FrontPage Magazine » Dubai

When in Dubai: The Kardashians Shop for Burqas

Mark Tapson — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:15:06 +0000

In Dubai last week to open a milkshake franchise, promote her signature fragrance, and pursue other opportunities to expand her business empire, uber-celebrity Kim Kardashian and mother Kris Jenner stopped by the Dubai Mall to shop for the latest Middle Eastern fashions – including matching burqas.

“That’s me!” Kardashian later squealed on Twitter beneath a photo of herself with her famous face completely obscured except for a slit for the eyes (this is actually a niqab, , which covers everything; a burqa is becoming the popular catchall word to describe the covering in general). Considering that Kardashian’s fame is entirely the result of the relentless marketing of her curvy sexuality, beginning with a sex tape, a burqa – the purpose of which is to obliterate female sexuality and to reduce a woman’s identity to a rumpled, repellent blob – is a curious fashion choice.

And a disappointing one. One of the most famous women in the world and a style icon for countless millions of fans, Kim Kardashian may have just given the burqa her considerably influential fashion imprimatur.

It’s easy to pick on celebrities like Kardashian. Reveling in the narcissistic bubble of her inexplicable fame, far removed from the harsh realities of countless Muslim women literally enshrouded in this enforced anonymity, she is, in all fairness, no doubt simply ignorant of the cultural ramifications of her flippant shopping selection.

What’s really disturbing here is that the media treated the whole incident so breezily. “Kim Kardashian’s latest fashion statement? A burqa!” was the typical headline. “Kim Kardashian Rocks a Burqa in Dubai,” read another. A third: “Kim Kardashian can even make a burqa look hot.” Ad nauseum.

Not a single news item about this paparazzi moment referenced the impropriety of these two wealthy Western women donning garments that have been designed to enslave women and punish them for the uncontrollable lust they inspire in men by a hint of skin or a glimpse of lips. Every media report I saw opted for innocuous phrasing like describing the burqa as “traditional” for Muslim women. BET went with the even more blandly neutral “regional dress.” The UK’s DailyMail got slightly more specific by pointing out that it is “the conservative dress preferred in the religious country.” US Weekly edged slightly closer to the truth by giving the burqa the understated label, “often controversial.”

None of the mainstream media reports dared to storm the ramparts of multiculturalism or to provoke shrill accusations of the dreaded and mythical Islamophobia by pointing out why it’s controversial. None of the media outlets broached the ugly subject of the misogyny that underlies this “regional dress,” much less mentioned that women have been killed for not wearing the “traditional” garb that Kim Kardashian and her mom had so much fun modeling.

France: Muslim polygamist charged with welfare fraud

Marisol — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:57:20 +0000

French authorities aren't buying his claim that the additional wives were actually just "mistresses," which he figured ought to make the whole thing go away.

"Suspected Muslim polygamist charged with welfare fraud," from Agence France-Presse, June 9:

AFP - A French Muslim butcher at the centre of a firestorm over polygamy was charged on Wednesday with welfare fraud and his four companions will also face charges, a prosecutor said.

Lies Hebbadj, who runs a halal butcher shop in the western city of Nantes, made headlines after his wife was fined for driving in her full-face veil in April.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux had threatened to strip the Algerian-born man of his French passport after accusing him of polygamy, which is illegal in France.

Following a nearly two-month investigation, Hebbadj has been charged with welfare fraud and violating labour laws, Nantes prosecutor Xavier Ronsin told a news conference.

The 35-year-old was placed under judicial control, forced to hand in his passport and pay a 10,000 euro (12,000 dollar) bail before leaving the court house in a police van, hidden from journalists.

His four companions including his wife will be summoned to appear before a magistrate soon to also be formally charged with welfare fraud, said the prosecutor.

The charges stem from a number of alleged violations showing that Hebbadj cashed in on welfare benefits to which he was not entitled, the prosecutor said.

Two of his companions lived in Dubai for a year while continuing to receive welfare benefits worth 10,000 euros in France.

Hebbadj fathered 15 children and soon will have 17 with the women who received benefits over the past three years totaling 175,000 euros.

Psychology 101: Behavior that gets rewarded, gets repeated.

Many of the women and children lived under the same roof and Hebbadj used his companion's debit cards to access funds from the social security payments, according to the prosecutor.

Hebbadj is also charged with hiring 13 foreigners and foreign students to work in his shop without proper visas, he added. The employees were paid below minimum wage.

Police stopped Hebbadj's 31-year-old wife in Nantes on April 2 and fined her 22 euros (29 dollars) on the grounds that her niqab restricted her view so she could not drive safely....

Sex and the City 2 blasted as “anti-Muslim” for depicting Muslim society as “puritanical and misogynistic”

Robert — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:33:44 +0000

When they're bashing the moral laxity of the West, it's OK to be puritanical. When Westerners notice that Islamic society is puritanical, it is an act of "Islamophobia." Nonetheless, Muslims are enraged yet again, this time because of this film's depiction of Islamic society as "puritanical and misogynistic." And really, I must say I'm outraged as well. I mean, who would ever have thought to characterize Islamic society in such a way? The hijab, the niqab, the burqa, the chador -- puritanical? Perish the thought! The wife-beating (cf. Qur'an 4:34), the polygamy (Qur'an 4:3), the genital mutilation, the honor killing -- misogynistic? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe?

"Sex And The City 2 Blasted As 'Anti-Muslim,'" from SkyNews, May 25 (thanks to Twostellas):

The first reviews of Sex And The City 2 have been published, with one critic claiming the new film featuring Carrie and the girls is "anti-muslim"....
The film sees the four New Yorker friends travelling to the Middle East for a trip to Abu Dhabi, but the Hollywood Reporter says it conjures up a "scathing portrayal of Muslim society".

Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker , Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall ), Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Scott ) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon ) get caught up in moments there which the review says shows the region as "puritanical and misogynistic".

"The rather scathing portrayal of Muslim society no doubt will stir controversy, especially in a frothy summer entertainment," read the review by Hollywood Reporter.

One scene even features the four main characters being rescued by Muslim women who strip off their burkhas to reveal the stylish Western outfits they are concealing beneath their black robes.

