Massive Car Bomb Kills 8 in Beirut — White House Immediately Declares It a ‘Terrorist Attack’

Lebanese soldiers and rescue workers inspect damage from an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday Oct. 19, 2012. Lebanese Red Cross and security officials say a car bomb in east Beirut has killed at least eight people and wounded dozens in the worst blast the city has seen in years, coming at a time when Lebanon has seen a rise in tension and eruptions of clashes stemming from the civil war in neighboring Syria. (Credit: AP)
BEIRUT (TheBlaze/AP) — A car bomb ripped through Beirut on Friday, killing a top security official and seven others, shearing the balconies off apartment buildings and sending bloodied residents staggering into the streets in the most serious blast the Lebanese capital has seen in four years.
Dozens of people were wounded in the attack, which the state-run news agency said targeted the convoy of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, the head of the intelligence division of Lebanon’s domestic security forces.
Unlike with the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans dead, the White House released a statement within hours and classified the attack as a “terrorist attack.” It took the Obama administration nearly two weeks to rule out an anti-Muslim YouTube video as the cause for the attack in Libya. Here’s the statement:
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack today in Beirut that killed Lebanese Internal Security Forces Information Bureau Director Wissam al-Hassan and at least seven others, and wounded dozens more,” said national security council spokesman Tommy Vietor. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed and injured in this heinous attack and with the Lebanese people, who have sacrificed greatly to overcome war and violence. Lebanon’s security and stability are vital both for the Lebanese people and their neighbors. There is no justification for using assassination as a political tool. The United States will stand by the Government of Lebanon and the people of Lebanon as they work to bring those responsible for this barbaric attack to justice and build a future where all Lebanese can live in security and dignity.”
Many Lebanese quickly raised the possibility the violence was connected to the civil war in neighboring Syria, which has sent destabilizing ripples through Lebanon for the past 19 months. Al-Hassan led an investigation over the summer that implicated a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician and one of the highest aides to Syrian President Bashar Assad in plots to carry out bombings in Lebanon.
Friday’s blast was also a reminder of Lebanon’s grim history, when the 1975-1990 civil war made the country notorious for kidnappings, car bombs and political assassinations. Even since the war’s end, Lebanon has been a proxy battleground for regional conflict, and the Mediterranean seaside capital has been prey to sudden, surprising and often unexplained violence shattering periods of calm.
“Whenever there is a problem in Syria they want to bring it to us,” said Karin Sabaha Gemayel, a secratary at a law firm a block from the bombing site, where the street was transformed into a swath of rubble, twisted metal and charred vehicles.
“But you always hope it will not happen to us. Not again,” she said.
The blast ripped through a narrow street at mid-afternoon in Beirut’s mainly Christian Achrafieh neighborhood, an area packed with cafes and shops. Doors and windows were shattered for blocks, and several blackened cars appeared to have been catapulted through the air.
Bloodied residents fled their homes while others tried to help the seriously wounded. One little girl, apparently unconscious and bleeding from her head, was carried to an ambulance in the arms of rescue workers, her white sneakers stained with blood.

An injured woman is carried away by civilians from the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday Oct. 19, 2012. Lebanese Red Cross and security officials say a car bomb in east Beirut has killed at least eight people and wounded dozens in the worst blast the city has seen in years, coming at a time when Lebanon has seen a rise in tension and eruptions of clashes stemming from the civil war in neighboring Syria. (Credit: AP)

A Lebanese civilian carries an injured woman away from the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday Oct. 19, 2012. A car bomb has ripped through eastern Beirut, killing at least eight people, shearing the balconies off apartment buildings and sending bloodied residents into the streets. (Credit: AP)

Lebanese security forces and rescue workers gather at the site of an explosion in Beirut’s Christian neighbourhood of Ashrafieh on October 19, 2012. A powerful bomb killed at least eight people and wounded another 78 in mainly Christian east Beirut, in the first such attack in Lebanon’s capital since 2008, the National News Agency reported. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
“I was standing nearby in Sassine Square and I heard a big explosion and I ran straight to it,” resident Elie Khalil said. He said he saw at least 15 bloodied people in a nearby parking lot before medics arrived and took them to a hospital.
