Our Nation's history had begun a bit more than 225 years earlier, but for us all, time stopped at 8:46am Eastern time on September 11, 2001 when American Flight 11 hit the North Tower. I measure time now in the days and weeks and months since that moment, and cannot keep the tears from my eyes when I think of that moment or hear our National Anthem or other patriotic hymns. Those moments, from the shut down of the bridges and tunnels in NY City at 9:21am, to the collapse of the South Tower at 9:50am followed by the North Tower only 39 minutes later are a mark of time. My emotions still race when I remember those moments in time.

Right after the attacks, leading to the Joint Session of Congress, to the bi-partisan gathering on the steps of the Capitol Building, to the National Prayer Service on September 14th we thought, felt and acted as one unified body of citizens.

What happened? The passage of time has brought partisanship back. While I am troubled by policy, action and statements, we all need to remember who we are. Tonight, we should remember that we are "Americans, all." We are not Black or White, Jewish or Christian or Muslim or Bhuddist or Hindu or atheist. We are "Americans, all." From the beginning of our Nation's history, brave men and women have died and made life's sacrifices to preserve the very freedoms that enable us to outwardly disagree with our Government and our fellow citizens. Watch the videos of the post-election aftermath in Iran for the stark contrast.

If we forget that...if we lose sight of that, then we are doomed. Yes, we are doomed, because the terrorist attacks will have split us apart. The lack of an attack on American soil is no sign of safety. Contrary, it is more likely a sign of diligence and the fact that we are on guard (en garde?) for the potential or the inevitability of another attack. It won't take much.

In the meantime, for myself, my family and my friends and colleagues (if I may be so presumptuous), God Bless America, our troops, our Government and most of all, our people and our great country.

By Jay Fraser | Permalink | Feedback (0)

As time passes, the discussion of "The Risk/Reward Ratio" of BioResearch becomes more interesting and complicated. Last week, while the Senate approved the first $36 million designated for the construction of the National Bio and Agro Defense facility at the campus of Kansas State University, However, the House version of the Appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, omitted that funding. Instead, the House allocated $5 million to fund an independent study the safety of conducting research into Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) at a mainland laboratory.

The differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill still must be resolved during Conference Committee meetings. However, the Kansas delegation is understandably unhappy with the House position.

"The House Appropriations Committee had a responsibility to fund the NBAF, and I am extremely disappointed they shirked that responsibility," said Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan.

Construction on the NBAF facility is currently slated to begin in November 2010. That date could be in jeopardy if the funding isn't resolved. However, a number of issues continue to circle this project, including the Government Accountability Office position that the DHS risk analysis of conducting FMD research on the mainland was flawed, as well as the GAO's rejection of a DHS environmental assessment for the lab. And then there is the issue of natural disasters and violent weather. Unfortunately, when so much is at stake (the total amount of the funding, the economic development impact for the region and most importantly, National defense and safety), politics and bioresearch come together.

By Jay Fraser | Permalink | Feedback (0)

One of the concerns raised about the new Administration has been the possible reduction of budgets for warfighter efforts and the possible elimination of other defense programs. Despite threats of vetos on the Defense Appropriations bill, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to authorize $1.75 billion for the Raptor program.

If you want to get a patriot chill, take a look at this photograph of a supersonice flyby executed by an Air Force F-22 Raptor.

Some things are simply awesome.

By Jay Fraser | Permalink | Feedback (0)

Aaron Klein, who has perhaps the deepest contacts within Palestinian terrorist organizations of any journalist in the world, made note Monday that the turmoil in Iran had caused the Iranian regime to miss its regularly scheduled subsitance payment to at least one group, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. As of Friday, the Iranian regime's regular terror stipend has still not arrived, preventing the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist leadership from paying its henchmen.

This is what happens when the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism meets with conflict of its own. As an Islamic Jihad source told Klein nearly a week ago, "If money is not sent one way or another, we may have to close some agencies and bureaus."

Oh, money is pouring out of Iran in a big way. But they're not transfers from the terrorist regime to its foreign legions. They are transfers by businesses rushing to deposit their millions out of Iranian banks and into more stable environments abroad.

In radio interviews over the past two weeks on the situation in Iran, I ahve often asked hosts and listeners to close thier eyes and imagine the region beyond Iran's borders when the cash cow of international terrorism is no longer there to be the lifeline of Hizballah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They starve, with their chief supplier of money, arms and training no longer available to feed them. They will be forced to rely almost solely upon the support of Arabs once the sustaining Persian money line is severed.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is tellig us this right now, either the first group to feel the effects of the people's revolt in Iran or, more likely, the first terrorist group to actually say so publicly. Or perhaps Hamas and Hizballah had their cash flow uninterrupted by supplying reinforcement thugs for Iran's Basij militia. It has been reported often by Iranians that there have been many Arabic-speaking forces among the Farsi-speaking Basij on the Iranian city streets. Whatever the Iranian terror cashflow dynamics, the Palestinain Islamic Jihad is feeling the pain.

There is "no shame in being poor," they have told Klein in his most recent update. And we at ThreatsWatch concur. We in fact encourage an increased piety among the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leadership and ranks and the closure of more "agencies and bureaus."

