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.

http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=4553182

Trial of March 11 suspects to start in Spain nearly 3 years after deadly bombing

The Associated Press
Sunday, February 11, 2007
MADRID, Spain

It was Europe's worst terror attack in more than a decade and modern Spain's darkest hour. Now, three years after bombs made of dynamite and nails ripped through four packed Madrid commuter trains, 29 suspects are going to court.

The case is so big — and security so daunting — that it had to be moved to a heavily guarded brick compound on the outskirts of town. Spain has no death penalty but the seven main suspects could be sent to prison for up to 40 years if convicted of the March 11, 2004, attack that which left 191 people dead and more than 1,800 wounded.

For many in Spain, the wounds from that day have yet to heal. Survivors, many of whom lost limbs or were left paralyzed, say the trial due to get under way on Thursday will be a new reminder of all that they have lost.

"The wounds are still open. I'm still caught in a struggle and I have no strength to keep fighting," said Laura Jimenez, 31, who lost the baby she was carrying and was left paralyzed. She was the last of the injured to be released from the hospital, nearly a year after the attack.

Jimenez said prosecutors had asked her to testify, but that she could not face being in the courtroom.

"I know that these people (the suspects) will be sitting inside a bulletproof chamber," she said. "But it is not the same to see them in person as it is in photographs in a newspaper."

Officials say they do not expect violence or major street demonstrations during the trial, which is likely to stretch on until June and involve testimony from more than 500 witnesses. Just the same, they aren't taking any chances.

Elite police units armed with machine guns will be guarding the low-slung court building when the trial convenes, and the suspects will be brought to court in a heavily armored vehicle. They will attend the proceedings in a chamber protected by thick bulletproof glass.

Among the top suspects are Moroccans Basel Ghalyoun, Abdelmajid Bouchar, Youssef Belhadj and Jamal Zougam, and Spaniard Emilio Trashorras, who is accused of supplying the dynamite used in the attack. All have pleaded not guilty.

Zougam's lawyer, Jose Luis Abascal, told The Associated Press he hoped the court would be able to render a fair verdict, given the charged atmosphere. Four witnesses say they saw Zougam placing one of the bombs on a train, but Abascal said he would prove his client's innocence.

"We face the trial with hope and we believe that the court will render justice," he said. "I hope there will be a fair trial."

If convicted, the seven face possible jail terms of 30 years for each of the 191 killings and 18 years for the 1,820 attempted murders. Combined, the sentences would come to 38,490 years for each, although under Spanish law the maximum time anyone can spend behind bars is 40 years.

The other 22 suspects are accused of lesser crimes such as collaborating with a terrorist organization and weapons possession and face jail terms between four and 30 years.

The seven main ringleaders of the March 11 attack will never see a courtroom. They blew themselves up three weeks after the bombing as police closed in on their hideout in the Madrid suburb of Leganes. Three other men — Said Berraj, Mohammed Belhadj and Daoud Ouhane — are still at large and believed to have fled the country.

The Madrid attacks were the deadliest in western Europe since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 that killed 270 people.

Spain's conservative government, led by Jose Maria Aznar, first blamed Basque militants for the carnage, despite overwhelming evidence that Islamic militants angered by Spain's support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq were behind it.

The government's stance left it open to charges of a cover up, and it was swept from power by current Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in national elections just three days after the bombings.

While the March 11 suspects claimed allegiance to al-Qaida in a video tape and said they were inspired by Osama bin Laden's ideology, a two-year investigation turned up no evidence that the men had any links to the terror network, or that anybody in bin Laden's inner circle knew of the plans ahead of time.

Most of the men were North African immigrants, and many had long police records for drug trafficking and petty theft. Police were monitoring phone conversations of several of the suspects ahead of the blast, and even stopped one of the men's cars as it transported dynamite into the capital.

But authorities thought they were observing plans for a low-level drug deal and failed to act.

One of the country's top anti-terrorism police officials during the investigation has told the AP that the attack exposed glaring shortcomings in the nation's security forces.

The number of undercover agents monitoring suspected militants in Spain has tripled since then, as has cooperation with security agencies in other countries.

Dozens of suspected radicals have been arrested in raids throughout the country, and Spain has escaped another attack by Islamic militants since Mar. 11.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=2813235

[the end of the article, dated Jan. 25, 2007]

Sources tell ABC News that the plot may have involved moving between 10 and 20 suspects believed to be affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq into the United States with student visas.

U.S. officials now require universities to closely track foreign nationals who use student visas to study in the United States. University officials must report international students who fail to arrive on campus or miss class regularly.

