"you are a liar, like your father" late Saudi king Abdullah told Qatar's Sheikh Tamim.

"you are a liar, like your father" late Saudi king Abdullah told Qatar's Sheikh Tamim. (AN).

The overwhelming belief among Saudi, Emirati and many Arab officials is that there are three kinds of lies: 'Lies, damned lies… and Qatari statements.'

The severing of diplomatic ties with Doha by a number of Arab and Muslim countries — most notably fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE — is not something that should be taken lightly; nor should it be assumed that such a tough measure was sudden or came out of the blue.

In fact, anyone who has monitored the recent heated exchange of angry editorials — which has been going on for over two weeks between the Arabic-language media outlets of Qatar and those of Saudi Arabia and the UAE — would have easily predicted that relations were heading rapidly toward this unfortunate point.
However, the only party that seems to have ignored the clear signals of where things were headed was the government of Qatar. This is surreal, given that it has the most to lose.

This time however other countries, such as Egypt and the eastern-based government of Libya, are on board in boycotting Doha. What is also different this time around is that Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama are cutting off ties completely with Qatar, as opposed to only recalling their ambassadors as they did three years ago.

Why now?

The answer to that question is that the Qatari government has become like the “boy who cried wolf.”
In other words, the overwhelming belief among Saudi, Emirati and many Arab officials is that there are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies… and Qatari statements. This is particularly the case given that more often than not, Doha’s actions simply do not match its words.
Take the official denial that Sheikh Tamim praised Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah in those recent statements. Even if we were to believe that Sheikh Tamim never said those things, Doha is still a home for the Hamas leadership. There are still posters in Lebanon hung by Hezbollah that say “Shukran Qatar” (Thank you, Qatar). Even after the controversial alleged statements were made, the Qatari emir reached out publicly to President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and said he had instructed his government to enhance bilateral relations more than ever before.

‘You are a liar, just like your father,’ were reportedly the last words of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim. Apparently, King Salman has quickly reached the same conclusion.

Faisal J. Abbas

The truth is that the Qataris — at least when it comes to their foreign policy — are known to be pathological liars. One only has to recall what Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told Arab News last month, just a few days before the recent GCC spat began to emerge. “We don’t, won’t and didn’t support the Muslim Brotherhood,” were Al-Thani’s shocking words in that interview.

#Qatar today. When the going gets tough, kiss, hold, & give seat of honor to MB-linked hate preacher Yusuf Qaradawi: https://t.co/Ktg4cNaPyC

— David A. Weinberg (@DavidAWeinberg) June 5, 2017

While many had thought the young Sheikh Tamim only needed time to shift away from the controversial foreign policy of his father (Sheikh Hamad, who willingly stepped down in 2013), what Doha was doing made it clear that the young emir was nothing more than a chip off the old block.

“You are a liar, just like your father,” were reportedly the last words of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who oversaw the 2014 recall of GCC ambassadors from Doha, to Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim. Apparently, King Salman has quickly reached the same conclusion. Read the full story here

Pres Hussein Obama 'Admin' announces single largest transfer of Guantanamo inmates.

Pres Hussein Obama 'Admin' announces single largest transfer of Guantanamo inmates. (Reuters).

U.S. officials said on Monday 15 inmates from the Guantanamo prison were transferred to the United Arab Emirates, the single largest transfer of Guantanamo detainees during President Barack Obama's administration.

The transfer of the 12 Yemeni and three Afghan citizens brings the total number of detainees down to 61 at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Most have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation.

Obama, who had hoped to close the prison during his first year in office, rolled out his plan in February aimed at shutting the facility. But he faces opposition from many Republican lawmakers as well as some fellow Democrats.

"In its race to close Gitmo, the Obama administration is doubling down on policies that put American lives at risk," Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

"Once again, hardened terrorists are being released to foreign countries where they will be a threat," he said.

A State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity said the UAE had resettled five detainees transferred in November 2015. Read the full story here.

RELATED: 

CONFIRMED: 117 Gitmo Detainees Returned to Terrorism So Far or 18% of Released Detainees

According to Obama’s own Director of National Intelligence, 117 former detainees are confirmed of returning to terror. 79 more detainees are suspected of returning to the fight. That’s a confirmed recidivism rate of 18% and a confirmed-suspected recidivism rate of 30%.

