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The Haqqani Test

January 26, 2012  •  Scripps Howard News Service

For 65 years Pakistanis have been conducting one of modern history's great experiments: Can a nation conceived as Islamic be free and democratic — the vision of Pakistan's founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah? Or will Pakistan's identity be defined by "forces that want us to live in fear — fear of external and internal enemies."

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Militant Islamism, Islamism, Islam

January 19, 2012  •  Scripps Howard News Service

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has described the Muslim Brotherhood as "secular." Vice President Joseph Biden recently said that the Taliban "is not our enemy." According to John Brennan, assistant to the president on counterterrorism, terrorists who proclaim they are motivated by religion should not be described using "religious terms." Where do ideas such as these come from? The answer, in large measure, is from advisers — so perhaps it would be instructive to examine more closely what those advisers are actually saying.

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Muslims Attacked!

January 12, 2012  •  Scripps Howard News Service

It's funny, in an Orwellian way, that in Europe there are now militant groups with such cutesy names as Sharia4Belgium and Sharia4Holland. Less funny, but perhaps more Orwellian, is this: Last month, the European Foundation for Democracy (EFD) held an event in Amsterdam featuring two speakers who favor liberalizing Islam. More than 20 members of these pro-sharia groups pushed their way in shouting "Allahu akbar!" They demanded the event be stopped, called the speakers apostates, spat on them, threw eggs at them, and threatened to kill them. Proud of these actions and apparently not overly concerned with legal consequences, they even made a YouTube video of their "protest."

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The Historian, the Diplomat, and the Spy

January 5, 2012  •  Scripps Howard News Service

Iran is not our enemy. The regime that enriches itself while murdering, oppressing, and impoverishing ordinary Iranians; the regime that incites genocide against Israel, threatens its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and vows to bring about a "world without America" — that is our enemy. This was one of the key points driven home by a trio of extraordinary individuals gathered for a dinner in Tel Aviv last week.

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Iran and al-Qaeda

December 29, 2011  •  Scripps Howard News Service

Late last week, the State Department announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, a.k.a. Yasin al-Suri — Yasin the Syrian. Serious students of terrorism and counterterrorism saw this as big news for two reasons.

The first is tactical: Never before has a reward been offered for the capture of a terrorist financier. But the money men are vital links in the terrorist chain, so targeting them makes sense. Also unusual is the amount: Only Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has been trying to fill Osama bin Laden's shoes at al-Qaeda's main office, commands a larger bounty ($25 million).

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