In August, the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alerted intelligence agencies and state and local law enforcement about 11 Egyptian students who had failed to report to their classes at Montana State University. The students were ultimately apprehended.

Still, despite the heightened precautions, some security analysts fear that skilled terrorists -- handpicked because of their clean records and because they are carefully trained -- could still slip through an academic setting.

The plot was discovered six months ago, roughly the same time that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by coalition forces. Sources tell ABC News that the suspects involved in the effort to launch the U.S. attack were closely associated with Zarqawi.

The plan also came only months after Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2, had requested that Zarqawi attempt an attack inside the United States.

"This appears to be the first hard evidence al Qaeda in Iraq was trying to attack us here at home," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, former chief counterterrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council.

The plan was uncovered in its early stages, and sources say there is no indication that the suspects made it into the United States. Officials also emphasize that there is no evidence of an imminent attack.

The hunt for suspects continues, however, and some fear that al Qaeda recruits in Iraq could be easily redirected.

"Anyone willing to go to Iraq to fight American troops is probably willing to try to come to the United States," Clarke said.

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=132144&version=1&template_id=46&parent_id=26

Nuclear terror risk now more real

Publish Date: Sunday,11 February, 2007, at 08:51 AM Doha Time

By Mark Trevelyan
LONDON: Western governments must take seriously the possibility of terrorists exploding a nuclear bomb as the necessary materials and know-how become easier to acquire, security analysts argue in two new reports.

“The threat of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons is real ... moreover, the likelihood of terrorists acquiring such weapons is growing as more states aggressively pursue their own nuclear ambitions,” the EastWest Institute said in a study.

It said the first nuclear terrorist may turn out to be an American or European, reflecting a likely evolution in security threats over the next 10-15 years and a possible shift away from Al Qaeda-style militancy towards eco-terrorism.

In a separate report, London’s influential Chatham House think-tank said it was feasible that terrorists could acquire an atomic bomb, build one themselves, create an “improvised nuclear device” or blow up a nuclear power station.

Another risk was the collapse of government control over civil and military nuclear facilities and materials in some countries.

The design, materials and engineering for a bomb “have all become commodities, more or less available to those determined enough to acquire them”, said Paul Cornish, head of the international security programme at Chatham House.
He said the science and engineering challenges were very difficult but not insurmountable.

Rather than aiming to build a military-grade atomic weapon, terrorists might settle for a cruder improvised device that would require more uranium but a lesser degree of enrichment, thereby reducing one of the key technical barriers.
“The device might then ‘fizzle’ rather than detonate its entire mass instantly and efficiently. But if the resulting explosion were to be equivalent to just one or a few kilotons of TNT rather than tens of kilotons, terrorists could still find this option attractive,” Cornish wrote.

He stressed that such a scenario was just one of a range of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats which were all appealing options for terrorist groups.

Security analysts see a CBRN attack as a logical escalation for groups such as Al Qaeda, which in the past has frequently varied its strikes and sought to increase their scale — notably with the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, said in November that future threats “may include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology”. – Reuters

Glad you caught this one, as I saw the headline a couple times and forgot to go back and read it.......

I had noticed this in the past, not only in Palestine, but in times of real need.

When the big wave wiped out the Indonesia area, it was the U.S. that went to the rescue, with men, equipment, supplies and money.

The Saudi did give a small amount, but I do not know if it was ever paid or not.

When the T. wave hit, there was a good group formed in the Yahoo Groups and I found it.........and joined.

There has been a few posts, until recently, and there was one that said the muslim money was not paid.

Keep in mind, that this was not a group formed for the U.S., but for the people involved in the storm, rescue, lost people, contacts.

They were thankful for what the U.S. did, we moved a carrier or omore there and the helicopters went to work, they would take great loads of supplies to the far villages and bring out those that needed medical treatment.

The natives faces in the photos, were thanks enough.

LOL, then the government got excited and more or less said, get out, we do not want our natives liking the U.S. and the ships had to leave.

They built great tent cities for the "rescue" groups, it was a sad thing to read of these tent cities, or the fact that the tents and vehicles for the rescue people came in first, before food and medicine for the people who needed it.

I have little respect for some of the rescue groups, as they do not go to rescue people, but to make money for themselves, [my opinion], while the U.S. Navy did all the hard work.

I do not know if the thread remained, after they closed it, or if it disappeared completely, hopefully it is still there, for the photo links and reports that were real life.

There was one native reporter, who went every place, and reported what he saw, in truth, but he also was working to keep rescue going, he died and I never knew how.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/

The Muslim Brotherhood Triumph in the Palestinian Territories
By Douglas Farah

The big winner in the Hamas-Fatah peace pact appears to be the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an armed branch.

