- Home
- New York Times report
- RedState: Obama’s Guantanamo plans have already emboldened Al Qaeda. AND “they (the plans) will get us all killed”
- CNN report: Detainee went from Gitmo to Al Qaeda
Story highlights: Saudi national freed by U.S. detention at Gitmo believed to be with al Qaeda now. Ali al-Shiri traveled to Yemen after being released to Saudi Arabia and may have been involved in recent al Qaeda attacks in Yemen. “He is one of a handful of al Qaeda deputies in Yemen,” official says … estimate more than 60 freed terrorists may have returned to battlefield … President Obama’s order to close Guantanamo sparks debate
Comment at end
23rd January, 2009
“THE CURSED BRITAIN”
This Reuters report and video in English is the ONLY one that I can find online about the threat yesterday to BRITAIN IN PARTICULAR. It seems Britain is the country to blame for Gaza and should now expect reprisals. Excerpt:
‘Abu Yahya Al-Libi, prominent Al Qaeda leader, saying (Arabic): “It’s high time that this criminal country, I mean Britain, paid the price of its historic crime, which we have not and will not forget. There is no child who dies in Palestine, or a woman who is made a widow, or blood that is let or bodies ripped apart, or homes destroyed or a catastrophe that occurs without this being the outcome of the (country) that handed Palestine to the Jews and settled them in its corners and allowed them to establish their state upon it, the cursed Britain.”‘
It all goes back almost 100 years to The Balfour Declaration. Salutary lesson for those who insist that any fundamentalist terrorism threats to us today are a consequence of Blair’s support of Bush in Iraq. It seems this individual is urging his followers to get after us for … well … some reason or other. In much the same way as such people are after America … for some reason or other.
But will that lesson be taken on board by the Blame Bush & Blair Brigade? Those people, anti-Iraq war & thus unable to see the wood for the trees, did not believe Tony Blair in his 2006 final speech to conference when he warned us – (video clip): “This terrorism isn’t our fault - it’s been decades growing – and it plays on every conflict and it exploits every grievance, and its victims are mainly Muslim. If we retreat now – we won’t be safer. We will be committing a craven act of surrender that will put our future security in the deepest peril.”
Blair, as it happens, was right.
I know that Gordon is busy saving the banks and the world right now, especially since the British economy is officially in recession for the first time in 17 years (since 1991).
Still, you might have thought he’d have noticed THIS little threat.
But no. Not a dicky-bird. Not even from the Defence Secretary who less than a month ago made this Nazi analogy as regards Al Qaeda & the Taliban.
Wonder if their reticence has anything to do with this: the electorate and press are so busy worrying about their pennies, jobs and mortgages – why burden their little heads? It’s only Britain that’s been singled out this time, after all. Even ahead of the USA. So America won’t shout about it too much. Why should we make a fuss? Ignore it. They’ll go away.
THE PRESS ARE IN ON THIS sshhhh… GAME TOO
Normally the press would be leaping in and pummelling the government for its policy in the Middle East, regardless. But I have seen very little in the British mainstream press about this terror threat.
Do a quick google search and see what YOU come up with. I tried this yesterday and thought there’d be more today.
NOPE.
Could it be that the government actually KNOWS something we don’t? (British terror enclaves, Nov 08)
‘LONDON, Dec 28, 2008: Where is Al Qaeda going to hit next? [...?...] a list of 14 key questions the Observer said would dominate the headlines in 2009 and concluded that the most likely next target would be the UK.’
If they don’t know anything, let’s hope our security services do. Threat level at the MI5 website is still the same as before – “severe”. When it goes up to “critical” we are on the highest threat level.
HISTORY OF MI5 THREAT LEVELS
4 July 2007
- Threat level lowered to SEVERE
- Security Service news announcement
30 June 2007
- Threat level raised to CRITICAL
- Security Service news announcement
14 August 2006
- Threat level lowered to SEVERE
- Home Office press release
10 August 2006
- Threat level raised to CRITICAL
- Home Office press release
1 August 2006
- Threat level published for the first time.
