Posted on 07/28/2008 8:37:15 AM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Is U.S. Bioterror Attack Just A Matter of Time?
The overriding question is whether the U.S. is “ready” for a bioterror attack. The answer could well rely on the “other” question of what bio-agent and what’s the source? In 1991, 40,000 Russian scientists dispersed throughout the World, with knowledge of what the U.S.S.R. was doing in chemical and biological weapons. The question is to whom did they sell their knowledge? Some believe former Soviet scientists sold technology to countries like Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Lurking is the spectre of al-Qaeda, a group that the Pentagon says continues to pursue biological weapons.
Another scenario is an outbreak of a pandemic. How would the U.S. deal with an infectious disease outbreak? The picture, despite reassurances, is not pretty. Until now, the U.S. has experienced two major biological attacks.
In 1984, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers attempted to take over the town of the Dalles, Oregon by contaminating salad bars in the town. In 2001, there was the as yet unsolved mystery of the anthrax letters that killed five people.
But the question of bioterrorism extends to potential threats against our food supply and our clean water resources. It also extends to the threat of outbreaks of diseases in our animals populations. Here, the concern are diseases that attack animals but that can jump to humans. These are referred to as zoonotic diseases. The World Health Organization defines zonnotic diseases as:
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En route to another Intifada?
Palestinians heading for collapse, which will surely affect Israel as well
Guy Bechor
Published: 09.25.08, 10:25 / Israel Opinion
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3601933,00.html
As long as the Palestinian world was divided into two separate entities only on the physical level, this could go on, yet in January this world will be divided into two on the legal front as well - a development that would mark the ultimate collapse of Palestinian politics.
What happened in 1936 and in 1948 is happening to the Palestinians this time around as well: On January 14, 2009, in about four months, 73-year-old Mahmoud Abbas’ term in office will end, and the storm shall start.
Hamas will not allow elections to be held in the Gaza Strip, most certainly when the presidential candidate is Abbas or another Fatah figure. As a result, it would be impossible to hold presidential elections. Hamas is waiting for this exact scenario to materialize in order to argue that according to the Palestinian constitution and election law, a retired president should be replaced by the parliament speaker.
The current parliament speaker is a Hamas man, Aziz Dweik, after Hamas has taken over the Palestinian parliament, which is not functioning in fact. Dweik has been detained by Israel, however, and therefore Hamas argues that the next president should be his deputy, Ahmed Bahar, who is of course also a Hamas man. This is how Hamas intends to fully take over the territories.
So what are the conclusions of these scenarios?
• Gaza constitutes the Palestinian state. It has complete sovereignty, even though it is isolated and unrecognized. Not only does it no longer maintain any connection with the Judea and Samaria kingdom, they are hostile entities at this time.
• The Israeli government’s desire to reach a diplomatic solution with Abbas by the end of the year is unfeasible. In the coming months, Abbas will become radical in respect to his words and deeds. It is no coincidence that he went to visit Samir Kuntar in Lebanon, and that he constantly declares that the refugees will return to Israel. Abbas will be radicalizing his statements and objectives so he is not accused of capitulating to Israel.
• All of the Palestinian Authority’s institutions are not functioning, a fact that turns it into an artificial entity, which is operating at the mercy of the terrible enemy, Israel, both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria. Israel, and only Israel, is sparing the Palestinians a political, economic, and social collapse.
• We reached the absurd situation whereby everything hinges on Abbas at this time. Condoleezza Rice’s artificial support for Abbas has turned him into a major player: If he stays, there will seemingly be a diplomatic solution, yet if he goes, everything will collapse along with him. How absurd!
• This status, which grants Abbas great weight and importance, also reflects great weakness. How can we reach an agreement with him when he doesn’t represent a large part of his own Authority? How can we reach a deal with him when his future presidency is undemocratic? In practice, he has dissolved the parliament, established an illegal government without getting the required permission from parliament, and now he may extend his own term in office. And what will happen if at the same time we will see another Palestinian, and a Hamas man at that, assuming the role of president?
• And finally, once Hamas thwarts the prospect of elections it will end the Palestinian dreams of unity and make it clear that we are dealing with two peoples with two destinies. As such, the Palestinian vision will spread across four countries: Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Jordan, and Israel – not bad for someone who doesn’t even have one state.
