Obama Claims Victimhood for Extremist Islam

Originally posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

UPDATE July 17, 2008

If there was any doubt how Barack Obama views America on the world stage, his own words now make his position deadly clear.

Obama's July 13th statement defies words. Is he ignorant, a sociopath, or a hardcore Muslim-leaning leftist? The details:

Obama went public and placed unabashed blame on "the West" for Islamic extremism. In an interview on July 13th with CNN's Foreign Affairs Analyst, Fareed Zakaria asked:

[ZAKARIA]: But how do you view the problem within Islam? As somebody who saw it in Indonesia ... the largest Muslim country in the world?

Obama reminisced about the years he lived in Indonesia (late 1960's, early 1970's) and then calmly offered up a very firm opinion about "the problem with Islam."

[Obama] And what's interesting is, you can see some correlation between the economic crash during the Asian financial crisis [1997], where about a third of Indonesia's GDP was wiped out, and the acceleration of these Islamic extremist forces.

It isn't to say that there is a direct correlation, but what is absolutely true is that there has been a shift in Islam that I believe is connected to the failures of governments and the failures of the West to work with many of these countries, in order to make sure that opportunities are there, that there's bottom-up economic growth.

Just to be clear: Obama states unequivocally that "the West" caused a "shift in Islam," and the "shift" caused by the Free World is the "problem with Islam."

Here are reminders of the "problem with Islam," 4 of which occurred before the Asian financial crash.

A hat tip to Korla Pundit who supplied the details of the March 1, 1973 murder
March 1, 1973 - American diplomats taken hostage in Khartoum, Sudan by the Black September terrorists. 3 dead - 2 of them American officials. A declassified Department of State document states [this is an amended document dated May 4, 2006 - 25 years after the murders] :

The Khartoum operation was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval of Yasir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and the head of Fatah. Fatah representatives based in Khartoum participated in the attack,...

...one of the primary goals of the operation was to strike at the United States because of its efforts to achieve a Middle East peace settlement which many Arabs believe would be inimical to Palestinian interests.

The open participation of Fatah representatives in Khartoum in the attack provides further evidence of the Fatah/Black September Organization relationship. The emergence of the United States as a primary fedayeen target indicates a serious threat of further incidents similar to that which occurred in Khartoum

The word "fedayeen" in the above paragraph, refers to (I think) the Black September Organization - fedayeen meaning "fighters for the faith," and not Saddam's Hussein's fedayeen.
See the original declassified State Department amended document at World Net Daily.

During Bill Clinton's two terms in office [1993-2001], Arafat was invited to the White House more than any other international political figure. (Clinton met Arafat a total of 24 times in eight years.)

This deadly serious cartoon courtesy of Raf Nagidimov

When Arafat died, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, shaking with emotion, called it “a grave day for the world,” and instructed headquarters in New York to especially fly the UN flag at half-mast. (This is despite the fact that Arafat did not represent any UN member state, and the UN doesn’t usually mark the death of leaders of even its member states in this way. The UN didn’t fly its flag at half-mast when, for example, Ronald Reagan died a few months before Arafat.)

The Black September Organization executed 11 Israeli atheletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, barely 5 months before the murders of Americans in Khartoum.

April 1983 - U.S. Embassy Bombing in Beirut, Lebanon: 80 died - 17 Americans, 32 Lebanese embassy employees and 14 passersby. Islamic Jihad Organization claimed responsibility.

October 1983 - Beirut U.S. Marine Corps Barracks Bombing: 241 U.S. Marines were murdered and 80 were seriously injured when Islamic factions trucked-in the equivalent of 12,000 tons of TNT, and blew-up American military barracks in Lebanon. Islamic Jihad Organization claimed responsibility, however, Hezbollah - organized, trained and funded by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, is believed to be the perpetrator of the attack. In February 2008, a truck bombing in Damascus, Syria erased Imad Mughniyah from the world's civil societies. Better known to Americans as Hajj, Mughniyah was instrumental in the formation of Hezbollah and was always among the heads of the snake.

