Archived news and commentary: November 18 - 24, 2002

2002/12/30 - 2003/01/05
2002/12/23 - 2002/12/29
2002/12/16 - 2002/12/22
2002/12/09 - 2002/12/15
2002/12/02 - 2002/12/08
2002/11/25 - 2002/12/01
2002/11/18 - 2002/11/24
2002/11/11 - 2002/11/17
2002/11/04 - 2002/11/10
2002/10/28 - 2002/11/03
2002/10/21 - 2002/10/27
2002/10/14 - 2002/10/20
2002/10/07 - 2002/10/13
2002/09/30 - 2002/10/06

Sunday, November 24, 2002

News and commentary:

"Osama issues new call to arms" (Jason Burke, The Observer, 2002/11/24)
"A chilling new message from Osama bin Laden is being circulated among British Islamic extremists, calling for attacks on civilians and describing the 'Islamic nation' as 'eager for martyrdom'. ... The translated letter was originally posted in Arabic on a Saudi Arabian website previously used by al-Qaeda to disseminate messages. Within the last two weeks British Islamists have translated the letter, the most comprehensive explanation of bin Laden's ideology to be issued for several years, and posted it on English-language websites run from the UK. ... Bin laden issues a direct threat to the West: 'Anyone who tries to destroy our villages and cities, then we are going to destroy their villages and cities. Anyone who steals our fortunes, then we must destroy their economy. Anyone who kills our civilians, then we are going to kill their civilians.'" (See also: "Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America'" (The Observer, 2002/11/24): "(2) The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.
(a) We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling's, and trading with interest. We call you to all of this that you may be freed from that which you have become caught up in; that you may be freed from the deceptive lies that you are a great nation, that your leaders spread amongst you to conceal from you the despicable state to which you have reached.")

"Palace Intrigue" (Jason Zengerle, The New Republic, 2002/11/24)
More on the Saudi money trail, or rather about reactions to it: "On "This Week," Republican John McCain noted that the Saudis had been financing Islamic radicals for years and declared, "Facts are facts. The Saudi royal family has been engaged in a Faustian bargain for years to keep themselves in power." Democrat Charles Schumer, on the same show, said that the Saudis "have played a duplicitous game, and that is, they say to the terrorists, 'We'll do everything you want, just leave us alone.' That game has got to stop." And, on "Face the Nation," Joe Lieberman put things in the bluntest terms possible: '[A]ll of us in Congress who have felt that the Saudi relationship was critically important to us now have to look back and say, "Fifteen of the nineteen terrorists [were] from Saudi Arabia, [there is an] increasing trail of money going from Saudi Arabia to the terrorists." Remember the president's edict here ... right after September 11th last year, [he] said to the nations of the world, "You are either with us or with the terrorists. And if you're with the terrorists, you're going to feel our wrath." And I think we have to apply those standards not just to enemies, like Iraq and Afghanistan under Taliban or Iran, we have apply it to our friends, like Saudi Arabia. And either they have to change, or the relationship that we have with Saudi Arabia is going to change dramatically.'"

"The Saudi Money Trail" (Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas, Newsweek, from the 2002/12/02 issue)
An article about the Saudi money trail connected to two of the hijackers, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar: "The Feds' interest in al-Bayoumi has been heightened by a money trail that could be perfectly innocent, but is nonetheless intriguing - and could ultimately expose the Saudi government to some of the blame for 9-11 and seriously strain U.S.-Saudi ties. It is too soon to say where the trail will wind up, but it begins with a very surprising name on a Washington bank account. About two months after al-Bayoumi began aiding Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Newsweek has learned, al-Bayoumi’s wife began receiving regular stipends, often monthly and usually around $2,000, totaling tens of thousands of dollars. The money came in the form of cashier's checks, purchased from Washington's Riggs Bank by Princess Haifa bint Faisal, the daughter of the late King Faisal and wife of Prince Bandar, the Saudi envoy who is a prominent Washington figure and personal friend of the Bush family. The checks were sent to a woman named Majeda Ibrahin Dweikat, who in turn signed over many of them to al-Bayoumi's wife (and her friend), Manal Ahmed Bagader. The Feds want to know: Was this well-meaning charity gone awry? Or some elaborate money-laundering scheme? A scam? Or just a coincidence? ... After al-Bayoumi left San Diego in July 2001, the cashier's checks purchased by Princess Haifa continued to flow to Majeda Dweikat, who in turn signed many of them over to her husband, Osama. Basnan also befriended the two hijackers, Almihdhar and Alhazmi. After the terrorist attacks, Basnan, who was known as a vocal Qaeda sympathizer, "celebrated the heroes of September 11" and talked about "what a wonderful, glorious day it had been," according to a law-enforcement official."

"Crime and Holy Punishment" (David Finkel, The Washington Post, 2002/11/24)
A report from Nigeria about implementation of sharia: "Mujahid is the leader of one of the largest radical Islamic groups in Nigeria, called Jaamutu Tajidmul Islami, or the Movement for Islamic Revival. A student of Nigerian history, he is well aware that the implementation of criminal sharia, which had existed in Nigeria before it was interrupted by British rule, "is not a sudden occurrence. It is something that has been boiling up." Particularly important, he says, was the 1979 Iranian revolution that led to the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "We figured if Iran can do it, why not here?" ... As for stoning, he says, it is ordained, which is argument enough, but a secondary argument concerns the lessons he learned when Nigeria was still under military rule and he spent nearly two years in detention for his political views. Who else was in prison? Men whose mothers were prostitutes, men whose fathers had abandoned them, men who had grown up with no parents. "So this is an angle," he says. By stoning to death an adulterer, "you stop him from committing adultery. If he lives, he goes on to commit many many more adulteries, and those result in children being born who grow up and become drunks or armed robbers who kill people." Clearly, what Nigeria needs isn't less, sharia, he says, but more. His goal? "Justice," he says. His model? The Taliban. 'There are one or two things I have an argument with, but generally I think they did very, very good.'"

"Editors of Egyptian Government Papers Hail the Recent Suicide Bombing in a Jerusalem Neighborhood" (MEMRI, Special Dispatch Series - No. 442, 2002/11/24)
"The editors of Egyptian government papers hailed a suicide bombing that was recently carried out by Hamas in a Jerusalem neighborhood. ... The editor of the Al-Gumhuriyya daily, Sameer Ragab also wrote in his daily column about the attack in Jerusalem: "The brave Palestinians will continue to be regarded as terrorists by the Israelis as long as they carryout martyrdom operations by which they are trying to react to [just] a few of the crimes committed against them!!! ... Yesterday a 23 year-old Palestinian martyr blew himself up in a bus in Jerusalem and consequently eleven Israelis were killed, forty-seven wounded, of whom, nine are in critical condition!!! ... ...The Israelis will wake up in the morning put their victims in plastic bags, and a few hours later the Palestinians will embrace each other having pronounced the Shahada (i.e. the Islamic declaration of faith) and be on the way to carryout the most noble, precious, and honorable mission." (See also: "Eleven dead, 50 wounded in suicide bus attack in Jerusalem" (The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/21))

"Greed and torture at the House of Saud" (John Sweeney, The Observer, 2002/11/24)
"The threat comes from the stark, alluring nihilism of Osama bin Laden and his supporters, and the House of Saud takes refuge in denial, and cruelty. There is no better evidence of the feebleness of its grip on power than its denial of twenty-first century evidence that the seven Western men it has locked up for planting bombs that killed other Westerners are innocent. ... The Saudi system of justice is that the moment you are a suspect you are deemed to be guilty, and so you are tortured until you make a confession in front of the khavi, the investigating judge. If you don't, you get tortured some more. It's a closed loop with no way out. ... The difficulty for the old men of the House of Saud is that, although they have now arrested, found guilty and sentenced seven Westerners (before they met their defence lawyers) for bombing other Westerners, the bombs have kept on exploding. While seven allegedly guilty men were locked in Saudi's maximum security prison - Al Haier, east of Riyadh - another bomb killed British banker Simon Veness this June and yet another - the eleventh - killed German businessman Maximillian Graf in September. ... The proof that Jones was tortured blasts a hole in the safety of the convictions of the other seven Westerners. Unless they win an appeal, two of them - Scot Sandy Mitchell and Canadian Bill Sampson - face an appointment with the executioner at a public beheading in Riyadh's infamous Chop-chop Square."

