World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #6 Disinformation, Inc.

Global Politician/Ocnus.Net ^ | Dec 17, 2006 | Professor Daniel M. Zucker

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.

From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.

One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.

MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.

Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.

Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.

Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.

He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.

http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml

[nw_arizona_granny]

In depth background on the Britain preaching jihad imans.

http://www.westernresistance.com/

[nw_arizona_granny]

January 17, 2007 PM Anti-Terrorism News

(Afghanistan) Mullah Omar 'hiding in Pakistan' and Governor Suggests
Taliban Spokesman Caught 'With Anthrax' - Claims that Mohammad Hanif
arrested in house with packets of anthrax
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6272359.stm
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/A11BEC8C-1663-4DC7-9540-C0587CD66E02.html
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/21C2692F-5C87-4D1D-8E73-D11129734B20.html

(Afghanistan) NATO forces seize Taleban commander in Afghan - NATO says
he fled after major battle in Helmand
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/January/subcontinent_January603.xml&section=subcontinent

(Iraq) Top Iraqi condemns US over Iran - Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, who
visited Pres. Bush, on U.S. raids: "we consider these actions as incorrect"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6270957.stm

(Iraq) Bombers kill 28 in Baghdad, Kirkuk and 11 missiles found ready
for launching south of Basra (my title)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/17/iraq.main/index.html?eref=yahoo
http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.2888.15

(Iraq) Google erases British bases in Iraq - Google Earth Basra images
show no Army presence - Why is Egypt airing insurgent TV from Iraq?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/17/google_erases_brit_bases/
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0117/p01s03-wome.html

(Somalia) Information for Mujahideen Seeking to Join the Jihad in
Somalia - MEMRI: Islamist website posted maps & satellite images with travel
routes
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=iwmp&ID=SP142807

Somalia: Top Militia Commander Arrested and Government Releases
Islamist Prisoners
http://allafrica.com/stories/200701170345.html
http://allafrica.com/stories/200701170331.html

Kenya: 17 Youths Held Over Terror Link - 17 Kenyans and 42 Somalis
alleged with Islamic Court links
http://allafrica.com/stories/200701171064.html

Pak hunts for top al-Qaeda member after air strike - Abu Nasser sought
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=348488&sid=SAS

Iran's discontent with Ahmadinejad grows - Rapidly rising consumer
prices, sanctions among reasons
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070117/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_ahmadinejad_s_woes

(Russia) Information on possible terror acts came from abroad - Safonov
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11661625

Israel warns Russia on Iran arms sale
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1167467745535&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

US government set to push ahead with wire transfer database plan
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=16387

(U.S.) "No Fly" List of Terror Suspects Will Be Cut in Half
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aHpWQYTxWtXg

(India) Terror plan foiled in Delhi; 2 militants arrested - Two
suspected Harkatul-Jihad-e-Islami arrested with 1.6 kg of RDX
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/17arrest.htm

(U.S.) Secret court to govern wiretapping plan and Bush won't
reauthorize eavesdropping - Independent body will monitor NSA surveillance
program
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070117/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/domestic_spying
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070117/ts_nm/surveillance_bush_dc

Netherlands Has Up To 200 Jihad Websites
http://www.nisnews.nl/public/170107_1.htm

Palestinian talks may be in trouble
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070117/ap_on_re_mi_ea/palestinians_talks_1

Sri Lanka jets bomb Tamil Tigers as fighting flares
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=subcontinent&xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/January/subcontinent_January611.xml

[nw_arizona_granny]

[From post 2342, thought you might want it special delivery]

January 17, 2007 PM Anti-Terrorism News

(Afghanistan) Mullah Omar 'hiding in Pakistan' and Governor Suggests
Taliban Spokesman Caught 'With Anthrax' - Claims that Mohammad Hanif
arrested in house with packets of anthrax
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6272359.stm
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/A11BEC8C-1663-4DC7-9540-C0587CD66E02.html
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/21C2692F-5C87-4D1D-8E73-D11129734B20.html

[nw_arizona_granny]

January 18, 2007 Anti-Terrorism News

(Iraq) Five car bombs kill 17 in Baghdad - wounding nearly 50
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/January/focusoniraq_January124.xml&section=focusoniraq

Iraqi PM: 400 Shiite fighters detained
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070118094365

(Iraq) Report: Al Qaeda Evacuates Baghdad - in advance of troop surge
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/186122.php

