VIDEO: An analysis of President Obama’s disastrous Iran Nuclear “Deal”
Recently I had the opportunity to speak at the TEA Party Fort Lauderdale. The topic was the nuclear deal with Iran. Please take the time to listen to my remarks.
Tag Archive for: Muslims
Humanitarian Jihad: Dancing to the beat of the Islamic Street
[This is an excerpt from the last chapter of The Black Flag of Jihad stalks la République, scheduled for release on December 10th]
After the Arab Spring the September 2015 refugee crisis. Once again our media and allied opinion-makers dance to the beat of the Islamic street. Moved to ecstasy by compact masses of Muslim men leavened with a sprinkling of women and children trampling the ground we stand on, they incite the citizens of Europe and beyond to abject surrender in humanitarian guise.
The photo of a child victim triggered a massive onslaught on the West. The doll-like body of Aylan Shenu (a.k.a. Al Kurdi), face down at the water’s edge looking like a peaceful toddler sleeping the dreams of innocence, has produced the al Dura effect: a white flash of emotion, hasty judgment, swift punishment of the guilty, total impunity for the aggrieved party.
Why in fact was this child washed up on the beach? His parents embarked with their two boys on troubled seas in an overloaded inflated boat that would supposedly carry them from the Turkish beach of Bodum to the Greek island of Kos and from there to A New Life. The father survived, his wife and two sons drowned.
Apparently none of them had life jackets, though I have no way of judging the veracity of various contradictory accounts of the incident. The father, Abdullah, says the boat capsized because the passengers stood up. He was holding on to his wife and children, lost them one by one. Five year-old Galip died, the father had to let go of him; he saw Aylan’s eyes fill with blood, and bid him farewell; his wife was afloat, puffed up like a balloon, unrecognizable. Zeinab Abbas, an Iraqi who lost two of her three children in the shipwreck, claims that Abdullah is a people smuggler who was piloting the boat; he went too fast, causing the accident. The boat was overloaded, there weren’t enough life jackets to go around. Survivors of similar crossings testify that the smugglers are never aboard; they choose one of the passengers to act as captain. What, then, justifies the payment of thousands of euros for the perilous crossing? Why wouldn’t people buy their own boats and life jackets, and increase their chances of survival by traveling in small groups? Obviously they don’t, as can be seen by the constant stream of overloaded dinghies arriving on Greek shores. Often it is the children who don’t have life jackets.
But practical questions of this nature were strictly verboten as the lethal narrative of the refugee crisis triggered by the iconic figure of Aylan unfolded. No pas d’amalgame for the dead child. When a Muslim commits an attack, the chorus chants pas d’amalgame, don’t blame Muslims collectively and besides, it has nothing to do with Islam. When I first saw the photo I thought it was taken on a Greek or Italian beach. The addition of the word “touristic” gave the Turkish beach of Bodum extraterritoriality, like a foreign embassy. The poor child was crossing the waters in an inflatable boat instead of taking a plane like the tourists. What about the 38 tourists gunned down on a beach in Sousse? They weren’t icons of Tunisian indifference; Tunisia was the victim of “a small minority of extremists who pervert Islam.” The photo of Aylan Shenu produced the al Dura effect: Guilty of his death, we are fair game for anything anyone wants to do to punish us. The only acceptable reaction was to blame Europe for criminal negligence. The campaign was kicked off with hashtags, slogans in the sand, heart-rending reiteration, and self-satisfied indignation. All the oceans of the world could not contain the tears that Europe should shed. No gesture of atonement-hospitality was deep and broad enough to save us from eternal damnation. The punishment was rapid and severe. Europe was deprived of its sovereignty, its borders, and the right to enjoy its just deserts.
Even as the Finnish prime minister offered his summer home to two families (how would they be chosen out of the hundreds of thousands marching as to war?) and a French woman created a free-of-charge “Airbnb” to lodge all comers, Europe was beating its breast, covering its head with ashes, and accusing itself of heartless indifference to the plight of the victims. First identified as migrants to avoid the shameful accuracy of “illegal immigrants,” the masses arriving by land, sea, and air were anointed as refugees and the default emotion was uncritical compassion. No, it was more like infatuation, adoration…swooning submission.
At least that is how mass media framed the story in Phase One. Government officials, with notable exceptions, were tearing their hearts out of their breast pockets to demonstrate compassion. It will take time to determine the degree of sincerity on each level of their discourse and action—follow-the-media emotion, desperate EU attempts to impose quotas for resettlement of asylum seekers, promises that economic migrants ineligible for asylum would be deported, and the frantic restoration of border controls within the Schengen free-circulation region and on its outer frontiers. On intellectual territory, the slightest deviation from the party line by analysts, specialists, and philosophers provoked a virtual lynch mob.
Day after day the refugee crisis dominated the news stream. Zapping from one channel to another, one online media to the next, we were faced with the irresistible flow of refugees and the ongoing lethal narrative of their inalienable right to come, to see, and to conquer the good life. Excited journalists, some of whom had starred in the Arab Spring show, camped in the Munich train station, ran through Serbian fields, pushed up against Hungary’s security barrier, crammed into trains and buses, shouted with the mob, cuddled wide-eyed babies, filling the screen with outpourings that drowned rational thought in the capsized dinghy of an orchestrated craze.
And yet there has been no popular refugee-welcome enthusiasm in France. Hopes of rousing another Je Suis Charlie movement fell flat. An estimated 8,000 people gathered one evening at Place de la République, there was at least one “Je Suis Syrien” sign, a solidarity concert attracted a few hundred in the City Hall square, nothing to compare with Germany’s open arms. The pernicious effect of the operation is to be found elsewhere, in a sort of quiet resignation to the violation of the basic attributes of sovereignty. The current unprecedented stampede is simplistically equated with previous waves of immigration, deliberately or unwittingly ignoring the difference in scope, context, attitude, and circumstances. One commentator compared it to the “immigration” of pieds noirs from the Maghreb. Never mind that the pieds noirs were French, forced to flee a newly independent Algeria, and the Maghrebi Jews that fled with them were not only French but also indigenous to the region where they had settled long before the Muslim conquest.
As could be expected, European Jews are caught in the crossfire. Again. Future victims of these Muslims that will add their dose of genocidal anti-Zionism to the abiding strain, Jews may well turn into the refugee’s refugees. At least we will be welcome in Israel! After each major atrocity – murders by Mohamed Merah, Mehdi Nemmouche, Amhadou Koulibaly respectively – Prime Minister Netanyahu invited European Jews to make Aliyah. This provoked an outcry from the same people who are melting with bounty today as they invite essentially Muslim refugees to make “aliyah” to Europe, their promised land. The Jews, defined by the Shoah, are enjoined to hand over their refugee costumes to the no less deserving newcomers. Shocked by the wishes of certain French local officials to give preference to Christian over Muslim refugees, the speaker of the Parliament Claude Bartalone exhaled: “After the yellow star the green crescent.”
Why is this stampede into Europe different from all previous immigrations?
RELATED ARTICLE: Concealing the Facts on Refugee Resettlement: A case study on how the media and duplicitous politicians hide the truth from the public
EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. Nidra Poller’s book Karimi Hotel is now available in English and Al Dura: long range ballistic myth is available in paperback and on Kindle.
MSM Lies about Muslims Lying (Taqiyya) by Raymond Ibrahim
Dr. Ben Carson’s recent assertion that the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya encourages Muslims “to lie to achieve your goals” has prompted the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler to quote a number of academics to show that the presidential candidate got it wrong:
The word “taqiyya” derives from the Arabic words for “piety” and “fear of God” and indicates when a person is in a state of caution, said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles and a leading authority on Islam.
[…]
“Yes, it is permissible to hide the fact you are Muslim” if a person is under threat, “as long as it does not involve hurting another person,” Abou El Fadl said.
The other academics whom Kessler quotes—including Omid Safi, director of the Duke University Islamic Studies Center, and Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School—make the same argument: yes, taqiyya is in the Koran but it only permits deception in the case of self-preservation, nothing more.
