Pamela Geller's Blog, page 10

Muslims v. Christians in "new" worldwide jihad

The Wall Stret Journal, The New York Times and now The New York Post are finally reporting on the war on non-Muslims in Muslim countries. The very thing they have attacked my colleagues and me for reporting on for years. I am sure they are penning their apologies as we speak. Not.

The headline is wrong. It's not a new war, it's 1,400 years old. And "islamist" is a silly word for people afraid to say jihad or Islam.

Of course, it's not just Christians but all non-believers and secular Muslims.

Muslims v. Christians in Islamists’ new war Benny Avni, New York Post, December 27, 2013

For the past few Christmases, this column has shined a light on the horrific plight of Christian communities across the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. This year, a Christian majority in a small African nation and Muslims there are waging brutal attacks on each other — but it’s all being fanned by Islamist fanatics from outside the borders.

The killing field in question is the Central African Republic, where a year-long civil war has taken a monstrous toll. This month alone, it’s exacted hundreds of deaths. Tens of thousands are being made homeless. Maiming by machete, rape and beatings are routine. There’s no end in sight.

A small former French colony of 4.6 million, the CAR has never really gelled into a functioning country. Bad governance, corruption and endless fighting over resources have caused numerous flare-ups during its 53 years of independence. What’s new this time is that the conflict is being fought along clear religious lines: Muslims against Christians. And that has increased the level of brutality to unprecedented levels.

Comprised of some 15 percent of the country’s population, the CAR’s Muslims live mostly in the diamond-rich northeast. Although they’ve been fairly well off financially (as one UN-based diplomat describes it, “they are merchants and cattle herders, so that means they’re rich”), they’ve been under-represented in the country’s political structure.

The war started last December with an attack by Muslims against government loyalists in the north. A loose alliance of Muslim militias, known as the Seleka, then marched on the capital, Bangui, ransacking and killing anything in its path. By March, the Seleka (“alliance”) toppled the government of President Francois Bozize and installed Michel Djotodia as the first Muslim leader of the CAR.

The militias were then supposedly disbanded. But the Seleka fighters, which include boy soldiers in their tweens, are keeping their arms. And they continue to pick Christian civilians as random targets for unmentioned horrors.

To counter Muslim atrocities, Christians formed their own brutal militias, known as anti-Balaka (“anti-Machete”). They, too, have inflicted unmentionable pain in mosques and on randomly selected Muslim families.

The unprecedented atrocities, feelings of discrimination and victimhood and religious zealotry make for a ripe environment for Islamist outsiders that thrive on chaos and religious enmity. Right from the start, the Seleka were beefed up by Islamist fighters from Chad and Sudan. Increasingly, the gangs are now supported by members of Boko Haram, widely recognized as one of Africa’s fiercest rising Salafi terror groups.

CAR watchers believe that, more than anyone else, the imported Boko Haram fighters are responsible for the religious tone of the war. After all, Boko Haram made its bones attacking Christians back home, in Nigeria, before it started drawing global attention with such stunts as bombing African shopping malls.

The CAR horrors have awakened America’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, who won a Pulitzer writing about our responsibilities in preventing modern genocide. Last week, she became the first high-level US official to visit Bangui, where we don’t even have an embassy.

Diplomats tell me that Power is quite alone inside President Obama’s inner circle, where, at most, there’s a willingness to lead from behind (very far behind) on the CAR issue. Power has helped administration types find the Central African Republic on the map and to secure an allocation of $100 million in US funds, as well as assets for transporting, equipping and training African Union peacekeepers deployed there. (By comparison, France, the former colonizer, has sent 2,000 troops to the CAR and already suffered casualties.)

True, we can’t expect an administration that has all but ignored a war in the heart of the Middle East, that has killed at least 120,000 Syrians and counting, to experience a sudden awakening over a religious flare-up in some obscure African country. But think of it this way: If Boko Haram and fellow Islamist zealots win the war, the CAR could become their next base for global terror.

Then there’s the Islamist government of Sudan, which might learn from the use of anti-Christian fervor in the CAR and use similar tactics to ransack its breakaway neighbor, South Sudan. For now, the budding civil war in South Sudan, the world’s newest country, has little to do with religion. But Khartoum would love nothing more than to reincorporate its oil-rich neighbor, and since South Sudan is mostly Christian, why not use religious hatred to help in that effort?

Anti-Christian zealotry is a useful tool for Africa’s Islamists, who are on the march. But preventing the spread of religious-fueled wars is an American interest — not just Christmas time, but always.

