Seattle and Las Vegas Police “Pull Out” of Counter-Terror Webinars

Last month, a report published by Political Research Associates highlighted some troubling trends in private “counter-terror” training being offered to law enforcement agencies in the USA; I blogged on the report here, quoting a Guardian piece about it. Articles on the same subject recently published by the Washington Monthly (see here and here) and the Washington Post  have prompted an expression of concern from Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins.

One group that featured in the PRA report was  Security Solutions International (SSI), which is headed by Henry Morgenstern; Morgenstern is the co-editor of Suicide Terror: Understanding and Confronting the Threat, which is published by Wiley and which comes with an endorsement from Benyamin Netanyahu. The PRA noted that one SSI expert used for training purposes is Dave Gaubatz, a controversial figure who has featured on this blog before: he is the co-author of Muslim Mafia, the main organiser of the “Mapping Shariah” project (alongside David Yerushalmi), and he plays a role in Pamela Geller’s Stop Islamization of America. He has also described Barack Obama as being a “crack-head”.

Morgenstern has dismissed PRA as “left-wing loony… composed mainly of former writers of High Times“, and he claims that CAIR is secretly behind any criticisms of SSI. However, it doesn’t look as though this is having much persuasive effect, and Morgenstern is now complaining about lost business in Seattle and Las Vegas:

You take a city like Seattle, which has a mayor, or had a mayor, I’m not sure if he’s still there, Mike McGinn… We had a programme for fusion centers, this is intelligence agencies, and the programme was about tools for fusion centers. Microsoft is one of the sponsors. We had these webinars scheduled… and CAIR picked up the phone, called the mayor, and said we’re a prejudiced group that [unclear] hatred against Arabs… He called the chief of police and… the pussy just pulled all his people out of the training… We just had another incidence in Las Vegas of the same thing.

Mortgenstern was speaking as a guest on Will and Mike Live [at 27:16], an internet radio programme co-hosted by Mike Riker of the International Counter-Terrorism Officers Association; the ICTOA has also come under critical scrutiny from the PRA, to large extent because of its use of Walid Shoebat as an expert.

As I’ve blogged previously, Shoebat’s utterances are so extravagant as to be absurd: he claims that he knows that Obama is a Muslim (“Islam could not defeat us by destroying the twin towers. But they are able to defeat us by sneaking in their man”), and he wishes that “nukes” would “take care” of the Muslim world. According the PRA report, as cited by the Guardian:

…In his presentation, called The Jihad Mindset and How to Defeat It: Why We Want to Kill You, he accused Muslim men of raping women, children and young boys. “They are paedophiles!” he shouted.

According to the report, Shoebat went on: “The Muslim beheads with a smile. You can see it on YouTube, on TV; the Afghan child trained to execute Christians. You say that Islam is a peaceful religion? Why? It hates the west.”

He also said: “Islam is a revolution and is intent to destroy all other systems. They want to expand, like Nazism.”

Shoebat also has second job visiting churches to warn of the coming Islamic Anti-Christ, based on a bizarre pseudo-analysis of the Book of Revelation.

It was the Shoebat’s association with the ICTOA which first brought the ICTOA to my attention; back in November, the ICTOA sponsored an “alternative” Fort Hood commemoration in Texas featuring Shoebat and Robert Spencer.

Riker continues to stand by Shoebat, although he has not felt the need to address any concerns about Shoebat’s rhetoric: instead, like Morgenstern, he concentrates on attacking the character of anyone who has made criticisms: this includes me for writing about the subject on this blog. As ever, the accusation is that because SSI and ICTOA are opposed to Islamic extremism, anyone raising concerns must be motivated by a wish to undermine attempts to oppose Islamic extremism. Even more bizarrely, Riker’s co-host on the programme, a man named Will Griffith, suggests that I’m receiving funding from George Soros.

Without citing the obvious at length: I’m not being paid to blog by Soros or by anyone else, and I would certainly welcome any competent training which would assist law-enforcement with tracking down Islamic extremists. But even if I really did have some secret malign intent, everything I write is based on materials that are in the public domain, and which other people can check for themselves. My interpretation is sceptical, but it is based on argument and evidence, not testimony – what kind of a person I might be is neither here nor there.

Similarly, I’m sure that Riker has served honourably and bravely as a police officer over the years, and that he means well – but his support for Shoebat shows bafflingly bad judgment.

11 Responses

  1. Just because Riker’s judgement isnt to your apporoval doesn’t mean hes wrong. Your judgement on attacking organizations who are out to protect you and the public is bad judgement in my opinion. So when your bowing the the east and helping stone women remember you were warned but chose the other path.

  2. Maybe you would like to debate Shoebat himself. Ill set something up if you like

  3. So call in tomorrow and talk to Walid himself and air out your opinion. Im hoping that you will call and talk to him and not hide behind the cloak of the blog. You know how to find the site. Im hoping it will be on 11 EST

    • You are a buffoon. My blog is not a “cloak”, and even it were that would hardly have any bearing on Shoebat’s bogus arguments and claims. I’ve laid out the problems with Shoebat – if you think that those problems can be deflected by suggesting that I’m in the pay of Soros or that I want to “stone women” or by my failing to call into some talk show, that’s purely a matter for you. I can’t see anyone with any sense being impressed, though.

