Threat Matrix: June 2008

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[nwctwx]

The Hunt for American al Qaeda

The United States is turning up the heat in the hunt for the California boy turned al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. If caught and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty.

The State Department along with the Department of Diplomatic Security announced the beginning of a publicity campaign in Afghanistan urging locals to provide any information on Gadahn's whereabouts, with a reward if the information leads to his capture.

Radio advertisements with information concerning the $1 million reward have already begun airing. Additionally, printed materials including matchbooks, handbills and posters will be distributed throughout the region in the coming weeks in attempts to elicit cooperation from members of the Afghan community. Read More

	London Bombs Home-Made from Pharmacy Ingredients
	Chertoff: Negotiation With Al Qaeda Futile
	Taliban's Hold in Pakistan

Threat Matrix:
June 2008

May 2008

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Theat Matrix Handbook

Theat Matrix 'BOLO'

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Preparedness

[bd476]

Cindy thank you for the Ping.
Earthquake Ping List.

Latest Earthquakes Magnitude 2.5 or Greater in the United States and Adjacent Areas and Magnitude 4.0 or Greater in the Rest of the World - Last 7 days

Update time = Mon Jun 30 23:11:06 UTC 2008

	MAG	UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s	LAT deg	LON deg	DEPTH km	Region
MAP	3.6	2008/06/30 22:50:00	37.317	-114.353	12.0	NEVADA
MAP	2.6	2008/06/30 22:40:37	39.581	-123.375	6.1	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP	2.8	2008/06/30 21:41:38	56.546	-156.745	91.5	ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP	2.6	2008/06/30 18:41:30	19.278	-155.565	6.2	ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP	3.6	2008/06/30 18:32:54	59.875	-152.850	113.0	SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP	3.7	2008/06/30 18:26:25	58.867	-137.657	5.0	SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP	2.8	2008/06/30 18:16:55	17.849	-65.711	10.9	PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP	2.8	2008/06/30 18:16:54	17.821	-65.718	8.4	PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP	3.7	2008/06/30 18:12:48	58.684	-137.520	5.0	SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP	4.1	2008/06/30 18:05:11	58.553	-137.412	5.0	SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP	3.7	2008/06/30 18:03:11	58.672	-137.510	5.0	SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP	3.1	2008/06/30 17:58:41	58.671	-137.492	3.4	SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP	4.0	2008/06/30 17:34:51	58.785	-137.631	5.1	SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP	2.5	2008/06/30 16:06:40	44.787	-110.254	5.1	YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP	2.7	2008/06/30 15:47:38	17.875	-65.653	21.2	PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP	3.1	2008/06/30 15:10:09	51.386	178.404	25.0	RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP	2.5	2008/06/30 14:01:20	51.451	-179.217	5.5	ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP	4.4	2008/06/30 13:40:12	39.402	20.844	56.7	GREECE
MAP	3.3	2008/06/30 13:13:03	61.587	-150.302	49.3	SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP	2.6	2008/06/30 12:00:13	18.625	-66.272	86.1	PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP	4.9	2008/06/30 11:49:23	14.437	-92.712	56.7	OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO
MAP	2.6	2008/06/30 11:00:10	63.004	-150.811	100.0	CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP	2.7	2008/06/30 08:52:38	60.727	-151.616	84.6	KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP	3.1	2008/06/30 06:37:23	61.203	-145.206	36.8	SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP	6.7	2008/06/30 06:17:44	-58.160	-21.894	10.0	EAST OF THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
MAP	5.0	2008/06/30 04:06:00	-38.377	-93.244	10.0	WEST CHILE RISE
MAP	2.9	2008/06/30 03:48:52	19.669	-156.097	10.6	HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP	2.7	2008/06/30 02:46:05	18.996	-65.125	24.8	VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP	4.4	2008/06/30 00:52:55	44.217	-129.714	10.0	OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

---

[Cindy]

Thank you for the post and info capture bd476.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/germany

#

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/30508_Most_German_Imams_Uneducated_Fundamentalists

#

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,562950,00.html

06/30/2008

“MUSLIM INTEGRATION
Most Imams in Germany Lack Academic Qualifications”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Muslim immigrants looking for advice on integrating into mainstream society in Germany, won’t find much help in their mosques. According to a new study, the majority of imams in Germany are ill-prepared for their own stay in Germany and most lack any academic training.

