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

Thread Forty-Five

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[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Fri Feb 09 2007 02:57:02 GMT-0800.

Worldwide Caution

October 11, 2006

[Cindy]

CORRECTING one link in post no. 466:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1777773/posts?page=466#466



http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP145807

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1458
February 8, 2007 No.1458
"Islamist Websites Monitor Project No. 62"

[Cindy]

The youths...

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=121270

"Muslim Riot on Temple Mount"
13:41 Feb 09, '07 / 21 Shevat 5767
by Ezra HaLevi

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Arabs rioted Friday on and around the Temple Mount, wounding police officers and causing the evacuation of the Western Wall prayer plaza.


Stones were thrown at worshipers and police Friday, despite the decision to limit entry to the Temple Mount to Muslims over the age of 45. Three police officers were wounded by rioters.

Young rioters pelted police with stones and then took cover inside the Al-Aksa Mosque. Security sources said the youths had probably holed up inside the mosque earlier this week, and waited for Friday to begin rioting. Police refrained from entering the mosque due to concerns that it would serve Muslim propoganda efforts and claims that Israel is seeking to destroy it."

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_922.html

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Fri Feb 09 2007 03:56:03 GMT-0800.

ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA

January 17, 2007

[Cindy]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_3072.html

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520

This information is current as of today, Fri Feb 09 2007 03:56:51 GMT-0800.

LEBANON

December 22, 2006

[Cindy]

UPDATE:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6344967.stm

Last Updated: Friday, 9 February 2007, 11:27 GMT

"Man charged with plotting kidnap"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A man has been charged with plotting to kidnap and kill a UK soldier, following last week's anti-terror raids.

Parviz Khan, 36, is accused of devising the plot between 1 November last year and his arrest on 31 January.

He also faces charges, along with four others, of supplying equipment and funding for a terrorist act.

The five men, who were arrested during a police operation in Birmingham, will appear before City of Westminster magistrates in London later.

Additional charge

Of nine men arrested in the raids, three have been released without charge and another remains in custody in Coventry.

The five have all been charged with offences under the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Terrorism Act 2000.

Amjad Mahmood, 31, Mohammed Irfan, 30, Zahoor Iqbal, 29, Hamid Elasmar, 43, and Mr Khan have been charged with supplying equipment and funding for a terrorist act between 30 March last year and their arrest.

Mr Mahmood faces an additional charge of failing to disclose information of material assistance in preventing an act of terrorism."

[Godzilla]

placemark

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782151/posts

"British TV documentary reveals Islamic preaching of hatred against Jews and Christians"
Catholic News Agency ^ | February 9, 2007

Posted on 02/09/2007 12:10:40 PM PST by NYer

Madrid, Feb 9, 2007 / 02:54 pm (CNA)

[Cindy]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2995

"Supplemental Funds Critical to Army Readiness, Officials Say"

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2007

[Cindy]

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

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&client=news&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&q=%22Clean+Diamond+Trade+Act%22&btnG=Search

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&client=news&q=%22Clean+Diamond+Trade+Act%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&scoring=d

===
===

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070208tucson.htm


February 8, 2007

Tucson ICE agents seize cache of smuggled diamonds
Suspects hoped to attract buyers attending city's international gem show

TUCSON, Ariz. - Two men will appear in U.S. District Court here today for a detention and preliminary hearing on federal charges that they smuggled African diamonds into the United States and attempted to sell them to undercover agents for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posing as gem buyers.

The defendants, Maliki Mohamad Diane, 60, and Kouyate Saoud, 49, were arrested February 4 after ICE agents executed a search warrant at a room in the Motel 6 on Freeway Road and recovered more than 11,000 carats of rough diamonds, along with an array of other precious and semi-precious stones. ICE received substantial assistance in the investigation from the Arizona Attorney General's office.

Saoud, a national of Guinea, and Maliki Diane, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Sierra Leone who now resides in New Jersey, are charged with violating the Clean Diamond Trade Act, a 2003 law that prohibits the importation of diamonds into the United States unless the stones undergo strict certification procedures, known as the Kimberly Process, designed to control the trade of so-called "conflict diamonds."

"The violence and bloodshed spawned by profits from the illegal diamond trade have left millions of people in Africa dead or homeless," said Alonzo Peña, special agent in charge of the ICE office of investigations in Arizona. "We will not allow unscrupulous gem dealers driven by greed to put lives at risk."

"The Clean Diamond Trade Act was put into place to prevent the smuggling of diamonds from areas where these gems have been used to finance often bloody conflicts," said United States Attorney Daniel G. Knauss. "I want to commend ICE agents for their excellent investigative work in this case."

Saoud came under suspicion after he told ICE undercover agents who approached him at one of the venues of the Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase that he had uncut diamonds for sale. The undercover agents met Saoud and Diane at their motel room February 3 and purchased a seven-carat rough diamond for $15,300, one of four diamonds Saoud had in his possession.

During that meeting, the defendant acknowledged that the diamonds were brought into the country illegally and advised that he was expecting a shipment the following day containing another 400 carats of rough diamonds. The agents returned to the motel February 4 where they arrested the defendants and seized the diamonds and other precious stones.

Under the Clean Diamond Trade Act, rough diamonds must be shipped in sealed containers and exported with forgery-resistant certificates certifying that the diamonds are from conflict-free areas. The Act was sparked by mounting concern that funds from the sale of rough diamonds were being used by groups in Africa to finance military activities and gain control of diamond mining areas. It is estimated that nearly four million people have been killed in civil conflicts during the past decade in the prime diamond mining nations of Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During that same time frame, the violence and unrest in these countries have driven more than six million people from their homes.

If convicted of the charges, the men face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both.

-- ICE --

[Cindy]

UPDATE...


