Freedom Ain’t Free & Take Our Country Back

Remarks at the rededication of the Islamic Center of Washington.
THE PRESIDENT: Imam, thank you very much. Thank you for inviting me. I bring my personal respect to you, sir. And I appreciate your friendship. I do want to thank the governors of the Islamic Center. I welcome the Ambassadors. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate other distinguished guests who are here. It is an honor to join you at this re dedication ceremony.

As the Imam mentioned, half a century has passed since one of our great leaders welcomed the Islamic Center into our nation’s family of faith. Dedicating this site, President Dwight D. Eisenhower offered America’s hand in friendship to Muslims around the world. He asked that together we commit ourselves “to peaceful progress of all men under one God.”

Today we gather, with friendship and respect, to reaffirm that pledge — and to renew our determination to stand together in the pursuit of freedom and peace.¹ We come to express our appreciation for a faith that has enriched civilization for centuries.² We come in celebration of America’s diversity of faith³ and our unity as free people⁴. And we hold in our hearts the ancient wisdom of the great Muslim poet, Rumi: “The lamps are different, but the light is the same.”⁵

Moments like this dedication help clarify who Americans are as a people, and what we wish for the world. We live in a time when there are questions about America and her intentions. For those who seek a true understanding of our country, they need to look no farther than here. This Muslim center sits quietly down the road from a synagogue, a Lutheran church, a Catholic parish, a Greek Orthodox chapel, a Buddhist temple — each with faithful followers who practice their deeply held beliefs and live side by side in peace.⁶

This is what freedom offers: societies where people can live and worship as they choose without intimidation, without suspicion, without a knock on the door from the secret police. The freedom of religion is the very first protection offered in America’s Bill of Rights. It is a precious freedom. It is a basic compact under which people of faith agree not to impose their spiritual vision on others, and in return to practice their own beliefs as they see fit. This is the promise of our Constitution, and the calling of our conscience, and a source of our strength.⁷

The freedom to worship is so central to America’s character that we tend to take it personally when that freedom is denied to others. Our country was a leading voice on behalf of the Jewish refusniks in the Soviet Union. Americans joined in common cause with Catholics and Protestants who prayed in secret behind an Iron Curtain. America has stood with Muslims seeking to freely practice their beliefs in places such as Burma and China.⁸

To underscore America’s respect for the Muslim faith here at home,⁹ I came to this Center six days after the 9/11 attacks to denounce incidents of prejudice against Muslim Americans. (Applause.) Today I am announcing a new initiative that will improve mutual understanding and cooperation between America and people in predominately Muslim countries.

I will appoint a special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. This is the first time a President has made such an appointment to the OIC. (Applause.) Our special envoy will listen to and learn from representatives from Muslim states and will share with them America’s views and values. This is an opportunity for Americans to demonstrate to Muslim communities our interest in respectful dialogue and continued friendship.¹⁰

We have seen that friendship reflected in the outpouring of support Americans have extended to Muslim communities across the globe during times of war and natural disaster. Americans came to the aid of the victims of devastating earthquakes in Pakistan and Iran, and responded with urgency and compassion to the wreckage of the tsunami in Indonesia and Malaysia. Our country defended Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo after the breakup of Yugoslavia. (Applause.)¹¹ Today we are rallying the world to confront genocide in Sudan.¹² Americans of all beliefs have undertaken these efforts out of compassion, conviction, and conscience.

The greatest challenge facing people of conscience is to help the forces of moderation win the great struggle against extremism that is now playing out across the broader Middle East. We’ve seen the expansion of the concept of religious freedom and individual rights in every region of the world — except one. In the Middle East, we have seen instead the rise of a group of extremists who seek to use religion as a path to power and a means of domination.¹³

These self-appointed vanguard — this self-appointed vanguard presumes to speak for Muslims. They do not. They call all Muslims who do not believe in their harsh and hateful ideology “infidels” and “betrayers” of the true Muslim faith. This enemy falsely claims that America is at war with Muslims and the Muslim faith, when in fact it is these radicals who are Islam’s true enemy. (Applause.)¹⁴

