FREEDOM FIGHTERS OR TERRORISTS - YOU DECIDE

From a remarkable BBC Interview:

BOMBS AND BEATINGS: LIFE AMONGST THE TALIBAN
5 February 2010

In Pakistan an account of life with the Taliban has emerged from a 13-year-old girl called Meena, who says her own family tried to turn her into a suicide bomber.


Meena fled the Taliban and is now in a secure location


My brother used to tell me that the place for a woman is either at home or in the grave. I was always restricted to home.

He said: "If you leave the house I'll cut off your head and put it on your chest."

My brother had been to the local school and beaten the girls and the teachers.

Taliban commanders used to come to our house. There was an underground bunker beside the house, with electricity.

It was concrete and very strong. Cars would drive on top but no-one would realize what was underneath. In that hideout they used to train suicide bombers.

Most were children of my age or younger than me. They were used for these activities because they were too young to know any better.


Going to 'Paradise'

I used to see these children getting on a vehicle to go for their missions. They used loud Islamic CDs to motivate them.

And I would think, "My God, more Muslims are going to be buried". Then the news would come that more Muslims were wiped out.

My brother used to prepare bombs and my sister-in-law did too. He told me that he would teach me this. I told him no. I would not even look at what they were doing.

My father and brother told me to carry out a suicide attack. They were pressuring me to do this.

They told me: "If you do it you will go to paradise long before us." I replied: "Why don't you tell me I will go to hell long before you?"

Every day they used to tell me this. Every day. I was very young when they started telling me this. I said to them: "What about all the people I will kill? They are all Muslims."


Bomber's Medicine

They started beating me when I refused. They beat me non-stop. They made my life hell. I never had a single moment of happiness. They did everything other than kill me.

They said: "The bomb will be connected with a button, or something like the remote control of a TV. We will give you this kind of remote, and you will go to the place.

"We will also give you a mobile, and we will ring that phone, and press the remote, and you will be blown up with this bomb."

They told me they would use such a large amount of explosives that no-one would even know if it was a man or a woman.

They told me that I had to do it.

There was a kind of medicine they used to give to the bombers that made them go around smiling, in a trance.

They said they would give me that medicine, and then I would go running to die - with a smile. I was so scared I decided to prepare my own tea, and my own food.

I was afraid they would mix that medicine with my food.


Sister's Story

They attached a bomb to my sister Nahida. They tied rectangular pieces to both her arms, and a black strip was wrapped around both her legs.

Then they connected the whole thing. She told my brother the bomb was heavy and she could not walk.

He said she would be comfortable once she was sitting down in the car.

They gave her medicine. But she was crying very loud for my mother. She kept going to her and hugging her. When my sister looked down at the bomb, she shivered.

Then my brother and my father started beating my mother, and they were shouting: "Why you are distracting the girl from her mission?"

I heard my sister saying: "Where is Meena? I want to see her." But I didn't have the strength. My heart couldn't take it.

My mother fainted when they put her in the car. My brother said my sister's attack was in Afghanistan.

I always think about my sister. She was healthy and a very nice girl. She was younger than me, but she was wiser. My mother used to tell me that I was an idiot, but she was very wise.


A 'Lucky Goat'

My brother was involved in the Khyber Bazaar bombing (in the frontier city of Peshawar in October 2009, in which more than 50 people were killed). It was discussed in the house.

When someone was sent somewhere they would talk about the target.

They would say: "We are sending this group there."

After the bombings they would celebrate. They would garland each other with flowers as people do when they come back from the Haj.

When (former Pakistani Prime Minister) Benazir Bhutto died my brother started calling everybody. They started firing, and saying "Benazir has died, Benazir has died". Everybody started firing - they celebrated until it was very late.

My brother visited a friend's house after many years and was given a goat and a motorbike which he brought home.

They used to get animals as gifts because there were so many Taliban to be fed. He asked me to take care of the goat but she ran out of the gate. I went after her.

Our house was on a ridge. There was a stream down below. She went down to the stream and I followed her. A plane came making a lot of noise, and vibrations. (This was an attack by a helicopter gunship.)

When I looked back up to my place all I could see was a lot of smoke rising. My house was turned into rubble.