While in another scene, the ladies perform a karaoke version of Helen Reddy's I Am Woman in an Abu Dhabi nightclub, as man-eater Samantha shocks the locals with her sexual escapades.

Officials in the United Arab Emirates had denied the production team permission to film within the city, as did Dubai and instead the Abu Dhabi scenes were recreated in Morocco.

Abu Dhabi is currently considering whether to ban the film.

Australia to expel Israeli diplomat for killing Hamas jihad terrorist

Robert — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:18:56 +0000

You'd think they'd be happy that the Israelis took out a Hamas jihadist. But no, it's all about the passports. "Australia moves to expel Israeli diplomat," by Rod Mcguirk for Associated Press, May 23 (thanks to Mackie):

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia ordered the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat Monday after investigators concluded Israel was responsible for forging four Australian passports that were used in the slaying of a Hamas operative in Dubai.
Australia's reaction echoes that of the United Kingdom, which in March expelled a diplomat in retaliation for the use of 12 fake British passports in the plot to kill Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Dubai authorities blame Israel's Mossad intelligence service for the January slaying.

The governments of Ireland, Germany and France have yet to state how they will react to similar cases of alleged identity fraud against its citizens, as revealed in the investigation.

Australia had not expelled a foreign diplomat since 2004.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Parliament that the operation to kill Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room was not the first time Israel had forged Australian travel documents. He did not elaborate on previous incidents, but said the latest transgression breached "confidential undertakings" between the two countries that have stood for several years.

"These are not the actions of a friend," he said. "This is not what we expect from a nation with whom we have had such a close, friendly and supportive relationship."...

Iraq: Girls sold as sex slaves, then prosecuted for prostitution and other “crimes”

Marisol — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:26:03 +0000

And when they are released from prison, they face the prospect of additional violence and honor killings at the hands of their families and former communities: "We've come across cases where young women have preferred to stay in prison or custody than to be released...."

Apologists might claim this is "un-Islamic," and possibly suggest that a more rigorous application of Sharia would prevent this sort of thing. But the problem itself emanates from the position of women under Islamic law as fundamentally under the control of male relatives (Qur'an 4:34) -- essentially, possessions. "Sex slave girls face cruel justice in Iraq," by Mohammed Jamjoom for CNN, May 5:

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- At one of Baghdad's two female juvenile prisons, the young Iraqi girls live in limbo, sadness and desperation permeating every aspect of their interrupted lives.

Some face punishment for prostitution. Others are charged with ties to terrorism. And then there are the victims, also behind bars.
Fifteen-year-old Zeina's sad journey to prison began two years ago when she says was sold into sex slavery. "My father came and took me to go visit my grandfather in Syria," says Zeina, "and I went with him."
The family trip turned out to be a cover story, and Zeina found herself faced with the most horrific possible reality. She says she was then forcefully taken from Syria to the United Arab Emirates and sold into sexual slavery.
But Zeina refused to surrender to such a horrendous fate. And when the opportunity presented itself, she ran away. "I'm proud of myself," explains Zeina. "I turned myself into the police and decided not to stay in that situation."
Authorities in Dubai helped her return to Iraq, but more cruelty awaited her in Baghdad. The only way Zeina could make it home was to travel on a forged passport -- a very serious crime in Iraq.
After escaping her ordeal, Zeina found herself being prosecuted, rather than being comforted. As punishment, she's now serving two years in jail. A prison official confirmed her story.
Iraqi women's rights activists are outraged. "She refused to accept that her body had been sold. So this is how they reward her?" said Dalal Rubaie with the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq, "To put her in jail for two years? Where's the justice?"
Trafficking is a growing problem in Iraq. Some vulnerable women, desperate to support their families, are tricked into it by accepting fake marriage proposals. Many young girls, their parents facing dire economic circumstances, are just sold outright.
"In some ways, their fate is worse than death," explained Samer Muscati from Human Rights Watch. "Once they've been trafficked, there's a stigma even though they're the victims in this horrific situation. They've been exploited and they've been trafficked to another country with no real recourse."
According to Muscati, even if the girls do manage to escape the cruelty of their circumstances, it will be very difficult for them to escape the judgment of their families.
"When they do come back to Iraq, if the family does accept them it's very difficult because they've brought great shame to the family, they're subjected to honor crimes. And we've come across cases where young women have preferred to stay in prison or custody than to be released and to face tribal justice," Muscati said.

Rubaie puts it even more bluntly when discussing what little future awaits trafficked girls who manage to return home.

"I'm sure the girl's family won't take care of her," said Rubaie. "I'm sure that neighbors and relatives and society will judge her, they'll know that the girl had been a prisoner and the family will be ashamed of her.

"I'm sure they won't let her travel. I'm sure she won't be able to complete her education, if she had been studying. Or they will force her to marry a cousin so they can exert control over her. Any cousin. They'll end her life."

A sense of injustice pervaded every story told by the prisoners. Some inmates had actually discovered they were to be trafficked and tried to stop it.

When Fatin found out her father was attempting to sell her, she immediately sought help from the law.

"I ran away from Najaf and escaped to Baghdad where I found my mother and asked her if she knew what my father was planning," says 22-year-old inmate Fatin, "So she took me to court in Baghdad, we got a lawyer and brought a case against my father."

Months passed and the lawsuit was never heard. While awaiting justice, Fatin says her father raped her. After the attack, she killed him, was tried, and is currently serving the fifth year of a 15 year sentence.

Muscati, who's studied trafficking extensively in Iraq, can't understand why Iraqi officials aren't doing more to stop it.

"Why is the Iraqi government not prosecuting the traffickers?" Muscati asked. "There hasn't been a case of prosecution against a trafficker that we're aware of. Why is the Iraqi government not passing a law to make it more difficult for trafficking?"

At 22, Fatin, like several of her fellow inmates, is too old to remain in a juvenile facility. She'll soon have to serve out the rest of her term in a prison for adults, a much harsher environment.

Qassim Abdul Ameer, warden of the juvenile prison, is worried for Fatin and other inmates in the same situation. "Of course she will find it difficult there," Abdul Ameer says about Fatin, "because the environment will be difficult there. In the adult prisons, they usually take advantage of the younger girls."

Fatin does fear the transfer, but it's her eventual release still a decade away that she's even more afraid of.

