Lesson Unlearnt - Pakistan is a Terrorist Haven

I have written a couple times about Pakistan. The country is a mess and it is a haven for terrorists. I have pointed out the simple fact that 'It is NOT OK to let your son go to Pakistan'. Little good can come from it. Whatever the reason your kid might be giving for wanting to go to Pakistan, it is a lie. And by letting your child go to Pakistan, you are supporting terrorism by providing them with another recruit.

This view of Pakistan is one that they have wholly earned. No less than Nigeria has earned for being a scam state for their bogus emails promising millions. And since Pakistan has earned this reputation, they should be treated accordingly. Every Pakistani and every person going to and coming from Pakistan should be considered suspect. And yet, we still have terrorists coming from Pakistan because Governments don't take the right precautions because leftists will complain that actually investigating if someone might be a threat is not politically correct.

Suspects being questioned today after one of the biggest anti-terror operations since the July 7 attacks exploited lax student visa regulations to enter the UK from Pakistan, Whitehall sources said yesterday.

As police continued searches in ­Liverpool, Manchester and Clitheroe, Lancashire, after the raids on Wednesday, the Home Office said student visa checks had been tightened in the last fortnight because of widespread abuses of the system.

There are concerns inside government and the security services that the 11 Pakistani nationals being held in the north of England could have gained entry on student visas in order to form a sleeper cell. Gordon Brown talked of the police having foiled a "very big terrorist plot". - Guardian

JUST - PLAIN - STUPID.

If my memory serves me right, all of the latest terrorist plots are linked to Pakistanis and activity inside Pakistan. Pakistan has taken the place of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, other than the ever increasing number of missile strikes, not much is being done about it, partly because the country claims to have a working Government. That's a shame, because that was pretty much the same scenario we ran for Afghanistan until they attacked on September 11.

As for using the poor conditions inside the country as a defense for the actions of it's people, that is total B.S. Either they can be in charge of their lives and their country or others will come and force civilization down their throats. And yes Islam is part of the problem. Much is what is backwards about Pakistan can be traced back to Islam. This religion either has to change greatly or be wiped from the planet. The religion as it is practiced there is incompatible with the first world. (Clearly muslims can live in the West and fit in with society. Perhaps that brand of Islam can be exported...)

Previous:
It is NOT OK to let your son go to Pakistan - 10 Aug 06

Update:
The UK's stupidity was even greater than I thought:

Members of the alleged Al Qaeda cell suspected of plotting a Bank Holiday terror atrocity worked for a firm based at Manchester Airport.

At least one drove vans for a cargo company which has access to sensitive locations.

A further two had passed security industry checks which enabled them to guard premises overnight, further raising fears that members of the gang - all but one of them Pakistani students - were planning to infiltrate high-profile targets before an attack. - The Daily Mail via Gateway Pundit

The story also claims that these guys have links to established terrorists, and all sorts of other red flags. Not only that, but they are not even sure if they have stopped the plot entirely yet. What a bunch of assclowns. It would be funny, but these progressives keep getting people killed and all they are concerned about is how they can hug these terrorists better.

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Pakistani UN Peacekeepers - "gold smuggling operation as a mafia-like organisation"

On 27 July as part of "Really Damaging the UN's Image, Respectability and Credibility - II" I included a piece about UN Peacekeepers from Pakistani involved in arms smuggling:

UN Peacekeepers from Pakistan - Illegal Arms Sales

Pakistani UN peacekeeping troops have traded in gold and sold weapons to Congolese militia groups they were meant to disarm, the BBC has learnt.

These militia groups were guilty of some of the worst human rights abuses during the Democratic Republic of Congo's long civil war.

The trading went on in 2005. A UN investigative team sent to gather evidence was obstructed and threatened.

The team's report was buried by the UN itself to "avoid political fallout". - BBC

There is now a leaked report on the smuggling claim and it seems that I had this activity described backwards - in that it was the gold-smuggling that was the main operation, not weapons smuggling. (They are still not sure how big a problem any UN-aided/enabled weapons smuggling might have been. The weapons claim is that rebels bought back weapons they surrendered to the UN with gold.)

