http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Reagan%E2%80%99s Tue, 21 May 2013 00:10:06 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Reagan%E2%80%99s Thu, 16 May 2013 19:38:15 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0bd_1368747161 elsonnyblack It's Star Trek vs. Star Wars in the skies over San Francisco! Which would win in a battle, the Death Star or the Enterprise? Let us know in the comments! After Star Trek IV, the crew of the Enterprise needed more whales, so they came back to San Francisco again, except this time it's an alternate universe where Reagan's Star Wars defense initiative from the 80's is coming to fruition as the Death Star nears completion (superlaser already fully operational). Star Wars is our military http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0bd_1368747161 elsonnyblack Death Star Destroys Enterprise (Special Edition) Star Trek vs. Star Wars , Star Trek ,Star Wars,war,WTF Sat, 18 May 2013 17:51:20 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=357_1368912755 nutsflipped Assad didn't just give away the Golan Heights, they were taken by force before he was 1 and a half years old. Syria did re-take 30% of the Golan Heights in Yom Kippur and that was under the direction of Assad's father his 3 year in office. And Again the UK France and America all backed Israel. The annexing was in 1981 many other things happening those years like the Iran Iraq War the post Iranian revolution, Reagan /Bush Sr in the White House etc Assad became president in 2000 WAY after these problems like Golan had been established.. more http://original.antiwar.com/justin/20... Think fighting Assad can be anti-Israel too just cause you want it to be? You're a pawn you're following Israel policy papers which even stated that they could get a bunch of you pawns to act exactly how you're acting. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=357_1368912755 nutsflipped Those Against Syria el Assad Are With Israel and Zionism Syria,Golan,Ry,Dawson,Israel,is,the,enemy,of,Assad,FSA,are,zionists Fri, 17 May 2013 21:23:30 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a86_1368839606 gregsto Fun facts about mentally unhinged Alan Keyes: Keyes earned his PhD in government affairs from Harvard University in 1979. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan appointed Keyes as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 1985, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, a position he held until 1987. At a fundraiser for Keyes's senate campaign, President Reagan spoke of Keyes's time as an ambassador, saying that he "did such an extraordinary job ... defending our country against the forces of anti-Americanism." Reagan continued, "I've never known a more stout-hearted defender of a strong America than Alan Keyes. (WTF is wrong with this historicaly obvious period of complete insanity I ask you?) In 2005 Keyes disowned his 20 y/o lesbian daughter, Maya, because of her sexuality, throwing her out of the house and cutting off financial support when she came out. Keyes however "denied" this and said that he loves his daughter and that she knows she has a home with him. He asserted that he never cut her off and never would, because it would be "wrong in the eyes of God." He then added he would not be coerced into "approving of that which destroys the soul" of his daughter. He contended that he must "stand for the truth represents" even if it breaks his heart. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a86_1368839606 gregsto Alan Keyes: Obama Working with Terrorists to Introduce Martial Law alan keyes is out of his pea sized mind, alan keyes, obama, nuttty professor Fri, 17 May 2013 09:06:19 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=23b_1368795857 omniradar By Daya Gamage May 16, 2013 "Information Clearing House " -" Asian Tribune"- There is a 'side story' going on in the American media - both the electronic and print about the Islamist jihadists lethal attack on the American 'post' in Benghazi, Libya last September 11 which killed American ambassador Christopher Steven and three others; The emphasis and the debate is on why the event was twisted by the Obama administration to conceal a terrorist attack on eve of the presidential election. With the killing of Osama bin Larden on May 2 last year the administration, which was approaching the re-election of Mr. Obama in November, wants to convince the American people that the al Qaeda was now annihilated for good. When the Islamist jihadist group affiliated to al Qaeda lethally attacked the American 'post' in Benghazi the Obama administration twisted the events to convince that a anti-Islamic video produced by someone in California was the cause of the attack. These days the highlights and debate is about why the 'talking points' were changed twelve times to give that different picture. As Obama rightfully said a couple of days ago about this debate, mostly spearheaded by the Republicans, was a 'side show.' The 'real show' is in fact buried. And the 'real show' is that the United States, Ambassador Steven playing a major role, was in the process of shipping arms to Syrian rebels to topple Basher el-Assad's regime. It was on October 25 last year that FoxNews.com broke the story that a mysterious Libyan ship was reportedly carrying weapons and bound for Syrian rebels would have had some link to the September 11 terror attack on the U.S. 'post' in Benghazi. Why do we use the term 'post' in this report? Because when changes were made to the Benghazi attack story by the Obama administration it changed from 'American Consulate' to 'American Post'. The reason: Benghazi operation was entirely a CIA operation. Through shipping records, Fox News has confirmed that the Libyan-flagged vessel Al Entisar, which means "The Victory," was received in the Turkish port of Iskenderun -- 35 miles from the Syrian border -- on Sept. 6, just five days before Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American officers were killed during an extended assault by more than 100 Islamist militants. On the night of Sept. 11, in what would become his last known public meeting, Stevens met with the Turkish Consul General Ali Sait Akin, and escorted him out of the 'posts' front gate one hour before the assault began. Although what was discussed at the meeting is not public, a source told Fox News that Stevens was in Benghazi to negotiate a weapons transfer, an effort to get SA-7 missiles out of the hands of Libya-based extremists. And although the negotiation said to have taken place may have had nothing to do with the attack on the consulate later that night or the Libyan mystery ship, it could explain why Stevens was travelling in such a volatile region on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. When asked to comment, a State Department spokeswoman dismissed the idea, saying Stevens was there for diplomatic meetings, and to attend the opening of a cultural center. According to an initial Sept. 14 report by the Times of London, Al Entisar was carrying 400 tons of cargo. Some of it was humanitarian, but also reportedly weapons, described by the report as the largest consignment of weapons headed for Syria's rebels on the frontlines. The cargo reportedly included surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles, RPG's and Russian-designed shoulder-launched missiles known as MANPADS. In March 2011 Stevens became the official U.S. liaison to the al-Qaeda-linked Libyan opposition, working directly with Abdelhakim Belhadj of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group-a group that has now disbanded, with some fighters reportedly participating in the attack that took Stevens' life. In November 2011 The Telegraph reported that Belhadj, acting as head of the Tripoli Military Council, "met with Free Syrian Army leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey" in an effort by the new Libyan government to provide money and weapons to the growing insurgency in Syria. The Internet Media reported at that time that Ambassador Stevens had only one person-Belhadj-between himself and the Benghazi man who brought heavy weapons to Syria. The Asian Tribune has also found that the Internet Media further reported that if the new Libyan government was sending seasoned Islamic fighters and 400 tons of heavy weapons to Syria through a port in southern Turkey-a deal brokered by Stevens' primary Libyan contact during the Libyan revolution-then the governments of Turkey and the U.S. surely knew about it. Furthermore there was a CIA post in Benghazi, located 1.2 miles from the U.S. consulate, used as "a base for, among other things, collecting information on the proliferation of weaponry looted from Libyan government arsenals, including surface-to-air missiles" ... and that its security features "were more advanced than those at rented villa where Stevens died." As noted earlier, the Obama administration has since described the American facility in Benghazi not as a 'Consulate' but as a 'Post'. The U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul, who is expected to run for his party presidential nomination in the year 2016, was the only American lawmaker who disclosed about this 'arms deal' which he connects to Ambassador Steven's brutal muder in the hands of the Islamist Jihadists. In an interview aired on CNN May 9 evening, Sen. Paul said he hasn't ruled out the possibility that last year's attack unfolded as a result of a secret arms trade. The confusion in the immediate aftermath of the event - including unfounded admissions from America's United Nations envoy Susan Rice that contradicted what is known today about the attack - could actually be a cover-up, the senator said. The Obama administration sent its ambassador to UN Susan Rice on the following Sunday talk shows to say that the offending Islamic video was the cause of the attack in Benghazi. "I've actually always suspected that, although I have no evidence, that maybe we were facilitating arms leaving Libya going through Turkey into Syria," he said. "Were they trying to obscure that there was an arms operation going on at the CIA annex?" Paul asked. "I'm not sure exactly what was going on, but I think questions ought to be asked and answered, and I'm a little curious when employees of the State Department are told by government officials they shouldn't testify - before the Senate or House committees - and then they are sort of sequestered and kept away from testimony, so I think there may be more to this." This is not the first time either that Senator Paul raised questions about possible arms supplies under the CIA umbrella. During her testimony in the Senate in January, Rand Paul asked then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton whether the spy agency was sending weapons from Benghazi into other countries. Clinton replied that he would have to ask CIA officials about it. Sen. Rand Paul said on Aaron Klein Radio in mid April: "First of all with regard to Benghazi, I think it's important because it may have something to do with why the compound was attacked. If we were involved with shipping guns to Turkey, there was a report that a ship left from Libya towards Turkey and that there were arms on it in the week preceding this ; there were reports that our ambassador was meeting with the Turkish attach'e, so I think with regards to figuring out what happened at Benghazi, it's very important to know whether or not the CIA annex had anything to do with facilitating guns being sent to Turkey and ultimately to Syria. With regard to arming the rebels, just this week in the armed services committee, General Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that we were no longer able to distinguish who the good guys were from the bad guys and that sounds pretty worrisome if we are actually arming people who in the end may be enemies of America...enemies of Israel... enemies maybe of the Christians who live within Syria...sending arms to a rebel force to that may include Al-Nusra and other radical jihadists." In the eighties, the Iran-Contra Arms Affair shook the Regan administration the way the Benghazi affair is developing to shake the foundation of the Obama administration. Iran-contra affair, in U.S. history, secret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran. The Iran-contra affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. The first was a commitment to aid the contras who were conducting a guerrilla war against the leftist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. The second was to