National Security Archives - Page 350 of 506

The Islamic State poses a Global Airline Security Threat

November 6, 2015/in Featured, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Jerry Gordon

Metrojet 9268 Flight Schedule, October 31, 2015.

Saturday morning, October 31st, Flight 9268 a Metrojet Airbus A321 with 224 largely Russian tourists, and crew aboard were bound on a course for St. Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh on Egypt’s Sinai Red Sea. The aircraft reached an altitude of 31,000 feet at 430 knots, when something catastrophic occurred at 23 minutes into the flight. Communications with the pilot abruptly ended, the plane struggled to gain altitude and just as suddenly plummeted earthward with the tail section broken off and the rest of fuselage sent crashing into the desert and mountains were a flash was seen via satellite.

All 224 passengers and crew aboard were killed. The crash occurred less than 300 miles from the resort area at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula at the mouth of the Red Sea. The passenger remains and aircraft debris were scattered over a wide area. All of this was recorded in real time on satellite flight status internet reports and satellite imagery. Forensic teams from Egyptian, Russian and Airbus air safety organizations were dispatched to retrieve the flight data recorders. Egyptian military and Red Crescent teams were engaged in recovery of the remains, personal effects and luggage of those killed in the crash.

Grief was overwhelming at funerals held in Russia this week with the arrival of the remains of the victims. The immediate questions were what caused the aviation catastrophe and who may have been behind it.

Watch this CNN video on “Did a Bomb take down Metrojet Flight 9268?”:

Metrojet Flight 9268 Tail section. Source: AFP

If the emerging facts surrounding the fate of Metrojet Flight 9268 are confirmed this aviation disaster, possibly perpetrated by Islamic terrorists, could well be Russia’s 9/11. Shoshana Bryen of the Washington, D.C.-based Jewish Policy Center suggested that in an American Thinker blog, “Could the destroyed Russian plane be jihadi payback?” The inference being that the bombing of Metrojet Flight 9268 was a deadly rebuke to Russian President Putin for his entry in the Syria conflict attempting to bolster the faltering Assad Regime in alliance with Shia extremist Iran and its proxy Hezbollah. Boaz Bismuth writing in Israel Hayom penned an op ed about the alleged bombing with the prescient title, “ISIS aims for the global skies.”

A lot is at stake, as the Sinai had become a veritable Islamic terrorist venue with Al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS echelons attacking Egyptian security forces. Sharm el-Sheik is a major European tourist destination attracting millions of visitors annually from the EU, Russia and other countries. For the El-Sisi government, terrorist involvement in the aviation disaster in the Sinai would have a chilling effect on billions in income from tourism. For Russia it could be an un-reckoned threat arising from its entry in the Syrian conflict. It is seeking to keep at bay Caucasian and other Russian Muslims from flocking to join the self-declared Caliphate, the Islamic State. For the international airline industry it may have profound implications for assuring security for passengers and operations both at home and in destinations adjacent to jihadist conflict zones. If airport or airline servicing contractors were involved, then a major security gap would be opened by this latest aviation terrorism episode.

Several theories were developed as to what caused the aircraft to go through violent maneuvers. The aircraft may have been hit by a shoulder held air defense heat seeker missile or MANPAD, it might have suffered a high altitude structural failure which caused it to break apart or the aircraft could have suffered an internal bomb explosion. Both the MANPAD and structural failure explanations were dismissed in view of the altitude at which the incident occurred, 31,000 feet , exceeding the maximum altitude of MANPADs, 15,000 feet. Moreover the high altitude structure failure possibility was obviated by the service record of the Metrojet aircraft indicating that it had undergone structural repairs after a 2001 incident that occurred on a rough landing. The bombing possibility, while initially dismissed, became a palpably plausible on Wednesday, November 4th. Both UK and U.S. intelligence suggested they had intercepted electronic information indicating that an explosive device may have been secreted on board Metrojet Flight 9268 by possible operatives of ISIS groups active in the Sinai Peninsula. Perhaps they were posing as local catering and cleaning contractors with access to the aircraft. Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood or ISIS operatives could have secreted a bomb in the rear lavatories or rear luggage holds on the Metrojet A321.

Evidence is mounting to the ultimate conclusion that this might have been a bombing. Shoshana Bryen indicated that photographs of the aircraft wreckage in British media “show some of the holes in the wreckage. They are outward-facing – meaning something inside the plane moved out. A blown fuel tank – which is on the outside – would have caused inward-facing holes.” Then there were reported forensic evidence of metal shards among the clothing and effects of the victims. Bryen also cited reports “indicating that security at Sharm el-Sheikh was totally lax; which helps make the case that someone inside did the job. Since Egyptian tourism and Russia are targets of the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS respectively, and since ISIS came from the MB root, collaboration here is a twisted “win-win” for them.”

‘UK PM Cameron underlined the increasing evidence of a bomb plot to destroy, Metrojet Flight 9268, saying, “It is ‘more likely than not” that a bomb brought down the Metrojet over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula”. He took extraordinary measures grounding all UK charters for a security sweep at Sharm el Sheikh airport leaving more than 3,500 British passengers delayed until given clearance. CNN cited Cameron’s office issuing a statement saying, “Outbound flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh remain suspended and the Foreign Office continues to advise against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el-Sheikh airport, but we are continuing to work with the Egyptians to get back to normal service as soon as possible.” Similar announcements came from Irish authorities and Lufthansa. Sharm el-Sheikh is visited by more than 1 million tourists, annually.

The Israeli resort of Eilat at the head of the Red Seas also is a major European and international tourist destination. ISIS Sinai affiliate formerly known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has targeted Eilat for a possible bombing attack. The possible ISIS terror bombing of the Metrojet could have rippling effects there to assure the usual tight security arrangements of Israel international carrier, El Al, and domestic ones like Arkia. El Al aircraft are already equipped with electronic counter measures like the Elbit C-Music anti- missile system to foil possible MANPAD attacks. Doubtless, the Israelis may also have better security clearances for aircraft maintenance, catering and cleaning employees, as well as barriers and surveillance of the Egyptian border to thwart infiltration of MB and ISIS terrorists.

ISS Facility Services Receives State of Utah Refugee Services Employer of the Year 2009.

