Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Twenty-Seven

[nwctwx]

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Thread Twenty-Seven (Index)

Yahoo News : Yahoo 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!

Expert: Al-Qaida Has Presence In South Florida
Full Story

MIRAMAR, Fla. -- Despite the massive federal, state and local law enforcement effort to stop terrorists from entering the United States, there is no strong evidence of how well it is working.

Many experts are concerned that there are plenty of terrorists or sympathizers already in the country who have been here for years. Some are even citizens.

The Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers were the first wave and now the increasing number of arrests seems to signal a second wave of terrorism in South Florida.

Related:
Court is told of 2 U.S. citizens' alleged Al Qaeda plot
Map: Islamic Terrorist Network in America (2003)

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

TM Terrorism Handbook	Link to Thread Twenty-Six "Code Red Implications: Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word." From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~	Arabic Links and Resources
TM 'Be on the Lookout'		ExSoldier's Invaluable Tips
Threat Matrix Book List		Godzilla's Summaries
Tracking the Chatter with TM		TM Code of Conduct

Threat Matrix HTML designed by: Ian Livingston

[Cindy]

Thanks to F15 Eagle for the ping to this thread:
===
===

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1417259/posts


"Iranian video highlights nuclear ambitions"
MSNBC.Com - NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams ^ | Updated: 7:31 p.m. ET June 3, 2005 | NBC News

Posted on 06/05/2005 11:58:58 PM PDT by F15Eagle

"Experts worry about weapons; Iran says it's all about energy"

TEHRAN, Iran

[Cindy]

Note: The following text snippet is an exact quote from infovlad.net:
===

http://www.infovlad.net/

Posted on June 6

http://hackjaponaise.cosm.co.jp/terror/0606200501.rmvb
- Mine attack.
http://hackjaponaise.cosm.co.jp/terror/0606200502.3gp
http://hackjaponaise.cosm.co.jp/terror/0606200503.avi

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is an exact quote:
===

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1417265/posts


N. Korea: Pyongyang Radio Acting Strangely (running the day-old tape again?)
Yonhap News ( via Naver.com) ^ | 06/06/05 | Wang Gil-hwan

Posted on 06/06/2005 12:25:17 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

/begin my translation


N. Korea: Pyongyang Radio Acting Strangely
[Yonhap News, 06/06/05]

Wang Gil-hwan


Seoul -- As of 10am today, N. Korea's propaganda broadcast station, Pyongyang Radio, was transmitting the exact same content they did the day before(June 5th broadcast.)

Pyongyang Radio started its broadcast at 6am(today) with "Good morning fellow S. Koreans, it is June 5th, Sunday, and April 29th in lunar calendar. We are starting today's broadcast now."

It also aired the program schedule for today which contained the exact copy of Sunday morning broadcast.

Following this repeat schedule, it broadcast 'Kim Il-sung's memoir' at 6:30am, news at 7am, 'With the lofty vision of support' at 7:30am, news at 8am, 'Forum--Our people together with banners high, let us make 6/15 era as the era of unification' at 8:25am, and 'My country with clean air and water' at 9am.

Furthermore, it not only aired the same non-news programs, but also aired the same news content during its 7am, 8am, and 10am news as it did the day before.

/end my translation

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

http://news.naver.com/news

http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=001&article_id=0001020384&section_id=001&menu_id=001


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1417265/posts

[Cindy]

Note: The following post is an exact quote:
===

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1417232/posts


Why Would the Times Publish This Story?
Tech Central Station ^ | June 6, 2005 | Frederick Turner

Posted on 06/05/2005 9:45:07 PM PDT by quidnunc

A recent article by Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams in the New York Times revealed the use of aircraft charter companies by the CIA and other intelligence agencies, together with specific aircraft markings, bases, routes, and other information helpful to identification of such flights.

