World Threats

Click the title of this post to watch the video (embedded below).

I was on Russia Today yesterday to debate various issues like Libya, Syria, international order, etc.

Here are some post-interview thoughts:

There was disagreement over whether President Obama quickly called on Assad to step down. The Syrian revolution is usually understood to have started on March 15, though I would argue that large protests in Damascus the previous month were a tipping point.

President Obama did not call on Assad to step down until August 18. On March 27, Secretary of State Clinton was calling Assad a “reformer.”

As for Libya, I don’t believe that the war was over by the time NATO intervened. Qaddafi’s forces were right on the edge of Benghazi, a fact that is easily verifiable through surveillance aircraft and satellites. It would have been a bloody massacre and I find it hard to believe that Qaddafi is the type of forgiving individual that would let bygones be bygones.

Click here to read an article I wrote explaining why I favored the intervention in Libya. Since Qaddafi’s overthrow, we’ve discovered that he had hidden stockpiles of WMD. The Muslim Brotherhood suffered a surprising and huge loss in the election. More Libyans look favorably upon America than Canadians do.

Yes, there are troubles in Libya, but the perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good. We did the right thing by coming to the rescue of those who fought for freedom from dictatorship and giving the Libyan people a chance to determine their own course.

There are obstacles to overcome and there will be bumps in the road. Unsavory characters will have good days. But democracy is a process, not an endpoint. And I’m proud that the U.S. helped open the door for the process to begin. It’s now up to the Libyans to keep it going.

Arab media is reporting a claim that the Free Syrian Army killed a Russian General and his translator in Syria. According to the rebels, General Vladimir Kojaiv was assisting the Syrian regime. This included what the rebels described as “humanitarian crimes.”

Russia is believed to have hundreds of troops and advisors still in Syria. Russia also operates its naval base at Tartus, the only Russian base outside of its borders. Russia also docked weapons for the regime in the port since the uprising began.

UPDATE: 3:47 EST: Russia denies that the general was killed at all.

A source with Russian law enforcement and security agencies has branded as provocation and invention reports by the Free Syrian Army that a Russian general identified as Vladimir Kodzhiyev had been killed in Syria.

“A man with such a name holding the rank of general has never existed, and therefore reports on his death can only be nonsense and invention,” he said.
Wow.

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, often described as a “rock star” in the Republican Party, has finally addressed the criticism of his courtship of Islamists. On July 24, Christie held an Iftar dinner at the Governor’s Mansion, attended by Imam Mohammad Qatanani, a Hamas-linked cleric whose deportation is sought by the Department of Homeland Security. Christie reiterated his support for Qatanani and made the case to his Muslim audience that he is their ally by ridiculing the “bigots” attacking him.

Christie opens by talking about the attacks on “our relationship” (between him and, as he would characterize it, the Muslim community of N.J.) that show a “gaze of intolerance that’s going around our country that is disturbing.” You can watch the entire speech on YouTube.

He mocked his critics, saying “You’ll all be fascinated to learn that in many publications around the country, I’m called an Islamist.” No one ever said he is an Islamist himself and only a handful of writers have covered the controversy, including myself,, the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Dr. Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer and my fellow N.J. resident, Andrew McCarthy.

Christie blatantly accused us of having anti-Muslim motivations.

“These are the kind of red herrings that people put up who are bigots, who want to judge people based upon their religious beliefs, want to judge people with a broad brush,” he said.

He stood by his support for Imam Qatanani, pointing out that he was in attendance and “I’m glad to have you here.” He called him a “friend” that “has attempted to be a force for good in his community.”

To prove to his audience that he is their ally against “Islamophobia,” though he didn’t use that exact word, he cited the controversies surrounding three of his actions: His support for Qatanani, his nomination of Sohail Mohammed as a Superior Court Judge and how he stood against the NYPD’s intelligence-gathering operations in his state. Let’s address these cases one-by-one.

Click here to read the rest of my FSM/IRD article.

Sixteen Egyptian soldiers are dead after unidentified jihadists carried out a terrorist attack in the Sinai Peninsula, striking at the only institution standing in the way of an Islamist takeover of Egypt. The assailants were stopped as they entered Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood predictably accused Israeli intelligence of being responsible for the massacre, but all indications point to Al-Qaeda-type jihadists.

The operation began when about 35 terrorists traveling in three vehicles attacked an Egyptian military outpost, killing the 16 soldiers. They then went into Israel with bomb belts strapped to their waists and an armored car carrying about half a ton of explosives. The Israelis, who received a tip devoid of any actionable details over the weekend, launched three strikes, destroying the vehicle and six or seven terrorists. The rest escaped. It is thought that the terrorists wanted to kidnap an Israeli soldier.

The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas condemned the attacks, with Egyptian President Morsi declaring three days of mourning. Palestinians living in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip are paying a heavy price. The Israelis were forced to close the only access route to Gaza, the Egyptians had to close the Rafah crossing point and Hamas closed down the underground tunnels used for smuggling.

