A Special Place in Hell / The United States of Crazy in Israel-Palestine

A Special Place in Hell / The United States of Crazy in Israel-Palestine - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

SHEIKH JARRAH, East Jerusalem – You have to have a key to play in the tiger cage.

	Protesters at a weekly demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah in April, 2010.
	Photo by: Emil Salman

And if you're not Jewish, you can’t have a key.

And the beast in question is not in the cage, but in the tension that weights the faces of the settlers, their children, the Israeli police and border guards and riot officers who keep the Arab residents of the neighborhood at a distance, and the Arab children who - under the strictly enforced and entirely arbitrary bylaws of this Jewish colony which marries ancient ritual, manifest destiny, and science fiction - cannot enter the cage to play.
There's a reason why Israel's New Left is being born in this neighborhood of the city's largely Palestinian eastern half. There's a reason why the two-state division may well be spurred by this place. There's a reason why the demonstrations only grow in strength and impact, week after week after week. The reason is the extremism and the delusional reasoning of the settlement enterprise here, a reductio ad absurdum so exquisite, so cryingly self-defeating, that the Palestinian national movement should have thought of it years ago.
Settlers here have simply applied the Palestinian Right of Return to themselves. Hoping for – and winning – a court ruling that could have been handed down by a bizarro Ismail Haniyeh, they argued that if Jews lived in homes here before Israel's creation in 1948, Jews should be able to return to those homes.
As fate would have it, many of the Palestinians expelled from their homes a year ago to make way for the settlers, were themselves driven from their original residences in predominately Jewish West Jerusalem by the 1948 war.
The settlers' tiny archipelago of settlement in Sheikh Jarrah, a speck in relation to most West Bank settler enclaves and even to many illegal outposts, has thus managed to call into question the basic underpinnings of Zionism itself. It gives new meaning to the settlers' old and, at the time, markedly unsuccessful motto, Yesha Zeh Kahn ["The West Bank Is Here", which is to say, all of Israel has the same status as the West Bank].
But it suggests something else as well. It suggests that for the true Messianist, a status which encompasses all the ultra-Othodox and a growing segment of the "Knitted Kipot" [also called Modern or National Orthodox] community, Post-Zionism is Here.
Is it only coincidence that Haredi youth are increasingly drawn to pro-settlement activism and Knitted Kippa youth are increasingly drawn to ultra-Orthodox observance?
What matters, at root, is that whatever mess is made by wanton settlement, disproportionate military actions with attendant casualties among Arab non-combatants, or artful dodging of peace possibilities, the Almighty will come and clean up the mess.
What matters, under this worldview, is that the rabbinical establishment wield deepening and widening control over the affairs of daily life for the Israeli population, from diplomacy to matrimony, from marriage eligibility to citizenship eligibility, from deportation of non-Jews to demonizing pro-democracy groups, from ruling out peace concessions to disqualifying foreign conversions.
The consequences for the State of Israel, in this approach, are secondary. In fact, carried to its logical extreme, under this approach, the existence of a State of Israel is secondary.
If what really matters is rabbinical control of daily life and the sanctity of leaving settlements where they are, the answer is obvious: Leave everything to the Haredim, the Kahanists, and Hamas. Many of the Haredim are ambivalent about the idea of a Jewish state. Some are overtly opposed, even hostile. For many settlers, the trauma and sense of betrayal caused by the abrupt withdrawal from Gaza has shifted their focus from the primacy of the state to the necessity of settlement.
In their goals and in their view of governance, Hamas, Kahanists and Haredim have much in common. Why not just let things go on the way they are?
Let go and let God.
Who needs democracy when you can have an enormous archipelago of tiger cages where just Jews can play? Why not simply leave everything to the mega-pious? The United States of Jerusalem, the United States of Crazy, a holy land of cantons where everyone can declare independence and live out his or her personal End of Days ideal.
A Bantustan for everyone and everyone in their own.
Before we decided finally to let this play out, however, it would be worth everyone's while to recall that End of Days movements, just like the revolutions that they actually are, tend to go gray and turn irrelevant.
And while waiting for the Messiah to sort out the United States of Jerusalem, there's still room on that street corner in Sheikh Jarrah, where on a clear day, you can actually see a future.

9 mercs killed in Afghanistan

9 mercs killed in Afghanistan

At least nine members of a private security firm have been killed in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan, local Afghan officials say.

The bomb blast damaged a car carrying security firm workers in the village of Asmar in Kunar province late on Thursday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Local officials said the nine people killed were working for a road construction company.

No further details on the nationality of the security guards who were killed have been disclosed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesman for the militant group said in a statement.

Mercenaries of the infamous private security firm Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, have contracts to provide security in Afghanistan, but the private security firm that employed the nine men has not been identified.

In the June 4 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Xe's most recent government contract tasked the group with protecting CIA bases in Afghanistan.

The report was confirmed at the end of June by Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta during a TV interview, the newspaper wrote.

Blackwater/Xe mercs were hated by the Iraqis during their time in that country because they were able to kill many civilians with impunity.

Over the past few months, public opinion has been turning against the war in the United States and other countries, and thus US President Barack Obama's upbeat assessments about progress in the Afghan war will probably not go down well at home or abroad.

The death toll for US service members stationed in Afghanistan reached 66 for the month of July 2010, making it the deadliest month for US troops deployed in the Central Asian nation since the conflict began in October 2001.

Beck and Stossel imagine rosy world of private military contractors with no civilian deaths

Beck and Stossel imagine rosy world of private military contractors with no civilian deaths | Media Matters for America

Glenn Beck hosted staunchly libertarian Fox Business host John Stossel to discuss the idea of using private contractors to wage war instead of military personnel. From the August 5 edition of The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: What is the closest you came to saying, well, maybe the government should do this?

