Surprising Actions Toward Saving Syrians

Two recent reports about the ongoing Syrian civil war provide a surprising twist about actions that save Syrian lives.

Late November warnings from top Israeli commanders that Syrian troops were mixing chemicals and filling dozens of 500-pound bombs for possible sarin gas attacks on civilians prompted an urgent international response, led by the United States.

The Israeli intelligence is credited with helping avoid untold civilian casualties from a desperate dictator clinging to power. A New York Times report described the episode as "a remarkable show of international cooperation over a civil war in which the United States, Arab states, Russia and China have almost never agreed on a common course of action."

That prompted writer David Frum to quip "Israeli intelligence saved the lives of thousands of Syrian civilians - surely more of a humanitarian intervention than yet staged by any Arab state."

Israel certainly acted in its own national interest as much as anything else. But the outcome is undeniable.

In contrast, national interest seems to be stopping Palestinian officials from helping Palestinian refugees escape the bloodshed in Syria. Leaders of both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority declined the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's requests for help for roughly 150,000 Syrian Palestinians homeless, facing attacks, food shortages, and extremely cold temperatures, Fox News reports.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh reportedly believes that incorporating the refugees into the Palestinian territories would negate his argument for a Palestinian 'right of return' to Israel – what Hamas perceives as occupied Palestine. Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority seem to have a similar position, the Fox report said.

Palestinian leadership seems to value its goal of undermining Israel over helping fellow Palestinians in immediate danger.

Morsi Mediating Fatah and Hamas Reconciliation

Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal are in Cairo for reconciliation talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

The visit will last several days, said Hamas politburo Vice President Moussa abu Marzook.

The Palestinian factions have been divided since the terrorist group seized control of Gaza after it routed Fatah in the 2007 Palestinian civil war that followed Hamas' parliamentary victory the previous year.

The leaders of the two Palestinian factions reportedly will meet with Egypt's intelligence chief before meeting with Morsi.

"We hope that Hamas might succeed in stabilizing its internal situation as the reconciliatory atmosphere seems stronger than ever, especially after it allowed a pro-Fatah rally in Gaza," Fatah's reconciliation leader Azzam Al-Ahmed told Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper.

The event was intended to commemorate the 48^th anniversary of Fatah's taking up arms against Israel.

The factions reached a deal in 2011 which would have paved the way for presidential and legislative elections last May, but it fell apart over who would head a transitional government.

Hamas leaders nixed another deal reached between Meshaal and Abbas in 2012, accusing Meshaal of making unilateral decisions without their support.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would not cede any more land to the Palestinians, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"We see the dangers clearly," Netanyahu said. "Today Abu Mazen (Abbas) is in Cairo together with the head of Hamas. They are looking into a possible unity deal between Fatah and the terrorists who have been trying to annihilate the state of Israel, and who have fired rockets at our cities.

"We know that any territory we evacuate will be seized by Hamas and Iran, and we will not let that happen."

CAIR Rep Blames Conservative Media for Rise in "Islamophobia"

Fox News and conservative media outlets are perpetuating an Islamophobic narrative that leads to a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes, an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), alleged in a recent interview with Russian Television (RT).

"There are people who are professionals whose main job is to say and do negative things about and against Muslims, these people have been now given wider stages, have been given more time on the air, on news media," CAIR legal counsel Nadhira Al-Khalili said. "For example, Fox News, as the gentleman stated before, has now been featuring many more Islamophobes than they ever had in the past, and we believe that the media has a direct correlation to the things that are happening in real life."

While there have been isolated attacks on Muslims by deranged individuals, law enforcement data fails to show the kind of alarming spike in attacks Al-Khalili and CAIR want people to believe is taking place.

From this, she jumps to a theory that there "is a small group of people who are profiting" by perpetuating bigotry against Muslims so that the American people will buy into the narrative and support Congressional funding for the expansion of the U.S. military and drone strikes to combat "the other."

Khalili states "Muslims are being portrayed as 'the other.'"

This type of sentiment illustrates CAIR's strategy – to propagate that the United States, the West, and key individuals are perpetuating a war on Islam, as opposed to a radical fringe of Islamists who exploit the religion for political goals.

Morsi Promises to Ask Obama for 'Blind Sheik' Release

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi promised to lobby President Obama to release 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Omar Abdel Rahman, aka "The Blind Sheik," the next time he sees the president.

