Vital Perspective

Tiger roundup

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defense notes:

Another Indonesian arms dealer, Hadji Subandi (69) pleaded guilty in the second Tamil Tiger sting operation case before a Baltimore USA federal judge for attempting to smuggle sophisticated weapons to the foreign terrorist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). [...]

Subandi had been arrested in September 2006 with five other suspected arms dealers after an elaborate sting operation. As part of the sting, alleged representatives of the Tamil Tigers deposited $700,000 with undercover agents as a down payment for millions of dollars in sniper rifles, submachine guns and grenade launchers, officials say.

In this second successful sting operation conducted by the US federal government against Tamil terrorist arms buying in the US Federal Agents arrested five Asian buyers and one Sri Lankan Tamil for trying to buy US Dollars 900,000 dollars worth of surface to air missiles and other sophisticated military weapons for Sri Lanka's separatist terrorists, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Apart from the missiles, the LTTE brokers were trying to buy grenade launchers, submachine guns, sniper rifles and night vision goggles.

Three of the other Indonesian men arrested with Subandi (Reinhard Rusli, 34; Helmi Soedirdja, 33; retired Indonesian Marine Corps General Erick Wotulo) have pleaded guilty before, and the other two a Singaporan (Haniffa bin Osman) and a Sri Lankan Tamil are scheduled for trial in May.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka:

The Sri Lanka troops overran four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam held military camps in the Trincomalee district inflicting heavy casualties among the separatists during a raid conducted before the dawn on Friday.

The Sri Lanka army troops backed by artillery and multi barrel rocket launchers killed more than 20 Tiger guerillas that came a day after the LTTE threatened to cover Sri Lanka in a blood bath if the troops did not stop the offensive.

In a separate incident the LTTE fighters killed three and wounded 13 elite police commandos by ambushing an armored vehicle by a roadside bombin the Batticaloa District.

Five Sri Lankan soldiers are being held hostage by the LTTE, which is threatening to attack civilian vessels plying the waters between Trincomalee and Jaffna.

In India:

In its crackdown against LTTE supporters in the state, the Tamil Nadu Police have so far arrested 41 persons, including 16 Sri Lankans, Director General of Police D Mukherjee said here today.

[...]a Sri Lankan Tamil was arrested in Tiruchirapalli on March 6 and Rs 10 lakh seized from him. Based on information given by him, another Sri Lankan Tamil was arrested. His questioning led to the seizure of 150 bags of iron balls, weighing 4,500 Kg from Permanalur.

Two other Sri Lankan Tamils were subsequently arrested at Chennai, as also another Indian who provided Rs 17.66 lakh of 'hawala' money. Another person was arrested at Pudukottai yesterday, Mukherjee said.

Listing steps taken from November 29 last, he said 750 Kg of explosives, about to be smuggled to Sri Lanka from Kerala, were seized that day. Four persons, including one who was absconding for the past 18 months, were arrested.

Mukherjee said police conducted surprise raids in Chennai and Tuticorin on january 23 and seized 7.5 tonnes of iron balls meant for being smuggled to Sri Lanka. Twelve persons, including five Sri Lankans, were arrested.

Again on Feb 12, the Navy seized 92 bags of aluminium bars near Dhanushkodi. During the course of the investigation, 11 persons were arrested and 1.5 kg of aluminium bars seized.

The next day, the Coast Guard seized a boat carrying explosives off the Palk Straits. Five persons including four Sri Lankans were arrested. The boat was later destroyed in mid sea.

On February 14, the Navy seized a country boat carrying explosives and aluminium bars and arrested three Sri Lankans.

Highly enriched Islam

An excerpt form Thomas Friedman's latest column:

The Associated Press reported from Afghanistan that a suicide attacker disguised as a health worker blew himself up near "a crowd of about 150 people who had gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open an emergency ward at the main government hospital in the city of Khost." A few days later, at a Baghdad college, a female Sunni suicide bomber blew herself up amid students who were ready to sit for exams, killing 40 people.

Stop and think for a moment how sick this is.[...]

Nobody in the Arab world "has the guts to say that what is happening in Iraq is wrong -- that killing schoolkids is wrong," said Mamoun Fandy, director of the Middle East program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "People somehow think that killing Iraqis is good because it will stick it to the Americans, so Arabs are undermining the American project in Iraq by killing themselves."

