Tribute to the military

Monday, October 30, 2006

al-Zawahire Target in Pakistan Madrassa Attack

Courtesy of National Terror Alert Center

BREAKING NEWS: al Zawahiri was the target in Pakistan Madrassa Strike

Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.

The raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda’s No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda’s winter headquarters.

Despite earlier reports that the missiles had been launched by Pakistani military helicopters, Pakistani intelligence sources say that the missiles were fired from a U.S. Predator drone plane.  Read More at ABC News Blotter

 

Iraqi Army getting first-rate advise

Courtesy of Multi-National Force - Iraq

Monday, 30 October 2006

By Sgt. Shannon Crane
129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

U.S. Army Capt. Samuel Shepherd, military transition team adviser for 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, monitors the radio as Iraqi soldiers stand ready during a cordon and search mission in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Embedded transition teams assist with logistics and battlefield enabling effects, such as medical evacuation, close air support and artillery. Official Department of Defense photo.

U.S. Army Capt. Samuel Shepherd, military transition team adviser for 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, monitors the radio as Iraqi soldiers stand ready during a cordon and search mission in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Embedded transition teams assist with logistics and battlefield enabling effects, such as medical evacuation, close air support and artillery. Official Department of Defense photo.

CAMP TAJI — Rome wasn’t built in a day...and neither was its army. Constructing, supplying and properly training a country’s fighting force is hardly an expeditious task. It is a process, and this process can be likened to a marathon - not a sprint.

The same can be said for the Iraqi Army. Over the past three years, it has been rebuilt from the ground up as a modern, effective, fighting force consisting of ten divisions with approximately 131,000 soldiers.

Today, approximately 89 Iraqi Army combat battalions, 30 brigade headquarters and six division headquarters control their own battle space.

Members of the Military Transition Teams at Camp Taji play a key role in this process, as they slowly, but surely, train the Iraqi Army to ultimately assume independence.
The purpose of the MiTTs is to advise, coach, teach and mentor Iraqi Soldiers – to provide the necessary training and guidance to bring their army to a level where it can work independently.
“First of all, we advise. So our job is to help the Iraqis plan and execute combat operations - those units that are already working in combat operations,” said U.S. Army Maj. Steven Carroll, a transition team chief from Fort Sill, Okla.

“We're primary trainers, or train-the-trainers, for Iraqi units that have just started. So teacher/adviser is the primary role for the team,” he added.

Each 11 to 15-man team brings a mix of combat and support specialties, including operations, intelligence, logistics, communications, engineering and security. Team members work one-on-one with their Iraqi counterparts, showing them the ropes of each specialty and offering advice on streamlining operations.

“Second, we bring the effects - coalition effects - to the Iraqi army that they don't have for themselves,” said Carroll.

“Indirect fires, fixed air and helicopter attack aviation support, MEDEVAC helicopters and other non-lethal effects, like information operations assets, for example, that the Iraqi army uses during their combat operations, but can't provide for themselves. We provide that,” he said.
In addition to training and advising, the teams often run patrols outside of the compound with Iraqi Soldiers to show presence, facilitate effects and to help the Soldiers gain confidence in running operations.

“We go to checkpoints and provide U.S. presence, because without it, they can’t get attack aviation, or air MEDEVAC, or any of the things that we take for granted in our Army,” said U.S. Army Capt. John Govan, a logistics adviser from Mobile, Ala.

“Those have to be called in by the U.S., so we’ll go out with them sometimes as presence patrols, what we call battlefield circulation, where we move around and check on different checkpoints inside our Iraqi brigade,” he added.

The Iraqi commander of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, who asked not to use his name for reasons of force protection, commented on the importance of the American transition teams running patrols with his Soldiers, and what they ultimately learn from the experience.

“They train us how to deal with the insurgents,” he said. “They also train us how to deal with the civilians and the checkpoints, and they show us how to surround the areas if we suspect that we have improvised explosive devices or insurgents.”

For the transition teams to work effectively, they must establish solid relationships with Iraqi Soldiers. They do this by embedding with the Soldiers – living and working in the same areas on a daily basis.

This is not as easy as it sounds, as many of the obstacles faced by the teams lay in the strong cultural differences between the American advisers and Iraqi Soldiers.

“One of the biggest challenges, of course, is the language barrier,” said U.S. Army Maj. Marc Walker, a transition team chief from Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Walker then described the differences in work schedules between the Iraqis and Americans.
“The Iraqi soldiers’ normal day starts at seven and goes until noon,” he said. “Then they have an afternoon break, and then they start back up again right after dinner time, about six o’clock...then work until midnight. So we’ve had to adjust our schedules around theirs.

“We’ve had to adjust to their prayer times and all their religious rituals that they do, as well.”
Cultural awareness is a theme that resonates within all aspects of the transition teams’ work. The team members are in agreement as to the importance of being able to appreciate and respect the Iraqi culture.

“As far as the cultural significance, or the ability to relate to the Iraqis culturally, I think it’s very important,” said U.S. Army Capt. Eric James, an operations adviser from El Paso, Texas.

“I think if you’re culturally insensitive to them, then one, they’re not going to respect you. And then, in turn, you’re not going to build that strong relationship that you need, personally, to be able to conduct professional business.”

“I think you can sum it up with you rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression,” said Carroll. “And first impressions are important, in this case. Building a good working relationship - a good rapport - with your counterpart is everything.

“So, if you are culturally unaware, and accidentally insensitive, you may have ruined that chance to make a good first impression.”

Still, other challenges are around every corner, and the teams work to fix this.
“It’s my job to empower them,” James said. “If I accomplish my job, when I leave here, they’ll be able to conduct internal operations in their own battle space without having brigade to tell them to do their own operations.”

Though it seems difficult, at times, to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, members of the MITTs are definitely seeing a progression toward independence in their Iraqi counterparts.

“Most of us, this is our second year over here, and, so what we have seen are huge steps since 2003 in the reforming of an Iraqi army and a basic Iraqi security force,” said Govan.

“But the daily, mundane things that we do, it’s tough to see unless you step back and look at where they started from,” he said. “We believe that they have grown.

“Our unit, as a logistics battalion, is the equivalent of a forward support battalion inside of a brigade combat team. They don’t do a great job with logistics, simply because so much of logistics is farmed out to contract food, water, and maintenance.

“But what we have seen them do is grow as a maneuverable force. They’re responsible for their own force protection and their own re-supply, and we have really nothing to do with that except for overseeing it.

“So in the beginning, we helped create it, and now, keeping true to the MiTT model, we’ve worked ourselves basically out of a job.”

An Iraqi civilian interpreter who works with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, who also asked his name not be used, said he has seen a positive difference in his country’s army in the short time he’s worked with the transition teams, and made comparisons to how the Iraqi army used to be.

“I don’t think we had an army,” he said, “because you see, everyone wanted to make something for himself. Some money or some respect. Everyone made something for himself. That’s why I don’t care about the army before 2003.

