A Christmas Message to my Heroes

12-21-08

A SCF Journal Entry

by Gary H. Johnson Jr.

Any comprehensive strategy which will actively defy and ultimately defeat Islamic Supremacism must account for all aspects of the Koranic injunctions revolving around “Convert, pay alms, or die”.

Currently, the anti-jihad and counterterror communities are focusing their efforts on the political ramifications and outcroppings of Jihadism. What must be reckoned with is the fact that History is a study in ethics – that politics is the active and practical application of socio-economic theory by political and non-political players. The expert community, at long last, must come to the conclusion that tactical awareness of the jihad threat leaves it in a position of advocacy rather than a position of activism.

At present, the experts have focused their effort on two-thirds of the problem. A comprehensive strategy will take into account the nature of Paying Alms as a key driving aspect of Islamic Sumpremacism’s active advance.

In essence, the War of Ideas, to date, has been one mounted against a “Convert or Die” ideology. This tactical approach leaves U.S. policymakers, U.S. lawmakers, U.S. military heads, the ambassadors of U.S. Diplomacy, and U.S. Financial Market Players completely naked in the onslaught of an activist Islamic Supremacism. By fighting only two-thirds of the battles in the War of Ideas, no actionable value set can be had which will guarantee any level of sustained success or any level of effective political response to the threats posed by contemporary jihadism or islamic supremacism.

The socio-economic picture of the entirety of Islamic supremacism is murky and fuzzy – gray.

One recently translated text, Public Duties in Islam: The Institution of the Hisba, sheds light upon this as of yet uncharted branch of Islamic socio-economic theory. Only through this window can a measured moral response be activated against the totality of the socio-economic dictates of the Office of the Muhtasib. Ibn Taymiya’s work provides a new understanding and way forward in our present struggles with IslamoMercantilism and Islamic Supremacism.

Duties of the Muhtasib

12-17-08

by:  Gary H. Johnson, Jr.

A review of

Public Duties in Islam: The Institution of the Hisba

$15.95, 159 pp.

Ibn Taymiya, Author

Muhtar Holland, Translator

Khurshid Ahmad, Editor

 

 

For the Last 700 years, Ibn Taymiya has served as one of the chief sources of inspiration for revivalist, fundamentalist, jihadist, and supremacist Islamic Movements. A stand-out intellectual figure in the History of Islam, known for his towering scholarship, Ibn Taymiya is generally accepted as an “authentic spokesman” for the Faith. Universally referred to as the Shaykh of Islam, the appeal of Ibn Taymiya’s thought spans across all schools of the Religion. Considering (1) the challenging economic ramifications of a resurgant Islam, (2) the relatively recent cultivation and entrenchment of Shariah Compliant Finance in the modern Market, and (3) the ever-widening spectrum of socially active as well as violent Islamic Supremacist movements the world over, Public Duties in Islam: The Institution of the Hisba by al-Shaykh al-Imam Ibn Taymiya is a necessary eye-opener for any Westerner seriously attempting to come to grips with the ethics and context of modern Muslim Thought.

Since Muhtar Holland’s English translation of Ibn Taymiya’s treatise was first published by The Islamic Foundation in 1985, it is unlikely that the Western intellectual community has yet examined the relevance of this seminal discourse by the Shaykh of Islam. In time, the book will be hailed a Rosetta Stone.

In terms of (1) evaluating the collective duties of mankind, (2) determining the nature of human rights, (3) measuring the Rights of Allah, (4) decoding the ethical imperatives of Jihad, and (5) delineating virtue and vice through the Muslim frame of conscious belief, Ibn Taymiya’s Public Duties in Islam: The Institution of the Hisba has no rival. In the War of Ideas, the significance of the text cannot be overstated. Indeed, no comprehensive analysis of Shariah Law, the Mercantile Age, Islamic Imperialism, Islamic Finance, Contemporary Jihadism or Islamic Supremacism is possible without a public intellectual struggle over the Principles of Hisba and the Duties of the Muhtasib.

Al-Hisba is a cardinal institution of Islam. It is derived from the Koranic command of Allah “to enjoin good and forbid evil”. To clarify, the word “enjoin” means “to command or demand from a position of Authority”.

The intricacies of Ibn Taymiya’s thought on the nature of authority and obedience through the applications of the institution of Al-Hisba are staggering in terms of the morality, clarity, and aims of contemporary Islamic Supremacist movements.  To attempt a summary or analysis of the wide range of Al-Hisba functions is far beyond the reach or scope of a simple book review.

Therefore, I shall quote but one passage in full and will, in closing, offer a charity.

“Duties of the Muhtasib

As for the Muhtasib, he is charged with ordaining that which is fitting and proscribing the improper in those spheres not reserved to the governors, the judges, the administrative officers, etc.

The duties of the Muhtasib include: ordering the common people to perform the five prayers at the proper times and punishing with flogging or imprisonment those who do not pray; supervising the prayer-leaders and those who give the call to prayer, seeing to it that the former do not neglect the duties of their office and that the latter keep within the legally prescribed form. Should he be unable to enforce his orders he may call upon the military, the magistrate or anyone commanding obedience to help him.”

The Prophet Muhammad is considered the first Muhtasib. One can only ask: In the absence of a caliph, what position holds stewardship over the Umma if not the Muhtasib?

