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

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.

National:

[New York Post] NEW YORK - Pom-Bomb Fruit Juice Terror Strike [Food tampering]

"Animal-rights terrorists say they've contaminated 487 bottles of trendy Pom pomegranate juice sold in stores all along the East Coast, including in outlets of at least two grocery chains that do business in New York City"

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12202006/news/nationalnews/pom_bomb__fruit_juice_diarrhea_terror_strike_nationalnews_bill_sanderson.htm

[Anderson Independent Mail] GEORGIA - Suspicious fire threatens communications towers

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2006/dec/18/suspicious-fire-threatens-communications-towers/

[Hersam Acorn newspapers] New Canaan Police handle suspicious package [False alarm]

"A letter “oozing a white powdery substance”

http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/article_11554.shtml

[Desert Sun] CALIFORNIA - Man in custody after alleged bomb claim

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061218/UPDATE/61218038

[Chicago Tribune] CHICAGO - Explosion at Zion hospital prompts evacuation of patients

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-061218zion,1,5515571.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[Telegram.com] MASS - Fitchburg post office evacuated - Unknown illness strikes customers

"Chief Roy said it is possible the three people got a coincidently timed instantaneous onset of stomach flu"

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061218/ALERT01/61218001

[Pensacola News Journal] FLORIDA - Shoplifting case grows to include the FBI

"not American citizens"

"occupants of the home often moved about at night and frequently sent packages from their residence"

"the suspects' home had blackened windows and plastic sheeting had been installed to prevent people from seeing through the planks of a privacy fence"

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/NEWS01/612190325/1006

[LoyalistParty.com] USA - The Loyalist Party - Loyalists against Islamic hate

http://www.loyalistparty.com/

[IndyStar.com] INDIANA - Bomb explodes in Fishers mailbox

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/LOCAL0102/612190461/1006/LOCAL

[KVIA] TEXAS - Suspicious vehicle found in newspaper parking lot

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=5817540

[WHIOTV.com] OHIO - Police: White Powder Shows Up In Mailboxes

"Investigators said several individuals opened their mailboxes on Tuesday morning and found 3 x 5 envelopes with white powder inside them. Police said there were no threatening messages with the powder"

http://www.whiotv.com/news/10569527/detail.html

[CBS/AP] NEW YORK - A.P. Headquarters Target Of White Powder Scare

"also contained explicit photographs"

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_353164708.html

[The Item] MASS - Librarian recalls white powder [Anthrax hoax]

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/001-FRONTPAGE/612190779

[Press-Register] ALABAMA - Launching tubes for missiles found

"At least three tubes that are used to launch military-grade missiles were found Tuesday at a moving company on Interstate 65 Service Road West in Mobile, authorities said"

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/116661011982480.xml&coll=3

International:

[IHT] FRANCE - French counterterror forces on high alert

"French counterterrorism forces are on high alert going into presidential elections next spring, two of the country's top terrorism officials say, citing three Islamist plots thwarted over the last 18 months — including one to bomb the Paris Métro and another targeting Orly Airport"

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/19/news/france.php

[AAp] INDONESIA - Indonesia on holiday attack alert

"is deploying some 18,000 police and troops to guard churches and mosques over Christmas and New Year with terror mastermind Noordin Top still on the loose"

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20953518-38196,00.html

[Reuters] EL SALVADOR - US Embassy in El Salvador evacuated on bomb threat

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19280875.htm

[AP] RUSSIA - Car bomb kills local education official in Russia's troubled North Caucasus

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/19/europe/EU_GEN_Russia_Restive_South.php

[Telegraph] INDIA - Arrested rebel spills beans on red activity

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061219/asp/jamshedpur/story_7157727.asp

[Xinhua] NIGERIA - Two Car bombs explode in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-12/18/content_5504492.htm

[IsraelNN.com] ISRAEL - IDF Soldier Wounded in Gaza Bomb Attack

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=117725

[Khaleej Times] PAKISTAN / AFGHANISTAN - Militants planning suicide attacks

"Militants belonging to banned jihadi outfits are planning suicide attacks on army installations in Pakistan and foreign troops in Afghanistan in revenge for the air strike on a Bajaur madrassa in November, according to intelligence sources"

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/December/subcontinent_December640.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

[Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence] SRI LANKA - LTTE terrorists abduct 23 school children

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20061219_04

[AAp] AUSTRALIA - Evidence teacher had al-Qaeda links

" high school teacher facing terrorism charges allegedly claimed he was from al-Qaeda and threatened to carry out attacks, a court has been told"

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20953070-2,00.html?from=public_rss

[Interfax] RUSSIA - Nalchik student explodes while making bomb

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11650204

[Zee News] IRAQ - US led forces captured a senior al-Qaeda leader

"who was responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths and housed foreign fighters who carried out suicide bombings, the US military said today"

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=343235&sid=WOR

[AAP] AUSTRALIA - Blade found in Christmas cake: report

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/blade-found-in-christmas-cake-report/2006/12/20/1166290614130.html

[AFP] THAILAND - Bomb threat delays Thai Airways flight to Dubai

"female passenger reported to the airline she received a bomb threat on her mobile phone"

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=60063

[PTI] INDIA - Anonymous call about bomb turns out to be hoax

"An anonymous call today to the Delhi office of Indian about bombs planted in two flights to Guwahati from Kolkata turned out to be a hoax, officials here said"

"The anonymous caller warned that bombs may be planted on board this evening's Kolkata-Guwahati flight and the Kolkata- Guwahati flight early tomorrow,"

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200612201610.htm

Preliminary Analysis of New Zawahiri tape

We have just obtained a transcript of the Zawahiri tape, announced
by As Sahab 2 days ago but not yet released.

