Shannen Rossmiller doesn’t look like your typical Islamic terrorist. But somehow the blonde mother of three from Montana figured out a way to fit in, posing a terrorist in jihadist chat rooms to help law enforcement hunt enemies of America. Ten years after 9/11 inspired her to study Islamic culture and teach herself Arabic, Rossmiller is telling the amazing story of her foray into cyber-counterintelligence. Her work paved the way for the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies to find terrorists and disrupt their plots. Rossmiller spoke at Heritage this week …
It has been over two decades since Albania escaped the iron grip of communism, yet it is still struggling to sustain democracy. Since 2009, the same year it joined NATO, its elections have been marred by violence, with the Socialist Party using intimidation and mob rule to try to gain or maintain power. Sadly, Washington does not appear to be paying attention. Albania is a small country of about 3 million mainly Muslim people bordering Kosovo, Macedonia, and Greece in the Balkan Peninsula. It is one of the poorest countries …
National Public Radio’s dismissal of Juan Williams is a powerful indictment of NPR’s practices and corporate culture. Small wonder voices are once again calling for the federal government to defund NPR—which gets 16% of its budget from tax payers. The Heritage Foundation has long called for such defunding. A veteran journalist, Williams is a liberal with whom I disagree more often than not. His integrity, his bravery, his refusal to be intimidated by peer pressure cannot be doubted, however. He has written thoughtful books on the civil rights movement and …
In January, we reported that President Obama was redefining NASA’s mission, and entirely cutting its role in the manned exploration of space. This was not a matter of budget prudence as NASA’s piece of the federal pie was actually increasing by $300 million. According the Orlando Sentinel at the time: “The White House will direct NASA to concentrate on Earth-science projects — principally, researching and monitoring climate change.” And unlike the rest of President Obama’s government growth strategy, this shift to make NASA a global warming centered agency resulted in …
Turkey may no longer be the friend the United States once knew. The Washington Post reports that thousands gathered in Istanbul on Saturday, shouting “Damn Israel!” in protest of the clash between Israeli forces and “peace activists” on a Turkish-flagged ship. The protest, together with dangerous shifts in Turkey’s foreign policy and inflammatory rhetoric from its prime minister, lead to questions about the country’s posture toward the West. The Washington Post reports: The incident occurred as Turkey has been strengthening ties with Muslim governments in the region — becoming more …
Al-Qaeda’s strength in Africa is expanding. Cells in northern Africa are spreading southwards to Nigeria, eager to recruit impressionable Muslims to join their international terror network. In the wake of January’s violent clash between Christians and Muslims in the diverse city of Jos, al-Qaeda’s immediate reaction was to equip and train young Muslims for jihad. According to the Washington Post, Abdelmalek Droukdel, leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announced that al-Qaeda is prepared to provide training, manpower, munitions, and various other resources to push Nigeria’s young men into …
Dr. Nile Gardiner is the Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. Today he commented on President Obama’s speech in Cairo, Egypt for the Daily Telegraph. Below is his commentary in its entirety: It’s never easy delivering a landmark speech before a foreign audience, and a potentially hostile one at that. Barack Obama gave a 56-minute address before a Muslim audience in Cairo that was well received and drew a standing ovation. He made some good points about the need for greater religious tolerance on the part …
Tomorrow at 6:10 AM EST, President Barack Obama will deliver a keynote address at Cairo University. If past experience is any guide, he will continue apologizing for America’s “mistakes” and bend over backward trying to explain that the United States is not a threat to Islam. The President has already apologized for his country to nearly 3 billion people across Europe, the Muslim world, and the Americas. His top ten apologies include: 10. Apology for Guantanamo in Washington: “There is also no question that Guantanamo set back the moral authority …
