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Author Topic: Shooting at Ft. Hood Texas 11/05/09 13 dead, 43 wounded-(Murder Charges)  (Read 730179 times)
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« Reply #840 on: December 08, 2009, 08:44:46 PM »


Judge Webster served as director of both the CIA and the FBI.

FBI Director asks Judge Webster to review Fort Hood attack
http://www.examiner.com/x-2684-Law-Enforcement-Examiner~y2009m12d8-FBI-Director-asks-Judge-Webster-to-review-Fort-Hood-attack
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« Reply #841 on: December 08, 2009, 08:49:31 PM »

Major Hasan and the Quran
Repentance is the only option for the Fort Hood killer.

By SALAM AL-MARAYATI

Maj. Nidal Hasan's lawyer is considering an insanity plea as a strategy for his client. That might be the only legal option available to the man accused of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood. But Nidal Hasan should also consider a religious option: repentance.

He should take responsibility for his horrific act of violence. He should beg for forgiveness from God for murdering 13 people and injuring 31 more. He should apologize to the families of the victims. He should ask for forgiveness from his fellow members of the military, and from the American people, as he betrayed our entire nation—including Muslim-Americans who are paying the price for his shameful and un-Islamic actions.

Maj. Hasan is granted the presumption of innocence in our courts of law, be they civilian or military. His military-appointed lawyer will likely advise him not to confess to anything. Legally, that may be sound advice. But religiously that advice cuts against the grain of the divine value of justice. Maj. Hasan must take responsibility for committing two major sins in Islam—the murder of his fellow citizens and the violation of two oaths he took.

Maj. Hasan took an oath as a member of the U.S. military to defend our country. He also took a Hippocratic oath to protect his patients. The violation of these oaths is a violation of the Quranic principle which states that making a pledge to anyone is tantamount to making a pledge to God. The Quran states: "(Be not like those) who use their oaths as a means of deceiving one another" (16:92).

His now infamous PowerPoint presentation is rife with distortions of the Quran. Entitled "The Koranic Worldview As It Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military," it provides anything but a Quranic perspective. Maj. Hasan's critical fault in understanding the Quran was his failure to distinguish between two very important categories of verses: those tied to the specific context of seventh-century Arabia, and those that are absolute and permanent.

He ignores the Quranic mandates, for example, to stand for justice even if it is against your own interest, and to avoid transgression in the pursuit of justice. Yet the most troubling part of his presentation are his conclusions. One of them is: "Muslims are moderate (compromising) but God is not." There are two critical flaws in this one sentence.

First, to make any kind of declaration about God being unforgiving violates Islam's central teachings of mercy and compassion. The Quran makes it clear that human beings are meant to embody God's generous spirit. To argue otherwise is to violate God's will and Islam's goal of peacemaking.

Second, being moderate is about upholding religious values while working with other members of society for the greater good. Extremists believe they are compromising their Islamic values when living in the West. This is not true. And Muslim-haters oblige them with the converse, when they argue that the West should not tolerate Muslims. This is not just.

Maj. Hasan's hodgepodge of verses from the Quran and quotes from extremists left out the most important Quranic verse in his section on enjoining peace and forgiveness: "God invites you into the abode of peace" (10:25). Nor did he include the admonition by the Prophet Muhammad never to harm the innocent and never to target noncombatants.

Nidal Hasan doesn't just need legal support; he needs religious consultation that could help him see the enormity of his situation when he faces his Creator. Unfortunately, he may become an icon for violent extremism, leading other young people and civilians to their deaths.

So what should the U.S. government do? Consider allowing Muslim-American religious leaders to meet with Nidal Hasan. Muslim leaders could encourage him to repent. And they could engage Maj. Hasan on his deeply flawed understanding of Islam, explaining that the Quran is an instrument to take people from darkness to light, not the opposite.

Nidal Hasan is reportedly reading letters. I hope he reads this article, for his sake and for the sake of our country.

Mr. Al-Marayati is executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107104574571981079768944.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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« Reply #842 on: December 08, 2009, 09:00:52 PM »


First Sgt. James McLeod of the 467th Medical Detachment holds the unit guidon as 467th Soldiers pay their final respects to the 13 victims of the Nov. 5 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, during a memorial ceremony held Nov. 10. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Gary M. Stacy, First Army Division West Public Affairs Office)

1908th and 467th Deploy as Scheduled

By First Army Division West, Public Affairs Office
Dec 8, 2009 - 6:53:54 PM

Blackanthem Military News

The 1908th Medical Detachment (Combat Stress Control) departed Monday afternoon for Iraq.  The 467th deployed early Friday morning to Afghanistan.

Both units have the unique mission to provide mental health resources to Soldiers in a combat zone.


Soldiers of the 1908th Medical Detachment (Combat Stress Control), board a plane at Robert Gray Army Airfield, Fort Hood, Texas, Dec. 7 prior to their deployment to Iraq. (Ann Ciarico, Hood Mobilization Brigade)

With a normal unit roster of 43 Soldiers, both units suffered heavy losses in the Nov. 5 shooting.  Three Soldiers from the Madison, Wisc.-based 467th were killed during the shooting: Maj. Libardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Va.; Capt. Russell Seager, 41, of Racine, Wisc; and Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wisc.  The 467th also had six Soldiers seriously wounded.

Capt. John P. Gaffaney, 54, of San Diego, Calif. and Spc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn. were lost from the 1908th, which also had seven Soldiers seriously wounded.

Both units were carefully assessed to ensure the Soldiers were capable of deploying.  Replacements volunteered from across the U.S. Army Reserve to join the units on their deployment.

"I think they decided that same day (of the shooting) that they were more dedicated than ever in honor of the Soldiers that we lost, and have stood firm in that commitment," said 467th commander Maj. Laura Suttinger. "They were all very dedicated, caring Soldiers, and they will not be forgotten. We're carrying on in their honor."

Members of the unit will be better able to help Soldiers overseas since surviving this tragedy themselves, said 1st Sgt. James McLeod. "We are now better equipped to help soldiers in theater from this incident," he said. "We're better equipped to talk with soldiers and understand their feelings and emotions.

"Even though we lost our fallen comrades ... 'no one is going to stop us from completing our mission' is really what their goal is," said McLeod.

http://www.blackanthem.com/News/Military_News_1/1908th-and-467th-Deploy-as-Scheduled21529.shtml
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« Reply #843 on: December 09, 2009, 04:13:02 PM »

5 men missing from N.Va. are arrested in Pakistan

By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 9, 2009; 2:43 PM

Five missing Muslim men from Northern Virginia have been arrested in Pakistan and are being held by Pakistani authorities, the FBI and a Muslim group said Wednesday.

Pakistani media reports said the young men were taken into custody at the home of an activist linked to Jaish-i-Muhammad, a jihadist group that was implicated in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi and has been branded a terrorist organization by the United States. Those reports could not be immediately confirmed.

Officials at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the men -- who are in their early 20s and from the Alexandria area -- disappeared last week. Their families approached CAIR, which informed the FBI and has been working with federal authorities to locate the men and find out why they went to Pakistan.

