Free Republic

Controversial Muslim lobby group MEND, which has been accused of promoting extremism, has “exerted decisive intellectual influence” in Britain’s first Islamophobia report, according to a think tank research note. Sir John Jenkins, the former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, made the conclusions in a research paper for Policy Exchange after analysing the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s (APPG) report Islamophobia Defined: The Inquiry into a Working Definition of Islamophobia, which calls for the Government to establish a working definition of Islamophobia as “rooted in racism” and “a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” Sir John found that...

Muslim Group With Links To Extremists Boasts Of Influencing Election A group suspected of being a front for Islamic extremists claims it can control as many as 30 seats in the general election and boasts of acting a "kingmaker" By Andrew Gilligan 04 Apr 2015 A front group for Islamic extremists which wants to let British Muslims fight in Syria has boasted that it is “negotiating with the Tory and Labour leadership” to secure some of its demands. Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) has built links with both parties – and been chosen as an “official partner” by the Electoral...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) – US President Barack Obama Wednesday admitted some of his policies were unpopular and had not revived the economy quickly enough, but sought to rekindle his frayed bond with American voters. "It's still fear versus hope, the past versus the future," Obama said in economically bereft Ohio, pleading with voters to chose "moving forward" with him, rather than "sliding backward" with Republicans. Obama, seeking to reframe the political debate ahead of November elections in which Democrats fear thumping losses, slammed his foes for pitching the economy into a historic crisis, and "moralizing" about the ballooning deficit. But...

Piracy is common off Nigeria and often linked to militants Pirates have seized a ship owned by a French company off the Nigerian coast, taking nine crew members hostage. The company - Bourbon - said the captain had assured them that all crew members were unharmed. Bourbon - which provides specialist boats for the oil and gas industry - said it was working to free the crew. The hostages are from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Indonesia. Piracy is common in Nigerian waters, often linked to militants targeting oil companies. Militants attack vessels and strip them of valuables, taking hostages for...

Nigeria: The main armed group claims to have destroyed a Shell pipeline LAGOS - The main armed group in southern Nigeria, Mend said they had destroyed Thursday evening a "significant pipeline" and belonging to Anglo-Dutch company Shell. At 17:30 GMT, "fighters of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta have destroyed with powerful explosives, a major oil pipeline belonging to Shell Development Company," in Rivers State in southern Nigeria's oil, said a press release the group.

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...

(IsraelNN.com) A Nigerian group threatened to break off negotiations for the release of kidnapped Israeli businessman on Thursday night, using the excuse that Israel National News had referred to its members as "terrorists" in a story published earlier Thursday. The group, the "Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta" (MEND), denied responsibility for kidnapping the 60-year-old Israeli businessman who was working in Nigeria but offered assistance in negotiations for his release. According to a report in Reuters, MEND, which is comprised of indigenous gunmen, said Thursday evening that the Israeli hostage "has been located and seems to be a...

Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." While the United States...

Bush to mend fences in his own back yard By Simon Scott Plummer Last Updated: 1:38am GMT 05/03/2007 President George W Bush embarks this week on a tour of South America in an attempt to revive his stalled regional foreign policy. When Mr Bush took office he declared the continent the focus of his foreign policy. However, the cataclysmic events of September 11 forced the White House on to a different path. Now, with the war in Iraq dragging on and his presidency running out of time, Mr Bush is attempting to finish what he started with his first foreign...

The following are excerpts from an e-mail interview conducted by Brian Ross with a person who calls himself Jomo and the leader of MEND. While it is impossible to verify with absolute certainty that the author of the e-mails is in fact who he claims to be, messages from the same e-mail address accurately informed ABC News and other organizations of impending MEND attacks in Nigeria and provided photos of hostages the author says are in his group's custody. "Ross, Brian E" wrote: Are you the leader or commander of MEND? What is your background? From: Jomo Gbomo [mailto:yahoo.com] Sent:...

Abuja, Nigeria (AHN) - The Nigerian military has launched several raids against oil militants, a few days after they killed 17 soldiers in the Niger Delta. Militants say the army swept through an oil producing community of the region with crushing strength. A militant group dubbed the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said, "In light of this attack on a helpless community, we are at present considering reciprocal action against the military or oil installations in Rivers [State]." A local army spokesman, Sagir Musa, has denied the report saying, "There is no truth in the...

FORT MYER, Va., Oct. 2, 2006 -- It seemed as if it was a typical Washington picnic: Cabinet secretaries, military generals and admirals and ambassadors were all present at the home of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, here yesterday. Marine Gen. Peter Pace greets wounded servicemembers and their families as they arrive at Fort Myer, Va., for a picnic in their honor, Oct. 1. Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Lynne hosted the event. Photo by Mamie Mae Burke  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But the real guests of...

SACRAMENTO — Fresh from a season of cooperation with Democratic lawmakers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger moved Wednesday to appease members of his own party by signing a series of GOP-sponsored bills and vetoing a measure that would have banned homophobic comments from school textbooks and curricula. Since the legislative session ended last week, Schwarzenegger has acted on bills of interest to key parts of the state's Republican coalition: veterans, businesses and social conservatives. On Wednesday, he signed six GOP-sponsored bills, four aimed at helping veterans and two designed to keep children farther away from registered sex offenders. Schwarzenegger also vetoed a...

FOB KALSU, Iraq (Army News Service, May 4, 2006) – With the help of Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, a 9-year-old Iraqi girl is on her way to receiving a medical procedure her parents only dreamed about. Zenab Maan Fares, from the city of Hillah, has a serious heart condition known as Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a hole between the ventricles of the heart. Soldiers from 2nd BCT have helped coordinate her extensive surgery and post-surgery care. The quest began when Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd BCT, conducted a reconnaissance of the children’s hospital in...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Twenty years after alleged Libyan-backed terror attacks spurred the United States to launch air raids against Tripoli, relations between the two are on the mend, if not yet fully normalized, the State Department says. "We are, at this point, committed to the goal of full normalization," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday. "We have moved along that pathway." The first steps on that path were taken several weeks after Libya announced in December 2003 it was abandoning efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Both sides moved toward reestablishing relations after a 24-year break, triggered by...

From 2000 to 2003, California workers' compensation insurance premiums posted double-digit percentage increases -- helping to flat-line the state economy. Now, four months after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 899 to reform workers' compensation, premiums are dropping by double digits -- facilitating the California recovery. Bipartisan cooperation between the governor and the Legislature produced workers' compensation reform that is delivering results. (snip) Even though some of the most important reforms do not take effect until January, the early results show a system already on the mend, and it is worth looking at how far we have come. The State...

America's first lady begins foreign mission to mend fences By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 29/09/2003) Laura Bush, the United States first lady, flew out of Washington yesterday entrusted with the delicate mission of helping to rebrand the image of America and her husband's administration to a sceptical world. As wrangling continued over the future of Iraq, she flew to Paris where she will represent her country today at a ceremony marking its re-entry to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). She will also try her hand at healing the most bitter transatlantic feud for years when...

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union (news - web sites) leaders seeking to close a deep rift over Iraq agreed that force should only be used as a last resort, but could not completely resolve their differences on the prospect of war. Painfully aware that their prolonged and acrimonious split is crippling the drive to give Europe a strong, united voice in world affairs, EU leaders held an emergency summit Monday and passed a joint declaration that was a balancing act between the two sides. France and Germany continued to oppose any imminent military action against Baghdad. French President Jacques Chirac...