Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts

Monday, February 19, 2024

An imam in Belgium recited antisemitic verses from the koran at the parliament

In Belgium, which is already long its own hellhole of Islamofascism, an imam at the parliament incited against Israel:
An Imam at the Belgian parliament last week began reciting a verse from the Quran that explicitly calls on Muslims to kill and take Jews captive.

The Quran excerpt is verse 33:26 from the Al-Ahzab Surah (chapter). It translates to, “And He brought down those from the People of the Book who supported the enemy alliance from their own strongholds, and cast horror into their hearts. You ‘believers’ killed some, and took others captive.”


Within the Quran, Jews are referred to as the “People of the Book.”

The event on Tuesday was not organized by the parliament, but rather at the initiative of Hasan Koyuncu, a member of parliament within the socialist party and vice president of the Francophone Parliament in Brussels, along with the Friends Of Brussels Association.

Performance led to widespread condemnations

MP Theo Francken, critical of the organizer of the event, posted on X, formerly Twitter, "This man invited that imam. He is deputy speaker of parliament. Can he stay that way?"

MP Darya Safai recalled her own detention in Tehran, "With the same chants as here in the Brussels parliament, we woke up every morning in the prison of the ayatollahs, were required to pray in our cell with the same words, and at the same time several Iranians were hanged to set an example to others. I managed to escape that prison alive, unlike many others, and it shocks me even more to hear the same thing here in Belgium, 24 years later, in the heart of Western democracy."

Secretary of State of the Brussels Capital region Nawal Ben Hamou left the event during the incident.
Well this is truly disgraceful, but from what I've known about Belgium over the years, it may not be shocking this could occur in such an establishment. If anything, it makes clear the socialist movement is a serious danger, based on their willingness to align with the Religion of Peace, and for all we know, they may even soon convert to it in the near future.

Monday, December 04, 2017

Belgium: Red Cross Demands Branches Remove Crucifixes to Be More Secular

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Breaking...Explosions In Brussels (BUMPED TO THE TOP)

Brussels Airport

Brussels is under attack.

Two explosions at the airport. At least 10 dead and at least 30 wounded.

And now the subway is closed because of explosions there. Maelbeek station reportedly attacked.

Consider this: this week contains holy days for both Christians and Jews. Good Friday and Easter Sunday for Christians; Purim for Jews.

Yahoo! News has live updates HERE.
• Two explosions have ripped through Brussels airport

• As many as 13 people have reportedly died and there are said to be as many as 35 injured

• Belga agency said shots were fired and there were shouts in Arabic shortly before the blasts

The attack centred on an American Airlines desk in a departure hall

• Footage from inside the building shows a scene of devastation, with smoke rising from the terminal

• An explosion has also reportedly occurred at a Brussels metro station near the European Union headquarters

• Brussels was already on a state of high alert following the arrest of Paris atrocity suspect Salah Abdeslam in the city last week
Fox News is now reporting 5 blasts.

UPDATE

City-wide lockdown in Brussels.

Attacks are now officially being called terror attacks.

Suicide vest(s) have been found.

Shots were fired before the blasts at the airport.

The news media's talking heads keep saying, "Just who is behind these attacks?"

Image of the aftermath of today's Brussels attacks


UPDATE

At least 10 dead at the Maelbeck subway station

Brussels officials are now calling this "a blind attack." I interpret that to mean that they are indicating that these attacks were not executed in reaction to the arrest of Abdelsalam (or however his name is spelled).

UPDATE - PASTORIUS CUTTING IN WITH MORE:

When Salah Abdelsalem was arrested the other day, authorities mentioned that he was in the midst of planning another attack and was found with a large cache of weaponry:
(CNN)The arrest of terror suspect Salah Abdeslam resulted in authorities finding a large number of weapons, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said Sunday. 
"He was ready to restart something in Brussels," said Reynders, speaking at the German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum. 
"And it's maybe the reality because we have found a lot of weapons, heavy weapons, in the first investigations and we have found a new network around him in Brussels." 
The investigation also showed more people were involved in the November 13 Paris attacks than first thought, he said. 
"After the terror attacks in Paris, I said to one TV channel in the U.S. that we were searching for around 10 people with heavy weapons. We have far more than that since November, and not only in Belgium but also in France," he said. 
" ... For the moment we have found more than 30 people involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris, but we are sure there are others."
Also, remember that, after the attacks in Paris, Salah Abdelsalem walked around freely in his Brussels neighborhood for months. His fellow Muslims did not report him:
Salah Abdeslam wandered through the streets of Molenbeek with his accomplices and even used to walk past the police station, according to residents, whilst on the run from Belgian intelligence authorities.
Muslims don't report on Muslims.