I didn't have a clue about how many of my family members were dead or alive. Since that place was full of arms and explosives I could hear big bangs.

Then I started walking and by the evening prayers I had reached a local town.

People say I have a strong heart. I've had to be strong. What can I do? God won't even let me die.

If my brother gets hold of me, I will poison him and myself.

The Taliban slaughter other people's children. They turn women into widows. They should be made to suffer too.

I want these Taliban to be burned alive.



There is no independent confirmation of her account but police say they believe she is telling the truth, and her information could be valuable.


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A common theme of the liberals in our country and repeated by the Left in the other developed countries, is that the war in Afghanistan - like the war in Iraq - is an "unnecessary war".

If for no other reason, we are there to free the oppressed from the kind of savagery Meena described above.

There is a segment of the liberal Left who would decry our actions, who claim that it is the West who has driven the Taliban to become who they are.

These people call themselves 'Progressives'.


S.L.

FALLEN HERO

DEFINITION OF A VETERAN

A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life."- Author Unknown


Specialist Kyle J. Wright, 22, of Romeoville, Illinois, was killed in action 13 January 2010 when his Stryker vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device (IED) in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team; part of the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Kyle was a third-generation soldier. “Kyle was a better man than me when I was 22, and was well on his way to being a better man than I am today,” said his father Richard Wright, who was a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne Division. “He was the most honorable man I’ve ever known in my life.” Wright said the bomb that killed his son went off under the driver’s seat and that Kyle was dead by the time soldiers pulled him from the wreckage.

Wright is the 31st member of the Brigade killed in action since it deployed to southern Afghanistan last summer. All but one were killed by IED’s.

A graduate of Romeoville High School, Kyle Wright reported to Fort Lewis in January 2007 when the 5th Brigade was originally formed, his father said, and he went through intensive Arabic language training when the Brigade prepared to deploy to Iraq.

“He was one of the smarter kids in the outfit, so they tagged him with learning Arabic,” Richard Wright said. “He wasn’t supposed to be driving; they just needed someone with nerves of steel at the wheel.”

His body was escorted home by his brother-in-law, an NCO in the 5th Brigade. Kyle Wright is survived by his parents, three sisters and a brother. He had a serious girlfriend from Tacoma, Washington.



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Kyle will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, in accordance with his wishes. A memorial tribute will be held on February 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Romeoville Recreation Center, 900 W. Romeo Road, Romeoville Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to:

Operation Support our Troops, Illinois
1807 S. Washington Street
Suite 110, #359
Naperville, IL 60565

Donations should be noted: "In Memory of Kyle Wright"








“He was a United States Soldier. Honor him.”




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SUPERBOWL AIRSPACE CAUTION

Notice Number: NOTC2119

Super Bowl XLIV


On Super Bowl Sunday, as you join with family and friends to cheer on your favorite team, rest assured that our nation's skies are safe and secure, defended by a highly trained team from Continental NORAD Region and First Air Force -- dedicated to preserving our peace and security.

Temporary Flight Restrictions will be in place during Super Bowl XLIV over Land Shark stadium, and CONR fighters may be visible on Sunday, February 7, 2010, while they enforce the FAA's flight-restricted area in downtown Miami.

General Aviation pilots are strongly encouraged to continue to check NOTAMS throughout the weekend.

An attractive, and informative, poster can be viewed here.

PHANTOMS ON LINE

Taken in the late 70's by my buddy Mark the Shark, when he lived on Clark AFB . . . these are F4's on the line.

STOP SHARIAH NOW

STOP SHARIAH NOW is a special project of ACT! AMERICA


Click here to see the Global Impact of Shariah


1. WHAT IS SHARIAH OR SHARIAH ISLAMIC LAW?

Shariah is Islamic law and represents the traditional or “pure” normative interpretation of the Qur’an and teachings of Mohammed, as developed by Shariah scholars and jurists during Islam’s early centuries. It has remained largely unchanged for over 1200 years and is practiced today in these areas:

o Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan
o Recognized as the supreme law of the land in almost all Arab regimes (although not always put into practice)
o Afghanistan and the Swat region of Pakistan, under Taliban control
o Parts of Nigeria, Indonesia, and Somalia
o As of January 2009, Hamas-controlled Gaza strip
o Al-Qaeda radicals practicing terrorism


2. HOW IS SHARIAH RELATED TO RADICAL ISLAM?

Implementing Shariah is the agenda of what is often termed Radical Islam or Political Islam. Shariah-driven Islam is a political movement much like Communism, in that “true” Muslims are required to relinquish all control of personal, business, family, and religious life to the rulings of Shariah “authorities” (the ‘ulema’ who act as legislators, judges, and law enforcement) in the service of this totalitarian political order. The goal is to wage Jihad (cultural, financial, or violent) to create a one world order, united under Islam, where Church and State are one.