"Secret paper shows PA trying to build explosives plant" (Ze'ev Schiff, Haaretz, 2002/11/24)
"The Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Organization in the Gaza Strip is attempting to establish a factory for producing large quantities of nitric acid, the most important chemical in making explosives, according to a secret PA document seized in an IDF raid last week. It appears that the factory is aimed at bypassing the obstacles facing militant organizations in producing or acquiring explosives. ...
During an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip last Sunday, a document was seized in the Preventive Security Organization's headquarters in Tel al-Hiweh describing the setting up of the factory as a "strategic project." The document, classified by the organization as "secret," was addressed to the deputy head of preventive security in Gaza, Rasheed Abu Shubak. An analysis of the document revealed that the plant's annual production capacity of nitric acid was to have reached 15 tons. Successful production at such levels could lead to the production of military grade explosives, such as TNT or RDX. Israeli defense analysts pointed out that the Preventive Security Organization intended to provide all the Palestinian militant organizations, including those opposed to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, with explosives."

"Tragic mistake" (Arab News, 2002/11/24)
Beauty and the beast X. Arab News blames the Miss World organizers for the riots and the original article for "blasphemy" in an editorial: "The decision to stage the Miss World contest in Nigeria, a country with a significant Muslim population during the holy month of Ramadan defied all common sense. It demonstrated, if demonstration were needed, that the people behind this half-witted event were every bit as half-witted themselves. Though they have attempted to distance themselves from the deadly riots that followed the blasphemy produced by a local newspaper, the tensions that were unleashed had been building for weeks as a direct result of their actions."

"Miss World beauties flee Nigeria violence" (BBC News, 2002/11/24)
Beauty and the beast IX. Nigeria's Information Minister accuses the "international press" of an "international conspiracy": "Nigeria's Information Minister Jerry Gana pointed a finger at the foreign and domestic media for his country's failed attempt to host the competition. "I salute the courage of the contestants. They came all the way here despite the conspiracy of the international press... particularly the British press," he said on state radio. "There's an international conspiracy just to show that an African country like Nigeria cannot host this thing. I think Nigerians should be really angry with the international press," he said, according to the French news agency AFP."

Saturday, November 23, 2002

News and commentary:

"Investigation shows British UN worker killed by Israeli forces; Palestinians detonate explosives on boat off Gaza" (Nicole Winfield, AP/Yahoo! News, 2002/11/23)
"Israel said Saturday its troops fatally shot a U.N. official during a West Bank firefight with Palestinian gunmen because Palestinians were firing at troops from inside the U.N. compound and the official had what appeared to be a gun. The United Nations denied Palestinian gunmen were in the U.N. compound and said the slain official, Iain Hook, was armed only with a cell phone he was using to try to evacuate U.N. staff. ... In its statement about the Jenin clash, the army said two soldiers fired at Hook inside the U.N. compound because he had "an object that appeared to be a gun." The statement said Palestinian gunmen had beein firing on Israeli troops from inside the UNRWA compound and, on seven occasions, from an adjacent alley. The army said in two instances, the gunmen had used civilians as human shields, including one instance where a gunman hid behind a woman holding an UNRWA flag. Paul McCann, a U.N. spokesman, said the army's claim that gunmen were inside the compound was wrong. "Our preliminary inquiry does not agree with the statement that firing could have come from the UNRWA compound. It in fact is quite clear from our inquiry so far that this report of firing from the compound is totally incredible," he said."

"Fortuyn murder case: 'Confession'" (CNN.com, 2002/11/23)
"The vegan animal rights activist charged with May's shock murder of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn has confessed, prosecutors say. Suspect Volkert van der Graaf said he killed the controversial right-wing leader because he considered him a danger to society. ... The prosecutor's statement said Van der Graaf had said "he saw in Fortuyn an increasing danger to, in particular, vulnerable sections of society." It is first indication of any motive for the killing. The openly gay Fortuyn sent shockwaves through the Netherlands' cosy consensual political system by calling for a halt to immigration and branding Islam as "backward." ... Van der Graaf said Fortuyn expressed what were stigmatising political ideas and he threatened to seize huge political power, according to prosecutors. "Van der (Graaf) saw no other way he could stop that danger than to kill Fortuyn," Saturday's statement said." (UPDATE: See also "Killing Fortuyn" (Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish, 2002/11/25): "We now know the motive. It wasn't animal rights. It was opposition to Pim Fortuyn's criticism of unassimilated Islamic immigrants. It was an assassination made possible by the fusion of the multi-culti left and the medieval religious right - a fusion that threatens the very future of a free and democratic Europe.")

"Nigeria falls apart" (The Daily Telegraph, 2002/11/23)
Beauty and the beast VIII. In a severe case of double standards, even the Daily Telegraph maintains that Muslims have been "understandably incensed" by the ThisDay article. Nevermind that free speech is stifled and two journalists are arrested. Nevermind that the instigation to violence came from Islamic leaders and sermons. Imagine if the carnage had taken place in London instead. Would they still consider the mayhem "understandable", because of an article written in a conciliatory spirit?: "Nigeria hoped to stage the Miss World contest as a means of boosting its sorry image. But so far it has merely highlighted the most serious faultline in a deeply divided society, that between Christianity and Islam. Muslims have been understandably incensed by an article in a Lagos-based daily newspaper which suggested that the Prophet Mohammed would probably have married one of the beauty queens. The newspaper, which has apologised four times for the article, has had its Kaduna office sacked. Rioting against Miss World, due to be staged in Abuja, the federal capital, next month, has spread through the northern city. Yesterday, the Red Cross announced that at least 105 people had been killed and more than 500 injured."

"9/11 Report Says Saudi Arabia Links Went Unexamined" (David Johnston and James Risen, The New York Times, 2002/11/23)
"A draft report by the joint Congressional committee looking into the Sept. 11 attacks has concluded that the F.B.I. and the C.I.A, in their investigations, did not aggressively pursue leads that might have linked the terrorists to Saudi Arabia, senior government officials said today. The report charged among other things that the authorities had failed to investigate the possibility that two of the hijackers, Saudis named Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhazmi, received Saudi money from two Saudi men they met with in California in the year before the attacks."

"Miss World gala faces collapse as riots spread" (Dan Isaacs et al., The Daily Telegraph, 2002/11/23)
Beauty and the beast VII. President Obasanjo blames the killings on "irresponsible journalism": "The violent protests sparked by the Miss World competition in Nigeria threatened to involve the contestants last night as mobs of protesters tried to storm their hotels in the capital, Abuja. ... Mobs set up barricades of burning tyres and planks and headed towards Abuja's up-market hotels screaming opposition to the gala which they claimed to be offensive under Islam. Passers-by were attacked with machetes and clubs. ... President Olusegun Obasanjo blamed "irresponsible journalism" for the killings in Kaduna, where Muslim mobs protested against a newspaper's suggestion that the Prophet Mohammed might have taken a contestant as a wife. The editor, Simon Kolawole, and a writer, Isioma Daniel, were arrested."

Friday, November 22, 2002

News and commentary:

"Nigerian Miss World show cancelled" (BBC News, 2002/11/22)
Beauty and the beast VI: "The Miss World contest is moving to London from Nigeria after riots by Muslim youths opposed to the show left more than 100 people dead in the city of Kaduna. The pageant's organisers said the show would be held in London on 7 December instead of the Nigerian capital, Abuja. ... In a statement, the pageant organisers said the change of venue was in the 'overall interests of Nigeria and the contestants.'"