placate "moderates" within the Iranian government in order to secure the release of American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon and to influence Iranian foreign policy in a pro-Western direction. Despite the strong opposition of the Reagan administration, the Democratic-controlled Congress enacted legislation that prohibited the Defense Dept., the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or any other government agency from providing military aid to the contras from Dec., 1983, to Sept., 1985. The Reagan administration circumvented these limitations by using the National Security Council (NSC), which was not explicitly covered by the law, to supervise covert military aid to the contras. Under Robert McFarlane (1983-85) and John Poindexter (1985-86) the NSC raised private and foreign funds for the contras. This operation was directed by NSC staffer Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North. McFarlane and North were also the central figures in the plan to secretly ship arms to Iran despite a U.S. trade and arms embargo. In early Nov., 1986, the scandal broke when reports in Lebanese newspapers forced the Reagan administration to disclose the arms deals. Poindexter resigned before the end of the month; North was fired. Select congressional committees held joint hearings, and in Dec., 1986, Lawrence E. Walsh was named as special prosecutor to investigate the affair. Higher administration officials, particularly Reagan, Vice President Bush, and William J. Casey (former director of the CIA, who died in May, 1987), were implicated in some testimony, but the extent of their involvement remained unclear. North said he believed Reagan was largely aware of the secret arrangement, and the independent prosecutor's report (1994) said that Reagan and Bush had some knowledge of the affair or its cover-up. Reagan and Bush both claimed to have been uninformed about the details of the affair, and no evidence was found to link them to any crime. A presidential commission was critical of the NSC, while congressional hearings uncovered a web of official deception, mismanagement, and illegality. A number of criminal convictions resulted, including those of McFarlane, North, and Poindexter, but North's and Poindexter's were vacated on appeal because of immunity agreements with the Senate concerning their testimony. Former State Dept. and CIA officials pleaded guilty in 1991 to withholding information about the contra aid from Congress, and Caspar Weinberger, defense secretary under Reagan, was charged (1992) with the same offense. In 1992 then-president Bush pardoned Weinberger and other officials who had been indicted or convicted for withholding information on or obstructing investigation of the affair. Will the Benghazi Affair leads that far? http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=23b_1368795857 omniradar The real Benghazi story US Smuggling Weapons to Syrian Rebels Mon, 13 May 2013 14:47:12 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=737_1368470666 KedarPL By Stephen Lendman ( Global Research ) http://www.globalresearch.ca/americas-war-on-syria-another-anti-assad-false-flag/5334919 Since early 2011, Obama's been waging proxy war on Syria. Imported death squads masquerade as freedom fighters. The scheme's familiar. It repeats. It reflects US imperialism's dark side. In the 1980s, CIA-recruited Mujahideen fighters battled Afghanistan's Soviet occupiers. Ronald Reagan called them "the moral equivalent of our founding fathers." He characterized Contra killers the same way. Naked aggression is called humanitarian intervention. New wars follow earlier ones. Ravaging humanity is called liberation. Propaganda convinces people that America is threatened. Truth is turned on its head. Syria is Washington's latest target. Plans haven't gone as expected. Ousting another government was supposed to be easy. US-enlisted terrorists are no match against Syria's military superiority. Implementing Plan B looms. It could come any time. Obama's heading toward full-scale intervention. Pretexts are easy to create. Assad's been falsely blamed for numerous insurgent massacres. Evidence showed he had nothing to do with them. More recently, he was unjustifiably accused of using chemical weapons. Insurgents used them several times. A previous article said Pentagon contractors trained them in their use. This is how imperial America operates. Another previous article discussed a US-hatched scheme. It cited a no longer available UK Daily Mail article, saying: "Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad's regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country." "A report released on Monday contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence where a scheme 'approved by Washington' is outlined explaining that Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons." "Barack Obama made it clear to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that the US would not tolerate Syria using chemical weapons against its own people." On Saturday, two car bombs exploded outside Reyhanli, Turkey's city hall. Prime Minister Erdogan's heading for Washington later this week. It wasn't coincidental that bombings killed and injured Turkish citizens days before his arrival. It's red meat for him and Obama to discuss. Reyhanli's close to Syria's border. It's a hub for Syrian refugees and anti-Assad insurgents. Dozens were killed. Many more were injured. Buildings were destroyed. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said: "We know that the Syrian refugees have become a target of the Syrian regime. Reyhanli was not chosen by coincidence." "Our thoughts are that their Mukhabarat (Syrian intelligence) and armed organizations are the usual suspects in planning and the carrying out of such devilish plans," he added. Turkey will "do whatever is necessary" if Syria ordered the attack. Hurriyet Daily News said: "Officials confirm(ed) link with Syrian intelligence." Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay were cited. Atalay said: "We have to a great extent completed our work toward identifying the assailants." How and what evidence corroborates it within hours of the attack he didn't explain. Legitimate forensic and other information gathering requires considerable time and analysis. A rush to judgment raises obvious questions. Reports said Turkey began deploying large numbers of air and ground forces to Reyhanli. What follows remains to be seen. In mid-February, a car bomb struck the Cilvegozu Turkish/Syrian border crossing. At least eight died. Around 30 others were wounded. Anti-Assad elements blamed Syria. No evidence proved it. Turkey and Western allies blame "the usual suspects." It happens every time. Following Saturday's bombings, a State Department press release said: "The United States condemns today's car bombings and we stand with our ally, Turkey." "This awful news strikes an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey, and how many times Turkey's been a vital interlocutor at the center of my work as Secretary of State these last three months." "Our thoughts are with the wounded and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims." The glaring hypocrisy requires no comment. NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius expressed "full solidarity" with Turkey. Washington's Ankara embassy condemned the "murderous attack." A statement said America "stands with the people and government of Turkey to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice." It left no ambiguity who'll be blamed. The anti-Assad Syrian National Coalition suggested Assad's involvement. A statement said: "The Coalition sees these heinous terrorist acts as an attempt to take revenge on the Turkish people and punish them for their honorable support for the Syrian people, including their welcoming of Syrian refugees who have fled the regime's crimes in their villages and cities." "The Coalition views this attack as a desperate and failed attempt to sow discord between the two peoples." Lebanon's Daily Star published an AP report. It said Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi denied Damascus' involvement in Saturday's bombings. "(N)o one has the right to make false accusations," he said. (T)his is not the behavior of the Syrian government." "The Turkish government should be held responsible for what happened. It turned the border area into a center for international terrorism." Erdogan "must step down. He must not build his glory on the blood of Turks and Syrians." Assad has no death wish. It's inconceivable that he or other Syrian officials ordered the attack. Doing so would be madness. Syria's fully involved internally. It's gone to great pains to avoid direct foreign intervention. Attacking a neighboring country would invite it. Responsibility lies with anti-Assad elements. Perhaps Ankara planned and implemented the attack. Last October, an alleged Syrian mortar attack killed five Turkish nationals. Yurt is a Turkish newspaper. At the time, it said Prime Minister Erdogan acted on Washington's behalf. His government supplied Free Syrian Army (FSA) elements with mortars. The "bomber" used to launch them "is only used by NATO." They were fired from FSA-controlled territory. False flags are commonly used. Washington prioritizes them. Turkey's complicit in plans to topple Assad. Years earlier, Turkey's military hatched a plan to bomb internal mosques, down one of its own warplanes, blame Greece, and destabilize the newly-installed Islamist government. America has a long history of false flags. So do other NATO allies and Israel. On Saturday, Lebanon's Al-Manar television said five rockets fired from inside Syria struck Lebanese territory. They "landed in open areas of the Northern Beqaa region of Hermel. No casualties have been reported." "This was not the first time (anti-Assad) militiamen rockets passed Lebanon's northern borders to target residential areas." Expect more incidents falsely blamed on Assad. Perhaps something major is planned. Doing so builds a case for war. It's happening in plain sight. On May 12, Haaretz headlined "Turkey blames Syria for deadly twin blasts; Damascus rejects 'false accusations.' " Nine arrests were made. They're Turkish citizens. Ankara claims they're Assad loyalists. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed them for an early May attack. Dozens died in Banias, Syria. Davutoglu blamed Syria for both incidents. It's clear where these accusations are heading. Washington's orchestrating everything. Turkey is its lead attack dog. It's part of Obama's scheme to topple Assad. Libya 2.0 looms. A Final Comment Conflicting reports on whether Russia plans selling Syria sophisticated air defense systems surfaced. Washington and Israel expressed concern. Kerry discussed it in Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied intentions to do so. S-300 launch systems and others were mentioned. Lavrov added that Russia and Syria have weapons deals yet to be completed. Vladimir Putin said existing contracts will be honored. He and others added that weapons supplied are defensive. Netanyahu's going to Moscow. He plans doing so soon. He'll urge Putin against supplying Syria with launch systems able to take out invading aircraft. He's doing so in the context of Israel's recent attacks. Lebanon's Daily Star suggested they were launched from inside Lebanese territory. On May 11, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined "Netanyahu to visit Putin in a bid to stop his S-300 missile sale to Syria." It's a "last-ditched attempt" to call it off. DF claims doing so is "extremely slim." "After Israel's (May 4 and 5 air strikes), nothing would now stop the S-300 deliveries." Putin is "placing a severe constraint on Israel's operational freedom by spreading an anti-air missile cover over the Syrian, Hizballah and the Iranian Basij forces fighting for Bashar Assad." "Since the chances of dissuading Putin to abandon this strategy are just about nil, the best Netanyahu can hope for by his face-to-face with the Russian president is a limited accord on ground rules for averting an Israeli-Russian military clash in Syria." Whether this suggests Russia will back Syria if US-led NATO intervenes remains to be seen. It's in Moscow's interest to prevent replacing its government a pro-Western one subservient to Washington. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=737_1368470666 KedarPL America's War on Syria: Another Anti-Assad False Flag? assad,syria,saa,war,fsa,rebels,west,usa,imperialism,battle,israel,middle east,bashar al assad,arab Mon, 13 May 2013 21:13:01 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dab_1368493019 gubastek Documentary profiling the events which almost led to nuclear World War 3 back in 1983. 'Able Archer' Runtime - 1.5 hours. It's important to remember this event, regardless of which country you live in. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dab_1368493019 gubastek How Close We Came To WW3 In 1983 USSR, USA, Russia, America, CIA, KGB, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, spies, spy, double agent, Able Archer, WW3, world war 3, 1983, nuclear war, atomic war, November 1983, Sun, 12 May 2013 05:45:02 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b95_1368351158 AntiPropagaanda Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism and the Spread of Sunni Theofascism Amb. Curtin Winsor, Ph.D. The United States has largely eliminated the infrastructure and operational leadership of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network over the past five years. However, its ideological offspring continue to proliferate across the globe. American efforts to combat this contagion are hamstrung by the fact that its ideological and financial epicenter is Saudi Arabia, where an ostensibly pro-Western royal family governs through a centuries-old alliance with the fanatical Wahhabi Islamic sect. In addition to indoctrinating its own citizens with this extremist creed, the Saudi government has lavishly financed the propagation of Wahhabism throughout the world, sweeping away moderate interpretations of Islam even within the borders of the United States itself. The Bush administration has done little to halt this ideological onslaught beyond quietly (and unsuccessfully) urging the Saudi royal family to desist. This lack of resolve is rooted in American dependence on Saudi oil production, fears of instability in the kingdom, wishful thinking about democracy promotion as an antidote to religious extremism, and preoccupation with confronting Iran. Background Wahhabism is derived from the teachings of Muhammad ibn abd al-Wahhab, an eighteenth century religious zealot from the Arabian interior. Like most Sunni Islamic fundamentalist movements, the Wahhabis advocated the fusion of state power and religion through the reestablishment of the Caliphate, the form of government adopted by the Prophet Muhammad's successors during the age of Muslim expansion. What sets Wahhabism apart from other Sunni Islamist movements is its historical obsession with purging Sufis, Shiites, and other Muslims who do not conform to its twisted interpretation of Islamic scripture. In 1744, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab forged an historic alliance with the Al-Saud clan and sanctified its drive to vanquish its rivals. In return, the Al-Saud supported campaigns by Wahhabi zealots to cleanse the land of "unbelievers." In 1801, Saudi-Wahhabi warriors crossed into present day Iraq and sacked the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing over 4,000 people. After the Saudis conquered Mecca and Medina in the 1920s, they destroyed such "idolatrous" shrines as the Jannat al-Baqi cemetary, where four of the twelve Shiite imams were buried (on the grounds that grave markers are bida'a, or objectionable innovations). In return for endorsing the royal family's authority in political, security, and economic spheres after the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, Wahhabi clerics were granted control over state religious and educational institutions and allowed to enforce their rigid interpretation of sharia (Islamic law). Wahhabism was largely confined to the Arabian peninsula until the 1960s, when the Saudi monarchy gave refuge to radical members of the Muslim Brotherhood fleeing persecution in Nasser's Egypt. A cross-fertilization of sorts occurred between the atavistic but isolated Wahhabi creed of the Saudi religious establishment and the Salafi jihadist teachings of Sayyid Qutb, who denounced secular Arab rulers as unbelievers and legitimate targets of holy war ( jihad ). "It was the synthesis of the twain-Wahhabi social and cultural conservatism, and Qutbist political radicalism- that produced the militant variety of Wahhabist political Islam that eventually (produced) al-Qaeda." The terms Islamofascism and theofascism have been frequently misused by Westerners to refer to virtually all forms of radical Islamism, but they are fitting appellations for Wahhabism today. The sect's rejection of individual liberties, disparagement and reduction of women's rights and status, disregard for the intrinsic value of human life, and encouragement of violence against unbelievers, are unparalleled among Islamic fundamentalist movements. Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey has used the term "Sunni theocratic totalitarianism," a term that highlights both the movement's "will to power" over the most minute aspects of Muslim daily life and its global ambitions. He also notes that its adherents do not raise the banner of Islam in pursuit of specific national, political, or territorial gains. Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri has sharply rebuked the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood for participating in national elections. During the 1970s, Wahhabi clerics encouraged the spread of this revolutionary and atavistic ideological synthesis into Saudi universities and mosques, because it was seen as a barrier to the threat of cultural Westernization and spread of corruption that accompanied the 1970s oil boom. Consequently, the royal family and their religious establishment looked for a cause with which to deflect the growing zealotry from Wahhabist theofascism, a danger highlighted by the seizure of the Grand Mosque at Mecca by heavily armed Islamic Studies students in 1979. The diversion that the royal family seized upon was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Saudis financed a large-scale program of assistance to the Afghan mujahideen , in coordination with the Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence agency (ISI) and the CIA, while funding radicalized madrassas to disseminate neo-Wahhabi ideology and literature in the sprawling Afghan refugee camps of Pakistan. They also dispatched thousands of volunteer jihadis from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to fight alongside the mujahideen. These so-called "Arab Afghans" dispersed to far-flung areas of the world after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988. They pursued further victories against "unbelievers" in the name of Islam, and they were accompanied by militant Wahhabi preachers. These elements would form the backbone of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda was initially headquartered in Sudan, but returned to Afghanistan in 1996, following the seizure of Kabul by the Taliban. This was a new Afghan force, recruited in Wahhabi madrassas and, trained by the Pakistanis. Its goal was the establishment of a model Wahhabi state in Afghanistan. The Saudi royal family revoked bin Laden's Saudi citizenship (in response to heavy American pressure), but did little to interfere with Wahhabi "charities" in the Kingdom and abroad. These entities raised money for al-Qaeda, while the religious onslaught of Wahhabism continued to receive government sponsorship and funding. Osama bin Laden is widely believed to have reached an agreement with Prince Turki al-Faisal, then-chief of Saudi National Security and Intelligence in the mid 1990s, whereby al-Qaeda would not target the Kingdom, and the Kingdom would not interfere with al-Qaeda's fundraising or seek bin Laden's extradition. In fact, Al-Qaeda abstained completely from attacks on Saudi targets within the Kingdom prior to 9/11. Terrorist attacks and clashes between Saudi police and Islamist militants have erupted erupting periodically since May 2003, after the Saudi Government began cracking down on underground cells in the Kingdom (under pressure from Washington). However, it appears that most Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups still respect this quid pro quo Hundreds of members of the Saudi royal family jet around the world without fear of assassination. The country's vulnerable petroleum industry has only once been targeted by terrorists, and then in a less that serious manner. In return, and notwithstanding its limited cooperation with Washington in restricting terrorist financing, the Saudi monarchy has maintained its commitment to propagating Wahhabism at home and abroad, providing the terrorist underground with a growing flood of eager recruits. Wahhabi Indoctrination "Man . . . requires proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be insufficiently or ill educated, he is the most savage of earthly creatures." Plato It is estimated that well over one-third of Saudi Arabia's public school curriculum is devoted to Wahhabi teachings. Passages from Saudi textbooks quoted in the American media after 9/11 generated much controversy. One textbook, for example, informed ninth grade students that Judgment Day will not come "until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them," while another stated that it is "compulsory" for Muslims "to consider the infidels their enemy." Embarrassed by the revelations, the Saudi government purported to launch a comprehensive review of its educational curricula and pledged that all such references would be removed. Last year, however, Freedom House published an exhaustive report on the new curriculum, concluding that it "continues to propagate an ideology of hate toward the 'unbeliever,' which include Christians, Jews, Shiites, Sufis, Sunni Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine, Hindus, atheists and others." Some analysts dismiss the relevance of this indoctrination on the grounds that "conforming to an ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic faith does not necessarily make you a violent individual," but this reasoning is fallacious. If only one percent of the 5 million Saudi students exposed to these teachings resort to violence, this would produce 50,000 jihadis. Not surprisingly, bin Laden himself denounced foreign interference in Saudi school curricula in an April 2006 audiotape. Moreover, these teachings are reinforced by Wahhabi clerics in Saudi Arabia, who advocate jihad against enemies of "true" Islam - outside the kingdom." Incitement to violence against Shiites is particularly common. In December 2006, a high-ranking cleric close to the Saudi royal family, Abdul Rahman al-Barak, denounced Shiites as an "evil sect . . . more dangerous than Jews and Christians." In November of 2004, twenty-six clerics, most of whom held positions as lecturers of Islamic studies at various Saudi state-funded universities, issued a call for jihad against American forces in Iraq. Two Saudi officials denounced the fatwa in interviews with the Western media, but no retraction was made in Arabic to local media outlets. Months later, a Saudi dissident group released a videotape showing the Chief Justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council, Saleh bin Muhammad al-Luhaidan, advising young Saudis at a government mosque on how to infiltrate Iraq and fight US troops, as well as assuring them that Saudi security forces would not punish them after their return. While Luhaidan publicly retracted his statements, videotapes of prominent Saudi clerics exhorting the public to wage jihad in Iraq and elsewhere continue to surface. Exporting Hatred While Saudi citizens remain the vanguard of Islamic theofascism around the world, the growth potential for this ideology lies outside the Kingdom. The Saudis have spent at least $87 billion propagating Wahhabism abroad during the past two decades, and the scale of financing is believed to have increased in the past two years as oil prices have skyrocketed. The bulk of this funding goes to the construction and operating expenses of mosques, madrassas, and other religious institutions that preach Wahhabism. It also supports the training of imams; domination of mass media and publishing outlets; distribution of Wahhabi textbooks and other literature; and endowments to universities (in exchange for influence over the appointment of Islamic scholars). By comparison, the Communist Party of the USSR and its Comintern spent just over $7 billion propagating its ideology worldwide between 1921 and 1991. Wahhabism has made less headway in the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia, despite the