Not exactly.
Although the word taqiyya is related to the Arabic word “piety” and its root meaning is “protect” or “guard against”—and the Koran verses that advocate it (3:28 and 16:106) do so in the context of self-preservation from persecution—that is not the whole story.
None of the academics quoted by Kessler bothered to acknowledge that the Koran is not the only textual source to inform Muslim action. They ignore the Hadith, the collected words and deeds of Muhammad. Koran 33:2, for instance, commands Muslims to follow Muhammad’s example, and his example—also known as the prophet’s Sunna—is derived from the many volumes of Hadith.
The importance of Muhammad’s example is seen in that the Sunnis, approximately 90% of the world’s Muslim population, are named after his Sunna. As one Muslim cleric puts it, “Much of Islam will remain mere abstract concepts without Hadith [whence the Sunna is derived]. We would never know how to pray, fast, pay zakah, or make pilgrimage without the illustration found in Hadith…”
It is therefore careless or disingenuous for Kessler and his “experts” to ignore Muhammad’s example as recorded in the Hadith in their discussion of taqiyya.
As usual, for the complete truth, one must turn to scholarly books written in Arabic. According to Dr. Sami Mukaram, an Islamic studies professor specializing in taqiyya, and author of the only academic book exclusively devoted to it, “Taqiyya in order to deceive the enemy is permissible.”
This sounds similar to Carson’s assertion that taqiyya allows Muslims “to lie to achieve your goals.”
As proof, Mukaram documents two canonical anecdotes from Muhammad’s Sunna—his example to Muslims—that make clear that the prophet allowed his followers to lie and deceive non-Muslims above and beyond the issue of self-preservation… Keep reading
Putin to those who supported the “Arab Spring”: “Do you realize what you have done?”
“Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty and social disaster — and nobody cares a bit about human rights, including the right to life. I cannot help asking those who have forced that situation: Do you realize what you have done?”
No, they don’t realize what they have done, and they’re poised to do more of it. And those of us who warned at the time that the “Arab Spring” would not lead to “the triumph of democracy and progress,” but to “violence, poverty and social disaster,” were dismissed and derided as racist, bigoted “Islamophobes.” And no matter how often the establishment analysts get things wrong, and disastrously, fatally so, they never get called to account, and keep applying the same failed solutions over and over again.
“Putin: ‘Do you realize what you have done?,’” by Everett Rosenfeld, CNBC, September 28, 2015:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday admonished those who supported democratic revolutions in the Middle East, telling the United Nations they led to the rise of a globally ambitious Islamic State.
“Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty and social disaster — and nobody cares a bit about human rights, including the right to life,” Putin said through a translator. “I cannot help asking those who have forced that situation: Do you realize what you have done?”
The Russian president added that the power vacuum following these revolutions led to the rise of terrorist groups in the region — including the Islamic State group.
He told the General Assembly it would be an “enormous mistake” not to cooperate with the Syrian government to combat the extremist group.
“No one but President (Bashar) Assad’s armed forces and Kurdish militia are truly fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria,” he said.
In an earlier speech at the U.N. , President Barack Obama said it would be a mistake to think that Syria could be stable under Assad.
Acknowledging some of the criticism lobbed at Russia’s proposal, Putin said his country is only proposing to help save the world from terrorism.
“I must note that such an honest and frank approach from Russia has been recently used as a pretext to accuse it of its growing ambitions — as if those who say it has no ambitions at all. However, it’s not about Russia’s ambitions, dear colleagues, but about the recognition of the fact that we can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world,” he said.
He proposed a “generally broad international coalition against terrorism,” likening the suggestion to the anti-Hitler coalition that brought together disparate interests to battle fascism in Europe.
Putin warned that international policy toward the region has led to an Islamic State with plans that “go further” than simply dominating the Middle East. And citing recent data about failures in successfully recruiting “moderate” Syrian opposition, Putin said countries opposed to Assad are simply worsening the situation.
“We believe that any attempts to play games with terrorists, let alone to arm them, are not just short-sighted, but hazardous. This may result in the global terrorist threat increasing dramatically and engulfing new regions,” the Russian leader said….
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ALERT: Burmese Muslims on the way to the U.S.
Rohingya (Burmese) Muslims are coming to the U.S. This group of young men was apprehended by the Malaysian government, a Muslim government, that doesn’t want the Rohingya. So we are taking them!
I thought I was done today. I was just going to tackle my bulging e-mail in box when I came across an e-mail from reader Judith alerting me to this news from the Bangkok Post yesterday.
24 Rohingya (Burmese) Muslims are on the way to the US, but the article tells us that since right after 911 we have admitted 13,000 Burmese Muslims (how many are Rohingya?).
Ahhhh!
While we focus on the fact that Syrians can’t be screened, frankly neither can Muslims who get on boats in Southeast Asia (claiming to have been kidnapped) be properly screened!
New readers of RRW don’t know that we have an entire category on the very ‘observant’ followers of Islam that are known as the Rohingya.
We have 180 posts in our ‘Rohingya Reports’ category extending all the way back to 2007. Back in 2007 and early 2008 there was no way the US State Dept. was going to admit Rohingya Muslims, but clearly all that has changed
Here is the story at the Bangkok Post (which won’t let me snip much, so please go read it yourself):
At 46 years old, Basamai, an ethnic Rohingya Muslim man, will for the first time obtain identity documents that will allow him to resettle in the United States next week, along with 23 other trafficking victims.
The 24 to be resettled follow four who left Thailand earlier this month, in a humanitarian programme that has resettled 13,000 Muslims from Myanmar since 2002, according to the US Department of State Refugee Processing Center.
They are not saying if they are coming to your town!
Following their arrival in the U.S. — the exact location remains unknown — the Rohingya group will undergo Cultural Orientation Training before they can be resettled, said a source from the Ministry of…
Cultural Orientation Training, here? in the US? That is a new one on me.
They were screened by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the star of this story hopes to bring his wife and 8 daughters to America real soon!
RELATED ARTICLE: The Rising Tide of Third World Refugees and the Plight of NATO’s Southeastern Flank
RELATED VIDEO: Final Thoughts on Islam and violence from News Anchor Tomi Lahren
Iran’s Supreme Leader: Muslims must ‘shatter’ the U.S., the ‘idol of tyranny’
He seems to delight in making it absolutely clear to the world just how spectacularly he fooled Barack Obama and John Kerry, and got what he wanted out of them without being diverted from his genocidal plans to the slightest degree.
“Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei In Article Marking Hajj: ‘The Idols Will Be Shattered,’” MEMRI, September 24, 2015:
On September 23, 2015, to mark the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei published an article on his website Farsi.Khamenei.ir titled “The Idols Will Be Shattered,” accompanied by an image of a shattered Statue of Liberty.
Following are excerpts from his article:
“… The study of the lesson [of the Hajj], and implementing it, are the source of a blessing that could renew the lives of the Muslims, bring them prosperity, and save them from the troubles that afflict them, in this era and any other. The idol of the soul, the idol of pride, [and] the idol of sexual lust; the idol of tyranny and subservience; the idol of global tyranny [i.e. the U.S.]; the idol of sloth and irresponsibility; and the other idols that shame the precious human soul – a plan that will spring forth from the depths of the heart will shatter them. Then, liberty, honor, and health will replace dependence, hardship, and humiliation.
“Oh brothers and sisters making the pilgrimage from every nation and every country, delve deeply into the word [i.e. “hajj”] that teaches the divine wisdom; examine precisely the source of the Islamic world’s troubles, particularly in western Asia and in North Africa; define for yourselves a mission and a responsibility in accordance with [your] potential and individual and public tools; and exert yourself in them.
“In these days, the evil policy of America in this region is causing war and bloodshed, destruction, displacement, poverty, backwardness, and religious and sectarian division. On the other hand are the crimes and occupying activity of the Zionist regime in Palestine, which have reached the height of injustice and crime. [The Zionist regime] continually disrespects Al-Aqsa Mosque and tramples the blood and money of the oppressed Palestinian people.
