Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles (thread 2) Daily Terror Threat

DEBKA ^ | 11/03/03

[texasbluebell]

Important article, and one I had missed. Thanks for posting that.

We can only hope most of the Euros are waking up finally.

[Sean Osborne Lomax]

Here's the latest on the Osama bin Laden situation...


NEIN director Doug Hagmann has within the past 24 hours been in contact with the original source which had contacted him concerning the United States Special Operations Forces capture of an alQaeda HVT (High Value Target) within the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The source refuses to deny that Osama bin Laden is the HVT we "snatch and grabbed" in the Islamic Republic Iran. The capture occured on or about 20 January, 2004. This source advises us that the original unsolicited information
provided is 100% accurate.

The capture of Husam al-Yemeni (Ansar al-Islam and Abu Zarqawi's lieutenant) occured on or about 15 January and preceeded the capture of the Iranian HVT
(Osama). The capture of Hasan Guhl occured on Thursday, 22 January, and post dates the Iranian HVT (Osama) capture.


I will have an update on why the U.S. State Department issued the denial about Osama's capture instead of the U.S. Department of Defense.

[mhking]

I'll reconsider and put it there.

Thank you for your insight and consideration... It is much appreciated.

[jerseygirl]

Gulp...this is much worse than I even imagined possible.

[Chaos]

Sean, what is the deal with the assassination attempt on Bremmer?

[Letitring]

Snipped from article:

US probes online terror talk


By Frank Gardner
BBC's security correspondent


Intelligence agencies are investigating a series of internet warnings, said to be issued by al-Qaeda, about major terrorist attacks on the United States.
The messages - posted on several Islamist websites - include claims that an entire city could be destroyed.

This week, a statement, said to be from al-Qaeda intelligence services, warned the countdown to hit America had begun.

"It will be an even stronger strike than nuclear weapons so be prepared, oh mujahideen holy soldiers," it said.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3395499.stm

[Revel]

I hope they raise the terror level for the weekend.

[Revel]

Speaking of pending Terror:

January 27, 2004
France Makes Headway in Push to Permit Arms Sales to China
By CRAIG S. SMITH

ARIS, Jan. 26 — France pushed the European Union on Monday to lift a 14-year ban on weapons sales to China and succeeded in putting the issue on the organization's agenda for the spring.

"The hope is that it will happen in April," said a French diplomatic official after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. He noted, however, that several influential European countries favor maintaining the ban.

The embargo was imposed in response to the Chinese military's killing of pro-democracy demonstrators near Tiananmen Square in 1989. The United States imposed a similar embargo. But France and Germany have both argued that China has made sufficient strides since then in reforming its government and economy to warrant the resumption of weapons sales.

"When you look at the countries subject to similar E.U. sanctions, the question is whether China should be in the same company," the French official said. Besides China, the European Union maintains weapons embargoes against Myanmar, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

But France's effort, coming as the country received the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, with a lavish ceremony, was derided by some officials, who argue that China's human rights abuses remain too glaring to overlook. "A desire to curry favor with the Chinese president during his state visit to France is no excuse for rethinking a long-standing European policy rooted in principle," Graham Watson, head of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, said in a statement.

In fact, France stands to benefit handsomely if it succeeds in ending the arms embargo. China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, has one of the largest defense budgets in the world and is spending heavily to modernize its armed forces.

Because of the Western arms embargoes, the country has been largely restricted to buying Russian military hardware in recent years. But Beijing has a long list of items it would like to buy from Europe, particularly French Mirage fighter jets and German stealth submarines.

The European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to reconsider the ban and referred the issue to a panel of experts. But there was no indication that there would be substantive progress before the next summit meeting at the end of March as France would like.

The Netherlands, for one, has a standing parliamentary resolution that keeps the ban in place until there is clear evidence that human rights in China have improved.

Even Germany, which in December joined France in calling in principle for an end to the embargo, indicated Monday that the time was not yet ripe. "The German government does not feel ready now to lift the ban," the Reuters news agency quoted Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, as saying.

There is some concern that lifting the embargo now would add a destabilizing note to Beijing's relations with Taiwan, already strained by a plan put forth by Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, to hold a national referendum in March on whether to demand that China remove missiles facing the island and renounce the use of force.

China maintains that Taiwan is a province under its sovereignty and that the island's political separation from the mainland is a historical anomaly left over from the country's 1949 civil war. Beijing demands fealty to that position by all countries with which it maintains relations. President Jacques Chirac dutifully repeated his country's commitment within hours of Mr. Hu's arrival in Paris on Monday.

"France is attached to the principle of there being one China," Mr. Chirac said when Mr. Hu raised the issue at the start of a four-day state visit, according to the French president's spokeswoman.

France has pulled out the stops for Mr. Hu's visit, lighting the Eiffel Tower red — China's national color. France is the only European country Mr. Hu is visiting on his four-nation tour, which will continue in Africa.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/27/international/europe/27CHIN.html?ei=5062&en=b54718ed1c798d1f&ex=1075784400&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=

[jerseygirl]

I'vr been wondering about subs, as well.

[comingsoon]

Well, there is only a week left for all that has been discussed here to happen, IMO. Its kinda like the Y2K thing {where nothing much happened}. This weekend could be a turning point in history or life goes on as usual. Such an extreme in events.

[Letitring]

It's doubtful, don't you think? We seem to be hardening certain areas of interest. However, I wish they would too, the more eyes and ears we have out there, the better.

[Revel]

I think part of the reason that France has been so cocky is that they have new friends now. China.

[Letitring]

SNIP: Banks

"Although larger institutions often have well-developed IT security departments and systems, this may not be the case for smaller firms or independent advisers. Firms also need to consider the risk that such an attack could occur at the same time as a physical disruption. This has been identified as a significant risk by law enforcement agencies in the US," the report said.

http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39118008,00.htm

[knak]

what's an HVT?

[Letitring]

Not sure if we have this one yet.


US investigates fraudulent terror e-mails

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Home | Business & Technology | US investigates fraudulent terror e-mails

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Consumer Call Centers in Kansas City, Missouri, and Washington, D.C., have received a large number of complaints by consumers who received an email that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC. The email informs the recipient that Department of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has advised the FDIC to suspend all deposit insurance on the recipient’s bank account due to suspected violations of the USA PATRIOT Act. The email further indicates that deposit insurance will be suspended until personal identity, including bank account information, can be verified.


This email was not sent by the FDIC and is a fraudulent attempt to obtain personal information from consumers. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT access the link provided within the body of the email and should NOT under any circumstances provide any personal information through this media.
http://www.in-sourced.com/article/articleview/1231/1/1/