Free Republic

Words matter, and in the global war on terror we are losing the battle of words, in a self-inflicted defeat. The consequences could not be more profound. Recent government policy memoranda, circulating through the national counter-terrorism and diplomatic community, establishes a new "speech code" for the lexicon in the war on terror, as reported by the Associated Press and now available in the public domain. These new "speech codes" recommended that analysts and policy makers avoid the terms jihad or jihadist or mujhadid or "al-Qaida movement" and replace them with "extremists" and by extension other non-specific terms... This is more...

Considering IDA’s influential position with the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, and the sensitive nature of the work it undertakes for the federal government, it is distressing that this federally-funded “think tank” has established a strategic partnership with four different Islamic organizations that have been identified by federal prosecutors as tied to the international terrorist network. IDA has partnered with these groups as part of American Muslims for Constructive Engagement (AMCE), an alliance of six different organizations: International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT) Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Muslim American Society (MAS) Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)...

The on-going Holy Land Foundation trial has established important facts about the resident domestic Islamic jihad threat inside the United States. Although evidence brought forward in documents and testimony has explosive implications for US Homeland Security, the intelligence community, and every American citizen, relatively little media attention has been paid to it. This information also has serious implications for professionals, military and civilian, involved in homeland security, DoD plans and strategy as well as national agency intelligence analysts and local law enforcement. The raw documents outlining the strategic goals and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in America, now exposed for...

Below and attached is a Joint Staff DD-WOT unclassified analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood STRATEGIC GOALS FOR NORTH AMERICA MEMORANDUM that was placed into evidence in the Holy Land Foundation Trial a copy of which I sent to you last Friday [but attached again] bundled with other important jihad doctrine and strategy documents. This assessment makes the point that the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered a threat organization and the affiliated US domestic Muslim NGOs and associations identified in the strategy document should likewise be considered part of the Muslim Brotherhood network, that these are “front” functional organizations operating as...

The Quranic Concept of War, by Brigadier General S. K. Malik of the Pakistani Army provides readers with unequalled insight. Originally published in Pakistan in 1979, most available copies are found in India, or in small non-descript Muslim bookstores. One major point to ponder, when thinking about The Quranic Concept of War, is the title itself. The Quran is presumed to be the revealed word of God as spoken through his chosen prophet, Mohammed. According to Malik, the Quran places warfighting doctrine and its theory in a much different category than western thinkers are accustomed to, because it is not...

Q&A from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's Townhall Meeting at Maxwell AFB AL and questioned about US nuclear deterrence strategy in an age of terrorism... Q Well, first, sir, I want to thank you for being here today and likewise thank you for your service to our country during these challenging times. SEC. RUMSFELD: Thank you. Q Sir, I'm sure you anticipate some questions on North Korea's nuclear activities, and I'd like to approach that issue this way. And that is that our strategy and statements on nuclear deterrence need adjustment in the era we're living in today. You alluded to...

The recent Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, in a feat of tortuous logic and ignoring the Political Question Doctrine, has created Geneva Convention protections for international terrorists, something few students of international humanitarian law anticipated, certainly few in uniform ever contemplated. This has detrimental and broad implication for the specific applicability of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the two “Protocols Additional of 1977” as they relate not only to the protection of combatants and terrorists, as appears to be the focus of current national debate, but more importantly to the protection and safeguarding of civilians, indeed to the...

America is at war? —no we are not. Don’t kid yourself. The U.S. Army is at war, the Marines are at war and other elements of our armed forces are at war. But are you at war? Do you feel like you are in a war? Is this war having any tangible effect on your day to day life? As a nation that claims to be at war we are in a grave position in it. America is strategically fixed...

"The Iranian nuclear program crisis is currently presenting the greatest challenge to the national security strategy of the Bush Administration. Strategists, diplomats and policy makers are all hard at work trying to craft a course of action and an international coalition that will dissuade and/or prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons... So absent military action and the West’s acquiescence to a nuclear armed Iran, can Iran be deterred from proliferating nuclear weapons and associated technology? Can we be assured they won’t pass one to a proxy? The answer is no, at least as current US strategies are crafted..."

