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Iran-Sponsored Terrorists Plan US Attack ‘Worse Than The World Trade Center’ From Latin American Countries

Right Side News – “Middle Eastern terrorists have infiltrated Latin American countries—especially Mexico—to plan an attack against the United States, according to an alarming exposé broadcast this week by the world’s largest Spanish news network.
The Univision documentary, ‘La Amenaza Irani,’ (Iranian Threat), uses undercover, never-before-seen video footage to illustrate how Iran’s growing political, economic and military ties to Latin America threaten U.S. security. The videos were part of a seven-month investigation in which college-aged Mexicans infiltrated diplomatic circles in Mexico to obtain recordings that prove diplomats from Iran, Venezuela and Cuba planned a cybernetic attack against the White House, FBI, Pentagon and U.S. nuclear plants.
The documentary also features secret video taken by extremists linked to Iran and footage from an undercover journalist who infiltrated Venezuelan military camps where terrorists trained. The news network’s investigative team also tracked the expansion of Iranian interests in the hemisphere, including money-laundering and drug-trafficking activities by terrorist groups supported by Iran.
A segment is dedicated to the connection between Mexican drug cartels and the foiled plot to murder the Saudi ambassador in Washington D.C. a few months ago. One of the Iranians charged had been ordered by that country’s Special Forces to travel to Mexico to recruit members of the notorious drug cartel ‘Los Zetas’ to carry out the plot. The massive scheme against U.S. government information and computer systems had been in the works years earlier, the documentary reveals.” Read more.
Flashback: Argentina flirts with Iran as West watches nervously – “Argentina is quietly reaching out to Iran, worrying key Western powers and Israel as they try to tighten Tehran’s international isolation over its nuclear program, UN diplomats told Reuters… Iran has every reason to want to mend relations with Argentina. Under sanctions and increasingly isolated due to its nuclear program, Tehran has few allies and needs friends. Argentina is also on the 35-nation board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, where Iran’s nuclear program is a key issue… Several European diplomats noted that [Argentine President] Fernandez is a close ally of regional leftists like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales, who have warm ties with Iran.” Read more.
Flashback: ‘A World Without America’: Iran Building Rocket Bases in Venezuela to be Used Against ‘Iran’s Enemies’ – “The Iranian government is moving forward with the construction of rocket launch bases in Venezuela, the German daily Die Welt wrote in its Friday edition. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is Teheran’s most important South American ally. Iran is building intermediate- range missile launch pads on the Paraguaná Peninsula, and engineers from a construction firm – Khatam al-Anbia – owned by the Revolutionary Guards visited Paraguaná in February. Amir al-Hadschisadeh, the head of the Guard’s Air Force, participated in the visit, according to the report. Die Welt cited information from ‘Western security insiders.’” Read more.
Report: Syria Arms Medium-Range Missile Arsenal with Chemical Warheads
“The Syrian regime, which has endured nine months of civil unrest spurred by the Arab Spring as it swept across the Middle East, has armed its medium-range missile arsenal with chemical warheads.
According to a report published by the Sabah daily Sunday, Damascus armed 600 one-ton chemical warheads to use in the event of a foreign military intervention. Furthermore, President Bashar al-Assad ordered the deployment of 21 missile launchers along its border with Turkey. Syria’s medium-range missiles that can be equipped with chemical warheads have a range of up to 1,300 kilometers and would include the southern and central provinces of Turkey.
According to the daily, the Syrian military keeps its stockpile of chemical warheads in secret facilities in and around the capital city of Damascus. In mid-November, President Assad held a special meeting with top commanders of the Syrian army and argued over how to respond to a possible military intervention by the international community. Additionally, Russia, which stood by the Assad regime’s defiance of international pressure on Damascus, sent 3 million gas masks to the troubled country. Most of those masks will be distributed to the regime’s loyalists, the families of soldiers and Baath supporters. The distribution of the masks is set to be completed by the end of December, according to the daily.” Read more.
