by Daniel Pipes*

Aafia Siddiqui, 36, is a Pakistani mother of three, an alumna of MIT, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Brandeis University. She is also accused of working for Al-Qaeda and was charged last week in New York City with attempting to kill American soldiers.

Her arrest serves to remind how invisibly most Islamist infiltration proceeds. In particular, an estimated forty Al-Qaeda sympathizers or operatives have sought to penetrate U.S. intelligence agencies.

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by Milena Uhlmann*

Conversion to Islam among native Europeans is on the rise. Many converts live at peace within their native societies; some convert only for marriage, and reject neither contemporary culture nor Europe’s Judeo-Christian values. A minority, however, embraces radical interpretations of Islam and can pose a security risk. The involvement of Muslim converts in recent terrorist attacks has raised concern in Europe about these “converts to terrorism.” While intelligence agencies and security services track international communications and guard borders, such homegrown terrorists pose just as potent a threat to the security of Western democracies. European security services and politicians remain unprepared to handle this growing phenomenon.

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by Daniel Pipes*

In a declassified National Intelligence Estimate, Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities, the U.S. intelligence agencies announced last December, “We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.”

This highly controversial conclusion encouraged the Iranian leadership to dismiss the possibility of an American attack, permitting Tehran to stake out an increasingly bellicose position and rendering further negotiations predictably futile.

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By Andrew Whitehead

On May 23, the Seattle Times carried an article by religion reporter Janet Tu titled: “Does course on Islam give law enforcers wrong idea?”

Some local Muslims are apparently concerned that the program, “The Threat of Islamic Jihadists to the World”, conducted by Miami-based Security Solutions International (SSI), may promote stereotypes and ethnic/religious profiling.

Unsurprisingly, the Washington State chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) must rise to the defense of Islamic terrorists by implying that the program will somehow cause law enforcement officers to respond inappropriately when they come into contact with Muslims.

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Ottawa, Canada - The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) is calling on the federal government to review the application for a Canadian visa by Mr. Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who has been invited to speak in Canada this weekend.

“Our research suggests that Qazi Hussain Ahmad is the name of a notorious Pakistani Islamist banned in 2007 from entering Egypt, and in 2004 from entering over 25 European countries for reasons of National Security,” said Alastair Gordon, President, CCD. “We have confirmed that a man by this name has been invited to speak at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) 34th annual convention endorsed by the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA Canada), and the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), and sponsored by Human Concern International (HCI).”

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By Andrew Whitehead

The Los Angeles Police Department recently announced a program designed to gather information on Muslims living in the city. According to the article in Yahoo News:

“The LAPD’s counterterrorism bureau plans to identify Muslim enclaves in order to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to “violent, ideologically based extremism.we want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities.”

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

When Britain’s MI5 chief revealed that, “There are at least 2,000 people in the UK who pose a threat to national security because of their support for terrorism,” what was the response from the Ramadhan Foundation? Denial — which is not a river in Egypt. From the BBC:

… [MI5 chief] Jonathan Evans said there had been a rise of 400 since November 2006.

He said children as young as 15 were being recruited for terrorist-related activity by al-Qaeda. …

In order to gather recruits, Mr Evans said, extremists were methodically and intentionally targeting vulnerable young people and children. …

Mohammed Shafiq, a spokesman for the Muslim youth organisation [Ramadhan Foundation], said the language was inflammatory and called for responsible dialogue.

He said the group was prepared to talk to the police and security services, but in order to defeat terrorism it was important to acknowledge the threat existed mainly due to foreign policy. …

The “logic:” recruiting Muslim children for terrorism is not the responsibility of Britain’s Muslim community; the problem is the UK’s recognition of Israel and its troops in Iraq? Talk about passing the buck…

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by Daniel Pipes*

“Everything” did not change on 9/11, as some expected, but one thing certainly did: the U.S. government’s willingness to preempt enemies before they act. This new policy has outraged so many, it may be discontinued.

In foreign affairs, preemption replaced the long-established policy of deterrence. A series of speeches established the new policy, culminating in George W. Bush’s June 2002 declaration that “our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives.” Nine months later, preemption justified the invasion of Iraq before Iraqis had attacked the United States, to the fury of many.

