Threat Matrix: February 2007

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[nwctwx]

How al-Qaida Fared in 2006
-Full Story-

In 2006, agents of al-Qaida, as well as those inspired by its ideology, continued their attacks. Violence in Iraq intensified, and Afghanistan saw its bloodiest year since 2001.

Despite worsening chaos on those fronts, counterterrorist forces arrested and killed high-profile terrorists and kept the West free from attack. But these actions don't appear to have weakened the appeal of al-Qaida's agenda. "Home-grown" militants around the world joined its jihad, as regional fighting heightened perceptions of a global war on Islam.

Here's an assessment of some of the most significant gains and losses for al-Qaida last year: Read more..

	Azzam the American: The Making of an al Qaida Homegrown
	Islamic Cells of Revenge Joins the al Qaida Movement
	Most Dangerous Destinations 2007

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[nwctwx]

Huge Force Readying Crackdown in Baghdad
-Full Story-

A British military helicopter flies overhead as US Army soldiers from the 5-20 Infantry Division stand beside their Stryker armored vehicles (not seen), in central Baghdad. President George W. Bush's plan to add 21,500 troops in Iraq could actually result in an increased US military force in Iraq of up to 48,000 troops, a congressional report concluded.(AFP/David Furst)

---

Iraq Victory Requires Renewed Resolve

Major Bombing Attacks in Iraq Since March 2003

Exporting Terror: A Foiled Plot in Britain May Signal Chilling Tactic

Threat Matrix: Since November 3, 2003
					45	44	43	42	41	40	39	38	37	36	35	34	33	32	31	30	29	28	27	26
25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	09	08	07	06	05	04	03	02	01

"No matter where you live in the world, this is a message that bears repeating: Your assistance is needed to prevent terrorist acts." From TM'er and Freeper ~appalachian_dweller~
Submit Information Online: FBI Tips & Public Leads
CDC ::::: CIA ::::: DHS ::::: DOJ ::::: DOD ::::: FBI ::::: NSA
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	Most Wanted Terrorists		Terror-Alert.com		IR and Security Network
	FBI: Seeking Information		Global Crisis Watch		World Policy Institute
	Are you Ready?: Ready.Gov		SOFIR	Threat Matrix Related
	CDC: Preparedness/Response		Little Green Footballs		Terrorism Knowledge Base
	Defense Dept. War on Terror		Terror Base UK		Terror Information Bank
	U.S. Immigration & Customs		Middle East Live Daily Thread		South Asia Terrorism Portal
	DOJ: Planning Information	Think Tanks			Terrorist Scorecard
	US-Cert: Current Activity		The Terrorism Research Center		Iraq Pipeline Watch
News & Information			The Jamestown Foundation		National Security Archive
	IPN - Fire & Police Paging		The Brookings Institution		Islamic Dictionary
	MEMRI | MEMRI TV		Council on Foreign Relations		IACSP Terrorism/Antiterrorism
	The Counterterrorism Blog		SITE Institute	Maps
	Jihad Watch		CSIS		Terrorist Network in U.S. Map
	GlobalTerrorAlert.com		RAND Corporation		Recent Disasters: Worldwide
	LauraMansfield.com		International Crisis Group		Nuclear Weapon Effects Calc.
	Internet Haganah		The Heritage Foundation		Nuclear Terrorism: Blast Maps
	Topix.net: Terrorism News		Foreign Policy Institute		FEMA Nuclear Fallout Map
	Faith Freedom International		Center for Defense Information		U.S. Nuclear Targets Map
	TrackingTerrorism.com		The Cato Institute	Pay Sites
	DEBKAfile		Hudson Institute		Strategic Forecasting
	TerroristWarning.com		Homeland Security Institute		IntelCenter
	HomelandSecurityUS.net		Nuclear Threat Initiative
New Links in Italics

"America Supports You" spotlights what Americans are doing in support of the military all across the land, encourages others to thank the troops and allows all to tell their stories by giving voice and visibility to their efforts.

Threat Matrix: Recommended Reading

February 2007

American Islam
by Paul M. Barrett

Being prepared is a good thing, no matter where one lives; no matter what alert level we are on.
From TM'er and Freeper ~Cindy~

Intelligence is the best weapon against terrorism.
National Commission on Terrorism: 1999

[nwctwx]

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From TM'er and Freeper ~Oorang~

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Contact nwctwx to be added to or removed from the Threat Matrix ping list.

