Hey Buddy! ... You Wanna Buy A Car? ... or ... Some Drugs?

Feds: Car Dealer Funded Money to Terrorists
 MyFoxPHOENIX.com 
 Drug Enforcement Administration agents have
raided an Oklahoma car dealership that the government suspects may be one of about 30 such businesses in the U.S. involved in funding the terrorist group Hezbollah. DEA agents say the car lot of Ace Auto Leasing in Tulsa is part of a huge network that is selling cars and drugs -- and then using the money to support terrorism against the U.S., myfoxphoenix.com reports. During Friday's raid, agents could be seen carryout out filing cabinets and other items. They also questioned employees and took inventory. "They're making big time money and it's going right into weapons acquisition, terrorist training, recruiting, corruption. Things needed to carry out terrorist attacks across the world," said Rusty Payne of the DEA. "Some of that money is flowing back to the United States, back to these used car companies, to purchase more used cars to ship them to West Africa to sell those at a profit and then mix those used car proceeds in with the drug dollars." The U.S. government says Lebanese financial institutions wired more than $300 million into our country. It was all part of a money laundering scheme that included 30 car dealerships like Ace Auto. DEA Agent Derek Maltz told ABC’s KTUL-TV that the wired money would go to these car dealerships to buy used cars.

"The used cars being purchased in the United States are being shipped into West Africa and they are making 15, 20, 25 percent profit and the proceeds are all being sent back into Lebanon and Hezbollah is benefiting," Maltz told the station. "We do not have detailed specific information on what these car dealership owners knew; we will investigate it jointly with our partners in the United States and hopefully we will shut them down," says Maltz. Payne adds, "What's happening, though, is the amounts are so large that it raised red flags among investigators. There's no way the used car industry in the US and West Africa could produce these kinds of revenues."

Great News: EU Poll Proves No Deaths Due To Islamic Terrorism

Europol Reports Zero Deaths From Islamic Terrorism In Europe
Deenfeeds

Europol tracks terrorist attacks in the European Union and publishes the data in an annual report entitled EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT).  The first such report was for the year 2006 and the most recently released one was for 2010.  Going through the data, I noted in my previous article (Updated Europol Data: Less Than 1% of Terrorist Attacks by Muslims) that less than 1% of terrorist attacks on European soil were committed by Muslims.

Anti-Muslim bigots were naturally very upset with these findings, and offered a couple flimsy counter-responses.  The most popular one was some variation of the following snarky remark:

Perhaps ‘scale’ rather than ‘quantity’ is the real issue here? 

But, is it?

I went back through the data, which revealed the following conclusion: there were zero deaths from Islamist terrorism for every single year the Europol reports were published, a span of five years.

Here is the data (all quotes are taken directly from that year’s Europol terrorism report):

In 2006, there were no successful terrorist attacks by Muslims, but only 1 “failed terrorist attack that took place in Germany” resulting in zero deaths.

In 2007, once again “[t]here were no successful Islamist terrorist attacks” with 1 “failed terrorist attack that took place in Germany” and 3 “attempted terrorist attack[s]” resulting inzero deaths.

In 2008, there was only 1 terrorist attack by Muslims, in which “only the attacker himself was injured.”  Again, zero deaths.  But, the scale of the Islamist terrorist attacks make up for the fact that 99+% of terrorist attacks were by non-Muslims!  (Note: there were no other attempted or foiled attacks in that year.)

In 2009, there was only 1 terrorist attack by Muslims, resulting in zero deaths but “[o]ne of the guards trying to stop [the terrorist] was slightly wounded.”  The scale!  The horror!

In 2010, “[t]he number of Islamist terrorist attacks actually carried out in the EU was limited to three attacks in 2010.  They caused minimal damage to the intended targets.”  The report notes further that “[t]he attacks shared some characteristics” including “lack of familiarity with explosives.”  But, be very afraid of these Mastermind Terrorists!  In the first attack, the victim “managed to save his life” by locking himself in a room.  In the second attack, the Mastermind Terrorist accidentally let the bomb explode while “in a hotel toilet,” resulting in zero fatalities.  In the last attack, ”the suspected suicide bomber himself was the only fatality.”  Once again, there were zero deaths from Islamist terrorism in that year.

This brings us to a grand total of zero deaths from Islamist terrorism from every year since Europol started keeping track of terrorism and publishing an annual report.  Amazingly, it seems that the only injuries sustained, in the entire five year period, was to one guard who “was slightly wounded.”