ISS Facility Services Receives State of Utah Refugee Services Employer of the Year 2009

The downing of the Metrojet with its innocent Russian victims has more than just Russian, Egyptian and Israeli concerns. From investigations by the Wall Street Journal, CNN and others, security clearances for baggage handlers, catering, and cleaning personnel with access to the tarmac and aircraft here in the U.S. is lax.

Further investigations by the Lisa Benson Radio Show National Security Task Force of America have revealed employment of Somali refugees by major international groups like ISS Worldwide A/S headquartered in Copenhagen. The US subsidiary ISS Facility Services, Inc. is based in San Antonio. ISS Worldwide employs over a half million through their outsourced network of airport and commercial facilities maintenance contracts. ISS specializes in a broad range of facility management services including janitorial services, especially for airport authorities and major manufacturing companies.

The Somali Muslim émigré population has been the source of both Al Shabaab and increasingly ISIS recruitment in the U.S. One illustration of the inherent ISIS risk among U.S. Somalis employed at US airports was the reported death in September 2014 of American Somali Émigré ISIS Jihadi

The late ISIS Fighter a former Twin Cities airport cleaner.

The late ISIS Fighter a former Twin Cities airport cleaner

Abdirahmaan Muhumed, 29. That revealed his employment as a cleaner for Delta Global Services, Inc. that gave him security access to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Muhumed left behind 9 children in the Twin Cities to become an ISIS jihadi, before his death in Syria. Muhumed had unfettered access to jetliners at the airport, which handles 90,000 passengers a day. He also had access to the tarmac and special security clearance to other parts of the airport. Muhumed had no criminal record in the United States that would have prevented him from getting a job at the airport.

This revelation following the death of Somali émigré ISIS fighter Muhumed, should raise the concerns of both the TSA and Homeland Security regarding screening of airport and aircraft maintenance personnel at U.S. Many of who have contracts with groups like ISS Worldwide A/S and Delta Global Services, Inc. Moreover, without active community policing programs in the major U.S. communities recruitment of Muhumed and other ISIS recruits could not have been detected. Thus, the downing of the Metrojet in Egypt by alleged ISIS perpetrators reverberates here in the U.S. FBI Direct James Combey has warned that ISIS jihadis lurk among us in all 50 states.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review.

VIDEO: Free Stuff for Syrian Muslims Coming to America!

November 5, 2015/in Culture War, Immigration, National Security, Policy, Politics, Video/by Dr. Rich Swier

This video was prepared by Liberty News Media about Syrian Muslims coming to America.

Steven Camarata, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies released a new analysis today.

As Americans continue to debate what to do about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, this analysis attempts to estimate the costs of resettling refugees from that region in the United States. Although we do not consider all costs, our best estimate is that in their first five years in the United States each refugee from the Middle East costs taxpayers $64,370 — 12 times what the UN estimates it costs to care for one refugee in neighboring Middle Eastern countries.

The cost of resettlement includes heavy welfare use by Middle Eastern refugees; 91 percent receive food stamps and 68 percent receive cash assistance.

Costs also include processing refugees, assistance given to new refugees, and aid to refugee-receiving communities. Given the high costs of resettling refugees in the United States, providing for them in neighboring countries in the Middle East may be a more cost-effective way to help them.

Continue reading here.

U.S. officials: The Islamic State planted bomb on Russian plane

November 5, 2015/in Featured, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Jihad Watch

It could happen here. Harlem Suarez, a Florida convert to Islam implicated in an Islamic State WMD plot, worked in secure areas at Key West International Airport. Another airport worker, Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, according to Heavy.com, “converted to Islam in 1998 while living in Texas and became radical in his beliefs, according to ABC News.

In 2001, while Pugh was a mechanic for American Airlines, a coworker reported to the FBI that Pugh said he sympathized with Osama bin Laden and was expressing anti-American sentiment” Abdirahmaan Muhumed, a Muslim from Minnesota who was killed while waging jihad with the Islamic State, worked for Delta Airlines at the Minneapolis Airport. For its part, the TSA failed to identify 73 workers who were “linked to terrorism.”

“First on CNN: U.S. officials believe ISIS planted bomb on Russian plane,” by Barbara Starr, CNN, November 4, 2015:

(CNN)The latest U.S. intelligence suggests that the crash of a Russian passenger jet in the Sinai over the weekend was most likely caused by a bomb on the plane planted by ISIS or an ISIS affiliate, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

But the official stressed a formal conclusion has not been reached by the U.S. intelligence community.

“There is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the plane,” the official, who is familiar with the latest U.S. intelligence analysis of the crash, told CNN.

Other U.S. officials also told CNN that the analysis is pointing toward the cause being a bomb.

Based on the same intelligence, the U.S. belief is that ISIS or an ISIS-affiliated group is responsible for the attack, the official said.

The British government announced Wednesday that it had “become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device.”…

Muslim Islamowar Brewing in Europe

November 5, 2015/in Immigration, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion, Video/by Bill Finlay

Muslim jihadis from the Middle East are swarming into Europe, burning and looting as they go. Is the war to overrun Europe about to begin?

“We Will Conquer Your Rome”: A Study of Islamic State Terror Plots in the West

November 4, 2015/in Featured, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Henry Jackson Society

The Islamic State (IS) presently controls significant amounts of land throughout Iraq and Syria. However, its ambitions are not restricted to this territory. Within days of announcing its ‘Caliphate’, the self-appointed ‘Caliph’ Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi vowed that IS would eventually “conquer Rome”.

IS precursor groups and the individuals which have trained alongside them have displayed an interest in attacking the West for years.

However, an audio message released on 21 September 2014, saw Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, an IS spokesman, attempt to ratchet up the threat. He instructed IS supporters to carry out attacks in the West – no matter how crude…

To read the full study by Robin Simcox, Research Fellow and the report author, click here

George Soros: National Borders Are The Enemy

November 4, 2015/in Culture War, Immigration, Must Read, National Security, Policy, Politics/by Robert Heller

Multi Billionaire Soros a major financial supporter and benefactor of Obama and Hillary Clinton believes National Borders should be eliminated in total disregard of the fact that Europe and its culture is being over-run by massive and practically uncontrollable emigration from Muslim countries by people who will not assimilate and intend to set up their ‘Islamic Sharia’ laws.These immigrants intend to set up a ‘parallel’ society until they become a majority and ultimately will displace Christianity and European culture.They also expect the host population to support them in this endeavor. So far this is what’s happening.