"The Muslim community has taken the lead in bringing this case to the attention of law enforcement authorities and will offer ongoing cooperation with the FBI as the investigation moves forward," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a news release.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Katherine Schweit, spokeswoman for the bureau's Washington field office, said in a statement that the FBI "is working with families and local law enforcement to investigate the missing students and is aware of the individuals' arrested in Pakistan."

She added that agents are also working with Pakistani authorities "to determine their identities and the nature of their business there, if indeed these are the students who had gone missing."

FBI agents have been interviewing family members, friends and classmates of the men in the Washington area. Their names have not been released, and it was unclear Wednesday afternoon where they attend school.

CAIR is holding a news conference later Wednesday afternoon about the case, where it will "urge anyone aware of the missing group's activities to come forward and warn against the dangers of adopting or promoting extremist religious views," the group said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120901884.html?hpid=topnews



Americans Arrested In Pakistan; FBI Probing
December 9, 2009 - 12:49 PM | by: Mike Levine


Ramy Zamzam


Federal authorities are trying to determine whether five men who recently went missing from the nation's capital are the five men arrested during a raid in Pakistan, according to U.S. officials.

The FBI recently launched an investigation into five "missing students" from the Washington, D.C., area who they believe may have gone overseas to join a terrorist group.

"It's a concern," a source said of the missing men, who are described as Muslim.

Hours after FOX News reported on the FBI investigation Tuesday night, Pakistani sources disclosed that five people had been arrested during an anti-terror raid on a house in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

At least three of those arrested were holding dual U.S.-Pakistani passports, according to an intelligence source. Sources wouldn't confirm the nationalities of the other two men detained.

Statements from the FBI and Justice Department said federal authorities are "aware of the individuals arrested in Pakistan" and are working with Pakistani authorities to determine if "indeed these are the students who had gone missing" and, if them, "the nature of their business there."

In addition, the statements said the FBI is working with families and local law enforcement on the case of the missing men.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism, a Washington-based group that tracks Islamic extremism, says the missing men were last seen on Nov. 29, and at least one of them left behind a farewell video.

(IPT report here: http://www.investigativeproject.org/1557/authorities-search-for-five-missing-dc-area)

Parents of the missing men and local Muslim leaders "recently" informed the Council on American-Islamic Relations of the disappearances, and CAIR "immediately informed the FBI," according to a statement from CAIR.

Agents from the FBI's Washington field interviewed family members, friends and others who may have known where the five students went, and how they got there.

One of the missing students has been identified by a source and online communications as 22-year-old Ramy Zamzam of Alexandria, Va., a dental student at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

A purported Howard University student and two others created a page on the social-networking web site Facebook, urging the public to help find the missing men.

The page, titled "In Support of Our Missing Brothers: May Allah Bring Them to Safety," names a Wakar Khan and three others -- only referred to as "Ahmad," "Amaam," and "Omar" -- as the four other missing men.

"This group is not about speculating or judging, it is about coming together to support these brothers and their families," the page says. "We all live very close so we should use the advantage of such a close community to ... do what we can to help. Please forward any information to the proper sources that may help in this investigation. May Allah swt [sic] keep him, his family, as well as the others safe."

Zamzam's Facebook page remains active. On it he describes himself as a Muslim who likes "gulab jobin" and "baklava," and who is "trying to be a [dentist]."

In addition, he has joined several networking groups, including Howard University's "Cinnamon Toast Crunch Addicts" and a group called "For Every 1,000 that join this group I will donate $1 for Darfur."

According to Facebook, Zamzam has family members scattered around the world, including in Indonesia, Germany, Egypt, Malaysia, Syria, and the Congo.

Efforts to reach Zamzam and his family were not successful. A call to the Howard University police was not returned.
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/12/09/five-americans-arrested-in-pakistan/
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« Reply #844 on: December 09, 2009, 04:17:59 PM »

Breaking News: Pakistan Reportedly Detains Five D.C.-Area Muslims on Suspicion of Terror



IPT News
December 8, 2009

http://www.investigativeproject.org/1557/authorities-search-for-five-missing-dc-area
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**Updated December 9, 9:00 a.m. EST

A Pakistani newspaper reports the arrest of five foreign nationals after a raid in a town called Sargodha. The raid took place at the home of a member of the Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistani movement designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2001.

According to the report, "The DPO told that these people had been living in Sargodha since Nov 30 and it was quite a possibility that they were engaged in acts of terrorism." It names the five as Ahmed Abdullah, Waqar Hassan Khan, Eman Hassan, Yasir and Rami Zamzam and describes them as two Yemenis, an Egyptian, a Swede and a U.S.-born Pakistani.

December 8: Federal investigators are searching for a Howard University dental student and four other missing Muslim men reported missing from the Washington, D.C. area, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has learned. There is concern they may have been sent abroad to train for jihad. The five were last seen November 29.

The identities of two of the missing men, Howard student Ramy Zamzam and Waqar Khan, have been mentioned in online postings, including a Facebook page that was set up Monday for friends to offer their support. Some of those pages, however, appear restricted to friends and associates.

It is not clear where the men are believed to have gone, but an informed source told the IPT that at least one left behind a farewell video.

According to the Facebook and Twitter postings, Zamzam is among the missing. He has been active in the Muslim Students Association, serving as president of the MSA DC Council. A Howard University spokeswoman has not responded to questions from the IPT.

The disappearance comes as U.S. officials are increasingly concerned about the threat of homegrown Islamist extremism. This concern is prompted by a spike in attacks like the Fort Hood massacre, and conspiracies broken up by law enforcement before any attacks took place.

President Obama noted the increase during his speech last week at West Point explaining the Afghanistan surge:

    "In the last few months alone, we have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano echoed that sentiment in a speech last week. "We are seeing young Americans who are inspired by Al Qaeda and radical ideology," she said.

On Monday, federal prosecutors charged a Chicago man with six counts of conspiracy tied to the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India that killed more than 170 people, including six Americans. That attack was believed to be carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani terrorist group that has been implicated in conspiracies in Virginia, Toronto and elsewhere.

On the surface, at least, the situation in Washington resembles the case of 20 young Somalis who disappeared from the Minneapolis area a year ago. They are believed to have made their way back to Somalia, where they trained with the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

At least three of those men have died, including one who became the first known American citizen to carry out a suicide bombing. Fourteen people have been indicted in relation to the Somali recruitment effort.

Little is known about Zamzam. In 2008, he was part of a student effort in northern Virginia to solicit mosques throughout the country to raise money to build a new mosque. He also posted a comment indicating he thought women were required by Islam to cover themselves and that Muslim women who did not faced punishment from God.

"Those that don't, then woe to them for a day where all will be held accountable for what they put forth in the life of this world, and Allah SWT wrongs no one, and He is the Most Just, Most Merciful."


