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Terrorism Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 24, 2016 24 Comments
The latest in the NRA's Freedom's Safest Place video series features Charlie Daniels, who starts out with a provocative statement: "You might have met our fresh-faced flower-child president, and his weak-kneed Ivy League friends." Good thing he limited "weak-kneed Ivy League" to "friends" of Obama. Otherwise I'd take great offense. Here is the full text:

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 24, 2016 31 Comments
A series of bomb attacks that rocked Belgium’s capital on Tuesday, targeting Brussels airport and subway system, has now claimed more than 34 lives. Police are still hunting for suspects and just like November’s deadly Paris terror attacks, the trail once again leads to the notorious Molenbeek district of Brussels. Just last week, the Belgian Police nabbed Salah Abdeslam, the suspect of November’s Paris Attacks from this very suburb of Brussels. The fact that Europe’s most wanted terrorist could be hiding in the heart of Europe without being detected for 4 month, highlights the extend of the problem Belgium and Europe face in combatting Islamist terrorism. Belgium, with a population of 11 million, has send 440 Islamists to fight on behalf of Isis in Syria and Iraq -- highest per capita in Europe. Most of these Isis recruits come from Molenbeek district.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 23, 2016 2 Comments
Communist North Korea is heavily involved in training and arming the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Islamist allies in the Middle East. According to recent revelations by former US intelligence officer Dr. Bruce Bechtol, North Korea has a more extensive military partnership with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and even Hamas -- than previously thought. In the past, North Korea has supplied Scud missiles to Iran and is currently playing a key role Iran’s domestic missile program. According to Bechtol, who is also president of the International Council on Korean Studies, Islamic Republic’s missile program would be “non-existent” without the help of the Communist Regime of North Korea. Nuclear proliferation and illegal arms trade makes up to 40 percent of North Korea’s economy. Iran has been paying impoverished North Korea in much needed hard cash and oil supplies. The Obama-Kerry Nuclear Deal that gives Iran $100 billion in previously frozen funds as well as greater access to international banking system, will inevitably boost this clandestine relationship.

Posted by Taryn O'Neill on March 23, 2016 7 Comments
One day before Apple and prosecutors were to face off in court, the U.S. Department of Justice was granted a request to cancel the Tuesday hearing on whether Apple should assist the FBI in bypassing security measures in a locked iPhone used by a San Bernardino terrorist. The hearing was cancelled by U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym at 5:30P.M. PDT. The earlier order requiring Apple to assist the FBI unlocking the phone was temporarily stayed. "On Sunday, March 20, 2016, an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking Farook's iPhone. Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook's iPhone," the government said in court documents filed on Monday. "If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple Inc. ("Apple") set forth in the All Writs Act Order in this case." Department of Justice spokeswoman Melanie Newman said in a statement that the government only learned of the unlocking method this past weekend. "We must first test this method to ensure it doesn't destroy the data on the phone, but we remain cautiously optimistic. That is why we have asked the court to give us some time to explore this option," Newman said to Ars Tecnica.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 22, 2016 90 Comments
Brussel's, the capital of Belgium, has been rocked by a series of deadly blasts this morning. According to latest reports, 23 people have been killed and 55 injured after explosions at three locations around the city. 13 people have reportedly been killed in the blasts at the Brussels’ Zaventem airport and 10 others at a blast near an EU building in the city. The casualty figure are expected to rise as fresh explosions have been reported and first responders are still engaged in relief and rescue operations.  Belgian authorities closed the Airport and suspended train services. The details are still scanty, but this could be seen as a retaliatory attacks in response to counter-terrorism raid being conducted by the Belgian Police. The timing coincides with the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist behind November’s Paris attacks that left 130 dead. Islamic State had taken responsibility for those attacks. Belgian officials have confirmed that the attack on Brussels Airport was carried out by a suicide bomber. German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports:

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 20, 2016 11 Comments
If you've ever wondered what could make an American join the terror group ISIS, we can now confirm one reason is plain old-fashioned stupidity. Mohamad Khweis of Virginia doesn't seem to know what he was getting himself into. Mark Zapotosky reports at the Washington Post:
American ISIS fighter captured by Kurds: ‘I found it hard’ The 26-year-old Virginia man who was taken into custody in Iraq after he purportedly deserted the Islamic State told a Kurdish TV station Thursday that he decided to escape after he grew dissatisfied during intensive religious training in Mosul.