An almost sole outlet for the Palestinian distress may be a new type of Intifada or some kind of other military activity against Israel that would reunite Palestinian forces. Tzipi Livni’s term in office, should she become prime minister, would encourage them to do so as they would perceive Israel to be weakening. Are we ready for this? In the midst of the leadership vacuum that we are facing and our leaders’ shallowness, is anyone preparing for a Palestinian collapse, which will of course affect us too?
Maybe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2052529/posts?page=2427#2427 should have it’s own post? They just blew the timeline investigation out of the water. What do you think?
RE: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2052529/posts?page=2426#2426
My uncle lives in Las Vegas and is one of the victims of getting hepatitis from this clinic.
I wonder if that fake doctor that was giving out fake vaccines worked at one of these clinics.
=== Google Blogs Alert for: messages from osama bin Laden ===
Osama bin Laden’s Son Saad Has Returned To Pakistan
By national
Osama bin Laden’s son and heir apparent, Sa’ad bin Laden, has returned
to Pakistan from his safe haven in Iran, according to messages posted on a
Qaeda jihad Web forum known as al-Hesbah. An organization that tracks and
translates ...
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2008/09/28/osama-bin-ladens-son-saad-has-returned-to-pakistan/
Homeland Security National Terror...
http://www.nationalterroralert.com
LOL, team work and we get it all posted.
Did you see that the ben laden son has left Iran and gone to Pakistan?
Just caught this google alert...........
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2052529/posts?page=2445#2445
If it should have its own anthrax thread, will you please start it?
You will run a better thread.
Thanks and a big hug,
granny
It would not surprise me if the fake doctor was associated with these clinics, his history fit.
It is amazing how they are willing to sucker us in, fake meds, fake tests and fake food.
What is real in this world?
It would be nice if we had good old Americans in the doctors offices, who were real doctors, instead of these people counting the dollars they can make and take/send back to their countries.
My opinion, of course.
Saudi-US Relations Information Service
Arabian Knight: Colonel Bill Eddy USMC and the Rise of American Power in the Middle East
Assignment Arabia - An Excerpt from Chapter 5 (Part Two)
Thomas Lippman
http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/articles/2008/ioi/080928-lippman-eddy.html
=== Google News Alert for: stolen ship OR boat ===
US destroyer near hijacked ship off Somalia, making sure stolen ...
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
A man claiming to be a spokesman for the pirates says they want $35 million
to free the cargo ship Faina and warned of dire consequences if any
military ...
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/ats-bc-af—somalia-piracy1stld-writethrusep28,0,2255830.story
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/ats-bc-af—somalia-piracy1stld-writethrusep28,0,2255830.story
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809290015.html
Defense Industries Assailed by Hackers
The country’s defense industry faces a serious security risk from hackers. Grand National Party lawmaker said Sunday based on data provided by the National Security Research Institute that LIGNex1, a guided missile manufacturer, uncovered malicious codes in its major computer systems planted by hackers in March, and Hyundai Heavy Industries, which makes naval vessels, found them in September.
LIGNex1 develops and manufactures Hyunmoo surface-to-surface missile, Haeseong ship-to-ship missile and Shingung portable ground-to-air weapons. Hyundai Heavy Industries manufactures Haeseong, the nation’s first Aegis ship, plus destroyers and submarines for the Navy. Although the development costs of such high-tech weapons are kept secret, the construction of the King Sejong the Great-class destroyer is said to cost over W1 trillion (US$1=W1,165) and development of Haeseong ship-to-ship missile W100 billion with each missile at approximately W2 billion.
The National Security Research Institute, which is affiliated with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, believes hackers have planted vicious codes through which they stolen information. “The research institute suspects the culprits are Chinese or North Korean hackers but doesn’t know specifically what information they stole,” Kim said. “In the worst case, the blueprints of missiles and Aegis ship could have been stolen.”
“It’s shocking that our major defense industries are open to attacks from hackers and that our missiles are vulnerable to theft by cyber terrorists,” the lawmaker added. “A general review of our cyber security system is needed.”
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809030017.html
September 3, 2008
‘Superbacteria’ in Korea Came From Japan: Scientists
So-called superbacteria in Korea that are resistant to antibiotics originated in Japan, a study says. Song Jae-hoon and Ko Kwan-soo of Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Medicine found that genes of the variety of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) here originated in Japan. The two released their study in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on Tuesday.
Superbacteria are created when pathogenic germs mutate as a result of abuse of antibiotics. The research team analyzed 135 varieties of MRSA genes collected from 22 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, discovering that MRSA in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong originated in Japan.