October 1985 - The Achille Lauro (an Italian cruiseship) was hijacked by the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) off the coast of Egypt. One American murdered. Leon Klinghoffer, celebrating his 36th wedding anniversary with his wife, was shot in the head and chest while sitting in his wheelchair. The ship's barber and a waiter were forced to throw Mr. Klinghoffer's body overboard. Klinghoffer was Jewish. 400+ passengers were on-board during the two-day saga.

June 1985 - TWA Flight 847 (an American-owned airline) was hijacked by Hezbollah. The airliner was taken over in Athens, then flown to Beirut, Lebanon where it released a few passengers, refueled and continued to Algeria - again releasing a few passengers. Navy Diver, Robert Stethem was identified as U.S. military - beaten, shot and his body dumped on the Beirut tarmac. Over a period of 16 days, passengers were terrorized and flown back and forth between Beirut and Algiers before the whole horrible terrorist act was over.

While cowards commandeered the airplane, a heroic flight attendant, Uli Derickson, hid the passports of Jewish passengers and used her own credit card to purchase jet fuel.

February 1993 - First World Trade Tower Bombing: Terrorism arrived on American soil. 6 dead, over 1,000 injured. Conspiracy theories still fly, but what we do know to be true is that the perpetrators were Muslim. They intended to bring down both World Trade Towers, the plot was enormous - this was no small bombing event. It left a 95' wide crater, multiple stories up and down destroyed. The mastermind, Ramzi Yousef, planned simultaneous bombings of U.S. aircraft. He was captured by Pakistani forces in an Al-Qaeda safehouse in Islamabad, Pakistan, two years after the bombing. He was tried and sentenced in an American court and is serving a life sentence in Colorado, supposedly in solitary confinement. The taxpayers get to pay for his keep and speculate how many terrorist gangs he has organized, and how many apostles he has gained, while in "solitary confinement." His uncle is Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a member of Al-Qaeda and a close association of Osama bin Laden. Yousef and his uncle are both Muslims.

October 2000 - USS Cole is bombed: 17 dead American sailors, 39 injured. It is believed that Al-Qaeda and the Sudenese government worked together to assault the USS Cole as it refueled in Yemen. According to the CIA Factbook, "Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated [Sudanese] national politics since independence from the UK in 1956.

September 2001 -
American Airlines Flight 11 hijacked and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center: 92 passengers, crew and Islamic terrorists dead.

United Airlines Flight 175 hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. 56 passengers, crew and Islamic terrorists dead.

American Airlines Flight 77 - 9:37 am: Hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon. 64 passengers, crew and Islamic terrorists dead. 125 dead in the Pentagon.

American Airlines Flight 93 - Hijacked and crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 44 passengers, crew and Islamic terrorists dead.

A total of 2974 persons are considered dead due to the September 11, 2001 attacks. How many died in each separate building? There seem to be no statistics "by building." I think we know why. Are the 19 terrorists in this count? I don't know the answer. 24 persons are considered missing.

Along with the North and South World Trade Towers, 5 additional buildings in the complex were destroyed and three others were destroyed or were beyond repair: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, The Deutsche Bank Building, and the Borough of Manhattan Community College's Fiterman Hall.

The "Asian Financial crises" (recovering began within 9 months) was multi-layered, but to offer it as an excuse for Islamic terrorism is unconscionable.

As we head to the November election, let us be ever mindful of not only those Americans who have died at the hands of the "government" of Islam, but the thousands injured who will never be able to forget for even one day. Let us remember with certainty, that Obama blames America for Muslim Rage.

Why American Jews are Democrats. An Answer? Perhaps.

Originally posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

I somewhat frequently ask why American Jews vote Democrat. It has been a puzzle for years, and after 9/11, there seemed to be some hope that the Jewish vote would lean to the conservative side. It was a shortsighted, and perhaps naive hope.

