Iran Stepping up its support of Bashar al-Assad
0There is an important premise that must be understood when it comes to Syria. That country has become a front in a battle between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood more than it’s about a dictator putting down a revolt. Notice that the Sunni world, to include the same Muslim Brotherhood that has been benefiting the most from the ‘Arab Spring’ is supporting Assad’s ouster. Iran has, for years, supported Assad and any threat to Assad is a threat to Iran, which is reportedly sending Assad reinforcements in the form of Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard.
Via Ynet:
Iran has significantly increased its involvement in Syria over the past few days, Ynet learned Monday.
The presence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah operatives assisting Syrian President Bashar Assad’s in his brutal crackdown of protesters now number in the high hundreds; while the Arab League said that it will not supply the rebels with arms unless the bloodshed comes to a halt.
The majority of Iranian and Hezbollah operatives in Syria supply Assad’s army with intelligence and train the Damascus forces on weapons’ maintenance and reconnaissance. A smaller group of operatives is involved in the actual fighting.
In order for the country of Syria to remain a wedge between Shiite and Sunni dominance, Iran will need to maintain control of that region. The Sunni Muslim Brotherhood has essentially been bagging countries for the last year. Conversely, Iran has for all intents and purposes, annexed Iraq. To use a football allegory, it’d be like one team being up 28-7.
To continue with the metaphor, if Syria is lost to the Sunnis, it’d be like throwing a “pick six” when you’re inside the other team’s five yard-line, about to score. Instead of the game being closer, at 28-14, it’s suddenly 35-7. The western media – as well as the Obama administration – has been painting the Sunni Brotherhood as a ‘moderate’ Islamic movement while allowing the image of Iran to be that of saber-rattling radicals. Though that is an accurate depiction of Iran, it’s an extremely INaccurate depiction of the Brotherhood.
Unlike Iran, the Brotherhood has put down roots within the halls of power in the United States while being able to sufficiently create the perception that its Hamas and CAIR entities are completely unrelated. Iran hasn’t been able to duplicate that model nearly as well. Hezbollah is the Shiite version of Hamas but it doesn’t have a CAIR equivalent, for example. Consequently, the Brotherhood has the advantage when it comes to winning the propaganda war in the west.
A distinct downside to that, other than Syria falling to the Brotherhood (Turkey), is U.S. support for the ouster of Assad. That will not only benefit a continued strengthening of the Muslim Brotherhood but it will also anger Russia and China while provoking Hezbollah to hit the United States asymmetrically, which reports show that Iran has already indicated it will do. Remember, Hezbollah has a very quantifiable presence in both Mexico and Venezuela.
Iran’s financial aid is one of Assad’s lifelines, as it keeps the middle class in Damascus and Halab (Aleppo) from rising against him as well.
The Islamic Republic’s decision to bolster ties with Syria at a time when Tehran has to deal with growing international sanctions, imposed on it over its refusal to suspend its nuclear program, indicates that the ayatollah’s regime believes Assad and his government can survive the uprising.
The rebels have long claimed that Iran is helping Assad – an assessment backed by Britain and the United States.
Iran is definitely a threat to the region and to the West but the Obama administration’s disturbing tendency to side with the Muslim Brotherhood is dangerous all by itself without backing them in Syria.
That policy is dangerous for a whole host of reasons.
Report: Al-Qaeda and Iran working together to hit the U.S.
0In what should have been bombshell news late last year, a federal U.S. district court judge named George Daniels ruled after eight years that Iran, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda all worked together to perpetrate the 9/11 attacks.
That news fell on relatively deaf ears in western media circles.
Now, Sky News is reporting that Ayman al-Zawahiri is working with Iran to – you guessed it – perpetrate terror attacks against the United States to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden:
Iran and al Qaeda’s core leadership under Ayman al Zawahiri have established an “operational relationship” amid fears the terror group is planning a spectacular attack against the West.
There are concerns such an attack, possibly targeting Europe, would be in revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US last year.
Sky News’ intelligence sources have said Iran has been supplying al Qaeda with training in the use of advanced explosives, “some funding and a safe haven” as part of a deal first worked out in 2009 which has now led to “operational capacity.”