This report does make clear that this was not some rogue officers trading gold on the side. This was a major operation, which included armed escorts. Now that is service.

The BBC has obtained an internal UN report examining allegations of gold smuggling by Pakistani peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It concluded that Pakistani officers provided armed escorts, hospitality and food to gold smugglers in east Congo. - BBC

And:

The report quoted witnesses as saying that Indian gold traders were at the Pakistani camp in Mongbwalu "on a regular basis... consuming meals in the officers' mess and socialising with UN personnel".

Others said that when the gold traders landed at the airstrip they were greeted by the Pakistanis "as if they were old friends" and that they were transported from the airfield in UN vehicles.

Details of the flights used by the smugglers were not entered into the Civil Aircraft Register maintained by the Pakistanis, and the investigators concluded that they considered it likely this "was a deliberate cover-up of this group's arrival in Mongbwalu, whose mission was to purchase gold".

Human Rights Watch, which first raised these concerns in late 2005, described the gold smuggling operation as a mafia-like organisation. - BBC

There is a weakness in the UN Peacekeeper system in that prosecution of crimes like this are the responsibility of the soldier's home country. This reduces the chances that anything will happen as those entrusted to press the issue back at home would probably be the soldier's superiors and there is nothing to say that they did not benefit from the smuggling as well. Even if they are not, keeping the issue alive by publicly punishing the criminals might not be in the best interest of the country.

One issue that should be examined is how peacekeepers are acquired in the first place. In some cases they are paid to participate. Perhaps they are being paid too much. Perhaps instead of being paid, they can get credit against future UN dues. At any rate, a good percentage of peacekeeping forces, while serving their intended purpose, create too many problems of their own to ignore.

UN troops 'helped smuggle gold' - BBC

Really Damaging the UN's Image, Respectability and Credibility III

Here is the latest update into activities that keep damaging the UN's Image, respectability and credibility. These are all ways that it was claimed that Paul Wolfowitz's employment damaged the UN's World Bank. They used these bogus claims to push him out of his job. What they did not get rid of was hits to the Establishment, including those listed below.

Various UN Agencies - Considering Policy to Ignore/Ban Bloggers as Media

NEW YORK, July 29 -- The United Nations says it wants to engage with bloggers, but only if it can control them. Those it cannot control, it wants to exclude, meeting minutes obtained by Inner City Press reveal.

At least three UN agencies have in the interim adopted policies of not answering questions from bloggers, no matter how widely they're read. From the top of the UN's headquarters building, it's a world of paranoia, a desire to turn back the clock of a type that usually proves fruitless.

In late June in Madrid, the spokespeople for 37 UN agencies met and, according to internal minutes leaked to Inner City Press, agreed that it is "important for the United Nations family to engage with all forms of new media, but that some, such as blogs, present particular challenges for accreditation." - Inner City Press

More details Here.


UNDP in burma - Suspected Fraud and Coverup

... The same modus operandi was on display in response to U.S. inquiries about the UNDP's operations in another Asian dictatorship--Burma, where the agency appears to be following the same practices that got it into trouble in North Korea. Inspection of projects is limited by the government and a percentage of U.N. outlays is required to be in foreign currency. Given what we've learned about North Korea, the U.S. is right to worry that UNDP aid--$107 million from 2002 to 2006--may have been diverted to the regime.

The UNDP has responded with its usual transparency. While deigning to release the information that it has conducted two internal audits of the Burma program in the past decade, it won't give the U.S. access to the audits or let it review the line-by-line details of the budgets. This is the equivalent of a CEO refusing to let a member of his board of directors see the company's financials--and is hardly the way to treat the country that has donated $1.2 billion to the agency over the past decade. In addition, there has been no external audit of the Burma program for more than 10 years. - Opinion Journal

Unmil Staff in Liberia - Sexual Exploitation

The Head of the UN Missions in Liberia, (Unmil), Alan Doss said some of the UNMIL Military personnel, including their commanding officers who were involved in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), have been dismissed from the UN service and reduced in rank and are presently serving sentences in their countries.