STOSSEL: Well, I always assumed that fighting wars was a job for government. You didn't want to trust that to a profit-seeking enterprise. But, you know, you've sort of moved my head about that a bit and that if you have a bunch of private contractors like Blackwater going to work and they do it so much more efficiently - the CBO says that it takes three government workers to replace one Halliburton worker, that, you know, maybe they would fight wars better, and if we didn't like what they were doing we could fire them. You can't fire the government, but contractors compete.

BECK: It would be great to say that these guys are private contractors and the war is dragging on, the war is dragging on and being able to have the president say we're getting a new contractor. Because they'll finish the job. They'll finish the job. And you can also hold them responsible for everything. The problem with government is you can never actually hold these people responsible for everything.

STOSSEL: And people will say, "Are you kidding me? A private, for-profit company fighting a war? They'll just kill all sorts of civilians." But they don't think ahead to the fact that this company wants to be hired again by some other country.

BECK: It's exactly right. It's like planes. The only really horribly irresponsible companies say you know we're going to chintz on the repair on the airliner because once one goes down and you've been caught chintzing on it, sure you lose 200 people which is a horrible, horrible tragedy, but the company knows you lose 200 people it's over. We're all out of business and if we really do something wrong we're going to jail.

In their enthusiasm for the idea that the free market would keep contractors from killing civilians, both Stossel and Beck ignored that defense contractor Blackwater (now rebranded Xe) did kill civilians in Iraq.

In 2007, Blackwater employees killed 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians and wounded at least 20 others when, reportedly unprovoked, the security guards opened fire in a public square in Baghdad. Although the Iraqi government called the shootings "deliberate murder" and five Blackwater employees were charged with manslaughter in the U.S., the charges against all five were dropped because of problems with the case.

Not only was Blackwater not held accountable under the law, but the company remains the State Department's largest security contractor, and as late as April 2009 it continued to operate in Iraq.

Tags: Glenn Beck, John Stossel

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• by txthinker (August 05, 2010 3:55 pm ET)

  3

  Let's send Beck and Stossel to the front line.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by peace4all (August 05, 2010 3:59 pm ET)

  3

  what idiots. every great military mind in history has warned against using mercenary's to fight a country's wars. but it makes sense that these two don't know that. maybe if they would pick up a real history book instead of a right wing revised edition they would learn something from the reality based world.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by neon desert (August 05, 2010 4:02 pm ET)

  3

  From an October 2007 article in the WashPo:
  

  According to data provided to the House panel, the average per-day pay to personnel Blackwater hired was $600. According to the schedule of rates, supplies and services attached to the contract, Blackwater charged Regency $1,075 a day for senior managers, $945 a day for middle managers and $815 a day for operators.

  Any military personnel out there who would care to compare their per-day pay to this "efficient" private-contractor schedule?

  Reply Report Abuse
  • by mattcable250650 (August 05, 2010 5:09 pm ET)

    2

    As a 3rd Class Petty Officer (E-4, equivalent to an Army Corporal) back in 2000, I pulled in about $22,000 annually, which works out to around $61 per day or about 1/10th of what a Xe employee makes. Private contractors do not have many privileges that military personnel do, like official medals for bravery or free burials. If you were aboard a vessel, your food was free, but if you were at a shore command, you'd pay a small charge for meals.
    Yeah, I'd be very interested to see how ther charges were calculated.

    Reply Report Abuse
    • by magnolialover (August 06, 2010 8:15 am ET)

      Remember, that is what Blackwater charged, not necessarily what their employees received.

      Reply Report Abuse
• by hashadenough (August 05, 2010 4:03 pm ET)

  2

  Gosh Glenn, I seem to remember the "founding fathers" that you so worship rather disliking a bunch of hired soldiers. Something about them mistreating colonial civilians and ransacking American property. Hessians, or something, I think they were called...

  Reply Report Abuse
  • by progressivevoicedaily (August 05, 2010 4:12 pm ET)

    1

    Imagine that, Glenda not knowing the facts or the history.

    Reply Report Abuse
• by soze169880 (August 05, 2010 4:05 pm ET)

  2

  I guess this is how the right "supports the troops" now-- by wanting them to lose their jobs to a bunch of kill-crazy mercenaries.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by raddave43 (August 05, 2010 4:08 pm ET)

  3

  Stossel says " You can't fire the government, but contractors compete." I guess he didn't hear about the no-bid contracts that these companies got and were continually renewed.
  
  Somehow I doubt that one Haliburton employee can do the job of three Government employee. When I was in Iraq there seemed to be about 2 or 3 Haliburton employee sitting on his arse while one was actually working.

  Reply Report Abuse
  • by nerzog (August 05, 2010 4:16 pm ET)

    3

    This might be a good time for everyone to watch Iraq for Sale. Among other things, it details how private contractors charged us $100 per load to do laundry, a duty which used to be performed by Armed Forces personnel.

    Reply Report Abuse
  • by raddave43 (August 05, 2010 5:14 pm ET)

    3

    I also forgot to mention that the Haliburton employees doing the manual labor were in fact people from countries like Pakistan and the Phillipines that were brought in to work cheaply.

    Reply Report Abuse
    • by magnolialover (August 06, 2010 8:16 am ET)

      1

      Which, Halliburton and others would charge huge rates, and then rake in huge profits by using super cheap labor. They're still doing it.

      Reply Report Abuse
• by progressivevoicedaily (August 05, 2010 4:08 pm ET)

  3

  What happens when this "private war company" decides they don't like the fact that they didn't get the contract from some country?? Then they decide to act in their own interest and attack a country. These guys are out of their minds. These people and the way the think is very dangerous for this country, and humanity as a whole.

  Reply Report Abuse
  • by nerzog (August 05, 2010 4:18 pm ET)

    1

    Or maybe China makes them a better offer?

    Reply Report Abuse
• by nerzog (August 05, 2010 4:13 pm ET)

  1

  The Troglodytes occasionally like to compare the United States to the Roman Empire, especially when it comes to things like Gay Rights. They'll try to argue that Rome fell because they all turned gay, or something like that.
  
