You are welcome.
But we do not have time to deal with foreigners, our senators will be busy with Foley's sex habbits, until after 2008 elections.
I could kick Foley.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425824/839892
French spy extradition unlikely
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French agents unlikely to be charged
Oct 2, 2006
New Zealand is unlikely to seek extradition of a French spy, the brother of the leading Socialist presidential candidate, suspected of involvement in the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior.
The French Le Parisien newspaper quoted Segolene Royal's brother, Antonine Royal, as saying that their brother Gerard, was one of the French secret agents who blew up the vessel in Auckland harbour in 1985, killing a photographer on board.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said police would reopen the files in the case but an extradition bid was unlikely because both governments agreed to close the issue in 1991.
"To pursue a matter like this from New Zealand through Interpol, you of course do need some co-operation at the other end," Clark told TVNZ.
"I suspect the French government would be pointing to the 1991 decision, saying 'hang on a minute' this was put to rest a long time ago."
French newspapers have previously reported that Gerard Royal was involved in the 1985 operation to counter protests against French nuclear tests in the Pacific, but only two French agents, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, have been convicted.
In 1991, New Zealand dropped extradition proceedings against another French spy allegedly involved in the bombing, saying the issue had already been resolved by the two governments.
Segolene Royal, who is leading the race to be the Socialist presidential candidate, has said she knows nothing of her brother's alleged involvement apart from what she had read in the press.
Source: AAP
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1885190,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
Meet the 'Prince of Marbella' - is he really supporting Iraq's insurgency?
Monzer al-Kassar has been accused of arming Iraqis, the Contras and Somalian warlords and cleared of murder. He is on Iraq's 'most wanted' list - but says his hands are clean
Aram Roston in Marbella
Sunday October 1, 2006
Observer
Over lunch at his estate in the south of Spain, 61-year-old Syrian arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar is a courteous host, insisting his guests take at least a taste from the platter of lamb with yoghurt, the stuffed grape leaves or the eggplant. Underneath the circular table, his ageing white poodle Yogui begs for scraps.
Kassar says he has retired from the arms business, but his name is ubiquitous in some of the key international scandals of the past three decades, from Somalia to Latin America.
He has been cited in a variety of crimes: drugs, illegal arms deals, terrorism - all of which he has denied. He has just been named by the Iraqi government as one of its most wanted men.
A US Senate report called him a 'drug trafficker, terrorist, and arms trafficker'. A United Nations report called him an 'international embargo buster'. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, has referred to him, on the floor of the US Senate, as a 'notorious terrorist'.
Kassar has been accused of involvement in the Achille Lauro cruise liner hijacking by the Palestinian Liberation Front; law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world have files on him. If one fifth of the allegations about him are true, he is a James Bond villain come to life, albeit with a lame toy poodle rather than a fluffy white cat.
He is now accused of being a key player in the Iraq insurgency. Indeed, he barely raises his grey eyebrows at the latest charges by the Baghdad government, which says he was a key associate of the family of a brother of Saddam Hussein. The website for the US Army's Central Command says: 'A Central Criminal Court of Iraq arrest warrant for Kassar and a reward for information leading to his capture are pending.'
So are the charges true? Is this infamous veteran of shady business truly central to the most deadly war of the day? Many western intelligence experts are sceptical of the charges made by Iraq's fledgling and embattled government.
Kassar, in an exclusive interview, does admit to a friendship with a key alleged figure in the insurgency, a recently arrested relative of Saddam, although he says he knew nothing of his role. He says that, if the charges were true and he was supporting the insurgency, it would be 'an honour'. But he says it is nonsense. 'If it were true,' Al Kassar argues, 'you would not find me here.'
The Observer tracked him down to his lavish, 15-suite residence, designed like a Renaissance palazzo overlooking Puerto Banus. Guards swing the gates open to allow guests into the estate, where there is a swimming pool built like a four-leaf clover. Three Spanish mastiffs prowl during the night to deter uninvited guests.
Inside the palace, a grand piano is showcased at the bottom of a marble staircase under a domed skylight. In the grand salon, silk flowers are arranged in a giant Chinese vase in front of a marble fireplace. Statues of servants holding lamps stand before the massive drapes, and on the wall are murals of African servants in turbans, carrying platters of fruit.
Photographs furnish a stark reminder of just who Kassar is. One is of him shaking hands with Uday Hussain, Saddam's brutal son, killed in the months after the invasion. Another photo shows the two men together with an Arab musician. Kassar says he met Uday when he was sponsoring the Iraqi football team.
In a cabinet nearby is a picture of him holding hands with Hassan Aideed, son of Farah Aideed, the now-deceased Somali warlord portrayed in the film Black Hawk Down. 'A good man,' says Kassar. (He has been implicated in shipping arms to Somalia, in violation of an international embargo.)
The warlord Aideed is just one of his eclectic group of acquaintances, and Kassar insists that, in fairness, there are many less controversial ones. On the mantelpiece is a photo of Kassar with a Spanish intelligence official and Mustafa Tlas, the former defence minister of Syria. Then there is the photo, taken at a gala fundraiser in Marbella, of him standing next to ageing country music singer Kenny Rogers.
Yet on a massive coffee table is a photo of Kassar hugging Palestinian terrorist Abu Abbas, former leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front. The picture was taken about 15 years ago, in South Yemen, and shows the portly Abbas smiling and sitting on a chair with Kassar in a tight embrace. Abu Abbas was apprehended in Baghdad in 1993 and died after a year in US custody.
Kassar says he will tolerate no condemnation of the dead terrorist: 'No, you cannot call him a terrorist. He's a hero. He's a hero in the eyes of the Arabs ... I don't allow you to call him terrorist!' Kassar says he was a 'sympathiser' of Abu Abbas, rather than a supporter, and never gave him weapons or money.
It was Kassar's relationship with Abu Abbas which helped lead to the former's arrest in Spain in 1992. He was charged with murder and terrorism for alleged involvement in the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, during which Leon Klinghoffer, a retired, disabled Jewish American in a wheelchair, was killed and tossed overboard by the terrorists. The operation was masterminded by Abu Abbas. Kassar, by then known as the 'Prince of Marbella', spent more than a year in jail until he was freed on bail. Apparently raising the billion-peseta bail was not a problem.
The trial, in 1995, was something of an occasion, even a circus. It ended up a complete victory for him, and a disaster for the prosecution. Kassar keeps a copy of the court's decision. The judges said Kassar 'lacks criminal records in any country'. He was involved only in 'legal commercial activities, among them the arms trade between the governments of sovereign states, always under absolute lawfulness'.
Kassar points to it with delight: 'I have no criminal record!' It is something he loves to repeat.
The litany of allegations against him, even aside from his links to Abu Abbas, is jaw-dropping. Government files in various countries indicate that he was jailed in the UK on hashish charges in the 1970s, although he denies it. The official US Iran Contra report says he sold weapons to the 'Enterprise' arming the Contras. A UN report says he violated arms embargoes to Croatia and Somalia in 1992. A Swiss court froze and later released millions related to a multi-million-pound arms sale to Croatia. Documents in US court related to a Spanish inquiry indicate he has been investigated, but not prosecuted, on allegations of providing a silenced 9mm pistol used to shoot a suspected Israeli agent in 1984. He may have been involved in procuring components of a Chinese anti-ship missile for Iran, according to records cited by the Washington Post. He has been investigated in Argentina on charges of passport fraud. A report in the Library of Congress relays charges that he delivered explosives to a group headed by a known terrorist in Brazil, and that he had earlier sold arms to Iranian militias in Cyprus.
