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Two dead in Belgian anti-terror raid against group planning ‘grand scale’ attacks

January 15, 2015

Two dead in Belgian anti-terror raid against group planning ‘grand scale’ attacks – International – Jerusalem Post.

Belgian authorities arrest third suspect in operation for now not being directly linked to last week’s attacks in Paris.

BRUSSELS — Belgian police killed two men who opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids on Thursday against a group that was about to launch “terrorist attacks on a grand scale,” a federal prosecutor told a news conference.

A third man was arrested during the operation in the eastern town of Verviers, Eric Van Der Sypt added, saying there was, for the time being, no direct connection to last week’s attacks in Paris. No police were injured in the operation, he said.

“The suspects immediately and for several minutes opened fire with military weaponry and handguns on the special units of the federal police before they were neutralized,” he said.

Judiciary officials confirmed only that a counter-terrorism operation had taken place near the center of the town, in the east of the country between the city of Liege and the German border.

RTBF said it was an operation intended to check on suspected radicals — one of several being conducted against people believed to have returned to Belgium after taking part in the Syrian civil war.

Belgium has seen significant radical Islamist activity among its Muslim population.

Local media said gunshots and several explosions were heard on a residential street in Verviers near the railway station and one photo posted by a witness on Twitter showed police vehicles and ambulances blocking the street.

The raid came after prosecutors said earlier on Thursday that Belgian authorities have detained a man for arms dealing and were investigating whether he supplied one of the Islamist gunmen who together killed 17 people in Paris last week.

Belgian media reported that a man had handed himself in to police in the southern city of Charleroi on Tuesday, saying he had been in touch with Amedy Coulibaly, the terrorist who took hostages in a Jewish supermarket in the French capital and was later killed by security forces.

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A thought experiment about Islam

January 15, 2015

A thought experiment about Islam, Dan Miller’s Blog, January 15, 2015

(The views expressed in this article are mine, and do not necessarily reflect those of Warsclerotic or its other editors. — DM)

A religion which blesses and encourages the slaughter of those who offend it or its “prophet” should be condemned, not praised, unless and until it stops doing both. 

On January 14th, I posted an article titled Obama plans to restrain media offensiveness to Islam. As a thought experiment, this less than obviously relevant cartoon appeared at the top:

Islamic pig

I considered the cartoon offensive and hope that everyone else did too. It might depict Mohamed, or it might not. Beyond vague descriptions, likely of questionable value, we have little information about Mohamed’s physical appearance. The cartoon could depict any obese human male wearing a turban. The same is true of other cartoons purporting to depict Mohamed in various poses.

Had a similar cartoon shown instead a Roman Catholic priest or a rabbi on a roasting spit, with a giant pencil extending into his anus and thence through his body and mouth, present day Christians, Jews and those of most other world religions, as well as those of no religion, would quite likely be offended; far less because of the religious significance of the victim than because we do not do that sort of thing to people. We would not on either account murder the cartoonist. Many Muslims might well consider the cartoon funny and approve of what they consider an appropriate consequence of being Jewish or Christian.

As far as I am aware, no world religion other than Islam worships, and seeks to have its followers emulate, a “prophet” or saint who condoned and demanded the killing of those who mocked or otherwise offended him. Mohamed did. Neither Jesus nor Moses did. Nor, as far as I am aware, did any prophet or saint of any other current world religion.

Other Mohamed cartoons of which I am aware do not show him being killed or tortured. For example this cartoon, which inspired the vicious animosity of many Muslims, merely depicts him with a bomb in his turban and gazing with hatred at someone or some thing. It does not depict him being tortured or killed.

turbanbomb1

Rather than consider it offensive, I consider it a humorous way of depicting one (of the many) barbaric things done by Muslims in the name, and with the blessing, of their religion. Current day non-Muslims also use bombs and some of the same weapons. They use more advanced weapons as well. However, they do not generally do it in the name and with the blessings of their religions because of what they perceive as insults to those religions. That is a significant difference.

Modern cultures should not seek to prevent the publication of cartoons presenting Mohamed, or anyone else, in an unfavorable light. Nor should they seek to prevent cartoons of the objectionable type I posted on January 14th. They can also generate controversy and, hopefully, peaceful discussion. A cartoon of the sort suggested above, depicting a Roman Catholic priest or Jewish rabbi instead of Mohamed, probably would generate nothing more than peaceful controversy, aside from the pleasure of some Muslims.