  Of course, the fall of Rome was due to many overlapping, complex factors. One of these was their heavy dependance on mercenaries to defend their empire.
  
  I guess they don't teach that in Beck U. World History 101.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by epkklk851 (August 05, 2010 4:13 pm ET)

  1

  I know something about government personnel and contractor practices. It isn't cheaper for the government to hire contractors, and that bit about onr Halliburton worker to three government workers probably doesn't include Halliburton's subcontractors and contractors get paid more than Federal employees and some of them have guaranteed profits, above their expenses. Look into the KBR mess last year, a local subcontractor's shoddy work led to the deaths of U.S. service members. The government spends huge sums on contracts and contract management, we can't put a man in the field without contractors to feed and shelter him. Another thing, those jobs don't have to go to Americans, they can go to foreign citizens. Federal Appropriated Funds jobs must hire U.S. citizens.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by magnolialover (August 05, 2010 4:30 pm ET)

  1

  Mercenary outfits like Blackwater/Xe are freakin' dangerous to a well established democracy. Blackwater's "Army" is stronger and bigger, and better equipped than a lot of countries around the world.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by progressiveright (August 05, 2010 4:36 pm ET)

  1

  The faulty dream and one of no loyalty.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by mattcable250650 (August 05, 2010 5:23 pm ET)

  1

  The problem, which I believe Machiavelli noticed and that, of course, has not and never can be solved, is that mercenaries are all very fine and well when you need an impressive parade-ground force to overawe the other side with or when undertaking non-dangerous duties (As mercernaries have been doing for the past decade, taking on non-serious opponents in Third World countries), but when you have a Battle of the Bulge or Verdun 1916, when the enemy is attacking in great force and your guys are scrambling to hang on by their fingernails, mercenaries have absolutely no motivation to stick around. They'll suddenly decide they can get a better deal elsewhere at precisely the point when they're most desperately needed.

  Reply Report Abuse
• by IRONY 101 (August 05, 2010 5:36 pm ET)

  Kapitalist Killers...yea, baby. ;>)

  Reply Report Abuse
• by Tbone Slickens (3 hours and 56 minutes ago)

  Rolling Stone mag had an article on the then Blackwater in Sept '04. It was mainly about one of their operative Walt Weiss I think it was but at the end of the article they pointed out that when the USSD traveled out of the Green Zone it was Blackwater that they requested. I imagine nothing has changed much in that respect.
  
  Don't bite the hand too hard that protects you.
  

Murdered doctor was a 'true hero'

Taliban claims responsibility for killing foreigners

The Hindu : International : Taliban claims responsibility for killing foreigners: "Gulbudin Hekmatyar"

DUBAI: The Taliban has claimed that it has killed eight foreigners and their two Afghan interpreters for spreading Christianity.

“These people were preaching Christianity and we punished them,” a Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted as saying.

He added that a number of books and documents found on them proved that they were involved in preaching Christianity.

Provincial police chief Aqa Noor Kintoz said the killings took place in Karan-o-Manjan district of Badakshan province in northern Afghanistan, and the bodies were found on Friday.

The Islamic Party (Hizb-e-Islami), a radical group commanded by the former Prime Minister, Gulbudin Hekmatyar, also claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is likely that the victims belonged to the International Assistance Mission (I.A.M.), an organisation that has been functional in Afghanistan since 1966. The organisation said it was likely that the dead were members of its eye care team.

The Associated Press quoted Dirk Frans, director of the I.A.M. as saying that six Americans, one German, one Briton and two Afghans were part of the team. Mr. Frans said the I.A.M. had been registered as a non-profit Christian organisation, which did not engage in proselytising.

The American embassy said: “We have reason to believe that several American citizens are among the deceased. We cannot confirm any details at this point, but are actively working with local authorities to learn more about the identities and nationalities of these individuals.”

Karzai is talking to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (again)

Karzai is talking to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (again) - The Majlis

A delegation from Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami is in Kabul this week meeting with Afghan leaders, including president Hamid Karzai. Pajhwok dubs these "covert" peace talks -- suggesting that the government is worried about the public reaction.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

The Hezb-i-Islami delegation presented a 15-point plan to Karzai; one of the points calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan over a six-month period beginning in July. Other conditions include "the independence of the country and a lasting peace." The full 15-point plan hasn't been made public, but presumably it includes some kind of governmental role for Gulbuddin himself.

"I can confirm that a delegation of Hezb-i-Islami ... is in Kabul with a plan and has met with the president," Waheed Omar, a spokesman for Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, said.

Haroun Zarghoun, a spokesman for the party, said the delegation might also meet with U.S. officials -- but the U.S. embassy in Kabul says there won't be any talks.

Hekmatyar's gestures towards the Karzai government aren't surprising: Karzai is under a lot of international pressure to accelerate his reconciliation talks with the Taliban, and Hekmatyar sees that as a tactical opening. What's surprising is that anyone is placing much stock in this dialogue. Consider this line from the Washington Post:

As U.S. and NATO officials revamp their strategy in Afghanistan, a renegade Afghan commander could prove central to U.S. plans to rein in the insurgency through negotiations.

This sentence sums up today's thinking -- but it was actually written in November 2008. Needless to say, Hekmatyar hasn't suddenly become a constructive force over the last 18 months. His militia is still killing people; he still hasn't agreed to any reconciliation deal with Kabul (a deal which few Afghans would welcome, honestly).

Negotiations between Kabul and Hemkatyar have been going on for years. They haven't accomplished much.

Christian Support for Obama Declines

The Barna Group - Christian Support for Obama Declines

Christian Support for Obama Declines

Barack Obama was swept into office on a wave of hopes and dreams founded on his promises of a better life and a more competent government. With this first year in office now behind him, many Americans are considerably less enthusiastic about his performance than expected. A new survey conducted by The Barna Group shows that Christians, who formed a large segment of his support, are even less enthralled with the president’s handling of the job than are other Americans.