"When I meet with him I will talk to him about this issue," Morsi said during a Monday interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

The Egyptian president repeatedly reaffirmed the commitment he made last June to free the cleric, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the bombing and subsequent plans to target New York City landmarks. Abdel Rahman also issued a fatwa justifying the murder of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and was tied to Egyptian Islamic Jihad, led by al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

His release was also demanded by the Salafist protesters who stormed the U.S. embassy in Cairo on Sept. 11, 2012.

"I want him to be free, but I respect the law and the rule of law in Egypt and the United States. What I am talking about isn't a violation. I don't want a violation of the rule of law, but there are also many humane aspects," Morsi told Blitzer. "There can be things like visitation, assistance, his children, his family assisting him. He is an old sheik and sick and blind. We need to respect that.

"Because he is a man, an old man, and he deserves full care," Morsi continued. "I wish that there could be a big possibility for the American administration to look into this matter about this sheikh who is very old."

Morsi's statement was rebuffed on Capitol Hill by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Tex.

"I urge the Obama administration to stand firm against pleas from Egypt to free Omar Abdel Rahman. Releasing a terrorist who plotted against the United States and has American blood on his hands would be seen as a sign of weakness throughout the Muslim extremist world and will only serve to embolden our enemies who continue to plot against us," McCaul said Tuesday in a statement.

Spokesmen for the National Security Council and the Justice Department vowed that Abdel Rahman will serve out his full life sentence despite any Egyptian requests.

Iranian Terror, Espionage Highlighted in New DoD Report

A new report by the Pentagon's Irregular Warfare Support Program details the role played by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) in defending the Islamic Republic and targeting regime opponents around the world.

"MOIS is active wherever the Iranian government has interests," according to the unclassified report, published last month by the Library of Congress and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon's Bill Gertz.

"MOIS provides financial, material, technological, or other support services to Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), all designated terrorist organizations under U.S. Executive Order 13224," the report states.

Prior to his assassination in 2008, senior Hezbollah terrorist Imad Mughniyeh lived under MOIS' protection, and Iranian intelligence also provided support – including guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and armor-piercing roadside bombs – to jihadists attacking U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

Sunni/Shia doctrinal differences haven't prevented Tehran from collaborating with al-Qaida. Cooperation between the two "is based on their shared opposition to U.S. hegemony in the region –Iraq and Afghanistan, chiefly –and dates to the 1990s," the report says. "The fact that al Qaeda operates in many countries helps Iran achieve its goal of diverting U.S. attention away from Iran's immediate neighborhood." In return, "al Qaeda uses Iran as a place where its facilitators connect al Qaeda's senior leadership with regional affiliates."

MOIS operates in Latin America, working in conjunction with other Iranian intelligence agencies like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.

Iranian intelligence operations in countries such as Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador appear to be part of "Iran's strategy of establishing a presence in the backyard of the United States for purposes of expanding Shi'a and revolutionary ideology, establishing networks for intelligence and covert operations, and waging asymmetrical warfare against the United States," the report says. "In Latin America, Iran's intelligence agencies – MOIS but mostly the Quds Force – use Hezbollah to achieve their goals."

MOIS responsibilities range from infiltrating internal opposition groups to aiding the Quds Force in establishing foreign terrorist networks and procuring technology for the Iranian military. The ministry has agents "who abduct individuals abroad, return them to Iran, and then imprison or kill them," the Pentagon report states.

Read the full report here.

Gulf States Worried About Muslim Brotherhood Subversive Activities

A Kuwaiti lawmaker is demanding that Kuwait's security services be on the lookout for Muslim Brotherhood cells seeking to destabilize the emirate.

This comes in the wake of the announcement of the alleged discovery of Brotherhood cells in the nearby United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday. Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan acknowledged that some of the 11 people detained by UAE authorities are Brotherhood members but denied that they were seeking to destabilize the country, according to Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.

An informed source told the Emirati newspaper Al-Khaleej that members of the group had held "secret meetings" and recruited Egyptian expatriates from across the UAE to join their ranks.

"Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood had offered (the cell's members) courses... on elections and the means of changing leadership in Arab countries," Al-Khaleej reported.

The UAE arrested about 60 Islamists last month, accusing them of being linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and plotting against governments in the Gulf region.

"We must be vigilant to ensure that we are immune to the threats of these cells," Kuwaiti lawmaker Abdullah Al Tamimi told Gulf News. "Kuwait must not be turned into an open field for such cells, especially that we have a large community of Egyptians. They are our brothers, but we categorically reject all sleeping terror cells that might infiltrate the Kuwaiti society and state institutions.