If cartoons cause bad people to kill those who create or publish them, all of the subsequent adverse consequences should befall those who kill, not those who would create or publish more cartoons.Obama is intent upon imposing adverse consequences on the latter, while claiming that those who kill or attempt to kill in the name of Allah act on behalf of no religion. He would, and would have the rest of us, shield the murderers’ coreligionist supporters even from our displeasure. Obama is a disgrace to civilized humanity.

ISIS scared

ADDENDUM

Categories: Charlie Hedbo, Christians, Europe, France, Freedom, Human rights, Humor, Islam, Islamic slaughter, Islamism, Islamophobia, Jews, Jihad, Koran, Multiculturalism, Obama, Sharia law, Terrorism, Torture
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Free Fire Zone- A Strategy to defeat Global Jihad

January 15, 2015

Free Fire Zone- A Strategy to defeat Global Jihad, Blackfive, January 15, 2015

(I look forward to learning the substance of their proposal. — DM)

The Islamists are attacking all over the world. They are enslaving and killing innocents and the best the free world can come up with is more hashtags. I am glad to see some organizations standing up for freedom of speech and liberty, but it is maddening to watch the United States of America unwilling to even name the enemy facing us all. It is Islamist Extremists and they are proud to let us know.

President Obama has no strategy and is anything has shown a complete unwillingness and inability to deal with the reality we face. The Center for Security Policy has taken the ball and in the absence of leadership from the Commander in Chief, written a comprehensive strategy for dealing with and defeating the Global Jihad. We will release the document tomorrow Friday, January 16 at 12 Noon at the National Press Club in DC.

 

Categories: Combat troops, Foreign policy, Islam, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Islamism, Obama, Obama administration, Rules of war, Terrorism
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Israeli Official: Hezbollah Will Invade Israel In Next Middle East War

January 15, 2015

Israeli Official: Hezbollah Will Invade Israel In Next Middle East War

via Israeli Official: Hezbollah Will Invade Israel In Next Middle East War | Washington Free Beacon.

1421322880562.cached
 

BY:
January 15, 2015 10:50 am

JERUSALEM—In the next war with Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based militia will likely attempt sending large ground forces across the border to seize villages inside Israel, according to Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, the outgoing head of Israel’s Military Intelligence research division.

In an interview with the newspaper Israel Hayom, Brun said that Hezbollah would also likely carry out pinpoint terrorist attacks on cities in northern Israel, like Nahariya, a seaside city of 50,000 population six miles south of the border.

However, Hezollah’s main effort will be the firing of 1,000 rockets a day into Israel, more than twice the average fired during the month-long Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Brun said the rockets would target strategic facilities. The militia’s arsenal is believed to contain well over 100,000 rockets. Unlike the 2006 conflict, when almost all the 4,000 Hezbollah rockets fired were of short range and endangered mainly border areas, Hezbollah now has thousands of rockets that are capable of hitting almost anywhere in Israel, said Brun.

Hezbollah was armed and trained by Iran, which sees its rocket arsenal as a major deterrent aimed at forestalling an Israeli air strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Brun did not say when a clash with Hezbollah is likely to happen but he predicted that the Middle East as a whole will simmer in 2015. “We are expecting the mess in the Middle East to continue,” he said.

Although the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad announced that it has rid itself of all its chemical weapons, he said, it in fact continues to use them in the current civil war. These agents are not as deadly as sarin or VX, said Brun, but can nevertheless be lethal. “They neutralize in low doses and kill in high doses. Assad used chlorine gas, for example.”

The intelligence officer said that terrorist organizations fighting the Damascus regime may eventually get their hands on chemical weapons. “They may not pose a strategic threat to the (Israeli) home front but they are certainly a threat to the military.”

As for the Palestinians, Brun said that the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, does not support terrorism. “He does not doublespeak, and he does not incite.”

Terror strikes, such as the ones that took place last week in Paris, will continue against the West, including Israeli and Jewish targets. “This is a permanent phenomenon that needs to be confronted.”

Writing in the newspaper Haaretz, analyst Ari Shavit likewise predicts a stormy year ahead. Referring to the recent, relatively calm, years Israel has enjoyed, he said 2015 will be a year of destabilization, with the West Bank likely erupting in violence and Gaza as well. “Fasten your seat belts – Israel, with eyes wide open, is flying into a storm.”

The efforts by the Palestinian Authority to gain international recognition as an independent state, bypassing negotiations with Israel, will draw an Israeli economic and diplomatic response that will escalate the situation, Shavit predicted. “If there is an escalation in the coming year (on the Palestinian front),” he warned, “it’s highly likely to be a dual-front (West Bank and Gaza) escalation.”

