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Locked on 01/30/2005 12:18:25 AM PST by Lead Moderator, reason:
Thread Twenty-four here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331735/posts |
Posted on 12/23/2004 10:30:10 PM PST by nwctwx
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OSAMA HUNT EXPANDED INTO CITIES
January 4, 2005 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies have expanded the search for Osama bin Laden to Pakistani and Afghan cities after analysts became convinced he has moved from the mountains to an urban environment, The Post has learned.
Officials said they still have no solid leads as to the whereabouts of the al Qaeda leader, whose last confirmed sighting was in the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001.
But counterterrorism officials said the shift from the remote mountainous badlands along the Afghan-Pakistan border — which has been the central focus of a three-year manhunt — to more urban areas was prompted by new intelligence analysis of the three most recent bin Laden video and audio taped messages.
A task force assigned to capture or kill bin Laden is made up of U.S. Special Operations commandos, CIA spies and FBI agents.
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/37799.htm
Well, very good.
In my opinion, searching homes and apartments in the area is long overdue.
I wonder if he can explain to us how the laser light showed up against the sky if it's clear enough to see stars. I thought there had to be a reflective surface, which would indicate a level of scattering in the atmosphere that's not conducive to star-gazing.
Hi ffnj.....this article reminds me of the incidents that were being reported last year regarding groups of ME's in planes going into the bathrooms and acting odd.
It seems that they could have been doing test runs, and checking the altimeters and lighters in the bathrooms and out of sight of the crew and people on the planes.
So while the TSA is asking 80 year-old women to take off their shoes and running the metal detector around my 8 year-old, and feeling-up every woman coming on board....AQ is watching this nonsense and planning their actions accordingly. Sarcasm aside, I would doubt that the TSA has test equipment for butane, and only a very small amount would be needed. Reid was caught because what he was trying to do was so apparent.
Wasn't a high-profile assassination supposed to trigger a terror attack at some point? Is this high-profile enough, or did they mean more at a national level? Storm sensors are twitching.
Yes it does. Strange that this story about the watches has resurfaced again.
I looked up the name origin (Banach)and it is not middle eastern. Small comfort.
***al-Zarqawi captured***
Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-01/04/content_405831.htm
Hope it's true this time. This is the second report since yesterday.
This story is growing legs. I think it may be the real deal.
Waiting for some sort of comment from Washington before I get too excited.
Here we go:
U.S. Jets Buzz Iran Airspace
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1313338/posts
WASHINGTON – U.S. military warplanes flew over Iranian air space, raising Tehran's concerns preparations are being made to knock out its nuclear facilities, according to Iranian news media reports.
The U.S. jets reportedly flew out of bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the latest coming Saturday when a fighter buzzed at low altitude an area in the northeastern province of Khorrasan, which borders Afghanistan.
Other reports of overflights cited intrusions by F-16 and F-18 fighters over the southwestern province of Khuzestan, which borders southern Iraq. Papers said the planes appeared to be spying on nuclear sites.
/snip/
Drudge also has a link at the top of his site. The Russian news agency also reporting.
Slowboat - You are correct in understanding that light requires a reflective surface to be seen. In the case of lasers, the reflectivity results from particulates in the air through which the beam passes.
'Red' laser beams appear 'invisible' because the their wavelength is up in the 740nM range, near the end of the spectrum visible to the human eye. In other words, our eye doesn't see the visible beam as easily, therefore it appears less visible. By contrast, 'green' lasers emit a beam in the 550nM range, which is right in the middle of the frequencies which the human eye perceives, making it most visible.
