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Terrorism Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 24, 2015 14 Comments
The three Americans who stopped a terror attack on a train in France over the weekend were given the Legion of Honor award by French President François Hollande. CNN reports:
France honors 3 Americans, Briton for stopping train attack Three days after they pounced on and subdued a gunman Friday aboard a packed train headed to Paris, American childhood friends Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos received the Legion of Honor -- France's highest recognition. The Americans, who reportedly met in middle school in California, planned on spending the summer sightseeing together. It was Sadler's first trip to Europe, and National Guardsman Skarlatos was on a monthlong break after serving in Afghanistan. Stone is an Air Force serviceman. They will return to the United States celebrated for their courage and quick action, and for exemplifying teamwork and friendship... "By their courage, they saved lives," President François Hollande said. "They gave us an example of what is possible to do in these kinds of situations."

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 22, 2015 19 Comments
A member of the Air Force, a national guardsman and a college student, (all Americans) stopped a terror attack on a French train Friday night. This report from France 24 has the basic timeline of the incident:
Holidaying US servicemen foil French train attack Anthony Sadler, a student studying physical therapy at Sacramento State University, was travelling on a French train with two childhood friends ̶ Air Force serviceman Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman ̶ when the three heard a gunshot and breaking glass. "We heard a gunshot and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle," Sadler said from France, describing the incident. They then saw the gunman entering their train car. "I didn't realise what was happening until I saw a guard run past. I looked back and saw a guy enter with a Kalashnikov. My friends and I got down and then I said, 'Let's get him'," said Skarlatos, 22, who returned from service in Afghanistan in July.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 11, 2015 14 Comments
A Mississippi couple has been arrested for planning to join ISIS during their honeymoon in Syria. They were taken into custody as they were preparing to board a flight for Istanbul. CNN reports:
Feds: Mississippi couple planned to join ISIS in Syria Two Mississippi residents were arrested last weekend and charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to a law enforcement official. Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla and Jaelyn Delshaun Young were arrested at a Mississippi airport on Saturday. Authorities say they were planning to travel overseas to join the terror group. An initial court appearance from Monday was continued to today, when a criminal complaint will be announced. CNN obtained a copy of the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Law enforcement sources confirmed it is genuine but said the final version of the complaint could change. According to the criminal complaint, Young and her soon-to-be husband were planning to fly from Mississippi to Europe, then travel to Syria and join ISIS.
Here's a video report from CBS:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 04, 2015 15 Comments
In June of last year, Ali Mohammad Brown shot 19 year-old Brendan Tevlin 10 times while Brendan was stopped at a traffic light in Essex County, New Jersey. The murder itself was underreported, and media watchdogs and activists took to social media to demand an explanation for the lack of coverage of such a violent, inexplicable crime. (You can read Legal Insurrection's coverage HERE.) They were right to do so. After Brown was caught and arrested, he told police that the murder was a “just kill” and said it was an act of “vengeance” to compensate for U.S. military killings in the Middle East. He was vocal in his opposition to American intervention overseas, emphasized multiple times the vengeful nature of the act---and yet the media did nothing to expose what could have been the next act of violent jihad come to America. The media's malpractice in this case has been well documented, yet outlets for the most part have only just begun to scratch the surface of what happened. True justice for Brendan, however, is in reach. Last Thursday, Brown was indicted on charges of terrorism, murder, felony murder, carjacking, and robbery, as well as multiple weapons offenses.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on August 02, 2015 64 Comments
While Jeb's Telemundo interview this week has been getting attention for his statements about amnesty immigration reform, there is another interesting tidbit in there about Iran that sheds some light on his push back against Mike Huckabee's comments evoking the Holocaust. Personally, I'm not surprised that Jeb is promising action on immigration reform to Spanish-speaking audiences; he promises the same thing to English-speaking audiences and has been quite defiant about maintaining his position throughout the primary. Here's a transcript (translated from Spanish) of part of the immigration portion of the interview:
José Díaz-Balart: How do we resolve the problem of 11 million undocumented and what do you think is the formula for the border to be secured and deal with those those people who are here and contribute to the economy with their hard work? Jeb Bush: Look, first of all, to arrive here legally has to be easier than to arrive here illegally. So one must have a commitment with a border, and JUST as important, there’s 40 percent of the undocumented that arrived  here legally, that have a legal visa and they overstayed  And they don’t go back. We must have a plan to solve that. It’s not the most complicated thing in our country, we can do it. We can accomplish it. But for the 11 million people, I believe that they come from out of the shadows they get a work permit, they pay taxes naturally, they pay small fine they, learn English. They don’t get benefits from the federal government, but they come out of the shadows. And they obtain a legal status after some time. I believe that’s the place where one could obtain consensus to solve this problem.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 31, 2015 19 Comments
Today was one of those terrible days I'm glad I was traveling for. That seems to be a pattern for me; I was traveling on the day of the Newtown, CT school shooting, and other incidents that I don't have time to dig out of the archives. Very early, before 5 a.m. Eastern (when I left the house,) I saw tweets about a firebombing of a house near Nablus in which a very young child, Ali Dawabsheh (one and one-half) was murdered. While the perpetrators have not been captured as of this writing, the Israeli government and IDF are calling it an act of "Jewish terrorism." The word "revenge" was spray painted on the wall in Hebrew. Ali's father Saad and mother Riham, and 4-year-old brother Ahmad, are in the hospital in very serious condition with life-threatening burns. The attack was condemned by all facets of Israeli society including the Prime Minister and political leaders, as well as Jewish organizations around the world. There is a lot of soul searching going on.