• Jan 11 -2012: Report: U.S. to Release Three Taliban Leaders from Guantanamo Bay, as in Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi plan. http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/01/report-us-to-release-three-taliban.html

• March 11 -2012: "Commander in chief' Obama agrees to transfer the Taliban Guantanamo detainees to Qatar. http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/03/commander-in-chief-obama-agrees-to.html

• June 30 - 2012: Obama administration still considering turning Taliban detainees over to Afghanistan and Qatar http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/06/obama-administration-still-considering.html

• Report: Radical Sheikh a Key Mediator in U.S.-Taliban Talks http://www.investigativeproject.org/3359/report-radical-sheikh-a-key-mediator-in-us

• U.S. Set to Release Key Taliban Figure in 9/11 Attacks  http://counterjihadreport.com/2012/01/15/u-s-set-to-release-key-taliban-figure-in-911-attacks/

Yes, Proper Evidence Says Obama Really Is Visiting A US Muslim Brotherhood Mosque; But Does He Care?

Yes, Proper Evidence Says Obama Really Is Visiting A US Muslim Brotherhood Mosque; But Does He Care? HT: GlobalMBwatch.

The last few days have seen various sources reporting on President Obama’s upcoming visit Wednesday to the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB), described as his first visit ever during his presidency to a US mosque.

According to a Washington Post report:, the ISB is:

… a sprawling community center in the city’s western suburbs that serves thousands of people with a place of worship, a housing complex and schools, according to its website. It is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest Muslim centers and describes itself as aspiring “to be the anchor of a growing Muslim community with diverse backgrounds, democratically governed, relating to one another with inclusiveness and tolerance, and interacting with neighbors in an Islamic exemplary manner.

In any event, the evidence thus far for the ISB being a Muslim Brotherhood mosque boils down to one unreliable report of a connection with ISNA and the ties and statement of an ISB Imam who has not been associated with mosque for thirteen years, not exactly what could be described as an airtight case.

However, proper investigative research by the GMBDW reveals more substantial and long standing ties of the Islamic Society of Baltimore to the US Muslim Brotherhood. Read the full Real story here.

Related?

#Turkey: Presidential spox @ikalin1 says @RT_Erdogan will go to Washington to inagurate mosque opening in DC

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) December 28, 2015

"Does terror truly have no religion?" - Iraqi Journalist Comes Out Against Claim That ISIS Has Nothing To Do With Islam

"Does terror truly have no religion?" - Iraqi Journalist Comes Out Against Claim That ISIS Has Nothing To Do With Islam. (Memri).

"[Does terror truly have no religion?] This slogan is uttered regarding terror, as though [terror] reflects a picture that is completely unrelated to its perpetrators' religious affiliation, and as though there are no religious goals or values behind it, but only a state of insanity that causes those afflicted with it to run amok, unaware of what they are doing or what [they seek] to achieve by their actions – [actions] that disgust not only human beings but [even] the beasts of the jungle.

"The terror that is shaking the world today is not a natural disaster like a tornado, a thunderstorm or an earthquake, and it is not perpetrated by savage tribes. It is perpetrated by people who enlist [because they are] inspired by a religious ideology. [These people] advocate enforcing and spreading [this ideology as a set of] dogmatic principles that must be imposed by the force of the sword, and which [mandate] killing, expulsion and destruction wherever they go.

"Since its inception, this movement of terror has espoused a Salafi ideology that champions religious extremism, and brainwashed people of all ages have rallied around its flag, [people who were] trained to kill themselves and kill others in order to attain martyrdom.

We keep seeing images of innocent people being killed and beheaded by these terrorists, who butcher their victims while crying out "in the name of Allah the merciful" and "Allah akbar." All these crimes are [ostensibly] carried out with Allah's approval, and they are perpetrated by those who praise Allah day and night and who pray fervently and do everything according to His will.

"When the terrorists blew up the World Trade Center and several airplanes, killing thousands of victims, Osama bin Laden, surrounded by his people, said on television: 'This is a victory from Allah.' 

And now ISIS is bragging about killing innocent people in Paris, saying that it was 'done with Allah's approval,' and threatening that the next attack will be in the U.S., Allah willing. And [Sheikh Yusouf] Al-Qaradhawi and others like him pray and hope that, in the wake of this terrorist momentum, a day will arrive when Muslims inundate Europe and subdue it to Islam. Is this not enough to convince [us] that terror [does] have a religion?" Read the full story here. 

Muslim Brotherhood 'Godfather' Qaradawi Regrets Trying To Reconcile Sunnis & Shiites.

Muslim Brotherhood 'Godfather' Qaradawi Regrets Trying To Reconcile Sunnis & Shiites. HT: GlobalMuslimBrotherhoodReport.

Saudi media is reporting that Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi has “expressed his regret again over the years he spent trying to reconcile Sunnis and Shiites.” According to the Asharq Al-Awsat report:

The Egyptian preacher Yusuf Al-Qaradawi who is also the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) expressed his regret again over the years he spent trying to reconcile Sunnis and Shiites. 

He launched a sharp attack on Shitte religious authorities and praised Saudi Arabian scholars who realised the true nature of Lebanese Hezbollah’s secretary general early on. He added that the Saudi Arabian scholars were more mature than him with regards to their stance on Shiites. 

