Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Eleven

WND ^ | 6/24/04 | N/A

[JustPiper]

Picture credit: TheCabal

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat"

LINK TO THREAD TEN

Iran seeks swap of Brits for suicide attackers

Report says 40 Revolutionary Guard 'volunteers' held by UK

Iran apprehended British military personnel and Navy vessels earlier this week in order to secure release of 40 "suicide operations volunteers" held by the UK, according to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard source.

The source told the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the British Army command in Iraq received the demand from the Revolutionary Guard, reported the Middle East Media Research Institute.

According to the source, the content of the message was very simple: "Release our comrades, whom you are holding, and we will release your soldiers."

To Read this entire article

We are the "Stotters" who make ourselves aware of the enemy who wishes to do us harm

[Velveeta]

Indeed.

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

Terrorist Tracking Technology
By Michael P. Tremoglie (06/25/2004)

The analysis, interpretation, and distribution of intelligence has become a controversial topic of many since 9-11 and the debacle of the Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction search. Questions about how intelligence is gathered and communicated are asked in the halls of Congress and on Main Street. The public needs to know more about how the conclusions of the intelligence community are determined.

Intelligence involves the processing of reams and reams of information. For example, a pen register is an electronic device that records all the telephone numbers dialed by a particular phone line. Investigators use it to determine who the object of the investigation is contacting. Literally thousands of numbers are recorded, collated, and analyzed.

Imagine doing this manually.

Yet, intelligence analysts are routinely tasked with assembling and interpreting such tremendous amounts of data. They have to detect relationships where none seem to be. They have to extrapolate activities and events from current activities.

The technology revolution is influencing how intelligence is analyzed. Currently available are “link analysis “ software programs that furnish investigators with comprehensive graphic representations of information.

In the case of the pen register, this software enables investigators to identify clusters of phone calls by various suspects and discern communications patterns comparing them to known events. All of this can be done in minutes instead of the days or weeks required by doing it manually.

Programs like this are a tremendous help to analysts who have to compare phone numbers, addresses, ownership records, and names of people and entities. Needless to say this a daunting task - especially if it involves foreign languages. Communicating this information in a comprehensible fashion is even more complex. Done manually it is cumbersome and subject to significant errors. The ultimate report is often difficult to understand.

However, with new software programs like Analysts Notebook it is possible to collate all the information collected about a particular investigation. The data is then arranged and graphically illustrated indicating all the existing links. By using this technology, an analysis of the activities and relationships of a subject being investigated is done much more efficiently.

Another benefit to this type of software is that it fosters the analysts’ intuition because they no longer have to be concerned with constructing the actual chart. They can devote their efforts to the analysis and interpretation of the data. (I have prepared such charts without the benefit of technology. It is an onerous task.)

Among the organizations that use Analyst’s Notebook are the DIA, DEA, FBI, Customs, Treasury and United States Postal Service and the U.S. Army. This technology was mentioned during the 9-11 Commission hearings as a factor that helps facilitate intelligence interpretation and distribution.

Although this software has been available since the early 1990’s, it has evolved. Several refinements have been made. In fact, one program being developed claims to be able to predict terrorist attacks.

Applied Systems Intelligence claims to be creating a program that will take certain elements of past terrorist incidents and create a profile of a pattern of activities preceding such incidents that will alert authorities if repeated.

For example, if records of people taking flight lessons are collated with those taking flights on a certain day, and compared to immigration records, perhaps it would have been a red flag that a possible terrorist plan was being implemented.

This is an ambitious adventure and will require significantly more research. However, it is an example of what is possible in the war against terrorism. A war, that if not for the technology, would endanger innocent lives because innocents would not only be the victims of terrorists they would also, inadvertently, be the victims of anti-terrorist activities.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this technology is that it makes the information and analysis more accessible. If there has been one consistent theme about the intelligence lapses prior to 9-11, it is that the sharing intelligence analyses is just as important as the analyses themselves. While the major difficulty regarding sharing intelligence was existing law the lack of a efficient method to do so also hampered the effort.

Now that the public has been made aware of the problems concerning the collection, collation, analysis and interpretation of intelligence data, policymakers will be more anxious to investigate innovations to accomplish this task. The new technology has been a benefit to the efforts to thwart terrorism. Yet there are many more still available that need to be reviewed.




Michael P. Tremoglie is a freelance writer whose is completing his first novel, "A Sense of Duty," and an ex-Philadelphia cop

http://www.americandaily.com/article/2048

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

U.S. commander happy with Osama stuck in the hills
24 Jun 2004 13:57:04 GMT

By Akram Walizada

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, June 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. special forces commander who has led the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan said on Thursday he will be satisfied if the al Qaeda chief spends the next 30 years living in fear on the run.

Colonel Walter Herd, departing commander of 4,000 special forces soldiers from seven countries, said he could not predict when bin Laden would be caught, but saw the Saudi-born guerrilla leader running out of hiding places.