“You Muslim [pilgrims] – this issue is your top priority. You must ponder it, and know that with which you are charged under [the law of] Islam. The senior clerics, politicians, and cultural figures have a weightier mission, in the fulfillment of which, unfortunately, they are remiss. Instead of dealing with sparking religious schism, instead of remaining passive in the face of the enemy, and instead of engaging in trivial matters, the clerics, politicians, and cultural figures [respectively] must all identify the great pain of the Islamic world, and must accept and implement the mission with which God has charged them.
“These events that evoke weeping and that are taking place in the region – in Iraq, in Yemen, in Bahrain, in the West Bank, in Gaza, and elsewhere in Asia and Africa – are the greatest woes of the Islamic ummah.
“The plots of the global tyranny [i.e. the U.S.] in this matter must be identified, and ways to resolve [this matter] must be considered. The nations must demand this of their governments, and the governments must be true to their responsibilities…”
“Signed, Ali Khamenei
“September 18, 2015.”
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Putting American Interests First
Why does it seem that many Americans are more loyal to those who use their religion to abuse women, blow up churches, torture animals, enslave black Africans, and call for jihad on America than to a patriot like Dr. Ben Carson? I understand he didn’t exactly trip over himself to initially say that a Muslim should be president, but please give me a break. When a television talk show host asked Dr. Carson that got you question regarding the United States having a Muslim as president question, the good doctor simply stated, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation I absolutely would not agree with that.” To me he exhibited a high degree of understanding of reality and conviction when he doubled down on his views concerning the matter, when he told Sean Hanity on FOX News “We don’t put people at the head of our country whose faith might interfere with carrying out the duties of the Constitution.”
Let us not forget that the question asked Dr. Carson was a hypothetical one. He simply answered it as such. Now based upon the multi century history of those who practice Islam, Mr. Carson was, is and will always be justified in giving the answer he gave.
The pro-jihadist group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations feigned their outrage at what Dr. Carson said. In fact, they called for political leaders from “across the political spectrum to repudiate these unconstitutional and un-American statements and for Dr. Carson to withdraw from the presidential race. Such hypocrisy would have me falling over with bellowing laughter if it were not connected to such an important and volatile subject. Arson was lambasted by CAIR members for what they called a religious test.
But yet the jihadist, sharia law pushers they support are on a daily basis calling for a takeover of the United States and abolishment of our Constitution. Also, One News Now columnist Bryan Fischer pointed out recently that article VI reads: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” He revealed that the only restriction is on the federal government. It bans the federal government and the federal government only from requiring a candidate for public office to pass a religious test. In other words, only the federal government can violate Article VI.
So, a candidate for public office could not violate Article VI. It is not a restraint on candidates, but rather it is a restraint on the federal government. More to the correct point, it should be noted that the ban on a religious test is a ban on the government, not the voters. While the federal government cannot apply a religious test, voters can use any test they want to.
At the time of the founding of our Republic, every colony had a religious test for holding public office. Believe it or not eight states still do today. This is as constitutional as you can get, whether the bigoted anti-Christian progressives of today like it or not.
But back to the issue of presidential candidate Ben Carson’s remarks regarding him not advocating the putting of a Muslim in the White House which makes perfect sense. Let us not forget that numerous imams, jihadists and ISIS terrorists are always calling for the overthrow of America and death to Israel. I believe that Islam is an abusive political ideology that is utilized masqueraded as a religion. Perhaps if presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina would take a closer look at reality rather than pander to the incurably ignorant masses and the progressive dragon media, they would realize that Dr. Carson did what any decent American presidential candidate would do. All he did was gauge the issue according to constitutional directives, not politically correct dogma. At least Carson has so far placed U.S. interests above that of incompatible Muslims.
Concerning another matter, I find it very interesting how so many political office holders, media pundit personalities and others seeking political office all agree that it is impossible to deport millions of illegal immigrants who are wreaking havoc throughout our republic. The truth is, they can but the politicians don’t have the stones to do it.
Believe it or not, president Dwight D. Eisenhower utilizing Operation Wetback deported 13 million illegal immigrant Mexicans over two years during his administration. Also at the onset of the great depression, President Herbert Hoover deported over two million illegal immigrants. Both presidents put American interests first and did what had to be done, without the higher technology available today, which could greatly aid in the justifiable need to deport millions of disrespectful illegal immigrants. Maybe there should be a put America first test for those seeking to assume the presidency.
Pressure on Obama grows to declare war against Christians a genocide
“Christianity in the Middle East is shattered,” Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska Republican, told the IDC [In Defense of Christians] conference on Sept. 9. “The ancient faith tradition lies beaten, broken and dying. Yet Christians in Iraq and Syria are hanging on in the face of the Islamic State’s barbarous onslaught. This is genocide.”
Yes. And as the Islamic State itself tells the world, it is the direct result of devout Muslims following the commands in the Qur’an, imitating Muhammad’s example as extolled in the ahadith and the Sira, and applying the doctrines of Islamic jurisprudence. Islam itself is the direct cause of the first genocide of the 21st century.
“Pressure Grows to Declare War Against Christians a Genocide,” By Douglas Burton, Washington Times via AINA, September 23, 2015:
Memorial to victims of 2010 church bombing; Baghdad, Iraq.
Human rights activists see it. Foreign leaders see it. And more than 80 members of the U.S. Congress see it. Together, they are pressuring the leader of the free world to declare there is a Christian genocide going on in the Middle East.
Their campaign — which was discussed at a Capitol Hill conference earlier this month hosted by the two-year-old In Defense of Christians nonprofit — has an influential ally on its side.
Pope Francis, making his first visit to the United States on Wednesday, has noted the number of Christians being martyred today exceeds the number martyred during the days of the Roman Empire.
In fact, the sheer numbers of Christians murdered and tortured every year in a dozen countries in the developing world is only getting worse, thanks to the relentless campaign of the ISIS and al-Qaeda terror groups.
For example, in 2014, 2,000 Christians were murdered in Iraq alone, which is the number cited by historian Edward Gibbon as the total number of Christian martyrs in the first three centuries of Christianity.
In Iraq, where Christian churches were planted 1,800 years ago, Christianity has been wiped out except for 200,000 refugees sheltering in Kurdistan and a few in Baghdad. Their language, Aramaic; their homeland, the Nineveh Plain; and their calamity are Biblical in scale. Hundreds have been publicly tortured and executed in Mosul while women and children have suffered severe levels of sexual violence since the Islamic State took control in 2014.
“Christianity in the Middle East is shattered,” Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska Republican, told the IDC conference on Sept. 9. “The ancient faith tradition lies beaten, broken and dying. Yet Christians in Iraq and Syria are hanging on in the face of the Islamic State’s barbarous onslaught. This is genocide.”
A year after Congress authorized a special envoy to expedite the humanitarian relief of persecuted minorities in Iraq, the Obama administration has finally chosen a person to fill the spot. Knox Thames has been named the State Department’s special adviser for religious minorities in the Near East (NEA) and South and Central Asia (SCA). His appointment was announced Sept. 16 by Ambassador David Saperstein, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The Christian refugees in Irbil hope that Mr. Thames hits the ground running.
“The appointment represents a positive step toward strengthening the U.S. response to religious persecution in the Middle East,” says Delia Kashat, who works for the Nineveh Council of America, a newly established office that raises awareness on the plight of threatened Iraqi minorities, including the Yazidis.
“History is repeating itself,” she says of the latest crisis that reminds many refugees of the massacre of 3,000 Assyrian Christians in August 1933 and the Armenian genocide of 1915 that also claimed the lives of many Assyrian Christians.
“Having suffered multiple genocides over time, the true natives of Iraq and Syria serve as the equilibrium and peacemakers of the country,” she says. Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in all provinces have suffered kidnappings, torture and brutal attacks, and massive exodus has followed the ascendance of the Islamic State.
