Threat Matrix: November 2006

Posting these links for JustPiper per her e-mail request:

Snip: I don't recall seeing an unconditional terrorist surrender video, so any suggestion of troop withdrawal had better mean that it's time for the U.S. to start annihilating terrorists faster so they can wrap this whole Iraq thing up. Any other implication is unacceptable.

In this case, I suggest the Emeril "BAM! Kick it up a notch!" Lagasse military strategy.

The areas of Iraq where insurgency is still an issue need to be treated to a military airshow, featuring interactive bomb-dodging.

Let's call it the U.S. Peace Through Superior Firepower Exposition 2007.

The same type of show was a resounding success in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Japanese Emperor Hirohito was so blown away that he realized he couldn't top the act, and settled for it being the war's grand finale.

This strategy bypasses all the handwringing over whether to shoot the enemy on the spot (as has always been a soldier's right, since the Peace of Westphalia), or allow him to complain about having to make naked pyramids in jail.

Hiroshima/Nagasaki saw a quarter-million civilian deaths. Nowadays, liberals have made war into something like a trip to the produce section of the local supermarket, where we have to paw through a pile of nectarines, separating the good ones from the rotten.

Liberals also seem to think that because the terrorists are using guns and backpack bombs as weapons, the U.S. can't break out the shiny, expensive toys.

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"US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely"
AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/13/06 | Matt Apuzzo - ap

Posted on 11/13/2006 8:39:46 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON

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"Ex-Peorian Remains Jailed As An Enemy Combatant"
PJStar.com ^ | 9/8/06 | ANDY KRAVETZ

Posted on 09/09/2006 7:56:45 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1738211/posts?page=7#7

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"White middle class woman shunned after marrying Algerian terror suspect"
The Daily Mail ^ | 13th November 2006 | DAN NEEWLING

Posted on 11/14/2006 12:35:51 AM PST by Mrs Ivan

Very well stated, MamaDearest.

Thanks for the additional info, Velveeta.

Ditto that.

Thanks MamaDearest for those Tamiflu links.
I wonder if the the people who have had problems
with Tamiflu are/were on other medication prior
to taking Tamiflu.

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http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061113-104200-6874r.htm

"Hezbollah's thirst for added powers threatens peace"
By David R. Sands
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 14, 2006

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PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

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http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200611/INT20061114a.html

"Vietnam Removed From List of Religious Freedom Abusers"
By Kate Monaghan
CNSNews.com Correspondent
November 14, 2006

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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06110054.htm

Monday, November 13, 2006

"Leaked Vietnamese Government Manual Outlines Plan to Subdue Protestants"

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

NOTE: The following text is a quote:

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06110049.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Indonesia’s Aceh as a model for Thailand’s south?

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- Not all Muslims want to live under Sharia Law (the constitution of political Islam). Non-Muslims definitely don't. When Jakarta granted Aceh autonomy and the right to enact Sharia Law it brought peace to Jakarta, but at the expense of the Acehnese. The implementation, subsequent expansion and impact of Sharia in Aceh is the subject of the latter part of this posting.

Now Thailand's military-appointed Prime Minister is proposing the "Aceh model" as a means of ending the Islamic insurgency in Thailand's deep south. This would doubtless bring peace to Bangkok, but it would be at the expense of the southern Thai, 20 percent of whom are Buddhist (not even "People of the Book"!). Southern Thai would pay for this "peace" with their lives as Islamic terrorism morphs into religious persecution and ethnic cleansing.
It may be relevant to note that Thailand's new interim Prime Minister, Surayud Chulanont, was appointed by coup-leader and Army Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, Thailand's first Muslim Army Chief. They have a close relationship. Surayud Chulanont, a former member of King Bhumibol Adulyadej Privy Council, played a key role in the promotion of General Boonyaratkalin to position of Army Chief. The recently installed cabinet is allegedly little more than a political front for the military, and while Thailand is less than five percent Muslim, the most significant and powerful posts are now held by Muslims. The Defence Minister, Boonrawd Somtas, is a Muslim; and the Interior Minister, Aree Wongarya, is also a Muslim.

