When King Abdullah of the Hashemites publicly warns the world about the threat from "Islamists," it would be prudent to pay heed and take action. Is the media going to call the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad an "Islamophobe" now? Do they dare? Will CAIR care? What about the Obama Administration? It takes such a leader to speak the truth. He has Morsi, Erdogan and their ilks' number. King Abdullah doesn't want his world moving towards darkness led by the intolerant orthodoxy that will bring global ruin. Judging from his speeches, he wants progress and enlightenment for all. To expand access to better opportunities for his people in a meritocracy. Abdullah is correct: Erdogan is far more dangerous (and cunning) than Morsi. But Erdogan, despite his self importance, has no traction with the Arab street. Ethnic politics in the Middle East is alive and well....regardless of the non-stop "Umma" narrative emanating from the mosques of Europe and North America where the perception is "there is power in numbers"...for now. Where one can disagree with King Abdullah's analysis is with his description of the Muslim Brotherhood as a "Masonic cult." Lexicon matters. Linking the Free Masons with the MB is not only insulting (to the Masons); it is inaccurate and it feeds the conspiracy theory mill. The Free Masons (George Washington comes to mind) speak of man as "the offspring of a Universal father" and espouse a sort of "live and let live" construct. While the MB --who aligned themselves early on with the Nazis-- have been one version of contemporary "Islamofascism" which seeks to destroy all who don't subscribe to their draconian notions and ways. SOME RECENT ARTICLES: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323829504578267951332697058.html http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/monarch-in-the-middle/309270/ http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/12/jordanian-king-looks-left-to-counter-islamists.html
This comes as a bit of a surprise for two reasons: 1)The MB under President Morsi hasn't completed consolidation of their hold on power (although up to 70% of Egyptians want Shariah law as the antidote to autocratic rule); 2)They are spitting into the hand that literally feeds them (the US and the West). This public stance suggests a degree of regime confidence that gives room for pause. Why are they so "confident" to publicly denounce a UN measure which has widespread global support? Even in Muslim majority states, the secularists support and continue the fight against the religious elements to bring about legislative measures which address the widespread mistreatment and abuse of their female populace. One needs to consider what kind of hold/influence does the MB have over our own government that gives this elected regime the kind of policy wiggle room which allows it to publicly condemn efforts led by the UN that the overwhelming majority of American tax payers support/relate to. Why are we supporting this misogynistic and violent regime? Heil Ikhwan al Muslimin!
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Condemns UN Report on Women
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest Islamist movement, criticized a United Nations report that aimed to end violence against women and girls, saying it violates principles of Islamic law.
The Brotherhood, the movement from which Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi hails, sent a 10-point critique of a document drafted at a meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. The text is due to be formally adopted when the session ends tomorrow.
“The Muslim Brotherhood calls on leaders of Islamic countries, their foreign ministers and representatives in the United Nations to reject and condemn this document,” the group said statement. It urged the UN “to rise up to the high morals and principles of family relations prescribed by Islam.”
The growing power of the Brotherhood since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 has raised concerns Egypt may adopt religiously motivated laws that would curtail freedoms, especially for women and Christians. Persistent protests against Mursi and the Brotherhood have frequently erupted into violence, eroding political stability and hopes of reviving an economy suffering from the flight of tourists and investors.
The primary theme of the commission’s 57th session was the “elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.”
The Brotherhood described the theme of the conference as “deceptive,”saying it violated Islamic principles. The UN document seeks to destroy the family institution, which Egypt’s constitution confirmed as the basis of society, the group said.
Among the 10 points the Brotherhood said it opposed were resolutions to ensure women’s rights to complain of marital rape; promote equal inheritance rights and equal rights between men and women within the family; and allow Muslim women to marry non-Muslims. It also criticized recommendations to abolish the need for male permission for travel, work or use contraception.
The Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal has announced one of the first major judgments at trial of individuals alleged to have committed war crimes in 1971, when the Pakistan Army waged a near-genocidal war in the former East Pakistan. As the judges note in this document, some three million people were killed, some quarter million women were raped, and an estimated ten million people became refugees in neighbouring India.
