When Al-Qaeda on a website in May 2004 claimed the plane’s fall as an attack, however, I paid it little attention, for just about anyone can claim just about anything on a website.
But now comes a wisp of evidence to suggest that AA 587’s demise was in fact not an accident but an operation carried out by Al-Qaeda. This information has a complex pedigree:
*It is recounted in a top secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service report written in May 2002 and made public on Aug. 27, 2004 by Stewart Bell in Canada’s National Post.
*Its source is Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, a 22-year-old from St. Catharines, Ontario, said to be of “unknown reliability.”
*Jabarah in turn is reporting on what he heard from Abu Abdelrahman (a Saudi Al-Qaeda member who worked for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the organization’s highest ranking operatives). KSM’s information has usually turned out to be reliable.
So, the information that follows is not exactly rock-hard, but it is a real lead.
And this is it: Abu Abdelrahman told Jabarah who told CSIS ...
Daniel Pipes, FrontPage
"The operative told Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents during five days of questioning that ``Farouk,'' a Canadian citizen whose real name is Abderraouf Jdey, downed the plane in a suicide mission on Nov. 12, 2001, with explosives similar to those carried by convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid. ... "
Boston Herald
"The Airbus A-300 flight headed to the Dominican Republic crashed in the Rockaways shortly after takeoff from Kennedy Airport on Nov. 12, 2001, killing 265 people.
The source told agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that the man had trained in Afghanistan along with the 9/11 hijackers, according to a report in Canada's National Post.
During five days of questioning, he revealed that a Montreal man named Abderraouf Jdey used a shoe bomb like the one Richard Reid wore, to bring down the plane.
NY Post
Consider. The war rages in Iraq, our military are being injured and killed; Muslim extremists continue their evil, including downing two Russian passenger jets killing some 90 people; an al-Qaida operative tells Canadian investigators that an Afghanistan-trained Canadian terrorist brought down American Airlines flight 587 in New York three years ago; terrorist warnings continue in our country – the latest for Veterans Administration hospitals. All this and more!
...
So what does John Kerry, the presidential challenger, focus on to present himself to the American voters and ask for their vote? Vietnam!
Barbara Simpson, WorldNet Daily
2004-08-30
2004-08-26
Goooooold!
US Women Beat Brazil for Olympic Soccer Gold Medal. Is this great or what?
ATHENS, Greece — An hour after the game, Mia Hamm was still on the field, hugging, crying, and posing for pictures with an Olympic gold medal around her neck.
Then, finally, she left.
After 17 years, 153 goals and 266 games -- including a grueling overtime finale -- it was time for her to go.
"There are few times in your life where you get to write the final chapter the way you want to," Hamm said. "I think a lot of us did that tonight."
Hamm and the rest of the Fab Five had just enough left in their thirtysomething bodies for one more triumph in their final tournament together. Led by two goals from the next generation, the United States beat Brazil 2-1 Thursday to claim the Olympic title. ...
Read the rest of the Fox News story at the link.
ATHENS, Greece — An hour after the game, Mia Hamm was still on the field, hugging, crying, and posing for pictures with an Olympic gold medal around her neck.
Then, finally, she left.
After 17 years, 153 goals and 266 games -- including a grueling overtime finale -- it was time for her to go.
"There are few times in your life where you get to write the final chapter the way you want to," Hamm said. "I think a lot of us did that tonight."
Hamm and the rest of the Fab Five had just enough left in their thirtysomething bodies for one more triumph in their final tournament together. Led by two goals from the next generation, the United States beat Brazil 2-1 Thursday to claim the Olympic title. ...
Read the rest of the Fox News story at the link.
The Blogging Will Continue Until Morale Improves
Okay, so I took another mental health day. ("Asher, you need more than a mental health day." Thank you, that will be quite enough of that.)
No, really, I needed an extra mental health day, especially since I missed seeing Melissa in Portland last night. Honestly, I'll be fine, and the doctor says these scars on my wrists should heal very quickly.
And what happened while I was Away From Komputer? Well, the world went to hell in a handbasket, that's what. So Lenore The Little Dead Girl has returned to A Small Victory, but only as a harbinger of the blog's impending demise. Michele, I'll sorely miss you.
Oh, and al-Qaeda blew up two planes in Russia. Allawi is kissing Sadr's ass. Terrorists beheaded another Italian. The IRI thugs hanged a sixteen-year-old girl, and then dug up her body. I'm telling you, it's almost enough to make me want to give up blogging.
Hah! You should be so lucky.
Well, listen, here's something to cheer about: US women beat Brazil for soccer medal. I'll give this one its own post, too, but I just had to mention it here.
