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Republished from The Bramford Times:

GCIS launches ICON ahead of schedule




LOS ANGELES - Griffith Colson Intelligence Service launched its ICON System today, weeks ahead of the scheduled launch for late April. ICON is the acronym for International Communications and Operations Network, which enables the GCIS IET (Information Extraction Team) to gather, decipher and distribute real time information on national security, intelligence and military topics to the public.

The new system, which is still in Beta testing, requires a code and strict authorization for access. Authorized agents utilize the network to gather the latest information from the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and the Canadian Secret Intelligence Service, with immediate access to live feeds and information.

The system combines a variety of sources into an information network hub where GCIS officers are able to monitor the incoming information from the various intelligence agencies and then immediately transfer them to the GCIS IntelCenter Briefing Room for the public.

“ICON saves us about 40 seconds on a 1 minute briefing, allowing us to go through more information at a faster rate of speed and have it available to the public within seconds of gathering it”, said Brian Colson, Deputy Director of Intelligence for GCIS, ‘The system remains in testing, but applications and new technologies are being added during the testing period to keep the process in perpetual motion”.

The ICON System was designed by The Griffith Corporation, who has partnered with GCIS on a variety of projects. Griffith Corp maintains a contract to provide technical and technological development support for the private intelligence firm.

Responsibility of the new ICON System falls under the authority of Alysyn Bourque, Deputy Director of Communications for GCIS.


________________________________________

Griffith Corp preparing to unveil ICON in April for GCIS




LOS ANGELES - The Griffith Corporation announced today that it is preparing to unveil ICON, which stands for International Communications and Operations Network, a new system for Griffith Colson Intelligence Service.

ICON, which replaces the company’s IRENE (International Response and Emergency Network Enforcement) system, will be integrated into the GCIS communications network.

“ICON will allow GCIS to track emergency and counter-terrorism news faster and more accurately”, said a spokesman for Griffith Corp today, “It will also enable GCIS to broadcast and transmit emergency information to the public faster than their current capabilities”.

ICON is still in the testing phase and is expected to be online in April. Griffith Corp, which is partnered with GCIS, is the technological development arm of the intelligence/communications firm. GCIS provides communications and intelligence network support for federal law enforcement, intelligence and military information.





GCIS chief says military force against Iran inevitable


LOS ANGELES - The head of Griffith Colson Intelligence Service said this morning that he believes the United States effort to impose sanctions on Iran will only prolong the inevitable need to use military force in order to stop that country’s nuclear development program.

In a Facebook posting this morning, GCIS Director W. Edward Griffith said he believes the Obama Administration is “exhausting its op

tions and using sanctions to buy time”, but added that military force will be necessary in the long term.

In the post Griffith said:

“Iran has already stated its clear and present policy of danger when it comes to their intentions for Israel. Military force will end up the only option, no matter how delayed, because sanctions will not work. While there is a moderate block in Iran and the Iranian people could call for revolution based on those sanctions, it is doubtful that they will be effective. When Iran brought its nuclear development project above ground the other day, I looked at someone in the office and said it’s a damn good thing I’m not in The White House right now. A concise, swift airstrike on that facility, as well as their research infrastructure would have been ordered. This administration may well be exhausting its options before such a move, but rest assured, before this is over, the use of military action will be used to eradicate the nuclear capability threat posed by Iran.”

GCIS is a private intelligence and security firm that monitors global intelligence and security events around the clock.



Griffith Corp Chief Preparing to Take Network to Next Level, Two Channels take the Lead

LOS ANGELES — The Griffith Corporation has reason to smile this morning, as its Griffith Media Center is enjoying a lead with two of its primary online television channels.

Chairman/CEO Alysyn Bourque reported this morning that the company’s Homeland TV Network and Griffith Broadcasting Network has moved far ahead of their two competitors.

Homeland TV Network (above) has overtaken its rival channel HSTV (below)


Homeland TV Network is enjoying a huge lead over rival Homeland Security Television, with 191,120 to the competition’s 42,825 in the numbers race. Homeland TV is celebrating its third anniversary. Griffith Corp.’s Homeland TV has long been the company’s crown jewel, with broadcasting focus centered on military and homeland security programming.

