From: CNSNews.com
As the Obama administration’s new international counterterrorism initiative develops, the exclusion of Israel becomes more glaring with each passing meeting -- most recently on Monday, at the beginning of a conference focusing on victims of terrorism.
Addressing the two-day Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) event in Madrid, an administration official mentioned a dozen countries in the context of victims of terrorism – but not Israel.
Launched last fall as a “signature initiative” in what the administration calls its “smart power approach to counterterrorism,” the GCTF comprises 29 countries, with the U.S. and Turkey serving as co-chairs.
Israel’s exclusion provoked comment from the outset, given the country’s long experience both as a target of and fighter against terrorism.
The State Department says future Israeli participation is not ruled out. Still, Turkey’s Islamist-leaning government – which disputes that Hamas is a terrorist group – has worked actively to isolate Israel in the international community.
Further, 11 of the 29 GCTF members are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), some of which are hostile towards Israel. All subscribe to the OIC’s 1999 Convention on Combating Terrorism which states that “armed struggle against foreign occupation, aggression, colonialism, and hegemony, aimed at liberation and self-determination in accordance with the principles of international law shall not be considered a terrorist crime.”
According to the State Department, Monday’s opening of the GCTF “High-Level Conference on Victims of Terrorism” in the Spanish capital “brings together government officials, civil society leaders and other stakeholders to discuss how countries can increase their support of victims of terror while cooperating to counter extremist ideologies.”
Addressing the event, U.S. undersecretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights Maria Otero noted that Spain, “like the United States and so many countries around the world,” has had firsthand experienced of terrorism and the pain it inflicts on society. Later, she referred to a documentary that was shown at the GCTF launch last September, recounting the stories of the victims of terror attacks in Pakistan, Jordan, Northern Ireland, Uganda, Turkey, Indonesia, India, Spain, Columbia and the United States.
Similarly, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed a GCTF event in Istanbul last month, she mentioned the challenge of terrorism in Turkey, Mali, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, the Maghreb and Europe, referred obliquely to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and commented on terrorist kidnappings in Latin America and the Sahel.
Israel was not mentioned, either by Otero in Madrid on Monday or by Clinton in Istanbul on June 7.
Showing posts with label Joe Lieberman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Lieberman. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Obama Admin: Fort Hood Massacre is "Workplace Violence"
From: FOX NEWS
Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation's Armed Forces at home.
During a joint session of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, the Maine Republican referenced a letter from the Defense Department depicting the Fort Hood shootings as workplace violence. She criticized the Obama administration for failing to identify the threat as radical Islam.
Thirteen people were killed and dozens more wounded at Fort Hood in 2009, and the number of alleged plots targeting the military has grown significantly since then. Lawmakers said there have been 33 plots against the U.S. military since Sept. 11, 2001, and 70 percent of those threats have been since mid-2009. Major Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, who is being held for the attacks, allegedly was inspired by radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in late September. The two men exchanged as many as 20 emails, according to U.S. officials, and Awlaki declared Hasan a hero.
The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, said the military has become a "direct target of violent Islamist extremism" within the United States.
"The stark reality is that the American service member is increasingly in the terrorists' scope and not just overseas in a traditional war setting," Lieberman told Fox News before the start of Wednesday's hearing.
In June, two men allegedly plotted to attack a Seattle, Wash., military installation using guns and grenades. In July, Army Pvt. Naser Abdo was accused of planning a second attack on Fort Hood. And in November, New York police arrested Jose Pimentel, who alleged sought to kill service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Both Pimentel and Abdo also allegedly drew inspiration from al-Awlaki and the online jihadist magazine Inspire, which includes a spread on how to "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom."
Rep. Peter King of New York, the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said military service members are "symbols of America's power, symbols of America's might."
"And if they (military personnel) can be killed, then that is a great propaganda victory for al Qaeda," King told Fox News.
King said there is also evidence that extremists have joined the services.
"There is a serious threat within the military from people who have enlisted who are radical jihadists," King said.
"The Defense Department is very concerned about them. They feel they're a threat to the military both for what they can do within the military itself and also because of the weapons skills they acquire while they're in the military."
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