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Thread 11 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1159172/posts?page=1 |
Posted on 06/10/2004 2:28:29 PM PDT by JustPiper
Picture credit: TheCabal
"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat"
U.S. Charges Australian Linked to al-Qaida
WASHINGTON - An Australian held at the Navy's prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will face a military tribunal for allegedly training and fighting alongside members of al-Qaida in Afghanistan (news - web sites), the Pentagon (news - web sites) announced Thursday.
We are the "Stotters" who make ourselves aware of the enemy who wishes to do us harm
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
I am so sorry DL that you went through your own private terror ;( I can only imagine what you felt! But it will be a tape for all ages won't it? ~Hugs~
And yesterday I saw a chunk of hot meteor that fell into a New Zealand living room and it is not the first time in recent weeks that has happened there
She did mail her first to him, let me know what he says ;)
Yes, we must get rid of the liberal!
Look for oil to go back up.
Al-Qaeda's war on Saudi oil
The latest string of attacks in the kingdom marks a major strategic shift in al-Qaeda operations in the Saudi theater, one that could have severe repercussions not only for the Saudi regime but also undermine the world economy.
Yigal Walt
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The recent spate of attacks on westerners in Saudi Arabia, highlighted by the terror strike in al-Khobar that left 22 people dead, many of them foreigners, has elevated concerns about the state of security in the kingdom. Indeed, while attention has been largely focused on events in Iraq, recent developments in the world's largest oil-exporter could present an even greater threat to the stability of the region.
Moreover, closer analysis indicates that the latest string of attacks marks a major strategic shift in al-Qaeda operations in the Saudi theater, one that could have severe repercussions not only for the Saudi regime but also far beyond.
To put it succinctly, Al-Qaeda's renewed approach has been marked by a more careful and particular selection of targets for attack. This strategy has been underscored by an effort to single out non-Muslims and target local economic interests, particularly those related to the country's oil industry.
An important turning point in this context was al-Qaeda's attack on the al-Muhaya residential compound in Riyadh last November. The strike, which left mostly Muslims dead, sparked severe backlash among Muslims, eliciting expressions of condemnation throughout the Arab world. Particularly indicative in this regard were comments made by Dr. Saleh Bin Humaid, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, who compared the actions of the bombers to Israeli "terror against Palestinians". The angry reactions stimulated internal debate within the ranks of al-Qaeda itself over the utility of such operations. As we have increasingly discovered, the result has been a renewed focus on the careful targeting of non-Muslim 'infidels'. This was most vividly seen in al-Khobar as well as in an earlier strike on the offices of a US energy company in Yanbu, where the terrorists consciously avoided Muslims as they hunted down foreign nationals, coldly executing them.
The above-mentioned attack in Yanbu, which targeted the Saudi offices of Houston-based ABB Lummus global Inc., marked the opening shot in al-Qaeda's campaign against the oil industry in the nation. Moshe Marzuk, an Arab Affairs expert at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, notes that the targeting of Saudi economic interests fits into the overall strategy of global Jihad, which sees the undermining of the world economy as one of its primary objectives. Nonetheless, the translation of this general overall aim into meticulously-planned operations in the local Saudi theater is a major cause for concern as it attests to the maturation process undergone by al-Qaeda.
Marzuk notes that if at first terrorists thought that "by blowing up a building or two they could bring about big changes" in the kingdom, they now realize they were wrong. Marzuk says that random attacks may have indeed created some panic, but their overall impact was nonetheless limited. However, al-Qaeda seems to have quickly recognized the far-ranging impact of targeting oil interests in the country, a strategy which not only undermines the Saudi royal house but also adversely affects global markets, as evidenced by the recent jump in oil prices. This point was brought home in a recent statement issued by al-Qaeda's commander in the Gulf, Abd al-Aziz al-Muqrin, who drew attention to the rise of oil prices to near-record levels following the al-Khobar attack, proclaiming it to be a great triumph for al-Qaeda.
Al-Muqrin, a hardened terrorist now in his thirties, may be the key figure behind al-Qaeda's new offensive strategy, according to Marzuk. The Saudi-born terrorist was trained in Afghanistan, fought in Bosnia, smuggled weapons into Algeria, and has served time in both Saudi and Somali prisons. Al-Muqrin, who assumed his leading role after two other top al-Qaeda figures, Yusuf al-Ayiri and Khalid Haj, were killed by Saudi authorities earlier this year, has unequivocally signaled out attacks on oil-related targets as a primary tool in al-Qaeda's ongoing terror campaign. Among the tips al-Muqrin offers terror operatives on an al-Qaeda affiliated website is an express call for the targeting of foreign facilities and "stolen natural resources", namely oil.
