Audio: Rand Paul asked about Hillary committing Perjury at January Benghazi hearing

Back on January 24th, after then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I wrote about her response to Senator Rand Paul's question about arm shipments from Libya to Turkey. That response struck me as being the most noteworthy because it was a question she should have known the answer to. Instead, she said she didn't know.

If she did know - one way or the other - it seems her response would constitute perjury.

Fast forward to this week. On his radio show, Aaaron Klein asked Senator Paul if he thought Clinton may have committed perjury when she said she didn't know the answer to that question.

Via WND:

Video: Authors of 'Benghazi: The Definitive Report'

Former Green Beret Jack Murphy and Former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb have co-authored a book that makes some explosive charges about Barack Obama's nominee for CIA Director, John Brennan. Perhaps the most explosive is that Brennan was ordering weapons raids in Libya after the fall of Gadhafi and that he did so without the knowledge of then CIA Director David Petraeus or Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

According to the Daily Mail, Webb was the best friend of Glen Doherty, one of the two Navy SEALs who was murdered at the CIA Annex on September 11th.

Webb and Murphy appeared on Fox and Friends to discuss their charges and connect some very important dots.

Via Breitbart:



For more analysis of what these charges could mean, go here, here, here, and here.

Did John Brennan's actions play a role in Benghazi attacks?

When coupled with the shocking claim by John Guandolo, that Barack Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, converted to Islam while a station chief in Saudi Arabia in the 1990's, some of the details released from a new book written by a retired Green Beret and a Navy SEAL may take on added significance. Among other things in the book, Brennan's orders while operating from the White House are identified as the motivation for the 9/11 attacks in Benghazi.

Brennan is Obama's nominee to replace David Petraeus as CIA Director.

But first, take a look at some other relevant information taken from the book, starting with power players at the CIA who wanted Petraeus gone as CIA Director.

Via The Daily Mail:

Media reports indicate that the FBI began investigating Petraeus' affair with Broadwell after Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, a friend of Petraeus and his wife Holly, reported that she had received threatening emails from the mistress warning her to stay away from Petraeus.

The authors say that Kelley's report may have started in the FBI investigation - but CIA officers pressured the Justice Department to keep the inquiry open.

Webb said his sources in the FBI told him federal agents wanted to close down their investigation when they learned that nothing illegal had happened, but they were told to keep digging. The FBI investigators, Webb says, never wanted to out Petraeus' affair.

The FBI reports to the Department of Justice, which is headed by Attorney General Eric Holder. Surely, something as big as investigating the CIA Director had to be something Holder was aware of. Based on the fact that the subject of the investigation was someone like Petraeus, Holder almost necessarily had to have approved pushing it forward, but to what end?

Was it - at least in part - to open the door for Brennan to head the CIA? Early indications are that authors Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy don't appear to go that far but they certainly piece together the groundwork for such a scenario.

Again, via the Daily Mail:

Murphy and co-author Brandon Webb also revealed that the September 11 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, was retaliation by Islamist militants who had been targeted by covert U.S. military operations.

The book claims that neither Stevens nor even Petraeus knew about the raids by American special operations troops, which had 'kicked a hornet's nest' among the heavily-armed fighters after the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

John Brennan, President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser, had been authorizing 'unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure,' according to the e-book. Brennan is Obama's pick to replace Petraeus as head of the CIA.

If this is true, it would mean that Obama himself could be directly accountable for the attacks in Benghazi because Brennan was ordering these raids from the White House. As such, he was a direct arm of the Obama administration. These raids weren't just carried out on orders of the administration. They apparently weren't made known to the people who would ultimately face what could be identified as their consequences.

Petraeus was furious, they say, because he was kept in the dark about the raids being conducted without his knowledge by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) across Libya and North Africa.

Webb and Murphy claim that the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate and a CIA outpost in Benghazi proved to Petraeus that he was an outsider in the Obama administration and that he would remain marginalized as long as he was at the CIA.

The central premise of 'Benghazi: The Definitive Report' is that the attacks were precipitated by secret raids JSOC had performed in Libya. An attack on the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia days before September 11 may have been the final straw.

According to what Webb and Murphy are saying here, Petraeus was forced out and Brennan's orders to raid Islamist strongholds led to the Benghazi attacks on an unsuspecting consulate and CIA Annex. At least calling that last part into partial question is the fact that U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith both seemed more than just a little concerned about coming under attack. Stevens sent cables to the State Department requesting more security and Smith made reference to losing his life while gaming from the consulate / Special Missions Compound (SMC) on the day of the attacks. That said, it's still possible that a growing threat was felt but not fully understood.

Check out this particularly explosive excerpt from the book. It seems to add credence to the concerns of Senator Rand Paul, raised during his questioning of Hillary Clinton last month:

John Brennan also ran a highly compartmentalized program out of the White House in regard to weapons transfers, and Stevens would not have been trusted with that type of information. Stevens likely helped consolidate as many weapons as possible after the war to safeguard them, at which point Brennan exported them overseas to start another conflict.

Ostensibly, that "exported them overseas" part is a reference to weapons sent from Libya (the annex?) to the Syrian rebels (via Turkey?).