“In the process of the research, we found that the MRSA issue caused by the abuse of antibiotics is never a matter of a single country,” Ko said. “So we need international cooperation to handle the issue of antibiotic abuse.”
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809260004.html
September 26th, 2008
80% of Processed Korean Food Comes from China
Toxic Substance Found in Chinese-Made Korean Snacks
Korea Bans Mozzarella Over Dioxin Scare
Public Worries Prompt Food Industry to Tighten Rules
High Levels of Dioxin Found in Chilean Pork
40 Tons of Chinese Food Products Rejected Since 2006
Korea to Step Up Inspections of Imported Food Products
Consumers are growing anxious about the safety of their food in the wake of the announcement that snacks imported from China and sold under Korean labels contain high levels of melamine, a toxic substance that causes kidney failure.
The Korea Food and Drug Administrtion on Thursday decided to take Haitai Confectionary’s Misarang Custard, which is made in China, off the shelves and ban all foods made with Chinese dried milk and dairy products until it is confirmed that they are safe. But health authorities and the confectionery industry are giving the impression that they are only concerned with settling the incident rather than tracing how the substance got into the snacks in the first place.
The scandal over melamine-laced products may be only the tip of the iceberg. Korea relies on China for about 80 percent of the substance of processed food sold here. Korea grows only 28 percent of its own grain except rice, and Chinese-made processed foods have a price edge.
In 2007, 86,273 cases or 3.14 million tons of foods were imported from China, outdistancing the U.S., from which Korea imported 41,444 cases or 2.61 million tons. In the same year, Korea imported about 1.84 million tons of agricultural and forestry products, and more than 1.13 million tons of processed goods from China.
The safety of imported Chinese foods has long been controversial. In 2007, a total of 588 cases or 5.73 tons of imported Chinese foods were rated as unsuitable, with China topping the list of food exporters in this regard.
The problem is that most food we eat believing it to be Korean was actually were Chinese-made. Health authorities are at a loss over the latest food scandal, citing lack of sufficient personnel and budget.
Ha Sang-do, a professor of food science and technology at Chung-Ang University said, “Chinese foods are craftily circulated on the market by taking advantage of loopholes in country-of-origin labeling and quarantine systems. It’s no exaggeration to say that most of what we eat is Chinese-made.”
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200809/200809290002.html
Korea to Step Up Inspections of Imported Food Products
80% of Processed Korean Food Comes from China
Toxic Substance Found in Chinese-Made Korean Snacks
Korea Bans Mozzarella Over Dioxin Scare
Public Worries Prompt Food Industry to Tighten Rules
High Levels of Dioxin Found in Chilean Pork
40 Tons of Chinese Food Products Rejected Since 2006
Amid widespread fear of melamine-tainted foods made with Chinese dairy products, the Korea Food and Drug Administration decided to step up inspection of such foods in customs.
Snacks newly found to be tainted with melamine were Haitai Confectionery’s Misarang Coconut expiring Dec. 1, 2008, and Misarang Custard expiring Sept. 24, 2008, and Nov. 30, 2008.
The Grand National Party and the government agreed to release a policy dubbed “food safety + 7,” whereby they pledge to immediately issue warnings for consumers the moment they obtain information on harmful food substances.
A two-strikes-and-you’re-out policy will mean business licenses will be withdrawn if any firm continues making such foods after being caught. Punishment for food makers will be increased to a penalty of 10 times the profits earned from sales of harmful foods.
Inspection will be increased from 20 to 30 percent of imported food, and will be especially stringent for food from countries with a history of such scandals.
Under the new policy, importers will have to mark country of origin for imported or semi-processed foods manufactured abroad by so-called original equipment manufacturers.
Lawmaker Ahn Hong-joon, chairman of the GNP food safety committee said the party will ensure that during its ongoing regular session, the National Assembly launches an ad hoc committee on food safety.
FBI Watching For Possible al Qaeda Trained Americans
Posted: 29 Sep 2008 12:10 AM PDT
World Net Daily is reporting the FBI is on the lookout for Americans who may possibly be returning to the US from al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan.
A coast-to-coast dragnet has been launched partly in response to leads developed in the arrest of one of al-Qaida’s “fixers” in the U.S., say FBI officials. They report the bureau is in a race against time to identify Pakistan-trained sleeper cells and disrupt a possible pre-election “October surprise.”