"Yes, there is freedom outside," says Fatin, "but people don't forgive. They don't have mercy."

Pakistan arrests family members of NYC car bomb jihadist, says he attended jihad training camp

Robert — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:23:08 +0000

A widening jihad plot. "Pakistan makes arrests connected to NYC bomb attempt," by Zeeshan Haider for Reuters, May 4 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police arrested several people on Tuesday in connection with the failed Times Square car bomb attack in New York, security sources said.
"We have picked up a few family members" related to Faisal Shahzad, the chief suspect in the attempted attack, a security official in Karachi said. A friend of Shahzad was also arrested.

Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American, was arrested late on Monday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after being removed from a plane as it was about take off for Dubai, U.S. officials said.

Another intelligence official in Pakistan said Shahzad received militant training in northwest Pakistan near the garrison town of Kohat. The area around Kohat is a stronghold of Tariq Afridi, the Pakistani Taliban commander in the region....

NYC car bomb jihadist seized on Dubai-bound plane

Robert — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:42:49 +0000

It was unclear in this story, but Faisal Shahzad was one of the men seized on the plane to Dubai. "NYC bomb suspect seized aboard Dubai-bound plane," by Tom Hays and Colleen Long for Associated Press, May 4:

NEW YORK (AP) - A Pakistani-born U.S. citizen was hauled off a plane about to fly to the Middle East and arrested in the failed attempt to explode a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square, authorities said Tuesday. One official said he claimed to have acted alone.
Faisal Shahzad was on board a Dubai-bound flight that was taxiing away from the gate at Kennedy Airport when the plane was stopped and FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives took him into custody late Monday, law enforcement officials said....

Shahzad, 30, had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing.

Shahzad became a naturalized U.S. citizen last year shortly before traveling to Pakistan, a federal law enforcement official in Washington said, speaking on condition of anonymity amid the ongoing investigation.

Investigators hadn't established an immediate connection to the Pakistani Taliban--which had claimed responsibility for the botched bombing in three videos--or any foreign terrorist groups, a law enforcement official told the AP.

"He's claimed to have acted alone, but these are things that have to be investigated," the official said....

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the arrest should not be as used as an excuse for anti-Muslim actions. "We will not tolerate any bias or backlash against Pakistani or Muslim New Yorkers," he said....

Bloomberg ought to be ashamed of himself. He should be making statements about protecting Americans of all creeds, and calling the Muslim community in America to account for its tolerance of jihadists. There has never been a backlash against innocent Muslims in the U.S. It is a fiction that we only hear about when a Muslim plots mass murder of Americans. And then we hear about it endlessly, as if Muslims were the victims rather than the perpetrators.

More than a dozen people with U.S. citizenship or residency, like Shahzad, have been accused in the past two years of supporting, attempting or carrying out attacks on U.S. soil, illustrating the threat of violent extremism from within the U.S.

What kind of people? What kind of extremism?

Among them are Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, a U.S.-born Army psychiatrist of Palestinian descent, charged with fatally shooting 13 people last year at Fort Hood, Texas; Najibullah Zazi, a Denver-area airport shuttle driver who pleaded guilty in February in a plot to bomb New York subways; and a Pennsylvania woman who authorities say became radicalized online as "Jihad Jane" and plotted to kill a Swedish artist whose work offended Muslims.

Three militant Methodists taken off New York-Dubai flight — no, wait…

Robert — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:04:43 +0000

The Times Square jihadist, Faisal Shahzad, was arrested while trying to flee to Dubai. "Three passengers taken off New York-Dubai flight," from AFP, May 4 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

DUBAI (AFP) - Emirates Airlines said on Tuesday that three passengers were removed from a New York-Dubai flight, after US officials said a suspect in an attempted New York bombing was arrested trying to fly to Dubai.
"Emirates can confirm that its flight EK 202 (from New York to Dubai on May 3)... was called back by the local authorities prior to departure. Three passengers were removed from the flight," the airline said in a statement.

"Full security procedures were activated, including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage. Emirates is cooperating with the local authorities," it said.

US officials said earlier that a Pakistani-American suspect in an attempted car bombing on Saturday in New York's Times Square was arrested while trying to flee on flight from New York to Dubai....

Crimes punishable by death in the UAE include…apostasy

Robert — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:19:03 +0000

But wait! I thought all the learned analysts had assured us that there is no death penalty for apostasy in Islam! Isn't that right, Dr. Bassiouni? Mr. Kruse? Ms. Heagney?

Sharia Alert from the modern, moderate UAE: "Death Penalty: UAE; Man Who Murdered Lover's Husband Sentenced," from ANSAmed, May 3 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - DUBAI, MAY 3 - The court of first instance of the Sharjah emirate (one of the United Arab Emirates) has sentenced a man to death for killing the his lover's husband, reports the local press. The accused, a 27-year-old Indian, beat to death and then used acid to disfigure his lover's husband, and then left the body in the desert. The 26-year-old woman, also of Indian origin, has been given a life sentence in prison for acting as an accomplice. The number of death sentences issued since the beginning of the year in the United Arab Emirates in now 10. Crimes punishable by death in the UAE include murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking. However, the sentences are rarely carried out. (ANSAmed).

All it would take would be an Islamic rigorist in power to change that.

Muslim women seek to surgically “restore” virginity for their own safety — in Paris

Marisol — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 19:31:32 +0000

This story makes extensive use of the "culture" canard -- that is, don't blame Islam, blame "cultural" influences. Here's the problem: Cultural influences do count, and in a big way. Why?

Islam, despite its claims of being eternal, unchanged, and handed down in perfect form from on high, did not come up in a vacuum. It is utterly suffused with the baggage of Muhammad's culture, place, and time -- seventh-century Arabia -- not to mention his personal biases and hangups. All of this baggage is made sacrosanct via Qur'an 33:21, which calls Muhammad a "beautiful pattern of conduct" for believers.

Thus, the obsession with virginity described in "Arab cultures" here is tremendously reinforced and encouraged by several major aspects of Islam: the severity of punishments for sexual crimes, the uneven responsibility conferred on women to protect their and their families' "honor" through veiling and seclusion, and the sanction found in Qur'an 4:34 for attempting to "control" women with violence.