Let us look at the possible motivations for the researching and reporting of this journalistically very competent article. The first would be that there is nothing special about such a story — it is merely an interesting set of facts, part of life's rich pageant of happenings, and people might be interested in reading the story. If this is the case, and the story has no more significance than, say, the choice of Ford for New York's fleet of animal control vehicles or the contracting of SAGA to cater food at the State Department, then why was it given major billing on the front page? ƒAnd why, further, would experienced reporters and editors not see that the story might have other effects? — effects possibly equivalent to shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater or, more to the point, blowing the cover of an intelligence agent operating in dangerous territory?ƒ

A second motive is that the exposé is news that a democratic free republic needs to make up its mind about public policy. However, the fact that the US uses private companies to conduct intelligence business is already well known; an opinion piece that cited this fact could have made this point without objection. A news article without specifics of aircraft markings, routes, and marques could have received general acceptance, if it had some point to make about some other aspect of the relationship between government and private agencies — for instance, it could have researched the corruption of the private sector by secret government money, or the risk to civilian contractors, or some possible deception of the general public. But since the general public would have been very surprised if US intelligence agencies did not secretly purchase the services of private companies — and indeed would be appalled by their incompetence if they did not — this motivation must be ruled out.

-snip-

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

ICC-CCS.ORG: THE WEEKLY PIRACY REPORT
http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php

[nw_arizona_granny]

From your #326, here is the communist and muslim connection again.......

It appears that they are a team everywhere in the world, if
someone really bashes the muslims on the talk shows, it is the liberals (commie) who call and make a fuss, most of the time.

granny

"4. The ideological issue - PFLP is basically an old school Marxist
organization, so one would not expect them to work with Al Qaida in
Iraq or vice versa.

For some people this is a clincher, but not for me. On the street level
I'll grant you that there is bias and a disinclination to work together,
but ultimately the desire to do battle with the United States trumps
any ideological considerations.

Finally, we know that the PFLP is active in Iraq[6], no doubt at the
behest of their sponsor, the Baathist regime of Syria, which itself has
a vested interest in maintaining and supporting the terrorists in Iraq.

I would recommend keeping a sharp eye out for any and all
Palestinian, Syrian or PFLP connections to the ongoing terrorist
violence in Iraq. "

[nw_arizona_granny]

Ping to link for more info and list of the names on the
(drug) Kingpin Act. Several from Mexico and one in China.

Thanks for this info goes to Cindy.

[nw_arizona_granny]

In my last post, I listed #326 as the post I had copied, it was not, it is 348......

[nw_arizona_granny]

Cindy, thank you for this, it explains why Dr. Bill Wattenberg was talking so hard tonight, warning the listeners to his program about the coming attacks with nuclear.

For any who do not know him, he is/was part of the design team for America's nuclear weapons and has a radio program on weekends on KGO radio, San Francisco. He also has a web page at kgo.com and at pushback.com.

After 30 years, I trust his judgement and know that he is an honorable man, who has no conspiracy in his world.

He is now and has been for years on the team of scientists who study the expected effects of a nuclear bomb in America.
or as he said it " On the planning and Projection of coming attack on the U.S., expect it to be more than you have ever imagined and your life will change forever."

He didn't say that much really new, that he has not told us before, except:

"Now that North Korea and Iran have their production on line, they will sell to the terrorists!" and " They are ready to sell. Terrorists are getting needed supplies".

Dr. Bill has said for several months "It is not a matter of if, but it is a matter of when".....

For the last couple years, when Dr. Bill talks about the possibility of an attack, he has said that it does not take a genius to build a simple nuclear bomb, that we have taught them how in our universities (he was a teacher at Berkley, California.)

Dr. Bill says that 10,000 people will die in the blast and that they expect 10 million to die on the roads, attempting to reach a safe place.

On the road, with no where to go, no supplies, and no knowledge of how to live on the land. (He asked the caller if he had ever slept in his car or on the ground, the answer was no....)

Dr. Bill says that when we are hit with a nuclear bomb, it will shut down all water and utilities, the banks will close, as will all of the stores. There will be no food and there will be no trucks to bring the food to the towns.

Most people do not realize that there will be no gas, at the gas stations, when the electric is gone.

I am remembering the Vietnam war, when in San Diego, we were
told that the government would take control of the groceries in the stores and grocery warehouses. We would have to get
food from the gov. It was estimated at that time that there would be enough food in San Diego for 3 days.

May I be nasty and say that at that time we will need our government ID cards, if we want to eat.

I have not heard him talk about us being attacked in several weeks and tonight, it seemed to be full on him mind, he kept going back to it and was upset when he talked about it to the callers. I wasn't listening to every word, as I was lost in Google while he was on, until it dawned on me that he was upset over the nukes and I then took notes. I may have missed some of the talk.