Al-Hisba is the missing link in the struggle to attain human rights in the face of Shariah Law. The problem is simple: at the Hisba root, Allah’s Rights hold Supremacy over Man’s Rights. Its chief characteristic, as an institution, is in its creation of a regulating body for the total socio-economic enforcement of Allah’s ordained prescriptions and proscriptions. The Taliban are “Students” of this Methodology in policing morality. The Saud Wahhab state has a “Virtue and Vice” squad. In view of Ibn Taymiyya’s Institution of the Hisba, a “more clairvoyant generation” would recognize the danger of the Harmonization Boards of Shariah Compliant Finance in light of the implications carried by the Office of the Muhtasib. 

Slant Right Exchange

I would like to thank John Houk for his attention on the anti-jihad community’s struggle to assert itself in the main.  I appreciate his blog, and the following exchange, which started as a quick comment on the AIG situation displayed my frustration with the situation we are in as men and women of reason.  The exchange was posted on his website as an article.  His thought is clear.

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Johnson on Shariah Finance and Act for America

Posted by johnhouk on Dec 15, 2008
Here is a response by Gary H. Johnson, Jr. pertaining to Islam’s Shariah Finance and Act for America’s campaign to illuminate Americans about the heinous practices of Sharia Law of which Shariah Finance as an offshoot.afield from Human Rights violation concerns as ACT! is framing them.

(I am guessing these two posts are to what Mr. Johnson is referring: “AIG offers shariah-compliant insurance“ and “Act for America: AIG responds.“)

Johnson’s response is practical and critical of the methods of Act for America and believes Shariah Finance is a non-preventable emergence in Western markets and banks.

I get the impression that Johnson is no fan of Islam however my impression those organizations like Act for America and bloggers such as myself are among the fringe that will be used as propaganda to benefit radical Islamic organizations in America such as CAIR and a whole host of similar Islamic-American organizations.

Mr. Johnson may have a point; however I still believe extreme light must be shed on the practices of Islam to educate at the very least non-Muslims of the true nature of Islam.

Well that is my two cents. READ Gary Johnson’s article.

JRH 12/15/08
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Johnson on Shariah Finance and Act for America

Gary H. Johnson, Jr.
Comment Sent to SlantRight.com
Sent: 12/15/2008 5:03 AM
Website: http://unitedagainstislamicsupremacism.wordpress.com/

What type of oversight exists on the harmonization boards of shariah compliant finance elements in the U.S?

It is one thing to say that a member has a record of supporting violent Jihad…it is an altogether different thing to understand everything said between the Shariah officers. There must exist a level of transparency to guarantee the constitutional rights of U.S. Citizens confronted with Shariah Law’s dire implications. That said, it is important to recognize that the United States Government, out of national sovereignty concerns must develop an oversight committee and monitoring service on behalf of the US Citizenry…to make sure the Shariah Officers do not cross the bounds of individual rights in their effort to engineer shariah compliance, especially in the realm of takaful. Property Rights are a matter of National Sovereignty, personal liberty, and individual rights. These things fall far

In order to provide a check and balance to the onslaught of Shariah Compliant Finance’s rise in Europe and through international banking elements – a bufferzone must be established…an independent advisory board which determines and judges the sovereignty issues inherent in and U.S. Constitutional nature of all Shariah Harmonization Boards, in word and deed.

This is especially true…on any company in which the US taxpayer holds vested interest or national ownership in – such as AIG. Stockholders shoulder rights.

On my website http://unitedagainstislamicsupremacism.wordpress.com I have placed my quick read notes regarding the recent Ernst & Young Takaful report…the thing that caught my eye was the statistics of Islamic Finance…

Funding for Islamic Finance projects increased 18,000% over a 7 year period worldwide (from 2000 to 2007).

Yet takaful has increased at a very moderate 20% or so per year over the same time. The simple truth is…whatever gets financed must first be insured. And thereby whatever is Islamically Financed must first be Islamically Insured.

Takaful is set for a 2009 breakout in more ways than AIG…the entire industry has been in a process of entrenchment and validation since the 70s… Today, they are in the process of consolidating their holdings and affixing their longterm positions.

Interestingly, they are using competition as their weapon… They are simply competing. No one is making anyone choose Takaful offerings. But which offering is more likely for a Muslim to choose? A Shariah Compliant insurance or one of conventional offering? See, the shariah compliant angle merely allows “Jihad with Money” to use Capitalism and its natural competitive framework as the vehicle for its advance – all with a guaranteed corner and monopoly on a 1.5 billion person segment of the market. This is what happens when Capitalist Societies attempt to do business with Mercantilist Economies – competition is always forced to yield to supremacism’s rise.

Take a step back with me…and see what is happening.

The Sword on the Neck of the Unbeliever

 by: Gary H. Johnson, Jr.

Axiom – Every decline in Muslim Power through the ages has (within decades) been interpreted by and answered by revivalist and fundamentalist movements that seek to purify the teachings of Muhammad – in a quest for Allah’s favor, measurable only in terms of Submission’s advance.  Afterall, Submission translates into Arabic as…ISLAM…doesn’t it?
 