The following is a preliminary analysis of the tape. Note that this is
a PRELIMINARY analysis and we will be updating as the day progresses.
Laura
The file dates indicate that the Word version of the translation
was created on December 10, 2006, so this tape is at least ten days old.
The tape references the Islamic State of Iraq, so it was almost
certainly created after that announcement on October 15. He also makes
specific reference to "courageous, resolute, martyrdom-seeking women of Bayt
Hanun", referring to the incident in Gaza where the women of Bayt Hanoun
acted as human shields in an effort to assist Palestinian fighters
escape from a mosque in early November 2006. Thus we can say with a high
degree of certainty that the tape was created between November 7 and
December 10 of this year.
The last tape from Zawahiri was some two weeks before that, on
September 27. This is the 15th message from Zawahiri in 2006.
He claims that the tape was issued on the 89th anniversary of the
signing of the Balfour Declaration. He discounts any possibility of
giving up any portions of Palestine, and dismisses the international
treaties and documents which have established the State of Israel. He calls
the resolutions "null and void, non-binding resolutions, which aren't
worth so much as a mosquito's wing on the scales of Islam".
He dismisses the legitimacy of the elections in Palestine and
elsewhere in the Islamic world, saying "it is unimaginable that the Muslims
could create a government in Palestine or elsewhere based on the rule
of other than the Shari'ah, and whose authority doesn't come from the
Shari'ah".
He goes on to state:

.every way other than Jihad will only lead us to loss and
failure, and those who attempt to liberate the lands of Islam through
elections which are held on the basis of the secular constitutions or the
resolutions surrendering Palestine to the Jews will never liberate one
sand-grain of Palestine: instead, their actions will lead to the smothering
of the Jihad and blockading of the Mujahideen.

He dismisses the United Nations as hostile to the Muslim world:

And here we must make clear the true nature of the United
Nations. The United Nations is an organization hostile to Islam. Its charter
is based on the rule of other than the Shari'ah and obligates all UN
members, including the governments of the Islamic countries, to recognize
Israel, because it - like them - is a member of the UN. And it also
obligates them to recognize Russia's occupation of Chechnya and the Muslim
Caucasus, China's occupation of East Turkistan, Spain's occupation of
Ceuta and Melilla and the occupation of other Muslim lands by non-Muslim
governments which are part of the UN.

Yet in many ways this most recent tape is a tape of extreme
contrast. It shows extreme belligerence on one hand, explicitly threatening
the US homeland, calling upon Muslims to join in the "resistance", yet
at the same time appears to show that there is weakness in the jihad.
He extols Muslims to join in the resistance or "we shall be finished",
he calls for more active fundraising, demands that Muslims join in
reconnaissance operations against US and "Zionist" targets, and limits his
call for support for the Islamic State of Iraq to young men currently in
Iraq.
He demands that the US depart "from our lands and stop supporting
the corrupt rulers, and don't prevent the Muslim Ummah from establishing
its legitimate Shura state accountable to it."
He says :

You must realize that a new period of world history has begun.
The period of the offspring of Abd al-Aziz Al-Sa'ud, the grandsons of the
Sharif Husayn and Sadat, Mubarak and Arafat has passed, and the period
of Khalid Islambouli, Abdullah Azzam, Abu Hafs the Commander, Khattab,
Muhammad Atta, Muhammad Siddique Khan, and Shehzad Tanwir (Allah have
mercy on them) has begun. And if you are unable to comprehend this
transformation, then blame no one but yourselves.

He makes explicit threats against the US, referencing a quote from
US President George W. Bush:

Bush deceives you when he says, "We strike the terrorists in
their countries so that they don't strike us in ours." On the contrary: if
we are struck in our countries, we shall never stop striking you in
your countries, with Allah's power and permission.

And as our commander, Shaykh Usama bin Ladin (may Allah preserve
him) told you, "As you bomb, you will be bombed, and as you kill, you
will be killed."

Yet in some portions of the tape he paints a rather bleak portrait
of the current state of jihad:

If the Ummah doesn't arm itself with this awareness, it will
never move on to victory, either because its sacrifices will be stolen from
it every time, or because it will obey leaderships unable to rise to
the level of the battle who spin their followers on the merry-go-round of
political mazes.

There is no solution without Jihad. All other solutions are not
only futile, but moreover, will exacerbate the state of collapse and
humiliation in which we live. They are like treating cancer with aspirin.