They have staged spectacular attacks on Muslim holy sites to divide Muslims and make them fight one another. The majority of the victims of their acts of terror are Muslims. In Afghanistan, they have targeted teachers for beatings and murder. In Iraq, they killed a young boy, and then booby-trapped his body so it would explode when his family came to retrieve him. They put children in the backseat of a car so they could pass a security checkpoint, and then blew up the car with the children still inside. These enemies bombed a wedding reception in Amman, Jordan, a housing complex in Saudi Arabia, a hotel in Jakarta. They claim to undertake these acts of butchery and mayhem in the name of Allah. Yet this enemy is not the true face of Islam, this enemy is the face of hatred.¹⁵

Men and women of conscience have a duty to speak out and condemn this murderous movement before it finds its path to power.¹⁶ We must help millions of Muslims as they rescue a proud and historic religion from murderers and beheaders who seek to soil the name of Islam.¹⁷ And in this effort, moderate Muslim leaders have the most powerful and influential voice. We admire and thank those Muslims who have denounced what the Secretary General of the OIC called “radical fringe elements who pretend that they act in the name of Islam.” We must encourage more Muslim leaders to add their voices, to speak out against radical extremists who infiltrate mosques, to denounce organizations that use the veneer of Islamic belief to support and fund acts of violence, and to reach out to young Muslims — even in our country and elsewhere in the free world — who believe suicide bombing may some day be justified.¹⁸

We need to rally the voices of Muslims who can speak most directly to millions in the Arab world left behind in the global movement toward prosperity and freedom. For decades the free world abandoned Muslims in the Middle East to tyrants, and terrorists, and hopelessness. This was done in the interests of stability and peace, but instead the approach brought neither. The Middle East became an incubator for terrorism and despair, and the result was an increase in Muslims’ hostility to the West. I have invested the heart of my presidency in helping Muslims fight terrorism, and claim their liberty, and find their own unique paths to prosperity and peace.¹⁹

The efforts underway in Afghanistan and Iraq are central in this struggle, but that struggle is not going to end the threats; it’s not going to end there.²⁰ We believe the ultimate success of Afghans and Iraqis will inspire others who want to live in freedom, as well.²¹ We will work toward a day when a democratic Palestine lives side by side with Israel in peace.²² (Applause.) We have already seen stirrings of a democratic future in other parts of the Middle East, though it will take time for liberty to flower. A democratic future is not a plan imposed by Western nations, it is a future that the people of the region will seize for themselves.²³ A future of freedom is the dream and the desire of every loving heart.²⁴

We know this because of the 8 million people who braved threats and intimidation to vote in Afghanistan. We know this because of the nearly 12 million people who cast ballots in free elections in Iraq. And we know this because the world watched as the citizens of Lebanon raised the banner of the Cedar Revolution, drove out their Syrian occupiers, and chose new leaders under free elections. Even now the hope for freedom is felt in some dark corners in the Middle East — whispering in living rooms, and coffee houses, and in classrooms. Millions seek a path to the future where they can say what they think, travel where they wish, and worship as they choose. They plead in silence for their liberty — and they hope someone, somewhere will answer.²⁵

So today, in this place of free worship, in the heart of a free nation, we say to those who yearn for freedom from Damascus to Tehran: You are not bound forever by your misery. You plead in silence no longer. The free world hears you. You are not alone. America offers you its hand in friendship. We work for the day when we can welcome you into the family of free nations. We pray that you and your children may one day know freedom in all things, including the freedom to love and to worship the Almighty God.²⁶

May God bless you.

