What the Israeli Defence Forces found on the web By Jeremy Reynalds During the last few weeks, there was an abundance of stories in the media dealing with the possibility of terrorist attacks in general on Americans and the likelihood or otherwise of terrorists launching an offensive against U.S. citizens on the recent July 4 holiday. However, it's not only the media that's talking about terrorism. Just a couple of days ago, the U.S. State Department issued a "Worldwide Caution." The document reminds Americans of the need to remain on their guard throughout the upcoming summer months and to be aware there is an ongoing concern about possible terrorist activity which could include both the targeting of civilians as well as possible suicide bombings. The document reads, "The U.S. Government continues to receive credible indications that extremist individuals are planning additional terrorist actions against U.S. interests. Such actions may be imminent ... Terrorist groups do not distinguish between official and civilian targets." As good as the advice being provided by the government and the media, it appears to be all directed toward terrorist groups. I've read nothing about the need to be on the alert for individuals. In fact, such a thought didn't even occur to me until I read the following posts which deal with a variety of ways to murder Americans. They were found by an organization called Israeli Defense Forces while its members were monitoring a Hamas chat forum. According to a statement contained on its web site, the IDF exists to "defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel. To protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life." With that in mind, here are the posts. I have reproduced them exactly as the IDF has transcribed them. (The "users" are those who are posting the comments in the chat room). User 1 initiates the dialogue, writing: "1. Al- Awsad (user number 1): 2. Salam (user number 2): 3. MSKZ (user number 3): 4. Al- Awsad (user number 1): 5. Habib Allah (user number 4): 6. Al- Awsad (user number 1): 7. Saafalaha (user number 5): 8. UNITY_MANAGER (user number 6): 9. Al- Nasaf (user number 7): 10. MOUHY (user number 8): 11. BINZ (user number 9): Now as someone has said, while it could be argued that the Israelis have a vested interest in spreading news like this far and wide, because of the seriousness of the nature of these posts, it's strange that I haven't seen any mention of this in the mainstream press. Maybe someone has a vested interest in NOT reporting this? Just a thought! Whatever the reason, as someone so accurately commented, " The Hamas
web site (and other similar sites) provide a platform for surfers who
support the murder of American citizens." Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director
of Joy Junction,
New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter. He has a master's degree
in communication from the University of New Mexico and is pursuing his
PhD in intercultural education at Biola University in Los Angeles. He
is married with five children and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His
work can be viewed here and weekly at www.americasvoices.org. He may be
contacted by e-mail at reynalds@joyjunction.org.
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