How the Taliban Recruits Children

Many of the Taliban's child recruits were tricked or coerced into carrying out acts of terror, according to a report by British newspaper The Guardian. It is one way the Taliban has tried to respond to NATO's intensified anti-terror campaign.

One such recruit, 14-year-old Noor Mohammad, personifies the coercion that the group uses on children. Accused of stealing cell phones during a wedding party in his village, Muhammad was given a harsh choice - "either they would cut off his hand for stealing or he could redeem himself and bring glory on his family by becoming a suicide bomber."

"They are relying more and more on children," said Nader Nadery, a member of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission. "When somebody runs out of one tool they go to use the second one." While many children are the victims of ideological brainwashing at "hate madrassas," others like Mohammad are coerced through threats and violence.

After agreeing to carry out an assault on the American military base in nearby Ghazni, Mohammad was given lessons on how to use a handgun. As part of the suicide attack, he was fitted with an explosive vest, photographed for martyrdom propaganda, and sent on his way.

Mohammad however, questioned carrying out the attack, which he believed was a "sin." He removed his vest and surrendered to guards, leading American forces to the village Taliban who recruited him. In the shootout that followed, two Taliban handlers were killed, making it impossible for the boy to return home. He is being held in a children's prison while awaiting trial.

Glorification of suicide bombing has had a serious psychological impact on a generation of Afghani and Pakistani children. A 2007 Taliban video showed a young boy beheading an accused American spy, while another video from the same year showed militant Pakistan mothers pledging their babies as suicide bombers.

In late February of this year, a video of children reenacting a suicide bombing circulated through Pakistani websites. The unsettling clip, which shows a child hugging his "comrades" before carrying out a mock suicide bombing, underscores the rise of a culture of violence.

Pakistani reactions to the video were mixed. "It's horrifying and alarming." said Salma Jafar of Save the Children UK in Pakistan. "If they glamorise violence now, they can become part of it later in life." Ahsan Masood, a Pashtun from Waziristan who posted the video to his Facebook page, claimed to receive it through his cell phone. "I thought it was funny," he said.

U.S. Sanctions Syrian Government

President Obama signed an Executive Order imposing sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian government officials, including the vice president and prime minister. The sanctions were imposed in an effort to pressure the Syrian government into ending its violent crackdown of anti-government protests that began in mid-March.

"The actions the Administration has taken today send an unequivocal message to President Assad, the Syrian leadership, and regime insiders that they will be held accountable for the ongoing violence and repression in Syria," said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. "President al-Assad and his regime must immediately end the use of violence, answer the calls of the Syrian people for a more representative government, and embark upon the path of meaningful democratic reform."

In a further effort to force the Syrian government to halt its oppressive and deadly tactics, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated 10 individuals and entities in accordance with Executive Order 13572, signed by President Obama on April 29. This order singled out additional Syrian officials and entities for human rights abuses and effectively blocked all their property in the United States. It also prohibits people in the United States from engaging in business with those listed.

Among the individuals and entities designated in this E.O. are President Assad's cousin, who is a senior official in the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate; as well as the Syrian Military and Air Force Intelligence services; and the National Security Bureau.

Syrian activists say more than 850 people have been killed and thousands arrested in the government campaign to stop the protests. The United States, however, on Tuesday estimated the number dead to be closer to 1,000 people.

Congressmen Urge Firm Stance Against Palestinian Unity Government

In the lead-up to this week's presidential meetings and public addresses expected to redefine the Obama administration's Middle East policy, two congressmen are weighing in on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and how they believe the U.S. should handle it.

In a column published Wednesday in Politico, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, R-Ill., cast aspersions on the Hamas regime, which recently joined with the Palestinian Authority in a unity government, and suggest the U.S. cut its support for any Palestinian government of which Hamas is a part.

"As President Barack Obama draws national attention to the Middle East with a major speech on Thursday, we ask our fellow lawmakers — and all Americans — the following questions: Does this seem like a group [Hamas] with whom Israel can make peace? Would you trust this organization to have free rein in your own backyard? Is this a group deserving of $550 million in annual foreign aid from cash-strapped U.S. taxpayers?"

It is a sentiment previously put forth by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

Commenting on the Palestinian Authority's plan to declare statehood at the United Nations in September, the congressmen assert that the PA is outwardly defying the conditions put forth by the United States and its allies for continued American support.

"With this agreement, it has made an unequivocal decision that its route to a potential state cannot include peace with Israel," write the congressmen. "Nor will it include negotiations with Israel; a disavowal of and crackdown on terrorism or any official recognition of the Jewish state…What a slap in the face to the Obama administration."