Mr. Doss explained that those serving sentences in their countries are serving between the period of six months and one year, and that five other SEA allegations involving peacekeeping personnel are under investigation by the Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). - AllAfrica.com

United Nations mission in Congo - 'Procurement Irregularities'

The United Nations mission in Congo has suspended five civilian staff members for "procurement irregularities," according to a U.N. statement issued Tuesday.

The action is the latest in a string of accusations of misconduct by the soldiers or employees of U.N. peacekeeping missions deployed to return stability to fractured countries.

A spokeswoman for the peacekeeping mission — the world's largest with about 18,000 troops — declined to comment or explain the nature of the irregularities, saying the investigation was ongoing. - IHT

UN Headquarters Renovation - Massive Lack of Accounting Details

Is the $US1.9 billion United Nations renovation of its crumbling New York headquarters another Oil for Food-type scam in the making?

There’s a discrepancy anywhere from $500 million to $1billion in unaccounted for expenses tied up somewhere in the projected costs for square footage. It’s a discrepancy lost in the same labyrinth of UN unpaid parking tickets. - Canada Free Press

AND:

New York developer Donald Trump, who called the projected costs of the project “incompetence or fraud”, offered to complete the project for one-third of what it will now cost. Annan refused to discuss the matter with him.

UN officials are explaining that the $1.9 billion price tag for the renovation project includes “other costs” to cover contingency funding, inflation, leasing and fees for consultants and architects.

Two more procurement officers Suspended - Corruption

The United Nations has "charged" two more procurement officers in its ongoing corruption investigations.

Yesterday a spokesperson for secretary-general Ban Ki-moon confirmed two buyers at the organisation had been "charged following the investigations conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)". It did not state what the individuals had been charged with but went on to say they have been suspended and placed on special leave with pay. - Supply Management (UK)

Russian UN Translator - Organizing Visa Fraud.

An employee at the United Nations headquarters in New York has been arrested on suspicion of visa fraud. Russian national Vyacheslav Manokhin, 45, is accused of using his position to provide false documents to support US visa applications since April 2005.

US prosecutors said he made it appear the UN supported the applications and, consequently, most visas were granted. - BBC (More here)

Russia and China on the Security Council - Prevention of legitimate actions:

The US may need to employ military power in the future, and the existing international structure for ensuring that such acts are seen as “legitimate” - both here and abroad - has fallen to tatters. Anti-democratic forces at the UN and indeed on the US Security Council continue to collude in preventing otherwise legitimate actions in the name of narrowly defined national interest. - Neptunus Lex

United Nations - Footdragging over Sudan's Genocide in Darfur

Yesterday, on cue, Mr Brown climbed nimbly aboard the United Nations bandwagon. In a specially staged speech before an invited audience at UN headquarters in New York, the Prime Minister flagged up - and in the process seemed to be assuming some of the credit for - the long-overdue UN resolution to deploy a 19,000-strong African Union peace-keeping force to Darfur. This fits neatly with Mr Brown's desired aim to adopt a more multilateral international posture.

The problem with this approach is that the United Nations is a woefully ineffectual institution. It is the hated United States that has led the way on Darfur, not the UN. As long ago as September 2004, Washington was describing the actions of the Sudanese government as genocide and demanding international action to stop it.

What did the UN do? It sponsored an international commission of inquiry, which concluded that the government of Sudan "has not pursued a policy of genocide … (though) international offences such as the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be no less serious and heinous than genocide". That's clear, then. - Telegraph, UK

Security Council - Catering to Sudan's Demands over Darfur Peacekeeping Mission

Sudan will have to accept non-African troops in a U.N.-authorized peacekeeping force for Darfur or face the prospect of new United Nations sanctions, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

Although efforts will be made to ensure that Africa contributes a large percentage of the 26,000-strong mission, the continent does not have enough trained soldiers to fully staff the force and Sudan will be penalized unless it drops objections to non-African participation, said Andrew Natsios, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan. ...

