Free Republic

How The West Was Won The rapid and unexpected decline of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq was officially recognized this week, when Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commanding the Marine Expeditionary Force, turned operational control of Anbar Province over to the Iraqi army and police. Anbar, a vast expanse of desert the size of North Carolina, had been the stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. For years, foreign fighters loyal to al-Qaida had sneaked across Iraq's northwestern border with Syria, into Anbar and down a "rat line" of safe houses in Haditha, Ramadi and Hit. From Fallujah, the arch terrorist Zarqawi...

Abu Qatada, wanted by Jordan for involvement in terrorist attacks, strolls down a London street, carrying groceries paid for by the British taxpayer. Beside him, on a mobile phone, apparently acting as a go-between, is Yasser Al-Sirri, wanted by Egypt for aiding an assassination attempt in 1993 of the then Prime Minister with a car bomb, which instead killed a young girl. Both these men despise the country that is sheltering them. [...] Supported by state benefits, Qatada began preaching in local mosques his blood-thirsty anti-Jewish and anti-Christian messages and calling for Muslims to kill non-Muslims. Because of a toxic...

Fundamentalist groups hold conference in London   07/16/2002 BBC Monitoring Source: Al-Sharq al-Awsat web site, London, in Arabic 14 Jul 02/BBC Monitoring/(c) BBC     UK-based fundamentalist groups have held a conference in London at which they denounced US policies against Muslims and the harassment suffered by Muslims in Europe. An e-mail from Palestinian fundamentalist Abu-Qatadah, believed by Western agencies to be Al-Qa'idah's spiritual leader in the West, was read out in which he said that the battle with the Taleban was not yet over and that victory was at hand. Another speaker said it was the duty of...