Additionally, Cantor and Roskam urge President Obama to take a firm stance against the newly formed Palestinian government, warning that the reconciliation deal will not cause Hamas to moderate itself, but will rather allow the group's radical ideologies to further permeate the PA-controlled West Bank, turning it into yet another "virtual terrorist state" like Gaza on Israel's borders.

They conclude, "The Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement empowers Hamas terrorists and endangers Israel. The U.S. must use every tool in our diplomatic arsenal to make clear that we will not tolerate a Palestinian government that includes Hamas. It is our duty, as leader of the free world, to do no less."

Hamas Cleric Wants "Honor of Annihilating" the Jews

A Hamas member in the Palestinian parliament called for the annihilation of Jews in a video translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI),

"The [Jews] are brought in droves to Palestine so that the Palestinians – and the Islamic nation behind them – will have the honor of annihilating the evil of this gang," Hamas MP and cleric Yunis Al-Astal said last week on Al-Aqsa television. "In just a few years, all the Zionists and the settlers will realize that their arrival in Palestine was for the purpose of the great massacre, by means of which Allah wants to relieve humanity of their evil."

Once the Jews are "massacred," Astal predicts "the land of Palestine will become the capital of the Islamic Caliphate."

These remarks came soon after a Washington Post interview with Amr Moussa, the longtime secretary-general of the Arab League and an Egyptian presidential candidate, in which Moussa asserted that Hamas isn't a terrorist group.

These contradictory representations of Hamas, which is now part of a unity government with the Palestinian Authority, are especially important to consider at the start of a week expected to be crucial for President Obama's Middle East policy. In a meeting at the White House today, the president told Jordan's King Abdullah II that it is imperative for the Israelis and Palestinians to restart negotiations on a two-state solution.

"Despite the many changes - or perhaps because of the many changes - that are taking place in the region, it's more vital than ever that both Israelis and Palestinians find a way to get back to the table and begin negotiating a process whereby they can create ... two states that are living side by side in peace and security," Obama said.

Additionally, Obama is scheduled to make a statement on Thursday regarding U.S. policy towards the "Arab Spring" and then meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. Netanyahu is then scheduled to address Congress May 24.

Iran May be Extending Military Reach into Venezuela

The Iranian government is pursuing an initiative to build rocket launch bases on Paraguaná Peninsula in Venezuela, according to a report in the German daily Die Welt.

Based on information from "Western security insiders," Die Welt asserts that Iran is building intermediate-range missile launch pads inside Venezuela and that engineers from a construction firm, Khatam al-Anbia, owned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard visited the site in February.

The Iranian delegation, writes Die Welt, was instructed to concentrate on a plan for establishing the necessary infrastructure for air strikes. This includes the construction of bunkers, barracks, and watch towers. The missile installations are also to include measures to protect Venezuela from air attacks as well as command and control centers. The total cost for the preliminary phase of the project is estimated to be "dozens of millions of dollars," and it is expected to be paid in cash with Iranian oil revenue.

The secret agreement between the two governments was supposedly hatched in November during Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's visit to Tehran. Both governments reaffirmed their commitment to their strong strategic relationship and to their shared desire to create a "New World Order" free of Western control over global affairs.

Chavez is Iran's most valued South American ally and, based on sources inside Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have already created numerous entities and facilities inside Venezuela that are used as fronts for covert operations. Examples of such operations are the exploration of uranium for Iran's nuclear program and the housing of Quds forces and Hizballah cells seeking to expand their terrorist operations into Latin America.

The new military alliance between Iran and Venezuela might require Venezuela to retaliate with rocket fire against Iran's enemies should the Islamic Republic be attacked. This is particularly troubling for American security interests since Iran remains defiant against efforts to halt its nuclear program.

UC Irvine Speaker Stands with Hamas

Hamas has "done a lot of good" in Palestine, students at a University of California, Irvine program were told last week.

At a speech sponsored by the Muslim Student Union called "What Israeli Going On," Amir Mertaban repeatedly refused to answer when audience members asked if he condemned the terrorist group which now controls Gaza. He called it "a loaded question." Instead, he praised the group's social and political program while rationalizing the issue of its violence.

"Any unjust killing of Israeli civilians I absolutely abhor and Islam does not allow," he said. "However, Hamas has also done a lot of freedom fighting missions for that matter. And I am absolutely one who defends anyone's right, whether you be American, whether you be Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, to defend your rights. If you feel that you've been attacked wrongfully, and you defend you rights, I will never call you a terrorist."

