The Political Conundrum!

The US Government seized control last Wednesday of a New York City office building partially owned by a company with ties to the Iranian government. The Treasury and Justice Departments move is aimed to end a flow of cash used to help Iran's program of nuclear weapons. The seizure is raising troubling questions.

Starting Friday and culminating on Sunday (21 December), Indonesia held a series of joint counter-terrorism exercises across the country. Sunday’s drills took place at six locations: Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Semarang, Jogjakarta, and the Strait of Malacca. They involved simulated clashes with terrorists, hostage-takings, and rescues.

In Jakarta, members of Unit 81 (part of the army’s Special Forces) and Special Detachment 88 (from the police) fast-roped onto the roof of the five-star Borobudur Hotel before blasting through windows to rescue hotel guests taken "hostage."

In the Strait of Malacca, counter-terrorist commandos from the navy stormed a passenger ship that had been seized in a mock attack.

In Semarang, counter-terrorist squads retook a power-plant, killing five terrorists and capturing two others.

In Surabaya, drills took place at the city’s international airport, the Sheraton Hotel, and the Shangri-La Hotel.

The weekend’s exercises were obviously inspired in large part by what happened in Mumbai. In addition, following some two-dozen deadly church bombings during Christmas Eve 2000 by the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist organization, Indonesian security forces normally go on high alert during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new communiqué from the media spokesman of the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), Dr. Ali al-Nuaimi, concerning the recent U.S. presidential elections. According to Dr. al-Nuaimi’s statement, “There were significant lessons demonstrated during the recent American elections… [such as] how Hillary [Clinton] stepped down after facing increasing support for Obama in the polls… She has put aside all disagreements and previous conflicts with him in order to work together, along with their party, to achieve victory… This story presents a valuable lesson to our own honored nation, in which our people, our leaders, our clergy, and the mujahideen all fight amongst each other… In our nation, we witness disgraceful acts of competition between people, even using legal tactics, and refusing to support others during their campaign to achieve their goals… It is truly a shame… Another admirable scene took place after McCain’s defeat, when he went out to speak to his supporters and continued on in listing his mistakes and congratulating Obama for his victory… Despite the devastating defeats they suffered, each candidate avoided criticizing or attempting to demonize the other—or even trying to harm or kill their opponents, similar to what takes place among candidates in our nation… All of their differences have been transformed into support and assistance, and that is a fact to admire.” However, the IAI also strongly warned its supporters not to become hopelessly “mesmerized” by the landmark election of Obama: “The shared hatred for America around the world may change after the historic election of a black president. Dear brothers, this issue is of supreme importance… We should not become mesmerized by our enemies… People tend to imitate their lords and teachers, the defeated mimick the victorious, and the weak imitate the strong… Becoming hypnotized by the infidels and their capabilities is an unfortunate thing.”

An English translation of the IAI statement can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

The top U.S. military officer said Saturday that the Pentagon could double the number of American forces in Afghanistan by next summer to 60,000 - the largest estimate of potential reinforcements ever publicly suggested.