THAILAND'S SOUTH

Muslims count for only 4.6 percent of the 65 million population of Thailand, but are concentrated in the southern-most provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat where they form majorities. According to the 2000 census, Muslims represent 69 percent of the 415,000 residents in Yala; 88 percent of the 600,000 residents of Pattani; and 82 percent of the 662,000 residents of Narathiwat. Around 90 percent of Thai Muslims are ethnic Malay and speak a Malay dialect.

While a separatist struggle has simmered in the deep south for decades, the Islamic insurgency which erupted in earnest on 4 January 2004 has now claimed more than 1,700 lives. Most Christians and Christian ministries have fled the region. Militant Islamists target Buddhist monks (who are frequently decapitated), government-run schools, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues (which are frequently bombed), as well as Thai soldiers, police, checkpoints and other pro-government individuals or institutions. On Thursday 9 November, eight car and motorcycle showrooms were bombed almost simultaneously at noon in Yala, leaving nine wounded.

While Thai Muslims have historically been well assimilated, several factors have contributed to the growing Islamic unrest and the rise of Islamic terrorism in the Muslim-majority southern provinces.

In May 2005, International Crisis Group (ICG) asserted that despite the rise in "puritanical strains of Islam", "Muslim anger at the deployment of Thai troops in Iraq" and the growth in "Islamic consciousness and a sense of persecution and solidarity with fellow Muslims", the violence in the south is not an Islamic jihad and is driven by local issues. ICG cites "historic issues" as well as discrimination, the heavy handed tactics employed by the Thai police and military, and the government's tendency to send its most inept and corrupt officials to posts in the Muslim south, frustrating the local population there, as examples of local issues driving the insurgency. (Link 1)

While these issues are definitely historic and contributing factors, the pre-eminent factor behind the present insurgency is undoubtedly radicalisation. As GlobalSecurity.org noted in mid 2004, "Authorities have known for quite some time that many Muslim Thai activists went overseas to Islamic schools, where they came under influence of hard-line teachers. Some were reported to have joined the jihad war against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan and returned to Thailand as extremists." (Link 2)

Yet it is well known that radicalisation does not affect all Muslims. Many Muslims, especially in south-east Asia, actively resist the introduction of radical (Wahhabi) elements and ideology. For this they are labeled "apostates" by the bearers of "true Islam", and are persecuted and sometimes killed for their efforts.

Samart Disuma is one such Muslim. Samart, a community leader, has resisted radical and separatist elements in the southern province of Yala for decades. These days he and his family live in a virtual fortress. Rungrawee C. Pinyorat writes, "While critical of government policies, a number of Muslims in the south work for reconciliation and show no desire to live in a separate nation. Although Samart's fortress has never been attacked, at least three Muslims in his village have been slain in the past two years.

"Over the years, the separatist movement has waxed and waned but never completely ceased. In January 2004 it suddenly surged, and when the government failed to ensure people's safety, more Muslims and Buddhists turned to guns for self protection." (Link 3)

According to Samart there have been sporadic clashes between separatist rebels and security forces for decades. But he says today's violence is different – it is more rampant and increasingly indiscriminate. And whereas the old-time separatist rebels used to operate from bases in the jungle, today's insurgents operate from within village communities, putting everyone at risk.

Regardless of their claims, political and militant Islamist leaders never speak for all Muslims. Clearly they are not speaking for Muslims like Samart.

THAI PM PROPOSES "ACEH" SOLUTION FOR SOUTH

Reuters reported on 22 October: "Surayud Chulanont, the former army chief appointed prime minister by the military, has said he wants a peaceful solution to the violence and offered talks with militant leaders, a policy u-turn from the days of Thaksin.

"During an official visit to Jakarta on Saturday, Surayud hailed Indonesia's Aceh peace accord signed in Helsinki last year to end a separatist insurgency which had seen more than 15,000 killed since 1979.

"'Indonesia has set a model in solving the conflict in the Aceh province successfully,' a Thai government Web site, www.thaigov.go.th, quoted Surayud as telling Indonesian media after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"'The Aceh model is a good example to bring peace to southern Thailand,' the Web site reported on Sunday." (Link 4)

Thai News Agency reported on 8 November: "Prime Minister Surayud said that Thailand will not let go of the territory of the south, but that the government was open to negotiate various forms of polity including self-rule, autonomy and the establishment of sharia (Muslim religious) law in place of Thai civil law." (Link 5)

INDONESIA'S ACEH: WHAT HAS SHARIA ACHIEVED

When Jakarta ended the insurgency in Aceh by granting the Acehnese autonomy and the right to implement Sharia Law, it was appeasing the real power-brokers behind the insurgency: the Islamists. The deal ensured that Aceh's Islamists would no longer be Jakarta's problem, only Aceh's.