While giving up very little Hamas, through the intercession of leaders of the Brotherhood, has sidestepped the issue of recognizing Israel while ceding little to Fatah and opening the way, they hope, for international recognition. This is a common tactical decision by the Brotherhood, which is often willing to trade off short-term contradictions for long-term gains, with the clear understanding that anything written now can be rewritten later.

But the fundamental issue between Fatah and Hamas ( and the Brotherhood) is deep and perhaps irreconcilable, and goes to the heart of the Islamist project. For Hamas, it is a religious matter of faith that Israel cannot be recognized and the Caliphate must be reestablished. Fatah, for all its bumbling incompetence, sees the territorial issues as a matter of policy and politics.

The noted scholar Mamaoun Fandy, recently warned in an article excerpted in the Middle East Media Research Institute, the Muslim Brotherhood has now conquered Palestine as a symbol in the Arab world.

This conquest "will transform [the Palestinian problem] from a resolvable territorial struggle into a religious struggle that cannot be resolved," he wrote. A reversal of this trend is highly unlikely because al Jazeera is, at least in large part, controlled by the Mulim Brotherhood, giving it the dominant medium in the region. My full blog is here.
February 9, 2007 10:32 AM

http://www.dundalkeagle.com/articles/2007/02/08/news/news03.txt

TERRORISM EXPERT: LNG plant here would not pose threat to security

photos by Joseph M. Giordano

by Joseph M. Giordano

Former White House counterterrorism chief Richard A. Clarke during an interview in Baltimore last week.

On Jan. 31, former White House counterterrorism chief Richard A. Clarke sat down with The Eagle at Semmes, Bowen & Semmes’ Baltimore law office to discuss his firm’s security assessment of a proposed liquefied natural gas plant on the Sparrows Point peninsula and his relationship to Virginia-based AES Sparrows Point. That company wants to build a $400 million LNG facility on the site of the former Sparrows Point Shipyard.

In the past, Clarke has made statements indicating that an LNG facility could be a viable terrorist target and has gone so far as to write in his 2004 book, Against All Enemies: Inside the War on Terror, that an attack on a similar facility near downtown Boston — which has since closed down — would have “wiped out” the city’s downtown area.

Having examined the local proposal, Clarke is saying that an LNG plant in Sparrows Point would be a highly unlikely terrorist target and does not pose a security threat.

Q: In what capacity are you working for AES?

A: I am not working for AES. My company, Good Harbor Consulting, was retained by AES about six months ago to assess the security of the [proposed Sparrows Point LNG] facility.

Q: What about the security concerns about the proposed Sparrows Point plant?

A: First, let me talk a little bit about the process. We use a certain methodology to assess the security of a facility. We’ve just concluded our report of the AES Sparrows Point facility. The methodology says is there intent? And the answer is yes, there is intent. We know [Islamic extremist group] Al-Qaeda is interested in natural gas plants. Next we ask, do they have the ability? Yes. We’ll assume they can get into the country.

Q: Would [the Sparrows Point facility] fit their desire as a target?

A: [Al-Qaeda’s] desire as a target is a target that’s going to kill a lot of people. That’s their M.O. [Sparrows Point] is not that viable of a target.

Q: Why not?

A: The question of killing a lot of people if [the LNG tanks] blew up is very difficult to do.

Q: Why?

A: It would have to result in a significant breech of more than one of the three tanks. And then they have to ignite it.

Q: What about people’s fears about the proposed project being so close to local neighborhoods?

A: Where this facility is to be put, there’s nothing within a mile. If an attack is going to occur, it will likely be at the dock, which is safe out to a mile. There’s a fuzzy area past the mile. But with the work [terrorists] would have to do to get out that far, it would have to result in at least a three-container breech. And it doesn’t pass the test of large casualties. The area within the mile radius is essentially depopulated. When you compare that to the facility which we looked at in Boston, were they to attack that, we have estimates that it would exceed over 100,000 casualties.

Q: What are the chances of a terrorist attack in Sparrows Point?

A: The probability of them [launching an attack] here is remote. The transit route is the [Chesapeake] bay, which is pretty broad, and the deep shipping channel comes right up the middle and there’s nothing around it.

Q: There’s also a plan to construct an ethanol plant near the proposed LNG facility. Which type of fuel is more combustible?

A: We haven’t looked at that project.

Q: What about the video Risks and Dangers of LNG? Have you had the chance to look at that?

