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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Zulhijja 26, 1428, January 6, 2008 # 1 [There were 99 issues in 2007.]

Karachi, Pakistan; January 3, 4, 5, 2008: Jamaate Islami leaders, including Baluch Islamic activists, led by JI's Karachi Ameer Muhammad Hussain Mehnati visited various areas of the city which have suffered vandalism, arson and destruction. They solaced the victims, criticized the inaction of the Musharraf regime and organized relief. See below: A Pakistani-American Mourns the trashing of Karachi, Pakistan: "My aching heart is Aflame." Please scroll down

Scroll down to end for astonishing facts about Saddam Hussain and Shi'ites. Also: Latest report on Iraq war which media are hiding and brief item on latest fighting in Pakistan.

Our Palestine:
Br. Mohammed Ayub has sent 40 Hadith about Masjid al-Aqsa through "Islamisthetruth" list. Here are two of them

Masjid Al-Aqsa - Mentioned By Name In The Holy Quran
Aishah (ra) reports that the Prophet (saw) used to recite Surah Al-Isra every night in his prayer:
Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) Who took His slave (Muhammad SAW) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad SAW) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. (17:1)
Masjid Al-Aqsa - The place of Mujahideen
Umamah Al-Bahili (ra) reports that the Prophet (saw) said, "A group of my Ummah will remain on truth, they will vanquish their enemy and those who disagree with them will not be able to harm them until Allah commands". "Where are these people"? The Companions (ra) asked. The Prophet (saw) said, "In and around Al-Quds (Jerusalem). (Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

Israel Blocked Hajj Pilgrims. Blessed Palestine is under DAILY ATTACK by the terrorist entity known as Israel.

On January 3, 2008 Israeli tanks and artillery attacked parts of Gaza destroying several homes and killing 9 Islamic activists.

On January 5, Israeli terrorists completed an "operation" in the West Bank town of Nablus. They kidnapped and took 38 Palestinians with them.

January 2, 2008: Several hundred Palestinian pilgrims returning from Makkah after Hajj crossed back into Gaza at the Rafah crossing supervised by Egypt. Israel had blocked the return of the pilgrims for a whole WEEK, insisting that they firsy be cleared by the Jewish police. Egypt let them cross because BLOCKING HAJJIS is seen as an act of war in the world of Islam. Israel is making a hue and cry, claiming that the pilgrims had collected money in Saudi Arabia and had been "trained by Iran."
[There can be no doubt that Israel is the enemy of Islam and ALL Muslims.]

Outreach: Dr. Siddique Live on XM Radio: Significance of the Murder of Benazir Bhutto: Bush's Last Year will be Bloody

Dr. Wilmer Leon's "On with Leon" show leads in America's independent radio tradition. Dr. Leon, a prominent African-American broadcaster and political scientist, does a lot of reading on the sensitive issues he handles and he does not try to censor the views of his guests.

January 5, 2007: In his live interview with Dr. Leon, Dr. Kaukab Siddique made the following points in his analysis of the tragedy of Benazir Bhutto based on the available evidence so that it can be investigated further:

See opposing viewpoint on Benazir's death in letter below.

Benazir Tried to befriend the most Rabid Israeli Jewish terrorist: She was Naive beyond limit.
[Excerpt from the Jewish Week of January 5, 2008 follows.]

"Last September, Bhutto reached out to Gillerman, whom she had never met before, even as she was preparing to end a nine-year exile from Pakistan under a plan brokered by U.S. policymakers. Bush administration officials were pushing her and her longtime adversary, Pakistani President and military chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf, toward elections and — presuming she won — a tentative power-sharing. With Musharraf's popularity in free fall, the plan was designed to lend his rule a veneer of democratic legitimacy. In the midst of this, Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, dined with Gillerman and his wife, Janice, in a private room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Columbus Circle.

The quartet chatted for three-and-a-half hours. And the next day, Janice Gillerman lunched with Bhutto for some follow-up discussion.

"We had a very warm, intimate conversation," recalled Gillerman. "It touched on every aspect of Pakistani life and Israeli relations. She described to me in great detail her plans to return. She talked about her great concern about extremists and expressed a lot of concern about her own safety. But she was determined to go back."