Posted by Amy Miller on July 29, 2015 11 Comments
Today the Afghan government announced that it is investigating new reports of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Intelligence sources, as well as the Afghan government, previously reported that Omar had probably died "two or three" years ago, but are working alongside other officials in the region to confirm the new reports. More from the BBC:
A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday that the authorities were trying to verify the reports. "As soon as we get any more authentication... we're going to let the media and the people of Afghanistan know about that," Sayed Zafar Hashemi said. The Afghan government, elected last year, has embarked on a peace process with the Taliban.

Posted by Mirabelle Ward on July 25, 2015 12 Comments
The day after Secretary of State Kerry finished negotiating his disastrous nuclear agreement with Iran, President Obama asserted that, “ninety-nine percent of the world community” supports it. Like so many of the President’s statements on this topic, this one is both false and irrelevant. Our culturally closest friend, Canada, has already stated that it intends to keep its own sanctions on Iran in place. India’s defense establishment, meanwhile, is concerned and preparing for a Middle East arms race. Saudi Arabia may be the only Arab state that has openly opposed it, however, the other Persian Gulf nations have also indicated their disapproval. In Israel, opposition comes not only from Prime Minister Netanyahu, as Obama would have us believe, but from across the political spectrum.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on July 21, 2015 3 Comments
The threat of ISIS has spread from Syria and Iraq, to Egypt, and even to Europe and the United States. Islamic militants are using both ground operations and digital campaigns to infiltrate new territory, and recent reports show that now India's government is alarmed at the recent inroads made by ISIS, especially in the country's northern regions. India is home to the world's second largest Muslim population. Numbering roughly 180 million, Muslims make up for about 14 percent of the country's population, and ISIS is taking full advantage of the opportunity to seize control of new ground. Not only have young Indian Muslims joined the ranks of ISIS combatants in Syria and Iraq, they are also acting as influential jihadi propagandists online. In December 2014, Britain’s Channel 4 uncovered the identity of a Bangalore-based man allegedly operating ISIS' most influential Twitter account. ISIS’ influence in India is not limited to just talk anymore. Supporters of the terror outfit in Muslim-dominated regions are feeling emboldened to show their support outside the realm of cyberspace---and it shows. Nowhere is the support for ISIS stronger than in the northern Indian State of (Jammu-) Kashmir. In early 1990s, widespread anti-Hindu pogroms in Kashmir drove about half a million people from their ancestral homes. Having cleansed large parts of Kashmir from the native Hindu population, the Islamists are now fighting to carve out a separate, Islamic country.

