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New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963607/posts |
Posted on 01/02/2008 8:53:38 PM PST by nwctwx
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1603333/posts
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QUOTE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1603333/posts?page=100#100
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/006284.html
16 January 2008
“IF YOU’RE A TERRORIST AND YOU’RE DEPENDENT ON THE INTERNET, I HAVE BAD NEWS”
Al-Qaida’s 007
Posted on 16 January 2008 @ 03:30
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http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3191517.ece
From The Times
January 16, 2008
“Al-Qaeda’s 007”
“The extraordinary story of the solitary computer geek in a Shepherds Bush bedsit who became the world’s most wanted cyber-jihadist”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: ““Once you get on to one guy who’s important in a network, because the structure of a network is flat . . . you get everyone he’s connected to,” Aaron Weisburd explains. “In the old days a terrorist organisation would have a much more hierarchical structure, you would have tight little cells and one guy would know maybe one person one step up and maybe one person one step down, but that’s it. In a network structure, if you get the right guy the whole thing goes down.”
That’s exactly what happened with Tsouli. His arrest has been linked to a series of others around the world, including the arrest of 17 men in Canada in June 2006 and the two Americans who travelled to Washington. There have also been arrests and convictions here in the UK of individuals who visited Tsouli’s web forums.
Others have tried to take Irhabi 007’s place, even paying homage to him and using similar names. But no one has been able to fill his shoes and al-Qaeda has been forced to use teams of people to replicate what that one young man did from his bedroom in Shepherds Bush. No one has matched his influence on the web: they have learnt to keep a lower profile than the celebrity-conscious Tsouli. “Keep in mind, those were some pretty big shoes and his name is still being talked about on the internet now like he’s a god,” Evan Kohlmann says.
The cat-and-mouse game continues: one in which the teenage and twentysomething supporters of al-Qaeda often have the upper hand over law enforcement and intelligence officers, who often come from a different, less computer-savvy generation. But for other wannabe internet terrorists, the cyber-trackers are still out there. As Aaron Weisburd puts it: “If you’re a terrorist and you’re dependent on the internet, I have bad news.”
— Terrorist 007 is on Newsnight on BBC Two tonight at 10.30pm, and on Our World on BBC News24 on Saturday (2.30 and 9.30pm) and Sunday (2.30pm)”
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48679
“Africa Partnership Station Aims to Boost Maritime Security”
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16474&Itemid=128
Press Release A080116a
January 16, 2008
UPDATE: Coalition forces positively identify terrorist killed in Diyala province raid
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A terrorist killed during an operation Dec. 30 near Muqdadiyah has been positively identified as Abu Layla al-Suri.
Abu Layla al-Suri, also known as Abu Abd al Rahman, was assessed to be one of the key al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders operating in Diyala province. Layla has been intricately involved in the terrorist network operating in the Diyala River Valley region since October 2006, and was closely associated with several al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.
Some of al-Suri’s direct associates included Abu Maysara, the senior radical religious advisor to al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who was killed by Coalition forces Nov. 17 and another Diyala province terrorist leader detained during an operation Dec. 10. In addition, al-Suri had ties to the al-Qaeda in Iraq propaganda cell leaders in Baghdad, due to his involvement in terrorist media and propaganda operations in Diyala.
Al-Suri was killed during a Coalition forces operation Dec. 30 near Muqdadiyah. The ground force was engaged by enemy fire as they approached the target area, and they returned fire in self-defense. The ground force then observed two armed terrorists emerge from the target building and maneuver in separate directions. The ground force engaged one of the men, killing him.
The other individual moved to a nearby palm grove and supporting aircraft engaged his position. As the ground force approached the armed terrorist’s position, the suspect engaged, and the ground force returned fire, killing him.