“After 2003, I feel that we got a new army. I feel that the Iraqi army is a great army that I’ve never seen before. But at the same time, I see the Iraqi officers and the soldiers don’t have the experience. They don’t know what the other armies in the world are doing, how they fight, or how they work.”

He added that as a result of the guidance the Iraqi soldiers have received from the transition teams, the Iraqi army is changing for the better.

“Actually, I’m honest...I see progress,” he said. “I see progress.”

“Despite the differences that the Iraqi army has to the way we're doing business, they're actually accomplishing the mission,” Carroll said, “at least our unit in their sector, to a standard. It’s rarely the American Army's standard, but they're accomplishing the mission.”

In spite of the various obstacles and seemingly slow progress involved with building and training a military force, the members of the transition teams see the relevance of the mission and continue to stay the course.

“We’re told that the MiTTs are basically the exit strategy from this theater and we all want the same thing, and that’s to go home,” Govan said. “But I think it’s, overall, a good thing. I’ve seen that they do grow.”

Some team members find job satisfaction in seeing how far the Iraqis have come in their training.
“This assignment is very rewarding, and it is very frustrating at the same time,” said Walker, “but I believe the rewards outweigh the frustrations that you will have over here.

“And when you look back over the course of the year, you’ll look at where they started and where you’ve ended up, and I’m very pleased with where we’re at right now.”

Others find fulfillment in the experiences they’ve gained.

“This is a great opportunity to get out and to get in the fight...and see a different part of the Army,” said James.

“To really grow and experience new things,” he said. “To learn a lot about how to conduct yourself and run operations in a volatile environment. You can do nothing but grow professionally and personally, I think, by joining a MiTT and getting out here and living with the Iraqis.”

And still others find success in the day-to-day gains...making headway in the marathon of military transition.

"There are days, or late nights, when I walk back from the battalion commander's office, where I think we'll never get through to them,” said Carroll.

“But the very next day, a triumph,” he said, “and we've broken through and things have gotten better overnight.

“I would absolutely recommend it to anybody that wanted to do it. It’s a challenging job, but it's definitely the future.”

 

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Venezuelan Government ID Scandal Becomes Public

The following article was authored by Kenneth Rijock, Financial Crimes Consultant. Reposted with his permission.

Venezuela's dirty little secret, well known to many North American compliance officers, has surfaced: you cannot trust its government-issued forms of identification.

The Social Christian Party, which opposes the Chavez government, has complained that Venezuela's voter registry contains millions of bogus identities, created in order to insure election victories for the current regime. Three million new voter registrations have occurred since 2003. This corrupt arrangement is but a part of a tainted system of government identification that renders Venezuelan-issued IDs unsuitable for compliance purposes.

Those of you who are long-time readers of my articles on Latin America know that i have cautioned compliance officers against accepting Venezuelan government identification documents for the past three years. Corrupt government policies have resulted in the issuance of multiple identities to its political supporters, also distributing identity documents to arriving members of radical Islamic terrorists who do not even speak Spanish, and rendering the national ID system meaningless.

A few of the inconsistencies found by the Social Christian Party :
  • 2,272,706 voters listed as living in the same two-story townhouse in Caracas. A woman answer-sing the door at that address stated that seven people lived there.
  • 39,000 voters with birthdays that would put them over the age of 100; this is a statistical impossibility, in a country whose population is only 26m. If true, it would mean that ten times as many Venezuelans as American citizens are living past the age of 100.
  • 1921 voters, all with the same last name, Gonzalez, all allegedly born on the same day, 15 March, 1974, with most of them purportedly residing in Zulia State, which borders Colombia. Most of these voters are registered to vote in the same place.
  • A woman, drawing a monthly government payment, who is over the age of 150 years. The oldest living person in the world today is believed to be a 116 year-old woman in Ecuador, and the oldest documented age is 122.
  • 1.7m Venezuelans were originally registered without an address, which is a major violation of the law.
Remember, these illegal voters all must have Cedulas, national identity cards containing a unique number, to register, which means that without active governmental collusion, these voter registrations could not occur. It also tells compliance officers that many Cedulas, the generally accepted means of identification for opening bank accounts, are bogus. Caveat compliance.

Since known members of Hezbollah, Hamas, the FARC, the ELN, ETA, and other designated terrorist organizations who are operating opening in Venezuela are also holding Cedulas, potential terrorist financing exposure is also present when North American and European banks open accounts for Venezuelan nationals.

Compliance officers are strongly urged to independently verify identity for new clients who hold Venezuelan government-issued identification, lest they approve customers whose true identities make them unacceptable risks. It is suggested that verified bank references from major international institutions, located outside Venezuela, may provide the needed verification.

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Friday, October 27, 2006

Is Venezuela Helping Terrorists?

According to WorldNetDaily (WND) Venezuelan IDs may be helping terrorists enter U.S.  Chavez provides support to Middle Easterners headed north, charges report of the subcommittee on investigations of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Pix of Hugo Courtesy of WND

(WND) WASHINGTON – Venezuela, whose leader Hugo Chavez has stood with Iran against the U.S., is providing documents that could help terrorists infiltrate the U.S.-Mexico, charges a new congressional report on homeland security.

"Venezuela is providing support – including identity documents – that could prove useful to radical Islamic groups," says the report of the subcommittee on investigations of the House Homeland Security Committee. "The Venezuelan government has issued thousands of cédulas, the equivalent of Social Security cards, to people from places such as Cuba, Colombia and Middle Eastern nations that host foreign terrorist organizations."  For more the rest of the article please go to WorldNetDaily.Com: Chavez 

Also reporting:

National Terror Alert Center: Is Venezuelan Helping Terrorists Enter U.S.

US Department of State: Venezuela: Terrorism Hub of South America?

House Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation: Venezuela

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Dirty Bomb Terror suspect Padilla trial to start

According to a news feed posted in the Florida Sun Sentinal, 'Dade jury pool for Padilla terrorism case will start at 3,00o jury selection members.'

by Curt Anderson, Associated Press (AP):

MIAMI -- An unusually large group of 3,000 Miami-area residents will be the starting point for jury selection in the highly publicized terrorism support trial next year of alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla and two others.


U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said Thursday that jury duty letters will go out in mid-November to start a process that will ultimately produce 12 jurors and several alternates to try the case, currently scheduled to begin Jan. 22. The trial is expected to last several months.  For the complete story,(here)

It has been a long time in coming.  Jose will get his day in court next year, 2007. 

Background links:

Technorati tags: Terrorism ... Florida ... CNN ... FBI ... Miami ... al Qaeda ... Terrorism ... Homegrown Terror ... Jose Padilla ... Terror Cell

Why Johnny is reading Islamist propoganda


Courtesy of WorldNetDaily.com.  Origianlly posted on October 26, 2006 at WorldNetDaily.  According to the article written by Bob Unruh, news editor for WorldNetDaily:

Islam is being taught in the nation's public schools as a religion to be embraced because "organized Islamists have gained control of textbook content," according to an organization that analyzes textbooks.