The Missing Cultural Pieces – America came to be in the late 1700s as a place of religious freedom, individual rights, and equality under the law.  Within two decades, we were at war with the Barbary Pirates.  The Barbary Pirates were more or less the “raiders” of the Mediterranean Sea.  They taxed the Pilgrims of all faiths with impunity…and when tax was not forthcoming, they resorted to ransoming hostages.  The United States came in and for 30 years protected trade and offered a new understanding of Liberty…what did the Muslim world think of America in the early 1800s?  What did the Muslim Ulema say to the beys of Tripoli?  What did the Ottoman seat in India have to say?  What did the Wahhab leaders say?  The early connection between America and the Orient have been lost to the tide of time. 

It is only to be expected to find the true reaction to American Values in the halls of al-Azhar teachings.  We may need to turn to Mark A. Gabriel to learn these cultural pronouncements of the 1800s through the 1850s.  He has written 3 or 4 books, he was a professor of Islamic History at al-Azhar University in Cairo before having to flee the faith.  The first 16 pages of his book Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities was powerful enough for me to suggest to any who are interested in the battle.
 
to wit…
 
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pp.7-8
 
“I even questioned Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, well known for being the mastermind behind the bomb attack against the World Trade centers in 1993.  When I was at Al-Azhar, he was the professor for my class in Quranic interpretation.
 
He gave us a chance to ask questions, so I stood up in front of five hundred students and asked:  ‘Why is it that you teach us all the time about jihad?  What about the other verses in the Quran that talk about peace, love, and forgiveness?’
 
Immediately his face turned red.  I could see his anger, but I could see that he chose to control it.  Instead of yelling at me, he took the chance to reinforce his position. ‘My brother,’ he said, ‘there is a whole sura [chapter] called Spoils of War.  There is no surah called Peace.  Jihad and killing are the head of Islam.  If you take them out, you cut off the head of Islam.’  The answers I received from him and other professors did not satisfy me.”
 

Takaful – 2008 Report Findings

Gary H. Johnson, Jr.’s Notes on Takaful

Bringing the 2008 World Takaful Report down to size

Right now, on the Arab and Persian street, Takaful is an underdeveloped insurance tool in the private sector. However, according to Ernst & Young research and analysis, Demographic growth plus Economic Growth plus Islamic Asset Growth indicates a paradigm shift on the horizon…   According to E & Y, the 6 key factors of fostering and manipulating the rate of profitable growth and advancement would be focusing on (1) Human Resources, (2) Product innovation and placement, (3) Distribution enhancement, (4) Asset Management through Shariah Compliant norms rather than ubiquitous conventional products, (5) Retakaful to harness the private market, and (6) a commitment to overall Corporate Governance and Risk assessment to garner a 20% plus growth per year in the industry as a whole. For emerging competitors on this market, establishing relations with currently entrenched Banks to gain access to the market is necessary.

In 2000 18 new Islamic growth funds entered the Takaful Market…by 2007, 152 existed, the largest jumps occuring between 2002 and 2003 (150% increase) as well as 2005 to 2007 (100% increase). Notably, Europe, the Americas and other nacent emerging markets made up only 8% of the total number. Interestingly, during a Senior Management interview, one Takaful Operator stated the obvious…”The Rule is quite simple – everything that gets financed, first gets insured. So if it gets Islamically financed, it should be Islamically insured.”

To that effect, realize the expansion of Islamic Finance since 2000. In 2000 there were 333 million dollars worth of Islamically financed projects launched. That number nearly tripled in 2001 to 971 million dollars, that number over doubled in 2002 to $2.1 billion, there was a slight fall off in 2003 to just under $1.6 billion…and then, in 2004, that number over trebled to $5.2 billion, then in 2005 it spiked to just under $13.5 billion (Realize the extraordinary level of growth in a five year period as Islamically financed project launches jumped 5200%). Then, the unthinkable happened, in 2006, the number over doubled to near $28.5 billion and in 2007 it over doubled again to top out at $60.5 billion dollars in finance projects through Islamic Financial institutions. So, in 7 years, Islamic Finance has undergone an 18,000% increase in business opportunity. That is a huge market in waits for those in the insurance field of takaful, who can manage to fill the untapped market. The numbers for 2008 are obviously not in, but the funds investiture may have doubled or tripled again with the largest transfer of capital in human history due to the oil market’s volatility and spikes nearing $150 per barrel. Not to mention, operators such as AIG coming on board to make public takaful offerings in the United States, and 5 London Islamic Finance banks pioneering the push into the untapped markets of greater Europe – the insurance picture is set for a take off…or at least a competitive collision course of takaful and conventional fare has been engineered.

At present, penetration of Takaful resources and tools are not complete. As the market matures, personal and life will hold ample opportunity for innovative value added profits… As of 2006, only 133 Takaful operators existed in this field. 59 of these were located in the GCC region. Currently, the global takaful market is growing at a rate of about 20% per year…projections are that the market will rise from 2 billion to over 4 billion dollars in yearly takaful contributions globally by 2010. With an 18,000% spike in Islamic Financial Investment in 7 years, key factors are attributed to the seeming underdevelopment rate of 20% per year growth of Takaful operations: religious, cultural, regulatory and fiscal, as well as demographic.