Once enemy fire ceased, Coalition forces began to clear the site and found two weapons caches, including 10 rifles, eight grenades, four military-style assault vests with 20 loaded magazines, 1,000 rounds of ammunition and rocket propellant. One of the terrorists was also wearing a suicide vest, who was later assessed to be al-Suri. The ground force found numerous fake IDs and media materials on site, believed to belong to al-Suri, to include propaganda and recruiting videos showing al-Qaeda in Iraq executions and attacks.
The weapons caches, and a vehicle allegedly used for terrorist activity, were safely destroyed on site. Seven suspected terrorists were also detained.
“There is no place in Iraq for dangerous terrorists like al-Suri to hide,” said Navy Capt. Vic Beck, MNF-I spokesman.
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The “Lone Wolf” and al-Qaeda Sleeper Cells in the United States
Global Terrorism Analysis ^ | January 15, 2008 | Abdul Hameed Bakier
Posted on 01/16/2008 6:05:05 AM MST by Cannoneer No. 4
Since 9/11, the security and intelligence echelons of the United States have been preoccupied with the possibility of domestic al-Qaeda sleeper cells being activated to perpetrate additional terror attacks. In clandestine activities, a “sleeper” is an operative who establishes deep cover to evade security forces and accomplish his mission in hostile environments. To uncover such sleeper cells, the FBI has devised certain security measures throughout its field offices in the United States. Islamist militants, eager to again attack the United States, are posting instructions on jihadi websites as to how fellow militants could evade the security apparatus and carry out terror strikes on U.S. soil. Comparing the training instructions for jihadi sleepers with the security measures currently in place could shed light on other angles warranting consideration in the hunt for sole sleeper operatives and—to a lesser degree—sleeper cells.
A 2005 FBI report stated that the agency had been unable to find conclusive evidence of the existence of such cells (ABC News, March 9, 2005), though comments on jihadi websites suggest that they exist. The militants are aware of the FBI’s concern about sleeper cells in the United States; each time pertinent information is released in U.S. media, jihadi posters write comments and prayers for the success of those cells. One website participant—who appears to be knowledgeable about clandestine activities—has posted a code of conduct for sleepers in the United States. Nicknamed al-Muhajr, the forum member claims “sleeper cells are walking around the infidels’ land using different cover methods and white names that don’t attract American internal security’s attention, but that is not what terrifies the FBI in particular and internal American security in general. It’s al-Qaeda’s lone wolves that disrupt their tranquility and sleep” (hanein.info, January 1). Al-Muhajr proceeds to guide the “lone wolf” sleepers on the necessary skills to succeed in their mission:
• The sleeper should have excellent command of the local language, accent and slang.
• The sleeper’s appearance must not reveal their Arab or Islamic origins. To pretend to be of Hispanic extraction is preferable; therefore sleepers should learn Spanish and use Hispanic aliases.
• The sleeper must carry false identity documents, which are easily obtained in the United States. False identities must be used when buying munitions, shotguns or night vision equipment, etc. from licensed Wal-Mart stores or other shopping centers.
• Sleepers must choose their place of residence very carefully. The preferred choice of residence is in multicultural neighborhoods while eschewing areas frequented by drug dealers to avoid scrutiny from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
• The sleeper should learn martial arts and keep fit for personal protection
. • The sleeper must become highly literate in computers and the internet
. • The sleeper should become an expert in surveillance, counter-surveillance and observation.
• The sleeper should train with sniper rifles, especially U.S.-made weapons that are easily obtainable within the country. Al-Muhajr recommends five different types of U.S.-made rifles.
• The sleeper should train with assault pistols with silencers, the weapon of choice for assassinations.
• The sleeper should learn to prepare explosive belts and explosive charges big enough to booby-trap a small car.
Al-Muhajr goes on to say: “It’s a well-known fact that the perfect sleeper is the highly trained loner risking less chance of compromise. It takes one mistake by a cell member to compromise the entire cell.” To conclude, al-Muhajr cites the case of John Allen Muhammad, the serial killer who carried out sniper attacks in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in 2002. Muhammad was eventually captured because the fingerprints of his younger accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, were found at a crime scene. Therefore, al-Muhajr cautions, sleepers must be careful not to let their guard down at any time: “The lone wolf doesn’t worry about security penetrations.”