"The arrests of the Muslim Brotherhood cells do confirm that Kuwait could also be used by such cells."

Records Tie Awlaki to 9/11 Hijackers' Travel

The late terrorist mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a 2011 drone strike, may have purchased plane tickets for three of the 9/11 hijackers, documents obtained by Judicial Watch under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suggest.

"We have FBI documents showing that the FBI knew that al-Awlaki had bought three tickets for three of the hijackers to fly into Florida and into Las Vegas, including the lead hijacker, Mohammad Atta," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told Fox News.

Awlaki was previously identified as a person of interest in the 9/11 Commission Report, which previously linked him to American Flight 77 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdar. But the commission said it was not able to determine the nature of his relationship with the two.

At the time, Awlaki was an imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Va. He would go on to become a preacher who was highly effective at radicalizing Muslims to plot terrorist attacks, including contacts with Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan and underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The heavily redacted documents, dated Sept. 26, 2001, shows Awlaki's credit card number (with his name spelled "Aulaqi") followed by a redacted paragraph and flight information for hijackers Mohamed Atta, Satam al-Suqami and an individual listed as W. al-Shehri. That could either be Wail al-Shehri or his brother Waleed, both of whom were on American Flight 11 with Atta when he crashed it into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

The document lists Atta's itinerary for an August 13, 2001 flight on American West Airlines traveling from Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas and then on to Miami just weeks before the 9/11 attacks.

Al-Suqami's ticket was booked on Southwest Airlines July 10, 2001 to fly from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando.

"W. al-Shehri" had a ticket on an August 2001 National Airlines flight between Las Vegas and Miami.

An FBI spokeswoman told Fox to avoid drawing conclusions from the redacted FOIA documents.

"The FBI and investigating bodies have not found evidence connecting Anwar al-Awlaki and the attack on Sept. 11, 2001. The document referenced does not link Anwar al-Awlaki with any purchase of airline tickets for the hijackers," she said.

Updated 5:15 p.m.

The FBI said Friday that a redacted 2003 chronology titled "working draft chronology of events for hijackers for cross-country of events for hijackers and associates" indicates the hijackers purchased their own tickets for cross-country surveillance flights in August 2001 and for another in July 2001.

Jihadists Flexing Muscles in West Bank

Israeli security sources plan to step up arrests of jihadists to prevent West Bank unrest from morphing into a third intifada. AFP reported Thursday that the decision follows an upsurge in violence ranging from stone-throwing to Molotov cocktail attacks on West Bank roads.

In the past 48 hours, there have been numerous press reports like this describing Palestinian attacks on Israeli troops in the West Bank. An elite Israeli Army unit was attacked by a 500-person mob in Jenin on Thursday when it tried to apprehend suspected terrorists. Palestinians shot video showing at least four youths hanging onto an Israel Defense Force (IDF) jeep, with one perched on its roof.

Two days earlier, an IDF undercover unit entered Tamoun, a village south of Jenin, in search of two Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives. As IDF troops left the village with one terror suspect, they were attacked by rioters who pelted them with stones and bottles. The army had to scramble a large force to the scene to quell the violence.

The riots follow reports that Hamas is becoming bolder in challenging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah organization controls the West Bank.

London's Sunday Times reported last month that Hamas boss Khaled Meshaal has instructed the group's West Bank "sleeper cells" to prepare for armed struggle to seize control of that Palestinian territory. Citing intelligence services including the Shin Bet, the Times claimed that Iran was working to create a third jihadist proxy force in the West Bank (after Hizballah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza).

A poll released last month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 48 percent support in the West Bank and Gaza for Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, compared to 45 percent for Abbas.

Last week, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook proposed that Abbas dismantle the Palestinian Authority and turn the West Bank over to Hamas. Marzook said that Hamas' success in waging war against Israel qualified it to run the West Bank.

PA spokesman Ahmed Assaf responded by suggesting that Hamas was going soft on Israel: "How can Hamas agree to a state without Jerusalem and the right of return for Palestinian refugees? Does Hamas want to cover up for Israeli occupation and the Judaization of Jerusalem and Islamic holy sites?"

Assaf accused Hamas of conducting secret talks with Israel about the establishment of a temporary Palestinian state.

Egyptian Magazine: Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrates Obama Administration

An Egyptian magazine claims that six American Islamist activists who work with the Obama administration are Muslim Brotherhood operatives who enjoy strong influence over U.S. policy.