I was perusing the posts over at Instapundit last night and found a piece by Ellen W. Horowitz - Justifying and Deconstructing Hagee and Ourselves. Ms. Horowitz characterizes Pastor John Hagee's recent and controversial "rhetoric" as the

...magnanimous political, humanitarian, and even theological support that the Jewish state is receiving from Pastor Hagee and the American evangelical community.

as well as attributing Hagee as "a well-intentioned, very generous and determined philo-Semite," but goes on to say:

That being said, we Jews need to remain vigilant because it is an historic truism that philo-Semitism can be a mere hair away from anti-Semitism, and when the church and Christians make sweeping and bold moves towards reconciliation – and Jews reciprocate in turn - sometimes things can go terribly wrong. So the Talmudic formula of “respecting and suspecting” would seem to be the wise approach.

I must admit that I Googled around for the definition of "philo-semite." Wikipedia says:

Philo-Semitism or Philosemitism, is an interest in, respect for, and appreciation of the Jewish people, their historical significance and the positive impacts of Judaism in the history of the western world, in particular. Within the Jewish community it also includes the significance of Jewish culture and the love of everything Jewish. The word is not new, but it has recently (ca. 2000) become a significantly growing phenomenon in the modern world. It is characterized (among other things) by an interest in Jewish culture and history, as well as increasing university enrollment by non-Jews in courses relating to Judaism (including Judaism, Hebrew and Jewish languages)[citation needed]. A Philosemite is one who substantially subscribes to, or practices, any of the above.

Philo-Semitism has been the subject of a series of books and journal articles (see partial listing below). The rise of philo-Semitism has been met by a mixed response among world Jewry. Some warmly welcome it and argue that it must lead Jews to reconsider their identity. This viewpoint has been expressed by the leading liberal Jewish publication The Forward (Editorial, 10 November 2000):

Others reject philo-Semitism, as they feel it (like its apparent opposite anti-Semitism) implicitly gives a special status to Jews. This contradicts the traditional goal of Zionism to make Jewry "a nation among nations." Daniel Goldhagen, Harvard scholar and author of the controversial Hitler's Willing Executioners, argues that philo-Semites are often closet anti-Semites. His detractor Norman Finkelstein agrees. The thesis is that Jew haters feel a need to talk about Jews, and with anti-Semitism no longer being socially acceptable they must instead make exaggerated positive statements.

So...now understanding that supporting Israel can be either a good thing or a bad thing (???), what really caught my attention was the back-and-forth bantering of two commenters - two Jewish gentlemen - regarding Christian proselytizing or "missionizing," and the monies that may flow to the Holyland from Christian organizations, specifically John Hagee's Christians United for Israel (CUFI). One of the commenters views this as "Zionist Christian support" and wants no part of it:

...we can live without their donations some of which I am convinced go towards missionizing, directly or indirectly.

This commenter (the one not wanting Christian support) mentions a book written by "a sort of relation," A Match Made in Heaven by Zev Chafets. In reading through an interesting review of this book, there's this:

“Jews are Democrats, Israelis are Republicans.”

Okay. Now I'm beginning to "get it." American Jews vote Democrat because their American friends (or not) attempt to bring their Jewish friends to Jesus. It makes more sense than the explanation I usually get: American Jews vote Democrat because "American Jews have ALWAYS voted Democrat and ALWAYS will." That's not much of an answer considering today's ever-present Islamic threat to annihilate Israel. Most of us could, rather quickly, get-over an old and harmful habit, when faced with extinction, but perhaps it is just easier to spite Christian "persecution" and pull the lever for a Democrat.

After a long, long time digesting this Instapundit post, I'm wondering if it is actually possible, in this day and time, that American Jews are simply frustrated at, or angry about, Christians attempting to convert them? And so they vote Democrat?

If this still isn't making a point with you, voting Democrat supports Islam. Voting Democrat supports Hamas, voting Democrat supports Syria, voting Democrat supports Iran (Speaker Pelosi claims that some of the success of the Iraq surge "is the goodwill of the Iranians - they decided when the fighting in Basra would end..."), voting Democrat supports the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision granting Constitutional rights to terrorists (in this case, Islamic terrorists) - who may have been complicit in bringing down the World Trade Towers, and if not complicit, would have been if they could have been. Voting Democrat demands that America remain tied to middle-eastern oil ($$$ flowing to Islamic countries - not comforting to those Republican-thinking Israeli's, I think). Did I mention that voting Democrat supports Hamas?

