The Motive May Never Be Known

The killer wore a sweatshirt that said "Property of Allah".

He also had an Islamic Republic of Iran flag t-shirt on under the sweatshirt. 

CBS News: Texas gunman wore "Property of Allah" hoodie, Iran flag T-shirt during attack

This clearly means his motive may never be known. It is a Complete mystery.

Indeed, per the FBI,  the Bureau is searching hard for a possible motive and possible link to terrorism for this Islamic immigrant.

The Detroit News:  FBI probes Texas mass shooting for terrorism link

I daresay Director Kash Patel needs to remove Agent Magoo and his fellow Biden-era agents that can't identify Islamic terrorism  --when it is literally on the killer's shirt -- from the investigation.

From Sinwar To Sinwas

The top commander in Gaza of Hamas, and the planner and implementer of the October 7 massacre and kidnapping has been killed by the Israel Defense Forces.

The Times of Israel:  New details emerge of Sinwar’s final moments

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Maybe Hamas will learn from this that it is time to release the hostages and end the conflict they started, but I doubt that.

Meanwhile, In The Red Sea

On Septemebr 27, US Naval forces in the area came under attack from a "complex"  attack from the Houthis.

Stars and Stripes:  Navy ships shoot down ‘complex’ barrage of Houthi missiles and drones in Red Sea, Pentagon says

Navy ships intercepted a Houthi barrage of missiles and drones launched from Yemen at the shipping lanes of the Red Sea, the Pentagon confirmed Friday, while also denying reports that any ships were hit in the attack.

“We did see a complex attack launched from the Houthis that ranged from cruise missiles and [unmanned aerial vehicles],” said Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the Defense Department.

The Iran-backed Houthi claimed Friday to have damaged three U.S. Navy warships in a bombardment of 23 missiles and bomber drones. The Navy destroyers, the Houthis’ military spokesperson said in a televised speech, were targeted as they transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. The Bab al-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen.

Sure would be nice if instead of passively and simply absorbing attacks (with rather spendy anti-missile missiles, not to mention the risk of an enemy weapon getting through and killing or injuring Americans), the rules of engagement were changed to allow the US Navy to proactively engage the launchersand those firing them before the weapons were fired at the ships.  

I daresay some renewed deterrence and an application of Finding Out to the Houthis of the consequences of flinging missiles and drones at the US Navy would be most appropriate at this time and is long overdue.

From De-Ballification To Decapitation

Hezbollah has now confirmed what Israel has already announced - that their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit his bunker placed under a civilian residence in the Dahiyeh district in Lebanon.

That makes almost the entire command structure and leadership of Hezbollah being eliminated in this action, leaving the terrorist organization effectively decapitated. Thousands of their middle management have effectively been paged out of action as well.

I wonder if Hezbollah is regretting firing thousands of rockets at Israel since October 7 of last year, as well as regretting the rocket attack that killed 12 Druze children in Israel that really got Israel understandably cross with them.  Not to mention their plan for a mass rocket attack on Israel that Israel preempted, leading to this current battle.

Apparently, Iran, the puppeteer behind Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, has just announced that their leader Ayatollah Khamenei has decided to go hide in an undisclosed "secure" location.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work - Al Qaeda Now Looking For A New #2

The Detroit News: US, Israel worked together to track and kill al-Qaida No. 2

There's now another opening for the number two position in Al Qaeda's hierarchy.

The US and Israel worked jointly to track down and kill Abu Mohammed al-Masri in Tehran, Iran.

With a fine sense of  timing and poetic justice, they nailed him on August 7, the anniversary of the 1998 bombings of the US Embassies that he orchestrated in Kenya and Tanzania.

That Sunni terrorist Abu Mohammed al-Masri was being sheltered by the Shiite Iranian government certainly gives the lie to the claim that the Iranians will not work with the Sunni Wahhabi/Qutbist factions when it suits them, and that the two are always enemies. They're not, and they will work together to ataack the West when it suits them.