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Israel’s most highly decorated soldier, dropped out of politics and the public eye four years ago. In a rare interview last week in Haaretz, he spoke morosely of Israel’s political situation, particularly the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank. Asked if he would respond positively if there was a call to him to lead a political party again, he indicated that he would. “I am realistic enough to know that a situation could emerge, heaven forbid, in which people will turn to me and I will be compelled to consider it. And because I know what that type of situation would be, I say let’s hope we don’t get there.”

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Exclusive: ISIS Gaining Ground in Syria, Despite U.S. Strikes

January 15, 2015

Exclusive: ISIS Gaining Ground in Syria, Despite U.S. Strikes, The Daily Beast, January 15, 2015

1421322880562.cachedHosam Katan/Reuters

American jets are pounding Syria. But ISIS is taking key terrain—and putting more and more people under its black banners.

ISIS continues to gain substantial ground in Syria, despite nearly 800 airstrikes in the American-led campaign to break its grip there.At least one-third of the country’s territory is now under ISIS influence, with recent gains in rural areas that can serve as a conduit to major cities that the so-called Islamic State hopes to eventually claim as part of its caliphate. Meanwhile, the Islamic extremist group does not appear to have suffered any major ground losses since the strikes began. The result is a net ground gain for ISIS, according to information compiled by two groups with on-the-ground sources.In Syria, ISIS “has not any lost any key terrain,” Jennifer Cafarella, a fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War who studies the Syrian conflict, explained to The Daily Beast.Even U.S. military officials privately conceded to The Daily Beast that ISIS has gained ground in some areas, even as the Pentagon claims its seized territory elsewhere, largely around the northern city of Kobani. That’s been the focus of the U.S.-led campaign, and ISIS has not been able to take the town, despite its best efforts.Other than that, they are short on specifics.

1421269431538.cachedClick to Enlarge (Coalition For a Democratic Syria)

“Yes, they have gained some ground. But we have stopped their momentum,” one Pentagon official told The Daily Beast.

A map developed by the Coalition for a Democratic Syria (CDS), a Syrian-American opposition umbrella group, shows that ISIS has nearly doubled the amount of territory it controls since airstrikes began last year.

“Assessing the map, ISIS has almost doubled its territorial control in Syria. But more importantly, the number of people who now live under ISIS control has also increased substantially,” CDS political adviser Mouaz Moustafa said.

With the fall of that much territory into ISIS hands, Syrians who once lived in ungoverned or rebel held areas are now under ISIS’s grip. Of course, in an irregular war like this one, control of people is far more important than control of territory. In that regard, too, things appear to be going in the wrong direction.

In the first two months following American airstrikes, about a million Syrians who had previously lived in areas controlled by moderates now lived in areas controlled by extremist groups al Nusra or ISIS, according to CDS, citing conversations with European diplomats who support the Syrian opposition.

The area of ISIS’s expansion includes large segments of the Homs Desert, which begins far south of the contested northern city of Aleppo. It stretches below the presumed capital of ISIS in Syria, Raqqa, and all the way to the Iraqi border. It is largely rural and not an area that ISIS has had to fight for. Rather the group took control of uncontested parts of the countryside while skirting key regime strongholds in the area, Cafarella said.

But that does not mean that land is not valuable to ISIS. That newly acquired terrain allows ISIS troops to target and threaten more valuable areas, Cafarella said.

Since the U.S. campaign began in August, “there are little buds of ISIS control in eastern Homs, al Qalamoun [which borders northern Lebanon], and southern Damascus that do appear to be growing because of that freedom of operation that can connect those western cells to key ISIS terrains in Raqqa and Deir ez Zour” in northern and eastern Syria.

Moustafa, the CDS political adviser, blamed ISIS territorial gains on a lack of “strategic coordination between coalition strikes and moderate forces inside Syria, meaning that the Free Syrian Army and aligned groups cannot use the strikes to retake territory.” Further, Moustafa told The Daily Beast, coalition strikes have given other extremist groups sympathy for ISIS.

One frustration of the Syrian opposition groups is that the bombing campaign has been focused at the heart of ISIS controlled territory, rather than at the front lines, where ISIS territorial gains could be pushed back.

“The coalition strikes seem similar to drone campaigns in Yemen or Pakistan, targeting only leadership. The front-line strength of ISIS has undoubtedly increased even as some of these targeted strikes take out mid-level individual leaders,” Moustafa said.

As of Sunday, the U.S. and its coalition partners had conducted 790 airstrikes in Syria, according to Pentagon statistics. In all, the U.S. has spent $1.2 billion on its campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

In its public comments, the U.S. military has said repeatedly the effort against ISIS is on the right track. However it often does this by conflating its war in Iraq and Syria. Ask a question about what is happening in Syria, and U.S. officials will stress that ISIS has not gained ground in Iraq. Ask if the U.S. effort is working in Syria, and the military often points to the fact that ISIS has failed to take control of Kobani.