Of course, that doesn't stop the author of this report from avoiding the Islamic issue, and tacking on the usual tu quoque boilerplate, noted below.

"The virginity industry," by Najlaa Abou Mehri and Linda Sills, for BBC Radio 4, April 25:

Young Arab women wait in an upmarket medical clinic for an operation that will not only change their lives, but quite possibly save it. Yet the operation is a matter of choice and not necessity. It costs about 2,000 euros (£1,700) and carries very little risk.

The clinic is not in Dubai or Cairo, but in Paris. And the surgery they are waiting for is to restore their virginity.

Whether in Asia or the Arab world, an unknown number of women face an agonising problem having broken a deep taboo. They've had sex outside marriage and if found out, risk being ostracised by their communities, or even murdered.

Now more and more of them are undergoing surgery to re-connect their hymens and hide any sign of past sexual activity. They want to ensure that blood is spilled on their wedding night sheets.

The social pressure is so great that some women have even taken their own lives. [...]

Noor is a trendy professional who works in Damascus. He's fairly representative of young Syrian men in a secular society. But although Noor says he believes in equality for women, underneath the liberal facade lies a deep-rooted conservatism.

"I know girls who went through this restoration and they were caught out on their wedding night by their husbands," he says. "They realised they weren't virgins. Even if society accepts such a thing, I would still refuse to marry her."

Muslim clerics are quick to point out that the virginity issue is not about religion. "We should remember that when people wait for the virgin's blood to be spilled on the sheet, these are all cultural traditions," says Syrian cleric, Sheikh Mohamad Habash. "This is not related to Shariah law."

But killing for adultery (Sahih Bukhari 8.82.816), and demanding four witnesses to "prove" sexual crimes such as rape (Qur'an 24:4) most certainly are related to Sharia.

And now, some hastily tacked-on moral equivalence:

Christian communities in the Middle East are often just as firm in their belief that women should be virgins when they marry.

Arab writer and social commentator, Sana Al Khayat believes the whole issue has much to with the notion of "control"....

But where did that come from?

Yemen on al-Awlaki: No, really, they’re working on it, but…

Marisol — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:30:44 +0000

... they're just waiting on the U.S. for the intel. An update on this story, in which Yemen previously claimed al-Awlaki is "just" a preacher. "Yemen says seeks cleric, yet to get U.S. intelligence," from Reuters, April 11:

DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen said on Sunday it is trying to detain a Muslim cleric wanted dead or alive by Washington, but has yet to receive intelligence from the United States on the U.S.-born militant's activities.

U.S. officials said on Tuesday that the administration of President Barack Obama had authorized operations to capture or kill U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki -- a leading figure linked to al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing which claimed responsibility for a failed bombing of a U.S.-bound plane in December.

"He (Awlaki) is wanted by Yemeni justice for questioning, so that he can clear his name ... or face trial," Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told Al Jazeera television.

Qirbi did not give details of any manhunt by Yemeni security forces to arrest Awalaki, but referred to an air raid on a suspected al Qaeda gathering last December which the cleric reportedly had attended.

Qirbi said Yemen had not received U.S. intelligence on Awlaki's contacts with a Nigerian suspect in the attempted bombing of the transatlantic passenger plane and with a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people at a military base in Texas in November.

"The detailed information ... and evidence gathered by U.S. agencies has not been given to Yemen," Qirbi said.

Qirbi had been quoted by media reports as saying that Yemen saw Awlaki as a preacher and not a terrorist, but he told Al Jazeera that those remarks referred to the period just after Awlaki's return to Yemen when he was not suspected of wrongdoing by the United States.

Great. How about now?

Born in New Mexico, Awlaki led prayers at U.S. mosques. He returned to Yemen in 2004 where he taught at a university before he was arrested and imprisoned in 2006 for suspected links to al Qaeda and involvement in attacks. Awlaki was released in December 2007 after he was said to have repented....

British couple jailed in Dubai for kissing in public lose their appeal, face prison

Robert — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:25:26 +0000

Haram

There's a very mild content warning on the video above, but the point of it is that a jihad against love and ordinary human interaction is very much a part of Sharia. Modern, moderate Dubai, the hope of Dinesh D'Souza, is becoming ever more strict in its Sharia adherence.

There Is No Fun In Islam* Alert: "Dubai kissing couple lose appeal," from the BBC, April 4:

A British couple jailed in Dubai for kissing in public have lost their appeal against their conviction.
Ayman Najafi, 24, and Charlotte Adams, 25, were sentenced to a month in prison with subsequent deportation and fined about £200 for drinking alcohol.

The couple were arrested in November after a local woman accused them of breaking the country's decency laws by kissing on the mouth in a restaurant.

The pair said they would make a second appeal against the judge's decision.

The couple decided not to start their sentence immediately, but the Dubai authorities are holding their passports so they are unable to return to Britain.

The initial complaint against them was made by a 38-year-old woman who said she was offended by their behaviour at the Jumeirah Beach Residence, where she was dining with her daughter.

The couple's defence lawyers said the woman - who did not appear in court - had not seen the kiss herself, but had been told by her two-year-old child that the girl had seen the couple kissing....

They were fined 1000 dirhams, which is about £200....

Professor John Strawson, an expert in Islamic law, told BBC Radio 5 Live he was not surprised by the judge's decision.

He said: "The problem in this particular case is that one of the British citizens is of Muslim origin.

"And I think that the combination of the alleged kissing and the consumption of alcohol in an illegal place, meant that this was a case that the authorities really wanted to pursue, and they are probably sticking to their rigid interpretation of the law." [...]

In March, an Indian couple in their 40s were sentenced to three months in jail in Dubai after sending each other sexually explicit text messages.

In 2008, two Britons accused of having sex on a beach in Dubai were sentenced to three months in jail, though the sentences were later suspended.

* The Ayatollah Khomeini said that.

A Blind Eye for Hamas’ Victims

Anav Silverman — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:05:28 +0000

It is not every day that Human Rights Watch (HRW) comes out with a report that accurately highlights Hamas war crimes against Israel, but in the case of the Thai worker killed by a Gaza rocket on March 18, 2009, HRW did just that.