A study on Islamic preachers in Germany has found that most imams are unable to help Muslim immigrants integrate into mainstream German society because they are insufficiently prepared for their stay in Germany.
According to the study “Imams in Germany,” up to 20 percent of preachers belong to the more conservative, fundamentalist strand of Islam. The study also discovered that only one fifth of imam’s possess academic qualifications.”

[Cindy]

ADDING links to post no. 971:

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4255
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12031
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/commissions.html

#

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50362

“Guantanamo Detainee Charged for Role in USS Cole Attack”

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2008

[SlowBoat407]

I would think that earthquake disaster preparations would be quite similar to those for an anticipated military attack.

That was my first thought when I read it.

[Cindy]

http://www.rferl.org/content/Taliban_Civilians_Killed_In_US_Raid/1146166.html

“28 Taliban, Six Civilians Killed In U.S. Raid”
June 30, 2008
By Reuters

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “KABUL — U.S.-led coalition troops, backed by air strikes, killed 28 Taliban insurgents in southwestern Afghanistan, but six to eight civilians were also killed in the operation, the provincial governor said.

The raid on June 29 was aimed at a Taliban meeting in the Khash Rud district of Nimroz Province, provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad told reporters.

“The operation was carried out on the basis of a tip-off. Twenty-eight Taliban and between six to eight civilians were killed in it,” he said, without giving further details.

The U.S. military confirmed the mission, but said nothing of civilian casualties. It said the operation was aimed at disrupting militant activities in Nimroz.”

[Cindy]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080630.html

#

UPDATE:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50356

“Bush Signs $162 Billion Supplemental War Funding Bill”

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

ARTICLE SNIPPET: ‘WASHINGTON, June 30, 2008 – President Bush today signed a $162 billion supplemental bill that principally will fund U.S. military operations abroad.”

[Cindy]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50359

“Six Units Get Call for 2009 Iraq Deployment”

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2008

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50360

Forces in Iraq Kill Enemy Fighters, Detain Suspected Terrorists

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2008 – Coalition forces killed six enemy fighters and detained 22 terrorism suspects in operations over the past two days, military officials said.

Using information gained from a May 21 operation, coalition forces conducted several operations yesterday targeting members of an al-Qaida in Iraq cell that operates in the Tigris River Valley, officials said.

Near Balad, coalition forces identified two suspected terrorists in a vehicle. The driver ignored coalition forces’ warnings to stop, including warning shots. Coalition forces engaged and killed both men and found a weapon and military-style assault vest in the vehicle, officials said.

During a second operation near Balad, coalition forces identified four suspected terrorists in another vehicle who also ignored coalition forces’ warnings to stop. Perceiving hostile intent, officials said, the forces fired shots, stopping the vehicle. Explosives and ammunition in the vehicle ignited, burning the vehicle and killing the four men inside.

In Beiji, forces detained nine suspected terrorists yesterday and three today. One of the detainees is suspected of providing safe houses for foreign terrorists who are responsible for attacks in the area.

In operations today:

— Coalition forces captured a wanted man and another suspect allegedly tied to the al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist group in Baghdad.

— Forces detained a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq operative in Mosul after an operation that netted two suspected terrorists, propaganda materials and equipment used for forging documents, officials said. Coalition forces also captured a wanted man suspected of being a leader involved in bombings and assassinations, and detained four additional suspects.

— Coalition forces captured a man suspected of being an al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader in the southern belt around Baghdad. The man allegedly provides suicide bombers for attacks.

In operations yesterday:

— A Baghdad resident led Iraqi national police to a weapons cache. The cache contained homemade bombs, mortars, mortar fuses, mortar charges and pistols.

— A tip by an Iraqi citizen led Iraqi soldiers to a house in Baghdad’s Amarah district that contained a large weapons cache. Soldiers seized rocket-propelled grenades, bombs designed to pierce armored vehicles, surface-to-air missiles and bomb-making materials.

— A national police division reported confiscating about 150 weapons during a clearance operation in the Mashtal area of New Baghdad. The weapons included various rifles, machine guns and pistols.

— The local “Sons of Iraq” citizen security group reported a weapons cache in Adhamiya to Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers. Soldiers seized hand grenades and various ammunition rounds including rounds designed to pierce armor.

— Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, along with Iraqi National Police, seized terrorist paraphernalia in multiple locations in Baghdad’s New Baghdad district. The combined forces seized rifles, license plates, a detonator, rocket-propelled-grenade propellant, an artillery shell, identification cards and bomb-making materials.

— Sons of Iraq members in Baghdad’s West Rashid district turned over a munitions cache to soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. The cache was wrapped in plastic and contained rockets, seven RPGs, RPG propellant sticks, and mortars.

In other news from Iraq, the Iraqi national police received 82 Ford F-550 cargo trucks June 27. The Directorate of Interior Affairs arranged the transfer of the vehicles to the national police through the Iraqi security forces fund to speed up the development and capabilities of the national police force, officials said.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

#

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2038890/posts

US ‘won’t allow’ Iran to shut key Gulf oil route
afp ^ | 6/30/08 | afp
Posted on June 30, 2008 5:30:00 PM PDT by Flavius

The commander of the US navy’s Fifth Fleet warned on Monday that the United States will not allow Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf sea lane through which much of the world’s oil is supplied.

His remarks followed comments by the chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, who issued a new warning last week against any attack against his country over its controversial nuclear drive.

“It is natural that when a country is attacked it uses all of its capabilities against the enemy, and definitely our control of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would be one of our actions,” Jafari said.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/legaljihad
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/almsforjihad

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/library
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/libraries

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/freespeech

#

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038937/posts

ALA to Libraries: Keep ALMS FOR JIHAD, Pulped in the UK [Book Burning Alert]
Library Journal ^ | August 23, 2007 | Andrew Albanese & Jennifer Pinkowski
Posted on June 30, 2008 7:19:28 PM PDT by Fiji Hill

ALA to Libraries: Keep Alms for Jihad, Pulped in the UK

Andrew Albanese & Jennifer Pinkowski — Library Journal

At the urging of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), a scholarly book pulped by its British publisher is maintaining a safe haven in U.S. libraries. Alms for Jihad was the target of a potential libel suit in England by Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz, whose charitable activities have reportedly been linked to terrorist activities, as conveyed in the book. In response, publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP) pulped its unsold copies of the book, put it out of print, asked libraries to pull it, and agreed to pay damages. CUP also issued a stunning public apology on its web site in which it characterized the “serious and defamatory allegations” against Mahfouz in Alms for Jihad as “manifestly false.”

In a statement released last week, the OIF recommended libraries resist Cambridge’s request. Libraries “are under no legal obligation to return or destroy the book,” said OIF deputy director Deborah Caldwell-Stone. “Libraries are considered to hold title to the individual copy or copies. Given the intense interest in the book, and the desire of readers to learn about the controversy firsthand, we recommend that U.S. libraries keep the book available for their users.”

As of mid-August, Alms for Jihad was not available through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or Alibris. (About 1500 copies of the book were sold worldwide.) Libraries suddenly have an incredibly rare book in their stacks; a WorldCat search finds the book at nearly 300 libraries. Rather than discard the book, many libraries are safeguarding it, keeping it on hold, at the reserves desk. “I have recalled the copy of this title…in order to place it in our Rare Books collection, where it may be read by anyone but not borrowed,” said Dona Straley, Middle East Studies librarian at Ohio State University’s Ackerman Library. “Several of my colleagues at other institutions have reported their copies as missing.”

That may be the case at University of North Carolina’s Davis Library, whose catalog reveals that Alms for Jihad is “in search,” meaning “someone has gone to the shelf to look for the book and not found it,” said reference librarian Carol Tobin.

These sorts of measures may eventually be less necessary, because the authors hope to republish Alms for Jihad in the U.S. Co-author Robert O. Collins, a professor at University of California Santa Barbara, told LJ that he and co-author J. Millard Burr, a former state department employee, are currently negotiating with CUP for a rights reversion. The authors have had several offers from U.S. publishers.

“We stand by what we wrote and refused to be a party to the settlement,” Collins said. “As soon as CUP received notice, they decided to settle as rapidly as possible despite our vigorous defense. CUP did not want to embark on a long and expensive suit which they could not win under English libel law.” Indeed, libel laws in England are far more favorable to plaintiffs than those in the U.S.

Collins said he is confident Alms for Jihad will be republished in the U.S., where Mahfouz’s charges would have little chance of succeeding in court. “In reality, the few passages referring to Mahfouz are trivial when compared to the enormous amount of information in the book that is in demand,” Collins noted, adding that he has received calls from booksellers offering as much as $500 for copies.

TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; United Kingdom; War on Terror; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: almsforjihad; books; censorship; firstamendment; freespeech; legaljihad; libraries; library; mahfouz; Click to Add Keyword
[ Report Abuse | Bookmark ]

This story is truly chilling. Since the article was published nearly a year ago, Alms For Jihad has become even scarcer—in fact, it appears to have vanished from the face of the earth.
According to the Worldcat library database, several libraries in the Los Angeles area have the book, but when I checked their electronic catalogs, it was nowhere to be found. The American Book Exchange, an online book dealer through which one can find for sale just about any book that has ever been published, also has no record of this title. and it still cannot be found on the site of its competitor Alibris

Nonetheless, I would like to read it, if only to find out what Saudi billionaire Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz doesn’t want me to read.

1 posted on June 30, 2008 7:19:29 PM PDT by Fiji Hill

[Oorang]

'Only a matter of time before we avenge Mugniyah's death'
06.30.08

It is only a matter of time before Hizbullah avenges the assassination of its top commander Imad Mugniyah, a Lebanese commentator affiliated with the organization warned Monday in his editorial in the al-Akhbar newspaper. In an article published several hours after the Israeli government approved the prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah, the commentaro, Ibrahim al-Amin, wrote that his organization was waiting for a good opportunity to carry out its response to the assassination.

Excerpted

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3562112,00.html

Abkhazia closed its border with Georgia
1 July 2008

Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region said on Monday it was sealing itself off from Georgian-controlled territory after a series of explosions that it blamed on Tbilisi.

Excerpted

http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n144686

[Oorang]

Terror Watch Uses Locals To Spot Suspicious Activity - 181 Trained In Colorado
06/28/2008

Hundreds of police, firefighters, paramedics and even utility workers have been trained and recently dispatched as "Terrorism Liaison Officers" in Colorado and a handful of other states to hunt for "suspicious activity" — and are reporting their findings into secret government databases. It's a tactic intended to feed better data into terrorism early-warning systems and uncover intelligence that could help fight anti-U.S. forces. But the vague nature of the TLOs' mission, and their focus on reporting both legal and illegal activity, has generated objections from privacy advocates and civil libertarians.

"Suspicious activity" is broadly defined in TLO training as behavior that could lead to terrorism: taking photos of no apparent aesthetic value, making measurements or notes, espousing extremist beliefs or conversing in code, according to a draft Department of Justice/Major Cities Chiefs Association document.

Excerpted

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9725077

Egypt: Over 100 terror suspects arrested, says report
6/30/08

Cairo - Egyptian authorities have carried out anti-terror raids over the past few days and arrested 110 suspected terrorists, according to a local media report. The Egyptian daily, al-Masri al-Youm, said on Monday that three senior terrorist leaders were believed to be among those arrested. Security sources said that the authorities had disbanded three alleged terror cells which were considered ideologically close to al-Qaeda and active in Egypt and abroad, according to the report.

The alleged leaders of the terror cells are Muhammad Farid Faraj, Ahmad Abdel Hadi and Hisham Muhiy al-Dina. All three controlled the mosques in which they allegedly indoctrinated young Egyptians into the al-Qaeda ideology. Weapons, explosives, money and the plans of Egyptian institutions were found in their homes when they were arrested.

One of the most important cells operated from a mosque located on the outskirts of capital Cairo, while others were based in the area of al-Qulyubiya. All were suspected of being tasked with committing terror acts in three Egyptian cities. The alleged terror suspects are now being detained at the al-Fium and Abu Zabel prisons where they are being interrogated by Egyptian authorities

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2298436922

[Velveeta]

You’re welcome, Cindy.

Fascinating update:

After home raid, Lake in the Hills man is charged with possessing neurotoxin found in fish, octopus

Chemical allegedly found in FBI-led search can cause muscle paralysis in humans
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-lake-in-the-hills-raid-webjul01,0,7507056.story

[Velveeta]

That Denver article relates back to the Dillon Dam incident. Remember the 2 suspicious middle eastern “movie makers” filming the dam?

[Cindy]

“...Only a matter of time...”

Is Syria on alert?

[Cindy]

“181 Trained In Colorado”

Good, very, very good.

[Cindy]

Yep, yep, yep....in the snow, beyond the barriers, if I’m recalling correctly.

[Cindy]

OPINION: How interesting...Now, what would someone want with a neurotoxin?

Thinking like a criminal and/or terrorist...hmmmm....not pretty.

[Cindy]

Ping to post no. 994.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2024913/posts?page=994#994