Now Biden is eager to return to the Iranian treaty even while Iran harbors and assists America's enemies, if not outright encouraging them and assisting them against America.

Canada Pays The Danegeld - Terrorist Receives $10.5 Million

Canada just gave 10.5 Million dollars to Omar Khadr, a Canadian who fought against the US and Canada in Afghanistan as part of Al Qaeda.

Note well that Canada quickly and quietly paid the money out to Omar Khadr, before the family of Sgt. Chris Speer, an American soldier killed by Khadr in Afghanistan, who Khadr admitted to killing, could get it blocked to enforce their judgment against Khadr.

This quick payment to screw over the widow of an American soldier was intentional:

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source familiar with the situation told The Canadian Press that the government wanted to make the financial payment to Khadr promptly to get ahead of a massive U.S. court award against him. “The money has been paid,” the source said.

To say that this is beyond shameful and a parody of what a sane government should do is an understatement.

Given Khadr and family's background and close ties to Al Qaeda, the likelihood of a goodly sum of this money heading to terrorist groups is pretty much assured. I wonder if part of the deal said he can't use it to attack Canadians.

Whether this was a payoff in exchange for terrorists not attacking Canada and Canadian interests under the guise of paying a terrorist for the discomfort of being hosted in Guantanamo after his capture as a terrorist is certainly open to question. As usual the proggy editors of the Toronto Star are falling all over themselves on how righteous and upholding of Canadian values of making such an insane payoff.

The only payoff Khadr deserves is about $0.50 moving at 1,246.7 fps at his forehead.

This isn't the first time Canada has shamefully helped bad actors out. During the Somalia incident, Canada gave asylum to Mohammad Farah Aideed's family while US and UN forces were hunting him. Whether it was a quid pro quo in return for making sure Canadian troops in Somalia were not attacked was never explained. Yep, while American soldiers were being killed in the Blackhawk down incident, Aideed's family were living on welfare in Canada.

Canadians now and in the future should and will hopefully look back on this decision to payoff a convicted terrorist in outrage, shame and disbelief.

I Suspect This Terrorist Didn't Go The NFA Trust Route, Or Any Other Legal Route For That Matter

Yet another adherent of the "Religion that had nothing to do with it" has been caught by the FBI planning a terrorist attack in Milwaukee, on a Masonic Temple of all things.

News Talk 1130: FBI Thwarts Terror Attack in Milwaukee

The FBI in Milwaukee announced Tuesday that it had thwarted a lone wolf terror attack targeting the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Milwaukee.

Sami Mohammed Hamzeh, 23, was arrested and charged with possession of machine guns and a silencer after he allegedly planned a mass shooting at the temple and made extensive preparations with two undercover FBI agents posing as fellow terrorists.

Hamzeh told them in a recorded phone conversation that he wanted to target "Masonic" victims in an effort to curry favor with international terror groups and inspire other acts of terrorism in America.

Note the possession of automatic weapons and a silencer - I'd venture a guess that none of them were legally acquired via a Form 4, so mere possession of those should be good for multiple felonies all by themselves, not to mention all the related terrorism charges.

Apparently he wasn't just a terrorist nutbag with the typical Islamist inspired delusion of grandeur, he also sported the delusion, unfortunately quite common on the "Arab Street" that the Masons are a secret cabal, typically along with the Jews (natch), running the world.

Quick news flash - Masons can on occasion manage to plan a picnic or a chicken dinner, but the whole world domination conspiracy thing is a wee bit beyond their ken.

Good job on the FBI interdicting this guy before someone got hurt.

The New York Daily News' Diversionary Hack At The NRA

The New York Daily News, in a mad attempt to divert attention from (Islamist) terrorism and the threat posed by all these incoming "refugees" as potential terrorist actors, decided to print "Hey Look, Squirrel!" on the paper's front cover.

