Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Twenty

[nwctwx]

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Thread Twenty

---

Google News : Google Images : News Hotlinks

The Threat Matrix

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!

---

Ramadan terror concerns?
Full Story

ATLANTA (CNN) -- As more than one billion Muslims prepare to celebrate Ramadan, terror experts are mixed about whether the holy month is a tool for recruiting terrorists.

Some terrorism experts and Islamic scholars say Ramadan gives extremists an opportunity to enlist new recruits.

"It's a time which can be exploited by radical clerics to motivate individuals into taking action on the basis they are somehow serving their religion," says terror expert M.J. Gohel.

And analysts see another temptation for terrorists: exploiting the Battle of Badr, a symbolic date in Muslim history, which falls near the U.S. presidential election.

---

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

---

Link to Thread Nineteen	Terror-Alert.com "Code Red Implications: Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word." From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~	Cindy's Links of Interest
Threat Matrix "TM'er" Tips		ExSoldier's Invaluable Tips
TM Code of Conduct		Godzilla's Summaries
TM's 'Be on the Lookout'		nwctwx's Highlighted Links

[Velveeta]

Holiday jet evacuated over hoax
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/3746532.stm

[angcat]

I'm quite perturbed because the Jihad Texaco Gas Station that I pass every morning is closed today. It just bothers me. I called hubby and he said they never had much business.

[all4one]

ExSoldier....my condolences to you and your family for the loss of your dear Bandit. Pets are truely an important part of many families. Our dear dalmatian is 13 years old and thankfully he is doing well; but after a scare last year I don't look forward to a day when we may need to make the same sad choice.

[tmp02]

TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 10/15/2004 # 1

National:

[WorldNetDaily.com] USA / IRAN - Pro-Iranian lobby funding Kerry

"Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given to Kerry from the pro-Iranian lobby, possibly influencing the presidential candidate's startling call to provide Tehran with the nuclear fuel it seeks, "

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40911

[NEWSMAX] USA - Kerry Evades Questions About Ties to Terrorist Iran

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/10/14/170936.shtml

[AP] HAITI - State Department Authorizes Departure of Some Personnel From Haiti

"Visitors and residents must remain vigilant due to the absence of an effective police force in Haiti,"

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBOPQRGB0E.html

[AP] CONNECTICUT - FBI raids Connecticut mosque leader's home in terror probe

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--terrorfinancing1014oct14,0,7111496.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

[Sacramento Bee] CALIFORNIA - FBI steps up local terror inquiries [ Credible Threats? Apparently the public hasnt been informed as to what the threats are... again]

"Sparked by what they call credible threats, Sacramento-area FBI and immigration officials have stepped up interviews, surveillance and investigations leading up to the Nov. 2 election"

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/11084195p-12000636c.html

[MetroWest Daily News] USA - Lodge: Specific threat, secret warning

"If the threat was so specific and potentially lethal, why wasn't the public made aware in May, so that thousands of extra eyes and ears could have been put on alert in the region? "

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=80498

[Milwaukee Channel.com] WISCONSIN - Men Reportedly Seen Videotaping Transmission Co. Headquarters [ Men described as middle eastern looking, may not have been eco-terrorism as earlier thought]

",four men reportedly seen videotaping the headquarters of the American Transmission Co."

http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/news/3822865/detail.html

[Melbourne Herald Sun] USA - US borders not 'dirty bomb' proof

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11080862%255E1702,00.html

[Hope Standard] CANADA - Security patrols increased after bomb threat [ Hospital ]

"Police and the Fraser Health Authority are being tight lipped about a bomb threat at the Fraser Canyon Hospital, this weekend"

"up to 30 phone calls threatening staff had been received at the hospital switchboard"

http://www.hopestandard.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=13&cat=23&id=312349&more=

[WDIV] MICHIGAN - Downtown High-Rise Evacuated After Bomb Threat

"caller claimed there were two packages inside the Penobscot Building ,"

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3821340/detail.html

[Columbus This Week Newspapers] OHIO - Powder is found in envelope opened at Dublin post office [ Man breathed in substance ]

http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=common&story=thisweeknews/101404/dub/News/101404-News-470226.html

[Hernando Today] USA - Keep a watchful eye near schools

http://www.hernandotoday.com/letters/MGBLR5X6A0E.html

[UPI] UPI - Experts warn of terror force multiplier

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041014-090220-1250r.htm

[MSNBC] USA - Terrorism won’t thwart elections, officials say

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6193004/

[Cleveland Plain Dealer] USA - Officials prepare to fight terrorism on the farm

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1097746392313650.xml

[Telegraph] CANADA/ NOVA SCOTIA - Four Britons killed in cargo plane crash [ Possible explosion, investigated as criminal act for now ]