Mertaban is a former president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) West and chair of a Southern California program for WhyIslam, an Islamic Circle of North America program dedicated to da'wah, or proselytizing.

His speech was part of a week of programming by the MSU under the banner, "Palestine: An Invisible Nation." The chapter was suspended for the fall semester after school officials determined that 11 students orchestrated disruptions of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech in February of 2010 and then lied about it. The 11 students involved in the disruption currently face misdemeanor charges.

Later in the speech Mertaban said that he supported the Taliban during the 1980s. "So do I support the Taliban then? That's a loaded question. In the 80s – sure, they were fighting for their rights and for their freedoms. I absolutely support what they were doing then." Mertaban said nothing to condemn the Taliban and did not mention the terrorism that the group has employed since its inception.

That is not necessarily surprising, given Mertaban's past remarks at an MSA event.

During a 2007 MSA-West conference, he suggested Muslims stand by Osama bin Laden even if he had done wrong. "I don't know this guy. I don't know what he did. I don't know what he said. I don't know what happened," Mertaban said."But we defend Muslim brothers and we defend our Muslim sisters to the end. Is that clear?"

Reports Say al-Qaida Names Interim Leader

Veteran Egyptian militant Saif al-Adel has been named interim operational leader of al-Qaida, Noman Benotman, a former associate of Osama bin Laden and now an analyst with Britain's Quilliam Foundation think tank, told Reuters. Al-Adel's appointment, Benotman said, is a temporary maneuver aimed at calming concerned followers while the organization collects oaths of loyalty to the expected future leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"This has happened in response to the impatience displayed by jihadists online who have been extremely worried about the delay in announcing a successor." Benotman said."It is hoped that now they will calm down. It also paves the way for Zawahiri to take over."

There is no independent confirmation of Benotman's report, which he says is based on his own contacts within jihadist circles. Benotman says he knew Adel when they fought together as militants in Afghanistan and that Adel had long been employed in the role of "chief of staff" to Osama bin Laden. Now, Benotman claims, Adel is not an "overall leader, but he is in charge in operational and military terms."

U.S. prosecutors say Adel is one of al-Qaida's leading military chiefs who contributed to the planning for the 1998 U.S. embassy attacks in East Africa and also set up training camps for al-Qaida in Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s. He is on the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list.

Quoting an anonymous source, the Pakistani News Daily reported that Adel was appointed at an urgent meeting of al-Qaida's commanders. It added that Adel has long been a close ally of Zawahiri and in charge of the organization's international contacts. Zawahiri and Adel worked together in the militant Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), formed to topple the secular regime of Anwar Sadat. Sources told The News that Zawahiri would remain al-Qaida's patron and the chief of the al-Qaeda Militant Command and will take over Adel's former role of monitoring international contacts.

While it is clear that Zawahiri is still positioned to seize the reins of al-Qaida, Benotman said that it is taking time to secure oaths of loyalty to bin Laden's deputy from the widely dispersed affiliates and branches of al-Qaida.

For other new appointments resulting from al-Qaida meeting, click here. For additional information on Ayman al-Zawahiri, click here.

"South Park" Threat Leads to New Charge

A second man has been charged in connection with threats made last year against the producers of the Comedy Central program "South Park."

Jesse Curtis Morton, (aka Younus Abdullah Mohammad) is charged with communicating threats. Morton helped run a website, RevolutionMuslim, with Zachary Chesser. Chesser is serving a 25-year prison term after pleading guilty to a similar charge and to trying to provide material support to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab.

After a "South Park" episode in April 2010 mocked the violent reaction of radical Islamists by portraying the Prophet Mohammad covered by a bear suit, Chesser posted a statement warning producers Matt Stone and Trey Parker that they "will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show."

Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker who was killed on an Amsterdam street after producing a short film protesting the treatment of women in Islam.

According to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Paula Menges, Chesser then collaborated with Morton on a "clarification statement" triggered by media inquiries.

"The Clarification Statement contained pages of justification under Islamic law for the death of those who insult Islam or defame its prophet, and for Muslims to bring about such deaths," Menges wrote. "In it, Morton and Chesser asserted in pertinent part that 'we will never tolerate the mocking or insulting of any one of the prophets,' and explained that the Islamic ruling on this situation was that 'the punishment is death.'"

Though the statement indicated they were not inciting violence, it included a quote from Osama bin Laden that threatened those responsible for Danish cartoons depicting Mohammad with "the freedom of our actions" as payback for their free speech.

That, Menges wrote, crosses the line between protected speech and conveying a threat because it warned Stone and Parker they "would be on the receiving end of actions analogous to those of bin Laden if they refused to change their ways."