It's a rather transparent and desperate attempt to get attention back to the left's favorite bugbear, gun control, and to defame the NRA.

National Review: The NRA Is Absolutely Right to Fear the ‘Terrorism Watch List’

The real question is, if there really are 700,000 people in America on the terrorist watch list, is anyone actually watching them? If they're suspected of terrorism or support for terrorism sufficient to get themselves placed on the list, why isn't some serious interdiction occurring rather than just putting them on a list and letting them walk freely about in society save for an occasional and only possible extra experience of being felt up at the airport?

After all, if they're allowed to walk around freely without any real attempt to apprehend them as terrorists that means they can acquire materials to make bombs and such, so perhaps this list is not really being taken seriously by the authorities.

When 280,000 people are on the list with no known terrorist affiliation, that's a cause for concern.

That there are thousands with actual listed affiliations to terrorist groups like Hamas, Al Qaeda, Hezballah, and the Taliban, and they're allowed to just wander around this country while the only thing done after identifying them is putting them on the list shows the government is rather fundamentally unserious about this whole counter-terrorism thing.

Indeed, since the criteria to be placed on it seems rather vague, and that people can be added to the list at whim, there is darn well a reasons to be concerned to add a new disqualification from owning firearms at the whimsy of some faceless official.

One can certainly see the Obama administration expanding such a list very quickly to do some "gun control under the radar" should it become a disqualifying condition. After all, he seems more rather obsessed with his "Republican enemies" rather than enemies of a foreign ideology and origin.

In short the New York Daily News should save the bile it is flinging at the NRA and instead direct it at the administration that has us fighting a phony war rather than a real war on terrorism while humming "I've got a little list".

ISIS' Goebbels Living It Up In Dearborn

The Detroit Free Press: Judge orders Dearborn cleric popular with ISIS to talk

One of the big mysteries is who is paying this felon - convicted of 42 counts of fraud - to spread Islamist propaganda? Well, he's not talking, at least not yet.

Yes, the most inspirational cleric providing aid and comfort to Islamic terrorists is comfortably living in Dearborn and lying to the court.

The Obama Administration is fundamentally unserious about dealing with Islamic Terrorism and ISIS, heck they can't even say the I word, so dealing with a propagandist for the same is likely beyond their ken, and this will not end well.

Islamists Just Wanting To Look For Jobs On US Soil

Legal Insurrection: Al-Shabaab branches out, calls for attacks on U.S. soil

Homeland Security like the State Department is now concerned about the potential for workplace violence due to Al-Shabab members wanting to apply for retail positions in their search for employment and then being frustrated with a minimum-wage sales position.

Once again, for this administration, the situation is clearly desperate but not serious.

Nothing Like Telegraphing Your Intentions

US News: U.S. Announces Plan for Massive Counter-ISIS Attack

OPSEC, this administration hasn't got it. Announcing the troop strength, date and location of an upcoming offensive for the world and the enemy to see is generally not considered a good practice.

My bet is the State Department is behind the announcement.

After all, In their view it's not a military offensive but a jobs fair, and they want to let all of ISIS know where they can submit their applications.

For the Obama administration, the situation is clearly desperate but not serious.

Is It Blowback If It Never Left?

Vodkapundit has a post up on the expected blowback from Syria - volunteer Islamist fighters having been trained in terrorist tactics returning to their homes in Europe and America will likely not just resume whatever they were doing before they left to fight on foreign shores but instead will likely launch jihadi attacks locally on their return.

I'd question use of the term blowback - it's not like we're supporting Al Qaeda/Salafi fighters. Instead we're just, in Obama's infinite wisdom, not supporting the more "normal" opposition to Assad, leaving them to get their butts kicked by both Assad and the Salafis, and it's resulting in Syria being locked into an Aliens vs Predator war where regardless of whoever wins, we'll have a heckuva foreign affairs problem for the foreseeable future.

