Islam Influence Overtakes Pentagon

Stephen Coughlin, considered to be the foremost expert on Islamic Law and Extremism was 86ed from his role to the Joint Chief’s of Staff. The cause, his reluctance to play political correctness with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordan England’s, Muslim Puppetier. England’s aide Hasham Islam pushed to have Coughlin soften his views on Islamic Terrorists… When Coughlin refused, he was sacked…

Islam was exposed a few months ago by Coughlin for having hosted at the Pentagon a terrorist front group for the Islamic Brotherhood known as the Islamic Society of North America. These groups presence and activities in the United States were brought to light during the Holy Land Foundation trials in Texas.

Islam was obviously furious about this and took a personal vendetta against Coughlin, ultimately leading to his firing. Unfortunetaly our Military Leadership and Federal Government are more concerned with Islam’s feelings that our countries safety.

Shame on those that decided to terminate Mr. Coughlin’s contract and enable terrorist sympathizers and possibly supports to run our military. If they truely let Coughlin go because he was “too hot” and controversial, then they should have let England and Islam go as well, it shows they are pandering to the whim of Islam.

Stephen Coughlin, the Pentagon specialist on Islamic law and Islamist extremism, has been fired from his position on the military’s Joint Staff. The action followed a report in this space last week revealing opposition to his work for the military by pro-Muslim officials within the office of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England.

Mr. Coughlin was notified this week that his contract with the Joint Staff will end in March, effectively halting the career of one of the U.S. government’s most important figures in analyzing the nature of extremism and ultimately preparing to wage ideological war against it.

He had run afoul of a key aide to Mr. England, Hasham Islam, who confronted Mr. Coughlin during a meeting several weeks ago when Mr. Islam sought to have Mr. Coughlin soften his views on Islamist extremism.

Mr. Coughlin was accused directly by Mr. Islam of being a Christian zealot or extremist “with a pen,” according to defense officials. Mr. Coughlin appears to have become one of the first casualties in the war of ideas with Islamism.

The officials said Mr. Coughlin was let go because he had become “too hot” or controversial within the Pentagon.

Misguided Pentagon officials, including Mr. Islam and Mr. England, have initiated an aggressive “outreach” program to U.S. Muslim groups that critics say is lending credibility to what has been identified as a budding support network for Islamist extremists, including front groups for the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr. Coughlin wrote a memorandum several months ago based on documents made public in a federal trial in Dallas that revealed a covert plan by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian-origin Islamist extremist group, to subvert the United States using front groups. Members of one of the identified front groups, the Islamic Society of North America, has been hosted by Mr. England at the Pentagon.

Stephen Coughlin, the Pentagon specialist on Islamic law and Islamist extremism, has been fired from his position on the military’s Joint Staff. The action followed a report in this space last week revealing opposition to his work for the military by pro-Muslim officials within the office of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England.

Mr. Coughlin was notified this week that his contract with the Joint Staff will end in March, effectively halting the career of one of the U.S. government’s most important figures in analyzing the nature of extremism and ultimately preparing to wage ideological war against it.

He had run afoul of a key aide to Mr. England, Hasham Islam, who confronted Mr. Coughlin during a meeting several weeks ago when Mr. Islam sought to have Mr. Coughlin soften his views on Islamist extremism.

Mr. Coughlin was accused directly by Mr. Islam of being a Christian zealot or extremist “with a pen,” according to defense officials. Mr. Coughlin appears to have become one of the first casualties in the war of ideas with Islamism.

The officials said Mr. Coughlin was let go because he had become “too hot” or controversial within the Pentagon.

Misguided Pentagon officials, including Mr. Islam and Mr. England, have initiated an aggressive “outreach” program to U.S. Muslim groups that critics say is lending credibility to what has been identified as a budding support network for Islamist extremists, including front groups for the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr. Coughlin wrote a memorandum several months ago based on documents made public in a federal trial in Dallas that revealed a covert plan by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian-origin Islamist extremist group, to subvert the United States using front groups. Members of one of the identified front groups, the Islamic Society of North America, has been hosted by Mr. England at the Pentagon.

Said Girls Double Murder An Honor Killing?

Michelle Malkin brings to the front what the liberal media does not want you to know…

The Murder of Sarah and Amina Yasser Said was an Honor Killing… What is worse, it happened in Texas… More Islamification of the US, Sharia is here in Texas..

Relative of murdered Dallas girls: “This was an honor killing;” father abused daughters

By Michelle Malkin  •  January 6, 2008 07:04 AM

Funeral services–both Christian and Muslim–were held Saturday in Dallas for murdered teen sisters Sarah and Amina Yaser Said. Their father, wanted for capital murder in the case, remains on the loose. Dallas Morning News reports on family reaction–including remarks from the girls’ mother, brother, and great-aunt, who is convinced that the double slayings are honor killings and detailed the daughters’ abuse at the hands of the father: 

Before the service, the girls’ mother and brother issued a public appeal for Mr. Said to surrender. Patricia Said said her husband needed to be brought to justice so that her “girls can rest in peace.” She said that she and her son would remain in hiding until her husband is captured.

“I just want him to pay for what he did to my girls,” Mrs. Said said.

Islam Said has previously disputed widespread rumors and media reports that his Muslim father’s religion may have been the reason for the killings. Some have speculated that the deaths may have been “honor killings,” a practice in which a man kills a female relative who he believes has somehow shamed the family.

Patricia Said mourned the loss of her daughters at a Baptist service Saturday at Rahma Funeral Home.

Irving police have said that they are exploring all possible motives for the slayings. Police have acknowledged that the family had some previous domestic problems.

Gail Gartrell, the sisters’ great-aunt, said Saturday that Mr. Said had physically abused the two girls for years. Around Christmas, the girls’ mother – Ms. Gartrell’s niece – had fled because of Mr. Said’s threats to kill the girls after he learned they had boyfriends, she said.“She ran with them because she knew he would carry out the threat,” Ms. Gartrell said. “This was an honor killing.”

She said her niece returned after Mr. Said told her that he would move out so they could reconcile. Within a few days, she said, the girls were dead.

 

The Ft. Worth Star Telegram also reveals details about the missing father’s marriage to the girls’ mother. They married when she was 15 and he was 30:

Details emerged Thursday about the days leading up to the fatal shootings of the Lewisville teens, who were found Tuesday evening in a taxi that police believe was driven by their father.

Patricia Said and her daughters quit their jobs at a Kroger grocery store in Lewisville just before Christmas, a company spokesman said.

Patricia and Yaser Said were wed in February 1987 when she was 15 and he was 30, Tarrant County marriage records show. The two have had addresses in Euless, Bedford, Grand Prairie and Arlington, public records indicate.

Yaser Abdel Said filed a missing-person report Dec. 26. He hoped police would help track down his wife, according to a report by KDFW/Channel 4.

The incident marked one of the domestic problems that investigators believe may have led to the killings of Sarah and Amina Said.

Friends of the girls have said their father didn’t approve of them dating.

America’s Most Wanted spotlighted fugutive Said’s case. There’s also a $10,000 reward for info.

Dix Six Denied Bail

Federal Judge Robert Kugler rejects defense attorney’s shameful attempt to get the Dix Six released on grounds that they had been denied proper access to evidence. Previously they had complained that they were not allowed acces to the information because they were separated from the general population in jail. At one point they tried to have laptops issued to them to access information, not sure if that was granted or not, now their lawyers want them out on bail.

Interesting, the writer draws the conclusion that since Kugler did not make public the video distributed in jail by one of the defendents, that the Judge did not believe they were trying to recruit Jihadists. The decision not to make the video public was based on the content of the video and the fact that public consumption could prevent finding an impartial jury. He did not state that he did not believe they were trying to recruit other prisoners for terrorism…

Thank G”d this judge had enough common sense not to release these POS…

CAMDEN, New Jersey (Reuters) – A U.S. federal judge on Thursday denied bail to five Muslim men accused of plotting an armed attack on New Jersey’s Fort Dix army base.

Judge Robert Kugler rejected claims by lawyers for the men that they had been denied proper access to information that may be used against them at trial. The lawyers argued the men needed to be released on bail in order to get proper access.

The five men pleaded not guilty in June to charges of plotting to kill U.S. soldiers at the Fort Dix military base, located about 40 miles east of Philadelphia, and to possessing illegal weapons.

They are Yugoslav-born ethnic Albanian brothers Eljvir, Dritan and Shain Duka, all illegal immigrants who ran a roofing busineses in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Mohamad Shnewer, a Jordanian-born taxi driver from Philadelphia; and Serdar Tatar, a Turkish-born convenience store clerk.

Prosecutors’ argued that at least one defendant had been promoting jihad, or Muslim holy war, against the West, among other inmates at a Philadelphia detention center where they are being held, but Kugler said he was not convinced.

The judge, who previously denied bail to the men shortly after their May 2007 arrest, rejected a request by prosecutors to make public a video that they say was used by Shnewer in the detention center to attract recruits to jihad.

Kugler said the “inflammatory” video includes “exhortations” by a figure that looks like Osama bin Laden, and images of dead and maimed people who “could be Muslims.”

Public access to the disc would risk prejudicing a jury whose likely members have already been exposed to extensive media coverage of the charges against the men, he said.

The trial, already postponed twice, is currently scheduled to begin on March 24.

(Reporting by Jon Hurdle; editing by Michelle Nichols and Jackie Frank)

Al Qaeda Releases New MMS Videos

Al Qaeda has released more videos for MMS of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri. It appears they are trying to play catchup on previous released videos that had not been converted for MMS yet.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Al Qaeda video messages of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network announced as part of its attempts to extend its influence.

A still image of Osama bin Laden released by al Qaeda’s media wing, Al-Sahab.

The announcement was posted late Friday by al Qaeda’s media wing, al-Sahab, on Web sites commonly used by Islamic militants. As of Saturday, eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed by U.S. forces in Iraq in June 2006.

“The elite jihadi media group presents the first batch of al-Sahab videos to be downloaded to cell phones,” the announcement said.

Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors and analyzes militant messages, said it was not the first time al-Sahab has released videos designed for cell phones.

He said the group has been releasing them for years, but that between September and December, a few video messages did not come with versions for cell phones.

“They might just be filling in some of the gaps, or just trying to release some that had come out before,” Venzke said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

In a written message introducing the new cell phone videos, al-Zawahri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 figure, asked followers to spread the terror group’s messages.

“I asked God for the men of jihadi media to spread the message of Islam and monotheism to the world and spread real awareness to the people of the nations,” al-Zawahri said.

Videos playable on cell phones are increasingly popular in the Middle East. The files are transferred from phone to phone using Bluetooth or infrared wireless technology.

Clips showing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s execution in December 2006 showed up on cell phones soon after his death. In Egypt, images showing police brutality have been passed around via cell phones including one video that showed an arrested bus driver being sodomized with a stick by police in the fall 2006.

Video and audio tapes from various Islamist groups including al Qaeda are available on militant Web sites but require a computer and a fast Internet connection — often rare in the region — to download.

But the eight videos currently available to download to cell phones by al-Sahab range in size from 17 megabytes to 120 megabytes, requiring phones to have large amounts of free data capacity. Al-Sahab has promised to release more of its previous video messages in cell-phone quality formats.

The terror network has been growing more sophisticated in targeting international audiences. Videos are always subtitled in English, and messages this year from bin Laden and al-Zawahri focusing on Pakistan and Afghanistan have been dubbed in the local languages, Urdu and Pashtu.

In December, al Qaeda invited journalists to send questions to al-Zawahri. The invitation was the first time the media-savvy al Qaeda offered outsiders to “interview” one of its leaders since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Al Qaeda’s Illusions – Update

Remarkable, Al Qaeda thinks they are winning the war in Iraq… According to a video released by Adam Gadahn, the Al Qaeda terrorist from California, efforts of the US in Iraq have failed, as well as other peace efforts in the Middle East.

What is important to note is that he says peace efforts have failed, another words, Al Qaeda and the likes do not want peace, they want war, killing and bloodshed.

Sadly, Adam is mistaken and the efforts in Iraq have smacked Al Qaeda around  and most other efforts, such as the Israeli situation are no worse than before. The only effort that has fallen to the side, and it was not an effort our government really put much into is Pakistan. Hopefully our government and the Pakistani People can effect change and not let the terrorist win there, but our government must put forward so initiatives that will promote a more stable Pakistan.

I think Adam needs to loosen the head scarf a bit so some blood can get to that brain of his… Another desperate attempt by Al Qaeda to try and show it is still relevant…

CAIRO, Egypt —  Al Qaeda’s American-born member Adam Gadahn lashed out at the United States and its allies in new video posted Sunday, marking the terror network’s first message of 2008.Gadahn, who was born in California, said Al Qaeda felt the need to release a statement to ordinary Americans after Washington’s “defeat” in Iraq and Afghanistan and failed attempts by U.S. President George W. Bush and other diplomats to bring peace to the Middle East.

“We felt it necessary to address the American people and explain to them some of the facts about these critical and fast-moving events,” said Gadahn, who wore a white and red headscarf.

“The first questions Americans might ask is has America really been defeated? The answer is yes and on all fronts,” he said.

In the 50-minute video, titled “An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance,” Gadahn spoke mostly in English and sat behind a table with a coffee cup and computer nearby. The video, which displayed the date of December 2007, could not immediately be independently verified but it appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of Al Qaeda’s media wing, al-Sahab. /**/

Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Amriki, was charged with treason in the U.S. in 2006 and has been wanted since 2004 by the FBI, which is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

He has appeared in several Al Qaeda videos including his most recent in August where he threatened new attacks on foreign embassies. In May, Al Qaeda released another video featuring Gadahn, who warned President Bush to end U.S. involvement in Muslim lands or face an attack worse than 9-11.

More of Adam’s tape has been release which includes theats against President Bush.

American Al Qaeda Leader To Bush: ‘We Will Be Waiting For You’

Native Californian Al Qaeda Leader Makes Threats Against Bush Middle East Visit

American Al Qaeda leader Adam Gadahn told his followers to welcome Bush “with bombs and traps” upon his upcoming visit to the Middle East this week.

“The occupied territories are awaiting their first visit by the crusader Bush and the mujahideen are also waiting for him,” said Gadahn, a California native and now an Al Qaeda spokesman.

Gadahn is the star of the latest al Qaeda propaganda video to be posted online by the group’s media wing, As Sahab.

In his newest dramatic gesture, Gadahn tore up his U.S. passport in protest of the imprisonment of fellow al Qaeda followers Abu Zubaydah, John Walker Lindh and Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman.

“I don’t need it to travel anyway,” he said afterwards.

Gadahn made reference to November’s Annapolis conference of Middle Eastern leaders, saying it was a gathering of Bush’s “loyal puppets.” He said the United States has been “unmistakably defeated” in Iraq in Afghanistan and has lost the battle for hearts and minds “in spectacular fashion.”

“They’re about to hand the whole mess over to local proxies who, if they haven’t already, shall soon rue the day they sold their souls and religion to the American devil,” Gadahn said.

Gadahn also made reference to Pakistan, but didn’t mention the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, indicating the video may have been made before her death. Rather, he said Al Qaeda “continues to strike the ruling regime” there as it fights against President Pervez Musharraf’s “farce of elections.”

Gadahn, who is under federal indictment for treason, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. He left Orange County, Calif., almost 10 years ago for Pakistan and has been a regular feature in al Qaeda videos, at first wearing a mask, but he has been appearing unveiled for more than a year now. He often threatens to continue to target the United States at home and abroad.

Despite his rejection of U.S. citizenship, Gadahn made reference to the mortgage crisis in the United States, saying that it was triggered by right-wing fanatics trying to usher in the “end days.”

 

Fallujah

Michael Totten reports on the changes in Fallujah, once a hotbed for terrorists in Iraq. The liberal media does not want you to know that the efforts of the past year are paying off and Iraq is getting to be a better place. Too bad our military was not allowed to do this from the beginning, maybe a surge would not have been necessary.

FALLUJAH, Iraq  —  Michael J. Totten is an independent journalist reporting on the war in Iraq. Here is a portion of his latest journal entry provided exclusively for FOXNews.com.

Click here to visit Michael J. Totten’s Web site.

A sign on the door leading out of India Company’s Combat Operations Center says “Have a Plan to Kill Everyone You Meet.” For a fraction of second I thought it might be some kind of joke. But I was with the Marine Corps in Fallujah, and it wasn’t a joke.

I asked Captain Stewart Glenn if he could explain and perhaps elaborate a bit on what, exactly, that sign is about. “It’s pretty straightforward,” he said rather bluntly. “It means exactly what it says.”

Welcome to counterinsurgency.

A sign outside Lieutenant Nathan Bibler’s Joint Security Station in the slums of Fallujah makes the point a little more clearly, and delicately. “Look at everyone as though they are trying to kill you, but you cannot treat them that way.”

“The threat’s always there,” Sergeant Chuck Balley told me as he looked blankly at nothing in particular. “Everybody is sketchy.”