During a Jan. 6 press briefing, for example, when a reporter asked “where ISIS’s relative strength is right now,” Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby replied by talking exclusively about the U.S. effort in Iraq, naming cities were the military believed ISIS’s momentum has been “halted.”

When the reporter pressed for an answer on what was happening in Syria, Kirby struggled, saying, “I couldn’t give you a—a specific point at which, you know, we believe, well geez, we’ve halted their momentum. It—it’s come slowly, in various stages. But I think it’s safe to say that over the last three to four weeks, we—we’ve been confident that that momentum has largely been blunted.”

On Friday, Kirby proclaimed that ISIS had lost 700 square kilometers since the campaign began—over half the size of New York City or about four times the size of the District of Columbia. But the Pentagon spokesman could not say what percentage that area marked of total ISIS-controlled land. Nor could he say if that loss was in Iraq, Syria, or combined in both nations. As Kirby asserted: “I’m frankly not sure how relevant that is. I mean, it’s—they have less ground now than they did before. They’re trying to defend what ground that they have. They’re not going on the offense much, and they’re really trying to preserve their own oxygen.”

1421269455425.cachedClick to Enlarge (Coalition For a Democratic Syria)

The American military has not been able to take full advantage of the difficulties ISIS is facing. A worldwide drop in oil prices threatens the recently declared state’s ability to raise revenue, while declining standards in public services, distribution of aid, and provision of electricity threaten to undercut the group’s support across the territories it controls. ISIS has also not been able to follow through on its military quest to challenge the Iraqi government all the way to Baghdad.

The U.S. military stressed it is waging an “Iraq first” war, that is focused on eliminating ISIS from that country first. There, the U.S. can turn to Iraqi troops on the ground to assess its efforts. But there is no equivalent resource on the ground in Syria. Perhaps because of that, the U.S. military has offered a far more detailed assessment of the air campaign in Iraq than the one in Syria.

The Combined Joint Task Force in charge of the American air campaign refused to answer a Daily Beast query about ISIS gains in Syria, even as it striking targets there. U.S. Central Command replied, “As a matter of policy we do not discuss intelligence issues.”

Information on the maps:

The maps provided by the Coalition for a Democratic Syria show the areas controlled by moderate Syrian rebels, the Syrian regime, ISIS, Syrian al Qaeda affiliate al Nusra, as well as territories contested by these groups. The maps were developed by a field team from the Coalition for a Democratic Syria (CDS), an umbrella group of Syrian American organizations. The maps were sourced through on-the-ground networks including civilian councils, humanitarian organizations, armed actors, and media monitoring of independent Syrian channels.

Categories: Airstrikes, Coalition, Department of Defense, Iraq, Islamic State, Moderate rebels, Obama administration, Syria, U.S. Military
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Pegida: The New German Revolution

January 15, 2015

Pegida: The New German Revolution, The Gatestone Institute, Peter Martino, January 15, 2015

Pegida’s worries about the Islamization of Germany concern the seeming intolerance and religious fanaticism that have grown hand in hand with the arrival of Muslim populations unwilling to adapt to Western values.

But by decrying Pegida’s views as “xenophobic,” “narrow minded” and even “inhuman,” Germany’s ruling establishment shows how deeply out of touch it is with the worries of a large segment of the population.

***************

Pegida’s worries about the Islamization of Germany concern the seeming intolerance and religious fanaticism that have grown hand-in-hand with the arrival of the Muslim populations unwilling to adapt to Western values.

The terror attacks in France Had “nothing to do with Islam.” — German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière.

By decrying Pegida’s views as “xenophobic,” narrow minded” and even “inhuman,” Germany’s ruling establishment shows how deeply out of touch it is with the worries of a large segment of the population.

Perhaps the people in the East just want to avoid the situation that the Western part of the country is in. Having gone through decades of Communist dictatorship, perhaps they are less inclined to trust that their political leaders have the people’s best interests in mind with their policies.

Every Monday evening since last October, thousands of citizens have marched through the city of Dresden as well as other German cities to protest the Islamization of their country. They belong to an organization, established only three months ago, called Pegida, the German abbreviation for “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.”

834 (1)PEGIDA on a Monday “evening walk” in Dresden, November 10, 2014. (Image source: Filmproduktionen video screenshot)

Pegida is a democratic grassroots organization, without origins in the far-left, far-right or links to any political parties, domestic or foreign. The French Front National [FN] of Marine Le Pen even made it clear that it wants nothing to do with “spontaneous initiatives” such as Pegida. According to the FN, “something like Pegida cannot be a substitute for a party.”