A: Yes. It assumes a lot of things. It imagines a floating vapor cloud, which we and experts in the U.S. government think is darn near impossible. We can’t imagine a scenario where you would have a cloud. If you breach a container [or ship], which is hard to do, the [LNG] would pool on the water. It’s not going to turn into a vapor cloud. If it’s a slow drip, which would take a long time, it would disperse as soon as it gets into the wind. There’s a very vivid scene in the movie with a vapor cloud. It’s very good special effects. But I think all experts think it’s unrealistic.

Q: If you had to address one local community organization, what would you tell them?

A: I would tell them if Al-Qaeda was going to attack something, this project would be way, way down on the list. They don’t want to try something and fail.

http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php

Weekly Piracy Report
31 January-6 February 2007

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 31 January to 6 February 2007.

ALERT

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh
Forty seven incidents have been reported since 28.01.2006. Pirates are targeting ships preparing to anchor. Ships are advised to take extra precautions.

The 2006 Annual IMB Report on Piracy and Armed Attacks against Ships is now published. Please see the end of this page to order.

Suspicious crafts
02.02.2007 1100 LT in position 10:40N - 062:07E, Arabian Sea.
A general cargo ship received a VHF call from a craft advising that she is a Korean fishing vessel and asked for fresh water. Master suspected piracy, raised alarm and steered away from the craft. Suspicious craft followed the ship. Master increased speed and at 1210 LT the craft gave up the chase. Soon after, another four small high speed crafts approached the suspicious craft whilst talking/laughing on VHF ch 14. The suspect craft was wooden, painted white and green with a speed of 15-20 knots with no fishing equipment on deck.

Recently reported incidents
30.01.2007 1945 LT in position : 10:15.4N - 064:42.5W, Bahia de Pozuelos, Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela.
Two robbers boarded a container ship at anchor. Duty crew spotted them and informed Duty Officer on bridge. Alarm raised and a search was carried out. All doors, access into the ship was closed down and locked. Duty to stringent security measures onboard, the attack was unsuccessful.

29.01.2007 0030 LT at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Despite active anti piracy measures, a container ship berthed alongside was boarded by robbers armed with knives. They took one of the watchman hostage, placed a knife at his throat and threatened him. Robbers stole ship's stores and escaped by jumping overboard. Port authorities informed and a patrol boat arrived 30 minutes later and a search carried out but no one was caught.

27.01.2007 2310 UTC in position 02:03S - 106:54E, Tg. Priok anchorage, Indonesia
Armed robbers boarded a container ship at anchor from the stern. They broke open locked steering room door and entered the engine room via watertight manhole. They stole ship's stores.
[/para

Piracy prone areas and warnings

S E Asia and the Indian Sub Continent

* Bangladesh : Chittagong anchorage and approaches. The area is listed as very high risk.
* Indonesia : Belawan, Tanjong Priok (Jakarta) / generally in other areas.
* Malacca straits
* Singapore Straits

Africa and Red Sea

* Africa : Lagos (Nigeria) / generally other areas in Nigeria, Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania)
* Gulf of Aden / Red Sea : Numerous pirate attacks have been reported by ships and yachts in the Gulf of Aden. Some of the vessels were fired upon.
* Somalian waters : Eastern and North-eastern coasts are high-risk areas for attacks and hijackings. Ships not making scheduled calls to ports in Somalia should keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast, ideally, more than 75 nautical miles.

South and Central America and the Caribbean waters

* Brazil - Santos
* Peru – Callao

Inventus UAV

The Inventus UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is a state-of-the-art reconnaissance system packaged in a highly efficient, highly stable flying wing form. Outfitted with cameras, the Inventus flies and covers a large ocean area and relays a real-time data link back to the ground station. This link provides real-time aerial surveillance and early warning of suspect or unauthorised craft movements to the coastal or law enforcement authority. Developed by Lew Aerospace, the Inventus is fully autonomous and can be launched and recovered even from a seagoing or patrol vessel. There are gas and electric formats and both fly in all weather conditions. Endorsed by the IMB the Inventus is yet another tool to aid in the maritime effort in its fight against piracy. For more information please visit www.inventus-uav.com

http://eaglespeak.blogspot.com/

Friday, February 09, 2007
Ship with ammonium nitrate cargo catches fire off Australia, questions raised re safety

Reported here:

A flag of convenience ship carrying volatile ammonium nitrate is being towed back to Newcastle after its engine room caught fire.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the engine or wiring of the Bahamas flagged Baltimar Boreas had caught fire, disabling the ship, after it left the Newcastle Port on Thursday night.