Some of the charges against him, on the other hand, are widely believed to be downright false, such as the discredited allegations of involvement in the Pan Am 103 bombings. He is believed to be close to various intelligence services, although he sneers at the idea that he would ever collaborate with the US or the UK. 'I'm not that cheap,' he says. He claims both the CIA and the KGB resented him for his independence - yet there is significant evidence that he has co-operated with Spanish intelligence and other services.
Kassar says he first became an arms dealer in the early 1970s, when the government of Yemen, an eastern bloc client state, asked him to procure weapons from Poland and gave him a diplomatic passport. 'Small arms,' he says, dismissively waving his hand. 'It was small arms,' meaning rifles and pistols.
He is in many ways a product of the Cold War. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen was believed by western authorities to supply the weapons to assorted terror groups and be a source for 'end-user' certificates, which could make arms deals work when the real buyers wanted to be concealed. The UN alleges Kassar used this type of misleading 'end-user certificate' to arrange a deal to Somalia.
'Just remember, when you look into his eyes,' said one former western official, who does not want his name used, 'you'll be looking into pure evil.'
The Iraqi 'Most Wanted' list of 41 people was released in the beginning of July, with Kassar listed 26th. Iraq's national security adviser, Moufaq al-Rubaie, called Kassar 'one of the main sources of financial and logistics support' for the Iraqi insurgency. Rubaei says Iraq has compelling evidence against him.
Rubaie says Kassaar 'is clearly implicated in killing innocent people and helping terrorists in killing innocent people in Iraq. Money is very important, is vital to keep this terrorism and this violence in Iraq going, and Kassar is providing, if you like, oxygen. If you cut the oxygen, then they will suffocate these people.'
At the heart of the charges against Kassar, says Rubaie, is the role played in the insurgency by the family of a man named Sabawi Ibrahim ali Hassan al-Tikriti, a half-brother of Saddam. Under Saddam, he ran two of Iraq's most feared intelligence agencies. Sabawi was the six of diamonds in the famed 'deck of cards' of Iraqi regime leaders that the US military handed out.
In the summer of 2005, the UN ordered that the assets of six of Sabawi's sons be seized; the US government has written that three of them 'provided support to elements of the former regime and to groups carrying out attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces'.
According to Rubaie, Kassar 'has a very intimate relationship with Sabawi ... and with three sons'.
Kassar admits he does know one of the men. In May, according to news reports, 36-year-old Bashar Sabawi, a nephew of Saddam, was in Beirut airport trying to get out of Lebanon. He was reportedly on his way to board a flight to Rio de Janeiro when police arrested him on an international warrant for charges related to aiding the insurgency. Interpol has a wanted poster for Bashar Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti. The charge is 'terrorism'.
Kassar admits that he knew the man, but only as a friend and by a different name. 'I don't know his identity before that. I knew him as Mr Ali.' He laughs. Bashar Sabawi's alias is Ali Zafir Abdullah. Kassar says he met him at a restaurant in Beirut, through a friend, shortly before the invasion of Iraq. He says they quickly became friends: 'Great man, educated man, polite man.'
He insists Bashar could not have been handling funds for the insurgency: 'From the way he lived, you could tell he was poor. He was not rich. He didn't have a car.'
Rubaie says that the Iraqis are trying to extradite Bashar from Lebanon, and claims Kassar tried to bribe Lebanese officials to protect and free Bashar.
'Nonsense,' says Kassar, who denies any wrongdoing, but says that he sympathises with Bashar. 'He's starving in the jail of the Lebanese. He hasn't got the money to pay for his lawyer."
As for claims that he launders money for the Iraqis, he says: 'Where is the money? Give the money to move it please! If you have the money, I will move it, yes! But where's the money?'
A western intelligence official - and no fan of Kassar - said Spanish authorities also believe the Iraqi charges to be untrue. Kassar may have been a terrorist supplier and a drug trafficker, he says, but that was in the old days.
He claims Kassar did business with the embargoed Iraq before the invasion and that the insurgency charges in Iraq stem from a dispute Kassar is in with another Syrian businessman, Rifat al-Assad, 69-year-old uncle of the current president of Syria and the brother of the late Hafez al-Assad.
Kassar has levelled corruption charges against Assad in a Spanish court. Just last week, to Kassar's delight, a judge ruled against Assad, ordering him to come to court and hand over his passport.
The Spanish official says Assad has been running disinformation campaign against Kassar, trying to implicate him in the insurgency.
In the end, if the West believes the Iraqi charges, it is difficult to see how Kassar's gates in Marbella, his guards, his three Spanish mastiffs, or even his lawyers, can protect him. Still no allegation so far has touched him for long.
Kassar admits that a lifetime in the arms business has led to a variety of acquaintances: 'I met interesting people: good people, bad people. How do I know who's good and who's bad? This is a matter of opinion ... The bad people for you may be the good people for me.'
Four decades of a deadly trade
Monzer Al-Kassar was born in Nabek, Syria, in 1945. His father was a high-ranking civil servant. He speaks at least five languages and holds, or has held, Yemeni, Syrian and Argentinian passports. He now has permanent Spanish residency. Britain has refused his visa requests for the past 10 years.
1977 Reportedly sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling hashish in the UK.
1987 Kassar's name appears during the Irangate hearings which investigated the deals of Colonel Oliver North. He was paid £1.5m for selling arms to Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
1990 Kassar opens an account at the Swiss Audi Bank that is later used in an illegal arms deal. A Swiss prosecutor temporarily freezes proceeds from the illegal sale of Polish arms to Bosnia.
1992 Senator John Kerry calls him a 'notorious terrorist'. Al-Kassar is detained at Madrid airport, coming from Vienna, where he had just closed an arms deal with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, violating a UN embargo. According to journalist Juan Gasparini, Al-Kassar's intentions were to move to Argentina and acquire citizenship illegally, with the help of a relative, former Argentine president Carlos Menem.
Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon charges Al-Kassar with falsification of documents, possession of illegal weapons and vehicles, and participation in acts of international terrorism. Spain says al-Kassar provided the arms to the Abu Abbas-led militants who hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985.
1994 A book by John Loftus and Mark Aarons, based on previously top-secret documents and interviews with hundreds of spies, claims the Syrian was used as an agent by both the British and the US. An Allan Francovich film presents Kassar as financing the Achille Lauro attack.
1995 Kassar denies supplying the Palestinian hijackers. He tells the court that a judge had asked him for £66m in exchange for his freedom and is later acquitted of all charges. A Spanish court vindicates his legal arm deals and says there is no evidence he is working with terrorists.
1998 A Geneva appeals court upholds the freezing of his Swiss accounts but releases $3.7m not linked to the arms deal.
2000 Indicted in Argentina for obtaining documents under false pretences in the course of his 1992 acquisition of an Argentine passport.
2001 The British banking and finance group Imperial Consolidated sues Kassar for slander after he accused the company of acting as a front in an alleged arms deal for Osama bin Laden.