If Petraeus and Stevens were kept in the dark relative to Brennan's raids and those raids served as the motivation for the attacks on the consulate and annex, that places blood directly on the hands of those behind Brennan's orders and secretiveness with respect to them. Under such a scenario, it would appear that Brennan is less qualified to be CIA Director than Petraeus was after the affair became public.

Also, if the claims of Webb and Murphy are true, Obama must certainly know that truth. If so, why would he be nominating Brennan to replace Petraeus unless he was fully behind what Brennan was allegedly doing?

That leads us directly to a covert, pro-Muslim Brotherhood strategy coming directly from the Obama White House, which brings us back to the claim made by Guandolo, that Brennan secretly converted to Islam while in Saudi Arabia and that he was turned by the Muslim Brotherhood specifically.

People might point to Brennan's orders to raid Islamist locations in Libya as evidence that he did NOT convert to Islam because his new religion would forbid him from attacking his own. In reality, the concept of Muruna, espoused by none other than the Brotherhood's most senior spiritual adviser - Yusuf al-Qaradawi - sanctions the killing of Muslims if doing so furthers the cause of Islam.

Again, just operating under the premise that Guandolo has already put forth...

If Brennan's objective was to raid Islamist strongholds for the purpose of confiscating weapons that could then be sent to the Syrian rebels in the latter's fight to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, such a thing would be perceived by the Brotherhood as a greater good.

The bottom line, however, is this: If Brennan was the guy behind operations that both left the consulate and the Annex unprepared to defend against attacks caused by White House policy AND if Brennan was the guy behind secretly ordering weapons be sent to Syrian rebels, all of that is made much worse by Obama's decision to nominate him for CIA Director in the first place.

That would tie Obama directly to gun-running from Libya to Syria and THAT would make Fast and Furious look like child's play by comparison.

The cherry on top would be this administration's attempt at gun control in the U.S. while arming al-Qaeda.

Panetta: Arming Syrian Rebels a good idea

The appearances of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee didn't just reveal that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were nowhere to be found during the attacks. Panetta also revealed that he supported arming the Syrian rebels, which immediately made Clinton's interaction with Rand Paul at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month more relevant.

First, what Panetta told McCain, via the BBC:

In testimony to Congress, Leon Panetta said he still supported the supply of weapons to rebels fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The plan was proposed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and David Petraeus, then director of the CIA, but reportedly rebuffed by the White House.

The US has so far offered only diplomatic backing to Syria's rebels.

Later in the day, McCain was interviewed by Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren. Here is a relevant portion of the transcript:

VAN SUSTEREN: And the reason that I ask you about the question what was the CIA doing is because one of the other issues that came up is arming of the Syrian rebels, a question that came up, and there had been a long controversy whether or not the United States was going to arm the Syrian rebels or not and who was on board and who wasn't on board. And there has been some suggestion that through that consulate that weapons were being sent through Turkey to the Syrians. And I'm curious whether or not that consulate was used to channel weapons to the Syrian rebels for one. And number two, what do you think about the response from General Dempsey and Secretary Panetta about weapons to Syrian rebels?

MCCAIN: Well, there were published reports that some of the arms were coming from Libya that were arriving for the resistance in Syria. But that information that we had was not through the United States government, but through other sources, but I'm not clear on that.

Of course, the way to arm the Syrian rebels was ostensibly through Turkey, which leads to Paul's interaction with Hillary Clinton during sworn testimony. When he asked Clinton about the CIA Annex being used to ship weapons from Libya to Turkey, which would then be sent to Syria.

Clinton committed perjury if she knew the answer to Paul's question because she said she didn't know anything about such shipments. Here is an exchange between Paul and Fox News Channel's Martha McCallum before the hearings yesterday.

Hats off to Paul for pressing on this issue.

Rubio v. Paul in 2016? Rand wins Round 1 BIG

Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rand Paul (R-KY) are both considered to be frontrunners for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2016. They are also both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As such, both men had the opportunity to ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton some tough questions today about the State Department's handling of the attacks in Benghazi on 9/11/12.

Contrasting these two exchanges becomes even more important if Hillary is the Democratic nominee in 2016. Assuming that reality comes to fruition, either Rubio or Paul could be the face of the Republican Party debating Clinton in four years. How did each Senator do while having the upper hand in today's Senate hearing?

Though Rubio asked relevant questions, he came across as rather dispassionate and gave Hillary plenty of room to give long, meandering answers. He did not stop her when she got off track. Rubio looked rather weak today. No presidential timber shown today.



How about Rand Paul? Arguably the best exchange of the day, though an argument could be made that Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) deserves that distinction. Two things stand out in Paul's exchange with Hillary.

1. Paul stated clearly that if he were president during the Benghazi attack, he would have fired his Secretary of State.
2. When Paul asked the Senator if the CIA Annex was being used as a hub for shipping weapons to Turkey "or any other country", Hillary told him to check with the CIA. Are we to believe that she didn't know the answer? Hardly. If the answer was no, there wouldn't be any harm in answering it. Not answering it at all only raises the legitimacy of the question.

If all of this was round 1 between Paul and Rubio, Paul won going away.

For a Genius, Condoleezza Rice not making much sense

She served for four years as George W. Bush's National Security Advisor, another four as his Secretary of State; she had been Provost at Stanford, and is an extremely accomplished pianist. By all accounts, Condoleezza Rice is widely accepted as a genius.