Thus, clouds only provide a reflective 'end point' for a laser. Our atmosphere, itself, acts to make the beam visible, which makes a green laser ideal for uses as varied as pointing out stars, or as a highly controllable 'flare' to attract the attention of your ride home at O'dark-thirty... Besides, they're fun to play with. I bet you didn't know that you can make a glass of beer in a bar glow from across the room!
sub6
Secretary of Defense Reveals Earthquake
and Volcano Weapons
http://thememoryhole.org/mil/cohen-ecoweapons.htm
>>> This one might seem beyond belief, but we have it from none other than a sitting Secretary of Defense. In April 1997, then-Defense Secretary William Cohen was speaking at a terrorism conference at the University of Georgia. After some introductory remarks about the conference, Cohen takes questions from the media in attendance. A reporter asks a question based on the fake anthrax letters that had recently been sent to B'nai Brith. Cohen gives a strange answer, using the occasion to mention the exotic weapons being developed by terrorists (as well as--one would assume--governments).
Here's the exchange, taken verbatim from the transcript posted on the Defense Department's Website:
Q: Let me ask you specifically about last week's scare here in Washington, and what we might have learned from how prepared we are to deal with that (inaudible), at B'nai Brith.
A: Well, it points out the nature of the threat. It turned out to be a false threat under the circumstances. But as we've learned in the intelligence community, we had something called -- and we have James Woolsey here to perhaps even address this question about phantom moles. The mere fear that there is a mole within an agency can set off a chain reaction and a hunt for that particular mole which can paralyze the agency for weeks and months and years even, in a search. The same thing is true about just the false scare of a threat of using some kind of a chemical weapon or a biological one. There are some reports, for example, that some countries have been trying to construct something like an Ebola Virus, and that would be a very dangerous phenomenon, to say the least. Alvin Toeffler has written about this in terms of some scientists in their laboratories trying to devise certain types of pathogens that would be ethnic specific so that they could just eliminate certain ethnic groups and races; and others are designing some sort of engineering, some sort of insects that can destroy specific crops. Others are engaging even in an eco- type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves.
So there are plenty of ingenious minds out there that are at work finding ways in which they can wreak terror upon other nations. It's real, and that's the reason why we have to intensify our efforts, and that's why this is so important.
The entire transcript can be accessed at the Defense Department's Website here. It is also available below:
DoD News Briefing
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
Monday, April 28, 1997 - 8:45 a.m. EDT
Cohen's keynote address at the Conference on Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and U.S. Strategy at the Georgia Center, Mahler Auditorium, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. The event is part of the Sam Nunn Policy Forum being hosted by the University of Georgia. Secretary Cohen is joined by Sen. Sam Nunn and Sen. Richard G. Lugar.]
Secretary Cohen: Senator Nunn, thank you very much. As Senator Nunn has indicated, he and I have worked for many years together, along with Senator Lugar. The two of these gentlemen I feel are perhaps the most courageous and visionary to have served in the Senate. They were largely responsible, of course, for adopting the so-called Nunn/Lugar legislation.
I'll comment on that later during the course of the morning, but I've had occasion to meet with a number of Russian counterparts, and as we go through various translations of the communications that we're having, the two words they are able to articulate very clearly, they say 'Nunn/Lugar, Nunn/Lugar. So they know exactly what that means, and that means the Cooperative Thre'at Reduction Act that these two gentlemen were indispensable in shepherding through the United States Congress.
It was Nunn/Lugar I that dealt with the reduction of nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union in terms of trying to come to grips with how we helped the Russians dismantle hundreds of their nuclear weapons, and also helped them with their destruction of chemical weapons. But they, of course, have looked beyond simply that particular relationship, which is very important, but also looking to the future that we face as far as the rise of terrorism -- both international and domestic; and finding ways in which the Department of Defense can become involved in helping local states and local agencies to deal with the threat of terrorism which is quite likely to increase in the coming years.
It's a pleasure for me to be here. Both Senator Nunn and Senator Lugar are close friends and I look forward to, I think, a very productive seminar. Once again demonstrating that although Senator Nunn has left public service in the Senate, he has not left public service as far as the nation is concerned.
It's a pleasure for me to be here, Sam.