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By Andrew Whitehead

On September 20, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington DC based Islamic terrorism supporting group, issued a press release titled “CAIR Welcomes TSA Policy Change on Islamic Scarf.” From the article:

“Following discussions with community leaders of several faiths, including a representative of CAIR’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter, TSA officials have accepted a proposed modification to the August 4 policy. According to the updated policy, Muslim women who wear a head cover that is attached to the contour of the head, with no space between the scarf and the head, should not be subjected to a secondary screening. That style of cover is worn by the majority of Muslim women who wear scarves.”

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by Dr. Steve Carol

The recent announcement of a planned U.S. $20 billion sale to Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates - and the new, U.S. three-line deployment strategy, is being discussed and questioned globally.

However, once again we are witnessing the repackaging of old wine in new bottles, except that this time the wine is vinegar. Major components of the proposed sale and strategy have been tried before by the U.S. and failed.

In 1970, as part of the “Nixon Doctrine”, the United States introduced the concept of relying on “regional influentials” to safeguard American interests in the wide area of the Middle East. Assigned to this role was Iran, under the Shah, whose task was to protect the Persian Gulf region. Second was Israel that was to watch over the Eastern Mediterranean area and Suez Canal. The third was Ethiopia, under Emperor Haile Selassie, that was assigned the task of safeguarding the southern approaches to the Red Sea. Arms aid was given to all three nations.

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By Bill Narvey

Whether interpersonally or at the geopolitical level, we sometimes must deal with our enemies. How we deal with our enemies is different then how we deal with our friends.

Unquestionably, Saudi Arabia is a major influential power not only within the Middle East, but also globally. Its power derives from its oil wealth. America, in seeking to advance her interests and influence in the Middle East and globally, necessarily therefore must deal with the Saudis in order to gain their co-operation.

The Bush administration, as previous administrations have before, has referred to and dealt with Saudi Arabia as a friend. That policy of friendly perception was epitomized with Pres. Bush’s 2005 hand-in-hand stroll with Saudi King Abdullah at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas.

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by Daniel Pipes*

Once-exotic forms of Muslim women’s head and body garments have now become both familiar in the West and the source of fractious political and legal disputes.

The hijab (a hair-covering) is ever-more popular in Detroit but has been banned from French public schools, discouraged by the International Football Association Board, and excluded from a court in the U.S. state of Georgia.

The jilbab (a garment that leaves only the face and hands exposed) was, in a case partly argued by Tony Blair’s wife, first allowed, then forbidden in an English school.

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By Barry Rubin

“We must once again restore the Israeli army’s deterrence, because there is no other way,” explains Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Quite right. The place to start is Syria.

Israel’s strategic policy toward Syria should be based on two simple, basic principles:

1. Israel should make the Syrians believe it wants to see the current regime there overthrown even if it has no intention of making this happen or even really wants that outcome.

2. Israel should make clear that if there is a future Hizballah attack leading to a war like last summer’s that Syria, not Lebanon, will be the main target of retaliation.

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by Michael Rubin*

Testimony given to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. House of Representatives
Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 10:30 AM

Mr. Chairman, Honorable Members. Thank you for this opportunity to testify from Camp Pendleton, California, where the 11^th Marine Regiment is preparing for deployment to Iraq. The danger they face and their willingness to undertake this courageous mission adds gravity to our discussion here today.

The Initial Benchmark Assessment Report, released on July 12, 2007, painted a mixed picture: While the surge has created space to further training of the Iraqi security forces and reduced death squad activity and ethnic and sectarian cleansing, it has not, however, stopped terrorism. Nor have Iraq’s political leaders met our political benchmarks. Still, there is reason for guarded optimism. It took five months after President Bush’s announcement of the surge approach to deploy the five additional Army brigades and Marine elements into theater. Only on June 15, 2007, with the commencement of Operation Phantom Thunder, did Generals Petraeus and Odierno inaugurate the surge strategy in earnest. Its success after only one month is impressive.

Nevertheless, today policymakers in this room and outside debate cutting short the surge and switching course. While few favor immediate withdrawal, there is open debate about other options:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Today, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns accused Iran of supplying weapons to the Taliban. I wish it weren’t so, but I just can’t get enthusiastic about the Bush Administration’s latest claims. It is not that I doubt Iran is stoking the flames in Afghanistan. It is whether I — or anyone else, especially among our allies — have any reason to believe that Bush’s people can provide evidence. The U.S. has been flexing its military muscle in the Persian Gulf, and now in the field of diplomacy — but will it have the desired effect of quieting down Iran’s Islamists? I’ve heard a few too many officials crying wolf; I’ve seen a lot of bad spin control and awful public relations. The President has squandered his post-9/11 political capital.

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