It is unlikely Europe will remain a Western civilization in 25 to 50 years from now.

Soros anti border philosophy has been adopted by Obama and his Democrat followers including Hillary Clinton as evidenced by Obama’s executive immigration actions to change U.S. demographics. Obama has demonstrated his disregard for U.S. immigration laws by adopting much of Soros philosophy. Clinton is also a follower of the Obama and Soros philosophy.

President Ronald Regan said , “A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.”

Soros, Obama’s and Clinton’s benefactor are proving Reagan was right.

SOROS: NATIONAL BORDERS ARE THE ENEMY

The radical billionaire denounces his native Hungary for protecting its borders and culture.

By Matthew Vadum

The preeminent funder of border-busting campaigns in the U.S. and overseas now openly admits his efforts in Europe are aimed at destroying national borders on that continent.

The unusually frank statement from frequent coup kingpin George Soros comes after Hungary’s prime minister accused him of helping to orchestrate the ongoing invasion of the landlocked nation and the rest of Europe by illegal aliens. Soros is arguably the biggest mass migration-promoting coyote on the planet. He is also an admitted Nazi collaborator, described by David Horowitz as a “deracinated Jew,” who argues that Muslims are treated so badly in the West that they are the new Jews. Soros doesn’t care that these migrants and Syrian war refugees are largely Muslim men and that intelligence agencies fear that many of the new arrivals have connections to Islamic terrorism.

Besieged Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán said the ongoing invasion of his country is “driven, on the one hand, by people smugglers, and on the other by those [human rights] activists who support everything that weakens the nation-state.”

“This Western mindset and this activist network is perhaps best represented by George Soros.”

DNC Vice-Chair Confirms Obama Aiding and Abetting the Islamic State

November 3, 2015/in National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by J.B. Williams

Millions of Americans tried to stop the election of Barack Hussein Obama in 2008, correctly exposing the fact that this is an individual that has no verifiable past and a laundry list of highly concerning associations with well-known anti-American bedfellows. But the system was already broken to a point in which such an individual could scam their way into power, regardless of the overwhelming evidence that he was neither constitutionally eligible or morally fit for the office of Commander-in-Chief.

Little more than a year after being fraudulently sworn into office, calls for impeachment started in May of 2010, as visible evidence of anti-American destructive policies were already emerging in the Obama Administration.

In May of 2010, Republican House Rep Darrell Issa called for impeachment over the White House’s tampering with the re-election of Arlen Spector, a close comrade of Obama’s who was set to lose to challenger Joe Sestak had Obama not bought Sestak out of the race.

In August 2011, Republican Congressman Michael C. Burgess of Texas stated that the impeachment of Barack Obama “needs to happen” in order to stop Obama’s clear agenda to drive America into socio-economic collapse. In June 2012, Senator Jon Kyl called for impeachment over Obama’s anti-American immigration policy.

By May 2013, calls for impeachment were becoming almost a daily event, as Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma stated that “President Obama could be impeached over what he alleged (now confirmed) was a White House cover-up after last year’s attack in Benghazi, Libya.”

In August 2013, Republicans Tom Coburn, Blake Farenthold and Kerry Bentivolio had joined the growing chorus of House members openly calling for the immediate impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama on a growing list of impeachable offenses, as the nation was now spiraling towards a crash of monumental proportions.

On August 19, 2013, Republican Congressman Kerry Bentivolio stated that if he could write articles of impeachment, “it would be a dream come true.” He enlisted the of several key historians and experts to assist in that effort, but no Articles were ever completed or filed.

On December 3, 2013, the House Judiciary Committee called to order a meeting titled “The President’s Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws,” seen by many as an initial step towards impeaching the most impeachable administration in U.S. History, but the content and context of that meeting would remain behind closed doors… and the outcome was the same as in the past, no action.

Meanwhile, the nation remained on a path to death and destruction with Obama at the helm and calls for doing anything real about it, were now being squelched by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who had let it be well known that “impeachment is off the table,” despite growing desperation in the hearts and minds of millions across America, frustrated by the overt cowardice in the RNC leadership.

Fast forward to October 31, 2015… when Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee Tulsi Gabbard, took to the stage with none other than hardcore leftist Democrat Bill Maher on Real Time, and openly stated on global TV that her Democrat Commander-in-Chief has been engaged in aiding and abetting ISIS and many other Islamic terror groups across the Middle East, in support of the global Muslim caliphate, resulting in the death and destruction of countless sovereign nations, thousands of innocent people and threatening the security and sovereignty of the United States.

Astonishingly, Bill Maher had no choice but to agree… and finally, leftists in the Democrat Party were forced to admit on open air that the leader of their party had gone rogue, becoming the greatest threat to national security from within the halls of the people’s White House…

As House Republicans had worked for seven years to avoid their sworn constitutional duty and oath to the US Constitution, to make certain that the Oval Office occupant would “faithfully execute the laws of the land” as passed by Congress, and uphold, protect and defend the US Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, the greatest threat to it all was allowed to operate against the United States from the helm of the U.S. government.

Obama’s democratic administration had become destructive towards the United States and even Gabbard and Maher could no longer ignore it. Let there be no mistake… They were not discussing Clinton’s semen stained intern dress, or partisan spying on political offices, like in Watergate. They were openly confirming “acts of treason” by the Obama administration.

Still, the search for anyone in the Republican controlled House with the honor, decency and courage to keep their oath to America continues… Despite all of it, not one member of the Republican controlled House has as of yet, grown the stones to stand up and defend the Constitution and American people from what every red blooded American knows is the most evil anti-American criminal regime to ever hold political power in the United States.

Articles have already been investigated, researched and carefully drafted… not by a member of the House, but by a private non-partisan legal group, The North American Law Center, (TNALC). In fact, the most complete and accurate set of Impeachment Articles were carefully crafted and released by the group, to both Congress and the public, in July of 2014.

In a recent TV interview on One America News Network, Lead Counsel for TNALC Stephen Pidgeon explains why the group did the work and why they are building a national coalition of impeachment supporters in an effort to force Republicans in control of the House to act on their oaths and impeach immediately.

Retired Constitutional Attorney Hal Rounds makes the case for impeachment in this video. Over 2 million Americans have signed petitions to impeach and high profile media figures like Allen West, Sarah Palin, Mark Levin, Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh have all openly called for impeachment. Still, no action from House Republicans.