The American Textbook Council has concluded that the situation is the consequence of "the interplay of determined Islamic political activists, textbook editors, and multiculturally minded social studies curriculum planners."

WND also has reported that a man arrested as a terror suspect for allegedly trying to transport $340,000 from a group tied to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and who reputedly had connections to Osama bin Laden, helped write the "Religious Expression in Public Schools" guidelines issued by President Clinton during his tenure in office. 

Thank you for your leadership, President Clinton. You have left a legacy for us to remember in years to come.  To read the story in WorldNetDaily, please go to: BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS???????

Previous stories in WorldNetDaily:

Terror suspect contributed to school 'religion guidelines'

'Five Pillars of Islam' taught in public school

'Islamic indoctrination' taken to Supreme Court

Judges asked to rethink 'Islamic-indoctrination'

Appeals court hears 'Islamic indoctrination' case

Appeals court hears 'Islamic indoctrination' case

Judge rules Islamic education OK in California classrooms

District sued over Islam studies

Publisher responds to book criticism

Islam studies spark hate mail, lawsuits

Islam studies required in California district


Technorati Tags:  Apologists and Appeasers ...Liberalism ... Politically Correct ... Islamic Studies ... Freedom ... Politics ... Education ... America ... Middle East ... monotheism ... Religion in Public Education

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Online Fatwas Incite Young Muslims to Jihad

New MEMRI Documentary at http://www.memrifilms.org/

Arab & Iranian Reaction to 9/11 - 5 Years Later
Special Dispatch-Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project/Saudi Arabia
October 26, 2006
No. 1335

Online Fatwas Incite Young Muslims to Jihad

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: HTML version of Online Fatwas Incite Young Muslims to Jihad .

In an article in the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, columnist Fares bin Hazam reports that both preachers in mosques and online propaganda are inciting young Muslims to wage jihad.(1) An interview with a young Muslim who went to fight in Afghanistan, also in Al-Riyadh, provides first-hand testimony confirming this claim.

The following are excerpts from the article and the interview: Saudi Columnist: Preachers in Mosques Urge Worshipers to Join the Jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan Bin Hazam writes in his article: "The business with Afghanistan will never end as long as the 'duty of jihad' continues to live in [our] society, in mosques, in Friday [sermons], and on the Internet...

"After the fall of the Taliban and the subsequent Guantanamo crisis... there was increasing talk about the need to investigate our youth's growing [inclination] towards jihad, and about the need to search for the reasons that motivate them to go to Afghanistan and to other countries..."The call to investigate these reasons is despicable; it is a tasteless joke. [One might think] that the reasons are unknown, that we are not aware of our situation [and need to conduct an] investigation in order to discover why [our young people] went forth and are still going forth [to wage jihad]... The reasons are obvious. Many of us know them, and there is no need for a scientific study or for any other [kind of study] to reveal them...

"Since the causes are known, do we lack courage to deal with [this problem]? [I believe that] we do. Our lack of courage has been apparent ever since we invented the excuse of 'external [influences],' and began to toy with it and wave it at every opportunity. I do not know where these [external influences] come from, since it was we who sent our young men [to Afghanistan] in the first place, before we ever heard of [these influences] that allegedly come [from outside].

"Some preachers, [namely] those who fear the censor, deceive him by being implicit in their incitement to [wage] jihad in Iraq or Afghanistan. They speak in their sermons about the merits of jihad without mentioning a particular region. They speak in general terms that can be applied to any location, even to our [own] country. During the prayer, the details start to pour in thick and fast: first, [a call to wage jihad] in Palestine, [which serve as] a smokescreen, and then [calls for jihad] in Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya, and finally... the call 'oh Allah, grant them victory everywhere!' 'Everywhere' includes our [own] country... and we say 'amen' after the preacher calls [upon Allah] to help the mujahideen in our [own] country..."

Saudi Released From Guantanamo: Fatwas Prompted Me to Join the JihadSa'd Ibrahim Al-Bidna, a young Saudi, traveled to Afghanistan with the aim of joining the jihad. He was arrested two months later, and spent four years and eight months at Guantanamo. In an interview with Al-Riyadh, he said that it was fatwas posted on the Internet that motivated him to wage jihad.

Al-Riyadh: "Tell us of your journey, from [the time] you left Saudi Arabia until your return."

Al-Bidna: "I started this exhausting journey when I left Saudi Arabia on my own, motivated by youthful enthusiasm to [wage] jihad for the sake of Allah in Afghanistan. I traveled to Afghanistan through Syria and Iran. [When I arrived], war was being waged against the Taliban and things were not clear to me. So I decided to leave Afghanistan for Pakistan, and from there to return to Saudi Arabia. But [when I reached] Pakistan, I was arrested and turned over to the American forces. [They] imprisoned me in Guantanamo, [where I remained] until the Saudi authorities intervened and brought me back to Saudi Arabia after years of suffering..."Al- Riyadh: "Tell us about the beginning of your journey and the reasons [that motivated you] to set out for Afghanistan."

Al-Bidna: "Many may find it difficult to believe, but I was not very devout, though I did pray regularly. But enthusiasm and zeal filled the hearts of many young people, and unfortunately, I followed certain fatwas that were posted on the Internet. [These fatwas] call upon young people to wage jihad in certain regions. They tempt them [by describing] the great reward [they will receive], the status of the martyrs in Paradise and the virgins that await them [there]. These fatwas have great influence on young people who have no awareness or knowledge [that enables them] to examine them and verify their validity."

In Afghanistan, I Saw Muslims Fighting Muslims, and That is Why I Left Al-Riyadh: "When you came to Afghanistan, did you find the notion of jihad to be as you had imagined it...?"

Al-Bidna: "When I arrived, the war against the Taliban was at its height. There were constant bombardments and things were not clear to me, especially since I was only there for two months. This is not enough time to understand how things really are. But what concerned me the most was that Muslims were fighting each other, and that is why I left [and went to] Pakistan - for in jihad, a Muslim must never fight his Muslim brother."

Al-Riyadh: "Based on your experience, did you feel that there was no real jihad in Afghanistan?"

Al-Bidna: "The [brief] period I spent there did not enable me see the full picture, and I did not have the knowledge to distinguish real jihad from other actions that are [only] called jihad. But I did see that there were devout people there. Some of them were young men who came [to Afghanistan] out of youthful enthusiasm and [due to their] scant religious knowledge, or were influenced by certain fatwas published by various religious scholars, or [were influenced by] by false images, which were not free of exaggeration, of the situation in Afghanistan. This was the kind of thing that prompted me to set out without informing or asking my family, and without considering the concept of legitimate jihad, its conditions and its rules."

Al-Riyadh: "Today, do you feel that you were wrong to set out [to Afghanistan], obeying some irresponsible fatwas?"

