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Locked on 11/03/2004 12:43:19 AM PST by Admin Moderator, reason:
Thread #21: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1268023/posts |
Posted on 10/12/2004 8:58:00 PM PDT by nwctwx
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wait, you're suggesting trav is an AQ agent and uses codes or sumthin.... i know his posts are a little odd, but i tink thats about it....
Clinton is sucking up all the TV time he can get and the TV hosts are gaga over him. It is truly nauseating.
Unprecedented Peril Forces Tough Calls
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62727-2004Oct25.html
...excerpt...
In the tumultuous first year after Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush confronted a deluge of classified threat reports about the spread of nuclear weapons technology to unfriendly hands.
An atomic black market, operating on three continents, was funneling bomb-making equipment to Libya -- and to customers unknown. Iran had made unexpected strides toward a weapon along a route concealed for more than a decade. North Korea, judged in June 2002 to be years away from domestic uranium enrichment, was discovered a month later to be on the brink of it. The National Intelligence Council assessed that there was "undetected smuggling" of "weapons-grade and weapons-usable nuclear materials" known to have been stolen in Russia on four occasions between 1992 and 1999. And two senior figures from Pakistan's nuclear establishment, who met with Osama bin Laden a month before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, were failing polygraph tests about the purpose of their trip.
No president before Bush faced such a diversity of nuclear dangers. Some threats came from hostile nations. Others were stateless: a business underworld that supplied the makings of a nuclear weapon, and a jihadist underworld that sought to buy one. The profusion of threats laid competing demands for Bush's attention in a climate of uncertainty and rapid change.
Like the "war on terrorism," which it often intersected, Bush's efforts against nuclear proliferation followed many paths.
Bush has struggled -- thus far without success -- to roll back significant nuclear advances in North Korea and Iran.
In the summer of 2002, both countries made or disclosed leaps toward self-sufficiency in manufacturing the principal ingredient of a nuclear weapon. Bush demanded that Pyongyang and Tehran reverse course, but his national security team could not agree on policies to induce or compel those governments to submit. The stalemate left three secret overtures from Tehran unanswered and a presidential directive on Iran unsigned after 31 months of drafting attempts.
Foreign policy surprises lie just around the corner
http://www.indystar.com/articles/7/189013-3537-021.html
The presidential debates provided a clearer look at where the candidates stand on several foreign policy issues. But in a world teetering on the brink of chaos, a major challenge was not debated: the next foreign policy surprise.
On the 9/11 commission, we became interested in how often terrorism was brought up in the 2000 election. A careful review determined it came up once in the entire campaign, and was not mentioned in the debates, despite the USS Cole bombing on Oct. 12, 2000, and the East African embassy bombings in 1998. Yet after 9/11, terrorism vaulted to the top of President Bush's agenda, and foreign policy issues debated in 2000 -- Yugoslavia, missile defense, humanitarian intervention -- shifted to the background.
Unforeseen crises often consume a president's foreign policy. Upon taking office, the first President George Bush did not expect an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait; Bill Clinton did not anticipate the amount of time he would spend on the Balkans. This does not mean that candidates, and voters, could not have seen trouble on the horizon. Like terrorism in 2000, the 1988 situation in the Persian Gulf and the 1992 situation in the Balkans pointed to gathering peril. In 1988, the Iran-Iraq war was drawing to a close and the region was unstable; in 1992, Yugoslavia had begun its disintegration. But in each case, key decisions lay far in the future, and candidates focused on more pressing concerns.
What issues now floating under the radar screen might pose problems for a President Bush or a President Kerry? At the top of the list are North Korea and Iran. These hostile countries were addressed in the first debate, but the severity of the threat has not been fully acknowledged. North Korea likely has nuclear weapons; Iran is making progress with its nuclear program. We must soon decide what to do about this.