Finally, couldn't close this post without a tribute to Melissa. Now, I could go on about how gorgeous and sexy she is, but there's something in the Bible about "coveting thy neighbor's wife", and Tammy Lynn Michaels may not live in Portland but she's certainly my "neigbor" in principle. So I must keep it platonic.
From an interview with the local lefty rag, Melissa offers this:
Considering it's an election year, did you feel any pressure to put out a more politically motivated album?
The best thing I can do in this political climate is to be a good example. Be a strong person and live my life well.
No, really, I needed an extra mental health day, especially since I missed seeing Melissa in Portland last night. Honestly, I'll be fine, and the doctor says these scars on my wrists should heal very quickly.
And what happened while I was Away From Komputer? Well, the world went to hell in a handbasket, that's what. So Lenore The Little Dead Girl has returned to A Small Victory, but only as a harbinger of the blog's impending demise. Michele, I'll sorely miss you.
Oh, and al-Qaeda blew up two planes in Russia. Allawi is kissing Sadr's ass. Terrorists beheaded another Italian. The IRI thugs hanged a sixteen-year-old girl, and then dug up her body. I'm telling you, it's almost enough to make me want to give up blogging.
Hah! You should be so lucky.
Well, listen, here's something to cheer about: US women beat Brazil for soccer medal. I'll give this one its own post, too, but I just had to mention it here.
Finally, couldn't close this post without a tribute to Melissa. Now, I could go on about how gorgeous and sexy she is, but there's something in the Bible about "coveting thy neighbor's wife", and Tammy Lynn Michaels may not live in Portland but she's certainly my "neigbor" in principle. So I must keep it platonic.
From an interview with the local lefty rag, Melissa offers this:
Considering it's an election year, did you feel any pressure to put out a more politically motivated album?
The best thing I can do in this political climate is to be a good example. Be a strong person and live my life well.
2004-08-23
Headline of the Day
From the CNN front page, presented here without further comment:
Bible study class meets at Hooters to reach 'unchurched'
Bible study class meets at Hooters to reach 'unchurched'
2004-08-17
Yankee go home!
Enraged by President Bush's plans to withdraw US troops from South Korea, thousands of angry protesters demanded the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea.
Hat tip: Baldilocks, Rachel Lucas.
Hat tip: Baldilocks, Rachel Lucas.
2004-08-09
Why, yes, Wretchard, as a matter of fact ...
... I do believe the "war on terrorism" is about making the world safe for homosexuals, not to mention transsexuals, women, Jews, Africans, Christians, Muslims, and even straight white males.
2004-08-08
Goli Ameri: Say No to Terror
In a June 18 news item, congressionial candidate Goli Ameri responded to terrorist acts with a vow to stand firm against terror if elected to represent Oregon's First District. "These terrorists hate Americans because we are pluralistic, prosperous, and free. There is no negotiating or reasoning to be had with these fanatics. We must find them and destroy them before they can realize their evil intentions. ... In Iran I watched as radicals gained power through the use of terror and maintained it through fear. These terrorists are attempting to cow Americans in the same manner. Today’s atrocity should strengthen our resolve to win this deadly, painful, but necessary war," Ameri said.
2004-08-02
Iran Regime Change Petition
has over 500 signatures. Is yours one of them? Click here:
True Security Begins with Regime Change in Iran
True Security Begins with Regime Change in Iran
2004-07-29
Just a few quick thoughts ...
... before I go back to schlepping.
I believe President Bush spoke wisely when he said of the War on Terror, "This is not a war against a religion." In a December 3, 2003 post, Ali at Iraq the Model wrote: 'I think that the governments can not create criminals or saints, but a wise one makes it easier for the good ones to use their free will as it makes it harder for the bad ones to use theirs. And the opposite applies for the bad government; it just acts as a catalyst to the potentialities within each human soul.' I believe this applies to religions as well. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are what their adherents make of them. A religious teaching provides the framework to strengthen and ennoble the human soul, but it is up to people to use their free will to build on that framework in a positive way. There is, in Irshad Manji's words, a "trouble with Islam"; and as a Muslim acquaintance of mine recently said, "No religion today is more sick than Islam." But it doesn't have to be that way. This is why you'll never find sarcastic comments about "the religion of peace" or "72 virgins" on this site.
I really do believe in all that good liberal stuff about "understanding other people/cultures/religions". At the same time, everything in the world doesn't reduce to this. You need to "understand" bin Laden, Arafat, and Saddam only well enough to know that they are trying to destroy you. It's important to know how to "win friends and influence people", but there are some folks in the world who are immune to the Dale Carnegie treatment. They will continue killing innocent people, and they will not stop no matter how nicely you ask.