The clarification statement included a picture of Van Gogh's body after a stranger killed him "for making a film that was perceived to have insulted Islam." Even if they were not making a direct threat, their statement posted on radical Islamist websites could inspire others to act. "[B]y issuing that statement, they certainly knew that violence was likely to be incited by it anyway."

In an interview on CNN before the "South Park" controversy, Morton said Islam commands Muslims to terrorize disbelievers. "The Koran says very clearly in the Arabic language ... this means "terrorize them." It's a command from Allah."

National Security an Afterthought at Hearing on U.S. Refugee Admissions

The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) held a public meeting on U.S. refugee policy May 12 in Arlington, Va. The Investigative Project on Terrorism attended the meeting (held in conjunction with the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services) after a veteran DHS official privately expressed concern that the United States has no idea whether it is admitting Somali jihadists as "refugees."

This United States admitted tens of thousands of Somalis into the United States since 2002, the official says. But it is impossible to verify their identity because Somalia has long been a state without a functioning government and it does not keep usable birth records. If only a miniscule percentage of these people turn out to have been involved with al-Shabaab or other extremist groups, the United States may have admitted dozens of potential terrorists, the official says.

The hearing was supposed to chart the government's course on refugee policy for the coming fiscal year but it did not do so. In fact, there was virtually no testimony at all about al-Shabaab.

Witnesses included Iraqi refugees and officials representing nongovernmental organizations groups ranging from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to Human Rights First, who discussed the nuts and bolts of resettling refugees in the United States. Many of the topics discussed – which included efforts to resettle Iraqis facing death threats because they had worked for the American military – sounded like commendable humanitarian efforts.

But the security challenges involved in admitting refugees to the United States were barely mentioned until the final 10 minutes of the public meeting, when the IPT asked what the government was doing to keep jihadists out.

Refugees are carefully vetted and go through many security reviews, said David Robinson, deputy secretary of State for PRM. Barbara Strack, chief of DHS's Refugee Affairs Division, Refugee Asylum & International Affairs Directorate, made essentially the same point, but said she couldn't provide any details without compromising intelligence secrets.

That was the extent of the discussion pertaining to refugee policy and terrorism.

But an important question – whether porous U.S. immigration procedures are letting Somali jihadists into the United States – remains shrouded in mystery. A veteran DHS official says the danger is real. But senior officials at DHS and the State Department insist that everything is fine and that the public will simply have to take their word for it. Considering what's at stake, some serious congressional oversight would seem to be in order.

U.S. Condemns Syria's Role in anti-Israel Protests

The White House has condemned Syria's role in facilitating protests along Israel's border that resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people over the weekend.

"We are also strongly opposed to the Syrian government's involvement in inciting yesterday's protests in the Golan Heights," said spokesman Jay Carney. "Such behavior is unacceptable and does not serve as a distraction from the Syrian government's ongoing repression of demonstrators in its own country."

Efforts to breach Israel's borders by protestors occurred amid Syria's brutal repression of anti-goverment demonstrations. Mass demonstrations throughout the region marked the 63^rd anniversary of Israel's declaration of statehood, an event Palestinians call the "Nakba," meaning "catastrophe." Tens of thousands of Palestinians and their supporters gathered along Israel's borders Sunday and some tried to cross into Israel in an effort to reassert their perceived right of return to the land they say they were displaced from in Israel's 1948 war for independence.

Israeli forces opened fire on those trying to cross into Israel from Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip and claimed responsibility for three deaths. Israeli officials blame Iran for what they see as an attempt by the Islamic Republic to divert the Arab revolt against the Syrian regime towards Israel.

"We are seeing here an Iranian provocation, on both the Syrian and the Lebanese frontiers, to try to exploit the Nakba Day commemorations," Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. "The radical axis of Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas is very clear. This [infiltration] bore the fingerprints of Iran."

Israel plans to file a complaint in the United Nations against Syria and Lebanon for violating international law and UN Security Council Resolutions when they failed to stop protestors from breaching Israel's borders. The new military government in Egypt, on the other hand, quashed a Nakba Day protest outside Israel's embassy in Cairo, injuring 350 people. Similarly, Jordanian police prevented more than 500 people from marching on Israel's border, injuring 25 protestors in the process.

The mass protests and efforts to infiltrate Israel represent the largest escalation of violence in the Arab-Israeli conflict in years. Since hundreds of Palestinian protestors were injured in clashes with Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank, Gaza, and within Israel, officials are concerned that hostilities will continue even with the passing of Nakba Day.

"Yesterday's events could prove to be the harbinger of events yet to come in the immediate future," said an IDF official.

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