In the 2008 election, 42% of all born again adults voted for Barack Obama. The born again vote represented 40% of his aggregate support in the general election.

Job Satisfaction

Most Americans are not satisfied with the job the president is doing. Currently, just 42% are either completely satisfied (15%) or somewhat satisfied (27%). One-quarter of adults (24%) are divided, saying they are “somewhat satisfied and somewhat dissatisfied.” The remaining 30% are either “mostly dissatisfied (13%) or “somewhat dissatisfied” (17%). Only a few (4%) don’t know how to assess the president’s job performance.

The picture is less rosy when looking at the ratings given to the president by committed Christians. Among evangelicals, only 18% are satisfied (just 6% are “completely satisfied”) while 69% are dissatisfied (including 38% who are “completely dissatisfied”). Among all born again Christians – one-fifth of whom are evangelicals and four-fifths of whom are not – the ratings are not quite as scathing, but are notably worse than those provided by non-Christian adults: 35% are satisfied and 36% are dissatisfied. Among adults who are not born again the president fares much better, with such people twice as likely to be satisfied as dissatisfied (48% satisfied, 24% are not).

When political affiliations and faith commitments are merged, the numbers are also quite diverse. A majority of registered Republicans (55%) are born again. Among them, only 9% are satisfied with President Obama’s performance to date, compared to 67% who are not. That rating is slightly less positive than the 15% satisfaction and 58% dissatisfaction found among Republicans who are not born again.

The picture is decidedly different among Democrats, among whom 47% are born again. Among born again Democrats, President Obama has satisfied 62% and dissatisfied 10%. That is not quite as upbeat a view as held by Democrats who are not born again, 76% of whom are satisfied and 8% of whom are dissatisfied.

Independent voters are notably less pleased with the president, regardless of their faith leanings. Thirty-seven percent are born again, the lowest proportion of born again adults found among the three partisan affiliations. Among the born again Independents, 25% are satisfied and 38% dissatisfied. Among the Independents who are not born again, 44% are satisfied and 21% are dissatisfied.

Ideological Consistency
Two-thirds of all American adults feel that the president has conformed to their ideological expectations of him. Among those who feel he is different than expected, they are twice as likely to say he has been more liberal than expected (21%) than to say he is more conservative than anticipated (10%).

Mr. Obama has been especially surprising to evangelicals (25% said he is more liberal than expected, 4% said more conservative) and born again adults (24% vs. 9%, respectively). Catholics were about equally likely to be surprised by his liberal leanings as by his conservative tendencies (16% more liberal, 14% more conservative) than were Protestants, who were three times more likely to see the president as more liberal than expected than to consider his performance more conservative than they foresaw (23% more liberal, 8% more conservative).

People who are not associated with the Christian faith had varying views on this matter. For instance, people who belong to a non-Christian faith group were about evenly divided as to whether the president is more liberal than expected (14%) or more conservative than expected (12%). Atheists and agnostics, however, were more likely to say he has been more conservative (23%) than more liberal (15%) in relation to their expectations.

Specific Performance Ratings
In filling one of the most demanding and complex jobs on earth, the president addresses numerous areas of governance. The Barna survey explored people’s ratings of Mr. Obama’s performance in seven of those areas.

Most Americans believe the president’s top priority should be the restoration of the national economy. In this area just 42% are satisfied with the president’s efforts to date. Satisfaction was registered among just 26% of evangelicals, 38% of all born again Christians, and 46% of adults who are not born again. Catholics were marginally more satisfied (43%) than were Protestants (39%). Born again Democrats were among the president’s biggest supporters of his economic performance, with 63% satisfied. In contrast, only 15% of born again Republicans and 32% of born again Independents were satisfied.

The standout dimension of the president’s efforts relates to the environment, where a majority of Americans (58%) are satisfied with the president’s work. While evangelicals are among his biggest critics on environmental matters (only 40% were satisfied), a majority of all born again (55%) as well as non-born again adults (60%) are satisfied. The partisan divide was as big as ever in this dimension, with just 31% of born again Republicans, 51% of born again Independents, and 73% of born again Democrats approving of the president’s work in this area.

About half of the nation (52%) believes the chief executive has done a satisfactory job of fighting terrorism. That includes only one-quarter of evangelicals (27%), slightly less than half of all born again Christians (47%) and a slight majority of non-born again adults (55%). Two-thirds of born again Democrats (67%), less than half of born again Independents (44%) and barely one-fourth of born again Republicans gave Mr. Obama the thumbs up in this area.

In each of the other four dimensions of job performance that were measured in the Barna study a minority of the public was satisfied with the president’s efforts.

Forty-seven percent are satisfied with his tax policies and activities. Not surprisingly, he fared best among non-born again adults (51%), less well among all born again individuals (43%), and worst among evangelicals (24%). Seven out of ten born again Democrats approved of his taxation efforts, which was double his approval rating in this area among born again Independents (33%) and nearly five times the approval score awarded by born again Republicans.

• Forty-six percent are pleased with how the president has handled the war in the Middle East. Born again (44%) and non-born again adults (48%) straddled the national average, while evangelicals were far less satisfied (30%). A majority of both born again Democrats (64%) and born again Independents (51%) were satisfied, but just one-quarter of born again Republicans (25%) joined them.

• The president’s campaign promises included plans to reform the political system and restore civility and bipartisan cooperation to the process. Most Americans do not believe he has delivered on that promise yet. Only 43% are satisfied with what he has done to improve the political system, which includes 47% of non-born again adults, 38% of all born agains, and 21% of evangelicals. Feelings on this matter run especially strong along party lines, with Democrats his only significant support base. Fifty-eight percent of born again Democrats approved of his job in improving the political system, compared to only 25% among born again Independents and 15% among born again Republicans.

