Military Clashes between Hamas Activists and Israel on the Mediterranean Sea Likely by Month's End

With organizers of the "Freedom Flotilla" determined to violate Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, it appears more and more likely that the incident may escalate into a military confrontation between Israel and the ruling Hamas regime in Gaza.

Earlier this week, seven senior ministers of the Israeli government announced that Israel will block the ships from entering Gaza and will direct them to the Israeli port city of Ashdod by force, if necessary.

Following the announcement, on Thursday, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General met with the ambassadors of Turkey, Cyprus, Sweden, Ireland and Greece—the countries of departure for the eight ships carrying about 10,000 tons of humanitarian and 750 activists. Israel again invited the organizers to dock at the Ashdod port and offered to transfer the cargo to Gaza, after appropriate examination, in accordance with Israeli and international law. Cyprus is the only country that decided to ban any ships from sailing from its shores.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that if Israel's offer to flotilla leaders is rejected it will "use all the means at its disposal" to prevent the ships from entering the port, although Israel hopes to avoid the use of force.

Organizers of the flotilla completely rejected the offer, and announced on Friday they will continue to head to Gaza despite Israel's warnings.

In preparation for possible conflict, the Commander of the Israeli Navy has begun organizing a series of exercises consisting of gaining control of the ships and bringing them to Israel's shores. During the operation, Israeli forces will take the required steps "in order to protect the soldiers' lives, and make sure that no terrorist agents have been infiltrated into the ships."

The ships will receive additional warnings asking them to stop their journey. If the passengers decide to continue, they will be arrested, brought to Israel, and sent back to their country of origin. The Navy has been instructed to act with "fair judgment," and was told there "is no intention to cause any harm among the hundreds of people expected to arrive."

Viva Palestina (VP) has members participating in the flotilla and has sent three of its own convoys to Gaza over the past 11 months that have delivered millions of dollars to the Hamas government. The group released a statement on its website claiming that the flotilla is entirely humanitarian.

Israel has strongly countered claims of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza—calling the convoy a "cheap political stunt"—and has emphasized it has supplied Gaza with over a million tons of goods. Even leaders of the flotilla have admitted the mission is not humanitarian in nature. Greta Berlin, an organizer of the flotilla, characterized the mission as:

"not about delivering humanitarian supplies, [but] about breaking Israel's siege on 1.5 million Palestinians."

Moreover, Israel points out that items smuggled into Gaza via sea have repeatedly been used by Hamas to attack Israeli civilians. To ensure that this shipment is truly humanitarian, the Israeli government has stated that it intends to inspect the goods prior to transfer to Gaza.

Despite the ongoing posturing by Israeli and flotilla leaders, organizers of the event continue to work closely with Hamas officials in preparation for the flotilla's arrival, and have received support from Hamas activists at rallies and in the Gaza Strip. One of the individuals leading the flotilla, Muhammad Sawalha was formerly a senior Hamas activist in the West Bank before fleeing to Britain.

This week, the Hamas naval police organized a training drill in preparation for an emergency scenario, and the Hamas government distributed 500 invitations for a welcoming celebration to greet the activists. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are helping to prepare for the flotilla's arrival.

Senators Propose Law to Ban Anonymous Cell Phones

This week, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX) announced long overdue legislation that would stop terrorists from keeping their identities hidden from law enforcement by using prepaid cell phones to plot and coordinate their attacks.

The proposal follows an unsealed criminal complaint which alleged that Faisal Shahzad, the failed Times Square bomber, used a prepaid cell phone to plan and carry out his terrorist attack. The phone was used to communicate with confederates in Pakistan and to arrange the purchase of the vehicle that would later be stuffed with a crude bomb and parked in Times Square.

Currently, prepaid "burner" phones can be purchased and activated without signing a contract, providing identification, or undergoing a credit check; providing virtual anonymity for those who get their hands on the devices.