Do Jews ever attempt to tell their Christian friends that the Messiah has not yet come? Of course they do. I'm not angry about it, though.

The Horowitz piece, and the comments, are far more intricate than my focus in this post. To be clear, one commenter points out: "Jews and Israel need help now and Christian evangelicals are giving that help now. Jews should be embracing these Christian evangelicals. That does not mean embracing Christianity." Author and commenters: well-worth the read - please do read them.

Note: It's my opinion that ALL of Israel's land, should be Israel's land - no land for peace.

Others talking about the Jewish view of John Hagee and Christians United for Israel:
Daniel Pipes: John Hagee, the Holocaust and Me: Thinking About Allies
Anglicans for Israel - The Rise of CUFI,
Jews on First: Leader of Reform Judiasm Discourages Cooperation with Christians United for Israel

The Meat: Jeremiah Wright Publishes CAIR Founder's Manifesto

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Photo of Hamas Leader Mousa Abu Marzook
Photo courtesy of WorldNetDaily.

A message to Barack Obama voters: Research the connection between Barack and Michelle Obama's Pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright. Wright supported terrorism by giving a platform to a terrorist. Some details below.

The media are not reporting: (1) Pastor Wright's affinity for and support of Musa Abu Marzook, a Hamas co-founder and leader, and (2) Marzook's connection to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and CAIR's documented connection to terrorism.

Voters - think about it. Are you okay with electing a President who, for whatever reasons, supported this church with his time, his talents and his service?

The purpose of this post is to show that Pastor Wright published a terrorist manifesto in his church bulletin on the "Pastor's Page," on July 22, 2007. The author of that manifesto is Musa Abu Marzook, who is solidly connected to CAIR. This post links Marzook's various aliases, criminality and the Hamas Charter that Marzook passionately defends. Jeremiah Wright chose to promote the "Hamas stand," within his Christian Church.

Some background:

Who and what is CAIR? The Anti-CAIR website summarizes well, and lest you blow this off as an "Anti-with-no-substance" opinion, think again. CAIR filed a defamation law suit against Anti-CAIR for claims made on the Anti-CAIR website. The suit was eventually dismissed with no capitulation by Anti-CAIR (i.e. removing statements from the website). Daniel Pipes, writing for FrontPageMag said "[Anti-CAIR] won a sweet victory, while CAIR suffered a humiliating defeat." Here's more from Dr. Pipes:

Specifically, CAIR had complained about [Anti-CAIR] calling it a “terrorist supporting front organization … founded by Hamas supporters” that aims “to make radical Islam the dominant religion in the United States.” It also objected to being described as “dedicated to the overthrow of the United States Constitution and the installation of an Islamic theocracy in America.”

The Anti-CAIR website is an important read for all who treasure American freedom.

Another FrontPageMag.com piece by Evan McCormick gives insight into the view of Congress on CAIR:

September 10th, 2003 will forever be remembered as a grim day for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). On that day, the eve of the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, CAIR faced up to its own terrorist connections. It ran away from testifying before an influential Senate panel that heard a barrage of incriminating evidence about the group and its connections. It saw one of its former officials plead guilty to terrorist-related crimes in Federal Court. And, it was stood up by two Department of Justice officials at an immigration symposium in Florida. CAIR should find it hard to recover from this string of defeats....

Senators turned out in force to connect the dots between CAIR and the deviant Islamic extremism that led to the vicious attacks of 9/11....

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who has been steadfast in his efforts to uncover the nexus of Hamas front groups in the U.S., was ruthless in his portrayal of CAIR as part of an international terror network. In his opening remarks, Senator Schumer stated that prominent members of CAIR—referring specifically to Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmed—have “intimate links with Hamas.” Later, he remarked that “we know [CAIR] has ties to terrorism.”