Al-Qaradawi also commented on the deep crisis faced by the Muslim Brotherhood and called on its leaders to hold comprehensive elections at home and abroad to overcome their current crisis. 

Al-Qaradawi reposted a clip of himself filmed during a conference to help the Syrian people which was held in Qatar. The clip showed Al-Qaradawi addressing a group of Sunni scholars and religious leaders whilst saying that the idea of rapprochement between sects has worked in favour of the Shiites and that the Sunnis have not benefited from it at all. 

He added that “after this long period of time I do not see the benefit of rapprochement between Sunnis and Shiites. The Sunnis lose and the Shiites gain.” 

In what appears as the most important acknowledgement of the depth of the split in the Muslim Brotherhood’s ranks in Egypt, Al-Qaradawi called the group to hold comprehensive elections in Egypt and abroad to overcome the current crisis facing the Muslim Brotherhood. 

He also called on the conflicting parties to stop bickering until elections are held. However, former members of the group played down the importance of Al-Qaradawi’s initiative and told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group’s crisis has exceeded its regulatory limits and argued that the announcement of the initiative itself is a sign of failure. Hmmm.......Someone has a hard time digesting Iran's success.

Read the full story and more on the Muslim Brotherhood here.

Rep. Darrell Issa : "FBI would like to indict both Huma and Hillary".

Rep. Darrell Issa : "FBI would like to indict both Huma and Hillary". (TheHill).

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said the FBI likely has enough evidence right now to indict Hillary Clinton and her valued aide Huma Abedin, but that agency chief James Comey is being constrained.

“I think the FBI director would like to indict both Huma and Hillary as we speak,” Issa told The Washington Examiner in an interview published Friday. “I think he’s in a position where he’s being forced to triple-time make a case what would otherwise be, what they call, a slam dunk."

Issa, a former House Oversight Committee chairman, argued that she clearly violated transparency requirements during her tenure.

“There’s no question, she knew she had a responsibility and she circumvented it,” he said of the Democratic presidential front-runner. “She circumvented it a second time when she knowingly let highly-classified material get into emails in an unclassified format.”

Issa added, however, that charges against Clinton are unlikely under President Obama’s 'admin'.

“I’ve worked with both the last attorney general … and this attorney general, and I really don’t believe they’ll do it,” he said of Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, respectively. "Doing it, by definition, would end her run for president. 

“So, do I think the Democrats are in an odd situation where the only thing they can do is hold their nose and hold back on an indictment? Sadly, yes.” Read the full story here.

Video - 'What difference Does it Make?' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

Video - 'What difference Does it Make?' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.(conservativetribune).

Michael Bay, director of the “Transformers” and “Bad Boys” series of films (and, um, “Pearl Harbor”), released the trailer for his latest film, titled “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” on Tuesday.

The film, based on Mitchell Zuckoff’s 2014 book “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi,” was filmed for between $30 million and $40 million.

While much less than Bay’s usual budget, there’ll no doubt be plenty of explosions — including exploding the myth that Hillary Clinton’s State Department did all it could to prevent the deaths of four American civilians at our consulate in Libya.

The Sept. 11, 2012, attack killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service agent Sean Smith and CIA contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone S. Woods. The attack was originally blamed on spontaneous protests over a YouTube film that insulted Muhammad, but was later revealed to be a planned attack by radical Islamic terrorists.

The film, which is being released under the tagline “When everything went wrong, six men had the courage to do what was right,” stars James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, Toby Stephens, David Denman, Max Martini and Dominic Fumusa. Hmmmm........What difference does it make for the presidential election?

(IBD) Hillary Clinton Email Gaps Hide 'Pay For Play,' #Benghazi Truth https://t.co/k96sw7Z69w - #IBDeditorials - pic.twitter.com/ZsqtgvI0pU 172

— Daniel John Sobieski (@gerfingerpoken) December 28, 2015

Video - U.S. VP Biden presents former Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s deputy Sheik Abdallah bin Beyah At the UNGA.

Flashback 2013:

Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, who serves as vice-president of an organization that supports the terrorist group Hamas and whose president sanctioned the killing of American soldiers in Iraq, has met with senior Obama administration officials at the White House.

Bin Bayyah is the principal deputy to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s chief Sharia jurist and the driving force of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS). In addition to being behind the 2004 fatwa calling for the killing of American troops and other personnel serving in Iraq, Qaradawi also promotes suicide bombing against Israel.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that in 2011, Bayyah made a statement on his Arabic-language website where he criticized the West for placing Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and others in the same category as al-Qaeda.

In a posting on his website Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah revealed that he met at the White House on June 13 with Gayle Smith, senior director of the National Security Council, and Rashad Hussain, President Obama’s special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, among other officials.

