By John Thompson and Sara Akrami*

Canada has a fairly tough and effective set of anti-terrorism laws, provided that a terrorist belongs to an entity listed by the Canadian government to which these laws are deliberately applied. Canada has listed al Qaeda and Hezbollah, among other Islamic groups. Putting the Tamil Tigers on the list in 2006 helped bring an end to that group by making it impossible for them to continue to raise funds in Canada. When the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979, its leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, formed an organization called the “Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps” (IRGC). Its major goal is the protection of the Islamic system of Iran from uprisings and internal dissident, not the protection of the Iranian people. The IRGC also causes instability outside Iran. Given what is known about the IRGC, why aren’t they on the Canadian list of terrorist entities? The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps consist of:

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by David J. Rusin*

Federal departments and agencies tasked with safeguarding the U.S. must first safeguard themselves against Islamist infiltration. Recent news items about Muslims having security clearances rejected or revoked suggest that at least some government entities are forgoing political correctness and taking this problem seriously. More need to follow suit, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is determined to make life difficult for them.

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by Efraim Inbar*

Although the wave of mass protests spreading through the Arabic-speaking countries may have begun to recede, it has left a wide-ranging impact on the region. Three authoritarian regimes have collapsed, and the rest are experiencing varying degrees of duress.

This emerging political and strategic landscape has major implications for Israeli national security. Regional turmoil has effectively ruled out a major advance in Arab-Israeli diplomacy, enabled Ankara and Tehran to expand their influence, continued the decline of U.S. influence, and emboldened extremists.

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by Mudar Zahran*

Thus far the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has weathered the storm that has swept across the Middle East since the beginning of the year. But the relative calm in Amman is an illusion. The unspoken truth is that the Palestinians, the country’s largest ethnic group, have developed a profound hatred of the regime and view the Hashemites as occupiers of eastern Palestine — intruders rather than legitimate rulers. This, in turn, makes a regime change in Jordan more likely than ever. Such a change, however, would not only be confined to the toppling of yet another Arab despot but would also open the door to the only viable peace solution — and one that has effectively existed for quite some time: a Palestinian state in Jordan.

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

The Obama administration’s censoring of photographs of the late Osama bin Laden, lest they offend Muslims, is one thing; but what about censoring words, especially those pivotal to U.S. security?

The Daily Caller reveals that “the Obama administration has been pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in order to eliminate all references to Islam that some Muslim groups have claimed are offensive.”

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by Jonathan Schanzer*

In its final report of July 22, 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (commonly known as the 9/11 Commission) charged that Congress had failed America. In the commissioners’ judgment, Congress had “adjusted slowly to the rise of transnational terrorism as a threat to national security. In particular, the growing threat and capabilities of [Osama] bin Laden were not understood in Congress … To the extent that terrorism did break through and engage the attention of the Congress as a whole, it would briefly command attention after a specific incident, and then return to a lower rung on the public policy agenda.” Indeed, the commission was unequivocal about “Congress’s slowness and inadequacy in treating the issue of terrorism in the years before 9/11.”[1]

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

So long as the West focuses on names and faces in the so-called “war on terror” — as opposed to focusing on ideas and motivations — so long will it possibly win battles, even as it slowly loses the war.

As we approach the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, we win another battle with the recent slaying of al-Qaeda’s number 2. According to the Associated Press, “U.S. and Pakistani officials said Saturday that al-Qaida’s second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, delivering another big blow to a terrorist group that the U.S. believes to be on the verge of defeat.”

Splendid news. However, some context:

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

Now that Ayman Zawahiri has assumed leadership of al-Qaeda, it is important to end the widespread perception that he is a dour intellectual who is disconnected from young, would-be jihadists. The fact is, Zawahiri is a wily, dangerous and imposing leader who should be considered no less of a threat — and perhaps even more so — than his predecessor.

Like Osama bin Laden, the Egyptian Zawahiri has jihadi bona fides and served in the Afghan war against the Soviets, primarily as a physician. Moreover, Zawahiri’s imprisonment and torture after the assassination of Anwar Sadat by Islamic Jihad, which he headed, seems to have hardened him more than bin Laden. From his prison cell he memorably delivered a passionate speech — in English no less. Seeing a video of it dispels any notion that he is an uncharismatic leader.

