Reporter Lara Logan brings ominous news from Middle East

From: Chicago Sun-Times

This was no ordinary rubber chicken affair. That was my reaction to the extraordinary keynoter at Tuesday’s Better Government Association annual luncheon.

Lara Logan, a correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” delivered a provocative speech to about 1,100 influentials from government, politics, media, and the legal and corporate arenas. Such downtown gatherings are a regular on Chicago’s networking circuit. (I am a member of the BGA’s Civic Leadership Committee, and the Chicago Sun-Times was a sponsor).

Her ominous and frightening message was gleaned from years of covering our wars in the Middle East. She arrived in Chicago on the heels of her Sept. 30 report, “The Longest War.” It examined the Afghanistan conflict and exposed the perils that still confront America, 11 years after 9/11.

Eleven years later, “they” still hate us, now more than ever, Logan told the crowd. The Taliban and al-Qaida have not been vanquished, she added. They’re coming back.

“I chose this subject because, one, I can’t stand, that there is a major lie being propagated . . .” Logan declared in her native South African accent.

The lie is that America’s military might has tamed the Taliban.

“There is this narrative coming out of Washington for the last two years,” Logan said. It is driven in part by “Taliban apologists,” who claim “they are just the poor moderate, gentler, kinder Taliban,” she added sarcastically. “It’s such nonsense!”

Logan stepped way out of the “objective,” journalistic role. The audience was riveted as she told of plowing through reams of documents, and interviewing John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan; Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and a Taliban commander trained by al-Qaida. The Taliban and al-Qaida are teaming up and recruiting new terrorists to do us deadly harm, she reports.

She made a passionate case that our government is downplaying the strength of our enemies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a rationale of getting us out of the longest war. We have been lulled into believing that the perils are in the past: “You’re not listening to what the people who are fighting you say about this fight. In your arrogance, you think you write the script.” 

Our enemies are writing the story, she suggests, and there’s no happy ending for us. 

As a journalist, I was queasy. Reporters should tell the story, not be the story. As an American, I was frightened. 

Logan even called for retribution for the recent terrorist killings of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other officials. The event is a harbinger of our vulnerability, she said. Logan hopes that America will “exact revenge and let the world know that the United States will not be attacked on its own soil. That its ambassadors will not be murdered, and that the United States will not stand by and do nothing about it.”

In the “good old days,” reporters did not advocate, crusade or call for revenge. 

In these “new” days in a post-9/11 world, perhaps we need more reporters who are willing to break the rules.

Gatestone Institute: Who Will Speak for the Ahmadi Muslims?

From: Gatestone Institute

Such slaughter, however, does not occur in a vacuum. It is the direct result of a pervasive state-sponsored, indoctrinated hate – with a nation using all the force of both its exchequer and communications infrastructure to incite violence. The United Nations has been totally oblivious to the plight of the Ahmadis: it has failed to pass even a single resolution at the Security Council, General Assembly or Human Rights Council.

Rejected by many in the Islamic world as heretics and routinely persecuted because their more moderate beliefs do not accord with mainstream Islamic interpretations of the Quran, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is arguably one of the most persecuted Muslim communities in the world. However, beyond some faint pleas for better treatment from the U.S. State Department and human rights groups, the Ahmadi Muslims plight has largely gone unnoticed.

The Ahmadi Muslims trace their roots to the late nineteenth century, when the movement was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in the Punjabi village of Qadian, now modern day India.

They share many of the basic tenets of Islam, however differ in some significant respects.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: May 2012

From: Gatestone Institute

Unlike those nations, such as Saudi Arabia, that have eliminated Christianity altogether, Muslim countries with significant Christian minorities saw much persecution during the month of May: in Egypt, Christians were openly discriminated against in law courts, even as some accused the nation's new president of declaring that he will "achieve the Islamic conquest of Egypt for the second time, and make all Christians convert to Islam;" in Indonesia, Muslims threw bags of urine on Christians during worship; in Kashmir and Zanzibar, churches were set on fire; and in Mali, Christianity "faces being eradicated."

Elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa—in Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, the Ivory Coast—wherever Islam and Christianity meet, Christians are being killed, slaughtered, beheaded and even crucified.

Categorized by theme, May's assemblage of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity. Note: As Pakistan had the lion's share of persecuted Christians last month, it has its own section below, covering the entire gamut of persecution—from apostasy and blasphemy to rape and forced conversions.

Church Attacks

Indonesia encountered several church-related attacks:

• A mob of 600 Muslims threw bags of urine, stones, and rotten eggs at the congregation of a Protestant church at the start of Ascension Day service; they shouted profanities and threatened to kill the pastor. No arrests were made. The church had applied for a permit to construct its house of worship five years ago. Pressured by local Muslims, the local administration ordered the church shut down in December 2009, even though the Supreme Court recently overruled its decision, saying that the church was eligible for a permit. Local Muslims and officials are nevertheless demanding that the church shut down.
• After protests "by hard-line groups including the Islamic Defenders Front," nearly 20 Christian houses of worship were sealed off by authorities on the pretext of "not having permits." The authorities added that, to accommodate the region's 20,000 Christians, only one church may be built in the district in question.
  
• The Muslim mayor who illegally sealed the beleaguered GKI Yasmin church, forcing congregants to worship in the streets, has agreed to reopen it—but only if a mosque is built next door, to ensure that the church "stays in line." "As well as opposition from the mayor, the church has faced hostility from local Muslims, who have rallied against them [the Christians], blocked them from accessing the street where the church is situated and disrupted their outdoor services. It is unlikely that they will suddenly embrace the Christians," according to the report.
  

France: Prior to celebrating mass, "four youths, aged 14 to 18, broke into the Church of St. Joseph, before launching handfuls of pebbles at 150 faithful present at the service." They were chased out, although, according to the report, "the parishioners, many of whom are elderly, were greatly shocked by the disrespectful act of the youths of North African origin."

Kashmir: A Catholic church made entirely of wood was partially destroyed after unknown assailants set it on fire. "What happened," said the president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, "is not an isolated case," and follows the "persecution" of a pastor who baptized Muslims. "With these gestures, the Muslim community is trying to intimidate the Christian minority."

Kuwait: Two months after the Saudi Grand Mufti decreed, in response to a question on whether churches may exist in Kuwait, that all regional churches must be destroyed, villa-churches serving Western foreigners are being targeted. One congregation was evicted without explanation "from a private villa used for worship gatherings for the past seven years;" another villa-church was ordered to "pay an exorbitant fine each month to use a facility it had been renting…. Church leaders reportedly decided not to argue and moved out."

Zanzibar: Hundreds of Muslims set two churches on fire and clashed with police during protests against the arrest of senior members of an Islamist movement known as the Association for Islamic Mobilization and Propagation. Afterwards, the group issued a statement denying any involvement of wrongdoing.

Ron Paul Would Not Have Ordered Bin Laden Mission: BREAKING IT DOWN

Excerpts from The Daily Caller



Ron Paul has never been one to follow the political norms and in many respects that is worthy of our respect. He is someone who is willing to advance seemingly controversial ideas as a matter of principal. Much criticism has been heaped upon him, but rarely has anyone taken the opportunity to substantively refute his views. This is due in large part because his views are deemed lacking in reality. Above is a portion of an interview of Ron Paul in which he says clearly he would not have authorized the NAVY SEAL raid into Pakistan. Let me break it down.

From: The Daily Caller:

Texas Congressman and prospective 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul revealed in a radio interview that he would not have ordered the mission that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden almost two weeks ago.

Talking to WHO’s Simon Conway on Tuesday, Paul – who has formed an exploratory committee for president – explained that a better approach would have been to cooperate with Pakistan to arrest bin Laden like the U.S. did with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and try him in civilian court.

“Why can’t we work with the government?” asked Paul.