"Nigeria riots spread to capital" (BBC News, 2002/11/22)
Beauty and the beast V: "Hundreds of Muslim youths have gone on the rampage in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, following Friday prayers. The BBC's Haruna Bahago in Abuja says people armed with sticks, daggers and knives set fire to vehicles and attacked anyone they suspected of being Christian. ... Our correspondent in Abuja says that many people suffered either knife wounds or beatings and the rioters were advancing on the city's central market. He was himself surrounded by a group of angry Muslim radicals, who suspected he was Christian and had to shout "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) until they let him go. The riots began at Abuja's central mosque, a short distance from the hotel where the Miss World contestants are staying amid tight security." (Note: Stella Din, spokeswoman for Miss World 2002, actually blames the carnage on "irresponsible journalism": "We regret these incidents, but this is not the fault of Miss World. It is the result of irresponsible journalism," Din, the spokeswoman, said. 'The show definitely will go on.'" ("100 Killed in Nigeria Riots Triggered by Miss World Pageant" (Glenn McKenzie, AP/The New York Times, 2002/11/22))

"Main Bali Suspect Confesses Blast Role" (Heru Asprihanto, Reuters/ABC News, 2002/11/22)
"Indonesia's police chief said on Friday a man suspected of being the mastermind of last month's Bali bombings has confessed to planning the blasts. Besides the bombings in Bali, National Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar said the suspect, Imam Samudra, had admitted he was involved in church bombings in another part of Indonesia in 2000 and a blast at a Jakarta shopping mall in 2001. ... In Jakarta on Friday, police said the total number of perpetrators was 12, including one suicide bomber, and they had worked in two teams. Last week police said seven Indonesians carried out the blasts. "There were two groups that carried out the bombings. Amrozi's group consisting of seven and the Banten group consisting of five," said Commissioner General Erwin Mappaseng referring to the first arrested suspect and the area where Samudra was caught. "The blast in Paddy's was performed by Iqbal who died on the site...(it) was a suicide bomb. Imam Samudra called it a 'holy bomb'," chief of the police criminal investigation division, Mappaseng, told a news conference."

"PM on aide: She calls me a moron, too" (Louise Elliott, Canadian Press, 2002/11/22)
"Prime Minister Jean Chrétien refused today to accept the resignation of his embattled communications director, Francoise Ducros, over her alleged remark that U.S. President George W. Bush is a "moron." Chrétien said Ducros had apologized to him for the furor sparked by a conversation she had with a journalist at the NATO summit in Prague. ... Ducros, who did not appear at the news conference in Prague, told Chrétien she couldn't recall whether she made the remark but acknowledged she frequently uses the word "moron," Chrétien said. "I know her very well," the prime minister told reporters. 'She may have used that word against me a few times and I am sure she used it against you many times. It's a word she uses regularly.'"

"America's Secret Weapon In The War On Terror: Americans" (Jonathan Rauch, National Journal, 2002/11/22)
"The jihadists of militant Islam are reported to believe that as they toppled the Soviet colossus, so, in time, they can topple the American one. What they do not understand is that the Soviet state made war on civil society for most of its 70-year rule. Americans, meanwhile, have nurtured their churches, charities, and clubs. The Soviet Union fell because it was brittle as well as brutal. America, with its countless nodes of activity and authority, is somewhat more vulnerable than the USSR, but it is infinitely more robust. More robust than Al Qaeda realizes. More robust, even, than many Americans realize."

"America, Islam and the Iraqi Threat" (Paul Wolfowitz, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/11/22)
A transcript of a speech made by the Deputy Secretary of Defense: "We hear a lot of talk about the root causes of terrorism. And some people seem to suggest that poverty is the root cause of terrorism. It's a little hard to look at a billionaire named Osama bin Laden and think that poverty drove him to it. Nor was that the case for Ayman al-Zawahiri who comes from one of the most prominent, distinguished families in Egypt. But it would be putting our heads in the sand to say there isn't something quite substantially Islamic about the form of terrorism that we're confronting today. And I think in important ways the war against terrorism is a war for the soul of the Muslim world. ... Do the pessimists really believe that the only way to preserve what they call "stability" in one of the most important countries of the Arab world is to preserve indefinitely the rule of one of the world's most despotic tyrants? ... That regime has turned Iraq, one of the potentially richest countries in the Middle East, into the most savage kind of prison. But as we have seen in Afghanistan when the yoke of terrorism is removed people use their newfound freedom to build a better future for themselves and for their children. And there is no question in my mind if it comes to that we will not only have removed another haven for terrorists and made our country safer, we will also have made a significant step forward in helping the Muslim world to build a better future for themselves and for all of us."

"Muslim activist won't apologize to evangelists" (Larry Witham, The Washington Times, 2002/11/22)
"The spokesman for a prominent U.S. Muslim group, who regularly demands contrition from critics of Islam, will not apologize for comparing some conservative evangelical leaders to Osama bin Laden and saying they would kill Muslims given the chance. Ibrahim Hooper of the activist Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) stood by his argument that the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Rev. Pat Robertson, evangelist Jimmy Swaggart and the Rev. Franklin Graham are "equivalent" to bin Laden in wanting to divide the world into a religious war. ...
Mr. Hooper said his original comment about the evangelical leaders was provoked in an interview with a conservative New York radio show last week. Under questioning by WABC radio's Steve Malzberg, Mr. Hooper said evangelical critics wanted to spark a religious war. When Mr. Malzberg asked whether the Christian leaders would kill Muslims as bin Laden urges Muslims to kill Jews and Christians, Mr. Hooper said: 'Given the right circumstance, these guys would do the same in the opposite direction.'"

"Bethlehem withdrawal agreement 'null and void'" (Herb Keinon, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/22)
"August's "Bethlehem first" understanding, in which the IDF pulled back from the city in exchange for assurances of quiet, is now "null and void," a senior Defense Ministry official said Thursday night. ...
According to the official, Mofaz said from now on Bethlehem will be treated no differently from other West Bank cities that have turned into hotbeds of terrorism. The suicide bomber came from the Bethlehem area. "Ever since we left Bethlehem, the city has turned into a refuge for terrorists," the official said. 'Terrorist nests have sprouted up in Bethlehem. Three days ago we stopped a suicide bomber coming from Bethlehem. Yesterday, we stopped another one; today we didn't have the same success.'" (See also: "Eleven dead, 50 wounded in suicide bus attack in Jerusalem" (The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/21))

"NATO backs disarming Iraq" (Bill Sammon, The Washington Times, 2002/11/22)
"NATO yesterday pledged its "full support" for the U.S.-led effort to disarm Saddam Hussein, giving President Bush new momentum to take action against Iraq "with our close friends." "We deplore Iraq's failure to comply fully with its obligations," said the leaders of all 19 NATO nations, including Germany, which nonetheless declined to pledge troops to the effort. The leaders issued a joint statement expressing strong support for a recent U.N. Security Council resolution that calls on the Iraqi leader to disarm or face the wrath of the international community."

"A Major Suspect in Qaeda Attacks Is in U.S. Custody" (Philip Shenon, The New York Times, 2002/11/22)
"A senior leader of Al Qaeda described as its chief of operations in the Persian Gulf has been captured, American officials said today. The suspect, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was also described by officials as a pivotal planner of the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa and the October 2000 attack on the American destroyer Cole. A Saudi in his mid-30's who reportedly worked at Osama bin Laden's side for more than a decade, Mr. Nashiri would be the highest-ranking Qaeda operative taken into custody since the arrest last March of Abu Zubaydah, who is described as the terror network's No. 3 official. The American officials said that Mr. Nashiri was captured earlier this month at an airport in a foreign country, and that he had been surprisingly cooperative in his initial questioning at an American-run interrogation center elsewhere overseas."