Click here to read the rest of my FPM article.

In my latest interview for RadicalIslam.org, I talk to two young Iranian dissidents about the Revolutionary Guards Corps. Here’s an excerpt:

The IRGC controls 30-40% of the Tehran Stock Exchange Market’s capital value. It owns Iran’s largest telecommunications company and it also receives all the important contracts from oil and gas industries. Recently, Iran’s new Oil Minister declared that a new wave of privatization is coming to the oil industry and he is willing to give the oil assets to his friends in the IRGC.

The IRGC is also very active in the construction industry and it has accumulated many important contracts from this industry over the past 10 years. The IRGC has control over various ports that are being used for smuggling of all forms of legal and illegal goods. In addition, the IRGC has a key role in drug trafficking, which is a profitable business in Iran.

Click here to read the entire interview.

The Muslim Brotherhood, as I’ve documented in detail, is already preparing to outmaneuver its secular rivals within the Syrian opposition once the Assad regime falls. It already has a head start because of its established networks outside of Syria. Now, it has laid the groundwork to launch its own political party and even founded its own militia.

Perhaps eager to avoid an embarrassing electoral loss like it did in Libya, the Brotherhood is lowering expectations by saying it won’t get more than 25% of the vote in the post-Assad election. It is possible that this estimate has some grounding in reality, as Syrian opposition figures and some experts like Dr. Barry Rubin have given a similar figure for years.

The establishment of a militia separate from the main rebel forces, called the Free Syria Army, is the most important move, as it sets the Brotherhood up as the potential protector of citizens if Syria disintegrates into a sectarian-based free-for-all once Assad falls. As we saw in Iraq, non-extremists will support militias if their lives and well-being depend upon it.

Click here to read the rest of my analysis for RadicalIslam.org.

The economy is in tough shape right now. A lot of businesses are struggling, but we see the metal market rising. Metal and large inventories of stainless steel are needed for just about every industry and forms an important link between the different markets.

These metals, especially stainless steel, are used in just about everything. We can see stainless steel in your silverware drawer or on your car or your watch. Its ubiquity is what helps the industry flourish even in the poor economy. With so many companies relying on stainless steel, it really should be no surprise that it is doing quite well, even during the recession. Just think of all of the products that need things like steel and stainless steel. There are quite a few just off the top of your head. Just think of all of the ones that you used just today or yesterday!

Stainless steel has a large industry behind it. There needs to be distributing agencies, trucks to send it, people to craft it, and machines to mold it. Even collecting scrap can be a lucrative business in the recession. On top of this, another well used and useful metal, aluminum, plays a big role in today’s economy.

With so many of these products playing such a large role in our lives, it should not be surprising to see how important they are to the overall economy. With the market growing and metal as valuable as ever, you should consider how to get involved, either for personal use or for investment. When you do, it is important to do your research to find the best suppliers, distributors, and designers that represent the future of the industry. This can be a great boost to see where the metal market is headed and how you can be a part of it moving forward.

Battle lines have been drawn within America’s Christian community over groups tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. On the one side are groups like the Presbyterian Church USA and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who are allied with Islamists and even atheists in denouncing those of us raising concern about the influence of Brotherhood-tied groups. On the other are conservative Christian activists like American Family Association and American Values.

There’s been a quiet battle brewing within the Christian community over its stance on Israel and working with groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, structurally and ideologically. This split has now burst into the open. A formidable alliance of 43 groups published a joint letter to the five members of Congress who want to investigate the influence of Brotherhood-tied groups in the U.S. government.

The coalition includes Christian groups like the Presbyterian Church USA Office of Public Witness, American Baptist Churches USA, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society. It includes Jewish groups like Rabbis for Human Rights and atheist ones like American Atheists, as well as non-religious civil rights groups like the ACLU and NAACP.

These groups are not just commenting on the case of Huma Abedin, the deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They are dismissing the entirety of the letters written by the five members of Congress and they are an endorsement of the Brotherhood legacy groups.

“Those you accuse-including Ms. Huma Abedin and leaders of the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Muslim Advocates-have long-standing histories of positive and committed work to strengthen the United States of America,” the letter states. The authors accuse Reps. Bachmann, Gohmert, Franks, Rooney and Westmoreland of fomenting anti-Muslim sentiment and “betray[ing] our foundational religious freedoms.”

Click here to read the rest of my IRD/FSM article.

If you are looking for a new and exciting career, there are many different options out there for you. With education, you can take on a lot of different and fulfilling fields that will make sure that your family is well taken care of financially. One option that is growing is the field of tax preparation. With most Americans paying income tax and all workers paying payroll taxes, this is a field that will remain in high demand forever. There are ways to become a tax preparer.

In fact, if you take one of the many online examples of a tax class, you can choose the career path that you want and make a good living while doing it. There is a lot of money in tax prepping and may be just what you need for your future. So check it out and make sure to do your research.