

Palestinian rockets have a range of 5.6 miles, and because militants cannot fire from the Israeli-controlled boundary line, they are working to extend the rockets' range and conduct "very many" test firings into the sea, the source said.

Iran Continues Pushing for Nukes

From Reuters, "Iran Says Will Restart Enrichment if Talks Fail"

THE HAGUE - Iran will restart its uranium enrichment program if talks with European Union heavyweights France, Britain and Germany fail on Friday, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said on Thursday.

"If there is no agreement and negotiations collapse, there is no choice but to restart the program," Kharrazi told reporters in The Hague after talks with his Dutch counterpart Bernard Bot.

Iran is due to hold talks in London on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, who want Iran to give up uranium enrichment in return for incentives such as trade deals...

"Iranian people fear a delay. They believe it is their inalienable right to have access to this technology for peaceful purposes," Kharrazi said.

In a related story from Reuters, "Putin Hardens Line on Iranian Nuclear Program"

JERUSALEM - Russian President Vladimir Putin, hardening his line toward Iran's nuclear program, said on Thursday Tehran needed to do more to assure the world it was not trying to build atomic weapons.

Putin, at a news conference in Jerusalem, said Tehran's agreement to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia -- which agreed to supply the material to Iran's Bushehr plant -- "does not seem to be enough."

He said that in addition, the Iranians should "abandon all technology to create a full nuclear cycle and also not obstruct their nuclear sites from international control."...

Al Qaeda Suspect had Saudi Envoy Passport

It seems the Saudis have still more explaining to do. From the UK Financial Times, "Al-Qaeda suspect 'had envoy's passport'"

A Swiss-based businessman accused by the US Treasury of providing financial help to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda carried a Saudi diplomatic passport, according to copies of documents contained in a book published today in Paris.

The documents include a letter from the US Treasury to the Swiss authorities, which says that al-Qaeda and its leader received financial assistance from the businessman, Ali bin Mussalim, “as of late September 2001”. They also include a copy of Mr bin Mussalim's diplomatic passport.

The disclosures, contained in Al-Qaeda Will Conquer (Al-Qa'ida Vaincra), by the author Guillaume Dasquié, will be uncomfortable reading for the Saudi government, which has disputed any suggestions of official complicity in the attacks of September 11 2001.

The January 2002 letter from George Wolfe, then the US Treasury's deputy general counsel, says Mr bin Mussalim “has been providing indirect investment services for al-Qaeda, investing funds for bin Laden, and making cash deliveries on request to the al-Qaeda organisation”.

The letter links him to the now defunct Bank Al-Taqwa and its founder, Youssef Nada. Both have been named by the US and United Nations as providers of terrorist finance.

The existence of the letter has been previously reported by some news organisations, but Mr bin Mussalim's diplomatic status was not emphasised.

According to the book, Mr bin Mussalim was found dead in his residence in Lausanne last June, a month after reports of the US Treasury letter first emerged....

Other documents cited in the book include a flight manifest of the so-called bin Laden flight, in which members of the bin Laden family were flown out of the US in the days after the September 11 attacks.

The manifest shows 29 people aboard the flight that flew to Le Bourget airport from Boston on September 20, after originating in Los Angeles and then flying to Orlando and Washington Dulles airport. This contradicts the number cited in the report of the 9/11 Commission published last year, which said there were 26 people aboard....

Zarqawi Laptop Yields al-Qaeda Secrets

From the Scottsman, "Laptop yields al-Qaeda secrets"

COALITION forces in Iraq have seized a laptop computer thought to belong to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda’s area leader, providing them with vital intelligence on the insurgency which is continuing to wreak havoc across the country.

Air Force General Richard Myers, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has masterminded the "global war on terror", trumpeted the intelligence coup in a Pentagon briefing as proof that US troops were "winning" in Iraq, despite the recent upsurge in attacks that have killed more than a dozen westerners and scores of Iraqis in the past two weeks.

US intelligence chiefs were able to download several leads from the computer’s hard drives, which also contained digital photos of the Jordanian-born al-Qaeda operative.

The intelligence led to raids being mounted on a number of "safe houses" and several lieutenants of Zarqawi being captured, along with bomb-making equipment.

But General Myers admitted the rate of insurgent attacks - currently at 50 to 60 each day - is now back up to 2004 levels after a drop following January’s election, which had led some Pentagon chiefs to suggest that the US could begin withdrawing its troops...

And seeking to offer some positive information on the battle against the insurgency, General Myers said his troops were "close" to capturing Zarqawi when they seized his laptop.

Pentagon officials said Zarqawi appeared to have eluded a team of covert US special-forces troops dispatched to arrest him. When the al-Qaeda operative and his party approached a checkpoint near Ramadi he became nervous and sent a car carrying associates ahead of his own pickup. When US troops stopped the first car, the trailing lorry turned around and fled.

The capture of Zarqawi’s laptop is not the first time US intelligence has gained access to the digital secrets of al-Qaeda. In 2003, US and Pakistani forces captured a laptop computer used by al-Qaeda’s operational planner, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

It was claimed at the time that the intelligence coup yielded a list of at least half a dozen hiding places along the Pakistan-Afghan border used by Osama bin Laden and his supporters...

The deepening security crisis in Baghdad was highlighted this week when it emerged that the British government has dispatched two RAF Puma helicopters to fly diplomats around the Iraqi capital, because it is considered too dangerous to use the roads for fear of insurgent bombs...

Insurgents regularly fire on the British helicopters, but to date none has been hit.

Canadian Killed in Iraq

News from Canada's CBC, "U.S. troops may have killed Canadian in Iraq: reports"

OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs is investigating whether U.S. troops killed a Canadian on the weekend in Iraq.

A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman confirmed to the CBC on Tuesday that a Canadian, whom she did not identify, died on Saturday.

A source told Broadcast News that Ali Alwan may have died after U.S. forces "tracked" a target, using a helicopter gunship.

The source, who did not want to be identified, said the family asked the Canadian government to look into the circumstances of his death.

Dan McTeague, the parliamentary secretary responsible for Canadians abroad, told the Canadian Press that the government is still trying to sort through conflicting reports of how the man was killed...

Saudi Judge Admits Statements

In an update on this story. Mainstream media correspondent Lisa Myers at MSNBC reports, "More evidence of Saudi doubletalk? Judge caught on tape encouraging Saudis to fight in Iraq"

WASHINGTON - Sheik Saleh Al Luhaidan, seen in video seated to the right of the crown prince, is chief justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council. His sermons and words carry great significance.

In an audiotape secretly recorded at a government mosque last October and obtained by NBC News, Luhaidan encourages young Saudis to go to Iraq to wage war against Americans.

"If someone knows that he is capable of entering Iraq in order to join the fight, and if his intention is to raise up the word of God, then he is free to do so," says Luhaidan in Arabic on the tape.

He warns Iraq is risky because "evil satellites and drone aircraft" watch the borders. But he says going is religiously permissible.

"The lawfulness of his action is in fighting an enemy who is fighting Muslims and came for war," says Luhaidan.