Although going under deep cover in Western society may involve contradicting certain aspects of Islamic ideology, Salafi-Jihadis have in the past justified certain unreligious practices under the principle of “deterring the bigger evil with a smaller evil.” Hence, profiling for possible sleepers must include ideology-oriented variables in addition to standard indicators, because no matter how well the sleeper assimilates to a foreign society, close scrutiny is bound to uncover certain latent and unavoidable habits.
placemark
IIRC about five years ago, freepers Old Sarge, judicial meanz and myself had this intense conversation as to the potential makeup and distribution of so called sleeper cells that might be infiltrated across our southern border. Based on Border Patrol apprehension stats at the time and giving a timeline for infiltration at about the previous ten years since AQ has ultra long range planning processes, there were (then) an estimated 70,000 potential terrorists in the country. Okay so not every person who crosses illegally has mayhem on his mind even if his country of origin is a terrorist threat to our nation.
There will be four types of terrorist sent:
The first will be the LONE WOLF who has been assigned a specific set of objectives or targets to attack once the predesignated "go code" is issued. This individual is highly trained in all aspects of intelligence tradecraft. He will speak flawless English and will have an established and not easily broken cover identity. This cover identity will be a "close hold" secret on the part of the chain of command as will the mission. This is the guy you'll never see coming until he's accomplished the mission. Unless you stumble over him in a set of circumstances worthy of a Hollywood script. Unlikely, but it could happen.
Next are the organized cells. These will consist of a specific number of men with specific training and experience needed to accomplish the mission. There will be the following: First of all a leader who will direct the attack. A logistics guy who will take care of all paperwork, securing a safehouse and securing the team jobs. He'll be responsible for procuring food, weapons and ammo. Also if needed explosives. He may well have a contact that is a member of a foreign intelligence service on our soil who will help him get what is necessary. There will be the Intel guy who is responsible for setting up the operation and planning the execution. He conducts target surveillance and will be highly trained in these techniques. There will be somebody responsible for security. For detecting attempts to infiltrate and observe by local or federal LEO's or intelligence agencies. They're also responsible for keeping cell members "in line." Most all of these individuals will have specific training and instructions to carry out their missions. No cell has any knowledge of the location or assignments for any other cell. This is a critical facet of effective security! Finally there may be an indeterminate number of shooters who will take care of bloody business.
Then there will be folks who are assisted in infiltration but whose missions have been limited to watching for the "go code" and then wreaking as much havoc as possible on targets of opportunity as they come to hand. These will be very difficult to detect before hand in one sense and yet an alert populace will find it easy to spot them because they've got no skills and are obviously the hate filled zealots that form the stereotype. These might be some of the examples of Sudden Jihadi Syndrome that have been popping onto the radar this last couple of years. You can be certain that the government at all levels will be spinning any such incident like crazy to avoid a panic.
Finally and more subtly there will be some local home grown variations and many will have become converted to radical Islam in prison. They will be Americans and although convicted felons, they will have in place a support structure that will probably be unavailable to the others. They will also have in place the criminal contacts to secure material to execute an operation or to secure the "funds" needed.
January 16, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/January/08_nsd_029.html
Islamic Charity Charged with Terrorist Financing; Former U.S. Congressman Indicted for Money Laundering
KANSAS CITY — A federal grand jury in the Western District of Missouri has returned a superseding indictment that charges the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) and several of its former officers with eight new counts of engaging in prohibited financial transactions for the benefit of U.S.-designated terrorist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The indictment also charges former U.S. Congressman Mark Deli Siljander with money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the case.
The 42-count superseding indictment returned today was announced by Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; John F. Wood, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri; Joseph Billy, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division; and Monte C. Strait, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office.