(Iraq) Maliki Interview: Give us guns -- and troops can go, says Iraqi
leader
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2553148,00.html

(Iraq) US Senate plans vote against troop surge
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070118-120919-3726r.htm

(Afghanistan) Suicide bomber kills Afghan soldier; three held
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070118/wl_nm/afghan_violence_dc_2

Afghan governor escapes assassination attempt
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/January/subcontinent_January654.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

(Afghanistan) Bomber killed attempting to place bomb near Indian
company offices in Kunar province (my title)
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/January/subcontinent_January648.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

Suspected suicide bombers from Pak: Afghan - Afghan police have
arrested three men in an explosives-laden car entering from neighboring
Pakistan
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/January/subcontinent_January649.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

Time: A Taliban Spokesman's Confession - Dr. Hainf Says Taliban had
direct assistance of Pakistan ISI
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1579979,00.html

Taliban leader 'under Pakistani protection' - Dr. Hanif claims Mullah
Omar under Pakistan protection
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/18/wtali118.xml

Pakistan rejects claim Mullah Omar in Quetta
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/January/subcontinent_January652.xml&section=subcontinent&col=
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.377584850&par=0

Pakistan: Militant Commander Vows To Avenge Strike On Waziristan
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.377648702&par=0

(Pakistan) Lawless land where al-Qaeda is safe in the embrace of the
panthers and wolves
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2552738,00.html

Iran Warns It's Ready for Nuke Standoff
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ats-ap_intl12jan18,0,7112766.story?track=rss

Philippine troops kill 10 militants after Arroyo vow
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070118/wl_nm/philippines_militants_dc_2

(Philippines) Kidnapping Victim Relieved at Death of Philippine Terror
Leader
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/01/kidnapping_vict.html

(Thailand) Terrorists Kill Two Buddhist Villagers in Muslim-Majority
South (my title)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070117/wl_asia_afp/thailandsouthunrest_070117163907

(Israel) IDF: Palestinian killed in Hebron terrorist
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3354083,00.html

Israel urges silence on U.S. weapons to Palestinians
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53816

(UK) American-Born Imam Spews Message of Hate in England - New
Jersey-born Imam Abu Usamah at-Thahabi in Birmingham, UK mosque
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,244263,00.html

(UK 7/21 Trial) Failed London Plotters Had Terror Training Camp in the
U.K.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/01/failed_london_p.html

(UK 7/21 Trial) Holiday trip, or a 'bomber' training camp?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/18/nplot18.xml

(UK 7/21 Trial) Terror suspect married days before London bomb attempt
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=18976

L.A. terror task force probes mercury spill
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/18/mercury.spill/index.html

(Pentagon) Official apologizes to terror suspects' lawyers -- Pentagon
staffer criticized attorneys who defend Guantanamo detainees
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16670056/

TSA chief: Checking all air cargo unwise
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20070118-072608-4307r.htm

US Army War College Quarterly Publication: The Quranic Concept of War
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/06winter/win-ess.htm

Terrorist Training In South America Threatens US Security
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21259634.shtml

Russia keeps security alert in place
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070118/wl_nm/russia_attack_dc_1

Russia media scorns massive 'terror' alert
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070118/wl_afp/russiasecurityattackmedia_070118110146

(Russia) Suspected Chechen militants denied amnesty - to four out of
500
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/ap_on_re_eu/russia_chechnya_1

(Russia) Possible terrorist threat suspends mobile phone service on
Moscow's underground
http://www.m2.com/m2/web/story.php/2007EB3A02D72022D8BD802572670034AF1B

(Ireland) Sinn Fein chief wants to meet dissident IRA groups, persuade
them to end violence
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/18/europe/EU-GEN-NIreland-IRA-Dissidents.php

Related News:

Indonesian Muslim Group Calls For More Censorship
http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_9304-Indonesian-Muslim-Group-Calls-For-More-Censorship.html

40 Muslims barred from fight receive apology
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467758125&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[nw_arizona_granny]

Abbas and Meshaal to Meet Saturday
15:20 Jan 18, '07 / 28 Tevet 5767

(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
will travel to Damascus on Saturday for a meeting with Hamas political
bureau chief and arch-terrorist Khaled Meshaal.

According to the Associated Press, the meeting will focus on reaching a
deal to form a unity government within the PA.

