MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Reporter: “What he did want to make very, very clear is that he wouldn’t say whether he acted alone, but he did say that … the acts were carried out by a group or himself allied to Al Qaeda, operating in France, was very adamant that this was only the beginning of a larger campaign… We spoke for about 11 minutes on the telephone and he was very clear … he said that France is no longer secure and that we should expect … more such attacks.”

Not affiliated with Iran per se — a previous post of mine yesterday inferred the possibility — but when he’s affiliated with and claims allegiance to Al Qaeda, what’s the difference when their ultimate goals of seeing the annihilation of Jews, the destruction of America and instituting a global Caliphate are the same? …

Update: Mohammed is dead …

“TOULOUSE, France (AP) — French police were preparing to storm an apartment building in Toulouse on Wednesday to arrest a holed-up gunman who is suspected in seven killings and claiming allegiance to al-Qaida, a top police official said.

Three officers were wounded in a predawn raid while trying to arrest the 24-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent who authorities said had spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hundreds of riot police have surrounded the building in the southwestern city.

Cedric Delage, regional secretary for a police union, said the suspect has promised to turn himself into police shortly. Delage said if that doesn’t happen, police will force their way in.

The gunman is suspected of killing three Jewish children, a rabbi and three French paratroopers in recent days.

The suspect has told police he belonged to al-Qaida and wanted to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said, adding the man was also angry about French military intervention abroad.

An Interior Ministry official identified the suspect as Mohamed or Mohammad Merah, who has been under surveillance for years for having ‘fundamentalist’ views. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

After hours of trying to persuade him to surrender, police evacuated the five-story building, escorting residents out using the roof and fire truck ladders.

The raid was part of France’s biggest manhunt since a wave of terrorist attacks in the 1990s by Algerian extremists.” Read more.

By Adam Cooper – “A petrol-bomb attack on a community centre has prompted fears among Melbourne’s Alevi population they could be targeted with more violence on religious grounds.

Glass bottles containing petrol and set alight were thrown at the front and rear doors of the Alevi Community Council of Australia centre in North Coburg overnight.

No one was inside the centre at the time of the incident, but a centre spokeswoman said the building’s rear door was badly burnt.

Surmeli Aydogan, the council’s community liaison officer, said the centre’s users were also concerned to find notes pinned to the fence threatening Alevis on religious grounds unless they ‘testified’ that Allah was the only god to be worshipped.

Ms Aydogan said the centre had previously received threatening phone calls, but had dismissed them as pranks. However, she said the attack with petrol bombs had left the council’s members shaken.

Alevi is a branch of the Sufi order of Shia Islam.

‘We’re worried this might happen again, and what if this happens when people are here? That’s our main concern,’ she said.” Read more.

By Chiara Onassis – “SANA’A: Mohamed Abdel-Mageed al-Zindany, the son of Yemen’s Sheikh Abdel-Mageed al-Zindani, a prominent cleric and powerful tribal leader, called on his fellow Yemenis to raise the flag of Islam and wage war on the American infidels, starting with US ambassador to Yemen, Gerard Feierstein.

In a fiery verbal attack against the ambassador, al-Zindani slammed American’s interference in Yemen, accusing the Pentagon of ‘meddling’ with the country’s internal affairs to better pursue its own agenda in the region.

Al-Zindani seems to be now stepping in his father’s footsteps as he rises against what he calls American imperialism. Sheikh Zindani, who famously figures on America’s most wanted terror list, was indicted last year by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and an arrest warrant was issued against his person.

The government has thus far failed to enact the order, with officials from al-Islah, the country’s Islamic political faction warning that they would oppose any move against one of its leaders. Heading the Islahis, Sheikh Zindani is a force to be reckoned with, and an estimated thousands hardened fighters under his direct command.” Source – Bikyamasr.com.

Yemen: Al Qaeda-Linked Group Kills American Teacher for Christian Proselytizing – “A group linked to Al Qaeda claims it killed an American teacher in Yemen for Christian proselytizing. Joel Shrum, a 29-year-old English language teacher from Harrisburg, Pa., had worked for two years in the central city of Taiz. Yemeni officials say Shrum was killed in his car Sunday morning when assailants in military uniforms sped up next to him on a motorcycle, opened fire and then sped away.” Read more.