The sheik also says those donating money to the fight in Iraq should be sure it actually helps the cause.

"This statement shows the real face of the Saudi government," says Saudi dissident Ali Al-Ahmed of the Saudi Institute, based in Washington.

Al-Ahmed says that while Saudi officials — including Sheik Luhaidan — publicly oppose jihad in Iraq, privately some send a different message.

"He is telling Saudis it's OK to go to Iraq and kill Americans and Iraqis and they won’t be punished for doing that," says Al-Ahmed.

A Saudi spokesman twice denied the tape was authentic, claiming Saudi intelligence analysts determined it was "a crude fake." So NBC News called Luhaidan himself, in Saudi Arabia, and played the tape.

Luhaidan confirmed those were his words, saying in Arabic, "Yes, this is my voice."

But the sheik said what he really meant was that it's not worth it for young Saudis to go to Iraq and that the Iraqis are capable of fighting on their own...

Let's see now, not translated correctly? No. Taken out of context? No, can't say that either...Oh, I know, what I meant to say was...

Iraqi woman MP Assassinated

From Reuters, "Iraqi MP Killed; No Government Announced"

BAGHDAD - Gunmen assassinated an Iraqi woman member of parliament Wednesday in a fresh shock to politicians whose failure to form a government three months after elections has allowed violence to thrive unchecked.

Iraqi police said Lame'a Abed Khadawi, a member of caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's political party, was shot dead outside her house in eastern Baghdad. She is the first person in the 275-seat National Assembly to be killed.

Allawi himself survived a suicide car bomb attack on his convoy this month. Khadawi was one of around 90 women elected to the assembly on Jan. 30. By law, a third of the candidates on party lists had to be women.

Pressure has mounted on Iraq's politicians to end months of post-election bickering. America's top general urged them on Tuesday to form a new government quickly to combat an insurgency he said was as strong as it had been a year ago...

Hopes of announcing a government have repeatedly been dashed during three months of squabbling over the distribution of ministries to rival sects. Politicians had hoped the election would lead Iraq to stability and economic recovery...

Madrid: Chief 9/11 Suspect Denies Bin Laden Links

More denials from Yarkas From Expatica, "9/11 chief suspect denies Bin Laden links," with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

MADRID — A man accused of helping plot the 9/11 attacks on the United States told a Spanish court he did not support Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and had never met him.

The Syrian-born Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, also known as Abu Dahdah, admitted he did back Islamic holy war as a "self-defence concept".

He is accused of organising a meeting where plans for the 2001 attacks in the US were finalised, and of running an Al-Qaeda recruitment unit in Spain since 1995.

"I am not a supporter of Bin Laden's doctrines, and I have never met him," he told the court in Madrid on the third day of a major trial involving 23 other defendants.

"But I acknowledge that I fully support, morally and emotionally, Muslim peoples who defend themselves against their aggressors," he added, quoting conflicts in Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Russian republic of Chechnya.

When pressed by the chief magistrate to explain what he meant by "jihad," or holy war, Yarkas replied: "It means defending oneself. Self-defence."

The 41-year-old has denied all links with the plotters behind the 9/11 attacks. His cross-examination began on Monday.

If found guilty, Yarkas faces the prospect of a prison sentence totalling more than 60,000 years — 25 years for each of the 3,000 lives lost...

Lakhani Guilty

From Reuters, "British Businessman Found Guilty in U.S. Weapons Case"

NEWARK, N.J. - A British man was found guilty of trying to provide material support to terrorists on Wednesday for selling a shoulder-launched missile to an undercover FBI informant posing as an Islamic militant seeking to attack the United States.

Hemant Lakhani, 69, a British citizen born in India, was found guilty of five criminal charges by a U.S. District Court jury in Newark, New Jersey, that began deliberating on Tuesday.

Lakhani was arrested in August 2003 after a two-year international sting operation and charged with trying to provide material support to terrorists, unlawful arms sales, smuggling and money laundering. He faces 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors provided videotapes and taped telephone conversations of Lakhani making the deal with an undercover FBI informant posing as an Islamic militant.

But while the prosecution depicted Lakhani as an enthusiastic broker eager to supply a terrorist group, the defense said he was a victim of overzealous law enforcement in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

What could the defense say? He was "trying to smuggle shoulder-held missiles into the United States and offering to obtain a radioactive "dirty bomb" for terrorists." Other than that, he was a wonderful man.

Jihad in Brooklyn: Firefighters stumble onto photos of Osama, Iraq beheadings in supermarket back room

Oh, and material from which to make pipe bombs (it's in the airbags). But of course, authorities assure us that this has nothing to do with terrorism. From the New York Post, with thanks to LGF:

April 27, 2005 -- Firefighters found more than 200 vehicle airbags believed to be stolen in the back room of a Brooklyn supermarket, where newspaper clippings about Osama bin Laden and beheadings in Iraq covered the walls, authorities said.

The firefighters from Ladder Co. 123 conducting a routine inspection, discovered the air bags — which sell for about $750 to $1,000 each — at the Superior Food Market at 1503 St. John's Place in Crown Heights....

Authorities, however, did not believe they had stumbled onto a terrorist cell, even though the room contained some materials that could be used to fashion pipe bombs, sources said.....

Audeh Hamdan of Brooklyn owns the three-story building, which has 11 outstanding code violations on file with the city, records show.

Hamdan, 53, of Brooklyn, served jail time in the late 1970s and early 1980s for arson, reckless endangerment, weapons possession and conspiracy, according to the records. He could not be reached for comment.

If he ends up being charged with anything, you can be sure that we will hear how quiet, pious, and devout he is, and how inconceivable it is that he could have been involved with anything remotely resembling terrorism -- and that it is only the racism and hysteria of the American authorities that is causing all his troubles.

Saudi chief justice urges fighting U.S.

Bush may have held hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, but maybe he shouldn't ask him to go steady just yet. The Saudi double game continues. From WorldNetDaily.com, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Is Saudi Arabia an ally or enemy of the United States in the war on terror?

The question is raised with the disclosure of secretly recorded comments from the kingdom's chief justice encouraging young Saudis to travel to Iraq to wage war against Americans.

"If someone knows that he is capable of entering Iraq in order to join the fight, and if his intention is to raise up the word of God, then he is free to do so," says Sheik Saleh Al Luhaidan in Arabic on the October audiotape from a government mosque, obtained by NBC News.

While Luhaidan warns Iraq is risky because "evil satellites and drone aircraft" watch the borders, he stresses making the trip to fight Americans is religiously permissible.

"The lawfulness of his action is in fighting an enemy who is fighting Muslims and came for war," says Luhaidan.

Guilty Verdict in Al-Timimi Jihad Case Angers Muslims

The predictable charges of discrimination and claims that the accused -- Al-Timimi in this case -- is a saint. "Prosecution Called 'Overzealous': Guilty Verdict in Terror Case Angers Muslims Who Know Lecturer," from the Washington Post, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Ali al-Timimi is a native Washingtonian, a prolific reader with about 4,000 books in his personal library who grew up among Irish Catholics. His parents worked at the Iraqi Embassy and sent him to a Jewish school known for strong academics.

