RUTHFULLY YOURS

On Monday a federal court in Sacramento will hold an evidentiary hearing on Hamid Hayat, 35, currently serving a 24-year sentence on terrorism charges. Hayat’s legal team will attempt to vacate the 2006 conviction, with support from the northern California division of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

“We welcome the court’s decision to hear new evidence in this case and hope that Mr. Hayat will be given a fair chance to present his appeal,” said CAIR executive director Basim Elkarra in a statement. “With Mr. Hayat’s case, there are legitimate concerns that he did not receive a fair trial.”

The Muslim Legal Fund of America “began funding the expenses for this case in 2014 because representatives were deeply concerned over growing evidence that Hayat was convicted largely on the basis of his religious identity rather than any evidence of wrongdoing.” According to MLFA executive director Khalil Meek, “Hayat was essentially convicted for possessing a prayer written on paper that asked God for protection. Imagine what impact this will have on everyone’s First Amendment rights if this conviction stands.”

Hayat’s lawyer Dennis Riordan, one of the top appeal attorneys in the nation, told the MLFA, “We believe that this is the most important legal case involving Muslim interests currently in courts of this country. This motion to vacate Hayat’s conviction is currently the best vehicle for exposing the harmful effects of anti-Muslim bias in American courtrooms.” Last June, Riordan told the Intercept, “It’s going to be obvious that, not only should he have prevailed at trial, but that he’s factually innocent.”

The January 29 hearing was ordered by federal judge Deborah Barnes, a relative newcomer to California’s Eastern District bench and a veteran of the California attorney general’s office. So Hayat’s CAIR and MFLA-backed legal team had done some judge shopping and it paid off. Barnes’ June 7, 2017 order raised “serious questions concerning the competency of the defense.”

March for Justice Chairman and Muslim Brotherhood operative Nidal Sakr has been living in the United States since he escaped Egypt, in March 2014, days before he was sentenced to death for the murder of an Egyptian police officer. While in the US, Sakr has repeatedly called for President Donald Trump’s execution, something that is punishable by US law. Whether serving his Egyptian sentence or his potential US sentence for his threats, he needs to be located so that he could be brought to justice.

Nidal Mohamed Sakr was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He describes himself as “US born from Palestinian origin.” In a videotaped lecture Sakr gave, in October 2012, he claimed that his mother is Egyptian and enlisted in the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin) at an early age, carrying weapons and ammunition for the group. He stated, “Let me be very clear about this. I was born into Ikhwan, and my mother actually is from the first generation of Ikhwan.”

Around 1970, Sakr joined a Brotherhood terrorist cell in Jordan that was conducting paramilitary operations against Israel. According to Sakr, the individual who recruited him into the cell was Abdullah Azzam, the future mentor of Osama bin Laden and co-founder of al-Qaeda. Also according to Sakr, he personally knew bin Laden. He stated, “Osama bin Laden, himself, was a student of Abdullah Azzam at King Abdul Aziz University. I know him personally. I know his brothers. I know his family.”

Years later, during the Arab Spring, Sakr and his convert wife, Sara Rae Bokker, were living in Egypt. According to Bokker’s Facebook page, which is packed with morbid graphics about death, she had arrived in Egypt in December 2003 and worked at the Jana Dan International School in Cairo from 2007 to 2014, first as a kindergarten teacher and then headmistress. While in Egypt, Sakr organized rallies for the Muslim Brotherhood and advised Brotherhood leadership. He, as well, served on the International Islamic Council for Dawah and Relief in Cairo, beginning in 2007.

Following the July 2013 coup against the government of newly elected Egyptian President and Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi, by then-head of Egypt’s military and current Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Brotherhood immediately became a target. On Facebook, Sakr describes an incident where he was shot at by the new government. He writes: “Can you Imagine How Horrendous to Be in the Crowd Fired At? I CAN. I Was Fired At by Sisi n RABAA [Square in Cairo] for 12 Hours NON STOP…”

The Islamic State issued a new video today calling on “brothers in Europe, America, Russia, Australia and elsewhere” to “kill them all” as “it is now time to rise.”