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by Steven Shamrak

Editor’s note: This article is in response to a PBS interview with CIA Director Leon Panetta regarding the targeted assassination of Osama bin Laden.

1. That targeted killing of terrorists is an effective and acceptable way to deal with terrorists and state enemies. (Despite the fact that Israel was constantly vilified by international bigots, even for the assassination of Sheik Yasin, founder of Hamas.)
   

   “The authority here was to kill bin Laden” - CIA Director Leon Panetta

2. That covert military operations in a sovereign country can produce desired results and be met with overwhelming international support and cheers. (As long as it is not Israel targeting the Iraqi nuclear reactor.)

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By Fern Sidman

There is no doubt that the infamous attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 constituted the most definitive moment in modern history. On that frenetic day the world stood still; frozen in time as gruesome memories were etched in our collective psyches for eternity. It was on that day that an elusive, shadowy figure named Osama bin Laden, (who hitherto was considered a parenthetical nemesis) was suddenly and unceremoniously plucked from historical obscurity and catapulted head first into the global amphitheater.

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By Janice Kephart, CIS.org

In a strange confluence of news surrounding the activities of the Border Patrol, the agents are speaking out quite loudly – through the conduit of local law enforcement that has repeatedly challenged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s claims that the “border is as secure as it has ever been.” Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu made news that agents in the field are back-channeling complaints to the two sheriffs that they are being told from somewhere high in Customs and Border Protection not to do their jobs fully. Instead, they are to turn around those attempting illegal entry and “scare” them back across the border in order to keep apprehension numbers down – the same numbers the Obama administration is using to justify an unsubstantiated claim that the border is secure and thus the country ready for amnesty. The accusations are harsh, and denied by the administration. Yet I had been hearing these same comments for months myself but lacked sufficient proof to go public.

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by Daniel Pipes*

With a new law yesterday, the French salvaged an aspect of Western civilization.

The law prohibits “concealment of the face in public, especially by wearing a full body covering” (”dissimulation du visage dans l’espace public, en particulier par la pratique du port du voile intégral“). In other words, it does not explicitly mention the Islamist gear known as niqab (which covers a woman’s body except for the eyes) and burqa (covers the entire body).

Feminine beauty? Burqas on parade.

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By Sara Akrami

In February 2011, the news media reported that the screening of the controversial documentary, “Iranium,” had been banned in Ottawa due to pressure and threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s embassy. Despite all the threats, the documentary was shown in two different places such as Archives Canada in Ottawa and York University in Toronto and many citizens including students lined up to form their own opinions. The fact that this documentary made the Islamic Republic of Iran’s embassy concerned is a disclosure of the true face of this brutal government’s desire to procure nuclear weapons, its support of terrorism, and its violations of the basic human rights of the Iranian people during 31 years of its existence. But the most shocking aspect is: How is it possible that an embassy of a foreign government (that being Iran) that is isolated in the international arena and has the highest number of opponents among its citizens (within Iran and abroad) can exert its control over the Canadian government?

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

Recent comments by U.S. officials on the threat posed by “radicalized” American Muslims are troubling, both for their domestic and international implications. Attorney General Eric Holder states that “the threat has changed … to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens — raised here, born here, and who for whatever reason, have decided that they are going to become radicalized and take up arms against the nation in which they were born.” The situation is critical enough to compel incoming head of the House Committee on Homeland Security Peter King to do all he can “to break down the wall of political correctness and drive the public debate on Islamic radicalization.”

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One commentator states, “Pay no attention to the idiot behind the curtain while the idiot at the podium is speaking. Got it.” Another says, “Secular! Lol. I guess that’s why it’s called the Muslim Brotherhood.” I’m equally stunned, yet not surprised that our moronic President Obama is being advised by equally moronic advisers:

The Obama administration took the rare step Thursday of correcting its own intelligence chief after the official claimed Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is “largely secular.” …

This isn’t the first time Clapper has stumbled on the public stage.

During a televised interview in December alongside other top security officials, Clapper was stumped when asked about a major set of terror arrests in Great Britain. …

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