The Koran tells them not to.

So yeah, the Brussels attacks, the Paris attacks, the San Bernadiino attacks?

Just a few of the minor inconveniences we put up with for the pleasure of living with all those nice, moderate Muslims who are our "neighbors" and "friends".

You know, the ones who DIDN'T report on Abdelsalem?

Yeah, MODERATE MUSLIMS.







Friday, October 17, 2014

EBOLA NEWS 10-17-2014 ----- UPATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY






Super-Genius Barack Obama: We’ll Keep Ebola Out Of America By Letting West Africans In

“I don’t have a philosophical objection necessarily to a travel ban, if that is the thing that is going to keep the American people safe,” President Obama said on Thursday. 
Obama said the experts have advised him that it’s more effective to let West Africans into the U.S. than it would be to keep them out. 
“The problem is that in all the discussions I’ve had thus far with experts in the field, experts in infectious disease, is that a travel ban is less effective than the measures that we are currently instituting, that involve screening passengers who are coming from West Africa.” 
Obama said it’s important to continue screening West Africans before they get on planes and then after they arrive in the U.S. to see if they’re showing signs of disease. Sick people should get medical evaluations, he said. And people who are not sick should list their contact information.
And yet, remember, this from yesterday:


NPR, July, 2014: The Only Solution To Ebola Is Total Containment


Just to be clear, I'm not saying NPR are more expert than the head of the CDC. What I'm saying is the healthcare workers depicted in the NPR article show, by their actions, that absolute containment is the only thing that works. They even contain people SUSPECTED of having Ebola. They don't allow them to travel. They quarantine them absolutely. 

And yet, now that it Ebola is a problem in the US, suddenly absolute containment is not the answer?!?

It's almost as if the Obama Administration is more concerned with the political fallout of Ebola than they are with the health of the American people.


Let's not forget this additional 'coincidental' coordinating effort making it possible for these new visa holders to simply blend into society without any regard for the pestilence they may bring with them...

WashingtonTImes: Ebola in the U.S.: Stricter travel quarantine practices dropped by Obama admin. in 2010 
--------
Texas-Based Carnival Magic Cruise Ship Stuck At Sea With 4,633 Passengers and Dallas Healthcare Worker With Ebola Symptoms – Belize Refuses Port Entry – Belizeans Saying “Sink Ship” – Armed Belize Coast Guard Keeping Ship At Sea…
--------
BusinessInsider:
Health Worker Who May Have Had Contact With Ebola Patient Is On A Cruise Ship Right Now

Belizean: Belize confirms patient with Ebola symptoms on cruise ship off it’s coast

Quote: "The GoB reassures the public that the passenger never set foot in Belize and while we remain in close contact with U.S. officials we have maintained the position that when even the smallest doubt remains, we will ensure the health and safety of the Belizean people."

******
This is something the current CDC would never say. It is absolutely criminal!
We're all familiar with these ships experience with norovirus sweeping rapidly through to the passengers. Imagine how anxious all the people on that ship are now.

WorldMaritimeNews: Cruise Passenger with Ebola Symptoms Denied Entry to Belize
The Belize government assured their citizens that the passenger never set foot in Belize, but failed to address the situation with other 4,631 passengers and crew reported on the ship.

The Belize Coast Guard is currently preventing anyone from leaving the ship, including the Belizean pilot on board.


Fox&Friends is currently discussing a story out of JFK airport in NY regarding a flight from Africa upon which a passenger DIED...of course, the reporter states Ebola already ruled out.

A passenger died on a Nigeria to JFK flight after a vomiting fit on Thursday - and top lawmaker said officials gave the corpse only a "cursory" exam before declaring that the victim did not have Ebola.



Texas hospital workers who treated Ebola patient placed on no-fly list 

The 75 Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital staffers are banned from traveling by plane, train, bus or ship for 21 days after their last contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, the order said. The mandate comes after two of Duncan's nurses contracted the deadly disease — one of whom flew a day before she was diagnosed



When surviving Ebola becomes a nightmare 
When Jerald Dennis left the Ebola treatment center after surviving the deadly virus that has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 of his fellow Liberians, he thought the worst was over.

