Harvey Kushner Knows Firsthand What We Can Expect at 9/11 Trial

The decision to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) to stand trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York was met with much controversy. And now the defendant's attorney, Scott Fenstermaker, is saying that his clients will plead not guilty and use the trial to dispute American foreign policy and justify their actions. The outrage cuts across party lines while media coverage has seen pundits debate what it all means. Little discussion is informed and based on facts. Misinformation abounds.

In 1998, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed was one of numerous al-Qaeda suspects who were indicted and one of the four who were convicted and sentenced to life without parole for his part in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. Mr. Mohamed was convicted and sentenced in the weeks before the 9/11 World Trade Center bombing in the same federal court where KSM is scheduled to stand trial.

Noted terrorism expert, Dr. Harvey Kushner, was on the defense team of Khalfan Khamis Mohamed. Dr. Kushner helped prepare the background for saving Mr. Mohamed's life during his trial and the subsequent penalty phase, and can describe in detail how Mr. Mohamed's life was spared, and, more importantly, why. His valuable real-world experience will shed light on what we can expect during the KSM trial and how KSM might be sentenced to life without parole. Dr. Kushner can also discuss from firsthand experience security issues surrounding the 2000/2001 trial as well the upcoming trial of KSM.

Iraq Confronts Syria over Terrorism as U.S. Dithers

By Ryan Mauro

Iraq has had enough. Faced with ongoing attacks from forces supported by Syria, the Iraqis are taking an increasingly hard line and are refusing to back down. They are fully aware that a confrontation brings the risk of further instability, but the Iraqis recognize that the only way to ultimately stop the violence is to stop those enabling it. Already, their new stance towards Syria is bringing results, while the U.S. keeps rewarding Syria through inaction - a silent way of confirming to the Syrians that we understand that our security is dependent upon them. [more...]

Inviting Sharia in the UK

By Ryan Mauro

Radical Muslims seeking to spread their ideology in the United Kingdom have found a surprising ally - the British government. London has had many successes in combating terrorists like Al-Qaeda. Yet it is helping more politically adept Islamists gain power and prestige by accepting their pose as “moderates.” Several recent appointments in the government show how the Islamists are gaining access inside the government. [more...]

KT McFarland in the Media This Week

KT on The Live Desk with Trace Gallagher on why we didn't see Maj. Hassan coming? 11/12/09 (FOX)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXYw2qA6nQ

KT with Bill O'Reilly on the The Factor on FOX 11/12/09 - Obama Dithering on Afghan (FOX)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2INSAoIZGk

KT with Neil Cavuto on OBama's trip to Asia, hat in hand. 11/13/09 (FOX)
http://blip.tv/file/2855752

KT with Dylan Ratigan on Obama's Failure to define Afghan Mission 11/16/09 (MSNBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2INSAoIZGk

All of KT's media appearances and columns under one roof at KTMcFarland.com. She is on Facebook/ KTMcFarland.com, YouTube/KTMcFarland.com and Twitter/KTMcFarland.com.

Iranians and Saudis Fight a Proxy War in Yemen

By Ryan Mauro

The two heavyweights of the Islamic world square off in Saudi Arabia's backyard.

Iran is now waging a proxy war against Saudi Arabia and Yemen by supporting a radical sect of Zaydi Shiites described as the Houthis, after the founder of their movement. The Iranians aren’t merely trying to destabilize Arab countries that are aligned too closely to the U.S.; they are trying to create a Shiite empire extending from Iran through southern Iraq to Syria - where the Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Muslims, are in power - to Lebanon. Now Iran is trying to create a Shiite enclave in northern Yemen. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it is easy to predict where they will go next: Bahrain, whose population is majority Shiite, and Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, which conveniently for Iran is 75% Shiite and is the location of 90% of the country’s oil. [more...]

DIA on China's New Fighter

By Bill Gertz

The Defense Intelligence Agency is sticking by its estimates of when China will deploy a fifth-generation jet fighter after recent remarks by a Chinese general that Beijing's most advanced jet could be fielded by 2017 - years earlier than U.S. intelligence projections. "We believe that first flight of a Chinese fifth-generation fighter will occur in the next few years; however, we also believe it will take about 10 years before the [People's Liberation Army] begins to operationally deploy a fifth-generation fighter in meaningful numbers," DIA spokesman Donald Black told me. As reported last week, Gen. He Weirong, the deputy commander of the Chinese air force, told Chinese state-run media that the new advanced jet would fly soon despite U.S. intelligence projections that it will not be ready for combat for at least 10 years. Gen. He said the first jet could be deployed by 2017, and his remarks have sparked renewed debate over whether to continue production of the Pentagon's most advanced jet, the F-22. Production of the jet, beyond 187 more planes already in the pipeline, was effectively canceled by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates earlier this year. [more...]