[nwctwx]

ping to new thread

[null and void]

Here!

[processing please hold]

Thanks.

[FairOpinion]

New Poll Shows Worry Over Islamic Terror Threat, to Be Detailed in Special FNC Report

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777771/posts


In a sample of 900 registered voters nationwide, 64% said the threats should be taken “very seriously” and another 24% thought they should be taken “somewhat seriously.”

The poll was conducted for a FOX News documentary, “Radical Islam: Terror in Its Own Words,” which premieres Saturday Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. and at midnight on the FOX News Channel.

The FOX News documentary also contains never-before-broadcast video of Islamic clerics in the United States predicting and even threatening violence against Americans at home.

[Quix]

Thanks thanks.

Has anyone had any dreams/visions re the Super Bowl?

or any other thread matrix related stuff via such a route?

[nwctwx]

Not sure if this was posted in the other thread, came across it tonight searching things out. I think Williams is a few steps away from being nothing more than a scaremonger, but who knows..

==

New Evidence Ties Former Soviet Spy's Death to American Hiroshima

by Paul L. Williams and Jeffrey M. Epstein


New evidence has come to light that Alexander Litvinenko may have been involved with Islamic terrorists in the preparation of tactical nuclear weapons for use in the jihad against the United States and its NATO allies.

Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, died in London on November 23 after ingesting a microscopic amount of polonium-210.

Investigators have now uncovered the following:

• Litvinenko was a Muslim convert with reported ties to radical Islam.

• The former Soviet spy masterminded the smuggling of radioactive material to Zurich in 2000. This finding was corroborated by Mario Scaramella, one of Litvinenko's business associates.

• Litvinenko became closely allied with Boris Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire who established close ties with the Chechen leaders, and Chechen leader Ahmed Zakayev. Both men served as pallbearers at the funeral. Several years ago, Berezovsky boasted to the press that the Chechen separatists had acquired a portable nuclear weapon that lacked one "minor" component. That component, Scotland Yard officials now believe, was polonium-210.

In a deathbed statement, Litvinenko blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning -- an accusation which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.

The denial was contradicted by the fact that polonium-210 is a rare radiological substance that is man-made by bombarding Bismuth-209 with neutrons within a nuclear reactor. It is expensive to produce and difficult to handle. Polonium-210 is also rare -- fewer than four ounces are produced annually. All of the reported production comes from Russian reactors. This amount is purchased annually by the United States, simply to keep the substance from leaking into the black market. Several rogue nations have been suspected of clandestinely producing polonium-210 for nefarious purposes. A quantity was detected in Iran by IAEA inspectors and in North Korea by U. S. airborne samplings.

When Russian officials resorted to nuclear poisoning in the past -- including the assassination of two Swiss intelligence officials who were engaged with Russia and South Africa in the nuclear black market -- they relied on such readily available radiological substances as cesium-137 in salt form.

According to nuclear expert David Morgan, killing a spy or political dissident with a grain or two of polonium-210 is as ludicrous as shooting a rat with a howitzer. Indeed, if Litvinenko was a victim of radiological assassination, his murder would represent the costliest hit in human history with a price tag of $30 million.

Litvinenko, who was born an orthodox Christian, was a convert to Islam with close ties to the Chechen rebels. His last words consisted of his desire to be buried "according to Muslim tradition."

This wish was not fulfilled. The former spy was buried in a plain wooden coffin from a London mosque but was sealed in a Jacobean oak Garratt casket and laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery -- not the day after his death -- but on December 7, 17 days after his mysterious demise. The imam refused to allow the casket to enter the mosque because of fears of radiation contamination.

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to suitcase nukes that were developed by U.S. and Soviet forces during the Cold War. Reliable sources, including Hans Blix of the United Nation, have confirmed that bin Laden purchased several of these devises from the Chechen rebels in 1996. According to Sharif al-Masri and other al Qaeda operatives who have been taken into custody, several of these weapons have been forward deployed to the United States in preparation for al Qaeda's next attack on American soil.

The neutron source or "triggers" of the reported suitcase nukes are composed of beryllium-9 and polonium-210. When these two elements are combined, the alpha particle is absorbed by the nucleus of the beryllium causing it to decay by emitting a neutron. Such "triggers" were a feature of early nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Soviet stockpiles.

Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days, necessitating the replacement of the triggers every six months. For this reason, the suitcase nukes are far from maintenance-free. In addition, the nuclear core of these devises emit a temperature in excess of one hundred degrees Fahrenheit -- further exposing the weapons to oxidation and rust. Small wonder that al Qaeda operatives including Adnan el-Shukrijumah, who are spearheading "the American Hiroshima" have received extensive training in nuclear technology.

Polonium-beryllium triggers are packaged in foil packs about the size of a package on sugar on a restaurant table. When the twin foil packages are crushed, the elements mix and the neutrons are emitted. A courier transporting nuclear triggers could have had a mishap causing the packages to rupture and a trail of contamination to occur.

Polonium-210 is a fine powder, easily aerosolized. Litvinenko could have inhaled the powder, or had a grain or two on his fingers when he ate the sushi.

The most probable source of the polonium packets, according to investigators, remains North Korea. The nuclear bomb which was tested by North Korea on October 9, 2006, registered 4.2 on the Richter scale -- displaying an explosive yield of five to 15 kilotons. The Bush Administration dismissed the test as a "fizzle." But the explosion matched the yield of a Soviet Small Atomic Munitions Device (SADM), such as a suitcase nuke with a plutonium core.

A dozen associates of Litvinenko have displayed symptoms of polonium poisoning. The list includes Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB colleague of Litvinenko, who met with the deceased at the Millenium Hotel in London on November 1, 2006, the day Litvinenko became ill; Dimitry Kovtun, Lugovoi's business associate, who attended that meeting; Mario Scaramella, an Italian security consultant, who had dinner with Litvinenko the evening of November 1 at the Itsu Sushi Restaurant; and Litvinenko's Russian wife, Marina.

Traces of the lethal substance have been found in Litvinenko's home in Muswell Hill, two London hotels, and two British Airways 757s.

In an interview with The Independent shortly before the poisoning became public, Scaramella said that Litvinenko had been involved in the smuggling of radioactive material to Zurich. He also said that black market dealings in radioactive isotopes provided Litvinenko with badly need revenue to meet his living expenses.

Litvinenko's father said that the former Soviet spy had converted to Islam before his death. He told the press: "He [Alexander] said I want to be buried according to Islamic tradition. I said okay son. It will be as you wish. We already have one Muslim in our family. The important thing is to believe in the Almighty. God is one."

[afnamvet]

Here and thank you for the ping.

[nwctwx]

you're welcome

[null and void]

ohcrap

[Oorang]

Muslim rebels bust comrades out of Philippine
Feb.2.2007

COTABATO, Philippines - Muslim insurgents using grenade launchers blasted their way into a prison in the southern Philippines early on Friday and freed 47 inmates, according to its warden.

Three guards were wounded in the pre-dawn attack on Kidapawan City prison, on Mindanao island, in the latest violation of a truce between the Philippine government and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF.) Warden Red Marasigan said about 20 MILF guerrillas attacked the prison just before dawn, blasting a wall down with grenade launchers.

As some insurgents kept guards pinned down with rifle fire, others entered the jail to free prisoners. Those who escaped all faced serious charges such as bombing and kidnapping. Among them was Ali Sultan, a suspected MILF member being held for allegedly bombing Kidapawan's commercial district in October 2003, injuring three, Marasigan said. It was the second jail break in recent months in the area. In December heavily armed men raided the provincial prison in Cotabato City freeing a Muslim guerrilla jailed for the 2003 bombing of the local airport. No one was killed in the bombing but the airport terminal was extensively damaged.

Military spokesman Colonel Julieto Ando said Friday the MILF "most likely had a hand" in the latest jail break, adding the military would soon lodge a complaint with the joint peace panel monitoring the truce. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the attackers and escaped detainees were members of the MILF, saying the jailbreak was likely carried out by relatives of the inmates. The government has ordered a hunt for the freed prisoners and those behind the attack.