Posted by Sarah Rumpf on March 18, 2016 32 Comments
In the latest round of legal battles between Apple and the FBI over accessing data in an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, Apple has fired back at the FBI with a scathing brief accusing the government of massive overreach in their efforts to get Apple's assistance in unlocking the phone. As Legal Insurrection reported last month, the iPhone 5C belonging to one of the shooters was seized as evidence by the FBI. The FBI obtained a warrant to search the contents of the iPhone, but ran into trouble with its passcode. The government wanted Apple to help them bypass the iPhone's security measures, but Apple refused, arguing that doing so would unacceptably put the privacy of other customers' iPhones at risk. The District Court of Central California issued an order for Apple to assist the FBI in unlocking the iPhone, and Apple objected. This set of several rounds of jousting, both in court and in the arena of public opinion. How a law from more than two centuries ago is governing a case about iPhone security

Posted by Taryn O'Neill on March 17, 2016 5 Comments
As the nation watches the FBI battle Apple in court over access to a terrorist's iPhone data, a conflict with another Silicon Valley company simmers in the background. With over a billion users, the Facebook-owned mobile app WhatsApp is one of the world's largest messaging platforms and allows users to send text messages and make phone calls abroad without incurring the international data costs associated with traditional text and voice communication. Similar to Telegram, an app popular with ISIS members, WhatsApp offers end-to-end encrypted text messaging and, according to the Guardian, will in the coming weeks be offering encrypted voice and group messaging. At present, the Department of Justice is unsure how to proceed in an ongoing criminal investigation in which a federal judge ordered a wiretap, as the department is unable to get access the ordered data thanks to WhatsApp's encryption.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 17, 2016 6 Comments
On Wednesday, French Police arrested four suspected Islamists for planning yet another terrorist attack in Central Paris. French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, confirmed that at least one of the attested suspect was about to “undertake violent actions in France.” According French government more than 8,ooo French citizens have been identified as “radicalised.” The arrests in France come on the same day as the police in Belgium arrested two suspected ISIS terrorists in connection with the November Paris attacks that killed 130 people. British newspaper The Express reports:
The suspects are said to include two French brothers of Turkish origin, referred to as ‘Aytac and Ercan B.’ as well as ‘Youssef E.’, who TF1 reports is an Islamist well known to counter-terrorist services. Police arrested Youssef two years ago with two accomplices as they were preparing to leave to wage jihad in Syria, TF1 said. He was released from the prison in October 2015 and kept under house arrest since February 29, 2016 under France’s new state of emergency, which was brought in in the wake of the November 13 massacre.
Belgian Police also shot dead a gunman during its ongoing anti-terrorism raids. The gunman was identified as an illegal Algerian immigrant, Mohamed Belkaïd. Investigators found a Kalashnikov rifle, a book on Radical Islam (Salafism) and a flag of the Islamic State next to Belkaïd's body.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 10, 2016 4 Comments
An American Air Force veteran from New Jersey has been found guilty of trying to join the terror group ISIS. It's upsetting when anyone does this but particularly when it's someone who served in our armed forces. FOX News has the story:
US Air Force vet found guilty of trying to join ISIS A federal jury on Wednesday found an Air Force veteran guilty of trying to join the Islamic State, in one of the first U.S. terror trials involving suspected ISIS ties.

Posted by David Gerstman on March 09, 2016 11 Comments
Ahead of Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the White House is considering new efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.
The internal discussions are aimed at offering a blueprint for future Israeli-Palestinian talks in a bid to advance a critical foreign-policy initiative that has made little progress during Mr. Obama's two terms in the White House, the officials said. The strongest element on the list of options under consideration would be U.S. support for a Security Council resolution calling on both sides to compromise on key issues, something Israel had opposed and Washington has repeatedly vetoed in the past. Other initiatives could include a presidential speech and a joint statement from the Middle East Quartet, an international group comprising the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and Russia.
According to the Journal, the President Barack Obama hasn't made up his mind but "is considering a range of options." In any case no decision is expected until later this year.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 08, 2016 9 Comments
Resuming a pattern seen during the Second Intifada, and intermittently since then, there was a wave of terror attacks launched by Palestinians just as a major diplomatic event was occurring, in this case the arrival of Vice President Joe Biden. There were several knife and gun attacks today, the most deadly being in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv and a frequent tourist stop. American veteran and Vanderbilt University student Taylor Force was stabbed to death, and his wife seriously injured. The sad news was announced by Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos:
It is with extreme sadness that I write to inform you that Taylor Force, a student at our Owen Graduate School of Management, was fatally wounded March 8 in a stabbing attack while on an Owen school trip to Tel Aviv, Israel. All other Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff on the trip are safe. Taylor embarked on this trip to expand his understanding of global entrepreneurship and also to share his insights and knowledge with start-ups in Israel. He exemplified the spirit of discovery, learning and service that is the hallmark of our wonderful Owen community. This horrific act of violence has robbed our Vanderbilt family of a young hopeful life and all of the bright promise that he held for bettering our greater world. Taylor’s family and his friends and colleagues have our deepest sympathy and utmost support.
This video shows the terrorist trying to escape. Fortunately, he was shot dead before he could kill anyone else, though accordingly to the Jerusalem Post he did manage to wound several others:

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 08, 2016 3 Comments
John Kerry’s Iranian “partner for peace” has spoken again. This time calling for an all-out war against Israel, the only trustworthy U.S. alley in the Middle East. Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif, who also negotiated the now-infamous Nuclear Deal, seems to enjoy a great personal relationship with Kerry and they both even call each other by their first names. According to Financial Times, Javad and John are “two affable men who struck a relationship that transcended the stubborn enmity between their nations.” President Obama too has a great regard for the Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khamenei, or as he likes to calls him, the “Supreme Leader.” President Obama praised Ayatollah's Fatwa or religious edict against nuclear weapons.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 05, 2016 6 Comments
I had not thought in a long time about Richard Reid, who attempted the shoe bombing of a passenger jet on December 22, 2001. You can read the indictment here, and the government's sentencing memo here. I thought about him early this morning when I read an old post of mine from 2011, about his sentencing by Judge William Young of the U.S. District Court in Boston in January 2003. It brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 01, 2016 7 Comments
According to recent news reports, the Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq and Syria seems to have intensified its efforts to build a “dirty” bomb. The reports coming from Iraq indicate that the terrorist group might already be in the possession of required radioactive material. The material was reportedly stolen from an oil facility in southern Iraq and was part a monitoring system used to detect structural flaws in oil and gas pipelines. Reuters news agency writes:
Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material whose theft last year has raised fears among Iraqi officials that it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State. (...) The [UN nuclear watchdog] IAEA said the material is classed as a Category 2 radioactive source, meaning that if not managed properly it could cause permanent injury to a person in close proximity to it for minutes or hours, and could be fatal to someone exposed for a period of hours to days.
Radioactive material is often part of diagnostic tools used in medical treatments and industrial monitoring around the world. The same material however can be used by terrorists to make a “dirty” bomb capable of contaminating several city blocks, causing wide-scale fatal radiation sickness and financial losses worth billions.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 29, 2016 1 Comment
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a judgment allowing victims of Iranian terror to attach a judgment owed to Iran.  This is separate from the Bank Markazi case argued before the Supreme Court last month. In this case -  Ministry Of Defense And Support For The Armed forces Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran v. Frym - ten victims of Iranian terrorism who hold valid judgments against Iran from previous cases seek to collect by attaching a judgment owed to Iran in yet another previous dispute.  All of the victim/Plaintiffs are U.S. citizens and have successfully navigated a welter of procedural and jurisprudential pitfalls. The case is a good reminder of Iran's global reach and commitment to terror.  It's also fairly complicated, so bear down.

1997 Ben Yehuda Bombing

Nine of the Plaintiffs seeing to enforce judgements against Iran were injured or had loved ones injured in the same attack.  According to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia:

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 24, 2016 8 Comments
British banking giant HSBC shut down accounts held by Islamic Relief Worldwide ("IRW") last month.  IRW has long been suspected of funneling money to terrorist organizations. According to the Center for Security Policy:
[IRW is] the largest international Islamic charity in the world, with a $240 million operating budget, nearly 300 employees, chapters in more than 12 countries with their own multi-billion dollar budgets, and operations in over 30 countries, all based in Birmingham, England.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on February 23, 2016 15 Comments
Having campaigned on closing Gitmo and on his first day in office signing an executive order to close it within the year, Obama has been steadily emptying the detention center, often in dubious deals and scandalous, logic-defying swaps.  This is something that he has been determined to accomplish while in office, and with time running out, he has today proposed a new plan to close Gitmo for good. Speaking somewhat uncomfortably about American values (as he always does), Obama laid out his reasoning behind and plan for closing Gitmo within the year. CNN reports:
Obama outlined a blueprint that involves transferring the bulk of remaining detainees to other countries and moving the rest -- who can't be transferred abroad because they're deemed too dangerous -- to an as-yet-undetermined detention facility in the United States.
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