Our America in Iowa: by New Trend's Media Monitor [2 items]

[With thanks for this one to Br. Saad in Arizona.]
Independent Journalist Finds Iowa Election Tally run by Israeli Defense Firm

http://www.dailypaul.com/node/19098
http://www.bollyn.com/index/?id=10371
[Editor's note: Bollyn often runs after conspiracy theories which we do not endorse. However, his discovery of the Israeli election machine is on solid ground.]

U.S. Muslims See Election Activities as Exploitation of People's Sentiments

This is how U.S. Muslim views go: Obama was successful. It's seen as history in the making. Here's a man of African descent hugely popular with White voters. Edwards was number two. He spoke strongly against the U.S. misadventure in Iraq. We like Hillary Clinton. Isn't it about time that an American woman rose to the top? She's brilliant.

The Republicans have Huckabee. He too speaks against U.S. foreign policy. He is a Christian. There's something earthy and real to him. Won't it be fun to have a president named Huckabee. Romney deserved to lose. There's not much to him other than money. McCain? He wants to continue the war [with Lieberman at his side]. Why is he against torture? Was he bombing Vietnamese civilians when he was shot down and went through the ordeal which turned him against torture?

Republicans see a chance to win now that the media [for over 6 months] have switched off ALL news coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan [other than propaganda and feature stories.] Americans sense that perhaps the war is over at least on TV.

Here's a test to see if this election process is connected to reality::

How many times did any of the contestants question ISRAEL even in ONE SENTENCE?
[The answer is: Zero.]

By the way, the Democrats have let Bush have all the money he wanted [and more] for the war. If a President as unpopular as Bush cannot be stopped from carrying on or even slowing down his murderous policies all over the world, what's the point of all this talk of DEMOCRACY?

Let's not forget the wisdom of Malcolm X [al-Hajj Malik Shabazz] who knew America better than most of us. People in America get their rights owing to cataclysmic overseas events. The Vietnam war did more for civil rights in America than any amount of civil rights marching.

Take it from New Trend: America's future will be decided by Muslims: No, no, not by the spineless ones here [the "meet me in the Hilton" crowd] but by the resistance in Iraq, by the resurgent Taliban and the Palestinians standing firm against the U.S. sponsored terrorist entity known as Israel.

As the wag said: "It's the resistance ----Stupid!"

Benazir Bhutto's Comment on Osama bin Laden and on his Son
by New Trend's media monitor

One of our readers has placed Benazir Bhutto's interview with Frost on youtube. Either by mistake or knowingly she referred to the murder of Osama bin Laden by the man who is reputed to have killed Daniel Pearl. She also refers to the danger she felt from Osama's son. [Can anyone clarify this for us.?]
It appears that BBC has edited the original to omit the key reference. Thanks to our reader, we have both versions:

BBC'S EDITED VERSION:
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=Pm6pHhY37yk
COMPLETE UNEDITED VERSION: PART 1: LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW VERY CAREFULLY AFTER 5 MINUTE 45 SECONDS INTO THE INTERVIEW
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=Mz6nlhWufIw
COMPLETE UNEDITED VERSION PART 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiYoAVfebdQ>v=LiYoAVfebdQ

Jamaat al-Muslimeen [News] [3 items only]
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

Good News From Nigeria: Eight Thousand Islamic Delegates from 19 States
by Dr. Asheikh Ahmed

[After Eid al-dha] I spent seven days in Maiduguri and proceeded to Bauchi where I spent another seven day and attend the 65th Annual Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) of the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSN) A Zone comprising of the Nineteen Northern states and Abuja. The Course was attended by about Eight Thousand delegates (Brothers and Sisters) in which class instructions on Islamic Muamalat, moral conducts, aqida, ibadat, and community relations were conducted. Similarly, Taalimat sessions, tahajjud prayers and public lectures were held. It is generally a tarbiyyah programme/camp for the youth and alhamdulillah it was a success.

New York's Bangladeshi Hero fought against Goons on Q Train

His name is Hasan Askari and he is from Bangladesh. On December 11, he helped a Jewish youth who was being pummeled by three tough White racist goons on the Q train. No one helped the victim though the train was packed: Then Askari jumped in and fought them till police arrived. They were muscular: one wants to fight in Iraq. Asked why he did something so unusual, Askari replied it was natural for him because he was brought up that way.

