Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to that attack and a string of others during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released Wednesday by the Pentagon. "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Mohammed said during the session, which was held last Saturday.
Mohammed claimed responsibility for planning, financing, and training others for bombings ranging from the 1993 attack at the World Trade Center to the attempt by would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes. He has also confessed to being the one who beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
• As Mohammed is now confessing to his crimes, pray that all others who are involved in these webs of terror also be discovered and apprehended. Pray for the soul of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; Jesus died for him, too. • ". . . they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds." (Rev. 20:13)
2. Homeland Security Team to Focus on American Terrorists - USA Today
The Homeland Security Department has created a unit to find and disrupt "homegrown terrorists" - U.S. citizens or legal residents who plot attacks from inside the nation's borders. Homeland's Chief Intelligence Officer Charles Allen's new unit will address all forms of extremist activity but will focus mainly on the threat from radicalized Muslims. The group has met with officials in 18 cities from Albany, N.Y., to Sacramento to get a handle on the problem.
• Pray that the DHS is successful in neutralizing the threat of homegrown terrorists. We pray that the influence of the spirit of murder be defeated in our society. • "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place." (2 Corin. 2:14)
3. FBI Names New Head Of The Bureau's Terrorist Screening Center - Washington Times
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III yesterday named the former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety as the new head of the bureau's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), a multiagency center that oversees the sharing of information on terrorists. The TSC was established in September 2003 by a presidential directive to consolidate the government's approach to terrorism screening.
• Pray for Leonard Boyle as he assumes this new and critical task for the security of our nation. May God grant him unusual wisdom in all he undertakes at the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center. • "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." (Psalm 32:8)
4. Democrats Predict Passage of Iraq Bill - AP
House Democrats confidently predicted they can pass a bill to end the Iraq war before September 2008, even as their counterparts in the Senate struggle just to get their war debate off the ground. The House Appropriations Committee voted today to approve a $124 billion spending bill that includes $95.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure was expected to passed narrowly - mostly along party lines with a few Democratic defectors by a vote of 36- 28, paving the way for a floor vote next week.
• Pray that the Lord will intervene to bring about His will and His truth only in this matter. • "Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in." (Isaiah 26:2)
5. Senate Shoots Down Iraq Pullout Plan - AP
Republicans handed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a defeat on the Iraq issue Thursday, voting down a proposal that would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Democrats aggressively challenged President Bush's Iraq policy at both ends of the Capitol building, gaining House committee approval for a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, but suffering defeat in the Senate. The vote was 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage.
• Offer praise that our "balance of powers" in the federal government is still in place, and that the Senate has now weighed in, in favor of funding the president's troop surge in Iraq. Continue in prayer as the Democrats have their turn next week; may hearts there yet be turned towards righteousness. • "Now these are the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who gave him strong support in his kingdom . . ." (I Chronicles 11:10a,b)
6. Anti-Semitic Incidents Declining in US - CNSNews.com
Anti-Semitic incidents declined in the United States last year, the Anti-Defamation League said in an annual report on the subject.
• We thank You, Lord, and we rejoice for reducing the number of anti-semitic incidents! • "The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also and bear them up forever." (Psalm 28:8-9)