“This superseding indictment paints a troubling picture of an American charity organization that engaged in transactions for the benefit of terrorists and conspired with a former United States Congressman to convert stolen federal funds into payment for his advocacy on behalf of the charity,” said Assistant Attorney General Wainstein.
“An organization right here in the American heartland allegedly sent funds to Pakistan for the benefit of a specially designated global terrorist with ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban,” said U.S. Attorney Wood. “By bringing this case in the middle of America, we seek to make it harder for terrorists to do business halfway around the globe. The indictment also alleges that a former congressman engaged in money laundering and obstruction of a federal investigation in an effort to disguise IARA’s misuse of taxpayer money that the government had provided for humanitarian purposes.”
IARA, the Islamic charitable organization named in today’s indictment, was headquartered in Columbia, Mo., and was formerly known as the Islamic African Relief Agency-USA. IARA was officially formed in 1985 and closed in October 2004, when it was identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a specially designated global terrorist organization. Mubarak Hamed, 51, of Columbia, Mo., a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sudan, served as IARA’s former executive director and is named as a defendant in the indictment.
Also charged in today’s superseding indictment is Mark Deli Siljander, 57, a former U.S. Congressman from Michigan (1981-87) who serves as the owner/director of Global Strategies, Inc., a planning, marketing and public relations company located in the Washington, D.C. area.
Other defendants named in the indictment are Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 53, formerly of Columbia, Mo, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Libya and a former member of IARA’s board of directors; Ahmad Mustafa, 55, of Columbia, a citizen of Iraq, and a former fund-raiser for IARA; Khalid Al-Sudanee, 56, a citizen and resident of Jordan, and the regional director of the Middle East office of the Islamic African Relief Agency (also known as the Islamic Relief Agency, or ISRA); and Abdel Azim El-Siddig, 51, of Palos Heights, Ill., a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Sudan, and formerly vice president for international operations for IARA.
On March 6, 2007, IARA, along with five officers, employees and associates were charged in a 33-count indictment for illegally transferring funds to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions. They were also charged with stealing government funds, with misusing IARA’s charitable status to raise funds for an unlawful purpose, and with attempting to avoid government detection of their illegal activities by, among other things, falsely denying in a nationally-televised interview that a procurement agent of Osama bin Laden had been an employee of IARA. These charges are included in the superseding indictment returned today.
New Terrorism-Related Charges Against IARA
Today’s superseding indictment adds to the original charges by alleging that IARA and its former executive director, Mubarak Hamed, engaged in prohibited financial transactions for the benefit of Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan mujahideen leader and founder of the Hezb-e-Islami-Gulbuddin (HIG), who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Hekmatyar has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. government designated Hekmatyar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Feb. 19, 2003, thereby blocking all property and interests in property of Hekmatyar.
According to Counts Thirty-Four through Forty-One of the new indictment, IARA and Hamed knowingly and willfully engaged in financial transactions for the benefit of Hekmatyar’s organization by sending approximately $130,000 in 2003 and 2004 in numerous transactions to Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan, purportedly for an orphanage housed in buildings owned and controlled by Hekmatyar.
“Sending money to benefit designated terrorists jeopardizes both U.S. national security and the security of nations around the world,” said Assistant Director Joseph Billy, Jr., FBI Counterterrorism Division. “The FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence community to pursue suspected terrorists and their supporters, whether in the United States or overseas.”
It is important to note that the indictment does not charge any of the defendants with material support of terrorism, nor does it allege that they knowingly financed acts of terror. Instead, the indictment alleges that some of the defendants engaged in financial transactions that benefited property controlled by a designated terrorist, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
New Charges Against Former Congressman
Today’s superseding indictment also names Mark Deli Siljander as a defendant on counts of money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. According to the indictment, Siljander was hired in March 2004 by defendants IARA, Hamed, and Bagegni to advocate for the removal of IARA from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of non-profit organizations suspected of being involved in supporting international terrorism.