For the first time since 9/11, counterterrorism field agents have been authorized to spy on young Muslim men and women – including American citizens – who have traveled to Pakistan without any specific evidence of wrongdoing.
Controversial new investigative guidelines approved by the Justice Department allow agents to monitor suspects and conduct undercover interviews even before opening formal investigations.
Full Article at:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76415
This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America’s trusted source for homeland security news and information.
http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=851953
Pirates die strangely after taking Iranian ship
Andrew Donaldson Published:Sep 28, 2008
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: The Russian frigate Neustrashimy, which was sent to the coast of Somalia this week after a Ukrainian ship carrying arms, including 33 T-72 tanks, was also hijacked by Somali pirates Picture: AP
‘Our sources say it contains chemicals, dangerous chemicals’
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A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates.
Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died.
Andrew Mwangura, the director of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, told the Sunday Times: “We don’t know exactly how many, but the information that I am getting is that some of them had died. There is something very wrong about that ship.”
The vessel’s declared cargo consists of “minerals” and “industrial products”. But officials involved in negotiations over the ship are convinced that it was sailing for Eritrea to deliver small arms and chemical weapons to Somalia’s Islamist rebels.
The drama over the Iran Deyanat comes as speculation grew this week about whether the South African Navy would send a vessel to join the growing multinational force in the region.
A naval spokesman, Lieutenant-Commander Greyling van den Berg, told the Sunday Times that the navy had not been ordered by the government to become involved in “the Somali pirate issue”.
About 22000 ships a year pass through the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden, where regional instability and “no-questions-asked” ransom payments have led to a dramatic rise in attacks on vessels by heavily armed Somali raiders in speedboats.
The Iran Deyanat was sailing in those waters on August 21, past the Horn of Africa and about 80 nautical miles southeast of Yemen, when it was boarded by about 40 pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. They were alleged members of a crime syndicate said to be based at Eyl, a small fishing village in northern Somalia.
The ship is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, or IRISL, a state-owned company run by the Iranian military.
According to the US Treasury Department, the IRISL regularly falsifies shipping documents to hide the identity of end users, uses generic terms to describe shipments and operates under various covers to circumvent United Nations sanctions.
The ship set sail from Nanjing, China, at the end of July. According to its manifest, it was heading for Rotterdam where it would unload 42500 tons of iron ore and “industrial products” purchased by a German client.
At Eyl, the ship was secured by more pirates — about 50 on board, and another 50 on shore.
But within days those who had boarded the ship developed mysterious health trouble.
This was also confirmed by Hassan Allore Osman, minister of minerals and oil in Puntland, an autonomous region of Somalia.
He headed a delegation sent to Eyl when news of the toxic cargo and illnesses surfaced.
He told one news publication, The Long War Journal, that during the six days he had negotiated with the pirates, a number of them had become sick and died.
“That ship is unusual,” he was quoted as saying. “It is not carrying a normal shipment.”
The pirates did reveal that they had tried to inspect the ship’s cargo containers when some of them fell sick — but the containers were locked.
Osman’s delegation spoke to the ship’s captain and its engineer by cellphone, demanding to know more about the cargo.
Initially it was claimed the cargo contained “crude oil”; later it was said to be “minerals”.
And Mwangura has added: “Our sources say it contains chemicals, dangerous chemicals.”
But IRISL has denied that — and threatened legal action against Mwangura. The company has reportedly paid the pirates 200000 — the first of several “ransom instalments”, but that, too, has been denied.
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: The Russian frigate Neustrashimy, which was sent to the coast of Somalia this week after a Ukrainian ship carrying arms, including 33 T-72 tanks, was also hijacked by Somali pirates Picture: AP
Iraq’s iron maidens
By Tom A. Peter, The Christian Science Monitor
Published: September 25, 2008, 23:35
http://www.gulfnews.com/weekend/society/10247649.html
Although the overall level of violence in Iraq has decreased to a four-year low, the country has recently witnessed a sharp rise in a violent trend that alarms many Iraqis: suicide bombings by women.
This year the number of suicide bombings carried out by women has more than tripled to 29 attacks, American military officials say.
Al Qaida and other insurgent groups have turned to women to exploit cultural practices that do not allow men to search women. As a result, women were allowed to pass through most checkpoints in Iraq without someone so much as looking in their handbags.
To combat this threat, Iraq has commenced recruiting women for Daughters of Iraq, a female counterpart of the Sons of Iraq community policing programme largely credited with reducing violence.