• The president’s major initiative during his first year in office failed to impress most Americans. Just 40% said they are satisfied with his work related to the health care system. This ranged from 46% of non-born again people who approved his job, to 33% among all born again individuals, and just 12% of evangelicals. While a small majority of born again Democrats (56%) approved his health care efforts, less than half as many born again Independents concurred (26%), and a mere 7% of born again Republicans indicated their satisfaction in this area.

The survey also revealed several consistent patterns. Non-whites were more supportive of the president’s results during his first year than were whites by an average of 21 percentage points. Downscale adults were typically more supportive than were upscale adults, except in the area of dealing with terrorism. Pre-Boomers (i.e. adults under 45) were invariably more supportive than were adults 45 or older. Single adults – those who have never been married as well as those who were presently divorced or widowed – were an average of 22 points more likely to express satisfaction with the president’s performance in these areas.

The study also found that Protestants and Catholics were generally similar in their views on these matters.

Americans Want It Now
The study suggests that many Americans may be losing their patience with President Obama. While most people recognize the complexities of the job, they have high expectations of their leader and have been generally disappointed during the first year of the Obama administration. Historically it is clear that legislative victories or other public relations efforts are capable of shifting people’s perceptions in a short period of time. However, with the mid-term elections on the horizon and the very real possibility of a significant number of Democratic seats being lost in Congress this November, the president’s sagging image or campaign presence may not be the boon for which many Democratic candidates had hoped.

The Barna data point out that at this stage of Mr. Obama’s tenure, party affiliation is a stronger predictor of people’s perceptions of his performance than is their faith commitment. At the same time, it appears that many committed Christians who were supportive of Mr. Obama during the election campaign are substantially less supportive of him today.

About the Research
This Barna Update is based upon a nationwide tracking study, called OmniPoll^SM, conducted by The Barna Group. The telephone interviews were derived from a random sample of 1,005 adults selected from across the continental United States, age 18 and older, from February 7 - 10, 2010. Interviews were conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Minimal statistical weighting was used to calibrate the aggregate sample to known population percentages in relation to several key demographic variables.

"Born again Christians" are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as "born again."

"Evangelicals" meet the born again criteria (described above) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as "evangelical."

"Downscale" individuals are those whose annual household income is less than $20,000 and who have not attended college. "Upscale" people are those whose annual household income is $75,000 or more and who have graduated from a four-year college.

The Barna Group (which includes its research division, The Barna Research Group) is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization that conducts primary research on a wide range of issues and products, produces resources pertaining to cultural change, leadership and spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located in Ventura, California, Barna has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of each new, bi-monthly update on the latest research findings from The Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna website (www.barna.org). Additional research-based resources, both free and at discounted prices, are also available through that website.

The Anne Rice defection: It's the tip of the religious iceberg - latimes.com

The Anne Rice defection: It's the tip of the religious iceberg - latimes.com

American Christianity is not well, and there's evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical than most realize — or at least want to admit.

By William Lobdell

August 8, 2010




• Anne Rice discusses her decision to quit Christianity

Novelist Anne Rice's surprise post last week on Facebook — she announced she had quit Christianity "in the name of Christ" because she'd seen too much hypocrisy — brought cheers and smug smiles from critics of institutional faith, and criticism and soul-searching among believers.

But there's something more at play here than one of America's most famous Catholics — Rice re-embraced the faith of her youth in 1998 and published a memoir just two years ago, "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession" — walking away from the church.

Rice is merely one of millions of Americans who have opted out of organized religion in recent years, making the unaffiliated category of faith the fastest-growing "religion" in America, according to a 2008 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The Pew report found that 1 in 6 American adults were not affiliated with any particular faith. That number jumped to 25% for people ages 18 to 29. Moreover, most mainline Protestant denominations have for years experienced a net loss in members, and about 25% of cradle Catholics have left their childhood faith, the study showed.

And in a 2008 study by Trinity College researchers, 27% of Americans said they do not expect a religious funeral.

American Christianity is not well, and there's evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical than most realize — or at least want to admit.

Pollsters — most notably evangelical George Barna — have reported repeatedly that they can find little measurable difference between the moral behavior of churchgoers and the rest of American society. Barna has found that born-again Christians are more likely to divorce (an act strongly condemned by Jesus) than atheists and agnostics, and are more likely to be racist than other Americans.

And while evangelical adolescents overwhelmingly say they believe in abstaining from premarital sex, they are more likely to be sexually active — and at an earlier age — than peers who are mainline Protestants, Mormons or Jews, according to University of Texas researcher Mark Regnerus.

On the bright side, Barna's surveys show evangelicals (defined by Barna as a subset of born-again Christians, which he sees as a broader group with more flexible beliefs) do pledge far more money to charity, though 76% of them fail to give 10% of their income to the church as prescribed by their faith. Various studies show American Christians as a whole give away a miserly 3% or so of their income to the church or charity.

"Every day, the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change," Barna has said.

Barna isn't the only worried evangelical. Christian activist Ronald J. Sider writes in his book, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience": "By their daily activity, most 'Christians' regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is their Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate their allegiance to money, sex, and personal self-fulfillment."

How to explain the Grand Canyon-sized gap between principles outlined in the Gospels and the behavior of believers? Christians typically, and rather lamely, respond that shortcomings of the followers of Jesus are simply evidence of man's inherent sinfulness.

But if one adheres to the principle of Occam's razor — that the simplest explanation is the most likely — there is another, more unsettling conclusion: that many people who call themselves Christian don't really believe, deep down, in the tenets of their faith. In other words, their actions reveal their true beliefs.

That might explain why Roman Catholic bishops leave predator priests in ministry to prey on more unsuspecting children. Or why churches on Sunday mornings are said to be the most segregated places in America. It also would explain why most Catholic women use birth control even though the practice is considered a mortal sin.

Culturally, America is still a Christian nation. The majority of us still attend church at least occasionally, celebrate Christmas and Easter, and pepper our conversations with "God bless you" and "I'll be praying for you."