The Senate Finance Committee placed IARA on this list of charities and published the list on Jan. 14, 2004. Siljander was to advocate for IARA’s removal from the list and reinstatement as an approved government contractor by gathering information and meeting with individuals and agencies of the U.S. government.
As compensation for the services that Siljander agreed to perform, IARA transferred roughly $50,000 in stolen federal funds to accounts that were controlled by Siljander at the National Heritage Foundation and the International Foundation. According to the indictment, the funds used to compensate Siljander for his services had previously been stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by IARA, Hamed and Bagegni. The International Foundation and the National Heritage Foundation, which is not related to the Heritage Foundation, are not charged with any wrongdoing in this case.
IARA, Hamed and Bagegni had previously entered into a series of agreements with USAID for relief projects in Mali, Africa. When USAID terminated those agreements in December 1999, the amount of money involved totaled approximately $2 million. IARA had allegedly failed to fully fund the matching contributions required to receive USAID funds. After the termination of these agreements, the indictment alleges, IARA, Hamed and Bagegni, without authorization, retained approximately $84,922 of USAID money and failed to return the funds to USAID as called for by the agreements.
According to Count Twenty-Eight of the indictment, Siljander and defendants IARA, Hamed, Bagegni and El-Siddig conspired to engage in money laundering by transferring stolen USAID funds, knowing that the transfers were designed to conceal the nature, source and ownership of the proceeds. Counts Twenty-Nine through Thirty-One of the indictment charge Siljander along with IARA, Hamed, Bagegni and El-Siddig with engaging in money laundering by transferring stolen USAID funds, knowing that the transfers were designed to conceal the nature, source and ownership of the proceeds.
Obstruction of Justice
Count Thirty-Two of the indictment alleges that Siljander obstructed the due administration of justice in the grand jury investigation in the Western District of Missouri by making false statements to FBI agents in December 2005 and to FBI agents and federal prosecutors in April 2007.
According to the indictment, Siljander told federal officials that he had not been hired to do any lobbying or advocacy work for IARA and that the money or checks he received from IARA were charitable “donations” intended to assist him in writing a book about bridging the gap between Islam and Christianity. When he made these statements, he then well knew and believed that each statement was false, the indictment alleges.
The public is cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. AID-Office of Inspector General.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, in conjunction with Trial Attorneys Corey J. Smith, National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Steven M. Mohlhenrich, Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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08-029
ADDING 1 link to post no. 687:
Thanks to Ernest at the Beach for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954774/posts
“MO: (FED) Grand Jury Issues New Charges Against Islamic Charity; Charges Ex-Congressman”
missourinet ^ | Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 1:19 PM | Bob Priddy
Posted on 01/16/2008 1:13:04 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
ADDING links to post no. 687:
INDICTMENT (copy):
http://www.jihadwatch.org/IARA_indictment.source.prod_affiliate.81.pdf
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Note: Photo included.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019607.php
January 16, 2008
“Former Congressman, U.N. Delegate Indicted as Part of Al-Qaeda, Taliban Fundraising Ring”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1603333/posts
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QUOTE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1603333/posts?page=101#101
Thanks to a special freeper for pointing to this article.
Note: Photo included.
Comments here:
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=508543&in_page_id=1770
“British Muslim computer geek, son of diplomat, revealed as al Qaeda’s top cyber terrorist”
Last updated at 17:42pm on 16th January 2008
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A computer nerd from Shepherd’s Bush, West London, became al Qaeda’s top internet agent, it can be revealed today.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, the head of the Met’s counterterrorism operations, said: “It was the first virtual conspiracy to murder that we have seen.”
Tsouli arrived in London in 2001 with his father, a Moroccan diplomat. He studied IT at a college in central London and was quickly radicalised by images of the war in Iraq posted on the internet.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “But the enterprise had become so huge, it began to attract the attention of cyber-trackers who monitor the internet for extremists, leading to Tsouli’s arrest.”