The posting originally stated that the "national security adviser" was at the meeting, without naming him directly, though that part of the post was removed shortly thereafter when it was revealed that National Security Adviser Tom Donilon was not in fact at the meeting.

Among the topics the posting says bin Bayyah addressed at the meeting was how to "lift the injustices from vulnerable peoples such as the Syrian people, the Palestinians and the Muslims in Myanmar" and for the U.S. to do more to aid the Syrian revolution.

According to bin Bayyah’s website’s account of the meeting, it was the White House who asked for an audience with him.

A senior Obama administration official confirmed that the meeting took place, but declined to confirm whether all the officials listed by bin Bayyah’s website, including the American "national security adviser," were in attendance.

The official claimed that the meeting was set up to learn about bin Bayyah’s efforts to "counter the al-Qaeda narrative."



In granting bin Bayyah a visa, White House officials ignored his radical statements as well as his close connection to Qaradawi.

IUMS's hostility toward Israel, and its support of terrorists, is well documented. Considering that this information is readily available on the internet, it would not have been too difficult for White House officials to uncover that both Bin Bayyah and the IUMS support Palestinian terrorism and Israel's destruction. Hmmmm.....It seems the love from the Obama 'Admin' is still strong for #Israel's enemies. Source. More on the Sheikh's past can be read here.......Amazing coincidence that the Sheikh resigned from Qaradawis MB Club once the Obama White house was inviting him.

Judicial Watch Obtains New Huma Abedin Emails from Clinton Server.

Judicial Watch Obtains New Huma Abedin Emails from Clinton Server. HT: JudicialWatch.

Judicial Watch today released more than 50 pages of new emails from the clintonemail.com server account of Huma Abedin, a former top aide to Hillary Clinton during her tenure in the State Department.

The emails discuss seemingly sensitive security and foreign affairs issues and raise questions about the handling of classified material during Hillary Clinton’s tenure at the State Department. Read the full story here.

Judicial Watch: New State Department Documents Reveal Hillary Clinton Email Gap - Benghazi Gate.

Judicial Watch: New State Department Documents Reveal Hillary Clinton Email Gap - Benghazi Gate. HT: Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch today released newly obtained Department of State documents showing a nearly five-month total gap in the emails former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to return to the State Department late last year.  The documents also show that one key State Department official did not want a written record of issues about the Clinton emails.  The documents also raise new questions about the accuracy of representations made to Judicial Watch, the courts, Congress, and the public by the Obama administration and Clinton.

The documents were produced under court order in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit Judicial Watch filed on May 6, 2013 (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00687)).   The lawsuit was filed after the Obama State Department violated federal law and failed to respond to two separate FOIA requests, including a request for records about the actual production of the emails records by Clinton to the State Department.

The first batch of documents obtained by Judicial Watch contains a heavily redacted email from State Department official Eric F. Stein to Margaret P. Grafeld, dated April 21, 2015, with the subject “HRC Emails.”  Stein is deputy director of global information systems at the State Department and Grafeld is deputy assistant secretary of global information systems. Stein reports to Grafeld that the “gaps” in Clinton’s emails include:

• Jan. 21 – March 17, 2009 (Received Messages)
• Jan. 21 – April 12, 2009 (Sent Messages)
• Dec. 30, 2012 – Feb. 1, 2013 (Sent Messages)

In addition, Stein notes Clinton’s employment timeline as follows:

• Secretary Hillary Clinton
• Appointed:  January 21, 2009
• Entry on Duty: January 21, 2009
• Termination of Appointment: February 1, 2013.

Read the full story here.

BEnghazi Timeline.

Kerry Picks Hillary Donor to be State Dept. "Email Czar", to oversee the burgeoning Hillary Clinton email scandal.

Kerry Picks Clinton Donor to be State Dept. "Email Czar", to oversee the burgeoning Hillary Clinton email scandal. HT: JudicialWatch.

The new “email czar” appointed by Secretary of State John Kerry to oversee the burgeoning Hillary Clinton email scandal is a Clinton campaign donor who recently made a generous contribution, according to federal records obtained by Judicial Watch.

Her name is Janice Jacobs, a former career diplomat assigned by Kerry this week to be the State Department’s “Transparency Coordinator,” according to a mainstream news report. Jacobs will be in charge of responding to public-record requests involving the secret email account that Clinton used exclusively to conduct official government business. She will also handle congressional requests “faster and more efficiently,” and will improve the State Department system for keeping records.

Kerry could not have picked a better team player. Jacobs is a big Clinton fan who contributed $2,700 to the Hillary for America presidential campaign fund, Federal Election Commission records obtained by JW show. Hmmm......Sounds like : 'Himmler investigating death camps allegations'.Read the full story here.

Video - Clinton email saga - Former NSA counter-intelligence officer John Schindler reacts to 'top secret' emails.