URL-http://www. nypost.com/ php/pfriendly/ print.php? url=http: //www.nypost. com/seven/ 12122007/ news/regionalnew s/jews_subway_ hero_a_muslim_ 381263.htm

[Muslims are not anti-semitic. They are against Jewish-Zionist occupation of Palestine and the insidious Jewish exploitation of America. Remember, the elite exploiters do not travel by Q train!]

U.S. Muslim Da'wa Activist Calls for Judicial Probe of Ms. Bhutto's murder

Pakistan is perhaps the most unfortunate country on earth that neither it could set up its democratic traditions nor it could attain its ideological ambitions. The internal secret Agencies, foreign NGO's and opportunist political leadership at home, all are equally responsible for this most tragic mishap. The present dictatorial military regime in Pakistan cannot wash its hands by shedding some "crocodile" tears just by declaring three days of state 'mourning". I wish a judicial probe would have been set up immediately under the distinguished Chairmanship of the "sitting": Justice Iftikhar Muhammad of the SC of Pakistan. Only then the real culprits of this ghastly political murder could come to light. Otherwise, it would remain a "known" secret for ever as the murder of PM Liaquat Ali Khan, the Fall of EP, murder of General Zia and now open day murder of "innocent" BB.

Shamim Siddiqui [New York]

A Visit with Dr. Alauddin Shabazz: Scholar, Preacher, Islamic Activist Disabled in Serious Car Accident: Where is the Community Support?
by Kaukab Siddique

Why do good people suffer? I was thinking of this old philosophical question when I visited my friend Alauddin Shabazz in South Chicago on January 2, 2008. About a year and 9 months back he was disabled in a terrible car crash near Peoria, Illinois. His body was mangled and there seemed to be little hope for his recovery. However, his dynamic wife and his sons stood by him and went through the harsh and hard phases of rehab with him. Today he is able to talk, listen to CDs, watch TV and eat the great food his wife cooks but still not able to walk. Sitting up is difficult.

His wife is a fighter: Being Black, Muslim and a woman is a combination which can defeat all odds. Makes me think of our mother Hajira, r.a., when she would not give up even when she was alone in the Arabian desert and her child was dying of thirst. What is about these African women and women of faith in general. Allah says: revere the wombs that gave you birth [second only to Allah]: See Sura Nisa'

The man inactive [paralyzed] on one side of his body, the woman exhausted from the struggle to keep the home alive and give him round-the-clock care: yet the two joked and talked as if they had just fallen in love!

Why is the Muslim community so ineffective about the plight of this great man. Have they forgotten his work for Islam, his books, his lectures, his activism, his constant concern for Muslims in prison? This is no ordinary man. His Ph.D is in Comparative Religion yet he never showed anything but modesty and humility in his behavior. He was critical of flag wavers and those who claim to be Muslim yet adore the White House. He supported New Trend. He supported Jamaat al-Muslimeen. He supported al-Haqq. Is that why the big mosques do not mention his plight? What will be the fate of a nation which slights and ignores its scholars? Frankly I am tired of this new brand of "Islam" which makes leaders out of toms but pretends that the men of truth do not exist!

I urge the Muslims of Chicago to rally to the support of Dr. Alauddin Shabazz. Please, pick up the phone and call him or email him. Send him a gift. Show the brotherhood which Islam demands especially with those who speak the truth and are not afraid.

Phone number for Dr. Alauddin Shabazz: 773-445-3516
Email him at: angeloalauddinshabazz@gmail.com [Do not send publicity and info to the email address. It is only for personal communication.]

[Please do not confuse with Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz , the mathematics wizard!]

Letter: Re: Bhutto sacrificed by? [An interesting viewpoint opposing New Trend analysis.]

