There aren’t words to express my appreciation for our guys in uniform. They ALL serve, whether it’s on the front, or here at home. Thanks, guys….

If the people of this country has 1% of the respect and discipline of these fine young men and I assume women, we would all be better off. USMC rocks all that rocks.

This news story shouldn’t come as any surprise to Americans. After all, for years now (since 9/11) how many times has some talking head for the Bush administration used the phrase, “It’s now if…but when…”, with regards to future attacks on US soil and/or US interests abroad.

This speech was given this morning by Robert S. Mueller, Director of the FBI, who spoke this morning at the Global Initiative Nuclear Terrorism Conference in Miami. His comments confirm claims made in a new book “The Day of Islam” detailing al-Qaida’s nuclear plans.

I fear that Mueller’s words are right. It is just a matter of time before the US sees a nuclear detonation, or use of a dirty bomb, on our soil…and that the death toll could make the carnage of 9/11 look like child’s play. What better reason to at least try to understand what a fallout shelter is, how to build an expedient shelter, and how long to stay in one…should you be downwind…

Here’s a portion of the speech. Follow the link below to read the entire story.

Fair Use Applies…

Read the full article at Newsmax.com

Hi Friends,

As usual, when things are getting interesting, I get the occasional email from someone in the world of media production, journalism, or entertainment…asking for help, usually finding “volunteers” who wouldn’t mind being interviewed…in places convenient to the producer’s location…with something to do with survivalism, skills, or nuclear prepping.

I received the latest one last night, from Elisabeth

Quote:

Dear Richard,

I saw a lot of your writing online and was very interested in contacting you. I am working on a series of online documentaries for www.cbs.com and we are dealing with quite a few issues of nuclear preparedness, disaster scenarios, private military, and citizen’s armies. We are shooting some interviews in New York City about the possibility of a modern day civil war in the US…and looking for some theorists or sociologists who could talk about some hypotheticals.

I wonder, would you have any aquantences in the New York area who might be able to talk about this sort of thing?

I know it is a long shot…but I hope to hear your thoughts!

Many thanks,

Elisabeth Harris
Associate Producer
CBS News / 48 Hours
212-975-xxxx

I’ve posted this kinds of requests here before, as well as on my website, and on my blog at www.cosmicechoes.org .

Below is my response back to her this morning, after sleeping on it…

Quote:

Hi Elisabeth,

Thank you for contacting me.

In the past, I have helped journalists like yourself connect with individuals in all parts of the country regarding preparedness, survival skills, and community involvement. Regarding the topics you’ve mentioned, there are a great many folks who are quite knowledgeable of these areas.

Unfortunately, I have found that since 9/11, the Patriot Act, and somewhat lopsided news coverage of these people and their work, that most are becoming quite shy about assisting journalists, and the media in general.

I have been sharing these media requests I receive such as yours below, with close friends and contacts, and posting on my websites, my blogs, my email lists, and several forums I frequent for many years now (since 1999), and the response I get back lately is one of concern for their safety, their privacy, their ideas and ideals being misrepresented, and general concern for what the real angle of the news story is. In other words, they fear misrepresentation and downright hostility, just for wanting to help their fellow man.

Personally, after seeing this happen for years, I have decided to do something about it, and returned to college, having finished two degrees and working on a third, which just happens to be Journalism. In the work I’ve done, I believe there is still much to be learned and shared by these intelligent and caring people, but MSM just is not going to get very far with most of them. I hope to be able to tell these stories that others don’t seem to be able to get anymore, through the long term work and longevity of my SurvivalRing project.

I will be glad to forward your request below, and locations needed and contact info, to my usual outlets, and see what we can turn up for you.

As always, I would be glad to talk with you on any of the subjects and help your project if you can use me. I do have a TV and radio studio at my disposal here at my college campus (I am the radio station Operations Manager) to produce any content or on camera work you might need…just in case.

Let me know if you’d like me to move forward, and I’ll start immediately with the call to help.