1. Islam does not pursue peace; it pursues world domination through Jihad. Read this; print & distribute it: Is Islam Peaceful?
2. The only enriching Islam did was of Muhammad & his Caliphs with booty and the soil with blood & bodies! See Bukhari3.37.495  and 4.52.220.
3. Islam does not celebrate diversity; it is intolerant.  It imposes a sub human state of subjugation upon conquered Jews & Christians.
4. Muslims in Dar Ul-Harb self-segregate. Thats why they collect in European cities such as Malmo, where police dare not enter.  They are creating and taking over enclaves as a progression toward total conquest.
5. How do you square the Golden Rule with “kill them wherever you find them” & “fight them until” they pay extortion in a state of subjection?
6. Side by side in peace … only until the number of Muslims is sufficient to support attacks against their neighbors, as in Aceh and the suburbs of Paris.
7. Freedom of religion is not a part of Islam. Islam demands that only Allah be worshiped in the entire world.  Islam must be made dominant.
8. Practicing Islamic beliefs means waging war against all who refuse to submit to Islam.  Only a damn fool traitor stands with Islam!!!
9. None but an ignoramus or a damn fool respects Islam!  Islam is a predatory institution designed to enrich and empower Muhammad through the professional practice of piracy.  Read and distribute this: The Roots of Islamic terrorism.
10. Sheer idiocy!!! The OIC supports HAMAS & Hizbollah.  It seeks global world conquest as prescribed in the Qur’an.  Respectful dialogue with Islam is an impossibility; Islam has no respect. It is supremacist, racist intolerant and aggressively violent.
11. President Clinton supported Islamic aggressors against Christian defenders. He is a traitor to western civilization!
12. The ongoing genocide in Darfur is Islamic. in compliance with Muhammad’s preaching and practice.
13. Islam was created as a means to acquire power and domination.  It is a war machine, not a religion. There are no extremists; only believing, faithful Muslims obeying Allah and emulating Muhammad.
14. Islam is the enemy of all mankind; has declared war and is prosecuting it. Most Muslims are descendants of people who were conquered and converted at sword point.
15. The true face of Islam is what Allah commanded and Muhammad exemplified: perpetual war on all mankind!!! Wake up!!! Wise up!!! Inform yourself!!! Quit believing the lies told by damn fools and traitors!!!!!  Begin by reading the Know Thine Enemy series. Be sure to follow and carefully read the links therein contained.
16. The murderous movement is Islam, Muhammad’s path to power.  The dichotomy : moderate || extreme Islam is false and malicious. Islam is violent and genocidal; was so from its foundation and will always remain so.
17. Islam has not been hijacked!!! Read  and distribute this: Has Islam Been Hijacked?  Muhammad ordered the murder of poets who criticized him.  See Sahih Muslim Book 019, Number 4435.  
18. What in Hell is moderate about this??:

    • 9:29 USC Fahd

      Declaration of perpetual war against “people of the book”.

      Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

    • 8:67 USC Fahd

      Genocide is prerequisite to ransoming POW.

      It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allâh desires (for you) the Hereafter. And Allâh is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

    • B1.8.387 USC

      Order to fight: confirms 9:28 & 8:39; denies dignity & equality of Kuffar/Dhimmis.

      Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387: Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Apostle said, “I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.’ And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.” Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, “O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?” He replied, “Whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’, faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have.”

19. Muslims can only fight terrorism and claim their liberty by mass apostasy: casting off Allah’s yoke of slavery.  Islam and liberty can not coexist because Islam is slavery.
20. If we were victorious in Afghanistan & Iraq– if liberal democratic governments were established, they could not be maintained because Islam does not allow democracy. Allah rules.  His rule may not be questioned.  Only the complete extinction of Islam can achieve the goal of liberating the region and rendering it peaceful.
21. Only a damn fool would believe that. First, democracy will never be successful in the presence of Islam.  We lost the battle when we allowed Sharia to be the source of law in their constitutions!  We succeeded in Germany & Japan because we imposed  new constitutions on them. Allowing Afghanistan & Iraq to retain Islam was a fatal blunder, guaranteeing failure.  Muslims are Allah’s slaves. They can only obtain freedom by removing Allah’s yoke.
22. Only an ignorant damn fool expects Islam to coexist with Israel!  Israel, by existing on land once conquered by Islam, proves Allah to be an impotent idol.  In 8:65, he promised a 10:1 kill ratio. In 1948, the Muslims lost in spite of overwhelming superiority in manpower and hardware. There is absolutely no possibility of Islam ever tolerating Israel’s existence.  Israel will never obtain peace and security while Islam exists. Neither will we.
23. Not while they are Muslims!  It will never happen.
24. Muslims have sold their lives and property to Allah in return for admission to Paradise. Allah’s part of the bargain: Muslims fight and kill for him.  This is expressly stated in 9:111. Read it and curse Islam, if you have a soul.
25. The only answer is to show them, dramatically, the true nature of Allah, Islam & Muhammad:  a demon, a murder cult and a murdering, pedophile, lecher and pirate respectively. Document the Qur’an & Sunnah on film and give it global distribution.  Let them see the rape of Safia, the murder of her husband, the genocide of the Banu Qurayzah,  the marriage to Aisha at age 6 and the marriage to his daughter in law. Sign and promote this on line petition which urges Mel Gibson to make and distribute the film: Expose Islam On Film.
26. They can only know that freedom as ex-Muslims. If they don’t attain it, we will lose our lives and liberties.

