Friday, December 12, 2014
Danish ambassador, JPost's Caroline Glick exchange verbal blows over EU attitude toward Israel
Glick was particularly struck by Vahr’s reference to a common culture between Israel and Europe.Caroline Glick tells off Danish ambassador
“We have this whole common culture, I mean really? We respect international law. You guys make it up,” she said.
In 2001, the United Nations Security Council approved a binding resolution that bars UN member states from funding or supporting terrorist organizations, Glick said.
That resolution, she said, has not stopped Europe from “funneling billions of euros into rebuilding terrorist-controlled Gaza.
“This is in contravention of binding international law that you signed onto,” she charged.
But when it comes to Israel, Europe simply invents international law, Glick said. Europe acts as if it is required by law to sanction Israel for activity over the pre-1967 lines in West Bank settlements and Jerusalem, even though there is no such binding international legislation, she said.
“There is no such binding law. You guys are funding settlements in Western Sahara. (h/t Bob Knot)
Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians Flee Hamas, Ask Israel to Imprison Them
Hamas claims that there is no phenomenon of Palestinians fleeing to Israel. A spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry said that security forces in the Gaza Strip were working to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel.Palestinian attacks family of five with acid in Gush Etzion
But what Hamas is not prepared to admit is that it is responsible for the misery of the Palestinians living under its rule in the Gaza Strip. More than three months after the military confrontation with Israel, Hamas has failed to offer the Palestinians any hope.
"Hamas has destroyed the dreams of young Palestinians," remarked a veteran Palestinian journalist in the Gaza Strip. "Hamas has destroyed the future of young people here."
Not only is Hamas unwilling to accept any kind of responsibility, but it continues to hold everyone else but itself responsible for the tragic situation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas continues to hold Israel, the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA responsible for the grievances of the Palestinians.
Instead of working to improve the living conditions of its people, Hamas is continuing to prepare its next war against Israel. In recent weeks, Hamas increased its rocket and mortar firing tests out to sea, according to an Israeli military source.
The tragic case of the two Palestinian youths who said they prefer Israeli jail to life in the Gaza Strip shows that some Palestinians are no longer willing to tolerate Hamas's deadly adventures and oppression. That is why the coming weeks and months could see a rise in the number of Palestinians knocking on Israel's door and asking to be imprisoned rather than return to the Gaza Strip.
A family of five, including young children, were lightly wounded in the West Bank Friday afternoon when a Palestinian man hurled acid into their car, before being shot and seriously wounded.
The attack occurred near a checkpoint between the Gush Etzion settlement of Beitar Illit, where the family is from, and the Palestinian village of Husan, southwest of Jerusalem.
Palestinian news agency Ma’an identified the man as Jamal Abd al-Majid Ghayatha, 45, from the West Bank village of Nahalin. Media networks affiliated with Hamas said the man was a former Palestinian prisoner in Israel jail, Israel Radio reported.
The father of the family, in his 50s, was said to have been hit in the face with the liquid, causing burns to his eyes. He was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem for treatment. The mother and three girls aged 8 to 10 were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the capital with light injuries.
Ghayatha was being treated at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem as well.
Police said the Ghayata approached the family’s car, posing as a hitchhiker, and hurled the chemical substance inside. He reportedly held a screwdriver in his hand, and there were conflicting reports as to whether he attempted to attack people with it or tried to flee the scene. An armed civilian shot Ghayata, seriously injuring him. He was then apprehended by Border Police.
Liberman: Abbas using PA minister's death to incite and fan the flames
Liberman issued a statement saying that the transparent autopsy conducted at the Abu Dis Forensics Institute in the presence of representatives form the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Israel determined that he died of a heart attack.Stabbed Israeli student improving as mother arrives in NY
“This shows that the charges Abu Mazen [Abbas] and the heads of the Palestinians leveled against Israel were baseless and meant to incite the Palestinian public,” he said.
“Israel and the IDF have proven time after time that despite having to deal with violent activity – organized violence and difficult situations that no other democracy in the world has to deal with – they do it in the best way possible,” he said.
According to Liberman, “the contemptible charges of excessive force made by the representatives of the Palestinian government – thereby making 'Israel responsible for murder' – attest only to the motivations of the Palestinian inciters who are doing everything to exacerbate the conflict.”