In the next four years, Bush or Kerry will face one of these situations: a military confrontation with one or both countries, the acceptance of one or two new nuclear-armed nations, or a peaceful resolution of differences with one or both nations that leads to their nuclear disarmament. It may be difficult to conceive, but an armed confrontation with North Korea or Iran could push terrorism off the front burner of U.S. foreign policy. Averting the possibilities of such confrontations, while halting nuclear proliferation, will not be easy.
Pakistan could also pose enormous problems. Right now, we maintain a firm alliance with President Pervez Musharraf. But there have been numerous attempts to assassinate him, and Pakistan is home to several strong radical Islamist movements. It is not inconceivable that Pakistan -- and its nuclear arsenal -- could fall into the hands of an Islamic fundamentalist government harboring Osama bin Laden. This would immediately raise dire concerns about nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and the possibility of a war between Pakistan and India.
A crisis could also develop over Taiwan. China has stated its concern that the island is moving delicately toward independence. If the Taiwanese do declare independence or the Chinese take action to pre-empt such a move, Bush or Kerry might have to make a choice: defend Taiwan militarily, or see the island fall to Chinese invasion. Given our current deployment in Iraq and China's role in the global economy, a confrontation with the Chinese would be immensely challenging.
The American people are right to demand a focus on Iraq and terrorism. But even these issues are laced with unpredictability. What if Iraq becomes a full-blown civil war? What if Israel strikes Iran's nuclear facilities or goes to war with Syria? What if a terrorist detonates a nuclear device in Moscow? We should recognize that the best-laid plans must adjust to circumstances. In a world of swelling turmoil, a jolt on any number of issues could cause the global scene to explode.
No president will get through the next four years without huge and unforeseen choices -- on war and peace, terrorism, genocides, spiking energy costs, epidemics, financial crises or environmental catastrophes. Candidates and voters must keep a difficult truth in mind: Those running for the presidency must prepare for the challenges clearly ahead, but also for those that lie around the corner.
Alleged Canadian al-Qaeda 'sleeper' agent set to testify
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/25/harkat041025.html
...excerpt...
OTTAWA - A man accused of being a member of al-Qaeda appeared in an Ottawa federal court Monday to fight deportation to Algeria, where he fears he may be killed.
Canadian authorities arrested Mohammed Harkat nearly two years ago on a national security certificate, which allows Ottawa to deport non-Canadian citizens considered a security risk.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says Abu Zubaydah, a senior al-Qaeda member now in custody, told American authorities he helped train Harkat in Afghanistan.
CSIS thinks Harkat was sent to Canada as a "sleeper" agent, meaning an operative prepared to carry out attacks who does not become active until a later date.
Harkat, who denies any extremist links, is expected to testify in his defence later this week. His lawyer said it was hard to defend the man when CSIS, citing national security concerns, need not disclose its evidence to anyone but presiding Judge Eleanor Dawson.
"How do we as counsel deal with those issues? How do we establish that he wasn't in Afghanistan other than him standing up and saying 'I was never there'?" said Toronto attorney Paul Copeland.
Where's the ACLU when you need them? Spanish link on that site, no Arab, no French, no German, no Polish, no Japanese, no Chinese........definitely preferential treatment for foreign languages! Even my phone card, I have to press "1" for English. Why, pray tell, isn't Spanish the press "1" option.... No, instead, English is the option.....
I believe it is a code in his/her dictionary and possibly in his/her language translator and yes, it's a universal term which is not in my (nor your's) dictionary.
U.S. Government, Firms Vie for Scarce Mideast Skills
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=940877&tw=wn_wire_story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government quest for Middle East linguists for the "war on terror" is failing to find enough recruits because of competition from private sector firms paying much more money for the same scarce skills.
The CIA, FBI, military and other agencies want the specialists to help thwart another attack like Sept. 11 or to stabilize Iraq. Highlighting the needs, the government says its backlog of tapes in languages linked to terror cases stands at over 123,000 hours, despite hundreds of new hires since 2001.
Multinationals in fields from oil to consumer goods covet the same skilled candidates to expand lucrative businesses in growing markets -- sometimes for twice the salary or at least $10,000 to $30,000 a year more.
