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...]