International Crisis Group (ICG) issued a report in July 2006 entitled "Islamic Law and Criminal Justice in Aceh". (Link 6)

This is an important and valuable report because the implementation and expansion of Sharia in Aceh can serve as a model to demonstrate how Sharia not only divides Muslims, but has a tendency to expand once implemented.

The ICG report notes that the Muslim Acehnese have long been divided over Sharia. During Indonesia's battle for independence Acehnese elites clearly expressed their preference for Dutch-style secular administration. Even Aceh's ulama (religious scholars) were divided between those who favoured secular administration and those who wanted an Islamic State based on Sharia Law. ICG notes that for many, the issue had more to do with power than ideology – the elites did not want a religious bureaucracy established that could expand and threaten their authority, while the Islamists were determined to establish a formal religious bureaucracy from where they could expand and advance their influence and power.

ICG notes that the leader of the Acehnese Islamists, Daud Beureueh, led the Acehnese in jihad against the "kafir" Dutch occupier specifically with the aim of achieving an Islamic state. Sukarno courted and rewarded Beureueh with assurances that Indonesia would be built on Islamic principles and Aceh would have Sharia Law. This was radical as Sharia had no historic precedent in Aceh.

After Suharto's downfall, President Habibie offered Islamic Law to Aceh as a political solution to Acehnese unrest and disaffection, which really arose out of neglect and frustration. ICG reports that Jakarta regarded Sharia law as "something the Acehnese wanted (although how much was debatable – after the Indonesian parliament granted it, one Acehnese called it an 'unwanted gift', and he was not alone)". (ICG p 4)

Since Sharia has been legitimised and implemented in Aceh it has expanded considerably, for the religious bureaucracy tasked with codifying and implementing Sharia in Aceh is committed to "its own expansion; a focus on legislating and enforcing morality; and a quiet power struggle with secular law enforcement".

According to ICG, many Acehnese worry "that extension of Shari'a has been taken on as an agenda by conservative organisations. . . Women's organisations have been particularly active in raising questions about proposed changes to the khalwat qanun [laws on relationships between men and women] but in general, the conservatives, who support more extensive Shari'a application, are more vocal than those concerned about its consequences". (ICG p7)

The religious bureaucracy constantly extends the reach of Sharia by revising legislation and increasing the number of crimes that can be dealt with by the Sharia Courts. It has already been proposed that revisions be made to the laws covering khalwat (illicit relationships between men and women) so that any woman who alleges she was raped must follow Sharia protocols and produce four male adult Muslim eye-witnesses to support her claim in order to prove it. If she cannot, she will be found guilty of making a false accusation of rape, guilty of illicit sex, and caned accordingly.

In 2004, Aceh established the highly unpopular vice and virtue patrol, the wilayatul hisbah (WH), which is responsible for monitoring compliance with Islamic law. Not only has Aceh's WH already grown from 13 members to 33 in one year, its powers are constantly increasing. What's more, the very presence of the WH is fueling the rise of hard-line Islamic vigilantism.

ICG also notes that as the religious bureaucracy expands it will rely more and more on young recruits who are motivated primarily by their contacts with intolerant radical foreign elements, in particular Wahhabis, jihadists, and groups like Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

CONCLUSION

Appeasing Islamist terrorists by granting them the right to enforce Sharia Law is a betrayal of all non-Islamist citizens, both Muslim and non-Muslim.

Employing the "Aceh model" in southern Thailand would doubtless bring peace to Bangkok, but it would also close southern Thailand off to Christian ministry and mission; it would strip all southern Thai of their right live with security under Thai civil law and under the Thai Constitution which guarantees religious liberty. It could also result in southern Thailand becoming a haven and base for terrorists.