While female security guards remain a minority, they have stopped many female insurgents. Some say their example could help change perceptions about the role of women in Iraq.
“Right now women [suicide bombers] are more dangerous than men,” says Shaikh Zayed Ahmad Al Wan, an Awakening Council leader in Adhamiya, a neighbourhood in Baghdad.
“You can’t see anything on a woman’s body, especially when she’s wearing an abaya or a long dress. In the summer you can see everything on a man, you can even see if there’s something in his pocket and even in the winter you can tell if he’s carrying a big weapon or a bomb.”
A suicide attack on August 14 killed 18 people and injured 75. The bomber had targeted Shiite pilgrims in a rest area in Iskandariyah in Iraq’s Babel province.
The bombing highlights how women can often inflict more damage than men. The majority of female bombers wear explosive vests or belts covered by abayas and are sometimes made to look pregnant, according to American military officials who track suicide bombing trends.
This allows women easy access to crowded areas where they can cause the most damage.
Identifying a common profile for female bombers can be difficult, with one as young as 13. There is also speculation that bombing cells have used mentally challenged women to carry out some attacks.
While the motive of each bomber varies, American military officials say most of them share at least one of the following characteristics or circumstances: dishonour suffered due to sexual indiscretion, loss of a family member and a desire for revenge, desire to attain heroic status, inability to produce children, or an interest in demonstrating gender equality.
To reverse the new trend, community leaders began calling for women to join Daughters of Iraq about a year ago. Though women in the group number in the hundreds, they remain a small fraction of the 103,000-strong Sons of Iraq community policing organisation.
Generally the women guard strategic locations such as bridges, government buildings or schools. Unlike their male counterparts, they do not carry weapons. Instead, they are stationed at checkpoints with armed males. They search — or interact with — only women.
In Adhamiya, Al Wan says, Daughters of Iraq has found women carrying everything from intelligence for insurgents to stolen gold and medicine.
Despite the rise in female bombers, many Iraqi women were initially resistant to being searched, even by other women.
“When we started our work, other women said, ‘How can you work a job like this?’ They did not accept us working as Sahwa,” says Fatima Khadhem, a Daughters of Iraq member in Adhamiya.
“But we insisted on doing our jobs and now the same ladies have accepted us.”
Like the female suicide bombers, some of the women drawn to the Daughters of Iraq are motivated by wrongs done to family members.
After insurgents killed her husband, Liqae Gazhi Mohammad joined the Daughters to help make her community safer. “The Sahwa has given life back to Adhamiya,” says Mohammad, who supports five children with her work as a security guard. “I feel I’m much more independent and stronger than before.”
Involving women in security roles also challenges traditional gender roles. While Iraqi women have never faced restrictions similar to those imposed on women in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the women in the workforce carried a stigma in many circles.
Although Malath Fahmi’s mother wanted to work when her family fell on hard times under Saddam Hussain’s regime, her father forbade it. A generation later, facing economic hardships, this time due to the insurgency, Fahmi joined the Sahwa to support her family.
“In my mother’s time, if a woman had a degree she could work, but many people did not support the idea,” says Fahmi, who hopes to continue working.
“I don’t want to be dependent on my brother or my father or my husband,” she says.
Attitudes towards women’s roles are still slow to change, says Kawakib Salih, a professor of sociology at Baghdad University.
“Men still see female security guards as not having a feminine side, so men will not want to marry a woman who has worked as a Sahwa,” Salih says. “In the future, maybe men will not support this job.
It was created as a temporary solution to address the security situation and perhaps in the future it will disappear.”
__._,_.___
http://carnageandculture.blogspot.com/2008/09/mainstream-us-islamic-websites-and.html
Monday, September 29, 2008
Mainstream US Islamic Websites — and Terror
By Patrick Poole
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
Monday, September 29, 2008
In counterterrorism circles there is significant buzz about “Al-Qaeda 2.0”, warning of highly decentralized jihadist networks operating independently and driven by a highly toxic internet-inspired Islamic ideology. The sad reality is, however, that an increasing number of jihadist websites, especially those in the English language, are finding safe haven in the US – and the US government seems powerless, or unwilling, to stop them.
Other commentators have explored at length the “Al-Qaeda 2.0” phenomenon, but what has thus far gone unreported is how mainstream Islamic websites associated with some of the most visible Islamic organizations in the US are openly promoting extremist ideology and terrorism.
continued.