He had little Islamic education until he parents moved to Saudi Arabia when he was 15. Inspired by a teacher there, he began a lifelong study of Islam. He returned to Washington when he was 17 to attend college, receiving degrees from George Washington University and the University of Maryland, and late last year, a doctorate from George Mason University in computational biology with a focus on cancer and genes.

Yesterday, after he was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on charges that he encouraged followers to join the Taliban and fight U.S. troops, members of the Muslim community said Timimi was a victim of "overzealous prosecution."

"Ali never opened a weapon or fired a shot," said Shaker El Sayed, a member of the executive committee of the Dar Al Hijra mosque in Falls Church, "and he is going to get life imprisonment for talking. What kind of country are we turning the United States into today?"

Sayed said that the jury must not have been able to distinguish between the lectures Ali delivered and charges against him. "The government alleged Ali incited people to buy arms and take them overseas to fire against people, but they never presented anything at the trial to show any facts relevant to any evidence. They only relied on Ali's lectures."

Timimi was a frequent lecturer at the Center for Islamic Information and Education, also known as Dar Al-Arqam, in Falls Church. He recorded more than 500 hours of his lectures and seminars, according to the biography of him posted on a Web site founded by his supporters....

Khwaja Hasan testified that in a meeting five days after the attacks, Timimi ordered the window blinds drawn and the house phone turned off in the event that it was being used by the government as a listening device. Hasan said Timimi urged the men at the meeting to join the Taliban and fight the United States....

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, said that Timimi's conviction "bodes ill" for the First Amendment.

"What he said was perhaps repugnant and inflammatory, but was it really his intent to have people go and take his words and translate that into going and killing other human beings, specifically Americans?" Bray asked.

If that was not his intent, what was? Mahdi Bray calls himself just a poor old country Muslim from Norfolk, Virginia, but he is a master at clouding issues and creating confusion. This is a prime example. The First Amendment has never protected sedition.

America's Homegrown Jihadist

Islamic loyalty is paramount among jihadists. Here is another article showing how even converts to Islam can imbibe this sentiment. Josh Lefkowitz and Lorenzo Vidino on Ahmed Abu Ali and some other American jihadists in FrontPage (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist)

In late February, federal authorities indicted yet another American citizen for working with Al Qaeda, alleging that Ahmed Abu Ali, in conjunction with a number of Saudi Al Qaeda operatives, had conspired to assassinate President Bush. Abu Ali is only the latest example of homegrown American jihadis.

Indoctrinated in extremist Islamic schools and mosques--just as Abu Ali was at the Islamic Saudi Academy and the Dar al-Hijrah mosque, both in Virginia--these young men are taught a virulently anti-Western and anti-Semitic world view that fosters a ferocious hatred for America. Oftentimes, this radical ideology is imparted by mentors seeking to advance the agenda of militant Islam.

One such mentor was Omar Bayoumi, who emerged as a central figure in the 9/11 investigation due to the considerable assistance he provided two of the hijackers. In his book, Intelligence Matters, Senator Bob Graham – head of the Congressional Joint Inquiry on 9/11--labeled Bayoumi a Saudi intelligence agent. Moreover, according to The Joint Inquiry, Bayoumi had “connections to terrorist elements.” That report further noted that an “exhaustive translation of his [Bayoumi’s] documents made it clear that…he is providing guidance to young Muslims and some of his writings can be interpreted as jihadist.”

One young Muslim who crossed paths with Bayoumi was Clayton Morgan.

A former motorcycle racer raised by a wealthy family, Morgan--a fifth generation American--once entertained lofty goals. In 1998, as he stood first in line to hear Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr testify in Washington D.C., he proudly declared, “I want to be President of the United States…There’s no higher calling than public office.”

But Morgan’s life soon took a far different course. After the US bombed Iraq in 1998, Morgan converted to Islam and adopted two names: Isamu Dyson and Cayson Bin Don. While living in California, Morgan spent time with Bayoumi, as well as 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar.

On February 1, 2000, Morgan and Bayoumi drove from San Diego to Los Angeles to visit the Saudi consulate. During that trip, the two men stopped to eat at a restaurant in Culver City. At the restaurant, according to Bayoumi, he overheard al-Hazmi and al-Midhar “speaking in…Gulf Arabic and struck up a conversation,” during which he offered to help them settle in San Diego. The 9/11 Commission struggled mightily to assess this interaction with the hijackers, noting uncertainty about “whether the lunch encounter occurred by chance or design.” Nonetheless, the Commission commented that Morgan’s recollection of parts of the day is “spotty and inconsistent.”

Shortly after the restaurant meeting, al-Hazmi and al-Midhar followed Bayoumi and Morgan to San Diego. Bayoumi immediately helped the two Saudis by finding them an apartment, co-signing their lease, and providing a certified check for the deposit. Then, to welcome them to the community, Bayoumi also organized a small gathering at their apartment, which he instructed Morgan to videotape.

Following this get together, Morgan’s activities are difficult to trace.

That is until he showed up in the most unlikely of places: Portland, Maine, the launch point for hijackers Mohammed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari on 9/11.

Toiling in obscurity as a janitorial supervisor in Portland prior to 9/11, Morgan quickly gained notoriety after the attacks. According to The New York Post, three days after the Twin Towers collapsed, Morgan voiced his support for the atrocity to two Portland police officers during a meeting at a local mosque and told them that he would never tip authorities off if he knew of an impending attack.

Then, on September 26, 2001, he attempted to purchase an assault rifle and a handgun from a Portland gun shop. Thankfully, his effort failed; a Portland newspaper reported that a background check revealed Morgan’s ex-wife had filed a temporary restraining order against him.

But these incidents paled in comparison to what happened on October 15. That day, Morgan became public enemy number one in New York after the front page of The New York Post labeled him a “Traitor.”

With a curved gold-handed dagger and a three-foot sword on his belt, Morgan, identified in the piece as “Isanu Dyson”, told The Post: “I would consider it more noble for me to go and get myself out of the country, renounce my citizenship, end up in Afghanistan, pick up a gun and fight alongside everyone else against the enemy - American soldiers.” In Morgan’s estimation, he was “a Muslim-American, not an American-Muslim” and thus had “a greater obligation to them than to anybody.”

Read it all.

Pipes on border security

Daniel Pipes has an interesting article in the NY Sun descibing "American Border Secrets":

What steps should Western border agencies take to defend their homelands from harm by Islamists?

In the case of non-citizens, the answer is simple: Don't let Islamists in. Exclude not just potential terrorists but also anyone who supports the totalitarian goals of radical Islam. Just as civilized countries did not welcome fascists in the early 1940s (or communists a decade later), they need not welcome Islamists today.

But what about one's own citizens who cross the border? They could be leaving to fight for the Taliban or returning from a course on terrorism techniques. Or perhaps they studied with enemies of the West who incited them to sabotage or sedition. Clearly, the authorities should take steps to find out more about their activities, especially given the dangerous jihadi culture already in place in many Western countries, including Canada.

This question arose in late December 2004, after a three-day Islamist conference, "Reviving the Islamic Spirit," took place in Toronto. The event, boasting a host of high-profile Islamist speakers such as Bilal Philips, Zaid Shakir, Siraj Wahhaj, and Hamza Yusuf, alarmed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), America's new border agency.

Spokeswoman Kristie Clemens explained that her agency had information on how events such as the one in Toronto "may be used by terrorist organizations to promote terrorist activities, which includes traveling and fund raising." Ms. Clemens later added that the CBP has "credible, ongoing information that these types of conferences have been used and are being used by terrorist organizations to not only transport fraudulent documents but to mask travel by terrorists." Terrorists imagine, she pointed out, that if they travel in a large group, "we're going to be less restrictive and try to expedite the processing."

Her explanation hints at why the CBP decided to detain nearly 40 Muslims, many of them American citizens, as they returned to the U.S. by car from the Toronto conference. The travelers report they spent long hours at the border near Buffalo, N.Y., and none too pleasantly. One woman said she was asked whether the wire in her underwire bra was a weapon. Another, seven months' pregnant, reported that border agents lifted her blouse to make sure she really was pregnant. A third traveler quotes himself asking a border guard, "If I refuse to give my fingerprints, what will you do?" to which he got a terse reply: "You can refuse, but you'll be here until you do."...

Five of them are suing -- with CAIR's help, of course.

Were the plaintiffs to prevail in this case, attending religious conferences would instantly become the favored method for terrorists and other Islamists to cross the American border without hindrance. Such a malign implication means this lawsuit needs to be tossed out by the courts.

Federal Jury Convicts Islamic Scholar

Justice for Al-Timimi. From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A prominent Islamic scholar was convicted Tuesday of encouraging followers in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks to join the Taliban and fight U.S. troops.

Jurors reached their verdict in their seventh day of deliberations in the trial of Ali al-Timimi.

Al-Timini faces a mandatory maximum sentence of life in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have said al-Timimi was a respected scholar who enjoyed "rock star" status among his followers and that he used that influence to guide them into holy war against the United States....

Al-Timimi's lawyers have said he only counseled young Muslims after Sept. 11 that they might be wise to leave the United States because it would become difficult to practice their faith in this country.

Al-Timimi's lawyers also announced that the bridges they have been selling are now available for substantially reduced prices. Everything must go!

Taliban drug dealer nabbed entering US

"Afghan heroin king nabbed entering U.S.," from UPI, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Drug Enforcement Administration agents reportedly arrested Bashir Noorzai, an Afghan national, Saturday as he tried to enter the United States. Noorzai made an initial appearance in a federal court in New York Monday, but did not enter a plea, and will appear again Wednesday.

Noorzai was charged with conspiring to import more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States and other countries. If convicted, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, with the possibility of a life term.

U.S. Attorney David Kelley said Noorzai provided weapons and troops to Afghanistan's former Taliban regime in exchange for protection, the Australian Web site SBS reported Monday. Noorzai allegedly has led an international trafficking ring based in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Al-Arian Defense Wants Statements Blocked

Al-Arian walk watch: "Defense Wants Statements Blocked," from the Tampa Tribune, with thanks to Teri:

TAMPA - A Sami Al-Arian co-defendant wants statements from more than 100 unindicted alleged co-conspirators blocked from use in the defendants' upcoming trial.

Those statements are hearsay unless the government proves the people were part of a criminal conspiracy and that the statements advanced that conspiracy, wrote M. Allison Guagliardo, an attorney representing Hatim Naji Fariz.

Al-Arian and Fariz are scheduled to go on trial May 16, along with Sameeh Hammoudeh and Ghassan Zayed Ballut, on charges they helped organize and finance the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel....

Guagliardo wrote that the government should have to prove that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks. It is not enough, she maintained, that the organization issued statements claiming responsibility.

``Claims may be made for purposes of boasting, political posturing, and any number of other motives, or they may even be based on mistaken information,'' she wrote.

But they certainly show the beliefs and priorities of the organization making them, no?

Official: Zarqawi Eludes Capture; Computer Discovered

Let's hope the computer contains valuable information. From ABC News, with thanks to Kemaste:

Apr. 25, 2005 - Jordanian rebel Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- Iraq's most wanted fugitive -- recently eluded capture by American troops, but left behind a treasure trove of information, a senior military official told ABC News.

On Feb. 20, the alleged terror mastermind was heading to a secret meeting in Ramadi, just west of Fallujah, where he used to base his operations, the official said.

Task Force 626 -- the covert American military unit charged with finding Zarqawi -- had troops in place to grab the fugitive, and mobile vehicle checkpoints had been established around the city's perimeter. Another U.S. official said predator drones were also in flight, tracking movements in and around the city.

A source who had been inside the Zarqawi network alerted the task force to the meeting. Officials deem the source "extremely credible."...

What the task force did find in the vehicle confirmed suspicions that Zarqawi had just escaped. The official said Zarqawi's computer and 80,000 euros (about $104,000 U.S.) were discovered in the truck.

Finding the computer, said the official, "was a seminal event." It had "a very big hard drive," the official said, and recent pictures of Zarqawi. The official said Zarqawi's driver and a bodyguard were taken into custody.

The senior military official said that they have since learned Zarqawi jumped out of the vehicle when it passed beneath an overpass, presumably to avoid detection from the air, and hid there before running to a safe house in Ramadi.

Malaysia 'no' to UN secretary-general's plan on terrorism

Indicating anew that the problem is not terrorism. It is jihad. From the Malaysian StarOnline, with thanks to Nicolei:

NEW YORK: Malaysia has made it clear it cannot support the United Nations secretary-general's recommendation on the definition of terrorism as it did not clearly differentiate between terrorism and the legitimate struggles of people fighting for their right to be free of colonial and alien domination, foreign occupation and their right to national liberation.

Its Permanent Representative to the UN Datuk Rastam Mohamed Isa said it also did not address the root causes of terrorism.

"We have noted the important elements on terrorism that are missing in the secretary-general's report, as pointed out by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and are willing to discuss these further with the view to ensuring that they are given adequate attention," he said.

Rastam was speaking at the informal thematic consultations of the General Assembly on the report of the secretary-general entitled In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All on Friday.

He said Malaysia had taken note of the comprehensive strategy on terrorism and would study it further.

"For the moment, we see some parts of the strategy as inadequate.

"For example, it fails to address the root causes of terrorism, political grievances, economic and social marginalisation, regional conflicts and foreign occupation.

All those have occurred many times in the past to non-Muslim peoples without causing terrorism. Now why is that?

"Root causes of terrorism are not founded simply on the belief that the use of terrorist methods can achieve an aim," he said...

Hasan Akbar stabs MP

Last Friday I wrote that "Hasan Akbar's jihad has reached its conclusion." That seems to have been premature: it has now come to light that he stabbed an MP last month, and I suspect he will go on looking for opportunities to kill. But Judge Stephen Henley is unmoved; it was, after all, just an "opportunistic stabbing."