Ok, now. Khalid Sheik Mohammed was captured on March 1st 2003 in Pakistan, just Eighteen months after 9/11. The politics of the day were much closer to the events and as such necessitated greater cooperation from the Pakistani Government. More importantly, Pakistan has had free elections since 2008 and at the time of Mohammed's capture Pervez Musharraf was an authoritarian ruler who could successfully direct every phase of political,military,diplomatic and intelligence in the administration of government. The present political makeup in Pakistan has fractured the country and its ability for single minded action. Musharraf could handle Al Qaeda supporters at home, but a much weaker central government is driven by public passions, many of which viewed Bin Laden as a hero. Therefore, the conditions that led to Mohammed's capture in 2003 are no longer prevalent at present. It is evident that sympathetic Pakistani's would never have handed over Bin Laden. Ron Paul, also overlooks the fact that Bin Laden was in that compound for six years in an area coined "The West Point of Pakistan". Does Ron Paul really believe that no one in a position to know was ignorant of Bin Laden's status? Such a conclusion is sadly naive.

Again From The Daily Caller 

“It was absolutely not necessary and I think respect for the rule of law and world law, international law,” he continued. “What if he had been in a hotel in London? So would we have sent the helicopters into London? No, you don’t want to do that.”

Ok, again. Under international law, Osama Bin Laden is an enemy combatant and his life is subject to the rules of war. Killing the enemy does not violate international law. The most disturbing part of Ron Paul's comments was his attempt at analogizing Pakistan with a hotel in London. Is he seriously comparing our relationship with Pakistan to that of the United Kingdom? The very suggestion that the two nations share an equal place at the diplomatic table is bizarre and demonstrates a functional misunderstanding of our nations history as it relates to our relationships internationally. Would we have sent helicopters into London without the knowledge of the British Government? No! Why not? Because our relationship with the British is foremost among nations. It is as free and functional a democracy as ours. Moreover, it can justly be said that the British would not have hidden Bin Laden. To compare our historic relationship with Britain to that of Pakistan of whom it may be argued harbored Bin Laden is absurd on its face. The fact that Ron Paul cannot make the clear and evident distinction between the two nations is again, disturbing. The kindest word is of course, naive. Again.

Ron Paul's view of the United States and its role in the world is straight out of Robert Taft's playbook. I admire Ron Paul's conviction and an unabashed nature in expressing his views, but it is clear that his prospective foreign policy as a President is not grounding in true Taftian principles, but rooted in a dangerous naivete'. To think that Pakistan at present would have cooperated with the facts as we know them is not just naive, but damn near pollyannish. The world is not as Ron Paul sees it and our nation cannot suffer a President whose diplomacy cannot distinguish friend,foe and adversary.

Ron Paul isn't crazy and ought to be heard. But his view of the world born from this interview is wholly incompatible with the realities in the world today. He's not a kook, he's just naive.

PS: At least, unlike many of his supporters he clearly believes Bin Laden was responsible for 9/11 and that Bin Laden is dead. We can at least be thankful that he's not a "truther" or "deather". So, he deserves a few points in that regard.

China Wants a Peek at Stealth Helicopter

From: ABC News

Pakistani officials said today they're interested in studying the remains of the U.S.'s secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, and suggested the Chinese are as well.

The U.S. has already asked the Pakistanis for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also "very interested" in seeing the remains. Another official said, "We might let them [the Chinese] take a look."

A U.S. official said he did not know if the Pakistanis had offered a peek to the Chinese, but said he would be "shocked" if the Chinese hadn't already been given access to the damaged aircraft.

The chopper, which aviation experts believe to be a highly classified modified version of a Blackhawk helicopter, clipped a wall during the operation that took down the al Qaeda leader, the White House said.

The U.S. Navy SEALs that rode in on the bird attempted to destroy it after abandoning it on the ground, but a significant portion of the tail section survived the explosion. In the days after the raid, the tail section and other pieces of debris -- including a mysterious cloth-like covering that the local children found entertaining to play with -- were photographed being hauled away from the crash site by tractor.

Aviation experts said the unusual configuration of the rear rotor, the curious hub-cap like housing around it and the general shape of the bird are all clues the helicopter was highly modified to not only be quiet, but to have as small a radar signature as possible.