Senator Nunn: Thank you very much, Bill.
. ..Let me ask if there are any questions for Secretary of Defense Cohen.
Q: The dual containment policy in Iran and Iraq, do you think that's conducive to regional stability in that region? And do you think can cause further terrorism in the United States? That type of containment policy in the Middle East.
A: I think Secretary Albright articulated our policy as far as dealing with Iraq, that it's clear that we have been unable to strike any kind of a productive relationship with Saddam Hussein, and as soon as Saddam Hussein is no longer the head of that government, that there's new regime that follows him, that we will look forward to finding ways in which we could engage them in a much more productive fashion, particularly after they comply with all of the UN sanctions. There's an eagerness on our part to do that. But I think as long as he remains in office as the head of that state, it's unlikely that we could have anything but the current policy in place, with very little prospects for relief.
With respect to Iran, I think Iran continues to present a long term threat to the region. They are acquiring and have acquired weapons of mass destruction, substantial levels of chemicals and we believe biological weapons as well. They have made an effort to acquire nuclear capability. So I think that our policy of dual containment is the right one, and we are going to encourage our allies to support that one.
Q: What does it mean that Clinton (inaudible) proliferation?
A: To the extent that we see the level of communication available today, the Internet and other types of interwoven communicative skills and abilities, we're going to see information continue to spread as to how these weapons can be, in fact, manufactured in a home-grown laboratory, as such. So it's a serious problem as far as living in the information age that people who are acquiring this kind of information will not act responsibly, but rather act in a terrorist type of fashion.
We've seen by way of example of the World Trade Center the international aspects of international terrorism coming to our home territory. We've also seen domestic terrorism with the Oklahoma bombing. So it's a real threat that's here today. It's likely to intensify in the years to come as more and more groups have access to this kind of information and the ability to produce them.
Q: How prepared is the U.S. Government to deal with (inaudible)?
A: I think we have to really intensify our efforts. That's the reason for the Nunn/Lugar II program. That's the reason why it's a local responsibility, as such, but the Department of Defense is going to be taking the lead as far as supervising the interagency working groups, and to make the assessments as to what needs to be done. So we're going to identify those 120 cities and work with them very closely to make sure that they can prepare themselves for what is likely to be a threat well into the future.
Q: Let me ask you specifically about last week's scare here in Washington, and what we might have learned from how prepared we are to deal with that (inaudible), at B'nai Brith.
A: Well, it points out the nature of the threat. It turned out to be a false threat under the circumstances. But as we've learned in the intelligence community, we had something called -- and we have James Woolsey here to perhaps even address this question about phantom moles. The mere fear that there is a mole within an agency can set off a chain reaction and a hunt for that particular mole which can paralyze the agency for weeks and months and years even, in a search. The same thing is true about just the false scare of a threat of using some kind of a chemical weapon or a biological one. There are some reports, for example, that some countries have been trying to construct something like an Ebola Virus, and that would be a very dangerous phenomenon, to say the least. Alvin Toeffler has written about this in terms of some scientists in their laboratories trying to devise certain types of pathogens that would be ethnic specific so that they could just eliminate certain ethnic groups and races; and others are designing some sort of engineering, some sort of insects that can destroy specific crops. Others are engaging even in an eco- type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves.
So there are plenty of ingenious minds out there that are at work finding ways in which they can wreak terror upon other nations. It's real, and that's the reason why we have to intensify our efforts, and that's why this is so important.
Q: What is response to (inaudible)?