The Sudanese government is adamantly opposed to non-Africans playing any major role in the hybrid U.N.-African Union operation that was authorized by the U.N. Security Council on July 31 and will be made up of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police.

Disagreements over the composition of the mission were a major reason the authorization was delayed for months despite mounting pressure on Khartoum to accept it to help end nearly four years of internal conflict in which more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced. - Captain's Quarters

UN Security Staff, Pakistan - Manhandling the Press

According to a statement issued by DawnNews: “The staff of the security agency posted at the UN office confiscated the camera of DawnNews staffer Mansoor Ahmed, dragged him into the UN premises and detained him illegally for some time even though he identified himself. Another DawnNews cameraman, Asif Mirza, was also assaulted.” - Riehl World View

U.N. officials and foreign delegates - US Accusations of UN improprieties as accurate as US claims of WMD in Iraq

But Wallace has also drawn criticism from U.N. officials and foreign delegates who charge he has hyped his findings and in a manner that has drawn comparisons to the U.S. claims of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. For their part, U.N. development officials claim that Wallace's inquiry has led to a string of unsupported "wild" allegations against the U.N. agency. - Washington Post

UNDP Head Ad Melkert - He "is incompetent"

THE HAGUE, 21/07/07 - John Bolton, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations, thinks Ad Melkert should resign from his post at the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The Dutchman is incompetent, in his view.

Bolton, who is seen as a confidante of President George Bush, told TV programme Nova that Melkert, as the second-in-command at the UNDP, has failed to investigate and take action against alleged abuse of UN donor money. The US suspects that "hard currency went to the government of North Korea" directly that was intended for humanitarian aid, according to Bolton.

Towards American requests for appropriate action, Melkert has "adopted a very defensive attitude". "We find his behaviour puzzling. Why deny the existence of the problem," said Bolton. It "remains to be seen" how the affair works out for the US contribution to the UNDP and UN as a whole, he warned.

Apart from having a "bunker mentality", Melkert "insulted our ambassador Mark Wallace and threatened him with retaliation," added Bolton. Elaborating on the Dutchman's "undiplomatic behaviour", the American stated that "perhaps attitudes in your country are different" but internationally "the civil servants work for the member governments, not the other way around." - NisNews.nl

UNDP Head in Philippines - Abuse of local staff

MANILA, Philippines -- At least 13 Filipino staffers of the United Nations office here, including two who have already left the office, are seeking the ouster of the office’s chief, Nileema Noble, for her allegedly “autocratic and oppressive behavior.” - Inquirer.net(Click the link for the details)

United Nations General Assembly - 23 Million Taiwanese Not Represented

"Based on the UN's principles, it is very strange that the 23 million people in Taiwan are not represented in there," he said.

Hsieh said reasons for pushing the UN bid under the name "Taiwan" include the nation's many failed attempts to join the UN under the name "Republic of China," the fact that the People's Republic of China does not represent Taiwan and that the name "Taiwan" is better known around the world than "Republic of China." - Taipei Times

Lets not forget UN taking over the responsibility of feeding a good portion of Zimbabwe's population without holding the Government that is responsible account.

The WFP says a poor harvest and the country's worsening economic situation means hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are running out of food. It says it will have to provide assistance to more than three million people over the coming months. - FFI

Why does it have to provide assistance? Isn't that Zimbabwe's responsibility?

Previous Editions:

-- Don't worry. There is more coming in future updates. --

*** READ EDITION I HERE ***
*** READ EDITION II HERE ***

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Really Damaging the UN's Image, Respectability and Credibility - II

Here is an update our earlier post "Really Damaging the UN's Image, Respectability and Credibility" with a new crop of UN related persons who have clearly damaged the Image, Respectability and Credibility of the UN:

UN in Lebanon - Verification of Syria's "complete withdrawal" from Lebanon, including the border areas was a lie.