And yes, a couple of liberals just had to call and tell him how it was the fault of the American religious fanatics that we are in danger.

Dr. Bill attempts to run a science show, but will talk politics, if he feels the need or you ask him direct.

Saturday night, it was a mixed bag show, but I think some of you live where you may be bothered by Woodpeckers, he called for specialists in that line of work and one called, said the best way to stop them from pecking the house, is to staple a sheet of Visqueen (about 6 mil plastic sheeting)
over the area, it will be so slippery, they can't perch and will go and eat someone else's house....LOL

Pigeons are a ledge percher, so make the ledge impossible or slippery and they will move too......

Enough,
granny

[nw_arizona_granny]

Samir Kassir Lebanese Journalist - Killed by car bomb

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/soc.culture.lebanon/browse_thread/thread/382d1ef7234ba22c/08f762e4397812aa?hl=en#08f762e4397812aa


opic in soc.culture.lebanon

A Deadly
Message

Jun 5, 11:30 am show options


June 13, 2005 / Vol. 165 No. 24

http://www.time.com/time/europ
e/magazine/printout/0,13155,90 1050613-1...

A Deadly Message

A leading Lebanese journalist opposed to Syria's role in
his country's
history is blown up by a bomb in his car
BY NICHOLAS BLANFORD

When Samir Kassir, a leading Lebanese journalist, met
with friends in
Beirut for dinner last week, he was in a buoyant mood.
Syria had
withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, and a series of
parliamentary
elections that began on May 29 were set to result in a
new government
led by the anti-Syrian opposition. "Samir was very
happy. He was
telling us it was a new era for democracy in the region,"
says Malek
Mrowa, a businessman and friend of Kassir's.

The next morning, the 45-year-old Kassir, a university
lecturer and
columnist for Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper, was dead,
blown to pieces
by a bomb planted beneath the driver's seat of his gray
Alfa Romeo. It
was the first assassination in Lebanon since the murder
of former
Premier Rafiq Hariri in February, which sparked huge
anti-Syrian
demonstrations and finally compelled Damascus to
disengage from its
neighbor at the end of April.

Why was Kassir targeted? He was the most outspoken
critic of Syria's
stranglehold over Lebanon. "It's a message to say that
despite the
international pressure, these people are still here and
have a violent
agenda," says Ziad Majed, deputy president of the
opposition Democratic
Left. Damascus denied involvement in Kassir's death,
but public
pressure is mounting on pro-Syrian President Emile
Lahoud. This week,
tens of thousands of protesters plan to converge on the
presidential
palace to demand that the increasingly isolated Lahoud
resign. Kassir
would have appreciated the irony that his death could
hasten Lahoud's
departure.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Lebanese support the Resistance, see last paragraph for warning to America

Topic in soc.culture.lebanon

Hizb Allah and
Amal sweep to
victory

Jun 5, 11:10 pm

Hizb Allah and Amal sweep to victory
By Cilina Nasser in South Lebanon

Monday 06 June 2005, 4:20 Makka Time, 1:20 GMT

Preliminary results in the two electoral districts in South
Lebanon have
indicated a landslide victory for the list backed by the
two main Shia
groups, Hizb Allah and Amal.

Deputy Secretary-General of Hizb Allah Shaikh Naim
Qassem provided counts
conducted by his party so far showing the joint Hizb
Allah-Amal ticket
maintaing a substantial lead over opponent candidates.

Speaker of Parliament and Amal leader Nabih Berri has
received more than
35,000 votes from the ballots that have been counted so
far in the first
electoral district.
The least amount of votes received by a candidate from
the Hizb Allah-Amal
coalition stood at about 32,000 votes.

The most votes garnered by an opposition alliance
candidate went to Riad
Asaad, who took at least 5300 votes, by the latest
count.

Hizb Allah MP Mohammed Raad received more than
80,000 votes in the second
electoral district in South Lebanon.

Asaad Hardan, also of the Hizb Allah-Amal alliance, won
76,000 votes,
leaving his opponent Elias Abu Rizk trailing far behind
with only 7000
votes.

Official results are not expected until Monday.