In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party [PVV] is more positive. He sees Pegida as a sign of the growing discontent of ordinary people with the political elite now governing them. “A revolution is on its way,” he says. Ironically, Wilders’s PVV, currently by far the largest party in the Dutch polls, is itself more of a spontaneous movement, driven by the energy and charisma of one single man with a mission to liberate his country from Islamic extremism, rather than an established and structured political party.

That Pegida is a spontaneous and diffuse organization of citizens expressing their discontent, seems to be worrying the German political establishment. German Chancellor Angela Merkel knows how powerful these movements can become. In 1989, when thousands of people shouting, “Wir sind das Volk” [“We are the people”] took to the streets in cities such as Dresden, the Communist regime in East Germany was toppled.

Apart from slogans such as: “Against Religious Fanaticism,” and: “For the Future of our Children,” the anti-Islamization protesters of Pegida are using exactly the same slogan — “Wir sind das Volk” — of the anti-Communist demonstrators a quarter of a century ago, as they march against the open-door policies of the German government.

The use of the 1989 liberation slogan has infuriated Merkel, who reproaches Pegida for using it. In her New Year’s speech, Merkel attacked the Pegida demonstrators. “Their hearts are cold, full of prejudice and hatred,” she said, while defending her government’s policies of welcoming asylum seekers and immigrants. She pointed out that Germany had taken in more than 200,000 asylum seekers in 2014, making it the country that is accepting the largest number of refugees in the world.

Merkel has been backed by church leaders, who are slamming Pegida and calling for solidarity with migrants. The Confederation of German Employers has been blaming Pegida for damaging Germany’s international reputation. Meanwhile, so-called anti-fascist demonstrators, shouting “Wir sind die Mauer. Das Volk muss weg!” [“We are the Wall. Down with the people!”], last week blocked a Pegida march in Berlin.

On January 10, fearing that the recent Islamic terror attacks in France might lead to even more public support for Pegida, Dresden Mayor Helma Orosz, a member of Chancellor Merkel’s Christian-Democratic CDU Party, co-sponsored in her town a so-called “Lovestorm” event. The aim was to conquer the “xenophobia” of Pegida through “open mindedness and humanity.” Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, another leading CDU politician, claimed that the terror attacks in France had “nothing to do with Islam” and warned against “political pyromaniacs” such as Pegida who suggest otherwise.

Pegida’s worries about the Islamization of Germany concern the seeming intolerance and religious fanaticism that have grown hand in hand with the arrival of Muslim populations unwilling to adapt to Western values.

But by decrying Pegida’s views as “xenophobic,” “narrow minded” and even “inhuman,” Germany’s ruling establishment shows how deeply out of touch it is with the worries of a large segment of the population.

A recent poll, dating from before the terror attacks in France, found that one in three Germans support the Pegida anti-Islamization marches. Further, a new study by the Bertelsmann Foundation found that German attitudes toward Islam are hardening, with 61% saying in 2014 that Islam is “not suited to the Western world” — up from 52% in 2012. Also, up to 57% of the Germans see Islam as a threat, 40% feel that they are becoming foreigners in their own country because of the Muslim presence, and 24% want to ban Muslim immigration.

Looking at the numbers of demonstrators that join the Pegida demonstrations every Monday in various German cities, Pegida is clearly an overwhelmingly East German phenomenon. Indeed, in the provinces formerly belonging to the Communist German Democratic Republic [GDR], many thousands of people are drawn to the demonstrations, while in the West the numbers are far lower. Political analysts admit to being puzzled by this, given that the number of immigrants, including Muslims, is far lower in the East than in the West. Some blame the higher unemployment figures in the East; the “backwardness,” the lack of “civil society,” the lack of “liberal open mindedness,” and that “people in the East feel that they are losers.”

There might, however, be two other explanations that make more sense. Perhaps the people in the East just want to avoid the situation that the Western part of the country is in, as a result of the large Islamic presence. While the West might already be lost as a result of Islamization, the East is still capable of avoiding the West’s fate. Moreover, having gone through decades of Communist dictatorship, perhaps the Easterners are less inclined to trust that their political leaders have the people’s best interests in mind with their policies.

Perhaps they feel that, rather than trust that Frau Merkel knows what is best for the German people — as she welcomes in record numbers these new Islamic immigrants — the German people need to show her clearly that they think she is wrong.