Al-Hassan’s body was so disfigured in the blast that his bodyguards only realized it was him when they recognized his sneakers, a paramedic at the scene told The Associated Press. The paramedic, who saw the body, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
A Lebanese security official said al-Hassan had just returned earlier Friday morning from Paris, where he was visiting family. He was either on his way from or to work in a non-armored car with his driver, who also was among the dead, the official said. He also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give information to the media.
Eight people were killed, including al-Hassan, and 78 wounded, the state-run National News Agency said..
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zouebi denounced the bombing, calling it a “terrorist and cowardly” attack.
Syria’s top ally in Lebanon, the Shiite Hezbollah movement, also condemned the attack, expressing its “state of great shock over this terrible terrorist crime.”
It called on the authorities to catch the perpetrators and on all political forces in Lebanon to work against “every conspirator against the security, the life, the safety and security of the nation.”
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the blast “in strongest terms.” She said the U.S. had no information about the perpetrators.
Al-Hassan had headed an investigation into bombing plots that led to the Aug. 9 arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Syria’s most loyal allies in Lebanon, who has long acted as an unofficial media adviser to Assad. According to a senior Lebanese police official, Samaha confessed to having personally transported explosives in his car from Syria to Lebanon with the purpose of killing Lebanese personalities at the behest of Syria.
A military court has since indicted Samaha and Syrian Brig. Gen. Ali Mamlouk of plotting to carry out terrorist attacks. Mamlouk, who was appointed recently by Assad to head Syria’s National Security Bureau, was indicted in absentia.
Tensions have been soaring in Lebanon over the conflict next door, and clashes have erupted between Assad supporters and backers of the rebellion against his regime.
Syria and Lebanon share a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, often causing events on one side of the border to echo on the other. Many of Lebanon’s Sunnis have backed Syria’s mainly Sunni rebels, while Shiites have tended to back Assad.
Lebanon was hit by a wave of bombings and other attacks that began in 2005 with a massive suicide blast that killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri and more than 20 other people in downtown Beirut. In the following years, a string of anti-Syrian figures were assassinated, several in car bombings. Many Lebanese blamed Damascus for the killings, though Syria denied responsibility.
The last serious bombing was in 2008, when a car bomb killed a senior Lebanese anti-terror police official who was investigating dozens of other bombings. Four others were killed and 38 wounded in the blast in the Christian Hazmieh neighborhood.
Since then, Lebanese saw a relative calm in violence. After the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, there have been sporadic gunbattles between pro- and anti-Assad factions, particularly in northern Lebanon.
“I’m very worried about the country after this explosion,” Beirut resident Charbel Khadra said Friday. “I’m worried the explosions will return – and this is just the first one.”
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Comments (79)
Carefreeflyer
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:34pmThe Obama Administration knew, the day our Ambassador was killed in Benghazi, that it was a ‘planned attack’. Every subsequent statement, including President Obama’s U.N. speech, revealed an astonishing incompetence and an Administration overrun with corruption. We know this because Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary for international programs at the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomat Security, in sworn testimony to Congress admitted that she watched the attack in real time. The Administration even tried to bolster the ‘YouTube video tape’ fallacy by also running ads in Pakistan to promote this known lie. Imagine a President using propaganda to promote a lie in Pakistan, using our taxpayer money, which resulted in the death of Pakistani citizens. That’s an impeachable offense. The cover-up scandal, breaking on Fox News, revolves around Obama’s bungled operation in removing Moammar Khadafy, provided US made weapons and the subsequent take-over by Al-Qaeda.
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barber2
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:03pmAgree. This is the same administration which is arrogant enough to believe that they have re-set relations with Russia and have changed the Islamic crazies hatred for America. Why ? Because Barack Hussein Obama apologizes frequently for nasty, imperial/ capitalist America’s past errors against those peaceful, loving, tolerant – just misunderstood – Islamic fanatics ! That was all the peace-loving, misguided terrorists needed: an American president with Indonesian / Muslim experience to apologize. The arrogance and the naivety of this administration is UNBELIEVABLE….