2003 A UN report accuses Kassar of breaking the arms embargo on Somalia imposed in January 1992, saying he has a number of false passports and aliases. He has been involved in selling arms to Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chad, Guatemala, Iran, Lebanon, Panama, Poland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Yemen.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
Subject: The Dead of Tlatelolco
National Security Archive Update, October 1, 2006
The Dead of Tlatelolco
For more information contact:-- Kate Doyle 202/994-7000
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, October 1, 2006 - The National Security Archive at George Washington University, in collaboration with Proceso magazine, publishes today a list of names of the men and women killed in the October 2, 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico, based exclusively on declassified Mexican intelligence files. In order to continue gathering evidence about the victims of Tlatelolco, the Archive also launches today a new Web link, where families, friends and colleagues of those who died during the massacre can register additional names, documents and photographs. http://muertosdetlatelolco.blogspot.com/
The question of how many people died when soldiers and government agents opened fire on a peaceful student protest in Mexico City has long puzzled researchers. Eyewitnesses to the massacre speculated that anywhere from dozens to hundreds may have been killed, while government stonewalling prevented investigators from clarifying the incident.
But recently-opened archives from Mexican military and security agencies have fuelled new efforts to understand what happened at Tlatelolco.
Among the thousands of files now available to researchers are records containing the identities of those who died on October 2: eyewitness accounts by government agents, lists of the dead compiled by hospitals and the Red Cross, intelligence reports on the funerals of victims, and autopsy reports. Taken together, these documents offer the first opportunity to compile a list of those killed during the clash at Tlatelolco.
After eight months of research in the Mexican national archives, the National Security Archive has found records documenting the deaths of 44 people: 34 are named, and 10 more remain unidentified. The death of each person is documented in more than one declassified government record.
Each one is cross-checked against the available secondary sources. Each one represents a life lost in the senseless attack by government forces on the student movement--an attack that killed not only students but soldiers, workers, a teacher, a housewife, a 15-year old domestic worker, an unemployed father.
"There is no better way to fight a government's lies than with the government’s own records," says senior analyst and Mexico Project director Kate Doyle. "For the first time, Mexicans can unearth hard evidence about the casualties of Tlatelolco, and with it begin to write a more accurate history of what happened."
In an effort to continue compiling documentary evidence about the victims of Tlatelolco, the Archive announces today the launching of a new electronic registry, located on the web site of the Mexico Project. It is a place where the families, friends and colleagues of those lost can go to register the names of their loved ones and related documents, photographs and memories. Through the registry, the Archive hopes to construct a final and definitive list of Tlatelolco's dead.
http://www.nsarchive.org
http://news.yahoo.com/s/kmbc/20061001/lo_kmbc/9975277
Plane Crash Injures Two
Sun Oct 1, 10:58 AM ET
Two men were injured when a small plane crashed just after takeoff in Lafayette County, Mo.
The plane was taking off from a private airstrip behind a home just after 6 p.m., Saturday.
Mark Evinger, 49, was the passenger on the plane. He said after they took off, the plane banked to the right and crashed.
Evinger suffered a broken leg. The pilot was also injured, but not seriously.
Investigators are still investigating why the homemade plane crashed.
The plane went down and caught fire. The fire was put out quickly and both men made it out of the wreckage. Lafayette county sheriff's deputies said both men would recover.
Copyright © 2006 KMBC TheKansasCityChannel.com.
http://kshb.com/kshb/nw_local_news/article/0,1925,KSHB_9424_5035610,00.html
URL: http://www.kshb.com/kshb/nw_local_news/article/0,1925,KSHB_9424_5035610,00.html
Click here to view a larger image.
Police officer shot at the Kansas Speedway
October 1, 2006
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kansas City Kansas Police say a female police officer has been shot at the Kansas Speedway Sunday night.
Authorities tell NBC Action News the off-duty officer was in uniform working for a private security company when she was shot multiple times during an apparent robbery attempt at a Speedway ticket counter.
The 25-year veteran of the police force has been airlifted to an area hospital via a Life Net helicopter. She is in critical condition.
The shooting happened around 8:10 p.m. at 400 Speedway Blvd. by the Interstate 70 and 110th Street Exit.
Watch NBC Action News for more on this developing story.
Copyright 2006, KSHB. All Rights Reserved.
[Says new OBL video is on the way....]
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20061001.aspx
The Joke's on Osama
October 1, 2006: Al Qaeda in particular, and Islamic terrorist groups in general, are desperate for a major success. Islamic terrorists remember the 19 90s fondly as a time when they were kicking ass big time, or at least more effectively than they have since September 11, 2001.
How soon we forget. In 1993, al Qaeda bombed the World Trade Center in New York City, and had agents assisting warlords in their fight to drive American troops out of Somali. In 1994, an elaborate plan to blow up eleven U.S. airliners over the Pacific was about to get underway, when Filipino police got wind of it. The planner of that operation, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, got another chance and was largely responsible for putting together the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 1995 and 1996, bombs were set off outside U.S. military facilities, killing two dozen Americans and wounding many more. In 1997, al Qaeda scored a major victory that did not involve an explosion, it established a number of training camps in Afghanistan, and began training thousands of terrorist recruits each year. In 1998, there were simultaneous bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224. In 1999, there was another spectacular failure, as U.S. border agents unmasked a plot to set of several bombs during New Years eve celebrations. In 2000, an al Qaeda suicide boat damaged, and almost sank, an American destroyer in a Yemen harbor. That attack killed 17 sailors, and was later found to be the second attempt against a U.S. warship that year.
Then, on September 11, 2001, al Qaeda had its greatest success. But that also prompted the United States to go to war with al Qaeda (and Islamic terrorism in general), rather than continue to treat it as a police matter. As a result, Afghanistan was gone as a base within a few months. Since then, there were no more attacks in the United States, and only two in Europe. In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq, causing many Islamic terrorists to hustle back to the Middle East, to "defend the homeland." There they died in the thousands. But worse than that, the terrorist tactics they continued to use was now killing thousands of Moslem men, women and children. The negative publicity caused Islamic terrorism to sink in the opinion polls. This was very bad news. The terrorists depend on public approval, in the Islamic world, for new recruits, protection (from local police) and financial support. The dead Iraqis were killing al Qaeda.
By 2006, Iraqis were turning on al Qaeda, informing on al Qaeda leaders, and any operatives that did not hide carefully from the people they believed they were fighting for. Westerners, unless they observe Arab media closely, and have contacts inside the Arab world, will not have noted this sharp drop in al Qaedas fortunes. It's in the Western media's interest (financial and political) to pump up al Qaedas current standing. But the reality is that al Qaeda is desperate for a big score. The terrorist chatter this year, on several occasions, has indicated that another major attack was imminent. The intelligence agencies did not release any data on what, if any, major attacks were thwarted. But that's normal, because sometimes attacks are called off, not because the intel agencies have intervened, but because the terrorists decided that things were not quite right. In situations like that, the CIA, FBI or whatever, doesn't want to let the bad guys know how close they are.
The chatter is on again. This time there is talk of an al Qaeda video featuring the long unseen Osama bin Laden. The recent reports of his death began as rumors in Arab countries about bin Laden passing away in some inglorious and painful fashion (Typhoid was mentioned.) Actually, many of the "death reports" were actually jokes. Al Qaeda's fortunes have sunk so low in the Moslem world that he is being mocked, via jokes about his demise. While the Western media may not be picking up on this, al Qaeda certainly is, and is eager to do something about it. The chatter also indicates that the new video release may be followed by the long rumored, and oft delayed, "major attack." Either al Qaeda delivers this time, or the organization continues to fade from the Moslem memory.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htworld/articles/20061001.aspx
Georgia Bulks Up To Face Russia
October 1, 2006: Georgia (the country in the Caucasus) is undertaking a major expansion of its armed forces. Officially, the active forces are about 26,000 troops, already up from about 12,000-14,000 just a couple of years ago. Unofficially, the government has raised strength to about 28,000. This was done by adding more professional troops and increasing the order-of-battle by two battalions of conscripts. It appears that the government wants to increase the active force to about 35,000. In addition, Georgia had begun to build a reserve force.
