Posted on 03/20/2004 1:43:38 PM PST by quidnunc
When it comes to terrorism, Steven Emerson has every right to say he told us so.
The award-winning investigative journalist and international terrorism expert spent the last half of the 1990s warning, very presciently, about militant Islamic activities in the United States in PBS documentaries such as "Jihad in America" (1996) and before Congressional hearings.
Before 9/11 hit us, what Emerson mostly got for his digging was slander from mainstream media for being an "Islamophobe" and death threats from Islamic thugs. NPR blacklisted him, which is probably a good thing. Here is what he was saying in May of 2001:
"Al-Qaida is … planning new attacks on the U.S. …. (It has) learned, for example, how to destroy large buildings.... Al Qaida and other terrorist groups … have silently declared war on the U.S.; in turn, we must fight them as we would in a war.''Not surprisingly, the executive director of the Investigative Project and author of "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us" gets more respect today. I talked to him by phone Wednesday from his offices in Washington, D.C.
Q: Is America safer today from an attack by terrorists than it was on Sept. 12, 2001?
A: Up until the Madrid bombings, I would have said definitely safer, not safe. I think the Madrid bombings showed the ability of (Osama) bin Laden's organization to reconstitute itself thoroughly under our radar screen.
Q: What have we done best here in the states to defend ourselves from al-Qaida or their ilk?
A: I think the joint approach of seizing terrorists' assets, of freezing the conduits, the bank accounts and front groups, as well as prosecuting terrorist sleeper cells and the financial coordinators, has been absolutely critical to the success in the war on terrorism.
Q: Where have we failed in fighting this war?
A: In looking at the war against militant Islamic fundamentalism, there are two components. One is the criminal attack on those who are violating the law by either carrying out attacks or assisting those who carry out attacks.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
Take my camel, please.
I just flew in from Mecca, and boy, are my arms tired....
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