Here is the news report:
Video: When too many Federal Agencies go after Islamic Terrorists
0If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why the West has so much trouble identifying its enemies, this short clip could provide one possible explanation:
h/t Sipsey Street
Radical Islamic group in Pakistan planning march on Jerusalem
0To demonstrate just how twisted the radical Islamic mindset has become, look no further than the recent Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Conference. Attendees collectively concluded that the mosques in Medina and Jerusalem are under great threat from the Jews. Forget for a second that the Islamic holy site in Jerusalem – the Dome of the Rock – sits in what many consider to be Israel’s true Capital. There is no such prominence given to any Jewish synagogue in any Muslim country. Also, forget the fact that Israel is a tiny country surrounded by Islamic ones who wish to see it destroyed.
Such realities should not hold up a good conspiracy theory that is being trumpeted to the masses in order to begin an Islamic march on Jerusalem.
Via MEMRI:
On February 2-3, 2012, delegates from various countries in Asia converged in Karachi to discuss their preparations for a Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ).
The Global March to Jerusalem is an international march led by leftist and Islamic leaders. It aims to coordinate activists from various countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, who will form groups of marchers. From Asia, the march will set out from India on March 9 and proceed to Jordan. The GMJ follows the First Asian Convoy to Gaza (December 2010-January 2011).
Once again, leftists and Islamists working together to peacefully protest on what is known as “Land Day,” which leftists can certainly relate to:
According to a report, the delegates told the conference: “We have … decided to march to Jerusalem on the 30th of March 2012 (Palestine Land Day), where we will be assembling in the hundreds of thousands on the borders of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Within Palestine itself, hundreds of thousands will be marching to Jerusalem, from all across historic occupied Palestine.”
On the day after the delegates reaffirmed their insatiable hatred for the Jews, Jamaat-e-Islami exploited the consensus and declared support for its unified and bold intention to threaten Jewish sovereignty:
On February 4, 2012, the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan held an all parties conference to express support for the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ). At the conference in Karachi, representatives of Pakistani religious and political parties “supported the decision [to organize the Global March to Jerusalem] and believed that the march would be a milestone in the awakening of Muslim world.” Activists from Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Bangladesh, Palestine, India and other countries attended the event.
At the Jamaat-e-Islamic conference, various speakers said that the “Palestine issue is above the discrimination of color, creed, and race” and added that “Masjid-e-Aqsa and Gumbad-e-Khizra … [are] under direct threat of Jewish designs.” Gumbad-e-Khizra (Green Dome) refers to the Holy Mosque in Medina. Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Hussain Mehnati, the Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami for Karachi, accused the U.S., Britain, and Russia of imposing “Israel’s existence on the Palestinians to suppress them.”
As crazy as this sounds, they actually believe it.
h/t GMBDR
Huh? John McCain hints that Muslim Brotherhood not that powerful in Egypt
0In October of 2008, then presidential candidate Senator John McCain told an audience at a town hall that they have, “no reason to be scared” of an Obama presidency. Then, in 2009, he told another town hall audience that he believed Obama “respects the Constitution of the United States.” Two years later, in April of 2011, McCain visited Benghazi, Libya and told Al-Jazeera that the Libyan rebels were his “heroes.” Not long after that, McCain’s heroes planted the Al-Qaeda flag atop a Libyan courthouse.
Now this, via Washington Examiner:
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talked down fear of the Muslim Brotherhood’s control in Egypt, as he defended United States foreign aid to Egypt, suggesting that secularists might block the worst forms of Sharia law.
“I’m not clear whether — how the Muslim Brotherhood is going to be,” McCain told Sean Hannity last night. “There are other representatives in parliament. I know that they will be an elected government,” he said.
Let’s take stock, shall we? Americans are scared of Obama in record numbers, affronts against the Constitution have become too difficult to keep track of, and McCain’s “heroes” are America’s enemies.
Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s right about the Muslim Brotherhood.
h/t Weasel Zippers
Ask not what Egypt can do for you; ask what Egypt will Blackmail you to do for them!
0Seriously, what more evidence does one need? The Obama administration helped to facilitate the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. It was all about Democracy! Freedom! If that were true, the Muslim Brotherhood, which filled the vacuum, should be thanking America, asking us how we can be re-paid, right?