101 posted on 01/16/2008 2:05:43 PM PST by Cindy
Thanks to F15 Eagle for the ping to this thread.
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954809/posts
WFAA-TV ^ | 08:29 AM CST on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 | By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA-TV
Posted on 01/16/2008 2:19:45 PM PST by F15Eagle
DALLAS — Law enforcement agencies across the country have been warned to be alert for vehicles that have been made to look like commercial or law enforcement vehicles, but in actuality are “clones” being used for illegal activities.
A 28-page report obtained by News 8 revealed that cloned vehicles are being used to smuggle drugs, guns and illegal immigrants.
Authorities said in one example, authorities discovered that a truck that appeared to be a Federal Express vehicle was actually a fake hauling 1,300 pounds of marijuana inside U-Haul boxes.
When Texas state troopers pulled over a fake SBC truck, the driver wouldn’t cooperate and didn’t have proper paperwork. After troopers searched the vehicle, authorities said they found 1,800 pounds of marijuana.
Police said they have found more and more cloned vehicles all across the nation. Often times, authorities said the criminals are savvy enough to carry equipment to try and disguise their illegal contraband.
One cloned van was reported to have been carrying hollowed-out spools of wire in the cargo area. Inside, police found more than $1 million.
In another case, a vehicle posing as a border patrol van was found to be holding 31 illegal immigrants inside. Authorities said the people were stacked on top of one another.
A Flower Mound couple was also busted for driving a fake vehicle that police said was designed to look like an emergency vehicle.
Police said the criminals are creative and they fear a fake vehicle could be used by terrorists for surveillance and preplanning of an actual attack.
The report said police should pay close attention to delivery service and government vehicles during routine stops, which is how most of the cloned vehicles have been found.
E-mail rlopez@wfaa.com
I missed this in December, so let’s add it here for archival purposes.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=bus
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7160320.stm
Last Updated: Wednesday, 26 December 2007, 11:23 GMT
“Stolen bus ploughs into vehicles”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A stolen bus careered down a street in Chichester, hitting five vehicles, before ploughing into a building and coming to a stop.
Police said the driver escaped on foot, running from the scene of the crash on Christmas Day.
One of the drivers of the other vehicles suffered a minor injury and was treated at St Richard’s Hospital, a spokesman for Sussex Police said.
He said the single decker bus belonged to Stagecoach.”
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954821/posts
Syrian man gets six months prison for N.Y. attack hoax
Swissinfo ^ | January 16 2008 | Reuters
Posted on 01/16/2008 2:42:32 PM PST by knighthawk
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Syrian man convicted of giving a false tip to a New York City anti-terrorism hotline, leading to five innocent men being investigated on suspicion of terrorism, was sentenced on Wednesday to six months in prison.
Rimon Alkatri, 35, was convicted in November of calling a hotline to offer a tip about five fellow Syrians whom he accused of planning a suicide attack on New York City subways over the July 4 holiday weekend.
City officials dispatched dozens of police, conducted round-the-clock surveillance and sought help from Israeli law enforcement, prosecutors told a jury at the New York State Supreme Court.
The public was not informed until after Alkatri’s arrest. Police later learned four of the five men he implicated were former business associates with whom he had disputes.
“I’m sorry about what I did,” Alkatri told Judge Raymond Wiley on Wednesday.
But Wiley said that Alkatri had to take responsibility for the suffering of the men he named, who were interrogated and whose homes were searched. A less professional police force “would have locked these gentlemen up and asked questions later,” the judge said.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Fares Almari, one of the victims, said he was disappointed.
“Six months only?” Almari said. “We’ve been suffering for one and a half years. I will work all of my life to sue this guy. I will spend each dollar I have.”
Alktari will face deportation proceedings following his release.
