Monday, February 25, 2008

Islamic Links on Obama Web Site Stir Criticism
By Fred Lucas
CNSNews.com Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - A page for Muslim supporters of Sen. Barack Obama -- hosted on Obama's presidential campaign Web site -- promotes events sponsored by controversial Islamic groups.

Muslim Americans for Obama '08, found on Obama's main campaign site, allows users to create their own page through a "My Obama" option. The Muslim Americans for Obama page also links to a Web site that features lectures by people who have expressed radical Islamic views in the past.

A portion of the "Muslim Americans for Obama" page lists proposals to establish a Muslim American advisory group on U.S. foreign policy; provide prayer areas in public places such as malls, airports, universities and government buildings; institute a law to allow Muslim employees to take time from their work day for prayer; and institute a law against harassment of Muslim women in public areas.

The Obama campaign's press office did not respond to numerous phone calls and e-mail messages from Cybercast News Service on this matter.

Throughout the campaign, Obama has professed his Christian faith, although his father is a Muslim.

Late last year, former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, a supporter of Obama's Democratic rival New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, caused a stir in Iowa when he said, "It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim."

"Muslim Americans for Obama '08 is a grassroots initiative to support the presidential campaign for Barack Obama 2008," the Web page says. "Our sincere intention is to serve as a resource for Muslim and non-Muslim Americans to get involved and learn more about the political process and Barack Obama as a person and presidential candidate."

Other "My Obama" pages on the campaign's Web site include "Jews for Obama," "Christians for Obama" and "Gay Christians for Obama."

But it is a link and a list of events on the Muslim Americans for Obama page that has prompted critics that consider themselves watchdogs of Islamist groups to take notice.

The list of events on the Muslim Americans for Obama page includes voter registration drives at conventions sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), held last April and August in Rosemont, Ill., and the convention co-sponsored by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Muslim American Society (MAS).

These groups routinely inject themselves into political causes, said M. Zhudi Jasser, chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. He thinks all political candidates should stay clear of mixing religion and politics, saying the root of terror is political Islam.

"Any candidate that engaged American Islamist organizations without any ideological litmus test about their stances regarding the transnational goals of Islamism, I think that is going to be a major liability," Jasser, a Muslim, told Cybercast News Service.

"I wouldn't specifically say Obama. I would say any candidate that doesn't identify that Muslim organizations should be leading the effort against political Islam and its impact on the ends of that terrorists seek. I think it will be a liability," he said.

The MAS has faced intense scrutiny in recent years.

In the appeal of Sabri Benkhala, a man convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice last year after being acquitted of trying to help the Taliban, the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia filed a brief that referenced to MAS as an "overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood for the United States."

The Muslim Brotherhood is a militant Islamic group in Egypt. The government has not brought any charges against MAS.

"We are an American Muslim organization, and we don't take orders from anybody oversees," MAS Executive Director Mahdi Bray told Cybercast News Service. "We were established in America, and we are not an overt or covert arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. "

In 2004, after the Israeli military killed Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin, the MAS Freedom Foundation announced it would push Congress to enforce provisions of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act against Israel, which forbids the use of U.S. weapons from being used against civilian targets.

Bray said other human rights organizations and the United Nations also opposed the action by Israel.

In 2006, the Minnesota chapter of MAS issued a fatwa, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, proclaiming that "Islamic jurisprudence" would prohibit Muslim taxi cab drivers from transporting anyone carrying alcohol "because it involves cooperating with sin, according to Islam."

The group tried and failed to get the Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport to create a two-tier system for Muslim and non-Muslim cab drivers. In this case, Bray said, the state chapter was "out of line" and not acting on behalf of the national organization.

As for the Obama candidacy, Bray anticipates his Muslim heritage could be smeared.

"After the tragedy of 9/11, Republicans might politically exploit this for fear and smear," Bray said. "He's a Christian, but the right-wing bloggers are already talking about his name Obama Hussein.

"Can you believe we live in such a bigoted country that people would denounce him for his name? It wouldn't matter if he were a Christian or a Mormon or Jewish. It's unfair to denounce someone because of their name and connect that to their Muslim heritage," he added.

Bray stressed there is no monolithic support for any single candidate among Muslim voters.

ICNA and MAS, which co-sponsor conventions, are non-profit religious organizations and thus do not endorse any candidates, said Azeem Khan, assistant secretary general for ICNA.