U.S. Deploys Radar, Troops To Israel
By gayle s. putrich Defense News Published: 26 Sep 12:14 EDT (16:14 GMT)
www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3744319&c=MID&s=TOP
U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band
radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense
against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent U.S. military
presence on Israeli soil.
More than a dozen aircraft, including C-5s and C-17s, helped with the Sept.
21 delivery of the AN/TPY-2 Transportable Radar Surveillance/Forward Based
X-band Transportable (FBX-T), its ancillary components and some 120 EUCOM
personnel to Israel’s Nevatim Air Base southeast of Beersheba, said sources
here and in Stuttgart, Germany.
Among the U.S. personnel is at least one representative from the Missile
Defense Agency (MDA), though officials said the agency had little to no say
in the deployment decision. MDA involvement has been confined to providing
equipment and advice on technical aspects of its deployment, one official
said.
The Raytheon-built FBX-T system is the same phased-array radar that was
deployed to northern Japan with the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) in 2006.
The high-powered, high-frequency, transportable X-band radar is designed to
detect and track ballistic missiles soon after launch.
Its ancillary gear included cooling systems, generators, perimeter defense
weaponry, logistics supplies and dozens of technicians, maintenance
specialists and security forces to operate and defend the U.S. installation.
EUCOM has repeatedly deployed troops and Patriot air defense batteries for
joint exercises and Iraq-related wartime contingencies, but has never before
permanently deployed troops on Israeli soil.
A EUCOM spokesman declined to comment. MDA officials referred to the U.S.
State Department, which did not provide comment by press time.
An Israeli military spokesman said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enjoys
longstanding strategic cooperation with all branches of the U.S. military.
“This cooperation is varied and comes in multiple forms, and it is not our
practice to discuss details of our bilateral activities,” he said.
Nevertheless, in previous interviews, U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed
that the X-band deployment plan was approved in July, first by Adm. Mike
Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Israeli
counterpart, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi; and then by. U.S. Defense Secretary
Robert Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Shaving Minutes From Reaction Time
The radar will be linked to the U.S. Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS),
which receives and processes threat data transmitted by U.S. Defense Support
System satellites. According to U.S. and Israeli sources, JTAGS will remain
in Europe, but its essential cueing data will stream into the
forward-deployed X-band radar, where it instantaneously shares information
with Israel’s Arrow Weapon System.
Once operational, the combined U.S. and Israeli system is expected to double
or even triple the range at which Israel can detect, track and ultimately
intercept Iranian missiles, according to Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of
the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency.
During a visit to Israel in early August, Obering said the X-Band radar
could add precious minutes to the time in which Israel has to respond to
incoming missile attacks.
“The missile threat from Iran is very real, and we must stay ahead of the
threat ... that’s why we’re working so hard with all our allies to put the
most optimized, effective, anti-missile capabilities in place,” Obering
said.
“In the context of Israel, if we can take the radar out here and tie it into
the Arrow Weapon System, they’ll be able to launch that interceptor way
before they could with an autonomous system,” he added.
Ilan Biton, a brigadier general in the Israel Air Force (IAF) reserves and
former commander of the nation’s air defense forces, could not comment on
the latest developments associated with the X-band radar. However, he said
that an IAF air defense brigade established during his 2003-2006 tenure has
continuously demonstrated its ability to interoperate well with American
forces.
“We advanced tremendously on multiple levels and have developed very
impressive cooperation,” Biton said at a Sept. 22 conference in Herzliya.
Referring to bilateral Juniper Cobra air defense exercises and the 2003
deployment of Patriot batteries prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq,
Biton noted: “At the human level, we’ve developed a common language and at
the technical level, we’ve put in place the interfaces that allow our
systems to speak to one another.”
The end result, according to Biton, is a combined ability “to manage
battles, execute debriefs and implement corrections, all in real time.”
Twin Messages
As U.S. public affairs officers last week mulled whether to publicly
disclose the Israel deployment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a
U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, continued to defend his country’s
nuclear enrichment and missile development program.
“Iran’s [nuclear] activities are peaceful,” Ahmadinejad said Sept. 23,
adding that in Israel, “the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to
collapse.”
A U.S. government source said the X-band deployment and other bilateral
alliance-bolstering activities send parallel messages: “First, we want to
put Iran on notice that we’re bolstering our capabilities throughout the
region, and especially in Israel. But just as important, we’re telling the
Israelis, ‘Calm down; behave. We’re doing all we can to stand by your side
and strengthen defenses, because at this time, we don’t want you rushing
into the military option.’”