Understanding other people means relating to others as people, not as "strange objects on a laboratory slide". And it applies equally to everyone, regardless of religion, politics, ethnicity, or social class. It's a strange kind of "liberalism" that can be more "open-minded" about fascist terrorists than about conservative Americans. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'll post again when I get the chance. Meanwhile, as always, thanks for reading my blog - drop me a comment sometime.
I believe President Bush spoke wisely when he said of the War on Terror, "This is not a war against a religion." In a December 3, 2003 post, Ali at Iraq the Model wrote: 'I think that the governments can not create criminals or saints, but a wise one makes it easier for the good ones to use their free will as it makes it harder for the bad ones to use theirs. And the opposite applies for the bad government; it just acts as a catalyst to the potentialities within each human soul.' I believe this applies to religions as well. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are what their adherents make of them. A religious teaching provides the framework to strengthen and ennoble the human soul, but it is up to people to use their free will to build on that framework in a positive way. There is, in Irshad Manji's words, a "trouble with Islam"; and as a Muslim acquaintance of mine recently said, "No religion today is more sick than Islam." But it doesn't have to be that way. This is why you'll never find sarcastic comments about "the religion of peace" or "72 virgins" on this site.
I really do believe in all that good liberal stuff about "understanding other people/cultures/religions". At the same time, everything in the world doesn't reduce to this. You need to "understand" bin Laden, Arafat, and Saddam only well enough to know that they are trying to destroy you. It's important to know how to "win friends and influence people", but there are some folks in the world who are immune to the Dale Carnegie treatment. They will continue killing innocent people, and they will not stop no matter how nicely you ask.
Understanding other people means relating to others as people, not as "strange objects on a laboratory slide". And it applies equally to everyone, regardless of religion, politics, ethnicity, or social class. It's a strange kind of "liberalism" that can be more "open-minded" about fascist terrorists than about conservative Americans. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'll post again when I get the chance. Meanwhile, as always, thanks for reading my blog - drop me a comment sometime.
2004-07-23
Morning Report: July 23, 2004
Congress on Sudan: It is genocide. AFP article in the Sudan Tribune, without further comment: "The US Congress unanimously passed a resolution declaring the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan, a genocide, and calling on the White House to intervene multilaterally or even unilaterally to stop the violence. By a vote of 422 to zero, the House of Representatives and "the Senate concurring" passed the resolution introduced a month ago by New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne stressing that in Darfur 30,000 people have been "brutally murdered", 130,000 have fled to neighboring Chad and more than one million have been internally displaced by the violence. Quoting the United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator who said that the violence in the poverty-stricken region "appears to be particularly directed at a specific group based on their ethnic identity and appears to be systemized," the resolution "declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide." It urges the US administration of President George W. Bush to "call the atrocities ... by its rightful name: 'genocide,' and calls on it to lead an international effort to prevent it. The resolution, adopted late on Thursday, further calls on the Bush administration "to seriously consider multilateral or even unilateral intervention to prevent genocide should the United Nations Security Council fail to act." It also demands "targeted sanctions, including visa bans and the freezing of assets of the National Congress and affiliated business and individuals directly responsible for the atrocities in Darfur," and urges USAID to help the refugees resettle and rebuild their communities." (Sudan Tribune / Agence France-Presse, via Google)
Israel dispatches Islamic Jihad head man. According to the latest Debka bulletin, "Israeli helicopter-borne rocket hits car in Zeitun district of Gaza City killing two Islamic Jihad terrorists, according to witnesses. One identified as Hatem Rachim who paraded head of Israeli soldier after IDF APC blown up three months ago." (Debka)
Wretchard on the ransom tax. Latest post at the Belmont Club discusses hostage negotiators' " habit of skimming stuff off the top when handling ransom money." Wretchard observes that of about one million offered by the Philippines government for the release of hostage Angelo de la Cruz, the hostage takers only saw about a quarter-million. (Belmont Club)
Danger present for Democrats, Republicans alike. Cliff May reports that Senators Joseph Lieberman (D - Connecticut) and Jon Kyl (R - Arizona) have moved to revive the bipartisan Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), originally a Cold War -era organization dedicated to educating Americans about the danger of Soviet Communism. According to Cliff May on CPD, the organization, founded in 1950, enjoyed a revival in the 1970s under Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a staunch anti-Communist. Today, "in its third incarnation, with Senators Lieberman and Kyl as honorary chairmen, the CPD is to focus on terrorism and the movements that are using terrorism to damage and, ultimately they pray, destroy America." (Foundation for the Defense of Democracies)