Read more at: http://www.investigativeproject.org/1557/authorities-search-for-five-missing-dc-area
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« Reply #845 on: December 09, 2009, 04:25:55 PM »



Radical Movement's Leader Forecasts America's Demise

IPT News
December 4, 2009

http://www.investigativeproject.org/1553/radical-movements-leader-forecasts-americas-demise


As the spotlight moves away from the Fort Hood massacre, one of America's most openly radical Islamist organizations has taken to the murderer's defense. As-Sabiqun, a Washington D.C.-based organization with branches in four other major American cities, released a flyer labeling shooter Nidal Malik Hasan as "victimized" and the "target of psychological warfare." The handout also defended convicted terrorists and suspects.

As-Sabiqun has repeatedly predicted the demise of the United States and dreams of "the Islamic State of North America no later than 2050." It has openly declared support for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hizbullah, and even claimed it funded anti-American militants. With concerns growing over radical Islamist propaganda in the United States, As-Sabiqun is one of the leading organizations building a bridge between international Islamism and its developing American counterpart.

As-Sabiqun is headquartered in Washington D.C., but has branches in Oakland, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and Philadelphia. Its leader, Imam Abdul Alim Musa, is well-known in Islamist circles for spreading anti-American propaganda and militancy. Last weekend, Musa addressed the annual conference of the Muslim Students Association – Persian Speaking group, a Shia branch of the national Muslim Students Association primarily for Shia Muslims. There, Musa saluted the Iranian Revolution as the "greatest epic in modern, even ancient history" and urged the students to have patience as the United States collapsed:

    "Well I'm telling you, it's very simple. I think you got the message now. We're in a big war brothers and sisters. This is as big as it gets for the United States. We are just like it is during the 60s and 70s. So if you're gonna be Muslim, buckle down and be a tough one because in the final analysis the U.S. is finished."

Musa was applauded following his conclusion, in which he honored the survival of the Iranian Revolution and its student supporters in the United States:

    "Your survival has made you stronger and better and better in management and organization than anybody else, just by your survival. Remember, a revolutionary do [sic] not have to win any war. They only have to survive, even if you lose 90 percent of your people. You have to understand revolutionary warfare. If you lose 90 percent of your wealth and people and you still moving around and mobile, you can come back. That's the rules of revolutionary warfare – to survive. I'm trying to tell you – the war is already won. [Musa laughs.] They just have to fall over."

This is not the first time this year that Musa has preached hate and militancy to an American Muslim student organization. In a February 19th speech to the MSA at Berkeley, Musa explained how he funneled money to African jihadists with the intention of conquering the United States:

    "So we have seen movements, because although we was in (UI word) in the first stage, and the next stage we were using criminal wealth to help our brothers, you know our brothers in Algeria and in Africa, they had fought the United States government, they was in exile. They knew about a revolution, but they didn't know nothing about money. Well, since I was a criminal, I knew all about making money. So all the criminal money that I made I would take it to the brothers and say – OK, you guys, buy me some weapons, you'll go back, we'll take over the United States. That was the dream that we had. You got to dream big. Ain't no sense in dreaming small, right? Live your dreams."

Musa has traveled abroad to support Islamist movements worldwide. The As-Sabiqun website indicates that Musa traveled abroad several times to Iran. During a 1996 conference in South Africa, he stated:

    "And this religion Islam will dominate all other religions whether the Americans, whether the British, whether the French, whether the Russians, whether the Japanese, whether all of them get together in one solid group to fight Islam. It don't make no difference. In the final analysis, Allah (swt) said that his religion—Islam—will rise to the forefront, will be elevated to the role of leadership in this world, whether they all like it or not."

That same year, Musa called for an Islamic state in London during a conference there that featured a wide assortment of radicals, including representatives of FIS [Islamic Salvation Front], Hizbullah and Hamas.

As-Sabiqun's website describes how, "During a rally in July 1999, Imam Musa displayed a cashier's check made out to 'Hamas, Palestine,' to protest the 1996 U.S. law which declared Hamas a terrorist organization." On a February 18 2007 broadcast of Fox News, Musa stated, "I know Hamas. They are nice people. Very nice people." Musa has repeatedly cheered Hizbullah's "victory" over Israel and has saluted suicide bombers, saying:

    "When they go out and strike at the heart of Zionism. They are not suicide bombers they are heroes they are she-roes, isn't that right? That's a part of our deen, that's a part of our religion, let's not become weak boned and apologetic..."

Musa has also fueled the flames of international hatred against the United States. In an appearance last month on Iran's government-controlled Press TV, Musa pitted America against Islam:

    "Islamophobia to us right now, coming out of 9-1-1 (9/11), is something that the [American] government and the Israelis did in the U.S. to justify a global attack on Islam … the perception management now by the media, gives the media and gives the military justification to invade our countries, to stop us in airports, to exclude us from society."

The extremism expressed by As-Sabiqun and Musa might easily be passed off as the bizarre ranting of a radical cleric and his hateful organization. However, as the Fort Hood massacre, the FBI shooting of Luqman Abdullah and other recent investigations show, fiery rhetoric can lead to violent plotting. The lesson of Fort Hood is not to ignore open self-radicalization, but to heed those who openly preach our destruction from within.

Read more at: http://www.investigativeproject.org/1553/radical-movements-leader-forecasts-americas-demise
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« Reply #846 on: December 09, 2009, 04:36:18 PM »

Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 1:26pm CST

H-E-B customers support Fort Hood victims

San Antonio Business Journal

H.E. Butt Grocery Co. has raised more than $280,000 for the fund supporting victims of the shooting tragedy at Fort Hood in Central Texas.

The grocery chain kicked off its fundraising effort in early November with a $50,000 donation and customers have since supplied another $230,000.

“Providing aid in times of disaster is the corner stone of our Helping Here philosophy, which promises to stand by communities during times of crisis,” says Winell Herron, group vice president of public affairs and diversity for H-E-B. “We’re honored that our customers were so generous in their support of the affected victims and families at Fort Hood.”

At H-E-B stores throughout Texas, customer added donations in increments of $1, $3, or $5 to their total grocery bill between Saturday, Nov. 7 and Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. One hundred percent of the monies raised benefit the Association of the United States Army Central Texas-Fort Hood Chapter fund, established to appropriately memorialize the recent tragedy at Fort Hood, and care for the affected soldiers and their families.

H-E-B is also participating in Fort Hood Community Strong Day, taking place on Dec. 11 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Fort Hood. The H-E-B Mobile Kitchen will be on-site serving 4,000 pounds of chopped beef, which will make 20,000 sandwiches, as well as 30,000 bags of H-E-B chips and 20,000 H-E-B sodas.

“Donating food to Fort Hood Community Strong Day is one more way we can show our support and sincere appreciation to the soldiers who serve our country, and their families,” says Herron. “More than 90 H-E-B Partners will be at the event volunteering to help make this event a success.”