fact that decades of Communist rule had weakened their traditional Islamic institutions. Several successor governments, especially the Uzbekis, have cracked down harshly on militant Islamist groups, while encouraging educational systems in the Hanafi tradition that promote tolerant and peaceful Islam. Africa is also a critical area of Wahhabi expansion, as it offers a multitude of "failed states" and communal cleavages ripe for exploitation, most notably in the Sudan and Nigeria. In all of these areas, the central dynamic is the same - it is the overwhelming wealth of Saudi Arabia that enables the Wahhabi sect to proselytize on a global scale, not the intrinsic appeal of its teachings. Throughout the world, moderates echo the assessment of Somali journalist Bashir Gothar, who writes that his country's tolerant Sufi-infused Islamic culture has been: "swept aside by a new brand of Islam that is being pushed down the throat of our people - Wahhabism. Anywhere one looks, one finds that alien, perverted version of Islam." Wahhabism in the West Wahhabi proselytizing is not limited to the Islamic world. The Saudis have financed the growth of thousands of Wahhabi mosques, madrassas, and other religious institutions in Western countries that have fast-growing Muslim minorities during the past three decades. Wahhabi penetration is deepest in the social welfare states of Western Europe, where chronically high unemployment has created large pools of able-bodied young Muslim men who have "become permanent wards of the state at the cost of their basic human dignity." This is a perfect storm of alienation and idleness, ripe for terrorist recruitment. The perpetrators of the 2005 London subway attacks were native-born Britons of Pakistani descent, recruited locally and trained in the use of explosives during visits to Pakistan. The Dutch Moroccan who murdered Dutch filmmaker Theodor Van Gogh in 2004 (for producing a film critical of Islam) was also a product of Wahhabi indoctrination. The Wahhabis have had less traction in the United States, which lacks the masses of unassimilated young people that exist in Europe. US welfare laws no longer allow able-bodied young men to have indefinite periods of government subsidized unemployment and immigrants (both Muslim and non-Muslim) tend to find a more stable niche in American society. Nevertheless, Wahhabi penetration of US mainstream Islamic institutions is substantial. A 2005 Freedom House Report examined over 200 books and other publications distributed in 15 prominent Saudi-funded American mosques. One such publication, bearing the imprint of the Saudi embassy and distributed by the King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles, contained the following injunctions for Muslims living in America: Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law. hoever helps unbelievers against Muslims, regardless of what type of support he lends to them, he is an unbeliever himself. Never greet the Christian or Jew first. Never congratulate the infidel on his holiday. Never befriend an infidel unless it is to convert him. Never imitate the infidel. Never work for an infidel. Do not wear a graduation gown because this imitates the infidel. Although Saudi-funded religious institutions have been careful not to incite or explicitly endorse violence since 9/11, they unapologetically promote distrust toward non-Muslims and self-segregation. In effect, they are trying to reproduce in America the kind of social conditions that have fueled radicalization and terrorist recruitment in Europe. While the Saudi ambassador in Washington said last year that his government was undertaking a "very intense review" of all missionary activities in the United States, it is clear that the Saudis are concerned primarily with avoiding bad publicity, not abandoning their drive to dominate Islamic institutions in America. Causes of American Inaction The Bush administration has been reluctant to put serious pressure on the Saudis to stop propagating Wahhabism, despite the enormous threat to American security posed by Sunni theofascism. There are several reasons for this. The first is American dependence on the kingdom's abundant oil reserves, which enable to the Saudis to maintain roughly 3 million b/d in spare production capacity. This spare capacity has been called the "energy equivalent of nuclear weapons," because it puts the Saudis in a unique position to compensate for disruptions in supplies from other producers and discourage price gouging - a service provided to the United States (and other industrialized nations) in exchange for protection. However, the argument that a firm public stance against Saudi propagation of religious hatred might lead the kingdom to retaliate economically is spurious. Saudi Arabia's use of the oil weapon would alienate the entire industrialized world, while threatening the relative economic prosperity that preserves stability in the kingdom. Some politicians and writers have voiced concern that pushing the Saudi royal family to curtail the Wahhabis could lead to terrorist attacks on the country's vulnerable petroleum infrastructure or lead to the collapse of the monarchy, which would produce an even worse outcome - a Saudi state controlled exclusively by religious fanatics. While these are serious risks, it must be borne in mind that most Wahhabi radicals view the monarchy (and its oil fields) as a golden goose. It is only by disguising Saudi Arabia as a 'friendly nation' that they have been able to go as far as they have in spreading their atavistic perversion of Islam. Such concerns reveal a tendency to imagine or spin the Saudi royal family as fundamentally pro-Western. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who served as ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005, has played an important role in masking Saudi - Wahhabi realities. His personal charm, Washington Post journalist David Ignatius writes, "many American leaders and even presidents to forget that he represented a secretive, repressive Muslim kingdom that survived because it had made a pact with 'puritanical' Wahhabi clerics who despised America." Bandar was also instrumental in the growth of what Daniel Pipes has called a "culture of corruption" that renders the executive branch of the American government "incapable of dealing with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the farsighted and disinterested manner that US foreign policy requires." Pipes points to a "revolving door syndrome" afflicting senior diplomats and policymakers who deal with the Saudis in their official capacities. Very often, they have enjoyed lucrative post-government careers working as consultants for Saudi businessmen and companies, or running Saudi-financed nongovernmental organizations. "If the reputation then builds that the Saudis take care of friends when they leave office," Bandar once reportedly told a close associate: "you'd be surprised how much better friends you have who are just coming into office." Unable or unwilling to combat the spread of Sunni theofascism at its main source (Saudi Arabia), the Bush administration launched a democracy promotion campaign intended to eradicate political conditions receptive to its global spread. However, rather than building stable and less oppressive systems resistant to religious extremism in Afghanistan and Iraq, the accumulating shortfalls of American intervention in both countries have made them magnets for jihadist recruitment. The Question of Iran The Bush Administration's reluctance to challenge the Saudis after 9/11 initially encountered impassioned objections from conservative and liberal commentators alike, but the outrage has tapered off as attention has became increasingly focused on Shiite Iran and its nuclear program which is hipped by Israel. In the view of the administration, the Iranian threat to American national security not only supercedes the threat of Sunni theofascism, but supercedes it to such a degree that a more accommodating policy toward Saudi Arabia is warranted. However, while the prospect of militant Shiite clerics in possession of nuclear weapons is understandably disconcerting to many Americans, the Iranian threat is mitigated by several important factors. For all of the shrill and unsettling words of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his government's foreign policy is driven more by Iranian nationalism than Shiite Islamism (this is evident, for example, in Tehran's support for the predominantly Christian nation of Armenia in its dispute with Shiite Azerbaijan). This is not surprising, as Iran (known as Persia prior to the twentieth century) has existed in one form or another since biblical times, while it embraced Shiite Islam just 500 years ago. While Ahmadinejad exploits Iranian nationalism to win public support in his confrontation with the West, it can easily turn against him if he were to embark on a global adventure. Wahhabi clerics may support the Saudi royal family as a necessary evil in order to protect their global proselytizing mission, but they recognize no Saudi Arabian "nation" whose interests take precedence over their agenda. Such is not the case in Iran. Furthermore, Shiite Islamism does not exhibit theofascist tendencies. Radical clerics in Iran have been responsible for horrendous abuses of power, but they do not regard non-Shiite Muslims as "unbelievers" who must be systematically purged. Basically in Islam Christians and Jews are considered as belivers and in Quran are referred to as "the people of book". Even within the Shiite world, there is no prospect of a Wahhabi-style Iranian takeover of religious discourse because unlike the Sunnis, Shiite Islam is rigidly hierarchical. Iraqi and Lebanese Shiites gladly accept Iranian financial and military support, but they are fiercely loyal to their own clerical establishments. An even greater fallacy is the widespread belief in Washington that a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia is an asset in confronting Iran. On the contrary, coddling the Saudis makes it more difficult for the United States to deal with Iran. The Bush administration's refusal to hold Saudi leaders accountable for their incitement of Wahhabi jihadists (who have murdered far more Shiites than Americans, mostly in Iraq and Pakistan) is a source of deep resentment in the Shiite world. It is no surprise that the only two major public demonstrations against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic world after the 9/11 attacks were both organized by Shiites (in Tehran and Karachi, Pakistan). It is interesting to note that the recent escalation of US - Iranian tensions has made the Saudis less accommodating about Iraq than ever before. Reports that the Saudi Government is threatening to openly fund and arm Sunni insurgent groups if American forces withdraw from Iraq are a case in point. In effect, the Saudis are signaling to the Bush administration that they will thwart any American plan to cede control of Iraq to its Shiite-dominated, democratically-elected government, while signaling to the Sunni insurgents in Iraq that they can reject American efforts to broker a political settlement and not be left to face the consequences alone. Iran has no history of direct aggression against its neighbors, and unlike Saddam's Sunni-dominated Iraq, they have never used weapons of mass destruction during invasions of neighbors or against their own people. The strongest argument for this approach lies with the extent that Iran craves recognition of its actual status as the historically authentic nation state in the Middle East. Iran has long aspired to be and probably will be the region's predominant Islamic regional power. On the other hand Iranians are the most pro American and pro west people in the middle-east, although the recent Israeli pushed American forced sanctions are damaging this view. The Road Ahead Washington will eventually have to face the reality that derailing Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons (and, more broadly, its emergence as the predominant Islamic regional power) may be impossible over the long-term, and possible in the short term only at the expense of fatally undermining efforts to contain the spread of Sunni theofascism. The United States would do better to find a mutually acceptable means of working with this reality, rather sustaining a deadlocked confrontation by conditioning its willingness to normalize relations with Tehran on the abandonment of its nuclear aspirations. US - Iranian engagement will greatly enhance American leverage over the Saudis, as well as check the threat of Sunni theofascist terrorism in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. Saudi officials have urged the Bush administration not to talk with Iran because they know that a reduction in US - Iranian tensions will draw more attention to their unbridled export of Wahhabism. Reducing American dependence on Saudi oil must also be part of any comprehensive strategy for addressing the threat of Sunni theofascism. Although President Bush has expressed commitment to developing alternative energy sources, the surplus production capacity of the Saudis enables them to lower prices as necessary to ensure that this will not be cost effective for a long time. Barring radical breakthroughs in fuel technologies, an optimistic forecast would have bio fuels (ethanol, synthetic diesel and bio oil) making up to 30% of US petroleum equivalent needs by 2030. For the short to medium term future, only conservation can significantly alter American petroleum dependency. Without the billions of dollars in Saudi funds, the ideological, political, and psychological edifice of Wahhabi theofascism will begin to crumble, particularly if a concerted effort is made by the Bush administration to promote moderate Islamic institutions (a recent study by the RAND Corporation offers some insightful recommendations). Ultimately, the devil is not in the details - it is the administration's broad lack of resolve in confronting the threat of theofascism, not the lack of viable methods of combating it, that imperils American security. REFERENCES See Mohammed Ayoob, "Political Islam: Image and Reality," World Policy Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3, Fall 2004. Fascism is "a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion." See Robert Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), p. 218. Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue, BBC, 15 March 2002. Wahhabi religious police (mutaween) prevented Saudi schoolgirls from fleeing a burning school because they were not properly veiled, leaving fifteen of them to die inside in 2002, an outrage equaled only by the Taliban's rein of terror against women in Afghanistan. R. James Woolsey, "The Elephant in The Middle East Living Room: Watching Wahhabis," The National Review, 14 December 2005. Zawahiri declared in a December 2006 videotape, "How could they not demand an Islamic constitution before entering these elections? Are they not an Islamic movement?" See: "Al Qaeda Warns U.S. on Fighting in Muslim Lands," The New York Times, 21 December 2006. Zawahiri accused it of being "duped, provoked and used" by the United States after it participated in the 2005 legislative elections. See "Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader praises U.S. hints of troop reduction in Iraq," The Associated Press, 6 January 2006. In his 2003 book, Why America Slept, Gerald Posner cites two unidentified senior Bush administration officials as saying that captured Al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah revealed details of a Saudi-Pakistani-Bin Laden triangle. See Gerald Posner, Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11, (New York: Random House, 2003). "Inside the Kingdom," Time, 7 September 2003. Nina Shea, Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance, Freedom House, 2006. John Esposito, quoted in Gary Leupp, On Terrorism, Methodism, Saudi 'Wahhabism' and the Censored 9-11 Report, Counterpunch, 8 August 2003. Ali al-Ahmed of the Washington Institute for Gulf Affairs makes this point. See Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance, CBN.org, 14 June 2006. "Top Saudi cleric issues religious edict declaring Shiites to be infidels," Associated Press, 29 December 2006. More Evidence of Saudi Double Talk?, MSNBC, 26 April 2005. In an April 2006 lecture, Saudi cleric Nasser bin Suleiman al-Omar cautioned his audience not to "get involved in things that are not jihad . . . divert the strife and calamity into the lands of the Muslims, instead of aiming them directly at the enemies." He continued, saying that: "there are places where jihad is proper - in Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir, and the Philippines." See Saudi Cleric Nasser bin Suleiman Al-'Omar: 'America is Now Disappearing From the Hearts Within America Itself . . . MEMRI Special Dispatch #1154, 4 May 2006. Alex Alexiev, "Terrorism: Growing Wahhabi Influence in the United States", Testimony before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, 26 June 2003. Author interview with Evgueni Novokov, Ph.D., former colonel, senior staff officer for the Soviet Politburo and deputy director for Middle East Operations, in charge of Arabic Department, and relationships with CPSU Central Committee front organizations and friendly parties; advised Central Committee members on Islamic affairs, 1986 -1988. 22 October 2006. Author interview with Abdel Guzman, Grand Imam of Jolo, Jolo City, Sulu Province, The Philippines, 5 March 2004. Author's interview with Abdel Guzman, The Grand Imam of Jolo, Op. Cit. See Freedom House, The Talibanization of Nigeria: Radical Islam, Extremist Sharia Law, and Religious Freedom, March 2002. "Against the Saudization of Somaliland," Addis Tribune (Ethiopia), 21 November 2003. http://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2003/11/21-11-03/Against.htm In March 2002, the official Saudi magazine Ain al-Yaqeen estimated that the Saudi royal family in countries where Muslims were a minority has funded 210 Islamic centers, 1,500 mosques, 202 colleges, and 2,000 madrassas. The number of all Saudi Government and charitably funded institutions beyond Saudi Arabia is much higher. Cited in "Inside the Kingdom," Time, 7 September 2003. Alex Alexiev, "France at the Brink", The San Diego Union Tribune, 20 November 2005. See also: Alex Alexiev, Europe's Islamist Future is Now, The Center for Security Policy, 13 June 2005. Other publications examined include textbooks from the Saudi Ministry of Education and collections of religious edicts by state-sanctioned clerics in the kingdom. See Freedom House, Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques, January 2005. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, "Wahhabism in the Big House: The Teaching of Jihad in American Penitentiaries," The Weekly Standard, 26 September 2005. "Terrorist Recruitment in Prisons and The Recent Arrests Related to Guantanamo Bay Detainees," Testimony of John S. Pistole, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, 14 October 2003. Testimony of Dr. J. Michael Waller before the US Senate Judiciary Committee's Terrorism Subcommittee, 14 October 2003. Frank Gaffney, A Troubling Influence, Front Page Magazine.com, 9 December 2003. Glenn Simpson, "Suspect Lessons: A Muslim School Used by Military Has Troubling Ties," The Wall Street Journal, 3 December 2003. "For Conservative Muslims, Goal of Isolation a Challenge; 9/11 Put Strict Adherents on the Defensive," The Washington Post, 5 September 2006. Edward L. Morse and James Richard, "The Battle for Energy Dominance," Foreign Affairs, March/April 2002. David Ignatius, "The Operator," The Washington Post, 5 November 2006, p.7. Daniel Pipes, "The Scandal of U.S.-Saudi Relations," The National Interest, Winter 2002/2003. "Oil for Security Fueled Close Ties; But Major Differences Led to Tensions," The Washington Post, 11 February 2002. In November 2006, Nawaf Obaid, a close advisor to Prince Turki, warned in a Washington Post op-ed that a phased American withdrawal from Iraq will result in "massive Saudi intervention," with options including "funding, arms and logistical support" to Sunni insurgents. "As the economic powerhouse of the Middle East, the birthplace of Islam and the de facto leader of the world's Sunni community (which comprises 85 percent of all Muslims), Saudi Arabia has both the means and the religious responsibility to intervene." See Nawaf Obaid, "Stepping Into Iraq: Saudi Arabia Will Protect Sunnis if the U.S. Leaves," The Washington Post, 29 November 2006. Outlook on Renewable Energy in America, Volume II: Joint Summary Report, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), March 2007. The Rand Corporation, Building Moderate Muslim Networks, 2007. Curtin Winsor, Jr. is a former United States Ambassador to Costa Rica. He graduated from Brown University in 1961 with a degree in English literature, and then received a Masters in Latin American studies in 1964 and a Ph.D. in international studies in 1971 from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. He worked as an adviser to President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Robert Dole, as well as for the U.S. Foreign Service. * This article had previously been published in the Mideast Monitor. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b95_1368351158 AntiPropagaanda Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism "A Must Read" al-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, Terrorism, America, Israel, Fri, 10 May 2013 06:13:46 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5e4_1368179317 forbes1973 The inheritance of Abraham. A report on the 'promised land' May 2013 May Introduction Ten years ago the General Assembly received the report Theology of Land and Covenant, from the Board of World Mission, Church and Nation Committee and the Panel on Doctrine.1 This report concluded with encouragement for us to listen more to others, "enriched by new insights through continuing questions that need to be faced". Since 2003, two new insights have been noted by the General Assembly: in 2007, in the report What Hope for the Middle East?2 the Church of Scotland responded to a declaration from Church leaders in Jerusalem, and endorsed their criticism of Christian Zionism and encouraged members of the Church of Scotland to reject it, and in 2009 Christians in the Holy Land came together and produced Kairos Palestine: a moment of truth, offered as a word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian Suffering3 (information at http://www.kairospalestine.ps). With the co-operation and support of the World Mission Council, we present this report in 2013 as our latest reflection on the 'questions that need to be faced', as the political and humanitarian situation in the Holy Land continues to be a source of pain and concern for us all. The Bible and the land of Israel There has been a widespread assumption by many Christians as well as many Jewish people that the Bible supports an essentially Jewish state of Israel. This raises an increasing number of difficulties and current Israeli policies regarding the Palestinians have sharpened this questioning. This assumption of biblical support is based on views of promises about land in the Hebrew Bible.4 These views are disputed. The guidance in the Bible, notably the interpretation in the New Testament, provides more help in responding to questions about land and covenant. It also provides insight (discussed later in the report) into how Christians might understand the occupation of Palestinian land by the state of Israel, threats to Middle East peace and security, human rights, and racial intolerance, especially in the forms of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The phrase "the land of Israel" has a range of understandings amongst the three world faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The city of Jerusalem, which is a holy place for all three religions, is the most contentious religious and political issue. In general terms there have been three main ways of understanding the promises about land in the Bible: 1. A territorial guarantee 2. A land held in trust 3. A land with a universal mission. 1. A territorial guarantee This idea presents scripture as making unconditional, literal promises referring to a specific, identifiable territorial area for the Israelites. Such texts as the following have been cited to support this view: 1 The 2003 report Theology of Land and Covenant is available at http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/13230/Theology_of_Land_and_Covenant.pdf 2 The 2007 report What Hope for the Middle East is available at: http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3776/middle_east_07.pdf 3 Information about Kairos Palestine is at http://www.kairospalestine.ps 4 The Hebrew Bible corresponds with the Christian Old Testament. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5e4_1368179317 forbes1973 Church of Scotland upsets Jews (Who doesn't?) with report which questioned the divine right of Jews to the land of Israel. Jewish, Church of Scotland, Israel, Criticism of Israel is not Antisemitism. Tue, 07 May 2013 13:58:10 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b77_1367949326 Detroit Iron By Ramesh Ponnuru May 6, 2013 6:00 PM ET Rude, entitled, arrogant and off- putting: That's how the conventionally wise in Washington are characterizing Ted Cruz, the conservative new senator from Texas . It's a better description of the critics themselves, who are inadvertently helping Cruz build his national fan base. I'll admit to being biased about Cruz, who has been a friend for almost half my life. But you don't need to like Cruz or his politics to see how weightless some of the criticisms are. The New York Times columnist David Brooks delivered a common critique of Cruz in a recent public appearance: "If you mention the name Ted Cruz to other senators, you just get titanic oceans of eye rolling. Because you're a freshman, you don't go in and take over hearings, you, like, hang around and learn how it's done," he said . "It doesn't help that he has a face that looks a little like Joe McCarthy, actually. I just -- I find him a little off-putting." So, in short: You're trashing the fine traditions of this great and storied chamber. Plus we don't like your face. Dana Milbank, who showcases his snark in the Washington Post, criticized the senator for microphone-hogging bad manners in a column that started, "Is there nobody who can tell Ted Cruz to shut up?" Maybe a quieter Cruz would have better relationships with his colleagues, who would then do more to advance his legislative goals. If so, that's more an indictment of the culture of the Senate than of Cruz. The people of Texas didn't vote for him because he promised to keep his head down in deference to his colleagues. No senator wins election that way. Presumably voters want senators who will be as effective as they can be in advocating for the views they campaigned on. Violating DecorumOf all the possible critiques of Cruz, this one -- that his colleagues resent all the attention he's getting -- has the least resonance outside the Beltway. Oh wait, except for another one: He has violated Senate protocol. Last week, the New York Times reported that in a breach of the Senate's "rules of decorum," Cruz had given a public gathering his account of how some closed-door conversations among unidentified Republican colleagues had gone. (He said they were "squishes.") The paper mentioned that it had already reported on those conversations with an account less flattering to Cruz. Maybe Cruz was indiscreet. But who really cares about these "rules of decorum"? Not the Times, which was happy to report on the off-the-record conversations, with names. And apparently not the other senators, who don't seem to mind having their aides leak to the Times. The conservative editors of the Wall Street Journal opinion pages have a more substantive complaint about Cruz. Although they share his opposition to most gun regulations, they thought his recent filibuster on the subject was unwise, and they fault him for treating a tactical dispute as a matter of principle. They make some reasonable points, but their focus on these questions seems weirdly disproportionate: On May 3, they devoted both an editorial and a column to them. Cruz has staked out very conservative positions on most issues, all of which are fair game for criticism. Yet to an unusual extent his opponents resort to a kind of aesthetic disdain for him instead of taking on his positions. There isn't much more to these criticisms than to Cher's Twitter post s that "the smell of sulphur follows him wherever he goes." Most of these denunciations help Cruz: He'll probably use Cher in an online ad someday. A lot of conservatives will rally around anyone under attack from liberals, whatever the merits. And the insubstantiality of the attacks only makes them more helpful. They let him send a message to conservatives across the country: The Beltway wants to put us in our place, and I won't let them. Presidential AspirationsCruz's Beltway critics were horrified anew last week on reports that he is thinking of running for president. If the past few months are any guide, he would try to build a majority starting with the most conservative end of the Republican primary electorate, and argue that the party needs to nominate a true conservative rather than an establishment favorite. Many Republicans have tried this strategy since President Ronald Reagan left the scene. None has succeeded . The right end of the party invariably splits its support among several candidates, and voters in the middle of the party usually prefer someone with more experience than the right's favorites. Maybe Cruz has a different strategy in mind, or has a reason for thinking this time will be different. If he runs, he will have at least one thing going for him: He has a knack for making his opponents lose their wits. (Ramesh Ponnuru is a Bloomberg View columnist, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor at National Review. The opinions expressed are his own.) To contact the writer of this article: Ramesh Ponnuru at rponnuru@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this article: Timothy Lavin at tlavin1@bloomberg.net http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-06/liberal-anger-only-makes-ted-cruz-stronger.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b77_1367949326 Detroit Iron Liberal Anger Only Makes Ted Cruz Stronger Ted Cruz, New York Times columnist David Brooks Tue, 07 May 2013 13:53:30 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e32_1367948813 GLEISE581 By: Meir Javedanfar for Al-Monitor Posted on May 7 . Israel and Iran's ally Hezbollah will soon miss the old days of fighting each other. About This ArticleSummary :Meir Javedanfar writes that Iran, Hezbollah and Israel share a common and deadly enemy in Jabhat al-Nusra and radical Salafist groups, whose influence is growing.Author: Meir Javedanfar Posted on : May 7 2013 Categories : Originals Israel Syria Iran SecurityThe reason: Fundamentalist al-Qaeda-affiliated movements who hate both Jews and Shiites with a passion are emerging in Syria. These include groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, which has openly and publicly pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda commander Ayman Al Zawahri . Such groups are growing in numbers. According to an article in the Small Wars Journal quoting the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report for December 2012, "Newly formed opposition groups are more likely to affiliate and attach themselves to Islamist factions such as Jabhat al-Nusra than to the FSA or other less radical opposition groups." Hezbollah is already facing such groups in Syria, causing it to lose four to five fighters a day. Once Assad falls or even before, extremist al-Qaeda-affiliated groups are very likely to increase the ferociousness of their attacks against Shiites and Alawites living in Syria. Bosnia-style massacres or even larger ones can not be ruled out. Such groups could also start attacking Hezbollah-controlled points on Lebanon's border with Syria. There is also a significant chance that they will try to permeate Lebanon in order to attack its Shiite citizens using suicide bombers - a well known method used by al-Qaeda against Shiites in Iraq for many years. Meanwhile, we in Israel could expect hit-and-run machine-gun and mortar attacks and even Katyusha launches against Israeli border posts and cities by such groups. Efforts to penetrate Israel's border could increase significantly. And if such groups get their hands on chemical weapons in Syria, they would have little to no scruples about launching them against Israeli or Shiite and Alawite targets in Lebanon or Syria. Making it particularly difficult for Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces to fight these groups, they are fanatical and have no central authority. This means that the concept of military deterrence is unlikely to work with them, as there is no single commanding authority that can be attacked and forced to cease their military operations. This is in direct contrast to the Hezbollah vs Israel conflict, in which both sides have a structured military hierarchy. Furthermore, political considerations impact the decision-making process as those commanding the armed forces are answerable to their political leaders, meaning the concept of deterrence works with both parties, and has done so at different times. Jihadist al-Qaeda forces are answerable to no one, nor do they have any political ambitions or considerations. Both Iran-allied Hezbollah and Israel share a border with a sectarian war which some predict to be more ferocious than Iraq , with spillover effect predicted into neighboring countries. Due to their small size, targeting small pockets of Jihadist units requires precise intelligence, thus making intelligence sharing key in the war against them. This is why the governments of Iran and Israel must consider the option of talking to each other, be it overtly or covertly. Making such a decision will not be easy for either side. In Israel, the Iranian government's denial of the Holocaust and calls for Israel's destruction have created many enemies. At the same time, in Iran, the regime's anti-Israel rhetoric forms much of its character. It has invested much in its anti-Israel policies and rhetoric both at home and abroad since the start of the revolution. However, the severity of the upcoming situation in Syria means that Iran and Israel have a common enemy that will pose a severe threat to their allies and citizens. Although Iran does not share a border with Syria, it can not allow its Shiite ally Hezbollah and Syria's Allawites to be run over by al-Qaeda affiliated organizations, or it would lose what remains of its influence in the region. At the same time, Israel does not want to see a repeat of a civil war on its border, as was the case in Lebanon in the 1970s. The anarchy of such conflicts create the perfect environment for terrorist organizations to launch attacks against Israeli cities. The cost of not talking to each other could be much higher than the cost of communicating and even cooperating against the common enemy emerging in Syria. Political differences aside, the fact remains that Iran, its Shiite allies and Israel have a number of stark strategic similarities and common interests. Being minority non-Sunnis in an Arab Sunni-majority Middle East is the most striking similarity. Iran witnessed the direct costs of being such a minority during its war against Iraq, while Israel has been grappling with this problem for decades. The two sides will face this common problem again in Syria. When it has served their interest, Iran and Israel have talked and cooperated before . The Iran-Contra Affair , in which Iran bought weapons from Israel, is just one example. The Syrian crisis is creating an opportunity for both sides to talk and cooperate again. This is one crisis that should not be wasted. Not trying would be the worst option. Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-Israeli Middle East analyst . He teaches contemporary Iranian politics at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and tweets as @meirja . Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/iran-hezbollah-israel-common-enemy-nusra.html#ixzz2Sd83O6DL http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e32_1367948813 GLEISE581 IRAN AND ISRAEL NEED TO TALK / THE NEW AXIS OF RESISTANCE syria iran israel jews Tue, 07 May 2013 07:54:19 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3ba_1367926790 Richard_Dorkins Read a comment response to me earlier today: That Hezbollah ever killed American soldiers and civilians is only spouted by Zionists. Hezbollah is a resistance movement dedicated to defending Lebanon and to supporting the right of return of Palestinians - who incidentally are mostly Sunni and Christian, not Shia like Hezbollah. Delusions of grandeur from a terrorist supporter . historically inaccurate to the point of disbelief. I dont care about your fantasies, or of the pending equalisations of "America did this" or "America did that." Hezbollah have committed attrocities, they are terrorists and at best oppression-fighters (because freedom-fighter would assume they fight for freedom, rather than as clearly stated a religious theocracy). Hezbollah has hijacked planes, they have kidnapped israelis and americans, they have been responsible for a number of suicide attacks. But the comment clearly states that they never hurt a hair of an American. How is this possible when if hezbollah was responsible for the two explosions in Beirut on October 23, 1983 that killed 241 American Marines and 56 French servicemen sleeping in their barracks. Can't pull the wool over the eyes of any man or woman with access to google. Are these made up names? Carlson, Randall A. ....... USA .... MAJ .... 