It is also history-making for it brings Muslim perpetrators to answer for their crimes against humanity, for their murder, rape and pillage of innocent people, a majority of whom were Muslims, and then for the indiscriminate hate-filled violence against Hindus and other non-Muslims that I personally witnessed as our own family gardener, a Hindu, was executed in our home for simply being a Hindu, by soldiers of the Pakistan Army who raided our property.
It is important to note that the OIC – the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – has not stepped forth to support the landmark effort of the Bangladesh War Crimes Tribunal in bringing individuals to indictment for war crimes committed in 1971.
On the contrary, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, is on record a having written to the President of Bangladesh an improper letter in flagrant violation of diplomatic protocol or respect for the independence of the Tribunal in a sovereign country, asking for suspension of the Tribunal with forgiveness for those accused of war crimes.
Anyone in the West seriously concerned for human rights, due process, rule of law, individual rights and freedoms, misogyny and violence against women, and democracy, should support the efforts of Bangladesh as a poor Muslim-majority countrysetting a precedent among OIC states of bringing war criminals, almost without exception Muslims, and many if not most of the indicted still alive and living inPakistan or in many instances in the West, to justice.
The evil committed by this young man, whose life story we may learn more about in due course is now being blamed on his apparent condition: Asperger's aka Autism.
As someone quite familiar with this cruel and mysterious ailment, it seems a bit preemptive to blame a broad spectrum neurological condition for heinous actions that only he must answer for to his maker.
Having delved deep (research) into this condition to save two of my three sons, I realize there is a lot more to this tragic story. The familial dynamics. The parents' divorce. The fact that a mother would keep accessible weapons at home when she lived there alone with this individual, who clearly had other emotional issues, speaks volumes on so many levels. So one can make the case that there is much more to this evil action than a "diagnosis."
What can also be said is that far too many children with identifiable symptoms of Autism and its variants never get the essential educational services such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Speech therapy, Occupational therapy, Special Ed Pre-School (starting at age 2), Special Ed summer day camps and Special Ed Accomodations once they begin school.
My sons were diagnosed six months apart with Autism in 2003. Vernie (May) was diagnosed with "severe autism." Josef was diagnosed in November with Austim-Not Otherwise Specified. The superb pediatric neurologist at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center was aggressive when it came to making his diagnoses. He preferred to err on the side of making a "worst case" diagnosis rather than a "wishful thinking" assessment which in the long run harmed the child. By his proactive approach, he helped save our sons from lives of dependency on family and society.
My husband (and their father) was in the USMC which meant we had access to military health care. The military medical system (TRICARE) notwithstanding all the frivolous complaints from recipients of fine medical care, came through by and large (although I had to be very proactive with them). In short, our sons got all the services they needed and it really took a platoon of healthcare professionals and fabulous teachers and a responsive school system to reverse the neurological damage.
Each boy had three years of daily ABA when trained therapists would come to our home to individually work with them in one or two 2 hour therapy sessions. A Pavlovian and painstaking process to get their neurons reconfigured, if you will.
Josef, who squealed sometimes and had few words despite speech therapy since 17 months of age, began to speak within two weeks of commencing ABA. By first grade he didn't qualify for an IEP. The neurologist was delighted that Josef had "recovered" (they never use the word "cure") and it was an amazing transformation through daily hard work and without the use of any medications for either boys (the neurologist wanted to also medicate but mom vetoed the "easy approach" versus the difficult but ultimately more successful route of behavioral reconfiguration). Today, Josef is in a gifted program. He has a witty humor, is calm, social (but somewhat shy) and everyone likes him, especially his teachers. He has, in short, turned into a fine young man.
Vernie --the child we wondered would ever speak one day-- now won't shut up and has highly developed speech. It literally took a platoon of devoted professionals. He still struggles socially and is quirky given his obsession with animals and dinosaurs. But he is the most loving and happy child who was nicknamed "sunshine." And, most importantly, he is no longer in "his world."
For a private person, this is painful to share. But the fact that "Autism" has been thrown into the equation for what can only be described as a beastly and evil crime, makes moms such as myself very defensive/protective and at the same time desperate to let the world know that an Autism diagnosis isn't a life sentence IF you have parents who never lose faith and work to save their child; there are no serious underlying medical conditions; aggressive and early medical programs (ABA, speech etc) are commenced.
