The Conservative Papers

Dr. Kedar Warns: Iran May Take Over Persian Gulf

kalel — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:14:18 +0000

Iranian Phantom jets refueling

Dr. Mordechai Kedar, an expert on Arab politics and Islamic Fundamentalism at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies warns that Iran may be planning a full takeover of Persian Gulf states. He is also concerned that Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon may try to build a nuclear reactor similar to Iran’s Bushehr reactor, and obtain atomic weapons that could be used against Israel.

In a blog post which appeared on News1, Dr. Kedar says that there are several reasons that pressure is building between Iran and the Arab states in the Persian Gulf:

Firstly, Arab states in the Gulf believe that Iran’s saber-rattling and aggressive statements towards Israel are actually a decoy, aimed at shifting the focus from its real purpose, a full takeover of the oil and gas-rich Persian Gulf. Kedar says that the Arab states remember Iran’s takeover of three Persian Gulf islands, and also its claims that Bahrain belongs historically to Iran.

Secondly, Arab states assess that Israel and Iran will not attack each other, since each side is fearful of the outcome of such attack and its necessary counter-attack. Iran, says Kedar, knows that Israel has 200 – 300 nuclear warheads, which could wipe out all of its major cities. On the other hand, Israel, says Kedar, is concerned about the Iranian arsenal of long-range missiles in Hizbullah’s possession, which are far more accurate that those the Hizbullah used in the 2006 attack against its southern neighbor.

Thirdly, in recent years, tens of thousands of Iranian citizens have immigrated to other Arab states in the Gulf. Kedar says that Arab leaders fear that many of these ex-Iranians are actually sleeper cells, who, when activated, could supply Iran with the necessary intelligence information to successfully stage an attack on Arab Gulf states. Kedar brings evidence that the Iranian sleeper cell concept has credence, citing the call of an Arab minority organization in Iran which called on Arabs in Gulf states to cooperate with their local authorities in order to expose Iranian sleeper cells in their countries. These words, says Kedar, came after several Iranian cells were in fact exposed in Kuwait, cells which planned to attack Kuwait’s top military echelons in the event of a U.S. or Israeli attack on Iran. This led to the replacement of Iran’s ambassador in Kuwait, says Kedar, who Kuwaiti authorities believed was the mastermind behind the sleeper cells. Kedar warns that even Israel should be wary of Iranian sleeper cells among its own foreign worker population.

Kedar adds that the purpose behind Iran’s revealing of its new unmanned plane last week, was to warn Arab Gulf states not to dare help Israel or the U.S. in an attack on Iran, or to let Israeli or U.S. jets fly over their air space. Such an unmanned plane, says Kedar, could potentially enable Iran to hit any major target in the Gulf states, and Iran’s message to those states is clear: “do not cooperate with an attack on us.”

Finally, Kedar warned that the next dangerous threat against Israel could be a Hizbullah attempt to imitate Iran’s nuclear ambitions, by building a nuclear reactor in Lebanon, similar to Iran’s Bushehr reactor. Kedar says that Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah must be overjoyed that the Bushehr reactor went operational without being attacked by Israel or the U.S. and that this must encourage him to pursue the building of a similar reactor in Lebanon, purportedly under the guise of the need to generate electricity, but for the actual goal of building nuclear warheads for use against Israel.

Dr. Kedar finishes by saying that it is a grave error to underestimate one’s enemies.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar (Ph.D. Bar-Ilan U.) Served for 25 years in IDF Military Intelligence specializing in Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups and the Syrian domestic arena. A lecturer in Arabic at Bar-Ilan U., he is also an expert on Israeli Arabs.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Civilians to Patrol Judea, Samaria Roads

kalel — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:58:39 +0000

by Maayana Miskin

Samaria road

A Jewish civilian patrol will begin Thursday night on Judea and Samaria roads. The patrol began its work shortly after two terrorist shooting attacks, one near Hevron and one in the Binyamin region, in which four people were murdered and two wounded.

A third shooting attack was reported on Thursday night near the town of Ofra. The intended victim said he heard shooting, but was not hurt. The IDF investigated the incident and said it was not a shooting.

The civilian patrol initiative is backed by the Binyamin and Samaria Residents Councils. Those taking turns on patrol are former combat soldiers and IDF reservists; all will be armed with guns and will carry medical supplies.

The Residents Councils called on all Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria to send units made up of civilian reservists out to patrol local roads on a regular basis.