Goli Ameri out-raises opponent Wu. The Republican challenger for Oregon's first congressional district, Goli Ameri, has outpaced the Democratic incumbent David Wu in fund-raising by more than $100,000, raising nearly $500,000 in the second quarter. Ms. Ameri, the first Iranian-American woman ever to run for US Congress, is running on a strong pro-business and pro-freedom platform. The Tehran-born business leader is the founder of eTinium, a consulting firm for high-tech corporations such as Lucent and Nortel. Oregon's First District includes parts of downtown Portland and extends through the Oregon coast, also including tech-oriented cities like Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Tigard. (Goli Ameri 2004)
Israel dispatches Islamic Jihad head man. According to the latest Debka bulletin, "Israeli helicopter-borne rocket hits car in Zeitun district of Gaza City killing two Islamic Jihad terrorists, according to witnesses. One identified as Hatem Rachim who paraded head of Israeli soldier after IDF APC blown up three months ago." (Debka)
Wretchard on the ransom tax. Latest post at the Belmont Club discusses hostage negotiators' " habit of skimming stuff off the top when handling ransom money." Wretchard observes that of about one million offered by the Philippines government for the release of hostage Angelo de la Cruz, the hostage takers only saw about a quarter-million. (Belmont Club)
Danger present for Democrats, Republicans alike. Cliff May reports that Senators Joseph Lieberman (D - Connecticut) and Jon Kyl (R - Arizona) have moved to revive the bipartisan Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), originally a Cold War -era organization dedicated to educating Americans about the danger of Soviet Communism. According to Cliff May on CPD, the organization, founded in 1950, enjoyed a revival in the 1970s under Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a staunch anti-Communist. Today, "in its third incarnation, with Senators Lieberman and Kyl as honorary chairmen, the CPD is to focus on terrorism and the movements that are using terrorism to damage and, ultimately they pray, destroy America." (Foundation for the Defense of Democracies)
Goli Ameri out-raises opponent Wu. The Republican challenger for Oregon's first congressional district, Goli Ameri, has outpaced the Democratic incumbent David Wu in fund-raising by more than $100,000, raising nearly $500,000 in the second quarter. Ms. Ameri, the first Iranian-American woman ever to run for US Congress, is running on a strong pro-business and pro-freedom platform. The Tehran-born business leader is the founder of eTinium, a consulting firm for high-tech corporations such as Lucent and Nortel. Oregon's First District includes parts of downtown Portland and extends through the Oregon coast, also including tech-oriented cities like Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Tigard. (Goli Ameri 2004)
2004-07-20
Free Thoughts, Free Words, Free Deeds
There's a wonderful blog you should know about, called Free Thoughts. It's done by a young woman in Italy named Stafania, who is a strong supporter of the cause of Iranian freedom. Recent posts include an article on Zbigniew "Dr. Z" Brzezinski. Go check it out.
Morning Report: July 20, 2004
Former Clinton aide probed for classified mishandling. The national security advisor for the Clinton administration, Samuel "Sandy" Berger, is under federal criminal investigation for allegedly removing classified documents from a secure area. During his preparation for the 9/11 commission hearings, Berger is said to have taken documents and notes from the National Security Archives without proper authorization. Berger states that he took the documents "inadvertently". (CNN)
Taheri: Iran to be 2004 election issue. In a recent article, Amir Taheri notes the importance of Iran in the upcoming US presidential campaign. Taheri notes that the IRI's nuclar ambitions are causing growing concern "even in European circles" and that a UN resolution on Iran could be on the table as early as this fall. He faults the Bush administration for its lack of a clear Iran policy - partly due to internal divisions in Washington. (See my May 6 post "State vs. Defense".) Kerry, on the other hand, unequivocally espouses an appeasement policy. Tahei concludes that he hopes the upcoming election will force Bush to clarify his policy on Iran (perhaps taking a harder line to distinguish himself from Kerry) while persuading Kerry to take a more "realistic" approach. (Benador)
Taheri: Iran to be 2004 election issue. In a recent article, Amir Taheri notes the importance of Iran in the upcoming US presidential campaign. Taheri notes that the IRI's nuclar ambitions are causing growing concern "even in European circles" and that a UN resolution on Iran could be on the table as early as this fall. He faults the Bush administration for its lack of a clear Iran policy - partly due to internal divisions in Washington. (See my May 6 post "State vs. Defense".) Kerry, on the other hand, unequivocally espouses an appeasement policy. Tahei concludes that he hopes the upcoming election will force Bush to clarify his policy on Iran (perhaps taking a harder line to distinguish himself from Kerry) while persuading Kerry to take a more "realistic" approach. (Benador)
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