As Obama works to import a hundred thousand more military age jihadist “refugees” from war torn Syria, a direct result of yet another effort by the Obama regime to illegally topple another foreign government giving rise to more Islamic extremism, House Republicans continue to play politics as if positioning themselves for the next propaganda based election cycle is the only thing that matters in this world.

Likewise, “the people” are trapped in an endless election cycle, caught up in which fraud candidate will save them from themselves in the next election, refusing to hold anyone accountable for anything in DC, including death in Benghazi, on Extortion 17, mass illegal invasion, the importing of Islamic terrorists via bogus refugee resettlement, a debt spiral unparalleled in human history, a collapsing ObamaCare and U.S. economy that threatens the U.S. currency, and, well, I could write and entire encyclopedia volume of the treasonous and traitorous acts by these criminal thugs.

The North American Law Center has rightly called for impeachment on the following grounds…

ARTICLE I – Usurpation of the Oval Office via criminal identity fraud
ARTICLE II – Malfeasance, misconduct and abuse of the Oval Office
ARTICLE III – Aiding and Abetting known enemies of the United States

READ FULL TNALC ARTICLES HERE

Why are people worried about Hillary Clinton in 2016 when they could end her political career and throw her in prison for her crimes in a 2015 Obama impeachment trial? Have “the people” not only lost their courage to be free, but their minds too? Are “the people” morally unfit as well?

Is there anyone in America willing to fight for what is right? Willing to uphold, defend and enforce the US Constitution? Anyone, anywhere?

The answer is YES… Everyone at The North American Law Center is ready, willing and able… and so are the members of the national coalition for Impeachment.

As a matter of fact, so are at least a few House Republicans…

This is a list of the ten most likely to impeach in the House, some of whom are already working with TNALC to advance the TNALC Articles of Impeachment against Obama before the clock runs out. CALL ALL OF THEM, EVERY DAY!

Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas)	202-225-3035
Rep. Randy Weber (Texas)	202-225-2831
Rep. Bill Posey (Fla.)	202-225-3671
Rep. Ted Yoho (Fla.)	202-225-5744
Rep. Curt Clawson (Fla.)	202-225-2536
Rep. Dave Brat (Va.)	202-225-2815
Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.)	202-225-2315
Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.)	202-225-3415
Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.)	202-225-3465
Rep. Brian Babin (Texas)	202-225-1555

Where are YOU? What are YOU doing to save our Constitutional Republic?

Fake Passports Being Used by Muslim Migrants

November 2, 2015/in National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Ann Corcoran

That’s what the Wall Street Journal is reporting, thanks to Jeff for sending the story.

The ‘stars’ of the WSJ piece landed in the UK, but I wonder how many are landing at an airport near you as we speak?

ISTANBUL—Somewhere over Europe, Kassem went to the airplane’s bathroom and flushed his fake Italian passport down the toilet.

When he landed in London’s Heathrow Airport a few hours later, Kassem presented his Syrian ID to U.K. immigration officials and requested asylum. The trip wouldn’t have been possible using his actual, Syrian passport—the country’s four-year civil war has turned it into a burden for anyone fleeing the conflict.

When asked where his passport was, Kassem told the officials: “It’s in the toilet.”

While hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees make the dangerous sea voyage to Europe followed by arduous treks across the continent, some of their countrymen have used fraudulent Western passports to board planes to countries where they can request asylum. Winter’s approach, turning seas colder, stormier and more dangerous, is expected to increase the practice.

Continue reading here.

This chart shows how many successful asylum cases were processed in 2013 in the U.S. Source: Migration Policy Institute. (I would love to know what countries are represented in that 7,776 (30%) from “other countries,” wouldn’t you?)

For new readers the difference between refugees and asylum seekers is that we fly the refugees in after the UN selects them for us and asylum seekers get in on their own steam—either illegally across a border or come legally on another type of visa—then ask for asylum, claiming they will be persecuted if returned to their homeland. Once granted asylum however, the asylum seekers get all of the same welfare goodies that refugees receive.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Are refugees taking from federal programs for American poor and homeless, sure looks like it

Sacramento to welcome large number of Syrians says resettlement contractor

UNHCR Antonio Guterres leaving post at the end of the year, replacement?

Denmark: Sex education for wannabe refugee rapists

Report: Why the Arab Spring Failed

November 2, 2015/in National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Dr. Rich Swier

The Rubin Center for Research in International Affairs has issued a report by Jonathan W. Pidluzny, Ph.D., who is an assistant professor of government at Morehead State University. Dr. Pidluzny has recently held academic fellowships with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the Jack Miller Center.

The Arab Spring began in 2011 during the Obama administration and while Hillary Clinton was U.S. Secretary of State. This report by the Rubin Center provides an understanding of why it has failed. It failed not for the reasons you may think.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT.

WHY THE ARAB SPRING FAILED: THE CULTURAL ROOTS OF THE ARAB PREDICAMENT, A REVIEW ESSAY OF TAREK HEGGY’S THE ARAB COCOON AND THE ARAB MIND BOUND

By Jonathan W. Pidluzny

Every year, life in the Arab Middle East gets worse for its inhabitants. Tarek Heggy’s books The Arab Cocoon and The Arab Mind Bound (2011) argue that cultural factors are to blame. With all eyes focused on the Arab Spring, his books did not receive the attention they deserved on publication. They are worth revisiting today, because they help to explain why the Arab Spring failed. Heggy argues that a “Bedouin model” of Islam spread wildly in recent decades with ruinous consequences for the region’s educational system and its politics. This essay traces Heggy’s argument and explains why his cultural critique is also an argument against democratizing reforms.

The Arab Spring and the events that have followed will mark a turning point of lasting historical significance for the Arab world, though not the one Western observers envisioned when popular unrest first burst to the surface in 2011. With the hopes roused by the “Arab Spring” extinguished (or worse) in virtually every country affected by its revolutions, the question Tarek Heggy took up in two books published as protestors first took to the streets is more urgent than ever. The Arab Cocoon (2010)[1] and The Arab Mind Bound (2011)[2] boldly ask why the Arab world has proven so resistant to progress in all its forms. The books did not receive the attention they deserved when they were first published, probably because they offered a grim assessment of the Arab world’s predicament at a time the world was giddy with hope, naively confident the Middle East was finally on the cusp of meaningful, ground-up, democratic reform.