Binyamin Residents Council head Yitzchak Shedmi, a former IDF commander, explained that the civilian patrols aim to augment the security provided by the IDF. The IDF has been weakened by recent political concessions, he said, “They’ve reduced the number of troops in the region because they trust Abu Mazen’s [PA Chairman Abbas – ed.] soldiers.”

Civilians “can provide medical care, or assist in defense, and can respond more quickly than the army,” he continued. The patrol units will inform the IDF of their plans before beginning their route, he said.

Samaria Residents Council head Benny Katzover head Defense Minister Ehud Barak responsible for the need to provide additional security on Judea and Samaria roads. “Due to the Defense Minister’s irresponsible behavior in recent months, including taking down checkpoints and reducing the number of IDF troops… there has been a serious downturn in the security situation,” he said.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

US Intel: Tehran Pushes Hizballah Hard to Attack Israel

alpineski — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:04:31 +0000

Western intelligence and Persian Gulf sources report that on August 30, Hizballah put its forces on a state of war alert and issued a partial call-up of reservists. According to military sources, Hizballah appears to be preparing a major attack on Israel straight after the ceremonial start of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington Thursday Sept. 2. A second target date is the Jewish New Year festival starting on Sept. 8. The pressure from Tehran for the Lebanese Shiite terrorists to strike Israel has intensified in the wake of the example the Palestinian Hamas gave Tuesday night Aug. 31 in the drive-by murder of four Israeli civilians on a road near Hebron.

A large-scale attack appears to be in the works judging by the heavy influx of armed Hizballah units to southern Lebanon in the last few days. Our military sources report that they include special units trained especially for deep-strike incursions into northern Israel in response to Israeli counter-attacks.

Our intelligence sources report that the Iranian al Qods commander of Tehran’s networks and surrogates in Iraq, the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority has spent the last ten days in Damascus. He arrived there on August 19 in the party of Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief and stayed on after his boss left the Syrian capital, apparently assigned to oversee an important terrorist or military operation against Israel.

Hizballah’s own direct commander on behalf of the IRGC, Hassan Mahdavi is reported by Western intelligence sources monitoring events in Lebanon as leaning hard on Hezbollah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah to strike IDF forces within a few days in response to US sponsorship of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks. The terrorist chief is reported to be on the verge of a decision about what target to attack and when.

Reluctant to leave the field to the Palestinian Hamas, Nasrallah is additionally badgered by a flock of IRGC officers visiting Beirut and trying to persuade Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Beri to allow his rival Shiite Amal organization to join Hizballah for the first time in a strike against Israel. They want all the Shiite streams in Lebanon to show the flag in unison as a gesture of welcome in advance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s forthcoming state visit to Lebanon.

The date of his visit is a closely-kept secret both by Tehran and Beirut. Sources disclose that it is scheduled for Sept. 10-12 when Israel is celebrating Rosh Hashana

Arizona Governor Blasts Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

alpineski — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:47:59 +0000

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer angrily demanded yesterday that the White House withdraw their report to the UN Human Rights Council that singled out Arizona’s law as a cause for concern about the American track record on human rights. Calling such a reference “downright offensive” in her letter to Hillary Clinton, Brewer also called the entire report “internationalism run amuck”:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer demanded Friday that a reference to the state’s controversial immigration law be removed from a State Department report to the United Nations’ human rights commissioner.

The U.S. included its legal challenge to the law on a list of ways the federal government is protecting human rights.

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Brewer says it is “downright offensive” that a state law would be included in the report, which was drafted as part of a UN review of human rights in all member nations every four years.

“The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a state of the United States to ‘review’ by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional,” Brewer wrote.

Not only is it internationalism run amuck, it’s both ridiculous and hypocritical at the same time. We submitted the report to the HRC out of some idiotic notion of equality with all nations, which might make sense if the HRC was comprised of free nations that allow their citizens to fully participate and freely speak in their politics. The members of the council to which the Obama administration submitted that letter include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, China, and other paragons of human rights. Apparently, Kim Jong-Il and the DPRK were too busy to get named to the council.

The Obama administration has opposed the Arizona bill, but not even Eric Holder could make a legal case that it violated human rights. Instead, the DoJ attacked it on federal supremacy in immigration affairs, essentially a technicality, by claiming that Arizona had tried to pre-empt federal immigration-control efforts. If the Obama administration really believed that this is a human-rights “concern,” then why didn’t they bother to make that claim in federal court? Instead, Obama and Clinton just decided to use it as a cheap moral-relativist point in their new version of an apology tour.