"We don't have a problem with people having tables" at our conventions, Khan told Cybercast News Service. "In '04, Kerry had a table. In 2000, the ISNA convention had a table of Muslims for Bush."

Khan has his doubts about the electoral impact the Muslim community can have in the presidential race.

"Muslims are less than 2 percent of the population in the U.S. and are not a category weighed heavily," Khan said. "Muslims are naturally close to the Republican Party on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. The difference comes on foreign policy and other issues."

Khan said President George W. Bush, a Republican, won overwhelmingly among Muslim voters in 2000, but the pendulum swung to the Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004.

ISNA promotes itself as a civil rights group seeking interfaith dialogue, but the group has had to weather controversy in past years.

ISNA was an unindicted co-conspirator in a case, declared a mistrial, against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation. The government accused the Holy Land Foundation but did not convict it of raising more than $12 million for individuals and groups linked the terrorist group Hamas.

J. Michael Waller, an Annenberg professor of international communication at the Institute of World Politics, told a Senate panel in 2003 that ISNA provides training for Wahhabi-trained imams. Wahhabiism is a form of Sunni Islam that includes radical adherents.

An ISNA spokesperson could not be reached for comment for this story.

Jasser was also concerned that the Muslim Americans for Obama site contained a "Qaran (Audio) English Translation. " Clicking on that brings a user to the Web site "The Sounds of Islam." At this site users can listen to numerous lectures regarding Islam, including those from people who have expressed radical views in the past.

One of the more controversial lecturers on the site is the Islamic preacher Yusuf Al Qaradawi, who has advocated suicide bombings.

"Allah Almighty is just; through his infinite wisdom he has given the weak a weapon the strong do not have and that is their ability to turn their bodies into bombs as Palestinians do," the BBC quoted him as saying.

The "Sounds of Islam" site also includes lectures by Abdul Rahman Al Sudais, the chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, who has used inflammatory rhetoric against people of different faiths.

The BBC quoted him as saying, "The worst ... of the enemies of Islam are those ... whom he ... made monkeys and pigs, the aggressive Jews and oppressive Zionists and those that follow them: the callers of the trinity and the cross worshippers ... those influenced by the rottenness of their ideas, and the poison of their cultures the followers of secularism .... How can we talk sweetly when the Hindus and the idol worshippers indulge in their overwhelming hatred against our brothers."

Jasser said it's not a stretch to show concern about such a link on the pro-Obama site.

"That's the problem with Islamism," he said. "It's an insinuating, permeating, political ideology that utilizes this political activism to bring forth the political agenda of Islamists. Unless you deal with organizations that separate religion and politics, you're going to find yourself one or two steps away from the international Muslim Brotherhood. "
 

Saturday, February 9, 2008

From Move America Forward

Note:  You should also check out this video which shows you exactly what we'll be up against when we go head-to-head against Code Pink in Berkeley on Tuesday, February 12th:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmdrkmtkCw4
 

 
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates &
Council Member Linda Maio
Have Some Explaining to Do
 
(SAN FRANCISCO) – Despite efforts by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and some City Council members to sound conciliatory notes over the recent anti-military resolutions passed by the Council, new evidence has come to light calling into question the sincerity of Council Member Linda Maio and Mayor Tom Bates.
 
On February 2, 2008, Berkeley City Council Member Linda Maio told the Bay Area News Group's Doug Oakley:
 
"I don't think any of us paid enough attention to it, and people want to rewrite it to more accurately portray our sentiments," said Maio, who supported the resolutions. "We really do have a great deal of concern for the people in our military, and we don't want to be critical of the sacrifices they are making."
 
That concern does not appear to be very sincere.
 
The pro-troop organization Move America Forward has obtained an email sent out by Council Member Maio who is actively working with Code Pink to stack the Berkeley City Council meeting with anti-military protestors who want to chase the Marines out of Berkeley:
 
Hi [name redacted], we have received info that the marines and their supporters are gearing up to come to the Feb 12th council meeting to shame us and attack us, in large numbers.  Now that Laurie and Betty have put on a recommendation to rescind what we did (on the agenda of Feb 12th) we expect they will jam the microphone with their diatribes.  Press will be there in full force. The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m.  People need to get there early enough to get in and grab a seat. Pls help pass on the word. The fire dept will not allow more people in than room can hold.  Therefore, I am urging people to come early and occupy a seat, and be prepared to speak too and represent our city's values next Tuesday. 
Linda
 
Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) criticized the double-speak by Council Member Maio.
 