San Antonio-based H-E-B has annual sales of more than $15 billion and operates some 300 stores in Texas and Mexico. The company has more than 70,000 employees.

http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2009/12/07/daily22.html
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« Reply #847 on: December 09, 2009, 04:43:48 PM »

PC-Free Thoughts on the Muslim Response to Fort Hood

Islamist Watch Blog 9 December 2009
By David J. Rusin

Having discussed the inept reaction of government to the massacre carried out by Islamic radical Nidal Malik Hasan, we now compile insightful commentary on the response of American Muslims and those who claim to represent them:

    * Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project notes how some Muslims can become more Muslim than others, depending on whether Islamist pressure groups are able to paint them as victims. Exhibit A: the contrasting approaches to the Fort Hood rampage and the death one week earlier of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a radical imam killed in a shootout with the FBI. Asked about the meme that "Luqman was shot because he was Muslim, but right now religion has nothing to do with Hasan," Emerson replies that "the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants to play the victimology argument … So when it suits their purpose, they will identify the [purported victim] as Islamic as in the Luqman case … but when it comes to the perpetrator [e.g., Hasan], then of course he has no religion."

    * Counterterrorism researcher Patrick Poole dismantles Islamist logic that addressing the jihadist threat, whether inside the military or elsewhere, is somehow an affront to all Muslims: "To say that you can't target jihadist ideology without targeting the whole of Islam is an acknowledgment on their part that the two are inseparable — a point I doubt they are ready to concede. Regardless, they can't have it both ways: either jihadist ideology has nothing to do with Islam, as Islamic groups constantly represent, and thus it can be addressed without infringing on their freedom of religion; or they must admit, along with the 'Islamophobes,' that jihadist ideology and the violence it promotes are part and parcel with Islam. The question for these critics is unavoidable: which is it?"

    * Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky drives home the theme of Muslims needing to banish the radicals in their midst: "If Islam, as we hear, has been hijacked by extremists, the logical people to rescue it are Muslims themselves. Muslims in the West, starting in America, have to stand up for democracy and be noisy about it. … We've seen mass rallies — in the West! — of Muslims denouncing democracy. Where are the pro-democracy Muslim rallies?" Echoing calls for a "Million Muslim March," Bykofsky throws down the gauntlet: "If a loyal American Muslim asks, 'Why should I have to do this?' my answer is easy: You don't have to. You should want to."

    * Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, speaks for Muslims who recognize the urgency of reclaiming their faith from the fanatics. He argues that in Hasan's bloodbath and recent plots, "the common thread is political Islam," an "ideology that brings Muslims down a slippery slope." In Jasser's view, "Muslims that look at this problem as merely a PR problem are living on another planet." It is time to see adherents of Islam "stepping up to take responsibility and trying to fix the problem."

Jasser's colleague Sid Shahid, addressing all who demand that Islam and Muslims be treated with kid gloves, gets the final word: "Enough of this sort of political correctness."

http://europenews.dk/en/node/28285
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« Reply #848 on: December 09, 2009, 04:50:46 PM »

Cleric in Fort Hood probe grew more radical in Yemeni jail

By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, December 9, 2009; 12:07 PM

SANAA, Yemen -- The Yemeni-American cleric at the center of the investigations into last month's massacre of 13 people at Fort Hood, Tex., became more openly radical in Yemen, following a path taken by other extremists in this failing Middle East nation with a growing al-Qaeda presence, according to relatives, friends and associates in Yemen.

In interviews, the friends and relatives said that the 38-year-old cleric, Anwar al-Aulaqi, blamed the United States for 18 months he spent in a Yemeni jail, a little-known chapter in Aulaqi's life that some described as a key path in his radicalization.

Aulaqi, who was born in the United States, left for Britain in early 2002 after he drew scrutiny from American authorities. U.S. authorities allege that Aulaqi was a spiritual adviser to three of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers while he was a prayer leader at the Dar al-Hijrah Mosque in Falls Church, Va., and at another mosque in San Diego. An examination of some of Aulaqi's sermons and lectures, as well as interviews conducted here, show that he increasingly began to publicly endorse violence as a religious duty after he returned to Yemen in early 2004, completing his transformation from an imam who condemned the Sept. 11 attacks to an Internet preacher who views Americans as legitimate targets.

Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood attacks, first contacted Aulaqi by e-mail in December 2008. U.S. authorities intercepted some of the e-mails but did not see them as a potential threat. The FBI has declined to comment on Aulaqi, citing the ongoing investigation.
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After the attack at Fort Hood, Aulaqi issued a statement that called Hasan a "hero.'' In an interview later with a Yemeni journalist , Aulaqi denied he ordered or incited Hasan to carry out the attacks but said that Hasan considered him a confidant.

Aulaqi's path to radicalization, at first, appeared unlikely. The Aulaqis hail from sultans who once ruled what is now Yemen's southern province of Shabwa, including the ancestral village where Aulaqi now lives with his wife and five children. Aulaqi's father, Nasser al-Aulaqi, is a former president of Sanaa University and minister of agriculture.

Anwar al-Aulaqi was born in New Mexico in 1971 but went to Yemen as a child. He studied in a secular high school in the capital, Sanaa, along with children from other elite families, before moving to Colorado in 1991 to attend college, said a close relative who spoke for his family in an hour-long interview. The relative spoke under condition of anonymity in order not to harm the family's efforts to persuade Aulaqi to become moderate.

He described Aulaqi as an avid swimmer who enjoyed deep-sea fishing. His ambition was to become a college professor, focusing on finding ways to address water shortages in Yemen, the relative said. Like many Arabs, Aulaqi was angered by the U.S. assault on Iraq in the first Persian Gulf War, the relative said, but Aulaqi didn't show signs of radicalization afterward.

"He was very moderate. He was always against al-Qaeda ideology," said the relative, adding that Aulaqi's contact with the hijackers was "coincidence."

After Sept. 11, 2001, Aulaqi grew frustrated and felt targeted by U.S. authorities, said the relative.

"September 11 changed a lot of Muslims," the relative said. "And the invasion in Iraq in 2003 made him even stronger in his beliefs."

U.S. authorities have alleged that Aulaqi had become radicalized while still in the United States, before the Sept. 11 attacks, but they never found evidence to detain him.

Beginning in 2002, when he left the United States for Britain, Aulaqi lauded Palestinian suicide bombers on a Web site and in lectures attended by ultraconservative Muslims. He spoke at fundraising events hosted by Cage Prisoners, a prisoners' rights group in Britain, but did not incite violence or express support for al-Qaeda, said Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison detainee who heads the group. "He wouldn't have been so popular if his message was not moderate and across the board," Begg said in a telephone interview from London.

In early 2004, Aulaqi returned to Yemen. At a lecture at Sanaa University, he spoke eloquently about Islam's role in the world. He railed against U.S. policies in Iraq. He blasted Israel, according to those present at the lecture. But he stopped short of calling for violent jihad.

"He was not inciting us to use arms," recalled Adil al-Howlari, who now works as a journalist for the United Nations. "He was talking about how to use English to spread Islamic values."

Aulaqi eventually took classes and lectured at Iman University in Sanaa. The university is headed by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, an influential religious figure whom U.S. officials have described as Osama bin Laden's spiritual leader and placed on a list of global terrorists.

The university has a reputation as an incubator of radicalism. John Walker Lindh, an American who fought with the Taliban and was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, is a former student. Other students allegedly took part in numerous attacks.

Aulaqi's relative said Aulaqi had given only four lectures at the university about Islam's role in medieval Spain.