So why on earth is she advocating for what would inevitably lead to Muslim Brotherhood control of Syria? After reading her recent op-ed in the Washington Post, there really is no gray area about where she stands, though as a seasoned diplomat, she does her level best to massage her message. Her position is that Assad must fall and Syria must not be allowed to fall into the hands of Iranian control.

Via WaPo:

The fragile state structure of the Middle East has been held together for decades by monarchs and dictators. But as the desire for freedom has spread from Tunis to Cairo to Damascus, authoritarians have lost their grip. The danger now is that the artificial states could fly apart.

What Rice avoids saying is breathtaking. Whatever desire there is for freedom in the Middle East is being snuffed out by new, religious tyrants who are filling the vacuum left by those "monarchs" and "dictators". Simply put, in every country where the 'Arab Spring' has been successful at removing dictators, things have gotten much worse. Egypt's new Muslim Brotherhood leader is consolidating power and that country is increasingly on the brink of civil war; Libya may have elected a secular government but make no mistake; al-Qaeda is calling the shots. Yemen, Tunisia, et. al. are all seeing similar outcomes.

Therefore, why would Rice think Syria would be any different?

Perhaps the answer lies in the very next paragraph:

In Iraq, after overthrowing Saddam Hussein, the United States hoped that a fledging multi-ethnic, multi-confessional democracy could do what authoritarians could not: give all of these groups a stake in a common future. To an extent it has, with elections repeatedly producing inclusive governments. But the institutions are young and fragile, and they are groaning under the weight of the region’s broader sectarian explosion. The conflict in Syria is pushing Iraq and others to the breaking point. At the same time, U.S. disengagement has tempted Iraqi politicians to move toward sectarian allies for survival. If Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki cannot count on the Americans, he will take no risks with Tehran.

Note how Rice comes precariously close to admitting that going into Iraq was a mistake but qualifies it by implying that more time is needed. The notion that the Syrian conflict is pushing Iraq to the "breaking point" is a bit of an exercise in denial. Make no mistake; Iran has all but annexed Iraq and for Rice to assert anything to the contrary presupposes that the Bush strategy still has a chance. It was doomed to failure when the foundation for the new Iraqi constitution was Sharia law; it was a soft surrender.

As Rice points out, Iraq is 65% Shiite; so is al-Maliki Shiite. Counting on Americans would have involved a Constitution that did not have Sharia law. Assuming that al-Maliki was ever interested in true freedom in Iraq, such interest was snuffed out at that point because it meant the Americans could not be counted on.

Rice runs into another problem. Note I did say she only came "precariously close" to admitting failure. Opining that the United States should not support the ouster of Assad would be an admission of failure in Iraq and inconsistent with the broader strategy of her boss, because it would mean that the perceived liberation of people who are ruled by a dictator can lead to greater enslavement, which it has in Iraq, Gaza, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, et. al. Rice almost has to support Assad's overthrow at this point. Advocating the opposite would torpedo the Bush doctrine of democratization in the Middle East.

Comparing Iran to Karl Marx seems to be an attempt - in part - to liken the former to the United States' cold war nemesis. Take note of her reference to a "theocratic flag" and where it flies:

Today’s Karl Marx is Iran. It envisions the spread of its influence among Shiites, uniting them under the theocratic flag of Tehran — destroying the integrity of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Lebanon. Iran uses terrorist groups, Hezbollah and the Shiite militias in southern Iraq to do its bidding. Syria is the linchpin, the bridge into the Arab Middle East. Tehran no longer hides the fact that its security forces are working in Syria to prop up Assad. In this context, Tehran’s sprint toward a nuclear weapon is a problem not just for Israel but the region as a whole.

Few would argue that there are easy answers in the Middle East but Rice seems to be falling into the same trap that so many westerners do. While being rightfully concerned about Iran, there is this inexplicable underestimation of Turkey, which continues to be wrongly viewed as an ally of the West. In reality, Turkey has been making more gains than Iran, in many ways. With every Muslim Brotherhood victory, Turkey is secretly emboldened and its lustful eye for a reestablished Ottoman empire waters a little more with increased anticipatory desire.

While Rice rightfully bemoans the Shia's "theocratic flag of Tehran", she ignores the "theocratic flag" that is being planted all over the Middle East as Turkey quietly sees those flags as representing a resurrected empire in the near future.

Rice continues...

In recent days, France, Britain and Turkey have stepped into the diplomatic vacuum to recognize a newly formed opposition that is broadly representative of all Syrians. The United States should follow their lead and then vet and arm the unified group with defensive weapons on the condition that it pursues an inclusive post-Assad framework. The United States and its allies should also consider establishing a no-fly zone to protect the innocent. America’s weight and influence are needed. Leaving this to regional powers, whose interests are not identical to ours, will only exacerbate the deepening sectarianism.

Certainly there are risks. After more than a year of brutal conflict, the most extreme elements of the opposition — including al-Qaeda — have been empowered. Civil wars tend to strengthen the worst forces. The overthrow of Assad could indeed bring these dangerous groups to power.

But the breakdown of the Middle East state system is a graver risk. Iran will win, our allies will lose, and for decades the region’s misery and violence will make today’s chaos look tame.

