Free Republic

SNIPPET: "Social media is no longer simply a fun way to share updates on the harmless idiosyncrasies of our lives. It can undermine national security, and there ought to be a more robust discussion between the Bay Area technology world and Washington on what to do about it. Cyber-terrorism, especially the potential for electronic tampering with U.S. industrial or military installations, is a paramount national security threat that Washington is working to forestall. We're all working to protect our accounts from hackers. But the cyber-threat getting far less public attention involves the social media networks we use every day and the...

Hugo Chavez has been accused of aiding the anti Colombian FARC terrorists and drug-trafficking group.Venezuelan Catholic leader accused Chavez of moving towards dictatorship, of persecuting the Catholic Church. Many accused him -of at least- acting like a dictator Or just a "plain" dictator. In 2010, he intended on jailing reporters calling him a dictator. Some of Hugo Chavez's totalitarian methods: ... protesters were kidnapped while returning from an anti- Chavez rally. They were blindfolded, tortured and shot execution-style. Some of the victims were witnesses of a previous pro-Chavez political killing... Chavez is cooperating with the dangerous Islamic fanatic regime...

Following are excerpts from an interview with former British MP George Galloway, which aired on Al-Manar TV on July 26, 2011: George Galloway: I support the government of Lebanon's rejection of the fake indictment [for the Al-Hariri assassination]. I know it is fake because we are now into the third incarnation of the identity of the criminals who killed the marrty Rafiq Al-Hariri. The first accusation was against Syria. The second accusation was against Hizbullah. Now all the hostility against the Syrian regime is coming back, and we are returning to accusations of the Syrian regime and of Hizubllah. This...

SNIPPET: "I. When considering the matter of jihadis online, remember that most of what we think we know is based on analyses of the comments made by an handful of vocal activists. The vast majority of jihadis online, be they on forums or social networking sites[i], say nothing. Skillful translations and insightful analyses by definition tell us little about this potentially lethal yet silent majority."

SNIPPET: "While these various elements of the jihadist network are distinct, the Internet brings them together, especially at the grassroots level. Videos, websites and online magazines indoctrinate aspiring militants in the jihadist ideology and provide a forum for like-minded individuals and groups."

Why Hezbollah Had a Really Bad Week David Schenker July 1, 2011 | 12:00 am Why America Should Be Hoping Bashar Assad Gets Overthrown Meet the Women of Hezbollah Back in 2006, the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah was riding high. Having fought the Israeli army to a standstill, the organization's leader Hassan Nasrallah declared "divine victory." The war was a public relations coup for the militia, which emerged from the campaign as the most favorable personification of Shiism in the largely Sunni Muslim world. So impressive was the alleged victory that the campaign sparked a widely reported trend of conversion...

A French comedian has canceled his participation in a festival in Lebanon next month because of concerns for his safety after Hezbollah's TV station claimed he served in the Israeli army. Al-Manar TV said Gad Elmaleh, who is of Moroccan-Jewish descent, was an avid supporter of Israel and showed a purported picture of him wearing an Israeli military uniform. The performer's agent denied the report's claims and said the photo was a fake. Lebanon and Israel technically remain in a state of war, and it is illegal for Lebanese to have contacts with the Jewish State. Israel and the Shiite...

U.S. Federal Judge Richard M. Berman sentenced on Tuesday a New York resident who broadcast satellite television programming of the Hizbullah terrorist organization to more than a year in prison. Saleh Elahwal pleaded guilty to providing material support to the terrorist organization's Al Manar news network between September 2005 and August 2006. He was sentenced to a year and five months. Elahwal's sentencing comes two months after the main defendant, Javed Iqbal, was ordered by a federal judge in Manhattan to serve five years and nine months. Iqbal, dubbed by a prosecutor as “Hizbullah’s man in New York City," ran...

(IsraelNN.com) U.S. Federal Judge Richard M. Berman sentenced on Tuesday a New York resident who broadcast satellite television programming of the Hizbullah terrorist organization to more than a year in prison. Saleh Elahwal pleaded guilty to providing material support to the terrorist organization's Al Manar news network between September 2005 and August 2006. He was sentenced to a year and five months. Israel, the U.S., and many European countries define the Lebanese-based Hizbullah organization a terrorist organization, prohibiting any transaction with a terrorist organization. Elahwal's sentencing comes two months after the main defendant, Javed Iqbal, was ordered by a federal...

SNIPPET: "Hezbollah-controlled Al-Manar television reported that the suspects' job was to collect information on potential targets such as the group's installations and the homes of its leaders. The suspects are among 17 people allegedly belonging to six espionage cells who have been arrested in Lebanon in the past two months on suspicion of transmitting intelligence information to Israel...." SNIPPET: "Israel has expressed reservations about American aid to the Lebanese army and security services, saying those organizations will ultimately be unable to contend with Hezbollah and that any aid is liable to serve Hezbollah's interests."