 

"Where is America?"

John Bolton writes on the global meltdown in the wake of Obama's disastrous foreign policies. It's the biggest story not being reported.

But it's not just that America is absent, but that Obama supports the jihadist force.

Until men like Bolton and other contenders for 2016 speak openly and candidly about the ideology that commands holy war -- jihad -- we are no closer to defeating the single greatest threat to this nation and freedom.

 "As Obama dithers, North Africa unravels," By John Bolton, NY Daily News, December 27, 2013

Disengagement is having dangerous consequences

As South Sudan’s conflict escalates rapidly toward outright civil war, President Obama has shown precious little interest. He has rightly dispatched military forces to protect and extract U.S. citizens, but evacuation hardly constitutes a strategy. Isolated troop deployments, however justifiable, merely underline the broader U.S. retreat across North Africa.

Indeed, the Benghazi terrorist murders opened a 15-month period in which rising violence threatens to drown the region in blood. The list of armed clashes and terrorist attacks is long and growing, as is the list of failed and failing states. White House expressions of humanitarian concern are insufficient. Obama has exhibited neither a clear understanding of the U.S. national interests at stake, nor anything resembling a strategy to protect them.

In Libya, where the murder of ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans remains unavenged and unresolved, the country has continued to disintegrate. As the central government in Tripoli finds itself unable to assert its authority, Libya is fragmenting into ministates run by warlords and terrorists, with oil production curtailed, living standards plunging and bases for militants, smugglers and criminal networks expanding.

Much like Somalia on the eastern end of North Africa, where conditions have changed little during Obama’s presidency, Libya today is essentially a failed state.

In January 2013, terrorists seized an oil refinery in Algeria, taking scores of hostages, and killing almost 40 foreigners based there. This daring raid, coinciding with Obama’s second inaugural, received insufficient attention in America. And while most of the terrorists were ultimately killed, the attack’s significance was clear in Europe and Africa — because it was the first strike in decades against an asset critical to Algeria’s economy.

Shortly thereafter, Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists, who had already gained control over much of northern Mali, threatened the central government itself. Only outside military intervention led by France reestablished stability and prevented a takeover. Now, however, terrorists in Mali are again on the move.

In the Central African Republic, religious conflict between Muslims and Christians threaten that government, mirroring the ongoing terrorism in Nigeria inflicted by the radical Islamicist group Boko Haram, another Al Qaeda affiliate. Kenya is hardly a rock of stability.

Meantime, though the Muslim Brotherhood and other radicals have been suppressed for the moment in Egypt, they are far from gone, as Cairo’s military rulers know well from long experience. Tunisia, origin of the failed Arab Spring, remains on the edge of turmoil, and the illusory promise of greater Middle Eastern democracy has failed throughout the region, from Syria to Yemen.

Where is America? The contrast between Obama’s disengagement in, say, Sudan, and George W. Bush’s active engagement is striking. Bush’s diplomacy produced a cease-fire in the decades-long conflict between Arab Islamicists in Khartoum, and southern, largely Christian populations, followed by a 2011 referendum allowing South Sudan to become independent.

That arduous effort is now in jeopardy. Civil war between rival South Sudanese factions, largely along tribal lines, could provide the Khartoum regime an excuse to intervene militarily and resubjugate South Sudan. At a minimum, Omar al-Bashir’s dictatorial regime could seize the disputed Abeyi region, believed to be rich in oil deposits. A proposed pipeline to carry South Sudan’s oil through Kenya to Indian Ocean terminals (rather than pumping it through pipelines in Sudan controlled by Bashir’s regime) is most unlikely to proceed during an armed conflict.

Obama’s disinterest in this spreading instability is surprising given the President’s promise of a new brand of global engagement.

America has several significant strategic stakes in North Africa. First is preventing Al Qaeda and other terrorists from increasing their influence or even seizing control of African states they can convert into bases for terrorism.

Second, economic development, especially producing key raw materials like oil and natural gas that can enter global commerce, can increase living standards in the producing countries.

Third, so doing thereby prevents other powers like China (keenly interested and heavily invested in oil production in Sudan, for example) from increasing their influence at our expense.

If Obama’s apparent apathy continues, critics and adversaries worldwide will be fully justified in seeing further evidence of American weakness and decline.

Bolton, former U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Click here to read this article online.

