http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1030128/posts "Official: Al-Qaeda plans something big"
USA Today ^ | Nov. 27, 2003 | Kevin Johnson
Posted on 11/27/2003 8:03 PM PST by FairOpinion
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "WASHINGTON — A top counterterrorism official says al-Qaeda operatives dropped plans this year for several small attacks in the USA to focus on plotting a "more spectacular" assault comparable to the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. counterterrorism official, who has access to all intelligence on the terrorist group, told USA TODAY this week that officials have no specific evidence to indicate how or when al-Qaeda might try to launch a massive strike on U.S. soil.
But, the official said, interviews with al-Qaeda detainees, intercepts of communications from suspected operatives and other sources have yielded evidence that Osama bin Laden's network still has a command structure and a determination to launch an attack that might rival the suicide hijackings.
About 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
"It's clear that al-Qaeda wants to strike here" and that it continues to seek opportunities for "a catastrophic attack," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
Recent intelligence reports indicate that al-Qaeda remains fascinated by the idea of using aircraft as missiles, despite the additional security at U.S. airports since the 9/11 attacks, the official said.
U.S. analysts still say explosives typically used in more limited assaults, including vehicle bombs in suicide attacks, remain al-Qaeda's most likely weapon here.
But intelligence reports suggest that some of the network's operatives think that an attack using chemical or biological weapons could be a way to top the 9/11 attacks, the official said.
Such weapons can be difficult to use, but al-Qaeda has sought them for years."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1030177/posts "Chavez appoints radicals to head Venezuelan passport agency - reports of Arabs otaining ID documents"
Miami Herald ^ | November 28, 2003 | Phil Gunson
Posted on 11/28/2003 1:39 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "President Hugo Chávez's appointment of two radicals to run the passport agency raises eyebrows partly because of reports of Arabs obtaining Venezuelan ID documents.
CARACAS -- Already facing allegations that Muslim extremists have obtained Venezuelan identity documents, President Hugo Chávez has put the country's passport agency in the hands of two radicals -- one a supporter of Saddam Hussein.
Hugo Cabezas and Tareck el Aissami were appointed last month as director and deputy director of the Identification and Immigration Directorate, in charge of border controls and issuing passports and national ID cards. The agency also works with electoral authorities on voter registration.
Both were top student leaders at the University of the Andes in the western city of Merida, described by senior school officials as a virtual haven for armed Chávez supporters and leftist guerrillas."