"Time is of the essence": Why it is critical you understand the threat posed by ISIS before it is too late

September 22, 2014

Writer

There is a growing evil in the Middle East, as ISIS continues to expand their campaign of terror in Syria, Iraq, and beyond. People are dying and the threat to America is very real, and yet the larger population is just now starting to wake up to the possibility of a jihadist caliphate. Jay Sekulow joined Glenn to discuss the history of ISIS that no one knows, and the scary tactics they are using to spread their radical ideology across the region.

GLENN: One of the bravest guys out there, and I think a guy who has done more good for this nation and for our values and really kind of an unsung hero to most Americans is Jay Sekulow, an ACLJ attorney, has a new e-book out called Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore, that really explains who those guys are and where they came from. Jay is on the phone with us now. How are you?

JAY: Thanks for having me.

GLENN: The president referred to those guys as a JV team, but they aren't a JV team and the president should have known they weren't a JV team a long time ago.

JAY: Right, because ISIS, did not come out of no wrote. They were part of -- they were AQI, al-Qaeda in Iraq. We have been tracking them for about two years through our office in Jerusalem. What happened was, Osama bin Laden and his lietuenats were so repulsed, if you can believe that, by the tactics of ISIS that they threw them out, and then eventually what happened was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself the Caliph, set up the caliphate, and now goes by Caliph Ibrahim. Although, the President says this is not a war with Islam, tell that to Caliph Ibrahim and 40,000 of his soldiers.

The thing that's so significant here, what's so brazen about the president saying that this was the JV team, in actually, it is the exact opposite. This is now and has been for at least over a year and half, a standing army. They are not hiding in caves. They are not in the shadows. They are a standing, moving army that is bent on control of the what they call the Levant, the greater Middle East, which includes Israel, by the way, and they also have expectations, much broader than that, including here. So this idea this was the JV team was absurd in the beginning. We wrote Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore when I was at Oxford this summer, teaching on this topic, and I'll tell you what happened there.

One of the guys, professors, very leftist center, believes everybody can work it out, when it came to ISIS, though, [he] said this. This is a guy that said crush them. That was in July. It took the president until now to -- I call him the reluctant commander in chief, but this is a group that lethality is much more significant than al-Qaeda's ever was.

GLENN: So here's a thing. A lot of people -- the word Nazi is thrown around for a lot of things, and usually, it's just the seeds, usually it's like this is where -- this is how the Nazis began. This is the tactics the Nazis used at the very beginning. But these guys are actually very Nazi-like already, and unlike the Nazis that used to hide it, these guys aren't hiding it at all. They are way out in the open.

JAY: That's correct. Like I had 2o0 of my family members -- my grandparents' generation, my great aunts and uncles in Germany and Poland, wiped out in the Holocaust, so I am reluctant to use this analogy. I use it for three reasons. Number one, you just said it. The tactics are more brazen and open, not as lethality is not there yet, but potential lethality much greater. That's number one.

GLENN: Wait. Why do you say that?

JAY: Because they have something that the Nazis didn't have, because technology wasn't there. They have uranium. Uranium, a radioactive material, can create a dirty bomb or worse. So you could have this increased lethality. They don't have the mechanics of the Nazis yet, but look at their goals.

They are marking Christians in Iraq with a Nazarene, an N, which is the Arabic N, for Nazarene. Why are they doing that? It's the same tactic. Identify the people you want to destroy. Exactly what the Nazis did. Number three, they have clearly stated their position. They are not trying to create the superior race as the Nazis did. It is the superior religion, or in the name of religion. The same techniques same tactics, lethality is not as mechanical yet, but potentiality greater.

Like you said, they are open and brazen on this. We point it out in the book, you can't look at, Glenn, ISIS in just a vacuum. If you look at a map, you have ISIS coming from the east going west towards Israel. Then you have Hamas coming from the west towards Israel.