Until a couple of years ago the "reserves" constituted the entire body of conscripts discharged over the past 15 years. But this pool, of about 250,000 men, was just that, a pool. The "reservists" were not subject to periodic refresher training, and so no more than perhaps 10 percent of them could be considered useful in the event of activation. Beginning a couple of years ago, Georgia instituted a more rigorous reserve training program. An active reserve has been created, which apparently numbers about 10,000 men, and is expected to grow to as many as 100,000 over the next few years, as conscripts (drafted at 18 to 18-24 months) leave active service, and enter 5-10 years of reserve duty.
While Georgia doesn't have the money for modern equipment (it's stuff is mostly Russian Cold War vintage), it does have enough professional soldiers from the old Red Army, and a military tradition going back centuries. Much to the discomfort of Russia, the United States has been supplying Georgia with military training and some equipment. Partly, this is in response to Georgia's sending of 800 peacekeepers to Iraq.
The principal reason for the military build-up is the existence of secessionist regimes in two provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There are also some 6,000 Russian troops, leftovers from Soviet Union era garrisons. Georgia has been trying get all the Russian soldiers out since the Soviet Union collapsed (and Georgia became independent once more) in 1991. But the Russians have come up with a long string of excuses for delaying a final pullout. To make matters worse, some 2,500 of those troops are "peacekeepers" in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. To most Georgians, the Russian peacekeepers are there mainly to keep the rebel regions free of Georgian control.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20060929.aspx
Cubans Making Deals In Mexico
September 29, 2006: Yet another headache for those trying to keep terrorists from getting across the Mexican border. After several Cuban refugees were apprehended in Mexico with Mexican identification papers, an investigation discovered that a new scam was in play. Cubans seeking to escape the Castro regime sail not toward the U.S., but to Mexico or some of the Caribbean Islands, across waters less well patrolled. Once they land, they arrange to swap identification with Mexicans seeking entry into the US. Using the Mexican papers, the Cuban can generally function pretty comfortably in Mexico, given the lassitude and corruption of officialdom there. Meanwhile, the Mexicans with Cuban papers can apply for asylum in the US. It's not clear whether any Mexicans have actually entered the US as a result of this scam, but it's feared that terrorists might take advantage of this approach as well. There is a well developed network of people smugglers on the Mexican side of the border, and these guys are mainly interested in the money, not the terrorist threat.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20508703-2,00.html
More Jihadists 'ready to go'
By Emma-Kate Symons in Manila
October 02, 2006 12:46am
A NETWORK of homegrown converts to radical Islam has emerged as a major terrorist threat in South-East Asia, teaming up with higher-profile al-Qaeda offshoots Jemaah Islamiah and Abu Sayyaf to plot attacks on Western and local targets.
Manila's top anti-terrorism official has told The Australian that the group of former Christians known as Rajah Solaiman is highly educated and well-financed and lacked the profile of traditional Islamist terrorist groups, making it easier to evade detection.
His warning came as Indonesian and Australian mourners remembered the 20 people killed in JI's last major terror attacks, at Jimbaran Bay and Kuta in Bali a year ago yesterday.
Terrorist experts believe that while JI has suffered some significant setbacks in the past 12 months, its alliance with southern Philippines groups such as Rajah Solaiman mean it is still a potent force.
The Australian understands that Canberra is closely monitoring the pursuit of Rajah Solaiman, which shares JI's goal of a pan-Islamic state in Asia.
Rajah Solaiman has direct links to al-Qaeda's leadership and to JI's 2002 Bali bombers Umar Patek, who was killed last month, and Dulmatin, who is still on the run in the war-torn southern Philippines.
Philippines defence undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said Rajah Solaiman was hiding out in the country's impenetrable south, conducting joint training exercises and plotting terror attacks with its JI and Abu Sayyaf allies.
Mr Blancaflor said Rajah Solaiman was a "classic case of homegrown terrorism" that could be compared to Australia's problems with small extremist groups of Lebanese Muslim migrants.
"These homegrown terrorists are messengers of hate - hate of the West and of Christianity," he said.
"We have to understand that terrorism today goes way beyond al-Qa'ida, it has no boundaries and no geographical limits."
He called on Australia to support a UN blacklist of the new force, which is understood to have carried out JI's orders in executing the 2004 Philippines SuperFerry bombing that killed 116 people - the second-worst terrorist attack in South-East Asia after the 2002 Bali bombs.
Rajah Solaiman's name is taken from a 16th-century Filipino king, a Muslim, who was the last of the homegrown monarchs before the Spanish conquest. Australian authorities believe it poses a significant threat not only to Philippine interests, but also to Western interests abroad, including Australia's - from foreign embassies to shopping malls, passenger ferries and nightclubs popular with Western tourists.
Rajah Solaiman leader Ahmed Santos, captured late last year in Mindanao, even sheltered Patek and Dulmatin at his family farm in the southern Philippines, where JI, Rajah Solaiman and Abu Sayyaf operatives established a joint training camp, where bomb-making was taught.
Santos converted to Islam in the 1990s via the Islamic Studies Call and Guidance, a group linked by US intelligence to Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal Khalifa.
Dulmatin and Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani and members of Rajah Solaiman have managed to evade capture despite the sustained US-backed Philippines military offensive in Mindanao and the Sulus. This has been under way since August 1, and has led to the deaths of at least 15 Philippines soldiers and dozens of militants.
The US has offered a $10 million bounty for the capture of Dulmatin, the Malaysian explosives expert who is believed to have planned the 2002 Kuta attacks.
Last month, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, a leaked Philippines intelligence report said two Rajah Solaiman explosives experts had arrived in Manila.
This followed arrests of three Muslim converts in May, suspected of planning to bomb malls and foreign embassies in Manila.
The Philippines military has been attacking southern rebels since August 1, with the support of the US, in an operation that has resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen Filipino soldiers and perhaps dozens of rebels.
"One of our aims is to make the southern Philippines as inhospitable for these guys as possible. So we have them on the run," Mr Blancaflor said. "And if we have them on the run we are going to catch them sooner or later."
He also called on Canberra and Manila to go further with a military pact currently before the Philippines Senate, which would see Australian troops conducting training exercises in the country's south.
"The agreement needs to go beyond the military," Mr Blancaflor said. "The defence agreement is the usual stuff - guns, boats and armaments. But the agreement should also have non-military stuff - like desktop computers and communications equipment.
In Jakarta, a former senior JI member warned that more attacks by terror leader Noordin Top could not be ruled out, as police admitted they still had no idea where Indonesia's most wanted man was hiding.
Nasir Abas, a Malaysian whose sister Farida is married to death-row Bali bomber Ali Ghufron, warned that while Top's ability to conduct large attacks had been diminished as the police net around him tightened, he remained in control of an unknown number of small cells that could still launch effective strikes.
"Noordin's potential to conduct a major bombing is quite small, since Azahari's gone, as has Jabir, so that the number of people he could use (in an operation) is diminished," Mr Abas said.
"However I would also point out that his intention is to murder people - and that doesn't have to be a big operation. His ability has been reduced but his desire to kill has never diminished."
Mr Abas has been a key source of information on JI since his defection from the organisation after being arrested in 2003.
Mr Abas cast some doubt on a recent leaked US intelligence report suggesting JI was acquiring the ability to spread further across the archipelago and possibly launch attacks against US allies including Australia.