Uh, not so much.
One day after it was learned that the proposed Obama budget included $800 Million in aid to “Arab Spring” countries (Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya), with continued military aid to Egypt, the United States is now being met with threats from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. Oh, and the Brotherhood also appears to be holding Americans hostage.
Via CNS News:
A top Muslim Brotherhood official has warned that any cuts in U.S. aid to Egypt could affect Cairo’s peace treaty with Israel – the latest sign that Egypt’s emerging political forces intend to call Washington’s bluff over the diplomatic dispute triggered by a crackdown on non-governmental organizations.
Egyptian judges have referred 16 Americans and 27 others linked to NGOs for trial, accusing them of using foreign funds to encourage disruptive protests. Among the targeted NGOs whose assets and funds have been seized are the U.S. government-funded International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute.
Fox News reports on the detention of those Americans and son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood:
The Americans include Sam LaHood, son of U.S. Transportation Secretary ray LaHood. All 43 are banned from travel. No date has been set for their trial.
The crisis has soured relations between Egypt and the United States, which has threatened to cut off aid to Egypt — a total of $1.5 billion a year in military and economic assistance — if the issue was not resolved. The release of Aboul Naga’s testimony four months after she gave it suggests that Egypt may not be willing, at least for now, to ease tensions with the U.S.
Folks, this is nothing new.
The Barbary Wars of the early 1800′s, which led to the formation of the US Navy and its Marines did the same types of things from the very same regions of North Africa (from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli). They pirated ships and held Americans hostage for ransom.
Why? Terrorizing infidels was how they earned a living.
Things didn’t change until Thomas Jefferson’s patience finally ran out.
They’re Baaaaaaaccccck.
Egyptian Presidential candidate running on Hopelessness and Chains
0Typically, if a presidential candidate for any country wanted to take away liberty once elected, being honest about it before an election is usually a recipe for defeat. Look no further than the 2008 presidential campaign.
However, there is a candidate in Egypt who has decided to just come out and say Muslim women will all be force to wear the hijab if he’s elected. Pay attention to the first sentence in this news report. Notice how the man is referred to as an “ultra-conservative.” It is a misnomer intended to compare a Muslim globalist with the right wing. In reality, it is the left wing with which such people align. In fact, it was the conservatives of the west who warned about the left’s love affair with the Arab Spring.
Via Al Arabiya News:
An ultra-conservative Egyptian presidential hopeful has said that if he is elected as head of state he would force women to wear the hijab (veil) or “change creed,” adding that Islam provides no guarantees of personal freedom.
“If you claim that Allah considers it your personal freedom, show me your reference. Nobody has ever said that – except for people who have no understanding of the Shariah,” Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, a long-time supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, said in a recent interview with the Egypt’s Tahrir TV.
He said that if he is elected president he would enforce the hijab on women and that if they do not want to wear it, they have to change their “creed.”
He did not elaborate on what he meant by changing their “creed” and whether this meant changing their religion, knowing that such a move is strictly forbidden under the Shariah law and could result in capital punishment.
Ismail, who was previously charged under the regime of Hosni Mubarak for “endangering national security,” said that by seeking to enforce the veil on women he was only obeying Allah’s commands.
“You see, this is the difficulty; this is Islam. Does she want to be a Muslim and not obey Allah’s rules? Let them say so; that’s all I ask; let them be honorable and just speak up,” he said.
Like so many clear-minded individuals said long before Mubarak fell. Whatever replaces him will be much worse.
h/t Weasel Zippers
Video: Former Al-Qaeda supporter, Terror suspect Endorses Ron Paul
0“Yousef al Khattab” Cohen once supported Osama bin Laden and co-founded a website called Revolution Muslim. In a YouTube video, al Khattab endorses Ron Paul for president.
This certainly doesn’t help Paul’s attempts to quash accusations that he’s anti-Jewish.