After months of trying unsuccessfully to develop a common message on the war in Iraq, Democratic Party leaders are beginning to coalesce around a broad plan to begin a quick withdrawal of US troops and install them elsewhere in the region, where they could respond to emergencies in Iraq and help fight terrorism in other countries.

Brazil is poised in the next several weeks to produce large quantities of enriched uranium... ...Contrasting Iran’s nuclear programs with Brazil, White House spokesman Scott McCllellan stated “I think a difference here… that I would point out—if you’re talking about Brazil versus Iran—is one of trust. Iran has shown that they can’t be trusted with nuclear technology because they have hidden their activities for some two decades; they failed to comply with their international obligations.” Trust is a strange choice of words in a world of increasing nuclear proliferation while Brazil’s cooperation with IAEA still remains ‘non-intrusive.’ Brazil has not...

He is the author of: "Are Plans in Place if Schools attacked?" "Proliferation Terror Time for a New Deterrence Strategy" http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/breaking2453439.html "Does al Qaida have nukes?" http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44251

Does al-Qaida have nukes? SPECIAL REPORT Publishing date: 12.05.2005 20:03 Intelligence specialist alarmed by WMD Commission Report By LTC Joseph C. Myers Does al-Qaida have a nuclear weapon? With all of our pressing focus on events in the War on Terror overseas, that is the most important question here at home. Historically the pattern of WMD proliferation in the world has been principally state to state: China to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and possibly North Korea; or North Korea to Pakistan, and maybe a former Soviet Republic to North Korea. I would have assessed it as a “low probability” that al-Qaida...

U.S. Army Sgt. Karim Iraq, who is charged with deserting the military, was released from Palm Beach County Jail this afternoon - two days after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrested him at his father's house in Wellington. Iraq's family is from Palestine, and Karim Iraq was born in Detroit. His case has been referred to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. "He's a dangerous guy with anti-American slogans and a deserter. It's someone we want to get off the street immediately," Richter said. On handwritten notes on government-issued paper, he curses the military, freedom and the...

It happened again this week. I came out of the office to find a flyer under my windshield wipers inviting me to a special informational presentation on God and family values, and how to bring them back to the forefront in America. I'm a parent so the flyer caught my interest. But as an analyst for the Northeast Intelligence Network, my eyes were riveted to the address on the flyer: The session was being held at a nearby mosque. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided it would be a good time for some onsite investigations of the...

The differences between the sessions were striking. Clearly the second session was a recruiting session. Were the women aware of what was being taught in the first session? Certainly those women who spoke Arabic should have been. The reason for concern is obvious: Two different doctrines are being promoted. One peaceful, friendly, warm and fuzzy doctrine is being used to draw people in, with a focus on the well-being of their children. But the Arabic-speaking sessions clearly have an anti-American tone. It shows clearly that as much as we'd like to pretend it hasn't, jihad has reached Small-Town, USA. This...

The deal's terms make clear that Berger spoke falsely last summer in public claims that in 2003 he twice inadvertently walked off with copies of a classified document during visits to the National Archives, then later lost them. He described the episode last summer as "an honest mistake...." The terms of Berger's agreement required him to acknowledge to the Justice Department the circumstances of the episode. Rather than misplacing or unintentionally throwing away three of the five copies he took from the archives, as the former national security adviser earlier maintained, he shredded them with a pair of scissors late...

“If you are a state sponsor of terror, with or without a WMD research base; or are an avowed enemy of the U.S., and you have a public policy that espouses the hope and bent for the destruction of the U.S.; you clandestinely proliferate (buy or sell) WMD technologies outside international agreements and inspection regimes, then you are subject to being immediately held strategically culpable should there be a catastrophic WMD event inside the U.S.."

It's about 8:42 in the morning, and you have just sat down at your desk with a cup of hot coffee. As the sheriff of this small rural community, you are reviewing the overnight reports from your graveyard shift deputies. It was, as usual, a relatively uneventful night.