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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Investor Clouseau who wrote (18834)	10/3/2002 10:36:43 PM
From: Investor Clouseau	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27666

Saddam has challenged the leaders of America to a duel in an attempt to solve the problems he has made for himself by losing the Gulf War. The President is from Texas, and the Vice-President is from Wyoming. Giving them the mere thought of having an opportunity to practice has brought them great joy. Truly, it made their day. However, because Saddam does not fight fair, it was the unfortunate duty of “Doc” Holliday to point out that their primary responsibility is the defense of America, and they cannot allow themselves to be drawn into a duel for their own personal enjoyment. Saddam’s comically transparent attempts at deception, along with his continuous lies, prove that that he does not really wish for a fair fight. As much as they were looking forward to the duel, and as much fun as it would be for them, there are only two authorities that may remove them from their office and responsibilities, the American people, and the United States Congress. Because of Saddam’s continued grievous stupidity, and his acts of murder against the undefended, the unarmed, and the helpless, he has shown many times that he is most un-Arab in his behavior. However, because he has at least attempted to be gracious with his offer of a duel, it must be granted that he is not entirely and completely devoid of the good manners that are an integral and essential part of Arab culture. Even if he does not intend to fight fairly, and with honor, as a true Arab does. Saddam should be cautioned against any further challenges to a duel, because it forces IC to bring disappointment to the President and Vice-President, and challenges IC’s job security. Causing disappointment to the President and Vice-President is very harmful to IC, and will force him to prematurely stop being gentle and diplomatic with Saddam. By failing to follow the law, Saddam is bringing justice upon himself. IC “Why Saddam Hussein, you ain’t no daisy; you ain’t no daisy at all.”

To: Investor Clouseau who wrote (18834)	10/3/2002 11:08:42 PM
From: David in Ontario	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27666

"How a Saudi town bred five hijackers" theage.com.au ("The Age", Melbourne, Australia, 4 Oct. 2002) Five of the Saudis linked to the September 11 terrorist attacks came from the same region, reports Paul McGeough in Abha and Khamis Mushayt. High in the misty mountains of the Saudi Arabian province of Asir, no man could escape the rant of Sheik Ahmed Al Hawashi, the "evil father" of a mosque in the conservative town of Khamis Mushayt. At night, the squat mosque was illuminated by white fluorescent strips. Powerful amplifiers broadcast the imam's message across the town. This is the corner of Saudi Arabia from which five of the September 11 hijackers were recruited. According to Ali Al Mosa, an academic and campaigner for reform, the mosque of Sheik Ahmed Al Hawashi was a vital link in the al Qaeda recruitment drive. "Sheik Al Hawashi was the evil father of the whole thing," said Dr Al Mosa, citing intelligence sources for his information. "He was the one behind it all and he is still there - he knew five of the kids and he was praying with them." Five sons of the Asir province were involved in the 2001 hijackings, which claimed over 3000 lives. Fayez Ahmad (Marwan) Al Shehri and Fayez Banihammad were aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Centre. Ahmad Abdullah Alnami, 23, was on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside. The brothers Wael Alshehri and Waleed M. Alshehri were aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the plane that hit the World Trade Centre's North Tower. It seemed remarkable that a suspect sheik could still be in charge of a mosque more than a year after the attacks. However, Dr Al Mosa said: "He has been here for 25 years and he's very popular. I think that Saudi and US intelligence are still working up solid proof that he knew the kids." More remarkable still was the determination of Saudi Information Ministry officials to block The Age's attempts to interview Sheik Al Hawashi or anyone else in the region about why its men volunteered in such numbers for Osama bin Laden's missions. Just to get permission to travel to the region required an undertaking not to approach the hijackers' families. Once in the area we were banned from approaching local academics or sheiks or taking photographs. At one point, this reporter was informed by a ministry minder that he was a "prisoner" and permission was denied even to take a taxi to the airport. When The Age insisted on departing by taxi, three minders followed in a black Ford sedan for the 30-kilometre drive. An arrangement was made with the taxi driver to detour past the Khamis Mushayt mosque, buried amid the dusty commercial hoardings of the town: Pepsi, Gulf Paints, Ryad Bank. As the taxi pulled in, the sheik was in full flight, but with the information ministry close behind, The Age continued to the airport. The Saudi royal family draws its legitimacy from a power-sharing arrangement with the religious establishment, which gives the likes of Sheik Al Hawashi inordinate control over the nation's education and legal system. To many of Saudi Arabia's domestic and foreign critics, this is the root of the many economic, social and security problems that beset the oil-rich kingdom today. In the wake of September 11, the royal family pleaded with the more outspoken clerics to condemn terrorism and to curb their anti-American rhetoric. It reportedly offered some of them a bribe in the form of a pension. Dr Al Mosa said some lesser-known, hard-line clerics had been quietly removed from their state-paid positions. He said proposed new rules stipulated that only those aged over 40 would be given charge of a mosque. But such was the power of the sheiks, he said, that these attempts to restrain them had not been publicly announced. Other observers have concluded that the regime has balked at any concrete steps that would seriously wind back their power. In an earlier interview in the lobby of a hotel in Abha, the capital of the province, Dr Al Mosa told how two mosques at Khamis Mushayt, about 15 kilometres east of Abha, had been used to draw the young men to terrorism. "There are a lot of suspect sheiks working in this area. They are intense and they are a part of a radical movement. The universities are the same. We have become more wahabist," he said, referring to the radical reading of Islam by which most Saudis are obliged to live. "Our political system does not contradict the needs of modern society. But the religious system has dominated and it means we will be even more radicalised. "It has corrupted the whole education system. Unless you are religious you will not get a place in university and these people are so well entrenched that they are installing new layers of fellow thinkers beneath them. And we need to change the curriculum - primary, secondary and university - so that our students actually learn something." Saudi Arabia grants only limited numbers of press visas. A senior official at the Information Ministry said the government was protecting the families of the hijackers, after complaints of media harassment. He took great pride in the near total failure of the international media to get substantive interviews with any of the families linked to September 11 - including the bin Laden family. What he didn't say was that the government also seems happy to shelter the sheiks who are accused of facilitating the terrorists.

