Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - September 2006

[freeperfromnj]

You're welcome. I'll check back in the a.m.

[Velveeta]

Keep deleting that garbage.
Sorry you're having domain issues.

[Velveeta]

snippet~
Also of major importance in the tape is the revelation that thousands of foreign al-Qaeda have been killed since 2003. "The blood has been spilled in Iraq of more than 4,000 foreigners who came to fight,” said Mujahir. “The Arabic word he used indicated he was speaking about foreigners who joined the insurgency in Iraq, not coalition troops,”
http://billroggio.com/

[Velveeta]

Yes, please keep 'em coming... cause that line scared the jujubees out of me.

[Velveeta]

bump that

[Cindy]

I understand.

[Velveeta]

Australian prime minister says he fears terror attacks at football grand finals (This weekend)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/sports/AS_SPT_Australia_Football_Terror.php

[Cindy]

Hmmm...I knew they were worried about terror attacks, but didn't know about the football games. I guess it's time to bring up these key words again:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=stadiums

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=stadium

[MamaDearest]

"We face a threat of a level which we can't find any parallel to. The allegations in relation to the recent arrests are, as my deputy put it in public, of 'a mass murder on an unimaginable scale'," the UK's most senior police officer warned.

Yeah, and that's why they need the approval of certain Muslims to do searches of places belonging to or habituated by potential terrorists' within their jurisdiction? Mind boggling.

[Cindy]

OK.
Sleep well.

[callmejoe]

They established the Arabic was translated accurately. But it doesn't totally clarify the question as the number is insanely low. You might come up with that number if you count only non-Iraqis as they numerically make up something like 5% of the insurgency. But even then it is probably too low.

Most of the suiciders are jihadis from abroad, not local insurgents. They might be 5% of the total, but they are most of the "martyrs". How many jihadis died in Fallujah in 2004? How many in Ramadi? All the engagements in Anbar up and down the Euphrates and along the Syrian Border? And that is just the battles.

What about all the car bombs? How many have gone off since 2003? Each one equals at least one dead jihadi. As we speak, the attack rate is exceeding one attack on American forces every 15 minutes. It usually ends badly for the jihadis. Al Qaeda sustains itself not by surviving these engagements, but by replenishing lost fighters.

If one assumes that for every American killed we have killed 10 jihadis (and that is modest) then there should be close to 28,000 dead jihadis (not counting the rest of the coalition). If one doesn't count Iraqi jihadis, the number becomes more believeable. (say 24,000 dead Iraqi jihadis and 4,000 dead foreign jihadis). But again, the non-Iraqi jihadis account for most of the "suicidal" attacks (whether car bombs or head-on engagements with American forces). So IMHO,the number is still too low.

Maybe the reason he states this is because their situation is like a mirror image of those on our side who were fond of saying the "coalition of the willing" was illegitimate because 90% of the troops were/are American. That tended to demean the deaths of the Brits, Poles, Italians, etc

Al Masri, being an Egyptian head of al Qaeda in Iraq who succeeds a Jordanian/Palestinian (Zarqawi), both non-Iraqis, may just be reminding the 95% of the insurgents who are Iraqi that though the "foreigners" (non-Iraqi jihadis) may only be 5% of the total and are in leadership positions, they are suffering far more than 5% of the casualties.

I'll accept that explanation. But any reporter that says the insurgency has only suffered 4,000 casualties in total since 2003 needs to take remedial math.

It is maybe 4,000 non-Iraqis out of 25-50,000 total jihadis killed. (But that still seems far too small a number given the type of missions non-Iraqi insurgents tend to execute.)

I wouldn't exclude the possibility that there is another purpose to the number since there is still good reason to believe it is inaccurate no matter how you slice it.

[MamaDearest]

Hey! Great to see you here tonight!

