Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Thirty-Five

[nwctwx]

Unrest in Pakistan Setback for Terror War
(Full Story)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A week of unprecedented urban fighting in the wild tribal belt of North Waziristan has left scores dead and forced thousands to flee their homes, raising the stakes in Pakistan's war on Islamic militancy along the Afghan border.

A jumbled alliance of foreign militants, local tribesmen and Islamic students eager for jihad have stepped up resistance in a region where the army already claims to have wiped out al-Qaida as a viable fighting force.

The unrest, brewing for months, is a setback to the U.S.-led war on terror. Further hampering that effort are deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan over Afghan claims that Taliban leader Mullah Omar is hiding in Pakistan and suicide bombers are training here.

	Growing strength of Pakistani Taliban worries U.S. officials
	Are global events spiraling out of control?
	Zawahri calls for strikes against West

Thread Thirty-Five

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[Cindy]

You're welcome JP.

[JustPiper]

SACRAMENTO
Informant tells of befriending terror suspects
He also says FBI questioned him on money laundering

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/22/BAGP6HS52O1.DTL
__________________________________________________________

Al-Qaida`s nuclear option

~snip

There has been no cooperation from India in the nuclear security field, according to Matthew Bunn, director of the Atom Project at Harvard. 'China,' he adds, 'has secured one civilian facility.'

With over $30 billion in the button-down-the-nukes kitty, over half the security work remains to be done. There are also 43 countries with more than 100 research reactors or related facilities that store enough highly enriched uranium nuclear materials to make several bombs. Only 20 percent of these sites are properly secured, says Nunn, and less than a handful meet U.S. Energy Department security standards, says Bunn. Most countries consider DOE`s security criteria too demanding.

Rather than try to steal or buy one of thousands of Russian tactical nukes, or nerve gas artillery shells, a WMD terrorist is far more likely to knock off the night watchman, lower the chain link fence somewhere in Switzerland or Italy, and drive off with sufficient materials for a nuclear device. The actual making of a nuclear bomb after that is the easy part; the recipe is on the Internet.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/northamerica/article_1149037.php/Al-Qaida%60s_nuclear_option

[JustPiper]

Kansas to let nuclear plant guards "shoot to kill"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a bill on Wednesday authorizing security guards to shoot to kill to protect the state's lone nuclear power plant.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060322/us_nm/utilities_security_kansas_dc

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/060321la.htm


News Release


March 21, 2006

LOS ANGELES MAN CHARGED FOR ATTEMPTING TO SHIP SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY TO IRAN
Joint ICE-FBI probe uncovers scheme involving illegal export of pressure sensors


LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles man was arraigned in federal court here yesterday for his role in a scheme to illegally export more than 100 Honeywell sensors to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the manufacturer, the sensors, which detect the pressure of liquid or gas, could potentially be used to detonate explosive devices.

Mohammad Fazeli, 27, was arrested March 16 at his Los Angeles apartment by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Fazeli was named in a three-count indictment handed down March 9 charging him with violating the IEEPA, conspiracy, and making false statements.

The indictment alleges that Fazeli ordered 103 pressure sensors in September 2004 through a website operated by an electronics company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the indictment, Fazeli told an unindicted co-conspirator that he had been contacted by a representative from that company advising him that he needed a license in order to export the devices. Despite that, after receiving the parts, Fazeli allegedly attempted to send them to the United Arab Emirates, with the understanding that the devices would ultimately be shipped to Iran.

Under the IEEPA, Iran has been subject to a trade embargo by the United States since the late 1970s. The Iranian Transactions Regulations expressly prohibit the sale, supply, or transshipment of any goods, technology, or services to Iran without prior authorization by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Investigators say Fazeli had not received the required prior approval from the Treasury Department to export the pressure sensors.

“One of ICE's top enforcement priorities is preventing terrorist groups and hostile nations from illegally obtaining U.S. military products and sensitive technology,” said Kevin Kozak, deputy special agent in charge for ICE investigations in Los Angeles. “In the wrong hands, components like these pressure sensors could be used to inflict harm upon America or its allies.”

"The charges in this case are a result of the hard work of committed agents from separate agencies working toward the same goal of preventing the illegal export of a potentially harmful device," said J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.

Fazeli, who remains free on $50,000 bond, is scheduled to go on trial April 25.

ICE's Arms and Strategic Technology Investigations (ASTI) Unit is responsible for investigating the illegal export of U.S. military products and sensitive technology. In fiscal year 2004, ICE's ASTI Unit worked on more than 2,500 such investigations.

Just last week a federal jury in San Diego found Arif Ali Durrani guilty of multiple violations of the Arms Export Control Act for illegally exporting military aircraft parts from the United States to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Belgium. At the trial, ICE agents testified that many of the military components in Durrani's illegal export plot were ultimately destined for Iran.

-- ICE --

[JustPiper]

* FYI

How a Remote Alaskan Indian Tribe Got One of the Most Lucrative Post-911 Security Contracts, But Not a Single Job

Contract Casino

By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR

The Pentagon isn't alone in handing out plump no-bid contracts to politically wired corporations. The new Department of Homeland Security, a collage of 22 sub-agencies sprawling across the federal bureaucracy, is sluicing billions into the coffers of a few favorite contractors and many of the deals have been awarded on the same no-bid basis that brought such amazing largesse to corporations doing business in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as Bechtel and Halliburton.

http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair03222006.html

[JustPiper]

Islamic charity director's attorney says office secretly searched

PORTLAND, Ore. - The attorney representing a fugitive Saudi national accused of tax charges involving an Islamic charity said Tuesday he believes his office was secretly searched as part of an international terrorism investigation.

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=84339
______________________________________________________

A&M picks possible biolab site

Texas A&M University could know as early as July whether it will make the cut to potentially be home to a one-of-a-kind defense center that would help guard the nation against bioterrorism and agriculture threats, officials said Tuesday.

President Robert Gates and other high-ranking A&M officials held two public forums to announce the university's plans to seek a $450 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security that would be used to build the 500,000-square-foot National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility on 30 acres.

http://www.theeagle.com/stories/032206/am_20060322001.php

[Cindy]

http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/000270.htm
March 23, 2006
"Regina _v_ Jihad"

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/001678.html
30 March 2004
"International terrorism investigation leads to Ottawa"
(National Post)
OTTAWA

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/001684.html
31 March 2004
"Arrest in Ottawa tied to explosives seizure in UK"
(TheStar.com)
OTTAWA

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/001768.html
10 April 2004
"Arrests key win for NSA hackers"
(theglobandmail.com)

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/001779.html

12 April 2004
"Accused terrorist had access to secret files including home addresses of diplomats
Friday, April 09, 2004"
(canada.com)

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/004127.html

15 May 2005
"Al-Qaeda said to favour Canadian recruits
Perhaps the CSIS wants to get into the paintball supply business? Might be a good way to make some interesting new friends...
Sat, 14 May 2005 15:29:56 EDT CBC News"

===
===


http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/16b6f2ca-3671-421d-b40b-5ee0ea90baea/khawaja-sm.jpg?size=l

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=408dc2ed-d950-4ee5-a4b7-392eb5faaf34&k=75162

"'Momin Khawaja constitutes the Canadian end of the conspiracy'"
canada.com
Published: Tuesday, March 21, 2006

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Prepared text of Tuesday's portion of the Crown's opening statement in the trial of seven men alleged to have plotted to bomb London. The rest of the statement was to be delivered on Wednesday:"

[JustPiper]

N. Korea Suggests It Can Strike U.S. First

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/21/D8GG0D7O0.html
__________________________________________________________

'US could wipe out Iran nukes in 2 days'

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395642558&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
_________________________________________________________

Minuteman Project Plans New Border Patrol

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/21/D8GG0S384.html

[JustPiper]

*Well, once again AlJazz spewed false propaganda, thank God!