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 19, 2015 6 Comments
Despite being shot multiple times, Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford survived the 2009 attack at Fort Hood. He was recently interviewed by Charles Payne of the FOX Business Network and offered some sober commentary on the shooting in Tennessee. Tom Tillison of BizPac Review has more:
‘War is here on US soil': Ft. Hood victim says Obama WH needs to get head out of a** The White House has its head where it doesn’t belong. Saying the “war is here on U.S. soil,” a victim of the 2009 Fort Hood attack by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan described the killing of four U.S. Marines in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday as “an act of terror.” He said the threat won’t go away until it is eliminated... “They need to get their heads out of the fourth point of contact and call it what it is,” Lunsford said of the Obama administration. The “fourth point of contact” is Airborne military jargon for the derriere, which is a somewhat more polite way of telling Obama to get his head out of his **s.
Watch the video below:

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 18, 2015 15 Comments
Governor Scott Walker appeared on the Kelly File Thursday night and commented on the shooting in Chattanooga. His response was starkly different than Obama's. Transcript via Mike Miller of IJ Review:
Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker joined the growing chorus of those calling on President Obama to acknowledge that America is at war with radical Islam on Thursday, saying we need to call it what it is.
We need to acknowledge that we’re at war and radical Islamic terrorism is our enemy. It’s not enough just to have containment anymore. When you talked about the policies that prohibited our military personnel from being armed at an establishment like this; those are outdated. [W]e’re facing an enemy in radical Islamic terrorism that’s willing to take the fight to us. We need to make sure that our men and women in uniform not only have the resources to protect us and keep our country safe, [but] they need to have the resources to keep themselves safe.”

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 18, 2015 23 Comments
Following the Chattanooga terror attack, the media seems confused about what had happened or at least why it had happened. Ted Cruz, however, experiences no such confusion and issued a powerful statement.
“In the wake of this vicious attack on our nation we need to rid ourselves of two dangerous delusions, first and foremost that a ‘lone gunman’–as President Obama described the shooter–is somehow isolated from the larger threat of radical Islamic terrorism. In the modern world, no one acts in isolation. Through social media ISIS, al Qaida, and other groups are infiltrating our nation with impunity while our government will not even admit that radical Islamic terrorism is a problem. “The second delusion is that this attack is somehow isolated from previous episodes, notably those in Little Rock, Arkansas and Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009—both of which were attacks on American military facilities. The Obama administration was woefully reluctant to call either an act of radical Islamic terrorism, instead suggesting ‘workplace violence’ as a justification for the killings. Finally, after years of effort, the victims of Fort Hood were properly recognized as victims of attacks by foreign terrorists when they received Purple Hearts on April 15, 2015. Likewise, the victim of the Little Rock attack received a Purple Heart on July 1, 2015.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 18, 2015 14 Comments
With news this morning of a fifth victim of the Chattanooga terror attack, we mourn four fallen Marines and one fallen Sailor: Lance Cpl. Squire "Skip" K. Wells, Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt, Sgt. Carson A. Homquist, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith. While we mourn, the media is puzzling over what the motive might possibly be for Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a Muslim from Kuwait who became a naturalized American citizen and has recently made trips to the Middle East from which he came back "changed," to attack a military recruitment center. If this type of thing hadn't happened before, we might be more willing to think this a mystery.  But as Streiff points out, this type of thing has happened before:

Posted by Amy Miller on July 16, 2015 45 Comments
Horror in Chattanooga today---four Marines dead, a soldier and police officer wounded, and a city in chaos. Five people have died after a lone attacker unleashed a spray of gunfire at two separate military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. CNN (as well as every other mainstream media outlet) are running live updates:
Four Marines were killed in Thursday's shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a senior defense official told CNN's Barbara Starr. The families of those killed are being notified of their deaths, the official said. The suspected shooter is also dead, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said Investigators "have not determined whether it was an act of terrorism or whether it was a criminal act," FBI special agent in charge Ed Reinhold told reporters. "We are looking at every possible avenue, whether it was terrorism -- whether it was domestic, international -- or whether it was a simple, criminal act." U.S. Attorney Bill Killian earlier told reporters that authorities were treating the shooting as an "act of domestic terrorism."
The identity of the shooter has been confirmed:

Posted by Amy Miller on July 07, 2015 5 Comments
Since the Taliban rose to power in 1996, the people of Afghanistan have lived a live of fear and deprivation. A cursory search for ground footage in preparation for this article offered little in the way of troop movement or news spots, but much in terms of brutal executions; the western world is still reeling in the wake of the horror that is ISIS, but for people living in Afghanistan and the surrounding areas, the violence isn't a new trend---it's a way of life. As a rule, Taliban leadership has roundly refused to meet with leaders of the Afghan leadership; that, coupled with the brutality and absolute polarity of the ideological conflict itself, has made the Afghan war less easy to comprehend than other conflicts in the region. Recent developments, however, could signal the beginning of the end of outright hostilities. This evening (local time,) leaders from both the Taliban and the Afghan government are meeting in Islamabad to continue to discuss peace terms. Parties have been meeting for several months at various locations around the world---a fact that Taliban ground forces have roundly tried to cover up---but this meeting is being touted as having greater significance than the previously-disavowed discussions. More from the Wall Street Journal:
A senior Afghan official said U.S. and Chinese officials took part in Tuesday’s meeting as observers. Their attendance, together with Pakistan’s willingness to play host, is significant as it points to a broadening involvement of key players in a possible peace process. But it was unclear whether the meeting in Islamabad was fully backed by Taliban leadership. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group, said he wasn’t able to confirm whether the Islamabad talks took place at all.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 04, 2015 5 Comments
Today marks not only United States' independence but also the anniversary of the 1976 Israeli special forces raid that freed more than 100 Israeli hostages held by the PLO in Entebbe, Uganda. As Professor Jacobson noted in 2010, it was in this raid that Prime Minister Netanyhu, then a graduate student studying in the US, lost his brother Yonatan who had led the raid and secured the safety of all but three of the hostages and all of the Israeli operatives under his command.  A truly astonishing accomplishment.  Be sure to check out the video of the heroes of Entebbe 35 years later included in the prof's 2011 post. Following is the Military Channel's documentary on the Entebbe raid and is well worth watching all the way through:

Posted by Amy Miller on June 26, 2015 7 Comments
Early this morning, we reported on the brutal terror attacks near Lyon, France that left one person decapitated and at least two others wounded. An ISIS flag was spotted over the scene of the attack---but the extremists didn't stop there. Terrorists went on a three continent killing spree today, also attacking sites in Tunisia and Kuwait. Popular Tunisian coastal town Sousse was soaked in blood earlier today after terrorists opened fire on a beach. 37 were killed and 36 injured, some of them tourists. Meanwhile in Kuwait, 25 people are dead and 200 are injured after a mosque bombing:
ISIS claimed responsibility for what it called a suicide bombing at the Shiite-affiliated Al-Sadiq mosque. The group put the number of dead and injured in the dozens. Cell phone video posted to social media and apparently shot at the mosque showed worshippers walking and stumbling through a dust- and rubble-filled interior, many with their white robes splattered in what appeared to be blood.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 26, 2015 16 Comments
The details are just coming in, but there has been a terror attack at a gas factory near Lyon, France. At least one, possibly two, attackers beheaded a man and posted his head on a fence, and tried (unsuccessfully) to blow up the factory. We will update as more details are confirmed. CBS News reports:
One person was found decapitated and two others injured Friday after an assailant -- with a possible accomplice -- drove a vehicle onto an industrial complex near the eastern city of Lyon and tried to blow up a gas factory. "The intent was without doubt to cause an explosion. It was a terrorist attack," President Francois Hollande said at a news conference in Belgium. The attack targeted a chemical factory in the town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, about 20 miles southeast of Lyon. The plant is owned by the U.S. firm Air Products. The slain victim's head was found yards away from the body, stuck on a permiter fence, with Arabic writing on or near it. There were also flags or banners bearing Arabic writing found at the scene.
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