Rich

To this, Ms. Harris responded with much more enlightening info, specifically regarding a TV show on CBS that many of us here find quite interesting and enjoy watching.

Read more…

Quote:

Hello Rich

Thank you for your honest answer! I understand completely where you are coming from and I don’t really think of myself as part of the news media even though I am freelancing with CBS right now. Our project is 22 episodes and almost all complete. We have spoken with experts of all sorts of backgrounds, on very controversial issues. You can see 17 of our episodes at:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/digital.php

This is not for TV and is not high enough exposure for anyone to be concerned about safety. In fact, we don’t intend to really go into conspiracy or underground groups, but rather just want to talk about the climate today vs. the climate at the time of the Civil War and how they are similar. And what kind of scenario it would take for red & blue states to separate and fight. This is all in relation to the show JERICHO which features an all out war between neighboring towns.

I hope this makes a little more sense now…we must find someone in the next few days so if you do have any thoughts of people on the east coast, near NYC, please do let me know!

Much appreciated,

Elisabeth

Personally, these web based videos are about the CLOSEST thing I’ve seen with REAL SURVIVAL information being put out by MAIN STREAM ANYONE in years.

I fully support helping in these projects, but alas, I am in the middle of Wyoming…lightyears away from the Big City.

So…again…the call goes out.

Could you or can you volunteer to help Ms. Harris at CBS, with background info and personal theories on possible future civil war (something pretty much aligned with the current story line in Jericho), in the next few days?

If you’re interesting in helping her, email me for her email address and phone number.

Rich

I received this in an email from a friend this morning. I think it’s a great synopsis of the history of terrorism against the U.S. the past quarter century.

Please share your thoughts on this…What do YOU think the U.S. should do to ANY terrorists, terror organization, or country that harbors terrorists?

Rich

When WWIII StartedThis is not very long, but very informative You have to read the catalogue of events in this brief piece. Then, ask yourself how anyone can take the position that all we have to do is bring our troops home from Iraq, sit back, reset the snooze alarm, go back to sleep, and no one will ever bother us again. In case you missed it, World War III began in November 1979…that alarm has been ringing for years

US Navy Captain Ouimette is the Executive Officer at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. Here is a copy of the speech he gave last month. It is an accurate account of why we are in so much trouble today and why this action is so necessary.

AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP!

That’s what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 AD (When more than 3,000 Americans were killed) and maybe it was, but I think it should have been “Get Out of Bed!” In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.

It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world’s most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign U. S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years.

America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then, President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America’s inability to deal with terrorism.

America’s military had been decimated and down sized/right sized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.

In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.

Then just six short months later in 1983 a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.

Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber.

The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gate of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.

Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.

Then in August 1985 a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US interests are continually attacked.

Fifty-nine days later in 1985 a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.

The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259.

Clinton treated these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war.

The wake up alarm is getting louder and louder.

The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed again.

Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.

A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500. The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively.

They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.. These attacks were planned with precision. They kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.

The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.

In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high officials in government over what they knew and what they didn’t know. But if you’ve read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don’t have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979.

The President is right on when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 25 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough. America needs to “Get out of Bed” and act decisively now. America has been changed forever.. ! We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and roll over and go back to sleep.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said “…it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant.” This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world.

Support Our Troops and support President Bush for having the courage, political or militarily, to address what so many who preceded him didn’t have the backbone to do, both Democrat and Republican. This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.

If you believe in this please forward it to as many people as you can especially to the young people and all those who dozed off in history class and who seem so quick to protest such a necessary military action. If you don’t believe it, just delete it and go back to sleep.

I don’t see how I missed it, but this article HAS to be the definitive report on WHY we’re seeing so many suicide bombings in the Middle East, and the world over. Kudoes to Mr. Rehov, for sharing his personal insight and research into this very important area.