Categories: Britain, Charlie Hedbo, Europe, Geert Wilders, Germany, Human rights, Islam, Islamic slaughter, Multiculturalism, Pediga, Political correctness
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Pope Francis: “There are Limits to freedom of expression

January 15, 2015

Wow we have a catholic terrorist !

 

 

Pope Francis: “There are Limits to freedom of expression”

Referring to the terrorist attack in Paris and the Charlie Hebdo caricatures mocking Islam, the leader of the Catholic Church stated that “one cannot make fun of other peoples’ faith. Something could occur.”

Jan 15, 2015, 05:20PM | Tom Dolev

via Israel News – Pope Francis: “There are Limits to freedom of expression” – JerusalemOnline.

Pope Francis lands in Manila today

Pope Francis lands in Manila today Photo Credit: AP / Channel 2 News

Pope Francis addressed the terror attacks, which took place last week in Paris, and the controversy sparked by the new edition of the “Charlie Hebdo” magazine showcasing a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed.  He stressed today (Thursday) that “even freedom of expression has its limits, when it comes to mocking other peoples’ faith.”

The remarks were voiced during a flight from Sri Lanka to the Philippines, when Pope Francis was asked about his position regarding freedom of expression. The Pope said that one cannot stir up provocations at the expense of others and insult another persons’ faith. “Whoever does this should expect a response,” he explained.

The terror attack at the Charlie Hebdo offices

The terror attack at the Charlie Hebdo offices Photo Credit: The Sun / Channel 2 News

The Pope emphasized that “both freedom of expression and freedom of religion are basic human rights.” He added that “one has not only the right and freedom but the obligation to say what one thinks for the greater good.”

However, the Pope claimed that freedom of expression should not come at the expense of others. Addressing his assistant, he said that “it is true that one should not respond violently, but even if we are good friends, if you curse my mother, you can expect a punch.  It’s normal. One cannot make fun of other peoples’ faith.  Something could occur. Even freedom of expression has its limits.”

Caricature of Prophet Mohammed in Charlie Hebdo Magazine

Caricature of Prophet Mohammed in Charlie Hebdo Magazine Photo Credit: Channel 2

With regards to the battles between Islam and Christianity throughout history, the Pope said: “Let us think of our history.  How many religious wars have we undertaken? We have also sinned.  One cannot kill in the name of God – it is a perversion.”

 

Just to have a balance in opinion.

 

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Turkey’s Staggering ‘Shoeboxgate’

January 15, 2015

Turkey’s Staggering ‘Shoeboxgate’
by Burak Bekdil January 15, 2015 at 4:30 am Via The Gatestone Institute


(Actually, I started to post an article about the Turkish Prime Minister comparing Netanyahu to the Paris attackers. Instead, I found this one about Erdogan and his crooked administration more newsworthy. – LS)

Imagine an audio recording of the president calling his son and telling him to get rid of all the cash he keeps at home; and his son, after trying for several hours, telling him there are still millions left.

For Erdogan, his election victories meant that all allegations of corruption were baseless. For the first time in the history of justice, voters had acted as the jury for a high-profile corruption case.

Erdogan’s ambitions are also about securing a two-thirds majority in the May election so that the constitution can be amended.

For the past year, Erdogan’s administration has suspended, reassigned, prosecuted and jailed thousands of (mostly) police officers on charges of attempting illegally to topple his government.

The main opposition party replied: “If you don’t trust the top court, how do ordinary citizens trust the ordinary courts?” Good question.

Imagine one chilly day the American people wakes up to news that, in early morning raids, squads of public prosecutors and police detain the sons of cabinet secretaries, a mayor, a state bank manager and prominent businessmen — all with publicly known close ties to the Obama administration. The mounds of evidence include telephone conversations, video material, and more — all unmasking the trafficking of huge amounts of illegal money and expensive gifts among the suspects, who include a shady Iranian businessman.

Dozens of audio recordings reveal a network of relations among Obama’s closest political and business allies, involving billions of dollars. And imagine an audio recording of Obama calling his son and ordering him to get rid of all the cash he keeps at home; and his son, after trying for several hours, tells him there are still millions left. And Obama claims this is a coup d’état against his elected administration, and purges all prosecutors and police officers investigating the charges.

This is what exactly happened in Turkey in December 2013.

In the investigation, Reza Zarrab, an Iranian businessman, was accused of running a network that laundered at least $87 billion to bypass international sanctions on Iran, and bribing ministers, their sons and senior public officials in Turkey. The prosecutors claimed Zarrab handed out around $60 million in bribes. Zarrab allegedly gave $5 million to (then) Interior Minister Muammer Guler in return for Turkish citizenship. Zarrab also allegedly paid $5 million to (then) Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan’s son, Salih Kaan, and gave a $300,000 Patek Philip Swiss watch to the minister.

