Judge Orders $6 Billion in Damages to 9/11 Relatives

A Manhattan judge awarded $6 billion to relatives of victims of the 9/11 attacks in a historic ruling Monday. The ruling for the first time imposes civil penalties on perpetrators of the heinous attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. Manhattan Federal Magistrate Judge Frank Maas ordered al-Qaida and co-conspirators Iran and the Taliban to pay $6 billion in punitive damages to 110 survivors and the estates of 47 victims that are parties to the lawsuit. The ruling is likely to result in attempts to seize Iranian state assets overseas, the New York Daily News reports.

"Now we have to go about the business of collecting this money both domestically and overseas," said attorney Thomas Mellon. "We are very hopeful that in the next six to 18 months we will be in the process of seizing Iranian assets, such as Iranian airlines, oil tankers and wells."

Successfully seizing Iranian assets based on U.S. court claims has proven challenging in other cases.

In another landmark ruling last December, Federal Judge George Daniels held that Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hizballah "materially aided and supported al Qaeda before and after the attacks." The ruling was backed by 53 pages of detailed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

German Intel: al-Qaida Rise in Syria

"Around 90" terror attacks in Syria "can be attributed to organizations that are close to [al-Qaida] or jihadist groups," German daily Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) quoted from German intelligence estimates. The intelligence report confirms an article in Monday's New York Times suggesting strong growth of homegrown and al-Qaida-related groups in Syria's ongoing civil war.

The Times claims that "homegrown Muslim jihadists, as well as small groups of fighters from [al-Qaida], are taking a more prominent role and demanding a say in running the resistance." The trend started with the failure of the largely secular protest movement in March 2011 which has devolved into civil war led by more religious organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood.

As funding pours in from the Arabian Gulf, less radical organizations have even begun to take on an extremist veneer.

According to the Times, "most of the money flowing to the Syrian opposition is coming from religious donors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region whose generosity hinges on Salafi teaching." This money has colored many rebel groups, pushing them away from nationalism and towards pan-Islamist ideology. It also has moved the conflict away from a broad-based Syrian resistance of al-Assad, toward a sectarian conflict between the Sunni majority and the Alawite ruling elite.

But that hasn't yet attracted many foreign al-Qaida activists. Unlike Iraq's insurgency, Syrian's rebels are still largely locals. One insurgency organizer told the Times that of the approximately 50,000 fighters, less than 1,000 were foreigners and that they "had trouble gaining local support." The claim suggests that although Syria was the primary gateway for Islamist insurgents entering Iraq, the trend hasn't traveled in the opposite direction.

Egypt Seeks Fuel for Radical Fire

In a recent column, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy noted the pending White House visit of newly-elected Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi and Morsi's vow to try to persuade the United States to release blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.

Rahman was considered the inspiration behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and is serving a life sentence for his role in a subsequent plot to attack New York City landmarks and tunnels. Egyptians claim the sheik is innocent, which struck McCarthy as a little amusing, since he prosecuted Abdel Rahman. "I can only say that it's awfully hard to retract a tape," he wrote, "which is a problem for Abdel Rahman since the most damning evidence against him did not come from witnesses but from his own mouth — his calls for attacks on American military installations and the like were recorded for posterity on tape."

It's part of what McCarthy calls the Muslim Brotherhood's "moderate two-step." Morsi plays the statesmen while Abdel Rahman's son "has threatened to attack the American embassy and hold its employees hostage in order to extort pop's release."

What would Abdel-Rahman's release, and subsequent return to Egypt, do to that country? After electing Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, and stacking Parliament with fellow Brotherhood members and harder-line Salafis, the country already is described as unnerved at the spike in Islamist fervor. A group calling itself the "Promotion of Virtue and Vice" killed an engineering student earlier this month for the sin of walking with his fiancée.

