Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Fifteen

CNN ^ | 07/25/04 | N/A

[JustPiper]

Credit: The Cabal

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

YOU be the Judge and get informed.


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

Group linked to al Qaeda warns of 'columns of car bombs'

Australia and Italy have received warnings through a statement purportedly from militants linked to al Qaeda that demanded those countries withdraw troops from Iraq.

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



Meet It!
Greet It!
Defeat It!

LINK TO THREAD FOURTEEN

[jstolzen]

Piper - it should be pretty inexpensive (< $50/month, and probably a LOT less than that - more like $10-20) to have our own site. If it's under $25 (which I'd expect it to be), I'd fund it myself directly. If it's $50..maybe we could split it up a bit. I really don't think it would go beyond that unless things wen't absolutely nuts and we became a site like ATS or even FR (that has a $200K annual budget IIRC!)

I did some checking earlier and found some hosting options that look pretty good. Just as I was doing this, though, someone reminded me that thecabal put up a Bulletin Board area on his site for TM.

I like what he did over there, and it looks like he used the same freeware software that I was going to use. It separates things into Topics, which makes it much easier (IMHO) to find what you're looking for in the "pile of posts" that we have on TM across the (now) 15 threads (minus the ones that got "zotted"!)

I'll have to touch base with thecabal and see what else the site he set up can support (eg: can we post pictures, video clips, etc?) I'm also wondering if he has it setup so that we can change around the homepage with a list of links, other "must see" content, etc - or if it only can support the main forum and not anything else.

I'd also thought about extending the offer to Jill to host her content in a separate section (maybe called "Posts from the Forums" or something like that). (The BB supports having different sections all listed on the main page). I know she's been having funding challenges, and this might "kill two birds with one stone".

There's also apparently a Yahoo TM group, and it's free - BUT..it's also ad-supported, and I don't enjoy wading through ads to read the BB, so I pretty much "arnked" that one as an option.

Anyway..just my $.02. I'm just a web techie who isn't looking for anything more than just getting us setup with our "own home" so that we can get around some of the problems we've had here, and make the flow of information a bit easier for everyone. This could and probably should build off of what thecabal has done, if it's all feasible.

Lastly - I believe this will only work if the VAST MAJORITY of people here want it. Otherwise, setting up something separate would only divide up the group and splinter the good efforts of everyone who contributes so regularly.

Food for thought! Fellow TMers - plz chime in and let us all know what you think!

Thanks!

[JustPiper]

Welcome to TM!

I do think the conventions are going to be a mishmash of insanity. The jihais will use them like they used our planes against us.

The dims are planning flashmob protocol, they are getting blatant enough to even post their plotting on websites. When they begin to cause chaos thats when we get hit. They will not care about hitting the conventions persay, but creating enough destruction all around.

[JustPiper]

Cabal is not around, I have forgotten my password. I am worried the format for long term would not be liked by most TM'rs as the older we get the less change we like.
We like the wide postings, graphics,links, etc

[JustPiper]

Sensing Democratic victory, Pakistan shifting stance

By Khalid Hasan

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_25-7-2004_pg7_47

{link from MizSterious }

[Judith Anne]

Just found this article here on FR about "Spying Supertramps"--elite forces dressed like bums on NYC streets, helping watch out and defend against terror acts at the convention...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178112/posts

[JustPiper]

WHAT the H?!!!

[JustPiper]

"We are going on the official invitation of our colleagues from the American Senate who represent the Democratic Party and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs," said the Russian senator.
In his words, "the main task of participating in the work of the U.S. Democratic Party congress is to consolidate contacts with American democrats, hold a number of meetings with those experts and politicians who draw up the agenda of John Kerry as regards relations with Russia in the democratic candidate's election HQ."

I am seeing RED!!!

Just looking around what they did with the WHITE and BLUE?!!!

[JustPiper]

PDB 12/4/1998, Subject: Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks
The 9/11 Commission Report | 7/22/04 | CIA

Posted on 07/24/2004 9:14:52 PM CDT by True Capitalist

The following is the text of an item from the Presidential Daily Brief received by President William J. Clinton on December 4, 1998. Redacted material is indicated in brackets.