It is simply breathtaking to consider that someone of Rice's intellect does not understand the Islamist nature and goals of Turkey's leadership. She then talks about aligning with them and arming the Syrian rebels but under the condition that there is a post-Assad framework and that the rebels who are armed can be trusted (because that's worked out so well to this point).

Then, she demonstrates an unbelievable amount of naiveté relative to history, both old and recent, when she says that the breakdown of the Middle East state system is a graver risk than the Muslim Brotherhood groups ultimately taking control of Syria. If she was truly interested in preserving the "state system", Assad is the better option.

Does she not know that it is Turkey which desires the dissolution of every nation that has fallen to the Brotherhood?  That would also include Syria if Assad falls.

Rice's former boss - George W. Bush - communicated a similar embrace of the 'Arab Spring' in an op-ed he wrote for the Wall Street Journal last May.

For Rice or Bush to admit the truth would require them to admit failure, which they're obviously not willing to do.

Unfortunately, not doing so smacks of both pride an foolishness.

Video: Austrian MP, the Anti-Bloomberg when it comes to Islam

As Mayor Michael Bloomberg acquiesces to the Ground Zero mosque while declaring war on sodas, Austrian MP Ewald Stadler provides the perfect contrast.

Chamberlain vs. Churchill.

Just watch.

Via Shoebat:

That Lame 60 Minutes piece on Fethullah Gulen missed something else too

If you watched the 60 Minutes piece last week on Turkish Imam Fethullah Gulen, you know how lame it was. There was only a cursory mention of why people are so concerned and the report concluded that there was nothing to be alarmed about. If you haven't yet seen it, take a look; it's bad:



There was another aspect to the story that 'Leafblower Leslie' didn't even look into and it has to do with the connections of a sitting U.S. Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA) to the Gulenist movement. If you believe Leslie, that's no big deal either. If you know the truth about Gulen, it's a very big deal.

This is cross-posted at Shoebat.com

The Case of Democratic Congressman Bob Filner and the Gulenist movement

This entry is a separate follow-up to this post from last week. In particular, it focuses on the ties of Democratic Congressman Bob Filner (CA-51) - who is currently running for mayor of San Diego - to the Fethullah Gulen movement as well as the degree to which he is beholden to that movement. The 60 Minutes piece by 'Leafblower' Leslie didn't hit on this disturbing connection either.

First of all, Bob Filner is one of 70 Congressmen who was registered with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Caucus in 2009.

Earlier this month, the San Diego Reader reported on Filner's trip to Turkey in 2010, which was paid for by a group known as the Pacifica Institute, an entity with extremely close ties to the Gulenist movement. The Reader also reported that Filner took another trip courtesy of Pacifica in 2011 that totaled $3700 according to Filner's filing.

In 2009, Pacifica sponsored the Gulen Conference at USC in Los Angeles.



There are countless examples of Filner's ties to Gulenist-connected groups, to include his appearance at and participation in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Turkish American Alliance upon returning from his Pacifica-sponsored trip. Yes, Pacifica is listed as a member organization of the TAA. Ok, so Gulenist-connected groups have bought influence with a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America
communist caucus, which further validates Rep. Allen West's concerns.



How about some more background on Filner? As a Democrat who is a member of the DSA, would his father's communist leanings be relevant? According to the Pittsburgh Press in 1942, Joseph Filner was secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in Pittsburgh, PA. Even the New York Times wrote in 1990 that the elder Filner sold Soviet products in the United States for 35 years.

So the son of a leader in the CPUSA is a
Socialist
Communist Democrat who is connected with and has ties to Gulenist groups.

That would mean that Communist leftists are working with Islamists. Really? That is a shocker!



Joe McCarthy's legacy seems to be aging much better than what the communist left - to include the liberal media - would have us believe. Speaking of the liberal media, 'Leafblower Leslie' didn't cover any of this in her 60 Minutes report on Gulen.

But she did get to ride a leaf blower-powered hovercraft.



Big h/t to Donna G for this post.

Are we already Arming Syrian Rebels?

According to the Syrian rebels' leader, both France and the United States are already arming them, despite the fact that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed opposition to doing so during an interview with CBS (video below). During that interview, Clinton said it would be a mistake to arm the rebels because they consist of both al-Qaeda and now Hamas, which recently pledged support for the opposition.

So how do we explain this, Mrs. Clinton?

Via Russia Today / Eurasia Review:

A general in the opposition militia known as the Free Syria Army has told journalists that the rebels have received French and American military assistance, amid reports of worsening violence in the stricken nation.

In Homs on Tuesday, a general claiming to be from the rebel group appeared on camera and told a journalist from Reuters news agency that “French and American assistance has reached us and is with us.” When asked to elaborate on the nature of the assistance he added, “We now have weapons and anti-aircraft missiles and, God willing, with all of that we will defeat Bashar [President Assad].”

A little further into the article...

This is not the first report of the US covertly supplying the opposition with arms. In December, FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds said she believed the US had been training the Syrian opposition in neighboring Turkey and supplying arms to the country from Incirlik military base close to the Turkish-Syrian border.

In addition, Qatar and Saudi Arabia reportedly held secret meetings to offer financial support to the Syrian rebels to buy weapons.

Turkey's involvement is key because the Islamic caliphate sought by the Muslim Brotherhood would be based in Turkey. If these reports are true, it means the United States is actively working with Turkey to further the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood.