As a society we owe it to such children. Far too often it is a "penny wise, pound foolish" equation to the detriment of society when early services aren't offered across the board in all 50 states via the school system. A significant number of such children diagnosed in infancy or toddler years, if provided with the type of services my children were able to access, would "recover" and not be a long term burden to society. As functioning adults with perhaps a few quirks (but often brilliant minds), they too can contribute to society.
I sincerely hope that in the very human need to "explain" evil behavior, the current fixation of the killer's "Autism" at least propels folk to demand greater scrutiny of this mysterious ailment (as in research): to get to the source of this growing epidemic (1 in 88 children today).
What worries is that, in light of this man's identified medical diagnosis, other children (many now adults) may unfairly be stigmatized and/or isolated. This would be yet another victory for this now deceased man and at the expense of innocent citizens whose only "crime" is sharing a medical diagnosis.
Further, those who have "recovered" now must not be shamed or made anxious and thus pay an invisible and/or visible price for evil deeds of one individual. My hunch is there is a lot more to this man's story and it begins with his familial environment.
People have asked me to write about my sons "remarkable recovery." Others have opined that perhaps one or both really weren't "Autistic." The latter thesis offends. The amount of time, work and effort expended over the course of years, which disrupted our lives as a family (from 2002 to 2005, however, it was often a single parent endeavor as dad was deployed) cannot be allowed to be frivolously dismissed by such statements. These boys did the hard work with the right tools. Period.
Once my current writing project is completed, I will sit down and revisit what was "a period which will live in infamy" in order to contribute to the important narrative that "Autism isn't insurmountable" and "there is HOPE." Perhaps by recording their "victories" other parents in similar situations will be proactive and not lose hope in order to ensure their children have the best chance at leading a normal life in adulthood.
How far we have fallen as exemplified in our method(s) of response to our enemies who seek to destroy our way of life.
Hamidullah Khan Burki, Royal Indian Army Volunteer Reserve, 1941
Hamidullah Khan Burki, Royal Indian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RINVR), Feb 1943
The voluntary sacrifices of my father's generation during WWII are faded memories for most. Like many of his peers, my father, Hamidullah Khan Burki (November 10, 1920-September 27, 2003), cognizant of the global threat, signed up in the Indian sub-continent to join the Royal Indian Army Volunteer Reserve in '41 right out of Government College. He transferred to the Royal Indian Navy Volunteer Reserve in February of 1943 when it sought volunteers from the Army (officers and ratings) for their new landing craft flotillas. Having never visited a coast before the war, he served in Burma, where he would later command a flotilla of Landing Craft Mechanized (LCMs) during the Arakan Campaign. He did not know when the war would end, but like his fellow officers had signed up for "the duration." He resigned his commission in 1946 once the war was over and took the uniform off for good. He did not care much for the khakis in peace time. And, it was time to get back to his three passions: hockey, photography and writing. My father epitomized "the greatest generation" who quietly did their duty, shunned publicity, sought no accolades and certainly no freebies. Like fellow veterans, he just wanted a fair shake at working hard and being rewarded based solely on merit. The example of this fading generation offers us much wisdom from their own sacrifices and suffering. Will we/do we pay heed?
The Burma theater was the "forgotten war" of WWII.
Below: Hamidullah Khan Burki (Abba) accepting the trophy for the Hockey World Cup in Barcelona in 1950 when he captained the Pakistan team for the first, and last, time before he moved to London to work as a journalist for the Civil and Military Gazette, played hockey, and finessed his photography skills. RIP.
It defies imagination that Washington's current "strategy" is being enacted by sober folk. Yet another train wreck in the making whose outcome is so predictable and frightening. Dominoes are falling; leading to greater instability and chaos as the indefinite template that characterizes state-society relations in MENA.
Will the Hashemites be next after the Alawites? Indications seem to suggest they are next on the list. The Saudis and Qataris must be nervous yet they continue to feed the crocodile hoping they won't be next nor last. Good luck on that one. If the Hashemites are overthrown, it won't be long before Muhammad VI of Morocco (who also shares direct lineage to the prophet with the Hashemites) will be targeted and so on.