"Well, that's according to them," Mr Abas said, pointing out that the active terror elements in JI were now more focused on small cells operating independently of each other under Top's direction. "Just as with the second Bali bombing, they continue to be directly organised by Noordin," he said. "He is the big boss, with (Abu Bakar) Bashir continuing to be revered as a leader of the movement."
These cells, if they are indeed planning attacks, are doing so under the radar of national and international intelligence agencies, who admit they have no indication there is a strike being planned for the current so-called "bombing season".
However, it was precisely one such cell, answering directly to Noordin, that carried out the triple suicide bombings in Kuta and Jimbaran exactly a year ago, much to the surprise of those whose job it was to anticipate such things.
Hawala: Money made terror speak
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2055333.cms
Money made terror speak
MUMBAI: A hawala transaction spanning Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and India
led
the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to suspect and later establish the
Pakistani
connection in the blasts that killed 188 people on Mumbai's trains on
July
11.
The hawala money, the police believe, was used to fund the bombings.
The
prime accused, Faisal Shaikh, received Rs 60 lakh over the last five
years
through hawala, officials said.
Faisal, a class-XII drop-out who resided in the Mira Road area on the
outskirts of Mumbai, is believed to be the western India commander of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He was arrested along with software engineer
brother
Muzammil Shaikh. Faisal told the police that he had an "export-import"
business but crime branch officials, who picked him up, said the "small
business" was only a front for routing hawala money for terror causes.
"We
now know that he received hawala-routed money to recruit youth and send
them
for terror training," an officer, who questioned Faisal, said.
The police is likely to issue a red-corner notice against Rizwan Dawre,
an
Indian now based in Saudi Arabia and working with a multi-national
company
there. Dawre is supposed to have routed money, sent by Pakistan-based
terror
mastermind Azeem Cheema, to Faisal in Mumbai.
The ATS in August claimed to have seized 37,000 riyals (Rs 4.81 lakh)
from
Faisal's residence. "We have evidence that this money was routed from
Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and then to India for use in anti-national
acitivities," ATS chief Krish Pal Raghuvanshi had said.
Interrogators had also said Faisal, in charge of sending new recruits
to
Pakistan, would receive around Rs 10 lakh-Rs 12 lakh a year.
Officials said Cheema would send money whenever new recruits would get
ready
to fly abroad for training. The crime branch had also questioned
Faisal's
cousin, Shahida Shaikh (50), a headmistress with a school in Mumbai, in
connection with the hawala money. Officials alleged Shahida had
received
money on behalf of Faisal but later gave her a clean chit.
Investigators also said that Faisal would also pay the mobile bills of
new
recruits and arrange air tickets and visas for visits to the terror
camp in
Bhawalpur. Faisal himself visited Pakistan twice in 2004 and 2005 for
training and stayed there for six months each time.
Officers also said Pune resident Sohail Shaikh, arrested on July 25,
revealed he was given the job to find out names, addresses and current
postings of hundreds of policemen who were deployed during the Gujarat
riots
but did not stop them.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20511522-1702,00.html
Al Qaeda command in Pakistan, says letter
From correspondents in Washington DC
October 02, 2006 03:56pm
INFORMATION recovered from safe houses when al Qaeda's leader in Iraq was killed six months ago place the group's leadership in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, The Washington Post has reported.
A member of Osama bin Laden's high command said in a December 11 letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that he was writing from al Qaeda headquarters in the semi-autonomous tribal region, where Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have been active, the paper has reported.
Zarqawi was killed in June when US warplanes bombed his hide-out in a village north of Baghdad.
The letter to Zarqawi was signed by "Atiyah", a person counter-terrorism officials believe is Atiyah Abd al Rahman, a 37-year-old Libyan who joined bin Laden during the 1980s, The Washington Post said.
"I am with them," Atiyah writes to Zarqawi of the high command, "and they have some comments about some of your circumstances," the article said.
If accurate, the letter would confirm their location at the time it was written, the newspaper said.
Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere along the porous Afghan-Pakistan border.
In the letter, Atiyah spoke of the difficulty of direct communications between Waziristan and Iraq and suggested it was easier for Zarqawi to send a representative to Pakistan than the other way around, the newspaper said.
According to the report, Atiyah's letter also shed new light on the depth of al Qaeda's concern over Zarqawi and the limits of its control over him.
An English translation of the letter was released last week by the US military's Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point, the report said.
It was the first document to emerge from what the military described as a "treasure trove" of information when Zarqawi was killed, the newspaper reported.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20515958-1702,00.html
Man with knife held at Blair's residence
From correspondents in London
October 03, 2006 01:00am
AN intruder armed with a knife was arrested after scaling a wall and getting into a secure area of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official London residence, police said.
The man was apprehended after he scaled a fence from a road at the back of 10 Downing Street into what officials describe as the building's outer secure area.
“As he got to the other side he was immediately challenged by an officer and arrested following a short struggle,” a London police spokesman said.
Although the man was found to be carrying a knife, police said they did not think the incident had any terrorism link. The man's motive was not yet clear.
“We are satisfied that at no time the prime minister was at risk,” the spokesman said.
The man was arrested on suspicion of affray and assault on a police officer and was taken to a central London police station for further questioning.
There was no comment from Mr Blair's office.
No.10 Downing Street is traditionally the London home and office of the British prime minister, although Mr Blair and his family live next door at No.11.
October 2, 2006 Anti-Terrorism News
Al Qaeda command in Pakistan, says letter - wP Report: "Dec. 11 letter,
who said he was writing from al-Qaeda headquarters in the Waziristan
region of Pakistan, was a member of Osama bin Laden's high command who
signed himself 'Atiyah'"
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20511522-1702,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15098143/
2 Iraqi policemen killed in ambush - in the al-Hay area; headless
bodies of seven people found Sunday in Suwayrah
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061002/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_violence;_ylt=AoAwCahWhKd82Skfa.9856gLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
Three US Marines killed in separate incidents in Iraq
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2006/October/focusoniraq_October9.xml§ion=focusoniraq
(Iraq) 50 Bodies Found in Baghdad - More Sectarian Death Squad Victims
Found in Iraq
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20512394-1702,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216998,00.html
Suspected terrorists arrested in Italy - six Algerians on charges of
international terrorism - operation known as Touareg
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061002/ap_on_re_eu/italy_terror_arrests;_ylt=AmsO0Ave1kPmimLakZbiU290bBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.345635812&par=0
Algeria: Militant Leader in Sahara Killed, Report - alleged leader of
terror cell of Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.345688269&par=0
Pakistan arrests nine suspected Taleban
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/October/subcontinent_October52.xml§ion=subcontinent
Bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan damages police building
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=326661&sid=SAS&ssid=
Pak will be judged by its actions against terror, says India
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=100215
Pakistan said to play both sides on terror war
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1002/p01s04-wosc.html
(Afghanistan) Suicide attack injures NATO soldiers
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20512903-1702,00.html
Eight hurt in attack on mosque in Afghanistan
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/October/subcontinent_October54.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
(Afghanistan) Muslim accosts injured UK Paratrooper in hospital - UK
soldiers concerned about safety in hospitals after threats: "You have
been killing my Muslim brothers in Afghanistan"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/02/ntroops02.xml