Vote for resistance

"Southerners are saying 'yes for uniting behind the
resistance and embracing
it," said Qassem. "(Voters) have sent a clear message to
foreigners,
especially to Americans: the people of Lebanon support
the resistance."

More to read>>
http://english.aljazeera.net/N
R/exeres/78E84A6A-B37D-42AE-B5 44-440FAB...




Sabra and Shatila massacres

http://indictsharon.net/


« Newer - Tartous Internet Cable
Follow-up



http://groups-beta.google.com/group/soc.culture.lebanon/browse_thread/thread/41d6f6441743424c/edaa6008db666377?hl=en#edaa6008db666377

[nw_arizona_granny]

My thanks to RDB3 for finding this report.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1417287/posts?page=1

Britain Beware
(This is only part of the article)

Hamas is now threatening the British Empire, they have words of
warning for England.

Read the following sermon delivered by a leading Hamas Imam, Sheik
Ibrahim
Muderas. This sermon, like many of his other sermons, was broadcast
on Palestinian-controlled TV. The translation of the sermon comes
from World Net Daily and can be trusted for content and accuracy.

We take this opportunity to hold Britain accountable and say
there is revenge we can never forget. We cannot forgo the
revenge we want to exact from Britain. We hold Britain
responsible for what happened in Palestine. Britain is the
cause, 'til this very minute, of every drop of blood dripping into
this land.

I say to you: You must look at our situation with an outlook of
confidence in Allah's victory! If you help Allah (spread Islam), Allah
will bring you victory. We once ruled the world and the day will come
when, by God, we will rule the entire world. The day will come when
we will rule the United States, the day will come when we will rule
Britain, we will rule the whole world (and all will live in peace and
comfort under our rule) except the Jews.

Listen to what this man, this Hamas religious leader, this Imam is
saying. Put aside the rhetoric about controlling the world and the
rhetoric about ruling the United States. Those lines are commonplace
in almost every sermon dealing with the theme of revenge. Call it
wishful thinking. The reality is that while these Moslems certainly do
pray for the downfall of the United States, they do not have the
infrastructure to successfully design a serious attack at this time.

When it comes to Britain, however, the situation changes. In altering
his normal anti-Western canard Imam Sheikh Ibrahim Muderas is
telling us that, indeed, they do have the infrastructure necessary to
exact punishment in England. He goes so far as to explain the why's
and stops just short of the how's the who's and the when's.

Now listen to me. This sermon signals an enormous challenge not just
for Britain, but for the West. Until now, only Israel was dead center in
the crosshairs of Hamas terror. Now, England might be there as well.

I am not an alarmist and this is definitely not idle speculation. This is
not "chatter" as intel analysts like to call it. Intelligence operations
must infiltrate to stop what is certainly a planned terrorist strike by
Hamas. These are no longer the words of an Imam chosen to stir up
his crowd of listeners. This is a not so veiled threat, a statement of
intention.

This is a warning we should heed.

[bored at work]

Intersting article to say the least. I have long wondered why it appears we are ignoring this beast at our doorstep. Castro has always been in the back of my mind as the enemy within spitting range.

I will never forget the tension back when my Naval father was on Castro's door step back during the crisis . . .

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thank you.

We did a lot of research on Cuba a couple years ago, there is so much that it becomes impossible to take it all in.

I have seen reports that our West Nile Virus came from there.

Birds trapped and released would also be able to fly the 90 miles.

For the life of me, I can't think of the name of the new chicken disease that has wiped out so many flocks all over the world.

For awhile I followed the Pro-Med reports, one was a new out break in Japan, first in the area.

The shocker was the owner reported finding several dead chickens at his water/feed area, that were not his and not even of a breed that he owned.

LOL. Yes, we know our chickens, rather like we know our dogs or kittens.

Make this a special and safe day.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.echarcha.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20198

US think-tank calls RSS terrorist, Sangh fumes

Lol....I see viking and hyderabadi starting it off again out here...lol poor RSS terrorists Osho cult is also in
the list...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...how/1123740.cms

---

NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is furious with an American think-tank for declaring it a
terrorist organisation and lumping it with a host of jihadi organisations and secessionist outfits.

The Sangh leadership has written to the Terrorism Research Centre, protesting against the "terrorist" tag, but
is yet to get a response.