The fire had been extinguished and a tug had been sent to tow the ship back to Newcastle, where it was expected to arrive on Friday evening, an ATSB spokesman said.
***
"We want the government to come clean. We want to know why a foreign vessel is allowed to carry such high-risk cargo on the Australian coast, putting Australian port communities, our national security and the environment at risk.

"If this ship went up in smoke in Newcastle harbour it could take out the whole city. We want the government to tell the Australian people what is going on.

"Ammonium nitrate is used as an explosive in mining operations, as a fertiliser and is the weapon of choice for terrorists. It was ammonium nitrate that was used during the Bali bombings."

Now let's see, something about Texas City....

Ship pictures is Baltimar Venus (sister ship to Boreas) in Sydney. More on Baltimar ships here.

UPDATE: Newcastle Port aerial view and entry photos added. More on Newcastle here and here. World's largest coal port.

# posted by Eagle1 : 2/09/2007 12:59:00 PM

Many good photos on this page and links to parts of reports.

http://cicentre.com/

Egypt questions alleged spy's Canadian citizenship

Egypt's ambassador to Canada says his government wants proof an Egyptian being held in a Cairo prison on charges of spying for Israel is a Canadian citizen…"Our information is that he came to Canada in 2003," El Saeed said in a telephone interview. "Is this normal that someone, in the span of three years, will become a citizen?...He also said Israel's fresh denials about the alleged spying plot ring false. "With all due respect we are used to these denials from Israel," he said. "Better than calling it nonsense, and accusing Egypt of spreading false and spectacular sorts of accusations, is to rein in the activities of Mossad,"...(CanWest, 8 Feb 07)

Accused spy spent 2 years with CIBC

The Egyptian-Canadian accused of working as an Israeli spy toiled until recently as a low-level employee at a CIBC branch in downtown Toronto, Canadian sources knowledgeable about the case have told The Globe and Mail. Before he was arrested in Cairo this year, Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar, 31, worked for about two years at the bank, sources said, without revealing the specific branch….(Globe & Mail, 7 Feb 07)

Story of Israeli spy in Toronto 'nonsense,' Israel says

…Both the Israeli public security minister and Israeli's ambassador to Canada said Tuesday that the allegations against Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar are not true. El-Attar, who is a dual citizen of Egypt and Canada, was arrested in January in Cairo and charged with spying….(CBC, 7 Feb 07)

[links hidden in summary]

[Trial set for July 2007]

http://cicentre.com/Documents/DOC_Noshir_Gowadia_Case.htm

Noshir Sheriarji Gowadia

Occupation:

1999-Present: Owner of his own company--N.S. Gowadia, Inc. (NSG, Inc.), a research and development, engineering and consulting company.

Principal and chief designer for NTech, a Hawaii company high-tech defense company

Spring 2005: Visiting professor, Purdue University's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Taught at University of Alabama, Georgia Tech

1990s: Contract Engineer, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico

Nov 1968-April 1986: Design Engineer, Northrop Corporation.

"One of the principal designers of the B-2 Bomber; conceived and conceptually designed the B-2 Bombers entire propulsion system." (Purdue website)

"Calls himself the father of the technology that protects the B-2 stealth bomber from heat-seeking missiles" (FBI)

Age (in 2005):

61 years old

Home:

Gated community in Ulumalu in Ha'iku, Maui, Hawaii

June 1999: Purchased a two-acre lot on Holokai Road on Maui for $330,000. In 2002, built a 6,790 sq ft home on lot with 11 rooms assessed in 2004 at $1.64 million.

Citizenship:

Naturalized US citizen; born in India

Family:

Wife Cheryl

Told neighbor he grew up in a poor family in Bombay, India

Arrested:

Search of his home and interview: Thursday, 13 October 2005

Second interview: Friday, 14 October 2005

Arrested: Tuesday, 25 October 2005

Made Public: Wednesday, 26 October 2005

Charges:

ONE COUNT: On or about October 23, 2005 in Maui, in the District of Hawaii and elsewhere, Gowadia did, having unauthorized possession of information related to the national defense, which information Gowadia had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of a foreign nation, did willfully communicate, deliver and transmit the same to a person not entitled to receive it.

Marketed and disclosed US military technology secrets related to the B-2 to foreign governments in order to "assist" them in obtaining a higher level of military technology.

Disclosed top secret information relating to stealth technology to representatives of at least eight countries.

Dates of Spying:

23 Oct 2002: Faxed a document detailing infrared technology classified top secret by the Air Force to a foreign official. He also provided classified information to two other countries

12 & 13 Dec 1999: Taught a course to foreign persons in another country with materials in his laptop classified at the SECRET level, which he had access to when at Northrop as well as a subcontractor for Los Alamos Labs.