Hate lessons in Saudi-Pakistan textbooks

Snip: Two samples from the ‘revised’ texts: the first graders are taught that ‘every religion other than Islam is false’; the fifth graders learn that a Muslim ‘is forbidden to be a loyal friend’ of anyone who is not a follower of Islam. Christians are ‘swine’ and Jews are ‘apes’, so say the textbook for eighth graders. The general message of these books is that all those who are not Muslims, rather those who are not the followers of the Saudi brand of Wahhabi Islam, are ‘enemies’ and waging jihad against these ‘evil’ men is justified. The failure of the Saudi government to ‘reform’ its education system with changes in textbooks has become a matter of debate in the US.

Thin red line

Snip: The American public, too, needs assurance that screening practices exist on campuses which will ensure that dangerous students and professors are excluded from U.S. campuses. How many campus individuals like Sami Al-Arian are currently being funded by the generous American taxpayer? What direct links are there between campus admissions officers and the governmental authorities who are responsible for our security, including immigration officers at ports of entry? In 2005, U.K. Home Secretary Charles Clarke pledged, regarding in part his government’s ban of the extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir and Al-Muhajiroun: “A full database of individuals around the world who have demonstrated the relevant behaviors will be developed, and will be available to entry clearance and immigration officers.” John Miller, assistant director of the F.B.I., writing in the New York Times, points out that since 9/11 the agency has created a database, called the “Investigative Data Warehouse,” that can search 700 million records from more than a dozen agencies. Does such a database systematically inform admissions decisions on American campuses? Should the “relevant behaviors” of which Clarke speaks include information on where students have traveled? Are there set procedures by which American security authorities inform campuses of suspect persons? Is every applicant to our universities, from inside the country or foreign lands, being required to provide proof of identity? Is there any process on U.S. campuses comparable to what in Britain is called “clearing,” which means: admission by weaker universities of applicants without hard evidence of identity, permanent address, and academic achievement, as well as without character references (a process used to attract sufficient students so as to stay in business)? If so, it must be eliminated.

[MamaDearest]

Effort aims to push Muslims to the polls

Snip: The site, Masvip.org highlights 30 races in 11 states where there are significant Muslim populations, including Illinois, New Jersey, California and Texas.

Report from Amadinejab's translator

Snip: That evening’s dinner, for 500 loyal Iranians, was held in a grand ballroom of the Hilton. The crowd, consisting of Iranians who are fiercely nationalistic and more positively inclined to the Islamic Republic, greeted their president with prolonged applause. The national anthem played loudly over the speaker system, and to anyone who harbors suspicions that 2006 Iran is reminiscent of 1936 Germany, this event would have appeared to have some of the trappings of a Bund rally in 1930’s New York.

Mycotoxins found in Canadian cereal - study

Snip: In animals, mycotoxins have been found to cause immune and reproductive problems, as well as cancer.

The study tested 156 cereals and found more than 50 per cent contained traces of mycotoxins.

[Cindy]

Oh dear...stepping back in time to the 1930's.

Thanks MamaDearest.

[Smartass]

Thanks Mom, you're the greatest...

     
Support the war on terror

 

[MamaDearest]

'You're welcome!' It's truly frightening. Even more so when the quotient of idiots who see them as harmless are added in. Their children and grandchildren may pay a huge price for their defiant indignation and refusal to see the enemies of our Country and the world in proper perspective.

[MamaDearest]

Your graphics on TM are exceptional and greatly appreciated. It serves as a reminder to all of us why we are here and how indebted we are to the men and women in our armed forces who protect us each and every day and put their own lives in jeopardy to do so. THANK YOU * THANK YOU * THANK YOU!

I'm sure many of us have relatives, friends and acquaintances in the military and I'd like to suggest that if we haven't done so, that we take the time to write to them or send them a "care" package. It's the very least we can do.

[Cindy]

DITTO that.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1281

Terrorists Killed, Captured in Iraq; Weapons Caches Found

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2006 – Stryker Brigade soldiers killed a terrorist and wounded another after spotting them attempting to place an anti-tank mine near Muqdadiya, in Iraq’s Diyala province, yesterday, U.S. military officials said.
The patrol from Comanche Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, investigated the scene and found the mine set to detonate on a passing vehicle. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the mine on site. Iraqi and coalition forces continue to work throughout Diyala province to stop insurgent activity and increase security in the multi-ethnic region, officials said.

