6-20-13 National Security Updates

By Ryan Mauro

U.S. Aid to Syrian Rebels: Last Chance or Too Late?

After a White House announcement that it will provide military help to the Syrian rebels, the CIA will soon be delivering small arms to the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syria Army (FSA) through Turkey and Jordan. The FSA is the only one of the 12 rebel groups that is not Islamist (excluding one group that is an offshoot of a Kurdish terrorist group). [more...]

NSA: What the Explosive Headlines Aren't Telling You

Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor that leaked classified information and fled to Hong Kong, is being treated like he’s a hero by a bipartisan paranoia club, from Michael Moore to Glenn Beck. He is no hero. He is a criminal who has misled millions of Americans into believing their country is a police state for having legitimate intelligence-gathering programs. [more...]

What Do the Iranian People Really Think of Sharia?

A new Pew poll shows that only 15% of Iranians oppose implementing Sharia, but don’t jump to the conclusion that this means most of the population is necessarily Islamist. The poll has conflicting results. At least 60% favor separation of mosque and state, with 30% favoring little or no political influence for clerics. It is also questionable how many Iranians would freely express themselves to a foreign pollster. [more...]

Europe, Arabs Disapprove of Iran More Than Americans

The Iranian regime always makes the charge that the U.S. is leading an anti-Islamic Crusade against it on behalf of an evil Zionist lobby. A new poll, however, shows that the American people’s disapproval of Iran is equal to that of the Turkish people. In addition, the people of two Arab countries as well as those of Canada, Japan, Brazil and most of Europe disapprove of Iran more than Americans do! [more...]

CAIR Cries Foul Play in FBI Shooting of Tsarnaev Cohort

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity, is suggesting that the FBI murdered Ibragim Todashev, an associate of the Boston bombers that attacked an FBI agent. Todashev and the Boston bombers are believed to have killed three people on September 11, 2011. [more...]

A Radical Imam's Infiltration of Philadelphia

Radical Imam Siraj Wahhaj isn't who comes to mind when you think of interfaith partnerships, but two of his associates have served at the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia. The two are colleagues of Wahhaj and they lead their own Islamist groups, one of which even used to go by the name of International Muslim Brotherhood. [more...]

The Media Makeover of Iran's New President

The media and Western analysts are ecstatic at the surprise victory of Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric, in Iran’s presidential election. They forget that Rouhani is merely the face and voice of the regime. Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei and his inner circle are the brain, heart and muscles.  This makeover is a form of taqiyya, the Islamic doctrine of deception. [more...]