The Problem: The self-stated goal of Hamas (represented in Obama's church by Marzook's manifesto) is to rid the world of Israel, believing that Israel has no right to a home in the Holy Land. Palestine is the home of Hamas. Palestinians believe that Israel is occupying land that belongs to Palestinians. All Israeli's are considered infidels, as are all persons who do not follow Islam.

IsraPundit and BizzyBlog have been hot on the trail of verifying the "printed bulletin." Both sites have posted jpegs of the TUCC bulletin, and you can view them by following the links to their websites. IsraPundit has posted comprehensively about Jeremiah Wright - all of which is essential reading for a voting American.

I'm linking here to my transcription of the Hamas manifesto (transcribed from the above mentioned jpegs) printed on Wright's "Pastor Page," as well as some background in previous posts, Who and What are the Palestinians, which documents the history of Palestinian migration, and another post printing enlightening portions of the Hamas Charter.

WARNING: As you read the manifesto as it was printed in Trinity United Church of Christ's bulletin, you may feel ambivalent about it...or not see what all the fuss is about.

What's the "fuss?" The "fuss" is about the right of the Jewish people to live freely on the land that (1) God led them to and (2) the land granted to the State of Israel, by the United Nations (a large parcel of which Israel did not gain possession of, due to the shenanigans of the British bowing to Arab concerns - illegally). It is about the right of the Jews to exist on their own tiny plot of land. It is about the refusal of Palestinians and Hamas to recognize the right of Israel to exist. When you read the manifesto, note that Marzook says he doesn't "trouble" himself with "recognizing Israel." The Hamas Charter is in tenacious control of the citizens of Palestine and there is no plan to ever recognize Israel - in fact, the Hamas Charters says:

The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews),...

The "fuss" also must consider that the facts prove that Palestinians are migrants, not refugees. History backs this up, no matter how diligently the world tries to revise history.

The Connection: Musa Abu Marzook is connected to CAIR and the founding of CAIR, to Hamas, and to Hamas leadership, and through that connection, to Dr. Wright, who chose to support the Hamas agenda and present it to his parishioners as a "Fresh View."

The Los Angeles Times first printed Marzook-Hamas manifesto on July 10, 2007. It was titled "Hamas stand." Twelve days later, Jeremiah Wright changed the title to "A Fresh View of the Palestinian Struggle" and published it on his Pastor Page.

A hat/tip to Lamplighter, who posted a speech given by Marzook (Marqouq - one and the same person) a mere month before the LA Times piece, AND Jeremiah Wright's reprint." Marzook (using alias Marzouq), while in Egypt representing Hamas, countered a criticism of the drop in numbers of Hamas terrorist attacks:

During the meeting, Hamas was criticized for the drop in the number of its terrorist attacks (“resistance”) since its coming to power and the Hamas government's lack of contribution to the resistance.

Abu Marzouq retorted that, in reality, the situation was just the opposite: “It is the first time since the Oslo Accords that a Palestinian government supports the resistance [i.e., terrorism], does not go after the resistance operatives, does not arrest them, and does not hinder their activity”. Abu Marzouq even boasted of “quality” terrorist attacks perpetrated in Israel (“the Zionist entity”) during the Hamas government's term, including the attack which led to the capture of a “Zionist soldier” (Gilad Shalit).

More:
1. Marzook has numerous aliases . This site documents them and prints this profile:

U.S. Treasury Designation

Musa Abu Marzouk is the Deputy Chief of HAMAS's Political Bureau based in Damascus, Syria. His activities include directing and coordinating terrorist acts by HAMAS against soldiers and civilians in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. Marzouk maintains relationships with other terrorist organizations.

The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, designated as an SDGT under EO 13224 in December 2001 based on its support of HAMAS, received start-up funding and instructions from Marzouk. Marzouk is implicated in receiving financing for HAMAS terrorist attacks, funds that have been used to mobilize military activity inside Israel and the West Bank/Gaza.