"Clearly Linda Maio wanted the press to believe that she was somehow unaware of the content of the anti-military resolutions she voted for by saying she hadn't 'paid enough attention it.' 
 
"However, now we learn that Maio is actively working with Code Pink to mobilize the very same proponents of the anti-military resolutions to come and stack Tuesday's City Council meeting.  It's very disingenuous and proves that the City Council is not truly apologetic for their actions," said Move America Forward's Melanie Morgan.
 
Similarly, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has told reporters that he felt the Berkeley City Council had perhaps gone "too far" with the three resolutions they passed on January 29, 2008.
 
But those words appear, like Councilmember Maio's, to ring hollow, as Move America Forward has discovered that Mayor Bates himself has participated in Code Pink's protests outside of the U.S. Marine Recruiting Center – in an effort to harass the Marines and force them to leave town.
 
As of Saturday, February 9, 2008, a photograph of Mayor Bates participating in the protest at the Marine Recruiting Center is posted on the website of Code Pink:
 
"Mayor Bates' actions speak louder than words.  While he has been trying to quell the uprising against the Berkeley City Council for their anti-military actions, he has been actively working with Code Pink to harass the Marines and chase them out of town. 
 
"If Mayor Bates and the Berkeley City Council want to put this issue to rest they need to rescind all three anti-military resolutions passed on January 29th and issue a formal, written apology, to the U.S. Marine Corps and all military men and women serving this nation," said Melanie Morgan.
 
**NOTE:  On Tuesday, February 12th, Move America Forward will lead an all-day pro-troop demonstration and protest against the Berkeley City Council outside the Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Berkeley, CA.  The protest will begin at 5:00 AM – yes, in the morning – and continue all the way through the Berkeley City Council meeting that night at 7:00 PM.
 
(Above: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates joins CODEPINK outside the recruiting station)
 
**NOTE 2:  Move America Forward can provide you with a higher-resolution photograph of Mayor Bates participation in the protests at the Marine Recruiting Center.  If you would like a higher-resolution image, email Joe Wierzbicki at:  jwierzbicki@rmrwest.com
 
For more information about the February 12th pro-troop protest against the Berkeley City Council, contact Mary Pearson at Move America Forward at (916) 441-6197 or at: Mary@MoveAmericaForward.org

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Beheading in the Name of Islam

 
 
Beheading in the Name of Islam Online  
FrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Of all the crimes committed by extremist Muslims, the one that is arguably the most horrifying is the act of beheading.  This month, Islam Online (IOL), a website that has mass popularity throughout the Muslim world, published a gruesome poem detailing how to behead a human being.  By doing this, the site has not only shined a light on its true nature, but it has, as well, called into question the motives of all groups that link to it and portray Islam Online as anything but what it truly is: a source of violent hatred.
 
Islam Online first invaded the internet in November of 1999.  Since then, the site has worked hard to support the terrorist infrastructure around the world.  Today, with a few clicks of the mouse, one will find the transcripts of past forums – what Islam Online refers to as "Live Dialogue" sessions – on the site, giving terrorist operatives 'carte blanch' to get their views out.  Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders, including Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Mousa Abu Marzook, Sami Al-Arian and Rafiq Jaber, have all been given a voice to speak on Islam Online.
 
As well, today, within Islam Online's fatwa or religious ruling section, one will find various statements advocating, and at times even mandating, the most hideous of violent acts.
 
About suicide bombings, Islam Online states: "Martyr operations are not suicide and should not be deemed as unjustifiable means of endangering one's life... [I]n martyr operations, the Muslim sacrifices his own life for the sake of performing a religious duty, which is jihad against the enemy... [T]he Palestinians resort to martyr operations, in which the martyr blows himself/herself up, sacrificing his life for the sake of his country... I believe that those missions are a sacred duty carried out in form of self-defense... So whoever is killed in such missions is a martyr, may Allah bless him with high esteem.
 
About killing homosexuals, the site states: "Some scholars hold the opinion that the homosexual should be thrown from a high building as a punishment for his crime, but other scholars maintain that he should be imprisoned until death. Based on the above fact, we can conclude that, the judge is invested with full discretion as to whether this man is to be thrown from a high place or not, as a punishment for his crime. However, if the man survives death fall, the judge has the right to sentence him to death."
 