The English-language nasheed, inspirational songs frequently released by terror groups, shows scenes of Western terrorists’ handiwork — including the March 2017 Westminster Bridge attack and the ISIS pledge video recorded by Berlin Christmas market terrorist Anis Amri — mingled with ISIS battlefield scenes and beheadings in Syria.

The video from ISIS’ official Al-Hayat Media Center was distributed widely on YouTube and social media platforms Twitter and Facebook, along with being posted on file-sharing sites.

“Your brothers in your lands have absolved themselves of blame, so leap onto their tracks and take an example from their actions and know that jannah [paradise] is beneath the shadows of swords,” a narrator says before the nasheed starts.

“Go answer the call, don’t spare none, kill them all, it is now time to rise, slit their throats, watch them die,” goes the nasheed. “The Islamic State stands, and it stands and demands, that you worship the one, whom besides there is none.”

“We’re the grandsons of men, who gave all that they can, to rule all of the lands, with the law of Islam,” the nasheed continued. “Holding up the flag high, and seeking paradise, o my brothers stay strong, victory won’t be long.”

“Together we will stand up, once filled with iman [faith], men who answered the call, terrorizing the world.” CONTINUE AT SITE

An ISIS-supporting media group threatened another Vegas-style massacre in a new propaganda image, yet zeroed in on a Strip hotel other than the Mandalay Bay.

“The disbeliever west will see our power through the jihad of sincere people and the sacrifice of monotheists. We will be generous in shedding your dirty blood unless you embrace Islam or give the jizyah,” states the message, referencing a tax paid by non-Muslims. “However, Las Vegas’ massacre is not far from you.”

The poster distributed online includes a shadowy backdrop of masked jihadists carrying an ISIS flag, hovering over a photo from the Vegas strip. The words “Las Vegas,” crosshairs and flames are positioned over the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

An ISIS-supporting media group threatened another Vegas-style massacre in a new propaganda image, yet zeroed in on a Strip hotel other than the Mandalay Bay.

“The disbeliever west will see our power through the jihad of sincere people and the sacrifice of monotheists. We will be generous in shedding your dirty blood unless you embrace Islam or give the jizyah,” states the message, referencing a tax paid by non-Muslims. “However, Las Vegas’ massacre is not far from you.”

The poster distributed online includes a shadowy backdrop of masked jihadists carrying an ISIS flag, hovering over a photo from the Vegas strip. The words “Las Vegas,” crosshairs and flames are positioned over the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.CONTINUE AT SITE

While the report reveals that approximately 46% of those convicted of international terrorism-related offenses from 9/11 through the end of 2016 (254 out of 549 individuals) were not U.S. citizens, it does not identify the number and nature of offenses they committed, their manner of entry, countries of origin, religion, or other related information.

The report presents illustrative examples of foreign nationals convicted of international terrorism-related offenses. All are Muslims — based on their being connected to Islamist groups recognized as terrorist organizations. Yet the report does not mention this. Moreover, a search of the report for the words “Muslim” or “Islam” produces only two matches: one in relation to ISIS’s goal of establishing an “Islamic caliphate,” and the other in reference to the “Islamic State in Iraq.”

The report also fails to include — or flatly ignores — significant findings to raise awareness of the threat to Americans’ safety. Among these are, not surprisingly, evaluating how effective or ineffective the US government’s policies and procedures are in screening and vetting people hoping to come to the United States.

The recently released report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) on the threat of international terrorism — a requirement of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorists Entry into the United States — falls sadly short.

The Executive Order requires information regarding:

the number of foreign nationals in the U.S. who have been charged, convicted, or removed from the U.S. based on terrorism-related activity;
the number of foreign nationals in the U.S. who have been radicalized in the U.S. and engaged in terrorism-related acts; and
the gender-based violence against women in the U.S. by foreign nationals.

