Lately, I have slowed down with adding new content here and posting. The reason is to allow time for a class I am taking. Since April, I have been taking Arabic courses at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. Going into it, I did not know how long I would last, but just thought to try it. Maybe I would find it too difficult and quit after a few classes, or maybe I would catch onto it and do well with it. Last week, I finished the third semester, and now am more than halfway through EMSA (Elementary Modern Standard Arabic). By summer, I will have completed EMSA and will move on to intermediate and advanced levels. Next summer, there is a strong possibility that I will be traveling to Egypt to attend a conference. To make most of the opportunity, I plan to stay as long as possible and perhaps sign up to take the summer session there.

To help with learning the language, I try to be resourceful and find material to listen to or watch, such as BBC News (in Arabic), videos (television programs) posted on YouTube by Al-Jazeera, read online news web sites, etc. Recently, Osama bin Laden issued a new video/audio message to Europeans. I was able to listen to that and understand pretty well what he said, including “the truth is that as I said previously that I was responsible for the events in Manhattan.” The various Bin Laden videos have been useful for learning the language, since he is very well-spoken and that some of the videos come with English subtitles.

For now, I am posting on a new website - Al Duroos.com, which I am using as a way to practice and learn Arabic vocabulary, grammar, find learning resources, etc. I expect to be back here and expanding the content on this site more in a month or so. At some point, I hope to be proficient enough with Arabic, to begin translating content here on this site into Arabic, as well as making use of Arabic-language material (e.g. news articles) to make this site better.

إن شاء اللة (in shaa’ allah)

Richard A. Clarke spoke at the Middle East Institute conference at the end of October. He began by talking about Al Qaeda (previous post), and then about how to move forward and deal with Al Qaeda, as well as problems in Iraq and with Iran.

The Global War on Terrorism, “GWAT” as he terms it, is a misnomer. It is not global, and not so much a war, but rather a struggle against violent Islamic extremism. Al Qaeda uses terrorism as a tactic, in its quest to replace apostate governments in the Middle East with a Caliphate. Al Qaeda is not so much political (no programs and policies), but would lead similarly to the Taliban in Afghanistan in how women are treated, restrictions on cultural activities, and other such restrictions. Clarke advocates an intelligence/law enforcement approach, more so than a military approach. Key Al Qaeda leaders that have been captured thus far, they have been located and captured by intelligence or law enforcement. It is also required to challenge Al Qaeda on its ideology. The “Battle of Ideas” is critical in dealing with Al Qaeda.

The War in Iraq has damaged the credibility of the U.S. in Muslim countries. On the notion that “if the U.S. leaves Iraq, there will be chaos and Al Qaeda will build a sanctuary there”, Clarke asks “how would we know? how would chaos be different than the current situation”? Al Qaeda has already gone in, and have training opportunities in Iraq with targets brought to them. If Al Qaeda tries to build camps in Iraq, would the U.S have to accept that? No. Clarke explains that “We would ask the government to eliminate it. If they don’t we do.” That does not require the U.S. to have troops in Iraq, as the U.S. would still have air capabilities, as well as special forces stationed in the Persian Gulf region. Regarding Iran, Clarke does not support an aggressive, military approach towards them, as that only exacerbates the situation rather than helping.

Audio of his talk, as well as from other speakers, is available online at the conference website.

Richard A. Clarke, the chief counter-terrorism adviser under President Clinton and President Bush, spoke on Tuesday at the Middle East Institute Conference which took place at the National Press Club. He discussed various myths about Al Qaeda and the Middle East that are frequently heard.

Al Qaeda threat

- Two-thirds of top Al Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed
- By 2003-2004, Al Qaeda had become irrelevant and no longer mattered. They had become a “spent force”, in part because the United States invaded Afghanistan and “smashed” the sanctuary there and damaged Al Qaeda’s infrastructure.

Fact is that Al Qaeda has reconstituted in in northwest Pakistan, in Warziristan and along the Afghanistan border. Those leaders that have been captured, have since been replaced. Al Qaeda has been recruiting throughout the Islamic world, and has newly established training facilities where they teach recruits. Then, those recruits are sent back out in the world. Now, Al Qaeda is just as strong as they were pre-9/11, as documented in this year’s National Intelligence Estimate

• 6 Years After 9/11, the Same Threat - The New York Times

Al Qaeda is as strong as ever, top leaders not captured, mid-level leaders replaced, and the group now poses a threat.

He also spoke about the “Global War on Terrorism”, Iraq, and Iran - summaries of his remarks will come in later posts here.

The Sands Casino in Atlantic City, NJ was imploded this evening in a controlled demolition, at 9:30 p.m. (EST). Would have been awesome to see this in person, but unfortunately it’s a bit too far for me to travel, especially on a weekday.

Nonetheless, I found some news footage of the demolition:

• Sands Casino Hotel Imploded - video on MyFox New York

In the video, you hear the charges go off for ~18 seconds, with very very loud, very very distinct sounds in quick repetition (like in my implosion video). The way that Sands was brought down, the sound of the charges and all, is just like the implosion I had the good fortune to go see. (Tencza Apartments) This is yet more proof that the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and 7 World Trade Center were nothing at all like a controlled demolition. The unmistakable sound of charges going off is completely absent in all the numerous videos of the World Trade Center collapse, as well as videos of WTC7.

For the Sands implosion, it’s also important to note the preparations involved. R.E. Pierson Construction Co. and Controlled Demolition Inc. worked on this project, drilling over 200 holes into concrete pillars and the floors for the 400 pounds of dynamite. In all, the preparations took 2-3 months.

Sands to have explosive ending - The Press of Atlantic City