ICYMI: I did lots this week on Hillary's messy Emailgate, enjoy -- http://t.co/h13dKWT5zu + http://t.co/iLL6JudmBu + http://t.co/kkO3fpD77X

— John Schindler (@20committee) August 15, 2015

U.S. Intelligence Officials To Take Part In Review Of Hillary Clinton E-Mails.

U.S. Intelligence Officials To Take Part In Review Of Hillary Clinton E-Mails.(Wapo).
By Karen DeYoung.

About a dozen U.S. intelligence officials have been added to the State Department team reviewing former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton’s e-mails amid spy agency concerns that classified information may have been compromised in connection with Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server while in office.

In addition to intelligence reviewers, the State Department inspector general’s office has also been given access to some 55,000 pages of Clinton e-mails being culled by the department for release in response to court orders under the Freedom of Information Act, said Douglas Welty, an inspector general spokesman.

The broadening of the review followed a recent “security referral” to the Justice Department by I. Charles McCullough III, inspector general of the intelligence community, who said that a limited survey of some of the e-mails found information that should have been classified.

A separate collection spanning about 900 pages, taken because they related to Libya, was released in May. Those documents had been requested by the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which is investigating the September 2012 attack on U.S. diplomatic and CIA compounds in the Libyan city that killed four U.S. officials, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

The e-mail controversy and the revelation in spring that Clinton used a private e-mail server to conduct official business have added fuel to the committee, which itself is embroiled in controversy. The Republican majority has said it has a duty to explore Clinton’s activities surrounding the attacks, while Democrats have charged a fishing expedition whose purpose is to undermine Clinton’s presidential campaign.

The committee has also asked for e-mails from 10 top Clinton aides during her State Department tenure. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines delivered 20 boxes of work-related e-mails this week from both his official and private account to the State Department for review. Hmmm...At this time....what difference does it make? Read the full story here.

National Security Expert Slams Hillary’s ‘Assault’ On Free Speech.

National Security Expert Slams Hillary’s ‘Assault’ On Free Speech. (Daily Caller) by Rachel Stoltzfoos.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton put her willingness to defend the Constitution in serious doubt when she promised Islamic countries the United States government would intimidate Americans who violate their free speech code, national security expert Stephen Coughlin told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

As Secretary of State, Clinton promised an international Islamic organization in 2011 that the United States government would “use some old-fashioned techniques of peer pressure and shaming” to intimidate Americans who improperly criticize Islam or Muhammad.

“An official of the United States, in an official communiqué, went to a foreign land to commit to a foreign leader that the United States Government would engage in the extra-legal practice of intimidating American citizens in the exercise of what is otherwise their protected free speech rights under the First Amendment,” Coughlin told TheDCNF.

Coughlin discusses the move in his recently published book, “Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad,” and told TheDCNF it casts a pall on her record as secretary of state.

“If her willingness to sell out Americans First Amendment rights to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation by categorizing as ‘hate speech’ anything that is deemed offensive to Islam is any indication, she may be the least qualified candidate to support and defend the Constitution,” he said.

Coughlin’s an attorney, decorated intelligence officer and expert on Islamic law and terrorism who consulted the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff for about a decade following 9/11, before the Muslim Brotherhood allegedly convinced the White House to ban him and “outlaw” his briefings.

He cites Clinton’s 2011 visit to Turkey and her cooperation with the OIC in his book as one example of how Muslim ideologists wield influence in the “highest reaches” of the U.S. government. The Clinton campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

The OIC is the second-largest intergovernmental organization after the U.N., consisting of 57 states that identify as “the collective voice of the Muslim world.”

After she helped the OIC secure passage of U.N. resolution 16/18, “Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief,” Clinton promised the U.S. would take what steps it could to curb speech critical of Islam.

“And together we have begun to overcome the false divide that pits religious sensitivities against freedom of expression, and we are pursuing a new approach based on concrete steps to fight intolerance wherever it occurs,” she said in an address following the resolution’s passage.

“We also understand that, for 235 years, freedom of expression has been a universal right at the core of our democracy,” she added. “So we are focused on promoting interfaith education and collaboration, enforcing antidiscrimination laws, protecting the rights of all people to worship as they choose, and to use some old-fashioned techniques of peer pressure and shaming, so that people don’t feel they have the support to do what we abhor.”

The resolution condemns “any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, whether it involves the use of print, audio-visual or electronic media.”

Coughlin argues in his book it’s part of a deliberate OIC-led effort to bring the U.S. and other countries in line with Muslim speech standards, first by condemning and eventually criminalizing unwanted speech such as depictions of Muhammad.

“Over the last few years, major left wing and Islamists organizations have been working diligently to reframe free speech in an oppositional narrative that distinguishes sanctioned speech, designated free speech, from hate speech in a long term campaign to brand nonconforming speech as hate speech that is at first to be ridiculed and then criminalized,” he told TheDCNF.