Flashback: Saddam’s WMDs are in Syria – “An Iraqi air force general with information on Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction is scheduled to meet with Senators Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) next week. It seems that the Iraq WMD controversy is about to crack open once more. In a book titled Saddam’s Secrets, Gen. Georges Sada claims that Saddam Hussein moved weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to Syria prior to the American invasion. According to Sada, two cargo aircraft made 56 flights to Syria. They were carrying ‘yellow barrels with skull and crossbones on each barrel.’ There was also a truck convoy. Sada is not the first person to make this claim. On 23 December 2002, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon publicly stated, ‘Chemical and biological weapons which Saddam is endeavoring to conceal have been moved from Iraq to Syria.’ Last month, former Israeli Defense Force chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, claimed that Saddam Hussein moved chemical weapons to Syria six weeks before American forces entered Iraq.” Read more.
Report: Assad’s brother-in-law shot to death – “Sources within Syria’s opposition reported Sunday that General Assef Shawkat, Syrian military intelligence chief and President Bashar Assad’s brother-in-law, was shot to death during an argument with his aide, General Ali Mamlouk. The report has not been confirmed. According to the report, an argument broke out between Shawkat and Mamlouk at the military intelligence chief’s office. At some point, Shawkat pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Mamlouk, who proceeded to take his own gun out and shoot his boss. Shawkat was secretly evacuated to a military hospital in Damascus, where, the report said, he died of his wounds. Other sources claimed Shawkat was in a coma.” Read more.
Latvia’s Largest Bank Fights Off Depositor Run After Rumours of Imminent Collapse
“RIGA, Latvia – Latvia’s largest bank scrambled Monday to head off a run among depositors who were gripped by rumours of the bank’s imminent ruin.
Weekend rumours that Swedbank was facing legal and liquidity problems in Estonia and Sweden sent thousands of Latvians to bank machines on Sunday, with some lines reaching as many as 50 people.
Latvians are particularly sensitive to speculation about banks’ health. Latvijas Krajbanka, the country’s 10th largest bank, was nationalized last month after regulators discovered evidence of massive fraud allegedly carried out by the bank’s former owner, Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov. Depositors were deprived of access to their funds for days.
And three years ago the country’s second largest bank, Parex Bank, entered technical default and had to be taken over by the government, which in turn forced Latvia to appeal to international creditors and the European Union for a €7.5 billion ($10.5 billion) bailout.
Prime Minister Vladis Dombrovskis told journalists that the rumours were spread maliciously with the intent to harm Latvia’s banking system, the Baltic News Service reported. Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said that police have opened a criminal investigation.
The rumours were contained to Latvia and did not spread to neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania, which also have affiliates of the Swedish-controlled Swedbank.” Read more.
Turkey Acts as Mentor for Emerging Islamists in Middle Eastern Region
The media spin doctors and minions of the willingly ignorant continue to paint a positive face on ‘moderate’ Turkey and the popular Islamist goverment of Prime Minister Erdogan, yet these rose-colored spectacle-wearing ‘journalists’ remain conspicuously silent when it comes to the fact that the popularity which Turkey’s ‘moderate’ AKP party now enjoys would not have risen to the level it has had it not been for Erdogan’s very public anti-Israel vitriol. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel are now at an all-time low as a result and show no signs of improving any time soon, if ever. If the new Islamist governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Libya, and potentially even Syria (and perhaps others) are inspired by Turkey’s so-called ‘Justice and Development’ politics, who in their right mind can reasonably expect anything different from Islamist governments inspired by Turkey’s example? If anything, this is nothing but another indication in a long list of many that we are continuing to see a ‘bad crescent-moon rising‘ …
(Reuters) – “As Islamist groups emerge triumphant in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan seems decided to act as their mentor — and to throw its weight behind the Syrian opposition seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad, a former ally.
Ankara’s evolving response to the upheavals of the Arab Spring is broadly in harmony with its NATO and European Union allies, who had balked at the AKP’s previous ‘zero problems with the neighbors’ policy, that indulged Syria and its ally Iran, and which some derided as a neo-Ottoman turn away from Turkey’s long-standing Western ties.
Both Turkey and its Western allies now hope the success of the AKP in transiting from Islamist roots to a sort of Muslim version of Christian Democracy, and in running a dynamic economy that has doubled the income of its people, will be an attractive model to Arab Islamist parties now coming to the fore.
‘I think the AKP hope is that they will be really an example for the Islamists of the region and they will moderate themselves and become parties like AKP which respects Islamic values but mainly focuses on economic development and doesn’t support a radical agenda,’ said Mustafa Akyol, author of the recent book ‘Islam without extremes: a Muslim Case For Liberty’.