Surely, Allah is running out of virgins!  And,  if Muhammad is with Allah,  the virgins have been de-virginized already…especially if they were under 16 years old.

 FNC

KABUL, Afghanistan —  Two operations in a volatile southern Afghanistan province killed 26 Taliban militants, including several commanders, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Thursday.

• More coverage of the struggle for stability is available in FOXNews.com’s Afghanistan Center.

Twenty “enemies” were killed in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province on Wednesday, while eight were injured, the ministry said. In the nearby district of Zhari, six Taliban fighters were killed, it said.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force confirmed a clash in Shah Wali Kot but said it had no details.

BAD GUYS: Factual Videos-What THEY Don”t Want YOU To Know (What THEY HOPE Doesn”t Get Out)

• Democrats Regarding WMD, Saddam Hussein and War In Iraq
• Dems “Iraq Plan”
• Harry Reid Laughs Regarding Troop Funding
• Harry Reid Lies Directly to Veterans Regarding Funding
• Jihadists Posing As American Soldiers to Infiltrate American Sympathies
• John Kerry Agrees With WTC7Conspiracy Theorist
• Moms of Fury Confronting Congressman Hodes
• Rosie’s “Expertise” on the War on Terror
• USA Wake Up

Some Folks LOVE Their Blinders

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 12:55 AM

Our homegrown terrorists in the Leftinistra leave little to be desired.

Dead Taliban Leader Was Training U.S. Recruits

Brian Ross and Christopher Isham Report:

Thirty-six hours before he was killed by U.S. forces, Taliban Commander Mullah Dadullah said he was training American and British citizens to carry out suicide missions in their home countries, according to a videotape interview to be broadcast on ABC News’ “World News” Monday.

“We will be executing attacks in Britain and the U.S. to demonstrate our sincerity,” he told an Afghan interviewer, “to destroy their cities as they have destroyed our cities.”

A senior U.S. official told the Blotter on ABCNews.com that recent intelligence reports confirmed Dadullah’s claim that U.S. citizens were being trained in Taliban and al Qaeda camps.

“The number is small, not large, but even once is dangerous,” the official said.

In the interview, Dadullah said, “This is our religious and moral duty to train suicide bombers against the nuclear power of the infidels, and they will be used when they are needed, whether they are one, 10 or 20.”

A day and a half after the interview, U.S. forces carried out a helicopter assault on Dadullah’s hiding place in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. Dadullah’s bullet-riddled body was put on display by Afghan officials to confirm he was dead.

U.S. military officials said Dadullah had been tracked from the Pakistani city of Quetta across the border into Afghanistan, where he granted his last interview.

“His ego probably got the better of him,” said ABC News counterterrorism consultant Alexis Debat.  “The U.S. and Pakistan have done an excellent job of intercepting the couriers moving taped messages from al Qaeda and Taliban leaders. This is why we have not seen Osama bin Laden in some time,” Debat said.

Video Listen to the Taliban Leader’s Final Words.

From General Petraeus (recently to the troops)

Monday, May 14, 2007 4:45 PM

Listen Up!

From Yon: “…This letter from General Petraeus deserves the widest possible dissemination.  It should be published widely, and posted on every headquarters wall, and read aloud by every troop in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We can pummel al Qaeda and other terrorists mercilessly and grind them into the dirt, but we cannot afford to turn local populations against us while we do it.”

From General Petraeus:

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen serving in Multi-National Force-Iraq:

Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right. Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy. This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we—not our enemies—occupy the moral high ground. This strategy has shown results in recent months. Al Qaeda’s indiscriminate attacks, for example, have finally started to turn a substantial proportion of the Iraqi population against it.

In view of this, I was concerned by the results of a recently released survey conducted last fall in Iraq that revealed an apparent unwillingness on the part of some US personnel to report illegal actions taken by fellow members of their units. The study also indicated that a small percentage of those surveyed may have mistreated noncombatants. This survey should spur reflection on our conduct in combat.