This is the great conflict here. So Hamas, ISIS, same groups, different leadership, same techniques, ISIS, bigger. But if you put the number of standing troops with ISIS together with the standing troops of Hamas, you are approaching 60,000 troops. I'm calling them troops because they are an army. That is bigger than a lot of armies in the greater Middle East right now. This is unbelievable what could happen here.

GLENN: Here's where I'm really concerned, Jay, is they are very, very smart. They are going after openly, the west. They are using Sykes–Picot -- I mean, these really not dummies. They know their history, they know the history of the Middle East, far better than anybody else, and they are using the same kind of things. They are using Sykes–Picot, which goes back to Word War I. That's exactly what the Nazis did, using all the stuff that we in the League of Nations did after World War I and they had this grievance that they said and this is why we have to go get them. This is why we have all these problems, and these guys will actually be able to unite much of the Middle East for a long time, and unlike the Nazis, who had to hide what they were doing to the Jews and what they were doing to the Christians and the homosexuals, they had to hide those things to stop the shock and horror of their own population. These guys, it will actually work to their advantage to do it out in the open.

JAY: That's because it's their recruiting tool. When we see the things in the West, these beheadings, we are horrified, but what we need to understand and we point this out in the book, we are horrified, but that's their recruiting tool. That is what attracting U.S. citizens to join ISIS. The British have more jihadist Muslims that are now part -- Muslims of a -- English citizens, U.K., that are fighting for ISIS and fight for Her Majesty's Army. This is the Royal Army. So what's happened --

GLENN: Say that again. Say that stat again.

JAY: There are more Muslims fighting for ISIS from the U.K. than are fighting for Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

PAT: How many is that? Over 1,000 now?

JAY: Well, first report was over 500. I'm sure it's over 1,000 now. Let -- Turkey is the entry point for these soldiers. NATO ally. Our NATO ally is letting them through and arming them. The Turks do not want a strong Kurdistan. They don't want stong Kurds because it creates a problem for them on their border. So Glenn, you remember mentioning the Sykes–Picot. This is their retribution for Sykes–Picot and their retribution for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This is their reestablishment of the caliphate, which is reestablishing the jihadist empire. this is the mode and method in which they are doing it. The fact of the matter is -- then you have the president funding the moderate rebels. Who they are, I don't know yet. I would like them to come forward, but the concern is, the potential damage to the United States is great. We wrote this book while I was at Oxford. It is out now on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel and Apple iBooks, but it comes out in paperback in a couple weeks.

You have been sounding the alarm on this. The problem is, we've got to get the country understanding who the enemy is, because this is different than al Qaeda.

GLENN: What's amazing, the president won't do it. I did a special -- we are doing "For the Record" on ISIS, as you know, thank you for your help -- a special this week. Last week I did a special on Sykes–Picot and once you understand Sykes–Picot, ISIS just made a video, the end of Sykes–Picot. So it's clear. All you have to do is listen to these guys.

Let me go here. You remember when I first started talking about the reestablishment of the caliphate, and you know -- you

watched it, how many people -- everybody said I was insane, to the point that I thought, maybe I am. This can't be. This can't be, because nobody will talk about this. Why was I so alone on that, Jay? Why were the people, like you, who knew what was happening, where we were headed, why were we so alone?

JAY: Well, because people thought you, me, other -- the few of us that were talking about this, we were the extremists. We over-analyzed the data. I remember somebody said about what you were doing, what I was doing, that we were making assumptions that are not in reality. You had the head of the NSA saying that terrorism is a state of mind. So this whole world view -- this passes in my view, it passes Republican, Democrat. This is a world view, well, they can't be that evil. They really can't be that bad. They can't be that jihadist, but they are.

And the problem is, if you look at where they start and where they have gone, in this two and a half years or so they have been active, it's pretty amazing. They are out in the open, not hiding what they are doing. Bragging about it.

GLENN: We are talking to Jay Sekulow. He is putting out an e-book now, because time is of the essence. It is coming out as paperback in a couple weeks, but time is of the essence. You need to know who we are facing. I believe they are here already, but Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore.