Meshaal, who is based in Damascus, is thought by many to have the final
word in major issues involving the Hamas organization – including
agreement on a prisoner swap deal with Israel for the release of kidnapped
IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is reportedly being held solely by Hamas at
this point.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8559882

On the march
Jan 18th 2007
From The Economist print edition


Intelligence agencies see worrying signs of al-Qaeda’s revival

Claudio Munoz
Claudio Munoz


Get article background

AS THEY watch Iraq spiralling into civil war and Taliban attacks in Afghanistan increasing, Western leaders have until recently consoled themselves with one thought: at least the campaign against al-Qaeda has gone quite well. “Absolutely, we’re winning. Al-Qaeda is on the run,” said President George Bush in October.

After the West toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, in 2001, and arrested or killed many of al-Qaeda’s leaders, officials believed it was largely broken up. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy, sent video and audio messages from their hiding places, but did not appear to control operations, which were “franchised” to local groups. In Europe, the jihadist cause was taken up by home-grown extremists. But their outrages, such as the London bombings on July 7th 2005, could not match al-Qaeda’s spectaculars.

Such was the received wisdom. But in his annual threat assessment this month, John Negroponte, America’s outgoing intelligence chief, changed his tone. Al-Qaeda’s core leadership was “resilient”. Its hiding places in Pakistan were “secure” and it was “cultivating stronger operational connections and relationships” with affiliated groups across the Middle East, north Africa and Europe.

That sombre view matches the alarm of British intelligence chiefs. In November, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of the security agency, MI5, said her overstretched spooks were contending with some 200 terrorist networks involving about 1,600 suspects, and investigating up to 30 high-priority plots. Home-grown radicals were “foot-soldiers” trained and guided by al-Qaeda on an “extensive and growing scale”.

A series of investigations and court cases in Britain has cast light on the enduring role of al-Qaeda in attacks on the West, especially from Pakistan. In November Dhiren Barot, a Hindu convert to Islam, received a 40-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to planning several possible attacks. Mr Barot had planned to use a radioactive “dirty bomb” and blow up limousines filled with gas cylinders in London, among other schemes.

Intelligence agencies at first thought that the July 7th bombings had been home-grown. But investigators later found that the bombers’ leader, Mohammed Siddique Khan, had travelled to Pakistan beforehand. In London this week, a court heard of a similar link in a second (failed) plot to bomb London’s transport system two weeks later. The bombers’ alleged leader, Ethiopian-born Muktar Ibrahim, had gone to Pakistan several months before the attacks and is said to have attended a training camp in Sudan.

This was not a “copycat” attack, but long planned, prosecutors said. It failed because, apparently, the bombers botched the kitchen-stove preparation of the ingredients.

If this sounds too amateurish for al-Qaeda, then last August’s alleged plot to blow up ten airliners flying from London to America by using liquid explosives, had all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda spectacular. Investigators say that it, too, involves close links to extremists in Pakistan.

Western security officials say the revitalisation of al-Qaeda is partly due to the fact that “the pressure is off” in North Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal region where the army agreed a ceasefire with militants last September. Afghan and NATO commanders complain that the truce has also provided cross-border safe havens for the Taliban. Mr Negroponte called Pakistan an important ally, but also “a major source of Islamic extremism”.

Western officials also worry about what they call “blowback” from Iraq: instead of sucking in would-be suicide bombers on one-way tickets, it could pump out battle-hardened fighters to wage violent campaigns elsewhere. Mr Negroponte said an American pull-out would allow Iraq to replace Afghanistan as an al-Qaeda sanctuary.

In recent weeks al-Qaeda and its sympathisers have taken a beating in Somalia, where the American-backed Ethiopians have routed the local Islamists. But al-Qaeda may be growing stronger in north Africa. Last September’s announcement of a merger of al-Qaeda and Algeria’s Salafist Group for Call and Combat (better known by its French acronym GSPC) may herald an attempt to open up a new front against Europe through its large population of Maghrebi immigrants.

The GSPC has dwindled to a few hundred fighters. But alleged members have been arrested across Europe. Last month it claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed the driver of a bus carrying workers for an affiliate of Halliburton, an American energy-services giant. “Al-Qaeda is not on the run,” says Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University. “It is on the march.”


Copyright © 2007 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Terrorists Training in South America Threaten US National Security





http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/terrorism.php?id=609380





Think our enemies are confined to the Middle East ? Think again. Jim Kouri explains.