Al-Bidna: "Of course. I [now] understand that I was wrong. I should have asked the leaders for permission to set out [and wage jihad], or religious scholars known for their knowledge and piety, of which there are many in our country..."

Al-Riyadh: "Before you left for Afghanistan, was there anyone who urged you and encouraged you to go?"

Al-Bidna: "I did not belong to any group or organization, especially since I was not devout before I left. But there were obviously some fatwas that called [for jihad] and were posted on certain websites. [They] influenced many young men, both devout and [non-devout]..."

Had I Received Proper Guidance Before I Left for Afghanistan, I Would Not Have Gone
Al-Riyadh: "After returning [to Saudi Arabia], did you meet with the counseling committees? What changed in your way of thinking?"Al-Bidna: "My views began to change when I saw the real picture and understood my error, [even] before I was captured. When I returned to Saudi Arabia, we [i.e. the prisoners released from Guantanamo] met with sheikhs and religious scholars who taught us a great deal, and who enlightened us on the tolerant directives of Islam. Had I [known all this] before I left, I would not have gone. The discussions with the religious scholars and sheikhs gave us the ability to distinguish truth from error, and set us on the right path."

Al-Riyadh: "From your experience, are there specific reasons that cause young people to adopt deviant views and carry out terrorist actions?"Al-Bidna: "Of course there are specific reasons [that motivate] young people, especially unemployment, the desire for self-fulfillment, and [having] free time. I, for example, finished [only] elementary school, and sat around without a job for many years prior to leaving for Afghanistan. Such things can cause young people to go astray, especially when there are [people] who feed them erroneous notions..."

Al-Riyadh: "Do you think that a fatwa posted online can prompt a young person to wage jihad, when he does not know for sure whether the fatwa is valid?"

Al-Bidna: "There is no doubt that the problem lies in the youth's enthusiasm [coupled with] scant knowledge. That's what happened with me. I did not think to verify the validity of these fatwas or to consult with anyone, and [consequently] made a big mistake..."

Endnote:
(1) Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), October 10, 2006.

*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org

Technorati tags: News ... 'War on Terror' ... Terrorism ... Fatwas ... 9/11 ... International News ... World News and Politics ... al-Qaeda ... US News ... Muslim ... Bin Laden ... Islamofascism ... Global Jihad ... Osama Bin Laden ... Caliphate ... counter terrorism ... Domestic Terrorism .. anti-US ... Islamist ... counterterrorism ... religious war

NK threatens war if SK joins sanctions

North Korea is now testing the backbone of South Korea by threatening war with them if they continue to join in the sanctions for which they agreed. You may read the article from ABC News here.

If you have trouble with that link, try this one.

Major Hamas attack may be imminent

Hat Tip to National Terror Alert Response Center

Major Attacks Against Israel On Their Way

Terror groups allied with Hamas in the Gaza Strip are planning a series of large-scale attacks against Israeli positions near Gaza “within the coming days,” including rocket attacks, suicide bombings against Jewish communities and raids of Israeli military posts, several senior terror leaders in Gaza.

The Palestinian officials said the threatened large-scale attacks are meant to provoke an Israeli military response in Gaza that would unite the Palestinians and thwart any attempt by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

Read Morr at World Net Daily

Technorati Tags: homeland security ... terror ... terrorism ... terrorist ... war on terror ... news ... al qaeda ... terror cell ... counterterrorism ... islamic extremists ... jihad ... gaza ... osama bin laden ... islamic swords of justice ... hamas

Complex Environment to be Resolved by Iraqis

Courtesy of DOD Multi-National Forces Iraq: Complex environment to be resolved primarily by Iraqis, Casey says

Wednesday, 25 October 2006

Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General U.S. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad conduct a joint press conference in Baghdad, Oct. 24.   Official Department of Defense photo.

Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General U.S. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad conduct a joint press conference in Baghdad, Oct. 24. Official Department of Defense photo.

BAGHDAD — The senior U.S. troop commander in Iraq expressed his belief, Oct. 24, that the country can be stabilized, while acknowledging the “difficult and complex” situation here.

“Several factors add to the complexity that we’re now seeing” in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad accompanied Casey at the news conference.

Since the Iraqi elections in December 2005, the nature of the conflict has evolved “from what was an insurgency against us, to a struggle for the division of political and economic power among the Iraqis,” Casey said.  

The Feb. 22 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra fanned the existing animosity between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite citizens, Casey noted.  

Al-Qaida, which has an active strategy to foment sectarian violence across Iraq, is further inflaming the situation, Casey said.

Sectarian death squads and illegal militias are attacking and murdering Iraqi civilians living in the central and southern parts of the country, Casey said. Resistance -- mostly led by members of Saddam Hussein’s deposed regime – is active and causing trouble, he added.  

In addition, Iran and Syria continue to stir up unrest and meddle in Iraqi affairs, the four-star general said. 

“Both Iran and Syria continue to be decidedly unhelpful by providing support to the different extremist and terrorist groups operating inside Iraq,” he said.

Casey noted that the new government is only about 150-days old and that “the intensities” of the annual Ramadan religious period are adding to an already tense situation.  

“It makes for a difficult situation, and it’s likely to remain that way for the near term,” he said.

U.S. military forces in Iraq “have continuously adapted to stay ahead of the enemy and to ensure that our U.S. servicemen and women have the proper tools and support they need to accomplish the mission,” Casey said. 

After the Iraqi elections, “we determined that we needed to enhance the capabilities of the Iraqi Security Force to develop and to succeed in security operations,” Casey explained, noting U.S. advisors were embedded in Iraqi security units in February 2005.

A concerted effort was made to secure the Syrian border to prevent foreign fighters and suicide bombers from crossing into Iraq, Casey said. By November 2005, U.S. and Iraqi Security Force had succeeded in controlling that border. 

“We are about 75 percent of the way through a three-step process in building those forces,” said Casey. “And, it's going to take another 12 to 18 months or so till I believe the Iraqi security forces are completely capable of taking over responsibility for their own security – still, probably, with some level of support from us, but that will be directly asked for by the Iraqis.”

Casey said the “complex environment” seen in Iraq today “would be resolved primarily by Iraqis, but with our full support.”  

Much U.S. attention has been devoted to the security situation in Baghdad, Casey said, noting U.S. forces were shifted to confront a recent spike of insurgent-led violence in and around Iraq’s capital city.

“And, we also have increased our targeting efforts against death squads to match our efforts against al Qaida,” he added.  

The United States supports Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s national reconciliation initiative, the general said. Engagement talks with a view toward stopping the violence are ongoing with some of the resistance elements, he added.

(Courtesy of American Forces Press Service)

In other developments throughout Iraq:

Technatori Tags: News ... counterinsurgency ... Terrorism ... International News ... World News and Politics ... al-Qaeda in Iraq ... US News ... Iraq ... Jihad ... Media Bias ... Islamist ... Counterterrorism ... War

Monday, October 23, 2006

The wisdom of the survivalist crowd

Crossposted with prior permission from TSC DAILY 

DISCLAIMER: The different points of views of TSC Daily or it’s contributors are not supported nor do they reflect the views and beliefs of the Bosun Locker or any entity affiliated with the Bosun Locker.