Griffith Broadcasting Network (above) has taken a substantial lead in art programming, overcoming rival channel Red Espresso (below) in a commanding takeover in the numbers game



Griffith Broadcasting Network (GBN), is an arts channel, with 217,255 to rival Red Espresso’s 39,272. GBN began as a family programming channel and seven months ago switched to exclusive arts programming. The channel sky-rocketed in the numbers.

“We have witnessed steady growth for these channels”, said Bourque this morning, “It is nice to have the lead in what we love to do”.

Bourque said the company is now focused on bringing ArtChix TV into the lead. The channel continues to explore production of original programs and is still trying to define its place in the network’s family of channels.

Bourque did say that the network has been ironing out some technical issues with network provider Livestream. The last 48 hours have been focused on resolving compatibility issues between the advertising programming and the exclusive channel stream.

“We’re working closely with Livestream to determine the best way to resolve these issues”, said Bourque in a statement this morning, “We are going to have these issues because the technology is constantly evolving and we need to constantly adapt. But it is all a part of the process and we are confident that it will be resolved shortly”.

Bourque said the network ‘is preparing to go to the next level, with premium HD broadcasting’, but that it must first resolve the current technical issues in play.

Griffith Corp. is also in the process of considering a move out of California to one of three states currently offering broadcasting contracts and incentives to bring the network to their regions. The company’s recent partnership with Griffith Colson Intelligence Service has guaranteed a place for the company in the security broadcasting field. GCISS operates Griffith Colson Communications, a channel focused exclusively on intelligence and national security programming. While both firms are independent, GCIS serves as Griffith Corp.’s primary security unit and partner in homeland and national security broadcasting.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, ArtChix Magazine








She is confident and has come into her own. She is a sexy corporate chief, elegant and the epitome of style and class. She is a writer, human rights advocate and Chief Executive Officer of The Griffith Corporation.

Alysyn Ayrica Bourque has the world at her fingertips and she intends on seizing it. She has spearheaded the design and operations of the new Griffith Media Center and remains the force to reckon with when it comes to the day to day operations of the company she founded with company Chairman Will Griffith in 2007.

She is balanced, socially liberal and fiscally conservative. She remains committed to the company’s vision of “Investing in People” and she is the closest person to the Chairman. Alysyn Bourque is a mother as well, and the children she raises with Griffith are their highest priority.

Since founding Griffith Corp, Alysyn Bourque has learned much. She has becomed seasoned and she enjoys a new independence. When the company was launched, Alysyn was in Griffith’s shadow. She was the woman behind the chief and was one half of the power couple they had become. Her new-found independence is all her own. She has earned her own place as CEO and she no longer walks behind Griffith’s shadow. She is her own person with her own ideas and life all her own. While she shares the raising of children and corporate responsibilities with Griffith, Alysyn Ayrica Bourque maintains her own circle of friends, a relationship of her own and remains committed to writing. But Griffith Corp. is a priority to her. She has worked hard to build the company and a media network that will provide a legacy for their children.


Elegant, Alysyn (left) is

enjoying her life


Since the new launch of Griffith Corp’s media center, Alysyn Bourque talks to ArtChix Magazine editor Abby Stockli about the vision of the company, about her children and about the “real” Will Griffith.

Here is what she had to say.

Q: You are back at the helm of The Griffith Corporation as Chief Executive Officer. You’re very diverse?

AA:  The one thing I’ve learned over the years is that nothing is truly impossible. If we can imagine the possibility of something, no matter how absurd or extreme, then the potential for it must exist on some level of our awareness. I may not be qualified to fulfill some areas of life by the standards of much of our current society, but when I think about the origins of many of our disciplines and culture I remember that everything had to start somewhere from a basic premise. Success is a condition of the soul, not of one’s wealth accumulation.  Money has it’s place, but without character and integrity it is nothing more than “stuff”. Sure it has a purpose, but that purpose is only as good as that which is dictated by one’s own inner convictions and eternal perspective.

We revere those in elite positions…the doctors, scholars, executives, etc…and rightfully so; they’ve worked and studied hard to become the best at their positions. But the one thing about this country that is still hopeful is the fact that, relative to our Constitution, those people don’t dictate the potential in our lives. There is always opportunity to build from nothing and become greater than your beginnings, despite formal education.  History has proven this.

Q: Griffith Corp. recently acquired ArtChix Magazine, launched The Bailey Monthly and added a new online television station to its broadcasting network. What are some of your other plans to expand the company’s media reach?


AA:  Well, I don’t want to give away all of our secrets (laughs), but we do have a lot of new ideas being developed for sure. It will TRULY be a media venture, expanding into every area of life in one way or another.  We’re also in need of a larger staff, so we’re constantly on the look out for creative and talented minds who are also not afraid to put themselves out there for the bigger picture.



Q: Will Griffith is Chairman of the Board. You

know him probably better than anyone. For all of the publicity surrounding his art, what is the real Will Griffith like. The father, the man?

AA:  My goal from the beginning has been to stress that, despite everything we’ve heard or said about him, his role as a father is impeccable and unwavering. Our children not only respect him as a parent, they absolutely adore him as a person. He, somehow, finds a balance between being the firm hand of discipline and being considerate and compassionate with regards to their own unique personalities.  He allows them the room to develop their own perspectives, while teaching them the concepts of right and wrong as a framework for becoming good people. 

Like so many of us, he had to find his own way in life. Not having a good father figure to model after, he found people in his own life that he, innately, knew he needed to be the epitome of goodness and virtue to look up to. As a result, he was able to overcome the negative influences and develop context to his understanding of life.  Despite…or maybe BECAUSE of…his stumblings and poor decisions, he came out with a perspective that allowed him to pass that same ideology to his children, giving them the tools to become good people in turn.  In essence, he BECAME the model he needed himself.

Will Griffith has become the very father figure to

their children he needed


Q: What kind of a company leader is Will Griffith?


AA:  I learned early on to trust his instincts. I’m a relatively patient person. One of my personal mottos is “everything in it’s own time”. Having spent twenty years watching and learning from those around me who were successful in business before developing my own business, I took that experience and followed his lead when we began The Griffith Corporation.

Will’s experience in the political arena gave him an incredible instinct when it comes to people. I didn’t understand many of his initial corporate decisions, but I waited and tried to glean from his leadership. I discovered that many of his ideas were, surprisingly, light years ahead of what was already being developed. A few of our ideas were actually “adopted” (I’m trying to be kind!) by other entrepreneurs with whom we shared them…the original intention being, of course, to work with them in their implementation.  Oh well, that’s part of the risk.

I have to admit that if either of us were software programmers, the online development that would have come out - even two years ago - would have blown away the competition with it’s ingenuity and foresight.  I can tell you that, even now, if we could find someone who would be willing to invest their time into developing some of the ideas we have, he or she would become legendary in the internet broadcasting world.


Chairman Will Griffith (left)


Q: You founded Griffith Corp with Will in 2007. You’ve had your struggles. How has Will handled the ups and downs of building a business?


AA:  Initially, we had to struggle with “other quantities” obstructing our growth and perspective. Most of them were residue from both of our pasts, and, despite the beautiful people who supported us through it, we had to fight for everything we now have both personally and financially.  We knew where we wanted to go business-wise, but we eventually came to understand that none of that could be achieved until there was balance in our personal lives. Once that was brought into focus everything else began to fall into place.

The one thing I can tell people - especially couples, as we had been - is to never lose sight of the fact that supporting one another no matter what is the most difficult and important action you can take in building ANYTHING.  It’s hard enough dealing with the failures; it’s worse - and even destructive - to have to struggle with one another’s disappointed expectations. Don’t let your expectations of success be the foundation upon which you stabilize your emotions. Expectations should be realistic. Read the success/failure statistics to build a realistic understanding of the realities of business. 

More importantly, learn to get over yourself.

Q: Where would you like to see the company in five years?

AA:  Given the people we now have as partners and support personnel, I can honestly say that we have a serious shot at becoming a premiere media and human rights network. Our primary focus is the well-being of people. A corporation is only as solid as the people who are building it, and we’ve learned early on that if we take care of one another first, the company will grow from that attention to personal growth. There is no excuse for treating other human beings with anything less than compassion and dignity.

Q: What do you see as the core vision of The Griffith Corporation.

AA:  To reiterate, it comes down to investing in people.  We have always been human-rights oriented.  Even in raising our children, our primary focus is not religious or academic, but in giving them the tools to become GOOD PEOPLE.  In the same way, our focus, corporately, is to equip people around us to become the best at what they do. It’s not about control, it’s about empowerment.  We, of course, want to utilize talent and offer people opportunities to grow financially as we do, but if that person becomes destructive to the well-being of others they have no real place in Griffith Corp.  The Prime Directive, as it were, is to care for people. Everything else is negotiable.

Q: How do you think the Obama administration is handling the economy?


AA:  My own personal instinct is to not trust politicians, even if they’re in the Office of the President.  I’m a Constitutionalist by nature of my own leanings, but thoughtful in my considerations of the many legalities which derive from the interpretation of it.  Though we are THE United States, we are not A United States.  What I mean is we’re so busy, individually, fighting our Federal government for states rights that our Constitution guarantees, but we have yet to work together to truly make a unified stand to the Fed to enforce those rights. We are united in purpose, but divided in action.  

The one thing that I am disappointed in is the wedge that the mainstream media is allowed to drive between us as citizens. The disappointment isn’t in the media, alone, because, as I tell my children, you can’t blame someone else for the decisions you make. 

We, the citizens of this country, have ALLOWED ourselves to be deceived.  We listen to tidbits and form life-altering perspectives on so very little information. This is inexcusable, especially in a freedom-oriented country.  We have access to education, we have opportunities to develop our intellect, we have the promise of a better life if we CHOOSE to claim it. Obstacles are not barriers, but challenges to our determination to be stronger, more intelligent persons.  

We have forgotten our origins after only a little more than 200 years. We’ve gone from being a freedom-minded people to a rights-minded people.  We forget that so much of what we have is because people wanted the “freedom” to make their own choices without interference.  Now we think it’s our “right” to have everything given to us. It’s not our right to be educated, it’s our priority - a decision we must make because we wish to grow and take advantage of these 80+ years of life we are given. 

Until we take responsibility as individuals, the economy will never be stable enough, we’ll never be making enough money, we’ll never be truly satisfied…


CEO ALYSYN BOURQUE (right)

Q: You were in-charge of the design of the new Griffith Media Center. How will this media center be different than what you had before?

AA:  What we’re doing now is much more integrative and expansive. It’s primary focus is media, all other areas of the Corporation are located in separate websites linked through our networks. Eventually, we’ll have everything connected more efficiently, but for now we have a place to start, to profile what we’re offering.  As well, we have a team that is dedicated to their expansion and modernity. In time, the technology will change, newer features will be added, and there will be more opportunities for our supporters to interact and become a true part of the growth and excitement of Griffith Media Center, it’s projects and it’s affiliates.

As well, there is a lot of opportunity for other companies to advertise through us. We have great incentives and ad-placement, which can be negotiated through our main office or by contacting us at griffithcenter@gmail.com.

Q: Thank you Alysyn, so much.


AA: Abby, it’s always a delight to spend time with you. Thank you


By Abby Stockli, Editor, ArtChix Magazine






____________________________________

ArtChix Magazine parent Griffith Corp sees immediate first day growth

Griffith Corp. Chairman Will Griffith is more than pleased, says Brian Colson, his Executive Vice-President and right hand at the company.

Less than 48 hours after announcing the acquisition of ArtChix Magazine, The Griffith Corporation peaked the charts today. At the close of business Thursday, the web headquarters of the company was off the charts, it’s growth immediate after news that it was preparing to launch its new online media center.



Today also witnessed the launch of The Bailey Monthly, a second online magazine owned by Griffith Corp. TBM Editor Kelly Colson, wife of Brian Colson, said the January issue was a testing ground for her people to begin charting its expansion and development.

Company CEO Alysyn Bourque is working around the clock, spearheading the design of the new media center. Griffith Media Center is set to be unveiled this week.

Griffith’s broadcasting channels are also under program expansion, with Homeland TV expanding its programming by 50% today. Viewership was up as ArtChixTV was unveiled earlier this morning.

Griffith Corp. also announced today that the company would begin its long-awaited stock buy-back program in April, with the network nearly debt free by then.

-By Ann Myers, Staff Desk, ArtChix Magazine







REPUBLISHED FROM THE BRAMFORD TIMES:

GCIS Chief responds to former UN Ambassador Bolton's remarks to Israel

LOS ANGELES — GCIS Director W. Edward Griffith responded this morning to former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton’s remarks warning that Israel has just two choices: a strike aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities, or a nuclear Iran.

But Griffith responded by saying that while Bolton’s remarks are accurate and he supports military force to shut down Iran’s nuclear development, asking Israel to “go it alone” is unfair.

“Look, Iran’s nuclear objectives are not just a problem for Israel. They present a clear and present danger to the national security interests of the United States and our allies”, said Griffith in a statement, “If Mr. Bolton is suggesting that the burden of this responsibility rests on the shoulders of Israel alone he is clearly mistaken. The challenges with regard to Iran must be met face to face with the United States leading the effort”.

The Director of Griffith Colson Intelligence Service said it is easy to suggest Israel strike Iran’s nuclear facilities from the sidelines.

“The foreign policy of the United States in both the Bush and Obama Administrations have been and continues to be no to a nuclear Iran”, said Griffith, “That policy is being ignored by the Iranian government and we will be forced, sooner or later, to step to the plate, hand in hand with Israel, to end this threat”.



*Republished from ArtChix Magazine


GCIS Chief goes door to door in Disaster Preparedness Campaign


02/27/10

LOS ANGELES — As California fell under a low level Tsunami Warning today, following the earthquake that devastated Chile,  the Director of Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, a security and intelligence network firm, was out and about in the rain going door to door and handing out disaster preparedness manuals.


W. Edward Griffith took to the Los Angeles neighborhoods this morning in a door to door campaign to bring greater awareness to emergency and disaster preparedness and gave out copies of ‘It’s A Disaster…And What Are You Gonna Do

About It?’, which is published and distributed by FedHealth.

“You never know when disaster is going to strike”, said the GCIS chief, “But being prepared for any emergency or disaster is simply common sense”.

Griffith went door to door, telling residents that the manuals were a service of GCIS and provided by FedHealth, urging them to go directly to the section on tsunami and earthquake preparedness.

He added that these books should be made available as a part of emergency and disaster preparedness programs and urged local, state and federal governments to add the book to their services programs.

For more information on ‘It’s A Disaster’ and how to obtain additional copies of the book CLICK HERE


-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Editor, ArtChix Magazine




-By W. Edward Griffith, Director
Griffith Colson Intelligence Service


As the world seems to be mourning the murder of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, I must ask myself why the media, (who, by the way,  conspiracy theorists are always alleging is controlled by Jewish elitists), has been targeted as the “bad guy” in this case.

First of all, while it is not the policy of the United States Government to endorse or condone political assassinations, the United States has two former presidents, William Jefferson Clinton and George W. Bush that put a price on the head of Osama bin Laden BEFORE and after the 911 attacks on the World Trade Centers. So why is the media treating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh as some kind of Palestinian martyr rather than the terrorist commander he was?

Whether or not the Mossad was or was not involved in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh is not the real question here. The real question is whether or not Mahmoud al-Mabhouh represented an organization that is a threat to Israeli National Security, as well as to the National Security of the United States.

So let’s take a look at Hamas, the organization lead (until his death) by Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.





What is Hamas?


Hamas is the largest and most influential Palestinian militant movement. In January 2006, the group won the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) general legislative elections, defeating Fatah, the party of the PA’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, and setting the stage for a power struggle. Since attaining power, Hamas has continued its refusal to recognize the state of Israel, leading to crippling economic sanctions. Historically, Hamas has sponsored an extensive social service network. The group has also operated a terrorist wing, carrying out suicide bombings and attacks using mortars and short-range rockets. Hamas has launched attacks both in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and inside the pre-1967 boundaries of Israel. In Arabic, the word “hamas” means zeal. But it’s also an Arabic acronym for “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya,” or Islamic Resistance Movement.


What are Hamas’s origins?


Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and political organization founded in Egypt with branches throughout the Arab world. Beginning in the late 1960s, Hamas’s founder and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, preached and did charitable work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both of which were occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1973, Yassin established al-Mujamma’ al-Islami (the Islamic Center) to coordinate the Muslim Brotherhood’s political activities in Gaza. Yassin founded Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood’s local political arm in December 1987, following the eruption of the first intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas published its official charter in 1988, moving decidedly away from the Muslim Brotherhood’s ethos of nonviolence.

The first Hamas suicide bombing took place in April 1993. Five months later, Yasir Arafat, then the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and Yitzhak Rabin, then-prime minister of Israel, sealed the Oslo accords—an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact that eventually unraveled. Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli right-wing fanatic in November 1995. Arafat died in November 2004.



Who are Hamas’s leaders?


Since its victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, Hamas has failed to unify around a coherent program, exacerbating tensions within the Palestinian Authority. Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister and senior Hamas figure in Gaza, has appeared at odds with Khaled Meshal, Hamas’s overall leader who lives in Syrian exile. A Backgrounder profiles these and other Hamas leaders.


Where does Hamas operate?


Crisis Guide: The Israeli-PalestinianHistorically, Hamas has operated as an opposition group in Gaza, the West Bank, and inside Israel. Most of the population of Gaza and the West Bank is officially ruled by the Palestinian Authority government, so Hamas’ new role as the legislature’s controlling party has forced the group to reconsider the function and scope of its operations. For instance, since taking power in 2006, Hamas leaders have embarked on several diplomatic visits throughout the region. Early on, some observers hoped that political legitimacy—and the accountability that comes with it—could wean Hamas away from violence. But to date, the group has refused to eschew violence and remains adamant about reversing the decision by its rival faction, the more secular Fatah movement, to recognize Israel’s right to exist. In the summer of 2007, Hamas tensions with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Fatah man, came to a head and Hamas routed Fatah supporters, killing many and sending others fleeing to the West Bank. The result was a de facto geographic division of Palestinian-held territory, with Hamas holding sway in Gaza and Fatah maintaining the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Egyptian efforts to reconcile the two factions have come to nothing.

Since coming to power in Gaza, rockets fired from the Hamas enclave have consistently landed on Israeli cities near the border, sometimes producing casualties. Israel consistently alleged that Iranian and other weapons were being smuggled into Gaza through a series of tunnels, and with Egypt maintained tight control on the enclaves borders. International aid agencies say this led to severe shortages. A six-month ceasefire calmed things somewhat in 2008, but toward the end of the year, Hamas called off the truce and resumed firing rockets into Israel. The response was an air assault in late December and, in the first week of 2009, a full blown Israeli invasion of the territory.


In what does Hamas believe and what are its goals?


Hamas combines Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism. Its founding charter commits the group to the destruction of Israel, the replacement of the PA with an Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and to raising “the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.” Its leaders have called suicide attacks the “F-16” of the Palestinian people. In July 2009, Khaled Meshaal said Hamas was willing to cooperate with the United States (WSJ) on promoting a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hamas, he said, would accept a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders provided Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to Israel and East Jerusalem be recognized as the Palestinian capital. The proposal fell short of recognizing the state of Israel, a necessary step for Hamas to be included in peace talks.


Is Hamas only a terrorist group?


No. In addition to its military wing, the so-called Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas devotes much of its estimated $70-million annual budget to an extensive social services network. Indeed, the extensive social and political work done by Hamas - and its reputation among Palestinians as averse to corruption - partly explain its defeat of the Fatah old guard in the 2006 legislative vote. Hamas funds schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues. “Approximately 90 percent of its work is in social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities,” writes the Israeli scholar Reuven Paz. The Palestinian Authority often fails to provide such services, and Hamas’s efforts in this area—as well as a reputation for honesty, in contrast to the many Fatah officials accused of corruption—help to explain the broad popularity it summoned to defeat Fatah in the PA’s recent elections.


How big is Hamas?


Hamas’s military wing is believed to have more than one thousand active members and thousands of supporters and sympathizers. On March 22, 2004, more than two hundred thousand Palestinians are estimated to have marched in Yassin’s funeral. On April 18, 2004, a similar number publicly mourned the death of Rantisi.


Where does Hamas’s money come from?


Since its electoral victory to lead the PA, Hamas has had public funds at its disposal, though it does not have access to the foreign-aid dollars traditionally provided by the United States and European Union to the PA. Historically, much of Hamas’s funding came from Palestinian expatriates and private donors in Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states. Iran also provides significant support, which some diplomats say could amount to $20 million to $30 million per year. In addition, some Muslim charities in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe funnel money into Hamas-backed social service groups. In December 2001, the Bush administration seized the assets of the Holy Land Foundation, the largest Muslim charity in the United States, on suspicions it was funding Hamas.


What attacks is Hamas responsible for?


Hamas is believed to have killed more than five hundred people in more than 350 separate terrorist attacks since 1993. Not all Hamas’s attacks have been carried out by suicide bombers. The group has also accepted responsibility for assaults using mortars, short-range rockets, and small arms fire. In 1996, Hamas bombings played an important role in undermining the election hopes of Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, who represented the succession to assassinated Oslo Accords signatory, Yitzhak Rabin. (Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who ran against the accords, won instead). Between 2001 and 2003, in particular, Hamas and its comrades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried out dozens of such attacks, ultimately leading Israel to begin construction of a barrier between itself and Palestinian regions.


How does Hamas recruit and train suicide bombers?


The organization generally targets deeply religious young men—although some bombers have been older. The recruits do not fit the usual psychological profile of suicidal people, who are often desperate or clinically depressed. Hamas bombers often hold paying jobs, even in poverty-stricken Gaza. What they have in common, studies say, is an intense hatred of Israel. After a bombing, Hamas gives the family of the suicide bomber between three thousand dollars and five thousand dollars and assures them their son died a martyr in holy jihad.

The recruits undergo intense religious indoctrination, attend lectures, and undertake long fasts. The week before the bombing, the volunteers are watched closely by two Hamas activists for any signs of wavering, according to Nasra Hassan, writing in the New Yorker. Shortly before the “sacred explosion,” as Hamas calls it, the bomber records a video testament. To draw inspiration, he repeatedly watches his video and those made by his predecessors and then sets off for his would-be martyrdom after performing a ritual ablution and donning clean clothes. Hamas clerics assure the bombers their deaths will be painless and that dozens of virgins await them in paradise. The average bombing costs about $150.


Is Hamas popular among Palestinians?

According to Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, in late 2006 Hamas still enjoyed public backing, though most Palestinians also wanted to see a negotiated settlement with Israel. According to Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, brutal internal clashes in Gaza have caused Hamas to lose some goodwill among Palestinians. In fact, the group has a history of fluctuating approval: Following the collapse of the peace process in the late 1990s, Hamas’ popularity rose as Arafat’s fell. In the spring of 2002, during a period of intensified armed conflict between Israeli security forces and Hamas militants, polls showed that Arafat’s Fatah faction of the PLO and the Islamists each commanded support from roughly 30 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza (the remaining Palestinians were either independent, undecided, or supported other factions). But trust in Hamas reportedly dropped in 2004. In a poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC) after Arafat’s death, 18.6 percent of Palestinians named Hamas as the Palestinian faction they most trusted, down from 23 percent a year earlier. Hamas experienced a short-lived spike in popularity after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005; after a rocket explosion at a Hamas rally September 23, 2005, killed fifteen people, Hamas blamed Israel and launched rocket attacks against it. Israel retaliated with punitive air strikes, which Palestinians blamed Hamas for provoking. The explosion was revealed to be an accident. In late 2008 and early 2009, during another violent flare up which resulted in Israeli land raids into the Gaza Strip, several news agencies reported that Hamas’ popularity had stayed constant or even increased. By the end of June, public support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip fell again to 18.8 percent, according to recent JMCC polls.


Has Hamas always participated in the Palestinian electoral process?


No. Hamas boycotted the January 2005 PA presidential elections. But even prior to its 2006 victory in the PA’s legislative elections, the group had made strong showings in municipal elections, especially in Gaza. In December 2004 West Bank local elections, Fatah won 135 seats and Hamas won seventy-five. In Gaza, where Hamas is based, it won seventy-seven out of 118 seats in ten council elections held in January 2005. Hamas appeared to have lost its political momentum in a September 2005 round of local elections in the West Bank: Fatah, benefiting from the Israeli withdrawal, took 54 percent of the vote over Hamas’ 26 percent.


So there you have it. As the United States continues to fight a global war on terror, which Israel has been doing on a daily basis since their founding (and throughout their history), how can we mourn the death of a man who represented everything our nation and our ally of Israel have been fighting against? Have we forgotten the evils perpetrated by Hamas already? Do their political gestures and warm embraces from a former American president (Jimmy Carter) erase the memory of the terrorism perpetrated by Hamas? They continue their policy of terror. While Jimmy carter may be trying his best to look past the terrorism to the humanity of these people, I would suggest to the former President that his efforts are without hope. Any terrorist organization or those who belong to such an organization have forfeited their humanity.

We are a nation of laws. In some instances, as we have found in our own foreign policy, those laws do not apply to terrorists. As the Obama Administration has taken us backward by treating terrorism cases as law enforcement matters, rather than a war, and prosecuting that war  under the rules of a new kind of warfare that the terrorists themselves defined on September 11, 2001, I must then  stand in opposition to both the approach and the policy. I must also state quite clearly that the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was unfortunate for his family and his fellow terrorists, but nevertheless an event in a long string of events that Hamas put into play through their own deliberate and blatant acts of terror.

Violence will foster violence. This is certain. For generations to come, Israelis and Palestinians have a new reason to be at war. Young Palestinians will be taught that the Israeli’s killed their leader, without being taught why. It doesn’t matter whether or not Israel actually murdered Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, because Hamas will make it “a fact” among their own people.

For my part, I am only one American with one opinion. I believe that the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was done in an effort to combat terrorism and to send a clear message to terrorists. We will hunt you. We will find you and you will be brought to justice. That has been the policy of every president since Ronald Reagan. Whether or not this was justice will be debated around the world. According to the laws of Moses so etched upon the walls of Jewish faith, theology and politics, an eye for an eye is the best definition that can be given to describe this unfortunate event. How many Israeli’s have died at the blood-stained hands of Hamas? How many people around the world, from a variety of countries, have fallen victim to the terrorist ideology of these extremists? While that number can only be estimated, as in a previous paragraph,  we can look to the organization’s own charter to see what their ultimate goals are regarding Israel:

Article 7 of the Hamas Covenant provides the following quotation, attributed to Mohammed: “The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews.”

There is no conclusive evidence that the Mossad is responsible for this assassination. Whether it is probable is up to conjecture. What I do know is that while I believe in the human dignity of every individual, and the protection of their fundamental human rights, I steadfastly believe that any individual who commits an act of terror forfeits his human rights and becomes something else entirely. Something evil. Something bestial. Something that must be put in check for the peace and dignity of society.

Tonight, Israel may not be safer or more secure with the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, but we remain with a fundamental question. Knowing what we know about Hamas, their leaders and their goals, wasn’t this justified homocide?




ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTOR: 

W. Edward Griffith, known to his friends and associates as “Will”,  is Director of Griffith Colson Intelligence Service

. He is a member of the International Counter-Terrorism Officers Association, British Bodyguard Association, and  the National Military Intelligence Association. He also held membership in the International Bar Association, where he was a member of the IBA War Crimes Committee from 2009-2010. Mr. Griffith also served as Chairman of The Griffith Corporation from 2007 to 2010, where he founded Griffith Corporation Security Service and the Homeland TV Network. He resides in Los Angeles with his family, where he raises two children with Alysyn.


GRIFFITH CORP. CHIEF ALYSYN BOURQUE ANNOUNCES 2010 HOMELAND TV AWARD WINNERS




LOS ANGELES — Griffith Corp. Chairman and CEO Alysyn Bourque announced the 2009-2010 Homeland TV Award winners today, saying that she was proud of the service and leadership of the recipients in their respective venues.

“Our recipients, like last year, are just outstanding, inspiration and dedicated to this country and our security”, said Bourque, “The Homeland TV Awards is our small way of saying thank you to them and showing our appreciation for everything they do”.


The 2010 Homeland TV Award Winners are:

Bill & Janet Liebsch (FedHealth.net) for Emergency & Disaster Preparedness

Gary Aminoff (Aminoff & Com.) for Security in Business

Steven Emerson (Investigative Project on Terrorism) for Counter-Terrorism Excellence

Don Zinn and WATCHDOGS for Security & Excellence in Social Networking

Each recipient will receive a Certificate and the Homeland TV Award this Summer.

The recipients will also be featured in a tribute video that will begin airing daily on Homeland TV and available on demand at Homeland TV Network.