Terrorists Training in South America Threaten US National Security


By Jim Kouri, CPP


As Americans remember the horror of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington more than five years ago, the U.S. borders are practically as porous as ever. Yet Americans get few answers during the heated debate. What many hear are abstractions about tightening border security with no mention of how that is to be achieved.

According to testimony given to the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee by General Peter Pace, then Vice Chairman, now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hamas has joined Hezbollah and al Qaeda in the Triple Frontier Zone in Latin America where the borders of Argentina , Brazil and Paraguay converge.

There the Islamic terror groups train recruits, gather intelligence on targets, launder money and sell drugs. There is evidence that these terrorists and narco-terrorists will soon migrate north into the United States . He cited terrorism reports indicating terrorist groups are active in Canada and Central-South America.

Border Patrol agents began to voice what many believed were legitimate concerns about "armed incursions" into the United States from Mexico-based assailants. They reported that heavily armed Mexican army units and federal police, called Federales, had infiltrated US territory and fired upon them, in some cases because Mexican drug lords had put prices on the heads of American law-enforcement agents serving along the border. Where was the outrage by our political leaders and the mainstream media over this blatant violation of our national sovereignty?

Recently, a number of armed gunmen entered the U.S. from Mexico and caused National Guard troops to retreat. Not only did the President and his administration remain silent about this incursion, but the elite media either ignored the story or minimized its significance.

Most government and news reports of the illegal aliens' confrontation with the Guard troops appear to assume the invading gunmen were Mexican. But with everyone involved in the investigation of the incident saying they're not certain who these armed men were, how do we know they weren't terrorists conducting a recon mission?

Some security experts had high hopes that President Bush would bring up the border security problem during his many meetings with Mexican President Vincente Fox. It never happened. Quite the opposite occurred. The two leaders discussed ways of relaxing immigration restrictions including a de facto amnesty program.

The Government Accountability Office [GAO] conducted a vulnerability test at both borders and their undercover operatives were successful in sneaking radiological material across both. The operation merited a few news stories and was given short shrift even by the liberal-left who seek any opportunity to denigrate the president and government agencies.

Putting aside terrorism, the lack of border security contributes to crime. In Los Angeles , a look at outstanding arrest warrants for homicide reveals that over 90 percent are for illegal aliens. Examination of all LA felony arrest warrants (murder, rape, armed robbery, etc.) shows that 65 percent are for illegal aliens, according to the Manhattan Institute.

The Institute estimates that 350 killers managed to escape back into Mexico and the Mexican government refuses to extradite them to the US to stand trial. In another study -- this one by the GAO -- a sample group of about 55,000 criminal aliens committed over 700,000 criminal acts.

Meanwhile, our northern border with Canada has many law-enforcement leaders even more concerned. Canadian security experts concede that there are several radical Islamist groups active in their country. In fact, Hezbollah's largest headquarters is located not in the Middle East but in Toronto . One Canadian intelligence officer claims that his country's immigration policy is more lax than US policy and their politicos more liberal when it comes to refusing to restrict illegal aliens from entering Canada .

If these killers aren't afraid to target or kill cops, or are willing to confront National Guard troops, then who in America is really safe from terrorists, murderers, rapists and other offenders, especially when anyone wishing to address the problem is labeled a racist or xenophobe.

Americans can probably count on one hand the number of congressional leaders who will even debate the issues of illegal immigration or border security honestly. What sense does it make to inspect shipping containers in New York seaports while ignoring the vulnerabilities existing on our borders?

[nw_arizona_granny]

Designer Jihad




http://www.democracyarsenal.org:80/2007/01/designer_jihad.html




Designer Jihad
Posted by Zvika Krieger


In the Palestinian territories, civil wars are fought with guns. In
Iraq,
civil wars are fought with bombs. In Lebanon, civil wars are fought
with...graphic design?

Soon after Hizballah began its recent altercation with the governing
March
14 coalition in Lebanon, bright red billboards appeared across the
country
with the words "I Love Life" (in English, Arabic, and French). On
streets.
At the airport. In malls. At protests. On bumpers. The slick red signs
were
everywhere. The "I Love Life"
http://www.lebanon-ilovelife.com/
campaign,
which is sponsored by March 14 supporters, is attempting to capture the
frustration of average Lebanese people that are sick of their country
being
racked by war -- both externally, as in the war with Israel, and
internally,
as in the sectarian fighting that has lasted for decades. They just
want to
live normal lives -- such as not have their favorite shopping arcade in
downtown Beirut shut down by endless Hizballah sit-ins. And perhaps
more
pointedly, the implication of the campaign is that opponents to March
14
(cough, couch, Hizballah) do not love life (which, to be fair, may be
true
for groups that glorify martyrdom and drag innocent civilians into
unnecessary wars with Israel).