By 2006, Aulaqi's influence through his Web site and Facebook page had widened into the world of terrorism, even though most Yemenis had never heard of him. Starting that year, investigators have found Aulaqi's sermons downloaded on the computers of suspects in nearly a dozen terrorism cases in Britain and Canada.

In mid-2006, Yemeni authorities arrested him. Aulaqi was accused of inciting attacks against a man over a tribal matter involving a woman. Aulaqi denied the allegations in an interview with Begg last year and accused the U.S. government of pressuring Yemen to keep him locked up.

In that interview, Aulaqi said he spent the first nine months in solitary confinement in an underground cell. Around September 2007, FBI investigators interrogated him about the Sept. 11 attacks and other issues, Aulaqi told Begg. He said that while he wasn't physically abused, a U.S. Embassy legal attaché swore at him. Aulaqi was never charged with a crime and was released in December 2007.

The FBI and Yemeni officials declined to comment.

After his release, Aulaqi's stance on using violence for jihad grew more forceful. In December 2008, he penned a letter calling for fighters and financing for al-Shabaab, the Somali Islamist movement with ties to al-Qaeda. And in January of this year, he published an essay entitled "44 Ways to Support Jihad." It called, among other things, for Muslims to stay fit and train with weapons to fight on the battlefield.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120902097.html
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« Reply #849 on: December 09, 2009, 05:02:23 PM »

Anwar al Awlaki: “44 Ways to Support Jihad”
http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefaawlaki44wayssupportjihad.pdf
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« Reply #850 on: December 09, 2009, 06:25:24 PM »



  How America created the Fort Hood shooter

By Andrew Walden :: 165 Views :: National News, National Politics, World News, World Politics    

    "...we do bear some of the responsibility, frankly, for helping to create the very terrorists that we're now all threatened by." -- Hillary Clinton, Charlie Rose show 11-10-09

by Andrew Walden  www.AmericanThinker.com

Hillary Clinton is right -- but perhaps not in the sense she intended.  And the clearest, best documentation of how America "creates the terrorists" is found in the public evidence against the alleged Ft Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan.

While many claim American foreign policy acts "create terrorists", Osama bin-laden points to the importance of words--explaining their value best in an intercepted letter to Taliban chief Mullah Omar:

    It is obvious that the media war in this century is one of the strongest methods (of struggle). In fact, its ratio may reach 90% of the total preparation for battles.

But which words?  In Osama bin-Laden's 1998 sit down with ABC's John Miller, his last face-to-face interview with an American journalist, the al Qaeda chief explains his motives:

    NATO, that America created, we know it spent $455 billion American dollars in improving weaponry to protect Europe and America from Russia, and they did not fire a single shot. Allah stood with the Muslims, the Afghani mujahideen, and those who fought with them from other Muslim countries. We fought against the Russians and the Soviet Union until, not to say we defeated them, but Allah defeated them, they became nonexistent. There is a lesson to learn from this for he who wishes to learn.

    The Soviet Union entered in the last week of 1979, in December, and with Allah's help their flag was folded Dec. 25 a few years later and thrown in the trash, and there was nothing left to call Soviet Union.

    We are sure of Allah's victory and our victory against the Americans and the Jews as promised by the prophet peace be up on him: "Judgment day shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews, whereas the Jews will hide behind trees and stones, and the tree and the stone will speak and say 'Muslim, behind me a Jew come and kill him', except for the al-Ghargad tree, which is a Jewish plant."

    We are sure of our victory. Our battle with the Americans is larger than our battle with the Russians....

    After Allah honored us with victory in Afghanistan . . . it cleared from Muslim minds the myth of superpowers. The youth ceased from seeing America as a superpower. After leaving Afghanistan they headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle, thinking that the Americans were like the Russians, but they were surprised . . . The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized more than before that the American soldiers are paper tigers. After a few blows, they ran in defeat and America forgot about all the hoopla and media propaganda . . . about being the world leader, and the leader of the new world order.

Bin-Laden seems to be referring to actions, not words.  But bin-Laden measures these actions entirely by their propaganda value as proof of religious dogma.

There truly is "a lesson to learn from this for he who wishes to learn."  Islamist terrorists are not motivated by grievances, real or imagined, nor by old religious doctrines in and of themselves, but by the perception that their enemies are weak and that Allah -- after many years -- is again willing to grant victory to Muslim fighters.

But Islamists' certainty is not settled with one example.  Allah's will must be ascertained by Muslims again and again.

The success of non-Islamic military operations is measured in terms of territory conquered or lost, in terms of governments defended, formed, or overthrown, or in terms of policies changed or maintained.

For the Islamist force, success is measured by how many Muslims become convinced that The Time Is Now.

In this regard, the much-maligned description -- "War on Terror" -- is exactly correct.  Americans are fighting to ensure that most Muslims continue to believe that The Time Is NOT Now -- by defeating those who pop their heads up for violent jihad.

But all of bin-Laden's evidence comes from the infidel response to terror attacks and military engagements.  How does this tie into the case of alleged Ft Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan?

Bin-Laden recruits terrorists by claiming lack of western resolve to fight.  Hasan is alleged to have, verbally and in writing, tested the resolve of the "system"--and again and again he found it lacking.  In doing so, he came to the same conclusion as bin-Laden; that The Time Is Now -- Allah is indeed granting victory to Muslims.  By blindly failing to disabuse Hasan of this belief, Americans "created the terrorist" Ft Hood shooter.

The Hasan case provides a strong argument for a "broken windows" approach to fighting Islamic extremism -- a rules-enforcement-based system which is the polar opposite of political correctness.

Hasan may have been recruited by pro-al-Qaeda Imam Anwar al Awlaki -- and investigation may yet reveal orders or an organizational connection.  But organized or not, in a pattern repeated by many jihadis -- including the 9-11 attackers -- this was only the first of Hasan's many efforts to learn Allah's will.

These attempts result in Islamist terrorists engaging in behaviors unthinkable for non-Islamist terrorists.  Instead of maintaining rigorous operational secrecy, Islamists draw attention to themselves.  The infidels' subsequent failure to stop the plotters is seen a confirmation of Allah's will.     

Instead being under suspicion, Hasan -- beginning in 2001 -- found himself receiving a free medical school education paid for by the US Army.  In 2003, according to his military records, Hasan began a psychiatry internship at Walter Reed.  He would continue there until he was transferred July 16, 2009 to Ft Hood. 

After the Ft Hood attack, Awlaki would issue a statement rejoicing at "another good news reaching us from Texas: more Kafir US soldiers in the Filthy U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, were smoked by the their (sic) own today."

At Walter Reed, Hasan allegedly did everything he could to learn the will of Allah by exposing his intentions to the infidels.  Hasan's alleged web postings gave justification to suicide bombers.  He allegedly sent as many as 20 emails to Awlaki.

These were enough to cause the FBI to open an investigation, but no action was taken. FBI inaction gave credence to the view that Allah was willing victory to the Muslims -- but Hasan continued to seek confirmation.