Note: The following text is a quote: Staten Island Man Sentenced To 69 Months In Prison For Providing Material Support And Resources To Hizballah LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAVED IQBAL, a/k/a "John Iqbal," 45, of Staten Island, New York was sentenced today to 69 months in prison for providing material support to Hizballah, a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge RICHARD M. BERMAN in Manhattan federal court. According to the criminal Complaint, Count Two of the Superseding Indictment, to which IQBAL...

Damascus - A delegation from the US Congress arrived in Damascus late Friday for talks with the Syrian officials, a US Embassy spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The congressional delegation, chaired by Democrat Representative Adam Smith, will discuss with Syrian officials US-Syrian relations and security cooperation. This is the first US delegation to visit the Syrian capital after US president Barack Obama was sworn in on January 20. Syrian observers expect the visit, and other visits expected to take place in February, aim at breaking the ice between Damascus and Washington. Smith, who has served for 12 years in the...

December 30, 2008 Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/December/08-nsd-1156.html Man Pleads Guilty to Providing Material Support to Hizballah TV Station NEW YORK - Lev L. Dassin, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Saleh Elahwal, 55, of Matawan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to providing material support to Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to the count (Count Two) of the Superseding Indictment to which Elahwal pleaded guilty, and statements made during his guilty plea proceeding before United States District Judge Richard M. Berman: Hizballah ("Party...

December 23, 2008 Note: The following text is a quote: http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/nyfo122308a.htm STATEN ISLAND SATELLITE TV OPERATOR PLEADS GUILTY TO PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO HIZBALLAH TV STATION LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAVED IQBAL, a/k/a "John Iqbal," 45, of Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to providing material support to Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to the criminal Complaint, the count (Count Two) of the Superseding Indictment to which IQBAL pleaded guilty, and statements during the guilty plea proceeding before United States...

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) November 26, 2008 The international struggle against Hezbollah’s television broadcasts: Germany’s Interior Ministry announced a ban on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV station, joining the US, France, Spain, and other countries where the station is banned. Al-Manar’s broadcasts are still distributed worldwide by the Arab and the Indonesian communications satellites.

How The West Was Won The rapid and unexpected decline of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq was officially recognized this week, when Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commanding the Marine Expeditionary Force, turned operational control of Anbar Province over to the Iraqi army and police. Anbar, a vast expanse of desert the size of North Carolina, had been the stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. For years, foreign fighters loyal to al-Qaida had sneaked across Iraq's northwestern border with Syria, into Anbar and down a "rat line" of safe houses in Haditha, Ramadi and Hit. From Fallujah, the arch terrorist Zarqawi...

Why is Egypt airing insurgent TV from Iraq? csmonitor.com http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0117/p01s03-wome.htmlWhy is Egypt airing insurgent TV from Iraq? Al Zawraa's broadcasting of Sunni attacks on American soldiers highlights sectarian politics. By Sarah Gauch Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor CAIRO - Al Zawraa television station, the face of Iraq's Sunni insurgency, shows roadside bombs blowing up American tanks, dead and bloody Iraqi children, and insurgent snipers taking aim and firing. And all this blatant anti-Americanism is broadcasting 24/7 on an Egyptian government-controlled satellite provider from one of Washington's closest allies. Even though Iraq and the US have asked Egypt to pull...

Excerpt - FOUR months after Israel launched its onslaught against Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrillas are back in south Lebanon stronger than ever and armed with more rockets than they had before the conflict, according to Israeli intelligence. During the month-long war, which began on July 12, Hezbollah fired 200 to 250 rockets a day into Israel, killing 43 civilians and terrorising much of the north of the country. “Since the ceasefire, additional rockets, weapons and military equipment have reached Hezbollah,” said an Israeli intelligence officer. “We assume they now have about 20,000 rockets of all ranges — a bit more...

With its Al Manar television station launched in 1991, the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah has pioneered the use of mass media as a weapon. It uses the broadcaster to recruit suicide bombers, raise money for terrorist operations, conduct pre-attack surveillance and incite violence. This fall, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is poised to follow in Hezbollah's footsteps. Until now, Hamas's Al Aqsa television has been broadcast only within the Gaza Strip. But this month it will begin satellite distribution via the Nilesat satellite, the Palestinian News Agency (Ramattan) reported in August. This would allow Hamas to spread its message of...

A collection of 9/11 tributes I’ll add to the list below, and if you have any you’d like to add to this (or any other sort of tribute/remembrance), please do so here. Either leave a comment with the link, or link to this post and send a trackback. 9/11: The 5th Year Anniversary Tribute Blood of Heroes September 11th, Uncensored From Brain Terminal: Crystal Morning: September 11th, 2001 From William Teach: 9/11 Plus 5 From Crusader: WTC Tribute More from YouTube: 911 tribute September 11th - Five Years Later: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 September 11th - Flash...