The condition of the Israeli rabbinical student who was stabbed at Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn was upgraded.Israel blames PA ‘incitement’ for Athens shooting
Levi Rosenblatt, 22, who was stabbed in the neck and head on Tuesday while praying, was upgraded from critical to serious but stable condition, though he remains confused about why he is in the hospital, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.
His mother arrived in New York on Wednesday to visit her son — the first time she has set foot in the United States in 25 years.
Her son’s survival was a “miracle,” Reizy Rosenblatt told the Daily News.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said a drive-by shooting at the Israeli Embassy in Athens in the early morning was “the result of Palestinian incitement against Israel,” which it claimed was led by the Palestinian Authority.Two Jordanians On Trial For Plot to Attack Israeli Embassy
In a statement, the ministry condemned the attack, in which no one was injured, and blamed PA leadership and pro-Palestinian groups for incitement “spread throughout the world.”
The Greek government condemned the incident.
“Any terrorist attack hitting at the heart of democracy hits at the heart of the country,” government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi told Reuters.
“The Greek government is fully determined to ensure the protection of all diplomatic missions in Greece,” a Foreign Ministry statement said. “Of course, particularly strong security and protection measures are in force at the Israeli embassy.”
Unknown attackers fired dozens of bullets at the facade of the embassy building.
Police said 54 bullet casings from an AK-47 assault rifle — a weapon favored by Greek anarchist militant groups — were recovered outside the embassy, on a busy road junction that was closed to traffic for hours.
Jordan put two brothers, accused of planning to blow up Israel's embassy in Amman, on trial Thursday. The two are part of a terror gang arrested during the summer, at the height of protests in Jordan against Israel during Operation Protective Edge.Jordan Adds 75 New Guards at the Al Aqsa Mosque
A total of eight suspects, including a Syrian fugitive, were charged with plotting to attack US soldiers and blow up Israel's embassy in the Hashemite kingdom, as well as trying to recruit people to join the Lebanese-based terror group Hezbollah.
The brothers, 53 and 37, were accused of preparing a car bomb and getting ready to ram it into the Israeli Embassy in Amman. They are being tried on charges of terrorism, using illegal explosives, illegal possession of weapons, and conspiracy. The car and the weapons were stored in the garage of one of the brothers, the indictment said.
Police said they caught the two before they were able to carry out their plot because of a “work accident,” with some of their explosives blowing up while in storage. The explosion prompted a police investigation, which resulted in the arrest of the brothers, as well as the other suspects.
Jordan has ordered the addition of 75 new Arab guards to be deployed at the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency reported.Investigation Reveals Mosque 'Arson' Was Just Libel
Omar al-Kiswani, director of the mosque site, told the news agency that the orders came from King Abdullah. Ten of the new guards are women, and six firefighters, five electricians and an engineer also have been employed.
King Abdullah’s order also follows the recent production of a Knesset bill to outlaw the “Mourabitoun” Muslim guards who often have participated in riots against Jews. The “Mourabitoun” are funded by Islamists and their job as “guards” is to keep the Temple Mount free of Jews.
Several dozen guards, or rioters, currently are stationed 24 hours day at the mosque site, and the addition of 75 is huge number, possibly double the current staff.
Israeli and international media was in an uproar last month after a mosque in Al-Mughayir near Shiloh in Samaria was allegedly torched in a "price tag" attack by "settlers" - a special investigative team revealed Thursday that the mosque burned in a fire caused by an electric short, not arson.IDF review of Hamas infiltration leaked to Palestinian site
After the fire dozens of Arab residents rioted at the entrance to the village and prevented IDF and police forces from conducting a thorough investigation of the fire.
As a result, a special investigative team was formed by firefighting and rescue forces together with Judea and Samaria district police and general security services investigators.
Judea and Samaria district Firefighting and Rescue Investigations director Reshef Shai Turgeman emphasized in the report to the police that the fire was not caused by arson, but rather apparently by an electric short in a space heater that was in the mosque and then removed from it after the fire by residents of the village.