But remember, this is war, so the opposition can't just let March 14
rub
their love of life in Hizballah's face. So this week has brought the
appearance of a
http://www.tayyar.org/
counter ad campaign,
parodying the
"I Love Life" billboards by adding the words "In Multicolor," "In
Dignity,"
or "For Everyone" scribbled on the bottom. The implication is that the
ruling March 14 coalition, while having led the campaign to kick Syria
out
in 2005 and restore Lebanese independence, is also a sectarian movement
that
excludes the Shi'a. I have to say that it's a pretty creative way to
counter
the simplistic message of the "I Love Life" campaign with a message
that
really makes you think. Yes, Hizballah has created a
state-within-a-state in
southern Lebanon. Yes, it is the only militia in Lebanon that remains
armed.
Yes, it is a proxy for Iranian and Syrian interests in Lebanon. But it
also
has some pretty legitimate complaints. Beneath all the bombastic labels
of
"terrorists" and "Islamo-fascists," it's important to remember that
Hizballah represents a disenfranchised Shi'a majority in Lebanon that
has
been historically dominated by a Christian presidency and then a Sunni
premiership. The only durable solution to the current political
deadlock in
Lebanon will have to address this underlying power imbalance between
Lebanon's sects.

So kudos to "the opposition" for such a creative comeback and kudos to
both
sides for reminding us that not every civil war in the Middle East has
to be
fought with guns and bombs.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Woman arrested over mafia links
A Greater Manchester woman has been arrested and could face extradition to Italy over alleged mafia links.

Ann Hathaway, 44, from Green Street, Middleton, was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit on Thursday.

The mother-of-two, who lived in Rome until November, was taken into custody on an extradition warrant issued by the Italian authorities.

She is alleged to have "participated in a criminal organisation".

Mrs Hathaway is married to Antonio Rinzivillo, who has been jailed for 30 years for murder and drug trafficking.

He was sentenced after being convicted of the murder of a Milan lawyer, Antonio Mirabelle.

Mrs Hathaway, who has not been charged, will appear before magistrates at the City of Westminster on Friday as part of the conditions of the warrant.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6275639.stm

Published: 2007/01/18 16:04:55 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

Student clashes in Greek capital
Greek riot police have clashed with angry students on the streets of the capital, Athens, during a protest over proposed education reforms.

Violence broke out during a march on parliament attended by some 3,000 people, mainly university students.

There were no reported injuries or arrests during the scuffles during which masked youths threw petrol bombs.

Students, backed by university and education unions, claim the reform would lower the quality of education.

Constitutional amendment

The demonstration is one of several taking place across Greece to protest against a proposed change to education policy, which would require a constitutional amendment.

The proposal would allow private universities to operate fully in Greece and for the degrees they award to be recognised by the state.

Students and members of the academic community say this will threaten the quality of education for all and divert much-needed funds away from state universities.

But the government says that the changes would give more access to a university education and improve the quality of teaching.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6273193.stm

Published: 2007/01/18 00:24:10 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

Colombia seizes $54m drugs cash
Colombian authorities have seized $54m (£27m) in cash as well as gold ingots from the country's largest drugs cartel in a series of raids.

The cash came from shipments delivered by the Norte del Valle cartel, which Washington says has moved more than 500 tons of cocaine to the US.

The first stash of $19m was found in vacuum packed blocks hidden behind a false wall in Cali.

Three other hoards were found earlier this week around the city.

President Alvaro Uribe said he wanted to congratulate the police for a "great accomplishment".

"This is a positive step toward having a Colombia without rebel organisations, without paramilitaries, without drug traffickers or corruption," he told reporters.

Reports say officials from the US Drug Enforcement Administration accompanied Colombian police on the raids.

Tip-offs

Official sources said the money was a mixture of operating funds and cash put away for a rainy day by the cartel capos.

Police said they found the money and gold as a result of tip-offs.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says the raids will upset the traffickers, but that the police doubt it will interrupt their drug-running operations.

With 20 people arrested along with the money, the Norte del Valle cartel will now be desperate to find the leak within the organisation and plug it, he reports.