He was wrong.

Dennis, a 30-year-old non-medical worker at John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital (JFK), Liberia's largest referral hospital, fell prey to the Ebola virus in early September.

"I probably contracted the virus through indirect contact, because you can get it through direct or indirect contact," he told Anadolu Agency in an interview in his home in Monrovia's Matadi district.

Dennis recalled how he began feeling burns on his hands before things became worse, as he experienced severe pain in his head and other parts of his body, later suffering from diarrhea and vomiting as well.



Why Phillipines WONT'T send medics to Ebola-hit areas 
MANILA - The Philippines has rebuffed a US request to dispatch medical workers to Ebola-hit regions, with the health ministry saying boosting the country's defenses against any local outbreaks was the priority. The United Nations has launched a global ...
--------


Guardian: Ebola vaccine would be available had bioterrorism research been completed


US soldiers get 4 hours of Ebola training before shipping out to West Africa


What would an Ebola Travel Ban actually look like?


Three More Countries Impose Ebola Ban, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago


RedEye: Texas HCW isolated on cruise ship, deemed low risk for Ebola


UPDATES -------

AtlantaJournalConstitution: DeKalb Schools block two from school amid Ebola concerns
were blocked from enrolling in DeKalb schools this week as a precaution against the spread of Ebola.

DeKalb school officials said the father worked for CARE, a humanitarian organization, as a finance controller in the Liberia/Sierra Leone office. He returned to the United States on Sept. 14 with his family and tried to enroll the children Wednesday at Dunwoody Elementary and Dunwoody High.
*****

PDF of Screening Questionaire for Ebola



Although the unidentified woman is being monitored and has not shown symptoms, she has been quarantined on the ship. US officials wanted her to deboard in Belize and fly her home but Belizian officials refused to allow her to travel through Phillip Goldson International Airport. Mexico banned the ship from docking off the coast of Cozumel, preventing any passengers from stepping foot in the country as part of its scheduled port visit.
*****


The CDC revealed on Thursday that she may have been contagious for her entire trip to Ohio - as early as last Friday
*****


MSN: People Are Now Apparently Faking Ebola To Get Faster Medical Treatment 
*****
UTSanDiego
On Thursday reports of a student with flu-like symptoms caused Southwestern College in Chula Vista to cordon off a classroom building.

It was later revealed that the student made up the story that she and her sister had shared a plane with a Dallas nurse who was later diagnosed with Ebola. Later in the day, Southwestern College issued a statement saying the issue was now a student conduct matter, “and will be treated in accordance with the district’s policy and procedures.


MORE UPDATES -------

WH: New Ebola Czar will report to Susan Rice

CSPAN clip: HEATED: Rep. Steve Scalise Grills CDC Director Frieden at Ebola House Hearing 10/16/2014
Dr. Frieden refuses to answer yes/no question whether WH discussed banning flights out of hot zone.
*****comment left at YouTube: 
“I am left to conclude that America’s leadership is either guilty of gross misconduct, dereliction of duty, criminal negligence or worse – treason,” writes Davis, warning that the “crisis will undoubtedly spiral out of control” if the advice of incompetent public health authorities, the government and the media continues to be followed unquestionably. Richard C. Davis, M.D., 