3. DO ALL MUSLIMS WANT TO LIVE UNDER SHARIAH LAW?

No. Newspapers report bloody struggles in Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Egypt, and Jordan between secular liberty-minded Muslims and theocratic Shariah militants. However, as Shariah Islam expands its reach worldwide, polls suggest increasing support for enforcing strict application of Shariah law in Islamic countries: 65% of Egyptians, 76% of Pakistanis, and 49% of Indonesians - www.worldpublicopinion.org. Yet Shariah law silences nearly 750 million women and children.


4. WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF SHARIAH LAW?

The Reliance of the Traveller, Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law is the authoritative Sunni Shariah rulebook (available at Barnes and Noble).





o Offensive, military Jihad is a religious obligation.
o Inferior status for all non-Muslims (“dhimma”).
o Capital punishment for slandering Islam.
o Capital punishment for apostasy (leaving Islam).
o Women may not leave the house without husbands’ permission; beating disobedient women, polygamy, forced child marriage, and stoning of adulterers are permitted.
o Slavery is legal.
o Lying (taqiyya) to infidels is permitted.
o Capital punishment for homosexuals and lesbians.



Pilgrims circumambulating the Kaaba during the Umrah


5. WHO IS THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD?

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) was formed in the 1920s by Shariah advocates to create a one-world nation-state under Shariah Islamic law. Today, they are in 70+ countries. The Brotherhood works hand-in-hand with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a 57-member Muslim-majority block in the UN to implement their 1982 plan to invade and conquer the West.


6. WHAT TACTICS ARE USED TO IMPLEMENT THIS STRATEGY?

Below are some of the tactics recommended in the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Project” (see the English translation in Patrick Poole’s article in www.frontpagemag.com):

o Inflaming violence while appearing ‘moderate’
o Inciting hatred against Jews
o Monitoring western media
o Making alliances with western “progressives”
o Establishing financial networks to fund conversion
o Collecting funds to support global jihad
o Who are these Shariah Authorities or Advisors?

Only Shariah authorities (the ‘ulema’) can issue fatwas or legal rulings and only they can interpret Shariah. As Shariah authorities, they authorize, direct, and condone Jihad actions. The mandate that “true” Muslims carry out their fatwas ensures that these authorities can distance themselves from actual acts of terror. Recent fatwas by Shariah authorities resulted in a) the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, b) rioting following the publication of the Danish Mohammad cartoons, and c) the attacks in New York (Sep. 2001), London (Jul. 2007), Madrid (Mar. 2004), and Mumbai (Jan. 2009).


7. WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF CREEPING SHARIAH?

“Creeping Shariah” refers to the incremental adoption of Shariah, in which a single example seems harmless, but taken together, represents a pattern of intention.

No-Go Zones. 751 no-go zones in France where police have turned over control to “religious enforcement” following threats of violence. Girls without Islamic clothing have reportedly been raped. Non-Muslim citizens are urged to stay out. Zones exist in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Shariah Courts. 2008: Official recognition of five courts in the UK and one in Texas, USA, with lobbying to create greater legitimization and authority in Minnesota, New Jersey, and California. The intent is to set up parallel courts, in lieu of secular courts and their judgments, in family and business law.

Assault on Freedom of Speech. Feb. 2009: Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders prosecuted for hate speech for his 15-minute film, Fitna.

Books Destroyed. July 2007: Cambridge University Press destroyed its print run of Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World in reaction to Saudi threats of a slander lawsuit.

Children’s Rights. Mar. 2008: UK reports epidemic of forced child marriages. 2008: Texas father murders teenage daughters for adopting a Western lifestyle.