Mr. Ban's report is notable for its clarity and seriousness. Taken together with the border report, it paints an alarming picture. Though the land grabs are small affairs individually, they collectively add up to an area amounting to about 4% of Lebanese soil--in U.S. terms, the proportional equivalent of Arizona. Of particular note is that the area of Syrian conquest dwarves that of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms. The farms, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and which amount to an area of about 12 square miles, are claimed by Hezbollah as belonging to Lebanon--a useful pretext for it to continue its "resistance" against an Israeli occupation that ended seven years ago. - (Syria Occupies Lebanon. Again. - Opinion Journal)

UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon - Collaboration with Hezbollah

A troubling consequence of this heightened threat to UNIFIL by radical jihadi groups is that some of the troop-contributing countries have begun turning to Hezbollah, hoping to enlist the cooperation of the Shia group in protecting their soldiers. UNIFIL contingents are not supposed to have any direct contact with Hezbollah – or any other Lebanese political groups – as their official channel of communication is through the Lebanese army.

"It's highly forbidden," said Major General Claudio Graziano, UNIFIL's commander. "I have a relationship with the [Lebanese] government through the Lebanese army. I have no relations with Hezbollah in terms of security."

Still, three months ago, intelligence agents from France, Italy and Spain met with Hezbollah representatives in Saida. As a result of that meeting, some Spanish UNIFIL patrols are now "escorted" by Hezbollah militants in cars. Following last month's bombing, Spanish UNIFIL officers met with local Hezbollah officials, according to a South Lebanon-based party official. - Quoted at Barcepundit

UN Peacekeepers from Pakistan - Illegal Arms Sales

Pakistani UN peacekeeping troops have traded in gold and sold weapons to Congolese militia groups they were meant to disarm, the BBC has learnt.

These militia groups were guilty of some of the worst human rights abuses during the Democratic Republic of Congo's long civil war.

The trading went on in 2005. A UN investigative team sent to gather evidence was obstructed and threatened.

The team's report was buried by the UN itself to "avoid political fallout". - BBC

UN Peacekeepers from Morocco - 'widespread sexual abuse'

The United Nations is investigating allegations of widespread sexual abuse by hundreds of Moroccan peacekeepers serving in Ivory Coast and has summoned Rabat's diplomats to respond, UN officials said on Friday.

UN officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the investigation involved Moroccan soldiers having sex with a large number of underage girls. The world body took the highly unusual step of confining the entire battalion of 800 troops to barracks.

"An internal investigation by the United Nations Mission in Cote D'Ivoire has revealed serious allegations of widespread sexual exploitation and abuse by a UN military contingent serving in Bouake," a UN statement said. - TV NZ

UN targets wrong peacekeepers over sexual allegations.

UNITED NATIONS, July 25 -- When the UN announced on July 20 that it was confining over 700 Moroccan peacekeepers to their base in Bouake in Cote d'Ivoire, due to allegations of sexual exploitation, it was portrayed as the UN finally getting tough on abuse by peacekeepers.

Wednesday it emerged that the 700 confined peacekeepers had only been in Cote d'Ivoire for less than two months. The wrongdoers were already transferred out of the country. If the past is any guide, they will not face meaningful discipline back in Morocco. The rotated-in 706 soldiers are fall guys, essentially, for those who came before them. It is the UN getting tough -- but on the wrong individuals. The UN, which condemns both hostage-taking and collective punishment, appears to be engaged in a little bit of both. - Inner City Press

There is nothing to suggest that the new peacekeepers will behave any differently from their fellow soldiers that they replaced, so maybe they should remain 'confined' to their barracks.

UN Human Rights Council - Declares consensus, Ignoring Canada's Declaration it Never Gave it.

