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Car Bomb Jihad By Dr. Walid Phares FrontPageMagazine.com | July 2, 2007British authorities are to be commended for successfully averting two (maybe more) car bomb attacks in London last week. At the same time, much of the reaction of Britain’s counter-terrorism community reveals that the country is not wholly prepared to deal with the terrorism threat. Let's begin with the contradictory statements made by British authorities after the car bombs had been identified. On one hand, Britain’s new home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said after an emergency meeting of top officials that “we are currently facing the most serious and sustained threat...

In this interview, FSM Contributing Editor Walid Phares discusses the “War of Ideas.” Walid warns us; the West is not winning against radical Islam’s intent upon a new Caliphate stretching from China to Morocco. Read how he envisions defeating the new fascism that we face. Question Period: War of the Worlds By Walid Phares Walid Phares is a Lebanese-American historian who has just released his sixth book, The War of Ideas: Jihadism versus Democracy. He is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington and a visiting fellow with the European Foundation for Democracies in...

In analysis exclusive to "The Tank," Middle East terrorism expert Walid Phares discusses the ongoing Syro-Iranian offensive against the West; its aims, and its three primary fronts: Eastern (Afghanistan), Central (Iraq), and — in much of today's analysis — Western (Lebanon and Gaza). Also, what we may expect in the coming months.

Many observers interpret the victory of Nicholas Sarkozy in the French presidential elections as a desperate plea from Europeans to begin a more vocal, effective resistance to urban Muslim terror throughout the Continent. FSM Contributing Editor Walid Phares brings us his expert analysis. __________________________________________________ When I was leaving Paris at the end of October 2005 after a visit to France, I had two things in mind: First, I had seen the beginning of the urban intifada, which would soon engulf about two hundred cities and towns. Second, I was able to have my book Future Jihad received by Minister of...

Walid Phares: Iraqization is right, but surrendering to fascist regimes is wrong Dec. 6, 2006 Washington DC, December 6, 2006. Mideast Newswire In his first analysis of the the Iraq Study Group recommendations, Mideast expert Walid Phares told three media outlets in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, that "the Iraq Study Group's recommendations resemble a salad bowl. The document contains some rational suggestions that should have been adopted by the Bush Administration years ago, and also some suicidal ideas that were tested decades ago and failed miserably." Phares, a senior fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of...

War Stories Investigates: The Jihad Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 8 p.m./11 p.m. ET Hosted by Oliver North The word is everywhere, but what does it mean? Jihad — holy war or struggle — now threatens innocent people of every faith. Al Qaeda may now be at the top of the terror ladder, but the roots of this global war are deep in history. Tune in this weekend as Oliver North explores what every person should know about jihad. In proven "War Stories" tradition, this episode brings historical context to today's events. As you will see, the jihad being...

"Global Trends 2015" Terrorism-Related Excerpts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following items are terrorism-related items from the National Intelligence Council's "Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future With Nongovernment Experts" report (December 2000). Transnational Terrorism (page 50) States with poor governance; ethnic, cultural, or religious tensions; weak economies; and porous borders will be prime breeding grounds for terrorism. In such states, domestic groups will challenge the entrenched government, and transnational networks seeking safehavens. At the same time, the trend away from state-supported political terrorism and toward more diverse, free-wheeling, transnational networks—enabled by information technology—will continue. Some of the states that actively sponsor...

As we mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, and we review the half a decade of war on terror since, the central question that comes to the minds of both experts and policymakers is this – who is winning the war and where are we in its prosecution? And to refine, is al Qaeda on the retreat, is Afghanistan working, is Iraq surviving the challenge, and is Lebanon’s Cedars Revolution on the rise or has it been defeated? Is Hezbollah’s war changing the U.S. strategy regarding Iran and Israel? And finally, is the U.S. homeland secure,...

As we mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, and we review the half a decade of war on terror since, the central question that comes to the minds of both experts and policymakers is this – who is winning the war and where are we in its prosecution? And to refine, is al Qaeda on the retreat, is Afghanistan working, is Iraq surviving the challenge, and is Lebanon’s Cedars Revolution on the rise or has it been defeated? Is Hezbollah’s war changing the U.S. strategy regarding Iran and Israel? And finally, is the U.S. homeland secure,...

The video tape issued by al Qaeda’s “as-sahhab” production, in which Ayman Zawahiri introduces Jihadist Adam Gahdan to the world as a senior speaker to the American people on behalf of the movement, should be taken seriously. Not necessarily at the level of detecting the next terror attack but at the level of understanding this prelude to future Jihad both in America and within the West. I wasn’t surprised at all by the 45 minutes elaboration by convert Gahdan regarding all of the issues he raised. For “Azzam al Amrikee” is the clearest specimen of Jihadism’s second generation within the...