In June, 2007 Hasan surprised officers and medical personnel at Walter Reed.  Expecting a talk on medical treatments, they instead allegedly were presented with an Islamist discourse.  The 50 slides -- available on the Washington Post website -- are a crystal-clear presentation of the Jihadi reading of Islamic doctrine.  Hasan's slides should be adopted whole for the training of US personnel.

Many of the slides are written in first person -- as Hasan's own beliefs.  In the last slide, he demands:

    "Department of Defense should allow Muslim Soldiers the option of being released as 'Conscientious objectors' to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events."

Hasan allegedly asserts:

    "If Muslim groups can convince Muslims that they are fighting for God against the injustices of the ‘infidels' ie; enemies of Islam, then Muslims can become a potent adversary ie suicide bombing, etc."

Apparently the Ft Hood shooter was finally "convinced" on November 5, 2009. 

Interviewed on radio, Washington Post writer Dana Priest agreed with one caller who termed the slide show a "stop-me-now-before-its-too-late message."  Hasan had given the infidels an opportunity to prevent his attack -- and they did not take it.  Officers present at the show complained about Hasan's alleged advocacy of the Jihadi perspective, but the "system" did nothing.  Hasan had again sought out Allah's will and found it favoring attack.

The slide show may have set a timer on Hasan's final test -- his alleged demand for conscientious objector status -- possibly based on the exact same Jihadi arguments outlined at Walter Reed.  But he did not rest. 

According to Ret. Col Terry Lee, who had worked with Hasan in the psych ward at Ft Hood, Hasan was constantly broadcasting his beliefs:

    "He said, precisely, that maybe the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor....  When there was a shooting at Little Rock--he was almost sort of happy about it....  (He said) this is what Muslims should do.  People should strap bombs on themselves and go into Times Square....  He was hoping that President Obama would pull troops out...when things weren't going that way he became more agitated, more frustrated....  He made his views well known...."

And Col. Lee was not the only one sensing trouble.  The NY Daily News reports:

    The Fort Hood gunman was rejected for a position as a Muslim lay leader at the Army base because "something just didn't seem right," a mosque official revealed Saturday.

Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, said he was deeply troubled by two conversations with Maj. Nidal Hasan over the summer. Hasan, a psychiatrist, seemed incoherent and obsessed with the question of what to tell soldiers about fighting fellow Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Still the system failed to stop Hasan.  Allah's will had again proved rock solid.

It had taken years for Hasan to make himself certain of Allah's will.  But Hasan was finally convinced.  So on November 5 he allegedly entered a crowded building on base and opened fire.  Survivors allege that, as he fired, Hasan shouted what he might have expected to be his final message before ascending to heaven:

    "Allahu Akbar."

http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1335/How-America-created-the-Fort-Hood-shooter.aspx
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« Reply #851 on: December 09, 2009, 06:46:59 PM »


First Army Division West Commander, Maj. Gen. Charles A. Anderson (L) speaks with Private 1st Class James Armstrong and wife, Roxanne, during a chemical light vigil held at the North Fort Hood training site in remembrance of comrades and loved ones who were killed and wounded in the shooting tragedy at Fort Hood Thursday afternoon, November 6, 2009. Armstrong pulled others out of harm's way despite being shot twice himself. UPI/Tony M. Lindback/DOD

We're thankful he's still here'; Soldier home in Maine recovering after Fort Hood shooting

By Kathryn Skelton, Staff Writer
Published: Nov 26, 2009 12:00 am


Jose Leiva/Sun Journal

Army Pfc. James Armstrong, with his wife Roxanne and sons Gage, 5, left, and Gavin, 2, is on leave while recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered in the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting, in which 13 soldiers were killed Nov, 5. The Armstrongs, at home in Bowdoin, said they have much to be thankful for.


Army Pfc. James Armstrong, with his wife Roxanne and sons Gage, 5, left, and Gavin, 2, is on leave while recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered in the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting, in which 13 soldiers were killed Nov, 5. The Armstrongs, at home in Bowdoin, said they have much to be thankful for.

BOWDOIN — They met at the Brunswick Walmart, when she worked in customer service and he in tire and lube. After the couple moved to his home state of Georgia, it wasn't surprising that James Armstrong joined the Army Reserve. His dad was career Army. His brother is in his seventh tour overseas with the National Guard.

James had been in Fort Hood, Texas, for two days, waiting to be shipped out to Iraq, when he was shot, twice.

He's been recognized as one of the heroes of Nov. 5, when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire on the base. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of murder.

James was reaching down to grab someone when he was shot clean through the knee. Another bullet grazed his back. He removed his shirt and pressed it against a woman bleeding from the stomach. That was Combat Lifesaver training kicking in, James said.

His wife, Roxanne, who grew up in Lewiston, flew to be at his side the next day. For the past three weeks, they've dealt with doctors and paperwork, and have had countless people reach out to offer help. Roxanne learned last Thursday that James had gotten the OK to come home to her in Maine.

In their rented house in the Bowdoin woods, he's set on healing and enjoying his wife and sons, Gage, 5, and Gavin, 2. Roxanne, sitting on a couch with her husband Wednesday, said she hasn't let herself linger too long on "what if?"

"You have these moments; you get caught up in what could have happened," she said. "We're thankful he's still here."

Though they lived in Milledgeville, Ga., Roxanne had already decided to wait out James' deployment in Maine, close to her family. A mental health specialist with the 1908th Medical Detachment, Combat Stress Control, James had volunteered for this first tour.

"I'd rather know when I'm going than not know when I'm going," said James, 26.

They'd already said their goodbyes when he left for Fort Hood.

That notorious day on the base, James had just had his eyes and hearing checked and was waiting to get a physical when the shooting started. The shot through his leg missed bone and artery. A second bullet left a 3" graze on his lower back.

Because of the ongoing legal case, he can't talk about what he saw that day or what he heard, except to say that it was "amazing" to see everyone come together in the aftermath. In interviews with her local media, his mother shared the story of James blotting the wounded woman's stomach and using his body as a shield to protect others

If the day comes, he'll testify at a trial, if asked.

"Really, I want (Hasan) to get all the prosecution he can get," James said. "I think it's good that he lived — that way justice can be served."

James is able to walk around now, a little stiffly, without crutches. He's on leave for 30 days. After that, he'll begin physical therapy for two to three months. Then, he'll be paired with another unit and possibly deployed to Afghanistan.

"I don't know if it's kind of cheesy; we've always found ourselves to be pretty lucky," he said. "When times are tough, everyone just comes out of the woodwork to do stuff."

Family helped watch the boys, helped Roxanne move, helped with plane tickets.

"It could have been so much worse," she said. "We're definitely thankful it wasn't so much worse."

kskelton@sunjournal.com

http://www.sunjournal.com/armstrong
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« Reply #852 on: December 09, 2009, 06:58:40 PM »

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« Reply #853 on: December 10, 2009, 04:20:47 PM »

Detained American Linked to Hasan Mosque

Thursday, December 10, 2009 3:11 PM

By: Theodore Kettle    



Ramy Zamzam, one of five young Muslim men from Alexandria, Virginia being held by Pakistani authorities under suspicion of trying to contact the terrorist organization behind the 2002 murder in Karachi of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl, has family links to a notorious Virginia mosque once attended by alleged Fort Hood killer Maj. Nidal Hasan.