But judging by the behavior of most Christians, they've become secularists. And the sea of hypocrisy between Christian beliefs and actions is driving Americans away from the institutional church in record numbers.

Some, such as Anne Rice, are continuing their spiritual journey on their own, unable to reconcile the Gospel message with religious institutions covered with man's dirty fingerprints. Others have stopped believing in God. Those with awareness who remain Christians are scrambling to find ways, like St. Francis of Assisi, to rebuild God's church.

But remember, St. Francis offered a radical example during a time when the institutional church had grown corrupt and flabby. He was a wealthy young man who took a vow of poverty and devoted himself to the poor. His motto: "Preach the Gospel at all times — and when necessary use words."

A well-informed hunch says American Christians aren't ready for the kind of reformation that will realign their actions with biblical mandates. And in the meantime, the exodus from the church will continue.

William Lobdell, a former Times staff writer, is the author of "Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America — and Found Unexpected Peace."

Karzai Targets Two U.S.-Backed Task Forces

Karzai Targets Two U.S.-Backed Task Forces - WSJ.com

By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV in Kabul and MATTHEW ROSENBERG in Washington

Associated Press

Fraud allegations plagued the August 2009 Afghan presidential election; above, voting at a Kabul mosque.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai stepped up tensions with the U.S. on Wednesday by asserting control over two American-backed anticorruption task forces, ordering a handpicked committee to review all their investigations.
U.S. officials see Mr. Karzai's decision as a way for the Afghan president to limit the inquiries that may touch his inner circle.
A senior U.S. official described the move, which followed last week's arrest of a senior presidential aide on corruption charges, as "a huge blow" to U.S.-backed efforts to clean up corruption in Afghanistan.
"What they're trying to do, what they're saying to us is: 'We don't care what you think. We've had enough,' " the official said.
U.S. officials say they are worried that members of both units may be in grave danger and are moving to try to protect them as best they can.
The disclosure came as new details emerged about the evidence against the arrested aide, Mohammed Zia Saleh, who had headed the administration of Afghanistan's National Security Council.

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Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

French President Sarkozy, right, with President Karzai in 2008.

According to several Western officials, U.S.-backed investigators taped a conversation in which Mr. Saleh was negotiating a bribe—in the form of a car—in return for squashing an inquiry into the New Ansari Exchange, a large and influential money-transfer outfit. New Ansari has deep connections with prominent members of the Afghan government and the Karzai family, and, according to investigators, it is also suspected of links to Taliban insurgents and narcotics smugglers. The car, valued at about $10,000, was allegedly a small part of a larger proposed payoff, the officials said.
Mr. Karzai's chief spokesman, Waheed Omar, said he wasn't aware of the details of the case or whether Mr. Saleh, who is unavailable to comment, has said he is not guilty. Other officials in the Karzai administration have cast doubt on the recording's authenticity.

Cleanup Effort

Afghanistan's mixed record in recent years

• June 2008: The international community confronts the Afghan government at the Paris Conference, one of the first big public pushes to get Afghan officials to improve their governance.
• July: President Hamid Karzai issues a decree to establish the High Office of Oversight and Anti- Corruption.
• August 2009: Karzai wins the presidential election amid accusations of mass fraud.
• November: Transparency International ranks Afghanistan 179th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index, ahead of only Somalia.
• February 2010: FBI director Robert Mueller inaugurates a major facility for Afghanistan's Major Crimes Task Force, which will see the U.S. mentor Afghan officials in fighting crime.
• April: Afghan officials ask Interpol to help arrest Sediq Chakari, the former acting minister of hajj, on corruption charges. Mr. Chakari, who is accused of siphoning cash from Afghans making the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, remains at large.

One of the anticorruption task forces raided New Ansari's Kabul offices in January. U.S. and Afghan investigators say the company has been instrumental in the massive exodus of money through Kabul's airport. It is responsible for the majority of the $3.18 billion in cash shipments listed on official records from the start of 2007 through February reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
A U.S. congressional panel froze some $4 billion in nonurgent aid to Afghanistan after the Journal reported on the flight of cash in June. New Ansari's manager, Haji Muhammad Khan, has denied any wrongdoing by the company.
The Obama administration has made rooting out corruption in the Afghan government a key goal. Coalition commanders have said Afghan citizens' anger at the predatory behavior of Afghan government officials is the main reason the Taliban insurgency has been able to spread throughout the country and why the militancy shows no sign of abating despite the influx of tens of thousands of additional U.S. forces.
Mr. Karzai has responded to coalition pressure by pledging to crack down on graft, while at the same time claiming that most corruption in Afghanistan is perpetrated by the international community.
Members of Mr. Karzai's administration, meanwhile, have repeatedly interfered to stop corruption probes, U.S. officials say.
Asked about Mr. Karzai's decision on Wednesday, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said the U.S. looks forward to working with the Afghan government to assist in the implementation of Mr. Karzai's pledges, made at a Kabul conference last month, "to undertake all necessary measures to increase transparency, accountability and tackle corruption."

More

Karzai and U.S. Clash Over Corruption

Mr. Karzai's move to limit the inquiries isn't surprising, said Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board. "We have to expect pushback from him as the anticorruption campaign moves forward," Mr. Biddle said. "Any effective effort is inevitably going to meet resistance at multiple levels."
Over the past several months, the U.S. helped to create secretive, semiautonomous law-enforcement bodies that could effectively tackle high-level financial crimes and target senior Afghan officials implicated in graft and the drug trade. One of these bodies, the Sensitive Investigative Unit, which focuses on high-value drug traffickers, is mentored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and staffed by Afghan agents trained at the U.S. facility in Quantico, Va. It is the SIU that raided New Ansari's offices in Kabul in January.
The second agency, the Major Crimes Task Force, deals with high-level government corruption and organized crime, and is mentored by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DEA and Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency. Mr. Saleh of the National Security Council was arrested in a joint MCTF and SIU raid on his home last week.
Mr. Karzai viewed the arrest of such a senior official as an affront to Afghanistan's sovereignty, Afghan officials said. He appointed a special commission of inquiry, headed by Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko and including representatives of the ministry of justice and the National Security Council, to examine the operations of MCTF and SIU.
At a meeting Wednesday headed up by Mr. Karzai, the commission reported that the two units have repeatedly violated human rights. He ordered the commission to review all completed and current investigations and to report to him with conclusions, a statement from the presidential palace said. The meeting also decreed that "all the activities" of the units will be monitored by this commission while legislation about the agencies' future is drafted at the ministry of justice.
Mr. Omar, the president's spokesman, said Mr. Saleh's arrest "was not the only reason why the government wants MCTF to be monitored closely."