Meanwhile, the police found around $9 million in cash stuffed into shoeboxes at the home of Suleyman Arslan, then general manager of Halkbank, a government-owned bank that was instrumental in trade between Turkey and Iran (shoeboxes would later become a symbol of corruption at anti-government protests across Turkey). EU Minister Egemen Bagis was the other recipient of cash from Zarrab, according to the prosecutors. And Housing Minister Erdogan Bayraktar was accused of arranging multibillion dollar contracts for government-friendly companies.

At the peak of the wave of arrests and investigation, Bayraktar would publicly say: “Whatever I have done, I have done it with [Erdogan’s] knowledge and orders.” And he would argue that “the prime minister [Erdogan] too should resign.”

Reza Zarrab, an Iranian businessman, was accused of running a network that laundered at least $87 billion to bypass international sanctions on Iran, and bribing ministers, their sons and senior public officials in Turkey.

On Dec. 25, 2013, a week after the investigation officially took off, three ministers resigned from cabinet, but that was not the end of the story. On the same day, a chief prosecutor in Istanbul ordered the detention of 30 more suspects on charges of bribes involving around $100 million. Among the top suspects were Erdogan’s son, Bilal, and Yasin al-Qadi, who had been put on a U.S. list of “specially designated global terrorists” for his alleged activity to sponsor terrorism.

Many years ago, Erdogan said of Qadi, his “family friend,”: “I know him very well and vouch for him.”

From the start of the investigation, Erdogan seemed to fear that the allegations now in the public domain could finish him off at the ballot box in municipal and presidential elections in March and August 2014, respectively. He claimed that behind the investigations were an influential Muslim preacher, Fethullah Gulen, and his network of prosecutors and police officers. He and his closest political associates, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claim the same thing to this day. Gulen, who lives in self-exile in the United States, was Erdogan’s most powerful political ally until the two were engaged in a power struggle early in 2014.

For the past year, since December 2013, Erdogan’s administration has suspended, reassigned, prosecuted and jailed thousands of (mostly) police officers on charges of attempting illegally to topple his government. “If reassigning individuals who betray this country is called a witch hunt, then, yes, we will carry out a witch hunt,” Erdogan said.

There is speculation in Ankara that the next target of Erdogan’s “witch hunt” will likely be prosecutors and judges believed to be members of Gulen’s movement.

All the same, the big blow to the Gulenists did not come from Erdogan’s counter-offensive, but from the ballot box. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party [AKP] won 43.3 percent of the vote in municipal elections last March, and Erdogan won 51.5 percent of the vote in presidential elections in August.

For Erdogan, his election victories meant that all allegations of corruption were baseless. The nation had found the suspects not guilty. For the first time in the history of justice, voters had acted as the jury for a high-profile corruption case.

That thinking, coupled with a move to reshuffle the top layers of the judiciary, changed the balance of power in favor of Erdogan.

In October, a prosecutor in Istanbul dropped all charges against the suspects in the corruption investigation. The cash confiscated from them was returned, with interest! But there was another investigation not yet closed.

Upon AKP’s proposal, a parliamentary commission was set up to investigate the charges independently. The commission consisted of nine AKP members of parliament and five opposition members. Despite findings reported by the government’s financial crimes investigation body, which said the personal wealth of the ministers in question had increased disproportionately to their incomes, the commission decided on Jan. 5 not to send the suspects to the Constitutional Court to stand trial. All nine government MPs had voted against trials for the suspects, and all five opposition MPs voted in favor.

Turkey’s top court, the Constitutional Court, has the authority to try ministers and prime ministers on criminal charges. A few days before the commission announced its decision, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said that his party did not trust the Constitutional Court, which, he said, could be part of the coup d’état against the administration. To which the main opposition party replied: “If you don’t trust the top court, how should ordinary citizens trust the ordinary courts?” Good question. But the government shrugs it off.

Turkey is once again heading for elections. The parliamentary elections in June will be particularly critical for Erdogan, for a number of reasons. First, someone other than him (Davutoglu) will be leading the party’s campaign for the first time since 2002. Second, Erdogan’s ambitions are not about just winning the elections. He seems interested in securing a two-thirds majority, so that the constitution can be amended to legitimize his present effective executive presidency. Erdogan calculates that any publicity about his former ministers standing trial, and evidence against them hitting headlines, could prune his party’s votes in June. He is probably right. If he wants to change the constitution in favor of a lawfully executive presidential system, he cannot afford to lose even a handful of votes.