Heggy, a prominent advocate of political reform in Egypt and a successful oil-industry executive, published the first book before Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in a Tunisian fruit market set the region ablaze, and the second, in early 2011, just as the uprisings were beginning to gain momentum in Egypt. As a result, the author could only comment on the Arab Spring in passing, in an optimistic note appended to the second book just prior to its publication. “I am certain,” he wrote, “that the revolutions of the youth of the middle class… will bring about the required change within the structure of the Muslim mind, Muslim culture and Islamic religious teaching.”[3] Although Heggy’s hopes have been disappointed, his analysis of the political and cultural milieu in which the revolutions unfolded is all the more pertinent in light of the devastation it has wrought. In fact, his analysis helps to explain the failure of the Arab Spring, even though he did not, himself, predict it would fail. The account Heggy puts forth–that it is Arab culture, broadly construed, that is holding the region back–helps to explain why steps toward openness and democracy can have illiberal and destabilizing consequences.

The problems Heggy catalogues are well known. According to virtually every metric, the Arab world’s economic and political systems perform appallingly. The region’s governments are among the most corrupt on the planet; untouched by the third wave of democracy, the Arab world cannot, to this day, claim a single functioning liberal democracy; respect for the rights of women and minorities–never a shining example for the world–has deteriorated since the Arab Spring catapulted Islamist parties to power; abject poverty remains widespread, and opportunity for economic advancement nonexistent for huge proportions of unusually young populations; and violent ideologies claiming a basis in Islam’s sacred texts inspire new adherents every day, who are tearing the region apart. The region fares no better in literary and intellectual pursuits. In spite of the Arab world’s impressive achievements in the sciences and the arts during its golden age, the region makes very few cultural or scientific contributions of global importance today.[4]

Efforts to explain the region’s seemingly intractable resistance to progress and development, many of which blame America, the West, and Israel for the Mideast’s problems, have yielded an immense literature. Heggy’s answer sets his books apart. He dispenses with the familiar tropes: No, U.S. foreign policy and the existence of Israel are not the primary reasons for Mideast malaise. Nor does he blame European colonialism, the global capitalist system, or the league of autocratic rulers who clung (and in places, continue to cling) to power thanks to oil revenues or outside military aid. Instead, Heggy draws on his cosmopolitan background, long experience in the region as a businessman, and discussions with public intellectuals of every persuasion to offer a profound critique of the Arab mind.

13% of Syrian Muslim migrants support the Islamic State

November 1, 2015/in Immigration, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Ann Corcoran

The survey was done among Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan which is exactly where Syrians destined for America are coming from.

This should be no surprise!

From The Clarion Project (Hat tip: Diana):

A poll published in November 2014 by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies found that 13% of Syrian refugees have positive feelings towards the Islamic State terrorist group. The data should raise questions about the risks posed by the acceptance of Syrian refugees into the United States.

The poll surveyed 900 Syrian refugees equally split between Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The think-tank found that 4% expressed a positive opinion of the Islamic State (ISIS) and another 9% expressed a “somewhat positive” opinion of the terrorist group. Another 10% only view the group negatively “to some extent.”

Continue reading here….

97% of the Syrians admitted to the U.S. in FY 2015 were Sunni Muslims.

Director of the FBI James Comey told Congress recently that we cannot properly screen them.

Here are the states where Syrians have been resettled this month (the first month of the 2016 fiscal year).

RELATED ARTICLES:

Baltimore Mayor: Bring on the refugees to save dying city!

Swedish Foreign Secretary: Sweden will collapse

Islamic State releases video of shooting-down of Russian plane

November 1, 2015/in Featured, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Jihad Watch

This is still not conclusive: skeptics point out that the Islamic State video is unclear, and that the jihadis released still photos of the wrong plane crash. Nonetheless, all part of the effort to “strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60). Even if the Islamic State had nothing to do with the crash, it will serve that purpose for the jihadis.

“WATCH: ISIS Claims Video Shows Them Shooting Down Russian Plane Flight 9268,” by Sam Prince, Heavy, October 31, 2015:

The Islamic State is claiming a video and photos that have gone viral on Twitter shows them shooting down Metrojet Flight 7K9268 over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula….However, others were quick to refute that claim because the video is not clear and the photos show the wrong plane.

But it sounds like that technical issues are at fault for the crash. The Independent reports:

Security sources have said that there was no indication of an attack and technical issues, which were reported by the pilot, were responsible for the accident.

There were 224 guests on the Metrojet Flight 7K9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to St. Petersburg, Russia, including 17 children. The plane was split in two.

The plane requested an emergency landing and there are reports of some crew members noting a problem with one of the engines. The Egyptian civil aviation ministry said the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet when it disappeared off the radar right after it reportedly began descending at a rate of 6,000 feet per minute, according to the New York Times.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Islamic State group in Egypt claims it downed Russian airliner, killing 224 people

Egyptian TV host and historian agree: Burning is “the only solution for the Jews”

Thousands of Muslim migrants in Europe “mysteriously disappear”

Oklahoma: Muslim Brotherhood float in Veterans Day parade

November 1, 2015/in Must Read, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Lyle J. Rapacki, Ph.D.

Tulsa, Oklahoma has allowed a float sponsored by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to be entered in the Veterans Day Parade in downtown Tulsa. U.S. Military veterans are appalled and up in arms.

Oklahoma growing Muslim community continues to infiltrate this Bible-belt state, and continues to push its’ agenda by coming after long-held and traditional venues. Encouraged by the Obama Administration, smaller communities across America such as Twin Falls, Idaho; Dodge City, Kansas; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Bowling Green, Kentucky, and now Tulsa, Oklahoma are under tremendous pressures as thousands of Muslims continue to be sent by the U.S. State Department for integration into American society and culture. The Muslim Brotherhood, and its’ many affiliate organizations, coordinate a sophisticated marketing program to convince Americans that relocating Muslims from Mid-eastern countries will be loyal Americans, and supporters of the U.S. Military.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was created by the Muslim Brotherhood to be a Hamas entity here in America. CAIR’s Founder, Omar Ahmad stated on July 4th, 1998, in Fremont, California at interview with the Argus Newspaper:

“Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant…the Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.”