Thursday, November 21, 2002

News and commentary:

"Anti-US Sentiment Rises in Lebanon Over 'Terror' War" (Reuters/FLAYM, 2002/11/21)
"An image of the Statue of Liberty, her face a hollow-eyed skull and the folds of her gown dripping in blood, rises on Hizbollah's al-Manar television. A list of episodes in the history of U.S. military intervention abroad -- from Hiroshima to Somalia, Vietnam and Lebanon itself -- scrolls across the screen as images of nuclear war and bloody massacres flash in the background. "It (the United States) has interfered in the affairs of most of the world's countries," a caption reads. "The U.S. owes blood to all humanity." ...
"In all my life, I've never seen the level of arrogance that I see from the Americans,... killing people and destroying them. And above all this, they expect obedience," said Zeina, 27. "They think they are God's chosen people." "What is your nationality? I am Palestinian and I want to know why the Americans love and support the Jews?" one Beirut taxi driver asked a Western patron. 'Get out of my car.'"

"An Apology to All Muslims..." (ThisDay, 2002/11/22)
Beauty and the beast IV: "With all sense of responsibility, sensitivity and respect for all Muslims, the staff, management, editors and Board of THISDAY Newspapers apologise for the great editorial error in last Saturday's edition on Miss World Beauty Pageant. We are sorry that the portrayal of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW) in a commentary written by one of our staff was not only unjustified, but utterly provocative. ... We recognise the gravity of this error, and we have handled it with all the seriousness it deserves, including very strong disciplinary measures for those who failed in their duties."

"50 Killed Over Miss World Article" (Glenn McKenzie, AP/Yahoo News, 2002/11/21)
Beauty and the beast III: "Angry mobs stabbed and set fire to bystanders Thursday in rioting that erupted after a newspaper suggested Islam's founding prophet would have approved of the Miss World beauty pageant. At least 50 people were killed and 200 injured. ... "A lot of people died. We don't know yet exactly how many ... more than 50," said Emmanuel Ijewere, the president of the Nigerian Red Cross. ... Street demonstrations began Wednesday with the burning of an office of ThisDay newspaper in Kaduna after it published an article questioning Muslim groups that have condemned the Miss World pageant, to be held Dec. 7 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. ...
In Thursday's rioting, more than 50 people were stabbed, bludgeoned or burned to death and 200 were seriously injured, Ijewere told The Associated Press. At least four churches were destroyed, he said. Many of the bodies were taken by Red Cross workers and other volunteers to local mortuaries. Many people remained inside homes that were set afire by the demonstrators, Ijewere said. ... Shehu Sani of the Kaduna-based Civil Rights Congress said he watched a crowd stab one young man, then force a tire filled with gasoline around his neck and burn him alive. Sani said he saw three other bodies elsewhere in the city. Alsa Hassan, founder of another human rights group, Alsa Care, said he saw a commuter being dragged out of his car and beaten to death by protesters. Schools and shops hurriedly closed as hordes of young men, shouting "Allahu Akhbar," or "God is great," ignited makeshift street barricades made of tires and garbage, sending plumes of black smoke rising above the city. Others were heard chanting, "Down with beauty" and 'Miss World is sin.'" (See also: "Miss World and a prophet claim leads to arson" (Irish Examiner, 2002/11/20))

"American Missionary Shot Dead in Lebanon" (Cynthia Johnston, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2002/11/21)
"A suspected Islamist gunman shot dead an American woman missionary with three bullets to the head at a church clinic in southern Lebanon on Thursday, security officials and aid workers said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but aid workers said the evangelical church center that runs the clinic for pregnant women had received warnings from anti-American Lebanese Muslim groups demanding it leave Lebanon. ... A friend of Weatherall's said she arrived in Lebanon nearly two years ago and had helped pregnant Lebanese and Palestinian women from the nearby Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. "She loved her work. She helped pregnant women. She went with some of them to their deliveries to support them and she talked to them and helped them," said Asa Bjork from Sweden."

"Bomb mastermind held" (Matthew Moore, Sydney Morning Herald, 2002/11/22)
"Indonesian police last night arrested Imam Samudra, alleged mastermind of the Bali bombing which killed nearly 200 people. The national police chief, Da'i Bachtiar, announced: "I just have received reports from the investigation team ... it has arrested three people and Imam Samudra was one of them." Samudra, 35, an Afghan-trained militant with alleged links to the Jemaah Islamiah terror group, was detained in the port town of Merak in Banten province near the capital, Jakarta. He is said to have planned the October 12 attack and helped build the bombs that blew up outside the Sari Club and Paddy's bar. Samudra's arrest comes more than two weeks after police arrested Amrozi, the so-called smiling assassin, who has named the other suspects and detailed the bombing plot."

"'The minarets are our bayonets'" (Owen Matthews, The Spectator, from the 2002/11/23 issue)
Matthews argues that the Islamist election victor in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, might "prove to be a good thing": "Conscious that the world is waiting for him to burn Uncle Sam in effigy, chop off some thieves' hands or do something similarly Islamo-fascistic, Erdogan is in reassurance mode. 'First of all, our party is not an Islamic party, however the Turkish media tried to place us in that category,' says Erdogan, sitting in his office in the AK party’s swish new Ankara headquarters. 'Islam is a religion, and a party is a political institution. Parties can make mistakes but religion cannot.' And how about that hidden agenda to undermine the secular state? 'Never. Our party views secularism as an important segment of our democracy. Together with democracy, secularism is the basis of the Turkish state.... We respect that, and if we did not we would lose our support immediately.' ...
All the touchiest 'Islamist' issues - such as lifting the ban on wearing headscarves in state institutions and schools, building a mosque on Istanbul’s Taxim Square - are on the back-burner, says Erdogan, until 'consensus' can be achieved. Read: we'll play it by ear. And let's be realistic: what passes for radical Islamism in Turkey would be considered moderation in the Middle East, or for that matter in much of north London. ...
No matter; a dose of glasnost is what Turkey needs if it is to become a mature society with a responsible political class - one which doesn’t rely on the army to come in, periodically, and knock heads together, as it has done four times in the last four decades. The establishment's phobia of any expression of religion needs to be defused, too, if Turkey is to grow up from military dictatorship to functional democracy. Erdogan may be just the man to do it, if only because he seems honest."

"World War IV" (R. James Woolsey, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/11/21)
A transcript of a speech made by the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: "This is going to be a long war, very long indeed. I hope not as long as the Cold War, 40 plus years, but certainly longer than either World War I or World War II. I rather imagine it's going to be measured, I'm afraid, in decades. ... I don't believe this terror war is ever really going to go away until we change the face of the Middle East. Now, that is a tall order. But, it's not as tall an order as what we have already done. In 1917, Europe was largely monarchies, empires, and autocracies. Today, outside Belarus and Ukraine, it is largely democratic, even including Russia. ... This will take time. It will be difficult. But I think we need to say to both the terrorists and the dictators and also to the autocrats who from time to time are friendly with us, that we know, we understand we are going to make you nervous. We want you to be nervous. We want you to realize now for the fourth time in 100 years, this country is on the march and we are on the side of those whom you most fear, your own people."

"Slouching Toward Ramallah" (Jon B. Alterman, The Wall Street Journal, 2002/11/21)
"But a funny thing happened on the way to the Arab media bazaar. Rather than contribute to a public debate on the ills of the Arab world, Arab media have concentrated much more on the ills of the non-Arab world. Rather than help Arab publics articulate their grievances toward their governments, they have nurtured Arab grievances against other governments. Arab media have gone a long way toward building solidarity among Arabs, but, to an extraordinary degree, that solidarity is treated as an end in itself rather than as a means to achieve some other goals. There are reasons why this is so. The first and most obvious is the overwhelming dominance of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the media. The uprising that began in September 2000 remains front-and-center in most news reports, and during times of crisis dominates the public consciousness like a never-ending O.J. trial. ... It would be one thing if intifada coverage were directed toward generating support for the Palestinian cause. But instead, it seems directed toward promoting a sense of anger and alienation to the outside world. As one Palestinian complained to me, 'The Arabs are willing to fight the Israelis to the last Palestinian.'"