2. Marzook is the founder of The Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) parent organization - a total of three Hamas organizations. As one organization was shutdown, another was born - shutdown, and then a third. According to CAIR Watch, first came the:

Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which was dissolved in 2005 after being found liable for the murder of an American boy in Israel

Second came the infamous:

Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), which was shut down and had its fund frozen by the U.S. government in December 2001 for raising millions of dollars for Hamas

and thirdly, the founder of:

a Hamas command center called the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR).

The above No. 2 is reported at CAIRwatch with this headline: "Mousa Abu Marzook (Marzouk, Marzouq, Marzuq) - "CAIR's Grandfather" and Deputy Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau."

3. According to Palestine History, Musa Abu Marzuq (Marzook)

Gained his Ph.D. in the United State[s] (1981-1991), where he gained residency rights.

This explains, perhaps, the easy and fluent use of English in his writing. Palestine History confirms Marzook's (Marzuq) explulsion from the U.S., as well as from Jordan.

4. The Middle East Journal, as early as 1996, says this about Musa Abu Marzuq (Marzook):

Musa Abu Marzuq was arrested at Kennedy Airport in July 1995 on charges of murder and attempted murder for Hamas,2 the other fundamentalist Islamic group that repeatedly engages in terrorist acts against Israel. At the time of his arrest, Abu Marzuq--a permanent resident of the United States for five years--headed a Washington-area think tank called the United Association for Studies and Research.

From FrontPageMag, which has extensive reporting on Marzook:

Mousa Abu Marzook – Grandfather of CAIR

The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development was founded by HAMAS leader Mousa Abu Marzook, a man who was deported by the United States to Jordan in 1997. Marzook, who may very well be, today, second in command of HAMAS, also founded, in 1981, CAIR’s parent organization, the Islamic Association for Palestine.

This is important, when considering the previous questions asked, but – but – there is a much bigger connection to CAIR, with respect to the Holy Land Foundation.

What is the Holy Land Foundation? FrontPageMag.com writes:

In September of 2001, just following the worst terrorist attack ever suffered in modern history, CAIR placed on its website, under a picture of the World Trade Center in flames, a plea for donations. It read, “Donate to the NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund.”

Yet, when people clicked on the link, it did not take them to any NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund. No, it took them straight to the website of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, an Islamic ‘charity’ that was soon to be shut down by the United States for “raising millions of dollars annually for HAMAS.”

This piece goes on to say that the Holy Land Foundation was soon to be shut down by the U.S. government on terrorism related charges.

6. From WorldNetDaily, dated April 14, 2005:

CAIR leader convicted on terror charges
Founding board member of Texas chapter funded Hamas - Ghassan Elashi, along with two brothers, was convicted in Dallas yesterday of channeling funds to a high-ranking official of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook.

Former FBI counterterrorism chief Oliver Revell has called the IAF "a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants."

The fact that Trinity United Church of Christ printed anything penned by Mousa Abu Marzook, and presented it in a Christian church sanctuary as a positive opinion and a "fresh" view, is in my opinion, traitorous and heretical.

Related Links:
Transcription of "Hamas' stand" on Jeremiah Wright's "Pastor's Page"
Jeremiah Wright Connects with the Hamas Charter
Who and What are the Palestinians?

Finally Someone Gets it Right

By Jim Simpson

In 2003, I wrote an article titled "Regime Change Means Eradicating the Ba'ath Party." In it I argued that the brutal, many-tentacled secret police apparatus of the Iraqi Ba'athist party would make long-term victory in Iraq very difficult. The ONLY option for creating a viable, peaceful Iraqi future lay in untangling that infrastructure and eliminating the vast network of vicious, corrupt Ba'athist apparatchiks and their informants.

I must give credit where credit is due here, and interject that there has been one prominent analyst, alone in the US foreign policy establishment, who has been bravely articulating the dangers posed by Saddam and his Ba'athists for years and that is Laurie Mylroie. Her studies of Saddam and his monstrous regime are more authoritative, by magnitudes than anyone else out there that I am aware of, and formed the basis for the Bush administration's original decision to invade Iraq. She has continued to raise the alarm about the mistake we make in misidentifying the enemy in Iraq. It is the Ba'athists.