Larry Williamson, a member of the Tulsa 912 Project, a conservative organization, stated for news media: “…to ask veterans to march alongside people who represent our enemies in a current war is atrocious.”

Williamson further stated:

“I believe all American entrants who the parade is intended to honor should be made aware as soon as possible that they are to share their honor with the Muslim Brotherhood, sworn enemy of the United States and our ally Israel and an enemy in our current war on the Islamic jihad in which American soldiers are fighting and dying.”

The Bible-belt of America is under direct assault by the Islamic Movement. The clear and stated intent is to collapse the Bible-belt, implement division within the church community at-large, and ultimately collapse the Christian Heritage and principles by which America was founded. And the church is asleep, or uninterested.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Pittsburgh, PA Mayor Peduto: Bring us Syrian Muslims!

OKLAHOMA: Tulsa’s Veterans Day Parade participant calls designated Muslim terrorist group’s participation in parade ‘atrocious’

Tulsa’s Veterans Day Parade participant calls Muslim group’s involvement ‘atrocious’ – Tulsa World: Religion

Vets appalled at ‘Muslim Brotherhood float’

EDITORS NOTE: According to Discover the Networks CAIR has strong ties to the terrorist group Hamas:

“[CAIR] was formed not by Muslim religious leaders throughout the country, but as an offshoot of the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). Incorporated in Texas, the IAP has close ties to Hamas and has trumpeted its support for terrorist activities.”[6] Former chief of the FBI’s counter terrorism section, Oliver Revell, called the IAP “a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants.”[7]

CAIR’s head, Nihad Awad asserted at a 1994 meeting at Barry University, “I am a supporter of the Hamas movement.”[8]

Former FBI counter terrorism chief, Steven Pomerantz, stated publicly that, “CAIR, its leaders and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups.”[9]

END NOTES:

[6] Emerson, Steve. “Foreign Terrorists in America: Five Years After the World Trade Center Bombing.” Testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information, 24 February 1998.

[7] http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33582

[8] Steve, Emerson. “Foreign Terrorists in America: Five Years After the World Trade Center Bombing.” Testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information, 24 February 1998.

[9] http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32242

Schumer Puts Military at Risk by Playing Politics with Their Sidearms

November 1, 2015/in Gun Rights, National Security, Policy, Politics, Regulation/by NRA Institute for Legislative Action

In 1995, Bob Dole said of Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), “[t]he most dangerous place is between him and a camera.” Last Friday, Schumer publicly announced a plan to require bidders for a $580 million Department of Defense contract to supply the U.S. Army with handguns to submit to questioning regarding efforts to push a gun control agenda. The fact is, Schumer’s attempt to subject the vital fighting equipment of our nation’s servicemen and women to petty politics is nothing more than a cynical attempt to indulge his lust for press coverage, and is a reckless and dangerous threat to the safety of our service men and women.

The sole intent of the DOD procurement process should be to equip our fighting men and women with the best arms for their mission. To factor in the supplier’s willingness to kowtow to Schumer’s gun control demands alongside criteria such as accuracy and reliability risks supplying our troops with inferior equipment. Our soldier’s lives rely in part on the functional capability of their weapons, and to suggest that these soldiers should be used as a political pawn to enact gun control the Senator cannot achieve through our democratic process is reprehensible.

The specifics of the proposal are outlined in a letter from Schumer to Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh. Schumer is encouraging federal agencies to require that bidding manufacturers only sell firearms to the civilian market through dealers that do not transfer a firearm where (in his words) there has not been a “completed” background check. Of course, all gun dealers are already required to conduct a NICS check prior to transferring any firearm. However, if the FBI delays a transfer for further research into a transferee’s background, but after three days is unable to determine whether the person is eligible to possess firearms, the dealer may transfer the firearm. This is an important safety-valve that restricts the federal government from arbitrarily barring individuals from acquiring firearms by delaying them in perpetuity. In the rare case that a firearm is transferred to an individual after the safety-valve period and they are later found to be prohibited, ATF routinely sends people out to retrieve the firearm.

Further, Schumer wants federal agencies to “require all participating bidders to lay out a plan for the development and sale of smart or childproof guns and accessories.”

Unfortunately, Schumer isn’t the first to put forward such a careless proposal. Back in 2000, the Clinton administration tried to strong-arm firearms manufacturers into carrying out their gun control wish list by promising lucrative local police contracts to those who signed onto an agreement with several gun control provisions. Notably, then-Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary and current Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo threatened defiant gun companies if they did not comply. Cuomo made clear to one industry member that they risked business by defying the administration, stating, “I have a lot of push with these Democratic mayors.” A more recent attempt to influence gun companies through government contracting was carried out by Jersey City, N.J. Mayor Steven Fulop.

In a press release, Schumer said that his recent proposal is “a smart way to use the federal government’s market power to force gun makers to change.” Odd, those whose lives depend on the proper functioning of their firearms when their lives are in the balance seem to think this strategy is decidedly wrong-headed.

An April 2000 Los Angeles Times article detailed the pressure the Clinton administration attempted to exert on local police forces to purchase from certain manufacturers. Capt. Garry Leonard of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told the paper, “Politics aren’t going to enter into how we choose our firearms… When you think of what we do for a living, we just can’t take chances.” President of the Fraternal Order of Police Gilbert G. Gallegos also made clear that “’Adherence to a particular political philosophy’ shouldn’t play a part in gun purchases.”

Even billionaire gun control bankroller Michael Bloomberg seemingly knows better than to play politics with the vital equipment of those who protect us. When asked in 2011 about a proposal to use the NYPD’s handgun purchasing power to boycott a particular manufacturer, then-Mayor Bloomberg brushed-off the idea, stating, “The trouble is, if we boycott one, you probably have to boycott all of them and then you go back to the days when the crooks had better guns than the cops. We don’t want our cops out-armed, out-gunned.”

Schumer’s radical idea to compromise the safety of our service members in furtherance of his own political agenda should be rejected out of hand. The U.S. Army is no place to conduct dangerous political experiments with proposals that the people and the legislatures have repeatedly rejected.