"The money is absolutely a factor," said Jonathan Turley, a Middle East studies graduate student at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies. "I know a lot of us here at school are definitely going to the private sector over the government for that reason."
Many U.S. students graduate with debts of more than $250,000 from their college and graduate school education.
Kevin Hendzel, a spokesman for the American Translators Association, said the government had narrowed the salary gap with the private sector since Sept. 11, but could not always compete with firms paying six-digit salaries for qualified linguists, especially in "hardship" posts.
Alan Johnson, who advises Wall Street firms on compensation, said demand among his clients for Middle East expertise had been increasing for five years, and continued to rise as middle classes -- a key driver of business -- expanded in the region.
"They (firms) would like the proportion of business outside of Europe or the U.S. to go up a lot more," he said. "I think the government will continue to have a lot of private sector competition."
SMALL POOL
The pool of Middle East specialists is small because so few people in the United States study or speak "exotic languages" like Arabic, Dari or Pashto, or know the Middle East well enough to provide the insights and cultural sensitivities both the government and private sector crave.
"When I hire an account manager or a sales person, I certainly look for Arabic language skills. The ability to link up and to build up a relationship is faster if you can speak the native language," said Pramukh Jeyathilak, the personnel manager for Microsoft in the Middle East.
Educators say only a few dozen students graduate with Arabic degrees in the United States each year.
Gail McGinn, U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense for plans, said the military was eager to hire more people with language skills critical to the war on terror, but said there were too few qualified candidates, no matter the salary.
She said the military offered student loans, bonuses for language skills and other benefits to help recruitment.
But several human resource professionals said it wasn't enough.
They said that while the government often offers more job security, good benefits and more regular work hours, private sector perks like higher salaries and bonuses kicked in faster and attracted larger numbers of applicants.
Some candidates were also put off by invasive background checks for government jobs which can delay employment for a year or more.
Hans Binnendijk, a national security professor at the National Defense University, said the military had several in-house programs to train regional specialists and linguists, but had to do a better job of rewarding them and keeping them.
"A lot of people want to be in a military environment because they feel they are doing something for the country, and that is more important to them than making another $30,000 or $40,000. But there are limits," he said.
"The military and the government as a whole are going to have to work hard to make sure people with these skill sets are properly rewarded," he said.
She was one tough cookie keeping that truck under control under the circumstances. Sounds like they may have a copycat or the wrong person in custody. Not a good thing!
Wonder why it wasn't discovered before? Sounds like just the kind of insect kids would pick up because it glows...
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "U.S. government quest for Middle East linguists for the "war on terror" is failing to find enough recruits because of competition from private sector firms paying much more money for the same scarce skills."
I know this is not politically correct, but if the government actually sent out hiring fliers to Christian missionaries and to Jewish synagogues; they would probably get a lot of the linguists they need for translating tapes and documents.
Yep.
It's important to keep one's head and emotions intact in a stressful situation.
Anyway, it could be there is more than one suspect.
Pinging to # 1,548.
That's actually very good. Everytime a Dem pines away for the good old days of Clinton while slick willy is taking air time from sKerry, it just makes the RATS more depressed over what they're stuck with, now. Maybe they'll stay home. I wouldn't be surprised if this was Bill's plan to give his wife a shot in 2008.
You are probably right. Of the few people I know that can read/write arabic, 3 are from Israel.
Indonesian president may ban Al Qaeda-linked JI group
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2004/October/theworld_October711.xml§ion=theworld
...excerpt...
HONG KONG - Indonesia’s new president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said the Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah may be declared a banned organisation as part of the country’s bid to crack down on terrorism.
The former general said in an interview with Time magazine he would review the steps being taken against the Al Qaeda linked network, which is not illegal in Indonesia despite being blamed for a string of deadly attacks including the Bali bombings.