(Syria) UN Military force won't stop weapons entering Lebanon: Assad
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=26677
Hamas and Fatah shoot it out in Gaza
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/01/news/mideast.php
Gaza remains tense after day of violence
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061002/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians;_ylt=AgojqKUAb_kE5iajshCj4XQLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
FBI worries about al-Qaida ties to mob
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_go_ot/terror_and_the_mob;_ylt=AoK2RtW5WPDiIsllTNOySFus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-
(UK) Prisons failing to tackle terror recruitment - Britain houses more
suspected terrorist prisoners than any other European country
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1885398,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=19
Watch the video: Osama Bin Laden's HQ - "Sunday Times" webpage with
video in segments
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2382919,00.html
Relatives of man convicted in terror probe returning to Calif
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/01/state/n232431D05.DTL&type=politics
State of emergency extended in Iraq - has been renewed every month
since first being authorized in November 2004
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061002/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_state_of_emergency_1;_ylt=ApcEjC9_Q.NQevmUylb7Q_wUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--
Iraq government facing sectarian rift
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061002/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AhOI89mueiU0nfZk4Hsf0uwLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
(Iraq) Shiites Accuse Sunni Party of Terror Tie
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_061001201139
2 agro-terrorism classes offered at LTC
http://www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061002/MAN0101/610020425/1358/MANnews
Expert: Poor intelligence hurts terror war
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20061001-044710-4833r.htm
Spaniards tone down exploding Mohammed at fiestas
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061002/wl_nm/religion_spain_mohammed_dc;_ylt=AjJnJsHLWTuuokHlIr0k9mt0bBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
TransitSecurityReport.com Headlines 10/022006 # 1
Aircraft/ Airports/ Aviation/ Airspace Incursions/ Stolen Aircraft/ etc:
[Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd] INDIA - Afzal death penalty sparks hijack alert
"JeM may attempt to hijack an aircraft from an Indian airport, particularly Delhi or Mumbai, and then ask for the release of Afzal in exchange"
http://ww3.mid-day.com/news/city/2006/september/144342.htm
[AP] NEW YORK - Bomb squad investigates suspicious bag found at JFK parking lot
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--airport-suspiciou0928sep28,0,1952499.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
[TM & 2006 CBS Radio Inc] NEW YORK - Suspect Arrested After Suspicious Bag at JFK
http://1010wins.com/pages/94590.php?contentType=4&contentId=214991
[AP] WISCONSIN - Officials detain passenger whose carryon bag had message deriding airport security chief
"Kip Hawley is an Idiot" said the Baggie"
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/28/america/NA_GEN_US_Air_Security.php
[Journal Sentinel] WISCONSIN - Man arrested in motel bomb threat
"man who said he had explosives and apparently threatened to use them at the Airport Lodge motel "
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=506308
[Reuters] USA / RUSSIA - AIRSPACE - NORAD says intercepted Russian aircraft off Alaska [Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers ]
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-09-30T023010Z_01_N29420905_RTRIDST_0_CANADA-SECURITY-NORAD-COL.XML
Buses/ Bus Stations / Bus Stops:
[Minda News] PHILIPPINES - Armed men torch passenger bus
http://mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=983&Itemid=50
See also http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/September/theworld_September1057.xml§ion=theworld
[Thanh Nien] VIETNAM - Three killed, nine injured in dynamite blast aboard Vietnam bus
"Dynamite carried aboard a bus by a passenger went off in Vietnam Thursday killing three passengers and injuring nine others"
http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=20627
[ABC7/KGO-TV/DT] CALIFORNIA - Two Pipe Bombs Found In Livermore
"Last Friday, a public works employee found a device in the 1400 block of Rutan Road near the Livermore Airport"
"...was waiting for a bus today near where the first device was found"
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4610153
[The Hindu] INDIA - Six injured in ULFA attack
"grenade attack by United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) near a bus stand "
http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/29/stories/2006092915800100.htm
[Daily Record] NEW JERSEY - Truck rams school bus almost head-on; 18 hurt
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060929/COMMUNITIES53/609290340/1150/NEWS01
[NDTV] INDONESIA - Muslim mob stabs Christian in Indonesia
"Muslims dragged a Christian man from a bus and stabbed him"
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Muslim+mob+stabs+Christian+in+Indonesia%0D&id=94064
Railways/ Trains/ Light Rail/ Subways/ Trolleys/ Tubes/ Railway Bridges and Tunnels:
[Xinhua] ALGERIA - Algerian militants derail train in bomb attack
"bomb attack on the railway line has derailed a cargo train in Algeria but caused no casualties"
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-09/30/content_5159861.htm
[Times of India] INDIA - Live bombs found on railway tracks
"Railway Protection Security Force (RPSF) recovered four live bombs lying abandoned on the railway tracks "
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2055540.cms
[PTI] INDIA - Missile bomb recovered on Delhi-Ambala rail track
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200609301657.htm
[newindpress.com] INDIA - Bomb threat to railway station [bomb threat letter]
"letter stated that in case of any judgment against Muslims in the Coimbatore serial bomb blast case, the Al-Umma would trigger blasts in the Dharmapuri railway station, main bridges which come on Salem-Bangalore BG track and selective express trains"
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20060928125126&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+%2D+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0&
[Pioneer Press] MINNESOTA - CP train derails; 5 homes evacuated
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/15638900.htm
[Sofia News Agency] BULGARIA - Six Train Cars Derail Near Sofia
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=70339
[Novinite] BULGARIA - Railway Thief Busted in Bulgaria [Theft, or sabotage?]
"man had unscrewed the bolts of eleven rails along with an associate"
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=70386
[Thomas Crosbie Media] INDIA / PAKISTAN - India to give Pakistan train bombings evidence
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/10/02/story279216.html
Seaports/ Shipping/ Cruises/ Ferries/ Maritime Security/ Cargo Security/ Container Security/ Lakes/ Waterways: None Today
Tankers/ Trucking/ Highways/ Roads:
[AP] PAKISTAN - Bomb blast hits Pakistani truck carrying fuel for U.S. forces in Afghanistan
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/01/asia/AS_GEN_Pakistan_Truck_Blast.php
[Pravda] USA - FBI covers terrorists as al-Qaeda prepares next American attack
"Fifteen people – most of them Muslims - were arrested in Missouri last week because of a large quantity of fake documents authorizing the transportation of dangerous freights and substances in the country"
"US authorities say that the detained individuals do not pose any threat to the national security of the country. Many experts believe, however, that officials simply attempt to pacify the population"
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/28-09-2006/84750-American_attack-0
Bridge, Tunnel, and Dam Security: None today
Health and Mass Transit: None today
Other/ Opinion/ Industry News/ General Relevance etc:
[voiceofsandiego.org] SAN DIEGO - DHS Finds City's Ports, Mass Transits Least Risky
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2006/09/29/government/904port.txt
[West Virginia Media] WEST VIRGINIA - Disaster Drill at Tri-State Airport
http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=14622
[Reuters] SUDAN - Four killed by exploding radios
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2006157,00.html
[Reuters] RUSSIA - Russia cuts links with Georgia [Air land and sea]
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/02/georgia.russia.reut/index.html
[The Blotter] USA - Dozens of Foreign Pilots Training Illegally at US Flight Schools
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/dozens_of_forei.html
Notable but not necessarily transit related:
[DefenseNews.com] CHINA / USA - China Attempted To Blind U.S. Satellites With Laser
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2121111&C=america
See also http://www.nysun.com/article/40634
[Gizmodo] GLOBAL - Suspicious Looking Device from Junkfunnel Labs: We Don't Trust Its Irony [Photo, hoax devices for sale]
"The only function of the Suspicious Looking device is to appear as suspicious as possible, whether carried in hand or placed indiscrimately in public places."