"Campus Anti-Semitism Watch" (Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish, 2002/11/21)
"The Lebanon Daily Star reports on the comments of one Hisham Sharabi, a professor of Arab Culture at Georgetown University. He was speaking at Balamand University. His view: "Jews are getting ready to take control of us and the Americans have entered the region to possess the oil resources and redraw the geopolitical map of the Arab world ... However, in the long run, neither the Jews nor Americans will be able to subdue us for we are not (Native Americans)." This anti-American Jew-hater is on the faculty of a major American university. One question: why?" (See also: "US-based professor claims Jews want to control Arab world" (Maha Al-Azar, The Daily Star, 2002/11/20))

"Suicide bomber's father proud of his son" (The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/21)
"The father of the suicide bus bomber who took 11 lives and wounded 50 in Jerusalem Thursday morning has nothing but praise for his son. Police identified the bomber as Nael Abu Hilail, 23, from Bethlehem. Abu Hilail's father, Azmi, said he was pleased with his son. "Our religion says we are proud of him until the day of resurrection," Abu Hilail said. "This is a challenge to the Zionist enemies." Several of Nael Abu Hilail's friends said he was a supporter of the Islamic Jihad group. However, the Al Jazeera and Al Manar TV stations reported that Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, claimed responsibility."

"Eleven dead, 50 wounded in suicide bus attack in Jerusalem" (The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/21)
"A suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt packed with nuts and bolts blew himself up Thursday on a bus full of high school students on their way to classes in Jerusalem's Kiryat Menachem neighborhood, killing 11 people and wounding 50. One of the dead was a 13-year-old girl, and many of the wounded were teenagers, media reports said. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, and Israeli officials said the terrorist came from Bethlehem, which raised the possibility Israel might retake the West Bank town from which it withdrew in August. ...
The bomber got on bus No. 20 two or three stops before blowing himself up at 7:10 a.m. local time.The blast occurred just before the bus was set to make its last stop in Kiryat Menachem on Mexico Street, and head to the center of town. Officials said the medium-sized explosives belt was packed with nuts and bolts to maximize the damage, and that it was detonated in the center of the bus."

"Two die in attack on school bus in Gaza" (Alan Philps, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/11/21)
"Israeli helicopters bombarded Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip last night after shrapnel from a roadside bomb hit a school bus, killing two women teachers and injuring nine other people, including five children. ...
Three of the wounded were children aged seven, eight and 12 from the Cohen family, residents of the isolated Kfar Darom Jewish settlement in the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip. They each lost parts of their arms or legs in the blast. A fourth Cohen child missed the bus and was at home. A mother and child also both lost their legs. ...
The bomb blew up at 7.40 am as an armoured bus, escorted by the Israeli army, was taking children, teachers and some parents to school along a military-controlled road through the heart of the Gaza Strip. The bomb was a 155 mm artillery shell with a remote-controlled detonator. It exploded some distance from the bus, but large pieces of shrapnel tore into the side of the vehicle, striking the passengers mainly in the lower half of the body."

"Bush says Saddam has 17 days left to decide his fate" (Roland Watson, The Times, 2002/11/21)
"President Bush said yesterday that President Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship would enter its "final stage"if he does not declare his banned weapons of mass destruction within 17 days. Delivering his starkest warning yet as he sought to enlist Nato’s support for a looming war with Iraq, Mr Bush said that Saddam would be inviting military action if he continued to deny his "arsenal of terror". "Should he again deny that this arsenal exists, he will have entered his final stage with a lie. And deception this time will not be tolerated. Delay and defiance will invite the severest consequences," Mr Bush said. ... Mr Bush said: 'One thing is certain, he’ll be disarmed, one way or the other.'" (See also: "President Bush Previews Historic NATO Summit in Prague Speech" (George W. Bush, The White House, 2002/11/20))

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

News and commentary:

"Moslems protest Miss Worldcontest, torch Thisday office" (Saxone Akhaine, The Guardian, 2002/11/21)
Beauty and the beast II: "The protesters chanting Allah Akbar (Allah is the greatest) also passed a Fatwa (death sentence) on the publisher of ThisDay, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena and the Editor, Mr. Eniola Bello for alleged blasphemy of Prophet Mohammed in a recent publication. ... "But with a blasphemous article that appeared in one of the recent publications of ThisDay, the government needs to cancel the contest for the sake of corporate survival. Let it be unequivocally stated here that Prophet Mohammed forms the chunk of passion of a conscious Moslem that any insult on the Prophet's personality unleashes the rage in the Moslem. That is why a portion of the satanic article in ThisDay of November 16, 2002 has dared the guts of the Moslems," the statement [from the Council of Imams and Ulama, Kaduna State chapter ] added. ...
An Islamic leader, Dr. Mohammed Mahdi who came to the scene of the inferno, praised those who carried out the operation, saying that "the Moslems in the country have been pushed to the wall and it is high time we reacted vehemently and swiftly". He disclosed that the Moslem Umma had given the Federal Government a seven day ultimatum to call the publisher and the editor to order to prevent the death sentence passed on them from being executed. Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN) President, Dr. Ibrahim Datti, who reacted to the publication said that the newspaper had declared war against Islam and Moslems should, therefore, wage same against it."

"Miss World and a prophet claim leads to arson" (Irish Examiner, 2002/11/20)
Beauty and the beast I: "Rioters burned down a Nigerian newspaper office today in protest at an article suggesting the Prophet Muhammad might have favoured marrying a contestant in the Miss World beauty contest. The local editorial and circulation office of the daily ThisDay in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna was destroyed in the fire, lit by a mob of angry Muslim demonstrators, police said. Nobody was in the building when the mob attacked, said ThisDay editor Eniola Bello. ... The offending article called The World at Their Feet questioned why some Muslim groups condemn the pageant, which is being held on December 8 in the capital, Abuja, on the grounds it promotes sexual promiscuity and indecency. "The Muslims thought it was immoral to bring ninety-two women to Nigeria and ask them to revel in vanity. What would Muhammad think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from among them," wrote the article's author, Isioma Daniel. ... Yesterday, ThisDay carried a brief front page editor's note apologising for 'portions that may be considered offensive to our Muslim brothers.'" (Note: Isioma Daniel's article is down, but a plain text copy of it can be found here: "Miss world 2002: The World at their Feet..." (Isioma Daniel, ThisDay/zem, 2002/11/16))

"Pro-hunting writer held in cell after race claims" (Neil Tweedie, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/11/20)
Where's the outrage against the European vogue for absurd "hate speech" laws? In Sweden, a new law will actually outlaw passages in the Bible and the Quran, as they contain anti-homosexual sentiments. Publishing the Bible in the future would be criminal, as those passages falls within the law. In France, Michel Houellebecq and Oriana Fallaci are put on trial. And now this: "Robin Page, a columnist for The Telegraph, has been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred after making a speech at a pro-hunting rally. ...
Mr Page, 61, was detained in a police cell after being interviewed about remarks made by him at a country fair at Frampton-upon-Severn, Glos, on Sept 6. Yesterday, he vehemently denied having made any comment that could be construed as racist during the address, in which he encouraged his audience to attend the Liberty and Livelihood March in London later that month. ...
Mr Page said yesterday: "I urged people to go on the march and I urged that the rural minority be given the same legal protection as other minorities. All I said was that the rural minority should have the same rights as blacks, Muslims and gays. 'What is wrong with that in a multicultural society? I said nothing that could possibly be interpreted as racist.'" (Note: The Swedish law has been criticized by Madeleine Leijonhufvud, a distinguished professor of jurisprudence: "Riksdagen [the Swedish Parliament] has passed a resolution which makes it an open question if it will be possible to publish the Bible and the Quran uncensored in the future. ... As the resolution now stands - dormant until a second, identical resolution is passed after the election - the law forbids continued publishing of the Bible." [my transl.] For the original article in Swedish, see also: "Risk att Bibeln blir stoppad" (Madeleine Leijonhufvud, Dagens Nyheter, 2002/11/05))