09/25/1982 .. CT .. Trumbull, CT Reagan, David L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 09/30/1982 .. VA .. Virginia Beach, VA Maxwell, Ben H. ........... USA .... SSGT ... 04/18/1983 .. VA .. Appomattox, VA McMaugh, Robert V. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 04/18/1983 .. VA .. Manassas, VA Salazar, Mark E. .......... USA .... SSGT ... 04/18/1983 .. CA .. Pasadena, CA Twine, Richard ............ USA .... SFC .... 04/18/1983 .. UK .. Salop, UK Losey, Donald George ...... USMC ... 2LT .... 08/29/1983 .. NC .. Winston Salem, NC Ortega, Alexander M. ...... USMC ... SSGT ... 08/29/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY Clark, Randy W. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 09/06/1983 .. WI .. Minong, WI Valle, Pedro J. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 09/06/1983 .. RP .. San Juan, RP Soifert, Alan H. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/14/1983 .. NH .. Nashua, NH Ohler, Michael J. ......... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/16/1983 .. NY .. Huntington, NY Abbott, Terry W. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. New Richmond, OH Alexander, Clemon S. ...... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Monticello, FL Allman, John R. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NM .. Carlsbad ... NM Arnold, Moses J. Jr. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Bailey, Charles K. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Berlin, MD Baker, Nicholas ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA Banks, Johansen ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI Barrett, Richard E. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Tappahanock, VA Bates, Ronny K. ........... USN .... HM1 .... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Aiken, SC Battle, David L. .......... USMC ... 1stSGT . 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Hubert, NC Baynard, James R. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Richmond, VA Beamon, Jesse W. .......... USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Haines City, FL Belmer, Alvin. ............ USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Bland, Stephen ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC Blankenship, Richard L. ... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Hubert, NC Blocker, John W. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Yulee, FL Boccia, Joseph J. Jr. ..... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Northport, NY Bohannon, Leon Jr. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Bohnet, John R. Jr. ....... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. TN .. Memphis, TN Bonk, John J. Jr. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Boulos, Jeffrey L. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Islip, NY Bousum, David R. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Fife Lake, MI Boyett, John N. ........... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Brown, Anthony ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI Brown, David W. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Conroe, TX Buchanan, Bobby S. Jr. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC Buckmaster, John B. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Vandalia, OH Burley, William F. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Linden, NJ Cain, Jimmy R. ............ USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Birmington, AL Callahan, Paul L. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Lorain, OH Camara, Mecot E. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Campus, Bradley J. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Lynn, MA Ceasar, Johnnie D. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. El Campo, TX Cole, Marc L. ............. USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Ludlow Falls, OH Coleman, Marcus A. ........ USA .... SP4 .... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Dallas, TX Comas, Juan M. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Hialeah, FL Conley, Robert A .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Orlando, FL Cook, Charles D. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Advance, NC Cooper, Curtis J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. North Wales, PA Copeland, Johnny L. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Burlington, NC Corcoran, Bert D. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Katonah, NY Cosner, David L. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Elkins, WV Coulman, Kevin P. ......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Seminary, NY Croft, Brett A. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Lakeland, FL Crudale, Rick R. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warwick, RI Custard, Kevin P. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Virginia, MN Cyzick, Russell E. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Star City, WV Davis, Andrew L. .......... USMC ... MAJ .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Decker, Sidney James ...... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Clarkson, KY Devlin, Michael J. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Westwood, MA Dibenedetto, Thomas A. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Mansfield Center, CT Dorsey, Nathaniel G. ...... USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD Douglass, Frederick B. .... USMC ... SGTMAJ . 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Cataumet, MA Dunnigan, Timothy J. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Princeton, WV Earle, Bryan L. ........... USN .... HN ..... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Painsville, OH Edwards, Roy L. ........... USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Elliot, William D. Jr. .... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lancaster, PA Ellison, Jesse ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Soldiers Grove, WI Estes, Danny R. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Gary, IN Estler, Sean F. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Kenall Park, NJ Faulk, James E. ........... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Panama City, FL Fluegel, Richard A. ....... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Erie, PA Forrester, Steven M. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Foster, William B. Jr. .... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Richmond, VA Fulcher, Michael D ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Madison Heights, VA Fuller, Benjamin E ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Duluth, GA Fulton, Michael S. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Ft. Worth, TX Gaines, William Jr. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Port Charlotte, FL Gallagher, Sean R. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. N. Andover, MA Gander, David B. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Milwaulkee, WI Gangur, George M. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Cleveland, OH Gann, Leland E. ........... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Garcia, Randall J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Modesto, CA Garcia, Ronald J. ......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Gay, David D. ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Harrisburg, IL Ghumm, Harold D. .......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Gibbs, Warner Jr. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Portsmouth, VA Giblin, Timothy R. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. N. Providence, RI Gorchinski, Michael W. .... USN .... ETC .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Evansville, IN Gordon, Richard J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Somerville, MA Gratton, Harold F. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Conoes, NY Greaser, Robert B. ........ USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lansdale, PA Green, Davin M. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD Hairston, Thomas A. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Haltiwanger, Freddie Jr. .. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Little Mountain, SC Hamilton, Virgil D. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Dayton, OH Hanton, Gilbert ........... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. DC .. Washington, DC Hart, William ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Haskell, Michael S. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Hastings, Michael A. ...... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. DE .. Seaford, DE Hein, Paul A. ............. USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Held, Douglas E. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Helms, Mark A. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NE .. Dwight, NE Henderson, Ferrandy D. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Tampa, FL Hernandez, Matilde Jr. .... USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Midway Park, NC Hester, Stanley G. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Raleigh, NC Hildreth, Donald W. ....... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Sneads Ferry, NC Holberton, Richard H. ..... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Beaufort, SC Holland, Robert S. ........ USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Gilbertsville, KY Hollingshead, Bruce A. .... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Fairborn, OH Holmes, Melvin D. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL Howard, Bruce L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. ME .. Strong, ME Hudson, John R. ........... USN .... LT ..... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Riverdale, GA Hudson, Terry L. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Prichard, AL Hue, Lyndon J. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. LA .. Des Allemands, LA Hukill, Maurice E. ........ USMC ... 2ndLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Iacovino, Edward F. Jr. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warwick, RI Ingalls, John J. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Interlaken, NY Innocenzi, Paul G. III .... USMC ... WO1 .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Trenton, NJ Jackowski, James J. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. S. Salem, NY James, Jeffrey W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD Jenkins, Nathaniel W. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Daytona Beach, FL Johnson, Michael H. ....... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Detroit, MI Johnston, Edward A. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Struthers, OH Jones, Steven ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY Julian, Thomas A. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Middleton, RI Kees, Marion E. ........... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. WV .. Martinsburg, WV Keown, Thomas C. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Louisville, KY Kimm, Edward E. ........... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. IA .. Atlantic, IA Kingsley, Walter V. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. WI .. Wisconsin Dells, WI Kluck, Daniel S. .......... USA .... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. KY .. Owensboro, KY Knipple, James C. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA Kreischer, Freas H. III ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Indiatlantic, FL Laise, Keith J. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Stroudsburgh, PA Lamb, Thomas G. ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Coon Rapids, MN Langon, James J. IV ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Lakehurst, NJ Lariviere, Michael S. ..... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Perry, FL Lariviere, Steven B. ...... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Chicopee, MA Lemnah, Richard L. ........ USMC ... MSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Lewis, David A. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Garfield Heights, OH Lewis, Val S. ............. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Atlanta, GA Livingston, Joseph R. ..... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Champaign, IL Lyon, Paul D. Jr. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Milton, FL Macroglou, John W. ........ USMC ... MAJ .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Maitland, Samuel .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Martin, Charlie R. ........ USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Martin, Jack L. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Oveido, FL Massa, David S. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Warren, RI Massman, Michael R. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Port Huron, MI Mattacchione, Joseph J. ... USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Sanford, NC McCall, John .............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY McDonough, James E. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. New castle, PA McMahon, Timothy R. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. TX .. Austin, TX McNeely, Timothy D. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Mooresville, NC McVicker, George N. II .... USN .... HM2 .... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Wabash, IN Melendez, Louis ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PR .. Puerto Rico Menkins, Richard H. II .... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Tully, NY Mercer, Michael D. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Vale, NC Meurer, Ronald W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Milano, Joseph P. ......... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Farmingville, NY Moore, Joseph P. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MO .. St. Louis, MO Morrow, Richard A. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Clairton, PA Muffler, John F. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Munoz, Alex ............... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NM .. Bloomfield, NM Myers, Harry D. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Whittler, NC Nairn, David J. ........... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Nava, Luis A. ............. USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Gardena, CA Olson, John A. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Sabin, MN Olson, Robert P. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Lawtons, NY Ortiz, Richard C. ......... USMC ... CWO3 ... 10/23/1983 .. OK .. Ft. Sill, OK Owen, Jeffrey B. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Virginia Beach, VA Owens, Joseph A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Chesterfield, VA Page, Connie Ray .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Erwin, NC Parker, Ulysses ........... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD Payne, Mark W. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Binghamton, NY Pearson, John L. .......... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Perron, Thomas S. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. MA .. Whitinsville, MA Phillips, John A. Jr. ..... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Wilmette, IL Piercy, George W. ......... USN .... HMC .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Mt. Savage, MD Plymel, Clyde W. .......... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Merritt, FL Pollard, William H. ....... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Pomalestorres, Rafael I. .. USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Prevatt, Victor M. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Columbus, GA Price, James C. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Attala, AL Prindeville, Patrick K. ... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Gainesville, FL Pulliam, Eric A. .......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. E. St. Louis, IL Quirante, Diomedes J. ..... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. RP .. Calcoocan City, RP Randolph, David M. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. AZ .. Siloam Springs, AZ Ray, Charles R. ........... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Relvas, Rui A. ............ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Rich, Terrence L. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY Richardson, Warren ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY Rodriguez, Juan C. ........ USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Miami, FL Rotondo, Louis J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA Sanpedro, Guillermo Jr. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Hialeah, FL Sauls, Michael C. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Waterboro, SC Schnorf, Charles J. ....... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Camp Lejeune, NC Schultz, Scott L. ......... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Keeseville, NY Scialabba, Peter J. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Moorehead City, NC Scott, Gary R. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Rankin, IL Shallo, Ronald L. ......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Hudson, NY Shipp, Thomas A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Shropshire, Jerryl D. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Macon, GA Silvia, James F. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Portsmouth, RI Sliwinski, Stanley J. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Niles, OH Smith, Kirk H. ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Miami, FL Smith, Thomas G. .......... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Middletown, CT Smith, Vincent L. ......... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Soares, Edward ............ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Tiverton, RI Sommerhof, William S. ..... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Springfield, IL Spaulding, Michael C. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. OH .. Akron, OH Spearing, John W. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Lancaster, PA Spencer, Stephen E. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. RI .. Portsmouth, RI Stelpflug, Bill J. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Auburn, AL Stephens, Horace R. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Capitol Heights, MD Stockton, Craig S. ........ USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Rochester, NY Stokes, Jeffrey G. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. GA .. Waynesboro, GA Stowe, Thomas D. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Sturghill, Eric D. ........ USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL Sundar, Devon L. .......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Standford, CT Surch, James F. Jr. ....... USN .... LT ..... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Lompoc, CA Thompson, Dennis A. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Bronx, NY Thorstad, Thomas P. ....... USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. IN .. Chesterton, IN Tingley, Stephen D. ....... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Ellington, CT Tishmack, John J. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. MN .. Minneapolis, MN Trahan, Lex D. ............ USMC ... PVT .... 10/23/1983 .. LA .. Lafayette, LA Vallone, Donald H. Jr. .... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Palmdale, CA Walker, Eric R. ........... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. IL .. Chicago, IL Walker, Leonard W. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AL .. Dothan, AL Washington, Eric G. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. VA .. Alexandria, VA Weekes, Obrian ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Brooklyn, NY Wells, Tandy W. ........... USMC ... 1stSGT . 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Wentworth, Steven B. ...... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Reading, PA Wesley, Allen D. .......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Philadelphia, PA West, Lloyd D. ............ USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Weyl, John R. ............. USMC ... SSGT ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Wherland, Burton D. Jr. ... USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Jacksonville, NC Wigglesworth, Dwayne W. ... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. CT .. Naugatuck, CT Williams, Rodney J. ....... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. FL .. Opa Locka, FL Williams, Scipio Jr. ...... USMC ... GYSGT .. 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Charleston, SC Williamson, Johnny A. ..... USMC ... LCPL ... 10/23/1983 .. NC .. Asheboro, NC Wint, Walter E. Jr. ....... USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. PA .. Wilkes-Barre, PA Winter, William E. ........ USMC ... CAPT ... 10/23/1983 .. SC .. Fripp Island, SC Wolfe, John E. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 10/23/1983 .. AZ .. Phoenix, AZ Woollett, Donald E. ....... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. OK .. Barthesville, OK Worley, David E. .......... USN .... HM3 .... 10/23/1983 .. MD .. Baltimore, MD Wyche, Craig L. ........... USMC ... PFC .... 10/23/1983 .. NY .. Jamaica, NY Yarber, James G. .......... USA .... SFC .... 10/23/1983 .. CA .. Vacaville, CA Young, Jeffrey D. ......... USMC ... SGT .... 10/23/1983 .. NJ .. Moorestown, NJ Zimmerman, William A. ..... USMC ... 1stLT .. 10/23/1983 .. MI .. Grand Haven, MI Townsend, Henry Jr. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 12/02/1983 .. AL .. Montgomery, AL Biddle, Shannon D. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. AL .. Valley Head, AL Cherman, Sam .............. USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. NY .. Queens, NY Cox, Manuel A. ............ USMC ... SGT .... 12/04/1983 .. NJ .. Union City, NJ Daugherty, David L. ....... USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. OH .. Eastlake,OH Evans, Thomas A. .......... USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. MT .. Conrad, MT Hattaway, Jeffrey T. ...... USMC ... PFC .... 12/04/1983 .. FL .. Pensacola, FL Kraft, Todd A. ............ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. ND .. Devilslake, ND Lange, Mark A. ............ USN .... LT .... 12/04/1983 .. MI .. Fraser, MI Perkins, Marvin H. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 12/04/1983 .. TN .. Franklin, TN Gargano, Edward J. ........ USMC ... CPL .... 01/08/1984 .. MA .. Quincy, MA Dramis, George L. ......... USMC ... LCPL ... 01/30/1984 .. NJ .. Cape May Court House, NJ *Hernandez, Rodolfo ....... USMC ... - ...... 01/30/1984 .. TX ..El Paso, TX Butler, Alfred III ........ USMC ... CAPT ... 02/09/1984 .. FL .. Cocoa Beach, FL Wagner, Michael ........... USN .... IS1 .... 09/20/1984 .. NC .. Zebulon,, NC Welch, Kenneth ............ USA .... WO2 .... 09/20/1984 .. MI .. Grand Rapids, MI *Hendrickson, John ........ USMC ... - ...... 04/13/1990 .. - .. *Simpson, Larry H. Jr. .... USMC ... - ...... 08/31/1992 .. - .. Hasenfus, Michael ......... USA .... CPL .... 10/20/1984 .. MA .. Dedham, MA Stethem, Robert D. ........ USN .... SW2 .... 06/15/1985 .. MD .. Waldorf, MD Higgins, William R. ....... USMC ... COL .... 07/06/1990 .. KY .. Louisville, KY http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3ba_1367926790 Richard_Dorkins "That Hezbollah ever killed American soldiers and civilians is only spouted by Zionists." hezbollah, america, Fri, 03 May 2013 18:58:43 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=434_1367619867 11k29 MSG Roy P. Benavidez was born in 1935 and died of complications due to diabetes in 1998. This clip begins with President Reagan giving a speech of the MSG's actions in Vietnam before awarding him with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Following are later remarks by the MSG giving his own account; some serious, some comedic, all worth giving thought to. The clip is 25 minutes long. I couldn't cut a minute of it; please listen to/watch all of it. More info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Benavidez http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=434_1367619867 11k29 MSG Roy P. Benavidez- Vietnam- A story worth listening to Benavidez, Airborne, Green Beret, Vietnam