jon huntsman blogger: terrorism

Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts

Flotilla of Peace financed by terror

This weekend’s big story was how a flotilla of “peace activists” was headed towards Gaza to bring relief supplies to the Palestinians. The relief mission was in defiance of Israel’s blockade of the Gaza. The Israeli Defense Force, in an attempt to stop the flotilla boarded a Turkish vessel and that is when all hell broke loose.

On board the Turkish vessel IDF clashed with the “peace activists” and IDF ended up killing 10 of the “activists”. The operation put Israel in a very bad light, until the videos started to roll in.

These so-called “peace activists” were armed and ready. It is almost like a trap was set for Israel. We learn today that the flotilla was finance by a terrorist organization.

The Weekly Standard:The Turkish organizers of the Gaza Strip-bound flotilla that was boarded this morning by Israeli commandos knew well in advance that their vessels would never reach Israeli waters. That's because the organizers belong to a nonprofit that was banned by the Israeli government in July 2008 for its ties to terrorism finance.

The Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish) was founded in 1992, and reportedly popped up on the CIA's radar in 1996 for its radical Islamist leanings. Like many other Islamist charities, the IHH has a record of providing relief to areas where disaster has struck in the Muslim world.

However, the organization is not a force for good. The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.

The situation is rapidly escalating. The UN Security Council is already condemning Israel’s actions (where is the Security Council’s swift actions when it comes to Iran?). Turkey is threatening military reprisals and will send another flotilla this time escorted by the Turkish Navy.

US Officials are saying the US will stand with Israel. There was a time when few would have wondered what America’s response would have been, today given the administration’s shabby treatment of Israel, we all have to wonder.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The New York Times

Via: The Weekly Standard

Video h/t: Hot Air

Via: The New York Times

Via: Ian Welsh

Via: IBN Live

Via: ABC News

Device found and detonated in Pittsburgh

Is this more Taliban handiwork or just copycat action?

Fox News: PITTSBURGH -- Police say a suspected device near the finish line of the Pittsburgh Marathon prompted them to halt the race briefly while it was rendered harmless.

Police say the device was found in a small microwave oven on the sidewalk after the leaders had finished the course Sunday morning. Police Lt. Kevin Kraus says several blocks were cordoned off near the original finish line for the marathon and half-marathon and police tried to reroute the race but eventually ended up delaying it for 10 to 12 minutes.

The bomb squad used a robot to disable the device, which Kraus says investigators now believe was not an actual explosive.

The all-clear was given shortly before 11 a.m. About 5,000 people took part in the full marathon.

The disruption comes a day after a car-bomb scare in New York emptied Times Square.

Over at KDKA Channel 2, they have video. They are claiming that there was a pipe bomb inside a microwave oven that was placed in a white box at the end of the Marathon route.

From KDKA: One officer at the scene said that the device was a microwave with a pipe bomb inside. The microwave was in a white box near the entrance of the building.

However, Police Chief Nate Harper would only confirm that there were suspicious contents inside the microwave.

The device was detonated and Liberty Avenue and Grant Street had been blocked off.

Police are looking for who left the device at the location, but police are going to review the surveillance video from security cameras in the area.

From the video at KDKA we once again there are stupid people standing around watching. If this is the American public’s reaction to bomb threats, we are in trouble. People: when bombs are found, leave the area in a calm and orderly fashion. Sticking around to see the action live is beyond foolish.

UPDATE: A Possible Pennsylvania connection?

I was just watching the mayor's press conference on the Times Square car bomb and noticed this line. Listen to what NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg says about the fireworks found in the Times Square car bomb.

“…it was made up of consumer grade fireworks that you can buy in Pennsylvania and drive into New York …”

A possible Pennsylvania connection?

Via: Drudge Report

Via: Fox News

Via: KDKA
Via: UK Telegraph

Updated: Times Square Bomb Scare - Failed Car Bomb Found In New York’s Time Square

The New York Times: The police discovered a car bomb in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers from the area on a warm and busy Saturday evening.

There was no explosion.

“It appears to be a car bomb left in a Pathfinder between Seventh and Eighth” Avenues on 45th Street, said Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman.

The device, he said, contained “explosive elements” that included “propane tanks, some kind of powder, gasoline and a timing device.”

“This is very much an active investigation,” he said. […]

Kevin B. Barry, a former supervisor in the New York Police Department bomb squad, said he was told it was an improvised explosive device. But somehow, he said, the ignition source “failed to function the main charge.”

Mr. Barry said that if it had functioned, “it would be more of an incendiary event” than an explosion. [MORE]

This is very scary. I have been working events in New York City last week and have to be in the city again tomorrow and Monday. To say I am a little apprehensive is an understatement. I am not too sure the feds are equally apprehensive; look at this from the same NYT article:

A federal official said that domestic security officials had been informed that the event did not appear to be a terrorist threat. The official referred all requests for additional information to New York City police.

Really? Well what the hell is a car bomb anyway if not terrorism? Allahpundit see similarities with the car bombs after the London subway bombings. Allahpundit also links to a very useful NYPD presentation that offers information on the telltale signs for car bombs

Atlas Shrugs offers tons of first hand images and updates.

UPDATE: Video added
Hat tip to Left Coast Rebel via Gateway Pundit

I really do not understand why all those people are hanging around. How many terror attacks have we read about where the first device goes off and then after the first responders arrive the second one detonates? Memo to New Yorkers, if this incident should ever happen again, leave the area. You can alway get the details later from the safety of your home.

UPDATE II: Video from The New York Post

UPDATE III: Heroes identified

NY Daily News: Three heroic cops and a quick-thinking street vendor stopped a madman from detonating a car bomb in the heart of Times Square Saturday night, law enforcement officials told the Daily News.

The T-shirt vendor - a Vietnam vet - told Officer Wayne Rhatigan there was smoke coming from a Nissan SUV on the southwest corner of 45th St. and Broadway about 7 p.m., sources said.

Rhatigan approached the car, saw the smoke, and sprang into action.

"I did a lap around the vehicle. The inside was smoking," Rhatigan told the Daily News Saturday night. "I smelled gunpowder and knew it might blow. I thought it might blow any second."

He grabbed two rookie female cops patrolling the area. Together, they pushed hundreds of people away from the scene as they called for backup, he said. […]

"It looks as if the perp was trying to light it up, and was interrupted by the cops, panicked and took off," a law enforcement source said.

"It looked like someone tried to detonate it and we got to it in time," a police source said. "This is a big deal. It has the makings of a real car bomb." […]