I admit that I did not know of the details about the shots fired at Ms Bhutto and it is quite possible that someone in the police may have fired, just like Indira Ghandi was killed by her security guards and Sadat was killed by soldiers.
This does not necessarily mean that Musharraf was behind it.
I still think that he had little to gain by an assassination. I will forward this message by Mr, Ulmar to gather reactions.
I am not sure that anyone can actually come out and say: I spoke with Al Qaeda and they say they did not do it. My view is that al Qaeda is not really a centralized command but a loose network of groups.
Using logic, and logic is not always right, the Taliban would be the beneficiary of Ms Bhutto's elimination because of her animosity towards them.
Also, it is important to examine the past relationship of the Taliban with US CIA and perhaps also wonder whether the collaboration that once florished is really over.
It is very convenient for US imperialism to have a boogie man and both Taliban and Al Qaeda can play the role in the western media.
No matter what, Pakistanis are in for a rough ride. I would not be surprised if the plan is not for a partition of Pakistan like we saw a partition of Afghanistan. One must realize that India is no longer an ally of Russia and the US has a great relationship with it.

FAN [Siddharta]

Ed. note: By Mr. Ulmer, the writer probably means maulvi Umar.

Karachi, Pakistan: My Aching Heart is Aflame
by Rahgeere Saleha

It is raining gently, like the subdued weeping of a child for her mother. The few yellow leaves left over from fall are mixed with the new green of the plants that have been fooled into unfurling by the odd misplaced warmth in the middle of winter.

Odd and misplaced that is how I feel. My hometown is ablaze and instead of being thankful for being safe, I want to be there! People have taken the freedom to be a muslim in a muslim country for granted. The Baron of arrogance has been treating Lady liberty in a cavalier manner.

The people of Pakistan have been bottling up anger for many years, and now they are letting it all out, every bit of it. Life and property has no meaning. In the final analysis what meaning does life and liberty have to those who have eked out a drudgery of an existence in the face of injustice, dishonor and treachery?
The people of Pakistan, both in and away from Pakistan have been cheated at many levels. Starting with ourselves we have been cheating ourselves by placing our ideals in the lap of materialism, for trading our Sidq for false security provided by human beings and by robbing our own kin to enrich others.

In these years somewhere in the flow of life in the big city of Karachi, the reason for living as commanded by Allah got lost. Life became a daily trudge to work, to play, to eat and drink and stay alive. I see how tenuous the hold on life is, and somewhere in the process of living we forgot that it is not we who hold our lives but Allah subhanawataa'la. As I see the pictures of my hometown being ravaged, I am reminded that He (SWT) has power over all people and all things.

My heart is being barraged by the onslaught of grief, and it is rattling with pain. In every torch lit car in Karachi I see an aching heart that has finally burst into flames.
It is as if Allah Subhanawatalla is not only leveling the playing field but also testing the muslims of Pakistan, both in Pakistan and elsewhere. It is a test, to see how we perform when we are under fire. How well do we remember Surah Nisaa? What does it say about engaging a fellow muslim in battle. In what circumstances are we allowed to battle and kill a fellow muslim? What does it say about oppression and finally what does it say about a muslim who is a killer and a muslim who is killed without a defined juristic reason?

"Never should a believer kill a believer; but (If it so happens) by mistake, (Compensation is due): If one (so) kills a believer, it is ordained that he should free a believing slave, and pay compensation to the deceased's family, unless they remit it freely. If the deceased belonged to a people at war with you, and he was a believer, the freeing of a believing slave (Is enough). If he belonged to a people with whom ye have treaty of Mutual alliance, compensation should be paid to his family, and a believing slave be freed. For those who find this beyond their means, (is prescribed) a fast for two months running: by way of repentance to Allah: for Allah hath all knowledge and all wisdom. Quran 4:92 translation by Yusuf Ali