In addition to his connection to the 1993 Trade Center bombing, Abdel Rahman has a lengthy record of radical incitement. He issued a fatwa justifying the murder of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and was tied to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which was led by al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

PA Hails IOC's Refusal to Honor 1972 Munich Victims

The Palestinian Authority (PA) thanked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for refusing to hold a moment of silence during today's opening ceremonies in London in honor of the Israeli victims of the 1972 Munich massacre, the Jerusalem Post reports.

"Sports is a bridge for love, connection and relaying peace between peoples. It should not be a factor for separation and spreading racism between peoples," said Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Olympic Committee.

Rajoub was not the only PA official who praised Rogge's controversial decision. A senior PA official said Palestinians repudiate "Israel's attempts to exploit the Olympic Games for propaganda purposes."

During the second week of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, terrorists from a group called Black September, a wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), murdered 11 Israeli athletes. It was a terrorist attack and massacre of unarmed athletes inside the Olympic Village.

But the PA's daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida only refers to this terrorist attack as "the Munich Operation, which took place during the Munich Olympics in 1972," Palestinian Media Watch reports.

Praising the IOC's decision to ignore the 40^th anniversary of a terrorist attack fits the PA's policy of glorifying terrorists as heroes. In August 2010, the PA daily hailed one of the massacre's mastermind, Amin Al-Hindi, as a hero.

"Everyone knows that Amin Al-Hindi was one of the stars who sparkled at one of the stormiest points on the international level - the operation that was carried out at the [Olympics] sports stadium in Munich, Germany, in 1972. That was just one of many shining stations," Palestinian Media Watch reported.

Check out other examples of the PA's consistent policy of terror glorification here and here.

EU Continues to Ignore Hizballah Terror

It is the prime suspect in last week's bombing of a busload of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria and has been linked to a series of failed terror plots throughout Europe and Asia.

Four of its operatives stand charged by a United Nations tribunal in the bombing assassination of Lebanon's prime minister. And it is responsible for the most American casualties in a terror attack other than 9/11.

But European Union ministers cannot bring themselves to designate Hizballah as a terrorist group. On Tuesday, the group rejected a direct request by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to blacklist the Lebanese-based Iranian terror proxy. The move would isolate Hizballah and make it illegal to engage in transactions with the group and its members.

"Should there be tangible evidence of Hezbollah engaging in acts of terrorism, the EU would consider listing the organization," said EU President Erato Kozakou- Marcoullis, who also is the foreign minister of Cyprus.

The United States designated Hizballah in 1997 and again in 2001. But the EU requires unanimous support from its 27 member nations for such action, the Jerusalem Post reports. And that hasn't happened, although many EU countries individually have made the designation.

Hizballah "is an organization that comprises a political party [and a] social services network, as well as an armed wing," Kozakou-Marcoullis said. It has a prominent role in Lebanon's government and "plays a specific role with regard to the status quo in Lebanon."

If the U.N. Tribunal is right, it helped shape that status quo by blowing up Lebanon's popular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Four Hizballah operatives are scheduled to be tried in absentia next year. Investigators traced mobile phone records to show identify the defendants' and trace their steps.

Israel, meanwhile, claims to have "unquestionable, fully substantiated intelligence" that the Bulgaria attack, which killed five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver, was carried out by Hizballah with Iran's support.

The Post report cites a source who says France is the biggest obstacle to a full EU designation, citing concerns it might lose influence in Lebanon if it went along with the request.

NYPD: U.S. Acknowledges Iranian Involvement in Anti-Israel Plots

Iran and its proxies have been involved in nine plots against Israeli and Jewish targets so far this year, according to "Law Enforcement Sensitive" New York Police Department documents obtained by Reuters. Through its proxy militias like Hizballah and the Revolutionary Guard, one document claims that Iran has "sharply increased its operational tempo and its willingness to conduct terrorist attacks targeting Israeli interests and the International Jewish community worldwide."

The documents note that Iranian and Hizballah involvement is suspected in three plots in January, three plots in February, and three more since late June. The geographical spread of the attacks is of concern as well, with Iranian agents planning anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bombings in Thailand, Kenya, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, India, and Georgia. Combined with a plot against the Saudi ambassador and Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., the data suggest Iran has become significantly more daring in its international operations.