Already the MB track record is worrisome to some who argue the MB is run by "moderates." MB's rule in Egypt and elsewhere will, comparatively speaking, make the mullahs' rule in Tehran seem downright benign.
Let's not forget, after all his promises to the Mujahidin-i-Khalq and the other "revolutionary" factions (inc the Marxists and women's groups) who supported him against the Shah, Khomeini's new Islamic Republic Party brutally went after all opposition (the first half of the 1980s) as it secured the theocratic throne for Khomeini and his ilk.
Willing to bet, the MB theocratic template will increasingly resemble the Taliban's rather than the Khomeinists but without the black turbans. No coincidence the Salafists et al are talking about blowing up the Sphinx; just like the Taliban made good on their promise to blow up the Buddhas in Bamiyan. A new phase in Muslim history/rule.
On the economic front, there are some key (and crucial) differences between the MB run Egypt and Khomeini's Iran circa 1979. These are critical leverages but are unlikely to be applied given the current climate of coddling these thugs rather than drawing some clear red lines in the sand.
Hard to believe so many are blind to what is blatantly obvious right in front of our noses. Or...?
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, hoping that the conflict in Syria has reached a turning point, is considering deeper intervention to help push President Bashar al-Assad from power, according to government officials involved in the discussions.
While no decisions have been made, the administration is considering several alternatives, including directly providing arms to some opposition fighters.
The most urgent decision, likely to come next week, is whether NATO should deploy surface-to-air missiles in Turkey, ostensibly to protect that country from Syrian missiles that could carry chemical weapons. The State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said Wednesday that the Patriot missile system would not be “for use beyond the Turkish border.”
But some strategists and administration officials believe that Syrian Air Force pilots might fear how else the missile batteries could be used. If so, they could be intimidated from bombing the northern Syrian border towns where the rebels control considerable territory. A NATO survey team is in Turkey, examining possible sites for the batteries.
Other, more distant options include directly providing arms to opposition fighters rather than only continuing to use other countries, especially Qatar, to do so. A riskier course would be to insert C.I.A. officers or allied intelligence services on the ground in Syria, to work more closely with opposition fighters in areas that they now largely control.
Administration officials discussed all of these steps before the presidential election. But the combination of President Obama’s re-election, which has made the White House more willing to take risks, and a series of recent tactical successes by rebel forces, one senior administration official said, “has given this debate a new urgency, and a new focus.”
The outcome of the broader debate about how heavily America should intervene in another Middle Eastern conflict remains uncertain.Mr. Obama’s record in intervening in the Arab Spring has been cautious: While he joined in what began as a humanitarian effort in Libya, he refused to put American military forces on the ground and, with the exception of a C.I.A. and diplomatic presence, ended the American role as soon as Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was toppled.
In the case of Syria, a far more complex conflict than Libya’s, some officials continue to worry that the risks of intervention — both in American lives and in setting off a broader conflict, potentially involving Turkey — are too great to justify action.
In recent months, these officials and diplomats said that the administration had kept them updated about its Syria policy.
Until now, the United States has offered only limited support to the military campaign against the Syrian government, instead providing nearly $200 million in humanitarian and other nonlethal aid.
The weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition are funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of intermediaries overseen mainly by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, American officials said. Even that limited effort is being revamped in the wake of evidence that most arms sent to Syrian opposition fighters are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, not to the more secular opposition groups supported by the West.
American officials say the administration is now weighing whether the United States should play a more direct role in supplying the opposition fighters with weapons to help ensure that the arms reach the intended groups.
“The problem right now is that we don’t have much visibility into where these weapons are going,” one senior administration official said recently. “That’s the problem with outsourcing the issue.”
On the more immediate concern about defending Turkey, NATO is expected to act on the Patriot missile request next week.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon, told an audience at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard that “we’d be very much in favor of” the Turkish request for Patriot missiles “in terms of protecting the security of our ally.” The Patriot PAC-3 is the most modern air defense system in the American and NATO arsenals.