In a serious breach, an internal IDF video reviewing a terrorist infiltration during the summer’s fighting in Gaza was leaked and posted on a Palestinian website and YouTube Wednesday.
The footage revealed IDF code words for military positions, roads, and forces.
The infiltration from the sea occurred on July 8, a kilometer north of the Gaza-Israel border. Four Hamas divers were ultimately killed in the aborted infiltration attempt.
The leaked video revealed that one of the Hamas commandos managed to attach an explosive belt to a tank, which detonated without causing damage. IDF videos and press releases of the incident given to the public contained no mention of the explosive belt.
The video opens with a military map, showing the code names and locations of surveillance cameras. It then shows footage from “Lookout Johnny,” tracking one of the pairs of divers making its way out of the water.
House Spending Bill Earmarks $3.7 Billion in Military Aid for Israel, With Special Emphasis on Anti-Missile Systems
While political relations between the Obama Administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government may be rocky, the $1.01 trillion spending bill expected to pass through Congress in the next few days tells a very different story with regard to US-Israel bilateral relations.Ex-CIA Director Says US Holding Pollard for 'No Good Reason'
Included in the bill, which will keep the federal government funded until September 2015, is a $3.7 billion allocation for Israel, composed of the $3.1 billion in regular annual military aid – in accordance with the multi-year agreement between Jerusalem and Washington – and an extra $619 million for Israel’s missile defense system program, including the Iron Dome anti-missile system which played a key role in protecting Israeli population centers from Hamas missile attacks during the summer war in Gaza.
This will be one of the largest-ever US military aid packages granted to Israel, Israeli business newspaper Globes reported. (h/t Alexi)
Former CIA Director James Woolsey spoke to Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) on Thursday, and emphasized that the ongoing incarceration of Jonathan Pollard (60), now in his 30th year behind American prison bars, has "no good reason."IDF Soldiers: We Acted With Restraint at Protest Where Abu Ein Died (VIDEO)
Pollard has been suffering failing health and last week was hospitalized before being returned to jail; he apparently will need another surgery soon. In the interview, Woolsey was asked by interviewer Ilana Dayan why Pollard does not receive even "an ounce of mercy."
There is "no good reason," acknowledged Woolsey, elaborating that there is no reason his parole or clemency has been denied for so many long years.
According to the former CIA head, Pollard "should have been released years ago…I think my country is quite wrong on this and I cannot offer any reasonable explanation for the behavior of those either in the White House or otherwise who have not seen fit to show clemency to Pollard."
The Health Ministry, in an initial statement released Thursday, said Abu Ein’s death, “…was caused by a blockage of the coronary artery (one of the arteries that supplies blood to the heart) due to hemorrhaging underneath a layer of atherosclerotic plaque. The bleeding could have been caused by stress.”
The ministry added that “The autopsy was carried out at the forensics institute in Abu Dis, and that, along with Dr. Chen Kugel and Dr. Maya Furman from the National Institute of Forensic Medicine,” representatives from the “Palestinian forensics institute and doctors from Jordan,” were also present.
“Indications of light hemorrhaging and localized pressure were found in his neck,” according to the findings. “The deceased suffered from ischemic heart disease; blood vessels in his heart were found to be over 80% blocked by plaque. Old scars indicating that he suffered from previous myocardial infarctions were also found.
“The poor condition of the deceased’s heart caused him to be more sensitive to stress,” the report said, adding that, “It is necessary to wait for the medical treatment report before determining more incisive explanations on this matter.”
Abbas backs Egypt crackdown on Gaza tunnels
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he supported Egypt’s crackdown on tunnels linking the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula and any other action the country took to protect itself from militants, according to a media report Thursday.Islamic State, Assad Dancing Around Each Other on Battlefield
“We have supported all the precautionary measures taken by the Egyptian authorities to close the tunnels and stop the trafficking of arms and the passage of people between Gaza and the Sinai,” Abbas said in an interview with Egyptian magazine Al-Ahram Al-Arabi due to be published on Saturday, extracts of which were published by MENA news agency.
“We will continue to support any measure protecting Egypt from danger,” Abbas was quoted as saying.