Ms. Kashat grew up in the Detroit metro area, home to around 150,000 Chaldean Christian immigrants, but her parents were born in the Nineveh Plain and fled Iraq in 1973. “They came to this country because this is where is they could freely live and practice their faith,” she says.
Whether they call themselves Assyrian or Chaldean, Catholic or Orthodox, Iraqi Christians belong to a common ethnicity and claim descent from the ancient peoples who established Assyria 4,500 years ago.
Currently there are 14 Christian parties seeking seats in the Kurdish regional parliament, and each is tied to a particular church, according to Louay Mikhael, a Chaldean Christian rom Dohuk, who arrived in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and child only in April.
Mr. Mikhael represents the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council of the Kurdish Regional Government (CSA Popular Council), which will open its lobbying office in Washington in the coming weeks. Both Ms. Kashat and Mr. Mikhael are working in Washington to raise awareness on the issues affecting ethnic-religious minority populations.
After the surge of the Islamic State in the summer of 2014 approximately 130,000 people — virtually the entire population of Christians remaining in the Nineveh Plain near Mosul — have either fled the country or taken shelter in Kurdish cities.
“On Aug. 6 when ISIS attacked Qaroquosh, approximately 55 miles from Irbil, we had 60,000 people arriving in one day,” said Rev. Douglas Bezi, the Chaldean Catholic priest who manages a refugee center in the Christian suburb of Ainkawa.
The city of Irbil and its suburbs have nearly 100,000 Chaldean Catholic refugees sheltering in rented apartments, unfinished buildings or steel shipping containers. “When they arrived, I divided them into two groups, those who wanted to return in one group and those who wanted to leave the country,” Father Bezi said. “But after a year, no one wants to return to the Nineveh Plain. More than 60 percent of my people are traumatized, and wake up every day demoralized.”
Iraqi Christian advocates are united in their priorities for the United States: They want direct humanitarian assistance and international condemnation of the abuses these vulnerable groups face.
A Congressional resolution introduced Sept. 9 by Mr. Fortenberry and Rep. Anna Eshoo, California Democrat, calls on signers of the United Nations’ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, signed in 1948, to be “reminded of their legal obligations” under the agreement.
It also says those who have forced the migration of religious communities from their ancestral homelands — especially the Nineveh Plain, the historic home of Yazidis — be “tracked, sanctioned, arrested, prosecuted and punished.”
“Christianity is running the risk of becoming extinct in the region it was born. What is happening to the Christian community in Iraq will happen to all of Christianity in the Middle East if we don’t take action,” Ms. Kashat said.
Douglas Burton, a former U.S. State Department official in Kirkuk, Iraq, is a former opinion editor of Insight on the News.
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Iceland’s Meltdown
The city council of Reykjavik, Iceland, has fallen under the spell of a small, but toxic, Muslim population. Because of the customary Islamic narrative against Israel, the capital’s outgoing councilwoman, Bjork Vilhelmsdottir, declared a boycott against all Israeli products, citing oppression of Palestinians and the “wall”; she is also planning a mission to “help Palestinians.” Further, Iceland’s interior minister, Ogmundur Jonasson, led an anti-Israel protest complete with “blood-soaked” Israeli flags and accusations that Israel is committing a holocaust against the Palestinian people. Contrary to the Islamic narrative, Jews are the indigenous people of Israel, Gaza and Judea/Samaria (West Bank), and the constant target of Palestinian aggression, requiring the wall, one of innumerable similar barriers in the world, including Europe, that save nations from their barbarian neighbors.
The administration appears severely uninformed of Palestinian aggression and their refusal to make peace with the Jewish state. Although Iceland’s Foreign Ministry clarified that the boycott decision “doesn’t match the foreign policy of Iceland,” this small uprising could portend further discrimination as Islam gains a stronger foothold on the island nation – and Icelandic history should have served as warning that Islam is no friend of democracy.
Iceland’s first encounter with Muslims began with two raids in 1627, The Turkish Abduction – one led by a Dutch Muslim and his Barbary pirates from Morocco and Algeria, the other by the Barbary corsairs from Algiers and Sale’. The Muslims captured and sold into slavery an estimated 400 to 900 prisoners, and plundered livestock and silver (and a nearby English sailing vessel). Barely assisted by Dano-Norwegian naval patrols and having no standing army, Icelanders remained unarmed and vulnerable to Barbary corsair attacks, kidnappings and murders.
Muslims were also skilled in overland conquest. Through 1400 years of Islam, the marauders have kidnapped people for military or administrative power, for converts, wives, concubines and personal slaves as well as to replenish their relentless slave trade. They have tortured and slaughtered 900 million across continents. Nurtured in hate and usurpation, the hordes bring with them animosity, incendiary riots, property destruction, hate crimes and death to Europe – Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, etc. Muslims have turned Sweden’s third largest city, Malmo, into a twilight of social chaos and increasing violence, earning it the title “Rape Capital of the World” and Germany’s Munich into “Europe’s Biggest Brothel.” The explosive Islamo-fascism has caused the majority of Jewish citizens to flee.
When Palestinian Arabs realized that their many war tactics – centuries of deadly pogroms, terror tunnels (18 tons of concrete , cost of $3 million and the death of 160 child laborers), an estimated 20,000 rockets and mortar fired on Israeli civilians since 9/11 – could not conquer the Jewish state, they opted for war against Israel’s economy and culture by convincing a gullible world that it is Palestinian Arabs who are the victims, the David against the Goliath of Israel. Their boycott-divestment-sanctions (BDS) campaign is designed to defame Israel as an apartheid state, reduce her support, and enlist corporations, churches, associations, and academia in the international community to deny Israel’s right to self-defense and her very existence.
And it is now that Iceland has awakened. But it was not to speak out against Islam’s perpetual war against Iceland’s democratic ally; not to rally against the devastation in neighboring Sweden, with its Muslim youths rioting and burning hundreds of cars and buildings in 200 ghettos, raping countless women, and murder; not to condemn Muslims’ igniting or pelting emergency vehicles with rocks or the epidemic increase in rapes and calls for beheadings and a Muslim state in Norway; not to denounce the murder of Jews in France, the ruinous riots in southern Italy, or increase in terror worldwide. Rather, Iceland was stirred awake by the lie of Palestinian victimhood and, as a result, seeks to isolate Israel and inflict upon her financial damage.
What these Scandinavians fail to realize is that they, too, are at the beginning of a growing Islamic population and the chaos that is certain to follow. They fail to recognize the use of propaganda to unite the citizens in a common cause. And if Icelanders will not protest to save others, they will be unable to save themselves from the Islamic menace that festers in every multicultural paradise. Nei, they spoke out to condemn Israel, the only Jewish country in the Middle East and herself a victim of Islam.
The process has begun and Icelanders will now get their first mosque, with “foreign donors” funding its construction, and naïve taxpayers providing Reykjavik’s prime landmark location, selected and approved by Mayor Jon Gnarr, a self-described anarchist. The mosque, although far too large for the current Muslim community, will be built to accommodate the projected thousands, complete with minarets and a muezzin whose voice will be heard through the land five times a day. The Islamic community is a mere 1% of the city’s 120,000, but growing exponentially due to immigration and conversion. More than 11,000 Icelanders have offered to share their homes with the incoming new immigrants, welfare recipients, rioters, rapists, and jihadists. At 5%, they will exert influence inconsistent with their numbers, become more aggressive and push for Sharia Law. At 10% they will become more lawless and violent, and 20% will bring rioting, murder, jihad militias, and destruction of non-Muslim houses of worship. Beyond 40%, Icelanders can expect massacres and attacks, and at 50%, genocide, persecution of infidels and apostates, and Sharia will triumph.
To paraphrase Sir Winston S. Churchill, “You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war.” As Iceland may slowly slip from a constitutional republic to lawlessness and totalitarianism, we ask the government of Iceland to enact legislation, such as has been done by the United States of America, to oppose politically motivated actions that penalize or otherwise limit commercial relations specifically with Israel, such as boycotts, divestments or sanctions, and to recognize that such actions against Israel are anti-Semitic aggression against the Jewish State.
EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of Muslim praying in a mosque in Iceland. Photo by Eggert Jóhannesson from the Iceland Monitor.
U.S. soldiers ordered to ignore Afghan allies’ abuse of boys
What are we in Afghanistan for, if not to stand for our own values and the principles of human rights? Instead, U.S. officials are aiding and abetting the destruction of these boys’ lives — and in the case of Lance Corporal Buckley, sacrificing our own troops. This is beyond shameful.
“Those are the ones brought near in the Gardens of Pleasure, a company of the former peoples and a few of the later peoples, on thrones woven, reclining on them, facing each other. There will circulate among them young boys made eternal with vessels, pitchers and a cup from a flowing spring.” — Qur’an 56:11-18
“And they will be given to drink a cup whose mixture is of ginger, a fountain within Paradise named Salsabeel. There will circulate among them young boys made eternal. When you see them, you would think them scattered pearls. And when you look there, you will see pleasure and great dominion.” — Qur’an 76:17-20
“U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies’ Abuse of Boys,” by Joseph Goldstein, New York Times, September 20, 2015:
KABUL, Afghanistan — In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.
“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012. He urged his son to tell his superiors. “My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture.”
Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.
The policy has endured as American forces have recruited and organized Afghan militia to help hold territory against the Taliban. But soldiers and Marines have been increasingly troubled that instead of weeding out pedophiles, the American military was arming them in some cases and placing them as the commanders of villages — and doing little when they began abusing children.
Gregory Buckley Sr. believes the policy of looking away from sexual abuse was a factor in his son’s death.“The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights,” said Dan Quinn, a former Special Forces captain who beat up an American-backed militia commander for keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. “But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did — that was something village elders voiced to me.”
The policy of instructing soldiers to ignore pedophilia by their Afghan allies is coming under new scrutiny, particularly as it emerges that service members like Captain Quinn have faced discipline, even career ruin, for disobeying it.
After the beating, the Army relieved Captain Quinn of his command and pulled him from Afghanistan. He has since left the military.
Four years later, the Army is also trying to forcibly retire Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a Special Forces member who joined Captain Quinn in beating up the commander….
The American policy of nonintervention was intended to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia units the United States has trained to fight the Taliban. It also reflected a reluctance to impose cultural values in a country where pederasty is rife, particularly among powerful men, for whom being surrounded by young teenagers can be a mark of social status.
Some soldiers believed that the policy made sense, even if they were personally distressed at the sexual predation they witnessed or heard about.
“The bigger picture was fighting the Taliban,” a former Marine lance corporal reflected. “It wasn’t to stop molestation.”
Still, the former lance corporal, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid offending fellow Marines, recalled feeling sickened the day he entered a room on a base and saw three or four men lying on the floor with children between them. “I’m not a hundred percent sure what was happening under the sheet, but I have a pretty good idea of what was going on,” he said.
But the American policy of treating pedophilia as a cultural issue has often alienated the villages whose children were being preyed upon. The pitfalls of the policy emerged clearly as American Special Forces soldiers began to form Afghan Local Police militias to hold villages that American forces had retaken from the Taliban in 2010 and 2011.
By the summer of 2011, Captain Quinn and Sergeant Martland, both Green Berets on their second tour in northern Kunduz Province, began to receive dire complaints about the Afghan Local Police units they were training and supporting.
First, one of the militia commanders raped a 14- or 15-year-old girl whom he had spotted working in the fields. Captain Quinn informed the provincial police chief, who soon levied punishment. “He got one day in jail, and then she was forced to marry him,” Mr. Quinn said.
When he asked a superior officer what more he could do, he was told that he had done well to bring it up with local officials but that there was nothing else to be done. “We’re being praised for doing the right thing, and a guy just got away with raping a 14-year-old girl,” Mr. Quinn said.
Village elders grew more upset at the predatory behavior of American-backed commanders. After each incident, Captain Quinn would gather the Afghan commanders and lecture them on human rights.
Soon another commander absconded with his men’s wages. Mr. Quinn said he later heard the commander had spent the money on dancing boys. Another commander murdered his 12-year-old daughter in a so-called “honor killing” for having kissed a boy. “There were no repercussions,” Mr. Quinn recalled.
In September 2011, an Afghan woman, visibly bruised, showed up at an American base with her son, who was limping. One of the Afghan police commanders in the area, Abdul Rahman, had abducted the boy and forced him to become a sex slave, chained to his bed, the woman explained. When she sought her son’s return, she herself was beaten. Her son had eventually been released, but she was afraid it would happen again she told the Americans on the base.
She explained that because “her son was such a good-looking kid, he was a status symbol” local commanders coveted, recalled Mr. Quinn, who did not speak to the woman directly but was told about her visit when he returned to the base from a mission later that day.
So Captain Quinn summoned Abdul Rahman and confronted him about what he had done. The police commander acknowledged that it was true, but brushed it off. When the American officer began to lecture about “how you are held to a higher standard if you are working with U.S. forces, and people expect more of you,” the commander began to laugh.
“I picked him up and threw him onto the ground,” Mr. Quinn said. Sergeant Martland joined in, he said. “I did this to make sure the message was understood that if he went back to the boy, that it was not going to be tolerated,” Mr. Quinn recalled….
Sergeant Martland, who received a Bronze Star for valor for his actions during a Taliban ambush, wrote in a letter to the Army this year that he and Mr. Quinn “felt that morally we could no longer stand by and allow our A.L.P. to commit atrocities,” referring to the Afghan Local Police.
The father of Lance Corporal Buckley believes the policy of looking away from sexual abuse was a factor in his son’s death, and he has filed a lawsuit to press the Marine Corps for more information about it.
Lance Corporal Buckley and two other Marines were killed in 2012 by one of a large entourage of boys living at their base with an Afghan police commander named Sarwar Jan.
Mr. Jan had long had a bad reputation; in 2010, two Marine officers managed to persuade the Afghan authorities to arrest him following a litany of abuses, including corruption, support for the Taliban and child abduction. But just two years later, the police commander was back with a different unit, working at Lance Corporal Buckley’s post, Forward Operating Base Delhi, in Helmand Province.
Lance Corporal Buckley had noticed that a large entourage of “tea boys” — domestic servants who are sometimes pressed into sexual slavery — had arrived with Mr. Jan and moved into the same barracks, one floor below the Marines. He told his father about it during his final call home.
Word of Mr. Jan’s new position also reached the Marine officers who had gotten him arrested in 2010. One of them, Maj. Jason Brezler, dashed out an email to Marine officers at F.O.B. Delhi, warning them about Mr. Jan and attaching a dossier about him.
The warning was never heeded. About two weeks later, one of the older boys with Mr. Jan — around 17 years old — grabbed a rifle and killed Lance Corporal Buckley and the other Marines.
Lance Corporal Buckley’s father still agonizes about whether the killing occurred because of the sexual abuse by an American ally. “As far as the young boys are concerned, the Marines are allowing it to happen and so they’re guilty by association,” Mr. Buckley said. “They don’t know our Marines are sick to their stomachs.”
The one American service member who was punished in the investigation that followed was Major Brezler, who had sent the email warning about Mr. Jan, his lawyers said. In one of Major Brezler’s hearings, Marine Corps lawyers warned that information about the police commander’s penchant for abusing boys might be classified. The Marine Corps has initiated proceedings to discharge Major Brezler.
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VIDEO: New Film to Expose Muslim Persecution of Christians
The ethnic and religious purging of Christians today is exactly like Hitler’s ethnic cleansing of Jews in WWII,” [film director Peter] Spencer said. “True Christians are today obligated to rescue the perishing from the blades of [the Islamic State].”
Brave and bold words, and all too rare in America these days, where naming the evil is all but illegal. The ‘Orange Resistance Movement’ seem like a strong and creative response to Muslim persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa. Judging from the endorsements on Mr. Spencer’s site, the message seems to be catching on among Christians and Jews. Let’s hope so.