Thursday, May 29, 2014


“Belgian authorities are investigating whether the terrorist who murdered four people Saturday at the Brussels Jewish Museum is tied to the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization.
Israel’s Channel 10 television news reported Tuesday that Belgian intelligence is looking at the date of the shooting – May 24 – and the official date of Israel’s military withdrawal from southern Lebanon: May 24, 2000.”
*****
“Belgian Jewish activist Joel Rubinfeld said he received an online death threat for speaking about the Brussels Jewish museum killings. “…”We absolutely need to shut Joël Rubintrickmachine’s fat mouth,” read the text, which was posted on the LBCA Facebook page. “His defamations, his grotesque generalizations make me want to commit murder.”
Rubinfeld said he would file a formal police complaint about the posting, which appears to have been spurred by his many media appearances following the slaying of four Jews on Saturday at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in central Brussels. Rubinfeld has called on Belgian authorities to take a firmer stance against minor and major incidents of anti-Semitism, referring to the French government as a role model.”
*****
via: JTA.org
”…the museum attack’s victims — Emanuel and Miriam Riva, a married couple in their 50s from Tel Aviv; Alexandre Strens, an employee of the museum in his 20s; and Dominique Sabrier, a French volunteer at the museum. . .”
. . .
”Security camera footage from the museum showed the killer approaching the entrance to the museum quickly but calmly while carrying two bags and wearing a baseball cap that obscured his eyes from the lens. Placing one bag on the ground, he produced an automatic rifle and entered the museum for approximately one minute. Inside, he opened fire, hitting his victims in their heads and necks, before making his escape. Counterterrorism experts said the man’s apparent calm, quick getaway and selection of target — the museum is one of the few Jewish institutions in Brussels that is not under permanent police protection — suggest meticulous preparations and perhaps some training.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Belgium's still got its war crimes bias law against Israel

If the following news tells anything, it's that Belgium's law that enables prosecuting foreign politicians - perhaps more specifically, Israeli ones - inside their country, and even leftists aren't immune to it:
After similar circumstances last week prompted the last-minute cancellation of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to Paris, another court case was filed against the Barak and a series of other senior Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead.

Among those targeted in the suit are Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni, who also has an arrest warrant out against her in Britain for her role as foreign minister during the Gaza offensive, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, and other Israelis in the IDF and Israel's intelligence services.

The claim was filed by a Belgian citizen of Palestinian descent together with 13 residents of the Gaza Strip. The plaintiffs' attorney estimated that the country's attorney general will evaluate the case to determine whether it provides just cause to open a case against the senior Israeli officials "already by the end of August."

[...]

Much of the claim is based on the Goldstone Report.
Oh, really? I guess this is simply an extension of the farce. This has got to be challenged and ended. Until then, Belgium is not doing enough to prove they're even against Islamofascism in their own country.

Friday, June 04, 2010

Double murder in Belgian court, and the suspect is Iranian

A gunman shot dead a judge and a clerk in a Belgian courtroom, and has luckily been captured. He's of Iranian background:
BRUSSELS (AFP) – Belgian police have arrested a suspect after a man pulled a gun during a Brussels court hearing and shot dead a woman judge and court clerk before fleeing, the public prosecutor's office said Friday.

"A suspect has been questioned and identified," Jean-Jacques Meilleur, spokesman for the Brussels public prosecutor, told AFP after Thursday's double murder.

A judicial source said that the suspect was a 47-year-old Iranian man who had been identified by witnesses of the courtroom drama that shook Belgium. He reportedly said he had been motivated by revenge.

The prosecutor's office would hold a press conference at 0900 GMT.

Police approached the man in a Brussels park on Thursday evening in order to check his identity, but he pulled out a gun and began shooting in the air, the source said.

The man was wounded by police, arrested, and later identified as a suspect in the killings.

On Thursday morning a man, who had been present throughout the hearing, "pulled out a firearm, a revolver, and fired at the judge and her clerk, killing both," said Jean-Jacques Meilleur, spokesman for the Brussels public prosecutor.

The tribunal had been hearing a family and neighbour dispute case when the shooting happened. The tribunal is close to the imposing Palace of Justice in the heart of the Belgian capital.

The assailant "was briefly pursued by one of the lawyers present but he managed to flee on foot down one of the roads in the area," Meilleur added. A major search was launched for the gunman.

The victims were 60-year-old magistrate Isabelle Brandon and her court clerk Andre Bellemans.

A minute's silence was observed by judges and lawyers in the Palace of Justice later in honour of their deceased colleagues, with some members of the judiciary visibly shocked at the events.

Security in judicial buildings and prisons in Belgium has long been a source of concern, with many escapes in recent years.

Last August, masked men helped three suspects escape the Palace of Justice, taking prison guards hostage in the process.

Around the same time there was a spectacular escape from a prison in the north with the use of a hijacked helicopter.

Just days ahead of snap legislative elections on June 13, the justice minister said he would stop campaigning and called for a debate on security, while ruling out placing security cameras in all courtrooms.
The ending line gives reason to wonder if Belgium doesn't have any proper security for their courtrooms, and I'm not just talking about camera tech. What about the metal detectors and guards who actually search people before entering?