- Threat level: SEVERE
OBAMA & GITMO
Obama isn’t getting universal approval for his move to close Guantanamo. Thank goodness for that. Thought it was just me driving down the motorway in the wrong direction, in the wrong carriageway – again.
More dissent at ‘Political Machine’:
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.
The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.
His status was announced in an Internet statement by the militant group and was confirmed by an American counterterrorism official.
“They’re one and the same guy,” said the official, who insisted on anonymity because he was discussing an intelligence analysis. “He returned to Saudi Arabia in 2007, but his movements to Yemen remain unclear.”
Abu Yahya al-Libi escaped from US detention in Afghanistan. He is now THE LEADER of Al Qaeda in Yemen, and the man in the present video threat to Britain.
And for the sake of completeness, JUST EXACTLY WHO IS THE LEADER OF YEMEN’S AL QAEDA?
NONE OTHER THAN THIS GUY …
Just thought Gordon might appreciate my drawing it to his attention. And that of the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband too. Or even the Defence Secretary, John Hutton. Clearly all three trussed with a pretty white bow don’t come up to the kneecaps of the former PM when it comes to understanding the issue.
THE FIRST DUTY OF GOVERNMENT IS TO KEEP US SAFE
AND ANOTHER THING … OR THREE .. Gitmo etc
- This article seems to think THIS trial did not recive much coverage. Not accurate. Do a search. (Rangzieb Ahmed and Habib Ahmed). But the article is keen to point out British based AQ links to Pakistan). There WAS, though, far more coverage of this than of the present AQ threat, see here at The Times, and I covered it here at this blog.
- Al Qaeda trying to turn Obama into another Bush. What? You mean a realist?
- Threats Watch says threat Gitmo deniers WRONG
- Lame Cherry – A lame attack on Jihad Watch – but otherwise, interesting
- Exposing Islam says, (but no links to source provided): “44% of Muslims in Britain want their own society”
This legal angle poses this interesting question: If Obama has said he is “stopping rendition flights” then he is also admitting that they were happening under Bush. The writer asks if that means Tony Blair and other foreign leaders could end up in court. The perennial question …
Excerpt:
To outlaw torture and to ban CIA prisons around the world where torture took place, even to reject past practices by saying that the military manual will be “reintroduced” is to admit that the practices did exist. Especially that rendition flights carrying alleged terrorists whom it was felt needed to be questioned in countries less concerned about the legalities than America, were taking place. During the Bush administration governments in Europe consistently refused to admit that such practices went on with their connivance.
A cynic might say that Obama, reputedly a very intelligent man, would be aware that his actions would be bound to threaten the Bush administration with potential allegations of war crimes.
It goes further than that: the British Government, for example, under Tony Blair fudged their response to allegations that they were allowing rendition flights to cross UK territory. The same can be said of Belgium. Could ministers, even Prime Ministers now find themselves in court?
He cannot pardon Tony Blair or any other EU leader.
Tags: al qaeda threatens Britain, Balfour Declaration, Brown (Gordon Brown & his Labour Government, from June 2007), MI5, MI6, reuters report, terrorism britain, this terrorism isn't our fault, Tony Blait. Gordon Brown, video on A Q report
January 23, 2009 at 7:21 pm |
Obama is smart on so many levels for ordering the closure of Guantanamo. It has been a long time coming — well done Mr. President.
January 23, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Hi coffee,
Well of course he was “smart” to close it. That was one of the reasons so many people voted for him. He could hardly NOT close it. Especially when the previous administration had been working on closing it for the last several years by reducing the numbers detained.
The defence of the USA’s principles and all that.
I have to say I prefer a leader who is more concerned, when he needs to be, about the defence of the USA.