Sharia sensitivities have led to injunctions against conventional forms of insurance. A historic lack of regulation of the insurance industry when combined with the injunctions stifles demand, since no one is sure of what is and what is not halal. Customer awareness of the harmonization board approved products and raising fiscal incentives are key in the exploitation of the takaful and retakaful markets. Legislation focusing on increasing private sector savings and pensions have not yet been fully implemented, nor the need realized in full by the GCC and surrounding MENA countries.

In 1963 the first Islamic banks were established in Egypt. By 1975 the world’s first fully fledged Islamic bank is established known as the Dubai Islamic Bank. In 1977 a Fatwa was issued by the Figh Council of the Muslim World League in favor of islamic insurance. In 1979 the Sudanese Islamic Insurance Company was established as the world’s first Takaful company by the Faisal Islamic Bank of Sudan. 1979 also represents the year in which the Arab islamic Insurance Company (AIIC) was established in Dubai by the Dubai Islamic Bank. Around 1983, the National Company for Co-operative Insurance was established in Saudi Arabia by Royal decree as a solely owned subsidiary of the Saudi government. In 1984 the Malaysian Takaful Act came into effect…the first takaful company in Malaysia, the Takaful Malaysia, was established…and the Figh Council of the OIC approved the Takaful system the following year as the correct alternative to the conventional international insurance market products since the system was in full compliance with the laws of Sharia.

It wasn’t until twelve years later, in 1997, that the Asean Retakaful International Limited (ARIL) became the first active Islamic reinsurer. In 2006, world-wide re-insurance operators, Hanover ReTakaful of Bahrain and Munich Re of Malaysia, enterred the Re-Takaful market.

Conventional forms of insurance are problematic to the GCC and other expanding Islamic Markets seeking Shariah compliance in their financial mechanisms because they “exploit” maysir (speculation), gharar (uncertainty), and riba (usury/interest bearing loans)…all of which are haram (forbidden/prohibited) in Islamic Shariah Law.

The Global Takaful Industry faces a challenge on the supply and demand of Takaful holdings. A surge in economic growth and increase in per capita GDP as well as a youthful demography expanding at an accelerated rate due to the cultural acceptance of polygamy and other cultural realities has led to a greater desire for Sharia compliant offerings. Increasing awareness of the Takaful properties and a sharp increase in asset based Shariah compliant finance options bode well for the industry. Unfortunately, on the Supply side, the Global Takaful Industry faces a fragmented and undercapitalised landscape, with problems in asset management, local solutions offerings and limits on distribution channels and, in the end, retakaful capacity.

In response, the industry is seeking to bridge the supply and demand inconsistencies through compulsory protection, expanded competition and streamlined licensing, better regulation, and a focus on market-led initiatives which are increasing due to large transfers of wealth from Western economies into the GCC sovereign wealth funds…in time, a greater role will surface for private sector participation. Aligning the increase in demand with the supply drivers of the future will enable the takaful market to corner a lucrative growth industry.

Takaful is set to be the growth industry of 2009.  With record growth in sovereign wealth funds and entrenchment in the Islamic Finance structures, it is only a matter of time until the push for world health reform in the UN…meets a new form of insurance based on shared risk…and determines the fate of the third world under an honorary Muhtasib.

Battling Grayness – Looking back on 2006

Following the eruption of the Israeli-Hezbollah war of 2006, I sank deep into study, spending 6 months focused on the texts of the Koran, searching for understanding…

I wrote 1000 words on 9/11 that year to mark the 5 year anniversary of the event so that I might one day look back and learn from my perspective of innocence.  Though imperfect, I would never change a word of  these muzingz.  A year later, on 9/11…I was reading America Alone by Mark Steyn and I knew I was not the only one who could see the cloud as it settled.

I leave it to the audience to learn what lessons they can from these glimpses into the grayness of evil’s advance.  As to the Mark Steyn extract, it is best when read aloud – with a sense of moral outrage and indignation that only voice can inflect.  To date, I have never read a better synopsis of what we are up against.  Adding the Concept of Islamic Supremacism to Steyn’s demographic train of thought will help the anti-jihad community’s advocate for meaningful political change.

Chris Carter interviews W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

Unto the Breach

9-12-08

Interview of W. Thomas Smith, Jr. by Crushing Chris Carter

transcribed by Gary H. Johnson, Jr.

Chris Carter: We’re on the phone, live, with W. Thomas Smith, Jr., military analyst and columnist. How are you doing today?

W. Thomas Smith, Jr.: Doing Great Chris. Thanks for having me.

Carter: Excellent. All right. Let’s just get right into it, here. Looking back into the fighting this past May, which led to the Doha Agreement and the new unity government, Hezbollah attacked the Future TV station. In your opinion, what did Hezbollah accomplish by attacking a Lebanese Television Station? And what could they have gained?

Smith: Well – two things. First of all, it…it was an attack on a major source of information opposed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. And second, the Future Movement, which is Sunni, is pro-government; and the Future Movement is a ma…major player in the pro-democracy movement in Lebanon – this is a threat to Hezbollah. So when you launch – um…and just… this is…is speaking militarily – when you launch an offensive against a population or an army, or whatever, you go after its command and control, which is basically what Hezbollah did by going after Future News. And when I say Hezbollah, let’s say Hezbollah and its allies, because that would include, you know, Hezbollah, Amal, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, that crowd. So, I’m not at all surprised, um…you know…if you look at previous wars and whether civil wars or larger conventional wars, invasions, whatever, you’re going to see that when you go after command and control, a portion of that command and control, you know, are the television and radio stations.