By Josh Manchester : BIO| 23 Oct 2006

 

shelter

Glenn Reynolds' last article here at TCS drew attention to the seeming growth of disaster preparedness and survivalist tendencies in the mainstream population - even though such have usually been the stuff of small subcultures outside the mainstream. Glenn noted that this is no longer the case: freeze-dried food can be bought at Costco, chic survival kits are to be had at Eddie Bauer, and state and local governments left and right are constantly telling people to be ready to survive on their own for some time.

This trend dovetails nicely with another: the mainstreaming of apocalyptic visions of the future. Consider a recent article in New York Magazine, "Why Everyone Has Apocalypse Fever." (and see an extended discussion here). The author, Kurt Andersen, argues that the number of apocalypse-seeking and expecting individuals and groups has grown dramatically, and they are going mainstream:

Five years after Islamic apocalyptists turned the World Trade Center to fire and dust, we chatter more than ever about the clash of civilizations, fight a war prompted by our panic over (nonexistent) nuclear and biological weapons, hear it coolly asserted this past summer that World War III has begun, and wonder if an avian-flu pandemic poses more of a personal risk than climate change. In other words, apocalypse is on our minds. Apocalypse is ... hot.

Millions of people—Christian millenarians, jihadists, psychedelicized Burning Men—are straight-out wishful about The End. Of course, we have the loons with us always; their sulfurous scent if not the scale of the present fanaticism is familiar from the last third of the last century—the Weathermen and Jim Jones and the Branch Davidians. But there seem to be more of them now by orders of magnitude (60-odd million "Left Behind" novels have been sold), and they're out of the closet, networked, reaffirming their fantasies, proselytizing. Some thousands of Muslims are working seriously to provoke the blessed Armageddon.

Andersen is dismissive of many of these groups. But there is an easy relation between a mainstreaming of apocalyptic thinking and a mainstreaming of formerly hard core survivalist mentalities. One might not cause the other, but they both contribute to the zeitgeist.

Whether one chooses to see all of this as paranoia or preparedness is a personal call. But allow me to make an unprovable supposition: if there is one thing that is most likely to lead to some sort of breakdown in national order, it's not avian flu, hurricanes, global warming, or Armageddon. It is the war.

Perhaps this can be dismissed given my military background. "Man who has only hammer sees every problem as nail." Didn't Confucius say that? Nevertheless of all those other maelstroms, the one that is most immediate, growing, global, and certainly getting worse is the global Islamist insurgency - and unlike the other threats, it includes an adaptable, quickly learning enemy that seeks to kill as many as possible.

There are few places in the world or spheres of life now unaffected. Pakistan has ceded Waziristan to the Taliban. A coterie of Islamist judges have taken over Somalia. Thailand's new prime minister plans to "reach out" to those in the south of his country who have killed 1500 since 2004. The French police fight an intifada every night, and recently requested armored vehicles and water cannons to bolster their efforts. The British have asked university professors to keep tabs on Muslim students - because there are so many who could be radicals that the intelligence agencies need all the help they can get. And we haven't even touched Iraq, the ambitions of Iran, or its bosom buddy Kim Jong Il, who now professes a trio of more nuclear tests shortly.

One cannot listen to the Pope; watch South Park; walk into a bookstore; enter a university campus; or of course peruse the news without being inundated by reactions to or the influence of jihad.

Americans are therefore preparing for what might come, without really knowing what it might be, only that it will probably be bad to say the least.

The French military theorist Ardant du Picq ( . . . mandatory pause for snickers about French military theorists . . .) specialized in the moral dimension of war. "It is to be noted that when a body actually awaits the attack of another up to bayonet distance (something extraordinarily rare), and the attacking troop does not falter, the first does not defend itself." That lack of defense comes from the assumed moral superiority of the attacking force, due to the fact that at some subconscious level, a force that is confident enough in itself to attack, is also confident in its reasons for attacking, and maybe even in its world view.

Du Picq once related the story of a Russian unit that waited and waited for an attack, expecting to join the fight only after being struck first:

They say that the battle of Amstetten was the only one in which a line actually waited for the shock of another line charging with the bayonets. Even then the Russians gave way before the moral and not before the physical impulse. They were already disconcerted, wavering, worried, hesitant, vacillating, when the blow fell. They waited long enough to receive bayonet thrusts, even blows with the rifle.

This done, they fled. He who calm and strong of heart awaits his enemy, has all the advantage of fire. But the moral impulse of the assailant demoralizes the assailed. He is frightened; he sets his sight no longer; he does not even aim his piece.

Back in August, when Tony Blair gave a important yet largely ignored speech in Los Angeles, he made these comments about our enemies:

Sometimes political strategy comes deliberatively, sometimes by instinct. For this movement, it was probably by instinct. It has an ideology, a worldview, it has deep convictions and the determination of the fanatic. It resembles in many ways early revolutionary Communism. It doesn't always need structures and command centres or even explicit communication. It knows what it thinks.

So it does. And while the American people may be divided on many issues, they are preparing for what is to come, practicing their own form of strategy by instinct - and rightly so, for, given our present course, the horrors visited upon us thus far may merit a mere footnote compared to those to be loosed upon us in the trials ahead.

The author, Josh Manchester,  is a TCS Daily contributing writer.  I would encourage you to visit TSC Daily to read more thought provoking and controversay articles.

If you are a producer or reporter who is interested in receiving more information about this article or the author, please email your request to interview@tcsdaily.com

 

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Sunday, October 22, 2006

CNN Defends Showing Terrorist Sniping Americans

Courtesy of NewsBusters. Com - Exposing and Combating the Media Bias.

Originally posted at NewsBusters by Matthew Sheffield on October 20, 2006

If the war in Iraq were solely a military engagement, it would have ended long ago. Al Qaeda and its ad hoc allies are militarily insignificant. In a standing battle, they'd be wiped out in a matter of minutes.

The enemy there realizes this and has moved to a strategy that emphasizes small skirmishes and targeting civilians, not in the hopes of winning the day, but in the hopes of intimidating Iraqis--and Americans. They've said as much repeatedly that their goal is to scare us and our allies into yielding.

With that fact in the public record, you'd think no American media outlets would play into this strategy. You'd be wrong, though. CNN continues to play al Qaeda's useful idiot by defending its airing of footage of American troops being sniped at by terrorists saying it's only interested in providing "the unvarnished truth:

"The tape, which came to the network unexpectedly through contact with an insurgent leader, was aired first Wednesday night on "Anderson Cooper 360" and repeated on Thursday.

In one instance, the tape shows a uniformed member of the U.S. military milling in a public area with Iraqis. A shot rings out. CNN fades the screen to black before the result — described as a victim falling forward — is visible. [...]