The entire submission should be withdrawn, and the Obama administration should apologize to the people of Arizona for the insult.

Back Taxes May Stop Ground Zero Mosque

kalel — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:16:29 +0000

by Chana Ya’ar

Ground Zero

The real estate developer behind New York City’s impending Ground Zero Mosque allegedly is delinquent on paying the property taxes for the site. The company, 45 Park Place Partners, is listed in arrears on the January 2010 and July 2010 payments for the site – the old Burlington Coat factory — a total of more than $224,270.

A spokesman for owner Sharif El-Gamal told the New York Post this week the taxes had been paid, but the payment is not listed on the city records.

The discrepancy, if valid, could be a violation of the lease the company holds with the city’s electric company, Con Edison, which owns half the site – and might provide a legal opening with which opponents might further battle the development.

New York State Governor David Paterson has joined others in trying to convince Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Islamic cleric heading the project, to move it further away from the site of the Al-Qaeda terrorist attack on New York where nearly 3,000 people were killed by Al Qaeda suicide terrorists on September 11, 2001.

Rauf, who has been listed as a strong supporter of the “Free Gaza” movement, has also being sent abroad by the U.S. State Department as a “goodwill ambassador” to at least three Arab nations to familiarize the political leadership and others in the population with how Islam is perceived by the average American.

President Barack Obama found himself on the other side of the issue earlier in the month when he expressed his firm support for the “Cordoba House” project at an “ifta” dinner breaking the daily fast in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Following an outcry, he backtracked and said he was speaking only on the principle of freedom of religion.

Grassroots efforts are continuing as opponents in New York City and across the country seek ways to stop the project.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Who’re You Calling a ‘Bigot’? Middle East Studies Professors Attack Opponents of the Ground Zero Mosque

kalel — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:35:59 +0000

This aerial photo of April 20, 2010, shows the New York city block, lower right, where a 13-story mosque is planned for construction two blocks north of the World Trade Center site, center left

by Brendan Goldman
American Thinker
August 29, 2010

John Esposito, director of the Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, having observed that a large majority of Americans oppose an Islamic center at ground zero, could not decide whether American society now more closely resembles that of Birmingham, Alabama circa 1963 or Nazi Germany on the eve of Kristallnacht:

[Newt Gingrich is] somebody…from the South [who] can remember the problem of racism and civil rights. He’s also reportedly a Christian…. He’s got to remember how a theology of anti-Semitism led to a history of pogroms that ultimately led to the Final solution.

Such callous historical analogies were but one component of a concerted effort by a group of Middle East studies professors to discredit the opponents of the ground zero mosque, whom they helpfully labeled “rural rednecks,” “so-called Christian ministers,” and “the Israel lobbies.”

Most of the academics echoed a warning that a “tidal wave of ‘Islamophobia’” would soon overtake America — act two of the “wave of hate crimes” that occurred “post-9/11.” These statements ignore a basic fact: no such “wave” ever occurred. As columnist Jonah Goldberg writes, despite the rhetoric of the Left, statistics demonstrate this country is not particularly susceptible to “Islamophobia.”

In 2001 (the year of 9/11), there were twice as many anti-Jewish incidents [in America] as there were anti-Muslim, according to the FBI. In 2002 and pretty much every year since, anti-Jewish incidents have outstripped anti-Muslim incidents by at least 6 to 1.

Undeterred by facts, these same academics offered spirited defenses of the “moderate” ground zero mosque Imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf — who called America an “accessory” to the 9/11 attacks and said Osama Bin-Laden was “made in the USA”. What they rarely revealed is that their conception of a Muslim “moderate” is defined on a spectrum utterly alien to their American audience.

The prominent Egyptian sheikh, Yusuf al-Qardawi, sits at the center of the academics’ spectrum. According to mosque supporter Marc Lynch, associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, Qardawi is a practitioner of wastataniyya or “centrism” and “a barometer of Muslim opinion.” Esposito likewise calls Qardawi a “reformist”. Rauf says the sheikh is “the most well-known legal authority in the whole Muslim world today.”