Lawfare: The Crucifixion of Geert Wilders

October 30, 2015/in Courts & Law, Culture War, Must Read, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Jerry Gordon

Geert Wilders has, once again, been accused, of violating hate laws in The Netherlands over a remark he made during a March 19, 2014 Freedom Party (PVV) campaign rally for the European Parliament elections that occurred in May of last year: “fewer and fewer Moroccans”. Complaints were filed by alleged aggrieved Dutch Moroccans on the grounds that his remarks were racist and violated hate laws in The Netherlands. These remarks in the U.S. would be protected under our First Amendment to the Constitution. No such protections currently exist under the laws in The Netherlands, let alone the EU. We noted this in a December 2014 Iconoclast post about a statement Wilders made before his interrogation by Dutch police in The Hague:

The words Orwellian, Kafkaesque appear inadequate to describe the trammeling of the Hon. Geert Wilders’ free speech by Dutch prosecutors at the Hague in The Netherlands. We write this with the imagery of the fictional victim of Kafka’s posthumously published novel, The Trial. Joseph K was arrested by police inspectors for unknown reasons and every word of his scrutinized before his climactic death.

What Wilders is going through is not fiction, but a living nightmare. All because he spoke his mind during a local elections Freedom Party (PVV) campaign rally last spring about “fewer Moroccans”. That was a reference to his platform of controlling mass immigration of Muslims who have exhibited substantial criminal behavior incited by Islamic doctrine and preaching by Imams in Dutch Mosques.

We thought his exoneration in the May 2011 Amsterdam District Court trial on alleged hate speech law violations would end his nightmare of prosecution for what we in the US take for granted as protected speech under the First Amendment of our Constitution.

Public Prosecutors in The Hague are preparing for a trial on these trumped up charges in 2016. Wilders was exonerated from similar charges in a well publicized 2011 trial in the Amsterdam district court. Wilders’ has retained one of the best known defense attorneys Geert-Jan Knoops. However, the trial judge remarks and denial of what we in US trial procedure would consider customary discovery requests would lead one to believe that The Hague court proceedings on these charges are politicized and biased this bolstering of both Knoops and his client Wilders that a fair trial would not be possible. Those are the contention of this front page interview with Wilders and his defense counsel, Knoops in this De Telegraaf article by Messrs. Wouter de Winther and Rudd Mikkers. Wilders says, if that is the case then why show up at the trial, as the decision has already been made and the prosecution would be a proverbial media circus.

What follows is an English translation of the De Telegraaf interview article,”Wilders awaits unfair trial”.

Wilders awaits unfair trial
by Wouter de Winther and Ruud Mikkers
The Hague

PVV leader Geert Wilders awaits an unfair trial if he stands trial next year for stating that he wants “fewer Moroccans”. That is what his lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops says.

The lawyer is upset about the fact that the judge has allocated only 1 percent of the investigation requests of Wilders’ defense. “These include doing further research by experts. The defense has serious concerns about whether Mr. Wilders in his criminal case can adequately defend himself,” Knoops says in a statement. “When all reasonable requests are rejected, they apparently want to convict me at all costs,” the PVV leader concludes. Wilders is expected to appear in court sometime in 2016. “A correct picture of the context of the alleged statements of Mr. Wilders is essential,” says Knoops. “In order to present this picture to the judge, Wilders should get the chance that he gets the investigation he has asked for.” The lawyer says that Wilders is seriously harmed in his defense. “This way, Mr. Wilders does not get a fair trial.”

PVV leader Wilders feels provoked. He says he will not get a fair chance to defend himself in the trial in which he is being sued for group insult and incitement to hatred and discrimination. Almost all his requests to hear experts or to examine whether there has been tampered with declarations against him have been dismissed. He has appealed, because this way the chance of a fair trial would be reduced to nil.

What are the indications that suggest that you will not get a fair chance at a defense? “I notice that the judicial authorities get more intransigent as we rise in the polls. At the first meetings, the magistrate still said to me, ‘You are entitled to a fair chance; the law will be interpreted broadly. But the opposite has happened. The magistrate uncritically follows the prosecutor. If all reasonable requests are rejected, then they apparently want to convict me at all costs.”

Why would Lady Justice suddenly take off her blindfold for Geert Wilders? “For months, we have been working on the defense and therefore you suggest that further investigations be conducted. For example, what about government ministers who already declared me guilty before the trial had begun, such as [Justice Minister] Opstelten? And we also want to know what has happened with all the pre-printed complaint forms. We have discovered that various forms have same signatures on them! We also want to hear experts, for example about the accusations of racism. A nationality is not a race, so how can I be guilty of racism? I am convinced that if today I ask “Do you want more or fewer Syrians,” no one would take offense at that, let alone that there would be complaints would be filled.”

But then we are dealing with refugees without a residence permit. Not Dutch citizens who have already been here for thirty or forty years. “Yes, but I’m talking about the concept of nationality versus race. That is what everyone objected to, while I think that would now no longer be the case. If I would ask, ‘Do you want more or fewer Belgians; I do not believe that many people would feel offended. I want to hear the opinion of experts about this. I want to defend myself, but I must also be able to defend myself. The frustrating thing is that we have made 39 requests and zero have been granted. One of them has been kept in deliberation.”

During your previous trial, you had you done serious and less serious requests, you asked to hear Gaddafi or invite the Iranian president as a witness. What requests did you do this time? “I have noticed that the director of a mosque filed several complaints with different handwritings but the same signature. Hundreds of complaints were done on forms delivered in that mosque. About such matters I would want to hear the opinion of experts, because this cannot be allowed. I cannot give you all the names, because that information is not public. For example, Tom Zwart, professor at the University of Amsterdam, and Professor Paul Cliteur were willing to testify. But they have been rejected. “

What is behind all this? I do not know. However, I have seen on television there are people in the judiciary who say that PVV members cannot become judges. In the newspaper I read that the Public Prosecutor had already appointed two media judges even before the decision to prosecute had been taken. And as we rise in the polls, the rejections from the judicial authorities become more blunt and unfriendly. If this continues, then it seems as if the verdict has already been written. Then I will have to consider whether I need to attend. Perhaps they should just rule in absentia. For me, it makes little sense to come. If this persists, it will be a political trial and a PVV-hate trial.”

Are you saying that the judiciary in the Netherlands is not independent? “I want to talk about my case. If this persists, it will not be a fair trial. Obviously, I am also referring to the statement by the judge who said that PVV members should not be allowed to become judges. That is the atmosphere in which this is all happening.”