CNN understood that some critics might find that the tape had public relations benefits for the insurgency, Doss wrote.

"We also understood that this kind of footage is upsetting and disturbing for many viewers," he said. "But after getting beyond the emotional debate, we concluded the tape meets our criteria for newsworthiness."

The decision was subject to "hours of intense editorial debate" at CNN's highest levels, he said. Doss said he had already received several angry responses from viewers of Wednesday's five-minute report, some wondering whether CNN was helping the enemy and others concerned that the tape was inappropriate for young viewers who may have happened upon it.

"Whether or not you agree with us in this case, our goal, as always, is to present the unvarnished truth as best we can," Doss said.

Read more on Matthew Sheffield's blog

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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Islamization of France

This article was written in summer 2003, over two years before this one week of rage engulfed France. Maybe, Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" theory is not far off the mark. Perhaps France should have listened to Mounicq and heeded the warning that he has written about. This article was reprinted with permission from Tech Central Station.

Written By Jean-Christophe Mounicq
First published in Tech Central Station on 08/28/2003

If Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilization" theory is right, France is on the front line. With at least six and maybe eight million Muslims living in its territory among a total population of 60 million, France is the most "islamized" Western country. Seeing France's inability to adapt to globalization or to the aging of its population, it could be bad news for the world that the French are the first to be forced to facilitate the emergence of a "modern" Islam.

As nearly every Western country absorbs a fast growing Muslim minority, every Westerner should look closely at France. A French failure to integrate Muslims could lead to a general European and Western failure. Those who don't believe in the clash of civilizations might at least see a clash between traditional Islamic values and Western republican values. This raises the question of the compatibility of Islam with secular democracy (separation of church and state) and human rights (especially the rights of women and of non-Muslims).

All Muslims do not interpret the Koran identically and do not practice the same forms of Islam. But which Islam is going to win in Western countries? Even if they do not say it openly, more and more French citizens fear an Islamist victory that could lead to religious and civil war. The vote in favour of Jean-Marie Le Pen is emblematic of this fear. Locally, votes in favour of the National Front are linked to the proportion of Muslim immigrants in the population.

Stephen Schwartz, in his book The Two Faces of Islam, has an optimistic view of the Islamic question and believes any problems stem from the radical Wahabist sect. The Saudis finance most mosques and Islamic schools all over the world. This leads to a worrisome preponderance of Wahabi influence over Muslim thought. One has to admire the courage of Schwartz, whose fight against Islamo-fascism is of extreme importance.

Schwartz thinks Islam is essentially a religion of "tolerance" and that Mohammed was a "man of peace". Yes and no. Muslims do tolerate others but they also give them an inferior status. Mohammed was a man of peace but also a warrior. The beliefs of Mr Schwartz are so strong that he converted to Islam. His choice certainly
demonstrates one solution to preventing a clash of civilization.

As every non-Muslim may not be in the mood to convert, and as every Muslim does not adhere to the same peaceful reading of the Koran, one may be permitted a more
pessimistic view. The overwhelming majority of Muslims are not terrorists. But from Bali to Riyadh, from Karachi to Jerusalem, from Moscow to New York most terrorists are Muslims. In his book Why I Am Not a Muslim, Ibn Warraq, born Muslim, contends that "all Muslims still take the Koran literally" and hence "there is no difference between Islam and Islamic fundamentalism". It is certain that, as Bernard Lewis wrote, "the creed and political program of Islamic fundamentalist are not compatible with liberal democracy."

So what percentage of Muslims is fundamentalist? From Algeria to Turkey, when Muslims are free to vote, Islamists regularly win 30 to 40 percent of the votes. In
France... the result was no different. In May 2003, the French interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, organized elections for a Representative Council of French Muslims. The Islamists of the UOIF (Union des Organisations Islamistes de France) won over 40 percent of the votes.

This election was a major failure for Sarkozy, who wanted to promote moderate Muslim leaders like Dalil Boubakeur, head of the Mosque of Paris. Before the elections Dalil Boubakeur denounced "the Islam of the suburbs, the Islam of the excited" and was anxious about "more and more young going from the suburbs to Peshawar". He asked "Why shave the beards in Kabul while cultivating them in the Paris area?"

The result of the election, which took place among Mosque-goers who are more fundamentalist than "average" Muslims, was to give power to the president of the UOIF -- who wears a beard and asserts that "our constitution is Koran" -- a way to reject the constitution of France and live according to Islamic (Sharia) law clearly opposed to French law. The problem with Islam is that it is not only a religion but also an ideology that intends to rule man's life on earth.

Was the victory of the Islamists really a surprise given the recent resurgence of anti-Semitism, mainly instigated by young Arabs, in France? After 9/11, in the 19th Arrondissement of Paris, many blew their automobile horns loudly. After the beginning of the new Intifada in Israel, thousands shouted openly "death to the Jews" in Strasbourg. During the Iraqi war, thousands waved portraits of Saddam, Israeli flags with Nazi emblems and Bush portraits with Hitler's moustache.

A stranger may wonder at the lack of French reaction. Is it because the Catholic French are also anti-American and anti-Semitic? The answer is: no. It is more a mixture of laziness ("we'll see later"), fear ("do not provoke Muslims, they may become terrorists"), bad conscience ("Crusades, colonies, unemployment"), optimism ("we will invent the best system") and difficulty confronting reality.

Economics plays a major role in the "Muslim problem". The overwhelming poverty in Middle Eastern and North African countries, ruled for centuries by Islam, drives their populations to desperation. The Islamists, nostalgic for the glorious past of the Caliphates, place the blame for these conditions mainly on Westerners, rejecting the fact that the problem has its roots in the failure of their own societies. With one of the highest unemployment levels for youth among OECD countries, France is in a bad position to provide a model of integration.

Many Muslims came to France only to benefit from the state welfare system, get free social housing, free school, free Medicare, and family allocations but with no desire to adapt to French rule of law. Last July, Sarkozy passed a bill intended to control immigration networks and to stop some Muslim customs: polygamy, excision, repudiation and forced marriage. One hopes that he will be more successful than with the election of his Islamic council. If the Islamization of France goes on it will accelerate the clash of civilization.


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The Intifada of France II

The following article, 'The Intifada of France II,' was originally posted by Tom at Love America First

In case you're not aware there's an intifada going on in France right now. Almost two weeks ago the London daily Telegraph reported that

Radical Muslims in France's housing estates are waging an undeclared "intifada" against the police, with violent clashes injuring an average of 14 officers each day.

As the interior ministry said that nearly 2,500 officers had been wounded this year, a police union declared that its members were "in a state of civil war" with Muslims in the most depressed "banlieue" estates which are heavily populated by unemployed youths of north African origin.

It said the situation was so grave that it had asked the government to provide police with armoured cars to protect officers in the estates, which are becoming no-go zones.