Erdogan and his government are nonetheless intent on influencing the reformists in the Arab Islamist parties.
On a triumphal tour in September of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya — the three countries that successfully overthrew their dictatorships this year — he pointedly defended Turkey’s model of a secular state as a shield that defended the beliefs of all, including Islamists.
Tunisia’s Ennadhda party has publicly embraced the AKP as a source of inspiration, while the new generation of the Muslim Brotherhood, especially in Egypt, look to the AKP as an example.
‘They want to be a mentor to all these Islamist groups in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia,’ says Soli Ozel, a prominent academic and commentator in Istanbul.” Read more.
Flashback: Turkey Installing New Military Tech That Will Allow Warplanes and Ships to Target Israel as the Enemy – “In yet another sign of the deterioration in Israel-Turkish ties, Turkey’s Star Gazete reported Tuesday that the military is installing new technology that will allow warplanes and ships to target Israeli vessels. Previously, Turkish planes, ships and submarines used American technology, which automatically classified Israeli equipment as ‘friendly.’ The new system, developed in Turkey, will allow the Turkish military to decide which targets to label as friendly.” Read more.
Flashback: Erdogan: ‘The Relations Between Turkey and Israel Will Never Become Normal Again’ – “Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Saturday that relations with Israel may ‘never be normal again’ as tensions continue to rise after Israel refused to apologize over a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last year in which Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed nine Turkish citizen… He continued, saying ‘if you are insistent on creating a source of unrest, you are bound to become lonelier and lonelier. They used to be great friends of ours. And this solitude is Israel’s fate under these circumstances.’” Read more.
Flashback: Erdogan: Iran Isn’t the Real Nuclear Threat in the Middle East, Israel Is – “Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that while the West may presume that Israel and its surrounding nations would be under threat from a nuclear-armed Iran, it is Israel that possesses nuclear weapons. In a Time magazine article published on Tuesday, Erdogan dismissed claims that the agreement to install NATO radar in Turkey was a response to the nuclear threat posed by Iran… Erdogan continued to insist that UN sanctions on Israel would help solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, saying ‘had these sanctions been imposed, the Palestine-Israel conflict would have been resolved a long time ago.’” Read more.
Ethiopia: Muslim Mob Burns Down Church Targeted by Police
By Luiza Oleszczuk – “A recently erected church was burned in southern Ethiopia on Nov. 29 by a group of over 500 Muslim students allegedly supported by local police, four days after local Muslim authorities ordered demolition of the building, human rights watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC) reported Thursday.
The Saint Arsema Orthodox Church in the village of Qoto Baloso in Silte Province found itself entangled in conflict between the Muslim population, predominant in the region, and the minority Christians community.
On Nov. 25, police tore down the church’s roof, following a dispute started by a Muslim businessman who claimed he owned the piece of land, ICC’s regional manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, told The Christian Post Friday. The Christian community has been using the land for holding service for the past 60 years, and in a recent decision, the Supreme Court of the South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS) (a counterpart of a state supreme court) ruled the community had a right to build its temple there.
However, a local court ruled that the building was erected without proper authorization, head of police in Silte Province told ICC.
Chief of Qebet district police, Hassan Shomolo, has a reputation for anti-Christian attitude, the agency said. So does Judge Daro Jamal, who reportedly issued the order for the police chief to deploy 30 officers on the night of Nov. 25 to demolish the church. The law enforcement only managed to damage the roof, as local Christians began protesting.
On Nov. 29, a group of more than 500 Muslim students poured gasoline on the building and burned it in broad daylight, Racho said.” Read more.
Syria: Christians Fear Future as Violent Persecution from Muslim Extremists Increases
By Alex Murashko – “Violent attacks against Christians by Muslim extremists in Syria have increased as the byproduct of the country’s volatile political situation, much like what has transpired in Egypt, said a persecution watchdog this week.
Open Doors International officials say that while much of the world’s attention is focused on the Egyptian elections and American troops withdrawing from Iraq, the situation inside Syria is getting worse, especially for Christians.
‘Christians inside Syria are caught in the crossfire as they are in many other Middle Eastern countries,’ said Open Doors president and CEO Dr. Carl Moeller. ‘Until the protests started against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the Christian community enjoyed some protection. Now they are afraid of the future. Will they have to flee their country like Iraqi Christians have done over the last several years?’