But in Israel, frustration is mounting at what is roundly perceived as a
lack of international resolve to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons drive. At a
Sept. 21 meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, an Israeli military intelligence
officer reported that Iran is accelerating the pace at which it enriches
uranium, and that Tehran already possesses possibly half of the fissionable
material needed to produce its first nuclear warhead.
Reflecting Israeli concern about the ineffectiveness of sanctions against
Tehran, Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence’s research
department, reported: “The international front against Iran is weak and not
consolidated, and isn’t putting enough pressure on the regime to stop
enriching uranium.”
According to selected excerpts from the briefing released by the Israeli
Prime Minister’s office, Baidatz warned that Iran is “galloping toward a
nuclear bomb.” He added, “The sanctions have very little influence and are
far from bringing to bear a critical mass of pressure on Iran.”
Vago Muradian contributed to this report from Washington, Barbara Opall-Rome
from Tel Aviv.
September 29, 2008 Anti-Terrorism News - UnitedStatesAction.com
(Iraq) US frees 2,400 detainees in Iraq during Ramadan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080929/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusprisoners_080929142608;_ylt=AkDri6BrQAqG.h471G2Zlq5X6GMA
(Afghanistan) 4 Afghan bodyguards die in attack on politician - Kandahar
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080929/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan_9;_ylt=ApDl6H740hXkyXT.tEXMg4LOVooA
(Afghanistan) NATO soldier, Afghan policeman killed in a row - Paktia province
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080929/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunrest_080929151634;_ylt=AuyKa7tIwIMLb_8zq72zJE3OVooA
(Pakistan) NWFP: 18 Taliban held in Peshawar operation
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg7_12
(Pakistan) FATA: Security forces kill 16 Taliban in Bajaur
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg1_7
(Pakistan) FATA: Kayani satisfied with tribal support for Army
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg1_6
(Pakistan) US steps up Pakistan raids to thwart Qaeda plot
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg7_2
(Pakistan) Osama, Zawahiri to be tried in Pakistan if captured: Zardari
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg1_2
(India) 17 crude bombs found in waste container — police — near the Kalupur Darwaza area of New Delhi
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/Categories.aspx?Language=en&id=102
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/17_crude_bombs_found_in_Ahmedabad/articleshow/3539297.cms
(India) Civilian defuses bomb in Faridabad
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Civilian_defuses_bomb_in_Faridabad/articleshow/3540338.cms
(India) Suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist arrested in UP
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Suspected_IM_terrorist_arrested_in_UP/articleshow/3541297.cms
-— Mohammad Arif alias Abdul Kadeer
(India) Police ignore key witness to Mehrauli blast
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Police_ignore_key_witness_to_Mehrauli_blast/articleshow/3537968.cms
(U.S.) FBI hunts American citizens trained overseas for terror — Feds launch dragnet to stop ‘October surprise’ attack
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76415
(U.S.) Fort Dix Trial - New Jersey - Trial to examine alleged plot to kill soldiers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080929/ap_on_re_us/fort_dix_plot
(U.N.) JihadWatch.org: Slapstick Jihad triumphs again at the UN Human Rights Council
-— Comments by David G. Littman (representative to the UN of the Association of
World Education and the World Union of Progressive Judaism)
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022879.php
(UK) Radical Islamic clerics warn of further attacks after publisher is firebombed
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3097350/Radical-Islamic-clerics-warn-of-further-attacks-after-publisher-is-firebombed.html
(UK) Palace, Parliament and Scotland Yard were sealed off in 2005 terror alert
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4846601.ece
(Iran) ElBaradei urges Iran to end secrecy on nuclear program
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017424006&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Iran) IAEA head urges Iran to end nuclear secrecy
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080929/ap_on_re_mi_ea/eu_nuclear_conference_9;_ylt=AuaFmpZIjULp0oI_5lzwQztSw60A
— Iran won’t halt nuclear work despite U.N. demand
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080929/wl_nm/us_iran_nuclear_suspension_3;_ylt=AkyTv.ecyFN_oTzt.NUnCGxSw60A
(Lebanon) Official source confirms bomb was laden into car, roundup — “at least six people died
and more than 30 others others suffered injuries in a fiery blast that targeted a bus boarding
Lebanese Army troops in northern Lebanon”
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1940912&Language=en
— At least six dead in Tripoli blast
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24419358-23109,00.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/oman/3101351/Lebanon-Bus-bomb-kills-soldiers-in-Tripoli.html
Syria blames deadly bombing on Islamist extremists
