Category: War on Terror

Frank Crimi in FrontPage Iran steps up its ongoing efforts to aid the Taliban and al Qaeda just as NATO forces prepare for a bloody spring offensive As NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan prepare for the Taliban to launch its spring offensive, one that is expected to see a marked increase in suicide bombings, reports have surfaced that Iran is stepping up its ongoing efforts to arm, train and provide safe haven to both Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. The reports of increased Iranian involvement in the Afghan conflict include a confession by a captured Taliban commander who claimed that Iran is arming and training his terror organization as well as reports that Iran is releasing top al-Qaeda terrorists from custody. The captured Taliban commander, Mullah Gul Ahmad, claimed he was recruited by Iran’s special Qods Force in the eastern Iranian town of Zahedan. According to Ahmad, “I studied at a religious school in Iran where someone named Khaled provoked me to perform jihad against Americans.” Whether Ahmad was provoked into waging jihad or not may be up for some debate.

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Frank Crimi in FrontPage As the Obama administration welcomes participation by the Muslim Brotherhood in the new Egyptian government to be formed, reports have surfaced that the Brotherhood is now directing its terrorist minions to use the Sinai as a staging area for new terrorist operations. According to Israeli intelligence officials, Hamas and al Qaeda fighters, under the operational control of the Muslim Brotherhood, are now using North Sinai as a base from which to launch large-scale attacks on both Egypt and Israel. While Israel remains a favored target, the new terror strategy is also designed to push Egyptian forces out of the northern and central regions of the Sinai Peninsula and bring Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip under Palestinian control. An Egyptian retreat would also allow Hamas to fully eliminate the Egyptian blockade that impedes the organization’s smuggling routes into Gaza and restore them back to full operation. By taking advantage of the current upheaval in Egypt, more than 1,000 Hamas and al Qaeda fighters have now reportedly entered into the Sinai through the tunnels that link Gaza

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Frank Crimi in FrontPage Egypt becomes the first Arab country to publicly confirm an al Qaeda presence in Gaza When Egypt recently became the first Arab country to publicly confirm al Qaeda’s presence in the Gaza Strip, it severely undermined years of denial by the terrorist organization Hamas. In fact, the news has helped to underscore the growing role al Qaeda is now playing in Gaza. The confirmation of al Qaeda’s existence in Gaza came when the Egyptian government announced that it had “conclusive evidence” the Gaza-based Army of Islam, an al Qaeda affiliated terrorist group, was behind the January 1, 2011, suicide car bombing in Alexandria, Egypt. Perhaps more significantly, the attack—which killed 24 Coptic Christians, wounded over 100 and set off days of rioting in Egypt–marked the first time al Qaeda-linked forces in Gaza had turned their focus away from attacks on Israel and targeted an Arab country. Read Entire Article Here

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Frank Crimi in FrontPage As Lebanon’s unity government was brought down by an Iranian-backed Shiite terrorist organization, a similar scenario may be played out in Iraq with the return of Moqtada al- Sadr When notorious Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr recently returned to Iraq from self-imposed exile in Iran, he was warmly greeted by his Shiite supporters. Yet, for those who had been subjugated to the brutal sectarian violence unleashed by al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army, his reappearance has stoked fears over the long-term survival of Iraq’s fledgling democracy. Further feeding into this concern has been the specter of Iran’s hand in orchestrating al-Sadr’s return to Iraq. As it has demonstrated in Lebanon with Hezbollah, its Shiite proxy terrorist organization, Iran has proven quite experienced in using such proxies to bring down democratic governments. Of course, since the early days of the US invasion in 2003, Iraqis are all too familiar with Iran’s deadly and well-documented role in fomenting sectarian violence. In addition to arming insurgents to kill American troops, Iran sent in hundreds of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards to train Shiite

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Frank Crimi in FrontPage Yemen’s al Qaeda branch now poses the greatest terrorist threat to the United States When President Obama’s counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan, announced recently that the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had surpassed Osama bin Laden’s Pakistan-based Al Qaeda as America’s greatest terrorist threat, it was confirmation of what intelligence analysts have already long suspected. Brennan’s pronouncement of AQAP’s rise came shortly after the release of the Obama administration’s annual review on the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation. With its strongholds in northwest Pakistan under increased assault from the Pakistani Army, and its senior leadership rapidly depleted by US predator drones, Al Qaeda in Pakistan is in its most weakened condition since September 2001, the report said. The report concluded that “Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership has been depleted, the group’s safe haven is smaller and less secure, and its ability to prepare and conduct terrorist operations has been degraded in important ways.” Days later, Brennan told a forum audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that AQAP “is now the most operationally active node of the al

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Frank Crimi in FrontPage While Congress acts to keep Guantanamo Bay open, a disturbing intelligence report reveals an increasing number of its former detainees are headed back to the jihad The release of Congress’ omnibus spending bill on December 8 may have effectively ended President Obama’s long held desire to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. However, this news is overshadowed by a report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) that shows a disturbing increase in the number of Guantanamo’s former detainees heading back to wage jihad. If passed, the spending bill would block all funding to either transfer detainees to existing American prisons, or to build a new prison on American soil in which to house them. Even though the measure would be in effect for only one year, chances of its funding restrictions being extended beyond that are very good, given Republicans will soon be in control of much of Congress for the next two years. While the Congressional move comes as a relief to those who have long advocated keeping Guantanamo

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Frank Crimi in FrontPage Somalia’s Al-Shabab Islamic terrorist group is bringing the message of holy war to a growing number of young radicalized Somali-Americans   For several years the Somalia-based Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabab has been diligently recruiting new members in the United States, efforts that have produced both a disturbing and growing increase in the radicalization of young Somali-Americans. When 19 year-old Somali-born Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested on November 27 for his failed attempt to blow up a van full of dummy explosives at a tree-lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, some saw the influence of Al-Shabab. However, law enforcement officials were quick to insist Mohamud had not been directed by any foreign terrorist organization, pointing out he had been the one to initiate contact with Al Qaeda recruiters in Pakistan in an effort to join its jihadist movement. Read Entire Article Here

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