"French court rejects popular anti-Islam book ban" (Reuters/alertnet.org, 2002/11/20)
Freedom of speech saved by a formality: "PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A French court on Wednesday threw out on a formality a bid by anti-racist groups to ban a controversial book by Italian writer Oriana Fallaci criticising Islamic fundamentalism after last year's September 11 attacks.
The book, which has become a top seller in Italy as "La rabbia e l'orgoglio" ("Rage and Pride") and has sold thousands of copies in France since its release in May, has been accused of being racist after a weekly magazine published some extracts.
The book contains a number of provocative statements, such as a claim that Western civilisation is superior to Islamic society and that Muslim immigrants in the West had "multiplied like rats". ...
The court threw out the bid by French anti-racist group Mrap because of a procedural error in the summons destined for Fallaci, 72, who lives in New York and did not appear in court for the duration of the case.
Anti-racist group LICRA and the Human Rights League were also represented in court. The court threw out on the same grounds their bid to fine the book's French publisher, Plon, and force booksellers to sell the tome with a warning attached." (See also: "Fallaci goes on trial for anti-Muslim book" (Elizabeth Bryant, UPI, 2002/10/09))

"Anti-Semitic TV Star Vows More Shows" (Maggie Michael, AP/Yahoo! News, 2002/11/20)
"The star of an Egyptian television series based in part on an anti-Semitic work drew cheers and applause Wednesday when he vowed to produce similar programs despite criticism from home and abroad. Actor Mohammed Sobhi co-wrote and stars in "Horseman without a Horse," a six-week series that explores the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," a known 19th century forgery that depicts a secret plot by Jewish leaders to take over the world. Sobhi, who also co-produced the series, told a crowd at the opening of a new cultural center that if the production "terrified Zionists, we will produce more series." ... "It honors me very much that I was capable of revealing the great conspiracy aimed at swallowing our beloved nation," Sobhi said. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, in the first domestic criticism, said Monday that free expression "should not be abused to ... incite hatred" and urged that the show begin with an acknowledgment that the Protocols are forged. Sobhi dismissed the group, the country's best-known rights organization, as a 'Zionist organization conspiring against Egypt.'" (See also: "Egypt TV series 'needs anti-Jew warning'" (Magdi Abdelhadi, BBC News, 2002/11/19))

"Arab Press Debates Antisemitic Egyptian Series 'Knight Without a Horse' - Part II" (MEMRI, Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 113, 2002/11/20)
"The Egyptian press has emerged largely in favor of the series. An editorial titled "No to Ideological Terrorism," which appeared in the government daily Al-Akhbar, declared: ..."The most important question is: in practice, doesn't Zionism seek to take over the world with money, murder, sex, and the [other] most despicable of means, primarily in our generation?" ... In the same issue of Al-Akhbar was an article authored by Fatma Abdallah Mahmoud, who in April 2002 published an article castigating Hitler for not finishing the job of annihilating the Jews. Mahmoud wrote: "Those murderers [the Jews], the slaughterers, the war criminals, the blood-letters, the enemies of all mankind… never stop playing their worn-out record, the same lame charge and the same discordant tune not based on any foundation of truth – that we are antisemites!! ... The unshakable truth is that the 'Sons of Zion' are the antisemites and the enemies of all humanity… What incriminates them more than anything else, and charges them with antisemitism and enmity towards humanity is the [book]… [that is] satanic in its blood and loathsome in its baseness, called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion!!… The book of protocols drips poison and hatred towards every non-Jew who lives on the face of the earth!!…" Mahmoud's article continues, citing excerpts from the Protocols." (See also: "Arab Press Debates Antisemitic Egyptian Series 'A Knight Without a Horse'" (MEMRI, Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 109, 2002/11/08). For Mahmoud's article "castigating Hitler for not finishing the job of annihilating the Jews", see: "Columnist for Egyptian Government Daily to Hitler: 'If Only You Had Done It, Brother'" (MEMRI, SD# 375, 2002/05/02))

"Islam's Wretched Record on Slavery" (Serge Trifkovic, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/11/20)
"As the recent campaign for reparations has shown, the West is still being taken to task for the fact that it used to permit slavery. But in fact the West, rather than being the origin of slavery in the world, is in fact the only civilization to have created from within itself a successful movement to abolish it. Other civilizations, like Islamic civilization, have not yet achieved this. To this day, the principal places in the world where one can buy a slave for ready cash are Moslem countries. ... Contrary to the myth that Islam is a religion free from racial prejudice, slavery in the Moslem world has been, and remains, brutally racist in character. To find truly endemic, open, raw anti-Black racism and slavery today one needs to go to the two Islamic Republics in Africa: Mauritania and Sudan. Black people have been enslaved on such a scale that the term black has become synonymous with slave." (See also: "The Golden Age of Islam is a Myth" (Serge Trifkovic, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/11/15))

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

News and commentary:

"Video reveals Ujaama's vision for Islamic state" (Ray Rivera, The Seattle Times, 2002/11/19)
"Seattle terrorism suspect James Ujaama envisioned a perfect Islamic state, where believers could live separately from Christians and Jews, attend military training camps, and where homosexuality and pornography would be outlawed. The place: Afghanistan. "There are many Muslims who have forgotten that the Jews and Christians are our enemies," Ujaama says in a 2-½-hour video obtained by The Seattle Times, small portions of which were recently revealed on the Internet. The video, shot sometime before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, gives the first public glimpse into Ujaama's beliefs as told in his own words, and tells of at least one of his trips to Afghanistan. ...
"This conference is for the benefit of those who are fed up with life here among the kafir (nonbelievers), and fed up with supporting the kafir, and who want to (move away from) the kafir," Ujaama says. "Because when you're walking down the street and you see billboards that are full of nudity, how can you have a happy life, with this type of glorified prostitution and where they legalize homosexuality." ...
Ujaama says that on his own visit to Afghanistan he witnessed a society free of the obscenities of the West. "I make no compromise and do not apologize whatsoever that I have been in Afghanistan and saw Islam being implemented there, and what I saw I liked," he says. Afghanistan, he says, 'is the only country in the world to have shariah (God's revealed law), therefore it is compulsory for all Muslims to help Afghanistan and (visit or settle there).'" (See also: "Feds Arrest Al Qaeda Suspects With Plans to Poison Water Supplies" (Carl Cameron, Fox News, 2002/07/30))

"Not So Mad in Madison" (James Taranto, The Wall Street Journal/Best of the Web Today, 2002/11/19)
"But while political correctness may be fading among college students, there are still a lot of insane faculty members, such as Frank Stahl, a geneticist at the University of Oregon. The Eugene Weekly reports Stahl is pushing the faculty senate to pass a resolution opposed to regime change in Iraq, though the university's president, Dave Frohnmayer, opposes the effort. Stahl seems to be suffering from hallucinations: The nation is faced with "a fascist takeover of the American government," Stahl says. The Bush administration is colluding with corporations to use the war to hold its grip on power, Stahl says. "It's a way to keep the citizenry repressed," he says. ... Stahl says an anti-war vote could cost the UO support in the Republican state Legislature and from corporations. But he says such considerations shouldn't matter. "It mattered to the German universities, that's why they shut up when their Jews were murdered [in World War II]," Stahl says." (See also: "War on Campus" (Alan Pittman, Eugene Weekly, 2002/11/14))

"A Last Stand by the Jews in Egypt" (David Lamb, Los Angeles Times, 2002/11/19)
"From scores of mosques, the muezzins' calls to prayer rumble through Cairo likes claps of thunder. But inside the synagogue on Adly Street, behind a wrought iron fence and heavy wooden doors, an old woman named Iman hardly seems to hear them as she dusts mahogany benches and polishes the granite entryway. She works hurriedly even though she knows no one will be coming to pray today. People rarely do. ... "It's only funerals now," she said, sighing. Still, as the volunteer caretaker, she wants everything spotless because responsibility comes with being one of Egypt's last Jews. Today fewer than 200 Egyptian Jews remain, and only a dozen or so - all elderly women - are actively trying to save the nation's Jewish history. Soon the community, which once numbered 150,000 here in the capital alone and dates to the last years of the pharaohs, will fade away."