“Filmmaker’s ‘Chilling’ Warning About the Islamic State and His Message to ‘True Christians’ About Why They Must Fight Back,” by Billy Hallowell, The Blaze, September 17, 2015:
The writer and director of a feature film about a group of young people who fought to save the innocent during the Holocaust has unveiled a new movement aimed at raising awareness about the dire religious persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
Peter Spencer, director of “Return to the Hiding Place” — the sequel to Billy Graham’s “The Hiding Place” — exclusively told The Blaze about his new Orange Resistance effort to rescue Christians being harmed by the Islamic State, and the “chilling similarities” that he sees between what’s happening now and the horrors that unfolded during the Holocaust.
“The ethnic and religious purging of Christians today is exactly like Hitler’s ethnic cleansing of Jews in WWII,” Spencer said. “True Christians are today obligated to rescue the perishing from the blades of [the Islamic State].”
The Orange Resistance movement is named for the both the color of the jumpsuits worn by victims of Islamic State extremists and for the Netherlands’ historic association with orange; the setting of the ”Return to the Hiding Place,” which is based, in part, on Dutch Christian Corrie ten Boom’s heroic acts to save Jews in the Netherlands.
Spencer said that the campaign will employ a number of tactics to get the word out about the plight of Middle Eastern Christians.
“We are working with denominations across the country to schedule screenings of our film followed by a panel discussing the terrifying parallels between Nazi Germany’s extermination of the Jews and the current hate-onslaught of [the Islamic State] and their mission to liquidate Christians, starting in the Middle East,” he said. “Groups won’t even need to sell tickets to the event.”
“Return to the Hiding Place,” which is based on a true story, tells of ten Boom’s refuge for Jews, as well as an “army of untrained teenagers” who helped rescue the most vulnerable from the horrors of the Holocaust.
“We know viewers, often intimidated and discouraged by today’s frightening news will see this film and be mobilized, encouraged that there is hope,” Spencer told The Blaze. “Resistance is not futile … even one person can make a revolutionary difference.”
Spencer will also be selling Orange Resist shirts and bracelets in an effort to raise money to help organizations that are actively working to rescue Christians from the region, while also featuring these organizations in special video posts that will be distributed via social media.
The goal, Spencer said, is to cause “America to become aware and involved in politically vocalizing the need to intervene on behalf of Christians and Jews worldwide experiencing a second holocaust.”
“The only hope for coping is by taking action. The only way we can cope is if solutions are at hand,” he said. “These solutions will not present themselves — we have to stand and fight, get behind the cause, and put our resources into saving lives today.”
Spencer invited people to learn more about Orange Resistance here, and to purchase copies of “Return to the Hiding Place” here.
Watch the trailer for ‘Return To The Hiding Place’ here.
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The Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America
Pope Francis is coming to America this week and will be addressing the U.S. Congress at the invitation of Speaker of the House Representative John Boehner. Pope Francis starts his visit to America on Tuesday, September 22nd and plans to stop in Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.
Indications are that Pope Francis will be talking about several issues including climate change and the refugee crisis in the Middle East. But there is one topic Pope Francis may not be talking about – spiritual matters important to American Catholics.
Perhaps Pope Francis should be using this opportunity to address how to stop the decline and fall of the Catholic Church in America?
In his seminal five volume work History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire published in 1782, Edward Gibbon, Esq. wrote:
After a diligent inquiry, I can discern four principal causes of the ruin of Rome, which continued to operate in a period of more than a thousand years. I. The injuries of time and nature. II. The hostile attacks of the Barbarians and Christians. III. The use and abuse of the materials. And, IV. The domestic quarrels of the Romans.
The Roman Empire has gone with the wind. Will the Catholic Church in America suffer the same fate?
Let us look at each of these four principal causes of the ruin of Rome and compare them to the Vatican and American Catholics.
I. The art of man is able to construct monuments far more permanent than the narrow span of his own existence; yet these monuments, like himself, are perishable and frail; and in the boundless annals of time, his life and his labors must equally be measured as a fleeting moment.
The Catholic Church is witnessing a reduction of its monuments in the United States.
According to the non-profit Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, in 1990 there were 19,620 parishes in the U.S. In 2014 there were 17,483 parishes or a loss of nearly 11%. As parishes closed so did other Catholic monuments: churches, schools and hospitals. In 1965 there were 10,667 Catholic Elementary Schools, in 2014 that number was 5,368 (a 50% loss of Catholic Elementary Schools). Catholic Secondary Secondary Schools went from a high of 1,986 in 1970 to 1,200 in 2014 (a 40% loss). Even Catholic Colleges and Universities declined from 305 in 1965 to 225 in 2014 (a 26% loss).
Time and nature has taken its toll on Catholic Churches in the U.S. As the Catholic population ages, parishes close. CARA notes, “As the largest religion in the U.S., Catholicism has the largest number of former members (some later return as reverts). Catholicism has a higher retention rate than most other religions in the U.S. (including all Protestant denominations).
It is the institutions that must survive to carry on the word of the Gospel. As the institutions decline so does the Catholic Church in America.
II. The hostile attacks of the Barbarians and Christians.
Today the hostile attacks are coming from the “new Barbarians”: Collectivists, Marxists, the Communist Party USA, atheists, the pro-choice movement, the feminist movement, homosexuals and government. Today it is the followers of Mohammed who are attacking the people of the Cross globally and in America.
There is a coalition within America that is anti-Catholic, anti-Christian and anti-Semitic. Their tactics and strategy are to diminish the role of religion by removing God from the public square. As that has happened in America we now have Collectivists, atheists, abortionists, homosexuals (some of whom are practicing witchcraft) and the U.S. government taking positions and implementing policies which are anti-Catholic, anti-Christian and anti-Semitic.
As Sandy Ikeda in his article “Progressivism Is Illiberal” writes, “Progressivism [Collectivists] today goes beyond the liberal position that, for example, same-sex marriage should have the same legal status as heterosexual marriage, to the belief that the state should threaten physical violence against anyone who refuses to associate or do business with same-sex couples.”
In the Middle East Catholic Churches are being burned to the ground, Christians slaughtered, Christian children sold into sex slavery and Christians crucified as was done in ancient Rome.
The attacks against Catholicism are real and palpable. Daily news reports tell us that a unholy war is being conducted against the Catholic church.
III. The use and abuse of the materials.
Materialism is the God of many in America. The quest for power and riches outweigh the need for God and redemption. Collectivists demand submission to the state as does Islam, which literally translated means “to submit.” Government becomes God and by doing so restricts what the individual can and cannot do.
As Ayn Rand wrote, “The basic issue in the world today is between two principles: Individualism and Collectivism.” In a short 19 page paper Rand wrote:
“A great many people today hold the childish notion that society can do anything it pleases; that principles are unnecessary, rights are only an illusion and expediency is the practical guide to action.
It is true that society can abandon moral principles and turn itself into a herd running amuck to destruction. Just as it is true that a man can cut his own throat any time he chooses. But a man cannot do this if he wishes to survive. And society cannot abandon moral principles if it expects to exist.”
In America corn is used to produce Ethanol, a gasoline additive. Over 50% of the corn produced in America goes toward the production of Ethanol. According to the World Food Programme, “Some 795 million people (1 in 9) in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life.”
Using food for fuel is immoral.
The use and abuse of materials and the people is the greatest threat to Catholics and the Church. For whenever the individual is diminished so to is the role of the Catholic Church. Jesus was an individualist who fought government. Many question why won’t the Catholic Church follow in Jesus’ footsteps and fight against government and defend individual rights including religious liberty.
IV. The domestic quarrels of the Romans.
The United States was founded on Judeo/Christian beliefs and values. Today the various Christian denominations are quarreling amongst themselves about social and political issues. This quarreling is occurring while all Christian and Jewish organizations are under attack from the new barbarians and the followers of Mohammed (see item II above).
Perhaps it is time for pastors, priests and rabbis to unite in one cause – to preserve their belief in God and the Judeo/Christian way of life.