Anyway, the first Coalition Provisional Authority chief, Paul Bremer, was widely criticized for being too tough on former-Ba'athists and has implicitly been blamed for the insurgency that supposedly arose when frustrated Ba'thists couldn't get their jobs back. But now Ali A. Allawi, an Iraqi insider long familiar with Saddam and his hideous Party, argues in a new book, The Occupation of Iraq, Winning the War and Losing the Peace, that Bremer's mistake was in not going far enough. As described in a Washington Post review:

In all of the back-and-forth, nobody of any stature has suggested that Bremer's approach toward the Baathists was too soft. But now, in a compelling, detailed history of the occupation, Iraq's first postwar civilian defense minister makes just that argument. In the first major account from an Iraqi insider, Ali A. Allawi contends in The Occupation of Iraq that one of Washington's principal mistakes was that Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority did not go far enough in dismantling the Baathist structure of Iraq's bureaucracy.

As you might imagine, I adamantly agree. Furthermore, I will add that Iraq is the final acid test for us. We have faced this kind of situation before. We failed to bring victory in Vietnam and Korea because of our unwillingness to fully appreciate the relentless, vicious nature of our enemy and his tactics. We are failing in the defense of Israel and Lebanon for the same reason. If, at this late date we cannot learn to confront and defeat this enemy and his methods, then it is only a matter of time before this same monstrosity is visited upon our shores.

Anyone Armed with the Facts Could Have Predicted

By Jim Simpson

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal, Straight Talk on Palestine, states bluntly that the Palestinian government remains committed to terrorism and still refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. This only comes as a surprise to the cognoscenti.

In fact, way back in the 1970s, when we knew the PLO were merely monstrous terrorists, a plan was hatched by their Soviet sponsors to deliberately deceive the West into believing that then PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and his merry band of murderers had moderated.

It's a pretty amazing story. This counterintelligence deception is discussed in great length in a book, Red Horizons, by Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa. Gen. Pacepa was Romania’s intelligence chief under the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu and was the highest ranking Soviet block intelligence officer ever to defect to the West. You can get some of the threads by reading an interview with the author here.

He also has a lot to say about Saddam’s ephemeral Weapons of Mass Destruction. Read about that here. The cliff notes version: all Soviet-sponsored states have an emergency plan for removing or destroying their WMD if Western powers get too close to discovering them, and the Soviets helped Saddam get rid of his before the US showed up. This article makes a fascinating read regarding the entire subject. Read it if you have the time.

But I digress. Back to the PLO and Palestine. There are explicit, straight-forward reasons why the Palestinians do not now, never have and never will, settle for merely getting their own state. Some of the reasons for this may surprise you. I wrote an article shortly after Yasser Arafat died, which discussed the man, the history of the PLO and why it is an absolutely incontrovertible fact that the destruction of Israel always has been and always will be the Palestinians’ only true goal. Titled, “Who Was Yasser Arafat?” you can see it here.

This article will arm you with the facts regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and allow you to make easy predictions about what is to come. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the true nature of that conflict. It will also broaden your understanding of the entire Middle East problem. As the Arabs keep telling us, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the epicenter. But few can really articulate why, when it directly affects such a small number of them. This article may suggest some answers.

Reading the few articles referenced above reveals to any open-minded person that the facts are out there, available for all to see, and provide pretty straight-forward, if not immediately apparent reasons for some of the chaos we face today. The rest can be similarly explained.

Yet we remain dangerously alone in the dark. It is a testimonial to the depths of duplicity some members of our political and media classes have gone to hide the truth, that these plain, simple facts are not common knowledge. Through ignorance in some cases, but I believe malevolent intent in many more, these people really do not want us to know the truth. I call them traitors and their numbers in Congress, the media and elsewhere are significant and growing. We are tottering at the brink. Time to raise the alarm bells.