~Thanks to my friend Morgan for this:

[Al-Jazeerah, (opinion & theory, 03/01/06)] USA - Concealed History: The Next War on Iran and Syria
[ Consider the source, included because author predicts possible Chicago Sears Tower attack NOTE: 03/22]

"On March 22 , 2006, a major event , possibly an attack on the Sears tower in Chicago, or the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, will take place and martial! law will be enacted in the U.S.A"

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/March/2%20o/Concealed%20History%20The%20Next%20War%20on%20Iran%20and%20Syria%20By%20Tony%20Soldo.htm

[Cindy]

Smiling...

OPINION...I thought "alJazz" is 24/7 propaganda news with propaganda views.
Let's see, standing on my head...yep, it's still propaganda news and views.

[JustPiper]

Israeli documents quote Chicago man as saying he funneled cash to militants

A Bridgeview man accused of laundering money to finance terrorist operations by the Palestinian militant group Hamas gave Israeli police a detailed account of his shadowy life in the underground when arrested in 1993, according to documents released Tuesday.
Muhammed Salah told how he was recruited into the Muslim Brotherhood by the leader of the Bridgeview Mosque, sought out recruits for militant activity in Israel and engaged in secret transfers of large sums with a Mideastern money changer, according to the documents.

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsindex/22-ds9.htm

[JustPiper]

Bizarre police chase through Manhattan Woman under arrest, accused of stealing a flat bed truck
Eyewitness News
(Lower Manhattan-WABC, March 22, 2006) - A woman is accused of stealing a flatbed truck and leading police on a bizarre chase through Lower Manhattan this morning, hitting several vehicles in the process.

At one point, the truck appeared headed near the Holland Tunnel, and Port Authority officials were put on alert. Then, the truck appeared headed toward Brooklyn, and authorities were asked to shut down the outbound Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4013806

[MamaDearest]

A thousand thank you's for posting "the list" again. It was definitely something we needed to review.

Now if everyone can take an extra few minutes out of their busy lives and make sure what they have on hand is in balance with what your post suggests we need to have on hand.......

[JustPiper]

Alleged terror plotters in Britain sought radioactive weapon, prosecutor says

DAVID STRINGER

LONDON (CP) - Seven British men accused of planning al-Qaida-linked terrorist attacks in Britain discussed several possible targets including a big nightclub in London, and one of them had allegedly tried to obtain what he called an "atomic bomb," a prosecutor told a court Wednesday.

David Waters, outlining the prosecution case for a second day, said nothing came of the group's interest in such a weapon.

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/news/shownews.jsp?content=w032229A

[JustPiper]

Twin bomb blasts in Bolivian hotels kill two

LA PAZ, Bolivia, March 22 (Reuters) - Bomb blasts rocked two small hotels in the center of the Bolivian city of La Paz, killing two people, and officials said on Wednesday they had arrested two foreign suspects.

La Paz prosecutor Jorge Gutierrez said the pair, apparently a Uruguayan and {{{an American,}}} were arrested in the early hours of the morning in the city of El Alto, which borders La Paz, soon after the second blast.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2286150.htm

[JustPiper]

FBI weaving web in Pak to launch attack on Iran

ISLAMABAD: In order to accomplish its evil designs against Iran United States of America has established Federal Bureau of Intelligence office in Pakistan.
FBI is working in Islamabad for last one and half year. The FBI agents are working as Finger Print Staff at Inspector General of Police Islamabad Office under the guise of Immigration Wing, Weekly Pulse reports.

Interior Ministry has given proper permission to FBI agents and it has been disclosed in some circles that a Finger Print department has been set up under the supervision of National Police Bureau at IG Office.

http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=137816

[Cindy]

Seriously, thanks for posting that link here JP.

[MamaDearest]

I pray we will turn our foreign policy completely around in this area (Bush has made some movement in thios direction ver the last several years, but, IMHO, not nearly enough) and realize that a kingpin behind a lot of the rising resentment and hostility towards the US has China written all over it.

I'm no expert in foreign policy by any means, but that experience is not necessary to see that if we don't get our ducks in a row promptly, consequences could be dire for America and Americans to say the least.

[Cindy]

This is interesting JP.
Follow-ups appreciated.

[JustPiper]

Malaysia..Bolivia they are all the same to me ;)