"there was an unknown explosion, either within the aircraft or on the ground, shortly after take-off"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/15/ucrash.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/10/15/ixportaltop.html

[Kazinform] USA / NORTH KOREA - Two NK defectors arrested on plane bound for US

http://www.inform.kz/txt/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=97360

[Sioux City Journal] IOWA - Train crushes propane tank

"authorities have notified the proper authorities including the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Sioux City"

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2004/10/15/news/regional/568814509341bef686256f2e00138c79.txt

[WVLT Volunteer TV] TENNESSEE - Knox County Man Arrest in Local Bombing Plot [Neo-Nazi]

http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2431901&nav=4QcHS0fp

[Washington Times] COLORADO - 620 flu vaccine doses stolen, warning issued

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041013-063712-7153r.htm

[WHNT] ALABAMA - Homeland Security Guarding Sweet Potatoes?

http://www.whnt19.com/Global/story.asp?S=2427811&nav=1VPtRycO

[Clanton Advertiser] ALABAMA - Chilton Homeland Security focusing on school buses

http://www.clantonadvertiser.com/articles/2004/10/14/news/d-news.txt

[GovExec.com] USA - Homeland Security identifies potential infrastructure targets

",full implementation of a national infrastructure protection plan is two to three years away"

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/101404tdpm1.htm

International:

[Korea Times] SOUTH KOREA - Local Banks Put on Alert for Possible Terrorist Attacks

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200410/kt2004101515431011900.htm

[Korea Times] SOUTH KOREA/ MIDDLE EAST - S. Koreans Advised Not to Visit Middle East During Ramadan

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200410/kt2004101416173710160.htm

[Reuters AlertNet] KATHMANDU - Ten Maoist rebels killed in Nepal clashes

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B475739.htm

[Reuters] INDONESIA - Papua rebels kill six in convoy - Indonesian army [Free Papua Movement]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK280919.htm

[Xinhuanet] PHILIPPINES - Two Filipino soldiers killed in clash with rebels [New People's Army ]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-10/14/content_2090402.htm

[Bangladesh Journal] BANGLADESH - Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrests one terrorist, 2 communist extremists

http://www.bangladeshjournal.com/index.php?ID=2783

[Rabble.ca] CANADA / PAKISTAN - No terrorist links, secret plots or dirty bombs

http://www.rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?x=34540

[Indian Express] INDIA - Another bomb found in Khanna

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=103497

[Pakistan Dawn] PAKISTAN - Terror suspect held in Sadiqabad

http://www.dawn.com/2004/10/15/top13.htm

[Radio Australia] SINGAPORE - Singapore taxi drivers to help in the fight against terrorism

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_1220994.htm

[Reuters] IRAN / RUSSIA - Russia, Iran finish up nuclear plant

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002063897_iran15.html

[Daily Times] PAKISTAN / INDIA - ‘Accidental Indo-Pak nuclear war possible’

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-10-2004_pg7_12

[MOSNEWS] RUSSIA - Terrorists Leave Explosives in Moscow Taxi

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/10/15/cabexplosives.shtml

[AP] IRAQ - Kidnapped Turkish Driver Is Beheaded in Iraq, Shown on Video on Islamic Web Site

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBSZ2MWA0E.html

[nwctwx]

Mexico al-Qa'ida 'back door' to US
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11085314%255E401,00.html
October 16, 2004

INTELLIGENCE reports that 25 Chechen terrorism suspects have illegally entered the US from Mexico have refocused attention on a porous border from which many believe the next major attack on Americans could come.

Despite the $US9 billion ($12.326 billion) budget, and assurances from President George W. Bush that border security is tighter than it has ever been, public figures of all political stripes in the border states say the danger of al-Qa'ida infiltrating the US from Mexico has never been higher.

The Washington Times newspaper reported that a source told US intelligence officers the Chechens, seen carrying backpacks, were shepherded from northern Mexico in July through a remote mountainous region of Arizona that is notoriously difficult to patrol.

It is not known if this intelligence was behind the warning issued by the US Education Department for American schools to be vigilant after Chechen militants took over a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, last month, a tragedy that cost at least 344 lives, half of them children.

The Chechen report has angered those who have been warning for months that US borders are insecure.

"In the name of national security we must do something about our wide-open southern border," said Arizona Republican congressional candidate Stan Barnes. "We are now in a war mentality. The first duty of a country in a war situation is to protect its borders."

Experts say it is not difficult for terrorists to blend into a vast sea of an estimated 13million illegal aliens, most of them impoverished Mexicans seeking work.

To make matters worse, the Department of Homeland Security is so hopelessly overstretched that it has taken to releasing what it calls OTMs (Other Than Mexicans) because it cannot house them until it arranges for deportation hearings.