He cites suicide bombers as a major element in the success of the
jihadist activities in Iraq and Afghanistan:

The fact which our enemies realize before our friends is that the
thing which trimmed America's claws, broke its back, and aborted its
plans was neither the elections, nor trading in religion, nor beggary,
but rather, was the Mujahideen's love of martyrdom and their sacrifices
in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a Jihadi resistance which the people of
whims and prejudice have for so long criticized.

Yet at the same time, he seems to be concerned about the future of
the jihad, saying "if we don't resist, we shall be finished".

And I tell the Muslim Ummah: if we don't resist, we shall be
finished. Resistance is a must, and this resistance can be nothing but a
popular one at the hands of the Muslim Ummah, because the governments are
treasonous and many of the organizations have fallen into the swamp of
impotence and going after scraps of the booty.

He calls for fundraising, and for members of the Islamic "ummah",
or community, to participate in fundraising, and to join in and support
the "mujahideen". He also calls for heightened efforts in public
relations, and calls upon members of the "ummah" to assist in staking out
"targets" and gathering information for the "mujahideeen":

They must stake out targets and observe the activities and most
prominent aspects of the American-Zionist presence, and gather data and
pass it on to the Mujahideen. They must support the families of the
prisoners, and disseminate the Mujahideen's public relation

Zawahiri calls for the people in the Islamic countries to work for
the expulsion of US forces from "the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
and Egypt". He calls for peace treaties, which he describes as
"surrender accords", with Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Mauritania to be
cancelled.
He makes specific reference to commerce, calling for boycotts and
attacks against merchants who trade with the US and coalition forces.

The Muslim Ummah must exploit all methods of popular protest,
like demonstrations, sit-ins, strikes, refusing to pay taxes, preventing
cooperation with the security forces, refusing to provide the Crusaders
with fuel, hitting traders who supply the Crusader forces, boycotting
Crusader and Jewish products, and other ways of popular protest.

Zawahiri calls for mosques, universities, colleges, and high school
to become centers of support for Jihad, and instructs students to "take
their anger to the streets".
He calls Pope Benedict a "charlatan", and praises those who
participate in protests against his visit to Turkey:

And in this context, I hail our Muslim brothers in Turkey on
their demonstrations rejecting the visit of Benedict the Charlatan, who
pretended to forget his own creed - full of fantasies and contradictions -
and attacked the Noblest Prophet, peace be upon him.

In this tape he reminds "all educated Muslims" that it is their
responsibility to join in battle against the "Zionist Crusade", and
references three Arab leaders, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah of
Jordan, and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, by name, calling them puppets and
traitors:

"And I remind every educated Muslim that his role in confronting
the Zionist Crusade is to bear arms. If he cannot, then he must support
and serve those who are bearing them, and he must speak the truth to
the faces of the idol-kings, tyrants and arrogant ones, and mention them
by name: i.e., he must say that Hosni Mubarak, Al Saud, and Ibn Hussein

Zawahiri congratulates the Mujahideen in Iraq on the establishment
of the Islamic State of Iraq, saying:

I send my greetings and those of my brothers to our brothers, the
Mujahideen in Iraq. And I congratulate them on the establishment of the
Islamic State of Iraq, and encourage the Islamic Ummah to back this
young, fledgling state, for it - Allah permitting - is the gateway to the
liberation of Palestine and the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate.
And I also encourage all my Mujahid brothers in Iraq to join this
blessed caravan to rescue Iraq of the Caliphate from the schemes of the
Crusaders and their agents, the traitorous religion-traders, and to ruin
what the beggar Abdul Aziz al-Hakim conspired about in Washington with his
master, the defender of the defeated cross.

It's interesting to note that this time his call is to only
"mujahid brothers in Iraq" to join the jihad in Iraq, rather than calling for
Muslim men from throughout the Islamic world as he has done in the
past.

For more translations and news on terrorism, visit
http://www.lauramansfield.com
or visit our forum at http://www.lauramansfield.com/forum/

Strategic Translations is a service provided by Laura Mansfield through
http://www.lauramansfield.com

Thanks to Milford421 for this report:

Talal "Ted" Ali Chammout - Merchant involved terror plot - CA

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/19138.html

Valley terror plot allegedFeds say Porterville merchant wanted to
buy military arms to send to the Middle East.By Pablo Lopez / The
Fresno Bee12/16/06 04:28:22
ADVERTISMENT

His attorney said Friday that Talal "Ted" Ali Chammout is a U.S.
citizen who loves America, adores his children and is a respectable
mini-mart owner in Porterville.

But federal prosecutor Carl Faller said Chammout, 47, wanted to
purchase missiles and rocket launchers and other weaponry to send to
terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Jordan.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence O'Neill heeded Faller's advice and
ordered Chammout to be detained in the downtown Fresno jail, even
though Chammout's relatives were ready to put up $1 million in
property as bail until his trial on weapons charges.

Chammout was in U.S. District Court, accused of being a felon in
possession of firearms. A criminal complaint alleges he purchased
five semiautomatic pistols from a government witness who told
Chammout the weapons were stolen from the military.