While Shahzad may be the most recent example of terrorists using these "burner" phones, he is certainly not the first. As Senator Schumer explained in announcing the intended crackdown:

"[prepaid cell phones] have become the communication device of choice for terrorists, drug lords, and gang members interested in masking their identities."

The hijackers that carried out the September 11 attacks used burners to communicate for months prior to the terrorist attacks. In a 2002 speech, FBI Director Robert Mueller cited the plotters' use of burners to show that they had "managed to exploit loopholes and vulnerabilities in our systems, to stay out of sight, and to not let anyone know what they were up to beyond a very closed circle."

Under the new proposal, buyers of prepaid cell phones would be required to present identification at the point of sale, and phone companies would have to keep the buyers' information on file as they already do with users of landline phones and subscription-based cell phones. Policies such as the one proposed are already in effect in Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Norway, Switzerland, Thailand and South Africa, where buyers of burners much register.

According to the Washington Post, there is no companion bill in the House, however it is expected that the bill would receive support from the Obama administration.

Book, Video Show Hizballah Training Near Caracas

Evidence of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez's Islamist terror connections continues to mount, writes veteran journalist Douglas Farah. He describes a new book, El Palestino, authored by Spanish journalist Antonio Salas, which says there are six terrorist training camps around Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. Groups training at the camps include the Colombian FARC, the Spanish Basque ETA organization, and Hizballah.

In the book (currently available in Spanish), Salas says he posed as a Venezuelan Palestinian interested in jihad and was able to travel around the world. His employer, the Spanish television network Antena 3, has released some of the hidden-camera video he took while working undercover with the terrorists.

For years, there have been reports about the existence of these camps, but Salas apparently is the first person to provide video and firsthand experience training in them. According to Antena 3, Salas joined a Venezuelan "faction" of Hizballah, where he met members of other terrorist organizations like Hamas and the FARC.

"This is in keeping with Chavez's broader goals of creating an alliance of state and non-state actors to wage assymetrical warfare against the United States," Farah wrote. "Both Chavez, with the FARC, and Iran, have the same goal in this endeavor. Each of the proxies has relevant experience and resources the other does not, and both have a history of adaption and co-learning from other terrorist groups, regardless of political/theological differences."

As living conditions in Venezuela continue to deteriorate, he added, Chavez may well seek to foment crises and support armed revolution in Latin America:

"With the highest homicide rate in the hemisphere, water and electrical rationing, inflation running at more than 30 percent and his popularity in a steady decline, he is likely to be desperate for anything that can give him a boost. Iran, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador have enormous stakes in Chavez's survival, no matter what the cost. So one can expect the region to be roiled by something he cooks up to fabricate a crisis."

Read more about Chavez's collaboration with Iran and Hizballah here, here, and here.

Al Shabaab Alert on the Border

Federal and local law enforcement officials in Texas are being advised to watch out for possible Al-Shabaab terrorists trying to cross the U.S. border with Mexico, FOXNews.com reports.

The Fox report cites an official who saw the Department of Homeland Security memo. It follows a recent indictment of a Somali man in Texas who is accused of running a smuggling ring that brings Somalis into the United States at the Mexican border. According to the Fox report:

"The DHS alert was issued to police and sheriff's deputies in Houston, asking them to keep their eyes open for a Somali man named Mohamed Ali who is believed to be in Mexico preparing to make the illegal crossing into Texas. Officials believe Ali has ties to Al Shabaab, a Somali terrorist organization aligned with Al Qaeda, said Joan Neuhaus Schaan, the homeland security and terrorism fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute, who has seen the alert.

In the Texas smuggling case, Anthony Joseph Tracy, of Virginia, who admitted to having ties to Al Shabaab, is currently being prosecuted for his alleged role in an international ring that illegally brought more than 200 Somalis across the Mexican border. Prosecutors say Tracy used his Kenya-based travel business as a cover to fraudulently obtain Cuban travel documents for the Somalis. The smuggled Somalis are believed to have spread out across the United States and remain mostly at large, court records show."