The Norte del Valle cartel became the country's most powerful drugs organisation after the dismantling of the Medellin and Cali cartels in the 1980s and early 90s.

As the source of the majority of the world's cocaine, Colombia receives potentially billions of dollars each year from the international drugs industry, much of it in dollars and euros.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6274063.stm

Published: 2007/01/18 11:13:39 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[Quix]

Thanks.

And our traitorous liberal idiots will pretend it's nothing important, move along.

GRRR.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769822/posts

China downs satellite with ballistic missile
Ireland Online ^ | 18/01/2007 - 16:38:34 | Thomas Crosbie Media,


Posted on 01/18/2007 4:13:12 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach


The US criticised China today for conducting an anti-satellite weapons test in which an old Chinese weather satellite was destroyed by a ballistic missile.

“The US believes China’s development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. “We and other countries have expressed our concern to the Chinese.”






US intelligence agencies believe China conducted the test on January 11.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769820/posts

Islamic Terrorists Shot Dead in Tunisia Had Blueprints of Foreign Embassies
Fox/AP ^ | 1/12/07 | staff


Posted on 01/18/2007 4:12:39 PM PST by pissant


TUNIS, Tunisia — Islamic extremists involved in a deadly fire fight with police this month had blueprints of foreign embassies and documents naming foreign envoys, Tunisia's official news agency quoted the interior minister as saying Friday.

Interior Minister Rafik Haj Kacem described the extremists as "terrorists" in a closed door meeting with members of Tunisia's governing party, the TAP news agency reported.

It was the first time authorities had made available official information on the Jan. 3 confrontation with police that left 14 people dead — two of them members of the security forces.

Run with an iron fist, this country of some 10 million people, a tourist haven for Europeans, has largely been spared Islamic extremist violence. However, 21 people — mostly German tourists — were killed in a 2002 suicide attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba. Investigators linked the attack to Al Qaeda.

Fifteen people were arrested following the Jan. 3 clash in Soliman, a town 25 miles south of Tunis, the capital. An initial clash with security forces on Dec. 23 left two dead and two police officers injured. The minister said three police officers were injured but it was not immediately clear whether that was in addition to the two injured in December.


(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769791/posts

Estonia’s hatred of everything Soviet is ‘demonic in nature,’ Bishop Ryakhovsky says
Interfax ^ | 18 January 2007


Posted on 01/18/2007 3:11:33 PM PST by lizol


Estonia’s hatred of everything Soviet is ‘demonic in nature,’ Bishop Ryakhovsky says

Moscow, January 18, Interfax - The Russian Pentecostal leader Bishop Sergey Ryakhovsky called Estonian authorities’ decision to demolish the Liberator Soldier Monument and to re-bury the soldiers killed in battles for Estonia’s liberation from the Fascist occupation ‘a shameful act’.

‘What people can be troubled by the soldiers, who can no longer do or say anything to resist having their good names and feats humiliated and disgraced? Is it possible that they descend from those, whom Soviet soldiers saved from the SS gas chambers?’ he asks in his article published by the Pentecostals’ website on Wednesday.

He noted that the ‘shameful act’ of re-burial rather ‘looks like paltry revenge from those, who are too feeble to hurt the living ones, so they turn against those, who either cannot resist or are virtually defenseless.’

Ryakhovsky noted that under the ‘Third Reich’ thousands of Estonian citizens, first of all Jews, were doomed to be exterminated by the Nazis, ‘and it was only the Soviet troops who managed to prevent the overall slaughter.’

‘Today the Soviet Soldier Monument is rather a memorial of the struggle against the Nazis and no longer a symbol of the imperialist policy of the state that no longer exists,’ he added.

The Pentecostal leader said he regretted that there were some signs that Estonia already became a successor of the Nazi Germany and forgot its Christian roots.

He thinks one of those signs is ‘humiliation of the Russian-speaking “non-citizens”, which became a gloomy reality in the Estonia of today.’

‘Simple men and women had the ground taken from under their feet; they were publicly marginalized and made pass through tribulations and disgrace in order to obtain citizenship. All these look but paltry revenge, a demonic trick that most countries, even tyrant-headed ones, would consider too ignoble for themselves.

The Fascists lost the war in 1945 and now they are trying to gain their revenge by ‘demolishing the victors’ voiceless memorials,’ he said.