Let's hope the NSA is doing, you know, their actual job of watching these foreign fighters and their movements rather than busily surveying little Timmy's online pron stash or Fred's Tea Party email list.

Meanwhile, back in America, and in Dearborn, Michigan in particular, there's a source of inspiration and terrorist advocacy for them waiting upon their return.

The Detroit Free Press: Dearborn cleric cited as most inspirational leader for militants from West in Syria

Just a few weeks after he was released from federal prison in March 2012 on fraud convictions, Dearborn cleric Ahmad Jibril told his followers in a fiery sermon posted online:

“When your brothers in Syria speak, everyone today needs to shut their mouth and listen, because they’re proving themselves to be real men.”

Jibril’s talk was the beginning of a number of videos and online comments that have made him an internationally known inspirational figure for militants in Syria. Over the past two years, Jibril has become the most popular religious leader online for Westerners who’ve joined the battle against the Syrian government, according to a new report by a security center in England.

And most of his followers online among the Western fighters surveyed are with groups related to al-Qaida, the report said.

Jibril, 43, acts as a “cheerleader ... a benevolent father figure” to foreign fighters motivated by Islam, said the report released last month by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence. Based in London, the center is a partnership with five universities and for the past year has been studying the role that fighters from the West are playing in the Syrian war.

He's also quite the anti-American extremist:

Jibril has a history of making what prosecutors said were extremist comments, dating to at least 1995, according to a 2005 sentencing memo from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit. In November 1995, he sent a fax to CNN praising the bombing by terrorists of a building in Saudi Arabia used by U.S. military and civilian personnel, prosecutors wrote. The blast killed four Americans.

On a radical website he operated, “Ahmad Jebril encouraged his students to spread Islam by the sword, to wage a holy war, to hate and kill non-Muslims,” prosecutors said in the memo.

Maybe it's time to apply the RICO act to terrorists and their ideological enablers, as while Jibril may not be the guy pressing the button when the time comes, but he'll be one of those who set it in motion.

Situation Desperate But Not Serious - Obama Admin's Terrorist Policy Just Droning Along

Obama and his policies regarding drones operations in foreign countries against US Citizens has managed to boomerang nicely and illustrate the trouble with treating foreign terrorism overseas as a law enforcement problem.

The Detroit News: American citizen possibly targeted for U.S. drone attack

An American citizen who is a member of al-Qaida is actively planning attacks against Americans overseas, U.S. officials say, and the Obama administration is wrestling with whether to kill him with a drone strike and how to do so legally under its new stricter targeting policy issued last year.

The CIA drones watching him cannot strike because he’s a U.S. citizen and the Justice Department must build a case against him, a task it hasn’t completed.

Four U.S. officials said the American suspected terrorist is in a country that refuses U.S. military action on its soil and that has proved unable to go after him. And President Barack Obama’s new policy says American suspected terrorists overseas can only be killed by the military, not the CIA, creating a policy conundrum for the White House.

Quite the catch 22 - and adding to the fun you'll see as you read the article that currently, only the military by law may try to capture him, but by law the military isn't allowed to go capture him. Yet the CIA drone may lawfully fly there, but can't shoot because that would be unlawful.

So, this fellow is responsible for the deaths of Americans overseas but can't be touched because there hasn't been a domestic law enforcement case made against him, a case that can't be prosecuted as he can't be brought to justice in the US due to his current remote location that would require US troops to have to land and try to capture him, and thus we can't let the CIA go after him, and the military can't touch him because he's not in a conflict zone where they could act.

In other words, a terrorist with American citizenship located outside America may plot and kill Americans with impunity under this policy, and all drones can do is circle around and watch as he does so.

That's quite the policy, and it's an example of the inherent insanity in treating foreign terrorism as a law enforcement problem that can be defeated by pretty platitudes and policies.

Look Up In The Sky, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, No, It's A Drone And You're Another Dead Terrorist In Pakistan......