Some of the bombs used in the plots had similar features like military grade plastic explosives and magnets to attach the device to metal targets, Reuters reports. However, they range in degrees of sophistication from remotely detonated bombs to simple pull-and-throw devices.

U.S. officials also increasingly agree with Israeli accusations about Iranian or Hizballah connections to a suicide bombing in Bulgaria Wednesday in which five Israeli tourists and a bus driver were killed after they boarded an airport bus.

Although the documents show that America recognizes the extent of Iran's plotting, Israel believes that the Islamic Republic has been involved in more than twice that many terror plots during the past year.

Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, disclosed Thursday that last year there were "20 Iranian attempts at terrorist attacks abroad, in which there was direct involvement of five Iranians, two Hezbollah operatives." This includes a less publicized plot broken up in South Africa, and recently described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Man Gets 18 Months for Spying on Syrian Dissidents

A Virginia man was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for spying on Syrian dissidents for dictator Bashar al-Assad's intelligence service.

Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid, a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen living in Leesburg, Va., conducted "extensive and systematic" monitoring of Syrian dissidents in America while acting as an agent of the Syrian Mukhabarat intelligence service. He made video and audio recordings of anti-Assad rallies and of conversations with dissidents. He also provided the Mukhabarat with the contact information of prominent regime foes here.

The information was sought by the Mukhabarat to "undermine, silence, intimidate, and potentially harm" the protestors, Soueid's indictment said.

Prosecutors had asked for a longer sentence, between six and 7 years, saying the Syrian government "prized these recordings."

In April 2011, Soueid attached a handwritten letter to a Syrian official in an e-mail titled "what we talked about." Newly unsealed court records show that in the letter, Soueid justified using violence against the dissidents, saying "disposing of the dissension is a must and should be decisive and prompt."

He met with Assad during a visit to Syria in June 2011, discussing Syrian dissident activity in the United States. Soueid was also presented with an expensive Hablut watch from a close associate of Assad's.

Upon his return to the United States, Soueid lied to an immigration officer at the Dulles International Airport about his trip. Afterward, fearing getting caught, he destroyed two laptop computers used in his work. He told his Syrian contact that "the search and questioning would not stop the project."

Soueid repeatedly lied to FBI agents during an August interview at his home, including denying he collected information on Syrian dissidents for the Mukhabarat. After the agents left, Soueid destroyed incriminating documents.

"Mr. Soueid betrayed this country to work on behalf of a state sponsor of terror," U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a Department of Justice press release. "While the autocratic Syrian regime killed, kidnapped, intimidated and silenced thousands of its own citizens, Mr. Soueid spearheaded efforts to identify and intimidate those protesting against the Syrian government in the United States."

Terrorist Networks Thriving in the Sinai

During a regular briefing to the Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, the intelligence chief of the Israel Defense Forces, Aviv Kochavi, highlighted growing security concerns with Egypt, and particularly with expanding terrorist networks in the Sinai.

"Terrorist groups in Sinai may try to create a diplomatic crisis [between Egypt and Israel] through attacks," Kochavi said, adding that the IDF has thwarted nearly a dozen attacks from the Sinai in the past year.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed Kochavi's concerns in an interview with CNN.

There is "the potential of jihadists and terrorists taking up an operational base in Sinai," Clinton said. "We think this is a dangerous situation for both Egypt and Israel. It is also dangerous for Americans…We have Americans in the Sinai. We've had a few concerns about their safety."

Clinton, however, is confident that new Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, recognizes the danger and is committed to stopping it.

Kochavi is not as convinced.

"Although Sinai is chaotic, a no-man's land, it is of secondary importance to the Egyptian government," Kochavi told the legislators.

He warned that Morsi's power is limited by his need to consult with the Muslim Brotherhood leadership before making decisions.