Dozens of young Somali men from the U.S. and Canada are believed to have left North America in the past two years to join Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group aligned with Al Qaeda. One is believed to have become the first American suicide bomber.

Law enforcement officials have expressed concern that some of the recruits could come back to America after receiving terrorist training. Read the full Fox story here.

Awlaki's Latest Rant

It seems marketing may be another skill terrorist ideologue Anwar Al-Awlaki learned growing up in America.

In an interview with an Al Qaeda media arm and rebroadcast in part by Al Jazeera, Awlaki invoked the message of Osama bin Laden and called on Muslims to kill Americans anywhere they can.

Awlaki's profile has soared since October, when it was discovered that he inspired Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan to carry out a shooting rampage, killing 13 of Hasan's fellow soldiers. Most recently, he was tied to the failed Times Square bombing. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), documented significant quotes from the Awlaki interview.

He accused America of attempting to destroy authentic Islam by replacing it with a "culture of servility." Awlaki also praised Hasan:

"Nidal Hasan is a student of mine, and I am proud of this. I am proud that there are people like Nidal Hasan among my students. What he did was a heroic act, a wonderful operation. I ask Allah to make him steadfast, to protect him, and to free him. I support what he did, and I call upon anyone who calls himself a Muslim, and serves in the US army, to follow in the footsteps of Nidal Hasan. Good deeds erase bad ones. In addition, I call upon [all] Muslims to follow in his footsteps, and to wage Jihad by speech or by action. Nidal Hasan set a wonderful example, and I ask Allah to make it a beginning, and that many other Muslims will follow in his footsteps."

He cast the battle in theological terms, not simply the product of a single issue or grievance:

"The war today between the Muslims and the Americans is not just about oil, not just about a maritime strait, and not just about controlling a land or a sea. It is not just a war over Palestine, Iraq, or Afghanistan. True, these are all among the reasons for the conflict, but in its essence, hart, and core, this is a war about the belief in Allah's unity. America wants to destroy the Islam that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. They want to replace it with the falsified Islam that I mentioned."

Lost amid the focus on his call to murder is an interesting comment Awlaki made about his life in America. He said that he and unspecified Muslim organizations took advantage of American freedom of speech to promote violent jihad in Muslim lands:

"[US Muslim] organizations used to support the Jihad in Afghanistan, in Bosnia, in Chechnya, and in Palestine. I was there, in America, at that time. We used to call from the pulpits to everything in Islam: Jihad for the sake of Allah, the establishment of the Caliphate. Allegiance and Disavowal. We could speak freely. The freedom in America allowed us to say these things, and we had much more freedom than in many of the countries of the Islamic world."

If that's the case, then instead of a grand theological shift towards violence, he has simply redirected the target of his jihad from liberating Muslim lands towards striking the heart of the spiritual enemy he sees threatening the life of his religion:

"My message to the Muslims in general, and to those in the Arabian Peninsula in particular, is that we should participate in this Jihad against America. Today, America leads the global Crusader campaign against the Muslims. The America of today is the Pharaoh of the past. We should take part in it. We have a glimmer of hope in this small band of mujahideen in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in Somalia, who have managed to bring the US army to its knees. Due to this Jihad, the US economy is reeling today. If that small band of mujahideen have managed to defeat America, imagine what would happen if the Islamic nation rose up. America cannot withstand this Islamic nation. It is too weak. America's cunning is weaker than a spider web."

Journalistic Skepticism, MPAC and the L.A. Times

Is it difficult to be as awesome as you are?

How do you represent your constituency so gallantly?

Reading through Patt Morrison's softball interview of Salam al-Marayati in this weekend's Los Angeles Times, one almost expects to see these questions. Morrison describes the job of al-Marayati, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), as:

"a balancing act that engages local and international politics, religion and culture, internal and civic and public relations, all of it performed on a tightrope that quivers after every terrorist attack and attempted attack by Muslims."

Given the opportunity to speak with al-Marayati, who has been at the helm of the group since its foundation, Morrison failed to ask the tough follow-up questions you would hope to see in anything but a fluff piece.