After Faller spoke of Chammout's intentions to hire a hit man,
perhaps to kill his wife, and purchase sophisticated military
weapons, O'Neill said, "The discussion we have now is in the
terrorist category."

O'Neill ruled that Chammout is a potential danger to society and
ordered him detained without bail. He faces 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine if convicted of the federal weapons charges. His next
hearing is Dec. 22.

Chammout, arrested Dec. 7, is charged with violating a federal
weapons code outlawing the possession of firearms shipped through
interstate commerce after having been convicted of a felony. Court
records show he was convicted in June 1995 in Tulare County Superior
Court of an assault causing great bodily injury.

Chammout's lawyer, Roger Nuttall, said his client, who has family in
Lebanon, is a U.S. citizen, cares for his three children and employs
a number of people at his Porterville minimart, Trucker's Oil Co.
Petroleum Products.

"He has a love for this country," Nuttall told O'Neill. "The
allegations are diametrically opposed to a man who made his life
here."

But Faller, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge that the FBI
has had Chammout under surveillance since 2004. Faller then gave
snippets of Chammout's alleged activity.

In March 2004, Faller said, Chammout met with a confidential witness
for the government and inquired about purchasing stolen military
weapons. Then in the spring of 2005, Chammout wanted to purchase a
gun with a silencer, Faller said.

In a conversation with an FBI agent posing as a hit man, Chammout
inquired about killing someone, perhaps his estranged wife, Faller
said. When the agent balked, Faller said, Chammout still gave the
agent "$1,000 for his trouble."

In September 2005, Chammout talked with the confidential witness
about purchasing rocket launchers, Faller said. The next month, he
wanted anti-tank weapons, the prosecutor said.

In February of this year, Chammout asked about missile systems that
shoot down aircraft, Faller said. Chammout also told the
confidential witnesses that "these guys want the stuff. If [news] of
it gets out, you're dead."

As Faller spoke, Chammout shook his head no.

Defense attorney Nuttall gave the judge a newspaper clipping that
showed Chammout received a businessman of the year award. Chammout's
relatives in court also brought O'Neill paperwork showing they owned
properties in Dearborn, Mich., that they said were worth $1 million.

"He has no reason to leave this county," Nuttall said in arguing for
his client's release from jail. "He has made his life here. This is
his country."

According to a criminal complaint, the confidential witness met with
Chammout earlier this month, bringing with him 20 semiautomatic
pistols as previously arranged.

The witness allegedly told Chammout the pistols were stolen from the
U.S. military. Chammout agreed to purchase five of the pistols from
the witness for $1,000, the complaint said.

All the guns had traveled through interstate or foreign commerce
because they had been manufactured outside of California, according
to the complaint.

FBI agents then arrested Chammout and served a search warrant at a
business and two homes controlled by Chammout. At the business, on
the 900 block of Westfield Avenue in Porterville, law enforcement
officials seized about 40 firearms, including AK-47 assault weapons
and a TEC-9 pistol, according to the court papers.

<*> Milford421's Yahoo Group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/under-investigation/

December 20, 2006
Al Qaeda's Zawahiri Threatens More Attacks on USA, West
By Jeffrey Imm

Counterterrorism Blog
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/12/al_qaedas_zawahiri_threatens_m.php

Al-Jazeera has released additional excerpts from Al Qaeda deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri's videotaped message:

Earlier excerpts of Zawahiri's message referenced Hamas and Palestinian government, calling for a renewal of Jihadist activity and Islamism in Palestinian government.

In the latest excerpts of his message, Zawahiri renewed threats against the United States and the West, and also referenced the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Threats Against US and West:
"If we are attacked in our land we shall not stop attacking you in your countries, God willing..." and "As our emir Sheikh Osama bin Laden, God keep him, said, 'Like you bomb, you will be bombed, and like you kill, you will be killed".

Regarding Afghanistan and Iraq:
Zawahiri stated that President Bush was deceiving the American people by telling them he was going after "terrorists" in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to keep them away from the United States. "Your safety lies in the following equation: you will not dream of security until we live secure in Palestine and all Muslim lands," Zawahiri said.
"Both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to find an exit from the disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq and are still thinking with the same rash mentality and trying to negotiate with some sides to secure your exit but these sides cannot offer you an escape and your attempts will only bring more failure."
"You are not negotiating with the real powers in the Muslim world and you appear to be heading towards a painful round of negotiations, after which you will forced to talks to the real forces..." he said.

Regarding Revival of Islamic caliphate:
"I urge the whole Muslim nation to support this fledgling state as it is, God willing, the gateway for the liberation of Palestine and the revival of the Islamic caliphate." "I also urge all my mujahideen brothers in Iraq to join this blessed convoy to save the Iraq caliphate from the shackles of the crusaders and their agents, the traitors who have sold their faith", and in discussing Palestine, stating that it is "the duty of every Muslim" to recover Muslim land."

Criticizing Iraq Shiite Muslim Leaders (he claims oppose Jihad against US):
"How is it possible that jihad against the Jews in Lebanon is in line with Islam but jihad against Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan is taboo"?