  4. I have attended the last 9 years of Conferences that the ICTOA has put on. I found my old agends and these have been the speakers. Im not sure how many you have had grudges with.

    Drug Enforcement Administration, Director of Intel. – Gary Hale

    Nickel Mines School Shooting – Lt. Colonel. John Kuntz & Sgt. Douglas Burig – Pennsylvania State Police

    Culture Clash – Mark Gabriel – Founder & President of the Union of Former Muslims

    USAF K-9 Training Center Lackland AFB / K-9 IED Detection Lt. Colonel Richard Vargus – United States Air Force

    Al Qaeda’s Military Strategies – Professor Jarret Brachman – Director of Research –Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

    Recruitment within the Islamic Community – Steve Emerson – Investigative Project on Terrorism American.

    Terrorism in Our Society – Kenneth Dudonis

    Mindset of the Islamic Terrorist – Mark Gabriel – Founder & President of the Union of Former Muslims

    Terrorism Analysis / Internet Research – Laura Mansfield – Former Associate Director of the Northeast Intelligence Network

    Understanding Shariah Law and Militant Ideology. (Jihad, Social Law, Stealing, Lying, Women Status, Veiling and Family Law) – Sam Kharoba

    Developing Intelligence Assets Within Arabic\Muslim\Middle Eastern Communities – Sam Kharoba

    Militant Islamist Signs and Indicators – Differencing Moderate Muslims From Extremists – Sam Kharoba

    Domestic Terrorism – William Braniff- Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

    Intel Center- Ben Venzke

    Islamic Terrorism in the US and the Stealth Jihad: A critique of US Policy” – Steven Landham- Investigative Project on Terrorism

    Why We Want to Kill You: The Jihadist Mindset and How to Defeat It -Mr. Walid Shoebat

    Adversary Targeting– Aaron Richman- Co-Director, Institute of Terrorism Research and Response

    A Current Assessment of Jihadi Messaging, Tactics and Targeting On the Threat Environment in the US – Ben Venzke – CEO of Intel Center

    Connecting the Dots: Turning Raw Information into Actionable Intelligence.- Ilana Freedman- CEO of Gerard Group International

    Cyber Terrorism – Jason Truppi – Federal Bureau of Investigation

    Public transportation post 9/11-moving millions of people a day safely and securely- Vincent DeMarino

    Will to survive (kidnapped and tortured)- Victor Cortez Jr

    Securing grants for your agency – Vincent DeMarino

    Bombs & Explosives, VBIE /IED, MANPADS, INED, Dirty Bombs, Suicide bombers –Hugh Breslin FLETC

    Evolution of Islamic Extremism – John Rowland- NYPD/CTD

    The secret hand of the Muslin Brotherhood in American Islamic Leadership and group Infrastructure-The roots of radicalism- Steve Emerson

    Safe and secure transport of nuclear material through local jurisdictions –Danny Henry, Ken Daniels

    Terrorist Surveillance -Eric Vandenburg- NYPD /CTD

    Defending the Icon- Charles Guddemi – US Park Police

    Terrorism Screening Center – Michael Riker

    Immigration and the terrorist threat – Dianne Grassi

    Defending Against Terrorism : Intelligence, analysis, and operations –Lt Gen Martin Berndt, Commander USMC forces Atlantic – Dr Peter Tarlow, president of Tourism and more – Steve Rocke International Aviation Security Specialist, Regional Peel Police Dept Canada- Dr Bruce Teft founder CIA Counter Terrorism Center – Patrick Timlin NYPD (retired) Chief Operations Officer for Michael Stapleton and associates – Steve Roberts author and homeland security critical infrastructure protection expert – A.Benjamin Mannes TSA Surface Transportation Security Office.

    • Good grief – talk about digging yourself further into a hole. Am I take it that you and the ICTOA actually endorse the idea that these are the Last Days and that Muslims are in league with the Anti-Christ?

  5. No, I thought Id give you something fun to write about. Sorry you didnt make it to the interview with Walid. Guess you were afraid to confront him one on one. You questions could have been answered from Walid himself instead of trying to put word into other peoples mouth. And furthermore the opinions I give are mine and NOT the view of the ICTOA. Just a FYI.

  6. […] First up: any criticism of Riker is support for Islamic extremists: Just because Riker’s judgement isnt to your apporoval doesn’t mean hes wrong. Your judgement on attacking organizations who are out to protect you and the public is bad judgement in my opinion. So when your bowing the the east and helping stone women remember you were warned but chose the other path. […]

  7. […] written a lot about bogus terror experts on this blog (as a result I’ve been accused of being financed by George Soros or Islamic extremists). However, McCants isn’t someone who […]

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