The problem: Qardawi, as a “reformist” and exemplar of “centrist” Islam has said, for instance, that “[Hitler] put the Jews in their place,” that homosexuality is an “abominable practice” which warrants the death penalty, and that women should be genitally mutilated to protect their chastity. Reassurances of Rauf’s moderation ring hollow when this context becomes clear.

Although, according to these academics’ definition of the spectrum of Muslim public opinion, one might expect that only fringe voices in the Islamic world would reject the mosque, in reality such prominent Muslims as Abd al-Rahman al-Rashid, director-general of Al-Arabiya TV, oppose its construction. As al-Rashid, perhaps one of the best placed sources for analyzing popular opinion in the Arab-Islamic world, said:

I do not think that the majority of Muslims want to build a monument or a place of worship that tomorrow may become a source of pride for the terrorists and their Muslim followers.

But a genuine debate over the choice of location for the mosque, the radical connections of its leadership, and the opaque sources of its $100 million budget was apparently less edifying than painting all of the mosque’s opponents as bigots. In the process, the academics revealed their own striking prejudices.

Richard Bulliet, professor of Islamic history at Columbia University, suggested one theory — the malignant influence of Jewish paranoia.

I see [some of the opposition to the mosque] as linked to broad apprehensions, both in this country and in Israel that evil deeds…suspected of being a part of a Muslim master plan, pose an existential threat to the Jewish people.

The professor provided no evidence for his assertion, but perhaps he simply mixed-up the subject of the conspiracy theory he ridiculed: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which outlines a farcical Jewish “master plan” to rule the world, is a perennial best-seller in many parts of the Islamic world.

Moataz Abdel-Fattah, associate professor of Middle East Studies at Central Michigan University, took a swipe at Christians too, arguing that opposition to the mosque is rooted in “the theological bias of the Judeo-Christian tradition.”

Muqtedar Khan, the director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware, chose to be vaguer, warning that “dark elements” have formed an alliterative “pernicious partnership between politics and prejudice.” He added, “[This 'partnership's'] anger could manifest in myriad forms of discriminatory behavior towards Muslims.”

Khan is an expert on “discriminatory behavior,” having refused to sit on an academic panel with Israeli-American Scholar Asaf Romirowsky, because Romirowsky, like all citizens of the Jewish state, served in his country’s armed forces.

Other scholars sought Khan’s “myriad forms” of anti-Muslim behavior in an isolated incident in which the pastor of a small church in Gainesville, Florida called for burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The pastor was the subject of countless academics’ editorials in which they stigmatized American society as “Islamophobic.”

Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian professor of Iranian Studies at Columbia University, was one such scholar; he warned in a CNN op-ed of “those promoting an orgy of Quran burning.” Dabashi failed to mention that “those promoting” this “orgy” consisted of precisely one man, and that the state denied the pastor a permit necessary to do so.

Stephen Zunes, chairman of Middle East Studies at the University of San Francisco, told the Islamic Republic of Iran’s state funded Press TV that, “We have seen [this pastor's] kind of extreme rhetoric for some time now,” adding:

If you really look at Western history, you can see scapegoat[ed] minorities…. It shows an ugly aspect of Western societies despite claims of religious pluralism.

This “ugl[iness]” is obviously a uniquely Western phenomenon, since in enlightened “Eastern societies” like Iran Jews historically were not allowed to leave their homes when it rained because they were considered polluted, practicing Baha’is are still regularly arrested without pretense and — of course — “there are no gays.”

Esposito seconded Zune’s bizarre theme of America’s exceptional intolerance in the eyes of the Islamic world, telling his American audience that opposition to the ground zero mosque “stunned…the vast majority of Muslims.” Muslims living under the rule of Esposito’s Saudi sponsors must be “stunned” by Americans’ opposition to the construction of a thirteen-story Islamic center at ground zero, considering the erection of the most humble synagogue or church anywhere in Saudi Arabia is prohibited and non-Muslims may not even enter the cities of Mecca or Medina.

If you find yourself asking why the defenders of the ground zero mosque keep recycling hyperbolic accusations of bigotry, listen to the analysis of many of our nation’s “leading” Middle East studies scholars. Their attempts to characterize all opposition to the mosque as examples of “Islamophobia” ignore the complicated emotions evoked by the 9/11 attacks and the genuine concerns of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike over the mosque’s fundraising, location, and the radical connections of its leadership. Finally, if one must embrace these professors’ infatuation with perceived prejudices, then associating “centrist” Muslims with homophobes, misogynists and anti-Semites — while embracing conspiratorial charges against “so-called Christian ministers,” “rural rednecks” and “the theological bias of the Judeo-Christian tradition” — seems to fit the very definition of bigotry.