Consensus Declared - Whether Canada Consented Or Not - For possibly the first time in the history of the United Nations, one of its major bodies has ruled that a consensus vote was achieved even though one of its members—one with a particular reputation for honesty—insists it never gave consent, much less even saw the text that was voted upon.

In its most aggressive Orwellian move to date, the UN Human Rights Council declared that this week’s package of new procedures was adopted by consensus, on the night of June 18. (In fact, the rushed declaration of council president Luis Alfonso de Alba was made past the legal midnight deadline, already in the early moments of June 19, but that’s another story.) Canada’s challenge to this interpretation was then overruled by the Council, 46 members to 1, the lone vote being Canada’s. Sure enough, speeches by Council members today and yesterday are crowing about the fact that the newly formed body was born in the purity of consensus. And so the official record will reflect. - UN Watch

UN Mideast Envoy - Misdirected efforts

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Mideast envoy warned Wednesday of impending economic collapse in the Gaza Strip unless Israel reopens the Hamas-led territory’s main commercial crossing to the outside world to ease international isolation. - LGF

This is kind of amusing. HAMAS violently takes control of the Gaza Strip. They refuse to recognize Israel. They kidnap Israeli Soldier Gilad Shalit, killing two other soldiers in the process and have held him hostage for over a year. Yet none of this is a problem for the UN. There is no reason why Israel should reopen the border crossings without some sort of outreach emanating from HAMAS. Maybe the Israelis are waiting to get their soldier back. Maybe they are waiting for a statement confirming their recognition of Israel. The UN's Envoy should perhaps be spending his time talking to HAMAS, pointing out that Israel is prepared to starve them all out. After all, HAMAS thinks that they are capable of doing this. Might as well take advantage of it. One problem, since when has HAMAS been concerned with economic collapse in the Gaza Strip? Not that they have to. They have the UN to be concerned for them.

UN Audit on UNDP Program in North Korea - Audit still incomplete

UNITED NATIONS, July 23 -- When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon went to Washington last week, he was asked about his call, made six months ago, for a detailed external audit of the operations of the UN Development Program, to be conducted first in North Korea than elsewhere. The UN Board of Auditors still has not been allowed in to North, and it appears that no action has been taken on the Secretariat's second call, in late June, to begin a second phase of audit. - Inner City Press

Malloch Brown, Former UNDP Administrator - Ignored Critical reports of North Korea Program Violations

On at least three occasions, in 1999, 2001 and 2004, the KPMG auditors filed reports that brought troubling aspects of the situation to the attention of UNDP headquarters, recommending “timely corrective action.” There is no evidence that any such action took place. - Fox News

UNDP - Illegal Transfer of Dual-Use Technology to North Korea

Since January, when the U.S. concerns were made public, the UNDP has pulled out of North Korea and the U.N. audit has confirmed extensive violations of U.N. rules regarding hiring practices, the use of foreign currency and site inspections. The latest U.S. revelations raise far more serious questions about the UNDP's oversight. Under the most generous interpretation, the agency was negligent of its legal responsibilities to keep dual-use technology out of a country that is on the U.S. list of terror-sponsoring states. At worst, it deliberately transferred the technology, knowing it was breaking U.S. law and helping to strengthen Kim Jong Il's military dictatorship. - Opinion Journal

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Nominee to Head the International Monetary Fund - "'insistent' womaniser "

The French media and political world has been thrown into ferment by an allegation that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the European candidate to be the next head of the IMF, is an "insistent" womaniser.

The allegation was made in a blog written by the Brussels correspondent of the newspaper Libération, Jean Quatremer. He said there was a risk that the former French finance minister's behaviour towards women might cause a scandal at the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington.

"The only real problem with Strauss-Kahn is his attitude to women." He is "too insistent," M. Quatremer wrote. "The IMF is an international institution with Anglo-Saxon morals. One inappropriate gesture, one unfortunate comment, and there will be a media hue and cry." - Independent, UK

- My problem with his is that he is a Socialist.