In addition, four suspected insurgents were detained and a large weapons cache was found during an Iraqi army-led operation with coalition forces in Mosul yesterday. Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, and coalition soldiers cleared the area around one building and detained two suspects, while another group moved to a second building, detaining two additional suspects without incident.

Two coalition soldiers in the first building found a crawl space on the roof, which revealed a hidden weapons cache. The cache contained rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, rifles, mortar tubes, military maps and propaganda.

A coalition forces interpreter overheard the detainees discussing a second cache in the building and notified the soldiers. The second cache was hidden behind a 16 inch-thick concrete wall in the basement of the building. Using sledgehammers, Iraqi soldiers unearthed a larger weapons cache containing grenades, ammunition, machine guns and mortar rounds. There were no injuries during the course of the operation.

Elsewhere, Iraqi security forces captured two people suspected of kidnapping and murdering Iraqi civilians during an early-morning raid near Tarmiya on Sept. 26.

Iraqi forces, along with coalition advisors, conducted an air assault near their objective and quickly entered a residence holding the suspects. Iraqi forces detained the suspects without incident. Those detained are believed to belong to a terror cell that commits acts of violence against innocent Iraqis and have ties to al Qaeda in Iraq, and have allegedly targeted U.S. forces in a bomb attack, officials said.

The two detainees are in Iraqi custody. There were no casualties during the operation. The raid was conducted as part of Operation Together Forward to capture those responsible for the murder of innocent Iraqi civilians. The operation, a helicopter-borne assault, highlights the capability of Iraqi forces to go where criminals are, deny them sanctuary, and provide for a safe and secure Iraq, officials said.

Also on Sept. 26, specially trained Iraqi security forces captured six terrorists suspected of targeting coalition forces with makeshift bombs during a raid near Haswah. The suspects, who all had outstanding Ministry of Interior arrest warrants, are believed to be responsible for a bomb attack that resulted in the death of a U.S. soldier.

Components for building makeshift bombs also were captured, and multiple suspects and a vehicle at the site tested positive for exposure to military-grade explosives. The detainees left the scene in Iraqi custody. There were no casualties in the operation.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran

Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1289

Iranian Government Behind Shipping Weapons to Iraq

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2006 – The Iranian government is behind shipping components used to make improvised explosive devices to Iraqi insurgents, a senior intelligence official in Iraq said yesterday.
Labels on weapons stocks seized inside and outside Iraq point to Iranian government complicity in arming Shiite militias in Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner, the deputy chief of staff for intelligence with Multinational Force Iraq, said at a news roundtable.

U.S. officials have said in the past that Iran is fomenting instability in Iraq. In August, Army Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero said that the Iranian government is training many members of the Shiite insurgency in Iraq. Barbero is the deputy operations chief on the Joint Staff.

“Iran is definitely a destabilizing force in Iraq,” Barbero said during an Aug. 23 Pentagon news conference. “I think it's irrefutable that Iran is responsible for training, funding and equipping some of these Shiia extremist groups and also providing advanced (improvised explosive device) technology to them, and there's clear evidence of that.”

Zahner said Iran is funneling millions of dollars for military goods into Iraq. He noted that labels on C-4 explosive found in Baghdad make it clear where the munitions came from. “You'll find a red label on the C-4 printed in English and will tell you the lot number and name of the manufacturer,” he said.

In 2002, the Israelis seized a small ship bringing military supplies to Hezbollah. “Compare the labels on the military C-4 in that and tell me if they're not identical,” Zahner said.

He said British, Iraqi and American officials in Basra also have found blocks of C-4. “You will see the same red label for each and every one of those,” he said.

Zahner also said it’s clear that the Iranian government is behind the munitions shipments. “I will tell you that the control of military-grade explosives in Iran is controlled through the state apparatus and is not committed through rogue elements right there,” he said. “It is a deliberate decision on the part of elements associated with the Iranian government to affect this type of activities.”