A report released by Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center shows that the majority of the Islamic State’s military activities in Syria have focused on non-governmental opposition groups, while only a small percentage have targeted the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.‘You let my girl fly off to die’: Jihadi Amira Karroum’s father blames Australian Government for daughter’s death
According to an NBC analysis of the JTIC data, which was gathered from the beginning of 2014 until November 21, approximately 64 percent of IS (commonly called ISIS or ISIL) attacks have targeted opposition parties including Jabhat al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army–but only 13 percent targeted the Assad regime.
Meanwhile in Iraq, more than 50 percent of IS attacks have focused on decimating Iraqi security forces.
“In Syria, it’s a different situation because you have such a proliferation of competing, non-state armed groups in the country in addition to Assad,” JTIC head Matthew Henman said.
Henman said both IS and the Assad regime have engaged in the “clever strategy” of “ignoring” one another.
Mr Karroum believes authorities let Amira leave because they wanted her to help them catch senior al-Qaeda figures, such as recruiter Mohammed Ali Baryalei, who is now believed to be dead.This Father Blames The Government For His Jihad Daughters Death
Three weeks after Amira left Australia she was dead.
“The Australian Federal Police and ASIO are not doing their job,” he said
In an interview on Channel 9’s A Current Affair last night Mr Karroum said he wished Prime Minister Tony Abbott understood the depths of his pain. He said he prayed that Mr Abbott would “lose one of his daughters”.
“I’m praying to the Lord every day, Tony Abbott, please Lord, let him lose one of his daughters either in sickness or in accident or something, please Lord,” he said.
Mr Karroum said he feared more young Australians would be drawn to conflicts in the Middle East because many recruiters for jihadist groups were still active in Australia.
Must-pass bill gives Congress unprecedented Iran oversight
The Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2015 will keep the US government funded through September. Although support for the $ 1.1 trillion bill is split in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses, members of both parties have said that they hope to pass the legislation to avoid an impending government shutdown.Cyber Attacks Crippled Adelson’s Casino Firm because He Said ‘Bomb Iran’
The must-pass appropriations bill is the opening salvo as the administration gears up for a fight to prevent the incoming Republican-controlled Congress from passing legislation that increases Congressional oversight over the terms of a potential permanent Iranian nuclear deal, which has been under negotiations for over a year. A recent deadline for reaching an agreement was missed and a new target date set for July.
The bill contains a rider — a non-budgetary clause — that requires the administration to report to Congress every 30 days regarding Iran’s compliance with the terms of the interim plan as well as offer an assessment of the state of Iran’s nuclear program.
Cyber hackers crippled the computer network of the giant Las Vegas Sands Corp, headed by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, to punish him for saying that Iran should be bombed if it cannot be stopped from obtaining a nuclear weapon.Iran says nuclear talks to resume in Geneva Wednesday
The attack occurred last February but was not publicized until BusinessWeek exposed it in its new edition dated next week.
Las Vegas Sands refused to comment.
The hackers sent Las Vegas Sands engineers scrambling to the casino floor underneath their offices to yank out network cords from computers.
Top-level talks will begin on Wednesday, December 17, with meetings at the deputy minister level taking place two days earlier, state news agency IRNA quoted Abbas Araqchi as saying.State Dept.: Public Has to “Trust the IAEA” on Iranian Nuclear Procurement Violations
Despite making progress, the two sides failed to clinch a definitive deal by a November deadline and agreed to extend the talks until July 1.
A final agreement is aimed at ensuring Tehran will never develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities, and would lift international sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
Despite a UN report that Iran had been caught breaching international sanctions by acquiring materials for its Arak nuclear facility, a State Department spokesperson said yesterday that the public was “just going to have to trust” that Iran wasn’t in violation of last year’s Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) agreement, the terms of which are largely secret.Iran: U.S. Military Option Is Off the Table
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki stated that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, had confirmed that Iran was still operating within the terms of the JPOA, which was agreed to by Iran and major Western powers. Psaki was questioned by the Associated Press’ Matt Lee as to whether the recent reports that Iran was failing to disclose that it had acquired materials for the Arak heavy-water reactor constituted a breach of the JPOA. In yesterday’s briefing, Psaki acknowledged that Iran was cheating on its international obligations, but not on the terms of the JPOA.