The American way of life has led to great happiness and prosperity both in the homeland and throughout the Western world. A way of life that insures life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as guaranteed by United States Constitution. A way of life that celebrates life over death. A way of life that insures salvation and the return of the Kingdom of God to this earth.
There are lessons to be learned, for if we forget the history of the decline and fall of Rome, we are doomed to repeat it.
Perhaps Pope Francis would better serve the Church if he addressed Catholic persecution by the new barbarians and Muslims in America?
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GOP Debate: Winners and Losers on National Security by Ryan Mauro
American voters’ concern about Islamist extremism is at the highest level since 2002, with 66% of Republicans, 56% of Independents and 48% of Democrats describing it as a “critical threat.” National security is a major issue that received significant attention at last night’s Republican presidential debate.
The following is Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro’s compilation of the candidates’ expressed stances on fighting Islamist extremism at the debate and his personal assessment of the contest’s winners and losers among national security voters.
Winners
Carly Fiorina is widely considered the biggest winner of the debate overall. Her performance included details on national security policy.
She criticized rivals who oppose the nuclear deal with Iran without presenting a broader strategy. She said she’d inform Iran that the regime would be prevented from moving money through the global financial system until it agrees to anytime-anywhere inspections.
Fiorina said the U.S. should not negotiate with Russia because it is on the side of Iran. She said she’d provide intelligence to Egypt and armaments to Jordan to fight the Islamic State, in addition to arming the Kurds.
She advocated a military buildup that includes increasing the 6thFleet, military exercises in the Baltic States, installing anti-ballistic missile systems in Poland, modernizing all three legs of the nuclear triad, increasing the Navy to 300-350 ships and adding 50 Army brigades and 36 Marine battalions.
Fiorina is currently in 8th place in an average of national polls with 3 percent. She is in 6th place in Iowa (5%), 4th place in New Hampshire (8%) and 6th place in South Carolina (4%).
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
Graham is the winner of the undercard debate that featured the bottom four candidates and virtually every answer of his related to national security. Of all the candidates, he was the most impressive on dealing with the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). He explicitly said he is running for president to “destroy radical Islam.” Graham said he would “rip the caliphate up by its roots” and “will kill every one of these [ISIS] bastards we can find.”
Graham’s standout moment was challenging every candidate to state whether they support increasing troop levels in Iraq from 3,500 to 10,000 to fight the Islamic State, asserting that anyone who refuses to do so lacks the seriousness to be commander-in-chief. Graham’s overall plan calls for increasing U.S. troop levels to 20,000, split between Iraq and Syria.
He argued that the Islamic State grew in Syria and then propelled into Iraq because the Obama Administration rejected his recommendation that the U.S. military establish a no-fly zone in Syria and support the Free Syrian Army rebel force before it became too late.
Graham said there is no one left to train inside Syria, so the only option is a U.S.-backed regional army that includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and others. He said the only solution to the refugee crisis is the removal of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.
He pointed out that he’s the only candidate who has served in the military (he was in the Air Force for 33 years). Graham has spent 140 days on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of 35 trips to those countries.
Graham is currently in 14th place nationally (0.3%). He is in 14thplace in Iowa (0.3%); 12th place in New Hampshire (0.8%) and 7thplace in South Carolina (4%).
Rubio gave the most detailed and articulate answers about foreign policy during the debate. He argued for a more interventionist U.S. policy that includes supporting democratic activists, such as by meeting with opponents of Putin in Russia.
He argued that the Syrian revolution began as a popular uprising and the Islamist terrorist presence could have been minimized if the U.S. had armed moderate rebels in the beginning of the conflict.
Rubio said that the Russian military movement into Syria is part of an overall strategy to “destroy NATO,” save the Syrian dictatorship and convince countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia to ditch the U.S. for Russia.
He is currently in 5th place nationally (5%). He is in 5th place in Iowa (5%); 8th place in New Hampshire (3%) and 5th place in South Carolina (4%).
Rubio explained that he opposed giving President Obama authority to launch airstrikes on the Syrian regime after it used chemical weapons because the plan involved “pinprick” airstrikes. He said that he would only support military action that has victory as an objective.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Christie struck a chord when he spoke about his experience on 9/11 and prosecuting terrorists after the attack when he was the U.S. Attorney for the state of New Jersey. He defended the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks when Carson’s opposition was brought up. He also pledged not to have deals with or meet with leaders like those in Iran who chant “Death to America.”
He is currently in 11th place nationally (2%). He is in 11th place in Iowa (2%), 9th place in New Hampshire (3%) and 12th place in South Carolina (2%).
Losers
Trump failed to show any grasp on foreign policy or to outline a strategy towards Islamist extremists when pressed. When he was asked about an embarrassing interview where he appeared not to know what the Iran-linked Al-Quds Force are and the names of prominent terrorist leaders, he simply stated that he’d hire a strong team that would keep him informed on national security.
He boasted of opposing the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. He said the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian civil war and criticized President Obama for declaring that the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons would be an intolerable “red line.” Trump said that Rubio, Paul and Cruz should have supported President Obama’s request for authority to militarily enforce the “red line.”
Trump also expressed confidence that he could work well with Russian President Putin. Fiorina, on the other hand, said the U.S. should not negotiate with Russia.
He is currently in 1st place nationally (31%). He is in 1st place in Iowa (28%), 1st place in New Hampshire (30%) and 1st place in South Carolina (34%).
Carson did not display an impressive knowledge of foreign affairs and national security. Serious damage may have been done when the moderator asked about his opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. Carson explained that he told President Bush to focus instead on energy independence, which Christie politely took him to task for.
Carson also made sure to point out that he opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
He is currently in 2nd place nationally (20%). He is in 2nd place in Iowa (23%), 2nd place in New Hampshire (15%) and 2nd place in South Carolina (19%).
Paul repeatedly stated his anti-interventionist view and said that U.S. military operations often backfire. A new poll shows that 69% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats and 57% of Independents favor having America active abroad.
Paul boasted that he “made a career” out of opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and argued that the U.S. should not topple secular dictators because they are replaced by radical Islamic forces. Paul and Trump were the only candidates to express opposition to a policy of overthrowing Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. He also said that U.S. backing of Syrian rebels would mean arming enemies of America.
He said it is “absurd” to immediately scrap the nuclear deal with Iran unless the regime violates it. He spoke in favor of continued diplomacy with Iran and Russia, pointing out that President Reagan met with the leaders of the Soviet Union.
Paul also said he opposes using U.S. ground forces in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State, but supports continued airstrikes and arming Kurds.
He is currently in 7th place nationally (3%). He is in 9th place in Iowa (4%), 7th place in New Hampshire (5%) and 11th place in South Carolina (2%).
Kasich damaged his chances by refusing to say that he’d scrap the nuclear deal with Iran. He argued that the U.S. should move in coordination with allies and not withdraw from the agreement unilaterally. He said that the U.S. should sanction Iran if they violate the deal or sponsor terrorism. Rand Paul likewise said maintenance of the agreement would depend upon Iranian compliance.
He was also twice criticized by Graham during the undercard debate for supporting the closure of some U.S. military bases. Graham countered that he’d increase the number of bases.
He is currently in 10th place nationally (3%). He is in 10th place in Iowa (3%), 3rd place in New Hampshire (10%) and 8th place in South Carolina (4%).
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Bush criticized rivals who focused on their pledges to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran. He would not commit to doing so and said that the discussion needs to be about an Iran strategy rather than a strategy to tear up the deal.
Bush encouraged viewers to review his 9-point plan for fighting the Islamic State and the Syrian regime.
He is currently in 3rd place nationally (8%). He is in 4th place in Iowa (5%), 5th place in New Hampshire (8%) and 3rd place in South Carolina (7%).
Other Candidates
Cruz’s standout moment was when he promised to “rip to shreds” the “catastrophic” nuclear deal with Iran.