By Steve Schippert | Permalink | Feedback (0)

I am no expert on Iran, nor am I schooled in the ways of international relations. What I do know is that if you are the nation in the world that is synonymous with liberty and freedom, there is more that can be done than issue strongly worded letters and judiciously crafted speeches.

Kind words will never overthrow oppressive regimes, but action will. Not the sort of action that is most commonly associated with our past attempts at regime change, but actions that could accelerate regime change under Iranian power and on Iranian terms. Some low-hanging fruit:

• Mobile Phones. It's the personal communications and computing platform of millions around the world and arguably the primary way short bursts of information and pictures of what is taking place on the ground in Iran is getting to the outside world.
• One Laptop Per Demonstrator. The One Laptop Per Child program aims to put the primary tool of the information age into the hands of students in the emerging world. Small, simple to use, ready to communicate and rugged enough for the hinterlands, it's a way to expose the world to more substantial content related to current events.
• Subversive Technology. Promulgation of technology designed to overcome government firewalls and censorship technology has already been put to use in Iran, but more can be done. The lessons learned defending our information infrastructure from attacks could be used to help those fighting the regime.

I'm sure together our nation's best and brightest could come up with many more ideas that cost little or nothing, could be done covertly, and could be used to support the vigorous but struggling crowds that are taking to the streets, armed only with fists and rocks, fighting for the sorts of freedoms many in this nation have long since taken for granted.

By Michael Tanji | Permalink | Feedback (1)

Once again, another tidbit regarding the power moves behind the scenes in Qom that cellphone cameras and live-bloggers in Iran cannot capture. From the International Business Times, Rafsanjani has enough support to remove Khamenei: reports.

According to unconfirmed reports Rafsanjani is currently lobbying and meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts to gain support for the removal of Khamenei and for replacing the position of Supreme Leader with a form of collective leadership. According to Al-Arabiya, high-up sources say that Rafsanjani has already gained enough support within the Assembly for the removal of Khamenei, but has found less of a positive response to the proposal to replace the position of Supreme Leader altogether.

As a commenter noted on our earlier post on this, Regime Change Iran: Movement Seeks to Eliminate 'Supreme Leader' Position, al-Arabia is a Saudi Arabian news outlet and no friend to the Iranian regime. But rather than use that as a manner of dismissing, I think it actually buttresses the credibility of the source on this matter. Because Rafsanjani can now be seen as also. clearly, no friend of the Iranian regime. or, more specifically, neither friend nor defender of 'Supreme' Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

By Steve Schippert | Permalink | Feedback (1)

Iran has executed its Tiananmen Square. Baharestan Square has become synonymous with barbarity, cruelty, massacre and inhumanity.

An Iranian blogger (whose URL I will not publish) live blogging from Baharestan Square in central Tehran today captures but brief glimpses of the unimaginable horror that took place today. Bus loads of protesters were stopped and unloaded from their buses by "black-clad police" and literally herded. When the massing was sufficient, as the barely controllably distraught Tehran caller to CNN described first hand, hundreds of the regime's Basij thugs poured out of an adjoining mosque and commenced a massacre with axes, clubs, guns and gas.

From the live blogger's eyewitness account:

>More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq.
>Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq.
>The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists
>The croud have moved to the south of baharestan, the situation is bad, the shooting has started
>In Baharestan Sq. in the Police shooting, A girl is shot and the police is not allowing to let them help
>In Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping people like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher

This is the Iranian regime, wading into its own unarmed people and axing them to death, bludgeoning women (seen as the greatest threat to the regime) and throwing them to their deaths from pedestrian bridges. The same Iranian regime whose embassy officials are invited to American embassies around the world to celebrate on July 4th, of all things, a successful revolution.

This frantic phone call from a Tehran woman will break your heart as you consider our standard response has been "that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence" and that "the international community is watching." Part of yesterday's response by President Obama in a press conference included "that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy (of the Iranian regime) and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it." The Iranian theocratic regime clearly is not interested.

There should not be - nor should have ever been - invitations to the ruthless Iranian regime's international ambassadors to celebrate anything with us, anywhere, unless it is an invitation to a tribunal on charges of crimes against humanity.

To my intelligent friends who have been arguing the logic of our president's near silence on the issue of Iran - and not without merit on certain points - you can disengage from me now. I will entertain none of it any longer.

This is an axe wound, just one, doled out by the regime's thug basiji animals on Saturday, June 20, 2009.

This was a brutal murder of an assuredly unarmed protester of the up-close-and-personal variety. An act, and one not isolated, which requires the presence of inhumane malice and aggression and the absence of humanity. The traits required for massacres upon the unarmed. There is no nuance, no logical approach, no deft explanation that covers near silence and inadequate, tepid condemnation of the meekest sort. To decline any mention of possible repercussions on the regime for these acts "because we don't know how this is going to turn out" is moral cowardice of the highest order. Look at the picture above and listen to the frantic woman calling in to CNN again. They seem to "know how this is going to turn out."

There is a way to condemn a regime axing its citizens in the streets of Tehran and other cities across Iran without "making this about the US." You, and our president, are intelligent men and women and lacking no gifts of speech and prose. Find what's missing. Each of you frustrate and sadden me. Argue your eloquent points elsewhere. My ears are deaf as of now.

By Steve Schippert | Permalink | Feedback (37)