A credible U.S. military option against Iran is off the table and something the Obama administration can “no longer even think about,” according to one of Iran’s top military leaders, who claimed in a wide-ranging interview that Iran has deployed advanced missiles and satellites capable of tracking foreign militaries.Iran Hosts Conference to Strengthen Shiite Axis in the Middle East
Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), scoffed at the Obama administration’s insistence that a credible military option exists against Iran and discussed the Islamic Republic’s offensive military capabilities during a wide-ranging interview on Iranian state-run television.
On the heels of another deal with Iran that extends talks with Western powers over the country’s contested nuclear program through July 2015, Salami accused the United States of bluffing about the threat of military action against Tehran.
“We have denied our enemy any military option,” Salami said in an interview on Iranian television just days after the Nov. 24 extension in talks was announced. “The enemy can no longer even think about a military option.”
Diplomatic sources in Tehran said that the conference was intended to rebuild Tehran’s alliance in the Middle East and develop ways to confront U.S. involvement in the region.12 arrested in Iran for embezzling over $4.5b
The conference was attended by representatives of Iraqi militias and Palestinian and Lebanese organizations affiliated with Tehran, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Iraqi Al-Da’awa Party. Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Suleimani, who has relationships with these various groups, was the architect of the conference.
Some commentators in the Arab world believe that Iran wants to form an alliance to thwart a political solution in Syria, which would lead to the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad – the embattled dictator supported by Iran. Moreover, from military and security standpoints, Iran’s goal is to prevent the stabilization of the region and to thwart American efforts against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Iranian authorities have arrested 12 people for siphoning off more than $4.5 billion from one of the country’s main banks over several years, media reported Thursday.After Blasting IRGC for Corruption, Rouhani Boosts Their Budget by 50%
The reports come amid government vows to clamp down on corruption in a bid to revive an economy devastated by decades of international sanctions.
President Hassan Rouhani warned Monday that corruption poses a threat to the Islamic republic, pinning the blame on monopolies.
The suspects embezzled from the Kerman branch of Tejarat Bank from 2009 until their arrest in 2013, Shargh newspaper quoted local prosecutor Yadollah Movahed as saying.
Even as he was blasting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for corruption on Monday, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran increased the organization’s budget by 50%.Turkey "Improves" Education
Bloomberg News reports that Rouhani enacted this increase even as oil prices, a primary source of Iran’s revenues, are dropping:
"Rouhani proposed increasing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ budget to 174 trillion rials ($6.5 billion) from 115 trillion rials, according to figures published today by Tasnim news agency.
The IRGC budget constitutes 62 percent of Iran’s armed forces budget, according to government figures. Total defense spending, including for the regular army and Basij paramilitary force, will climb 33 percent to about 282 trillion rials, reflecting Iran’s increasing commitment to fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and propping up Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria."
After an appeal by an Alevi family, the European Court of Human Rights [ECHR] recently concluded that the Turkish education system was "still inadequately equipped to ensure respect for parents' convictions" and violated the "right to education." Europe's top court ruled: "Turkey has to remedy the situation without delay, in particular by introducing a system whereby pupils could be exempted from religion and ethics classes without their parents having to disclose their own religious or philosophical convictions."Controversial Turkish Airline Sponsors White House Summit
Such was the general set-up when Turkey's National Education Council met last week to debate a better education system and make recommendations to the government. At the meeting, the Council's members did not discuss Turkey's extremely poor PISA rankings. Nor did they discuss improving the curriculum in mathematics and science.
Instead, a pro-government teachers' union proposed making religion a required course at pre-school. The union demanded that Turkish children aged three to six should be taught Islam. Fortunately, that proposal did not win a go-ahead from the Council but religion (read: Sunni Islam) classes were made compulsory for first, second and third grade students (aged six to eight). Turkey's response to the ECHR, which vehemently told Ankara to scrap all compulsory religious education, was to introduce Islamic teachings to six-year-olds.
A controversial Turkish airline accused of mistreating women, being anti-Israel, and conducting cargo flights to Iran was one of the featured sponsors of a recent White House gala for travel bloggers, according to regional reports.The Turkey-Hamas terror axis
Turkish Airlines, the country’s national carrier, was one of the “main sponsors” of a Tuesday evening summit at the White House for international travel bloggers, according to Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News.