Yet the current report does not provide any numbers for those or a lot else.

Recent Department of Defense (DoD) actions indicate that the DoD is considering making Amazon the DoD’s sole online cloud provider, the Washington Examiner notes. Such a deal entails numerous disadvantages, not least of which is threats of espionage arising from Amazon’s compromising relationship with China.

On October 30, the DoD made a “Request for Information” (RFI) soliciting private-sector advice about modernizing DoD cloud services. The RFI specifications suggest that the DoD is seeking a single global cloud-provider. Amazon would most likely be the contract recipient, given several past multimillion-dollar cloud contracts with multiple national security agencies.

I.T. contractors and several trade groups have made “stern warnings about the potential effects of choosing just one cloud provider.” The “[DoD]’s diverse needs and mission requirements” argue against an “approach that could eliminate the potential for multiple cloud services providers.” As one trade group analogizes, “almost all Fortune 500 counterparts have established multi-cloud architectures because no singular cloud solution meets all of their mission and business application requirements.”

Innovation and cost-cutting also favor multiple suppliers, the trade groups and contractors note. “A Department cloud [comprising] multiple interoperable offerings would ensure that the Department obtains the benefits of competition to achieve best value.” The “diversified solutions from the commercial market will facilitate a culture of experimentation, adaption, and risk-taking and increase the speed of technology development and procurement.” By contrast, “selecting only one cloud[-]provider drastically impairs competition in the future, effectively leaving [DoD] captive to one provider.”

Key propaganda texts from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are posted for free download on the Barnes & Noble website, including the inaugural issue of a magazine linked to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Reviews posted on the e-books indicate that they’ve remained on the bookseller’s website for years, despite clearly indicating in the titles that al-Qaeda materials are being offered.

There are two listings for “Al-Malahem Media Foundation presents A Special Gift to the Islamic Nation The first Magazine issued by al-Qaida in the English language.” That refers to the 2010 debut of AQAP’s English-language Inspire magazine; the site notes that the free Nook book is “digitized from 2010 volume.”The first issue of Inspire includes the infamous “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom” article from “The AQ Chef” that sparked the trend of publishing detailed, open-source instructions to jihadists on constructing explosive devices. “We are conveying to you our military training right into your kitchen to relieve you of the difficulty of traveling to us,” states the article. “…In one or two days the bomb could be ready to kill at least ten people. In a month you may make a bigger and more lethal bomb that could kill tens of people.”

The step-by-step picture instructions walk would-be jihadists through constructing an explosive device with ingredients including matchstick heads and sugar, details how to fill it with projectile shrapnel, and shows how to wire it up with a timer.

Using a pressure cooker instead of a pipe “is the most effective method,” al-Qaeda advises. CONTINUE AT SITE

For all the talk over a showdown with North Korea, few are asking: Do the less than 1% of Americans in the armed forces have the most lethal weapons and best training to defend the country? There is reason to wonder, and Congress has an opportunity to shore up the military as the world grows more dangerous.

Congress is trying to reach a budget deal to extend government funding that expires this month. One issue are the caps on defense spending under the 2011 Budget Control Act, which tried to force Congress to do something about the deficit by threatening automatic cuts. This has imposed useful discipline on non-entitlement spending, but the military has been hit harder than domestic accounts.
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The military is operating at a high tempo in multiple theaters, even as funding has dropped and become more erratic. The Congressional Research Service says the Defense Department has operated under continuing resolutions, which are stopgap measures that limit spending flexibility, for more than 36 months since 2010. Compare that with fewer than nine months in the preceding eight years.

This means fewer resources for equipment maintenance and soldier training. Some of this could have contributed to the Navy’s collisions in the Pacific last year that killed 17 sailors. The Navy’s investigation revealed that training practices failed—for instance, crew members “were not familiar with basic radar fundamentals.” Ships are deployed at sea more often and for longer. A prescient 2015 Government Accountability Office report found that ships based in Japan had “no dedicated training periods” as a result of the deployment pace.