ICYMI:

BOOK RELEASE: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Jihad on Free Speech

Hillary Clinton viewed as a polarizing figure....'What difference does it make?'

Hillary Clinton viewed as a polarizing figure....'What difference does it make?' (IMRA).

SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 18 April ’15:”Middle East a major challenge for Hillary Clinton” by Omnia Al-Desoukie, Al Arabiya News

SUBJECT: Hillary Clinton viewed as a polarizing figure

QUOTE:”Hillary Clinton has begun her bid for the US presidency but is viewed as a polarizing figure.”

HILLARY CLINTON has begun her bid for the US presidency. Despite the advantage of being internationally known, she is viewed as a polarizing figure.

In her 2014 book “Hard Choices,” Clinton distanced herself from how the Obama administration handled the Arab Spring.

She has been politically engaged with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for around 25 years, including her time as first lady.

She is said to have close ties with some of the region’s ruling families. “She was criticized for being seen with Suha Arafat, wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat,” said Joyce Karam, Washington bureau editor for Al-Hayat newspaper and a regular columnist for Al Arabiya News.

However, her regional relations “could offer a point of strength in leveraging US influence and mediating conflicts.”

The Obama administration has been heavily criticized for its regional policies, which are viewed as having diminished US influence.

The current regional situation will be a major challenge for all candidates in the 2016 US presidential election, but more so for Clinton, who spent four years as part of the Obama administration.

On Sunday, she resigned from the board of directors of the Clinton Foundation in order to begin her presidential bid.

The foundation is said to have received as much as $40 million from four Gulf states since 2001, as well as donations from other MENA countries.

This was while Clinton served as a senator, secretary of state and thereafter. “Deals that the Clinton Foundation has done will be used by her opponents, but I’m not sure how damaging it’ll be given that the elections will focus more on the US economy and social issues,” Joyce said.

Gulf money flowing to the United States is nothing new, but there are concerns about the amount of money that went to the foundation in comparison to Oxfam, the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations.

BBC Correspondent Kim Ghattas said: “It is a very valid concern [for Americans] when the Gulf gives money to a foundation. There could be conflict of interests there.”

However, “the argument that some people would make is that it is better to have Gulf countries engaged than leaving them outside.”

Clinton was heavily criticized during her first presidential campaign when she said she would “totally obliterate” Iran if it ever attacked Israel.

Recently, she said Tehran had no right to enrich uranium. However, she is said to have laid down the foundational work of the negotiations with Iran by sending a close adviser to participate in the secret talks with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions.

Clinton will need to explain how she will shape US policy toward the Middle East in general, but Israel and Iran in particular.

For example, what is her stance on the two-state solution given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a Palestinian state?

Also, will she honor the deal with Iran struck by the Obama administration? If so, how will the US maintain close ties with Arab allies who openly oppose a relationship with Tehran? — Al Arabiya News.

Related: Everything you ever wanted to know about Hillary, but were afraid to ask.

'The Sisterhood'?' - Judicial Watch Sues for Hillary and Huma’s Egypt Emails.

Hillary and Huma's mother

'The Sisterhood'?' - Judicial Watch Sues for Hillary and Huma’s Egypt Emails. HT: JudicialWatch.

 Judicial Watch announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department seeking any and all communications – including emails – from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chief of Staff Huma Abedin with Nagla Mahmoud, wife of ousted Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi, from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00321)).

Judicial Watch submitted its original FOIA request on August 27, 2014. The State Department was required by law to respond by September 26, 2014 at the latest to Judicial Watch’s request for:

1. Any and all records of communication between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Nagla Mahmoud, wife of ousted Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi, from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013; and
2. Any and all records of communication between former State Department Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin and Nagla Mahmoud from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2013.

To date, the State Department has not responded.

Ms. Mahmoud threatened Mrs. Clinton after Morsi was ousted.  According to JihadWatch.org:

In the words of El-Mogaz News, Morsi’s wife “is threatening to expose the special relationship between her husband and Hillary Clinton, after the latter attacked the ousted [president], calling him a simpleton who was unfit for the presidency.  

Sources close to Nagla confirmed that she has threatened to publish the letters exchanged between Morsi and Hillary.” 

The report continues by saying that Nagla accuses Hillary of denouncing her former close ally, the Brotherhood’s Morsi, in an effort to foster better relations with his successor, Egypt’s current president, Sisi—even though, as Nagla laments, “he [Morsi] was faithful to the American administration.”

Abedin also has some interesting family connections. Her father is said to be close with the Saudi government's Muslim World League, and her mother is said to be a member of the Muslim Sisterhood. World Trade Center bombing prosecutor Andrew McCarthy wrote in National Review: "The ties of Ms. Abedin's father, mother and brother to the Muslim Brotherhood are both specific and substantiated."