The 12,000-strong MILF had been waging a separatist rebellion in Mindanao since 1978, but it signed a 2003 truce with Manila to pave the way for peace talks. Negotiations, however, are bogged down by MILF demands for economic control of areas they claim as "ancestral domain." Malaysia, which has been hosting the peace talks, has sent monitors to the island of Mindanao to make sure the ceasefire terms are not violated.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070202/wl_asia_afp/philippinesmuslimunrestjail;_ylt=A0WTUeg4s8JFH7UAYBJvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Taytay raid kills ‘bomber,’ nabs 3 (Phillipines)
Friday, February, 2 2007

An Islamic militant was killed and two others captured in a pre-dawn raid Thursday on their bases just east of the Philippine capital Manila, police said. Marines and police officers launched the assault on two villages near the town of Taytay, triggering a firefight that lasted several hours.

The raid was launched after intelligence indicated former members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s “special operations group” were hiding in the area, said Senior Supt. Asher Dolina. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) announced the government had foiled a bombing plot, citing discovery of a chunk of the explosive C-4 and components in the manufacture of bombs.

Excerpted

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/feb/02/yehey/top_stories/20070202top1.html

[Domestic Church]

Thank you once again!

[Oorang]

Pakistan: Unearthed Terror Plots Raise Fears Of Greater Danger Ahead

Karachi, 1 Feb. 2007 - Authorities in Pakistan are concerned that the series of terrorist plots unearthed this week by security forces indicate that al-Qaeda is planning major attacks across the country, a top Pakistani security official has told Adnkronos International (AKI). Al-Qaeda's ire and its desire to sow destruction stems from a military strike in Pakistan's South Waziristan region last month, the official said speaking on condition of anonymity.

The security official who spoke to AKI is linked to the Pakistani National Crisis Management Cell - a body which coordinates the counter-terrorism activities of several law enforcing agencies and the interior ministry.

The strike, an aerial raid on a militant camp in which many people were killed prompted the chief of the Pakistan based Taliban in South Waziristan, Baitullah Mehsud, to announce a declaration of war against Islamabad.

The escalation of terrorist activities has been evident over the two days as security forces foiled planned attacks in several cities, including Dera Ismail Khan, Multan, and Peshawar. Dozens of terror suspects, including Afghan nationals were rounded up. “Many Uzbek members of al-Qaeda live in South Waziristan including the chief of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Tahir Jan (Tahir Yaldeshiv). They are real hardliners and the main source of many terror activities in Pakistan in the past," the official told AKI.

"When Pakistan signed an accord with the Taliban in South Waziristan, it was agreed that all foreign militants would be confined to the country's remote tribal areas and that they would not go to the tribal headquarter towns or Pakistan's cities. This measure proved to be a great help containing terrorism, to the extent that it almost came to a halt in Pakistan. It also helped to thwart al-Qaeda from pursuing its global agendas especially in European countries,” the official added.

“However, there is evidence that Baitullah Mehsud has allowed foreign militants to launch attacks against Pakistan. Initial inquiries show that the person who carried out the suicide bomb attack against the Hotel Marriort in Islamabad (last Friday which killed the bomber and a security guard) also come from Uzbek ethnic stock. We are now of the opinion that this destructive trend could spread all over the world and especially Europe,” the official maintained.

Sources said that the latest escalation in terrorist activities occur at a time when the Taliban are on the verge of launching a spring offensive in Afghanistan, the preparations for which have been noted in Pakistan, especially all along the borderlands of south western province of Baluchistan and in the north-western tribal region.

As part of the campaign, thousands of youths are being recruited every week and are being sent to fortified hideouts between Pakistan and Afghanistan, prompting the concern that a major terror offensive could also target Pakistan.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.382309364&par=

[angelsonmyside]

As always your work is greatly appreciated. Thanks once again for the ping.

[Oorang]

Thanks. Hope things are going well for you. Are you still happy with the new job?

[Eye of Unk]

I'll come out of the shadows on this one, I had a vision just recently of a vessel disguised as a Coast Guard patrol boat but was instead crewed by terrorists and I think the target was a huge natural gas cargo ship that they were going to explode. The predominate part of the dream was the focus of the terrorists using the igsignia to gain trust, I think this was formed by the recent attack in Iraq that killed our servicemen.

[Godzilla]

Is it February already !?! What happened to January?

[nwctwx]

Yes, it's going well. Foreign Policy just hired a director of communications, so I finally have a boss. ;-)

Been there almost 11 months now! Today was my yr anniversary in DC... all is about as well as it could be I must say.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thank you for the ping.