Saudi Link to Ft. Hood Shooter?

By Ryan Mauro

Analyst Gal Luft explains in a report by Harvard that Saudi Arabia has spent millions of dollars to convert American soldiers to Islam (and obviously, their version of Salafi Islam) since the Gulf War:

Nearly two decades have passed since the Saudi conversion campaign, and most of the converts may no longer be in uniforms,” the analyst, Gal Luft, said. “But the seeds sown during the Gulf War have germinated, creating scores of radicalized Americans who are a threat to their comrades in uniforms as well as to their civilian communities.” At one point, Saudi commander and now deputy defense minister, Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, bragged that more than 2,000 U.S. troops converted to Islam in 1991. Some of the U.S. officers were said to have been given as much as $30,000 to convert.

This doesn’t mean that the Saudis directly converting Hasan necessarily, but we should look into the circumstances of whether he was radicalized to a more strict form of Islam due to Saudi-funded networks or mosques, or perhaps one of these soldiers who has been converted in this campaign. [more...]

Trial in New York is Triumph for al-Qaida

By Roger Hedgecock

Five jihadi warriors, including the mastermind of the attacks of Sept. 11, will return to New York to face the consequence of their crime in a court of law. Editorial writers in the Obama press over the weekend waxed eloquent about the triumph of American justice: The long night of torture, rendition and endless incarceration under the evil Bush is at last over and due process is restored even for our attackers, to show the world how fair and civilized America has once again become under President Obama - or, as the Chinese call him, "Oba-mao."

With both Attorney General Holder and President Obama promising convictions in the case, it looks like the Bush plans that kept America safe from attack between Sept. 11, 2001, and this month's massacre at Fort Hood will become public knowledge. But even more importantly to accomplish the fervent goal of the international Left, the trial would thus force into the open the factual bases for indicting Bush and Cheney for crimes against humanity and bringing them to trial before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

It will be for al-Qaida a triumph of propaganda, a bonanza of intel, and a mighty blow against "the evil Bush" and his resistance to Islam conquering the world. As with all appeasements, Obama's craven "show trial" and its proclaimed "fairness" will not stop the attacks on our country but rather encourage new attacks as the enemy perceives a fatal deterioration in the American will to resist. [more...]

Cleansing South Waziristan

By Ryan Mauro

The Pakistani military is continuing its offensive to clear South Waziristan of the Taliban and other extremists. The fighting is hard and Pakistan’s forces have suffered 42 deaths and 142 injured, with an estimated 450 militants having been killed. Approximately 155,000 have fled. As the country waits for President Obama to make a decision on a new strategy for Afghanistan, the world’s eyes need to be watching the equally important developments in Pakistan. [more...]

Brigitte Gabriel: PC Destroying U.S. Military

In a recent lecture at the Joint Forces Staff College on C-SPAN, a Muslim Army Major questioned Brigitte Gabriel about whether Muslims should be allowed to serve in the U.S. Military. She replied emphatically, "No, because their allegiance is first to Islam and then to the U.S. Constitution" - a viewpoint also expressed by the Ft. Hood shooter.

Best-selling author, Brigitte Gabriel, says, "Because of my straightforwardness in addressing this issue of Muslims in the military and the warning signs we need to watch out for, I was blocked from getting the message out because of Muslim pressure within the military to stop experts like me from speaking. The intimidation was so far up the chain of command that the top brass were canceling lectures out of utter fear due to political correctness.

"When my book, "They Must Be Stopped," came out last September, I was suppose to speak at the Norfolk Naval Base and have a book signing. The head brass at the base called off my lecture and canceled it three days before the scheduled date. Intimidation was running full strength at the Norfolk Naval Base.

"I was also canceled from speaking at the Air Force Academy in Colorado to 7,000 members at their annual leadership conference. When I inquired about the cancellation, the military official that booked me did not even respond to my e-mails.

"A lecture was canceled at the FBI academy for fear of offending one Yemeni officer who was on an exchange program with our government. The FBI officer who was working with me on the lecture was afraid that I would say something that would offend him and that he would complain to his government who in return may complain to our government about what is happening at the FBI. Political correctness robbed 100 top agents at the FBI from hearing the truth about Islamic infiltration of our country because of one Yemeni Muslim and his Islamic sensitivities."

Insider intelligence sources revealed privately that a blitz of arrests of Muslims in the military is coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks. They say the reason they didn't pay much attention to Hassan is because he was the least threatening of the people they are monitoring. After what happened at Fort Hood, the military right now is not taking any chances and is now reviewing all the files of those military Muslim members with links to terrorist organizations and devoted to the ideology of Jihad.

