Summary: U.S. counterterrorism officials have raised concerns that an extremist group called al-Shabab is recruiting young men in Minnesota and elsewhere in the United States. Al-Shabab controls much of Somalia and wants to establish an Islamic state there. The FBI is investigating whether young Somali men are being radicalized in Minnesota and recruited to fight with terror groups in Somalia.

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Summary: The Southern Poverty Law Center released its annual hate group report, titled “The Year in Hate.” The study found the number of hate groups has grown by 54 percent since 2000. The SPLC identified 926 hate groups — defined as groups with beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people — active in 2008.

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Summary: Counterterrorism officials and the FBI are investigating whether al-Shabab or other Somali Islamic groups are actively recruiting in the United States. Officials say as many as 20 Somali-Americans between the ages of 17 and 27 have left their Minneapolis homes since 2007, apparently bound for Somalia.

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Summary: More than 2 million Iraqis have fled the kidnappings, car bombings, and killings that have racked their homeland since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The United States has admitted more than 16,000 Iraqi refugees in the past two years and expects to more than double that number by the end of 2009. A coalition of advocates, including Refugees International, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, is calling on the United States to nearly triple the money it spends on the displaced Iraqis while allowing the entry of as many as 105,000 in 2009 — a sevenfold increase over current admissions.

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The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security, and increasing Internet savvy — with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear [CBRN] attacks considered the most dangerous threats — according to a Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013.

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Summary: On the 22nd day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman received a call from a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps regarding a Spanish-language community forum in Cold Spring, Minn., “to help residents understand their rights and discuss legal and civil rights issues,” followed by a workshop “on immigration and detained immigrants’ rights.” As a public service announcement to help draw attention to the sacrifice of National Guard citizen soldiers serving in Iraq and the families they leave behind, Immelman featured Part 3 of the Associated Press series, “The Longest Deployment” (the story of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard and its tour of duty in Iraq).

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Summary: On the 17th day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman criticized Rep. Bachmann for focusing almost exclusively on energy issues in her campaign, while ignoring important national security concerns and illegal immigration issues. … Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will not end the “Long War” against violent extremism and that the fight against al-Qaeda and other terrorists should be the nation’s top military priority over coming decades, according to a new National Defense Strategy he approved in June 2008. … The U.S. has wasted more than half a billion dollars in Iraq repairs, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen reports in his quarterly report. … A report by the Center for Immigration Studies says the number of illegal immigrants fell about 11% between August 2007 and May 2008, from 12.5 million to 11.2 million.

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Summary: On the 11th day of his 2008 campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman reported back on the response of Mr. Mario A. Hernández of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in reply to his inquiry whether the August 9, 2008, “Know Your Rights” forum in Cold Spring, Minn., was intended specifically for legal immigrants and whether public funds would be used to benefit undocumented aliens.

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Summary: On the seventh day of his 2008 campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman worked on his position statement on national security and studied a local controversy regarding illegal immigration.

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