Carter: Well, just recently – this month – a team of Brazilian journalists were eating at a restaurant in Dahiyeh province…or a Dahiyeh neighborhood…and they were kidnapped by Hezbollah. What effect does this intimidation have on Western Journalists in Lebanon?

Smith: Yeah, that’s…the pronunciation is actually Da-heey-a, and what that, and Dahiyeh translated literally means “the suburbs”. And it is the southern suburbs in Beirut which, basically, is a Hezbollah stronghold. Hezbollah controls it. They have all authority in there. Umm, gosh I almost feel like I don’t have enough time to adequately cover this when I’m asked a question like that, because its…there is so much to this, but let’s just say that, you know, what happened in Dahiyeh with the Brazilian journalists – it was bizarre to say the least – but it wasn’t at all surprising and, you know, though Hezbollah’s apologists and its sympathizers would lead you to believe that anyone can just freely stroll or jog, or drive, or dine, or take pictures, or whatever…in…in Hezbollah controlled security squares like Dahiyeh…and you have to understand, Chris, that Hezbollah has greater control over the media than most Westerners realize. I mean they, they control through intimidation. They pay off journalists. They pay off seemingly objective news desks. I’m not saying that all media is corrupt in Lebanon; but, but again, you do have this problem of Hezbollah’s control. Hezbollah also runs their own papers. They have their own papers. They have their own radio stations and TV Station. And they have an allied TV Station, which is Orange TV, which was started by General Michel Aoun, who is an ally of Hezbollah. They’ve also effectively infiltrated media – both Lebanese and international media. That includes, to a lesser degree, even bloggers. You’ve gotta count that because that, that information is out there. But, but you have to also remember that Hezbollah does not let journalists see what they don’t want them to see. You know, there are stories taking place all the time – and there are big stories – related to Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their operations as well as Syrian special operations that are either not reported or they receive, you know, only very limited coverage.

Carter: Yeah, you talked about some things like that on our last interview. It’s really interesting as far as how how they suppress the media. Moving on to another subject, here…you were recently interviewed in Canada Free Press, in an article called “Strange Rumblings in Lebanon” and this was interesting. You said rather than a state within a state, you called Hezbollah more of a kingdom within a state. What did you mean by that?

Smith: Well, that’s just kind of my play on words; because…you know…frankly, Hezbollah is often called a state within a state. Um, and…and what I say is its a kingdom within a state because very simply Hezbollah governs, well, it actually rules from the top down as a kingdom. And if you look at how the organization is set up, its very similar to the Taliban model. You know, they provide social services, and things like that, but…and law enforcement. But, on the reverse, they demand unwavering loyalty and service to Hezbollah. So, yeah…it is…it is, in my mind, a kingdom within a state.

Carter: We move back to the fighting in May – it was triggered not just by Hezbollah’s microwave telecommunications network, but also by the government firing the head of Airport Security. Now, after the dust settled this May, did Hezbollah retain its initial position of security at the Rafik Hariri Airport?

Smith: Yes, in fact…uh, you know…he retained his position as the security chief at the airport. And, uh, and…in fact…all government decisions against Hezbollah were rescinded, and they were granted…in fact…new concessions – uh, more cabinet seats, veto power, that kind of thing. So, you know, the, you know, there, there were basically two things that started the fighting; and, one was, again, the firing of the Airport Security Chief and then the government trying to dismantle the telecommunications system. Hezbollah got to keep both. And then, looking back at the…yeah…and looking back at the cabinet seats and the veto power – that is really disturbing to me, particularly the veto power. Because, this, Hezbollah was granted veto power in government decisions, which means Iran and Syria have veto power in government decisions, because they call the shots. And, in fact, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – which I mentioned earlier – um, within that IRGC is Iran’s special operations force, known as the Quds Force. And we have uh informa…we received information this past week through open sources that Quds force – senior leaders with the Quds Force – were holding high level meetings with Hezbollah in Beirut last week. And, basically what they were doing was letting, just reminding Hezbollah who calls the shots, who pays the money, and who is making the decisions. So, yeah, this….by granting Hezbollah veto power, you are basically granting Iran and Syria veto power in Lebanese government decisions. Its insane.

Carter: It is insane. I hope people start to pay attention to Lebanon and the situation that is going on around there. That meeting you brought up actually you can read about that on unto the breach newsdesk and we’ll tell you about that a little bit after the interview. In that same interview, you brought up the discussion that you had with the now President of Lebanon, Michel Sleiman, where he said “Hezbollah is a resistance” and “They were here before the army.” If Hezbollah basically started around 1982 and Lebanon was formed all the way back in 1943, what’s he saying?

Smith: Yeah well, Michel Sleiman is…he is basically referring to the army since the Lebanese Civil War. And the Lebanese Civil War ended…I…I’m not sure the exact year, but the early nineties, some say ‘91, some say ‘92; but, uh, because what happened was, yes you had the…you know…the Lebanese Army prior to that; but, it basically disintegrated, when, uh, when the…the Muslims refused to serve under Maronite Christian leadership, so he is talking about the army since the end of the Lebanese Civil War.