Scope of Zawahiri Message
SITE Institute has provided the banner announced on Jihadist websites on Monday, December 18, 2006, advertising the anticipated Zawahiri message as being entitled: "The Truth of the Conflict Between the Muslims and the Infidels".

Sources:
Zawahiri vows attacks on US, slams Hamas - AFP
Qaeda's Zawahri threatens more attacks on West - Reuters

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President Bush Insists on 'Success' in Iraq
(CNSNews.com) – President Bush on Wednesday said he’s “inclined to believe we need” a troop increase in Iraq, and he said he’s asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to determine how such an increase could take place. He said “success” in Iraq is “essential” for the security of future generations and will require a “sustained commitment from the American people.”

Log Cabin Republicans Urged to Move in ‘New Direction’
(CNSNews.com) – The new president of the Log Cabin Republicans should take the Republican homosexual advocacy group in a “new direction” that would respect “the fundamental First Amendment right” of freedom of religion, a conservative analyst said Tuesday...

Supreme Court Asked to Hear Eminent Domain ‘Extortion’ Case
(CNSNews.com) – Claiming he is the victim of legalized extortion carried out under eminent domain powers, a landowner in New York is asking the Supreme Court to hear his case...

‘Left Behind’ Game Promotes Religious Violence, Group Says
(CNSNews.com) – A U.S. Islamic advocacy group Tuesday called on the country’s largest retailer to stop selling a video game it says glorifies religious violence and could negatively affect interfaith relations...

Terrorist Screening Program on ‘Firm Legal Ground’ Says DHS
(CNSNews.com) – While some Americans believe the federal government's post-9/11 anti-terrorism measures have compromised their privacy rights, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security is defending his agency's passenger and cargo screening program as the “best tool we have” in combating terrorism...

Putin, Assad Discuss Middle East
Moscow (CNSNews.com) – In an effort to boost Moscow’s clout in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday held talks with his visiting Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. Putin warned that the situation in the Middle Eastern was deteriorating...

Israeli-Syria Talks Would Be About the Golan Heights, Not Peace
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) – Possible Israeli-Syrian negotiations would not be about a peace agreement – they would focus on Israel giving up its strategic advantage on the Golan Heights, and therefore Israel would be foolish to engage in such negotiations, experts here said...

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NEWS FROM THE WEB:

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COMMENTARIES:

2006: The Year of Perpetual Outrage
By Michelle Malkin
It began with the Danish cartoons. It ended with the flying imams. Two thousand six was a banner year for the Religion of Perpetual Outrage. Twelve turbulent months of fist-waving, embassy-burning, fatwa-issuing mayhem, intimidation, and murder resounded with the ululations of the aggrieved. All this in the name of defending Islam from “insult.” Let’s review…

Racial Profiling
By Walter E. Williams
Charges of racial, religious and ethnic profiling followed in the wake of US Airways’ removal of six imams. Among other allegations, three of the men had no checked baggage and only one-way tickets. The racial profiling controversy is nothing new. For a number of years, black Americans have invoked it. Clever phrases have emerged, such as “driving while black” and now “flying while Muslim,” but they don’t help much in terms of understanding. Let’s apply some economic analysis to the issue…

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Baker’s Self-Serving Recommendations

Chalk's pilots feared the 'inevitable' before crash

A year after the deadly Chalk's seaplane crash in Miami, it's clear
that
some of the airline's pilots were worried about plane maintenance.

In November 2004, the cable controlling the pitch of a Chalk's Airways
seaplane snapped as it climbed 1,000 feet over Nassau Harbor with 16
passengers aboard.

Capt. Jai Guidry radioed an emergency to Nassau airport, warned them to
have
firetrucks standing by and -- with only minimal control of the tail
wing --
managed to land without serious damage to the plane or the passengers.

Then he resigned.

Guidry had just received a job offer from another airline. But two of
Chalk's other six captains would resign in the months ahead without
other
jobs to go to. Both cited similarly terrifying near-misses, and what
they
called the company's miserly approach to maintaining its beautiful, but
aging, World War II-era seaplanes. One warned in his resignation letter
of
''inevitable'' disaster.

A year ago today, a wing snapped off a Chalk's plane as it climbed over
Government Cut in Miami on its way to Bimini in the Bahamas. Both
pilots and
18 passengers died instantly when the nearly five-ton fuselage slammed
into
the water off South Beach.

The National Transportation Safety Board has not announced an official
cause
of the crash yet. But when investigators pulled the charred, severed
wing
from the water, they immediately noticed a ''fatigue crack'' on a wing
spar
-- a crucial support structure connecting the wing to the fuselage. So
far,
the crack is the only possible cause of the crash investigators have
discussed publicly.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, which approves
standards for maintenance and inspection, would not say on Monday how
frequently such spars had to be inspected on the old planes. ''That's
not
considered a public document,'' said spokesman Les Door, suggesting a
reporter check with the airline.

''I don't have time to talk to you right now, I'm very busy. I'm trying
to
be polite,'' said Chalk's owner Jim Confalone.