Paul Estabrooks, communication specialist for the international organization, told The Christian Post that the group’s workers in Syria have reported various atrocities, including the kidnapping of two Christian women who entered taxi cabs driven by Muslim fundamentalists.
The fundamentalist Muslim taxi drivers in Syria have made a vow that they will harm all women taking their taxis who are unveiled, according to Open Doors.
‘These women, mostly less orthodox Muslims and Christians, are being kidnapped, raped or even killed,’ said the field worker. ‘Some months ago two Christian women were kidnapped. One managed to jump out of the driving car, but the other was taken. That woman remains missing. This didn’t happen in a remote area of the country but in the capital of Damascus. For women the situation is unsafe now.'” Read more.
Flashback: Syria’s Choice: Murderous Secular Regime or Islamic Fundamentalists – “As Syrian dictator Bashar Assad continues to slaughter his people, there are growing indications that the Islamists are increasing their efforts to replace his regime. What started as a secular Facebook revolution against the Assad regime is now beginning to look more like a jihad [holy war] led by Muslim fundamentalists. The Muslim Brotherhood is clearly seeking to hijack the anti-Assad protests, in both the political and military fields. In the past few months, there have been many signs of a ‘return to Islam’ in Syrian society.” Read more.
Flashback: The Islamic Revival in Syria – “Islamic fundamentalism in Syria has spread rapidly in recent years, and not just among the urban poor. The spectacle of veiled women driving brand new Mercedes through the bustling streets of Damascus illustrates that religious revivalism has penetrated high society. In posh residential neighborhoods of the capital, most restaurants have stopped serving alcohol and there are traffic jams every Friday outside local mosques. As in other Arab states, the Islamist resurgence in Syria has been fueled by the resounding failures of secular political parties in the region, the contrasting successes of militant Islamist groups, and widespread feelings of powerlessness in the face of perceived Israel and American encroachments in the region.” Read more.
Eurozone Banking System on the Edge of Collapse as Moody’s Downgrades French Banks, ‘Major Banks Could Fail Within Weeks’
By Harry Wilson – “Senior analysts and traders warned of impending bank failures as a summit intended to solve the European crisis failed to deliver a solution that eased concerns over bank funding.
The European Central Bank admitted it had held meetings about providing emergency funding to the region’s struggling banks, however City figures said a ‘collateral crunch’ was looming.
‘If anyone thinks things are getting better then they simply don’t understand how severe the problems are. I think a major bank could fail within weeks,’ said one London-based executive at a major global bank.
Many banks, including some French, Italian and Spanish lenders, have already run out of many of the acceptable forms of collateral such as US Treasuries and other liquid securities used to finance short-term loans and have been forced to resort to lending out their gold reserves to maintain access to dollar funding.
‘The system is creaking. There is a large amount of stress,’ said Anthony Peters, a strategist at Swissinvest, pointing to soaring interbank lending rates.” Read more.
French banks downgraded by Moody’s – “The agency cut its ratings on the long-term debt of BNP and Credit Agicole by one notch to Aa3, concluding reviews that began in June and were continued in September. Societe Generale’s long-term debt was cut by one notch to A1. The downgrades were driven by the increasing difficulties the banks were having in raising funding and the worsening economic outlook, Moody’s said. The news comes a day after the European Banking Authority (EBA), warned the region’s banks must find €114.7bn of extra capital in order to withstand the euro zone debt crisis and restore investor confidence.” Read more.
California: ‘Hollywood Shootout’ Gunman Calmly Targeted Drivers and Pedestrians While Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’
Maybe he decided to act upon his own personal ‘triggering event‘ …
By Claire Reitz – “A lone gunman, Tyler Brehm opened fire at people passing by near Sunset and Vine in Hollywood, CA on Friday, December 10.
The 26 year-old shooter walked with a gun around 10:00 AM toward the famous intersection. Along the way, he taunted a few people.
One woman in a car driving by reported the man walking up to her car and tapping on the window with his gun. Immediately after she turned her vehicle off of Vine onto a side street, she began hearing shots.
The man walked in the street on Vine toward Sunset shooting at pedestrians and others driving by. Three people were wounded and another was killed. The man killed was an off-duty police officer who was working on a movie set nearby. Another wounded was a man driving by who was rushed to the hospital immediately following the incident. He is still in critical condition. The two other men were mildly wounded.