The tragic story of Manee Singmueangphon , a Thai migrant worker who was killed when a rocket struck an Israeli greenhouse north of Gaza on Thursday March 18, was barely given any in-depth coverage in the mainstream media. Most news reports simply stated that a Thai migrant worker was killed in a rocket attack, not even giving the victim a name.

Indeed, almost no western leader or human rights organization directed words of condemnation to the Islamic terrorists who fired the rockets that killed Manee, a 33-year old husband and father with children back in Thailand, and sent shock waves among his fellow Thai and Nepalese workers. In an interview with Sderot Media Center, a friend and coworker of Manee indicated that the rocket attack made him question whether working in Israel was worth the money. “Money is not worth this kind of danger,” the Nepalese worker stated in shock.

Over 70 people around the site of the rocket attack sought therapy treatment for shock and trauma, including 20 workers from Sderot.

Those foreign officials who did voice condemnation glazed over very general statements that held no one in Gaza responsible for the rocket attack. Catherine Ashton, the top EU diplomat who happened to be entering Gaza at the time the rocket was fired at Israeli civilians on the other side, responded that she condemned “any kind of violence,” while UN Chief Ban Ki-moon stressed that all acts of violence are “totally unacceptable.”

Indeed, is ‘unacceptable ‘really the most appropriate term to describe the murder of another human being at the hand of radical Islamic terrorists? And is it morally right to allow the Hamas government that controls the area in which the rocket was launched to get away with so not so much as a finger wagging from the global community?

If the Thai national would have been killed in Gaza, in an Israeli defense operation, world reaction would have been far stronger condemning the attack.

Human Rights Watch, however, made it clear in its March 19 report titled Gaza: End Impunity for Indiscriminate Rocket Attacks, that Hamas bared sole responsibility for violating laws of war. “Hamas as the de facto authority in Gaza has the responsibility to stop indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel,” according to Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

The HRW report stated that “deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians are serious violations of the laws of war. Such attacks committed willfully, that is, intentionally or recklessly, are war crimes that are subject to criminal prosecution.”

Ansar al-Sunna, the al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group initially took responsibility for the attack, citing that the rocket fire was in response to Israel’s “Judaization” of Islamic holy places in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum also stated that Israel “bears the responsibility for the rocket attacks because it “has launched a war against the Palestinian people and against holy cites and the al-Aqasa mosque.”

Interestingly, the so called more moderate Fatah’s military wing, the Al Aqsa Brigades, also claimed responsibility for the attack.

These statements, however, did not faze Human Rights Watch. Stork called such explanations a “diversion.” “The laws of war never permit indiscriminate attacks regardless of the conduct of the other side,” he stated.

In general, the Western’s world attitude of toleration towards Islamic terrorists and terrorism has become a very worrying phenomenon. The killing of the Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, was received by shocked disapproval from the international community. Many news outlets, including AP, called his death a murder.

The fact that al-Mabhouh was key to moving arms made or funded by Iranian government to Hamas in Gaza, or for his role in the 1989 kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers, did not elicit any signs of outrage in a world where Islamic terrorists are not often brought to justice.

The underlying result of al-Mabhouh’s death is that a dangerous terrorist, abetting the radical Islamic jihadist organization, Hamas, which is responsible for thousands of Israeli civilian deaths and injuries, is no longer a threat to humanity. Britian, Australia, France and other western nations, however, simply slammed Israel, the accused agent behind the assassination for carrying out the attack by using fake foreign passports. Not one word was said about the global need to successfully combat terrorism and bring terrorists to justice.

In order for terrorism to abate, the anger and words of condemnation and action need to be directed at those terrorists who commit these heinous acts. World leaders both in Europe and the West need to look beyond Islamic jihadist rhetoric and take a firm stand against Islamic terrorists whether it be in Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Afganistan, Iran, Somalia and other areas, where women and children remain their constant targets.

It is time that the Western community begins to understand Israel’s position in regard to its security struggles against Islamic jihadist terrorism. A news report in GulfNews.com, a United Arab Emirates publication, by Nasser Najjar on March 24, succinctly summed it best: “Because suicide bombing has become a nearly impossible means of resistance due to the isolation of the Gaza Strip and the more than 600 check points in the territories, launching rockets has become the most suitable military solution for the Palestinian factions.”

As long as the world tolerates those Islamic jihadists who fire rockets against innocent Israeli civilians and accepts their legitimization for it, terrorism will continue to strike innocent civilians everywhere. The killing of Manee Singmueangphon by a Gaza rocket should serve as a constant reminder that people of all nationalities are indiscriminate victims of Iranian-sponsored Islamic terrorism.

Anav Silverman is the International Correspondent for Sderot Media Center: www.SderotMedia.org.il.

Obama’s Disgraceful Conduct Toward Israel

P. David Hornik — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:27:35 +0000

On Wednesday night in Washington Israeli and American officials worked feverishly—but failed—to produce a document stating Israel’s commitments regarding proximity talks with the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. was reportedly supposed to take the document to the Palestinians and then to the Arab League meeting in Tripoli, Libya, this weekend.

Days earlier Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had outlined such commitments in a letter to secretary of state Hillary Clinton. It was deemed insufficient and, in Washington, President Barack Obama sent Netanyahu and his accompanying officials back to the drawing board. According to one report, Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman advised Netanyahu not to sign any such document that night, and to wait to return home and discuss the matter with the Israeli inner cabinet.

The commitments Obama seeks are variously reported to be: some sort of Israeli undertaking about a construction moratorium in the West Bank (where one is already in place) and East Jerusalem; a promise to engage in such final-status issues as refugees, borders, and Jerusalem in the proximity talks; and “gestures” to the Palestinian Authority such as the removal of additional checkpoints and the freeing of Palestinian security prisoners.

The pressures Obama directed at Netanyahu were severe, in one account even inducing a “panic” reaction in the Israeli leader. The total media blackout that accompanied their meeting led the Washington Post’s Jackson Diehl to comment that “Netanyahu is being treated as if he were an unsavory Third World dictator, needed for strategic reasons but conspicuously held at arm’s length.” Obama was further riled by news about an approval to build 20 apartments for Jews in a compound in East Jerusalem owned by an American Jewish millionaire since 1985—situated in a mostly-Arab neighborhood.

By Thursday night, with Netanyahu and his inner cabinet set to convene, many of his ministers had praised his refusal while in Washington to cave on the Jerusalem-construction issue, Netanyahu having stated to AIPAC on Monday night that “The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 year ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today.”