To: Investor Clouseau who wrote (18834)	10/4/2002 12:07:09 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27666

Muhammad, a 'demon-possessed pedophile'? June 15, 2002 This week's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was met with some unexpected fireworks after my friend Dr. Jerry Vines, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., declared that Muhammad was a "demon-possessed pedophile" and that Islam teaches the destruction of all non-Muslims. If you want to raise the ire of the mainstream press and the swarm of politically-correct organizations in this nation, just criticize Islam (as Dr. Vines learned). Dr. Vines' statements were made in reference to the new book, "Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs" (Kregel Publications). It is written by scholars Ergun and Emir Caner, brothers raised as Muslims who are today dynamic and outspoken Christians. Ergun is assistant professor of theology and church history at Criswell College in Dallas, while Emir is assistant professor of church history and Anabaptist studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. Dr. Vines also quoted from the Hadith, a respected source for Islamic teaching among Muslim clerics and followers worldwide. Upon examination, the Hadith verifies that Muhammad did marry the nine-year-old daughter of a friend. The girl, named Aisha, became known as the "mother of believers." "It's simply a matter of quoting [Islamic] sources," said Emir Caner. "If we are wrong in our understanding of the Islamic scriptures, we would be happy to be corrected." The specific Hadith citation concerning Muhammad's relationship with the young girl is in volume 7, book 6, number 64 and 65, said Ergun Caner. (Both Emir and Ergun Caner were Sunni Muslims who became Christians in 1982.) "The comments in question cannot be considered bigotry when they come from Islamic writings," Ergun said during a press conference hosted by Baptist Press in St. Louis. A lengthy passage from the Hadith, volume 1, book 1, chapter 1, shows that Muhammad himself believed he was under demonic influence, but it notes that Muhammad's wife is the one who deemed his experience as "divine," said Ergun. Concerning terrorism and Islamic jihad, Emir noted differential interpretations by Muslims themselves. Some see jihad as a "spiritual war," while others see it as meaning "physical," he said. "Some Muslims want to allegorize their own scriptures because they don't want to defend jihad," Emir said. "But if you take the Koran at its word, or Muhammad at his word, then you'll find physical jihad." In fact, he noted, the highest level of Muslim heaven – which has 70 perpetual virgins on couches – is reserved for Muslims who "shed their blood" (Hadith 135). Islam's inclination toward violence, he added, also is reflected in the Koran: "Slay the enemy where you find him" (Surah 9.92). Dr. Vines was simply pointing out these distinctions. Since the media so often treats the Muslim religion with utter reverence – something we Baptists are unfamiliar with – he felt it was important that SBC members understand these distinctions. If those in the media were doing their jobs, Dr. Vines would never have felt it necessary to point out these disquieting elements of an enigmatic religion. Ergun Caner observed an element of hypocrisy in the quest to portray Islam as a peaceful religion: "A so-called Christian who bombs an abortion clinic or shoots an abortionist and says God told him to do it does that act against the Bible," he said. "But the Muslim who commits acts of violence in jihad does so with the approval of Muhammad. … When Sept. 11 happened, we were all shocked. But where was the international outrage when jihad killed 3 million people (Christian people, I might add) in Sudan?" A major element in the SBC – under the leadership of newly elected president Dr. Jack Graham – will be that of "Empowering Kingdom Growth." This major ministry initiative encourages SBC members to humbly seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This means we will accelerate our efforts to take the Gospel to all people – including Muslims. We do not do this as a form of "hate," as some charge. We do this because we want others to know the peace that comes solely through a relationship with Jesus Christ: "For He Himself is our peace …" (Ephesians 2:14). Among other actions, SBC messengers also called for churches and civil authorities to hold accountable clergy members guilty of sexual abuse. Another resolution calls for President Bush to place a "high priority" on enacting a ban on partial-birth abortion. And the SBC's North American Mission Board challenged members to consider their personal role in the "Go" part of the Great Commission by personally participating in mission trips during 2003. The Southern Baptist Convention is a denomination of 16 million people who are serious about their calling to be representatives of Jesus Christ. While we do not maintain the kind and gentle treatment that most other socially-acceptable denominations enjoy, we are committed to boldly speaking truth in love to the peoples of this world. And I am gratified to have a part in this great effort. worldnetdaily.com