SUBJECT: Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks

1. Reporting [—] suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad Sadiq ‘Awda. One source quoted a senior member of the Gama’at al-Islamiyya (IG) saying that, as of late October, the IG had completed planning for an operation in the US on behalf of Bin Ladin, but that the operation was on hold.A senior Bin Ladin operative from Saudi Arabia was to visit IG counterparts in the US soon thereafter to discuss options—perhaps including an aircraft hijacking.

• IG leader Islambuli in late September was planning to hijack a US airliner during the “next couple of weeks” to free ‘Abd al- Rahman and the other prisoners, according to what may be a different source.

• The same source late last month said that Bin Ladin might implement plans to hijack US aircraft before the beginning of Ramadan on 20 December and that two members of the operational team had evaded security checks during a recent trial run at an unidentified New York airport. [—]

2. Some members of the Bin Ladin network have received hijack training, according to various sources,but no group directly tied to Bin Ladin’s al-Qa’ida organization has ever carried out an aircraft hijacking.Bin Ladin could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft.According to [—] the IG in October obtained SA-7 missiles and intended to move them from Yemen into Saudi Arabia to shoot down an Egyptian plane or, if unsuccessful, a US military or civilian aircraft.

• A [—] in October told us that unspecified “extremist elements” in Yemen had acquired SA-7s. [—]

3. [—] indicate the Bin Ladin organization or its allies are moving closer to implementing anti-US attacks at unspecified locations, but we do not know whether they are related to attacks on aircraft. A Bin Ladin associate in Sudan late last month told a colleague in Kandahar that he had shipped a group of containers to Afghanistan. Bin Ladin associates also talked about the movement of containers to Afghanistan before the East Africa bombings.

• In other [—] Bin Ladin associates last month discussed picking up a package in Malaysia. One told his colleague in Malaysia that “they”were in the “ninth month [of pregnancy].” • An alleged Bin Ladin supporter in Yemen late last month remarked to his mother that he planned to work in “commerce” from abroad and said his impending “marriage,” which would take place soon,would be a “surprise.”“Commerce” and “marriage” often are codewords for terrorist attacks. [—]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1177973/posts

[JustPiper]

I'm just a web techie who isn't looking for anything more than just getting us setup with our "own home" so that we can get around some of the problems we've had here, and make the flow of information a bit easier for everyone.

"Just" a techie? No Way! You are a wonderful friend to TM!

[Diogenesis]

Photo updates on Baghdad, Fallujah, Iraq-Iran border,
al-Hawizeh Maarsh, and as was on Thread 14, the crash in Sakarya, Turkey,
also updates from Kabul, London, Boston, Washington

Click here for GOTTA SEE THIS -War for Enduring Freedom 7/25/04

[JustPiper]

I will never look at drunken bums the same way again

[HipShot]

If needed, I'll comp the hosting. We already have a good backup site, though.

[JustPiper]

What amazing clarity in these pics, thank you Dio!

[jstolzen]

Didn't know cabal isn't around..I forgot my password also but the site emailed it to me (you can click on a link to get it sent to your email).

I also am not a big fan of changing things, but recent events (zotting, etc) are a good reason IMHO for us to think about it.

I'm pretty sure that Thecabal's site (or what I could put up) will also do links, graphics, 'wide' postings, etc.

I think the main benefits are:

- Our own home, so we don't ever get "zotted" again
- Somewhere to post videos, pictures so that we can quit doing the freeware posting sites where they go away after a day or even sooner
- MUCH easier to read for those who don't have time to wade through hundreds of posts per day

That's about it. Guess it's up to everyone here, but I think the latest "zot" experience is what got me thinking about this. (That, and I can't keep up with 15 TM threads and wind up skimming and missing good info..)

Oh, BTW..we could also have a "www.threatmatrix..." address.

[null and void]

Of course! I'm not second guessing them, I'm just saying I don't get it. I also acknowledge I don't have the information they have, nor would I get blamed/sued for something on the forum.