Possible Recruitment/ Motivation:

"I disclosed classified information and material both verbally and in papers, computer presentations, letters and other methods to individuals in foreign countries with the knowledge that information was classified...the reason I disclosed this classified information was to establish the technological credibility with the potential customers for future business. I wanted to help these countries to further their self aircraft protection systems. My personal gain would be business." (affidavit)

Finances:

--His company, NSG, Inc., reported $750,000 in gross receipts form 1999 to 2003.

--2005: Took out a $2.9 million loan for unknown purpose

--Feb 2001: bought home in Kihei for $350,000; sold in Oct 2003 for $575,000

--July 1999: bought condo for $75,000; sold in May 2001 for $121,000

--Told neighbor he had given millions of dollars to charities

Identified:

Court:

Trial Date:

District of Hawaii

July 10, 2007

Investigating Agencies:

FBI, US Air Force OSI, US Dept of Homeland Security, US Immigrations & Customs Enforcement

Lawyers:

For the US Govt: US Attorney Ken Sorenson

For the Defendant: Currently assistant federal public defender Donna Gray

News Articles:

(most current articles are first)

B-2 Technology Not So Stealth

In a Nov. 15, 2006, grand jury indictment, Indian-born engineer Noshir Gowadia was charged with 18 counts of spying. Besides providing China with classified technology relating to the b-2’s engine exhaust system, he was also charged with several other counts of selling top-secret information. Justice Department officials claim that Gowadia was paid approximately $2 million for the b-2 secrets. If true, China got a true bargain—paying pennies on the dollar for technology that took many years and likely cost hundreds of millions or more to develop… Gowadia is also accused of providing China with extensive technical assistance to help it develop and test a radar-evading Stealth cruise missile, and also showing China how to modify the cruise missile to lock on to U.S. air-to-air missiles….(Trumpet, February 2007 Issue)

B-2 Technology Not So Stealth

In a Nov. 15, 2006, grand jury indictment, Indian-born engineer Noshir Gowadia was charged with 18 counts of spying. Besides providing China with classified technology relating to the b-2’s engine exhaust system, he was also charged with several other counts of selling top-secret information. Justice Department officials claim that Gowadia was paid approximately $2 million for the b-2 secrets. If true, China got a true bargain—paying pennies on the dollar for technology that took many years and likely cost hundreds of millions or more to develop… Gowadia is also accused of providing China with extensive technical assistance to help it develop and test a radar-evading Stealth cruise missile, and also showing China how to modify the cruise missile to lock on to U.S. air-to-air missiles….(Trumpet, February 2007 Issue)

Man Faces Death Penalty for Selling Defense Secrets

A grand jury indicted Noshir Gowadia, a Northrop Grumman engineer, for allegedly selling military secrets to China, Israel, Germany, and Switzerland. Gowadia, an Indian-born engineer who worked for 18 years at Northrop Grumman is possibly facing the death penalty if convicted. The federal grand jury handed down the 18-count federal charge indictment on Nov. 15 and He's scheduled to go on trial in January in federal court in Honolulu….(American Chronicle, 25 Nov 06)

US man allegedly spied for Israel, China

…Justice Department officials told ABC News that (Noshir) Gowadia was paid about $2 million for the secrets he compromised on the B-2. The scientist was provided top secret access while he worked for Northrop, the designer of the B-2, from 1968 to 1986. He then later worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory before establishing his own consulting company….(Jerusalem Post, 25 Nov 06)

American charged with selling stealth secrets to China

China obtained secret stealth technology used on B-2 bomber engines from a Hawaii-based Indian American spy in a compromise US officials say will allow Beijing to copy or counter a key weapon in the Pentagon's new strategy against China, according to a local daily….(IANS, 24 Nov 06)

The list of links to the articles on this spy, is long and worth checking..........granny

http://cicentre.com/Documents/DOC_Weinmann_Ariel_Case.htm

Espionage Case:

Ariel Weinmann

Arrested: Sunday, 26 March 2006 at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport
Charges: The first count alleges that in March 2005, Weinmann attempted to communicate classified information relating to national defense to a representative of a foreign government.

Two subsequent charges allege that months later Weinmann communicated information classified as confidential and secret to a representative of a foreign government.