"We could find him this afternoon, we could find him a year from now, we could find him 10 years from now," Herd told reporters on Thursday at a change-of-command ceremony at Bagram Air Field, a major U.S. base north of Kabul.

"But what I think we can do is to change the conditions so that he is no longer welcome here in Afghanistan.

"And if he spends the next 10 years, or 20 years, or 30 years, running through the mountains of Afghanistan looking over his shoulder, that's OK."

U.S. military had raised hopes of catching bin Laden this year, something that would boost President George W. Bush's chances of re-election.

Herd, who headed the joint special operations task force, said he did not know if bin Laden or Taliban leader Mullah Omar were still in Afghanistan.

The operations commander of the 20,000 U.S.-led foreign force in Afghanistan, Major-General Eric Olson, told the handover ceremony it was "on the verge of winning" the war in the country.

"There are going to be some huge victories won in the weeks and months ahead," Olson said.

But Herd was making no predictions, and stressed that the special forces strategy of winning over local populations to close off the mountain valleys to al Qaeda and its allies would need time.

"If they don't have a safe place to go to, then they run through the mountains until they either get tired or run out of food."

U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 in pursuit of al Qaeda and its leader bin Laden, who are blamed for the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The special forces claim to have killed more than 100 militants from al Qaeda, the Taliban and the allied Hezb-i-Islami group since last September.

But Herd said the key lay in having an effective Afghan security apparatus in place to vanquish insurgents.

"We are doing that slowly but surely, but it's a long process," he said. "Instead of trying to catch one insurgent at a time, we are changing the temperature of the water so they can no longer survive in the area."

Aid organisations which have come under attack while trying to work in the provinces, and the United Nations, complain about worsening security ahead of elections due in September.

More than 800 people have died in mostly militant-related violence since last August, the bloodiest period since the Taliban's fall.

However, Herd said he believed security had improved, and the increase in the number of encounters was partly down to U.S.-led forces making more contact with militants.

"Little by little, security is coming to this country," he said.


http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL100504.htm

[Quix]

I gather you're saying all the Jihadi sites but 3 are down?

How many would that be?

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

Coming to a city near you soon...

Petrol tanker explosion kills 90 in Iran
By Angus McDowall in Tehran
26 June 2004


A massive explosion near Iran's border with Afghanistan killed at least 90 people late on Thursday night after a petrol tanker crashed into the Nosrat Abad checkpoint, 60 miles west of Zahedan.

Trucks, buses and cars were caught up in an inferno as the petrol tanks ignited in the blaze.

"Ninety bodies have been recovered but the death toll could rise further," said a Red Crescent official at the scene.

"The disaster is so grave we cannot identify faces and cannot differentiate between corpses," Haidar Ali Nourai, governor of the south-eastern city of Zahedan, told state television.

News footage showed the blackened shells of vehicles and bodies burnt beyond recognition. Reports said most of those killed were women waiting inthe buses while the men were searched by the police outside.

News agencies reported the tanker lost control as it navigated a steep hill in front of the checkpoint, before striking an electricity pylon and then careering into the police post where a line of other vehicles was waiting. State television said the tanker caught fire immediately after crashing and erupted in a fireball that stretched for 50 yards. It enveloped lorries carrying tar, giving the fire new strength.

Sistan-Baluchistan is on the main drug-smuggling route from Afghanistan to the rest of the world and police frequently stop and search vehicles and their passengers.

Iran's heavily subsidised petrol is smuggled into Afghanistan and Pakistan, where it is sold. At petrol stations in the south-east of the country it is common to see men loading secret tanks and compartments with petrol - turning the vehicles into travelling bombs.

Despite having one of the world's largest reserves of oil, Iran is a net petrol importer because it has such low refining capacity. Plans to spend more than £6bn on increasing output will take years to put into effect and the government is trying to bring prices up to help meet the cost of production and import. But the move is unpopular and until prices rise closer to market levels, the smuggling is likely to continue.

Travel safety in Iran has come under scrutiny in recent months. Not only does the Islamic Republic have one of the world's highest road accident rates - with a death every five hours - but it has also suffered from frequent air disasters. The last major air crash was in mid-February when a Kish Air flight came down in the UAE, killing everybody on board. Many of the disasters are blamed on old Russian aircraft, which are difficult to replace because of American economic sanctions.

In February, a train derailed in north-east Iran and exploded after its cargo of fertilisers, cotton wool, sulphur and petrol caught fire, killing 289 people.

The enforcement of building guidelines was also brought into question after the deadly Bam earthquake on 26 December killed between 26,000-40,000 people. The use of adobe mud bricks in combination with modern steel post and beam structures was held responsible by some architects for the high death toll.


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=535310

[Oorang]

Zarqawi Associate Charged with Lying to FBI

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123795,00.html

[Oorang]

Some Flight Crews Prevented From Entering U.S.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123784,00.html

[ExSoldier]

"lets hope life in the future doesn't require us to live in our vehicles and keep moving."