You talk about everybody wanted to believe that these guys weren't as bad, et cetera, but the president now comes out and says 'okay, I know I called them a JV team, I know I said nothing to worry about, they are not worse than al-Qaeda', but the same advisors that allowed him to say those things, they are the ones advising us now, they are the ones still in the State Department, still the ones in the Pentagon, the NSA and CIA. He hasn't changed anybody. If I'm the President of the United States and I have gotten it this wrong, I fire those people and say no hard feelings, guys. It was great. We had a great run, but I've got to start talking to the people who saw this one coming over the horizon. Is there anything that gives you any confidence that we are at all meaning what we say, that we have a clue at all anywhere, at any level?

JAY: No, because we pick the wrong side on every issue in the Middle East since the president's been in office. And you said -- what you just said is profound. That is the president had a narrative for the Middle East. It started with that speech in Cairo, where he says we are not a Jewish nation, we are a nation of principles. Whatever -- nation of citizens, whatever that means. The Nazis were a nation of citizens, so that's a ridiculous analogy, but he made this ridiculous analogy. None of it came out like he thought. Instead of changing your approach, this president basically doubles down on it. I'm listening to Samantha Powers and Susan Rice and these people at the NSA, and you are saying 'how come we know more than they do!'

GLENN: Can I ask you a question. Feel free not to answer this. Because this is me thinking out loud. Whenever I think

out loud, I get in trouble and everybody else around me --

PAT: We recommend that you don't --

GLENN: Just this think out. The president said two weeks ago that he wanted to organize the Middle East. That was his plan, to organize the Middle East. You know Sykes–Picot, I know Sykes–Picot, the Middle East knows Sykes–Picot. The Middle East believes this was the great -- the real tragedy, and quite honestly, the west behaved like barbarians. We lied. So we were wrong. Now that being said, he wants to right the wrongs of the past. What does -- what is ISIL and everybody else want to do? They've got to reorganize the Middle East. You have to get rid of all these dictators. So once you do that, then the whole meaning behind Sykes–Picot falls apart and you can't control that section of the world at all.

JAY: That's why they initially changed their name from ISIS -- to ISIL, which was the Levant, the greater Middle East. I don't think that's far-fetched -

GLENN: I'm not there yet. Hang on. So here's the president. He comes out. He's been for all those things that have destabilized the Middle East. Give George Bush a piece of this, too, but destabilize the Middle East. Then he goes in to Libya. Then he says he wants Assad. Assad is really the last real big pin to fall before you bet to people like Jordan. So we are arming these people, who are not going to fight ISIS. They are going to fight Assad. Are we got just helping them, by running arms to these rebels?

JAY: Glenn, I'm not only going to not distance myself from your comment, I think you're dead on. I have said this, I think Assad is a bad guy. He is bad. Does anybody believe that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his war name, nom de guerre, does anyone believe the Caliph Ibrahim is better than Assad? I doubt it. No one does. If we were going to -- I'm not saying to do this, but you'd be better off funding Assad's army to take these guys out than you would be -- because listen, they are not throwing up Sykes–Picot just to make a historical point. They believe they were wrong, severely wrong. They were double handed, and they are trying to correct it. They blame us, so that puts the United States squarely in our -- in their sights.

GLENN: You are fantastic. We'll take to you again, have you on the show and Wednesday, 'For the Record', we have more details on the rise of ISIS and ISIL, at 8:00, Blaze TV. The new book, it is out as an ebook for urgent purposes. Please read this: Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore, by Jay Sekulow. Keep it up. Thank you so much.

JAY: Thanks.

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

me liking tweets celebrating the assassination of the united healthcare ceo pic.twitter.com/N41w51ZuZR
— 🔻 (@pegasustits) December 5, 2024

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

A liberal TikToker is selling a t-shirt that glorifies the recent assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC.
“deny , defend, depose” was reported to have been on the shell casings. pic.twitter.com/IWpHYkx2lF
— SteveSant66 🇺🇸 (@SSant66) December 8, 2024

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.

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