This article also obscures the problems with jihadism in Belgium, which likely played a role in this tragic case, as well as the several other crimes hinted at here. Sadly, it shouldn't surprise that the AFP would refuse to get in deeper.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Islamists Threaten to Attack Belgium Over Burqa Ban

From Weasel Zippers:

(Reuters) - Belgian authorities are analysing a video containing threats to attack the country and other European states if they enforce a ban on full face veils, government officials said on Thursday.

Belgium’s lower house of parliament approved a bill last week that would enforce such a ban but it is unlikely to become law soon because the government has collapsed and parliament is due to be dissolved. France is also considering a ban.

A text written in English on a video posted on the Internet says: “If you ban the burqa, hijab or niqab (veils) … then you will see (a) very dangerous situation in your countries.”

It shows veiled women, some armed with guns, armed men and children carrying weapons and ammunition. They did not identify themselves.

Wearing the burqa, hijab or niqab is every Muslim woman’s right and governments will pay for their decision to ban the veil, the text of the video says

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Belgian lawmakers pass burka ban

Thanks to Will for sending this to us.

From the BBC:

Woman in face veil (file pic)
The Muslim Executive of Belgium has criticised the move

Belgium's lower house of parliament has voted for a law that would ban women from wearing the full Islamic face veil in public.

The law would ban any clothing that obscures the identity of the wearer in places like parks and on the street. No-one voted against it.

The law now goes to the Senate, which is also expected to approve it. It would then become law by June or July.

The ban would be the first move of its kind in Europe.

Only around 30 women wear this kind of veil in Belgium, out of a Muslim population of around half a million.

The BBC's Dominic Hughes in Brussels says MPs backed the legislation on the grounds of security, to allow police to identify people.

Other MPs said that the full face veil was a symbol of the oppression of women, our correspondent says.

The ban would be imposed in all buildings or grounds that are "meant for public use or to provide services", including streets, parks and sports grounds.

Exceptions could be made for certain festivals.

Those who break the law could face a fine of 15-25 euros (£13-£27) or a seven-day jail sentence.

The Muslim Executive of Britain has criticised the move, saying it would lead to women who do wear the full veil to be trapped in their homes.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Belgium: Parliament fails to pass burqa ban

A party, Open VLD, quitted the coalition government, so the ban failed to pass. The right time for doing so, hein? Just the day when the ban was going to be debated and possibly passed.
Belgium’s parliament on Monday failed to pass a law banning the wearing of burqa and niqab in public as the coalition government collapsed with the resignation of the prime minister.
The center-right Flemish liberal party Open VLD quit the coalition, forcing Prime Minister Yves Leterme to resign and halting parliamentary debate over a bill banning the face and body cover and face veil traditionally worn by Muslim women.
Under the proposed law, violators of the burqa and niqab ban would be fined $17 to $28. Violators also face seven days of imprisonment.
Passage of the law would have made Belgium the first European country to ban the Islamic apparel.
And you know the cause of the split? Because Open VLD speak Dutch while the rest of the coalition are francophones! So:
Belgian Premier Yves Leterme's government collapsed on Thursday after negotiations broke down to resolve a long-simmering dispute between Dutch and French-speaking politicians over a bilingual voting district.
Yes, and it was yesterday when they reached the conclusion than they didn't agree on that point. La leche!! What stupid guys!!

Cross-posted from T&P.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Islamic Indoctrination on Belgian Children's TV Programming

Can you imagine any television station in the West providing this kind of opportunity for evangelism to any religion other than Islam?

The Belgians are not just surrendering, they're lubing themselves up and enjoying the rape, apparently.

From Atlas Shrugs:




Rough translation:

Bakfiets Imam (The Cargo Bicycle Imam)

Today children, we are going to talk about religion.

Question: What is Religion?

Religion. That is the worship of God. But there is just one religion which is, of course, the best. And that is Islam. And I am going to tell you about Islam. Do you have any questions? Go ahead… ask!

Question: How come you always pray to the east?

Because Mecca is in the east and therefore we pray facing the east. And also if people in other mosques start to pray from different directions they will all bump heads. (Lame Attempt at Muslim humour …a sop to the Infidels` children... after all... infidel children like humour, but once they become good Muslims, humour will be forbidden.)

Question: Is it in the east?

Yeah, it’s in the east… you have listened well. Next!

Question: And if Mecca was in the West?

