http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/walidphares/ en-us Wed, 6 Jan 2010 03:35:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421913/posts Even President Obama has admitted that we're falling down on the job when it comes to fighting the war on terror. In 2002, one would-be shoe bomber forced millions of travelers to take off their shoes. In 1996, terrorists planned to bring down aircraft on transatlantic flights by smuggling liquid explosives onto plane. They were thwarted but they succeeded in preventing passengers from bringing liquids into airline terminals. Lesson number one: In this terror war, the jihadists have the upper hand. THEY are in charge. THEY are the ones who choose to use a new weapon and they are also... FOXNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421913/posts#comment Wed, 6 Jan 2010 03:35:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2360684/posts As soon as the Oslo committee issued its Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, an expected debate raged in America about the legitimacy of such a move so very early in a U.S. presidential term. The debate soon will espouse the dividing lines between domestic and foreign policy issues and, in a few weeks, will die out under the awe of new unfolding events. What will remain are future policy debates that will refer to one of the world's most prestigious awards as a fact in international relations. Months and few short years from now, supporters of the "new... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2360684/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:13:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342212/posts In a 12 minutes address on audio tape, Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, spoke to the American people on the eighth anniversary of 9/11. The tape was produced by the as-Sahab propaganda arm of the terror group and posted on various Jihadists forums last night. His address, directed "to the American People," asserted that the main reason for the Al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, was US support for Israel as well as “some other injustices.” Interestingly Osama claimed the war between the two "nations" i.e. the American nation and the Islamic "Umma,"... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342212/posts#comment Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:27:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2306262/posts .......... Stealth analysis “Saifullah” of North Carolina spent his 20s and 30s (or so we know) in his rural home. His neighbors saw him walking the dog and never heard him threatening anyone, per the media reports. By popular American standards he would be a regular guy. But by jihadi doctrine he was performing taqiyya. Combatants “in the path of Allah,” as instructed by ideologues to “fake” normalcy, and lie if needed, about their real beliefs so that the deception of the enemy is full. The question is how many other American “Saifullahs” are practicing taqiyya and since when? Are... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2306262/posts#comment Sun, 2 Aug 2009 01:30:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2305368/posts With shock and malaise, Americans are discovering that their country is penetrated by jihadi terrorists, particularly those we call "homegrown." Over the past few months, several alarming cases have been revealed by law enforcement. Not only the frequency of these revelations but also the type of jihadi cells are teaching the public that something very troubling is happening within the homeland: the surge of a threat deserving a greater attention than the current attitude dispensed by the administration. The arrest of Daniel Patrick Boyd, a married 39-year-old, his two sons, and four other “jihadis” in a rural area south of... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2305368/posts#comment Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:48:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2302089/posts Another issue raised by President Barack Obama during his July 11 speech at Accra is the “relative” notion of democracy. In contrast with the previous administration’s call for a US-backing for the “spread of democracy,” Obama underlined that “America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. The essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny.” In fact, the difference between the previous and the current US approach is not about the “role,” as no one in Washington’s government has had any project to “impose” democracy, or specific institutions. The George... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2302089/posts#comment Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:27:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2297741/posts Over the past months, the narrative of Washington's "new direction" in world affairs blurred the clarity of the confrontation with the terror forces worldwide. Are we at conflict with a global threat? The administration, insisting on treating the issue locally, claimed otherwise. But during President Barack Obama’s July 11 speech in Accra, he said that "when there's a genocide in Darfur or terrorists in Somalia, these are not simply African problems — they are global security challenges, and they demand a global response." This zigzag between local and global risk is confusing not only to the public but to strategists... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2297741/posts#comment Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:26:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2289762/posts In a briefing organized in Congress in July of 2007, I submitted a plan to the U.S. House Caucus on Counter Terrorism called "Freedom lines" suggesting a second phase in the American military campaign in Iraq. This plan was suggested as of 2004. After having analyzed the long term goals of al Qaeda and the Iranian regime in Iraq and discussed them with CENTCOM officials and National Defense University professors, the proposed plan projected a rapid training and expansion of the Iraqi armed forces followed by a gradual redeployment of U.S. and Coalition forces out of the cities and urban... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2289762/posts#comment Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:40:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276846/posts Why did the Grand Ayatollah Khamenei decide to suppress demonstrations and not order a reorganization of new elections to solve the crisis? What is the analysis inside the Khamanei/Ahmedinijad “war room”? Based on several assessments, it appears that the regime feels the protest movement is too wide and too determined to allow it to expand further. The ayatollahs in charge of the “revolution” and the top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards as well as their financial operatives fear a popular shift inside Iran’s population along the magnitude of East Europe’s revolution against Soviet rule. The most cataclysmic parallel would be... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276846/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:36:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266036/posts Perhaps the most challenging task for analysts and commentators to accomplish after having listen to President Obama's speech in Cairo (addressed to the "Muslim World") is to know how to read it, understand the links between the points he made, capture the arguments inserted by his speech writers and thus analyze the text as a major policy change since 9/11. In short, I would recommend for readers to establish a "map of the speech" before venturing to its various exotic suggestions and hints. Evidently, each political constituency in America, the region and the international community has its priorities and will jump to the part it... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266036/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jun 2009 06:04:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256767/posts A successful counter-terrorism operation led by the FBI and the New York City Police Department ended with the arrest of four New York City men in connection with plots to bomb Jewish synagogues and gun down military planes in upstate areas. ———— Today’s announcement of the foiled terror plot is a stark reminder that we are still under attack — eight years after the September 11 massacres. And if we are under attack, it means that we are still at war, a real one, not a “man-made disaster.” ————- According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly the suspects, identified as James... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256767/posts#comment Sat, 23 May 2009 06:03:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2236663/posts As the U.S. administration and its allies are devising a new strategy for the next steps in Afghanistan, the jihadists have already begun their next move — but this time it’s inside Pakistan. As I’ve written over the past few months, we need to look at Afghanistan, Pakistan and India as one regional battlefield where the “other side” is coordinating strategically, acting methodically and for sure beating the international coalition in speed. If Washington and its allies fail to see the big picture in the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, which unfortunately may be the case now, the... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2236663/posts#comment Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:44:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234370/posts Most of the media discussion about piracy in the Gulf of Aden has drifted understandably towards the sensational part of the story: how are the Pirates able to roam the Ocean? Is paying them ransom a better option than to engage them militarily? Last but not least, will a military intervention against the Pirates worsen the situation; will it lead to a massive escalation in Somalia and a Vietnam like quagmire for many years to come? The armed bands on the waters are still roaming the seas of Aden and the Indian Ocean across from Somalia and Kenya, are not... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234370/posts#comment Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:03:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2225522/posts Al Jazeera television is known for airing Islamic extremist videos and even hosted an on-air birthday celebration for convicted Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar who murdered four Israelis in 1979. "It is a professional institution but it is a militant institution that wants to convey an ideological Jihadi message," said Walid Phares, a terrorism analyst for FOX News. Critics charge that the Jihadist message now is making its way to public broadcasting in America. FOXNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2225522/posts#comment Thu, 9 Apr 2009 12:36:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213322/posts The British government’s announcement to open a dialogue with “the political wing of Hizballah” is most troubling. In a statement to a parliamentary committee, Bill Rammell, the British foreign office’s minister for Middle East affairs, rationalized the decision on the grounds of what his office perceives to be “more positive developments within Lebanon.” This British declaration underscores a pervasive failure to properly understand the structure of the Iranian-backed terrorist organization. At worst, the call to distinguish between the group's political and military wings (in terms of decision-making) may be driven by a desire to construct imaginary facts for diplomatic and... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213322/posts#comment Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:49:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207531/posts Since the advent of Hafez al-Assad's dictatorship in Damascus in 1971, Syria's role in the region, and particularly in Lebanon, has been described in two diametrically opposing narratives. The difference between these two narratives is so wide that one of them has to be wrong. The school of engagement insists on Assad's unavoidable role as a pacifier in the region. To many diplomats, experts, and policy makers in the West —including paradoxically in Israel and the United States—the Alawite regime is seen as a stabilizing force that can absorb radicals and defuse a regional war. Yet, it is almost impossible... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207531/posts#comment Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:47:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2186227/posts As we celebrate the Valentine's Day just passed, it's important to note the emergence of an eternally verified reality: Love is the strongest human force fighting against terrorism and jihad. "Al Gharam mamn’uh, al Gharam kufr," screamed the self-declared cleric in al-Ansar’s chat room this Friday. “Love is forbidden, love is infidel” -- said the online fatwa about the “legitimacy of loving and being in love.” A weekend before Valentine's Day, jihadist souls were not questioning the “commercialization” of romance, but inquiring about the ban on “being in love.” The “scholars” said human love is evil. The simple feeling of... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2186227/posts#comment Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:41:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167778/posts With the end of the Bush presidency in sight, it’s time to take stock of the War on Terror, something that didn’t begin with George W. Bush but which entered the American collective consciousness on his watch. So, where are we now, as we get ready to usher in a new era with a new president? The measurement of the successes and failures under the Bush Administration isn’t a simple matter of calculus. Many questions make the final assessment complex and inextricable. Here are few examples: Did the jihadi war against America begin on September 11, 2001? Of course not!... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167778/posts#comment Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:43:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163166/posts It may be too early to discuss both a comprehensive solution for the future of a Palestinian state and to anticipate an end to the global War on Terror at the same time but here goes. In any discussion of peace in the Middle East it’s important to remember the intentions of the Iranian and Syrian regimes and their proxy, Hezbollah when we think about saving the civilian population of Gaza from war, shielding the Israeli populations from rockets and avoiding an escalation of violence that could engulf the entire region. The Iranian and Syrian regimes and their ally Hezbollah... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163166/posts#comment Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:23:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2159793/posts Israeli raids on Hamas' infrastructure, along with troop movements around Gaza and the shelling of Israel by that organization, are troubling but certainly not surprising. Sadly, it's not the first time we've seen these images. Tragically, seven years after September 11 they seem to connect with similar bloodshed in Mosul, Kabul and Mumbai. Even if both sides in the current Gaza conflict insist that their confrontation is at the center of the world, in reality it isn't. Car bombs and missiles in Beirut, Baghdad and Islamabad are all horrifying. There is no "top horror" anymore, even in the never-ending cycle... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2159793/posts#comment Tue, 6 Jan 2009 20:29:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2155623/posts An intelligence assessment, the "Internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013, obtained by the Associated Press projected several "dramatic" developments. Among these projections that terrorism directed against the US will "continue to be driven by driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa." The report asserted that WMD attacks "could be carried out against America" but then added that "these threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots." The report reasserts a number of predictions made before and noted... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2155623/posts#comment Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:15:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154540/posts As I observed the immediate aftermath of the shoe throwing incident in Baghdad, I noted that the most striking effect occurred among the Western public, and particularly within the United States. Commentators and regular citizens were asking themselves again, seven years later, “why do they hate us?” missing one more time the fact that this particular violent expression, far from being a unique emotional reaction by one individual, is part of a war of ideas; it is a continuous organized confrontation over the future of the region. In short, this was another form of Jihadism, one I am coining now... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154540/posts#comment Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:01:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2145407/posts The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), an association of the world's Islamic states, is pushing the United Nations to outlaw "defamation" of religion in general, and of one religion in particular. My remarks that follow are based on 27 years of researching in the field of international relations and conflicts, and on a decade of teaching Religions and World Politics. Since I published my first book in Arabic in 1979, where I addressed the issue of relationships between civilizations and cultural blocs worldwide, I have had the opportunity to publish ten books and hundreds of articles focusing on the rise... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2145407/posts#comment Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:02:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2139651/posts Last Thursday’s order by a federal judge to release five Algerian detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison reopens the complex debate about the principle of holding prisoners of war during wartime. But, and this may be even more important, it also reopens the debate inside the three branches of government in the United States over whether or not our nation is actually at war. The case at hand will certainly be discussed by legal specialists on both sides of the debate. Here is the chain of legal events that will be scrutinized: The first “civilian court” ruling -– for terrorism suspects... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2139651/posts#comment Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:13:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129354/posts How will Obama deal with this threat? We have Carter II in the making. The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129354/posts#comment Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:30:44 GMT