Kochavi framed the issue with Egypt and the Sinai in the context of what he called an "age of political Islam" emerging throughout the Middle East. In Egypt, he noted, this trend is reflected in the struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military council, which he says has created "two heads" to the Egyptian government.

Also of concern to Kochavi is the Egyptian government's courtship of Hamas and distancing from the more moderate Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

"With Morsi's election, Hamas gained a portal, while a wall was put up for the PA," Kochavi said.

Terror Attack on Israelis in Bulgaria

At least seven Israelis were killed and 30 others wounded in an explosion aboard a tourist bus at a Bulgarian airport. Israel's prime minister already blames Iran and promised a strong response, while Israeli media point to a possible Hizballah link.

"All signs point to Iran," Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Israel's Foreign Ministry website. "Only in the last few months we've seen Iran trying to target Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other destinations." He also noted that the attack took place on the 18^th anniversary of Iran's terrorist attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires, and promised that "Israel will retaliate." Iran reported the attack in government sponsored news, but released no official comment.

The bus was carrying 47 members of an Israeli tourist group. Some reports indicate nine people have not been accounted for.

Hizballah's Al-Manar TV station began broadcasting details "with excited commentary" of the bombing immediately after it was announced, Israel's Channel 2 reported. But Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah did not mention the attack in a speech Wednesday commemorating Hizballah's "victory" over Israel in a July 2006 war.

Bulgarian politicians also noted Israel's warning about lax security and potential terror plots in their country. "There is nothing in the world that justifies killing innocent people," said Bulgarian opposition leader Sergei Stenishev. "We cannot ignore the fact that Israel warned us this past winter that there is a chance that such an attack could take place. This is even worse considering that the event took place in the airport, a place that must be highly protected."

American United Nations Envoy Susan Rice called the attack "outrageous, an act of supreme cowardice." President Obama condemned the "barbaric terrorist attack," noting that it also targeted Israeli children.

CAIR Chicago's False Terror Equivalence

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago chapter defended convicted terrorist Tarek Mehanna Tuesday, arguing his actions in a plot to kill American troops are akin to a report of American military training for a radical Iranian opposition group.

Mehanna was sentenced in April to 17½ years in federal prison after being convicted of conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaida, conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, lying to the FBI and providing material support to terrorists. The charges stem from a plot to kill American soldiers overseas.

To CAIR-Chicago, it's another example of law enforcement's unjust treatment of American Muslims, In an article by an intern posted on its website and distributed to its email list, CAIR cast Mehanna as a victim of FBI surveillance and harassment who was simply exercising his right of free speech.

He launched his own al-Qaida "media wing" espousing violent jihad and published translations of al-Qaida materials including 39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad and the Expedition of Umar Hadid.

"So were Mehanna's online posts 'material support for terrorism' or was he just using his first amendment right to voice his opinions?" the article asks. "Mehanna was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison, and it's suspect that his being Muslim had something to do with his indictment."

To accept the argument would mean the jury and presiding judge were duped. After Mehanna made a statement comparing his support for jihad against American troops to American revolutionaries fighting the British, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. said he was "frankly concerned by the defendant's apparent absence of remorse."

In an equally perplexing comparison, the CAIR article equates Mehanna's material support to terrorism with a New Yorker report about military training the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK) received in 2005 by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). MeK opposed the Iranian government, but is a designated foreign terrorist organization.

"So why are individuals (even within government and media) that are directly supporting terrorists by training and aiding this group not being reprimanded for their actions?...People that are a part of the J.S.O.C. are directly affiliated with the training of MEK they should be subject to the same circumstances as anyone else accused of material support to terrorism."

CAIR -Chicago attempts to draw a moral equivalence between Mehanna's guilty verdict and an uncorroborated claim that JSOC trained MeK operatives fighting to topple one of the regimes posing the greatest threat to peace.

CAIR is not the only Muslim American organization to defend Mehanna. In April, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) reposted a Guardian article on their Facebook and Twitter accounts titled, "Tarek Mehanna: Punished for Speaking Truth to Power."

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