Maybe they are. But very few people in Fallujah try to kill Americans – or other Iraqis – anymore. It has been months since a single Marine in Fallujah has been even wounded, let alone killed. But at least a handful of disorganized insurgents still lurk in the city. Once a week or so somebody takes a shot at the Americans.

“Do you have plates in that Kevlar?” one Marine sergeant said to me as I donned my body armor on our way into the city. He was referring to steel SAPI plates that fit inside Kevlar vests that can stop even a sniper round.

“No,” I said, and I didn’t care. The odds that I, personally, would be the first person shot in Fallujah for months were microscopic.

“Look,” he said. “You are not gonna get shot. But you should still carry some plates.”

One lieutenant forced me to wear Marine-issue body armor – which weighs almost 80 pounds – before he would let me go out on patrol with him. I felt like Godzilla lumbering around with all the extra bulk and weight, and I didn’t really feel safer.

Running while carrying those extra pounds all of a sudden wasn’t much of an option. Sacrificing most of my speed and agility to make myself a little more bullet-proof might not be worth it.

But perhaps that’s just what I told myself so I could justify wearing lighter and more comfortable armor. It’s hard to say.

What I do know for certain is that Fallujah at the end of 2007 was neither scary nor stressful. No one can go there right now without feeling what is perhaps a dangerous sense of complacency.

But complacency kills. The Marines are reminded of this fact every day, as was I when I traveled and worked with them.

The day I arrived at India Company’s Forward Operating Base, which had been converted from an old train station, all the Marines had to attend readiness training classes designed to offset complacency.

“Too many Marines are getting complacent and lax,” Captain Glenn said. “Complacency is as potentially deadly as an IED at this point.”

 

Saudi Arrested Blogger Fouad al-Farhan

Saudi Arabia has arrested Blogger Fouad al-Farhan, who runs alfarhan.org,  because he was a threat to the “kingdom”, because he supportes advocates the government has deemed as terrorists. The US government has express concern over the arrest of this well known Saudi Blogger, lending to speculation that the people he is supporting are not terrorists, but rather critics of the Saudi Government…

Dissent against the Saudi government and royal family is surely terrorism…

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Bush administration has brought its concerns about the detention of a well-known blogger to the Saudi Arabian government at “a relatively senior level,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.

McCormack, speaking at his regular midday briefing, said the message delivered “was pretty clear.”

“The U.S. stands for freedom of expression,” he said. “It is an important element of any thriving society. It’s a cornerstone of any democratic society. Wherever people are seeking to express themselves, via the Internet or via other areas, whether in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the world, we stand with that freedom of expression and that was our message to the Saudi government.”

Fouad al-Farhan, 32, was arrested December 10 “because he violated the regulations of the kingdom,” a spokesman for the Interior Ministry told CNN Wednesday.

In an e-mail posted on his Web site since his arrest, however, al-Farhan told friends that he faced arrest for his support of 10 reform advocates the Saudi government accuses of supporting terrorism.

In the e-mail, al-Farhan said a senior Interior Ministry official promised he would remain in custody for three days at most if he agreed to sign a letter of apology.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that,” he said. “An apology for what? Apologizing because I said the government is (a) liar when they accused those guys to be supporting terrorism?”

Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Riyadh, told CNN that al-Farhan “is being interrogated for local law violations” and could be released soon.

“The violation is not a security matter,” al-Turki said. “They will get the information that they need from him and then they will let him go.”

Al-Farhan, who blogs at alfarhan.org, is one of the few Saudi Web commentators who uses his own name, according to the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

He was was arrested at his Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, office by government agents who also seized his laptop from his home, the organization said in a statement issued in late December.

The American Islamic Congress, a U.S.-based non-profit organization with bureaus in Basra, Iraq, and Cairo, Egypt, has launched an online letter-writing campaign seeking the release al-Farhan, whom they call “the godfather of Saudi blogging.”

Fellow Saudi blogger Ahmed al-Omran told CNN that he “wasn’t shocked” by al-Farhan’s arrest, but “it was disturbing.”

“All he did was express his opinions in a very obvious way and he didn’t threaten anyone,” al-Omran said. “He was advocating against violence and terrorism.”

Al-Omran said that al-Farhan stopped blogging for a few months in late 2006 after the Interior Ministry ordered him to take down a blog he was operating. But he began again later in 2007 at a new online site.