Here's the latest from the Telegraph

The French government yesterday held crisis talks with community leaders in an effort to halt mounting violence in suburbs around Paris, amid news that gangs of youths, mainly of North African descent, were intensifying attacks on police.

Dominique de Villepin, the prime minister, ordered his interior and justice ministers to "toughen up" sentences for those found guilty of assaulting officers, following a meeting with community leaders.

His announcement followed a series of violent incidents over the past weeks, culminating in the ambush of three police officers on Friday by youths in Epinay-Sur-Seine, north of Paris.

In case you've forgotten, in October and November of 2005 massive riots broke out in Muslim-populated Paris suburbs. Over 8,900 cars were torched and over 2,800 arrested in 2 weeks of rioting.

This Agence France-Presse story in Expatica has additional alarming information

Another union — Action Police — said in a statement: "It shows that what we are dealing with here is not youths in need of more social aid, but individuals declaring war on the Republic."...

"No-one has drawn the lessons of the 2005 riots. We are not sufficiently trained for urban violence, yet we are often in face-to-face situations," said another officer.

Le Monde newspaper meanwhile published ministry figures that appeared to confirm a growing willingness among young delinquents to choose police and other representatives of public services as targets.

Some 480 incidents of this type were recorded in September — a 30 percent increase on August, Le Monde said. And it quoted interior ministry figures showing that 2,458 police officers were hurt on service in the first six months of the year - compared to 4,246 for the whole of 2005.

"Behind the statistics police specialists detect a harder, better organised type of delinquency. However they are unwilling to draw definitive conclusions about the increase in attacks on police," Le Monde said.

Now I realize there's a big debate as to the nature of these riots, both the ones going on now and the ones last year. Some say that the Muslim youths are acting out of frustration from high unemployment and racism, others say that they are more motivated by jihad.

Call this a cop-out, but I think it's a little of both. There is high unemployment in general throughout Europe, with it being particularly acute in poor communities such as those where the Muslim Algerians live. France brought them, or their parents and grandparents, actually, to France to serve as cheap labor. France did not want to integrate them, but by the same token the Muslims did not wish to be integrated.

So now you have these Muslim "youths", frustrated by their poverty, and as with so many Muslims have bought into the "victim culture". They have bought into the notion that their religion, which they barely understand, is under assault by the West. They've heard about the wonderful Jihad being fought against the "Crusaders" and "Zionists", and wish to join in.

Previous post: The Intifada in France

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Monday, October 16, 2006

US detects signs North Korea preparing for a 2nd Nuke

Courtesy of Stop the ACLU originally posted by Jay on 10-16-06

Filed at Stop the ACLU under War On Terror, News

(Breitbart.Com) The United States has detected fresh signs that North Korea may be preparing for a second nuclear test, according to U.S. media reports Monday.

U.S spy satellites have detected “suspicious vehicle movements” that could be preparations for another test near the site where North Korea conducted its first underground nuclear explosion test on Oct. 9, ABC News said, quoting unidentified U.S. officials.

NBC News also reported unidentified U.S. officials as saying U.S. spy satellites are picking up signs of truck and people movements.

The news reports came after the United States officially confirmed earlier Monday for the first time that Pyongyang carried out a nuclear test on Oct. 9 in northeastern North Korea, thus also effectively confirming Pyongyang’s possession of nuclear weapons.

Since its announcement Oct. 9 that it “successfully” conducted its first nuclear test, North Korea has repeatedly said it intends to take further “physical” actions against what it calls the “hostile” U.S. stance.

The first one may have been a fizzle, but be careful what you dare.

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Jihad in Iraq: Spread of the Caliphate

Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
October 17, 2006
No. 1324
Islamist Websites Monitor No. 8

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: Special Dispatch Number 1324, HTML

Jihad Groups in Iraq Take an Oath of Allegiance

On October 12, 2006, Islamist websites posted a video showing six white-clad, masked individuals who, according to the websites, were taking a traditional Arab oath of allegiance known as hilf al-mutayyabin ("oath of the scented ones").(1) The websites claimed that the individuals taking the oath represent four jihad groups in Iraq - the Shura Council of the Jihad Fighters in Iraq; Jaysh Al-Fatihin ("The Army of the Conquerors"); Jund Al-Sahaba ("The Army of the Companions") and Kataib Ansar Al-Tawhid wal-Sunna ("The Monotheism and Sunna Brigades") - as well as "many of the sheikhs of the faithful tribes [in Iraq]." During the ceremony, the participants declared: "We swear by Allah...that we will strive to free the prisoners of their shackles, to end the oppression to which the Sunnis are being subjected by the malicious Shi'ites and by the occupying Crusaders, to assist the oppressed and restore their rights even at the price of our own lives... to make Allah's word supreme in the world, and to restore the glory of Islam..."

To view the video, see Oath of Allegiance to Jihad

On October 15, 2006, Jaysh Al-Fatihin announced that although it would have been happy to take the oath, it was never informed of this initiative. The Shura Council of the Jihad Fighters in Iraq replied, on October 16, 2006, that this announcement must have come from the fifth brigade of Jaysh Al-Fatihin, which, unlike the organization's other four brigades, had not yet pledged allegiance to the Shura Council. The Council expressed its hope that this brigade would join its ranks soon.

The Shura Council of the Jihad Fighters in Iraq Announces the Establishment of an Islamic State

On October 15, 2006, Islamist websites posted a video in which the Shura Council of the Jihad Fighters announced the establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq. The individual who delivers the message, whose face is obscured (see photo, visit Shura Council of Jihad), is identified in the video as "the official spokesman of the Islamic State." He explains that, since the Kurds and the Shi'ites have established de facto states of their own in Iraq, and since the Iraqi government headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has betrayed the Iraqi Sunnis and robbed them of their rights, the jihad groups that have recently taken the "oath of the scented ones"(2) have decided to establish an Islamic state which will incorporate the Iraqi provinces of Baghdad, Al-Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah Al-Din, Ninveh, and parts of Babil Province (see map, visit Oath of the Scented Ones).

The announcer adds that the purpose of establishing the Islamic state is twofold: to unite the mujahideen and prevent fitna, and to make the word of Allah supreme in the region. He calls upon the Sunnis around the world to support the newly established Islamic state, and urges the Sunnis in Iraq to pledge allegiance to 'Umar Al-Baghdadi, who is referred to as amir al-muaminin, a title traditionally given to the Muslim Caliphs.

To view the video, see Sunnis in Iraq, Umar al-Baghdadi

Endnotes:
(1) According to classical Islamic sources, hilf al-mutayyabin was an oath of allegiance taken in pre-Islamic times by several clans of the Quraysh tribe, in which they undertook to protect the oppressed and the wronged. The name "oath of the scented ones" apparently derives from the fact that the participants sealed the oath by dipping their hands in perfume and then rubbing them over the Ka'ba. This practice was later adopted by the Prophet Muhammad and incorporated into Islam.

