The Terror Threat Increase

Be it Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Colorado or New York City, the past week has demonstrated that al-Qaida and radical Islamic extremism are alive and ever present and still pose a significant threat to our homeland, U.S. targets abroad and our international allies. According to published reports, U.S. Special Operations personnel killed a terror suspect in Somalia that U.S. intelligence sources said was a link between and Islamic militia in Somalia, al-Qaida in Pakistan and a group of young Somali-Americans from Minneapolis. The Minneapolis boys told authorities that they recognized the suspect as one of their instructors at an al-Qaida training camp in Somalia. On Wednesday, federal agents searched the home of a Colorado man that the FBI said might have possible links to al-Qaida. According to another source, authorities believed that he was involved in a potential bomb plot involving hydrogen peroxide-based explosives that led members of the New York Joint Terrorist Task Force to raid several apartments in Queens, New York. Both the NYPD and FBI said there were no specific terrorist threats, however, their investigation is continuing in New York City and halfway across the country on home-grown chameleons that appear to be far more educated than we have dealt with in the past. The Taliban continues to trouble coalition forces in Afghanistan, and a number of Islamic extremists have moved into east Africa where British and American Special Operations groups are attempting to hunt them down. Federal authorities are reporting increased chatter, and we’re witnessing international training and links between training camps abroad and cities all across this country. At a time when political divisiveness, healthcare and the economy are dominating the airwaves, let’s not lose sight of what appears to be an increased terror threat against us.

Gadhafi is not Welcomed in New Jersey

On May 15, the United States removed Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. It now looks like a bad decision.

The resumption of diplomatic ties with the U.S. should have never occurred as has been evidenced by Moammar Gadhafi’s recent hero’s welcome and support for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence agent and lone man convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 in Lockerbie, Scotland.

If you are supporting terrorists, in my book you are a terrorist. Although Gadhafi has made a concerted effort to scam his way back into the good graces of the international community, his transparent support for the Pan Am 103 bomber is a clear demonstration that he is the same man he was in the 1970s when he established terrorist training camps on Libyan soil, provided terrorist groups with arms, and offered safe haven to terrorists.

He aided Spain's ETA, Italy's Red Brigades, and Palestinian groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Libya was also suspected of attempting to assassinate the leaders of Chad, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, and Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo).

Gadhafi’s regime was also implicated in the 1989 bombing of a French passenger jet over Niger in which 171 died. In 1986, Libya sponsored the bombing of a Berlin disco popular among U.S. servicemen, killing two U.S. soldiers.

Gadhafi is planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly next month. In doing so, he intends on setting up camp in Englewood, N.J., just across the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan.

New Jersey was home to 38 victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing. Allowing him stay here while visiting the U.N. is a disgrace and a slap in the face, not only to those who died from New Jersey, but to all the victims from Flight 103.

At 11 a.m. on Aug. 30, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes will hold a rally in protest of Gadhafi’s expected stay.

Every American should join him to send Gadhafi and others like him a message: Terrorists and sponsors of terror are not wanted in the United States.

Europe Must Stop Cowering from Terror

In 2005, Germany's high court ordered the release of a Syrian-born Mamoun Darkazani, who was being held in a German prison in connection with the 2003 Madrid bombings. He was also allegedly seen in a 1999 wedding video with two of the 9/11 suicidal attackers, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah.

Spanish authorities investigating al-Qaida, along with 41 other suspects, including Osama bin Laden, indicted Darkazani. He was released because a German federal court thought it would be illegal for him to be extradited against his will.

A notorious Spanish terrorist, Inaki de Juana Chaos, a member of the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna terrorist group, or ETA, was sentenced to 3,000 years in prison for the murder of 25 people in the 1980s.

He was released after 21 years, benefiting from a 1973 law that allowed reductions of sentences for good conduct. His good conduct in prison included making death threats to prison governors. In a letter written after one of the killings, he said of the victims: "Their tears are our smiles, and in the end we will roar with laughter."

In 1985, four armed Palestinian terrorists hijacked the cruise ship, Achille Lauro, killing a defenseless elderly man in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, and then dumping his body overboard.

As the hijackers attempted to escape, then-President Ronald Reagan ordered U.S. fighter jets to intercept the plane carrying the terrorists. Their plane was forced to land in Signolia, Italy, where they were taken into custody.

They were sentenced to 25 years for kidnapping and murder but later released for good behavior.

European nations as a whole, have committed to fighting global terror and have talked a good game, until it comes to having the backbone and courage to stand strong in the face of threats or political influence.

The recent release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the lone man convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, is just another example of a European nation cowering to terror.

There were 270 victims of that attack, and the person responsible was released, only to receive a hero's welcome in Tripoli, Libya.

This raises two questions: Why was he released? And should we be revisiting our decision to remove Libya from the U.S. State Department’s list of terror sponsoring states?

His sentence alone was totally outrageous! A 27-year sentence equaling 36.5 days in prison for each person he killed. However, it’s far worse since he only served eight years, meaning that he only served 10.8 days per person that he killed.

Were the lives of Susan Cohen and Joanne Hartunian’s daughters or Bert Ammerman’s brother worth no more than 11 days of al-Megrahi’s time?

Scottish officials said that they were bound by Scottish values to release al-Megrahi because he had prostate cancer and was diagnosed to only have months to live.

Were they not bound by Scottish values to ensure that he was held accountable for the murders he committed? If not, that is a disgrace.

One of my all time favorite movies is “Braveheart” – the major motion picture directed by Mel Gibson, which was based on the life of Sir William Wallace, one of Scotland's greatest heroes.

In the late 1200s, Wallace fought passionately for Scotland’s freedom from English rule, and eventually died for his cause. Be it legend, rumor or actuality, Wallace knew more that 800 years ago that you had to fight for freedom and that that fight could never end.

Here we are in 2009 fighting an enemy that despises those very freedoms that Wallace fought for and that we so often take for granted. Be it the U.S. or U.K., Spain, Germany, Italy or Scotland, the enemy today is a global network of those like al-Megrahi who have found joy in the murder of innocent civilians all around the world.

They have no remorse for their actions, nor do they care for those left behind, and if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I promise you they would not hesitate a minute.

al-Megrahi should have remained in prison until his death. It is the least that the Scottish authorities could have done to demonstrate to the world, their determination to fight terrorism.

Releasing him is nothing but a slap in the face to the victims of Pan Am 103 and all those in the war against terror today.