 

VIDEO: Children Play "Behead the Enemy" in Syrian Town

The next generation of jihadists:

Children in Syrian Town of Ras al-Ayn Play "Behead the Enemy"
Related: Child soldiers fights alongside jihadists

Child Soldiers Fighting Alongside Jihadists In Syria

 Obama lifted the ban on child soldiers, so don't expect him to lift a finger or utter a word of protest.

Child Soldiers Fighting In Rebel Ranks In Syria MEMRI, December

Following are excerpts from several videos of children fighting alongside Syrian rebels, posted on the Internet in 2012 and 2013. Deir Al-Zour, March 27, 2013

Narrator: "Behind a firing hole in the city of Deir Al-Zour, we met one of the youngest heroes of the Free Syrian Army in this city of steadfastness."

Salaam alaikum.

Rashdi Muhammad: "Alaikum asalaam."

Narrator: "What's your name?"

Rashdi Muhammad: "Rashdi Muhammad."

Narrator: "How old are you?"

Rashdi Muhammad: "Thirteen."

Narrator: "What are you doing here?"

Rashdi Muhammad: "I'm with the heroes of the FSA."

Narrator: "What made you join the Free Syrian Army?"

Rashdi Muhammad: "I joined in order to defend our land and the honor of our women."

Narrator: "What made you enter the city, when all the young men are staying away?"

Rashdi Muhammad: "I wasn't ready to accept disgrace and humiliation."

Narrator: "What is your message to the young men of the villages, and to the men of the city who remain outside?"

Rashdi Muhammad: "Shame on you."

[...]

Deir Al-Zour, November 24, 2012

Narrator: "We are in Deir Al-Zour. It is November 24, 2012."

Man: "Allah Akbar."

Fighters: "Allah Akbar."

Narrator: "This is the youngest man fighting in Syria, oh Bashar Al-Assad. What's your name?"

Dani Walid: "Dani."

Narrator: "Dani what?"

Dani Walid: "Dani Walid."

Narrator: "What are you doing here with the men?"

Dani Walid: "I stayed here, like them."

Narrator: "How old are you, my fellow fighter?"

Dani Walid: "Fourteen."

Narrator: "What neighborhood are you from?"

Dani Walid: "From Sheik Yaseen."

Narrator: "What are you doing here?"

Dani Walid: "I'm looking for Ghassan."

Narrator: "You're looking for Ghassan Abboud?"

Dani Walid: "Yes."

Narrator: People say that the army entered all the schools. Is that true?"

Dani Walid: "No."

Narrator: "Oh Bashar Al-Assad, this is our youngest fighter. Even the children have begun fighting you. By Allah, we will pelt you with shoes until you are toppled."

Dani Walid: "Say: 'Allah Akbar.'"

Fighters: "Allah Akbar."

[...]

Fighting in Krak de Chevaliers Castle near Homs, December 17, 2012

Footage shows young boy crying and distraught

Boy: "Allah. Allah. Ahmad [was killed]. Ahmad? Ahmad?"

Narrator: "Calm down."

Boy: "Allah. Ahmad."

Narrator: "Never mind. Let's go."

[...]

Deir Al-Zour, December 22, 2012

Narrator: "We have with us brother..."

Abu Jassem: "Abu Jassem."

Narrator: "Abu Jassem is the youngest hero of the Free Syrian Army. This is one of the sectors. Abu Jassem commands a shooting post, sowing chaos in the regime's ranks. Abu Jassem is well known among the different brigades. He and others his age are defending their country."

[...]

Abu Jassem: "The brothers who left should return. We are defending our land and our country. With the help of Allah, [the regime] will not pass through here. We will be steadfast until we win or die."

[...]

Narrator: "January 14, 2013. This is the youngest fighter, or mujahid, in the Ahrar Al-Forat Brigade. He is near the Ksheish military airport."

Footage shows young boy shooting rifle

[...]

Deir Al-Zour, May 12, 2013

Narrator: "Omran, what made you bear arms?"

 

Omran Khamis Faysal: "By Allah, this is Jihad for the sake of Allah. For martyrdom."

Narrator: "Omran keeps telling me that he is seeking martyrdom."

Narrator: "But what made you set out and seek martyrdom?"

Omran Khamis Faysal: "There is nothing in this world, Sheik. There is nothing eternal here. It's all corruption.

Narrator: "But how do you know that you are on the right path? How do you know that you are right, and not Bashar?"

Omran Khamis Faysal: "Because of all the oppression. People were not living in freedom. That was the reality. What else is needed?"