“(Reuters) – In the face of aggression from the United States or Israel, Iran will attack to defend itself, Iran’s most powerful figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.

‘We do not have nuclear weapons and we will not build them but in the face of aggression from the enemies, whether from America or the Zionist regime, to defend ourselves we will attack on the same level as the enemies attack us,’ Khamenei said live on television.

‘Americans are making a grave mistake if they think by making threats they will destroy the Iranian nation,’ he said in his annual speech to mark Nowruz, the Iranian New Year.

Israel and the United States have threatened military action against Iran unless it abandons nuclear activities which the West suspects are intended to develop nuclear weapons.

Further talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries are expected to take place next month in an attempt to reach a compromise deal.

The most recent talks between world powers and Iran failed in January 2011 because of Iran’s refusal to suspend its sensitive uranium enrichment work, as demanded by several U.N. resolutions and major powers.” Read more.

Flashback: Iran: ‘When the Entire World is Armed With Nuclear Weapons, it is Permissible to Use These Weapons as a Counter-[Measure]‘ – “‘The spiritual leaders of the ultra-conservatives [in Iran] have accepted the use of nuclear weapons as lawful in the eyes of shari’a. Mohsen Gharavian, a disciple of [Ayatollah] Mesbah Yazdi [who is Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s spiritual mentor], has spoken for the first time of using nuclear weapons as a counter-measure. He stated that ‘in terms of shari’a, it all depends on the goal.’… [T]he IraNews news agency published recent remarks by Mohsen Gharavian regarding the nuclear issue. Gharavian is a lecturer at the religious schools of Qom, and is a disciple of [Ayatollah] Mesbah Yazdi. In his recent remarks, he said for the first time that the use of nuclear weapons may not constitute a problem according to shari’a. He further said that ‘when the entire world is armed with nuclear weapons, it is permissible to use these weapons as a counter-[measure]. According to shari’a, too, only the goal is important…’” Read more.

Looks like extortion against the United States from Israel’s new “first enemy” will pay off. Despite threats to the contrary, the Islamists will gladly accept $1.5 billion in US military aid and taxpayer dollars, especially if it means that the Egyptian military will be even stronger the day Islamists take full control.  It’ll make their plans to “one day kill all Jews” that much easier …

By William Wan – “The Obama administration intends to resume funding for Egypt’s military, despite congressional restrictions and objections from human rights and democracy advocates.

For months, the money for Egypt — more than $1.5 billion, with the bulk earmarked for the military — has been withheld amid that country’s crackdown on pro-democracy groups, including several U.S.-based organizations with close ties to political parties in Washington.A law passed by Congress in December forbids funding unless the State Department certifies that Egypt is making progress on basic freedoms and human rights.

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is close to announcing plans to bypass those restrictions on national security grounds, according to senior administration officials and others who have been briefed on the deliberations but were not authorized to speak publicly. The administration believes failure to provide the funds would risk worsening already fraying ties with Egypt’s leaders, most notably the Egyptian military, which still controls the country.

Under the plan, which could be announced as early as next week and was first reported Friday by the New York Times, Egypt would not receive the full $1.5 billion all at once, as has been the practice for decades. The administration would instead dole out the funds in smaller portions to preserve leverage over Egyptian authorities, officials said. The plan would also allow for the continuation of U.S. defense contracts that provide American jobs.” Read more.

Egypt: Islamist-dominated parliament votes to include 50 fellow Islamists on 100-member panel to write new constitution – “Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament voted to include 50 of its lawmakers in a 100-member panel tasked with writing a new constitution, with the remainder coming from other institutions. The results were read by Mohamed Saad el-Katatni, speaker of the lower house of parliament, according to footage of the session posted on the Cabinet’s Facebook page… The makeup of the committee has been the focus of wrangling over the degree of influence Islamist groups will have shaping the constitution… ‘You’re going to agree on 100 people, and then get those 100 people to agree on politically-charged issues that have created a lot of polarization in Egypt: the role of the military, oversight over the military budget, the role of religion in public life, the division of power between parliament and the president,’ Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said by phone. ‘That’s a challenge.'” Read more.