Renouncing jihad

British Muslims who renounced jihadism - you can read this fascinating article, writen by a fellow British Muslim trying to understand (1) what made them decide to pursue violent jihad to establish a fantasy caliphate under one-size-fits-all sharia law; and (2) what made them stop. And, no, I'm not going to give you a summary; this is worth reading in its entirety! (Thanks to Barry Rubin.)

Graham v. Holder

Here, thanks to Libby, is a highly-revealing exchange between Senator Lindsey Graham and Attorney General Eric Holder about the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian rather than military court. The exchange makes it crystal-clear that Holder has absolutely NO legal explanation for his decision.

Major Hasan's motivation

Barry Rubin suggests that, to understand Major Hasan's thought process and motivation prior to the Fort Hood massacre, the best place to start is the slide show he presented as part of his 'grand round,' or lecture, when he was a medical resident at Walter Reed Hospital.

The grand round is supposed to be on a medical topic. Instead, Hasan instead lectured on the morality (or lack thereof) of serving as a Muslim in the U.S. military when it is fighting other Muslims in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rubin's analysis, which contains the link to the slide show, is sobering and should be required reading for anyone trying to understand Hasan.

More on Mumbai

Turns out there's an American angle at the center of the Islamist attacks in Mumbai last year. Daood Gilani, a Pakistani-American posing as American Jew David Coleman Headley, reconnoitered every target site in Mumbai, including the Chabad center, in July 2008. See this article for more details. (Thanks to Daily Alert.)

Vaccines

No, this has nothing to do with foreign policy, but it is a very informative and alarming article about vaccines, how they're made and why they're not. A cautionary tale of government intervention, and a most timely one as the Congress considers gargantuan bills to take over the health care sector.

An isolated incident?

So was Major Hasan's action 'an isolated incident'? Not according to this article:

"Hasan's attack was the third incident this year in which US military installations were targeted by radicals. In September, two North Carolina men were charged for allegedly conspiring to kill US personnel at the Marine Corps Base Quantico, home of the Marines' officer training school and the FBI Academy. In June, Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, an American Muslim convert, allegedly fired at two soldiers taking a cigarette break outside a recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark., killing one and injuring the other. Authorities say the alleged shooter said the attack was retaliation for US military actions overseas."

(Thanks to Daily Alert.)

It's either Iran or Israel

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has come up with his own version of 'you're with us or against us.' In a speech in Istanbul, he said the United States must choose between Iran and Israel. (See here for the version offered by Iranian dissidents.)

Put another way, Ahmedinejad's signaling that our current groveling, as evidenced in this excerpt from a speech by William Burns, a senior State Department official, is far from sufficient: "[The United States seeks] a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interest and mutual respect. We do not seek regime change. We have condemned terrorist attacks against Iran. We have recognized Iran’s international right to peaceful nuclear power." Here's the rest of his speech; read it and wince.