I also share your belief that the jihadis will strike in their planned places sooner rather than later if given the opportunity. I fear for Iraq but then again that never changes. And Israel. I always fear for Israel.
Who knows what other nations will share the brunt.
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=1260796§ion=news&src=rss/uk/topNews
New Iraq Qaeda leader vows vengeance -Web
Tue Jun 13, 2006 05:56 PM ET
By Yara Bayoumy
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's new leader in Iraq vowed on Tuesday to avenge the killing of his predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, saying Americans and their Iraqi allies would not be safe in their strongholds, according to a Web statement.
"The day of vengeance is near and your strong towers in the Green Zone will not protect you," said the statement posted on a Web site often used by Islamist militants and signed by the new leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.
The appearance of the Web statement coincided with a surprise visit to Baghdad on Tuesday by U.S. President George W. Bush to try to bolster the Iraqi government days after Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike.
The Green Zone in Baghdad is a heavily fortified compound in Baghdad which houses the headquarters of the Iraqi government, foreign embassies and a U.S. military base.
The authenticity of the statement could not be verified. It would be Muhajir's first public statement since being named the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.
"Coming battles will reveal the falseness of your power and the cowardliness of your soldiers," Muhajir said. "Do not rejoice that you killed (Zarqawi), he has left behind lions that ... trained under him.
"You will see what we have in store for you because of your betrayal and apostasy. Our swords are poised above your necks," he told Iraqis who cooperate with U.S.-led forces.
On Monday, the group named the little-known Muhajir to be Zarqawi's successor.
Muhajir also attacked Shi'ites saying he would fight them to death and would "continue what our Sheikh Abu Musab -- God have mercy on him -- began". Zarqawi frequently targeted and denounced Shi'ites and the U.S. military said he hoped to spark a sectarian civil war in Iraq.
Some analysts say Muhajir may be a nom-de-guerre for Egyptian militant Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who trained in Afghanistan, formed al Qaeda's first cell in Baghdad and is sought by the U.S. military as a Zarqawi aide.
Analysts say the tag al-Muhajir (the migrant) shows he is non-Iraqi like Zarqawi, a Jordanian.
Muhajir also addressed part of his statement to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden saying: "We await your signal and follow your orders, and we give you the good tidings that morale is high among your soldiers".
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050419-102106-5456r.htm
Reports reveal Zarqawi nuclear threat
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 20, 2005
Recurrent intelligence reports say al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi has obtained a nuclear device or is preparing a radiological explosive -- or dirty bomb -- for an attack, according to U.S. officials, who also say analysts are unable to gauge the reliability of the information's sources.
The classified reports have been distributed to U.S. intelligence agencies for several consecutive months and say Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, has stored the nuclear device or dirty bomb in Afghanistan, said officials familiar with the intelligence.
One official said the intelligence is being questioned because analysts think al Qaeda would not hesitate to use a nuclear device if it had one.
However, the fact that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has reported the nuclear threat in several classified reports distributed since December indicates concern about it.
A DIA spokesman had no comment.
The Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who last year formally linked up with Osama bin Laden's terror network, is thought to be operating inside Iraq and has specialized in suicide bombings and large-scale vehicle bombings. He had several close encounters in recent weeks with Iraqi and U.S. forces.
Senior U.S. intelligence and security officials said in congressional testimony in February that a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical or biological arms -- is likely. CIA Director Porter J. Goss said such a terrorist strike "may be only a matter of time."
Dirty bombs are made by mixing radioactive material with conventional explosives.
A report by the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction faulted U.S. intelligence agencies for not understanding al Qaeda's unconventional weapons programs in Afghanistan prior to 2001, when U.S. forces helped oust the Islamist Taliban government.
"There are critical intelligence gaps with regard to each al Qaeda unconventional weapons capability -- chemical, biological and nuclear," said the report, made public March 30.
The commission said bin Laden told a Pakistani newspaper reporter in November 2001 that al Qaeda has both nuclear and chemical weapons. The CIA then "speculated" in a report that the terrorist group "probably had access to nuclear expertise and facilities and that there was a real possibility of the group developing a crude nuclear device," the commission report said.
The commission also said U.S. intelligence agencies think development of a radiological bomb is "well within al Qaeda's capabilities."
The reported threat of nuclear terrorism comes amid other intelligence indicating that Zarqawi is planning an attack on the United States. Still other intelligence says Zarqawi was planning a chemical weapons attack in Europe, officials said.
In February, U.S. intelligence and security officials said information showed bin Laden had asked Zarqawi to focus future attacks on targets inside the United States. The threat was contained in a classified bulletin to state and local security officials.