Certainly anyone would agree – at least anyone that is not a radical Islamist – that things such as suicide bombings and throwing homosexuals off of buildings are completely devoid of any type of morality.  They are acts of evil.  But on January 1, 2008, to ring in the "infidel" New Year, Islam Online managed to outdo itself.  It published a poem – and advertised it on all of its web pages, including its homepage – detailing the steps that one goes about to behead human beings.
 
Here is exactly what the group posted, which is still up on its own page within Islam Online's 'Arts & Culture' section:
How to Behead

Hold him
Tie the arms behind his back
And bandage his legs together
Just by the ankles
Blindfold the punk
So that he won't hesitate as much
For on seeing the sharp pointy knife
He'll begin to shake
And continuously scream like an eedyat
And jiggle like a jelly
Trust me–this will sure get you angry
It's better to have at least two or three brothers by your side
Who can hold the fool
Because as soon as the warm sharp knife
Touches his naked flesh
He'll come to know what'll happen
It's not as messy or as hard as some may think,
It's all about the flow of the wrist.
No doubt that the punk will twitch and scream
But ignore the donkey's ass
And continue to slice back and forth
You'll feel the knife hit the wind and food pipe
But don't stop
Continue with all your might.
About now you should feel the knife vibrate,
You can feel the warm heat being given off,
But this is due to the friction being caused.
 
The piece was written by Samina Malik, a 23-year-old female resident of the United Kingdom, who, this past November, was convicted of possessing documents likely to be used for terrorism under UK's Terrorism Act 2000.  Documents found on her computer included: The Mujaheddin Poisoner's Handbook, Encyclopaedia Jihad, How To Win In Hand To Hand Combat, How To Make Bombs and Sniper Manual.
 
During Malik's trial, it was reported that, on a social networking website, under the section titled 'Favorite TV Shows,' she wrote, "Watching videos by my Muslim brothers in Iraq, yep the beheading ones, watching video messages by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri and other videos which show massacres of the kaffirs." As well, it was reported that she was an admirer of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the now deceased ex-head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who is believed to be the executioner in the beheading of American Nick Berg.
Under the poem are comments from readers, many of which are critical of Islam Online for publishing it.  A few of the comments, however, are aimed at non-Muslims.  One states, "A PIG IS THE ONLY ANIMAL THAT INVITES OTHER PIGS TO COME AND ENJOY WITH IT'S MATE, A QUALITY THAT IS UNIQUE TO JEWS AND CHRISTIANS..."
 
In advertising the poem to its viewers, Islam Online posted a graphic image on all of its web pages.  It depicted the words "How to Behead!" on it, with letters that were done in a macabre font.  In the background one can see what looks like the head of a knife along with the splattering of blood.  The graphic lasted on the site, including on the homepage, for four full days.  This was eerily similar to when the website posted a graphic with the words "A Hanukkah of Darkness?," advertising an article written by Hamas (Islamic Association for Palestine) operative, Khalid Amayreh.
 
By doing all of the above, Islam Online has shown itself to be an organization saturated with evil.  Regrettably, though, Islam Online has a role to play in the Muslim world, providing dubious news and information to thousands, if not millions.
 
But Islam Online wouldn't be of such importance, if it didn't have Muslims around the globe supporting it.  This includes large groups within the United States and Canada that continue to give access to the site's content through links and internet postings – groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim American Society (MAS), and the Muslim Students Association (MSA).
One can only take away from this that the aforementioned groups have no problem with the dangerous and offensive subject matter found on the website.  And that begins to make sense, when one finds out that representatives from the groups are involved with Islam Online.
 
Jamal Badawi, one of Islam Online's Sharia scholars, is a board member of both ISNA and CAIR-Canada.  Muzammil Siddiqi, also an IOL Sharia scholar, is a board member and the former National President of ISNA, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Chairman of Islam Online, is the Chairman of MAS's Islamic American University (IAU).  And Altaf Husain, a contributor and correspondent for Islam Online, is the former National President of the MSA and serves on the MSA Board of Advisors.
 
These individuals and groups and many others have allowed Islam Online to breathe and grow, making it able to rear future extremists.  And it seems that not only is Islam Online going to support and mandate acts of terrorism, but it is now going to teach these extremists how to commit terror, as it has with the issue of beheading.
 