When the Los Angeles Police Department arrived on the scene, they tried to end the violence. When the gunman made a threatening move toward them, they shot and killed him.
You may have heard this story on Friday night or Saturday. What was not reported by any news outlets other than a local news program in Los Angeles was what the man was yelling as he walked down the street shooting people.
A witness reported the gunman shouting ‘allahu akbar’, which means ‘God is the greatest’ in Arabic. The motive of this random shooting is still unknown.” Source – Technorati.com.
Mexico City Residents Flee Into Streets After Strong 6.5 Earthquake, Three Deaths Reported
“A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck in Mexico’s western Guerrero state, shaking buildings and causing panic in the nation’s capital and the Pacific resort of Acapulco. Officials said at least three people died, but there were no reports of widespread damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially estimated the quake magnitude at 6.8, but downgraded it to 6.7 and then 6.5. A quake of that magnitude is capable of causing severe damage, although the depth of this temblor lessened its impact.
The USGS said the quake occurred at 6:47 p.m. Saturday at a depth of 64.9 kilometres. It was centred about 42 kilometres southwest of Iguala in Guerrero and 166 kilometres south-southwest of Mexico City.
Mexico’s Interior Department said the quake was felt in parts of nine states.
Humberto Calvo, undersecretary of Guerrero’s Civil Protection agency, said three deaths had been reported in the state. He said one man was killed when a house’s roof collapsed in Iguala, a second died in the small town of Ixcateopan and the driver of a cargo truck was killed by rocks that fell on the vehicle driving on the toll highway linking Acapulco with Mexico City.
Calvo said a secondary highway between the two cities was blocked in two places by rockslides.
Highrises swayed in the centre of Mexico City for more than a minute, and shoppers were temporarily herded out of some shopping centres until the danger passed.
Mexico City’s mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, reported by Twitter that no major damage had been reported. He said power failed in some parts of the city.
People in one part of Mexico City’s upscale Condesa neighbourhood ran out of their houses and gathered in the streets, hugging each other while some shook and began to cry.
On one street, a group of women joined hands in a circle, closed their eyes and began to pray.
‘Please God, help us and let everything be OK,’ said one. ‘It’s OK. It’s OK. Everything is OK.'” Read more.
Presidential GOP Front-Runner Newt Gingrich Describes Palestinian People as ‘Invented’
Although it is unfortunate that the heat Gingrich received has caused him to take a step back by voicing ‘support’ for the establishment of a Palestinian state, I am pleasantly surprised that Gingrich spoke the truth in this regard. The flip side of the coin, of course, is that truth is a much hated thing in ‘Palestinian culture‘ …
“Newt Gingrich declared in an interview that Palestinians are an ‘invented’ people, a statement that drew outrage Saturday from top Palestinian officials.
Gingrich’s campaign, while standing by the statement, afterward clarified that the former House speaker still supports the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The front-running Republican presidential candidate made the comments in an interview with The Jewish Channel. The interview marks some of the toughest language to date any candidate has used to describe the Middle East peace process. It also comes after Gingrich pledged at a forum earlier in the week that if elected, he would name John Bolton — a hawkish, pro-Israel former U.N. ambassador who served in the George W. Bush administration — as his secretary of state.
In the interview with The Jewish Channel, Gingrich likened himself to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he praised for his “tough-minded realism” about Israel’s security.
He said the Jewish people have the right to a state, but stopped short of declaring the same for the Palestinians.
‘Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community,’ Gingrich said. ‘And they had a chance to go many places. And for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940’s, and I think it’s tragic.'” Read more.
Flashback: Gaza and the West Bank: 31 Opportunities for Statehood Squandered in Favor of Genocide – “There is an eerie déjà vu about an unmistakable and oft-repeated process in the Arab–Israel conflict. The process started in 1937 and has repeated itself with minor variations many times over the subsequent 74 years. The process is as follows: Arabs go to war with Israel, promising Israel’s destruction and the annihilation of its Jews. Israel wins the war and offers peace. Arab leaders reject Israel’s peace offer, renew their promises of destruction and annihilation; and after a while they go to war again, and lose again, and Israel again offers peace. Repeat this process 31 times and you have the history of the Arab-Israel conflict in a nutshell.” Read more.