Narrator: "'No one in his right mind would need proof of the light of day.' If someone were to ask you to prove that it is morning, all you could say is that it is clearly morning and you have no further proof."

Omran Khamis Faysal: "Right, I have no proof."

Narrator: "You set out to wage Jihad and seek martyrdom, and you believe in that..."

 

Omran Khamis Faysal: "Absolutely. Allah willing, I will be martyred."

Narrator: "Do you have a message to the soldiers of Bashar, who are a few meters away?"

Omran Khamis Faysal: "These people have no belief, no honor, no zeal. They are like animals, maybe worse. They are infidels, infidels, infidels."

[...]

Omran Khamis Faysal: "In the name of Allah the Compassionate and Merciful. I, Omran Khamis Faysal from the Martyr Faysal Al-Aqidi Brigade, hereby issue a communiqué on behalf of myself and the brigade. I challenge Hassan Nasrallah to come to the land of Syria. He is too chicken to come here, since he doesn't even dare to make his speeches in public.

"Let me tell you, we shall come to him, in his hometown of Hreik [in Beirut]. We will stomp on his beard, with which he pretends to be a man of religion. We will raise the banner of 'There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger.' This is the banner that we will fly over the entire world."

[...]

Aleppo, August 10, 2013

Eight-year-old boy: "Say: 'Allah Akbar.'"

Men: "Allah Akbar."

Eight-year-old boy: "Say: 'Allah Akbar.'"

Men: "Allah Akbar."

Eight-year-old boy: "Allah Akbar."

Footage of the young boy running, holding his rifle, then sitting and lighting a cigarette

Man sitting next to him: "He's asking what's your name."

Eight-year-old boy: "Ahmad."

 

Man: "How old are you?"

Ahmad: "Eight."

Man: "Where are your father and mother?"

Ahmad: "My father and mother were killed. My mother was killed, and I kissed her."

Man: "We have lots of kids like him in Aleppo."

Footage of Ahmad throwing a grenade, then ducking until the explosion

Ahmad: "Say: 'Allah Akbar.'"

Men: "Allah Akbar."

Ahmad: "Say: 'Allah Akbar.'"

Men: "Allah Akbar."

[...]

No halt to executions while EU delegation visits Iran

Stunning: 38 death sentences were carried out during a six-day visit to Tehran by the European Parliament delegation ..... Europe comfortably reverts to its heinous past.

While opposition activists in Iran consider that "the current U.S. administration is among the weakest in U.S. history."

No halt to executions while EU delegation visits Iran," By Mosa Zahed,  UPI, December 26, 2013 (thanks to Philip)

LONDON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Last week a European Parliament delegation returned from a six-day visit to Tehran, the first official visit to Iran in more than six years.

The five-member delegation was led by the chairwoman of European Parliament's friendship delegation with Iran, Tarja Cronberg from Finnish Greens and included Cornelia Ernst, German communist; Isabelle Durant, Belgian Greens; Marietje Schaake, Dutch Liberals; and Josef Weidenholzer, Austrian Social Democrats.

During their Dec. 13-18 visit at least 38 death sentences were carried out official Iranian media sources said. This while many executions in prisons are conducted in secret and news of those is rarely released.

Many MEPs including those from the Group of the European People's Party, the largest in the European Parliament, refused to go to Iran in protest of the country's gross human rights violations.

Some analysts argue that this rare visit took place in the context of the Geneva talks, which are aimed at normalizing relations between Iran and the West by convincing the ayatollahs to give up their nuclear ambitions. However, others have pointed out that for the Iranian side, the ultimate goals of the Geneva talks remain breaking sanctions, forcing the West to accept a nuclear Iran and eliminating chances for regime change by the democratic opposition.

Opposition activists suggest that since "the current U.S. administration is among the weakest in U.S. history" Iran wants to use the opportunity to enhance its hegemony over the region and would thus warmly welcome any lifting of the crippling sanctions that have delayed its nuclear weapons ambitions.

They claim that by offering lucrative oil and natural gas contracts, the regime wants to intimidate the West, particularly the European Union, to ease the sanctions. Countries such as Sweden, traditionally seen as human rights advocates, have placed themselves first in line. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt recently declared that he sees no problem in removing the sanctions as early as January. Other countries, such as Italy, have already sent foreign ministers to seize business opportunities if the sanctions are lifted.

To help the European delegation justify their visit, the Iranian Foreign Ministry took two former political prisoners, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi, winners of the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov Prize, to the Greek Embassy in Tehran to meet with them discreetly.