(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Alan Elsner)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954807/posts
“[Mexican]Shootings target police, families”
SignOnSanDiego.com ^ | January 16, 2008 | Sandra Dibble
Posted on 01/16/2008 2:16:54 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
6 killed, 5 injured in three incidents
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “TIJUANA – A high-ranking police commander, his wife and his 11-year-old daughter were among six people killed in a burst of overnight violence in Tijuana that has left residents shaken and law enforcement officials vowing to fight harder than ever against organized crime.
The killings occurred in three parts of the city over six hours late Monday and early yesterday. By the time the violence was over, heavily armed men also had killed two other Tijuana police officers and a civilian, and wounded three adults, a 4-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.
It remained unclear yesterday whether the shootings were linked.
The fact that children were shot has raised fears that violence has reached new levels in this city plagued by drug-related bloodshed. While law enforcement officials have been targeted, their families have largely been spared.
The attacks come a week after President Felipe Calderón’s government dispatched 1,000 federal police to Baja California, 500 of them to Tijuana to help state and local law enforcement agencies fight organized crime. Yesterday, federal troops helped guard Tijuana’s police headquarters. A few blocks away, soldiers kept watch over the state medical examiner’s office.
“It would be hard to have a day sadder than this one,” said Alberto Capella, Tijuana’s secretary of public safety, seated with top state and federal law enforcement officials at a packed news conference.
“We are not going to bow down; on the contrary, it gives us greater strength and determination.”
His own house was shot up by gunmen in November, shortly before he was appointed to his city post by Mayor Jorge Ramos, who has pledged to make public safety a hallmark of his administration.
In each of the three incidents, the assailants used AK-47 assault rifles.”
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html
Travel Alert
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Wed Jan 16 2008 15:09:04 GMT-0800 (PST).
Mexico
October 24, 2007
More Details:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48684
“Coalition Forces Kill 3 Terrorists, Detain 4”
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2008
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48686
“‘Phantom Phoenix’ Makes Security, Civil Progress in First Week”
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2008
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48685
“Afghans in Forefront of Anti-insurgent Fight, General Says”
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2008
blog:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/01/taliban_overrun_mili.php
“Taliban overrun military fort in South Waziristan”
By BILL ROGGIO
January 16, 2008 9:47 AM
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080116.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 16, 2008
Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce
White House News
SUBJECT: Presidential Exemption from the Coastal Zone Management Act
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 1456(c)(1)(B) of title 16, United States Code, and to ensure effective and timely training of the United States naval forces in anti-submarine warfare using mid-frequency active sonar:
I hereby exempt from compliance with the requirements of section 1456(c)(1)(A) of title 16 (section 307(c)(1)(A) of the Coastal Zone Management Act) those elements of the Department of the Navy’s anti-submarine warfare training during Southern California Operating Area Composite Training Unit Exercises (COMPTUEX) and Joint Task Force Exercises (JTFEX) involving the use of mid-frequency active sonar. These exercises are more fully described in the Environmental Assessment/Overseas Environmental Assessment prepared for the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet, dated February 2007.
On January 3, 2008, as modified on January 10, 2008, the United States District Court for the Central District of California determined that the Navy’s use of mid-frequency active sonar was not in compliance with section 1456(c)(1)(A), and issued an order that is appealable under section 1291 or 1292 of title 28, United States Code. On January 11, 2008, the Secretary of Commerce made a written request that the Navy be exempted from compliance with section 1456(c)(1)(A) in its use of mid-frequency active sonar during COMPTUEX and JTFEX. As part of that request, the Secretary of Commerce certified that mediation under section 1456(h) is not likely to result in the Navy’s compliance with section 1456(c)(1)(A).
I hereby determine that the COMPTUEX and JTFEX, including the use of mid-frequency active sonar in these exercises, are in the paramount interest of the United States. Compliance with section 1456(c)(1)(A) would undermine the Navy’s ability to conduct realistic training exercises that are necessary to ensure the combat effectiveness of carrier and expeditionary strike groups. This exemption will enable the Navy to train effectively and to certify carrier and expeditionary strike groups for deployment in support of world-wide operational and combat activities, which are essential to national security.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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