The five, aged 19 to 25, were reported Wednesday to have been arrested in a raid at the Punjab home of an activist with Jaish-e-Mohammed, “the army of Mohammed,” a major terror group seeking the transfer of Kashmir from India to Pakistan. The organization is banned by the government of Pakistan and listed as a terror outfit by the United States.

After all five left the country, family members reported them missing after discovery of what seemed to be a farewell video featuring Koran verses and war footage. Videotaped goodbyes to loved ones is a common practice among Mideast jihadist suicide bombers.

Newsweek was informed by a source “familiar with the investigation” that the family of Howard University dental student Zamzam, and perhaps others of the five, attend the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque near Falls Church, Virginia.

Hasan, the accused Fort Hood shooter, was an attendee in 2001. The 9/11 commission deduced that two of the 9/11 hijackers, Hani Hanjour and Nawaf Al Hazmi, were worshippers there in the spring of 2001, and were in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki, Dar Al-Hijrah’s imam in 2001 and 2002. Al-Awlaki, who fled the U.S. for Yemen a few months after the 9/11 attacks, is now wanted there for suspected ties to al Qaeda.

The FBI also intercepted 10-to-20 e-mails over several months last year between al-Awlaki and Hasan, according to House Intelligence Committee ranking Republican Pete Hoekstra of Michigan. Last month, in the aftermath of the Fort Hood massacre, al-Awlaki, on his website, declared that Maj. Hasan “is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people.”

Dar Al-Hijrah’s imam from 1995 to 1999 was Mohammed al-Hanooti, who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and at a New Jersey mosque in 1993 hosted blind Egyptian Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, now serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 bombing.

The $5 million Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center was built in the 1980s, financed in part by the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington.

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/hasan_mosque_american/2009/12/10/297244.html
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« Reply #854 on: December 10, 2009, 04:32:11 PM »

Pakistani Police: 5 Detained US Men Sought Jihad
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/10/ap/cabstatepent/main5962023.shtml

Worried Parents at Heart of Terror Probe
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/worried-parents-at-heart-of-terror-probe-121009

Brother Calls Zamzam a 'Normal Joe'
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/brother-calls-ramy-zamzam-normal-joe-120909

Five young American Muslims held in Pakistan

The five Americans being held were identified in Pakistan as Ramy Zamzam, Eman Yasir, Waqar Hasan, Ahmad A Mini and Umer Farooq. All are US citizens: two were born in Pakistan, one is of Yemeni origin and another of Egyptian origin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/10/american-muslims-held-in-pakistan
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« Reply #855 on: December 10, 2009, 04:44:44 PM »


 Dec 10, 2009 12:19 pm US/Central
Texas Veteran Supports U.S. Troops With Coin

Teresa Frosini


Abilene resident Larry Farr served as a corpsman in the Navy from 1966 to 1972. Now, he is making sure that our current troops know that they are not forgotten.

About a year ago, Farr cashed in his insurance policy in order to start a non-profit organization that puts coins in the pockets of our military men and women. "We decided to start the foundation to support the troops," Farr said.

Farr and his wife, Evelyn, started the LSF Foundation.

"Somebody suggested we give a token to give to the military people," explained Farr, "so they could go to the café and trade it for a cup of coffee or a glass of tea. I went home and decided that is not enough. We need to do more."

Farr designed the 'Not Forgotten' coin. "I designed the coin this way, with the flag and the cross and the words 'In God We Trust, You Are Not Forgotten,'" Farr said. "We want them to know that they will never be forgotten."

Farr's mission is to put a coin in the hands of the troops who defend America's freedom. "If they are in a situation, and they reach in their pocket, they know that people really do care," Farr said.

But it's not just current soldiers who benefit from Farr's passion. He also hands the coins out to military veterans. "The result has been amazing," he said. "They are really appreciative that people take the time to stop and say, 'Thank you for your service.'"

Farr regularly carries the coins in his pocket, and hands them out to soldiers and veterans that he meets in his daily life. He once met a World War II veteran at the grocery store. "I handed him the coin and he looked at it and tears immediately streamed down his face," Farr said. "It was very memorable. Then, he stood straight, almost like at attention, with pride."

"It's a warm, fuzzy feeling that we have done something more than say, 'I support the troops,'" Farr said.

The LSF Foundation also makes bracelets, and is currently working on 13 special bracelets to be given to the families of those lost in the Fort Hood shooting massacre.

Click here: http://www.lsffoundation.com/  if you would like more information on the LSF Foundation.

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Not.Forgotten.Coin.2.1362239.html
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« Reply #856 on: December 10, 2009, 04:53:04 PM »

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

John McCumber examines the Fort Hood massacre
John McCumber
Updated: 12-10-2009 1:33 pm

At this writing, it has only been about two weeks since Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s murderous rampage in a room full of unarmed soldiers and family members at Fort Hood, Texas. Even writing that first sentence was tough for me as I consider the lives snuffed out by this home-grown terrorist who operated as a leader among them. I realize not all military officers have the same responsibilities, but Major Hasan was a military officer and a leader through his healing profession.

As the victims were still being identified, we were treated to an inaccurate depiction of the massacre starting with the President of the United States and spinning its way through Congress as well as the various media outlets. It started with using the inappropriate term “tragedy” to describe that horrific event. Once invoked by the President, the copycat politicians and scribblers at nearly every print and television media organ settled on the “tragedy” meme.

Anyone with a classical education will tell you the term tragedy was a Greek invention involving a human character who is flawed and not simply evil. He is buffeted by circumstances, fate and the pantheon of Greek gods in his Earthly struggles. Ultimately, he ends up a pitiable victim overwhelmed by the combined natural and supernatural forces that besiege him. In modern parlance, a tragedy is most accurately identified when the elements of happenstance and human destiny create a disastrous outcome. Had the victims of Major Hasan been killed by a freak Texas tornado, the event could possibly be described as a tragedy. As it is, there was nothing “tragic” about this premeditated murder of defenseless people at the base Readiness Center.

Once we reject this slaughter as a tragedy, we can then look to understand the threat — in this case, one Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Those of us steeped in risk management fundamentals know that a threat is either human or environmental. The threat exploits a vulnerability and, in turn, impacts an asset or mission. Sadly, the accurate depiction of a threat eludes many of our elected officials. New York Senator Charles Schumer ran to the microphones after the “tragedy” (his word) to decry the handgun used in the assault, as if the Fabrique Nationale Herstal Five-seveN woke up that morning, decided to kill soldiers at Fort Hood, and went looking for ammunition and car keys in Major Hasan’s apartment.