Carter: Oh, that makes sense. Well, then, you said around half of the Lebanese military is Shia, and it would kinda back this up here…in the book Hezbollah: A Short History written by Augustus Richard Norton, he says “About half the rank-and-file of the Lebanese Army are Shia and the resistance was popular with the army.” So, my question is, how deeply has Hezbollah infiltrated Lebanon’s Army?

Smith: Well, one thing I wanna point out. You mentioned “resistance”…or that that Norton mentioned in his book – the resistance. And I want your listeners to understand when you hear the word “resistance” that is the soft-soaping word for Hezbollah. That’s what it is. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, no question about it. But they’re, uh, they’re able to exist and skirt UN Mandate by claiming that they are a resistance. So, but getting to your question – actually, our latest numbers indicate that there are probably about 35% of the army is Shia and it is very difficult to determine. Ten percent of that, would be…of that 35%…we would have to say is in the officer, among the officer corps – Shia among the officer corps. Now, again it is difficult to determine how many are Hezbollah. And again we are talking Shia, but how many are Hezbollah would be difficult to determine. Certainly a high percentage would be sympathetic to Hezbollah; so, there is always this fear of fracturing, you know, similar to what happened in the Lebanese Civil War, which is one of the reasons the army did not aggressively confront Hezbollah in May.

Carter: Alright, we’re back with W. Thomas Smith, Jr. and our interview on Hezbollah. On August 29th, Hezbollah gunmen shot down a Lebanese Army Helicopter, and they killed one of the pilots. In response Hezbollah said that there are actually red lines that the Lebanese Army has been warned not to cross – red lines in their own country. Isn’t this a blatant violation of the United nations Security Council Resolution 1701?

Smith: Well, uh…yes…but, uh, as I mentioned, you’ve got to remember again that Hezbollah is a kingdom within a state and you have to also understand that Hezbollah frequently violates international convention. And the UN, specifically…uh, Unifil, uh can’t or won’t do anything about it.

Carter: Hmm…that’s tough…that’s something else, there. now, Hezbollah claims this helicopter they shot down was Israeli. Now, if that were the case, would we possibly be seeing a replay of the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon?

Smith: No. Not Necessarily, because ummm…there are Israeli flights over Lebanon. In fact, when I was there a year ago, um this month, there were, you know, at night, you would hear Israeli jets, you know, roaring over as far North as Beirut; so, you know, the Israelis do fly over Lebanon. And so, it…it, you know, its kind of a routine thing. But, uh, its an excuse on the part of Hezbollah. They knew it wasn’t an Israeli helicopter.

Carter: Virtually no western media really has picked up on this story. I’d call it a major story. How has Hezbollah kept a lid on this incident. Now, it has been covered inside Lebanon. It’s been covered pretty well, and that is where I’ve got all my articles from; but, how have they been able to keep the lid on this outside of Lebanon?

Smith: Well, I would have to disagree, uh, to a certain degree. The story was picked up by the western media; but it had a short shelf life, because so many of these types of events occur in Lebanon. So, you know, again, it was picked up by western media but it did not…it…maybe it just garnered a column (inch) or two for about a day…umm…and then it was just passed on, because, again, there are just so many stories like this, and in fact even larger stories that are taking place, and often those stories absolutely don’t make western media. So I was sorta…I was actually surprised that this even was picked up by the AP or Reuters, but it was, in fact.

Carter: Well, now, in the Lebanese Parliament, Naila Mouwad has, uh, stuck her neck out pretty far by saying that Lebanon and Hezbollah cannot coexist. A week ago she told the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, “It’s obvious that we are facing two options: either the democratic state of Lebanon or the Hezbollah state.” Does this show that the legitimacy of Hezbollah’s resistance is still in question within Lebanese society?

Smith: Well, I think that the majority of Lebanese people do agree with her. But the problem is, everyone is afraid of Hezbollah. You know, because Hezbollah has the money, they have the weapons, they have the backing of Iran and Syria – and so, they have the leverage. And, the people see that; and they see that the army, the police and the government are not willing to confront or…or challenge Hezbollah…and, and nor is Unifil. And, you know, this is a very real problem. This is why I say, and I’ve said countless times that Lebanon must be viewed as a major front in the broader War on Terror. And I say that because Hezbollah. as homeland security chief Michael Chertoff says “makes Al Qaeda look like a minor league team.”

Carter: No doubt. No doubt. Well, that’s about all the questions I’ve got for you today, sir. One thing I wanna do is point our listeners to your website. Basically everything I’ve got out of here came, from some degree came from something you’ve written about. You write so much. And, uh, you’re just a gold mine of information. But where can listeners go to find more from you?

Smith: My website is uswriter.com

Carter: Well that’s W. Thomas Smith, Jr., military analyst and columnist extraordinaire. Thank you. This is the second time he has come on this program. He just knows so much and he is just so far ahead of the curve. This guy is great to talk to. Thanks for coming on the show today, sir.

Smith: Chris, thanks for having me sir.

Carter: Alright, I look forward to maybe having you again sometime. Its…Its…every time we have you on the show, we learn something new.

Smith: Anytime, thank you sir.

Carter: Alright. Thank you.

Strange Rumblings in Lebanon

9/4/08

An Interview with W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

by: Gary H. Johnson, Jr.