An "opportunistic stabbing"? What the heck does that mean? What about Akbar's stated motives, priorities, and values? I suppose 9/11 was just a case of "opportunistic building destruction."

"Judge won't allow evidence of fight in Akbar sentencing," from AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

FORT BRAGG, N.C. The judge in Sergeant Hasan Akbar's court-martial says he won't admit evidence of a fight that Akbar had last month with an M-P in the restroom at Fort Bragg's legal building.

Prosecutors had asked that they be allowed to introduce evidence of the March 30th fight to show a pattern of behavior. The prosecutors wanted to use it during the sentencing phase where a jury will decide whether to sentence Akbar to death or life in prison.

Judge Stephen Henley said he didn't think what he called an "opportunistic stabbing" two years after the attack inside the Army camp in Kuwait showed a pattern.

Akbar took a sharp item from an office where he was meeting with lawyers and attacked the M-P who was assigned to escort him to the men's room.

What's that? "Jihad," you say? Never heard of it

When did Imad Yarkas misunderstand Islam, and how much did he misunderstand it?* "Al-Qaida's Suspected Leader in Spain Denies Founding Cell That Helped in Sept. 11 Attacks," from AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Al-Qaida's suspected leader in Spain denied Monday that he founded a radical Muslim cell accused of helping plot the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. Imad Yarkas, a 42-year-old Syrian, said he had never heard of a group called Soldiers of Allah until he was arrested in November 2001 and read about the group in Spanish news reports.

"It is an invention," Yarkas said as he took the stand in the trial of 24 suspected al-Qaida members. "I have never heard of it, only in this investigation."

Yarkas is accused of directing a terrorist cell that allegedly provided logistical cover for Sept. 11 plotters, including Mohamed Atta, who is believed to have piloted one of the two hijacked planes that destroyed the World Trade Center towers....

Judge Baltasar Garzon has said the group was formed at a Madrid mosque in 1995, was led by Yarkas and affiliated itself with al-Qaida, eventually helping organize the suicide airliner attacks in the United States.

Yarkas was peppered with questions from prosecutor Pedro Rubira about his contacts with other defendants in the trial and suspected militants abroad. Yarkas insisted he knew them only as acquaintances who attended the same mosques.

*Yes, this is sarcasm.

24 jihadists seized in Algeria

You can reduce the number of the Tiny Minority of Extremists Who Misunderstand Islam in Algeria by 24. "24 suspected terrorists seized in Algeria," from UPI, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

Algiers, Algeria, Apr. 25 (UPI) -- Algerian security forces arrested 24 terror suspects and the army had surrounded up 20 Islamic gunmen in the mountains, it was reported Monday. Security forces in Algiers arrested four Tunisians who allegedly planned to join the Islamic fundamentalist Salafi Group for Daawa and Fighting, which is largely responsible for terrorist activities in Algeria, the newspaper al-Khabar reported.

"The Tunisian terrorists were uncovered after they were betrayed by an Islamic gunman who was in charge of transporting them to one of the Salafi group's hideouts in remote mountains," a source told the newspaper.

Al-Qaida Issues Warning To Those Who Participate In US-Installed Iraqi Government

Note the religious emphasis of the argument: they are trying to convince Muslims that Islamic loyalty demands they oppose the government. From the pro-jihad site Jihad Unspun, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Al-Qaida organization in the Land of the Two Rivers has issued a stern warning in response to those who take part in so-called Iraqi government while claiming to belong to Ahlu asunnah (the party that follows the teaching and practice of the messenger of Allah, Muhammad, peace be upon him.)

Here is their statement, uncut and uncensored, as translated by JUS....

Statement From Al-Qaida In Response To Those Who Take Part In The Government Of Cross Worshippers And Apostates And Claim To Belong To Ahlu Asunnah [People of the Tradition, i.e., orthodox Sunni Muslims]

In The Name Of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds. Final victory is on the side of the believers, and no aggression except on those who transgress all bounds. Peace and prayers be on the Imam of Mujahideen, our prophet, Muhammad, his family, and his companions.

News about attempts by some who claim to belong to Ahlu asunnah, to join the fake political process and share in power with the cross worshippers and apostates, have been circulating in various news media.

Those losers could not be farther from the sunnah of all prophets and the Imam of messengers, our prophet, Muhammad, (peace and prayers be upon him), who mandated the implementation of the Sharia (Islamic Laws of Allah), establishing Islam as the religion on land, and fighting those who reject the Lord of the Worlds.

Those claiming to belong to Ahlu asunnah, race to be in the arms of the Jews and Christians, for sake of positions, social status, and for love of this life over the hereafter. Not long ago, they were racing to harm the true sunnah and its party. Here they are again, doing what they do best, offering their allegiance and services to every tyrant, the curse of Allah be on them! How are they deluded (away from the truth)!

In their heart is a disease and deviation.

{Those in whose hearts is a disease- you see how eagerly they run about amongst them, saying: “we do fear lest a change of fortune bring us disaster.” Ah! Perhaps Allah will give you victory, or a decision from Him. Then will they regret of the thoughts which they secretly harbored in their hearts.}, [Qur'an] 5:52

We announce to the entire world that we are clear of you and whatever you worship besides Allah: we have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred forever, unless you believe in Allah and Him alone.

Annie Jacobsen Gets a Visit from the Feds

Annie Jacobsen is the author of "Terror in the Skies." Here she recounts a visit from the Feds. From Women's Wall Street, with thanks to Jimmy The LGFer:

The four federal agents showed up exactly on time, in a rented green mini-van, carrying briefcases and wearing suits (it was 75 degrees). They came to discuss the events of Northwest flight 327, the now notorious Detroit-to-Los Angeles plane trip I took last June. My husband led them to our house through the garden and, from where I sat in my kitchen, I could hear their comments: nice garden, pretty plants, too bad palm trees don't grow in Chicago. So, I thought, federal agents are people too.

In truth, I was excited that I hadn't gone into labor before the meeting. I was, after all, meeting with the big boys (actually three men and one woman). In the nine months that I've been working on this series, my access to the government has been through mid-level bureaucrats and agency mouthpieces. So here I was, suddenly meeting with agents who have real access to the truth -- and at their request.

On the telephone, the agents explained to me that the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, has been investigating flight 327 and flying DHS agents around the country to talk to various parties -- the flight attendants, pilots, federal air marshals and the passengers. They had saved me for last.

Here's what I find fascinating: while one arm of the government (the Federal Air Marshal Service) has vehemently maintained all along that "nothing happened on flight 327," the other, more muscular arm (the Department of Homeland Security) has been conducting a rather large investigation about it. Based on my 4 ½ hour meeting with the agents, I can tell you that not only have they been investigating what did happen during the flight, but they've also been investigating who botched the subsequent investigation as well as how it got botched.