The world worries about highly enriched uranium, but "the real danger is highly enriched Islam," Fandy added. That is, "highly enriched Sunnism" and "highly enriched Shiism" that eats away at the Muslim state, the way Hezbollah is trying to do in Lebanon or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or al-Qaida everywhere.

[...] suicide bombers go uncondemned or subtly extolled. [...] Arab nationalist media like Al-Jazeera "practically tell bin Laden and his followers, 'Bravo,"' Fandy said. "The message sent to bin Laden is that 'You are doing to the West what we want done, but we can't do it.' This is the hidden message that the West is not privy to. Unless extreme pressure is applied on Muslims all over the world to come up with counter-fatwas and pronounce these men as pariahs, very little will happen in fighting terrorism."

Friedman also quotes a poem by an Arab reformist translated by MEMRI. Here are some choice lines:

The hidden victory

Three countries that contain almost a hundred million of the poorest people on the planet are now at war with each other. Any war is bad news, particularly when it affects the poor and desolates. But this one could deliver the best piece of news in a long time. Last week the Ethiopian army took Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and the Islamic Courts Union (UIC), the closest thing to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, retreated south towards the border with Kenya where it met Kenyan troops that barred the way. It is an important victory in the war on radical Islam, one which the MSM is not particularly interested in reporting about. But it isn't over yet. Thousands of Islamic fighters still pose a threat in the capital and the tide could still turn against the Ethiopians should the Islamists launch an Iraqi style insurgency.

The UIC is a nutty bunch. A regime that implemented an edict saying that those who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded, is worthy of the same fate as the Taliban and Saddam's Ba'ath regime met. The lesson is clear: Islamists can be vanquished if force is used without hesitance and inhibitions. As Jack Kelly recently wrote "Ethiopia won in short order because it unapologetically used force against vicious people who understand only force. They killed all the people they needed to kill without worrying overmuch about collateral damage, and not at all about world opinion. And though the Ethiopian soldiers are Christians, they were hailed as liberators in this overwhelmingly Muslim country."

Let's hope Ethiopia succeeds in crushing the Islamists. It has already taught us the most important lesson in the war for the free world as new fronts are sure to be opened.

Video: Brigitte Gabriel Discusses Radical Islam in Heritage Foundation Forum

Happy New Year to you all. Before we get too far into other activities, we thought we'd leave you with an excellent series of videos of Brigitte Gabriel discussing radical Islam at the Heritage Foundation. Gabriel is a Christian Lebanese-American journalist, author and activist. She is the founder of the American Congress For Truth, a conservative think tank. The videos will take just under an hour to go through.

Al-Hesbah Network Website Urgest Muslims to Seek Release of Abdel-Rahman

An Islamist website used by terrorist groups including al-Qaeda is urging Muslims to seek the release of a cleric jailed in the U.S. through "any form of attempt or pressure." The al-Hesbah Network also warned that the U.S. would be held responsible for any harm that came to Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind cleric imprisoned in 1995 for conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.

U.S. law enforcement officials have said Abdel-Rahman was taken to hospital earlier this month, prompting a warning by the FBI that his death could lead to attacks. The website quoted what it described as the will of Abdel-Rahman as saying: "If they (U.S.) and they certainly will kill me ... forget not my blood and do not let it be wasted. Seek revenge for me in the strongest and most violent fashion."

U.S. officials have said the medical condition of the 68-year-old Abdel-Rahman has subsequently improved, that he had been released from the hospital, that he now is in stable condition and back in a federal prison medical facility. Abdel-Rahman began to spit up blood on December 6 and was taken from the prison to the emergency room at a hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where doctors discovered a tumor on his liver. He has long suffered from a number of medical problems, including diabetes and heart ailments.

Saudi King Abdullah Vows to Defeat Terrorism in His Kingdom, Urges Unity

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah vowed on Sunday to defeat terrorism in the kingdom and urged Saudis to unite behind this goal. Earlier this month it was announced that 136 foreign and Saudi extremists - some of whom were posing as pilgrims - who were planning a series of suicide bombings and assassinations had been detained.