The participation of Turkish Airlines in the White House event sparked some protest from foreign policy experts who point to the carrier’s controversial history, which includes accusations of arms shipments to Iran, the mistreatment of female employees, and the past sponsorship of a virulently anti-Israel conference.
The Shin Bet's findings regarding the Turkish connection to Hamas is just the tip of the iceberg, for it leaves no room for doubt as to al-Aruri's role.In-depth report reveals Qatar’s willful blindness to financing of global terrorist groups
"After the recruiting stage, the operatives underwent a training in which they were taught to carry out the intended mission," the Shin Bet said. "The trainings took place under the supervision and coordination of operatives working for the Hamas military wing based abroad and in the Gaza Strip. This training took place in a number of locales, including Jordan, Turkey, Syria, and Gaza."
"In Turkey, operatives focused on planning the military phase of the attack," the Shin Bet statement read. "This planning included the integration of various operative routes that would be utilized to carry out attacks against targets in Israel proper, Judea and Samaria, and abroad. ... After the military training, the operatives were assigned their tasks by the senior Hamas leadership in Turkey. The senior command in Turkey and Jordan communicated their instructions to forces on the ground. It was this command that bears responsibility for the attacks being carried out."
The report, “Qatar and Terror Finance: Negligence,” is the first in a three-part series by The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and its Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance.Persian Gulf Nations Form Regional Navy, Police Force
It links Qatari financiers with the leaders of Islamic State; al-Qaida’s Syrian branch, Nusra Front; al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula; Somalia’s al-Shabaab; the Taliban; and Pakistan’s core al-Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
It names over 20 people who have been blacklisted by the US or the UN on terrorism- financing charges but have not been dealt with by Qatari authorities.
“Qatar’s terror-finance problem is the result of weak enforcement,” the report says. “It reflects a serious lack of political will and represents a grave threat to US interests.”
“Qatar’s performance in the fight against terror finance tests the notion that it is a reliable friend and ally.”
The report’s author, David Andrew Weinberg, a specialist on Gulf affairs and a senior fellow at the Washington- based think tank, told The Jerusalem Post that besides to Hamas, large funds are heading to Nusra Front and to Islamic State.
“On Tuesday, 24 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called on the US administration to sanction any government in the future that provides material or financial support to Hamas,” noted Weinberg.
“Qatar and Turkey are in Congress’s sights, and they apparently run the risk of being called state sponsors of terror – a category that under US law involves serious penalties, such as a possible arms embargo for enabling terror against Israeli civilians by backing Hamas,” he said.
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council has created a joint naval and police force in response to their mutual concerns over Iran’s growing nuclear prowess and the rise of Sunni Muslim radical groups.Daniel Pipes: An Arab prince denounces Islamism
The force was created at a regional conference held in Qatar, according to a report broadcast on Israel public radio.
Six nations from around the Persian Gulf will each send representatives to the regional force, and supplement it with a common fleet.
The new naval force is to be headquartered in Bahrain. A new regional police force is to be administered from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Both are intended to fight terrorism and organized crime, particularly due to Iran’s growing influence in the region, and the rise of Sunni Muslim extremist groups, according to the report.
In a remarkable but thus far unnoticed address on Dec. 5, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain (an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet), candidly analyzed the Islamist enemy and suggested important ways to fight it.
He has much to teach Westerners (starting with his hapless U.K. counterpart, Crown Prince Charles), if only we would listen. Yes, some Western leaders speak about confronting the Islamist ideology, but the majority avoids this issue by resorting to euphemism, obfuscation, and cowardice. Most frustrating are those leaders (like Tony Blair) who deliver powerful speeches without follow-through.
He notes that "we are not only fighting terrorists, we are fighting theocrats." As Salman uses this term, theocrats are men "placed at the top of a religious ideology who [have] the power by religious edict to strip someone … of their hereafter -- and use [religious power] for political gains." They are also tyrants, isolationists, and misogynists who will need to be fought "for a very long time." He scorns them for being "very much like the seventeenth century" and having "no place in our modern 21st" century.