So what do you say to four federal agents at your kitchen table on a bright Tuesday morning? The first thing I clarified for the agents was that, prior to my experience on flight 327, I had never heard of a "probe" or a "dry run." For the record, I explained, I had never heard of the James Woods incident either. [In case you're not aware, the actor James Woods flew on an American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles one month prior to 9/11. Alarmed by the behavior of a group of four Middle Eastern men, Woods summoned the pilot and told him that he was "concerned the men were going to hijack the plane." A report was filed with the FAA on Woods' behalf but, tragically, no one followed up with Woods or the men. A few days after 9/11, several federal agents showed up in Woods' kitchen. Woods can't talk about what was said -- he believes his testimony will be used in the trial of the supposed 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui-- but, in an interview with Bill O'Reilly, Woods revealed that his flight "was a rehearsal [for 9/11] with four men."]

Standing in my kitchen, one of the agents said, "What I can tell you is this: Mohammed Atta was one of the passengers on that flight with James Woods." (Apparently, this information has never been made public.) With that, the agent pulled out his chair, opened his notebook and started in with his questions for me (at which point the other three agents opened up their notepads almost simultaneously).

During my meeting with the agents, what was not said was often as revealing as what was said. Naturally, the agents "were not at liberty" to tell me anything about the 13 Syrian men aboard flight 327, but they asked a lot of questions regarding my "intuition" about the situation: Intuition told me something was not right. Intuition is why I began noting the men's actions from the get-go. And it was exactly these details in which the agents seemed most interested. One of the agents commented on the fact that I took a lot of hits in the press -- that I was called a racist and a bigot simply for sticking with my gut instinct. To me, the agents' story that Mohammed Atta had been on James Woods' flight was a wink and a nod to the fact that it's fine to trust your intuition. If you're wrong, you can always stand corrected.

Read it all.

Iraq suicide bombings kill 23, Pakistani hostage released

We may be seeing a new tactic from the Zarqawi group in Iraq in favor of twin suicide car bombs. From AFP, "Iraq suicide bombings kill 23, Pakistani hostage released"

BAGHDAD - At least 23 people died and more than 80 were wounded in a series of bomb attacks near a mosque in Baghdad and outside a police academy in the north of the country, security officials said.

Amid the violence, Islamabad said a Pakistani hostage held since two weeks had been released, while in Washington controversial politician Ahmed Chalabi said delays in forming a government were playing into the hands of insurgents.

Two explosions Sunday evening in a mixed Shiite-Sunni district of the Iraqi capital apparently targeted an area close to the Shiite Hussayniah al-Beit mosque, killing 16 and wounding 50.

"A bomb exploded and, when people ran out near the Hussayniah al-Beit mosque, a car driven by a suicide bomber ploughed into them," an interior ministry official said.

Earlier, two suicide car bombs went off outside a police academy in Tikrit, killing at least seven people and wounding 37. Police casualties accounted for five of the dead, police and hospital sources said.

The mosque bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on Shiites, with a suicide car bomb exploding outside another Shiite mosque during weekly prayers on Friday, killing nine people and leaving 26 wounded.

The majority Shiites won control of parliament in January 30 elections, while the Sunni Arab minority, which dominated the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein and all previous Iraqi governments, largely boycotted the poll.

The insurgency that has raged in Sunni areas since Saddam's ouster in 2003 has seen a growing resort to sectarian attacks.

Militants loyal to Al-Qaeda's Iraq frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the twin Tikrit attacks in an Internet statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified...

Islamist Militias Patrolling Basra

"Islamist Militias Patrolling Basra" from the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, with thanks to Saturnine:

BASRA, Iraq -- Sheikh Assad al-Basri says there's no need to worry that he and his Islamist militiamen might recreate a repressive Iranian-style theocracy in Iraq.

That's because the Islamic Republic of Iran is far too liberal, according to Basri, the leading local representative of rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

"Only 5 percent of Iranians abide by real Islamic laws," said Basri, who boasts that he and his cohorts already have blown up most of Basra's liquor stores, punished "decadent picnickers" and imposed Islamic dress codes on women. "The rest of Iranians are corrupt. Look, there are drugs and girls who don't wear hijab [covering] well in Iran."

Iraq's new Shiite-led national government vows it will respect and tolerate all of the country's religious and ethnic groups and will create a model democratic constitution for a region gripped by Islamic fervor.

But on the streets of this once-liberal port city -- which years ago featured a row of casinos and bars along its waterfront -- Islamist militias already have begun imposing a harsh version of Islamic law that has shocked many residents.

"They have managed to impose a republic of fear," said Yasser Qassim, a local journalist who publishes stories under a pen name out of fear for his safety.

Moderate Islamists -- which include Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari's Dawa Party -- won 37 of 41 local council seats during the Jan. 30 elections, with secular former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's party getting only four...

Basri claimed 12,000 local Sadr militiamen have been trained for combat and "are ready to mobilize in case of a crisis." Residents say they already are mobilized...

"They are everywhere," said Muhamad Nassir, a physician who heads Basra Maternity and Pediatric Hospital. "Some of them recently visited our hospital to try to convince us to forbid male doctors from curing female patients."

His colleagues from a nearby hospital -- renamed Sadr Hospital after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime-- complained that Sadr's followers have hung posters of the young cleric inside the wards.

"They watch us," said one doctor, who requested anonymity to protect his safety. "I have received a few death threats. I am afraid to talk. To protect myself, I bought a pistol, which I hide under my shirt."

Basra officials concede the militiamen are creating problems, but they are hesitant to crack down.

"We are going through a sensitive time and we must be cautious and careful," said Muhamad Saadoun al-Ebaadi, the chief of the new provincial council and a member of a moderate Islamist group.

Fear is palpable on the streets. One day three months ago, a female student from Basra University's college of sciences was ordered to cover her hair. She refused to comply. Three days later she was found dead on the road to her house, said her classmates and professors...

Iraq Copter Downing Suspects Nabbed

Four more makes 10 nabbed so far, from AP, "Iraq Copter Downing Suspects Nabbed"

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. forces arrested four more suspects in Thursday's downing of a civilian helicopter north of Baghdad, bringing the number apprehended so far to 10, the military said Sunday. All 11 passengers and crew were killed, including one shot by insurgents.

U.S. soldiers from Task Force Baghdad, working with Iraqi security forces, detained the suspects during the past 24 hours, a military statement said.

Iraqi civilians helped U.S. forces locate the first six suspects, who were captured early Saturday, the military said.

The Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter was shot down about 12 miles north of Baghdad. The dead included six American bodyguards for U.S. diplomats, three Bulgarian crew members and two security guards from Fiji, officials said.

Two militant groups claimed responsibility for the attack and released video to back their claims. In one video, insurgents are seen capturing and shooting to death the lone survivor, identified as a Bulgarian pilot...

Syria Nears Final Pullout from Lebanon

Power vacuum alert from AP via Fox News,"Syrian Withdrawal From Lebanon Almost Done"

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian troops burned documents and dismantled military posts in their final hours in Lebanon Sunday, before deploying toward the border and effectively ending 29 years of military presence in the country.

A few score Syrian troops will remain in Lebanon for a farewell ceremony Tuesday that the Lebanese Army plans to hold in a town close to the Syrian border.