"If they're deemed not dangerous, they're given a notice to appear in court, and the border patrol agents even have to drive them to a bus station and watch these people get on buses for New Jersey or California," said Cathy Travis, a senior aide to veteran Texas congressman Henry Ortiz.

Fewer than 30 per cent of the OTMs released into the US actually show up for their hearings, meaning an estimated 400,000 illegal aliens are currently in the US after being caught and released.

Officially, fewer than 100 border jumpers apprehended along the Mexican borders within the last year were from nations associated with Islamic terrorism.

However, Travis said that few of these people had identification papers, and many lied and said they were from South America in order to evade attention and have a better chance of being released.

"We have heard from border patrol agents that they're being told to let people who look like they're from East Africa and the Middle East go because they say their name is Juan Pablo Garcia from Guatemala - except that they don't speak a word of Spanish," she said.

Congressman Ortiz has said that intelligence shows al-Qa'ida working with El Salvadorean criminal gangs as well as reports of Brazilians being recruited to accompany Arabs to illegally cross the US border. If they are apprehended, the groups say they are Brazilian - knowing there are few Portuguese-speaking border patrol agents - and are usually released into the US.

Sheriff D'Wayne Jernigan, of Del Rio, Texas, last month publicly blasted the dubious policy after being ordered by the Homeland Security Department to release 17 captured Brazilians before they had been interrogated.

Congressmen Ortiz, a Democrat, and Henry Bonilla, a Republican, also of Texas, wrote to Mr Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge last month seeking an urgent solution.

"We simply cannot continue allowing US citizens to be under the mistaken impression that OTMs from countries that should raise suspicion are being detained in the US when, in fact, they are free to roam the nation at will," the congressmen wrote.

But the issue, surprisingly, has hardly made the front pages. "It's an election year," Travis explained.

"This is a very sensitive time. People on both sides have reasons not to want to talk about it. For Republicans, they don't want to upset the apple cart for Bush, while for Democrats, they know this whole issue of the border is very sensitive within the Hispanic community."

The FBI and CIA, however, are apparently very interested, especially after intelligence reported that a key lieutenant to Osama bin Laden, Adnan El Shukrijumah, was seen in Honduras and northern Mexico in recent months.

[Velveeta]

The Washington Times newspaper reported that a source told US intelligence officers the Chechens, seen carrying backpacks, were shepherded from northern Mexico in July through a remote mountainous region of Arizona that is notoriously difficult to patrol.

WHO saw the backpack carrying Chechens and why wasn't anything done right then and there?

"We simply cannot continue allowing US citizens to be under the mistaken impression that OTMs from countries that should raise suspicion are being detained in the US when, in fact, they are free to roam the nation at will," the congressmen wrote.

This is an outrage and unacceptable.

[jerseygirl]

black winds of death?

[hankbrown]

Two IPN reports today:

Pennsylvania - Chester County (E Marlboro Twp)- Rt 926 @ Rt 82 - School and buildings filling witha gas. Multiple evacuation in progress.

Massachusetts - Boston - Mass Casualty - 195 Cummins Hwy - Cmd Now Advises 20 Children Transported.

I have no idea what the latter one is about.

[Rushmore Rocks]

This doesn't sound good. Please let us know if you hear more.

[hankbrown]

And here is another IPN just reported:

Pennsylvania - Montgomery County (Telford) - Kimberwick & Wexford Rds - Confirming unknown product in waterway, multiple marine life dead.

[jerseygirl]

I think I found something recent a few days ago--will try to locate it for you.

[appalachian_dweller]

Any idea what kind of gas in the school? With the 25 Chechen wackos loose, this is not good at all.

Thanks for the report. Please update if you're able.

[hankbrown]

Unfortunately, IPN usually just reports calls. Rarely any follow-up. But I assume if it is anything important, press will follow-up.

[appalachian_dweller]

Cool. Thanks.

....and just when I was thinking is sure is quiet today....

[jerseygirl]

Thanks Velveeta- beat me to it! :)

[jerseygirl]

That was the site I mentioned....when they look up and spot you coming, and suddenly ....

How very much we love our animals. All mine were shelter abandonees....all very cherished.

[jerseygirl]

I'm probably wrong, but didn't China recently admit this?

[jerseygirl]

That's what we were talking about a few days ago. Recall those folks who became ill at the bank? I wonder how long some anthrax spores- or the like- would live on currency.

[jerseygirl]

"China is lining up on the border, Japan is talking preemption, and South Korea has leaked a military plan to move north and reunify - - all in the span of the past 2-3 weeks."

Megabump

I pray that cooler heads will prevail, but I am doubtful.

[jerseygirl]

It's a great place. Internet cafe/bank- with a pretty good interest rate, as well!