- MUST READS
- PRODUCTS
- RESOURCES
- MULTIMEDIA
- ENFACTLOPEDIA
- FSM AUTHORS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
- FSM BLOG
- DONATE
- PRESS COVERAGE
SEARCH FSM
- IN THIS SECTION
March 30, 2009
Exclusive: CRC Open-Source Intelligence Briefs
W. Thomas Smith Jr., Director of the Counterterrorism Research Center
LEBANON: Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun – a long-time Lebanese presidential wannabe allied to Hizballah – continues his bizarre public utterances stating that Hizballah is not a terrorist organization. He adds, “Hizballah did not carry out any worldwide terrorist attack, not abroad and not inside the Lebanese border. Hizballah carried out resistance activities against the occupying force in conformity with the UN charter.”
Fact is, Hizballah, which former U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff says “makes al Qaeda look like a minor league team,” has been directly involved – both financially and operationally – in terrorist attacks or supporting operations on five continents. And the terrorist group continues to violate UN mandate. Nothing new here.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Qamatti, deputy chief of Hizballah's Shura Council, said Saturday, “All attempts made for ending the resistance in the region have failed. The resistance is more established and stronger in the field now, weakening the resistance is impossible.”
Remember, “resistance” is simply propaganda code for “Hizballah.”
According to Naharnet: “[Qamatti] went on to stress that the resistance is capable of standing steadfast in imposing a new formula ‘that is why the U.S. and the west are attempting dialogue with the resistance is serious now.’”
Qamatti’s comments reinforce what we’ve said time and again: Seeking dialogue with terrorists lends an air of legitimacy to terrorists worldwide. It emboldens them and enables their recruiting efforts. Moreover, a publicly expressed desire to negotiate with terrorists sends a message to terrorists that terrorism is an effective tool to achieve aims. And our reaching out to terrorists makes us appear weak and desperate in their eyes as evidenced by the Qamatti comments.
NORTH AMERICA: A piece in the American Thinker considers the possibility of “terrorists on welfare.” According to AT:
“The Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, tell us a bit more about the plan for the Gitmo terrorists – but he does so as a throw away line in his first news conference on Mexico.
“Blair confirmed [Attorney General Eric Holder’s] hint that some Gitmo terrorists will be freed (not held prisoner) in the United States. Then he added this little gem: ‘We can’t put them on the street.’
“What he meant was … get ready for it … the terrorists released into the U.S. may receive some form of welfare assistance. You and I might get to pay for the privilege of their presence in our country.
“Elections have consequences. Even if the main stream media doesn’t tell you that.”
ON A NOTE RELATED TO THE SOFT-SOAPING OF TERRORISTS, Congressman Lamar Smith is “calling out” the worst culprits in the latest soft-soaping campaign for what he deems to be “political name games.”
According to the Dallas Morning News political blog, Trail Blazers:
“It's not the ‘Overseas Contingency Operation,’ reportedly the new official name coined by the Obama administration, which announced a new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan this week. The correct term [according to Smith] is still the ‘Global War on Terror.’” As it should be.
The blog points to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s congressional testimony in which she refers to “man-caused disasters” instead of “terrorist attacks.” Napolitano’s comment would be laughable – in terms of the blatantly obvious insult to the American public’s intelligence – if it weren’t so serious.
Smith says: “While the Obama administration is busy playing word games, the world remains vulnerable to terrorism. Changing definitions doesn't reduce the threat to national security. Why stop with ‘Overseas Contingency Operation?’ Why not call the Mexican drug cartels ‘recreational pharmacists?’ We can start referring to North Korea as a ‘gated community.’ Or how about calling terrorist training camps ‘desert day spas.’ It's almost as ridiculous as Iran calling its drive for a nuclear weapon a ‘civilian energy project.’ This unfortunately is another example of this administration choosing image over substance.”
It is also another example of political correctness gone mad.
— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
Reader Comments: Submit Your Comment (0)
| Print This E-mail This |
|