So why would the Secretary of State claim that arming the rebels would be a mistake while her country is arming them at the same time? Amid news reports that al-Qaeda and Hamas are among the rebels she couldn't come out publicly and say we're doing it if, in fact we are. Say, isn't that mentality similar to the one that seems to have been prevalent in Operation Fast and Furious?

Either way, even if the Russia Today report is false, it's still propaganda that can be used by Russia, China, and Iran. All three of those entities support Assad and our arming of the rebels provokes all of those countries unnecessarily while aiding an increasingly powerful Muslim Brotherhood.

***UPDATE*** 3/1/12: Sibel Edmonds cannot be considered a reliable source for this story. She is also a 9/11 Truther. Until there are more credible, corroborating reports about the U.S. supplying arms to the Syrian rebels, the claim cannot be confirmed.

Here is the CBS interview with Clinton, via Shoebat:



h/t Weasel Zippers 

Houston, TX: Eagle Forum taking on Fethullah Gulen Charter schools

Perhaps the most dangerous Islamist in America - Fethullah Gulen - has watched as Harmony charter schools - modeled after his teachings - have sprung up all over the world, many in the United States. One particular hotbed for those schools is Houston, TX.

Vice President of Texas' Eagle Forum, MerryLynn Gerstenschlager is calling for legislation that will require all charter schools to be operated by U.S. citizens exclusively.

Via Houston Chronicle:

With 36 campuses, Harmony has become the state’s largest charter school system.

“Thousands of American children are becoming sympathetic to the Turkish way of life,” MerryLynn Gerstenschlager told the House Public Education Committee last week.

She is vice president of the Eagle Forum, which is concerned about the influence of Turkish billionaire Fethullah Gulen, whom she cast as the driving force behind Harmony schools.

Gulen lives in Pennsylvania but controls Turkey TV stations and newspapers, Gerstenschlager told the committee. She also views him as someone who desires to turn Turkish government into an Islamist system.

“If Gulen’s control can reach across the seas to Turkey, how much easier would it be for him to ask allegiance from the impressionable children educated in Turkish charter schools within our borders?” she asked.

Amazingly, state lawmakers seem to be oblivious to this very real threat.

House Public Education Committee members did not share the Eagle Forum’s concerns about Harmony charter schools.

Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston, says she has “a large Turkish community in my district and several Harmony schools in my district. I think they are fabulous. I don’t think they teach religion.”

It ain't just Democrats who don't get it:

Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, told Gerstenschlager the Harmony charter school in his district is immensely popular.

“They are lining up trying to get into that school. Parents are thrilled. I am just not hearing anyone saying that there’s some problem in the school related to the issues you are talking about,” the physician-lawmaker told her.

 She repeated her standard refrain: “They are learning Turkish culture, and I believe these impressionable young children will become sympathetic to Turkey.”

A simple search of Fethullah Gulen will reveal why these schools are so dangerous. Yet, politicians are out to lunch on the issue. Last year, the Texas state legislature passed a resolution, without objection, that honored Gulen.

Read it all.

h/t DG

Iran and Turkey have a Syria-ous Problem

The 'Arab Spring' that has been ongoing for a year now is as much (if not more) about the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) as it is about removing dictators. The Ikhwan seeks a return of the Ottoman Empire, which was centered in what is today Turkey. To varying degrees, the Muslim Brotherhood has gained control of the countries on the map that have red arrows pointing to them. This benefits Turkey tremendously.

Over the last several years, Iran and Turkey have had an alliance of convenience but the situation in Syria is putting great strain on that alliance. Syria, which borders Iraq to its east, Lebanon to its west, and Turkey to its north has essentially been an arm of Iran under the Assad regime. Assad has allowed his country to act as a funnel for weapons and Hezbollah fighters into Lebanon. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, those efforts were more difficult.

With the removal of Saddam Hussein and the subsequent withdrawal of American troops from Iraq more than eight years later, Iran has essentially gained control of Iraq. At least one high-ranking cabinet member inside the Iraqi government is also a high-ranking Quds official with loyalties to the Ayatollah; his name is Hadi al-Ameri. That someone like him would hold the position of Transportation Minister in Nouri al-Maliki's government is a serious red flag that signals Iran has already annexed Iraq.

In this behind-the-scenes struggle between Turkey and Iran, the latter has control of Iraq, which also shares a border with Turkey to its north. This makes Syria all that more important for both countries. If Assad is removed from power, the Brotherhood will most assuredly attempt to wrest control for the larger Ottoman movement. Despite its public stance, Turkey is licking its chops over the possibility of acquiring Syria. It would be a huge victory for the Ikhwan and a huge defeat for Iran, which will not give this up easily, however.

As long as Assad is in power, Iran's guy is running the country. When and if he ultimately steps down or is removed, Iran will do all it can to ensure Syria does not come under the control of the Brotherhood.

At that point, Israel could take a back seat in the minds of Iran and Turkey. Syria is that important. As both nations fight over Syria, the mask that has been hiding much of the geopolitics in the region could slip significantly. Turkey's desire for stealth could be more difficult to maintain. In either case, Iran has far more to lose relative to Syria than does Turkey but the latter country has far more to gain if it gets control.