6 Americans on Aid Team Killed in Afghanistan

Letters to home

Here is all the polling data for the Afghan War.  This is the Business Insider regarding regarding the cost of war. This is US News & World Report: Will Cost of Afghanistan War Become a 2010 Campaign Issue? This is Zogby in Forbes regarding the war.

Voice of America: Source Exposure in WikiLeaks Documents Raises Security Questions.

20 Republicans Against The War In Afghanistan (VIDEO)  including Anne Coulter
Can't get any more conservative than these. Yes We Can! I don't care about Obama. And if you think I can ruin a politician's reputation-they don't have one! My objective is to put the war on the public's minds. It's about money and it never was about democracy. By your account, we have failed with democracy in our own country. So does Glenn Beck, Rush and Hannity. I agree.

Here is article from the Salinas Californian on the Tea Party. Politoco on Harry Reid. It is a conservative blog. Mitch McConnel won't campaign for Sharron Angle (Business Week)! , The National Journal: The Tea Party Paradox. Fox News:Political Polarization and Demonization Must End.

I believe the US is in a failed policy. But what's new. You are afraid of putting the war on the table. So are the Dems. I don't care if the senate is Republican. They are part of the problem. The No Leadership Party.

It is our job to criticize. It's our right. I have my facts and my opportunity. Stop accusing me of trying to take my country down. I want to take it back-and get a refund! The world will not fall if the US fails. We are not that powerful anymore. Perhaps if the citizens of this country accepted the truth, we might start fixing things.

Never be to proud to think it can't happen. I don't need a gun. That's your militaristic thinking not mine. I am just exposing the liars for who they are. They don't speak for me and I am insulted for them to use the term "Americans are against this and that". I am against them! I am NOT one of their Americans.

To paraphrase Rush, I want THEM to fail. Rot in their own political graveyard. Anyone that does not have a plan a is lost in the political rhetoric, I want them to fail. Here's Glenn Beck saying he does not care a "flying crap about the boarder or illegals" Flip flop!! Sharon Angle outake on FOX. She's like dumb. Romney on mandates. This is why I would vote for him but he has a lot of baggage. He's about as conservative a Pelossi. Here Meg "the Hag" Whitman. Just another RHINO wacko. Jerry Brown is more conservative.

Christine O'Donnel running for Bidens seat in a special election. I still trying to source this but she looks like another tea party mistake:

O'Donnell fell into personal and political financial difficulties before, during, and after her 2008 campaign.[2]  She was unable to pay the mortgage for her Wilmington house and the mortgage company gained a judgment against her for $90,000; the house was due to be sold at a sheriff's auction in August 2008 when she sold it the month prior to her campaign's legal counsel.[2]  In 2009, she moved to a townhouse elsewhere in Delaware, where she pays half the rent with campaign contributions because it doubles as her campaign headquarters for her 2010 senate run.[2] Her 2008 campaign ended over $23,000 in debt, and between 2007 and 2009 the Federal Election Commission cited her eight times for failing to find contributions reports.[2] As of 2010 she owes payments to staffers, consultants, and volunteers from that campaign.[2][14] The Internal Revenue Service placed a lien on her in 2010 for over $11,000 in taxes owed for 2005.[2] O'Donnell noted that the IRS agent handling the matter claimed the agency's action has been inappropriate.[2] She listed herself as self-employed and said she was doing "odd jobs" to make ends meet.

Sounds like a loser to me.

Scott Brown-the brainless beefcake. John McCain-Captain Trade. And Palin can't win. Even you know that. If she can't stand up to Katy Couric, for God's sake, what makes you think she can stand up to Pelossi?

Anti War, Pro Health Care, Conservative Democrat. I don't care what either party thinks. They are all fair game for attack. You support the politicians and big business. They are going to need it. It's not just me, Mom. The American public is angry and Republicans share the blame. I will smear anyone I want. They spend MY money. By the way the tax rollback will be repealed not health-care reform.

Good luck to the Repubs. They will need it. I think the public is waking up to their political scams too.
I have more and I am enjoying getting it out. You should see the hard core Liberal Left Smear Campaign. At least, I let these hacks tell their own lies........no I don't like them and I am glad my country is changing. It couldn't go on like this any longer. I am not angry. I am happy. God Bless America! We are waking up to the truth of our corrupt system. And our corrupt war. Our corrupt politicians, taxation and blasphemy. God Bless America! Case we are really gonna need it.

As long as we fight for the establishments of Islamic Republics, we are emboldening our enemies. I want out. We failed. Rush wants the Commander in Chief to fail! A blowhard patriot. He is a culpable a Assange of WikiLeaks. If they want to silence WikiLeaks, they should silence him as well. Your my mother so I don't have a beef with you.

Sorry those soldiers lost their lives. I truly am. I have heard there are a half a million soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. Nice job America.

²⁷And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; ²⁸Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. ²⁹And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. (Leviticus 26:27-29, King James Version)

God's Word doesn't flip flop.

Pentagon threatens to 'compel' WikiLeaks to hand over Afghan war data

Pentagon threatens to 'compel' WikiLeaks to hand over Afghan war data - CSMonitor.com

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With WikiLeaks now threatening to publish thousands more classified documents on the US war in Afghanistan, the Pentagon is demanding that the whistleblower website erase its extensive classified records and hand over all documents in its possession.