We’ll soon see what happens on this. We’ll soon see how many of these people will end up roaming the streets of the world or back in AQ in the Middle East, as in my earlier post. We’ll soon see the colour of the principles of allies who didn’t want to get their hands dirty over a world-wide threat. Will they now fall over themselves to take these people?
But here in Britain we’ll have some of them, I’m sure.
Half of their relatives already live here, anyway.
We’ll soon see.
Good luck with your president. Hope he comes up to your expectations.
Me? Yet to be impressed.
January 24, 2009 at 3:52 am |
I am afraid that our new President has made the first of many very serious blunders. Closing Guantanamo will be one of the most dangerous moves he can make. These prisoners have nothing but contempt for us and any inclination of a softening of their treatment will inspire them to greater resistance and also inspire others who will not fear being captured by the US since we have no means to extract information from them. These people only understand strength, which they perceive the US is now lacking. As a retired soldier I can tell you that, if I had a prisoner that I knew had information that would prevent my troops from being killed I would use any, and I mean any, means to get that information from him. If that wounds the sensibilities of the appeasers in our midst, too bad. Remember, these are the guys that decapitated Daniel Pearl on television. How’s that for humane treatment.
January 24, 2009 at 12:25 pm
It’s all about signals. And the signal being sent out by Obama is one which pleases those who see civil and human rights as the be-all and end-all of politics.
There is a whole debate still to be pursued here. To me, rights come from a civilised, settled political position. We have such “settled” democracies in the west, for instance. But rights need to take a back-seat, temporarily, when a nation is under threat. Defence of those rights means that on occasion we allow our defenders leeway.
There is no chance, no chance at all – since elections keep offering us the opportunity to change back again – that any modern government means to take those rights from the voters indefinitely. This cry is a red herring, and it stinks.
This, of course, to the liberal Left and Orwellians, became the cry – 1984 and all that.
The moral high ground is an attractive place. But it is fatal in the end to stand there blind to all extraneous circumstances.
I always think it interesting too that such moralistic high horses fail to apply the same standards to the fundamentalist beheaders.
Thank goodness none of that crowd were running this country when Blair, Ireland’s Ahern and others were trying to settle the Northern Ireland conflicts. We’d still be making excuses for more and more Omagh bombings.
By the way, just heard on the radio that Obama has sent the bust of Churchill back to Downing Street!
In response to that David Owen, former SDP leader, former Labour minister and man eaten up by envy and hatred of Blair, said – “thank goodness for that”!
WOW!
Know your enemy.
January 25, 2009 at 5:49 pm |
Our security forces have a heavy load on their shoulders, don’t they? How do they determine what is a “security leak” and what is “government transparency”? How do they determine what is propaganda and what is a real threat? On the one hand they are expected to keep us safe and to track down terrorist plots against us and on the other hand they are not supposed to have any secrets from us. Do the terrorists do this in order to keep us “on edge” at all times? We become their victims when we are threatened and on “high alert”, then there is a “rest period” when it is quiet for awhile and then again, another threat. It is like a kidnapper holding you hostage; feeds you, comforts you, starts to gain your trust and then tells you you are going to die in a few days (maybe). Isn’t that a form of torture? A form of torture on a national scale?
January 25, 2009 at 6:10 pm |
The Balfour Declaration? You can go back in history and find that the British broke the original Mandate several times; NOT in favor of Israel, but in favor of the Arabs in Palestine. There were grievances against Britain from both sides. The only difference is Israel does not hang on to those long past grievances, does not blow up subways or threaten the British population. In fact, Israel doesn’t threaten anyone.
THAT is the difference.
January 25, 2009 at 6:30 pm |
Arlene – couldn’t have put it better myself.
Except to quote Tony Blair, as I am inclined to do, FREQUENTLY, since he got it so right. FREQUENTLY:
“They have an ideology … they will exploit every grievance …” and so on.
Watch and listen to his words here:
http://hotair.com/archives/2006/09/27/video-this-terrorism-isnt-our-fault/