In Damascus, the Syrian capital, a government official said: "Within the next few hours, all the troops will be out of Lebanon."

"What will be left are those who will take part in the official farewell" on Tuesday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity...

"Tomorrow everything will be over," a Lebanese military officer said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity, as is typical for military officials here.

On Tuesday, Lebanese troops at a base in Rayak, few miles from the Syrian border, will conduct a ceremony to pay tribute to the Syrian Army's role in Lebanon, a Lebanese military officer said.

Afterward, the token Syrian force will leave, and there will not be a single Syrian soldier left in Lebanon. The Syrians entered Lebanon in 1976, ostensibly as peacekeepers in the year-old civil war. After the war ended in 1990, 40,000 Syrian troops remained in Lebanon, giving Damascus the decisive say in Lebanese politics...

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week he was delaying until Tuesday the release of a report to the Security Council on Syria in Lebanon so he could confirm the full withdrawal.

Pakistani Sacrifices Wife and Four Children to Mark Birthday of Muhammad

From the Pakistani Daily Times, "Man sacrifices wife, 4 children on Eid Milad in Karachi"

KARACHI: A schoolteacher, Nadeem Ahmed, who was arrested for allegedly killing his wife and four children said on Friday that he sacrificed them to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

The man was caught hiding in the bathroom of his house in Karachi, where police found the bodies of his family with their throats slashed. Those killed included his 36-year-old wife Shah Jehan and his four children 12-year-old Hasib, 11-year-old Fasih, 8-year-old Hamza and one-year old-Fawad. The wife of the accused was also a teacher at a government school.

Police said they suspected he killed his family because he thought his wife was “having illicit relations with a lover,” said local police officer Khalid Bashir. Police said he bought knife from a store a day before the incident. But the accused told reporters from a police detention cell that he sacrificed his family members in the name of Allah to mark the Prophet’s birthday.

“I had no complaints or suspicion against my wife. I loved her and my children. It’s a gift on this great day. I also wanted to kill myself. I will soon join my family,” he said. “He seems to be a psychologically disturbed person,” police officer, Amjad Rashid said. agencies

Islamists Win Big in Saudi Arabian Elections

"Islamists Dominate Saudi Arabia Elections" from AP:

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Candidates backed by conservative clerics dominated the final stage of Saudi Arabia's landmark municipal elections, according to results announced Saturday.

In the kingdom's commercial capital of Jiddah, the seven winning candidates were those whose names appeared on what was dubbed the "golden list" — the picks of fundamentalist clerics.

Five of the six winners in Buraydah, capital of ultraconservative Qassem province, also received a clerical nod, and the holy city of Medina also saw Islamist candidates finishing well. Many Islamists also won seats in municipal council polling elsewhere in February and March.

The three stages of voting were the first nationwide elections in this monarchy. The municipal council posts have little power except for at the local level, but many Saudis jumped at the chance to have even a small voice in politics.

The Saudi monarchy, a longtime ally of Washington, has been under U.S. pressure to make some democratic reforms. But the limited experiment in democracy — only men could vote and run for seats on the half-appointed councils — also appeared to be an attempt to deflate the militant Islamic movement by bringing some Islamists into the system.

The government can balance the makeup of the councils by naming liberals to the portion of seats reserved for government appointees...

"We are an Islamic country and we are Islamists. We will stick to our Islamic values in fulfilling our duties according to the book and al-Sunnah," said winning Jiddah candidate Bassam Jamil al-Khadher, referring to the Quran and sayings of Islam's founding Prophet Muhammad.

Al-Khadher denied there was any coordination or formal list, which would have been illegal under Saudi election rules. However, the list of names was widely circulated on the Internet and through mobile phone text messages. ...

Nabil Qamlu, a liberal lawyer who lost to one of Jiddah's "golden" candidates, accused the powerful clergy of interfering in the elections. Some losing candidates were expected to lodge complaints with the election commission, which largely ignored such complaints made before the vote.

"This is neither democracy nor equal opportunity," Qamlu said. "Who has given them such power to determine whom should the electorate choose.

"For the next election, I must grow a beard in order to get elected."

Abdel-Rahman al-Yamani, who secured the most votes in Jiddah — nearly 12,000 of the 55,000 cast in the municipality — attributed the Islamists' success to popular support rather than a well-organized clerical campaign.

"We are religious people by nature and secular people are not accepted by the society," he said.

In Buraydah, a city known as a hotbed for Islamic militancy, only one of the six winning council members was not among the clerics' recommendations — that was a businessman with strong tribal backing...

CAIR, ACLU Sue Gov't over Border Scrutiny

"Border searches spur legal action by Muslims" from the IndyStar with thanks to Nicolei:

American Muslim and civil liberties groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Muslims who attend religious conferences outside the United States are subject to increased and unfair scrutiny upon their return to the country.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, was brought by five American citizens who are Muslim.

In January, they were detained, interrogated, photographed and fingerprinted when returning to the United States from an annual conference, called "Reviving the Islamic Spirit," in Toronto.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the suit Wednesday on behalf of the five complainants.

The five plaintiffs, all of whom have valid U.S. passports, were among dozens who were stopped at the Buffalo border crossing.

They were questioned, some of them for as long as 61/2 hours, and had their cell phones confiscated when they tried to contact lawyers or the media, the complaint states.

The suit, which names Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as well as customs and border officials, claims that the men and women "were subjected to this treatment solely because they had attended the conference."

The complaint asks the court to issue a declaration that the border officials acted unlawfully, as well as an injunction against repeating the practices around other conferences.

After the January episode, CAIR set up a hot line in case similar incidents occurred when Muslims returned from hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca...

Australian Lawyer: Muslims de-humanized like Jews before WWII

from the Australian The Age, "Muslims 'vilified and dehumanised'"
with thanks to Nicolei:

Muslims in Australia suffer vilification comparable to that directed towards Jews under the Nazis, according to the former lawyer for released Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib.

Stephen Hopper, who was sacked by Habib earlier this month, told a seminar at RMIT yesterday that the public discourse surrounding terrorism served to dehumanise Muslims in the same way Nazis dehumanised Jews before World War II.

"All of the world seemed to be against Jewish people 100 or so years ago," Mr Hopper said.

"Today, it seems like the whole world is against the Muslim people and the same sort of language and the same sorts of techniques are being used to dehumanise Muslim people . . . We should be aware of the consequences of where that will lead us."

Mr Hopper fought to secure Mr Habib's release from Guantanamo Bay, the US military base in Cuba. Mr Habib was held there until January for suspected links to al-Qaeda.

It is believed Mr Habib sacked Mr Hopper because he was upset with the tax that would be charged on $140,000 paid to Mr Habib by current affairs program 60 Minutes as payment for telling his story.

Another speaker at the seminar, Islamic Council of Victoria executive committee member Waleed Aly, was quick to say it was "immoral" to equate the genocide perpetrated by Hitler's Germany with the problems of Muslims in Australia.

"For a Muslim to stand up now in Australia and say 'we are the modern-day Jews in Nazi Germany' would be not only offensive but untrue," Mr Waleed said. Six million Jews died in German concentration camps during World War II...