That droning sound followed by a blast means corporate advancement for the Pakistani Taliban as their number one got all blowed up.

The Detroit Free Press: Pakistani Taliban needs new leader after drone hit

The Pakistani Taliban's top council met Saturday to choose a new leader to replace the militant movement's chief, killed in a U.S. drone strike the day before, intelligence officials and commanders in the movement said.

The death of Hakimullah Mehsud, a ruthless leader known for attacking a CIA base in Afghanistan and a bloody campaign that killed thousands of Pakistani civilians and members of the security forces, is a heavy blow for the militant group.

One wonders how many potential candidates quickly yelled "Not it!" when it came time to picking a replacement.

Apparently The US State Department's New Defense Policy Is To Bravely Run Away

Fox News: US issues global travel alert over Al Qaeda threat, prepares to close embassies

Apparently at least one side doesn't think the war on (Islamic) Terrorism isn't over, unfortunately it seems to be the other side:

The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday to U.S. citizens over an Al Qaeda terror threat, as the U.S. government prepared to close its embassies and consulates throughout the Muslim world this Sunday over related security concerns.

U.S. officials have not offered many details on the nature of the threat, but apparently are taking it seriously.

Perhpas the State Department is worried about a Ramadan offensive?

Most amazingly is that instead of promising to heavily defend embassies against attack the State Department is going to just shut them down, which is a rather unique response to a terrorist threat.

The list of closures reads like a Frommer's guide to the Arab world.

Of course, the United States' quite tepid response over Benghazi seems to have only emboldened the Islamists in the face of Obama's weakness:

Keane said it appears Al Qaeda is trying build off the Benghazi terror attack. "When they sense weakness, they attack," he said. "They believe that we're pulling back, and they were stunned ... that we did not come after them immediately after that attack."

Weak horse, strong horse, guess which one Obama is? Even after his speech in Cairo, they don't like us. They really, really don't like us.

It's going to take a lot of work to rebuild US deterrence given the damage done to it under Obama.

Weird Border News: No You Can't Import The Dutch Pressure Cooker

A Saudi man landing in Detroit with a pressure cooker in his luggage raised some eyebrows among Customs and Border Protection officers. Either this was a very weird probe, or this guy is just plain dumb, or a combination of the two.

The Detroit Free Press: Saudi traveler with pressure cooker arrested at Detroit Metro Airport.

Federal agents arrested a suspicious traveler with an altered Saudi Arabian passport at Detroit Metro Airport during the weekend after discovering a pressure cooker in his luggage.

According to a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court, the passenger, Hussain Al Khawahir initially told customs officers that he brought the pressure cooker for a nephew at the University of Toledo because pressure cookers are not sold in Saudi Arabia, the complaint said. The man then changed his story and admitted his nephew had purchased a pressure cooker in America before, but it “was cheap” and broke after the first use

Adding to the fun of travelling with a pressure cooker was that his passport was suspiciously missing some pages. Combine that with lying to CBP and he's getting deported.

Apparently the pressure cooker was purchased in Amsterdam if you buy the Saudi's claim that you can't purchase them in Saudi Arabia.

The moral of the story for travellers, aside from being truthful and not traveling on an altered passport, is that you should stick to buying Dutch Ovens in Amsterdam and leave the pressure cookers there alone.

Ex-Navy Loser Leaker Lawyer Properly Disbarred

Surreptitiously shipping classified lists to a left-wing group will get a sailor/lawyer sunk real fast.

Mathew M. Diaz apparently never got the lesson on "Loose lips sink ships", not to mention how divulging classified information is a surefire way to sink your career and future prospects.