Women’s Rights. 2008: Successful lobbying for polygamy in Canada and UK; Holland recognizes polygamous marriages. 2009: Buffalo NY, USA. Muslim leader decapitates his wife after she filed for divorce. Honor killing is justified under Shariah law.

Saudi Hate Curriculum. The Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) in Virginia, remains open, despite reports of hate-filled curricula, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

U.S. INVESTIGATING BLACKWATER BRIBERY CLAIMS IN IRAQ

from THE NEW YORK TIMES, January 31, 2010:

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is investigating whether officials of Blackwater Worldwide tried to bribe Iraqi government officials in hopes of retaining the firm’s security work in Iraq after a deadly shooting episode in 2007, according to current and former government officials . . .

. . . The investigation, which was confirmed by three current and former officials speaking on condition of anonymity, follows a report in The New York Times in November that top executives at Blackwater had authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials to buy their support after the shooting. The newspaper account said it could not determine whether any bribes were actually paid or identify Iraqi officials who might have received the money.

The Justice Department has obtained two documents from the State Department, which had security contracts with the company, that have raised questions about Blackwater’s efforts to influence Iraqi government officials after the Nisour Square shootings, according to two American officials familiar with the inquiry.

One document, a handwritten note, shows that a Blackwater representative told a senior official at the American Embassy in Baghdad that the company had hired a prominent Iraqi lawyer to help the firm make compensation payments to Iraqi victims of the shootings, a practice encouraged by the State Department.

According to the document, as described by the two government officials, the Blackwater official said the firm had hired the lawyer hoping that the lawyer’s close ties to top Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, would help Blackwater obtain a license to continue operating in Iraq . . .


Let's put this whole episode into some kind of perspective, this is the scene of Nisoor Square after the vehicle bomb went off, that immediately preceded the events of Sept 16, 2007:


A scene of disarray and destruction after the vehicle explosion. (ABC)

THE PUEBLO INCIDENT

USS Pueblo (AGER-2), a Banner-class technical research ship (US Navy Intelligence), was boarded and captured by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 23 January 1968. The Pueblo Incident became one of the major incidents of what is now considered the "Second Korean War".

North Korea stated that she strayed into their territorial waters, but the United States maintains that the vessel was in international waters at the time of the incident.

Pueblo, still held by the DPRK today, officially remains a commissioned vessel of the United States Navy.[1] It is currently located in Pyongyang, where it is used as a museum ship. It is the only ship of the U.S. Navy currently being held captive.


THE TAKE DOWN

On 5 January 1968, Pueblo left Sasebo, Japan on January 11, 1968 headed northward through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan with specific orders to intercept and conduct surveillance of Soviet naval activity in the Tsushima Strait and to gather signal and electronic intelligence from North Korea.

On 21 January a modified Soviet style sub chaser, SO-I class, passed within two miles (4 km) of the Pueblo.

The next day two DPRK fishing trawlers (Lenta Class) passed within 25 yards (23 m) of Pueblo. That day, a North Korean unit made an assassination attempt against South Korean leadership targets, but the crew of Pueblo were not informed.

According to the American account, the following day, 23 January, Pueblo was approached by a sub chaser and her nationality was challenged; Pueblo responded by raising the U.S. flag. The DPRK vessel then ordered her to stand down or be fired upon. Pueblo attempted to maneuver away, but was considerably slower than the sub chaser. Additionally, three torpedo boats appeared on the horizon and then joined in the chase and subsequent attack. The attackers were soon joined by two MiG-21 fighters. A fourth torpedo boat and a second sub chaser appeared on the horizon a short time later. The ammunition on Pueblo was stored below decks, and her machine guns were wrapped in cold-weather tarpaulins. The machine guns were unmanned, and no attempt was made to man them.

U.S. Naval authorities and the crew of the Pueblo insist that before the capture, Pueblo was miles outside North Korean territorial waters; the North Koreans claim the vessel was well within the DPRK's territory. The mission statement allowed her to approach within a nautical mile (1.852 km) of that limit. The DPRK, however, claims a 50-nautical-mile (90 km) sea boundary even though international standards were 12 nautical miles (22 km) at the time.

