The events in the Mediterranean this week regarding the "Freedom Flotilla" has stirred immense media attention and for good reason. On Monday morning (June 1, 2010), I awoke to the headline story depicting the IDF raid of a humanitarian aid ship. Living in Israel, it is hard to escape developing stories in the media; therefore, I anticipated the arrival of these ships who sought to break the naval blockade Israel has installed on Gaza after Operation Cast Lead with the alleged intention of providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza who do not otherwise receive it. After reading numerous international sources, I knew that this was another PR battle Israel was going to lose regardless of the facts.
As I regularly do, I sought to challenge the stories by providing the Israeli perspective on my Facebook page. I posted articles explaining how some of the "peace activists" are actually members of an organization presenting itself as a humanitarian aid organization whose ideologies adhere to radical Islamic principles and whose ideologies are aligned with those of the Muslim Brotherhood, namely the IHH. Other members aboard the ship were individuals such as Sheikh Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel who in 2003 was arrested on charges of funding the terrorist organization and now political party, HAMAS in Gaza. Additionally, after reviewing the footage of what was supposed to be a simple inspection of aid, making sure no weapons were going to passed into the Strip, the Israeli commandos were ambushed by the "peace activists". Yet, the simple statement of my personal observations are not going to convince people one way or another, but I still attempt to challenge what I see as very biased international news reports.
Most people don't know, and don't care to research that Israel transfers humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip nearly everyday, which falsifies the argument that the people in Gaza are starving to death because of the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza ports. Not to mention, Israel has no objections to international humanitarian aid to Gaza as long it is strictly humanitarian. These ships were asked to sail North to the town of Ashdod where the goods would be transported by land to the Strip. If this mission was about delivering humanitarian aid in a peaceful manner then clearly this event never would have happened. The last illustration of the biased media coverage were the numerous reports stating that 20 people had been killed, among these 20 even Sheikh Salah was identified; later all of these reports were reduced from the exaggerated number to nine people, none of them being the Sheikh.
Having briefly explained my reasoning for the continuous posting of articles on my Facebook, I am merely trying to advocate the other flip of the coin. The unpopular Israeli side. A day later, just before heading to bed, I routinely checked my email one last time finding several Facebook comments and messages. I checked my Facebook to find a very surprising and utterly frightening, personal message from an unknown person threatening me in a very disturbing and vulgar warning message, which I will refrain from quoting due to the crude and disgusting language. Initially, I was more than terrified and shocked to find that someone from this region, not Israel, had found me on Facebook and would threaten me for the content of the articles that I post on my own wall! He and I do not have any mutual friends which makes this situation all the more chilling.
I reported this person to the Facebook administrators and have invested seriously in all of the appropriate security settings to safeguard myself from future distasteful comments. Which if I may add; I post articles on my page and invite people to express their opinions, this is what information sharing is all about, if I didn't want dialogue, I would make it so that people cannot write on my wall or comment on the articles posted, but this would defeat the very reason that I post them!!
Thanks to the Google,Twitter and other social networking sites, I am pleased to find out that the administrators of Facebook take threats like this very seriously and have deactivated his account! He of course is extremely unhappy and seeks to spread his loathing hatred and opinions on other forums and by creating new Facebook pages. Among the most alarming aspects of this individual is that he appears to be a very well-educated, wealthy and prominent business person in this region, with moderate religious practices and a significant ability to attract followers of his various pages. Some people really don't appreciate what many Americans take for granted; our right to freedom of speech, religion and press. Some want to suppress these values and threaten those of us who want to uphold them.
I have pondered going into seclusion from Facebook and Twitter because of the fear that I initially felt from his actions, but then I realize that that would mean his tactic of instilling fear in those who share their own, differing opinions for personal reasons would actually work. But I will not let this kind of action effect my personal liberties!! Since this was quite a terrifying incident, I do recommend that all users of the various social networking sites, invest in the security settings provided because you never know who is reading your profile.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Unpopular Security
March, 18, 2010
Major cities throughout the world last week honored the sixth annual 'Israeli Apartheid Week'. The security barrier that divides much of the Palestinian occupied territories from the State of Israel is a very visible and sobering illustration of the everlasting conflict between these two peoples. These global events taking place throughout the world inspire increasing criticism of the Israeli government and awareness of the grievances of the Palestinian people. Yet they leave out an important aspect of the security barrier's intention; to preserve the lives of the Israeli citizenry and subsequently, Palestinian lives as well. Additionally, John Holmes, the UN humanitarian coordinator, visited the region this past week assessing the potentiality of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has expressed that a two-state solution may no longer be viable in the near future due to the "land for peace" issue that Israel continues to infringe upon. Unfortunately this week, none of the Israeli grievances have been considered, either by the participants of 'Israeli Apartheid Week', nor by Holmes, instead all of this ballyhoo only stymies the peace process further.
The international community should be reluctant in picking a side and instead should aid in the process and use constructive criticism regarding both parties rather than singling one out. This approach neglects the very reason the wall has been established. During the height of the second intifada, the Israeli government had little choice but to physically inhibit the opportunity for suicide bombers to enter into Israel and terrorize the Israeli civilian population. This type of warfare is known as a 'punishment' war strategy which seeks to systematically target civilian populations in order to reduce their morale low enough forcing them to seek change in their government's public policies. This indeed occurred. The policy instigated in suicide terrorism was a security barrier between the two peoples. Rand Corporation's Bruce Hoffman, a world renowned counter-terrorism expert also expresses the need for Israel to erect and preserve defensive borders that disrupt or stop the strategic planning and operational capabilities for suicide bombers to carry out their operations. One must consider; when a government is faced with a national security threat like suicide terrorism that aims to terrorize its population, it is obligated to protect the welfare of its people. Putting all other political issues aside, this national security measure has proven itself a necessity. Since 2008, nearly 60% of the wall has been constructed and suicide terrorism has dropped immensely.
In addition to the security barrier, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has also positioned itself in areas of the West Bank for intelligence purposes. . In Hoffman's book entitled Inside Terrorism he explains that by positioning Israeli security forces within the occupied territories these units are able to send in forces and engage quickly with organizations and individuals who are mobilizing for an attack, dismantling their efforts prior to their entry into Israel. These measures including the security barrier have stopped nearly 85% of Palestinian terrorist activities according to Hoffman. Therefore, the wall has served to protect both Israeli lives as well as Palestinian shahadas- or martyrs. Participants of 'Israeli Apartheid Week' refuse to acknowledge the reasons the wall exists, as dismal as its appearance may be, it is a governmental obligation of the Israeli government to its people.
Concurrently, this week, a human rights activist group condemned efforts of Israeli Defense Forces as well as Israeli police for seeking to stop or discourage the rock throwers in Jerusalem because the organization explained that these people have the right to protest the demolition of their homes. I didn't realize that violent protests were an acceptable method of expression. Rocks too have the ability to injure if not kill people . Terrorist organizations within Gaza have also referred to the recent uprisings as the Third Intifada and have encouraged people within Israel to take up arms therefore, Israelis have the right to quell the violence before it erupts into another traumatic, drawn-out war.
My intention with this blog is to simply represent the other side of this story. While people protest the wall, I am simply putting forth the effective reasons it exists. I would argue that most Israelis would prefer not to have a wall at all either, yet the alternative is intolerable. The State of Israel continues to be demonized on this issue however, when the facts are presented, it is a reasonable solution to a very severe and debilitating national security threat. Therefore, we as members of the international community really need to assess the grievances shared by both parties in this conflict and understand that Israelis, just as the Palestinians, are reluctant to trust one another even if peace talks resume in the near future.
I am no advocate for settlement building and the purpose of this blog is to merely lay out reasons for the establishment of the security barrier, however as issues have unfolded regarding the construction issue, it is certainly noteworthy to add that Jerusalem neither East nor West were ever a part of the moratorium agreement; therefore, I think it is a mistake that Biden and Obama have gotten so riled up over construction in East Jerusalem, which sits within the Jerusalem municipality and should never be considered a 'settlement'; it is a city where Jews and Muslims live in very close proximity to one another.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
My New Reality
February 3, 2010
I was reluctant to write on this matter because I do not wish to be apart of the culture of hysteria regarding the issue of suicide terrorism. However, after a long discussion with my father, I have been encouraged to express my experience. Recently, I have devoted my scholarship largely to the issue of suicide terrorism; studying counter-terrorism in Israel hardly allows one to escape the topic. As part of a research inquiry, I have spent much of my time examining the various aspects of the matter. Predominantly I have sought to comprehend reasons behind female suicide terrorism, researching everything from the feminist movement to martyrdom, as an effort to understand and combat extremism.
Since this subject has been at the forefront of much of my thoughts, I have made it the topic of numerous discussions with my classmates. The other night, while in a study group for a final examination, I brought it up, seeking discourse with my peers. Our conversation was spent considerably on the tactical approaches of the "H-bomb" as it is referred to, meaning "human bomb" or the ultimate smart bomb. We discussed the thinking of a suicide terrorist, such as where he or she would sit on a bus. I mentioned that when I was living in Jerusalem a friend told me that statistically speaking, passengers sitting closer to the driver of the bus are more likely to survive the blast as some of the drivers have survived in past attacks. The majority of us concluded that this was probably not an accurate assessment and terrorists usually sit in the middle of the bus in order to kill or injure as many people as possible.
By and large, although not aware of it, I became overwhelmed with fear regarding this type of terrorism. My only method of transportation in this country is public transportation. That same night, Dru and I boarded the #29 bus home, we sat at the back of the bus, one of our usual seats to sit in. A man got on the bus and sat in the first seat behind the door that is located at the center of the bus. I could not help but notice that he was an Arab. He wore a brown, leather bomber jacket and had a small sack in his hand, what looked like he had just come from the supermarket. Initially, I was unprovoked. Yet, I kept an eye on him. I examined every inch of him; his sneakers, his jeans, his newly trimmed haircut (which is an attribute many suicide bombers have- a clean shave so that they look their best before meeting their maker). As I scrutinized him, I realized that he rarely looked out the windows of the bus, instead he stared straight ahead, which I realized sitting close to him, that the visibility through the windshield of the bus was not great as it was dark outside. The only time he afforded to look out the window was when we passed a police car whose blue lights provoked his attention. As the bus passed the police car, the man nearly turned all they way around in his seat until it was completely out of his sight. I began to feel a little excited, although I didn't want to tell Dru. Instead I just observed.
Another aspect of the man that heightened my awareness of him, was the position in which he sat. He looked incredibly uncomfortable as he sat slightly slouched forward, of course the only reason I could come up with was that whatever explosives he had strapped and wired to his torso was causing him some discomfort; not to mention the added weight of this material was probably foreign to him. The thickness of his bomber jacket that was zipped-up, left little room for me to believe that it was just a t-shirt underneath. Finally, he took a cellphone out of the pocket of his jeans and that is when my silence broke! I exclaimed, "I want to get off at the next stop! I want off!" Dru, of course flashed the most puzzled look and spat back, "what is your problem?" Quietly, I spewed every detail of the man sitting catty-corner to us and that I was panicking. It has been a few years at least since a bus has been blown up, but that was the point; this could be the first attempt after a long run of quiet, and how perfect it would be in the upper-class area of Herzliya, the unofficial home of the Mossad and many diplomats from all over the world. Dru, being trained in this field of seeking out the "bad guys" began to observe for himself. We were so close at this point to our stop that we stayed. The cell phone began to ring, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I imagined it to be a remote detonator. It was not. However, the man began to speak Arabic, which is not usual in these parts. I tried to listen to pick up any vocabulary I knew. The man got upset, he was pointing at the driver, all of this occurring as I am trying to talk myself down. We got out of our seats and headed towards the man; the bus stopped and Dru quickly ushered out of the bus, meanwhile a strap on my backpack was stuck on my seat. As I freed the strap I passed his seat, hastily looking for explosives he may have left behind. I jumped out of the bus.
As I landed, I tripped, impaling myself into the back of Dru, whose senses were provoked by my hysteria. He turned around as if he wanted to kill me! We walked off towards home and the man walked in the other direction. I laughed in relief and teased Dru saying "Thank God I was not in your unit in Iraq, I would have been the Barney Fife!"
The lesson learned in this traumatizing event is that our lives here have taught us that the way of life here is much different than at home. Me, Kellie Dunlap, of Littleton, Colorado, never imagined that I would have to worry about a suicide bomber anywhere near me. But, this is the reality I live in here. I chose to share this because I wanted to convey the seriousness of this threat. In my last blog, I tried to convey that the sophomoric attempts by recent terrorists are still a great danger. It may not be long before, we Americans, are sitting on the Light Rail or on an RTD bus paranoid because it happened in another U.S. city. Americans need to understand that radical Islam is not going to stop; yes, they are struggling to carry out the spectacular attacks we saw on 9/11, but they are still driven to inflict casualties on our population and suicide terrorism is strategic; it is cheap, it is spontaneous and dramatically influences a society's morale.
Contrastingly, one must seek a balance. I regret that I profiled someone who was simply on his way home. But this is the dilemma we face; the enemy is unconventional. They do not wear uniforms when they board buses or sit in a cafe and detonate themselves and therefore all Muslims bear the brunt of these radicals.
I was reluctant to write on this matter because I do not wish to be apart of the culture of hysteria regarding the issue of suicide terrorism. However, after a long discussion with my father, I have been encouraged to express my experience. Recently, I have devoted my scholarship largely to the issue of suicide terrorism; studying counter-terrorism in Israel hardly allows one to escape the topic. As part of a research inquiry, I have spent much of my time examining the various aspects of the matter. Predominantly I have sought to comprehend reasons behind female suicide terrorism, researching everything from the feminist movement to martyrdom, as an effort to understand and combat extremism.
Since this subject has been at the forefront of much of my thoughts, I have made it the topic of numerous discussions with my classmates. The other night, while in a study group for a final examination, I brought it up, seeking discourse with my peers. Our conversation was spent considerably on the tactical approaches of the "H-bomb" as it is referred to, meaning "human bomb" or the ultimate smart bomb. We discussed the thinking of a suicide terrorist, such as where he or she would sit on a bus. I mentioned that when I was living in Jerusalem a friend told me that statistically speaking, passengers sitting closer to the driver of the bus are more likely to survive the blast as some of the drivers have survived in past attacks. The majority of us concluded that this was probably not an accurate assessment and terrorists usually sit in the middle of the bus in order to kill or injure as many people as possible.
By and large, although not aware of it, I became overwhelmed with fear regarding this type of terrorism. My only method of transportation in this country is public transportation. That same night, Dru and I boarded the #29 bus home, we sat at the back of the bus, one of our usual seats to sit in. A man got on the bus and sat in the first seat behind the door that is located at the center of the bus. I could not help but notice that he was an Arab. He wore a brown, leather bomber jacket and had a small sack in his hand, what looked like he had just come from the supermarket. Initially, I was unprovoked. Yet, I kept an eye on him. I examined every inch of him; his sneakers, his jeans, his newly trimmed haircut (which is an attribute many suicide bombers have- a clean shave so that they look their best before meeting their maker). As I scrutinized him, I realized that he rarely looked out the windows of the bus, instead he stared straight ahead, which I realized sitting close to him, that the visibility through the windshield of the bus was not great as it was dark outside. The only time he afforded to look out the window was when we passed a police car whose blue lights provoked his attention. As the bus passed the police car, the man nearly turned all they way around in his seat until it was completely out of his sight. I began to feel a little excited, although I didn't want to tell Dru. Instead I just observed.
Another aspect of the man that heightened my awareness of him, was the position in which he sat. He looked incredibly uncomfortable as he sat slightly slouched forward, of course the only reason I could come up with was that whatever explosives he had strapped and wired to his torso was causing him some discomfort; not to mention the added weight of this material was probably foreign to him. The thickness of his bomber jacket that was zipped-up, left little room for me to believe that it was just a t-shirt underneath. Finally, he took a cellphone out of the pocket of his jeans and that is when my silence broke! I exclaimed, "I want to get off at the next stop! I want off!" Dru, of course flashed the most puzzled look and spat back, "what is your problem?" Quietly, I spewed every detail of the man sitting catty-corner to us and that I was panicking. It has been a few years at least since a bus has been blown up, but that was the point; this could be the first attempt after a long run of quiet, and how perfect it would be in the upper-class area of Herzliya, the unofficial home of the Mossad and many diplomats from all over the world. Dru, being trained in this field of seeking out the "bad guys" began to observe for himself. We were so close at this point to our stop that we stayed. The cell phone began to ring, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I imagined it to be a remote detonator. It was not. However, the man began to speak Arabic, which is not usual in these parts. I tried to listen to pick up any vocabulary I knew. The man got upset, he was pointing at the driver, all of this occurring as I am trying to talk myself down. We got out of our seats and headed towards the man; the bus stopped and Dru quickly ushered out of the bus, meanwhile a strap on my backpack was stuck on my seat. As I freed the strap I passed his seat, hastily looking for explosives he may have left behind. I jumped out of the bus.
As I landed, I tripped, impaling myself into the back of Dru, whose senses were provoked by my hysteria. He turned around as if he wanted to kill me! We walked off towards home and the man walked in the other direction. I laughed in relief and teased Dru saying "Thank God I was not in your unit in Iraq, I would have been the Barney Fife!"
The lesson learned in this traumatizing event is that our lives here have taught us that the way of life here is much different than at home. Me, Kellie Dunlap, of Littleton, Colorado, never imagined that I would have to worry about a suicide bomber anywhere near me. But, this is the reality I live in here. I chose to share this because I wanted to convey the seriousness of this threat. In my last blog, I tried to convey that the sophomoric attempts by recent terrorists are still a great danger. It may not be long before, we Americans, are sitting on the Light Rail or on an RTD bus paranoid because it happened in another U.S. city. Americans need to understand that radical Islam is not going to stop; yes, they are struggling to carry out the spectacular attacks we saw on 9/11, but they are still driven to inflict casualties on our population and suicide terrorism is strategic; it is cheap, it is spontaneous and dramatically influences a society's morale.
Contrastingly, one must seek a balance. I regret that I profiled someone who was simply on his way home. But this is the dilemma we face; the enemy is unconventional. They do not wear uniforms when they board buses or sit in a cafe and detonate themselves and therefore all Muslims bear the brunt of these radicals.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Assessing Al-Qaeda
January 16, 2010
While the intelligence community and the Transportation Security Administration assess the success of the Nigerian, al-Qaeda affiliate who boarded the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day, with the intent to detonate an explosive strapped to his leg over American soil, I have sought to inquire about what this means regarding the current and future motivations of Al-Qaeda.
Recently with a group of my classmates, I had to prepare a presentation regarding the structure of Al-Qaeda post 9/11. The presentation was an analysis of the conflicting literature evaluating whether or not its current structure operates through a mode of hierarchy, a network or a combination of the two including the notion of a Dune organization which classifies al-Qaeda as an organization that lacks a territorial base; making it easy for the organization to operate during its "disappearance". Our analysis included a combination of hierarchical command coming from Al-Qaeda central, by such individuals as Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, as well the loosely connected affiliated networks that have been dispersed and recruited throughout the world. These networks often operate independently of the central command; conducting and carrying out their own operations without a leading hand.
This last week, an article published in the New York Times stated that the series of attempts and attacks on American soil in the last six or so months should illustrate that al-Qaeda central is "on the run" rather than "on the march" as its author implies the media and certain politicians have claimed. The author of the article, Scott Shane asserts that this hype is motivated by political incentives to instill unnecessary fear among the American populace. He argues that the numerous failed attacks as well as the Fort Hood incident should illustrate to the American people that al-Qaeda central is indeed weaker as these nobody's lack the sophistication of tactics that al-Qaeda has used in its previous terror efforts.
I find it alarming that Mr. Shane fails to realize that these men who have emerged from all over the world express the same religiously-justified hatred for the United States which clearly indicates the stronghold that al-Qaeda has on impressionable Muslims all over the world. The threat should be clear: al-Qaeda represents a very radical ideology; hatred for the United States and its allies, including regimes within the Middle East whose populations are predominantly Muslim. It is noteworthy to add that Muslims who are not aligned with al-Qaeda are targets as well. An increase in this kind of radical thinking should be very alarming to every American as well as the numerous national security establishments in the United States and abroad. Let's not forget that in the case of Najibullah Zazi, clerks of a Denver beauty supply store contacted local authorities regarding the purchase of large quantities of products containing significant concentrations of acetone which led to the arrest and indictment of the 24-year-old al-Qaeda affiliate who received training in Pakistan from al-Qaeda operatives and is believed to have had some contact with al-Yazid a senior member of al-Qaeda in planning out an attack on the U.S. on the ninth anniversary of 9/11.
Additionally, bin Laden as his colleagues have the resolve to wait us out. The numerous videotapes released since 9/11 should illustrate that planning is still in place. The recent CIA disaster in Afghanistan may also bolster their intentions further. We cannot afford to risk our chances, the passengers of flight 253 were lucky, the bomb simply malfunctioned. Unfortunately, the United States is political chaos, which means that the American people must remain vigilante when it comes to our national security because our enemy has the ability to remain invisible and we must understand that this is one of their strengths. God forbid another 9/11 occurs because we buy the political strategy of our weakening politicians. Al-Qaeda's core have calculated and accepted a new phase in their objectives and while they are being hunted down in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we may continue to see increasing efforts by their loose affiliated networks.
The following link is to a video released by MEMRI of al-Qaeda, it is certainly worth watching!
Go to the site and the video is available on the right hand side of the page!
http://www.memrijttm.org/
While the intelligence community and the Transportation Security Administration assess the success of the Nigerian, al-Qaeda affiliate who boarded the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day, with the intent to detonate an explosive strapped to his leg over American soil, I have sought to inquire about what this means regarding the current and future motivations of Al-Qaeda.
Recently with a group of my classmates, I had to prepare a presentation regarding the structure of Al-Qaeda post 9/11. The presentation was an analysis of the conflicting literature evaluating whether or not its current structure operates through a mode of hierarchy, a network or a combination of the two including the notion of a Dune organization which classifies al-Qaeda as an organization that lacks a territorial base; making it easy for the organization to operate during its "disappearance". Our analysis included a combination of hierarchical command coming from Al-Qaeda central, by such individuals as Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, as well the loosely connected affiliated networks that have been dispersed and recruited throughout the world. These networks often operate independently of the central command; conducting and carrying out their own operations without a leading hand.
This last week, an article published in the New York Times stated that the series of attempts and attacks on American soil in the last six or so months should illustrate that al-Qaeda central is "on the run" rather than "on the march" as its author implies the media and certain politicians have claimed. The author of the article, Scott Shane asserts that this hype is motivated by political incentives to instill unnecessary fear among the American populace. He argues that the numerous failed attacks as well as the Fort Hood incident should illustrate to the American people that al-Qaeda central is indeed weaker as these nobody's lack the sophistication of tactics that al-Qaeda has used in its previous terror efforts.
I find it alarming that Mr. Shane fails to realize that these men who have emerged from all over the world express the same religiously-justified hatred for the United States which clearly indicates the stronghold that al-Qaeda has on impressionable Muslims all over the world. The threat should be clear: al-Qaeda represents a very radical ideology; hatred for the United States and its allies, including regimes within the Middle East whose populations are predominantly Muslim. It is noteworthy to add that Muslims who are not aligned with al-Qaeda are targets as well. An increase in this kind of radical thinking should be very alarming to every American as well as the numerous national security establishments in the United States and abroad. Let's not forget that in the case of Najibullah Zazi, clerks of a Denver beauty supply store contacted local authorities regarding the purchase of large quantities of products containing significant concentrations of acetone which led to the arrest and indictment of the 24-year-old al-Qaeda affiliate who received training in Pakistan from al-Qaeda operatives and is believed to have had some contact with al-Yazid a senior member of al-Qaeda in planning out an attack on the U.S. on the ninth anniversary of 9/11.
Additionally, bin Laden as his colleagues have the resolve to wait us out. The numerous videotapes released since 9/11 should illustrate that planning is still in place. The recent CIA disaster in Afghanistan may also bolster their intentions further. We cannot afford to risk our chances, the passengers of flight 253 were lucky, the bomb simply malfunctioned. Unfortunately, the United States is political chaos, which means that the American people must remain vigilante when it comes to our national security because our enemy has the ability to remain invisible and we must understand that this is one of their strengths. God forbid another 9/11 occurs because we buy the political strategy of our weakening politicians. Al-Qaeda's core have calculated and accepted a new phase in their objectives and while they are being hunted down in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we may continue to see increasing efforts by their loose affiliated networks.
The following link is to a video released by MEMRI of al-Qaeda, it is certainly worth watching!
Go to the site and the video is available on the right hand side of the page!
http://www.memrijttm.org/
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