You are again seeking the role of the underdog, you and the PVV fighting the established order on your own. Is that not becoming a bit déjà-vu? “I would rather not have been prosecuted, because I think I’ve done nothing wrong. I do not seek the role of the victim here because I would rather have preferred that I could defend myself. But if all requests are rejected, then it is no use. Let them then quickly sentence me in absentia. I hope it does not come to that. Because it will be a circus.”

What consequences will a conviction have for you? “I will always continue to say what I have to say. However, with the difference that I would only be able to express certain messages in the microphone of parliament. Because there I have immunity. If freedom of expression is curtailed, I can no longer express certain opinions anywhere.”

Virtually nowhere you get what you want. But when you do think your trial will actually be fair? “That depends on which requests are granted and in what way. Knoops also needs to have the impression that he can truly defend me. If such a person, the best criminal lawyer in the Netherlands says it is not fair … that’s quite something. Knoops is not someone whom you can abuse politically.”

Given all the hassle afterwards, don’t you regret having made the statements about “fewer Moroccans”? “I think an excuse to make it harder for the PVV will always be found. We are under more scrutiny than politicians of D66 or the Green Left because we are very outspoken. I understand that. We also oppose the establishment and do not mince our words. If you do that you do not make it easy for yourself.”

Ultimately, this trial is about the freedom of expression. You always draw the line very clearly at calling to violence, but should everything else be said? “I think you should be able to say if you want fewer Mexicans or Syrians. That is not discriminatory and certainly no call to violence. I will always continue. Nothing will stop me to express my opinion. Not a hundred judges, not a thousand verdicts or fatwas will be able to change that.”

Can you imagine that Moroccan Dutch people feel excluded by such a fewer Moroccans statement? “I do not really care what they feel or don’t feel. The point is whether it is illegal or not and I do not think that I have done anything wrong. If people feel hurt they should address a psychologist or someone similar.”

Today or tomorrow you would as easily say “fewer, fewer, fewer Syrians”? “I’m not saying I will do that, but if I would, it would in my opinion no longer cause a lot of commotion.”

Yet you do not say it so explicitly today. Has this reluctance to do with the
upcoming trial? “We are calling for fewer Syrians that is absolutely true. But today or tomorrow, I will not be holding such a speech as last year. But if I would, and if I would say it… then I think that nothing would happen. In America, any politician can advocate fewer Mexicans. No-one would object.”

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review.

CNBC’s GOP Debate Mute About National Security by Ryan Mauro

October 29, 2015/in Elections, Must Read, National Security, Policy, Politics, Religion/by Clarion Project

Foreign policy and national security was disappointingly absent from last night’s Republican presidential debate. The event focused on financial issues because it was hosted by the CNBC business news channel, but the economy is intertwined with important debates about foreign policy, energy independence and global instability. At one point, an incredulous Gov. Chris Christie mocked how more time was spent discussing fantasy football than the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) threat.

The following is a summary of the statements related to national security that were made by the candidates.

George Pataki

The most impressive national answers in my judgment were given by George Pataki during the first debate amongst the four lowest polling candidates. He pointed out that his two sons served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The impact of cyber attacks on the economy were discussed in the undercard debate but were shockingly left out of the main event, even though Iran and North Korea (and others) have waged cyber warfare on the U.S.

Pataki said that the U.S. should sanction any company that engages in hacking and bar them from trade with the American market, including those of Chinese origin. He said that the U.S. should follow Israel’s example in establishing a single federal agency dedicated to cyber defense. He then linked the issue to the controversy over Hillary Clinton’s unsecured email server at her home and the likelihood that its contents was hacked by Iran, Russia, China and others.

Pataki is currently in 15^th place among the 16 Republican contenders with an average of less than 1% nationally and less than 1% for the New Hampshire primary that is the focus of his campaign. You can read our factsheet on his stances related to Islamist extremism here.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s answers related to national security earned the most applause. He said that the U.S. is too predictable and shouldn’t be constantly talking about how it will handle enemies like the Islamic State. The audience roared when he said that servicemen at military installations should be trusted to be armed, referring to the Islamist shooting at two sites in Chattanooga, Tennessee in July that killed five people.

Trump is the frontrunner nationally with 27%; is in second place with 21% in Iowa (behind Ben Carson); first place in New Hampshire with 30% and first place in South Carolina with 33%. You can read our factsheet on his stances related to Islamist extremism here.

Chris Christie

Chris Christie was also received very positively when he talked about national security, particularly when he lambasted the extremely condescending CNBC moderators (as other candidates did) and pointed out how fantasy football was talked about more than the Islamic State.

Christie warned of foreign policy isolationists that would leave behind fewer democracies around the world and criticized the Obama Administration’s record on promoting freedom. He also cited the FBI director’s statement that the stigmatizing of law enforcement is increasing crime and decreasing safety.

Christie is currently in 10th place nationally with 2% and 9th place in New Hampshire with 3%. You can read our factsheet on his stances related to Islamist extremism here.

Lindsey Graham

Lindsey Graham emphasized national security during the undercard debate and was met with thunderous applause when he said that he’d let dictators know that the “party is over” and “this crap stops” if he becomes president.

He warned of the danger of cuts to the defense budget and claimed that the Army will shrink to its smallest size since 1940. On the issue of cyber warfare, he said he’d tell China and others involved in hacking that the U.S. has a clenched fist and an open hand and their behavior will decide which one is used.

Graham is currently in 11th place nationally with 1%, 12th in New Hampshire with 1% and 7th in South Carolina with 3%. You can read our factsheet on his stances related to Islamist extremism here.

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio’s only comments related to national security were about the hearings regarding the Islamist terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya in 2012 and Hillary Clinton’s testimony. He said that Clinton privately wrote emails stating that the violence was a terrorist attack linked to Al-Qaeda but that she and the administration blamed it on an out-of-control protest against a video criticizing Islam.

Rubio is currently in third place nationally with 9%; third in Iowa with 10%; fourth in New Hampshire with 8% and third in South Carolina with 8%. You can read out factsheet on his stances related to Islamist extremism here.

ABOUT RYAN MAURO

Ryan Mauro is ClarionProject.org’s national security analyst, a fellow with Clarion Project and an adjunct professor of homeland security. Mauro is frequently interviewed on top-tier television and radio. Read more, contact or arrange a speaking engagement.