Yet, even though according to the data in their own reports Muslims were responsible for less than 1% of terrorist attacks and caused zero deaths, Europol ominously warns that “the threat [from Islamist terrorism] remains real and serious” and “the threat of Islamist terrorism by Al-Qaeda inspired groups and affiliates is high.”  Every year, without fail, Europol has reported these same findings, but never once did any of these reports note that the threat of Islamist terrorism is heavily exaggerated.  In fact, the data they provide is irrelevant to their conclusions and recommendations, which are actually predetermined long before any data is collected or analyzed.

In one of his recent articles, Glenn Greenwald notes that U.S. officials declared that they have defeated Al-Qaeda by rendering it “operationally ineffective” but at the same time warned that “the terrorist group will remain a major security threat for years.”  It seems that both the United States and the European Union are able to operate under such paradoxical premises.

Similarly, facts will not move Islamophobes.  Even as their main arguments fall apart, they will no doubt find some fall-back argument to rely upon.

Danios was the Brass Crescent Award Honorary Mention for Best Writer in 2010 and the Brass Crescent Award Winner for Best Writer in 2011.  

Check out the original post!

Dutch Terrorism Victim Fights Back

In 2009, Max Boon was seriously injured in a terrorist attack on the Marriott Hotel in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. He is now about to launch a project in Indonesia aimed at bringing youths at risk of becoming radical extremists into contact with the victims of terrorism. “I want to use my unique experience to make the world a better place.”

Radio Netherlands

Before the year is out, Max Boon (35) hopes to start his ‘de-radicalisation’ project. It depends on the final stages of his treatment. Max lost both his legs in the Jakarta attacks and has been undergoing intensive physiotherapy at a Dutch rehabilitation centre since October 2009. “I’m learning to walk on prosthetic legs and I recently began using computer-controlled knee joints. So far, so good.”

Immeasurable pain

It was during his many hours of walking practice that the idea was born to set up a project to discourage terrorism, in cooperation with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in The Hague. “The aim is to confront potential terrorist recruits with the faces of victims, to convince them that they cannot achieve their goals through violence. All violence does is cause immeasurable pain to people with whom they have more in common than they realise.”

How does Max envisage the project?

“A victim of terrorism, a former terrorist and an Islamic scholar will work together, going to neighbourhoods which are potential breeding grounds for violent radicalism. They will visit Islamic boarding schools, regular schools and community organisations, where they will tell their stories. The scholar is there to engage people in theological discussions. We will show impressionable people, who are likely to fall prey to radical ideas, the real-life consequences of the abstract idea that you can create hatred by bombing somewhere.”

Database

Max Boon plans to start by setting up a database of victims in Indonesia. He has already established contact with victim support organisations. “You need to select people from the database who have a good story and who are able to tell it convincingly. These victims then have to receive guidance and training, and psychological support where necessary. After all, this will not be an easy process for them.”

Max believes it is important that the victims are Indonesians, as they are likely to appeal more to potential terrorists than an American or a Dutchman. For this reason he does not see himself doing the talking, but is concentrating instead on the organisational side of things. Max already has an idea about which former terrorists to approach. “A number of candidates are already cooperating with the Indonesian authorities and take an active part in de-radicalisation projects.” Representatives from major Islamic organisations are also keen to take part.

Marriott/Ritz-Carlton bombings

Two bombs exploded at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta on 17 July 2009, killing nine people. Over 50 people were injured, including Max Boon, who was at the Marriott to attend a breakfast business meeting. After being kept in a coma for three weeks, he awoke to find that he had no legs and that his right arm had been shattered. He had sustained burns, and shrapnel from the bomb was embedded in his body, including one shard still in his heart. Police believe the terrorist leader, Noordin Mohammed Top, who was killed two years ago, was the brain behind the attacks.

Impressionable lad

Max wants to focus on people like the person behind the attack on the Marriott, which has such a dramatic effect on his life. The culprit was an impressionable lad from a broken home who came into contact with a man at his local mosque who brainwashed him and talked him into carrying out the attack.

“Boys and girls who end up with no prospects are easy prey for people with violent views. These are the people we hope to reach and to save from the same fate that befell that boy who walked into the hotel where I was.”

The pilot project in Indonesia will last for one year and will be partly funded by the Indonesian government. Max is still looking for sponsors to cover the remaining costs. Once the year is up, the idea is that a foundation or NGO will continue the programme. Max is even considering the possibility of “exporting” the concept to other countries.

One fateful day

But the last thing Max wants to do is invest all his time and energy in this project. “Before the attack, I was working as a consultant in Indonesia, and I am keen to pick up where I left off. I’ve launched the project because I want to use my unique experience to make the world a better place. But I don’t want to end up devoting the rest of my working life to that one fateful day.”

(dd/mw)

Source URL: http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/dutch-terrorism-victim-fights-back