A: We hope we will have access to the defector. In fact I was recently in South Korea and talked with various officials in South Korea. As soon as they complete their own interrogation of this defector, we will have access to that individual. But much of what he has said to date is reflected in the writings that he prepared last year. This is prior to his defection. One would not expect a potential defector to be writing about anything other than what the official doctrine or dogma is of the North Korean government at that time. He is saying essentially what we have known for a long, long time. Namely, that North Korea poses a very serious threat against South Korea, and potentially even Japan, by virtue of having the fourth largest army in the world, by having 600,000 or more troops poised within 100 kilometers of Seoul, of possessing many SCUD missiles, also the potential of chemically armed warheads, the attempt to acquire nuclear weapons. So we know they have this potential, and the question really is going to be what's in their hearts and minds at this point? Do they intend to try to launch such an attack in the immediate, foreseeable future? That we can only speculate about, but that's the reason why we are so well prepared to defend against such an attack to deter it; and to send a message that it would be absolutely an act of suicide for the North Koreans to launch an attack. They could do great damage in the short run, but they would be devastated in response. So we're hoping we can find ways to bring them to the bargaining table -- the Party of Four Talks -- and see if we can't put them on a path toward peace instead of threatening any kind of devastating attack upon the South.
Q: . ..a little bit about the situation in (inaudible)?
A: I really don't have much more information than has been in the press at this point. The Department has not been called upon to act in this regard just yet, so I'm not at liberty to give you any more information than you already have.
Q: . ..the Administration's plans to expand NATO to more European countries. Is there a terrorism element? Or will expanding NATO help you in any way in terms of (inaudible)? Or is it really unrelated?
A: I think the two are unrelated. There is a legitimate debate that will take place in terms of the pace of enlargement or whether there should be enlargement. Secretary Albright and I testified last week before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and it was a very, I think, productive debate. It's something that Senator Nunn, I think, feels very strongly about as well. The two of us, I think, found ourselves on the Senate Floor last year saying it was time for the American people to start debating this issue. So it's very important and there will be legitimate differences of opinion, but it's important that we bring this to the Senate for full debate and disclosure, and bring it to the American people. But I doubt if it's related to the spread of terrorism whatsoever.
Senator Nunn: Thank you very much.
Thanks, subsea. Learning more about this stuff every day. If I didn't think it would get me arrested, I'd go find a green laser and play with it tonight. What the heck, maybe I will anyway.
TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 01/04/2005 # 1
National:
[Sun-Sentinel.com] FLORIDA - Abandoned U-Haul causes bomb scare at Miami courthouse
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-0103bombscare,0,6928650.story?coll=sfla-news-miami
[Arizona Republic] USA / MEXICO - Mexico publishes guide to assist border crossers
"Someone rented the truck about 8 a.m. at a U-Haul station in Miami's Overtown neighborhood with a fake driver's license, a false address and phone number"
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0101Comic01.html
[Denver Post] COLORADO - Police investigate possible pipe bomb near Aurora school
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2632435,00.html
[AP] USA - FBI, DHS Report Details Al Qaida Surveillance of Targeted Buildings
http://securityinfowatch.com/article/article.jsp?id=2603&siteSection=306
[NBC News] USA - New domestic security concern: watch-lighters
"recent intelligence suggests al-Qaida has expressed interest in obtaining wristwatches with a hidden butane-lighter function and Casio watches with an altimeter function. Casio watches have been extensively used by al-Qaida and associated organizations as timers for improvised explosive devices"
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6782713/
[Quad City Times] IOWA - Suspicious incident on I-80 under investigation [ Unattended vehicle on bridge ]
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1042927&t=Local+News&c=2,1042927
[AP] ARIZONA - Arizona's border reports most apprehensions
"state reported more apprehensions of illegal immigrants than California, New Mexico and Texas combined"
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=101084
[New York Post] NEW YORK - Package Scare Delays Ferry [ False alarm ]