Upon her return from Tehran, Cronberg made contradictory remarks in Brussels in favor of the "moderate" Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. She praised him for keeping his "promise to improve human rights" by freeing a handful of political prisoners, something observers had stressed was part of his charm offensive before going to United Nations in September.

However, she failed to explain the twofold increase in executions during Rouhani's term and instead defended him by saying that "the judiciary is not under his control."

"So Rouhani is only responsible for the good things that his judiciary does and not the bad things!" a Twitter user replied to Cronberg after the news conference.

In her interview with the Persian section of Radio Free Europe, she said: "We have to bear in mind that Iranians say that their values are different from Europeans. This is true but we have to sit down and discuss these values and accept our differences ... and we must bear in mind that in comparison with the European Union, religion plays a very important role in Iran. We're a liberal society and Iran is a highly conservative society."

Commenting on this, U.S.-based Iranian journalist and human rights activist Hassan Dai wrote on his blog: "No, you are not mistaken, these are not the remarks of Sadegh Larijani -- Head of Iran's notorious Judiciary, these are the words of Tarja Cronberg!"

The delegation chairwoman didn't condemn the 450 executions since Rouhani became president and said: "When we discussed the executions with Iranian authorities, we realized that more than 80 percent of executions were in connection with drug-related offenses. They are working on this issue. ... they do not intend to abolish the death penalty but are thinking about slowing down. I think that until here is a good sign."

While in Tehran, Cronberg told EuroNews that she was impressed that women have "their own fraction" in the Iranian Parliament which "is an evolvement in the society." No criticism was mentioned about the fact that only nine out of 290 members of the Iranian Parliament are women.

In her Brussels press briefing she said, "There is no regime change on the agenda, there is no revolution on its way but there is a step by step transformation."

She also claimed that the regime has "equal rights for women in all their laws" and added "but because women were not breadwinners, it was natural that men had higher incomes."

But, as the Iranian Penal code states, the life of a woman has half the value of a man's. Article 300 of the code states that the "Deyeh" (blood money) of a Muslim woman is half of the "Deyeh" of a man. "A woman cannot leave her home without her husband's permission, even to attend her father's funeral" (Article 105 of the Civil Code).

"It is really an insult to all women rights activists to hear an EU parliamentarian lobbying for the mullahs in this way. Such comments will only give freer hands to the government to justify the institutionalized repression against women," Mariam Amiri, rights activist in Amsterdam said.

Commenting on the visit to Iran, Kazem Mousavi, founder of Iran's Green Party, said in a radio interview from Berlin: "One can conclude that according to these parliamentarians, human rights violations or their non-improvement are a result of values enshrined in Islamic and cultural beliefs of people in Iran and at the end of the day, the regime is only implementing the people's ideals and values. So this repression and these executions are merely a cultural difference between the West and Iran and we should accept them for the time being."

He added, "Given that the Left parties in Europe no longer have the socialist bloc of the past, for these European greens and socialists the last stronghold to defend their political principles, they assume, is to support the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially since they both share a common anti-American and anti-Israeli stance.

"Unfortunately the mullahs have managed to deceive them by portraying themselves as victims of Western hard-liners. So here the murderers become the victims!"

Report: Hezb'Allah attempted attacks on numerous Israeli targets worldwide

Because without their hatred of the Jews, they cease to exist.

Report: Hezbollah attempted attacks on Israeli targets worldwide," By Ynet News, December 26, 2013 (thanks to Dio Perez)

Western intelligence source has told Kuwaiti paper Al Rai that Hezbollah has attempted several attacks on Israeli destinations, including the Israeli embassies in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt. The source said the attempt in Baku was scheduled for May 2008, a few months after Imad Mughniyah's assassination.

According to the source, there are signs of Hezbollah activity in Paris, Amsterdam, and other world capitals. The source noted that Hezbollah employs officers with European, Canadian, and Australian passports and is recruiting Lebanese citizens with Western appearances who could be activated easily. (Roi Kais)

Iranian ayatollah says Jesus would fight America

Don't you just love when leading Islamic clerics (the same clerics who support the sharia against Christians, Jews, and all non-Muslims) tell Christians what Jesus would or not do? But no one is allowed to speak of Muhammad's pedophilia or warmongering, under pain of death. 

How can they speak for Jesus when there is no golden rule in Islam (do under others .....)?