Then we would pray and bow (bend) toward the West.

Question: How come you pray five times a day?

Because prayer is good for your health and your spirit, and also when you pray it is a sort of sport or exercise. Your body goes up and down. I’ll demonstrate for you. Everybody… stand up! Stand nicely beside each other. First (bend) down on your knees. Bend over and lower your head to the ground. Then raise only your head, then up on your knees… then stand up again.

Then repeat this once more. Get down on your knees. Bend your back once and lower with your head right to the ground.

Stand up, Stand up again! See! That is sport. Now… everyone sit!

Now- I hope everyone…

All: Allah Willing

That you will grow up…

All: Allah Willing

In a free world…

All: Allah Willing

That you will become Muslims…

All: Allah Willing

In Good Times…

All: Allah Willing

In Bad Times…

All: Allah Willing

And in Freedom…

All: Allah Willing

Shall you all live!

All: Allah Willing

Amen.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

CNN Report: Al Qaeda Adjusting Strategy & Planning "New 9/11"

CNN ran this very long feature story yesterday. It is well worth visiting the site and following the links.

By CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank

Editor's note: This story is based on interrogation reports that form part of the prosecution case in the forthcoming trial of six Belgian citizens charged with participation in a terrorist group. Versions of those documents were obtained by CNN from the defense attorney of one of those suspects. The statement by Bryant Vinas was compiled from an interview he gave Belgian prosecutors in March 2009 in New York, and was confirmed by U.S. prosecutors as authentic. The statement by Walid Othmani was given to French investigators, and was authenticated by Belgian prosecutors.

(CNN) -- When Bryant Neal Vinas spoke at length with Belgian prosecutors last March, he provided a fascinating and sometimes frightening insight into al Qaeda's training -- and its agenda.


Vinas is a young American who was arrested in Pakistan late in 2008 after allegedly training with al Qaeda in the Afghan-Pakistan border area. He was repatriated to the United States and in January pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization.


In notes made by FBI agents of interviews with Vinas, he admits he went to Pakistan to join al Qaeda and kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. But the terror group appeared to have other ideas for him. He volunteered to become a suicide bomber but was dissuaded at every turn. Read how al Qaeda is now operating


On Thanksgiving weekend last year, shortly after his arrest, much of the New York mass transit system including Penn Station was put on high alert. According to the Belgian prosecutor's document, Vinas had told al Qaeda's command everything he knew about the system.


In his interview with Belgian prosecutors Vinas stated that he met with several members of a Belgian-French group while training in the tribal areas of Pakistan. One member of this group, a 25-year-old Frenchman called Walid Othmani, provided French interrogators with an account of his time in Pakistan after being arrested on his return to Europe.


Belgian prosecutors told CNN Othmani has been charged in France with participation in a criminal conspiracy with the aim of preparing a terrorist act. A Belgian legal document detailing his interrogation report was obtained by CNN. Read how the Europeans trained with al Qaeda


Vinas's and Othmani's account of their time in al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan is a playbook of how the terror group survived after 9/11 and continues to operate in the remote hills of Pakistan. The documents provide an inside view of al Qaeda's organizational structures, training programs, and the protective measures the terrorist organization has taken against increasingly effective U.S. missile strikes.

Arguably, they shed more light on the state of al Qaeda than any previously released into the public domain.


The accounts suggest al Qaeda has shown remarkable adaptability and remains as committed as ever to launching attacks in the West, with mass transit a top target. They also revealed al Qaeda training programs for new forms of attack, including breaking into residences to carry out targeted assassinations. Read how al Qaeda is adapting


While intelligence officials say intensified U.S. strikes using Predator drones have degraded al Qaeda's capabilities since the end of last year, the accounts suggest that al Qaeda has been able to sustain many of its training operations by confining them to small dwellings in the remote mountains of Waziristan. Although not able to operate training camps on anything like the scale they did in Afghanistan during the 1990s the wide number of training courses still available to recruits suggests al Qaeda still poses a significant threat. Inside these dwellings bomb-making training appears to have been emphasized, some of it very sophisticated.


While al Qaeda's potential pool of recruits may have shrunk significantly because of a backlash against the terrorist organization in Muslim communities around the world -- due to its targeting of civilians and the fact that so many of its victims have been Muslim -- the insider accounts suggest there is still a significant number of hardcore extremists in the West and in Muslim countries who are willing to join Osama bin Laden's terrorist outfit.