According to Gawker.com, among several email addresses linked to Abedin's name in records maintained by Lexis-Nexis is one for huma@clintonemail.com. Emails sent by Gawker to that to that email address went through without error. Hmmm.....Their server might be in Muslim brotherhood 'Godfather' Qaradawi's office.Read More here and here.

"CHANGE" Saudi Arabia's new ruler returning to the 'Muslim Brotherhood Club'.

"CHANGE" Saudi Arabia's new ruler returning to the 'Muslim Brotherhood Club'. (AA).

Riyadh has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity from the Gulf in the past few days amid talk of changes in Saudi foreign policy under King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The new policy would be geared toward establishing a Sunni alliance against Iran and mending fences with Turkey, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood. 

After a visit by the Emir of Kuwait Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah on Sunday, followed by another visit by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Monday, the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani visited Riyadh on Tuesday and held a round of talks with King Salman.

Saudi Arabia under Salman is expected to see changes in the kingdom’s foreign policy and new approaches to regional and international issues, following the new king’s “coup” in the late Saudi King Abdullah’s inner circle.

The changes in Riyadh’s foreign policy will be easy to implement, given King Salman’s knowledge of most of these issues due to his close ties with the decision-making circles in the kingdom, and his participation in the decision-making over the past 40 years.

The scope of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy change during the next stage will extend to three main arenas: the relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, the relationship with Turkey, and the relationship with Iran.

There are many indicators that the relationship between Riyadh and the Muslim Brotherhood — which is classified as a terrorist group in Saudi Arabia — will change in the near future.

Following leaked reports about meetings between “Sudairis” from the royal family with Muslim Brotherhood leaders, which were accompanied with “optimistic” statements by the Brotherhood about a change in Riyadh’s approach toward the group, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said that the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Brotherhood will undergo changes.

As crown prince, King Salman was in charge of relations between the kingdom and Turkey.

The agreements signed during his visit to Ankara in May 2013 provided a solid foundation, which can be built upon to improve relations between the two countries. These relations became severely strained after Riyadh supported the overthrow of the Brotherhood regime in Egypt, while Ankara objected to what it called a “coup.”

According to a report in Foreign Policy, the relationship with Ankara is a main priority to King Salman, considering its potential impact on issues of concern to the kingdom in many countries.

Riyadh is aware that repairing relations with the Brotherhood and Turkey would require the support of Qatar, which is the Brotherhood’s patron in the Arab world and a strong ally of Ankara. Hmmmm.........Scorpion frog story, Neo Ottoman Conqueror Turkey wants it all, the Arabs deserve what's coming to them in future. Read the full story here.

Related: The Muslim Brotherhood Declares “Turkey Is The Capital Of The Islamic Caliphate

"Let my people go?" - 'Messiah' Obama to 'prioritize' case of Londoner held in Guantanamo

"Let my people go?" - 'Messiah' Obama to 'prioritize' case of Londoner held in Guantanamo.(ITV).

National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Obama said he would "prioritize" the case of the last British person held in the notorious prison.

Prime Minister Cameron raised this case with the president, and the president told him that he understands why this case is of great interest to the Prime Minister and the British people. "The president committed to the Prime Minister that we will prioritise this case, while making sure any action taken is consistent with our national security.

– US NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESWOMAN BERNADETTE MEEHAN A British government source welcomed the commitment as a "step forward". We see this as a step forward. We now need to keep working with the Americans and continue our discussions to resolve this case once and for all. – GOVERNMENT SOURCE.

Aamer, whose wife and four children live in Battersea, was captured by US forces in Afghanistan in 2002. His family say he was an aid worker.

A group of top health experts today joined growing calls for Aamer's release saying continued detention was having an appalling effect on his medical condition.

The 45-year-old, originally from Saudi Arabia, is said to be suffering from a range of illnesses including post-traumatic stress disorder and asthma.

The medics, including professors, consultants and GPs, have written a letter to the Daily Mail expressing frustration at the attitude of the Foreign Office.

An assessment on Aamer prepared by a military analyst in November 2007 and leaked by Wikileaks said Aamer, who was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, was a close associate of Osama bin Laden and so powerful a figure that he is capable of controlling other detainees to the point of being able to compel them to commit suicide.

Aamer has denied being associated with al Qaeda and says he was working for an Islamic charity in Afghanistan during the US invasion in 2001.

The assessment said Aamer is "extremely egotistical," that he "manipulated debriefers and guard staff" and that, on the advice of one of his Reprieve attorney, Clive Stafford Smith, he led a hunger strike in the summer of 2005 involving more than 100 detainees. Aamer has said the strike was aimed at bringing Guantanamo in line with the Geneva Conventions. Hmmm.....Don't tell me he's a relative to this Shaker? And where does this Yusuf Qaradawi live? Yes you guessed it.... Obama's ME 'peacepartner' Qatar.  More here.