UN Member States - Demanding the Closure of Gitmo
- These same states refuse to accept former detainees that the US would like to release from there. One problem is that some detainees approved for release cannot be returned to their own countries as they would certainly face a fate much worse than Gitmo. They cannot be released into the US either. So a third-country is required.

“We suffered very much at Guantánamo, but we continue to suffer here,” Mr. Basit said. “The other prisoners had their countries, but we are like orphans: we have no place to go.”

Mr. Basit and four other men here, who spent time at a hamlet in Afghanistan run by Uighur separatists, are still considered terrorist suspects by China’s Communist government. Only Albania’s pro-American government would give them asylum, but Albanian officials have since told the men they cannot afford to give them much else.

Things could be worse, the former prisoners note. At least 15 of the 17 Uighurs who remain at Guantánamo have also been cleared for release, but not even Albania will accept them — and neither will the United States. Instead, American diplomats say they have asked nearly 100 countries to provide asylum to the detainees, only to find that Chinese officials have warned some of the same countries not to accept them. - NY Times

The US should not have to accept them. They were either terrorists or chose to associate with terrorists. (Over 30 that have been released have since gone back to being terrorists.) Maybe they should be sent back to China and then the world can protest the abuse of their rights after they are executed.

-- Don't worry. There is more coming in future updates. --

*** READ EDITION I HERE ***

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It is NOT OK to let your son go to Pakistan

Word is out that at least two of the terrorists arrested in the UK had recently returned from Pakistan where they had received some training.

When are muslim parents going to learn that IT IS NOT OK TO LET YOUR SON GO TO PAKISTAN.

It dosn't matter if they are in their thirties, twenties and especially in their teens, you should not allow them to go. Whatever the excuse:

- Attend a wedding
- Religious school
- Visit distant relative
- Do humanitarian work

The excuses are all lies. Chances are, they are up to no good and chances are they will be watched by the US, the UK and every other first-world nation they come in contact with.

Once you understand that, then perhaps you might want to find out why they are spending so much time at the mosque.

Not all muslims are terrorists but it seems that most terrorists are muslims. As long as that is true and your son considers foreigners his 'brothers' and not his fellow countrymen, then he will be watched and treated differently. (and rightly so!)

US Turns Jihad into One-Way Journey

We might not have caught or captured bin Laden yet, but one thing is for certain, he will never take a commercial airline flight again, open a bank account, go home to Saudi Arabia to visit relatives, or even come out of hiding without risking being captured or killed by the US. He will instead live out each day knowing that any moment might be his last and that every time someone comes to visit him, the chances are good that he will never see that person again because they also have a high probability of being captured or killed.

It was the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan that radicalized Muslims and gave birth to modern jihad. (Yet another thing to thank the Soviets for!)

Two concepts are central to the Islamist extremists’ worldview: Jihad – that the extremists take to mean holy war against disbelievers, and Takfir – the act of pronouncing other Muslims to be disbelievers and therefore making them into valid targets of jihad.

This ideology was turned into a global phenomenon through the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Islamists were oppressed in numerous Muslim states; marginalizing them from the political process and giving them no way to express their ideology. Denied the ability to act in their own states, many travelled to Afghanistan to take part in the jihad against the Soviets. Many Arab and Muslim states actively supported the jihad financially and politically, both to bolster their own Islamic credentials at home and as a way of allowing devout young men to act on their beliefs in a manner that did not threaten the security of their own states.

When the Soviet Union was defeated, numerous well trained and radicalised fighters, linked by their ideology, dispersed around the world forming the basis of the loosely connected ‘network of networks’ of terrorists we see today. – FIIA Report (PDF)

The jihad operations against the Soviets allowed islamic groups to setup funding and training operations and a terror infrastructure that the US would eventually face and is currently in the process of dismantling.

The operations against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan created experienced jihad veterans who recruited others and provided support for newcomers to jihad. Most of those involved in jihad could go away from the 'battlefield' and return home without much fear of repercussion from their home governments let alone from the Soviets. Some of these groups even received funding from the US, as assistance in kicking the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Providing them with Stinger missiles gave them serious teeth and a way of bring down their armored helicopters, causing real problems for the invaders, which eventually led to their pullout of the country.