Now, evidence has surfaced from dozens of Major Hasan’s colleagues, coworkers, patients and superiors that point to a man who was certainly a potential threat. In addition to his e-mails to radicals and terrorist sympathizers intercepted by the FBI, there were numerous first-hand accounts of his attitudes and beliefs, including an entire PowerPoint presentation he developed and presented to Army colleagues. Unlike the expected, “he-was-a-quiet-fellow” musing from neighbors and friends, Major Hasan left us a veritable roadmap that would lead to his nefarious actions at Fort Hood.

There have been many pundits who have speculated on the reasons why his Army superiors choose to either downplay or downright ignore these warning signs, so I won’t cover the possible motives here. The largest single failure was simply a refusal to understand, define and ultimately recognize the threat. Whether through willful neglect or fear of reprisal, his superior officers shoulder a great moral burden today.
Security professionals of all stripes must be willing to challenge their own perceptions of threat. We must make a conscious effort to look beyond our assumptions, prejudices and personal preferences to obtain a clear picture of the empirical likelihood that underpins the risk equation of threat, vulnerability and asset. Once the threat is identified, it needs to be carefully assessed and managed. Many times, you can only seek to patch and mitigate your vulnerabilities since you may not be able to completely control the threat. When dealing with malicious computer code, for example, you do not have the knowledge or ability to have the authors arrested before they wreak havoc on your computer infrastructure. In Major Hasan’s case, however, the U.S. Army had ample warning and the ability to manage the threat lurking within their ranks.

We must all be alert to the signs of an emerging threat. In order to be effective security professionals, we first must give that threat an accurate label. By calling Major Hasan “deranged” or a victim of stress, we have misidentified the threat, and cannot formulate an effective strategy to mitigate the risks he poses. By calling him a terrorist, we have a much clearer picture of not only his motivation, but a better understanding of the destruction possible from such a threat. Let’s call it like it is.

John McCumber is a security and risk professional, and is the author of “Assessing and Managing Security Risk in IT Systems: A Structured Methodology,” from Auerbach Publications. If you have a comment or question for him, please e-mail John at: Cool_as_McCumber@cygnusb2b.com.

http://www.securityinfowatch.com/if-it-walks-a-duck-and-quacks-a-duck%E2%80%A6
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« Reply #857 on: December 10, 2009, 05:03:56 PM »

Video:Pakistani Police: Americans were 'Here for jihad'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/12/10/VI2009121002185.html?sid=ST2009121002234
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« Reply #858 on: December 10, 2009, 05:14:15 PM »

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, left, and FBI Director Robert Mueller
From left: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences / AP; Alex Wong / Getty

The FBI Probe: What Went Wrong at Fort Hood?
By Theo Emery Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009

If there's a sensitive investigation into the flaws of crime fighters, the man the feds often call in to do the job is William H. Webster. Over the decades, the former FBI and CIA chief has headed numerous high-profile investigations into public agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department's response to the 1992 Rodney King riots and the FBI's failure to catch Soviet and Russian mole Robert Hanssen.

But the probe into whether the FBI mishandled information about Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who is charged with killing 13 people and wounding 32 at Fort Hood in Texas, could be Webster's trickiest assignment yet. The Nov. 5 shootings have raised a host of nettlesome issues regarding Hasan and his contacts with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric in Yemen, and why the FBI decided not to raise the alarm about Hasan even though it had tracked his suspect communications. In the aftermath of the shootings, critics have raised questions not only about intelligence-sharing, but also about whether the U.S. Army psychiatrist successfully used the cloak of research as a smoke screen for his personal extremism and, perhaps, murderous intentions. (See the top 10 news stories of 2009.)

At the heart of the inquiry is the troublesome revelation that the FBI knew that Hasan, who became more religiously devout after his parents' deaths, corresponded with al-Awlaki, an American-born imam who led a northern Virginia mosque where two of the Sept. 11 hijackers worshipped. After al-Awlaki departed the U.S. in 2002, eventually ending up in Yemen, his sermons and teachings — delivered in English — apparently became a source of inspiration for the Fort Dix six and some of the young men who eventually left the U.S. to join al-Shabaab, the Islamist group in Somalia. (See the top 10 crime stories of 2009.)

E-mail surveillance turned up as many as 20 messages between al-Awlaki and Hasan, which an FBI-headed Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington reviewed. At the time, the task force concluded that the correspondence matched Hasan's research into the mind-set of Muslim soldiers who turn on their comrades and was insufficient evidence to launch an investigation. Separately, U.S. Army colleagues at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington have said they raised concerns with supervisors about Hasan, his statements about Islam and whether he was mentally stable or possibly even dangerous. The Army, however, did not share the information with the FBI. (See pictures of Major Nidal Malik Hasan's apartment.)

It's not yet clear how wide-ranging Webster's probe will be, and opinions vary on its scope. Bill Burck, a former deputy counsel to President George W. Bush, said that while Webster's previous probes tended to looked for policy lapses or fault, this review may be more difficult. The review could go to the heart of assessing threats posed by radicalized Americans, who have rights that terrorists from outside the country do not. "That presents a very difficult set of questions about how do you balance the traditional law-enforcement approach to deal with those threats — which is typically how we've dealt with those things in the past — with the reality that you're dealing with people that are much harder to deter," Burck says. (See TIME's cover story on the Fort Hood massacre.)

The FBI has already turned over to the White House a preliminary internal review of the agency's actions before the shootings. Director Robert Mueller appointed Webster, who headed the FBI from 1978 until 1987 before becoming CIA director, to perform an open-ended, independent review of FBI policies, practices and actions preceding the incident. That will include a review of the initial findings as well as any additional issues that Webster has the discretion to take up.

In a statement, Mueller said Webster would have complete access to necessary information and resources and that Webster would coordinate with existing Department of Defense probes. "It is essential to determine whether there are improvements to our current practices or other authorities that could make us all safer in the future," he said.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1946848,00.html#ixzz0ZKIEQm6S

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1946848,00.html
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« Reply #859 on: December 10, 2009, 05:44:16 PM »



PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK BOZZONE

 Fort Hood remembered

Thursday, December 10, 2009
Pascack Valley Community Life

American Legion Post 153 of Park Ridge is the first post in New Jersey to dedicate a memorial to the soldiers and civilians who were killed last month at Fort Hood, Texas. The post, which for the past four years has "adopted" the Teaneck Armory Family Assistance center, decided to erect the memorial because many of the soldiers from the Teaneck Armory have trained at Fort Hood before deploying overseas. Picture, from left: Past Commander and Historian Dick Bozzone; Commander Angelo Pagano; and Sergeant at Arms Al Quackenbush, placing the cross in front of post quarters at 118 Ridge Ave.

American Legion Post 153 of Park Ridge is the first post in New Jersey to dedicate a memorial to the soldiers and civilians who were killed last month at Fort Hood, Texas. The post, which for the past four years has "adopted" the Teaneck Armory Family Assistance center, decided to erect the memorial because many of the soldiers from the Teaneck Armory have trained at Fort Hood before deploying overseas. Picture, from left: Past Commander and Historian Dick Bozzone; Commander Angelo Pagano; and Sergeant at Arms Al Quackenbush, placing the cross in front of post quarters at 118 Ridge Ave.

http://www.northjersey.com/community/announcements/78938167.html
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