The surah is succinct in its clarification; Farhat Hashmi's tafseer rings in my ears. In the heat of the battle, if I were in the midst of the rampant expression of sorrow, would I remember the surah? Probably not, unless I had embedded it in my heart and soul long before I was faced with this.
The punishment from Allah is severe and everlasting. It is not only for the killer but the killed in a fight between two muslims both earning their place in the fire of Hell. One for killing a fellow muslim and the other for having the intention to do so.(Barring specific reasons) please read or listen to the details of the explanation of Surah Nisaa in Farhat Hashmi's tafseer on www.alhudapk.com
"If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him. Quran:4:93"
translation by Yusuf Ali
How easy it has become to kill in the name of ..........whatever, property, vendetta, honor, anger etc.
The most primitive part of our brain is the temporal lobe. With it we feel, smell and are quickened to rage. It is the rest of the brain that tempers the temporal lobes reaction. If released from the control from the rest of the brain, it can unleash, unlimited rage and devastation.
It is the chivalry and the deep-seated respect that every muslim has in his heart for women, that has been violated and has undone the whole nation. As a woman fell from the impact of her aggressor's onslaught, the impact touched every man woman and child. This nation of muslims rose in outrage and responded entirely and completely from the most primitive part of the brain, the temporal lobe! All feelings of rage spilling out unchecked by the higher senses.
Anger, grief, years of oppression, hatred, feeling of being at the bottom of the barrel, watching helplessly as injustice is meted out, layers of superficial living, the increasing divide between the haves and have-nots, the vast divide between the practicing and in- name muslims, the increasing distance between master and servant, between faithful and faithless spouses, between wannabes and have-beens and the intense desire to either imitate someone or to destroy those who desire to imitate others, all this has spewed out as a raging inferno triggered by the death of a woman.
As the trigger was pulled to release the agent of death for Benazir, so was a trigger pulled to propel Pakistan into a future where the innocence of the average Pakistani is consumed in the fire of anguish and anger. From the ashes will rise the phoenix and unfortunately the vultures.
The true fight for survival between the phoenix and the vultures will then begin. Pakistan is a country created in the name of Allah as a sanctuary for muslims. What does Allah Subhanawa taaala have in store for it?
How will Allah subhanawataala, judge my compatriots, who in their anguish have been transformed from the oppressed to the oppressors?
Dua/supplication: May Allah guide all of us and keep us under His protection, and forgive us for our transgressions. Ameen

SADDAM HUSSEIN'S GREATEST LEGACY:
DECEMBER 2003 TO DECEMBER 2006
(PART THREE OF THREE)

Startling Facts about Saddam and Shi'ites: What were his Judges Like? Propaganda Blitz against the Martyr was Unprecedented
by Jeff Archer

After Saddam Hussein's execution, some writers mocked him and again, re-wrote history. In "So Long to ‘Our Tyrant,'" Andrew Cockburn stated:

"Though he was expelled from Kuwait and his economy wrecked by sanctions, Hussein was allowed to survive because Washington for a time continued to believe that he was useful as a bulwark against Iran abroad and militant Shiism at home in Iraq. When that policy was discarded by the neoconservatives after the 9/11 attacks, the dictator's days were numbered."

Cockburn, of all people, should know that after Desert Storm, many plots to get rid of Saddam emerged.. For instance, even Scott Ritter, once head of the U.N. inspection team, has stated that the goal of the U.S. personnel on the inspection contingent was to overthrow Saddam. He admits that he was a part of the plot. In 1996, Kurdish fighters were about to embark on Baghdad to overthrow Saddam. The group had the blessing of the U.S., although the Americans withdrew their promise of air cover at the last moment. In 1995, one of Washington's former "saviors" of Iraq, Iyad Allawi, a CIA operative, ordered terrorist attacks in Baghdad in the hope the ensuing chaos would help dump Saddam. More than a hundred Iraqi civilians were killed in this operation, but the Iraqi government soon discovered the plot and stopped it. Allawi was the head of an Iraqi exile group called the Iraqi National Accord. The organization was supported by the U.S. government.

John Simpson of the Sunday Times relayed more historical revision in his piece "Tyrant Met His End with Fortitude:"
"Every important step he took was a disaster, from the attack on Iran in 1980 which started a hugely debilitating war that lasted for eight years, to the foolish invasion of Kuwait, which brought him into open conflict with his former friends, the Americans. Yet he knew how to appeal to ordinary people across the world. He was hated by most of his own people, but loved by the poor and disinherited of the rest of the Arab world.
"He ruled Iraq by relying on the Sunni minority. His ministers were mostly Sunnis and so were most senior officers in his army and police force. Tens of thousands of Sunnis died as a result of his repression and the wars, but since his overthrow by the British and Americans in 2003, Sunnis have tended to identify more closely with him."

The glaring mis-representation in this piece is the depiction that his ministers, the officers in his army and police force consisted mostly of Sunnis. In fact, 60% of the Republican Guard officers were Shi'ite. As were two-thirds of the Iraqi ambassadors assigned to the U.N. during Saddam's tenure. Iraq's mouthpiece to the world in March and April 2003, Mohamed Sahaff (the Iraq Information Minister) is Shi'ite. In the infamous deck of 55 playing cards created by the U.S., 35 individuals were Shi'ite. Justice could have been better portrayed if Simpson took a few minutes to research facts before he made such erroneous allegations.