Flashback: PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein (1977): ‘The Palestinian people does not exist’ – “Way back on March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview with Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here’s what he said: ‘The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.'” Read more.
Muslim Brotherhood: Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Needs to be Reviewed
“Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said that the country’s peace treaty with Israel needs re-evaluation by the country’s new parliament, in press remarks by a senior member of the group published Friday.
‘A long time has passed since the Camp David accord was signed, and like the other agreements it needs to be reviewed, and this is in the hands of the parliament,’ said Mahmoud Hussein, the group’s secretary-general.
‘The brotherhood believes the treaty is of great importance, but it is not on the top of our list. There are other priorities for the time being,’ Hussein told the regional Asharq al-Awsat daily.
‘Generally, Israel does not honor the agreement,’ he added.
He denied a report saying that the Muslim Brotherhood had reached an understanding with the United States and Israel on ‘the importance of safeguarding the peace treaty with Israel.’
Last week, Israel expressed concern at the gains of Islamist parties in the first round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections and urged any future government to uphold the 1979 peace treaty.
Islamists made big gains during the initial round of the first elections since a popular revolt this year forced former president Hosni Mubarak out of power.
The Freedom and Justice Party, the brotherhood’s political wing, was in the lead with 36.5 per cent of the vote. It was followed by the hard-line Salafist party, Al-Nour, with 24 per cent.” Source – Haaretz.
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Holds Venomous Anti-Israel Rally, Vows to ‘One Day Kill All Jews’ – “A Muslim Brotherhood rally in Cairo’s most prominent mosque Friday turned into a venomous anti-Israel protest, with attendants vowing to ‘one day kill all Jews.’ Some 5,000 people joined the rally, called to promote the ‘battle against Jerusalem’s Judaization.’ The event coincided with the anniversary of the United Nations’ partition plan in 1947, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state.” Read more.
‘We’re on the Verge of Extinction’: Mob Attacks on Iraqi Christian Businesses Raise Security Concerns
This story is finally making its way into a couple of media outlets, but still nowhere near the attention it deserves …
By Judson Berger – “A rash of attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq has raised troubling questions about the future safety of the country’s shrinking Christian community, particularly as U.S. forces withdraw completely from the nation they’ve refereed since 2003.
The attacks, which have received little international attention, raged through northern cities following a sermon last Friday by a local mullah. Video purportedly from the riots posted online shows mobs burning and wrecking businesses, which included liquor stores, hotels and hair salons.
Yonadam Kanna, a Christian member of the Iraqi parliament and secretary-general of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, confirmed to FoxNews.com that dozens of shops — many Christian owned — were attacked across multiple cities.
‘The extremists prepared themselves to attack on more locations … but they were prevented by local police and security in addition to some guards from the villages,’ Kanna said in an email.
The incident underscored the perilous circumstance the country’s dwindling Christian population finds itself in, as U.S. forces withdraw and the surrounding region takes what could be an Islamist turn, if early results in the Egypt elections are any gauge.
‘The Iraqi Christians … are living in fear,’ said U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., who is pushing for the creation of a special religious freedom envoy in the region. ‘Now with the forces leaving … I think the Iraqi Christians are going to go through a very, very difficult time.’
Urging the U.S. government to do more to draw attention to security concerns, Wolf said he ‘would not be surprised’ if Iraqi Christians continue to face these kinds of threats.
The latest attacks began in the northern city of Zakho, and spread to several other cities…
Juliana Taimoorazy, founder of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, said the Christians — who over the past decade have fled to surrounding countries to escape the violence — are faced with limited options today. She said they simply can’t go to Iran, Jordan can’t handle more refugees and Syria is no longer safe.
‘They don’t know what tomorrow or the next day will bring, but really there’s nowhere else to go,’ she said.
She questioned the security for Christians in northern Iraq, claiming the Kurdish regional government there did not initially intervene to stop the recent violence.
She also said it’s ‘disturbing’ the U.S. government has not spoken up on the latest attacks.
‘We’re on the verge of extinction,’ she said.” Read more.
Islamists in Iraq to Christians: ‘If Anyone Decides to Reopen His Store, We Will Kill Him’ – “The Islamist campaign against all things contrary to Sharia Law continues, and to drive home just how dead serious they are about preventing Christians in Zakho and elsewhere from buying and selling products, notes have been left for Christians informing them that if they reopen their stores, they will be killed …” Read more.




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