The opposition is furious. So is the anti-Erdogan block, which makes up roughly half of Turkey. There will be a final round of voting at the parliament’s general assembly at the end of January. The vote will be about whether to send the corruption suspects to the Constitutional Court or not. The AKP has enough of a majority to kill the move. But the opposition relies on “secret voting,” which can produce defectors from the AKP benches. The opposition will need about 55 defectors from the government to send the former ministers to the Constitutional Court. This looks unlikely, but not altogether impossible.

Once again, Turkey has proven to be a fascinating country, putting rules of law and ethics upside down. In Turkey, corruption suspects have a shield against prosecution, and law enforcement officers who prosecute corruption can go to jail.

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Nasrallah: Hezbollah prepared for war deep into Israel, beyond the Galilee

January 15, 2015

We have made all necessary preparations for a future war with Israel,” Hezbollah chief says.

By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA

01/15/2015 14:24

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Nasrallah-Hezbollah-prepared-for-war-deep-into-Israel-beyond-the-Galilee-387826

 

Nazrallah

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. (photo credit:ALMANAR)
Hezbollah is prepared for military intervention in Israel’s Galilee and beyond, deeper into Israeli territory, the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen TV to be aired Thursday evening.
“We have made all necessary preparations for a future war with Israel,” Nasrallah said.

He vowed that the group would not stay quiet in the face of attacks attributed to Israel in Syria. “We will provide an answer for every attack against Syria,” he said.

“We have military abilities that will deliver us the victory against Israel,” Nasrallah threatened. “The military capability of the resisitance has not been damaged, and if Israel thinks differently, it is wrong.”

In excerpts of the interview that were previously released on Wednesday, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah has more types of weapons than Israel can imagine.

According to the Hezbollah leader, Israel is interested in a conflict that would be a landslide victory for it, however he claims that such a win is completely unrealistic. “If Israel attacks Lebanon, our resistance is strong and our ability to win is great.”

 

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Nuclear talks resume with warnings to Congress over Iran sanctions

January 15, 2015

Nuclear talks resume with warnings to Congress over Iran sanctions – Middle East – Jerusalem Post.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif engaged in “substantive meetings” on Wednesday, the State Department said.

WASHINGTON — Diplomats held yet another round of high-level talks over Iran’s nuclear program on Wednesday in Geneva, including over five hours of negotiations between the top diplomats from Iran and the United States.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif engaged in “substantive meetings,” the State Department said, and took one break for a fifteen-minute walk along the Rhone River.

US officials on the ground told journalists to expect Kerry’s departure at the end of the day. But instead, Kerry unexpectedly returned to his hotel for yet more conversation with his Iranian counterpart.

“Secretary Kerry is returning to Mandarin Hotel for another meeting with Foreign Minister Zarif,” a senior State Department official said.

The talks, pressured by a deadline twice delayed, now center around a political agreement the parties hope to reach by the end of March.

The US, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany seek to end international concerns over the nature of Iran’s nuclear program, which many suspect is military in nature.

In Washington, however, aides on Capitol Hill continue to work on the final touches of a bill that would “trigger” new sanctions on Iran should talks ultimately fail, or should Tehran violate terms of an interim deal that laid the groundwork for negotiations, formally known as the Joint Plan of Action.

Leadership in Congress, now under full Republican control, plans to introduce the bill by the president’s State of the Union address.

But any bill from Congress regarding new, nuclear-related sanctions on Iran during international talks over its nuclear program will be vetoed by US President Barack Obama, the State Department said this week.

“Even with a trigger, if there’s a bill that’s signed into law, and it is US law, in our mind it is a violation of the Joint Plan of Action— which, as we’ve said, could encourage Iran to violate it,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Tuesday.

“A sanctions bill, trigger or not, that is passed and signed into law by the president, which we’ve said we will not do… would be a violation of the JPOA,” she continued. If a deal does not come to pass, Harf said, “we could put initial sanctions on Iran in 24 hours.”

Harf added on Wednesday that a bill from Congress could “very well lead to a breakdown in these negotiations.”

Obama briefed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone on Monday on “recent developments” in the negotiations. Diplomats at the table have given themselves until June to reach a final, comprehensive agreement.

Speaking ahead of the Geneva round, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office said that Israel believes pressure on Iran should remain, and even be beefed up “until we see Iran dismantle the military elements” of its nuclear program.

The issue of the negotiations is one that comes up in every high-level discussion between Israeli and US officials, he said.

Israel has been critical of the US position in negotiations from the start, calling for an increase in pressure.

“Sanctions alone do not stop Iran’s nuclear program. It was through negotiations that we got to the Joint Plan of Action,” Harf added.

Herb Keinon contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

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