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Metallicat
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 8:07pmI think this all goes back to the BP oil spill. Obama closes all offshore wells. BP is SOL,makes deal with qaddaffi for Libyan oil rights,in exchange for freeing old dying terrorist. Uprisings in Libya due to arab spring leaves British oil rights unsecured. French and British rush to finish off Qaddaffi,establish new government that will give them oil rights,Obama hops on board for the ride and bragging rights,at taxpayer expense. Qaddaffi is ousted. Allies establish relations with interim government,but now the arab spring radicals in Libya have no intention of upholding their end of the bargain.British forced out, and now America as well. The Obama administration now hides the fact they gave aid to the same terrorists who raided our consulate and killed our people, and Obamas appeasement is a failure.
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banjarmon
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 8:15pmI bet if bho stubs his toe he will call it a terrorist attack!!
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Detroit paperboy
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 10:28pmMuslims killing Muslims……pass the popcorn, extra butter please !!!!
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ObamaForward_OverTheCliff
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 10:39pm“Massive Car Bomb Kills 8 in Beirut — White House Immediately Declares It a ‘Terrorist Attack’”
NEWS UPDATE:
The Obama White House has now flip-flopped and admitted this “event” was really a “spontaneous protest” against another online video that puts Obama in a disrespectful (but true) light:
“Dem Obama Voters: “They Are So Dumb” ”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huy2z4JdWeI
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PCDoctors4u2
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 11:33pmWhen they first asked Obama about Beirut, he said He thought he was a heck of a baseball player but he liked Henry Aaron better! Three Strikes and you are out, B Hussein Obuntit…
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wordsofwisdom
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 1:44amThis kind of indiscriminate bombing by jihad-ies is a crime against humanity. Their is no justification for this act of killing. This song brings attention to the Muslim religion for fostering a culture of indiscriminate killing of innocent people in the name of god.
Called
“That’s Not Right†http://www.twitmusic.com/cyou_in_song/songs/that-s-not-right
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Wool-Free Vision
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 6:27amIn a related story, The First Lady squeezed off a silent-but-violent “daisy-cutter” in the presidential limo, after which the motorcade had to be stopped and the limo evacuated. While no one was killed, the president says it was a very close thing and wasted no time in labeling the incident an act of terror. He has stated that he will not rest until the evil-doers at Taco Bell are brought to justice.
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phillycornerboy
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 8:31amobama openly supporting muslims and ignoring/attacking Americans. libya…blames video which implies muslims justified, defends exposed libyians/muslims, attacks Issa. state department condemns lebanon blast “in strongest terms.” yet virtually silent about ambassador. treason, plain and simple.
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000degrees
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 10:16amSounds like more “workplace violence”……..
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SocialistSlayer
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 12:18pmI can’t wait till everyone realizes why Communist obama was blaming the attack on that video – To cover up the fact that obama and his Communist cohorts were supplying Al Quada with weapons for use in Syria ! That’s right – obama was giving terrorist weapons and money – funneling it through Turkey ! This is insane ! Every News organization in the country should be talking about it ! This is giving aid and comfort to our enemies – last I heard this is called Treason – obama should be impeached and tried for Treason !
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vanman4446
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 1:35pmNow it’s different, his muslim towelhead buddies got hurt this time so it’s terrorism
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betterthantv
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 6:09pm@Metallicat Very interesting scenario you lay out here. I like it. It actually makes a lot of sense.
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barber2
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:31pmWait a minute. Are they sure it wasn’t a delayed reaction to that nasty, mean, disrespectful video ? ?? I mean Mr. ” I Killed Osama Bin Laden ” Obama’s Administration got at least two weeks of blaming the entire 9/11 demonstrations in the Middle East on that canard . What a bunch of two-faced , lying hypocrites now Occupy our White House….
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The-Monk
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:49pmI’m fairly confident that this was in response to the “Presidential Roast”….