The Navy has also charged him with failing to properly safeguard and store classified information, making an electronic copy of classified information related to national defense, communicating classified information to a person not entitled to receive it, and stealing and destroying a government computer.
Spying For: Allegedly for Russia
Spying Activities: Tried to pass secrets to foreign officials while in Bahrain (during sub's port visit) in March 2005; in Vienna on 19 October 2005; and in Mexico City on 19 March 2006. Lived for months in Vienna after deserting in July 2005.

Weinmann put electronic copies of the classified information classified confidential and secret onto a government laptop between May and July 2005, knowing that the information "was to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation."

Then allegedly stole the laptop, three CD-ROMs, an external computer storage device and memory cards for storing digital images when he deserted the submarine in Connecticut on July 3, 2005.

Military officials believe he destroyed the hard drive "by smashing it with a mallet" in Vienna in March 2006.
Occupation:

Fire Control Technician Petty Officer 3rd Class, US Navy

Enlisted in July 2003

Finished sub school in October 2004

Deployment on USS Albuquerque (Los Angeles class submarine)

Deserted submarine in July 2005
Age: 21 years old in 2006 (born 1985). Graduated from West Salem High School in 2003.
Home: Salem, Oregon
Family: Father, mother, sister
Birthplace: Oregon, US
Citizenship: US
Possible Motivations/ Problems: Became disillusioned about life in the Navy after a six month tour on the Albuquerque in waters off Europe and the Middle East and the submarine's intelligence gathering and surveillance missions (also complained the technology was old). After just one deployment he went AWOL. Weinmann told his father this about his mission on the USS Albuquerque that he "protected George Bush's oil." Distraught after his girlfriend broke up with him. Startled family when he told them he was going to join the Navy as he was idealistic and interested in art, classical music and history. Salem 2003 newspaper article quoted him as having interest in foreign languages and that he planned to study Russian and become a translator.

News Articles:

(most current articles are first)

Why a patriotic teen joined the Navy and then turned to espionage

…Weinmann took the Tomahawk manuals to the Russian Embassy and met with a man who told Weinmann he was from that country's state department. Weinmann handed over the three-ring binder of documents and asked, in exchange, for citizenship, a train ticket and entry into college. The man told him to await a postcard that would give him further instructions. Months passed, and Weinmann realized he had goofed to give up the documents without receiving anything in return….(Virginian Pilot, 11 Dec 06)

Jilted love, not political intrigue, drove a Salem man to espionage

A broken heart, bruised ego and jaded view of military life caused a young sailor from Salem to desert the Navy and pass classified documents to a foreign government…Regardless, a military judge found Fire Control Technician 3rd Class Ariel Weinmann guilty of espionage, desertion and several other counts. Weinmann, 22, a graduate of West Salem High School, will have at least four years in prison to think about his actions….(Gannett News, 11 Dec 06)

US Navy spy gets 12 years

AN American sailor, who was accused of spying during visits to Bahrain and Mexico, has been jailed for 12 years…Russian Embassy officials in Bahrain have refused to comment on the issue, but initially told the GDN that they held a meeting about the case….(Gulf-Daily, 10 Dec 06)

Submarine sailor gets 12 years for espionage

…Fire Control Technician 3rd Class Ariel Weinmann pleaded guilty Monday to desertion, failure to obey a general order or regulation, espionage, copying classified information, destruction of military property and larceny….(Navy Times, 7 Dec 06)

U.S. Submariner Leaked Data

U.S. submariner Ariel Weinmann pleaded guilty to espionage in favor of some foreign state, which name he didn’t identify. Weinmann was spying for Russia, local media concluded...He could have possessed information about the Tomahawk missiles that are used at such submarines. When deserting the Navy, the petty officer stole a government computer with more than 30 secret files, including the personal files of submarine officers…..(Kommersant, 6 Dec 06)

[links to the other articles with this, continue]

[Interesting and has hidden links]

http://patriotpost.us/papers/primer01.asp

A National Security Primer, Part 1
Understanding "Jihadistan" and Islamic terrorism

The first constitutional responsibility of any U.S. President is to our national security. In the event that our vital national interests are threatened, the President has the authority to commit armed forces to protect those interests.

On 11 September, 2001, after eight years of the Clinton administration's national security malfeasance, and eight months of the newly installed Bush administration's effort to reorder national priorities, most Americans were unaware that a deadly enemy had coalesced in our midst. But before noon on 9/11, it became clear that our vital national interests -- both the security of our homeland and the stability of our energy providers abroad -- were under assault. An enemy had declared war on the United States, and it was an enemy unlike any before.

Sheik Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, al-Qa'ida (translated as "The Base"), constitute an asymmetric enemy -- part of an international and increasingly unified Islamic terrorist network supported, in part, by nation states like Iran and Syria, and previously by Afghanistan and Iraq.

