Friday, September 19, 2008

War on Terror - convictions, arrests and warnings


Hammaad Munshi, Britain's youngest convicted terrorist

Britain’s youngest terrorist has been jailed for two years. Hammaad Munshi, who was just 15 when he downloaded terror manuals and other items said to be useful to a terrorist, was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London after a two year investigation. Two others, Aabid Khan and Sultan Muhammad, were jailed last month. Khan was sentenced in August to 12 years for possessing or making documents promoting terrorism. His cousin Muhammad, 23, also from Bradford, was sentenced to 10 years for similar offences under the Terrorism Act. Munshi is said to have been groomed by Khan and Muhammad. Now 18, he was convicted of making a record of information likely to be used for terrorist purposes [BBC].
Meanwhile two people have been arrested in Germany for their part in an alleged terror plot. A German and a Turkish citizen are said to have collaborated with a terrorist group whose plans for attacks on U.S. targets in Germany were foiled last year. Both men, aged 27 years, are believed to have links with the Islamic Jihad Union, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a jihadist group with ties to al-Qaeda [CNN].
The threat from terrorism became all the more stark this week when 11 people died in an attack at the US Embassy in the Yemen capital. Following the attack, which killed one American [CNN], the US State Dept has issued a statement recommending that all non-emergency staff and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen leave the country.

1 comment:

Dr. John Maszka said...

The War on Terrorism is a Lie

The war on terrorism is a lie because terrorism is not an enemy, it is a strategy.

Terrorism is a strategy employed by weaker states and non-state actors when fighting an asymmetric war against a more powerful opponent.

No state or non-state actor fights a conventional war against an enemy it has no chance of defeating conventionally; hence it fights asymmetrically. In other words, it employs the tactic of terrorism.

Since the U.S. has declared that it will maintain military superiority without challenge, it has done everything in its power to do just that. The US defense budget for 2008 is some $700 billion. There is no single state or non-state actor on this planet that can defeat the United States in a conventional war.

Therefore, any single state or non-state actor that will not accept American hegemony will be forced to fight an asymmetric war with the United States. That is, it will be forced to employ terrorism. The war on terrorism is a war against any state or non-state actor not willing to accept US hegemony. It is not a war on terrorism at all, but a war to promote and defend US imperialism.