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080929/wl_afp/syriaunrest
— Syria hunts for Damascus bombers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080928/wl_mideast_afp/syriablast
(Israel) IDF worried about Hizbullah infiltration
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017419410&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Egypt) Kidnapped tourists freed — TV
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1940970&Language=en
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24421250-23109,00.html
(Algeria) Three killed, four injured in suicidal attack eastern Algeria
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1940964&Language=en
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/29/africa/AF-Algeria-Violence.php
(Ethiopia) 4 killed, 20 injured in eastern Ethiopia explosion
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/28/africa/AF-Ethiopia-Explosion.php
(Somalia) Four killed in Somalia fighting: witnesses
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080929/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunrest_080929062330
(Somalia) $20M Somali ransom demand for ship; 1 crewman dies
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/28/africa/AF-Somalia-Piracy.php
Somalia: AU Concerned With ‘Incessant Attacks’ on Peacekeepers
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809290322.html
Somalia: Rebels Shell Mogadishu Airport
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809280153.html
Somalia: Ethiopia Pulls Troops Out of Key Region
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809290258.html
(Thailand) Village chiefs shot dead in restive South
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30084645
(Philippines) Four soldiers wounded in clashes with Muslim rebels in Philippines
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/234551,four-soldiers-wounded-in-clashes-with-muslim-rebels-in-philippines.html
— 4 troops hurt in Maguindanao clash with MILF rebels
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123729/4-troops-hurt-in-Maguindanao-clash-with-MILF-rebels
(Philippines) Observance of Ramadan enables rogue MILF units to regroup - AFP
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123784/Observance-of-Ramadan-enables-rogue-MILF-units-to-regroup-—AFP
(Sri Lanka) Bomb hits Sri Lanka capital, fighting kills 21
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080929/ap_on_re_as/as_sri_lanka_civil_war_2
North Korea likely fired at Chinese trawler: report
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080929/wl_nm/us_korea_chinese_fishing_1;_ylt=ApKrsSTXvjob2fdeM2s85mmCscEA
Other News:
(UK) Mohammed novel: Academic faces calls to apologise over ‘pornographic’ remarks
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3102416/Mohammed-novel-Academic-faces-calls-to-apologise-over-pornographic-remarks.html
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC): Worldwide Muslim body offers Sharia law training
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123614/Worldwide-Muslim-body-offers-Sharia-law-training
— OIC Press Secretary claims talks with Philippines president: “I was present during the President’s
meeting with OIC Secretary-General Elmeddin Ihsanoglu. They [OIC] offered to help in the
administration of Shari’a courts in Mindanao. They said they can train our Shari’a personnel
and the magistrates who implement the Shari’a laws in the Muslim areas”
(Canada) ‘Fundamentalists spreading harsh ideology in Canada’
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg7_58
(U.S.) McCain defends Palin’s contradiction on Pakistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080928/ap_on_el_pr/palin_pakistan
-— “If that’s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should”
—— Comment: at least Palin knows what she is talking about
(Australia) Muslims most unpopular group in Australia
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\29\story_29-9-2008_pg7_3
Venezuela to build nuclear technology with Russia
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080929/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_russia_nuclear_power_1;_ylt=AkzUCcjBqcmXJ7BopfCAqNR_5GIA
Commentaries:
(U.S.) Sen. Obama Says Hamas and Hezbollah Have ‘Legitimate Claims’ — by Nicholas Guariglia
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1308/pub_detail.asp
— David Brooks interview with Senator Obama
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/opinion/16brooks.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
—— David Brooks interview on Senator Obama’s views: “The U.S. needs a foreign policy that
‘looks at the root causes of problems and dangers.’ Obama compared Hezbollah to Hamas.
Both need to be compelled to understand that ‘they’re going down a blind alley with violence that
weakens their legitimate claims.’”
— WorldnetDaily: Obama: Terror groups have ‘legitimate claims’
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=74702
Fractured Fairytales about Jihad on Capitol Hill — by Jeffrey Imm
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1304/pub_detail.asp
Missing at the Debate: The ‘J’ Word — Jihad - by Ruth King
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1306/pub_detail.asp
Against Nazi News:
From Auschwitz to Chicago, detailed Holocaust letters survive
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/29/holocaust.letters.ap/index.html
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