I depend on the Mods for their wisdom and oversight. I have tremendous respect for them doing a job day in day out that would have me shooting everyone in sight after about a week.

But I still mourn the loss of an entire thread for the actions of a few.

[JustPiper]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Police say gunmen have killed a former Iraqi official and his son in Baghdad.
_______________________________________________
CNN:

Morocco 'lost 400 al Qaeda men'
07/25/04
Morocco has warned Spain that it has lost track of 400 Moroccan Islamist militants who trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, Bosnia or Chechnya, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported Sunday.

Pakistan: 13 terror suspects held
07/25/04
Pakistani security forces raided a suspected militant hideout in eastern Pakistan and arrested 13 foreigners including women and children after a long gunbattle, officials said Sunday.

[cgk]

Think of TM as one of those buildings without a 13th floor.

TM's elevator just skips the 14th floor instead. ;)

[JustPiper]

said it would be mailed but I never got it

[knak]

Yeah, it's fine this morning. thank goodness!

[milkncookies]

An excerpt from Spetsnaz. The Story Behind the Soviet SAS, written by Suvorov Viktor, written in 1987!

"I do not know how or when World War Three will start. I do not know exactly how the Soviet high command plans to make use of spetsnaz in that war: the first world war in which spetsnaz will be a major contributor. I do not wish to predict the future. In this chapter I shall describe how spetsnaz will be used at the beginning of that war as I imagine it. It is not my task to describe what will happen. But I can describe what might happen.

* * *

The last month of peace, as in other wars, has an almost palpable air of crisis about it. Incidents, accidents, small disasters add to the tension. Two trains collide on a railway bridge in Cologne because the signalling system is out of order. The bridge is seriously damaged and there can be no traffic over it for the next two months.

In the port of Rotterdam a Polish supertanker bursts into flames. Because of an error by the captain the tanker is far too close to the oil storage tanks on the shore, and the burning oil spreads around the harbour. For two weeks fire brigades summoned from practically the whole country fight an heroic battle with the flames. The port suffers tremendous losses. The fire appears to have spread at a quite incredible speed, and some experts are of the opinion that the Polish tanker was not the only cause of the fire, that the fire broke out simultaneously in many places.

In the Panama Canal the Varna, a Bulgarian freighter loaded with heavy containers, rams the lock gates by mistake. Experts reckoned that the ship should have remained afloat, but for some reason she sinks there and then. To reopen the canal could well take many months. The Bulgarian government sends its apologies and declares itself ready to pay for all the work involved.

In Washington, as the President's helicopter is taking off, several shots are fired at it from sniper's rifles. The helicopter is only slightly damaged and the crew succeed in bringing it down again safely. No one in the craft is hurt. Responsibility for the attack is claimed by a previously unknown organisation calling itself 'Revenge for Vietnam'.

There is a terrorist explosion at Vienna airport.

A group of unidentified men attack the territory of the British military base in Cyprus with mortars.

A serious accident takes place on the most important oil pipeline in Alaska. The pumping stations break down and the flow of oil falls to a trickle.

In West Germany there are several unsuccessful attempts on the lives of American generals.

In the North Sea the biggest of the British oil rigs tips over and sinks. The precise reason for this is not established, although experts believe that corrosion of main supports is the culprit.

In the United States an epidemic of some unidentified disease breaks out and spreads rapidly. It seems to affect port areas particularly, such as San Francisco, Boston, Charleston, Seattle, Norfolk and Philadelphia.

There are explosions practically every day in Paris. The main targets are the government districts, communication centres and military headquarters. At the same time terrible forest fires are raging in the South of France.

All these operations — because of course none of these events is an accident — and others like them are known officially in the GRU as the 'preparatory period', and unofficially as the 'overture'. The overture is a series of large and small operations the purpose of which is, before actual military operations begin, to weaken the enemy's morale, create an atmosphere of general suspicion, fear and uncertainty, and divert the attention of the enemy's armies and police forces to a huge number of different targets, each of which may be the object of the next attack.

