Jihadist Targets Churches 

Sunday, French authorities captured Sid Ahmed Ghlam, a 24 year-old jihadist from Algeria. He is suspected of killing Aurelie Chatelain, who was shot while sitting in her car Sunday morning. She was reportedly "riddled with bullets." This seemingly random attack isn't the real news. 

A few hours after Chatelain's murder, police found Ghlam bleeding heavily. Evidently, he shot himself in the leg and called for an ambulance. Authorities searched his apartment and discovered an"arsenal containing weapons of war," "jihadi flags and literature," and "plans for attacks on one or two churches in the Paris area." 

According to one report, Ghlam had been in contact with jihadists overseas, most likely in Syria. His overseas contact "explicitly asked him to target a church." French authorities suspect he was in the process of carrying out that attack when he murdered Aurelie Chatelain and accidentally shot himself. 

You may recall that I expressed concerns in Monday's report that radical Islamists would begin attacking churches in the West. Churches are frequent targets in Africa and the Middle East. It is only a matter of time before it happens here. 

You may also recall that after the assault on the Charlie Hebdo offices, Jews at a kosher deli were attacked. Whether we want to admit it or not, the radical Islamists have declared war on Christians and Jews. 

The West had better snap out of its denial. You cannot defeat an enemy you refuse to identify. You cannot win a war you pretend doesn't exist. 

Obama's Mixed Messages 

It's an understatement to say that tensions are high in the Middle East. But the stakes were raised in recent days when an Iranian armada set out to resupply rebels in Yemen who recently toppled the country's pro-Western president. Tehran's provocation is a direct violation of a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution imposing an arms embargo against the Yemeni rebels. 

In response, the Obama Administration deployed several naval vessels to the Arabian Sea. NBC News reported Monday that "American warships are prepared to intercept a convoy of Iranian ships suspected of carrying weapons to Houthi rebel forces in Yemen." President Barack Obama went on MSNBC to make his case.

"What we've said to [the Iranians] is if there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that's a problem," Obama said in an interview that aired yesterday. "We're not sending them obscure messages, we send them very direct messages about it." 

One of those "very direct messages" was the additional deployment two days ago of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and a guided-missile cruiser to the area. But is the Obama Administration really sending a signal of strength or is this more of his smoke and mirrors foreign policy?

During her daily press briefing at the State Department yesterday, spokeswoman Marie Harf was asked whether the Roosevelt's deployment was "a message to Iran in any way." Harf's answer: "No." 

Incredulous reporters kept pressing the issue. "Why don't you want to send a message to the Iranians that they should abide by the Security Council resolution?" one asked. "Has the administration decided that it is not going to participate in enforcing this . . . resolution?" 

A flustered Harf said, "I want to be very clear -- just so no one has the wrong impression -- that [U.S. naval vessels] are not there to intercept Iranian ships. . . . The purpose is not to do anything in terms of those Iranian ships." 

So have U.S. ships been deployed by Obama just so they can watch Iranian ships deliver their weapons? 

The editors of the Wall Street Journal doubt that Barack Obama is willing to risk his nuclear deal with Iran over Yemen. They write today:
 

"The Iranians surely doubt it, which is why they are now testing the U.S. at sea. A U.S. carrier battle group is a formidable display of power, especially when wielded by a president with credibility. The reason so much of the Middle East is in flames is because no one believes Mr. Obama would use this military power."

Liberals Love Taxes, Right? 

Left-wing politicians rarely meet a tax hike they don't like. Joe Biden loves taxes so much he even equates them with patriotism. Somehow I suspect most Americans don't feel like saluting when they write out checks to the IRS.

Apparently the left-wing talking heads at MSNBC don't either. Our friends at National Review report that four MSNBC hosts have been slapped with tax liens. 

Joy-Ann Reid owes nearly $5,000 in taxes. 

Toure Neblett reportedly owes more than $59,000. 

Melissa Harris-Perry, who once praised Obama's philosophy of "spreading the wealth around," owed nearly $70,000. When the news of her tax debts broke, she quickly wrote a check for $21,000 and is working on the rest.

Then there is Reverend Al Sharpton, who owes something in the neighborhood of $4.5 million. Reverend Al should be in jail!

What is going on at MSNBC? Maybe they all borrowed Timothy Geithner's copy of TurboTax. Maybe if the IRS wasn't so distracted harassing Tea Party supporters and Christian ministries, we could get some of these unpatriotic left-wing tax cheats to pay up!