And it was not just any classified list either:

The Kansas Supreme Court has disbarred a former Navy lawyer who mailed a classified list of Guantanamo detainees to the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Ex-Navy Lawyer Is Disbarred for Sending Secret Names of Gitmo Detainees to Legal Group

It was also clearly not a mistake or spur-of-the-moment stupidity:

Diaz had printed the detainee names, cut the list into strips, and placed them in a Valentine’s Day card to Barbara Olshansky, the deputy legal director for the Center of Constitutional Rights, according to findings of fact cited by the court.

This was far from being some act of heroic dissident. He admitted that he was too much or a coward to even take this up with his chain of command, or do an open act of disobedience and take the consequences for his beliefs and acts, instead he decided to try to surreptitiously leak his way to glory:

The court noted, however, that Diaz did not take his concerns to higher-ups because, by his own testimony in court-martial proceedings, “I wasn't really to put—willing to put my neck on the line and jeopardize my career.” The information he disclosed also could have been used to identify detainee interrogation teams, putting them at potential risk, the court said.

Disbarment is appropriate, the court said, given the nature of Diaz’s criminal violations and his “admitted selfish reasons for the clandestine disclosure of classified information.”

So Diaz ended up with 4 felonies, 6 months in confinement - which seems a little light, and a disbarment, not to mention dropping from the rank of Lt. Commander to nothing. All on behalf of Guantanamo detainees who would likely kill him and other Americans if they got half a chance.

He chose....poorly.

Islamists And The Impotence Of The Weak Horse President

The whole President Obama the weak horse thing is getting pretty tiring.

We see Islamists paying attention to such weakness, attacking embassies in Egypt and raising the Al-Qaeda flag on the Embassy walls.

And in Libya we see Islamists killing the US Ambassador and three other Americans there in a planned attack on 9/11 with a pretext of a movie that most likely none of the participants have even seen, and was likely created by an agent provocateur falsely claiming to be an Israeli Jew.

Under a Republican President, an Aircraft Carrier or two would be steaming towards these places with a demand that the perpetrators be handed over or consequences would be severe, and bombs damn well would fall.

Heck, under a Republican President one would only hope that invaders scaling an embassy's walls would be met with force.

But with Obama, the first thing from the State Department is apologies for hurt Muslim feelings. An apology quickly walked back and disavowed once caught by angry Americans.

Unless there is strong and swift retaliation for these attacks, these scum will be further emboldened. Anyone really expect Obama to act beyond empty platitudes that those responsible should be brought to justice - as if this was a simple criminal problem and the US could really find, issue arrest warrants then arrest and try the terrorists responsible for these acts?

Again, Obama appears the weak horse, and Americans will suffer because of it.

It's Tough Being An Al-Qaeda #2

Yet another Al Qaeda #2 man has gone to his just desserts, apparently via drone-fired missile.

The Detroit News: Al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen killed in airstrike

An airstrike killed al-Qaida's No. 2 leader in Yemen along with five others traveling with him in one car on Monday, senior Yemeni Defense Ministry officials reported. If confirmed, Saeed al-Shihri's death would be a major blow to the militant group.

The officials said the missile that killed al-Shihri, a Saudi national, was believed to have been fired by a U.S. operated drone, but that couldn't immediately be confirmed. The U.S. doesn't usually comment on such attacks although it has used drones in the past to go after al-Qaida members in Yemen.

That makes at least 30 Al Qaeda #2s zapped. Not exactly a job with a lot of longevity or viable prospects for promotion, nor chances to collect on the pension plan.

The most recently appointed Al Qaeda #1, Ayman al-Zawahiri, reminiscing on the losses of this slew of #2s allegedly tearfully stated while furtively scanning the sky:

"Yes, they blow up so fast, don't they?"

And Another Al Qaeda #2 Bites the Dust.

John Ringo on Facebook commented that with the death of Al-Qaeda #2 Abu Yahya al-Libi, in Pakistan on Monday, he is the 29th Al Qaeda #2 that has met an early demise since taking on the job.

I daresay it's the Peter Principle for Al Qaeda: You rise to the level of your own drone strike.