The Grand Deception: Jihadis Among Us

By Joy Tiz

Steve Emerson is the Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, an independent, non- profit organization. Which means Emerson is not beholden to the government nor hamstrung by the lethal political correctness that has infected media and government. Emerson does, however, provide briefings to U.S. government and law enforcement agencies as well as congress. The lack of bureaucratic baggage allows Emerson and his organization to infiltrate and gather intelligence that the government isn’t getting.

Having accumulated approximately 2,500 hours of data, Emerson is putting a documentary together describing the great deception being perpetrated on the West by Islamic extremists and an apologetic media. Emerson's research has uncovered a troubling narrative currently running: the radical groups cry ' Islamophobia' at any attempt to examine or criticize terrorism. The goal is to convince us that our thinking about Islam as a motivator for terrorism is irrational and extreme. We are already seeing this in Europe with rapid movement toward criminalizing critical statements about Islam. Among the top leaders of this Islamic terrorism apologist movement is, according to Emerson: The New York Times. [more...]

Massacred By Political Correctness

By Joy Tiz

Army psychiatrist Malik Nadal Hasan slaughtered 13 people and wounded over thirty others. This was no random shooting spree; Hasan chose his time, place and victims. The Muslim doctor has a history of hatred toward the U.S., saying that the "religion of peace" really ought to rise up against the U.S. The Left is hysterically trying to spin the Islam out of this attack, insisting that Hasan suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), despite the fact that he has never been in combat. The Einsteins at MSNBC are reporting that Hasan caught PTSD by working with returning combat soldiers. They apparently discovered that PTSD is contagious. Presumably, Kathleen Sibelius is whipping up a vaccine, which will soon be placed into the uber-efficient HHS delivery system.

The reasoning is stupefying, even for liberals: Hasan was distraught over the possibility of having to go to a war zone and decided to work through his trauma by creating a bloodbath on an Army base. By the way, was the possibility of combat never mentioned to Hasan during his years with the Army? Having been provided with a free medical education funded by the U.S. taxpayers, Hasan was reportedly upset about being picked on for being Muslim. In a world run by the mainstream press, Islam is a class worthy of the highest possible protection against unpleasantness. It’s not like he tried to put up a Christmas tree or something.

The “vibrant” local Muslim community in Killeen, Texas is outraged at the suggestion that Maj Hasan’s terrorist attack on Ft. Hood could be even tenuously connected to radical Islam, according to the NYT. When a white guy shoots up a post office, they call that going postal,” said Victor Benjamin II, 30, a former member of the Army. “But when a Muslim does it, they call it jihad. [more...]

Jihadi Training Compounds, U.S.A.

By Ryan Mauro

A battle in the war against radical Islam in Detroit was briefly waged on October 28 when the FBI engaged in a deadly shootout with an extremist imam refusing to be arrested. The imam was a leader in “Ummah,” meaning “the brotherhood,” a group said to consist of mostly African-Americans, many of whom converted in prison. This group isn’t the only one trying to create an Islamic state within the borders of the U.S., and this shoot-out should be expected, unfortunately, to be a sign of more violent conflict coming down the line in this country with Islamic militant groups.

The gunfire began when the FBI tried to arrest Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, whose original name was Christopher Thomas, for his involvement in a crime ring along with followers of his. Abdullah violently resisted and managed to shoot and kill one of the FBI’s dogs before falling to gunfire. The spiritual leader of Ummah is Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, a former Black Panther who is in jail for killing two police officers in Georgia that tried to arrest him. To Abdullah, he was just following in his leader’s footsteps and carrying out the "offensive jihad" against the U.S. government he had long preached about. [more...]

Pakistan Gets Serious

By Ryan Mauro

The Pakistani military has launched a large offensive involving 30,000 soldiers into South Waziristan, one of the tribal agencies most hospitable to the Taliban and like-minded terrorists. Following frightening Taliban attacks on the Army headquarters and an air base suspected of storing nuclear weapons, the Pakistani government began a belated but aggressive campaign. In order for the Pakistanis to succeed, however, the U.S. must demonstrate a similar determination to rout the Taliban in Afghanistan by launching a comprehensive counter-insurgency campaign.

The U.S. has been secretly helping the Pakistanis carry out their offensive, providing them with intelligence from unmanned aerial vehicles and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment. Up to 150 Special Forces are now in Pakistan training and advising their military, a two-fold increase over the past eight months. This assistance has significantly helped the Pakistanis trying to clear South Waziristan, but the U.S.'s inability to secure Afghanistan limits any gains. [more...]