"One feels sorry and pained when hearing that terrorism is present among us, but (terrorists) had been controlled by Satan and he pushes them into it," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted Abdullah as saying. "We do not commit aggression against anyone but those who commit aggression against us, should bear (the consequences). God willing, they will all be defeated."

In 2003, al-Qaeda launched a violent campaign to bring down the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy, targeting foreigners, oil installations and government buildings. Gunmen killed two Saudi security personnel earlier this month when they opened fire on a guard post at a prison in Jeddah. The government has called on a number of suspects with potential links to terror cells to surrender to the authorities for questioning before the end of this month.

Filipino Court Freezes Account of Saudi Charity Suspected of Serving Terrorists

A Philippine court has frozen the bank account of a Saudi Arabian charity suspected of being a conduit for terrorist funds, court officials said yesterday. Anti-money laundering officials suspect the International Islamic Relief Organisation (IRRO) is financing the activities of local affiliates of al-Qaeda, including Abu Sayyaf.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council, which is led by the central bank, described IRRO as one of Saudi Arabia's largest charitable organisations. The court freeze was sought by the U.S., which has accused IRRO of funding terrorist attacks in different countries including the September 11 attacks.

Terrorists Target Several Halliburton Employees in Algeria with Bomb, Gunfire

Terrorists hurled a bomb and shot at two vehicles carrying employees of Halliburton affiliate BRC near Algiers on Sunday, killing one driver and injuring nine people. The driver was Algerian. The injured included one American, several Britons, one Canadian, one Lebanese and one Algerian. Eight were treated in a nearby hospital and released, while one remained hospitalized.

The attack threatened to stain the oil-rich North African nation's international security image just as it is enjoying an oil boom and increased foreign investment after a bloody insurgency that wracked Algeria in the 1990s. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"If it is terrorism, that would indicate that the affiliate of Halliburton has been targeted for its role in Iraq. It has been seen as a firm that has hoarded Iraqi riches," a security source said. "If it is criminality, that would mean that the local mafia wants to block the opening of the economy and economic transparency. This mafia wants the status quo and to preserve monopoly situations."

Most of the employees were in a bus following behind a security vehicle. The terrorists hurled a bomb at the first vehicle, immediately killing the driver. Attackers then opened fire on the second bus, which quickly turned around and left before the gunmen dispersed. Algerian security forces immediately fanned out through the surrounding area and blocked off roads.

BRC is an Algerian-registered company created in 1994 and now owned jointly by Halliburton subsidiary KBR Inc., formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, and affiliates of Algerian state-owned oil company Sonatrach. BRC has contracts with Algeria's oil and defense industries.

UPDATE 12/12 @ 10:31: The attack has been claimed by al-Qaeda affiliate GSPC, who said that it was a "gift to all Muslims."

Israel's Chief of Military Intelligence Warns of al-Qaeda Plot to Attack UNIFIL

MediaLine reports that Israel's chief of Military Intelligence, Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, has warned that al-Qaeda has increased its presence in Lebanon and has plans to attack the international peacekeeping force stationed there. Baidatz is reported to have told PM Ehud Olmert that al-Qaeda presence is strongest in refugee camps and that because it is seen as a symbol of the West, UNIFIL is an inviting target. An al-Qaeda-Hezbollah alliance is unlikely, however, because al-Qaeda is vehemently anti-Shiite while Hezbollah is comprised primarily of Shiites.

Jihad in Suburbia: Muslim Convert Charged in Plot to Use Hand Grenades in Mall

This story only serves to bolster our belief that Israel is the canary in the coal mine... whatever happens there will eventually happen here if left unchecked. Earlier today, a 22-year-old man who authorities said wanted to commit acts of "violent jihad" against civilians was charged in a plot to set off hand grenades in garbage cans at a shopping mall.

Derrick Shareef, who is a Muslim convert, was arrested when he met with an undercover agent in a parking lot to trade a set of stereo speakers for four hand grenades and a handgun. He allegedly plotted to attack over the holidays. Shareef had no accomplices and was not part of a terrorist cell.

Officials said Shareef had been under investigation since September, when he told an acquaintance that "he wanted to commit acts of violent jihad against targets in the United States as well as commit other crimes." The acquaintance immediately informed the FBI.