Meanwhile an Arab-affairs correspondent of Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s largest newspaper, reported on Thursday based on Palestinian Authority sources that

“the drama taking place on Wednesday in Washington has not gone unnoticed by the Palestinians, but…as of now there is no change in their position regarding the possibility for proximity talks.… even a declaration that indirect talks will address core issues such as Jerusalem and borders is not sufficient. ‘What is necessary [said a senior Palestinian official] is a clear American commitment that building in the settlements will be frozen completely, both in Jerusalem and in the West Bank.’”

As many have noted, just as Obama’s earlier call for a total freeze on Israeli settlements apparently led Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to stonewall direct talks with Israel, so the recent brouhaha Obama created over Israeli building in Jerusalem seems to have led Abbas to back out, for now, from the proximity talks as well. In other words, even those who see such talks as leading to peace should not be happy with how Obama has handled the matter. What such optimists are likely to miss, though, is that the Palestinian Authority is hardly eager for either talks or peace and jumps at opportunities to back out of the former.

The larger Arab world is almost very much part of Obama’s grandiose plans for peace between Israel and its neighbors, but there too discouraging news surfaced on Thursday. It was reported that the Saudi MBC1 television network, along with Dubai Television, had bought and started airing Ayrilik, a 13-part anti-Semitic Turkish series. Ayrilik depicts Israeli soldiers as satanic and shows them engaging in such acts as murdering Palestinians of all ages, including a newborn baby, and kicking the corpses.

Dubai is, of course, considered an amenable Arab country, a financial hub and tourist playground. It’s suggested that Dubai may be broadcasting the series to get back at Israel for the alleged assassination on its soil of a single Hamas terrorist two months ago. As for Saudi Arabia, it’s the famed source of the “Saudi peace plan” and one of the reputedly “moderate” Arab countries Obama supplicated some months ago to make “gestures” to Israel—only to be contemptuously rebuffed.

In light of all this, the spectacle of the intensive, harried American-Israeli consultations lasting well into Wednesday night emerges as grotesque. The face the Obama administration has turned toward Israel these past two weeks is an ugly one. The news about 20 apartments for Jews in a Jerusalem neighborhood that the U.S. president sees as off limits for Jews has him incensed. Neither the Palestinians’ obvious disdain for his obsessive efforts to induce them into talks, nor ongoing Palestinian and Arab barbaric anti-Semitism, has ever been seen to evoke even a twinge of annoyance in him. Instead Obama’s capacity to insult and humiliate the Israeli prime minister—the only one to make an effort to go along with his plans—is ongoing and disgraceful.

Meanwhile over 250 members of Congress from both parties have written to Clinton to “reaffirm our commitment to the unbreakable bond that exists between our country and the State of Israel and to express to you our deep concern over recent tension,” stating that “differences are best resolved quietly, in trust and confidence, as befits longstanding strategic allies.” It is a relief to see the authentic, decent face of America again. Obama’s policy toward Israel shames that decency.

What fun they’ll have in France: Dubai to hunt for booze in food

Robert — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:21:37 +0000

Modern, moderate Dubai, the hope of Dinesh D'Souza, steps up its Sharia adherence. "Farewell flambe: Dubai to hunt for booze in food," from Associated Press, March 22 (thanks to all who sent this in):

[...] Media reports today say Dubai authorities plan to step up enforcement of a 2003 law prohibiting restaurants from using booze in food preparation.
Alcoholic drinks are widely available in Dubai and the 2003 law has been mostly disregarded.

But the latest move appears aimed at easing worries from Muslim restaurant goers that no wine or liquor were used in preparing their meals. Fines for violators can run nearly $5,500.

Several Dubai chefs have argued that strict enforcement of the ban would compromise their dishes. They are in talks with the municipality for less severe regulations.

Good luck with that.

Who Carried out the Dubai Assassination?

Jacob Laksin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:05:25 +0000

Visit Newsreal

For those familiar with the stellar reputation of Israel’s clandestine services, the recent hit on a Hamas operative and arms dealer in Dubai seems oddly atypical. It was, to the outside observer, an embarrassingly sloppy effort: The agents who allegedly carried out the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his luxury hotel room made what appear to be a series of rookie mistakes, for instance allowing themselves to be caught on video surveillance cameras and using the stolen passports of Israeli citizens. Hardly the kind of work one would associate with the Israeli Mossad, whose efficiency in covert operations is the stuff of cloak-and-dagger legend.

Indeed, even Hamas is starting to have doubts. Having initially pointed the finger at Israel, Hamas now suspects that the security services of another Arab state – possibly Jordan or Egypt – could have been behind the assassination.

Hamas suspects the security forces of an Arab state were behind the assassination of a senior group operative in Dubai earlier this year, the Al-Quds Al-Araby daily reported on Tuesday.

Mahmoud Nasser, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told the newspaper that slain commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was likely being tracked by agents from Jordan and Egypt prior to the January 19 killing.

Nasser said he had been given information regarding such efforts to kill Mabhouh, adding that the evidence indicated that the assassination was carried out earlier than the alleged agents had planned.

According to Nasser, Mabhouh was in possession of “dangerous” information seen as dangerous to particular Arab elements seeking to topple Islamist resistance.

That tracks with the reporting of the Washington Times’ Eli Lake, who noted last week that despite widespread assumptions about Israel’s role in the assassination

…some details have emerged that do not track with traditional Israeli intelligence tradecraft. The Dubai authorities this week said two of the operatives fled to Iran.

Michael Ross, a retired officer for the Mossad’s covert-operations division, said it would be a breach of Israeli protocol for an operative to flee to another target country like that after an operation.

He also said that it was unlikely that Israel would use 26 people for a job that would require far fewer people. “The Mossad believes if two people can do something instead of three people, then send two.”

I’m not sure the last point is a strong one. As former CIA field officer Robert Baer pointed out in the Wall Street Journal last weekend, 26 people is just about the right number for this kind of operation. The logic is that it takes a lot of people to provide the reconnaissance and observation required for the hit to succeed without alerting the authorities. Nevertheless, the abject failure of those involved in the assassination scheme to cover their tracks while bringing almost immediate scrutiny to bear on Israel may well be the strongest reason to question whether Israeli intelligence was in fact responsible. After all, Hamas has long been on the receiving end of Israel’s superlative ability to carry out clean and precise assassinations. If even they are having their doubts about Israel’s involvement, the emerging conventional wisdom about what really happened in Dubai may yet be proven wrong.

A Spy Scandal About Nothing

Alan M. Dershowitz — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:28:42 +0000

The complaints leveled against Israel by European countries and Australia, regarding the alleged misuse of passports by the Mossad in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, ring hollow and smack of blatant hypocrisy. Whoever did kill Mahmoud al-Mabhouh—whether it was the Israeli Mossad or someone else—clearly did have their agents use stolen or forged passports. Big deal.

Every good intelligence agency uses stolen and forged passports. The British have been especially adept at this means of spycraft. No country that uses fake passports in their intelligence operations has the moral authority to complain about the alleged misuse of passports in this case. The only ones that have a legitimate grievance are those individuals whose passports may have been misused without their knowledge.

I guess it’s the job of foreign ministries to complain publicly when other nations do what they themselves do secretly. Hypocrisy is, after all, the homage that vice pays to virtue. I’m reminded of the famous scene in Casablanca, when officer Renault declares, “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” A croupier then approaches Renault, and hands him a roll of currency: “Your winnings, sir.”

The hypocrisy in this case seems even more blatant than usual. Is it because Israel is the alleged offender, and the world has gotten accustomed to singling out Israel for double standard condemnation?

Shortly after the terrorist attacks in Bali, which killed a large number of Australian tourists, I had the opportunity to meet with the Australian Prime Minister. I was writing a book at the time on preemption, and I asked him whether he would have authorized a preemptive attack on the terrorist who killed Australian citizens, if such an attack would have saved their lives. His response was that Australia would have done anything it could, to prevent these terrorist attacks. Anything, I guess, except misusing passports! Is there anybody who believes that Australia would not have used forged or stolen passports to prevent the Bali massacres? If Great Britain could have stopped the London subway attack by misusing passports, would M6 have allowed the terrorism to go forward in the name of preserving passport integrity? Of course not. The same is true of Spain with regard to the Madrid bombing and to every other country in the world that seeks to prevent terrorism. Well, if the Mossad did in fact kill al-Mabhouh, they too did it to prevent the killing of their innocent civilians.

The Israelis are always accused by their enemies, and sometimes even by their friends, of taking “disproportionate” action to stop terrorists. But what could be more proportionate than a carefully planned and specifically targeted attack on an admitted terrorist who boasted of being an active combatant? Whoops! I guess I forgot about those darn passports. That must be the disproportionate action complained about. Saving innocent lives, on the one hand—misusing passports on the other. I guess the right moral resolution, according to some foreign ministries, is to let innocent victims die—at least as long as its only Israeli victims.

It’s interesting, and disturbing, that more criticism is being directed against Israel for allegedly using stolen passports than for allegedly killing a terrorist. That’s because no western country wants to appear to be sympathetic to a terrorist. The “victims” of passport fraud are innocent civilians, but the injury they have suffered pales in comparison to the injuries—deaths—prevented by the well-deserved death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

If the deaths of a small number of innocent civilians is deemed “proportional” to the killing of a terrorist combatant, than surely the discomfort of a small number of innocent victims of passport fraud is proportional.

The high dudgeon expressed by foreign ministries over stolen passports is worse than hypocritical. It undercuts the war against terrorism.

There ought to be concern, among western democracies, about how easy it is to use forged or stolen passports. Dubai should be conducting an investigation, but the focus should be on how simple it was for those carrying these phony passports to get into their country. The misuse of passports is, after all, a primary tool used by terrorists to smuggle themselves into western countries, from which they can engage in worldwide terrorism. There are thousands of forged and fraudulent British passports circulating around the world today. Many are in the hands of terrorists. That should be the focus of any investigation, not the occasional and controlled misuse of passports by western intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.

Whoever snuck into Dubai using fake passports may have done that country a service in warning them to tighten up their passport procedures. Next time it may be a terrorist who tries to enter the country. Wait! Isn’t that exactly what happened when al-Mabhouh walked through security using a real passport with his real name? I guess in Dubai you don’t have to use a fake passport if you’re a terrorist, but you do if you’re trying to stop terrorists—at least if the terrorism is directed only against Israel. I guess Dubai is less concerned about letting terrorists into their country with real passports than in letting those who would stop terrorism into their country with fake passports. It’s a topsy-turvy world out there.

New Questions About Dubai Assassination

Jacob Laksin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:03:16 +0000

For those familiar with the stellar reputation of Israel’s clandestine services, the recent hit on a Hamas operative and arms dealer in Dubai seems oddly atypical. It was, to the outside observer, an embarrassingly sloppy effort: The agents who allegedly carried out the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh (pictured above) in his luxury hotel room made what appear to be a series of rookie mistakes, for instance allowing themselves to be caught on video surveillance cameras and using the stolen passports of Israeli citizens. Hardly the kind of work one would associate with the Israeli Mossad, whose efficiency in covert operations is the stuff of cloak-and-dagger legend.

Hamas suspects the security forces of an Arab state were behind the assassination of a senior group operative in Dubai earlier this year, the Al-Quds Al-Araby daily reported on Tuesday.

Mahmoud Nasser, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told the newspaper that slain commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was likely being tracked by agents from Jordan and Egypt prior to the January 19 killing.

Nasser said he had been given information regarding such efforts to kill Mabhouh, adding that the evidence indicated that the assassination was carried out earlier than the alleged agents had planned.

According to Nasser, Mabhouh was in possession of “dangerous” information seen as dangerous to particular Arab elements seeking to topple Islamist resistance.

That tracks with the reporting of the Washington Times’ Eli Lake, who noted last week that despite widespread assumptions about Israel’s role in the assassination

…some details have emerged that do not track with traditional Israeli intelligence tradecraft. The Dubai authorities this week said two of the operatives fled to Iran.

Michael Ross, a retired officer for the Mossad’s covert-operations division, said it would be a breach of Israeli protocol for an operative to flee to another target country like that after an operation.