Originally posted on The Counterterrorism Blog

Interview with Pierre Rehov, documentary filmmaker, on psychology behind suicide bombings

On July 15, I appeared on MSNBC’s “Connected” program to discuss the 7/7 London attacks (you can see video of the segment on the linked page). One of my fellow guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the Palestinian areas. Pierre’s upcoming film, “Suicide Killers,” is based on interviews that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to my request for a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film. Many thanks to Dean Draznin and Arlyn Riskind for helping to arrange this special interview.

What inspired you to produce “Suicide Killers,” your seventh film?

I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated with the personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were described again and again by their victims. Especially the fact that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow themselves up.

Why is this film especially important?

People don’t understand the devastating culture behind this unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct because it addresses the real problem—showing the real face of Islam. It points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a God whose word, as transmitted by other men, has became their only certitude.

What insights did you gain from making this film? What do you know that other experts do not know?

I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis at the level of an entire civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event, generally linked to an unacceptable sexual behavior. In this case, we are talking of kids living all their lives in pure frustration, with no opportunity to experience sex, love, tenderness or even understanding from the opposite sex. The separation between men and women in Islam is absolute. So is contempt toward women, who are totally dominated by men. This leads to a situation of pure anxiety, in which normal behavior is not possible. It is no coincidence that suicide killers are mostly young men dominated subconsciously by an overwhelming libido that they not only cannot satisfy but are afraid of, as if it is the work of the devil. Since Islam describes heaven as a place where everything on earth will finally be allowed, and promises 72 virgins to those frustrated kids, killing others and killing themselves to reach this redemption becomes their only solution.

What was it like to interview would-be suicide bombers, their families and survivors of suicide bombings?

It was a fascinating and a terrifying experience. You are dealing with seemingly normal people with very nice manners who have their own logic, which to a certain extent can make sense since they are so convinced that what they say is true. It is like dealing with pure craziness, like interviewing people in an asylum, since what they say, is for them, the absolute truth. I hear a mother saying “Thank God, my son is dead.” Her son had became a shaheed, a martyr, which for her was a greater source of pride than if he had became an engineer, a doctor or a winner of the Nobel Prize. This system of values works completely backwards since their interpretation of Islam worships death much more than life. You are facing people whose only dream, only achievement is to fulfill what they believe to be their destiny, namely to be a shaheed or the family of a shaheed. They don’t see the innocent being killed, they only see the impure that they have to destroy.

You say suicide bombers experience a moment of absolute power, beyond punishment. Is death the ultimate power?

Not death as an end, but death as a door open to the after life. They are seeking the reward that God has promised them. They work for God, the ultimate authority, above all human laws. They therefore experience this single delusional second of absolute power, where nothing bad can ever happen to them, since they become God’s sword.

Is there a suicide bomber personality profile? Describe the psychopathology.

Generally kids between 15 and 25 bearing a lot of complexes, generally inferiority complexes. They must have been fed with religion. They usually have a lack of developed personality. Usually they are impressionable idealists. In the western world they would easily have become drug addicts, but not criminals. Interestingly, they are not criminals since they don’t see good and evil the same way that we do. If they had been raised in an Occidental culture, they would have hated violence. But they constantly battle against their own death anxiety. The only solution to this deep-seated pathology is to be willing to die and be rewarded in the after life in Paradise.

Are suicide bombers principally motivated by religious conviction?

Yes, it is their only conviction. They don’t act to gain a territory or to find freedom or even dignity. They only follow Allah, the supreme judge, and what He tells them to do.

Do all Muslims interpret jihad and martyrdom in the same way?

All Muslim believers believe that, ultimately, Islam will prevail on earth. They believe this is the only true religion and their is no room, in their mind, for interpretation. The main difference between moderate Muslims and extremists is that moderate Muslims don’t think they will see the absolute victory of Islam during their life time, therefore they respect other beliefs. The extremists believe that the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Islam and ruling the entire world as described in the Koran, is for today. Each victory of Bin Laden convinces 20 million moderate Muslims to become extremists.

Describe the culture that manufactures suicide bombers.