In this game of chicken, Syria is like a piece of meat Iran desperately wants to keep on its plate. Conversely, the Muslim Brotherhood desperately wants to gobble it up for its master - Turkey.

h/t Shoebat

Shoebat: Why Bashar Assad needs to stay in Power

Former PLO member and Muslim Brotherhood activist Walid Shoebat makes the case that despite the rising body count resulting from the Assad regime's crackdown in Syria, the best scenario is if Assad stays in power.

Via Shoebat:

More than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March. The number of dead in Homs alone is now over over 200 and climbing. The Assad regime says terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country are behind the uprising, not people seeking to transform the authoritarian regime. He’s right, it was Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood that claimed responsibility in December 2011 for two suicide bombings in Damascus that killed 44 people.

Yet, you have Israeli politicians like Moshe (Boge) Ya’alon telling Army Radio that the end of Assad’s regime could bring ‘relatively moderate’ Sunni elements into power, adding that he did not think radical Islam would take over the country if Syrian President Bashar Assad is ousted. Boge says that, “there could be different developments in such a situation, some of which could be positive as far as Israel is concerned, like a fissure in the Tehran-Damascus-Beirut-Hamas axis of evil… There’s a difference between Syria and Egypt,” says Ya’alon.

Syria is not a trophy for Iran exclusively; Turkey is waiting in the wings, ever ready to control the entire region. Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan has been urging Assad in Arabic, “Ya Bashar! Man dakka dukka.” In English, that means: “He who hammers will be hammered” or “what goes around comes around.” He reminded Bashar of what his father did when the Syrian army massacred 10,000 Sunnis in 1982; it will come back to hound him. Paradoxically and quite hypocritically, Erdogan neglects to confess the Armenian Genocide. 

It is no secret that Turkey has worked extensively with the Muslim Brotherhood and has set its sights on Syria. The Turkish Muslim Brotherhood Network, written last year by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, lays out an iron clad case for Turkey’s involvement in the Flotila and its collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Boge needs to study his region’s history. The Syrian regime’s arch-nemesis is the Muslim Brotherhood. Syria was the first nation after Egypt where the Ikhwan’s movement took root. It was the Arab nationalist Baath Party that banned the brotherhood and tightened state control over religious institutions to weaken its influence. Israel has two choices relative to Syria. It can support one side of the same two-sided tyrannical coin: Arab Nationalism or Islamist Utopianism. I opt for the first and Ya’alon opts for the second while affixing an oxi-moronic “moderate” label to his argument. This in not the first time that the Sunnis wanted to take control. Violent clashes between the Ikhwan and the regime ensued a short time after the Ba’athists came to power in April 1964 when violence erupted in Hamah, led by Marwan Hadid. In 1965, the events in Hamah ignited violence in Damascus as well. Subsequently, in April 1967, riots erupted among the Sunni population all over Syria, but the regime managed to suppress the violence. Law No. 49 stipulates the death penalty for membership in the Ikhwan. In February 1990 the establishment of an Islamist alliance, the “National Front for Saving Syria” (preceded by the “National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria”), ‘Ali Sadr al-Din al-Bayanuni’ declared that the main purpose of this body was to “topple the Syrian regime.”

Read it all.

Video: Texas Governor went after Turkey in Presidential Debate, how about in his own State?

In one of Rick Perry's last debates, he publicly singled out Turkey for its increasingly Islamist government. This tells us that he must have a significant understanding of the dynamics behind what makes that government work. One of those dynamics is a Turkish imam named Fethullah Gulen. However, Gulen lives in the Untied States and his schools have a significant presence across the United States, to include Texas.

As the video points out, public tax dollars have been used to build a Gulen charter school in Perry's backyard - Austin, TX. The Harmony School of Political Science and Journalism has been built to "influence the next generation of politicians, voters, and news writers."

Must-see video:



h/t Donna

Proof Turkish Government is in Holocaust Denial

France has passed a bill that would make it a crime to deny that Ottoman Turks committed mass genocide against Christian Armenians during WWI. This was a holocaust, just as what happened in Germany in WWII a holocaust. Germany has reconciled and has passed a similar bill. Conversely, the Islamist government that currently rules Turkey isn't so willing to admit its past sins.

Via Daily Mail:

Turkey has reacted with fury after French MPs passed a bill that would make it a crime in France to deny that mass killing of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

The Turkish ambassador in Paris, Tahsin Burcuoglu, has been recalled in protest after the bill sailed through the National Assembly with a large majority this afternoon.

Ankara had also promised 'grave consequences' in terms of political, economic and military assistance between the two countries if the legislation went ahead.

Why would Turkey care about French law? There is no way Turkey would react this way unless it disagrees with the reality of its past. That should be cause for great concern.

In fact, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan referred to the bill as 'racist.' I guess that means that holocaust denial should be considered 'tolerance.'

That is certainly a new low for the race card being played.

h/t Free Republic

Why Does Turkey Keep Flying Under the Radar?

For some inexplicable reason, Turkey is flying under the radar (I know, Turkeys can't fly) when it comes to discussions about the 'Arab Spring.' Yet, it is the most dangerous player in the Middle East right now. The perception that Turkey is a secular Arab country simply belies the facts. It has been turning Islamist for over ten years now.

That fact makes this report from IPT all the more credible:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to provide $300 million to Hamas, in a confidential letter sent to the terrorist group's leader, according to news site International Middle East Media Center [IMEMC]. If the report proves accurate, the Turkish government would be sanctioned internationally for providing support to a globally designated terrorist organization. 