The think-tank has not bothered to take the RSS—which calls itself a cultural organisation—off its website,
leaving the Sangh bosses seething with anger.

Though the East Virginia-based organisation is an obscure outfit, the RSS is not ready to let the "issue" pass.
"It has been there on the list for a while now. We had written to them when we got to know of it and asked
them to remove us from the list, but they have not," said spokesperson Ram Madhav.

The reasons for resentment are not far to seek, for others on the list virtually make up the who’s who of the
terror club.

The 38 shortlisted to give the Sangh company include jihadi biggies like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul
Mujahideen which have been declared Foreign Terrorist Organisations by the US.

The RSS’s hardcore ideological foe, the Jamaat-IIslami, too has found a place. So have secessionist
orgnaisations like the Ulfa, the NLFT, and ultra-Left groups like the People’s War.

The RSS might find some solace from an interesting inclusion—the Osho cult is also on the list. It is the first
time that the Oshoites, known for their controversial views, have been accused of terrorism.

Though this should raise strong doubts about the criteria used by the centre to slot organisations, the RSS
has reasons to feel surly.

For all its opposition to the "neoimperialist" US, strong sections within it have fancied themselves as the
superpower’s partner in the “civilisational conflict.
__________________

[nw_arizona_granny]

To see detail on groups, you will need to pay, give thanks for Google.
granny

http://www.terrorism.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=TGroups&file=index&alpha=R

Terrorist Group Profiles

Recently Added or Updated Terrorist Profiles

Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
Jund al-Shem
Insurgents, terrorists, militants in Iraq
Al-Jamaa wal Sunnah
Anti-Abortion Exremists
World Uighur Youth Congress
East Turkistan Information Center
Eastern Turkistan Liberation Organization
Aryan Republican Army
Jamaat ul Fuqra (JF)


All Terrorist Profiles

1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Rajah Solaiman Movement
Other names: RSM, linked to Balik-Islam

Rajneeshee Cult
Other names: Osho, Rajneeshism

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Other names: Sangh (National Volunteer Corps), RSS

Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA)
Other names: True IRA

Red Army Faction (RAF)
Other names: Baader-Meinhof Group, Rote Armee Faktion

Red Brigades (BR)
Other names: Brigate Rosse

Red Hand Commando

Red Hand Defenders (RHD)

Return Party

Revenge of the Trees (ROTT)
Other names: ROTT

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Other names: FARC

Revolutionary Cells (RZ)

Revolutionary Nuclei
Other names: Revolutionary Cells

Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17 November)
Other names: November 17 N-17

Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Other names: Devrimci So, Revolutionary Left, Dev Sol

Revolutionary Perspective

Revolutionary Popular Struggle (ELA)
Other names: Epanastatikos Laikos Agonas; Popular Revolutionary Struggle; June 78; Organization of
Revolutionary Internationalist Solidarity; Liberation Struggle; Revolutionary People's Solidarity, a splinter
group was formed in 1998 called "Revolutionary Cells"; Peop

Revolutionary Proletarian Initiative Nuclei (NIPR)

Revolutionary Struggle

Revolutionary United Front (RUF)

Ricardo Franco Front (RFF)

Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs (RSRSBCM)
Other names: Riyadh-as-Saliheen, Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Shahids
(Martyrs), Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion, the Sabotage and Military Surveillance
Group of the Riyadh al-Salihin Martyrs



More content is available to Premium Content subscribers.
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[nwctwx]

Thanks for the kind words. :)

I'll be around quite often over the summer, I'm sure. Spent the weekend at the beach, was very nice... got a bit sunburned. ;-)

[nw_arizona_granny]

Note the Pittsburgh map, what do you think the numbers mean?
This was found in Spain.
granny

Terror on trial

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

By Mark Houser
Sunday, June 5, 2005

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_341051.html

Editors note: To find out what governments and courts are doing to stop
the growing threat of Islamic terrorist groups in Europe, reporter Mark
Houser visited Europe in March and April on a journalism fellowship
from the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Today's stories are
the last in a series of reports.

MADRID, Spain -- Two dozen men sit behind bulletproof glass in a new
courtroom built to hold the biggest al-Qaida trial Europe has yet seen.

In proceedings that began in April, the Spanish National Court is
considering whether the accused men belonged to a terrorist cell that helped
kill nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on
Sept. 11, 2001.