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/suspicious-looking-device-from-junkfunnel-labs-we-dont-trust-its-irony-204407.php
TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 10/02/2006 # 1
National:
[Dallas Morning News] WASHINGTON - Suspicious envelope sent to Cornyn's office [Powdery substance]
http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/092806kvuecornyn-gv.25ba6359.html
[KING5] WASHINGTON - Anthrax scare shuts down Bremerton post office
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_092806WABpostoffice_threatSW.25c3ab38.html
[US-CERT] USA - US-CERT Technical Cyber Security Alert - Microsoft Internet Explorer WebViewFolderIcon ActiveX Vulnerability (TA06-270A)
http://www.net-security.org/advisory.php?id=6749
[news-press.com] FLORIDA - Punta Gorda banks receive bomb threats
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060928/NEWS01/60928030/1002
[KHOU] TEXAS - Police: Stolen cell phones sold at Houston stores
"Investigators say two of them -- Ashraf Sorour and Aghiad Sorour -- appear to be the ringleaders"
"FBI is looking into the case but investigators say they don't believe terrorism was involved"
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou060928_mh_cellphoneburglaries.26cf70bb.html
[DefenseNews.com] CHINA / USA - China Attempted To Blind U.S. Satellites With Laser
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2121111&C=america
See also http://www.nysun.com/article/40634
[MEDIANEWS] USA / CHINA - Federal agencies step up spy watch
"string of cases investigated by the FBI and Commerce Department highlight the growing focus on Chinese espionage in Silicon Valley"
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_4416082
[AP] CALIFORNIA - Livermore police warn residents of pipe bomb discoveries
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/09/28/state/n224059D53.DTL
[Courier-Post] NEW JERSEY - Chemical bomb tossed near kids
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060929/NEWS01/609290365/1006
[Pravda] USA - FBI covers terrorists as al-Qaeda prepares next American attack
"US authorities say that the detained individuals do not pose any threat to the national security of the country. Many experts believe, however, that officials simply attempt to pacify the population"
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/28-09-2006/84750-American_attack-0
[AP] ALABAMA - FBI arrests Tuscaloosa man for illegal money transfers
"arrested by members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force"
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/15632029.htm
[Contra Costa Times] CALIFORNIA - Team seeks 'dirty bomb' antidote
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/alameda_county/berkeley/15637667.htm
[National Council of Resistance of Iran - Foreign Affairs Committee] CANADA / IRAN - PROPAGANDA - Iran regime's smear campaign against its main opposition extends to Canada
http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/2319/1/
[Gizmodo] GLOBAL - Suspicious Looking Device from Junkfunnel Labs: We Don't Trust Its Irony [Photo, hoax devices for sale]
"The only function of the Suspicious Looking device is to appear as suspicious as possible, whether carried in hand or placed indiscrimately in public places."
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/suspicious-looking-device-from-junkfunnel-labs-we-dont-trust-its-irony-204407.php
[AP] MARYLAND - Quarantined Pigs Vanish From Carroll County Farm
http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_271124720.html
[Americas Truth Forum] LAS VEGAS - America's Truth Forum - Understanding the Threat of Radical Islamist Terrorism
"Hamid Mir, the only journalist to have interviewed Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahri since the attacks of September 11, 2001, will be the keynote speaker at a symposium addressing the origins and threat of terrorism presented by America’s Truth Forum, a grassroots, non-partisan, educational organization"
http://www.americastruthforum.com/symposium.htm
[AP] USA - FBI Worries About an Osama-Sopranos Link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100246.html
[Union Tribune] USA - Man gets prison for nuclear hoax
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060930-9999-2m30hoax.html
[CP] CANADA - RCMP investigating anthrax scare at oil and gas company in northern Alberta [TW Editor - since determined to be harmless]
"12 workers subcontracted to Talisman Energy Inc. had been put under quarantine after an electrician opened up a box of screws and found white powder and a note reading: "Welcome to Anthrax."
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=f620ee71-ce06-4407-b4be-b86dc4c76a7c&k=49312
[TransitSecurityReport.com] GLOBAL - View the latest edition of TransitSecurityReport.com for transportation terrorism and security news items
http://www.terroristwarning.com/index.php?pageID=1&sp=Transit
International:
[Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd] INDIA - Afzal death penalty sparks hijack alert
"JeM may attempt to hijack an aircraft from an Indian airport, particularly Delhi or Mumbai, and then ask for the release of Afzal in exchange"
http://ww3.mid-day.com/news/city/2006/september/144342.htm
[AFP] USA / NORTH KOREA - US warns against North Korea nuclear test
http://www.dailynews.lk/2006/09/29/wld03.asp
[Yonhap] NORTH KOREA - N.K. leader uses look-alikes due to fear of assassination: S. Korean official
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060929/630000000020060929095413E0.html
[Bloomberg] IRAQ - NUCLEAR - Al-Qaeda Seeks Scientists and Urges More Iraq Attacks
" Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq urged nuclear scientists to join the Iraqi jihad and asked supporters to step up attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEkw8aDv7fbA&refer=worldwide_news
[AP] IRAQ - Al Qaeda tape: 4,000 insurgents killed
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060928-010922-7554r.htm
[Jerusalem Post] ISRAEL - Rishon: One dead, five wounded in car bomb attack
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193342061&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[Civil Georgia] RUSSIA / GEORGIA - Russian Plane Evacuates Citizens
"family members of employees of the Embassy and the Headquarters of the Russian Troops in Tbilisi were evacuated"
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=13692
[RIA Novosti] RUSSIA / GEORGIA - Police cordon off Georgian Embassy in Moscow
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060929/54380506.html
[PIA] PHILIPPINES - Abu Sayyaf bomb attack in Jolo kills nine, mostly Muslims
http://www.pia.gov.ph/Default.asp?m=10&sec=news&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p060929.htm&no=51
[Xinhua] PHILIPPINES - Two killed by trash bomb in Philippine capital
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/29/eng20060929_307548.html
[AP] INDIA - Six wounded in bomb blast in India's northeast
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/28/asia/AS_GEN_India_Explosion.php
[The Hindu] INDIA - Letter bomb: police get hold of a circuit diagram
http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/30/stories/2006093020980300.htm
[AP] AFGHANISTAN - Suicide bomb kills 10 near Afghan Interior Ministry
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/093006dnintafghanattack.356aa99.html
[Guardian] NORTHERN IRELAND - Civil servants put on alert as plot to seize their offices is exposed
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1884968,00.html
[AP] RUSSIA - Russian troops in Georgia put on high alert; troops ordered to shoot to defend bases
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/01/europe/EU_GEN_Georgia_Russia.php
[Reuters] RUSSIA - Russia cuts links with Georgia [Air land and sea]
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/02/georgia.russia.reut/index.html
[Telegraph] ISRAEL / SYRIA - Syria threat over Golan puts Israel on war alert
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/30/wmid30.xml
[BNA] ISRAEL - Israeli Police on Full Alert during celebration
http://english.bna.bh/?ID=50921
[AP] TURKEY - Bomb Explodes Outside Hospital in Turkey
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/10/01/ap3057772.html
[AP] PAKISTAN - Bomb blast hits Pakistani truck carrying fuel for U.S. forces in Afghanistan
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/01/asia/AS_GEN_Pakistan_Truck_Blast.php
[KUNA] PAKISTAN - Homemade bomb explodes in SW Pakistan, no casualties
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=909678
[Times News Network] INDIA - Bomb hoax at Dharwad college
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2055109.cms
[Reuters] SUDAN - Four killed by exploding radios
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2006157,00.html
[Zee News] INDIA - 'Dirty bombs' a real terror threat in India
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=326484&sid=NAT&ssid=
[Xinhua] CHINA - New mass food poisoning strikes 217 students, canteen workers detained
http://english.people.com.cn/200610/01/eng20061001_308044.html
[IRNA] UNITED KINGDOM - Protesters demand removal of US nuclear bombs from the UK
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-20/0610022775131205.htm
[AP] LEBANON - Lebanese judge's car sabotaged
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Lebanon/10071442.html
[Xinhua] IRAQ - Two bomb explosions demolish building in central Baghdad
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/02/content_5164944.htm
[Reuters] IRAQ - Security developments in Iraq, Oct 2
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAM219552.htm
[] YEMEN - Yemen Kills 2 Fugitive Members of Al Qaeda
[This appears to be a 'found' tape, not the 'released' one.]