Two years after the Israeli-Hezbollah war which left much of south Lebanon’s infrastructure in shambles, military analyst W. Thomas Smith, Jr. offers new insight into recent developments surrounding Hezbollah’s quest for power in that country.  Lending a trained eye to the strength and activities of Hezbollah, challenges faced by Lebanese Army and police forces, as well as sharing a portion of a personal conversation with President Michel Sleiman, Smith unveils the truth behind Hezbollah: He describes the extremist state within the legitimate state, and expounds on the regional dangers of the Shiia terrorist organization and its newly acquired political powers.

A former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and counterterrorism instructor, Smith is today a columnist, author, and military analyst whose work has appeared in USA TODAY, U.S. News & World Report, Townhall.com, Human Events, the Middle East Times, Canada Free Press, and many others. Widely considered to be “a military expert” whose “sources are very deep,” Smith directs the Counterterrorism Research Center of the Family Security Foundation. He has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq (twice) and Lebanon. And he frequently provides information and analysis to the U.S. military. 

Smith’s expertise and analysis in the field of international terrorism is invaluable for anyone attempting to grasp the complex strategic-military dynamics of the Middle East.

W. Thomas Smith Jr. — a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and counterterrorism instructor — is a columnist, author, and military analyst whose work has appeared in the New York Post, USA TODAY, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, CBS News, Townhall.com, Human Events, the Middle East Times, Canada Free Press, and many others. Considered a “military expert” whose “sources are very deep,” Smith directs the Counterterrorism Research Center of the Family Security Foundation. He has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq (twice) and Lebanon. And he frequently provides information and analysis to the U.S. Defense Department.

Smith’s website is uswriter.com. His expertise and analysis in this field is invaluable for anyone attempting to grasp the complex military realities throughout the Middle East.

 

GARY H. JOHNSON, JR.: Do censors or imposed restrictions on Western Journalists in Lebanon hinder the free flow of information and critical fact to the Western Media?

 

 

 

W. THOMAS SMITH, JR.:

Oh absolutely. Many Lebanese journalists are afraid of Hezbollah. And international journalists either report only those surface-stories that Hezbollah allows them to see and report, or if they want deeper access they must go through Hezbollah’s media-propaganda people where they will be shown what Hezbollah wants them to see. Nothing more. Or they are either paid by Hezbollah or they soft-soap the terrorist organization through their reporting to gain greater access. If you go against Hezbollah at a level the terrorist group considers to be unacceptable, they – or their supporters and covert-sympathizers – will come after you asymmetrically in ways you cannot begin to imagine.

 

The level of deception that takes place through the media in Lebanon is legion. That’s because Hezbollah has tremendous control of the media in Lebanon: Some of that control is obvious. Some is not.

 

JOHNSON: On July 17th 2008 yalibnan.com noted Minister Qanso’s remarks on NBN Television: “Only a stupid person or a conspirator would doubt the Resistance’s legitimacy from now on.” Is Ali Qanso’s statement a none-too-subtle threat to Journalists in Lebanon?

SMITH:

I’m not familiar with that statement. But I’m also not surprised by it.

 

Hezbollah (and its backers, Iran and Syria) has indeed forced – at the point of a gun – the Lebanese government, the army, and the national police to accept it as a “legitimate resistance.”

In fact, back in the fall of 2007, I spent close to two hours one-on-one with Gen. Michel Sleiman, then-commander-in-chief of Lebanon’s armed forces, who became noticeably agitated with me whenever I posed the question to him about Hezbollah’s right to exist. He did not want to discuss the issue. He knew Hezbollah had heavily infiltrated the army and so had – actually, has – him by the crotch.

Sleiman said to me, “Hezbollah is a resistance” and “they were here before the army.”

Sleiman by the way is now president of Lebanon, a fact my sources told me would be a reality even before anyone else believed it would be.

 

JOHNSON: How can the covert Microwave Telecommunications Network that sparked the internal violence in Lebanon this May allow Hezbollah to act as a state within a state?

SMITH:

It’s not the telecommunications system that has allowed Hezbollah to act as a state within a state: The telecom system is only one piece of the Iranian-funded infrastructure in Lebanon that supports Hezbollah’s state – actually more of a kingdom – within the state of Lebanon.

 

The real danger of the system is that it provides secure command-and-control for Hezbollah by connecting Hezbollah’s stronghold in Dahiyeh (Beirut’s southern suburbs) with all points controlled by Hezbollah in south Lebanon, the Bekka Valley and elsewhere, and links them directly to Teheran and Damascus.

Hezbollah today is far-better wired than it was prior to the 2006 war with Israel.

 

JOHNSON: In terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, what is the significance of the Hezbollah-led “opposition” gaining veto power in Lebanon through the Doha Agreement?

SMITH:

First of all, the Doha (Qatar) agreement was nothing more than putting a used band-aid on a sucking chest wound.

 

Though praised by world leaders because it temporarily halted Hezbollah’s killing spree in May, Doha unequivocally undermined UN Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559, which call for the disarming of Hezbollah.

And when I think of the veto power now held by Hezbollah – thanks to Doha – I am particularly concerned because this newly granted power means Iran and Syria now have veto power over Lebanese government decisions. But it’s not just the veto power gained after Doha; it’s the increased number of cabinet seats for Hezbollah and its allies, and, now, an official positioning as a legitimate arm of the Lebanese Defense apparatus.