Cruz said that he opposed giving President Obama authority for airstrikes on the Syrian regime in response to its use of chemical weapons because vital national security interests were not at stake. He said that the administration could not answer his questions about how Syrian weapons of mass destruction would be prevented from falling into the hands of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
He is currently in 4th place nationally (7%). He is in 3rd place in Iowa (8%), 6th place in New Hampshire (6%) and 4th place in South Carolina (6%).
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
Huckabee spoke passionately against the nuclear deal with Iran and said every candidate should announce that, if elected, he or she will not honor it and, as president, will “destroy” it.
He is currently in 6th place nationally (5%). He is in 8th place in Iowa (4%), 11th place in New Hampshire (1%) and 10th place in South Carolina (3%).
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Jindal’s standout moment was when he said that Muslim leaders must move beyond generic condemnations of terrorism and condemn terrorists by name. He called on Muslim leaders to preach that these terrorists do not qualify as “martyrs” and are destined for hell.
Jindal said that U.S. policy should be to force Syrian dictator Bashar Assad out of power.
He is currently in 13th place nationally (1%). He is in 11th place in Iowa (3%), 14th place in New Hampshire (0.3%) and 13th place in South Carolina (1%).
Former New York Governor George Pataki
Pataki said he would immediately scrap the nuclear deal with Iran and provide Israel with Massive Ordinance Penetrators (MOPs). However, he may have damaged himself by refusing to endorse Santorum’s call to target Iranian nuclear scientists. He also gave a vague answer about how he’d fight the Islamic State and expressed disagreement with Graham’s plan for a ground offensive with U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.
He is currently in 15th place nationally with less than a single percent of support. He is in 15th place in Iowa with less than one percent, 13th place in New Hampshire (0.3%) and in 15th place in South Carolina with less than one percent.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Santorum boasted that he authored legislation to sanction Iran and Syria when he was in the Senate. The moderator mentioned his past declaration that the U.S. should target Iranian nuclear scientists, which George Pataki refused to endorse.
He described the Iranian regime as an “apocalyptic death cult” and claimed that two-thirds of Iraqi and Iranian Shiites believe that the end of the world will happen in their lifetime. Santorum was making the point that the Iranian regime exports its radical ideology.
Santorum said he supports increasing U.S. troop levels in Iraq to 10,000 to fight against the Islamic State and that he’d support Lindsey Graham’s proposal for 20,000 troops if necessary. He stated that the legitimacy of the caliphate is based on its holding of territory.
He is currently in 12th place nationally (1%). He is in 12th place in Iowa (2%) and in 15th place in both New Hampshire and South Carolina with less than one percent.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
Walker’s comments on foreign policy focused on criticizing the nuclear deal with Iran, which he promised to scrap during his first day in office.
He is currently in 9th place nationally (3%). He is in 7th place in Iowa (4%), 10th place in New Hampshire (3%) and 9th place in South Carolina (3%).
Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore
Gilmore failed to make the cut for the debate because he scores less than 1% in national polls. He registers less than a single percent in each of the three early states.
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.
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U.S. Ambassador to UN Samantha Power: Bring more Muslim Syrian refugees to America
This news is a day old, so who knows maybe Obama has already decided the magic number of Syrian (mostly Muslim) refugees he will be dropping into America towns and cities in the coming year.
Obama appointee, UN Ambassador Samantha Power.
Last week we learned that Sec. of State Kerry consulted with key House and Senate committees, as the Refugee Act of 1980 requires, and it seems the number he was bandying about was 10,000 (some say Kerry said 5,000) for FY 2016.
If Obama approves a different number just two weeks before the start of the fiscal year, Kerry is required to go back to the Hill for additional “consultation,” and, in any case, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are required to hold hearings on the Presidential Determination.
The fact that the lazy (scared?) committees have not held a refugee ‘consultation’ hearing since before 9/11 is no excuse not to have one for this very critical decision!
(The last hearing held on the President’s refugee determination appears to be this one from 1999. Has there been no hearing since then because they didn’t want you to know how many Muslims were being admitted to the US through this program?—ed)
A hearing can’t stop the President, but it sure can help the American people understand what is about to happen to them!
Where are you Reps. Goodlatte and Gowdy? Prove me wrong! Tell us you are doing something and I will apologize!
Here is a bit of interesting news at Bloomberg (hat tip: Joanne). Again, it is a day old, so who knows if Obama has made a decision.
Check out Samantha Power (bff George Soros)! The nerve of this woman. You can credit her, Hillary and Susan Rice with the destabilization of North Africa and the invasion of Europe because she was a driving force behind the ousting of Col. Gaddafi (who was able to hold back the migrant hordes) and the subsequent destruction of Libya.
As Iraqi Refugee Czar in the early days of the Obama White House, Power famously said she was tired of doing ‘rinkey-dink-do-gooder’ stuff like helping Iraqi Christians! See our complete Samantha Power archive here.
Here is Josh Rogin at Bloomberg:
The Obama administration is preparing to announce a plan to admit more refugees over the next two years, but at this point the numbers being proposed are too small to relieve the crisis streaming out of Syria.
Wednesday at the White House, the most senior national security officials will discuss raising the limit on the number of refugees from around the world allowed to enter the United States — from 70,000 this year to 85,000 next year and 100,000 in fiscal 2017, three administration officials told me. If members of the National Security Council Principals Committee agree on the plan, it will be sent to President Obama’s desk, and administration sources say he is likely to quickly approve it.
The plan has the strong support of White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, whose priorities often differ on the Syria issue. McDonough is focused on the fight against ISIS. Power wants to confront Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, and do more to protect the civilians being killed by both. [So what does confront mean? Does Power want the US military to bring down Assad?—ed]
The throngs of desperate migrants fleeing Syria and the images of children washing up on European shores have spurred the Obama administration into action, officials said.
Continue reading here.
Note that there is much discussion about how long it would take for the flow to get underway. Don’t believe it!
We know that the UNHCR has 17,000 (or more by now) prepped to come to America from their camps which house Muslim Syrians. As soon as October 1 is here, the floodgates will open!
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Muslim cleric: “Homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures”
Woe to you — from the gay community — if you dare to point out Sharia persecution of gays. When Pamela Geller and I ran ads highlighting the mistreatment of gays in Islamic law, the San Francisco City Council issued a resolution condemning not that mistreatment, but our ads.
Gay advocates such as Theresa Sparks and Chris Stedman attacked us for daring to call attention to the institutionalized mistreatment of gays under Islamic law.
Their gay advocacy doesn’t extend to standing up to Sharia oppression of gays, even though that oppression is far more virulent and violent than anything from “right-wing extremists” in the U.S. And you can’t blame them: given the Leftist/jihadist alliance, it’s clear that if they spoke out against Sharia mistreatment of gays, they would no longer be invited to the best parties, and might even be branded as “right-wing.” Their moral cowardice and duplicity, however, are obvious.
“Vice-President Of Hungarian Muslim Community: Homosexuals Are The Filthiest Creatures,”MEMRI, July 10, 2015:
During a Friday sermon on July 10, 2015, Imam Ahmed Miklós Kovács, Vice President of the Hungarian Muslim Community, stated that homosexuals are “the filthiest of Allah’s creatures,” and that Muslims “must never accept this disease.”He instructed followers not to paint their Facebook image with rainbow colors.
Following are excerpts:
Ahmed Miklós Kovács: These homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures. A Muslim must never accept this disease, this terrible depraved thing. He must never color his profile picture on Facebook in the colors of the rainbow, and must never applaud [homosexuals] and express solidarity with them.
[…]
My dear brothers, as you know, wickedness has become widespread in these times. Sinning has become widespread, and moral values have become rare worldwide. Things that were considered beautiful in the past have become ugly in the eyes of some people, and things that were considered ugly have become beautiful in the eyes of some. One of these things is homosexuality, may Allah protect us from it. These days [homosexuals] are celebrating their disease. Effeminate homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures. They are sick, and a Muslim must never accept this ugly thing. [Homosexuals] are destroying sound moral values and societies. This filthy thing is not accepted by this country’s society, and is forbidden in Islam and all the monotheistic religions.
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EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of Muslims praying in Budapest.