After Bin Laden, in the Fog of War, White House Struggles

From: NationalJournal.com

In the hours after the stunning killing of Osama bin Laden, the White House was quick to offer up the riveting details of the operation, including a movie-worthy denoument in which the terrorist leader, ensconced in a mansion, grabs one of his wives and uses her as a human shield against the American forces.

Much of that has proven to be false, and new details drip, drip, drip out about what really happened.

Administration officials say the evolving account is the unfortunate and inevitable by-product of the “fog of war” and their admirable haste to get information out to the public. Critics see everything from spin to lying.

Whatever the case, the story has changed. That isn't helping the administration as it celebrates an accomplishment and tries to leverage its success in Pakistan into victories on other fronts from beating back al-Qaida to beating back the Republican budget plan.

The contradictions in the administration's story are myriad. Senior administration officials reported a 40-minute operation in which they suggested that Navy SEALs spent much of it engaged by enemy gunfire.

They described Osama bin Laden using a woman as a “human shield.” And John Brennan, the president’s top counterterrorism adviser, even suggested the day after the operation that the Qaida leader died a cowardly death, while hiding in a $1 million compound as his terrorist brethren live in austere conditions.

Some initial details have withstood scrutiny: The White House has acknowledged that bin Laden was not armed, though sources tell National Journal that there was an AK-47 and pistol in his room. Others have not: The White House says that bin Laden’s wife was wounded when rushing a U.S. service member, but officials are no longer calling her a “human shield.”

Koran Burning and Massacres

From: Commentary Magazine

According to news reports, at least 11 UN workers have been killed in Afghanistan by a band of thugs protesting Pastor Terry Jones’s recent Koran burning. Two of the victims have reportedly been beheaded.
This is an appalling tragedy. And it’s made worse by those who pathetically try to excuse the actions of murderers by placing the blame on the shoulders of others.

“Eleven people lost their lives so Terry Jones could burn a Koran and feed the 24/7 news monster,” wrote NBC reporter Luke Russert on Twitter.

The Islamic war on free speech continues.

The following is a letter sent to the OIC expressing outrage at the burning of the KORAN in Florida. Outrageous. At a time in history when religious minorities are persecuted and murdered in Muslim countries they have the nerve to elevate a burning of the KORAN to the taking of human life? Stunningly hypocritical. We live in the greatest, most pluralistic nation in the history of the world and are to be held to account by nations who have no regard for the fundamental right to worship one's faith freely? Read it for yourself.

From: Daily Mail News.com

NEW YORK – Reposing complete confidence in Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, the OIC decided that the Ambassador of Pakistan along with Ambassadors of Tajiskistan (OIC chair), Morocco (OIC Coordinator for Human Rights), Iran and Egypt would meet with the UN Secretary General to convey OIC’s strong condemnation and ask him to take the lead towards promoting inter-faith harmony.

It was decided in OIC ambassadorial meeting which convened here the other day to discuss the recent desecration of the Holy Quran in Florida last week.

The meeting approved the proposals of Ambassador Haroon and his Iranian counterpart that OIC Chair and Observer Mission will draft a strong condemnatory letter on behalf of OIC with the assistance of Pakistan and Morocco to be sent to the UN Secretary General, President UN General Assembly, High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) with the request to circulate it as an official document.

The meeting also decided that Ambassador Haroon would be the focal person to brief the media on the subject.

Reiterating the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari's clear expression of sentiments of the people and extreme provocation and seriousness of the issue, and his call to the United Nations to take immediate action on the subject, Ambassador Haroon the first Speaker from the member states voiced strong condemnation of this sacrilegious act.

He assured that Pakistan would continue playing its active and constructive role in promoting inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence.

On March 22, Ambassador Haroon had written a letter to the UN Secretary General, where he drawn UN attention towards this despicable act of desecration of the Holy Quran by Wayne Sapp and Terry Jones in Florida.

He voiced Pakistan's profound regret and deep concern at the increasing acts of "Islamophobia and growing trend of intolerance and hatred towards Muslims as well as insults to their religious symbols and personalities".