Islam Online is a symptom of a much larger problem, but it is also a factor in helping that problem spread to even more hearts and minds.  While Islam Online is looking to teach those who are easily influenced how to behead their fellow man, we, the Free World, need to be looking for a way to behead Islam Online.
 

Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate, the founder of CAIR Watch, and the spokesman for Terror-Free Oil Initiative.
 

Saturday, December 29, 2007

ACTION ALERT!

The freedom frother needs to be taught a lesson. Tell the candy-assed sissy pedophile that his tactics do not impress us or scare us and that we will accept no truce from him, only surrender.

Call him now 706-868-4150 and tell him you stand by the honorable folks at Move America Forward and reject the fanaticism of perverts like him.

Friday, December 21, 2007

How ALL business phones SHOULD be answered!





GOOD

MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

....



Press

'1' for English.

Press

'2' to disconnect until you learn to speak English



And

remember only two defining forces have ever

Offered to die

for you,

Jesus

Christ



And

the American Soldier.



One

died for your soul,



The

other for your freedom.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

CAIR PLANTS ISLAMISTS AT DEBATES

Activists posing as ordinary citizens influencing national security dialogue

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
 
Radical Islamist groups are planting activists posing as ordinary Muslim Americans to ask candidates questions at the presidential debates.
Most recently, the controversial Council on American-Islamic Relations, several of whose leaders have been prosecuted on terror-related charges, sent the executive director of its Chicago chapter to take part in the Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, which was supposed to be an opportunity for "ordinary people" to ply candidates with questions.

Ahmed Rehab
At Saturday's debate, aired on C-Span, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab stood up and asked Sen. John Edwards if he would help Muslims fight "prejudice" and other "abuses" such as hate crimes.
 
"It seems we're facing a culture of fear-mongering," Rehab complained.
"Senator, in the '60s, Malcolm and Martin gave up their lives fighting for justice for all," he added. "The civil rights movement is not over. It's not done yet. We're still fighting.
"Senator," he continued, "we would like to know if you will fight with us if elected president."
 
A number of Muslim activists around Rehab erupted into applause and cheers.
 "You've got some fans," Edwards remarked, before vowing to end "profiling" of and "spying" on Muslim terrorist suspects. He also promised to "close Guantanamo" and stop the "torture" of terrorist detainees.
 
Despite Rehab's assertion that Muslims are victims of hate crimes and other abuses on a "regular basis," the FBI last month released 2006 data showing anti-Islamic crimes have fallen 68 percent since 2001, and represent just 11 percent of all religiously motivated attacks. According to a report in Investor's Business Daily, the overwhelming majority of such crimes – 66 percent – target Jews.
 
Also, at last month's Republican debate in St. Petersburg, Fla., a former CAIR intern was selected by host CNN to challenge GOP presidential hopefuls about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and complain about the anger they've created in the Muslim world.

Yasmin Elhady
Wearing a hijab, Yasmin Elhady complained they've created anger in the Muslim world. "My question has to do with the current crisis in Iraq, as well as the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan," she said.
 
"After living abroad personally in the Middle East for a year, I realized just how much damage the Iraq war and the perception of invasion has done to the image of America," Elhady added. "What would you do as president to repair the image of America in the eyes of the Muslim world?"
CNN, which claimed to pick questioners at random from a pool of "undecided voters," did not cite Elhady's activist background with CAIR. The network simply identified her as "Yasmin from Huntsville, Ala." (She actually lives in Los Angeles, where she attends college at UCLA.)
 
In recent court documents, federal prosecutors list CAIR and its founder as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement, as well as unindicted co-conspirators in an ongoing terror fund-raising case. Moreover, as WND first reported, no fewer than 14 CAIR officials – including the Washington-based group's founder and its executive director – have either been convicted or named in terrorism investigations.
 
Earlier, at CNN's Democratic debate in Las Vegas, another Muslim activist associated with CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood was handed the microphone. Again, CNN failed to identify him as anything but an average American Muslim.

Khalid Khan
 
"Our next questioner is – Khalid Khan, if you would please stand for a moment," CNN host Suzanne Malveaux said. "You and I spoke very briefly, and you said you have some concerns about racial profiling."
 