The Dec. 22 story published in Egypt's Rose El-Youssef magazine (read an IPT translation here) suggests the six turned the White House "from a position hostile to Islamic groups and organizations in the world to the largest and most important supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood."

The story is largely unsourced, but its publication is considered significant in raising the issue to Egyptian readers.

The six named people include: Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for policy development; Mohammed Elibiary, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council; Rashad Hussain, the U.S. special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference; Salam al-Marayati, co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC); Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); and Eboo Patel, a member of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

Alikhan is a founder of the World Islamic Organization, which the magazine identifies as a Brotherhood "subsidiary." It suggests that Alikhan was responsible for the "file of Islamic states" in the White House and that he provides the direct link between the Obama administration and the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011.

Elibiary, who has endorsed the ideas of radical Muslim Brotherhood luminary Sayyid Qutb, may have leaked secret materials contained in Department of Homeland Security databases, according to the magazine. He, however, denies having any connection with the Brotherhood.

Elibiary also played a role in defining the Obama administration's counterterrorism strategy, and the magazine asserts that Elibiary wrote the speech Obama gave when he told former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave power but offers no source or evidence for the claim.

According to Rose El-Youssef, Rashad Hussain maintained close ties with people and groups that it says comprise the Muslim Brotherhood network in America. This includes his participation in the June 2002 annual conference of the American Muslim Council, formerly headed by convicted terrorist financier Abdurahman Alamoudi.

He also participated in the organizing committee of the Critical Islamic Reflection along with important figures of the American Muslim Brotherhood such as Jamal Barzinji, Hisham al-Talib and Yaqub Mirza.

Regarding al-Marayati, who has been among the most influential Muslim American leaders in recent years, the magazine draws connections between MPAC in the international Muslim Brotherhood infrastructure.

Magid heads ISNA, which was founded by Brotherhood members, was appointed by Obama in 2011 as an adviser to the Department of Homeland Security. The magazine says that has also given speeches and conferences on American Middle East policy at the State Department and offered advice to the FBI.

Rose El-Youssef says Patel maintains a close relationship with Hani Ramadan, the grandson of Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, and is a member of the Muslim Students Association, which it identifies as "a large Brotherhood organization."

Top Brotherhood Official Predicts Israel's Destruction

According to senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood official Essam el-Erian, Israel "will be destroyed within a decade." In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Erian said the 80,000 Jews who fled Egypt since Israel's founding to escape violence and persecution should come back. He urged former Jewish residents of Egypt to "leave historic Palestine (i.e., Israel) and return to the land from which they came."

"The Jews are occupying the historic Land of Palestine and are an obstacle to the Right of Return of the Palestinians," added Erian, vice chairman of the Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party, majority leader in Egypt's upper house of Parliament and an advisor to President Mohamed Morsi.

"The Jewish occupiers of this territory" can "go out to other places they consider best for them," Erian said in the interview, translated by the newspaper Israel Hayom. "The Zionist ideology ended in failure and this project (Israel)" is "fated to collapse in coming years," he said.

Erian blamed Israel for Arab nations' weapons purchases and longstanding failure to democratize.

"The Zionist project in Palestine came to prevent the existence of democracy in the Arab countries, and to prevent the presence of Arab unity and development in the Arab region," he said. "It came to deplete the wealth of the Arabs by making them stockpile weapons."

"There will be no such thing as Israel; it will be called Palestine," Erian stated. "We tell all those who came and occupied Palestine to return to their countries."

Erian repeatedly has supported Hamas and likened Israelis to terrorists. In a July 2011 interview with journalist Michael Totten, Erian termed Hamas "a resistance group fighting for freedom and the liberation of their land from occupation." He said their land "is occupied by the real terrorists (Israelis)" and that suicide bombings did not constitute terrorism because Hamas is fighting "for liberty."

In a 2011 interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Erian again called Hamas a "resistance group" fighting "for freedom and liberation of their lands." He also said the West "must revise their knowledge about Hamas, [so] that war and terrorism will come to an end. And mixing cards and putting (designating) Hamas and other resistance groups among terrorist groups, this was a fatal mistake of the West."

But Erian's anti-Jewish slurs and advocacy for a terrorist organization haven't been enough to deny him entry to the United States. The Egypt Daily News reported that he traveled this country last month with an Arab parliamentary delegation and was scheduled to participate in a hearing about the United Nations' role in "peace building" and "conflict resolution" in the Middle East.

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