However, going on Jihad is a completely different commitment today than it was in the early 80’s. First there is a new enemy, the West in general, the United States specifically. The US was seen as an easy (soft) target when compared to the Ruthless Soviets. I am not exactly sure why, especially since the US managed to beat the Soviets, the Nazis and the Japanese in addition to putting up a bloody fight in Korea and Vietnam. Nonetheless, the US was seen as weak. The US’s pullout of Somalia contributed to this myth as did a lack or proper response to a number of terrorist attacks; the ’93 WTC bombing, the USS COLE bombing, and the African Embassy bombings.

One thing about the US is that the chances are good that you can blindside us once, but we do learn quickly. On September 11 the passengers of the first hijacked flights did not fight back against their captors as the common belief was that they would be taken as hostages and traded for something and that the safe way out of the situation was to cooperate with the terrorist's instructions. Once it was clear what they planned to do with the planes, the passengers of Flight 93 attempted to regain control of the plane despite personal risk because they knew that doing nothing was no longer an option. The plan (mostly) worked that one day but it will never work again. We are all that much smarter now.

In addition to the 19 hijackers, the 9/11 attacks cost the terrorists their safe haven and training camps in Afghanistan, lost their safe haven in most of Pakistan (Many of the high al-qaeda leaders have been captured there), Lost any assistance they had with Iraq, as well as lost the financial assistance of many 'non-profits' that were collecting money for their cause. In addition, once a person is know to take part in terrorist activities, they become wanted men, not only by the US, but also by most every country on the planet, including their own. Ever wonder why the wanted pictures of these terrorists look like passport pictures? Because they are obtained from their home countries. Travel is limited mostly overland making movement much more difficult.

The human cost to their operations today are higher than ever. You cannot reuse a suicide bomber. Suicide bombers are trained for one ‘final’ attack. Luckily for them, a suicide bomber does not require much training and in some cases even their knowledge that they are a suicide bomber. At least one who lived to tell about it, said that he was ordered to move a truck and while driving it the truck just happened to explode. That is not exactly the best way to win against the US. Worse is that all of the experienced people within al-qaeda are being eliminated or captured creating a knowledge gap for those who remain to carry on the fight.

Manhunts in Asia, Africa and Europe have pushed most of the rest deep underground — finding refuge in wartorn Somalia or the jungles of the southern Philippines. While there are still recruits ready to take up al-Qaida's call to arms, analysts say the newcomers have fewer connections than the men they are replacing, less training and sparser resources. - Yahoo News

One of the experience leaders, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, met his end a short while ago. Some Liberals claimed that this would have no effect on the war on terror as someone will just take his place. What these detractors don't understand (but the terrorists do) is that by eliminating Zarqawi, the US is forcing someone to take his place. Most likely the person is not as experienced and needs to hope that he can learn fast enough to avoid getting killed or captured by those hunting him. Recent news suggests that at least two terrorists who were in line to replace Zarqawi have themselves been killed or captured. In the real world, people like to be promoted, but I suspect that 'promotions' in al-Qaeda are nothing more than a depressing event.

Terrorists cannot expect any celebration other than the one given by their relatives on the news of their death. A picture on a poster is hardly something worth fighting for, especially since their name will be forgotten almost immediately. That is provided that they don't end up rotting in Gitmo instead.

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I have been thinking about this for a while and Day by Day Cartoon's (Homepage) for today forced me into getting this out:

Its funny because its so true.

The feared 'next generation' of Jihadis dead or on the run - Secular Blasphemy
Many in terrorists' 'next generation' dead - Yahoo News
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs
– International Terrorism and Finland (PDF)

Islam was not Hijacked - FFI - 21 January 2006
Signs that Allah (God) is not on Your Side - FFI - 28 July 2005