“If there are explanations and proof that JI (Jemaah Islamiyah) as an organization does exist in Indonesia, and if it is legally proven that its members are involved in terrorist activities, then it will be declared a banned organization,” he told the magazine.
“We will use the legal process in order for this to become a legal and law enforcement issue, not a political one,” he added in his first interview since being sworn in on October 20.
JI, which aims to create a fundamentalist Islamic state across Southeast Asia, carried out its most devastating attack to date in the Indonesian holiday island of Bali on October 12, 2002, killing 202 people.
It has also been held responsible for last month’s bombing at the Australian embassy in Jakarta which killed nine people and a suicide attack on the capital’s Marriott hotel in 2003 that left 12 dead.
Tribesmen Held In Egypt Blasts
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/25/world/main651103.shtml
...excerpt...
(AP) Investigators lifted fingerprints, swabbed dust and collected tissue from the sites of three car bombings Saturday and detained dozens of Bedouin tribesmen, including quarry workers who could have provided the explosives that killed at least 34 people.
Egyptian investigators said they suspect that a group of eight to 10 terrorists targeting Israelis carried out the Thursday night attacks, possibly slipping in from Saudi Arabia or Jordan on speed boats.
Israel has blamed al Qaeda for the attacks. The Egyptian investigators are leaning toward an al Qaeda connection as well, saying a local sleeper cell may have been awakened to carry out the attacks, Egypt's first terrorist strike in seven years.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said such a group would almost certainly be linked to Ayman al-Zawahri, who led the Egyptian Islamic Jihad before merging his group with al Qaeda in 1998. The Egypt-born Zawahri is now bin Laden's top deputy.
Three car bombs exploded Thursday night, one at the Taba Hilton just south of the Egypt-Israel border and two at a town of beach bungalows, Ras Shitan, 35 miles to the south on the Red Sea coast.
At the Taba Hilton, where a huge bomb sheared 10 stories off one wing, rescuers removed large slabs of concrete covering the lobby and dug down into the basement. They pulled out three bodies Saturday, including that of a toddler, the Israeli military said.
Cleric's NY Lawyer Faces Trial in Terror Case
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6604649
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer accused of aiding terrorism through her defense of a militant Muslim cleric testified on Monday she took his case because of her fight for the underdog and her "anti-authoritative view of the world."
Lynne Stewart, 65, a well-known New York activist attorney, represented Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who is serving a life sentence for conspiring to attack U.S. targets. Prosecutors say the conspiracy included the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
She is charged with using attorney-client visits to the prison to allow Abdel-Rahman to communicate with the Islamic Group in Egypt. Prosecutors say the group is a terrorist organization and the cleric is its spiritual leader. Stewart has pleaded not guilty.
Stewart, who is known for representing unpopular, poor and minority clients, testified that she knew Abdel-Rahman advocated violence when she was asked to take his case in 1994. Although some of her colleagues and friends advised her to avoid the controversial cleric, she decided to pursue his defense anyway.
"I was convinced I was the right person to do it," Stewart said on the first day of defense arguments in the case. S
Stewart said the case also appealed to her drive to help the less fortunate and her background in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements.
"I had my personal, separate from representing anyone, sense of an anti-authoritative view of the world ... Government is best when government is little," she said.
Although Stewart agreed to represent the cleric during his 1995 trial and subsequent appeal, she said she was not a follower of his politics.
"I'm my own person. I have my own politics. They are not fundamentalist," she said.
The charges accuse Stewart of helping Abdel-Rahman violate prison restrictions aimed at stopping him from passing on communications that could result in violence. He was restricted from access to mail, the media, telephones and visitors.
Among the allegations is that Stewart gave a Reuters correspondent a statement written by the cleric in 2000 saying he had withdrawn his support for the Islamic Group's cease-fire in Egypt. That correspondent was subpoenaed in the case.
The most serious charge against Stewart is "providing material support" to terrorists, which carries a 15-year prison term.
Yep, I hear you.
You know they can add the Bible translators to that list, too.
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