Well, actually that would pretty well describe our life after retirement in one of those vehicles! LOL My wife and I discuss retiring to Texas, building a little earth sheltered "Hobbit Home" and getting one of these vehicles to roam around the country with our two Newfoundland dogs. With those two and us we'll of course need a trailer. But we could take this vehicle and stop at campgrounds and even some super Walmarts have Free RV hookups/parking and see the country! That's assuming we make it that far, lol.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Virus for the computer and russians..............

why, would you even think such a thing? and on top of that
attacking our fine American computers!!!!!!Well i never...
(sarcastically said)

As I have said, until I am tired of hearing myself.

Russia is not America's friend, it is the friend of the terrorist groups, china, n. korea, iran, cuba and any communist nation or group.

It is not the first computer virus to come from russia.

[Honestly]

This guy sounds like he was inner-circle Al Qaeda being associated with Zarqawa and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and possibly Moussaoui. He sure got around to have a shipping business while living in New York, and also living in Boston and Minneapolis. Big catch for the WOT.

[Calpernia]

Upcoming election information Ping.


The Council for the National Interest (CNI) and

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)



Present:



The Muslim Vote in Election 2004


Tuesday, June 29, 2004
10:00 AM
Gold Room (Room 2168) of Rayburn House Office Building


Capitol Hill Public Hearing


The American Muslim vote in the coming elections may prove once again to be very significant in determining who our next President will be. According to CAIR, 78 percent of Muslims voted Republican in 2000. Will the Muslims vote en bloc once again in such a high percentage? Have George W. Bush's policies put him out of the running for obtaining Muslim votes? Will they vote for John Kerry or Ralph Nader? These questions and many more will be addressed in a public hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, June 29th.



Join us for a panel discussion of the Muslim vote in Election 2004. Panelists include:



The Muslim Vote in 2000: Eugene Bird, President, CNI

Current polling of American Muslims: Nihad Awad, Executive Director, CAIR

Ralph Nader, Candidate for U.S. President (tentative)

Evaluation of the candidates: Amb. Edward Peck, Foreign Service International



*The Kerry campaign and the Bush campaign have both been invited to send a representative.



This hearing, co-sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), is one of a series that CNI has held on the Middle East during Election 2004. CNI is a research, education, and outreach group which advocates that the 2004 Presidential campaign platforms include a plank calling for the immediate recognition of Palestine as an independent state, the establishment of a new Middle East Peace Alliance in order to end conflict and ensure regional stability, and a revisiting of the "Road Map." CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 28 regional offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.



Seating is limited, registered attendees given priority. For more information or to register online, visit http://www.cnionline.org/hearings/muslims/signup.html or call 202-863-2951.



Council for the National Interest


1250 4th St SW
Suite WG-1
Washington, District of Columbia 20024
United States


www.cnionline.org

[Calpernia]

It is the suggestion that everyone can become a Registrar of voters, and then go out and enroll others to vote.

It was done at the Court House In Arizona.

I did many years ago in Wellton. Have not done so here and won't now, as I don't go out

---

Like this in post 751?

[Cindy]

Apparently Quix it is a permanent 404.

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Eleven


 
 
 
Posted by Cindy to Old Sarge; LindaSOG; Calpernia; StillProud2BeFree; Jill St Claire; All
On News/Activism 06/25/2004 3:10:28 AM PDT #450 of 750


NOTE: While cybersurfing this group of links just now the "alqa3edah.i6networks.com" links all went 404 -- not found. It is unknown if this is a temporary 404.
===
===

ON THE NET...

http://alqa3edah.i6networks.com/fileslisting.html
http://alqa3edah.i6networks.com/alqa3edah.html
http://www.arab7.com/
http://islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=36792
http://alqa3edah.i6networks.com/911.html
http://www.rightword.net/
http://alqa3edah.i6networks.com/sarayahalquds.html

[Cindy]

THE RADIO PAGE
http://www.truthusa.com/RADIO.html

Laura Mansfield is on the Lorie Roth show now.
If you miss it, Miss Roth archives her shows.

[Oorang]

Police see more European citizens involved in terror activities

http://internet-haganah.co.il/harchives/002178.html

[Cindy]

ATTENTION FREEPERS: DON'T FORGET FIELD DAY!

June 26-27, 2004: ARRL.org - "FIELD DAY 2004"

[Cindy]

THE ROTH SHOW
http://www.therothshow.com/pages/1/index.htm

[nw_arizona_granny]

NO!

More like the little blue haired lady with a clipboard at
Walmart, who sweetly asks:

"Have you registered to vote"?

If the client says no, you then ask which party, if it is the wrong party, then mumble under your breath:

"awww s***, granny won't like this one!" and then hand them the pen with no ink left in it.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thank you, I was afraid it was a secret that she was on.

and was ready to post it, does anyone know what Laura is
talking about.

I hate it that i can't listen.

[watchwoman]

Prayers going up now!