The North Korean vessels attempted to board Pueblo, but she maneuvered to prevent this for over two hours and a sub chaser opened fire with a 57 mm cannon, killing one member of the crew. The smaller vessels fired machine guns into Pueblo, which then signaled compliance and began destroying sensitive material. The volume of material on board was so great that it was impossible to destroy all of it. The crew inside the security space on board the Pueblo had over an hour to destroy sensitive material before the ship was boarded.


"NO ONE CAME AT ALL"



Commander Lloyd "Pete" Bucher in 1967


Radio contact between the Pueblo and the Naval Security Group in Kamiseya, Japan had been ongoing during the incident. As a result, Seventh Fleet command was fully aware of Pueblo's situation.

Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, Commanding Officer of the Pueblo, bitterly recalled that commanders had failed to come to his aid.

"The U.S. at that time had enormous military forces in the western Pacific within five minutes flying time of us," Bucher told The Associated Press in 1988. "I would have thought something could be mustered to come to our aid. But everybody just forgot we were there."

"The U.S. at that time had enormous military forces in the western Pacific within five minutes flying time of us," Bucher told The Associated Press in 1988. "I would have thought something could be mustered to come to our aid. But everybody just forgot we were there."

More likely, no one wanted to take responsibility for an attack on North Korean vessels attacking Pueblo. By the time President Lyndon Johnson was awakened, Pueblo had been captured and any rescue attempt would have been futile.

Pueblo followed the North Korean vessels as ordered, but then stopped immediately outside North Korean waters. She was again fired upon, and a U.S. sailor, Fireman Apprentice Duane Hodges, was killed. The ship was boarded by men from a torpedo boat and a sub chaser. Crew members had their hands tied, were blindfolded, beaten, and prodded with bayonets.


CAPTIVITY, ABUSE, AND RESISTANCE

The Pueblo was taken into port at Wonsan and the crew was moved twice to POW camps, with some of the crew reporting upon release that they were starved and regularly tortured while in North Korean custody. This treatment was allegedly worsened when the North Koreans realized that crewmen were secretly giving them "the finger" in staged propaganda photos.

The conduct of Commander Bucher and the crew of the Pueblo while in captivity is held to this day as the epitome of prisoner-of-war resistance, amongst military survival schools and college psychology courses alike.

Bucher was brutally tortured and put through mock executions in an effort to make him confess. Eventually the Koreans threatened to execute his men in front of him, and Bucher relented. None of the Koreans knew English well enough to write the confession, so they had Bucher write it himself. They verified the meaning of his words, but failed to catch the pun when he said "We paean the DPRK. We paean the Korean people. We paean their great leader Kim Il Sung". (The word "paean" sounds identical to the term 'pee on'.)

Bucher's 'Final Confession' is a classic of disinformation and doublespeak; a masterpiece of the Cold War, it deserves close inspection.


REPATRIATION


Crew of USS Pueblo upon release on 23 DEC 1968.


Following an apology and written admission by the U.S. that Pueblo had been spying, and an assurance that the U.S. would not spy in the future, the North Koreans released the 82 remaining crew members. On 23 December 1968 the crew was taken by buses to the DMZ border with South Korea and ordered to walk south one at a time, fifteen seconds apart. Exactly 11 months after being taken prisoner, Pete Bucher led his crew across the "Bridge of No Return" to freedom. The U.S. then verbally retracted the ransom admission, apology, and assurance. Meanwhile the North Koreans blanked out the paragraph above the signature which read: "and this hereby receipts for 82 crewmen and one dead body".


A gaunt Pete Blucher receives the Purple Heart medal after shortly after repatriation in December of 1968.


Bucher's surrender of his small ship, loaded with intelligence information, was harshly criticized by a Navy Court of Inquiry convened in Coronado. The court recommended Bucher face a general court-martial for allegedly failing to defend the Pueblo, allowing the ship to be searched and other offenses.

Navy Secretary John H. Chafee turned down the court-martial, saying crew members "have suffered enough."


THE LEGEND OF THE USS PUEBLO

A literal blip on the radar screen, the Pueblo Incident represents a significant event of the Cold War - such was the power of symbols during the fifty year struggle between Communism and the Free World. The Saga of the USS Pueblo was immortalized in song; 'Ride, Captain Ride' is played to this day on radio stations across the USA, yet few Americans realize the true meaning of the popular 70's song by Blues Image: