(Your Voice in a World where Money, Steel, and Fire have turned Justice Mute)
English follows Arabic: U.S. State Department Attacks Muhammad Abu Nasr
تجدون أدناه نص المادة التي نشرت على موقع وكالة المعلومات الأمريكية التابعة لوزارة الخارجية الأمريكية حول تقرير المقاومة العراقية الذي يصدره عضو لائحة القومي العربي أخي محمد أبو النصر. ويبدو أن التقرير الذي يصدر بالإنكليزية منذ أكثر من عام ونيف بات يزعجهم إلى درجة إضطروا معها إلى إصدار تكذيب رسمي كما ترون أدناه يشكك بكل ما يجيء فيه، ويشكك بمصادره مثل مفكرة الإسلام، ويشكك بمن يوزعه وينشره مثل موقع
Jihad Unspun
ولا تكتفي وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية بذلك بل تتهم محمد أبو النصر بأنه يساري يتبنى توجهاً قومياً عربياً ولا يتردد بالتعاون مع الإسلاميين وغيرهم في مواجهة الإمبريالية الأمريكية والصهيونية. وهم يدللون على ذلك بمادة كان الصديق العزيز محمد قد ترجمها لخالد بكداش في موسكو عام 1935 يدعو فيها الشيوعيين العرب لتبني مفهوم الجبهة الشعبية لتحقيق الوحدة العربية قبل أن ينقلب الشيوعيون العرب على تلك الفكرة. وقد نشر ذلك الخطاب مع غيره في الصوت العربي الحر
إذن وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية تتهم محمد أبو النصر رسمياً بنشر التضليل حول حقيقة ممارسات وخسائر الاحتلال الأمريكي في العراق، وتنزعج من مفهوم حشد "جبهة شعبية عربية" ضد الطرف الأمريكي-الصهيوني! فتباً لوزارة الخارجية الأمريكية إن كانت تمارس شيئاً غير التضليل، وغير الكذب والخداع، ولعل هجومها الصريح على تقرير المقاومة العراقية لمحمد أبو النصر وفريقه أكبر دليلٍ على مدى فاعلية ذلك التقرير المنتظم في كسر الحصار الإعلامي المفروض عربياً ودولياً على المقاومة العراقية، خاصةً أنه يصدر باللغة الإنكليزية، ويصل الأمريكيين من أهالي الجنود الذين يحتلون العراق.
وليعلم كل الذين يعملون على إصدار أو توزيع تقرير المقاومة العراقية الذي يشرف عليه المجاهد الإعلامي محمد أبو النصر أن ما يفعلونه مهمٌ جداً ويوجع الغزاة كالطلقات والعبوات الناسفة على دروب العراق المقاوم.
فالكلمة المقاومة تتمم العمل المقاوم، وما كانت وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية لتخص محمداً وتقرير المقاومة العراقية بهذا الهجوم المباشر الذي نعتبره مديحاً لولا المأثرة الإعلامية المستمرة منذ عامٍ ونصف تقريباً: تقرير المقاومة العراقية.
لنعمل جميعاً على كسر الحصار الإعلامي المفروض على المقاومة العراقية، فلنوزع تقرير المقاومة العراقية على أوسع نطاق، ومن لا يصله التقرير على لائحة القومي العربي أو غيرها من اللوائح الصديقة، فبامكانه أن ينسخه دوماً من موقع البصرة أو موقع الصوت العربي الحر.
ولتعلم وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية وكل اذنابها العرب وغير العرب أن هذا الهجوم لن يزيدنا إلا إصراراً وتصميماً، فاستهداف محمد أبو النصر لن يفيدهم بشيء على الإطلاق ولن يزيد سمعته إلاتألقاً ولن يزيده إلا ثباتاً وتحرقاً لكشف فضائح الاحتلال في العراق من خسائر وجرائم. وليعلموا أن محمداً ليس وحده بل خلفه أخوة تعلموا منه كيف تكتب تقارير المقاومة العراقية باللغة الإنكليزية وبلغات أخرى أيضاً.
أخوكم إبراهيم علوش
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U.S. State Department Attacks Muhammad Abu Nasr
The article below is a statement published on the website of the US Department of State about the Iraqi Resistance Report which is issued by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member of the editorial board of the Free Arab Voice. The Iraqi Resistance Report, which has been coming out in English for more than a year and a half now, appears to cause the State Department so much vexation that they have felled obliged to write up this official refutation to cast doubt on everything contained in that newsletter, and in addition to cast doubt on its sources – such as the Islammemo.cc “Mafkarat al-Islam” website – and on those who distribute the Resistance Report – such as the website Jihad Unspun.
Not content with that, the US Department of State accuses Muhammad Abu Nasr of being a Communist who adopts an Arab Nationalist orientation and does not hesitate to cooperate with Islamists or others in the great confrontation with American imperialism and Zionism. The State Department cites Muhammad Abu Nasr’s translation of a speech delivered in Moscow in 1935 by Syrian Communist Khalid Bakdash, calling on Arab Communists to adopt the line of forming a popular front to attain Arab unity – a position that Bakdash and Arab Communist Parties later abandoned. Muhammad Abu Nasr’s translation of that speech along with other materials appears on the website of the Free Arab Voice (www.freearabvoice.org).
The US Department of State officially accuses Muhammad Abu Nasr of spreading “disinformation” about the practices and losses suffered by the US occupation in Iraq. The State Department is particularly bothered by the idea of bringing together an Arab popular front to resist the American-Zionist assault! But what does the US State Department itself do other than spread disinformation, lies, and deception? Their brazen assault on the Iraqi Resistance Report by Muhammad Abu Nasr and his team shows how effectively that regular Report is breaking through the information blockade imposed by the international media on the Iraqi Resistance struggle, particularly since the Iraqi Resistance Report comes out in English and reaches the American people themselves, the families and friends of the US soldiers sent by the American government to occupy Iraq.
This attack shows how extremely important is the work of everyone who helps compile, issue, and distribute the Iraqi Resistance Report that the militant writer Muhammad Abu Nasr supervises. Their work strikes the invaders like the very bullets and bombs that target the occupation forces in the defiant land of Iraq.
The language of resistance serves to complement armed resistance. The American Department of State would not have singled out Muhammad and the Iraqi Resistance Report for this attack – which we regard as a mark of honor – but for its effectiveness over the last year and a half in countering the American propaganda barrage and breaking down the information blockade on the Iraqi Resistance struggle.
We must all work to break down that information blockade. We must distribute the Iraqi Resistance Report as widely as possible. Whoever does not now receive the Resistance Report or access it on friendly websites can always find it on the al-Basrah website (www.albasrah.net) and the Free Arab Voice.
Meanwhile, we wish to inform the US State Department and its supporters that this attack will only increase our resolve and determination. Attacking Muhammad Abu Nasr will not benefit them in the slightest, nor will it do anything to brighten their public image. With even greater zeal we will strive to expose the crimes committed by the US occupation of Iraq and disclose the losses it suffers and the costs – human and material – that it inflicts. Muhammad Abu Nasr does not stand alone. Behind him are brothers and sisters who have learned from him how to write the Iraqi Resistance Report not only in English but is several other languages besides.
Ibrahim Alloush, editor-in-chief, Free Arab Voice.
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http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive/2005/Apr/08-205989.html
Obscure Web sites play major role in disinformation
A trio of obscure Web sites and individuals has combined to spread deliberate disinformation, particularly about U.S. actions in Iraq. The entities involved are Islam Memo (Islammemo.cc), Muhammad Abu Nasr, and Jihad Unspun (jihadunspun.net).
Most of the disinformation appears to originate with Islam Memo, which is a pro-al Qaeda, pro-Iraqi insurgency, Arabic-language Web site based in Saudi Arabia.
Muhammad Abu Nasr, co-editor of the Free Arab Voice Web site (freearabvoice.org), translates material from Islam Memo into English and posts it as "Iraqi Resistance Reports" on his Web site.
Jihad Unspun publishes selected articles by Muhammad Abu Nasr, giving them a broader audience.
This trio of Web sites and individuals has attempted to launch many disinformation stories. Most have fizzled out without any great impact, but some have spread more widely.
Islam Memo
Islam Memo, or Mafkarat al-Islam, is perhaps the most unreliable source of "news" about Iraq on the Internet. For example, on March 27, 2005, Islam Memo "news items" translated into English by Muhammad Abu Nasr claimed that more than 88 U.S. soldiers had been killed that day. In reality, none had been killed. Such disinformation fabrications are typical of Islam Memo. In the ten-day period from March 20 to March 29, 2005, they claimed that more than 334 U.S. troops had been killed. The real number was eight.
Muhammad Abu Nasr
As mentioned earlier, Muhammad Abu Nasr, co-editor of the Free Arab Voice Web site, translates Islam Memo reports into English. The contents of his Web site make it clear that Muhammad Abu Nasr is a communist. For example, he includes on the Web site an obscure 1935 speech by Khaled Bakdash, the former head of the Syrian Communist Party, because he believes it has important "contemporary implications."
The speech deals with "popular front" tactics -- ways in which communists in the 1930s tried to use popular national causes to advance the victory of communism. For example, Muhammad Abu Nasr approvingly quotes Bakdash's advocacy of working with "revolutionary nationalists ... even when they claimed to be Nazi or fascist."
Applying this logic to today's world, Muhammad Abu Nasr champions Arab nationalist, anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiments apparently because he believes that a broad-based "popular front" based on such causes will hasten the victory of communism in the Arab world.
Muhammad Abu Nasr faithfully translates the Islam Memo's many phony "news items" into English every day and posts them as "Iraqi Resistance Reports" on his Web site. They are also posted on other Web sites, including Jihad Unspun.
Jihad Unspun
Jihad Unspun is owned and published by a Canadian woman who converted to Islam in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Jihad Unspun has a track record of spreading very unreliable allegations. For example, on November 22, 2004, it reported that a November 21 attack on a U.S. base in Balad, Iraq had killed 270 U.S. troops. In reality, no U.S. troops were killed that day.
Jihad Unspun has often cited Islam Memo reports, praising their "accuracy." On December 19, 2004, Jihad Unspun [JUS] wrote, "[f]rom shortly after the time of our inception almost three years ago, JUS has carried many reports from the news agency Mafkarat al-Islam (Islam Memo). We have done this as we have come to have a great deal of respect for the accuracy of their reporting."
Two months later, Jihad Unspun revealed some reservations about the accuracy of Islam Memo reports. On February 23, 2005, Jihad Unspun posted the contents of a letter it had written to Islam Memo, which stated, "we are well aware that there is now a ‘family feud' brewing and that Mafkarat al-Islam is currently under attack by many Arab news and Mujahideen sites. ... the voices of your critics are becoming louder, as is the strength of the case they are making against your reporting."
Jihad Unspun went on to publicly ask Islam Memo several pointed questions, including, "[w]hy are the number of American casualties reported by Mujahideen groups to other news sites far more modest than the numbers reported by Mafkarat al-Islam?"
It is not clear whether Islam Memo responded to Jihad Unspun, but Jihad Unspun apparently overcame its reservations about the accuracy of Islam Memo's reports. On March 28, 2005, it published an Iraqi Resistance Report based on Islam Memo reporting, which falsely claimed that more than 88 U.S. soldiers had been killed on March 27. As noted above, the real number was zero.
Disinformation Successes
While most disinformation fabrications by Islam Memo do not receive much media attention, some have.
As explained in another article in this Web collection, Islam Memo, Muhammad Abu Nasr, and Jihad Unspun combined to spread the false story that U.S. forces had used mustard gas in Fallujah, Iraq. This disinformation was subsequently repeated by Cuba's official news agency Prensa Latina and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
In another example of successful disinformation, on December 18, 2004, Muhammad Abu Nasr posted an Islam Memo report that claimed an attack against Abu Ghraib prison had been sparked by a letter from a female inmate named Fatima. In the letter, which seems undoubtedly to be a fabrication, Fatima claims to have been raped repeatedly, along with 13 other girls.
The charges in the letter are totally groundless and Fatima herself appears to have never existed. Only six females were held temporarily at Abu Ghraib prison at various times from July to mid-December 2004, two of them for treatment in the medical facility. None of them were held for more than 10 days and none were sexually assaulted.
Despite the fact that the claims in "Fatima's letter" are baseless, the sensationalistic, outrageous nature of the charges ensured that the letter was widely reposted on Internet sites and circulated by e-mail. Jihad Unspun posted it on December 24, 2004.
On January 7, 2005, Islam Memo claimed that Fatima had been killed in an attack that day on Abu Ghraib prison. Conveniently, this meant that she could not be questioned about the letter she had supposedly written. But, there was no attack on Abu Ghraib prison on January 7, just as Fatima herself did not exist.