Marzuk explains that the recent attacks in Saudi Arabia are not random and unrelated, stressing that al-Qaeda has identified the kingdom as a weak link, allowing it to strike at the US and the West indirectly. "The current situation in the kingdom is far worse than outside observers may think", he argues, warning that radical Wahhabi Islam enjoys great support among wide sections of the population, including Saudi youth, the unemployed, the religious establishment, and some members of the security forces. To illustrate this point, Marzuk notes that following the al-Khobar attack, three of the terrorists were able to flee after an imam allowed them into a mosque.
This observation should not come as a surprise; however, as a recently released poll conducted last year among over 15,000 Saudis found that almost half of all respondents held favorable views towards Osama bin Laden's sermons and rhetoric. In that context, Marzuk, who spends long hours following Saudi television broadcasts and going through the Saudi press, also points to the big gap between Saudi statements aimed for western ears and the messages directed by the regime at the local population, which are filled with deep hatred to the west and all that it represents.
Overall, Marzuk contends that in order to thwart the escalating wave of terror, the Saudi government must end its double talk and forcefully act to marginalize extremists and hunt down terrorists operating on its soil, which it has begun doing in earnest in recent months.
However, this may be too little too late. For close to two generations the House of Saud has resisted any reform whatsoever, maintaining a corrupt and autocratic rule. By brutally stamping out even the most innocuous forces of reform, the princes succeeded in making the religious establishment the only viable alternative open to an increasingly alienated generation repelled by the humongous corruption of the Saudi royals. Moreover, the West, and particularly the US, is seen as the prime life support of the House of Saud, and therefore the main culprit to blame for Saudi Arabia’s internal troubles.
Given the broad support for radical Wahhabi Islam and bin Laden's violent doctrine among the population, the deeply despised royal house is indeed facing an uphill battle. As it stands now, only decisive action against the terrorists and the extremist factions within the Wahhabi establishment can change the emerging picture. This being the case, all the West can do is brace for more trouble, unless it is willing to preempt a possible and increasingly probable ouster of the royal house by an avowedly pro-Jihadist Taliban-like regime. It would be well to remember that Hitler did not seem so dangerous as late as 1936, when the French could have easily stopped him when he unilaterally marched into the Rhineland. Four years later he had occupied Paris. Global Jihad is as serious and existential a threat to the West today as Nazism was to it seventy years ago.
(2004-06-13 18:18:37.0)
http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=8494
LOL I just now posted that! It was blak, hot and maybe 3 lbs
COOOl thanks :)
Amen to that.
Top Iraqi diplomat assassinated as three hostages butchered
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040612/afp/040612222811int.html
Saddam’s daughter living the good life
Some wonder who’s paying for cosmetic surgery
Posted: June 13, 2004
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38930
Hamas to continue terror
Israel’s Gaza withdrawal will not deter attacks
Posted: June 12, 2004
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38928
I am rereading that original thread and it is so hysterical. Freepers are clever. I will say, however, that it is quite eery that the main areas to see the meteor were Washington (a CNN reporter saw it from his Pentagon office window), Pennsylvania and NY! And this was in late July of 2001. 911 forboding?
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The Education Ministry says attackers have killed the ministry's cultural affairs officer.
Powell: Inaccurate terror report was `big mistake'
06/13/04
A State Department report that incorrectly showed a decline last year in terrorism worldwide was a "big mistake," Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/13/powell.terror.ap/index.html
Iran Rejects Restraint on Nuclear Program
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040612/D835OR1G0.html
Intelligence: The Pentagon—Spying in America?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5197014/site/newsweek/
Seeing those still shots of the former first felons left me with the impression that they were communing with THEIR "god."
HAPPY 80TH PRESIDENT BUSH!!!
Former President George Bush parachutes to his landing after a tandem jump with Sgt. Bryan Schnell, a member of the U.S. Army Golden Knights, Sunday, June 13, 2004 at his presidential library in College Station, Texas. The jump was part of his 80th birthday celebration. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Turning 80 Saturday didn't slow down former President George H.W. Bush: His message to seniors was to get out there and realize that at 80 you've still got a life!
For me to get a chance to jump with the Golden Knights is a dream." The jump, Bush's fifth, earned him parachutist's wings that were pinned on him after he landed. The wings include a small bronze star, indicating he'd made a combat jump in a hostile area.
ROTFLOL
Since the aliens have landed I'm headed to the basement to jump rope.
Their gonna eat the fat ones first folks so get to the gym or go for a run.
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