Monday, October 29, 2007

Back to the slaughter, Imad Mugniyah makes a comeback.

But did he ever really go away? Probably not, but the man has managed to keep a very low profile. Imad Mugniyah was mentioned in a previous posting as orchestrating the bombing of the Marine and the French Paratrooper barracks back in 1983, but he has done so much more. Mugniyah has been involved in the April 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon; the 1984 bombing of the U.S. Embassy annex in Lebanon; the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847; numerous kidnappings of Westerners in Beirut throughout the 1980s; the 1992 and 1994 bombings of the Israeli Embassy and a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires; the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing; and the 2000 kidnappings of 3 Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and of Israeli Colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum, who was lured to Kuwait under false pretenses and then taken to the Hezbollah enclave in southern Lebanon. It is also possible that he was involved in the killing of U.S. Army Colonel William Buckley. My estimation is that he has been personally responsible for attacks killing over 480 people in his more high profile attacks. As such, he has been wanted by the FBI since 1985.

So why bring him up now? Unfortunately Mugniyah has shown up in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley training terrorists to strike at the U.S. should an attack on Iran take place. This man’s continued existence has bothered me for some time primarily because of the multiple Hezbollah cells that are present in the U.S., many of whom have more than likely been trained by Mugniyah. Mugniyah’s re-emergence, if one can call it that, would prove to be a useful deterrent to a U.S. led attack on Iran. This man has managed to pull off difficult assignments in a short amount of time for both Hezbollah and Iranian intelligence, and a couple of suicide attacks in the U.S. would not be hard to imagine. In order to counter this move made by Iran it is necessary to once again directly target the man for assassination or capture. While this attempt may not be successful it could help disrupt the training of future jihadists. In fact, now would be a very good time since Hezbollah is still trying to rebuild its military wing that was severely hurt during the war with Israel just last year. In any case, it’s better late than never.

Here is the FBI wanted poster.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Terrorism by flame

I came across an interesting news piece early this morning stating that California State Troopers caught an arsonist in the act of attempting to reignite a fire in an area that had been spared. Many of you out there may ask what the fires in California have to do with terrorism. The answer to this is actually quite simple, terrorists have used fire as tool of terror for thousands of years. In fact, groups in ancient times that we today may describe as either terrorists or guerrilla fighters used fire quite effectively thanks to the invention of greek fire. In present times the groups most commonly associated with the use of fire to further a political message is the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front. Additionally, a terrorist associated with al-Qaeda claimed that he was part of a plot to start wild fires in the western U.S. to cause destruction and monetary damage. Lebanon is also suffering from fires that were started by arsonists attempting to drain the resources of the central government.

Currently I do not have the all the facts or any concrete evidence to back up my claim, but the current fire situation in California contains many elements that were present in past ELF attacks. ELF usually targets Hummer dealerships or construction site that they claim to be infringing on the habitats of wild animals. The fires in California have hit areas that contain many extravagant homes and other forms of decadence. While I cannot and will not say that I am one hundred percent sure that these fires were acts of ELF, it is clear that they were started purposely. The U.S. government is currently offering a reward of 50,000 dollars for information leading to the arrest of the people who started these fires.

Monday, October 22, 2007

They came in Peace for 'Right and Freedom' in Lebanon

In the early morning of October 23, 1983 two vehicles laden with explosives rammed and detonated in the U.S. Marine barracks and the barracks of the French paratroopers located in Beirut Lebanon killing 241 Marines and 58 French paratrooper. The plan was devised by Imad Mughniyeh, a major player in Hezbollah to this day, and backed by both the Iranian and Syrian governments. It has now been twenty four years and although the Iranian government has been found guilty and ordered to pay a sum in the billions, nothing has come of it. To add to the injury Mughniyeh is still operating freely and moves between Lebanon and Iran frequently. I would caution Iran and Hezbollah that justice in this world or the next will surely come.


"They were not afraid to stand up for their country or, no matter how difficult and slow the journey might be, to give to others that last, best hope of a better future. We cannot and will not dishonor them now and the sacrifices they've made by failing to remain as faithful to the cause of freedom and the pursuit of peace as they have been. I will not ask you to pray for the dead, because they're safe in God's loving arms and beyond need of our prayers. I would like to ask you all - wherever you may be in this blessed land - to pray for these wounded young men and to pray for the bereaved families of those who gave their lives for our freedom." President Ronald Reagan, October 27, 1983

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." General George S. Patton, Jr

Semper Fidelis