Key testimony hinges on whether central figures in the alleged Madrid
cell arranged a meeting in Spain two months before the attacks between
hijacker Mohammed Atta and planner Ramzi Binalshibh.

Prosecutors also claim the group's leaders funneled money to the
hijackers and to other terrorists in Europe, and that one man made videotapes
of the World Trade Center and passed them to other al-Qaida members to
plan the attacks.

Prosecutors have asked for 62,000-year sentences for the group's three
central figures. But in reality, the three could face no more than 30
each. That's the longest anyone can be jailed in Spain. In addition, the
country has no death penalty.

Accused cell member Yusuf Galan is not one of the major players. Galan,
a Spaniard who converted to Islam, faces only 18 years for being part
of the cell, visiting an Islamic militant training camp in Indonesia in
2001, and having illegal guns and knives in his home when he was
arrested after the Sept. 11 attacks.

He also had militant literature, a map of London with a church and
synagogue circled, and a map of Hannover, Germany.

And he had a map of Pittsburgh.

The map is a mystery. It is at least 40 years old. The Point Bridge,
closed in 1959 and demolished thereafter, is still shown as a traffic
artery across the Monongahela River, while the "proposed" Fort Duquesne
Bridge, built in the 1960s, is just dotted lines.

A sequence of numbers -- 71, 73, 75, 76, 5, 64, 67, 68 -- is scrawled
in one margin. Crestview Road, a hilly residential street in Banksville,
is circled.

Residents of Crestview Road say they have not noticed any suspicious
behavior on their small street, which is lined with middle-class brick
houses in a neighborhood popular with city workers. Pittsburgh FBI
special agent in charge Chris Briese declined to comment on the map.

The map raises the question: Why was Pittsburgh on the radar of an
alleged Islamic terrorist in Spain?

One possibility: In the 1990s, a group of Saudi students in Pittsburgh
published an Arabic-language magazine, Assirat Al-Mustaqeem, that often
featured jihadist rhetoric. For example, one 1998 editorial called the
United States a "strategic target" and wished for its destruction. The
magazine was distributed to hard-line mosques in Europe and elsewhere
until it ceased publication in 2000.

The magazine's publisher, Bandar Al-Mashary, and editor, Mohsen
Al-Mohsen, headed an Islamic foundation based in Banksville and prayed at a
temporary mosque in a Banksville hotel, both about a mile from Crestview
Road. Both men returned to Saudi Arabia after getting doctorates at the
University of Pittsburgh.

The lead prosecutor in the Spanish case, Pedro Rubiro, said the map is
of little interest to his case. Galan has not been asked about it, and
the government barred a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter from
interviewing him.

Spanish authorities do not say Galan or any of the others on trial
visited Pittsburgh.

A bigger trial

While observers on both sides of the Atlantic are watching the trial
closely, a future Spanish courtroom battle looms larger -- that of the
Madrid train bombers.

Cell phone-triggered backpack bombs exploded in Madrid's main train
station and two other stops on March 11, 2004, killing 191 people. The
political aftermath of those bombings ultimately toppled Spain's
conservative government.

More than two dozen suspects, mostly Moroccan, have been jailed in the
investigation, and dozens more have been released but are considered
suspects. Authorities say at least one of the alleged al-Qaida
ringleaders now on trial in Madrid also helped plan the train bombings.

In Spain, accused terrorists can wait up to four years in jail while
the case against them is assembled, but a top official in the Spanish
prosecutor's office said he expects the bomb trial to begin next year.

Jail time can be cut short, as prosecutor Rubiro knows well.

His boss, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jesus Santos, boasted that Rubiro was
the first person in Spain to win a conviction against an Islamic
terrorist group. That was in 1997.

One man Santos put away, an Algerian named Allekema Lamari, was
released after an appeal.

Weeks after the Madrid attack, police tracked seven suspects to an
apartment in the suburbs and surrounded it. The men inside chanted prayers,
then blew themselves up.

DNA tests of the remains showed Lamari was one of them.

Asked how he felt when he heard the news that a man he had once put
away might well have been one of the train bombers, Rubiro looked at the
floor.

"I can't answer that," he said.

What went wrong?