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GENEPAGLIARI
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 8:16pmThey couldn’t have watched the video cuz the prez or at least the WH called it terrorism. After they are caught they will be forced to watch Romney being sworn in and inaugurated. Then their cellmate obummer will kneel on his prayer rug facing mecca along side the other terrorists like hassan at Fort Hood. Nice life for those who deserve and earn those nasty quarters.
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ellietoo
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:29pmWell, how do we know it is a terrorist attack? Have we checked YouTube yet? How can we have such exact information so soon? It took 2 weeks to find out that our ambassador in Libya was murdered in a terrorist attack! I mean, don’t we need to be very careful about labeling something “terrorist?” Didn’t Lebanon put in a terrorist government? Why are we “standing with them?”
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listeninginVT
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 10:37amEasy, they are Muslim. Same as Libya. And the Pres.’s stance is just like his thoughts on White’s, “I don’t know what happened but the police acted stupidly”. Actions speak louder than words, (but video is not bad either). For BHO, it IS very hard to ‘see’ what happened in Libya, cause Muslims weren’t killed, just 4 White guys, so obviously the fact that they breathed air (the whites) made them responsible for ‘forcing’ the peaceable muslim worshippers to have to act.
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undrprsr
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:22pmIdiot,terrorizm IS murder with THE INTENT of creating terror on the population, simple murder(like a robbery gone bad or a “hit”) IS not done to create fear among the population!Reach down and pull your head out of your Obama!
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Metallicat
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:20pmWHY?? What American interests are in Beirut? I think the administration did this for spite,just to slap their critics in the face,and laugh about it.
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Wool-Free Vision
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:39pmI hear that Susan Rice has been dispatched to hit all the Sunday shows blaming this incident on the Bad Lip Reading guy.
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nzkiwi
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 8:29pmThe reason why is that the Muslim Brotherhood is attempting to gain direct control of all the nations in that region. This will give them a strong base with substantial income from which they can then launch attacks further afield. Israel first, of course.
Their attempt to gain Syria through a popular rebellion is not going so well, despite being helped from the Obama administration. So they are applying terror in the region.
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SavEcig.com
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:17pmEverything in Beirut in a terrorist attack – even mouse farts. This is an easy call.
Osama is DEAD – the only terrorists left are the ones that want to take away your Obamaphones and free birth control pills. Those guys in Bengazi were just over-achiving rioters that got lucky.
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Metallicat
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:15pmObama believes America needs to be downgraded,so we can live as equals,with people like this.
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HI_Don
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:13pmOne of Obama’s more tricky calls, but I think he got it right this time. Of course there was that film a while back. Hmmm, he may regret this one.
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yougottabekidding
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:20pmIf it’s done to someone else it’s terror.
If it’s done to us it’s a man caused disaster after all it doesn’t the narrative of the anointed one!
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flyoverbob
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:25pmEasy call because there were no Americans killed.
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AfghanVetUSA
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:10pmSo quick to rule out all videos on YouTube, they may want to wait till they have all the facts on this one.
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PaulreveresDarknight
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:03pmDont be suprised if the heat goes up world wide. He needs all this Now that he can get. Thats why aszclown is loose too. Chaos. Smoke & mirrors in panic. Prez Axleride must be shiating his simmering pants!
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barber2
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:09pmReminds me of those who cautioned that Obama would try to create civil unrest before the election. Have never felt such utter contempt for any previous administration…of either political party. These Far Left Democrats are pure , unAmerican evil….
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Individualism
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:03pmjust call it murder, murder is murder, forget about this fake word for an attack as terrorism. if you really want to use the world correctly many examples of police brutality and military attacks on the internet.
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yougottabekidding
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:17pmSomeone can walk up to you and pull the trigger, that is murder.
Some one walking up to you and shooting someone else and telling you, “you’ll never know when” is terror.
Wake up
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barber2
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:54pmAh, that wonderful Arab Spring…..Summer…Fall…Winter….
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Fubared
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 8:31pmWindy
How would one go about “using the world” correctly? Do you still need that windy to English app? Debut the Barr pic soon?