Palestinians: U.S. forcing Christianity on Muslims

"Palestinians: U.S. forcing Christianity on Muslims" from WND, with thanks to Nobody:

The Palestinian Authority's presentation of the U.S. as an enemy of Islam continues despite Washington's political and financial support of new chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

This week, a religious leader whose salary is paid by the PA added a new accusation, preaching that the U.S. war effort in Iraq and elsewhere, including "Palestine," attempts to force Muslims to convert to Christianity, according to Itamar Marcus of Israel-based Palestinian Media Watch.

The cleric said U.S. actions today were crueler than those of a "Christian Caesar" who, according to Islamic tradition, dipped a Muslim into boiling oil in order to force his conversion to Christianity.

In addition, an old accusation was repeated in an article in the official PA daily this week, Marcus said.

The writer states the true enemy of the Arabs is not Israel but the U.S. and that Israel is merely an arm of the U.S. in its "imperialist wars."

In the article, the U.S. is accused of "grinding the bones" of Palestinian children and "devouring their eyes."

Marcus pointed out the "inflammatory sermon," by Sheikh Ibrahim Mudayris, comes only a few weeks after PA leadership announced it would review the Friday sermons to remove incitement and hateful content.

Mudayris claimed Palestinian prisoners are subject to torture and "exposed to conversion to Christianity, to abandoning religion, [as it was] in the distant past and recently. Yes, our prisoners are forced to curse Muhammad; our prisoners are forced to curse the religion of Allah, our prisoners are forced to curse the essence of divinity."

He continued: "Haven't you heard of our prisoners [of war] in Palestine, have you not heard of our prisoners in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and all over the world, who are exploited and imprisoned, and are offered conversion to Christianity?"...

The article from the PA daily, Al Hayat Al Jadida, April 16, said, "Seventeen years (since the assassination of the fighter Abu Jihad) that the murderous millstones of America have been turning, grinding the bones of our children and devouring their eyes. Not Israel! There is no such thing called Israel! It is America repeating upon us, the Arabs, the tragedy of the Indians [sic] from the dawn of her [American] history that began with this first crime of genocide."

Caged by glass: the men facing Europe's biggest al-Qaeda trial

Prosecutor aims to expose network of jihadists living quiet lives while recruiting footsoldiers for the 9/11 attack and other attacks. From the UK Times Online, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

EUROPE'S biggest trial of al-Qaeda suspects allegedly linked to the attacks of September 11, 2001, opened yesterday in a specially built court in Madrid.

No one has been successfully prosecuted for a direct role in the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. If convicted, Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the Syrian-born alleged ringleader of a Spanish cell, faces some 60,000 years in jail - 25 for each person killed.

Mr Yarkas, also known as Abu Dahdah, is said to have helped to fund the operation and set up a meeting at a Spanish resort attended by Mohammed Atta, the presumed leader of the hijackers, and couriers sent by Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's leader, to finalise plans for the US attacks....

All but one defendant, Tayssir Alluni, sat behind bullet-proof glass. Mr Alluni, a journalist with al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based cable news channel, who interviewed Mr bin Laden after the attacks, is accused of being a member of the terrorist network.

The prosecution is expected to accuse some of the key figures of using trips to Britain to smuggle money to al-Qaeda agents across Europe. Mr Yarkas, 41, is alleged to have visited Britain more than 20 times, often bringing young recruits to meet leading militants, including Abu Qatada, the London-based radical cleric.

The alleged recruits included some of the men accused of planning and taking part in last year's bombing of four trains in Madrid. Baltasar Garzón, the prosecuting magistrate, is expected to give details of some of Mr Yarkas's visits, including one where he is alleged to have handed over $11,000 (£5,750) to Abu Qatada, who the Spanish judge described as "al-Qaeda's spiritual ambassador in the EU"....

Mr Yarkas is also said to have stayed at mosques and at the homes of other terrorist suspects, including that of Zacharias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker who pleaded guilty in an American court yesterday. Also in court in Madrid yesterday was Ghassub al Abrash Ghaylun, who is said to have taken detailed films of the twin towers and the Pentagon.

The tapes were then allegedly passed on to "operative members of al-Qaeda and would become the preliminary information on the attacks against the twin towers", the indictment said...

Prosecutors will attempt to prove that some of the accused are linked to the September 11 attacks and the Madrid train bombings. The trial is expected to last for two months and was adjourned until Monday.

As it was getting under way yesterday, another al-Qaeda suspect was being extradited from Switzerland to Spain. Mohamed Achraf's group of
Spanish-based extremists is suspected of plotting to bomb the National Court in Madrid.

"God curse America!"

"Moussaoui Tells Court He's Guilty of a Terror Plot," from the New Duranty Times:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person facing a trial in the United States in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, pleaded guilty on Friday to participating in a broad conspiracy by Al Qaeda to fly planes into American buildings.

Mr. Moussaoui, wearing a dark-green prison jumpsuit, stood before Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Federal District Court here and said that he was forgoing a trial on the facts and that he understood that his guilty plea meant he might be executed.

But Mr. Moussaoui, 36, a Frenchman of Moroccan heritage who was arrested in August 2001, offered a surprise. He said that despite his guilty plea he had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks.

Instead, he said, he had been planning to participate in a separate undisclosed plot to fly a plane into the White House at a different time.

In a rambling discourse, he said his role was part of a plan to force the release of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind Muslim scholar who is serving a life sentence for conspiracy to blow up New York bridges and tunnels and other landmarks in 1993.

"I am guilty of a broad conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction to destroy the White House," he said, offering a new account of his role in plots that is at odds with the different versions government prosecutors have put forward....

The statement also said that Osama bin Laden "personally selected Moussaoui to participate in the operation to fly planes into American buildings and approved Moussaoui's attacking the White House. Bin Laden told Moussaoui, 'Sahrawi, remember your dream.'"

Sahrawi, Mr. Moussaoui had told the court, was his name for jihad, or holy war....

Mr. Moussaoui offered his guilty plea to all six counts over the objections of his assigned defense lawyers. In a meeting on Wednesday with Judge Brinkema, he also said that he would not contest the death penalty. On Friday, he said that he had changed his mind....

Judge Brinkema, a soft-spoken judge who has been in charge of the case from the start, offered evidence of familiarity with him and his habits as she questioned him closely about whether he fully understood the implications of his plea. She flattered him with compliments on his sophistication about the law, and added that Mr. Moussaoui, who has advanced business degrees from a college in England, "is extremely intelligent with a better understanding of our legal system than some of the lawyers who have appeared in court."

Mr. Moussaoui told her, "I know I cannot expect any leniency from the Americans."

As marshals led him out, Mr. Moussaoui shouted: "Allah akhbar! God curse America!"...

Leading Iranian mullah: "Fight the Jews and Vanquish Them"

"Ayatollah Nouri-Hamedani: 'Fight the Jews and Vanquish Them so as to Hasten the Coming of the Hidden Imam,'" from MEMRI, with thanks to Rebecca Bynum:

The official Iranian news age