‘I am sure that the ‘war’ on memorials will end in a defeat of the attackers because they in fact are fighting not against bronze or stone statues, but against their own memory. If a nation losses its memory, it will loose itself after all,’ the bishop concluded.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769792/posts

Russia to take decisive steps against Estonia ·
tltnews.net ^ | 01/18/2007


Posted on 01/18/2007 3:14:13 PM PST by lizol


Russia to take decisive steps against Estonia ·

01/18/2007 17:17

Russian Duma wants Moscow to take “decisive steps” if Tallin begins to dismantle a monument to the 50,000 Soviet soldiers who died fighting the Germans in World War II, euronews informed.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: _“As far as we are concerned, this is akin to blasphemy.”

He added that Tallinn’s move was dictated by motives that have nothing in common with the necessity to learn lessons from the past and build a unified Europe without any borders.

Tallin says the monument, dating from 1947, has become a focus for public discontent and demonstrations. For many Estonians it is a reminder of their loss of independence after the Russian occupation of 1940. The authorities say they want to move it to a more secure site.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Iran offers to help train, equip Iraqi forces
AFP ^ | January 18 2007 | Ammar Karim


Posted on 01/18/2007 2:45:21 PM PST by jmc1969


Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad said that Iran stood ready to help train and equip Iraqi security forces to combat what he called terrorism.

Speaking after talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Hassan Kazemi demanded to be shown "any shred of evidence that Iran is working to destabilise Iraq," as the United States alleges.

"We are working for, not against, security in Iraq, because we know that insecurity justifies maintaining foreign troops in the country," Kazemi told reporters.

"Iran is disposed to helping to train and equip Iraqi security forces to combat terrorism."


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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769774/posts

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769772/posts

Escondido Condo Fire Live Thread (Headline News)
headline news | 1/18/07 | me


Posted on 01/18/2007 2:42:42 PM PST by BurbankKarl


Live on headline news and Incident Broadcast.....4 or 5 large condo bldgs under construction fully involved

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769648/posts

Why Rush Limbaugh is wrong on the Liberals position on evesdropping on Terrorists calling the US.
The FBI files on Vietnem Veterans Against the War (VVAW) and John Kerry ^ | 1/18/2007 | Stockpirate


Posted on 01/18/2007 10:36:53 AM PST by stockpirate


The FBI files on the VVAW reveal that on many occations the North Vietnamese Government would call the VVAW in the United States and advise them in advance about an upcoming NV attack on the South and US troops.

In these contacts the NV would advise the VVAW leaders to start ramping up for anti-war protests because as soon as the NV invaded the South Nixon would start bombing the north.

This is what allowed the VVAW and other anti-war groups to mount such large anti-war protests on what seemed to be very short notice, ie Nixon starts bombing and two days later tens of thousands of protesters were in every major city.

So, Rush states that liberals are afraid that the government will evesdrop on their phone calls but they really have nothing anyone wants to hear.

But, I say that the libearls do not want the government listening in on Terrorists calling the US becasue they are concerned that they may be the recipent of some of those phone calls.

So if they could prevent that from happening they would have free reign on reciving just such calls.

Clink on the link to my home page here at FR and there is a list of almost 50 issues I posted here re: the FBI Files, John Kerry and the VVAW


Must see:

http://www.freerepublic.com/~stockpirate/

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1769634/posts

FBI seeks man in subway mercury spill (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Times ^ | 1/18/07 | Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writer


Posted on 01/18/2007 10:07:43 AM PST by BurbankKarl


Who is the young man in the sport coat shown on a grainy MTA videotape pouring mercury on the ground of the Red Line subway station at Pershing Square?

When it happened, officials quickly labeled it a harmless accident. But now, the county's joint terrorism task force has launched an investigation and is trying to find the man.

While officials say the whole thing could still be an accident, they said after reviewing peculiar behavior on the tape, a closer look is warranted. The man is shown talking to a second person about 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 22 before crouching and appearing to drop something on the edge of subway platform.

The man then reaches for an MTA intercom and tells a worker he dropped mercury there, according to sheriff's officials, before disappearing.

But in what officials admit was a breakdown in procedure, MTA workers didn't immediately clear out the area — or notify law enforcement or the fire department. Hazmat crews didn't respond to the scene until 7:15 a.m. the next morning — eight hours later.

When asked whether the procedures worked as planned, L.A. County Sheriff's Cmdr. Dan Finkelstein said "absolutely not." He added that the incident shows that not all transit workers are adequately trained to respond to potential dangers.


(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...