He also said that it was unlikely that Israel would use 26 people for a job that would require far fewer people. “The Mossad believes if two people can do something instead of three people, then send two.”

Radical Son

Stephen Brown — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:07:43 +0000

He is not his father’s son.

In a stunning revelation, the son of a Hamas founder told an Israeli newspaper this week that he once served as an Israeli intelligence agent. Mosab Hassan Yousef, 32, told the Israeli daily Haaretz that he spied for more than ten years on the Iranian-backed terrorist organization that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

In his role as Israeli informant, Yousef is credited with helping arrest high-ranking terrorists. Much more important, however, is that he also saved the lives of “hundreds of innocent people” with the information he provided the Israeli intelligence service, Shin Bet, about pending suicide attacks. “So many people owe their lives to him and don’t even know it,” Yousef’s unidentified Shin Bet handler told Haaretz.

Yousef’s Israeli handler went on to relate how the “Green Prince” – Yousef’s codename, taken from the color for Islam – personally picked out a suicide bomber in a Ramallah square and followed him until an arrest could be made.

Next week, Yousef’s memoir about his experiences in the terrorist organization will be published in the United States. Aptly named Son Of Hamas, the book is described on Yousef’s Facebook site as “a gripping account of terror, betrayal, political intrigue, and unthinkable choices.”

A tale of terror: Mosab Hassan Yousef’s memoir will be released next week.

Besides offering a uniquely intimate glimpse into the murderous world of Islamic terrorism, Yousef’s revelation of his Israeli spy past represents another serious blow to Hamas. This week, police in Dubai indicated the senior Hamas operative killed in his hotel room in the emirate last month, reputedly by an Israeli hit team, may in fact have been set up with information provided by the terrorist organization itself.

Yousef’s admission, coming so soon after the Dubai reversal, will likely cause Hamas members to wonder how deeply their ranks have been penetrated by informers. History shows that terrorist organizations, such as the pre-revolutionary Bolshevik Party in Russia, suspecting such infiltration among their membership, sometimes carried out murderous purges that often claimed the innocent as well as the guilty. A few more such Israeli intelligence coups may see the same thing occur inside Hamas.

Shin Bet recruited Yousef in an Israeli prison in 1996. Thanks to his competence and professionalism, he came to be regarded as a very valuable asset, his existence known to only a handful of Shin Bet operatives. “His grasp of intelligence matters was just as good as ours – the ideas, the insights. One insight of his was worth 1,000 hours of thought by top experts,” said his former handler.

But what struck the Israelis the most was that in the shadow world of terrorism, where most things have a price, Yousef did not accept any payment. “The amazing thing is that none of his actions were done for money,” said the handler. “He did things he believed in. He wanted to save lives.”

The probable reason for a Muslim terrorist’s unusual regard for the sanctity of human life may prove to be as interesting a story as Yousef’s spying activities with Hamas. Over a decade ago, Yousef, who now lives in California, converted to Christianity.

While the conversion of Muslims to Christianity is less well known than from Christianity to Islam, it does occur. One of the reason Christian groups often keep them secret, or don’t keep statistics, is that Muslim apostates are subject to the death penalty under Islam’s Sharia law. So, even if Yousef had never worked for Israeli intelligence, his life would still be in peril. But the fact that a high-ranking Hamas member with such a sterling terrorist pedigree (his father is currently serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli prison) would convert, while highly unusual, is not unknown. There are reports that even members of the Muslim Brotherhood have abandoned their Islamic faith.

One such Brotherhood member, who once burned a church in his Middle Eastern country, converted after he was asked by a senior Brotherhood member to read the New Testament and write an anti-Cristian tract. Instead of producing the assigned anti-Christian screed, however, he was so drawn to Christ’s personility and the Bible’s central messages of love and forgiveness, that he not only converted but became an evangelist with another Brotherhood convert. In a grim warning to Muslim apostates, both were later hunted down by their former coreligionists and savagely murdered.

In discovering his new faith, Yousef appears also to have discovered a new value for human life. In particular, he has become an outspoken advocate of Israel’s security interests. Besides his life-saving work for Shin Bet, Yousef has strongly apposed any effort by Israel to exchange imprisoned terrorists for the Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, whom Hamas kidnapped three years ago.

Yousef knows probably better than anyone more people will be killed in terrorist attacks if the prisoners are released. He has already blamed Hamas for killing Palestinians and not Israel. His opposition is such that he told Haaretz he was willing to “put on an army uniform and join Israel’s Special Forces in order to liberate Gilad Schalit.” As Yousef puts it, “We wasted so many years with investigations and arrests to capture the very terrorists that they now want to release in return for Schalit. That must not be done.”

As for those who continue to counsel Israel to bend to the terrorists’ demands, Yousef speaks a hard truth founded on years of personal experience: “Hamas cannot make peace with the Israelis. That is against what their God tells them. It is impossible to make peace with infidels.” Those are hardly the words one would expect to hear from the son of a Hamas founder, but Mosab Hassan Yousef’s tale is extraordinary – not least because he has lived to tell it.

Yemeni al-Qaeda leader threatens attacks against U.S.

Robert — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:53:58 +0000

"Today, you have attacked us in the middle of our household, so wait for what will befall you in the middle of yours ... We will blow up the earth from beneath your feet."

"Senior Yemen al Qaeda leader threatens U.S. attacks: site," by Raissa Kasolowsky for Reuters, February 23:

DUBAI (Reuters) - A senior member of al Qaeda's Yemen wing who the Yemeni government said it killed has emerged on an internet forum, threatening to carry out attacks in the United States.
Yemen declared an open war on al Qaeda on its territory last month after the group's regional off-shoot claimed responsibility for a failed bomb attack on a Detroit-bound plane in December that grabbed the world's attention.

"Today, you have attacked us in the middle of our household, so wait for what will befall you in the middle of yours ... We will blow up the earth from beneath your feet," Qasim al-Raymi, the wing's military commander, said in an article posted earlier this month on a website used by Islamist militants. [...]

In his article, Raymi said U.S. assistance to Yemen has strengthened the militants' popularity among local tribes.

Addressing the U.S. government, he wrote: "You united us with our people ... the catastrophe unites those it befalls."...

And Western analysts and bright lights like Kelley Beaucar Vlahos actually buy this rhetoric.