The letter further said, "While this reprehensible act is the work of extremists and is evidently designed to provoke dissent and discord among communities and peoples across the world, such sacrilegious acts also go against the very concept of inter-faith harmony and threaten the multicultural fabric of the societies and the brotherhood of the United Nations".

The Ambassador urged the United Nations to play its important role in ensuring peace and harmony among peoples of the world. He said Pakistan has full confidence in the UN's leadership and hoped that it would take all steps to fight such tendencies and promote intercultural and inter-faith harmony that is basic to coexistence of mankind.

Recalling Pakistan’s initiative on Interfaith Dialogue and participation in the Alliance of Civilization, Ambassador Haroon stated that Pakistan has always stood for promoting peace and harmony among people and nations of the world.

He regretted that while OIC has always supported peace initiatives in all regions of the world including tolerant and constructive engagement during last year’s Islamophobic incidents i.e. threats to burn the Quran and opposition to construction of Islamic Center in New York, attacks on Islam, its symbols and holy personalities continue unabated.

The Ambassador proposed that the OIC group should write a letter to the UN Secretary General (UNSG) asking him to issue a strong condemnatory statement and take concrete action to protect multiculturalism and promote peace and harmony in the world.

Following Ambassdor’s Haroon statement, all OIC Ambassadors, who took the floor, seconded the views expressed by Ambassador of Pakistan and asked the OIC Chair to immediately take action on the specific steps proposed by him.

Ambassador of Tajikistan (OIC Chairman) and the Permanent Observer of the OIC, in New York, briefed the group about the event and subsequent actions taken by the concerned at different levels including: expression of deep disappointment on the act by the OIC Secretary General and his call for exercising restraint to the Muslim world; strong condemnation by the OIC Group in Geneva in its statement to the Human Rights Council and request to the High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) to issue a condemnatory statement on the subject; and statement of condemnation issued by Pakistan, Iran and the United States.

The Permanent Observer of the OIC added that it was an act of ignorance to gain cheap popularity and appreciated the role played by the Muslims in the United States to downplay this issue.

He also briefed the meeting that due to constructive engagement by the OIC Group in Geneva, the Human Rights Council has adopted by consensus the OIC resolution on “Combating Intolerance, Negative Stereotyping and Stigmatization of and Discrimination, Incitement to Violence, and Violence against Persons based on Religion or Belief”. He particularly appreciated the role of Pakistan. Terry Jones, the controversial American pastor, oversaw the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran at his small Florida church after the Islamic revered book was put on trial, found guilty and condemned for execution, according to media reports.

Last fall, Jones who heads a church of 50 followers, stoked international alarm with his claim he would light a bonfire with the holy Quran on the anniversary of September 11.

He gave up the move after the Obama administration intervened. The report said about 30 people were present at a mock trial of the Holy Quran, while a real copy sat soaking in kerosene until another pastor, Jones' colleague Wayne Sapp, lit the flames with a barbecue lighter.

Embassy conveys Pak sentiments

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has conveyed the concerns of its people to Washington regarding desecration of the Holy Quran by US fanatics Wayne Swapp and Terry Jones.

The Pakistani Embassy, in a letter addressed to the US officials and church leaders, has passed on the Pakistani nation’s feelings of shock and anguish at the desecration of the Holy Quran under supervision of the profane pastor.

The Pakistani Embassy in Washington stressed that all governments have a responsibility to prevent such reprehensible and provocative acts.

The desecration goes against efforts for inter-faith harmony and peace in the world, which is beset with serious challenges in terms of intolerance, instability and insecurity.

According to an officials of Pakistan’s Embassy in US, the letter has been addressed to Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, Director Pakistan Affairs at the Department of State, and religious leaders including Archbishop Timothy Dolan, President, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Leonard A Leo, Chair, US Commission on Intl’ Religious Freedom, Washington and Rev Dr Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council of Churches, New York.

The officials said the Embassy also sent a letter to pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Church in Florida, saying the despicable act of burning a copy of the Holy Quran under his supervision has deeply hurt feelings of Muslims around the world. - Agencies