"Egypt TV series 'needs anti-Jew warning'" (Magdi Abdelhadi, BBC News, 2002/11/19)
"In the first domestic criticism of its kind, an Egyptian human rights group has rebuked the state broadcasting authority for showing a television series widely criticised as anti-Semitic. The Egyptian Human Rights Organisation urged all Arab television channels showing the series, Horseman without a Horse, to broadcast a warning that it contained lies about Jews. The television series has been appearing on both Egyptian and other Arab channels for the past two weeks, despite protests from Jewish groups and the United States. The head of the human rights group, Hafez Abu Seida, told the BBC that spreading views hostile to Jews breeds hatred which in turn causes bloodshed." (See also: "Storm over 'Elders of Zion' Anti-Semitic series on Egypt TV stirs outrage" (Ashraf Khalil, San Francisco Chronicle, 2002/10/31) and "Anti-Semitic 'Elders of Zion' Gets New Life on Egypt TV" (Daniel J. Wakin, The New York Times, 2002/10/26))

"Thousands Attend Funeral of Pakistani Executed for Killings of CIA Employees" (AP/FOX News, 2002/11/19)
In the real world he was a fanatical murderer. In the bizarro world of militant Islamism he is a honoured as a martyr: "Thousands of people packed a soccer stadium on Tuesday for the funeral of Aimal Kasi, a Pakistani man executed in Virginia last week for the 1993 murders of two CIA employees. Heavily armed police were on hand amid fears of an anti-American backlash. As Kasi's body, draped in green cloth and sprinkled with flower petals, was brought into the stadium, an Islamic cleric began reciting verses from the Quran. About 20,000 people crowded the arena, and hundreds more were arriving by the minute. Many pushed forward to catch a glimpse of Kasi's face. Black flags fluttered atop the stadium, and loudspeakers crackled with the cleric's sermon. "Aimal Kasi was martyred by the imperialist America," said the cleric, Hussain Ahmed Sherodi. "Aimal Kasi's martyrdom has united Muslims against the United States." ... Kasi was executed by lethal injection by the state of Virginia on Nov. 14 for the 1993 murders of two CIA employees - communications worker Frank Darling, 28, and CIA analyst and physician Lansing Bennett, 66 - as they sat in their cars at a stoplight."

"At the Gates, Again" (Brink Lindsey, National Review, 2002/11/19)
"Here is the gist of it: We find ourselves, once more, in that paradoxical vulnerability that our forebears suffered for more than 20 centuries. The old menace, long vanquished, has returned in new guise. We are threatened again by an enemy whose weaknesses in peace become strengths in war. Our civilization is exposed to ruin by the very sources of its greatness. After a long respite, the barbarians are at the gate again. ... We face, now and for the foreseeable future, the threat of a new barbarism. The new barbarians, like those of old, consist of groups in which every member is a potential warrior. Like their predecessors, the new barbarians rely on their ability to outmaneuver their civilized adversaries, to concentrate deadly force at vulnerable spots. But unlike the old steppe nomads, the new barbarians seek neither booty nor conquest. Our new barbarian adversaries pursue a strategy of pure and perfect nihilism: They seek destruction for destruction's sake. Their strategy, in other words, is terrorism."

"A Course of 'Confident Action'" (Bob Woodward, The Washington Post, 2002/11/19)
An interview with George W. Bush, from Woodward's book "Bush at War": "'We're never going to get people all in agreement about force and use of force,' he said in an interview. "But action - confident action that will yield positive results - provides kind of a slipstream into which reluctant nations and leaders can get behind and show themselves that there has been - you know, something positive has happened toward peace." ... But it was his vision of the broad global role he says the United States must play that seemed to reflect a change in his thinking since the world - and his presidency - was transformed by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "At this moment in history, if there is a world problem, we're expected to deal with it," the president said. "It's the price of power. It is the price of where the United States stands. We will." The problems Bush believes the United States must confront are not just strategic, but also humanitarian. ... Humanitarian concerns, he said, were also behind the necessity of confronting Iraq and North Korea. 'Clearly, there will be a strategic implication to a regime change in Iraq, if we go forward. But there's something beneath that, as far as I'm concerned - and that is, there is immense suffering. Or North Korea. Let me talk about North Korea. I loathe Kim Jong II. I've got a visceral reaction to this guy because he is starving his people.'" (See also: "Doubts and Debate Before Victory Over Taliban" (Bob Woodward, The Washington Post, 2002/11/18) and "A Struggle for the President's Heart and Mind" (Bob Woodward, The Washington Post, 2002/11/17))

"Enemies disguised as friends" (Barry Rubin, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/19)
"The simple truth is that neither radical Arab nationalism nor militant Islamism will solve the problems of the Arab world. These ideologies and maximalist demands will only ensure its continued, apparently endless entanglement in conflicts that will end in defeat. The same point is true of the current, disastrous strategy of the Palestinian leadership, which many people - even among those same leaders - privately detest. The existing system ensures that dictatorships will be perpetuated in the Arab world while they disappear elsewhere, and that these societies will fall ever more behind their counterparts in other regions. It guarantees that war, violence, terrorism and instability will prevail, and that political, economic and social progress will remain blocked. ...
How could anyone who defends this disastrous system and these catastrophic policies be considered "pro-Arab"? Is defending the existing dictatorships and apologizing for their policies doing those living under their control a favor? ...
Today we see the spectacle of academics, officials, journalists, intellectuals and others in effect telling the Arab world: Don't examine your own shortcomings; blame Israel and the US for all your problems. Don't accept the compromises you've rejected; continue to fight and sacrifice your children. With friends like this, who needs enemies?"

"Saddam already defying UN, says White House" (Toby Harnden and Anton La Guardia, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/11/19)
"The White House last night began to build its case that Saddam Hussein was already defying the United Nations. It said Iraq's repeated attempts to fire on American and British aircraft in the no-fly zones amounted to a "material breach" of the latest Security Council resolution. But Britain has not echoed Washington's comments and officials in London privately expressed concern that America could seize on Iraq's behaviour in the no-fly zones as a possible casus belli. ... During a trip to Chile, Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said: "I do find it unacceptable that Iraq fires. It is for the president of the United States and the UN Security Council to make judgments about their view of Iraq's behaviour over a period of time." However, US officials indicated that America would not go back to the UN until further violations - such as impeding the work of the inspectors."

"Al-Qaeda cells spread across Europe" (Michael Evans et al., The Times, 2002/11/19)
"Counter-terrorist operations in Britain have uncovered a "lattice network" of al-Qaeda-linked cells involved in plotting attacks throughout Europe. Arrests in Britain have produced crucial leads for further investigations by the police and intelligence services in countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The British authorities have also benefited from tip-offs from their European counterparts, underlining the links now exposed between the different cells operating across Europe. "There are no national boundaries in this lattice network of terrorist operations," one security source said. ...
Investigators have also discovered that groups operating in one European country are often making logistic arrangements for an attack in another country. Intelligence uncovered in Britain has already led to arrests in Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid. Suspected terrorist activities in other European countries have also uncovered new leads for MI5 and the police in Britain. The huge amount of material which has now been gathered by the counter-terrorist services across Europe has also pointed to strong links between al-Qaeda and the Algerian terrorist groups the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) and the GSPC (Salafist Group for Call and Combat)."