Oppression, lack of freedom, brain washing, organized poverty, placing God in charge of daily life, total separation between men and women, forbidding sex, giving women no power whatsoever, and placing men in charge of family honor, which is mainly connected to their women’s behavior.

What socio-economic forces support the perpetuation of suicide bombings?

Muslim charity is usually a cover for supporting terrorist organizations. But one has also to look at countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are also supporting the same organizations through different networks. The ironic thing in the case of Palestinian suicide bombers is that most of the money comes through financial support from the Occidental world, donated to a culture that utterly hates and rejects the West (mainly symbolized by Israel).

Is there a financial support network for the families of the suicide bombers? If so, who is paying them and how does that affect the decision?

There used to be a financial incentive in the days of Saddam Hussein ($25,000 per family) and Yasser Arafat (smaller amounts), but these days are gone. It is a mistake to believe that these families would sacrifice their children for money. Although, the children themselves who are very attached to their families, might find in this financial support another reason to become suicide bombers. It is like buying a life insurance policy and then committing suicide.

Why are so many suicide bombers young men?

As discussed above, libido is paramount. Also ego, because this is a sure way to become a hero. The shaheeds are the cowboys or the firemen of Islam. Shaheed is a positively reinforced value in this culture. And what kid has never dreamed of becoming a cowboy or a fireman?

What role does the U.N. play in the terrorist equation?

The UN is in the hands of Arab countries and third world or ex-communists countries. Their hands are tied. The UN has condemned Israel more than any other country in the world, including the regime of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddahfi. By behaving this way, the UN leaves a door open by not openly condemning terrorist organizations. In addition, through UNRWA, the UN is directly tied to terror organizations such as Hamas, representing 65 percent of their apparatus in the so-called Palestinian refugee camps. As a support to Arab countries, the UN has maintained Palestinians in camps with the hope to “return” into Israel for more than 50 years, therefore making it impossible to settle those populations, which still live in deplorable conditions. Four-hundred million dollars are spent every year, mainly financed by U.S. taxes, to support 23,000 employees of UNRWA, many of whom belong to terrorist organizations (see Congressman Eric Cantor on this subject, and in my film “Hostages of Hatred”).

You say that a suicide bomber is a ‘stupid bomb and a smart bomb’ simultaneously. Explain what you mean.

Unlike an electronic device, a suicide killer has until the last second the capacity to change his mind. In reality, he is nothing but a platform representing interests which are not his, but he doesn’t know it.

How can we put an end to the madness of suicide bombings and terrorism in general?

Stop being politically correct and stop believe that this culture is a victim of ours. Radical Islamism today is nothing but a new form of Nazism. Nobody was trying to justify or excuse Hitler in the 1930s. We had to defeat him in order to make peace one day with the German people.

Are these men traveling outside their native areas in large numbers? Based on your research, would you predict that we are beginning to see a new wave of suicide bombings outside the Middle East?

Every successful terror attack is considered a victory by the radical Islamists. Everywhere Islam is expands there is regional conflict. Right now, their are thousands of candidates for martyrdom lining up in training camps in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Pakistan. Inside Europe, hundreds of illegal mosques are preparing the next step of brain washing to lost young men who cannot find a satisfying identity in the Occidental world. Israel is much more prepared for this than the rest of the world will ever be. Yes, there will be more suicide killings in Europe and the U.S. Sadly, this is only the beginning.

Buck Sargent put a great article online today, about Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, the son of the bitter Cindy Sheehan. He also has an awesome, very touching video available as well, called Once Upon A Time in Mosul.

Take a moment. Read the article. View the video. You WILL be touched beyond belief.

As I’ve mentioned previously on this blog, I have a large portion of my family that has served in the US Military here and overseas. I am proud of all of them. Fortunately, I haven’t lost any of them to combat. Unfortunately, many of my friends, neighbors, and associates have lost people in their lives to combat conditions.

Buck’s article should bring a tear to your eye…even more so with the video.

Rich