After the crash, however, the FAA required a detailed inspection of the
spars on all remaining Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallards -- most of which
are
owned by wealthy history buffs. Chalk's was the only airline using
them.

But to do those inspections, owners would have to peel the metal skin
from
the wings, which could cost more than the planes are worth. In recent
days,
Chalk's has requested an FAA review of an alternative method for
performing
the inspections, Door said.

After Guidry's near-miss, the company told pilots that the corroded
cable
broke in a place that was difficult to inspect -- where 17 screws had
to be
taken out to remove a panel covering it, according to a resignation
letter
written by fellow Capt. Grady Washatka.

Costs have been a major hurdle for the often cash-strapped airline
since
Confalone bought it out of bankruptcy in 1999.

When Capt. Eric Weber went to work for Chalk's in April 2001, he was
impressed with the company's maintenance program, which included 12
mechanics, he told NTSB investigators. By late 2004, the company had
half
that number of mechanics, Weber said.

After the Miami crash, former pilot Washatka told investigators that in
October 2004, a mechanic said the maintenance department was not
allowed to
buy any new parts for the rest of the year.

IN-FLIGHT TROUBLES

The reported decline in maintenance coincided with a series of
frightening
in-flight problems.

On Jan. 16, 2005, Weber was flying from Fort Lauderdale to Paradise
Island
in the Bahamas at low altitude -- 1,500 feet -- when he noticed that
the
left engine was slowly losing power. The problem only lasted about 15
seconds, but Weber put the plane down on Bimini Island.

On Feb. 12, Weber was climbing 8,900 feet in the same twin-engined
aircraft
when one of the power plants suddenly stopped. A key section of the
engine
had ''disintegrated,'' an NTSB report said.

After his second emergency landing on Bimini in less than a month,
Weber
''took several days off from work, thought about things, and resigned
from
Chalk's,'' the report said.

Both emergencies happened in the plane that later crashed on Dec. 19,
2005.
That same plane, which carried tail No. N2969, had a history of leaks
from
its wings, which served as giant fuel tanks.

Cracks and missing rivets on the right wing had become such a concern
for
pilots in the fall of 2004 that a group of pilots took the company's
director of operations, Roger Nair, to the hangar and pointed them out
from
the top of a ladder, Washatka told the NTSB.

Nair promised to have them all fixed, according to an NTSB report.

''Airplane N2969 was the focus of concern for structural issues,''
investigators noted.

Chalk's mechanics repaired corrosion on the doomed plane's right wing
spars
in 1991, and on the left wing in 1992, FAA records show. Chalk's
repaired a
cracked rod in the right wing in 2000.

Chalk's other planes also had problems. Weber told investigators he
often
noticed leaks along rivets under the right wing of tail No. N142PA, and
in
``a pocket where the wing and fuselage meet.''

After complaining about the same problem several times in January 2005,
former Chalk's First Officer Robert Lutz found a rag stuffed into a
leak at
the crucial juncture of the wing and fuselage. His captain that day,
Washatka, refused to fly the plane.

Nair ''said he was sure that the rag was a mistake'' and promised a
more
permanent solution to the problem, Washatka told investigators.

Nair did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Washatka, who told investigators that Nair threatened to discipline him
for
pointing out so many maintenance problems, warned of impending disaster
in
his January 2005 resignation letter.

ENJOYED THE JOB

But not all the pilots were as concerned.

First Officer Paul DeSanctis was reportedly in a great mood as he
waited for
a morning fog to burn off on Dec. 19, 2005. The 34-year-old former high
school football player had worked his way through several attempts at
college, then flight lessons, at a buddy's heating and plumbing
business in
Reading, Pa.

He had started at Chalk's in April 2005 and enjoyed the job, despite
the low
pay, said his father, Joe DeSanctis.

Capt. Michele Marks, 37, had just skippered a 38-foot sailboat from
Naples
to Vero Beach with her husband. It was no pleasure cruise. They were in
the
midst of a divorce, and the boat was for him to live on, her father
said.
The passage had been choppy.

Her job, which she adored for its combination of boating and hands-on
flying
-- no autopilot -- had become complicated, too. She had begun to worry
constantly about maintenance troubles, her ex-husband told
investigators
after the crash.

The flight from Watson Island to Bimini that afternoon was straight and
level -- there should have been no undue stress on the wing, Guidry
told
investigators.

Still, at 2:39 p.m., as a tourist on South Beach trained his video
camera on
the iconic plane climbing into the sky, the right wing tore off in a
blur of
orange flame and black smoke. The fuselage remained largely intact
until it
slammed into the water.

Marks' father, Jack McCormick, watched the live coverage on CNN. ''At
first,
they kept talking about survivors,'' he remembered from the hours spent
staring at his TV. 'She was such a strong swimmer, I actually caught
myself
thinking, `Maybe.' It was terrible.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/16270891.htm

The URL is
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=6790

Arutz Sheva - IsraelNationalNews.com

"A Place Once Settled is Not to Be Abandoned"

by Dr. Alex Grobman
December 20, 2006

As Israel continues its quest to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli
conflict,
Jimmy Carter and others are pressing Israel to leave parts of Judea and
Samaria.
Before even considering such a move, which would repeat the disaster of
Gush
Katif, Israeli leaders might learn from the experiences of former
Zionist
leaders.

