Airborne Combat Engineer

Under pressure, Dems reverse "John Doe" position

It is nice to see the names of both Senators Clinton and Schumer among those voting for passage of a law to block what is being called the "John Doe" lawsuits. The measure was triggered by a lawsuit, backed by the Council on American Islamic Relations, that included a complaint against U.S. Airways passengers who had alerted authorities of suspicious activities of a group of imams on a flight out of Minneapolis. The threat to go after the passengers in court was written about by Katherine Kersten of the Star Tribune and picked up and nursed as an issue by such Web logs as powerlineblog.com and michellemalkin.com.

New York Sun

The Washington Post credits Republican pressure (and Joe Lieberman) for inclusion of protection of "John Does" in a security bill. Bloggers and talk show hosts should also be given credit.
 

More at Hot Air.

Pakistan doesn't want US military in country

Pakistan, battling an upsurge in Islamist violence, has been angered by US remarks that Washington would not rule out unilateral attacks in Pakistan's Afghan border areas where pro-Taliban tribal leaders hold sway.

"We have stated in the clearest terms that any attack inside our territory would be unacceptable," foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said after the latest comments by US intelligence chief Mike McConnell.

Ms Aslam said Islamabad and Washington were partners in counter-terrorism and the basis of their cooperation was "well-defined and well understood".

"It would be counterproductive to create an impression of any divergences or differences on the issue of counter-terrorism or take any step detrimental to our counter-terrorism cooperation," she said.

But she said: "All counter-terrorism measures inside Pakistan will be taken by our own security forces."

Herald Sun

They're not getting the job done.

 

More "bumper sticker" war on terror warnings

Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.

KS

Signal to attack?

Fearing a possible coded signal to attack, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are studying an unusual pattern of words in the latest audiotape from al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al Zawahri.

On the tape, posted on the Internet Wednesday, Zawahri repeats one phrase three times at the end of his message.

Have I not conveyed? Oh God be my witness.
Have I not conveyed? Oh God be my witness.
Have I not conveyed? Oh God be my witness.

A new FBI analysis of al Qaeda messages, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, warns that "continued messages that convey their strategic intent to strike the U.S. homeland and U.S. interests worldwide should not be discounted as merely deceptive noise."

Those on the left who are accusing DHS chief Chertoff's "gut feeling" as simply a diversion to take the subject off Iraq and other White House troubles might be surprised before it gets cold again.

The Blotter (ABC News) [h/t  NS / Wired Danger Room]

Please be vigilant for suspicious behavior and report whatever concerns you, letting the authorities sort it out.

See more dots to connect at the translation page for the drzz blog, the recycled ObL image, and optional ACE comments, in the continuation.

Osama makes a video appearance

A new al-Qaida videotape posted Sunday on a militant Web site featured a short, undated clip of a weary-looking Osama bin Laden praising martyrdom.

The bin Laden clip, which lasted less than a minute, was part of a 40-minute video featuring purported al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan paying tribute to fellow militants who have been killed in the country. It was posted by the group's media production wing.

Bin Laden glorified those who die in the name of jihad, or holy war, saying even the Prophet Muhammad "had been wishing to be a martyr."

"The happy (man) is the one that God has chosen him to be a martyr," added bin Laden, who was shown outdoors wearing army fatigues and looking tired.

AP  CNN link to video

Blog researchers have determined this is an ObL rerun with about 99.9% certainty. See the continuation.

They'rrrrre baaaaaack!

A new National Intelligence Estimate presents a sobering analysis of terrorism threats to the United States, concluding that Al Qaeda has reconstituted its core structure along the Pakistani border and may now be a stronger and more resilient organization today than it appeared a year ago, according to three U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the draft document.

Newsweek

Thought they'd been reduced to a bumper sticker slogan.

Chertoff's gut feeling

"I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk," Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in an unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level.

"Summertime seems to be appealing to them," he said of al-Qaida. "We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities."

Still, Chertoff said there are not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the current threat levels nationwide. And he indicated his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaida statements, and intelligence he did not disclose.

McClatchy Tribune

Olbermann: "How about my gut feeling that Mr. Chertoff said this so that the lead story on the newscast on ABC would not be Iraq or Alberto Gonzales or that USA Today poll, but that it would be this, you know, 'gut feeling' of his, plus a vague sky-is-falling story about an al-Qaeda cell, which even the people in Homeland Security say is just nonsense?" [NewsBusters]

Top ten reasons why Islam is not the religion of peace

"Ever since 9/11, Muslim leaders who have access to the national media have told us that Islam is the religion of peace and that violence does not represent the essence of Muhammad's religion.

Even President Bush and Britain's Prime Minister Blair have repeated this assertion, saying that Islam has been 'hijacked' by a few violent fanatics. Is this true?

Sadly it is not, for empirical, observable facts demonstrate beyond doubt that Islam at its founding is filled with violence—in the life of Muhammad himself and in the Quran itself.

Hence, these Muslim apologists must stop misleading unsuspecting Westerners, and they must be honest about the heart of their religion, for once and for all.

Here are ten clear, verifiable reasons that explain why Islam is not the religion of peace."

James Arlandson, American Thinker

See also a review of Robert Spencer's, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades,  [Regnery Publishing, Washington, D.C., 2005] by Andrew G Boston @ American Thinker.

ACE still believes the vast majority of Muslims are no threat to the rest of us.  The biggest disappointment is their general failure to criticize the vicious tactics of the radical elements.

See opposing viewpoints in the comments

A different approach do dealing with terrorism

JOHN DAGON in Irish Mafia Prince, a sneak preview of Book #2 in the John Dagon series. Book #2 is an action/adventure horror story about the world in the near future. The 20th century was a world of big machines, big governments, and big armies. The 21st century is a world of sovereign individuals and small groups that, although small, will have great power to influence everything in the world. Although fiction, the author has a long and totally documented history of being one of the world's best and most accurate predictors of big political and historical events. Many of the things in this novel are already becoming true, with more to follow. If you want to understand the 21st century than you have to read this novel.

You can download all 434 pages in pdf format at the link.

An article by the author, Andrew Molchan, ran In The February 2007 Issue of American Firearms Industry Magazine. It's at the link.

American Firearms

The article is worth reading, if only to get a different point of view.

He says: "The way to defeat terrorism is to correct the causes of terrorism."  That's a nice idea, but how do we convince radical Islamics they should not attack those who don't believe as they do?

Hope he's wrong in predicting democracy will only last 30-40 more years in the US.

FBI on lookout for underwater terrorists

Another potential terrorist threat has the FBI on alert this holiday week. It's being called "underwater terrorism."

Scuba shops across the nation are asked to be on the lookout for terrorists posing as scuba students.

The FBI wants to know about anyone seeking specialized training, like diving in murky waters or sewer pipes.

The U.S. Coast Guard is also stepping up patrols around major ports.

CBN News

A recent A-C-E post discussed underwater weapons.

The Navy is training Dolphins to ring a bell when they detect an underwater diver, then "tag" him with a cone placed on the nose, which floats to the surface to mark the diver's location.  The Dolphin will then move out of the area as the uninvited visitor is greeted with explosives. [Danger Room]