The "Azzam" Threat: A prelude to Future Jihad in AmericaOver at the Counterterrorism Blog the ever-insightful Walid Phares has posted a preliminary explanation and analysis of the new videotape from Azzam the American, aka Adam Yehiye Gadahn. A few choice details: [...] In short, the “Azzam” video reconfirms clearly, in an English language that academic translators won’t be able to distort, that al Qaeda’s movement worldwide and in the United States is seeking total annihilation or conversion of the enemy: American and other democracies. 4) Argumentation tactics: The “speech writer,” emulating many commentators on al Jazeera or al Manar, hopes...

Expert: Iran Poised To Be 'Mother of All World Threats' Dave Eberhart, NewsMax Friday, Aug. 11, 2006 WASHINGTON -- For anyone who still thinks the Israeli-Lebanon war is just a border scuffle, one Middle East expert shouts a dire warning: "As soon as a cease fire occurs, the ‘Hezbollah Blitzkrieg' will crumble the ‘Lebanese Republic of Weimar' and install its own ‘Khumeinist Republic' on the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The consequences of such a development are far beyond imagination for the region and the world. Hezbollah would have paved the way for Iran to create the mother of all...

Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in. Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now? Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to...

REUTERS' HIJACKING LEBANON'S ANSWER TO THE UN? By Walid Phares A few hours after a Franco-American draft for a UN Security Council resolution was released, pro-Hezbollah lobbies and allies launched a campaign to hijack the response of Lebanon to the United Nations. As noted by seasoned observers the campaign started at the top with an alert release by News Agency Reuters written by Lin Noueihed. The article, put out early Sunday has reached the four corners of the Globe and its title has framed the position of the Lebanese people in a "no" to the UN expected resolution. Amazingly enough,...

Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in. Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now? Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of...

When Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah held his press conference to declare his new victory over his enemy, Israel, he was triggering –probably without knowing- a new era in the history of Lebanon and the region. “We will continue in faithfulness to our line,” he declared, in legitimizing his cross border attack on an Israeli patrol, killing soldiers and kidnapping two. But the real “fidelity” Nasrallah was referring to wasn’t to his captured men in Israeli jails, but to the regimes decision-makers in Tehran and Damascus. The “operation of July” came as a tipping point in a larger...

here's a short byte.. The taking of innocent hostages and their beheading in front of a camera, the footage of which was sent to al-Jazeera and posted on Salafi websites, is an act disconnected from humanity. In the 1940s, Hitlerian evil engaged in genocide, but its perpetrators did not air their diabolical acts in movie theatres. Zarqawi surpassed the Nazis qualitatively, but thankfully not quantitatively. Regardless of the geopolitical maze in Iraq and in the region at large, and regardless of the state of the terror war, the elimination of this Jihadi terrorist has put an end to an ongoing...

Paris and London, June 3, 2006 Over the past nine months, speeches by Usama Bin Laden, Ayman Zawahiri, other Jihadi cadres and the documents found after the arrest of Terror-architect Abu Mus’ab al Suri all put the West and democracies on notice: the second generation al Qaida is marching. The “Jihad country-list” includes those countries whose troops are engaged in battles against the Terrorists around the world or whose police force is attempting to disrupt the cells at home. Beyond the "regular" countries-targets such as the United States, UK, Australia, Russia, India, Jordan and Israel, many others "infidel" countries made...

Should we be surprised by the watershed debate following Zacarias Moussaoui's trial ending? Not really. The jury rendering of its recommendation is not unusual throughout the American legal war with Terrorism: For the five years court struggle to try al Qaida members and other terrorists in the US legal structure hasn't been working. After the classroom, America's court room is too alien to the conflict. In short Moussaoui's case is not the only one to display a systemic crisis, all other cases did and will continue to do. My take on it, as an analyst of past and future terror...

WASHINGTON – On April 26, 2005, pictures of the "last" Syrian soldiers were seen around the world. Today, on the first annual withdrawal of the Syrian regular forces from Lebanon, there are reasons for celebration and other reasons for great concern. While Syrian road blocks have vanished from Beirut and the various regions of Lebanon, many questions are still troubling the minds of most Lebanese and their friends around the world. The truth – the whole truth – is not yet fully out in the open. What caused the abrupt Syrian withdrawal, and is the latter complete? What is causing...