Added in archive - Video of the week:
MEMRI Video - Subtitled streaming videos compiled by the indispensible MEMRI. With chilling glimpses of the virulent anti-Semitism aired on the Arabic satellite station IQRAA TV - for example an interview with Basmallah, a 3 year old girl:
Host: Basmallah, are you familiar with the Jews?
Basmallah: Yes.
Host: Do you like them?
Basmallah: No.
Host: Why don't you like them?
Basmallah: Because...
Host: Because they are what?
Basmallah: They're apes and pigs.

Added in archive:
"Was it worth it?" (Polly Toynbee, The Guardian, 2002/11/13)
"Religion isn't nice. It kills" (Polly Toynbee, The Guardian, 2002/09/06)

Added in Author index:
Polly Toynbee

Monday, November 18, 2002

News and commentary:

"U.S.: Bin Laden Tape Recently Made" (John J. Lumpkin, AP/Yahoo! News, 2002/11/18)
"U.S. intelligence have concluded that a new audiotape of Osama bin Laden is an authentic, unaltered and recent recording of the al-Qaida leader, U.S. officials said Monday. "Intelligence experts do believe that the tape is genuine," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "And it is clear that the tape was made in the last several weeks as well." The technical analysis of the tape furnished the first proof in almost a year that bin Laden is alive. The audiotape, broadcast on the al-Jazeera Arab language television network, is what it sounds like: bin Laden himself, reading a prepared statement promising new terrorism against the United States and its allies, a U.S. intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said earlier Monday. The analysis of the tape was performed by technical experts, linguists and translators at the CIA and National Security Agency, who compared the message to previous recordings of bin Laden. While no analysis is 100-percent certain, the experts are as certain as they can be that it is genuine, the official said." (See also: "Tape: Bush 'pharoah of the century'" (CNN.com, 2002/11/12))

"UN inspectors begin Iraq mission" (BBC News, 2002/11/18)
"International inspectors have returned to Iraq for the first time in four years with a sweeping new mandate to search for weapons of mass destruction. The leader of the UN team, Hans Blix, said inspections would resume on 27 November and that he hoped the work could ease a "tense" situation. ... The 25-strong team of inspectors now in Iraq include Mohammed el-Baradei, Mr Blix's counterpart from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The advance party will hold discussions with Iraqi Government officials to pave the way for new searches, but Mr Blix has said there will be no advance warning of any site to be checked. The inspectors - whose numbers are expected to swell to 100 by the end of the year - have been instructed to report to the Security Council on their findings or any hindrance to their work. If Iraq fails to meet the UN demands, the Security Council could reconvene to discuss taking further action - even war."

"Islam's Other Victims: India" (Serge Trifkovic, FrontPageMagazine, 2002/11/18)
"The fundamental leftist and anti-American claim about our ongoing conflict with political Islam is this: whatever has happened or does happen, it's our fault. We provoked them into it by being dirty Yankee imperialists and by unkindly refusing to allow them to destroy Israel. But two things make crystal clear that this is not so:
1. The political arm of Islam has been waging terroristic holy war on the rest of the world for centuries.
2. It has waged this war against civilizations that have nothing to do with the West, let alone America.
This is why the case of Moslem aggression against India proves so much. ... In his book The Story of Civilization, famous historian Will Durant lamented the results of what he termed "probably the bloodiest story in history." He called it "a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex order and freedom can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without and multiplying from within." ... These massacres perpetrated by Moslems in India are unparalleled in history. In sheer numbers, they are bigger than the Jewish Holocaust, the Soviet Terror, the Japanese massacres of the Chinese during WWII, Mao's devastations of the Chinese peasantry, the massacres of the Armenians by the Turks, or any of the other famous crimes against humanity of the 20th Century. But sadly, they are almost unknown outside India." (See also: "Mr Greenway, please listen..." (Francois Gautier, Rediff, 2002/07/18))

"Doubts and Debate Before Victory Over Taliban" (Bob Woodward, The Washington Post, 2002/11/18)
The second excerpt from Woodward's new book, "Bush at War", about the allegations of a "quagmire" three weeks into the Afghan campaign: "Rice and the others were on edge as the administration was being murdered in the media. ... On Wednesday, Oct. 31, some war cabinet members read a news analysis by R.W. Apple Jr. of the New York Times. "Could Afghanistan become another Vietnam? Is the United States facing another stalemate on the other side of the world? Premature the questions may be, three weeks after the fighting began. Unreasonable they are not." Earlier in the week, a military analyst on "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" had leveled the unkindest cut of all, saying that Bush was practicing "the Bill Clinton approach to warfare ... thinking small." ...
To his senior staff, [Rumsfeld] had referred once to the authors and television talking heads as "K Street pundits," former government officials and hangers-on who occupied the downtown corridor of K Street that housed seemingly endless consultancies and think tanks. To Rumsfeld, K Street was a low-life refuge for those who couldn't get real jobs, or didn't have the independence of spirit to leave Washington once they were through. "Of course that's what they are saying," he had said, "they've got the attention span of gnats." The news business manufactured urgency and expectation. He was convinced that the public was more realistic, more patient." (See also: "A Struggle for the President's Heart and Mind" (Bob Woodward, The Washington Post, 2002/11/17))

"Mofaz: Gaza incursion proves PA's connection to Hamas, Islamic Jihad" (The Jerusalem Post, 2002/11/18)
"Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told reporters that last night's Gaza activities further proved the strong connection between The Palestinian Authority Preventative Security and the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, Israel Radio reported. Early Monday, IDF helicopters and tanks hit Gaza City, targeting a main Palestinian security compound. The helicopters fired missiles at the headquarters of Preventive Security, the main official Palestinian force, and tanks and soldiers moved in, shelling buildings and setting fires. Two Palestinian security officers and a TV cameraman working for Reuters news agency were lightly injured, doctors said. No other casualties were reported. The army said the offices were used to make weapons. An explosives laboratory, welding equipment, weapons, ammunition and a missile were found in the headquarters, the army said in a release."

"Baghdad warns that a US strike will lead it to hit back at Israel" (Paul Waugh, Independent, 2002/11/18)
"Tariq Aziz, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, gave his clearest warning yet yesterday that Baghdad would launch strikes against Israel if it was attacked by Britain and America. ... His remarks followed a prediction by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, that Saddam Hussein would be "making the mistake of his life" if he failed to comply with the latest UN resolution on disarmament. Interviewed on ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, Mr Aziz said that any military action against Iraq would endanger not just Britain and America but also their allies such as Israel."

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"When people accept futility and the absurd as normal, the culture is decadent. The term is not a slur; it is a technical label."

Jacques Barzun

Articles of the week

"Losing the Enlightenment" (Victor Davis Hanson, OpinionJournal, 2006/11/29)

"Allah’s England?" (Daniel Johnson, Commentary. November 2006)

"'Sex in the Park': The latest doings of the Danish imams" (Henrik Bering, The Weekly Standard, 2006/11/18)

"Narcissism on Stilts" (Harold Evans, New York Sun, 2006/11/16)

"Terrorists are recruiting in our schools, says MI5 boss" (Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph, 2006/11/10)

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From the archives

Oriana Fallaci, R.I.P.

"The Rage, the Pride and the Doubt" (Oriana Fallaci, The Wall Street Journal, 2003/03/13)

"How the West Was Won and How It Will Be Lost" (Oriana Fallaci, The American Enterprise, from the January/February 2003 issue)

"On Jew-hatred in Europe" (Oriana Fallaci, dennisprager.com, 2002/04/13)

"Anger and Pride" (Oriana Fallaci, dennisprager.com, 2001/12/19)

Weekly archive

2006/12/04 - 2006/12/10
2006/11/27 - 2006/12/03
2006/11/20 - 2006/11/26
2006/11/13 - 2006/11/19
2006/11/06 - 2006/11/12
2006/10/30 - 2006/11/05

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› Ajami, Fouad - Johnson, Paul
› Kagan, Robert - Ye'or, Bat



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