The news report first appeared on the IMEMC's website, which is affiliated with the independent Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement, a project of the International Solidarity Movement. 

The report alleges that the Turkey's Prime Minister sent Hamas' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh a confidential letter agreeing to invite him to Ankara and to provide $300 million in funding to the terrorist group. The report claims Hamas' Political Bureau Chief, Khaled Meshaal, responded by telling Erdogan that he wanted to improve relations with Turkey. It also mentions that the donation would cover only some of Hamas' budget deficit of $540 million.

Erdogan also vehemently rejects the notion that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Once again, it should be obvious for all to see at this point; the Islamist government in Turkey is embracing the Arab Spring and will gobble up these countries that fall to the Muslim Brotherhood; it will not be good for western civilization, which just continues to do Turkey's dirty work for them.

h/t WZ

Video: Biden calls for Syria's Bashar al-Assad to Step Down

I'm sorry, as tempting as it may be to argue that Joe Biden is this stupid, I just can't do it. While in Turkey, which is rapidly acquiring more and more power with each Middle Eastern dictator that falls, Biden called on Syria's Bashar al-Assad to step down. Once again, the United States is playing right into the hands of the extremely Islamist government of Turkey.

As clear-thinking American citizens warned before Mubarak fell, the Muslim Brotherhood will take over. They have. As clear-thinking American citizens warned before Gadhafi fell, the Muslim Brotherhood will take over. They have. In fact, al-Qaeda flags are flying all over those countries right  now.

Once again, clear-thinking American citizens are warning that when Assad goes, the Muslim Brotherhood will take over.

Well, Biden may personally be this stupid but those directing him certainly are not.

h/t Hapblog

Is Obama Setting the Table for War in Syria?

As bad as the dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria have been, the vacuum that has been filled in the first three instances is proving to be far worse. The Muslim Brotherhood has all but taken over. Al-Qaeda flags are flying in Egypt and Libya today. In each instance, the Obama administration's policies have been in favor of the Brotherhood. The same thing is transpiring in Syria right now and Bashar al-Assad appears to be the next dictator targeted for removal. The US is sending an aircraft carrier to the region under the auspices of helping American citizens leave the country.

Via Daily Caller:

The USS George H.W. Bush, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, has reportedly parked off the Syrian coast. The move comes as the U.S. embassy in Damascus urged Americans to “immediately” leave the country. 

“The U.S. embassy continues to urge U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available,” began a statement released Wednesday on the embassy website. “The number of airlines serving Syria has decreased significantly since the summer, while many of those airlines remaining have reduced their number of flights.” 

In addition to urging citizens to leave the country, CBS News reports that Ambassador Robert Ford, who was recalled from Syria last month due to what the Obama administration called credible threats to his safety, will not return to the country later this month as planned. 

Syria’s government has been strongly condemned by the international community following months of state-sponsored violence against political activists protesting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The violence is said to have left thousands dead in the country, which is a close ally of Iran and a sponsor of the Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah.

The next paragraph in the story should be one of great interest:

Adding to the sense of danger, Turkey, a NATO member and fierce critic of Assad’s government, recently warned its citizens to avoid traveling through the country after Syrian troops fired on at least two buses carrying Turkish Muslims returning from the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. 

Again, Turkey is the proposed site of a return to a global caliphate. Yes, the Ottoman Empire, which is what the Muslim Brotherhood was created to reestablish. Of course Turkey is critical of Assad.

With all the talk of instituting a "no-fly" zone over Syria, coupled with a US aircraft carrier being sent to the region, don't be surprised if American fighters end up being tasked with enforcing that no-fly zone. We are, after all, living through an administration who claims it has to issue Executive Orders because Congress is not acting.

The saddest part about all of these uprisings is the amount of money the United States is spending in support of them while all Turkey has to do is sit back and watch us do their bidding.

More at DC

John McCain's 'Heroes' Plant al-Qaeda Flag atop Benghazi, Libya Courthouse

File this in the 'that didn't take long' department. Perhaps the only thing more inexplicable than an al-Qaeda flag being planted atop the Benghazi, Libya courthouse are the words of Senator John McCain earlier this year as he visited Benghazi. While talking with al-Jazeera, McCain referred to the Libyan rebels who would eventually sodomize Moammar Gadhafi with a stick as his 'heroes.' McCain would later walk down the street where his 'heroes' had beheaded a man for allegedly being black. It is shocking that members of the American public who have jobs and supposedly don't have time to keep up with world events, knew McCain was wrong and either completely ignorant or disingenuous when he did these things.

Salute your heroes, Mr. McCain.

From Vice, Via Daily Caller:

If there were questions about al-Qaida’s role in post-Gadhafi Libya, VICE reporter Sherif Elhelwa provides some answers in a new story with eyewitness descriptions.

Al-Qaida flags, Elhelwa reports, are popping up around Benghazi. At the city courthouse, which played a prominent role in the Libyan revolution, residents are flying the late terrorist’s Osama bin Laden’s colors.

Similarly, Elhelwa recounts a regular evening sight: “Islamists driving brand-new SUVs and waving the black al Qaeda flag drive the city’s streets at night.”