(2) See report above: "Jihad Groups in Iraq Take Oath of Allegiance."

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MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

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National Security News Summary 10-16-2006

Headline Summaries Courtesy of National Terrorism Alert Center

--------------------------

Breaking News: 2nd Warning - Muslims Urged To Leave U.S. - Next Attack Imminent Urgent news from Peshawar.

The head of the Islamabad-based Al-Quds Media Center has received a message from a senior Taliban leader who calls upon all Muslims living in the United States to leave the country as soon as possible “because God’s punishment will fall upon America in the month of Ramadan.”

Jamal Ismail, a senior journalist at Al-Quds, received the call Thursday from Mulla Masoom Afghani. “Afghani said he was speaking from somewhere in the Kandahar province,” Ismail said. “He read the message in Arabic, which I recorded. In it he advised Muslim residents of America to get out to escape harm because the United States could face big attacks in the month of Ramadan.”

This is the second notice for Muslims to leave America. The first was issued to Hamid Mir, the only journalist to interview Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the wake of 9/11. Mir received the warning from Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, who said: Final preparations have been made for the American Hiroshima, a major attack on the U. S. Read More ... WorldNetDaily Article

NYC Students Charged Over Packages On Subway - October 14th, 2006

The dean of a Brooklyn arts college chastised two students who planted packages in the subway for a class project, saying it was like shouting fire in a crowded theater.

Robert Barrett and Jamie Davis, both 21, were arrested earlier this week on charges of placing fake bombs in the mass transit system - a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
They said the stunt was part of a class project at the Pratt Institute.

“There’s a difference between challenging paintings and thought-provoking conceptual projects and criminal activity,” Frank O. Lind, dean of Pratt’s School of Art and Design, told The New York Times. “This was shouting fire in a crowded theater.” Read More

Police Had A Second Mole In Terror Plot October 14th, 2006

The Globe and Mail has learned the identity of a second informer who was instrumental in Canada’s most sensational anti-terrorism sweep.

Around the time 18 individuals were arrested on terror-related charges in June, a man vanished from his home in a Toronto suburb.

At first, most of his friends and business partners had no idea why he would leave his home, disappearing with his immediate family. The man, who is in his late 20s, had been going through money problems, as he often had before, but nothing particularly serious. Read More

North Korea Threatens New York, Washington - October 12th, 2006

As reports circulated of a second imminent nuclear test, a high-ranking North Korean official who is called the unofficial spokesman for Kim Jong-il issued a not-so-veiled threat to the United States today in an interview with South Korean radio.

“Everything will be settled in a week,” said Kim Myong-chol on KBS Radio. “That is, whether we, Korean people, will remain as we are now, or lose, or New York will lose, or Washington, D.C., will lose, it will all be settled once and for all.” Read More

Chicago To Have Cameras On Every Corner - October 12th, 2006

Security and terrorism won’t be an issue if Chicago wins the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games because, by that time, there’ll be a surveillance camera on every corner, Mayor Daley said Wednesday.

“By the time 2016 [rolls around], we’ll have more cameras than Washington, D.C. … Our technology is more advanced than any other city in the world — even compared to London — dealing with our cameras and the sophistication of cameras and retro-fitting all the cameras downtown in new buildings, doing the CTA cameras,” Daley said. Read More

Homeland Security Plans Cargo Scanning - October 12th, 2006

The Homeland Security Department expects to formalize agreements with up to three foreign ports by the end of this year to scan all cargo containers before they are shipped to the United States, a senior department official said Wednesday. Read More

Man Admits Plotting UK and US Terror Strikes - October 12th, 2006

A London man today pleaded guilty to plotting to murder people in terrorist attacks on Britain and the US, with targets including the World Bank in Washington.

Dhiren Barot planned to use a radioactive so-called dirty bomb in one of a series of synchronized attacks in the UK, with the intention of causing “fear, terror and chaos”.

He intended to strike British targets in a conspiracy known as the gas limos project, packing three limousines with gas cylinders and explosives and detonating them in underground car parks. Read More

U.S. Brings First Treason Case In Over 50 Years - October 11th, 2006

A California-born convert to Islam, accused of making a series of al Qaeda propaganda videos, became on Wednesday the first American charged with treason since the World War Two era, U.S. Justice Department officials said.

Fugitive Adam Gadahn, 28, who is believed to be in Pakistan, was accused of treason, which carries a maximum punishment of death, and providing material support to al Qaeda, they said.
Read More

Terror Cells At Work - October 11th, 2006

Terrorists jailed in Indonesia are translating Middle Eastern terror manuals for mass distribution, a leading terrorist expert said yesterday. International Crisis Group director Sidney Jones told a terrorism forum that translated manuscripts were being smuggled out of Indonesian prisons and mass-printed by commercial publishing houses or posted on the internet.

Indonesia has arrested more than 300 people over terrorism, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, which together killed scores of Australians. Authorities had found jihadist terror manuals with many of them. Read More

al-Qaeda Leader Urges Attack - October 10th, 2006

A man believed to be a top al Qaeda militant who escaped from a U.S. jail near Kabul was shown in a new videotape broadcast on Tuesday exhorting followers in Afghanistan to fight on until they attack the White House.

“Allah will not be pleased until we reach the rooftop of the White House,” Abu Yahya al-Libi was shown telling fighters in the tape aired by the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television.
The channel said the tape was one-hour long, showing footage of Libi urging fighters to train hard and even to try to acquire nuclear technology.

“You have to get well prepared by starting with exercise, and then you have to learn how to use technology until you are capable of nuclear weapons,” he said. Read More

Al-Qaeda In Palestine Makes Its Presence Felt - October 10th, 2006

The Gaza branch of Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network destroyed a local internet café on Sunday in what it said was only the start of a campaign against corruption and treason in the Palestinian ranks.

During the early morning hours, gunmen belonging to the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic Swords of Justice shot at and detonated a bomb alongside a popular internet café in a northern suburb of Gaza City. Read More

Nightmare scenario: A-bombs for al-Qaeda - October 10th, 2006

The most alarming thing about Kim Jong-il’s new weapons, to many knowledgeable observers, is not the nuclear threat itself. It is the way the world’s major powers might respond to them.
The worst-case scenario goes something like this: Terrified by the nuclear threat next door, the Japanese decide to build their own nuclear arsenal, to the deep alarm of China. The United States beefs up its Pacific bases and begins threatening attacks on North Korean missile sites. In response to this new U.S. presence near its shores, China drastically increases its military strength and begins making overt threats, setting off a chain of military escalation. And North Korea, isolated and desperate after losing its last sources of economic support, sells its nuclear devices to al-Qaeda. Read More

North Korean Threatens Nuclear Tipped Missile - October 10th, 2006

The U.S. vowed not to be intimidated by North Korean threats Tuesday after Pyongyang reportedly said it could fire a nuclear warhead if Washington did not act to resolve the standoff.
Read More

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