Fast forward to the 20:30 mark. Khattab says, “I really, really, really, really do pray that he (Ron Paul) is (elected).”
h/t Jawa Report
Thank You, Arab Spring: Muslim Persecution of Christians now Rampant
0We are now approximately one year in to the Arab Spring and all the movement really has to show for itself is a rise in the persecution of Christians. There is an excellent piece written by Raymond Ibrahim that appears in the Middle East Forum, in which the regions where apostasy, church burnings, and dhimmitude have become all too common. Once you see the list, it should become quite apparent that the world is in a world of hurt right now.
Via MEF, here are just a few (of many) examples of what Christians went through just last month:
Somalia: A female convert to Christianity was paraded before a cheering crowd and publicly flogged as punishment for embracing a “foreign religion.” Imprisoned since November, “the public whipping was meant to mark her release.” She received 40 lashes as hundreds of Muslim spectators jeered. An eyewitness said: “I saw her faint. I thought she had died, but soon she regained consciousness and her family took her away.” Likewise, “Somali Islamists arrested a Muslim father after two of his children converted to Christianity” and fled. He is accused of “failing to raise his sons as good Muslims, because “good Muslims cannot convert to Christianity.”
Egypt: Before a bishop was going to inaugurate the incomplete Abu Makka church and celebrate the Epiphany mass, a large number of Salafis and Muslim Brotherhood members entered the building, asserting that the church had no license and so no one should pray in it. One Muslim remarked that the building would be suitable for a mosque and a hospital.
Nigeria: Soon after jihadis issued an ultimatum giving Christians three days to evacuate the region or die, armed Muslims stormed a church and “opened fire on worshippers as their eyes were closed in prayer,” killing six, including the pastor’s wife. Then, as friends and relatives gathered to mourn the deaths of those slain, “Allahu Akbar” screaming Muslims appeared and opened fire again, killing another 20 Christians. Several other churches were bombed, and seven more killed.
Turkey: A Christian asylum seeker who fled from Iran because of his faith “was brutally assaulted by his Turkish employer with hot water and his body was severely burned,” due to “the extreme religious views” of his Muslim employer, who “told him he had no rights and that he would not pay him any money,” after the Christian asked for his agreed wages. He “is just one example of hundreds of Iranian Christian asylum seekers who are living in such situations in Turkey.”
Switzerland: A Muslim man hacked his daughter to death for dating a Christian: were they dating in a Muslim-dominated country, the Christian, as so often happens, would have likely received similar treatment.
Again, these are just a few examples. Go to the link to see many more.
Contrast that with a quick visit to the website of left wing human rights group Amnesty International, which seems to be more concerned with homosexual rights and shutting down big oil companies. When it comes to Syria, AI seems to have adopted a position that sides with the Muslim Brotherhood as well.
Red Flag: US and Al-Qaeda hold same view on Syria?
0Throughout the Arab Spring, the Obama administration has come down on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood in nearly every single instance. In Egypt, the administration did to Mubarak what Jimmy Carter did to the Shah; in Libya, Obama assisted in the overthrow of Gadhafi; now, in Syria, the Obama administration is calling for Bashar al-Assad to step down.
You know who else is? That’s right, al-Qaeda.
Via the AP:
Al-Qaida’s leader has called for the ouster of Syria’s “pernicious, cancerous regime,” raising fears that Islamic extremists will try to exploit an uprising against President Bashar Assad that began with peaceful calls for democratic change but is morphing into a bloody, armed insurgency.
The regime has long blamed terrorists for the 11-month-old revolt, and al-Qaida’s endorsement creates new difficulties for the U.S., its Western allies and Arab states trying to figure out a way to help force Assad from power. On Sunday, the 22-nation Arab League called for the U.N. Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria, but Damascus rejected it immediately.
In an eight-minute video message released late Saturday, al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri called on Muslims to support Syrian rebels.
As I wrote here, the prospect of the Assad regime’s fall could be far more dangerous for world stability. Like Hamas, al-Qaeda is essentially an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood. Syria is now being fought over. Iran has control through Assad and wants him to stay in power. The Muslim Brotherhood, which has the stealth support of Turkey wants Assad gone so it can begin the process of claiming Syria.
In short, those who clamor for the overthrow of Assad should be careful what they wish for. Something much worse is likely.
Ironically, Russia and China are two nations that seem to understand this.
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