If McCain didn't know this would happen, he's incompetent. If he did know it would happen, he's something worse. In either case, he is not fit to serve in the US Congress.

Again, this 'Arab Spring' is about the Muslim Brotherhood - of which al-Qaeda is a part - taking control of middle eastern countries and erasing their borders so that they may all role up under a resurrected Ottoman Empire in Turkey. Yes, US and NATO forces have been doing the bidding of Turkey's Islamist government while the latter just sits back and watches John McCain call al-Qaeda his 'heroes.'

Doesn't get any more disturbing than that, does it?

More on McCain's visit in April HERE.

Turkey and Egypt Linking up?

Turkey has almost been flying under the radar when it comes to its role in the Middle East. An Islamist government took power there nearly ten years ago and for all intents and purposes, has taken control of the military. It's not a secular ally of the west anymore and hasn't been for some time. Yet, it's potentially the most dangerous nation in the Islamic world right now. It's at least running neck and neck with Iran. This report that Turkey is now seeking an alliance with the post-Mubarak Egypt only further validates these claims.

Via New York Times:

ANKARA, Turkey — A newly assertive Turkey offered on Sunday a vision of a starkly realigned Middle East, where the country’s former allies in Syria and Israel fall into deeper isolation, and a burgeoning alliance with Egypt underpins a new order in a region roiled by revolt and revolution.

The portrait was described by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey in an hourlong interview before he was to leave for the United Nations, where a contentious debate was expected this week over a Palestinian bid for recognition as a state. Viewed by many as the architect of a foreign policy that has made Turkey one of the most relevant players in the Muslim world, Mr. Davutoglu pointed to that issue and others to describe a region in the midst of a transformation. Turkey, he said, was “right at the center of everything.”

He declared that Israel was solely responsible for the near collapse in relations with Turkey, once an ally, and he accused Syria’s president of lying to him after Turkish officials offered the government there a “last chance” to salvage power by halting its brutal crackdown on dissent.

Strikingly, he predicted a partnership between Turkey and Egypt, two of the region’s militarily strongest and most populous and influential countries, which he said could create a new axis of power at a time when American influence in the Middle East seems to be diminishing.

“This is what we want,” Mr. Davutoglu said.

There is another point of view being vindicated as we watch these events unfold and it says that the Muslim Brotherhood, formed in Egypt, was created to reinstated the Turkish Ottoman Empire. This development is a clear step in that direction. The next step will be for Turkey to basically annex Egypt, which is the process of being controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. Ditto for Libya and Tunisia, other countries we are sure to see Turkey establish relations with, in much the same way it's doing with Egypt.

One man who has been loudly and boldly predicting all this for years now was a Muslim Brotherhood activist himself. Despite media attempts to smear him, Walid Shoebat has been right on target to this point.

h/t Drudge

Libya Falls, Now What?

Now that it appears the Gadhafi regime in Libya is coming to a close, let's take inventory of the Arab Spring, which started with Tunisia, a small North African country to Libya's west. Dictator Ben Ali fails to beat back the uprising there and flees the country on January 14, 2011. Soon thereafter, a similar uprising takes place in Egypt with Tahrir Square in Cairo serving as the epicenter of activity. With the help of the liberal media - along with the Obama administration - Hosni Mubarak steps down on February 11, 2011. Then NATO set it sights on Libyan strongman, Muammar Gadhafi, in an undeclared war backed by the Obama administration. To be fair, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) referred to the rebels as 'my heroes.' Though Gadhafi's forces put up more of a fight than Obama probably expected or liked, he surrendered on August 22, 2011.


Now what? As Libya no longer requires NATO support against Gadhafi, and the US is not likely interested in more nation building, watch for our diplomatic, political, and even some military resources to re-focus on Syria, where dictator Bashar al-Assad is facing an uprising of his own. Though the 'Arab Spring' is taking place all over the Middle East, those interested in furthering it are likely going to look for the regimes most vulnerable at any given time. This is clearly the case in Syria, which is dealing with two separate opposition groups that seek the overthrow of Assad. One is the pro-democracy Syrian opposition and the other is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is either seizing or has seized control in the other three countries mentioned.

According to the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), the Obama administration has chosen to back the Muslim Brotherhood forces. US Senators McCain, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), have all publicly endorsed Obama's support for Assad's ouster but seem to be either ignorant of or unconcerned with what will replace him.

There is another country at the center of all of this that seems to be escaping scrutiny. In fact, Turkey, which is now ruled completely by Islamists, is sitting back and reveling in all of these nation states coming to them. The United States, in supporting these uprisings is actually doing Turkey's bidding for nothing in return except a larger debt and a much greater long term threat. When one looks at the history of the Muslim Brotherhood, it was formed in 1928 for one reason - to reestablish the Ottoman Empire, which was based in what is modern day Turkey. Even the liberal LA Times admits this.

This is something former Muslim Brotherhood activist Walid Shoebat has been preaching for nearly a decade now. Turkey has the second-largest military in NATO and the US is the first but we are actually dwindling our resources as a result of reckless spending and wars that actually further the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood and, by extension, Turkey.

Again, why are almost all of the Obama administration's foreign policy decisions in line with the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood, to include our insane deficit spending? We know there are Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers in this administration but we don't know how many. The more we push the Brotherhood's agenda, the more we need to find out.

Timelines for Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.