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=nation_world&id=4618021
horities Release New Tape of Terrorist Leader, Say They Are Closing In On Him
AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq, October 1, 2006 - Security forces are closing in on the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, a senior Iraqi official said Sunday, showing a captured video of the terror chief teaching followers how to build a car bomb.
The video, displayed to journalists, showed Abu Ayyub al-Masri - his face exposed - going through what appeared to be a storage bunker, pointing out different elements of a car bomb in what National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie called an instructional CD.
"In a very short time, we will bring you the good news of Abu Ayyub al-Masri either killed or handcuffed to be brought before the Iraqi justice system," al-Rubaie said, then added, addressing al-Masri, "Your days are numbered and you will face your fate very soon."
continued..........................
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1712160/posts
School Shooting:Multiple Deaths in Lancaster, PA Amish School, Shooter Killed by Police in Stand off
Fox News Alert ^ | 02 OCT 06
Posted on 10/02/2006 9:16:45 AM PDT by DCBryan1
Edited on 10/02/2006 9:33:52 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
Developing....
School Shooting injures one person,
Hostage situation may be developing.
Update: Multiple Shooting Victims and Possible Hostages in Lancaster County
Not many details available yet, but an incident has been reported from Mine Rd. in Bart Township in Lancaster County involving multiple gunshot victims. Dennis Buterbaugh reports live from our newsroom. abc27 has a news crew on the way. We will update with details as they become available.
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5484539
Schools in Lockdown
Oct 2, 2006 09:16 AM
Build Your Own Newscast
Schools on Lock Down
Police search nearby neighborhood.
Police search nearby neighborhood.
Mohave High and Elizonda Elementary schools are in lockdown as school police search for a student who may be carrying a weapon.
The lock down went into effect after 7 a.m. when school police say they saw they observed a student near Mojave High School who appeared to be carrying a gun. The suspect did run from police and now North Las Vegas police are searching a neighborhood and apartment complex near Commerce and Lone Mountain. The schools are locked down as a precaution.
Eyewitness News and www.lasvegasnow.com will have the latest.
unknown url.............
Uniformed gunmen snatch 14 at Baghdad stores
Reuters
Monday, October 02, 2006
By Aseel Kami and Alastair Macdonald
Uniformed gunmen driving official-looking trucks snatched 14 people
from computer stores in central Baghdad on Monday, in the latest kidnap to
fuel fears of sectarian militias infiltrating Iraq's security forces.
A day after gunmen forced 26 workers into a chilled meat van and drove
them away from a food processing factory in the city, police said seven
government-style four-wheel drive vehicles carrying men in camouflage
converged on a row of computer sales and repair shops close to Baghdad's
Technology University.
They rounded up the 14 people and swiftly drove off again.
"The vehicles had no license plates," a witness who gave his name as
Nazar told Reuters. "The gunmen went into the al-Sira, Arazi and Raad
shops and took lots of people away."
Though the identities of the assailants and victims were unclear, the
incidents heightened sectarian friction, which the U.S. ambassador said
on Sunday could lead to all-out civil war unless the government acts to
curb militias within two months.
Minority Sunnis complain that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has failed
to rein in militant fellow Shi'ites in the police and elsewhere since
forming his national unity government in May.
Several Sunni lawmakers contested the monthly renewal of his
government's emergency powers in parliament on Monday.
Khalaf al-Ulayan accused the Sunni speaker of railroading through the
30-day extension on a show of hands and said it did not have the
necessary majority: "We are not against the extension," he said. "But it is
not being applied evenly."
Many Sunnis say a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in Baghdad is steering
clear of Shi'ite militias, notably in Sadr City, stronghold of the
Mehdi Army of young cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
"These people are ignoring inhuman acts, when militias are on the
prowl," the main Sunni bloc's Alaa al-Makki said.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, a leading Sunni group, issued a statement
saying all 26 workers at the meat plant were Sunnis and had been found
dead. It questioned how their captors evaded a heavy Iraqi and U.S.
security presence.
But police said four of the 26 had escaped and said it was still
unclear what became of the other 22, some of whom they believed were Shi'ite
Muslims.
MASS KIDNAPS
The incidents recalled earlier mass kidnaps like the taking by men in
police uniform of the head of Iraq's Olympic Committee and 30 other
people from a sports conference in July. Some were later released but the
fate of the Olympics chief is unknown.
A senior U.S. military intelligence official said last week that groups
of up to 60 had been kidnapped in recent months by Shi'ite militias:
"They would release those that were Shia," he said. "Then there would be
individuals ransomed and then there would perhaps be a mass killing in
Sadr City and burial."
Police were often complicit in such attacks, he said.
Sectarian dispute has become louder among senior politicians in recent
days, undermining rhetoric on national reconciliation.
A prominent Sadr supporter in parliament said on Sunday the cabinet had
been infiltrated by "terrorists," after U.S. troops arrested a top
Sunni leader's bodyguard on suspicion of planning al Qaeda suicide car bomb
attacks on the government compound.
Maliki himself renewed a pledge on Sunday to reshuffle his cabinet in
the coming weeks -- a move that could prove a major test of his
authority in relation to other powerful leaders.
U.S. commanders say Maliki, who owed his appointment as premier to
Sadr's support, needs to consolidate his position within the government but
say time is running out to take on the militants. The U.S. ambassador
said on Sunday the government had only about two months left to take
action to avert a civil war.
Four men who managed to escape the gunmen at the Sunni-owned meat plant
told police they had been locked in a refrigerated truck and feared
they would suffocate. When they banged on the sides in panic, the gunmen
opened the door and the four seized their chance to flee, despite being
wounded in the escape.
Dozens of bodies are found daily around the capital, most bound, many
tortured with power drills or acid. In all 50 were recovered on Sunday.
On Monday, seven headless corpses were taken from the Tigris, 40 km (25
miles) downstream from Baghdad.
A further 13 bodies were found in Baghdad on Monday, an Interior
Ministry official said. The United Nations estimates violence may be killing
about 100 people daily and the latest government data suggest September
may have been bloodier yet.
Two U.S. marines were killed in western Iraq and a British soldier was
killed in the southern city of Basra on Sunday.
(Additional reporting by Mussab Al-Khairalla)
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
I have an update posted about the Amish School Children. It includes an AP article and a statement from the gunman's wife:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1712160/posts?page=1317#1317
Above from Liberty Rocks, she has posted a good report with links.
I keep waiting to hear that Roberts has a prison record.
To those who can listen to the radio on the computer, for the next 24 hours you will be able to listen to Freeper Gunny Bob,
on his regular program at:
850koa.com
Gunny was not in town or on the air for the school shooting in Colorado last week, so he now has the 3 shootings to talk about, plus today's Las Vegas, gun on the school grounds report.
I am getting the broadcast, very poorly on the radio and he is doing this program on the schools, so it will be an interesting listen and we might even learn from him.