Unlike symmetric threats emanating from clearly defined nation states such as Russia and China -- those with unambiguous political, economic and geographical interests -- an asymmetric enemy defies nation-state status, thus presenting new and daunting national-security challenges for the executive branch and U.S. military planners.

Perhaps the most difficult of these challenges is the task of keeping Americans focused on why this asymmetric threat must be engaged (short of periodic catastrophic wake-up calls). It is critical that Americans understand this formidable adversary, particularly since liberal Democrats and their Leftmedia outlets have politicized our efforts to both combat this enemy and support democratic reforms in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, out of deference to cultural sensitivity and diversity, the Bush administration has yet to clearly define or, dare we say, "profile" these Islamists. Consequently, The Patriot refers to this asymmetric enemy collectively as "Jihadistan."

Jihadistan is a borderless nation of Islamic extremists that constitutes al-Qa'ida and other Muslim terrorist groups around the world. A borderless nation? Indeed. The "Islamic World" of the Quran recognizes no political borders. Though orthodox Muslims (those who subscribe to the teachings of the "pre-Medina" Quran) do not support acts of terrorism or mass murder, sects within the Islamic world subscribe to the "post-Mecca" Quran and Hadiths (Mohammed's teachings). It is this latter group of death-worshipping sects that calls for jihad, or "holy war," against all "the enemies of God." (These enemies, or infidels, consist of all non-Muslims).

Jihadists, then, are characterized by the toxic Wahhabism of al-Qa'ida's Osama bin Laden and his heretical ilk -- those who would remake the Muslim world in their own image of twisted hate and deathly obsession. In the words of bin Laden himself: "We love death. The U.S. loves life. That is the big difference between us." Al-Qa'ida seeks to disable the U.S. economy using any means at their disposal, and thus, undermine our political, military and cultural support for liberty around the world. Bin Laden's plan, "American Hiroshima," outlines an attack on the U.S. with multiple nukes. Ultimately, they seek to contain or kill those who do not subscribe to their Islamofascist ideology.

How many members of the Muslim faith subscribe to the notion that non-adherents are infidels? Perhaps fewer than five percent take such a hard line. But to put this in perspective, if just one percent of Muslims worldwide inhabit the brotherhood of Jihadistan, then there are 10 times more Jihadists than there are uniformed American combat personnel in our combined military service branches.

Jihadistan is thus a formidable, but not insuperable, enemy.

Source: http://PatriotPost.US/papers/primer01.asp
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Indonesian Terrorist Sent Messages from Prison to Muslim Terrorists (back)

February 5, 2007

An Indonesian Muslim , who is on death row for involvement in the 2002 on the resort island of Bali , sent messages via a cellular phone from his prison cell to Muslim in a riot-torn town in central Indonesia , a police statement said Monday.

Ali Ghufron, alias Muklas, 'frequently delivered 'tauziah' (a kind of speech containing messages and advice) from the Kerobokan Penitentiary Institution to Muslim gathering at a mosque in Poso,' according to the police statement shown to reporters by a source at the antiterror police squad.

'He always delivered the messages before dawn via his cellular phone connected to a loud speaker in the mosque from 2003 to 2005,' the statement, presented before a House of Representatives commission dealing with security and defense affairs, added.

The source did not say how a death-row convict was able to keep a cellular phone in the prison, but added, 'Money played (a part) here,' referring to the ease with which corrupt prison officials could be bribed to smuggle something into the prison.

Poso in Sulawesi Province is about 1,000 kilometers northeast of the Kerobokan prison on Bali .

According to the source, the information was obtained from Sahl Alamri, alias Sunarto, a Muslim cleric from Poso who was in February last year but released a week later after expressing willingness to cooperate with the police in combating in the country.

The national police have currently 23 Muslim from Poso for alleged involvement in a series of , the beheading of three Christian teenage girls and two Protestant priests, and other incidents in Poso and the provincial capital Palu.

Three others are still at large, Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Badrodin Haiti said during a hearing with the commission.

The were made following raids last month on the bases of the in Poso. At least 17 and an antiterror policeman were in exchanges of fire.

Among the , two were confirmed as being members of the Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah, who received training in a military camp run by the al-Qaida international network in Afghanistan.

Riots involving Muslims and Christians in Poso from 1998 to 2001 claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people, while 100,000 others fled their homes, many of which were torched along with scores of churches and mosques.

Religious tension eased in 2002 after peace talks in late 2001, mediated by then Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, led to a peace agreement.

Source: No url available

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