[.....]

Recent reports that al Qaeda is moving some operatives out of the tribal areas of Pakistan towards safer placements in Pakistani cities, or to jihadist fronts in other countries such as Yemen and Somalia, may indicate that the pressure from U.S. missile strikes is starting to show.


But the decentralization of al Qaeda's training and their ever closer ties with local Pakistani Taliban, mean it remains extremely difficult to eliminate from the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan.


Above all the accounts from Vinas and others show that al Qaeda's training structures have but one goal, another 9/11. Read how al Qaeda is training for a terror spectacular

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Vlaams Belang: the last stop

Islam in Europe: Book Review: Undercover in Little Morocco
Esther, at the excellent Islam in Europe blog, reports on a book by journalist Hind Fraihi on the Moroccans of Belgium. The active support in this community for violent Jihad, killing Jews, and control of the local Muslims, especially women, according to Islamic fundamentalist dictates, may come as no surprise. In any case, it is a reminder of what the Flemings rightly fear in their midst. But what may surprise some readers is the support for the Vlaams Belang among the moderate Muslims:
She meets more people like Jamal, but she feels they're fighting a losing battle against the fundamentalists. She says that the moderate Muslims are walking a tightrope, between the Muslim fundamentalists and the right-wing (ie, nationalist) Flemish extremists. I had trouble understanding what she meant, but she later brings example of Muslims who vote for Vlaams Belang. I doubt most Muslims are in danger of becoming nationalist extremists, though. As Fraihi says, if they vote for Vlaams Belang, they do it out of protest, fear and disillusionment.

As one example she brings Fatima, a Moroccan immigrant in her 60s. She doesn't see herself as integrated and doesn't think she acts any different in Belgium then she did in Morocco. She came in 1968, got a hearty welcome, worked with Belgians and generally enjoyed herself. She followed up on her kids - went to PTA meetings and made sure she knew where they were going at all times. A friend of hers complains that her son lives off benefits, even though he could work. There is discrimination, she says, but the 2nd and 3rd generation don't want to work and just use it as an excuse. These youth are coddled by multicultural and integration organizations, all in the name of tolerance.

According to Fatima the problem-youth are problematic because they have become fully Flemish. She suffers from the extremist Muslims who demand that she wear a headscarf, soemthing that she'd never done in morocco. The moderate Muslims are the first victims of Muslim extremism, but nobody takes care of them. She supports the Vlaams Belang program: stopping immigration, reducing marriage immigration and cutting off the integration sectors. She sees Vlaams Belang as the only party which is upset at Muslim extremism, who wants to treat immigrants strictly but justly. Moderate Muslims are fed up and feel that they've been left on their own. Fatima wants to vote for a more moderate party, but only after the danger from Muslim extremism is dealt with.

She meets a worker at a youth center who tells her he blames the parents, imams and Belgian authorities for the Islamization of the youth. The parents blindly follow the Moroccan imams, who preach that almost everything is a crime, though many of them are former criminals themselves who have become 'born again' Muslims. Some have traveled to Afghanistan and are therefore barred from going back to Morocco, and yet the Belgian authorities don't seem to care. The parents were also not that religious when they were kids, but they expect much more from their children. Not only that, the parents had realized their dreams, but their children don't reach as far, don't get anywhere and are therefore easy prey for terrorist recruiters.

As she repeats in her interview, she feels the 'integration' sector has no reason to actually solve the problem, since that would take away their reason for being.
The Flemish nationalists may sometimes be heard preaching "white Europe", but it seems the implicit multiculturalist-Jihadi alliance is not a more appealing option for some Moroccan-Belgians. Perhaps for the infamous "moderate Muslim", the only hope lies in a Flemish nationalism that may one day acknowledge and support its Moroccan-Belgian allies. If the only hope for such people is the renewal of a responsible nationhood that makes real demands of youth, etc., maybe you have to start with the least bad option, the one closest to the mark (however problematic) and work from there. Or maybe it's just a great delusion. Maybe it's supporting those who will one day kick you out of the country, or worse. The thing is, no one can know in advance. It all depends on the exercise of human political freedom, and the learning process that only the interaction of strange bedfellows can bring. There is a point at which desperation and good faith meet, the point where all new religion starts...