"The only acceptable course is for WikiLeaks to take steps to immediately return all versions of all of those documents to the US government and permanently delete them from its website, computers, and records," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said on Thursday, according to the Guardian.

He added: "If doing the right thing is not good enough for them, then we will figure out what alternatives we have to compel them to do the right thing."

The White House had condemned the leak immediately after it appeared July 25, with National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones issuing a statement at the time that it "could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security."

But now, with WikiLeaks threatening to release more classified documents, the Pentagon is upping the pressure. The New York Times reports:

Mr. Morrell’s appeal is the Obama administration’s latest response to the disclosure, which has set off a criminal inquiry by the Army and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, prompted a sweeping Pentagon review of the documents to hunt for any information damaging to troop safety and national security, and increased pressure on President Obama to defend his war strategy.

Adding to the urgency is that Wikileaks recently posted to its website a massive, encrypted file labeled "Insurance," which is 20 times larger than its last leak. Some speculate this latest file could be the 15,000 intelligence reports that Wikileaks purports to have and says it's holding back for vetting. Other guess they could be 260,000 diplomatic cables accessed by the now-imprisoned Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, the Associated Press reports.

Manning has been quoted as saying that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would "have a heart attack" when these files go public, and that they show "almost criminal political back dealings."

Some further speculate that WikiLeaks may be using the threat to publish more files as "insurance" should the government go after their staff or shut down their website, Al Jazeera reports.

Pentagon spokesman Morrell further criticized WikiLeaks for encouraging US insiders to engage in espionage. He called the website a "brazen solicitation to US government officials, including our military, to break the law," Al Jazeera adds.

But legal experts say that, other than going after individuals responsible for the leaks, there is little that the Pentagon can do, according to CNN. The opportunities to leak material has multiplied in the Internet era, compounded by the fact that the US military and 16 intelligence agencies are classifying more information and that more than 854,000 Americans have top-secret clearances, according to a recent Washington Post investigation.

"The classifying of information has gone way up – it's doubled or tripled since these wars began – and then we have nearly nine years and counting of Afghanistan and Iraq and the controversial practices associated with them," Coleen Rowley, a former field-office legal counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation told The Christian Science Monitor.

WikiLeaks appears to be showing some restraint in what it publishes. Founder Julian Assange has said that the organization is redacting names of those who could be harmed in the 15,000 documents that could be leaked. Through The New York Times, the group has asked the Obama administration to guide it on what should be redacted, CNN reports.

Steven Aftergood, a senior research analyst with the Federation of American Scientists who directs their Project on Government Secrecy, told National Public Radio that WikiLeaks made a "very important concession" to redact certain names and details from documents. "It means that transparency is not the unique and overriding value but that it needs to be factored in along with others, such as security and privacy."

Terrorism charges against 14 Somalis in US reflect 'disturbing trend'

Terrorism charges against 14 Somalis in US reflect 'disturbing trend' - CSMonitor.com

The Justice Department charged 14 people Thursday with funneling recruits and otherwise supporting an Al Qaeda ally in Somalia.

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The indictments, involving mostly US citizens in Alabama, California, and Minnesota, were handed down just as the Obama administration was issuing an annual terrorism report citing home-grown Islamic militants as a growing terrorism threat.

The indictments involve what the government described as a “deadly pipeline” of money and militants to the organization Al Shabab, a Somali insurgent group whose leaders have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference that the indictments suggest “a very disturbing trend” of support for radical ideologies among some small subgroups of the youth population. He said the country “must prevent this kind of captivation from taking hold.”

The indictments focused on the Somali-American community, but Mr. Holder was explicit in praising the community’s leadership for assistance to federal authorities in their investigation of activities cited in the indictments.

The indictments provided the latest evidence of radicalization within the Somali-American community, a phenomenon that has been on the radar of federal law-enforcement agencies for the past few years. Some experts cite difficulties in assimilating for some members of the community’s youth population as one reason for the “captivation” with extremism.

That same argument is cited in the State Department’s annual terrorism report as a reason Islamist radicalism is likely to continue rising in Western centers of large immigrant populations, particularly in Western Europe.

The State Department also highlights the rise in the US of what are sometimes called “home-grown jihadis” – generally young US residents and citizens who become radicalized in their support for extremist Islamist ideologies – in its congressionally mandated annual assessment of trends in international terrorism.

The State Department report notes recent cases in which young Americans traveled to Pakistan and Somalia, reportedly to join the Islamist resistance groups. It also takes up the rise of a few Americans to leadership positions in militant groups.

The most famous example is that of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen who has become an influential leader within Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. Mr. Awlaki has become a prominent English-speaking voice of radical Islam on the Internet, and is now perhaps the only US citizen on the government’s “capture or kill” list.

“Not only have there been more cases of Americans becoming operatives for foreign terrorist organizations, we have also seen US citizens rise in prominence as proponents of violent extremism,” the report says.

Another such case is that of Omar Hammani, also known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, an Al Shabab leader who pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in a May 2009 video. Mr. Hammani, a former Alabama resident and Al Shabab propagandist, has become one of the most prominent online voices of radical Islam.

State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin said that as disturbing as the rise in cases of home-grown Islamist radicalization may be, it is also a trend that was to be expected.

“At one point it was bound to happen that we would find greater radicalization” at home as radical Islamist ideology spread, he said. He cited, for example, Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia beginning in 2006 as the source of “a great deal of anger” and the kind of event that could foment radical support.

Mr. Benjamin said he did not mean to suggest that domestic radicalization was somehow preordained, only that “in any large group, there is a probability that some small fraction of people will be attracted to any particular ideology over time.”

Benjamin also defended the government’s placement of Awlaki, a US citizen, on its "hit list."

"It's important for people to understand that [Awlaki] is not just a rabble-rouser … but he is involved quite directly in terrorist activity," he said. "There is no question he is a particularly dangerous individual.”