Most telling was Morrison's failure to press al-Marayati on his definition of terrorism. For the sake of full clarity, Al-Marayati defines terrorism as:

"the use of violence against a civilian population to terrorize them in order to achieve a political goal."

On this definition, we would agree. The problem is that MPAC and al-Marayati have selectively applied this definition. While identifying al Qaida as a terrorist organization, they have consistently defended Hamas and Hizballah as "resistance movements." In one such instance, at the National Press Club on June 18, 1998, MPAC Senior Advisor Maher Hathout cast Hizballah as misunderstood:

"The whole country keeps condemning Hizballah. I disagree with them on other issues, but on the issue of fighting to liberate their land and attacking only armed forces, this is legitimate, this is an American value—freedom and liberty."

Moreover, as we have explained, in responding to an MPAC counter-terrorism white-paper, MPAC has focused too much on the "bomb thrower"—the militant with an "intent and ability to use a weapon of mass destruction" who is actually ready and willing to die for their Islamist ideology. Contrast that with their complete unwillingness to denounce those who provide "material support" to terrorist groups.

In addition to failing to press al-Marayati on his organization's inadequate labeling of terrorist groups and activities, Morrison failed to get a response to concerns that MPAC is partly to blame for the "climate of fear" that they so often point to as degrading counter-terrorism efforts.

MPAC routinely touts its relationship with law enforcement, claiming that it wishes to serve as a bridge between the American Muslim community and American law enforcement. In the interview, al-Marayati claimed that:

"Every Muslim leader has stated publicly that if [people] see any threat or danger to society, they will connect with law enforcement."

While we are unwilling to make broad statements about "every Muslim leader," we can say that MPAC has not lived up to these lofty ambitions. The organization has consistently fanned the flames of distrust between the American Muslim community and U.S. law enforcement. During a 2008 news conference, for example, al-Marayati stated:

"America is judged today by the rest of the world by how it treats its Muslim citizens and how it treats its Muslim citizens and how it views Islam. If the war on terror continues to be viewed as a war against Islam America will lose. It's as simple as that. And this is not about censorship; it's about exposing the stupidity…."

Patt Morrison had an opportunity to press one of the most influential leaders of the American Muslim community this weekend. Instead of doing that, the journalist choose to lob softballs right over the plate and let al-Marayati knock them out of the park.

Report Finds Radical Cleric's Sermons Available to American Inmates

Federal inmates throughout the country can go to their prison libraries and hear recorded sermons of the radical American-born Muslim cleric deemed so dangerous that President Barack Obama has authorized killing him. That's the finding of an FBI report issued among law enforcement officials Friday.

Anwar al-Awlaki is believed to be in Yemen and is considered to have inspired a number of attempted and successful terrorist attacks over the years, most recently including the Fort Hood shooting massacre, the failed Christmas Day airline bombing attempt and the failed Times Square car bombing earlier this month.

According to a law enforcement source who has seen the report, Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials found Awlaki tapes in penitentiaries run by the BOP.

It isn't clear how long those tapes have been on the library shelves. The report did not indicate what action would be taken now that this discovery has been made.

The report seems to validate long-term concerns that prisons and their libraries have served as incubators of radical Islamic activity, and released inmates who have gone on to plot attacks in the United States.

IPT Report on Census Lease Prompts Inquiries

Two members of Congress want the General Services Administration (GSA) to explain what research, if any, was done before signing a $582,000 lease with a Virginia mosque that law enforcement officials say has been the subject of numerous terror-financing investigations.

The letters to GSA Administrator Martha Johnson from U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Susan Collins follow an Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) story disclosing the 2008 lease for a Census Bureau office, and the law enforcement assessments of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.

Records from the Department of Homeland Security obtained by the IPT indicate the mosque was "operating as a front for Hamas operatives in U.S.," and "has been linked to numerous individuals linked to terrorism financing."

Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote that he was concerned "there are insufficient procedures in place to vet potential contract partners." It would be "evidence of an alarming inter-agency communication failure" if the law enforcement reports about Dar Al-Hijrah were not available to GSA officials. If it is available, and GSA simply didn't check, "there may be an even more problematic systemic issue."

Collins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, asked whether GSA checks out prospective landlords to determine whether they have "engaged in prohibited conduct related to terrorism or other unlawful activities."

The Washington Post reported on the letters Thursday. The story cited the initial IPT report as an impetus for the Issa and Collins inquiries. "The web site's report was based on brief, intragovernmental messages about the mosque," the story said, omitting details about the law enforcement assessments.

The story did quote two sources disparaging the IPT report. Census spokesman Steven Jost told the newspaper "We're not happy with the optics being portrayed by this web site." Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Dar Al-Hijrah outreach director, said it was wrong "that certain individuals who are against Muslims would impugn the character of the mosque when we haven't been found guilty of any crime."

The IPT was not asked to respond and the Post chose not to tell readers what the TECS reports said. Editor Linda Robinson explained that the records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, were "not terribly useful, frankly," because they were brief summaries and the author's identity was not known.

"I don't know who wrote them," she said. "I don't know anything about them."

Issa included details about the records in his letter to the GSA administrator:

"The DHS maintains the Traveler Enforcement Compliance System (TECS), a database and case management application populated by reports from border and law enforcement agencies. The searchable TECS database allows investigators to quickly identify individuals and entities with derogatory background information.

The Dar Al-Hijrah Center is described in one TECS report as having been 'under numerous investigations for financing and [providing] aid and comfort to bad [organizations] and members.' In another TECS report, Dar Al-Hijrah is described as 'a mosque operating as a front for Hamas operatives in [the] U.S.'

Even the most cursory review using publicly available research tools would have raised red flags when GSA considered entering into a lease with Dar Al-Hijrah."

The TECS reports Issa references can be seen here, here and here.

Al Qaida Supporter in the Heartland

A Moroccan-born American citizen admitted in a Kansas City federal courtroom Wednesday that he routed $23,500 he obtained through bank fraud to al Qaida. Khalid Ouazzani, owner of Truman Used Auto Parts, pleaded guilty to providing material support to al Qaida.

Under questioning from his own attorney, Ouazzani, 32, also admitted he made an oath of allegiance to the terrorist group. According to a criminal information filed Wednesday, Ouazzani and unnamed co-conspirators send the money "for the use and benefit of Al-Qaida and would and did perform other tasks at the request of and for the benefit of Al-Qaida."

According to the Kansas City Star:

He also acknowledged that he and co-conspirators not identified in the charges discussed fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia as another way to support Al Qaeda.

The conspirators also "used various techniques to disguise their communications about their plans and assistance to support" al-Qaida, according to court records.

Ouazzani originally was indicted for bank fraud and money laundering in February. The 33-count indictment charged him with lying to obtain property loans, then "obtaining substantially more funds than the real estate securing the loans was actually worth." He then defaulted on the loans. The indictment noted that he "transferred substantial amounts of loan proceeds to bank accounts outside the United States," but did not refer to al Qaida.

Pistole Nominated to Head TSA

This week, the White House announced the nomination of John Pistole to head the Transportation Security Administration.

After 16 months without an administrator, Pistole's nomination marks the third attempt by the Obama administration to fill the top position at the TSA. In making the announcement, President Obama explained:

"The talent and knowledge John has acquired in more than two decades of service with the FBI will make him a valuable asset to our administration's efforts to strengthen the security and screening measures at our airports. I am grateful that he has agreed to take on this important role, and I look forward to working with him in the weeks and months ahead."

Pistole has had a long and distinguished career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation which began in 1983. After almost two decades as a field agent and supervisor, he was brought into the Counterterrorism Division after the September 11 attacks. Since then, he has served in a variety of leadership positions, culminating in his current assignment as Deputy Director of the FBI.

A date for confirmation hearings has not yet been set, but Pistole is expected to be confirmed, having had a long and distinguished career in law enforcement.

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