On March 1, 1920, Joseph Trumpeldor, a political activist, along with
five of
his men from the Tel Hai settlement, was killed in a fight with Arabs
from a
nearby village. Historian Anita Shapiro notes that two months before
the
encounter, Aharon Sher, a settler, wrote an article in which he asked
for help
to defend the settlements in this lawless and remote northern region.
One
sentence became a rallying cry to battle:

"A place once settled is not to be abandoned."

In subsequent discussions about whether to defend or desert these
communities,
leaders of the Labor movement essentially adopted Sher's view. Yitzchak
Tabenkin, a leader of the kibbutz movement, argued that if the Arabs
terrorized
the Jews enough to leave a few settlements, they would not stop until
the Jews
were forced out everywhere. Only by taking an "obstinate, desperate
stand,
without looking back," could the Jews guarantee their right to the
land.

The moderate, left-of-center HaPoel HaTza'ir party paper asserted that
their
work in settling the land was based on "mutual understanding and
amicable
relations" with their neighbors: "Yet, wherever Hebrew soil is drenched
with the
sweat of Hebrew workers, and with their blood, that place is holy to
us, and we
have no right to abandon it."

In the 1930s, when the Arabs rioted in Palestine over increased Jewish
immigration, David Ben-Gurion thought the Arabs might be more receptive
to
Jewish settlement if he could demonstrate how it would benefit them
economically. In 1934, he went to see Musa Alami, a young "moderate"
Arab
lawyer, who served as the Private Secretary to Arthur Wauchope, High
Commissioner for Palestine.

Alami's response to Ben Gurion was quite telling: "That's true," he
said, "but
we don't want your blessing. We prefer the land to remain impoverished,
barren
and empty until we ourselves are capable of doing what you are doing.
And if it
takes another century, then we will wait a hundred years."

Shortly after the Arab Rebellion began on April 19, 1936, Ben-Gurion
didn't even
bother trying to convince the Arabs of the morality of Zionism or about
the
economic advantages that would accrue to them from increased Jewish
settlement,
according to Shapiro. "It would be extremely naive to assume that the
Arabs
would determine their attitude toward us from the standpoint of
abstract
justice," Ben-Gurion declared. "The Arabs are adamant that this country
is an
Arab country, and they wish it to remain so. That is quite elementary!"

Arthur Ruppin, the foremost authority on Jewish efforts to settle the
land,
explained the difficulty of reaching an accord with the Arabs. On
February 21,
1931, he wrote in his diary, "We are not offered what we need, and what
we are
offered is of no use to us."

Ruppin, who was chairman of Brit Shalom, which advocated a bi-national
state,
recognized that the "conciliatory tone" the group took toward the Arabs
was
"interpreted by the Arabs as weakness."

In November 1929, German Zionist members of Brit Shalom suggested that
an appeal
for a reprieve be made to the British for the Arabs convicted of
killing Jews in
Hebron and Safed. On Friday August 23, 1929, the Arabs began a week of
rioting,
killing and looting. More than 400 Jews were murdered or wounded. In
Hebron,
eight American Jews were killed and 15 wounded. The dead were students
at the
Slobodka yeshiva, who were not Zionists and not involved in the Jewish
national
movement. Neither were those attacked in Safed.

Although "in principle" Ruppin opposed the death penalty, he felt in
this case
it would be too dangerous to stop the practice. Prisons don't "frighten
the
Arabs," he said, "since they are relatively better off in jail than
they were at
home." Furthermore, "they would not regard a prison sentence - with the
hope of
amnesty after a few years - as a serious punishment, and thus might
encourage
others to slaughter Jews."

The lessons learned by early Jewish leaders should not be lost on those
in power
today. The Arabs have not yet accepted the Jewish right to live in the
Land of
Israel. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh made this clear when,
on
December 8, 2006, he declared, "We will not give up our Jihadist
movement until
the full liberation of Beit Al-Muqqadas [Jerusalem] and Palestinian
land."

Israeli leaders would do well to heed the words of Edmund Burke, who
said, "The
concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear." Appeasement has a
place in
resolving disputes, he believed, but not in dealing with aggression.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HL14Ad01.html

Greater China
Dec 14, 2006

China's real nuclear capabilities
By David Isenberg

WASHINGTON - It is never hard to find someone worrying about China's nuclear weapons. For example, the recent annual report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission says, "Beijing continues to improve its older intercontinental ballistic missiles and seeks to field increasingly mobile, accurate and survivable and therefore more credible ICBMs ... China's newer longer-range [missile] systems will reach many areas of the world ... including virtually the entire continental United

States."

Yet it seems that China has more to worry about than the United States, according to another recent report. It found, just like classic "missile gap" alarm of the Cold War, that the US military, intelligence agencies and conservative think-tanks and news organizations are exaggerating China's nuclear-weapons capability to justify developing a new generation of nuclear and conventional weapons.