In the article, "Rule of Noose," Bruce Shapiro wrote:
"If Iraqi executioners have a particular expertise with the gallows, it is because Saddam gave his country so much practice. Hanging, shooting, gassing, beating, Saddam and his agents were masters of them all. Saddam, depraved and sadistic, was the polar opposite of the banal bureaucrat evil Hannah Arendt famously saw in Adolph Eichmann."

Shapiro packed much vile into such a short span of words. "Depraved and sadistic" stick out. I doubt that Shapiro has an education and background in psychology, but he tries to dissect Saddam Hussein's brain. On December 30, 2006, the only "depraved and sadistic" Iraqis we saw were the ones who taunted Saddam and those who pulled the lever for his hanging.

On the other hand, some articles contained realistic information. According to Robert Dreyfuss, in his article, "The Consequences of Killing Saddam:"
"An overwhelming majority of the Sunni Arab population of Iraq now supports the resistance, and its intensity is likely to grow significantly in the wake of Saddam's death. Earlier this year, 300 Sunni tribal leaders met in Anbar to issue a demand that Saddam Hussein be released from prison, just one indication that support for the former president of Iraq was widespread. "The execution of Saddam means that the flame of vengeance will be ignited and it will hurt the body of Iraq with unrecoverable wounds," a Sunni tribal leader told the New York Times.

Michael Boldin spoke of the lies and deceit of the U.S. administration in his piece "Saddam Was Right and Bush Was Wrong:"
"The non-existent weapons of mass destruction weren't the only falsehood. There were the phony uranium purchases, lies about al-Qaeda training camps in Iraq, mobile weapons labs, and drones that were going to attack the East Coast of the U.S.
Remember the lies about babies being thrown out of incubators? The propaganda started years ago. Even the claims of Saddam's brutality are suspect. Why? Because most of these claims come from the same people that have already discredited themselves."

Boldin is one of the few writers who went right to the core of the problem of the demonizing of Saddam Hussein. If those who accused Saddam of myriad atrocities had already been exposed as liars about virtually every aspect on Iraq, how could they transform themselves into purveyors of truth in describing Saddam Hussein and his regime?
Al-Quds of al-Arabi assessed the situation in a logical manner. Its editor, Abdel Bari Atwan, told Aljazeera News:

"Arab public opinion wonders who deserves to be tried and executed: Saddam Hussein, who preserved the unity of Iraq, its Arab and Islamic entity and the coexistence of its different communities such as Shi'ites and Sunnis ... or those who engulfed the country in this bloody civil war?"