Spain's legislature has created a 3/11 commission to examine what went
wrong and to look for ways to improve security. It plans to publish its
findings this month. Meanwhile, the government has added 300
intelligence personnel to handle terrorism and has tightened regulations on
mining explosives, which were used in the bombings.

But the commission is frequently bogged down in strident partisanship,
said Josep Guinart, a commission member and legislator who is aligned
with the ruling socialist coalition.

"One of the problems of this commission is we are only politicians, so
sometimes it means the commission is less a place for investigating
what happened on the 11th of March, and more a place where the (political)
parties have a fight," Guinart said.

The bombings took place three days before national elections. In the
immediate aftermath, former President Jose Maria Aznar and other leaders
from the then-ruling conservative party announced Basque terrorists
were the likely culprits.

As facts emerged pointing to Islamic terrorism, protesters massed in
the streets of Madrid to accuse the government of lying. Aznar, they
said, was trying to obscure the real reason Spain was targeted -- its
participation in the war in Iraq. The conservatives lost, and the troops
were withdrawn soon after.

Conservative Senator Ignacio Cosido said blaming ETA, the Basque
terrorist group, for 3/11 was a mistake. But he said ETA has killed more than
800 Spaniards in hundreds of attacks -- an ETA car bomb in Madrid
injured five last month -- so investigators had good reason for their
suspicions.

Cosido said his biggest worry is that the Spanish public will assume it
is no longer targeted by Islamic terrorists now that its soldiers have
left Iraq.

"My perception is that Spanish society doesn't have an understanding of
the magnitude of this threat. They do not understand that we are not
free of this threat," he said.

Spanish investigators announced last fall they had broken up a new
Madrid bomb plot, this time with multiple targets, including a skyscraper,
a soccer stadium and the Atocha train station again.

But some are skeptical, such as documentary filmmaker Miguel Angel
Nieto, of Madrid.

"The police need to (prove) to public opinion that 3/11 was not because
of the war in Iraq. So I think there were no plans to attack anything
more," he said.

Nieto is one of a group of filmmakers who produced a collection of
documentary short features called "Todos Ibamos en Ese Tren" ("We Were All
on That Train") after the attacks. Proceeds went to the victims'
families. The documentary has been shown in several film festivals, including
Chicago.

Angel Nieto's segment is called "Victim Zero." In it, a wife, a mother,
a friend and a daughter talk about the man they thought they had lost
in the explosion, until someone spotted him on the news carrying a
wounded man.

The man himself refused to talk -- many of the victims of the train
attacks have asked for privacy -- but Angel Nieto says in the end it was
better that way.

"My idea was there were a lot of anonymous people who were helping at
that moment. This is one of them. It's not important, his identity. He
is one of many," he said.

The piles of candles, floral bouquets and handwritten notes that once
cluttered the floor of Atocha station have been cleaned up. In their
place are two computer terminals where a passersby can scan a handprint --
a frequent image in anti-terror protests here -- and type testimonials
to victims. Loudspeakers play a short loop of somber piano music.

"Life has to go on, but this is one way we can always remember that
day," said Susana Calzado, 31, an accountant from Madrid who paused at the
memorial for a quiet moment before walking to her train.

[nwctwx]

Instead we hire foreigners (cough cough) to do this type of work or just let those people free to roam our country for God knows how long doing whatever they please. What could be wrong with that picture.

I recently finished the book Infiltration - linked at the start of the thread. There were many chapters devoted to this very idea... the top secret Language center of the FBI is mostly foreigners (especially the Arabic department). It doesn't make sense to me to try to fight a war with people who may be sympathetic to the enemy at the front lines for protecting the homeland. The reasons are many, obviously. Number 1 in that area remains that very few people born in America are fluent in Arabic.

Even as far as the paper trails, etc... I do believe we are wasting talent in the WOT. There are many people who would be willing to help out, TMers amongst them. Many such folks would make good 'helpers,' and would likely do the work for free... as you stated. So much of defeating terrorism goes hand in hand with making sure all the pieces are gathered, much of this info is not even classified... as we have seen here.

We seem to do a darn good job following things here on TM. Over the past 1.5yrs, it seems as if we have been keeping up quite well. It's been interesting to see how often something has been posted here long before it ever surfaces in the mainstream American news.