Related:

• Jan 11 -2012: Report: U.S. to Release Three Taliban Leaders from Guantanamo Bay, as in Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi plan. http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/01/report-us-to-release-three-taliban.html

• March 11 -2012: "Commander in chief' Obama agrees to transfer the Taliban Guantanamo detainees to Qatar. http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/03/commander-in-chief-obama-agrees-to.html

• June 30 - 2012: Obama administration still considering turning Taliban detainees over to Afghanistan and Qatar http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/06/obama-administration-still-considering.html

• Report: Radical Sheikh a Key Mediator in U.S.-Taliban Talks http://www.investigativeproject.org/3359/report-radical-sheikh-a-key-mediator-in-us

• U.S. Set to Release Key Taliban Figure in 9/11 Attacks  http://counterjihadreport.com/2012/01/15/u-s-set-to-release-key-taliban-figure-in-911-attacks/

Obama 'admin' frees another five Yemeni Gitmo prisoners from Guantanamo

Obama 'admin' frees another five Yemeni Gitmo prisoners from Guantanamo. (WaEx).

The Obama administration late Wednesday released five Yemeni al Qaeda fighters from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sending four of them to Oman, which shares a border with Yemen.

The move is likely to inflame GOP lawmakers who proposed Tuesday to bar further such releases, especially to Yemen, a country wracked by sectarian violence where the local al Qaeda affiliate has claimed credit for last week's deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

The four sent to Oman — Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammad Al Yafi, Fadel Hussein Saleh Hentif, Abd Al-Rahman Abdullah Abu Shabati, and Mohammed Ahmed Salam — were considered either medium-risk or high-risk detainees.

A fifth, Ahmed Abdul Qadir, judged to be a medium risk, was sent to Estonia.

All five were recommended for release in 2010 after the Obama administration reviewed cases of detainees recommended for continued detention under the administration of George W. Bush.

Their transfer leaves 122 detainees at the prison.

Legislation introduced Tuesday by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., would bar the release or transfer of any detainees judged to be medium- or high-risk — the vast majority of those who remain — and requires greater justification for any other release or transfer. It also would bar transfers of any Guantanamo prisoner to Yemen, home country of the largest single group of remaining detainees. Hmmm...Expect these five names to popup in the coming months involved in new terrorist attacks.

Turkish “Intellectuals” Demand Support For MB 'Godfather' Qaradawi: ‘Amounts to harm befalling moderate Islam in general,’

Part Two here.


Turkish “Intellectuals” Demand Support For MB 'Godfather' Qaradawi: ‘It also amounts to harm befalling moderate Islam in general,’ (GMBR).

A Turkish news portal is reporting that a group of scientists, journalists and writers is calling on Turkish authorities and Muslim countries to support Youssef Qaradawi after the international police agency INTERPOL issued a “Red Notice” for him based on an Egyptian request. According to the report:

January 10, 2014 After a red alert was issues for Qaradawi from Interpol, a group of scientist, journalists and writers from Turkey have said that they will not leave Qaradawi alone. They join more than 300 global Islamic scholars intellectuals and leaders who have signed a statement saying that any harm that befell Sheikh al-Qaradawi would amount to harm befalling them.

‘It also amounts to harm befalling moderate Islam in general,’ the signatories added. 

Scholars and intellectuals lashed out at the recent addition of the prominent cleric’s name to Interpol’s wanted list, describing the move as an ‘irresponsible’ act and an ‘insult’ to Islam and Muslims. 

The statement reads, ‘Yousf al-Qaradawi, in a legitimate elected election in 2012, Mohammad Morsi was ousted by a military coup in 2013, replaced by Egyptian President Abdulfettah es-Sisi and has since had a digified attitude. At the same time, Qaradawi has shared the joint pain of Muslims and has since persistently defended the Palestinian cause and has issued a fatwa that it is obligatory for Muslims to engage in jihad against the Zionist regime’. 

The statement called on Turkish authorities and Muslim countries to support Qaradawi, the Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.

Read the rest here.

The report goes on to identify the individuals who signed the statement.

In December 2013, the GMBDW was the first Western media to report that the international police agency INTERPOL had issued a “Red Notice” for Youssef Qaradawi which states that the Global Muslim Brotherhood leader was “wanted by the judicial authorities of Egypt for prosecution / to serve a sentence.” As we have often noted, a 2011 report report authored by the GMBDW editor concluded that since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Hmmm....Pretty obvious the new HQ of the muslim Brotherhood and Terrorist Hamas is 'Sometimes NATO and U.S. ally' Turkey.

For a profile of Youssef Qaradawi, go here.