The overture is carried by agents of the secret services of the Soviet satellite countries and by mercenaries recruited by intermediaries. The principal method employed at this stage is 'grey terror', that is, a kind of terror which is not conducted in the name of the Soviet Union. The Soviet secret services do not at this stage leave their visiting cards, or leave other people's cards. The terror is carried out in the name of already existing extremist groups not connected in any way with the Soviet Union, or in the name of fictitious organisations.

The GRU reckons that in this period its operations should be regarded as natural disasters, actions by forces beyond human control, mistakes committed by people, or as terrorist acts by organisations not connected with the Soviet Union.

The terrorist acts carried out in the course of the 'overture' require very few people, very few weapons and little equipment. In some cases all that may be needed is one man who has as a weapon nothing more than a screwdriver, a box of matches or a glass ampoule.(Poster's Note: Can you say "boxcutters"?) Some of the operations can have catastrophic consequences. For example, an epidemic of an infectious disease at seven of the most important naval bases in the West could have the effect of halving the combined naval might of the Soviet Union's enemies.

The 'overture' could last from several weeks to several months, gradually gathering force and embracing fresh regions. At the same time the GUSM would become involved. Photographs compromising a NATO chief appear on the front pages of Western newspapers. A scandal explodes. It appears that some of the NATO people have been having meetings with high-ranking Soviet diplomats and handing over top secret papers. All efforts to refute the story only fuel the fire. The public demands the immediate dismissal of NATO'S chiefs and a detailed enquiry. Fresh details about the affair are published in the papers and the scandal increases in scope. At that moment the KGB and GRU can take out and dust off a tremendous quantity of material and put it into circulation. The main victims now are the people whom the Soviets had tried to recruit but failed. Now carefully edited and annotated materials get into the hands of the press. Soviet Intelligence has tried to recruit thousands, even tens of thousands, of people in its time. They include young lieutenants who have now become generals and third secretaries who have now become ambassadors. All of them rejected Soviet efforts to recruit them, and now Soviet Intelligence avenges their refusal. The number of scandalous affairs increases. The nations discover to their surprise that there are very few people to be trusted. The Soviet intelligence service has nothing to lose if the press gets hold of material showing that it tried to recruit a French general, without saying how the attempt ended. It has even less to lose on the eve of war. That is why the newspapers are full of demands for investigations and reports of resignations, dismissals and suicides. The best way of killing a general is to kill him with his own hands.

There is a marked increase in the strength of the peace movement. In many countries there are continual demands to make the country neutral and not to support American foreign policy, which has been discredited. At this point the 'grey terror' gathers scope and strength and in the last days of peace reaches its peak.

From the first moment of the first day of war the main forces of spetsnaz go into action. From then on the terror is conducted in the name of the Soviet Union and of the Communist leadership: 'red terror'.

But between the 'grey' and the 'red' terror there may be an intermediate period — the 'pink' terror, when active military operations have not yet begun and there is still peace, but when some of the best spetsnaz units have already gone into action. The situation is complicated by the fact that, on the one hand, Soviet fighting units are already in battle, but that, on the other hand, they are not yet operating in the name of the Soviet Union. This is an exceptionally risky moment for the Soviet high command. But he who risks nothing gains nothing. The Soviet commanders want to gain a great deal, and so are ready to risk a lot. A great deal has of course been done to reduce the level of risk. Only a relatively small number of spetsnaz troops take part in the 'pink' terror, but they are the best people in spetsnaz — professional athletes of Olympic class. Everything has been done to make sure that not one of them should fall into the hands of the enemy before the outbreak of war. A great deal has also been done to ensure that, if one of them should fall into enemy hands at that moment, it would be very difficult to establish his connection with any country whatsoever.

The 'pink' terror may continue for no more than a few hours. But those are the most important hours and minutes — the very last hours and minutes of peace. It is very important that those hours and minutes should be spoilt for the enemy and used for the maximum advantage to the Soviet side. It must be pointed out that the 'pink' terror may not be carried out at all. It is used only when there is absolute certainty of the success of the operations and equal certainty that the enemy will not be able in the remaining hours and minutes to assess the situation correctly and strike the first pre-emptive blow."

* * *