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neverending
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:58pmWell now how about that? Amazing the difference it makes when there is an election just around the corner. These people are just a bunch of snakes sliming around everywhere. They make me so sick.
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Zurich
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:58pmRomney has to bring up during the last debate that Ford Hood hasn’t been declared a terrorist attack yet.
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Carrie3570
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:58pmI haven’t even been able to read the story. I’m too upset by the headline.
I just don’t understand. Why say anything? Doesn’t he have one iota of common sense? Doesn’t he realize people are going to be angry by this?
I’m sitting here thinking: wouldn’t it be something if that car just had engine problems and blew up accidentally. Then what would the president say?
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:07pmWould it surprise you if we later learn BO and his cronies facilitated this event just so they could quickly declare it a terroris attack in an effort to save face?
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Carrie3570
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:32pm2mins…. It would not surprise me one bit.
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The-Monk
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:58pmHi 2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT,
Interesting…….
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TruthDarts
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 3:24am@TwoMinutestoMidnight
Well, you could be correct…after all it was a largely CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD.
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Whiskey_Tango
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:55pmThat’s a big ground zero for a car bomb….. I’ve seen the aftermath of a car bomb, and this looks bigger, more powerful. IMO
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graceunderfire
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:53pmWe know immediately what happened since it did not involve Americans, right?
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Joshua81
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:52pmTo little to late.
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kvan
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:51pmAh, the religion of Peace and Love!!!
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rs9
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:50pm13 soldiers killed at fort Hood = “work place violence”. 8 gooks killed in Beruit= “Terroism”
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HotFixIt
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:50pmHow brave of Obama to classify THIS as a terrorist act since it really does not affect HIM in any way.
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CoatTales
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:49pmThis administration would yell uno with 6 cards left to play. does any one really take them seriously anymore?
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:49pmRight, if it kills Americans, it is not a terrorist attack. If it kills non-Americans, it is a terrorist attack.
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CoatTales
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:54pmit is still taking years to call the fort hood shooter a terrorist.
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TSUNAMI_22
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:57pm@ CoatTales
it is still taking years to call the fort hood shooter a terrorist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He’ll be clean shaven pretty soon, with the occupation of prison bitchdom soon to follow; I HOPE.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:05pmANONYMOUS T. IRRELEVANT, That is the whole story in a nutshell.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:15pmCOATTALES, Obviously that will never happen with this administration in the White House.
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The-Monk
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:56pmAnonymous T. Irrelevant,
You nailed it !!!!!
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The-Monk
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 7:18pmHi Anonymous T. Irrelevant,
Nice catch on the giant burning cowboy story…… : )
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/incredible-picture-shows-texas-state-fairs-iconic-52-foot-cowboy-going-up-in-flames/
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mike_trivisonno
Posted on October 20, 2012 at 6:47amThese are not terrorist attacks. They are acts of violence committed by muslims engaged in Jihad.
Stop using the deceptive label of “terror” to define these acts of war.
Stop using the word “terror” or it will turned against you sooner or later. Use only language that clearly defines the enemy.
“Muslims Engaged in Jihad”
Muslims Engaged in Jihad. Period. No Terror, Just a devout expression of Islamic piety in the way of their warlord prophet, Mohammed.
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TSUNAMI_22
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:48pmMassive Car Bomb Kills 8 in Beirut — White House Immediately Declares It a ‘Terrorist Attack’
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Gee, no ****?
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rickc34
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:46pmIs the President sure this time? Is he positive it is a terrorist attack and not 4 weeks of lies..maybe a video that no one has seen. Wait it looks like a chevy volt blew up..no terroist attack here.
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:45pmNow they declare such an attack as it should be – terrorism.
What I want to know is if this was done by Obama’s allies in the Islamist Extremist groups? How much more blood is on his hands now?
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PaulreveresDarknight
Posted on October 19, 2012 at 6:12pmHe does have friends in low places. I bet no one even knows or half even want too. UN is his goal. They are in this. That is Very bad
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