Most immediately and seriously, it would involved abandoning up to 400,000 Buddhists to their fate in an Islamic State. Ethnic-religious cleansing is already underway. Escalating Islamic terror directed at local Buddhist civilians recently forced all the Buddhist living in the districts of Than To and Bannang Sata, Yala province, to flee their homes. These Buddhist, amounting to 122 people, or 52 families, have taken refuge in the nearby Buddhist temple of Nirotsangkha-ram in Yala's Muang district and are awaiting humanitarian assistance. (Link 7)

Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au

Links

1) Southern Thailand: Insurgency, Not Jihad
Asia Report No 98. 18 May 2005
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3436&l=1

2) Thailand Islamic Insurgency
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/thailand2.htm

3) Thai Muslim village leader builds fortress against rebels
By Rungrawee C. Pinyorat KRONG PINANG, Thailand, AP, 30 Oct 2006
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asiapacific/detail.asp?ID=94005&GRP=C

4) Bomb kills soldier, wounds monks in Thai south. 22 Oct 206
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061022/wl_nm/security_thailand_dc

5) Thai PM presents Thai road to democracy to world media
BANGKOK, Nov 8 (TNA) http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=25844

6) Islamic Law and Criminal Justice in Aceh
(Asia Report No 117 – 31 July 2006)
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4295&l=1

7) Exodus of Buddhists. The Nation, Thailand. 10 Nov 2006
http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/11/10/headlines/headlines_30018555.php
ALSO Thailand: Buddhist flee from majority Muslim villages. 10 Nov 2006 (AKI)
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.358783100&par=0
AND Monks in Narathiwat to cease daily alms. (dpa) 12 Nov 2006
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=114154

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis mailing list.

Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

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"Germany’s Headscarf Scandal"
By Stephen Brown
FrontPageMagazine.com | November 14, 2006

I am amazed that anyone believes that the war on terrorism is creating more terrorists.

That would be like saying eating outdoors is creating more ants.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1738242/posts

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://english.pravda.ru/print/hotspots/terror/13-11-2006/85491-Christmas-0

Al-Qaeda to explode 30 jetliners and trains in Europe on Christmas eve
13.11.2006 Source: URL: http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/terror/85491-Christmas-0

Al-Qaeda may apparently be working on another grand terrorist act, this time for Europe. According to reports received from Western intelligence services, al-Qaeda's terrorists prepare to explode 30 planes and trains across Europe on Christmas time. The terrorist act is said to be conducted at the end of December, when many people book Christmas tours or simply travel to celebrate holidays with their relatives or friends.

Al-Qaeda reportedly recruits most experienced Arab gunmen who participate in the guerilla warfare in Afghanistan. Acts of terror are planned to be conducted on board passenger jetliners departing from London 's Heathrow airport in spite of the fact that the European Union has recently approved a set of strict rules regulating the transportation of liquid substances.

The leaders of the international terrorist network say that the White House in Washington is their prime goal. It was particularly said that Osama bin Laden's organization trains a whole army - 12,000 terrorists - who will penetrate in the USA and attack the White House.

Komsomolskaya Pravda

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov
Pravda.ru

Speak your mind on Pravda.ru English Forum

C 1999-2006. 'PRAVDA.Ru'. When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.

Troubling placemark

Speaking of the number "30" like in post no. 675:

RECAP:

BBC NEWS: "MI5 TRACKING '30 TERROR PLOTS'" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "MI5 knows of 30 terror plots threatening the UK and is keeping 1,600 individuals under surveillance, the security service's head has said. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned the threat was "serious" and "growing". She warned future terrorists could mount chemical or nuclear attacks and that many of the plots in question "linked back to al-Qaeda".) (Last updated: November 10, 2006, 08:51 GMT) (Read More...)

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Tue Nov 14 2006 04:07:06 GMT-0800.

Worldwide Caution
October 11, 2006

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Iraq Minister Orders Universities Closed
ABC News and Associated Press ^ | November 14, 2006

Posted on 11/14/2006 4:24:46 AM PST by bd476

Iraq Minister Orders Universities Closed
Iraqi Minister Orders Universities Closed After 150 People Abducted From Educational Institute

BAGHDAD, Iraq Nov 14, 2006 (AP)— Iraq's higher education minister ordered universities closed after gunmen wearing police commando uniforms kidnapped up to 150 people from a government institute on Tuesday.

"I am not ready to see more professors get killed," said Higher Education Minister Abed Theyab.

He said he had already asked the interior and defense ministries to protect universities and the ministry's departments.

Police and witnesses said about 80 gunmen closed off roads around the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Scholarships and Cultural Relations Directorate in the downtown Karradah district during the 20-minute raid.

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