The pundits had a great time writing about Saddam Hussein's execution. Many work for huge publications with limitless resources for research, yet they chose to re-hash old discredited information and add a few new untruths as well.
These represent only a few statements made in the Western press. But, in newspapers from Brazil to Russia, from India to Indonesia, from Pakistan to Venezuela, and many other nations, the media were much kinder to Saddam Hussein and the barbaric end he experienced.
Many Western observers are not aware that Saddam Hussein was well-regarded in much of the world. Brazilians remembered that thousands of their countrymen were recruited by Saddam to build the advanced highway and bridge systems that once crisscrossed Iraq. Egyptians did not forget that a few million of their countrymen owned and worked land in Iraq prior to January 1991. Indians did not forget the reciprocal dealings with Iraq and how the Ba'athists gave support to Indian causes. The Lebanese remembered the dozens of Iraqi trucks that showed up daily at the Lebanese border during that country's civil war. They were laden with food and clothing for any Lebanese person in need. The convoys' recipients included all Lebanese, not a certain faction of those battling in the civil war. Most Palestinians display a picture of Saddam Hussein on their walls. Over the years, many nations have temporarily supported the Palestinian cause, only to withdraw aid once threatened by the U.S. Saddam Hussein, even during the embargo years, supported the Palestinians with no exception, while other Arab regimes did not want to get involved because they did not want to upset their puppeteers in Washington and Tel Aviv.
Maliki may be happy that he expedited Saddam's execution by, along with U.S. collaboration, forming phony courts for mock trials. The mirth soon gave way to panic. Saddam Hussein made Iraq worth fighting for. The outsiders and the traitors dismantled his Iraq.
It didn't take long for the world to see how quickly the bogus court that tried Saddam became unraveled. On March 9, 2007, the headlines for Al-Jazeera News read, "Saddam Judge Flees Iraq." Raouf Abdel-Rahman was the judge who sentenced Saddam Hussein, Barzan al-Tikriti (Iraq's former intelligence minister) and Awad Hamed (former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court) to death. All were hanged.
Abdel-Rahman was the second judge on the trial in which the defendants were accused of crimes against humanity for the execution of 148 people from the city of Dujail in 1985. The first judge, Rizgar Amin, resigned. He accused the U.S.-allied Iraqi officials of scripting the trial for him. When Abdel-Rahman came on board, the so-called trial turned into a fiasco. He constantly kicked the defendants and their lawyers out of the court room. He made public statements before the end of the trial in which he stated that Saddam was guilty. When a defense witness came forth with a video tape showing how the head prosecutor, Jaafar al-Musawi and a prosecution witness, Ali al-Haidari had lied, Abdel-Rahman confiscated the video tape and had the witness, along with three other defense witnesses, arrested and tortured.
When the appeals court turned down the request of Saddam's defense team about the death verdict, Abdel-Rahman had to set an execution date within 30 days of the appeal verdict. Saddam was hanged within four days, on the date of the beginning of a Muslim holiday.
For a few months, Abdel-Rahman relished in his image as a no-nonsense, tough judge. The truth differs. He stood against everything a judge is supposed to represent: to find the truth. He lied and he was a fraud. He was brave while he was protected by the U.S. Army in the Green Zone, but once the hangings were conducted, it appears that Abdel-Rahman must have lost some of his protection. He fled to Great Britain.
There is one aspect of this mockery that is confusing. Abdel-Rahman asked for "political asylum" in Great Britain. Political asylum is usually requested by citizens of countries in which they are not allowed political, social or religious rights that other citizens enjoy. Abdel-Rahman was a product of the quisling Iraqi government. He was right in the middle of all the shenanigans and violence the pretenders thrust on Iraq. Why did he ask for "political asylum" when he was a mainstream player in the sordid politics of Iraq?
It is probable that there were many Iraqis who were offended by Saddam Hussein's show trial and hanging and some were probably picking up the stench of Abdel-Rahman's scent. Even the U.S. and the Iraqi stooges would have been unable to give him enough security to ensure that he would be alive at retirement age.
Abdel-Rahman may have been the temporary victor because of his actions in an unfair Iraqi courthouse that led to the hanging of Saddam Hussein. But, in death, Saddam Hussein won the battle against him as Abdel-Rahman made a secret and cowardly exit from Iraq.
Saddam Hussein knew how his life would end. He never capitulated, not even at the end when he was offered chances to be freed from prison. He knew that if he sold out, he would have sold out Iraq.

LATEST WAR NEWS FROM IRAQ: Al-Qaidah, Sunni "Insurgents" Hold Large Areas: U.S. Military Operations At Lowest Level

by New Trend's Media Monitor

U.S. military death toll in Iraq was the highest of the war in 2007. U.S. military losses started dropping in the last three months. In December, the death toll of 23 was the lowest of the year. Yet in the first five days of 2008, another 5 U.S. troops were killed. Our analysts attribute the dropping U.S. death toll to the following:

PAKISTAN: Latest War News:

January 5, 2007: Pakistani heavy artillery opened fire in the Kabl area of Swat and hit several homes, completely demolishing two of them. Seven members of one family were killed in the first home and 3 in the second. The Pakistani officer in charge claimed that he was targeting Taliban trying to return to the area. Civilians in Swat told Nawa-e-waqt that they are being harassed by the military although the Taliban left the area long ago.
In South Waziristan, Islamic fighters captured 6 more Pakistani troops bringing the total recently taken to 14. The Islamists issued a statement saying that the captures were in retaliation for renewal of Pakistani air attacks on the population.
In Quetta, hit-and-run gunmen attacked police killing one and wounding 2.

2008-01-06 Sun 17:15:18 cst
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