Brendan Goldman, a member of New York University’s class of 2010, earned a B.A. in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. This essay was sponsored by Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum.

Rabbi Shmuley Discusses The Ground Zero Mosque

kalel — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:56:02 +0000

This aerial photo of April 20, 2010, shows the New York city block, lower right, where a 13-story mosque is planned for construction two blocks north of the World Trade Center site, center left

An interesting and heated debate. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach defends opponents of the proposed Ground Zero Mosque.

From VirtualJerusalem.com.

Ground Zero Mosque Debate With Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Video of debate below.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Pat Condell on Ground Zero mosque: “Is it possible to be astonished, but not surprised?

alpineski — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:12:13 +0000

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Dramatic Reunion Ten Years After The Photo That Started It All

kalel — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:31:02 +0000

Exclusive: Tuvia Grossman Interviewed by HonestReporting

On September 30, 2000, The New York Times, Associated Press and other major media outlets published a photo of a young man — bloodied and battered — crouching beneath a club-wielding Israeli policeman. The caption identified him as a Palestinian victim of Israeli brutality – with the clear implication that the Israeli soldier was the one who beat him.

That young man was, in fact, Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student from Chicago, who was beaten within inches of his life before being rescued by the Israeli border policeman in the photo.

The resulting outrage generated by the gross distortion of the photo “launched” HonestReporting.

[Click on the image to the right to see the original communique.]

Now, ten years later, we caught up with Tuvia in an exclusive interview.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

HonestReporting: How have things changed for you since your picture appeared in the NY Times?

Tuvia Grossman: Ten years ago, I was a single American 20-year old, in Israel temporarily as a student. Today, I am nearly 30, married, have a beautiful nearly three-year-old daughter, a practicing attorney at a corporate law firm in Tel Aviv and a proud citizen of Israel.

While the memories of 10 years ago haven’t faded, it’s often difficult to picture myself in the state I was in. I remember feeling mixed emotions of anger, fear and hopelessness. The misrepresentation of my story in the global news exacerbated my feelings.

However, I am proud to say I have overcome many of those feelings, and, in a way, won the battle the terrorists started. By settling in Israel, raising a family, advancing my career and becoming the person they tried to destroy, I beat the terrorists simply by being alive.

HR: What was your reaction when you heard about the NY Times caption?

TG: The truth is I was not very surprised at all. This was not my first encounter with media bias. I had always been an avid reader, even before my attack, and had come across many instances of blatant bias against Israel.

When hearing about the picture, my initial thoughts went to the soldier. It’s much worse to be accused of beating the person you actually helped protect, than to be accused of being a Palestinian when you are in fact a Jew.

HR: Did you try to find the soldier in the picture?

TG: No. First, there were five or six soldiers stationed at the gas station I ran to as I was being pursued by the Arabs. One particular soldier happened to be standing behind me when the picture was taken; however, I owe my gratitude to all the soldiers equally, to the one in the picture, as well as to the less famous ones not photographed — such as the soldier who ripped off his uniform and tied it around my head to stop the bleeding.

I have also been reluctant to find the soldier from the picture precisely because of the misrepresentation. What do you say to someone who helped save your life, but was portrayed across the globe as a vicious animal?

HR: Your ordeal has inspired groups like HR to fight media bias against Israel. Has coverage of Israel improved in the past ten years?

TG: Media bias against Israel is as strong as ever.

However, public awareness to such bias has increased exponentially, which is the first and most crucial step to stop the actual bias. Organizations like HonestReporting may not be able to force media outlets across the globe to reflect the unbiased truth, but they have been very successful in raising awareness.

HR: Your image is closely associated with second intifada, but you stayed out of the public eye. Why the low profile?

TG: This has to do partly with my personality and partly with my ongoing efforts to recover. I have always been a “low-profile” person, and usually try to avoid the limelight.

Soon after the story broke, I received numerous calls from major network news shows in the US inviting to fly me to their studios for interviews. I turned all of them down. What I did agree to attend were pro-Israel rallies, events in whose causes I strongly believed in, where I felt my presence could inspire others to support Israel.