And in a surrealistic act of mirror-imaging, the Chinese have been citing US weapons upgrades as a rationale for modernizing theirs, locking the two nations in a dangerous action-and-reaction competition reminiscent of the Cold War, according to a report issued on November 30 by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

In a perverse way it actually makes sense. Ever since the crackup of the Soviet Union, various political and military figures have been desperately searching for rationales to justify hanging on to and modernizing the US nuclear arsenal.

Of course, the negligible size of China's nuclear forces has made that a hard sell. As the report notes right at the start, "The Chinese-US nuclear relationship is dramatically disproportionate in favor of the United States and will remain so for the foreseeable future."

Even the Pentagon's last annual "Military Power of the People's Republic of China" report notes that Beijing has consistently stated its adherence to a "no first use" nuclear doctrine, which is that China will never use nuclear weapons first against a nuclear-weapons state, nor will China use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapons state or nuclear-weapons-free zone.

It also noted that China currently deploys about 20 silo-based, liquid-fueled ICBMs, which constitute its primary means of holding continental US targets at risk. But according to the FAS-NRDC report, the United States has more than 830 missiles - most with multiple warheads - that can reach China. By 2015, when US intelligence projects that China will have 75 missiles primarily targeted against the United States, the US force will include 780 land- and sea-based missiles.

The report found that although the United States has maintained extensive nuclear-strike plans against Chinese targets for more than a half-century, China has never responded by building large nuclear forces of its own and is unlikely to do so in the future. As a result, Chinese nuclear weapons are quantitatively and qualitatively much inferior to their US counterparts.

China's total stockpile numbers about 200 warheads; the United States has nearly 10,000. By 2015, after China deploys a new generation of ballistic missiles and the US has completed its planned reductions, China may have some 220 warheads and the US more than 5,000.

The report's main finding is that the Pentagon and others routinely highlight specific incidents out of context that inaccurately portray a looming Chinese threat. Specifically, the report demonstrates that they have been embellishing China's submarine- and long-range-missile capabilities.

US intelligence agencies warn that the Chinese will be able to target 75-100 nuclear warheads at the continental United States by 2015. But that prediction assumes China will be able to deploy 40-55 new DF-31A missiles before 2015, in addition to two other shorter-range missiles. Given that the Chinese have yet to conduct test flights of the DF-31A, the report concluded that that assumption is highly questionable.

The Pentagon also has made much out of the fact that China's next-generation missiles will be mobile. But the majority of China's ballistic-missile force has always been mobile, the report points out, and the US military has targeted it as a routine matter since the 1980s. In fact, improved US targeting of Chinese missiles has played a significant role in prompting China to develop new long-range missiles.

# As the report makes clear, the disparity between US and Chinese nuclear capabilities is so overwhelming as to make any talk about the Chinese threat farcical. For example: None of China's long-range nuclear forces are believed to be on alert; most US ballistic missiles are on high alert, ready to launch within minutes after receiving a launch order.
# China's sole nuclear-ballistic-missile submarine has never gone on patrol. As a result, the crews of the new Jin-class subs currently under construction will need to start almost from scratch to develop the operational and tactical skills and procedures that are essential if a sea-based deterrent is to be militarily effective and matter strategically.
# China may be able to build two or three new missile subs over the next decade, but they would be highly vulnerable to anti-submarine forces; the US Navy has 14 missile-bearing subs and has moved the majority of them into the Pacific.
# China may have a small number of aircraft with a secondary nuclear capability, but they would be severely tested by US and allied air-defense systems or in air-to-air combat. The United States operates 72 long-range bombers assigned missions with nuclear gravity bombs and land-attack cruise missiles.
# China does not have nuclear-armed cruise missiles, although US intelligence suspects it might develop such a capability in the future. The United States has more than 1,000 nuclear cruise missiles for delivery by aircraft and attack submarines.

Another relevant aspect of the report, especially in light of recent US experience with Iraq, details how badly US intelligence has misjudged Chinese nuclear capabilities. The report found that estimates about the size of the Chinese nuclear arsenal were grossly overstated, sometimes by several hundred percent, and timelines for when new systems would come on line were almost always much too optimistic.

The reasons for these misjudgments include China's ability to keep its capabilities hidden, a tendency among some intelligence analysts to overstate their conclusions, and the Pentagon's general inclination to assume the worst. This predisposition to exaggerate the Chinese threat unfortunately remains evident today.

The sad irony is that both countries point to what the other is doing as a justification to modernize. The report notes that China is about to deploy three new long-range ballistic missiles that the US says were developed in response to its own deployment of more accurate Trident sea-launched ballistic missiles in the early 1980s.

Meanwhile, the US has increased its capability to target Chinese mobile missiles, and the Pentagon is arguing that the long-term outlook for China's long-range ballistic-missile force requires increased targeting of Chinese forces.

David Isenberg, a senior analyst with the Washington-based British American Security Information Council (BASIC), has a wide background in arms-control and national-security issues. The views expressed are his own.

(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd.

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