 

"Iranian ayatollah: Jesus would fight America," By WND Politically charged Christmas greeting blankets social media

(CNSNews.com) – Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei marked Christmas Day with social media messages tying Jesus into political rhetoric directed at the United States.

“If Christ were among us today, he would not spare even a single moment to fight the leaders of despotism and global arrogance,” he said on Facebook, using the Islamic Republic’s favored term for America.

“Nor would he tolerate hunger and wandering of millions of people, degenerated by the hegemonic and colonialist powers into war, corruption, and violence,” he added.

 

Read the full story ›

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/iranian-ayatollah-jesus-would-fight-america/#G4hdyjPWKuuCGJ2i.99

Orthodox Church in Kosovo turned into public toilet and garbage dump

If only President Clinton had kept playing hide the cigar and stayed out of the Bosnian war. He understood nothing of jihad or of the history of the Balkans. Instead, he paved the way for the first Islamic state in the heart of Europe, Kosovo.

The Orthodox church dedicated to the Beheading of St. John the Baptist has been desecrated and turned into a garbage dump. The altar of this Serbian shrine, built on the place where Prince Lazar received communion with the army before the Battle of Kosovo, Muslim children have turned into a public toilet.

All attempts to stop the desecration of the Orthodox church were unsuccessful because the Albanian population is against its renewal.

Ah yes, those moderate Albanians that everyone is so vested in.

More interfaith dialogue and mutual understanding -- using the altar as a toilet. But don't even think of sketching Muhammad. Savage supremacists.

Orthodox Church in Kosovo turned into public toilet and garbage dump, In Serbia, December 26 (thanks to Filip):

Orthodox church dedicated to the Beheading of St. John the Baptist in the village of Samodreza near Vucitrn, was desecrated and turned into a garbage dump. The altar of this Serbian shrine, built on the place where Prince Lazar received communion with the army before the Battle of Kosovo, Albanian children turned into a public toilet, writes “Kurir”.

All attempts to stop the desecration of the Orthodox church were unsuccessful because the Albanian population is against its renewal. The church was burned, vandalized and desecrated for the first time in 1999 after international forces arrived in Kosovo, writes the daily.

The roof of the church was destroyed, windows and the metal door on it broken, and over the apse a large hole was breached. The interior of the church is turned into a public garbage dump and a toilet in which people and the cattle relieve, writes “Kurir”. The wall around the church is destroyed. This Orthodox church is literally cluttered with garbage, according to the daily.

“The holy temple was destroyed back in 1999, and in recent years Albanian children keep throwing garbage in it. We tried several times to stop the further desecration through the international community and proposed placement of brass doors and windows, but the Albanian community opposes renewal,” said Bishop of Raska and Prizren Teodosije for “Telegraf”.

Christmas Greeting from Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu

Mensch!
 

Meanwhile.....

The official White House holiday card makes no mention of the word ‘Christmas’ and instead focused on Bo the First Dog based on the wishes of the First Family.

“From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season,” read the inside of the card, featuring the presidential seal.

American Kidnapped by Jihadists in Pakistan begs Obama for help

If Benghazi is any indication of how Obama responds to Americans in trouble, Mr. Weinstein is all out of luck.

Did the devout Muslim group kidnap Mr. Weinstein because he was an American and a Jew? That's double the points on the jihad score card. Double the virgins?

Check out al-Reuters' headline. It's a lesson in media self-enforcing sharia-speak. Instead of kidnapping, al-Reuters uses "held." Instead of begs, al-Reuters uses "urges."

Follow Pamela Geller on twitter.

"American held by al Qaeda in Pakistan urges Obama for help" By December 26, 2013 (thanks to Mark)

A U.S. development worker kidnapped in Pakistan by al Qaeda two years ago appealed to President Barack Obama to intervene and help negotiate his release, in a video released on Thursday.

In a 13-minute clip issued by al Qaeda's media wing and posted on several news websites, Warren Weinstein, 72, looked gaunt and tired.

"I am not in good health. I have a heart condition. I suffer from acute asthma... Needless to say I've been suffering deep anxiety every part of every day," he said.

"Mr President, for the majority of my adult life, for over 30 years I've served my country ... Now when I need my government it seems that I have been totally abandoned and forgotten."

The video could not be independently verified.

Weinstein was abducted in 2011 in the eastern city of Lahore where he worked for a U.S. consulting company.

Pakistan's tribal areas on its border with Afghanistan serve as safe havens for al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups, and the Islamabad government has been under pressure from the United States to do more to eliminate the insurgency.