Worse, the world knows after May that if any of these decisions are rescinded for whatever reason, Hezbollah has no qualms about turning its weapons on the Lebanese people.

 

 

JOHNSON: Based on the intelligence currently available, what is the most likely cause of the nearly 900 mini-earthquakes in Southern Lebanon over the last few months?

SMITH:

No one is really certain. What we do know is that for approximately three months – up until the time in early July when pro-democracy groups became more vocal about it – there were literally hundreds of earthquakes occurring primarily in southern Lebanon (but also in other regions). Many of those quakes were, as I reported, “damaging buildings and bridges … in some cases, [destroying homes] … and forcing frightened residents to sleep outside of their homes at night.”

 

Some of our sources said they believed it was not so much naturally occurring seismic activity, but the result of blasting and other construction for Hezbollah’s subterranean warfighting facilities.

Now, that may sound like a bit of conspiracy theorizing, but the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes worldwide, had no answer. And both the World Council for the Cedars Revolution and the International Lebanese Committee for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 had reason to believe the quakes were man-made. (additional information about the earthquakes may be accessed here.)

Examining Nasrallah’s Early Statements

Many people have tried to figure out if Hezbollah is a militia or a terrorist organization, a state within a state or even a worker’s party.

In Nicholas Noe’s work “Voice of Hezbollah: Statements of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah” we can see the organization’s leader’s mind.

Hassan Nasrallah dispels these realities…and sets the jihadi tone of resistance for the next 20 years of his organization’s rise.

On September 11th, 1992…Hassan Nasrallah gave an interview to the pan-Arab magazine Al-Watan Al-Arabi to discuss the political victories of his “Party of Allah” in the elections following the fifteen year civil war that ravaged Lebanon.

Nasrallah opens the answer to a loaded question (hinting that the election results were rigged by armed Hezbollah agents demanding a vote) by stating…

p. 85 “One of the reasons we took part in the parliamentary elections was our confidence in the size of our public support, our popular base, and our credibility with the people.”

he continues with…

p. 85-86 “Hezbollah has a very strong popular base in the [Bekaa]. No one can deny that, especially in view of Hezbollah’s long history of resistance, services, and cultural activities: granting the citizens what the authorities have failed to deliver; and the long tenure of the area’s deputies in parliament.”

This was a reference to the Dawa services of the religious community to the poor and displaced Shiia community. Remember – Dawa is a key component of Jihad – it is what drives Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s war chests and martyr relief fund treasuries. After speaking about possible election rigging which Nasrallah dismisses as patently absurd (wink wink) and discussing how Amal and Hezbollah patched up their differences to provide a relatively unified front in the elections, Nasrallah was asked (on p.88) “Why did you decide suddenly to play the local political game…?”

His response was arguably the most telling and the most powerful of his career in terms of Westerners understanding the true extent of Hezbollah’s chosen path…

p. 88 “In reality, we were, and will always be, the party of the resistance that [operates] from Lebanon in reaction to occupation and daily aggression. Any party, movement or faction that abandons resistance under any pretext, and for any reason, is giving up on a sacred duty. Our participation in the elections and entry into the National Assembly do not alter the fact that we are a resistance party; we shall, in fact, work to turn the whole of Lebanon into a country of resistance, and the state into a state of resistance. In the past, a number of state officials promised that if negotiations did not lead to the liberation of the land, the entire population, and the state itself, would be transformed into a resistance force.”

The Voice of Hezbollah

A Book Review

by: Gary H Johnson Jr.

 

9/8/07

The Voice of Hezbollah:  The Statements of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

Nicholas Noe, Editor.

$19.95, 410 pp.

For those who still have unanswered questions regarding the volatile situation between Israel and Hezbollah, that erupted into a 34-Day War in the summer of discontent – 2006…the recent Verso release by Nicholas Noe, Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, is a long awaited ray of light.

At last, a book of substance on Hezbollah has arrived.

Nicholas Noe of Beirut, Lebanon, founder of Mideastwire.com and former News Editor on the Lebanon Daily Star/Herald Tribune, has provided the English speaking West with a compilation of Key Statements that Hezbollah’s spokesman and Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has put forth into the public record over the last twenty years of his rise to International acclaim and infamy.

These statements, while couched in Politics, provide the Ethics of a man for all to see. And the Ethics of this man, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has guided the history of Hezbollah onto the rails of a jihadi juggernaut of a movement.

Noe’s work reveals Nasrallah’s calculated and charismatic stand for National Resistance as a path to Victory.

While reading Nasrallah’s words, Lebanon – the nation – comes to life; the distance between Western Democracy and Lebanon’s Pluralism is evident; and, suddenly, the reader finds himself asking whether it is the Nation of Lebanon, the Nation of Islam, or Nasrallah, as a uniting force unto himself, that provides the Context for the ever evolving Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.

Laid out in 32 chapters, Nicholas Noe provides the West with the key names, dates, issues, guides and stresses of Nasrallah’s career. A must read for all historians; Nasrallah’s statements translated by Ellen Khouri, in combination with the masterfully crafted intros and guiding footnotes of Nicholas Noe, generate a natural framework to build an understanding of the last thirty years in the Palestinian Diaspora.

In full, Voice of Hezbollah provides a timely challenge to the long-standing Media concept of soundbite news, and demands of 24-hour News Networks the whole story.