"Yes, I do," Khan said, sternly. "I am an American citizen and have been profiled all the time at the airport. Since 9/11, hundreds of thousands of Americans have been profiled. And, you know, it is like harassment."
Edwards, who fielded the question first, responded that the Patriot Act needs to be "dramatically changed," to which Khan nodded in agreement.
 
But Khan, an immigrant from Pakistan, is no ordinary American citizen. He's president of the Islamic Society of Nevada, which has its roots with the radical Muslim Student Association. MSA, which was founded by members of the notorious Muslim Brotherhood, is the forerunner of the Islamic Society of North America, an unindicted co-conspirator in the same terror case with CAIR.
Khan runs the largest mosque in Las Vegas, and hired its controversial imam, Aslam Abdullah, former vice chairman of MPAC in Los Angeles.
 
In June 2004, Abdullah, who heads an Islamic "seminary" in Pakistan, accused President Bush of engaging in "a religious and racist agenda and prejudice against Islam, Muslims and Arabs." He also has likened Marines in Iraq to the 9/11 terrorists, and publicly questioned whether videotapes showing Osama bin Laden gloating over the attacks were authentic. Abdullah claims to be moderate, even "progressive," but terror expert Steve Emerson says he is in fact an Islamic extremist.
 
"The record of Aslam Abdullah's comments during the past few years demonstrates an ideology of militant Islamic extremism," Emerson said. "Pretending to be moderate, his radical agenda typifies the deception of groups that falsely assert to be non-extremist."
 
Khan, who runs several businesses registered at his home address in Henderson, Nev., had his access badge revoked in 2004 by officials at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
 
The FBI suspects several of the 9/11 hijackers, who met in Vegas before the attacks, may have visited Khan's mosque, Jamia Masjid. The mosque's website links to CAIR's website.
 
Click Here for full article.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

YOU REALLY THINK WE ARE LOSING?

American Forces Press Service

Iraqi Targeting Success Now Equals Coalition Efforts

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2007 - Iraqi forces can now gather intelligence and go after targets as successfully as U.S. units there, a senior intelligence advisor in the region said today.
Iraqi intelligence gathering and processing has progressed at the tactical level to the point that target information is collected, processed and approved and then sent to Iraqi units, who go after the target. The cycle is successful in yielding results about 30 percent of the time.

That is about the same as U.S. efforts, said Daniel M. Maguire, the senior intelligence advisor and director of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior intelligence transition team, speaking via telephone to a group of Internet journalists and "bloggers."

"They are right now on par in terms of going after targets and having success ... with the rest of the coalition forces," Maguire said.

Maguire's joint team of about 80 military members and civilians work within the ministries of Defense and Interior, advising and mentoring Iraqi officials as they build the capacity of the intelligence efforts. His department falls under Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, which is responsible for training, manning and equipping Iraqi security forces.

Maguire said he believes intelligence capabilities within the Iraqi government should be self-sustaining by this time next year. In Baghdad "we have gone from submitting probably less than a dozen targets on a weekly basis, of which none were actionable, to most recently being able to submit between 50 and 60 on a weekly basis, 90 percent which are actionable" or have sufficient details that Iraqi forces can go out and make an arrest, seize a target or pick up the weapons cache, Maguire said.

Some targets, though, still are sent to coalition forces, depending on their sensitivity or if they are out of Iraqi forces' technical capabilities.

"But the success story is really (that), from the front end to the back end, (the) complete cycle is Iraqi-run and Iraqi-executed, " he said.

Under Saddam Hussein's rule, intelligence organizations within Iraqi security divisions were there more often to spy on commands than to collect outside target information.

Maguire said his team is working to resolve commanders' suspicions by directly working with commanders and assigning senior intelligence officers at division levels so the commander and the intelligence officers establish working relationships.

Iraqi intelligence efforts are limited in some technical capabilities, such as intelligence gathering. Maguire's office is working to get the Iraqis some low-level capabilities that would apply against target sets they are confronting, he said.

At a more senior level, the biggest challenge is recruiting trained analysts and supplying them with secure communications devices and analysis computers and software. They have about 80 percent of what they need, Maguire said.

But, he added, the Iraqi government is hiring and recruiting mostly by word of mouth at universities and reaching out to former military and intelligence officers.

Maguire said he thinks that this time next year they will be "perfectly capable of collecting (intelligence) against a target and executing against a target probably in most of the provinces."
Related Sites:
Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq
Defense Department Bloggers Roundtable