In addition, being in the limelight would have forced me to constantly recall and relive the trauma. Even ten years later, recalling the story, discussing it, or even seeing objects which may remind me of it, can be painful. Avoiding recollections of the trauma is one of my methods of coping with it.

Now and then, when I truly believe in a cause, such as HR, I’m willing to discuss what happened, because I feel my experiences can have a positive impact on others.

HR: Have you discussed the attack with your daughter, or plan to do so when she’s older?

TG: My daughter is not yet three; she’s too young to understand the attack and how it has influenced me, so I have told her nothing of it. I do think it is important for her to hear about it from me rather than from other sources, like the Internet. When the time is right, I’ll discuss it with her in great detail.

Every year I make a seudat hoda’yah, or thanksgiving meal, right before Rosh Hashana to thank G-d for allowing me to survive the incident. This year, at the seudah, I may explain to her that a long time before she was born, Abba was hurt badly and I make a special meal to thank G-d that all is better now. I won’t elaborate more than that to her at this stage.

HR: What’s the importance of HR’s work to you?

TG: HR’s work is important to me on a number of levels.

Most obvious is the need to fight the media bias against Israel. As I mentioned, the best way is by informing the public, on a mass-scale, of the blatant misrepresentations, which in turn will cause the public to distrust the biased media until they start reporting truthfully.

On a deeper level, HR’s work goes further than just exposing anti-Israel media bias to the public. HR exposes the positive sides of Israel in a way no one else can.

After my attack, when I heard of the misrepresentation in the NY Times, what bothered me more than the false reporting was that the truth had become less of a focal point. The public was caught up in what was not true; the truth was no longer important. HR doesn’t only expose the lies, they also substantiate the truth, and this what makes their work so important.

A Decade On: Help HonestReporting’s Work

Ten years later, the media bias against Israel shows no sign of abating. Please help HonestReporting’s work by promoting the video above by forwarding to friends and family and posting on social media sites such as Facebook (also see our new Hebrew Facebook page) and Twitter.

And if you haven’t already done so, sign up now to receive information from HonestReporting and become part of our army of activists working to ensure fairness for Israel and accuracy in the news media.

HonestReporting. com

Yemeni men flying from U.S. arrested in Amsterdam on terror charges

alpineski — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:48:00 +0000

Reporting from Washington — Two Yemeni men who arrived in Amsterdam on a flight from Chicago were arrested Monday by Dutch authorities and charged with preparing a terrorist attack after officials found suspicious items in their luggage, Dutch and U.S. officials said.

U.S. authorities requested the arrest after discovering that one of the men had checked his luggage from Chicago to Dulles International Airport in Virginia, but then left Chicago on a different flight to Amsterdam, said a U.S. official, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the case.

The luggage sent to Virginia contained a cellphone taped to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, in addition to three cellphones taped together and several watches taped together. The owner of the luggage, Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi, a Yemeni citizen who lives in Detroit, also was carrying $7,000 in cash, said a Dutch official, who also spoke on condition anonymity.

After sending his luggage to Dulles, Al Soofi was joined in Chicago by a second man, Hezam al Murisi, and the two men flew on United Airlines flight 908 to Amsterdam. U.S. air marshals also were on the flight.

Al Soofi’s luggage was flown to Virginia and was headed for Dubai and then Yemen. But once authorities learned al Soofi had flown on a different flight, federal officials in Virginia ordered the flight returned to the gate to remove Al Soofi’s luggage. Another inspection revealed no explosives.

In a statement Monday night, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that authorities found “suspicious items” in checked luggage belonging to two passengers aboard a United flight from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to Amsterdam on Sunday night.

“The items were not deemed to be dangerous in and of themselves, and as we share information with our international partners, Dutch authorities were notified of the suspicious items,” the DHS statement said.

U.S. officials said the matter is under investigation due to the types of items found taped together..

The arrests were first reported Monday by ABC News.

Authorities’ suspicions were first aroused when federal airport screeners in Birmingham, Ala., stopped al Soofi for an additional security check because his clothing was bulky. It was officials in Birmingham who initially searched the luggage and found the Pepto-Bismol taped to the cellphone and the watches, but because those are not banned items, he was permitted to board a flight to O’Hare in Chicago.

In Chicago, the two men were searched and their luggage inspected. Again finding no banned items, the men were allowed to board the flight to Amsterdam.

Dutch authorities questioned the men Monday, though the luggage remained in the possession of U.S. officials, the official said.

No court appearance is expected for several days, he said.