I fully appreciate the emotions that one experiences in Iraq. I also know first hand the bonds between members of the ” brotherhood of the close fight. ” Seeing a fellow trooper killed by a barbaric enemy can spark frustration, anger, and a desire for immediate revenge. As hard as it might be, however, we must not let these emotions lead us—or our comrades in arms—to commit hasty, illegal actions. In the event that we witness or hear of such actions, we must not let our bonds prevent us from speaking up.

Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. They would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal, history shows that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary. Certainly, extreme physical action can make someone “talk;” however, what the individual says may be of questionable value. In fact, our experience in applying the interrogation standards laid out in the Army Field Manual (2-22.3) on Human Intelligence Collector Operations that was published last year shows that the techniques in the manual work effectively and humanely in eliciting information from detainees.

We are, indeed, warriors. We train to kill our enemies. We are engaged in combat, we must pursue the enemy relentlessly, and we must be violent at times. What sets us apart from our enemies in this fight, however, is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect. While we are warriors, we are also all human beings. Stress caused by lengthy deployments and combat is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign that we are human. If you feel such stress, do not hesitate to talk to your chain of command, your chaplain, or a medical expert.

We should use the survey results to renew our commitment to the values and standards that make us who we are and to spur re-examination of these issues. Leaders, in particular, need to discuss these issues with their troopers—and, as always, they need to set the right example and strive to ensure proper conduct. We should never underestimate the importance of good leadership and the difference it can make.

Thanks for what you continue to do. It is an honor to serve with each of you.

David H. Petraeus,

General, United States Army

Commanding

Download the statement as a PDF here.

Attack By Taliban Backfires

Thursday, April 26, 2007 11:24 AM

Literally.

News The Leftinistra Cannot Accept

A spate of suicide bombings targeting residents of the city of Khowst and other areas in Afghanistan have turned Afghans against the Taliban, Army Col. Martin Schweitzer, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, said during a satellite-carried news conference. Schweitzer’s command operates in Paktika, Paktia, Lowgar, Ghazni and Khost provinces in the southeastern part of the country.

However, the Taliban’s plan to intimidate Khowst’s citizens into not cooperating with the Afghan government or its coalition partners “is just not working for them,” the colonel said.

Iranian Weaponry Found In Afghanistan!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 12:59 PM

Iranian Made Weapons In Afganistan?

Gee.  How did that happen?

Running Out Of The Faithful

12 “brave” jihadists (LOL) are captured and some killed.  More proof that the enemy is running out of “the faithful”.

Coalition, Afghan Forces Counter Taliban Offensive

Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:36 AM

Additonal Cluelessness Of The Leftinistra

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2007 – Coalition and Afghan National Army operations have blunted the Taliban spring offensive in eastern Afghanistan, Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel said at a Pentagon news conference today.

Votel, the deputy commanding general for operations for Combined Joint Task Force 82, spoke to reporters via a video hook-up.

“I think in talking to most soldiers out there – and I do have a pretty good opportunity to get around and visit with them and talk to them – they are glad to be here participating in this mission,” he continued. “They believe in it. And I think they’re committed to stay and accomplish the mission. And we will trust that our leaders will be taking care of our families and get us back as soon as we can and when we’ve completed our portion of the mission.”

Taliban Fighters Pummelled

Thursday, April 19, 2007 10:51 AM

Taliban No Match

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Four Taliban fighters attacked a combined Afghan National Army and Coalition forces combat patrol in the northeast corner of the Sangin District area, Helmand Province, with small arms fire just before nightfall yesterday.

1st Kandak, 209th ANA Corps soldiers combat advised by U.S. Special Forces, quickly identified the enemy threat and begin engaging with direct and indirect fire.  ANA and Coalition forces later detained three Taliban fighters after conducting a search of the enemy position.

The combined ANA and Coalition forces then received intelligence about enemy activity involving an estimated 40 Taliban fighters.

After maneuvering to gain contact with the enemy force, U.S. Special Forces requested Coalition air support to engage the Taliban fighters as they were attempting to establish ambush positions.

Approximately 24 Taliban fighters were killed and four vehicles destroyed during the prolonged seven-hour battle.

There were no injuries to Afghan civilians reported.

“The Afghan populace, ANA, and Coalition forces will no longer tolerate heavy-handed and terrorist tactics from Taliban fighters.”