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/37779.htm
International:
[PRAVDA] IRAQ - Abu Musab az-Zarkawi arrested
http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/93/375/14782_.html
[Xinhua] IRAQ - Jordanian terrorist mastermind arrested in Iraq: report
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/04/content_2414126.htm
[Xinhua] ALBANIA - Car blast in Albania kills two, injures three
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/04/content_2412109.htm
[New York Times] FRANCE - French Try 6 Accused of Plot to Bomb US Mission
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/04/international/europe/04france.html
[AP] PERU - Peru's Security Forces Move Into Position Around a Police Station Seized by Paramilitary Nationalists
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBRDFKEJ3E.html
[AP] IRAQ - Gunmen Slay Governor of Baghdad Region; Suicide Car Bomb Kills 10 at Interior Ministry Office
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBFJR3WJ3E.html
[ABC News Online] AUSTRALIA - Investigations continue into Bondi blast
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1276479.htm
[Daily Times] PAKISTAN - Rockets and bomb blasts rock Quetta and Kalat
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_4-1-2005_pg1_5
[Agana Pacific Daily News] GUAM - Suspicious suitcase prompts road closure
http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20050104/localnews/1821645.html
[AlJazeera.net] KUWAIT - Kuwaiti officers held in anti-US plot
"The US has warned Americans in Kuwait that armed groups are preparing to launch attacks in the Gulf Arab state and has urged its citizens to be vigilant"
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/014F65FF-6D77-4F79-991C-3FC680A757FF.htm
[Mosnews] RUSSIA - Basayev Accomplice Arrested in Chechnya
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/01/04/chechnews.shtml
[RIA Novosti] RUSSIA - Terrorist Eliminated in Chechnya [ Caught planting bomb ]
"seized 14 kilograms of TNT, fuses and a Kalashnikov assault rifle "
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5279057&startrow=1&date=2005-01-04&do_alert=0
[ITAR-TASS] RUSSIA - Three gunmen of Basayev’s gang detained in Chechnya
http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1618803&PageNum=0
[Kavkaz Center] RUSSIA - Massive Captures of Mujahiddeen Families in Chechnya [ Editors Note - Questionable news source]
http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/article.php?id=3411
[New Kerala] NEPAL - Maoists issue counter ultimatum to Nepal govt [ Threatening 'agitations']
http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=54666
[NepalNews.com] NEPAL - Two killed in explosion in Dailekh
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/archive/2005/jan/jan04/news11.php
[afrol News] ALGERIA - Algeria "breaks up GIA terrorist network"
http://www.afrol.com/articles/15128
[BBC News] ALGERIA - Algeria reveals rebel crackdown
"leader of a radical Islamic rebel group in Algeria has been arrested and his deputy has been killed"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4144265.stm
[The Scotsman] ISRAEL - Israeli Attack Kills Seven Palestinian Children
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3957571
[Scarborough Today] UNITED KINGDOM - Hotel is hit by new bug outbreak
http://www.scarboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=800&ArticleID=913614
[Sun Star] PHILIPPINES - Health authorities say 'Zulican virus' a hoax
"text messages circulating in the country about a deadly virus supposedly spreading in Asia through the consumption of seafood"
[PolitInfo.com] THAILAND - Security Forces on High Alert in Thailand's South One Year After Violence Begins
"after warnings that Islamic militants may stage major attacks this week "
http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_2005_01_4_5911.html
MSM has been quiet, however the story is gaining traction elsewhere, http://www.drudgereport.com http://internet-haganah.us/haganah/index.html http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-01/04/content_405831.htm Just to name a few. Mixed messages here. If we have him, could be keeping the lid on while we thrash the guy for every piece of info we can, then strike the subordinates before they know whats happened. One of the sources also is a radio station that was first out with the capture of Saddam. Could be an abundance of tinfoil here, but then remember, MSM has reported the capture of Zarqawi's top aid within the past few days. Could be the rat squealed.
Drudge saying that top White House official calling the Zarqawi arrest report dubious. No link yet.
If this is true and not paranoia (since the ultimate source is an Iranian), this would be classic. Probe the radar responses, ID the comms links and nodes coordinating the tracking, note any tacair response. Note also that TWO directions are indicated - bases in Iraq and Afganistan! Someone would think the vise is being tightened slightly.
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