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782165/posts

"Head of Cartoon Network resigns"
AP ^ | 2/9/07

Posted on 02/09/2007 12:39:09 PM PST by bnelson44

ATLANTA

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

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

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html
http://www.memri.org/iran.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782147/posts
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,9294,2-10-1462_2067017,00.html

===
===

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/015195.php

February 09, 2007

Iranian cleric: 'US is within our firing range'

"In the worst situations we are able to turn the region into burning hell and take the possibility of using the Persian Gulf away from them forever." 1938 Alert: "'US is within our firing range,'" from SAPA, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Tehran - A top Iranian cleric said on Friday the United States was within Iran's "firing range", a day after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to hit back at US interests worldwide if attacked.

"Americans have surrounded us but it works to our advantage. They are within our firing range in the east, west and elsewhere," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in his Friday prayer sermon carried live on state radio.

He was referring to the US military presence in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan as well as in the Gulf waters off southern Iran.

"Would you dare to violate Iranian borders? See what harm will be done to you then," said Jananti, who heads the hardline electoral watchdog the Guardians Council....

In response to Khamenei's comments the White House said it has no plans to invade Iran, and downplayed the significance of reinforcing the US military presence in the Gulf region.

A commander of Iran's elite revolutionary guards said on Friday: "The entire Persian Gulf is within the guards' missile range and if foreign forces are to carry out any operations they are the ones to be most hurt".

"In the worst situations we are able to turn the region into burning hell and take the possibility of using the Persian Gulf away from them forever," Rear Admiral Mohammad Ebrahim Dehghani said, quoted by semi-official Mehr news agency.

Posted by Robert at February 9, 2007 10:56 AM

[Cindy]

UPDATE...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782183/posts


"Palestinian street named for Saddam Hussein paved with USAID money--first Saddam Soccer Tournament"
Palestinian Media Watch ^ | 2-9-07 | Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

Posted on 02/09/2007 12:59:03 PM PST by SJackson

[Cindy]

http://www.examiner.com/a-556256~Author_attacked_in_S_F__hotel.html

"Author attacked in S.F. hotel"
Adam Martin, The Examiner
Read more by Adam Martin
Feb 9, 2007 6:00 AM (10 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 1 of 13,321 articles

SAN FRANCISCO -


ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Police confirmed this week that the attack took place and that officers escorted Wiesel to the airport following the attack. According to police, the suspect accosted Wiesel in the hotel elevator at around 6:30 p.m., saying he wanted to interview him. Wiesel said he would do the interview in the lobby. That’s when the attacker pulled him out of the elevator, police reported.

In a posting Tuesday on the anti-Zionist Web site ZioPedia, a writer using the name Eric Hunt takes credit for the attack: “After ensuring no women would be traumatized by what I had to do (I had been trailing Wiesel for weeks), I stopped the elevator at the sixth floor. I pulled Wiesel out of the elevator. I said I wanted to interview him.”

Wiesel grabbed at his chest and yelled for help, according to the posting. “I told him, ‘Why don’t you want people to know the truth?’ His expression changed, and he began screaming again. …” the posting reads.Police reported that the suspect tried to force Wiesel into one of the rooms, but ran away when Wiesel started yelling.

The online posting states that the writer intended to “bring Wiesel to my hotel room where he would truthfully answer my questions regarding the fact that his non-fiction Holocaust memoir, Night, is almost entirely fictitious.” Later in the posting, the Holocaust is portrayed as a “myth.”"

---

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24373_Holocaust_Truther_Attacks_Elie_Wiese

Friday, February 09, 2007

"Holocaust "Truther" Attacks Elie Wiesel"

SNIPPET: "Writer Elie Wiesel was recently attacked and nearly kidnapped following a speech in a San Francisco hotel, by a Holocaust denying stalker who then boasted about the assault on one of the internet’s many antisemitic web sites: Author attacked in S.F. hotel. (Hat tip: Laurent.)"

[Cindy]

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/02/regulators_provide_current_sta.php

Regulators Provide Current Stats on Results of BSA Reporting
By Jonathan Winer
(February 9, 2007)

===
===

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/speeches/chairman/spfeb0907.html

"Speeches & Testimony"

SNIPPET: "Remarks by Sheila C. Bair, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; before the Fourth Puerto Rican Symposium of Anti-Money Laundering, Sponsored by the Puerto Rico Bankers Association; San Juan, Puerto Rico
February 9, 2007

Good afternoon, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to applaud the Puerto Rico Bankers Association for continuing to sponsor this annual anti-money laundering symposium. The Association clearly recognizes that it is through dialogue and collaboration between government and the private sector that the goals of the anti-money laundering laws and regulations will be achieved. This symposium provides an important forum for a practical discussion of the issues and challenges we all face as we ensure compliance with these important financial system safeguards.

I appreciate this opportunity to share my views and to hear your feedback on how we can strike the right balance between effective anti-money laundering regulation and regulatory burden.

The Financial Services Industry and the War on Terror"

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

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

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hezbollah
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hizballah
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hizbullah

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782144/posts

===
===

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6345761.stm

Last Updated: Friday, 9 February 2007, 10:31 GMT

"Lebanon seizes Hezbollah weapons"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has said a lorry intercepted by the authorities was transporting weapons for its fighters.
Hezbollah has demanded the return of the lorry and the arms.

Lebanese government officials said that a vehicle had been stopped in Beirut after travelling from the Bekaa Valley, in the east of the country.

They said the lorry had been taken away for further examination and are refusing to return it.

The discovery of the weapons comes amid a political crisis in Lebanon that has raised fears of a return to civil war.

Opposition

An opposition alliance led by Hezbollah has vowed to bring down the government, and has demanded the formation of a new cabinet in which it has the power of veto.

The Western-backed government has rejected the demand."

[Cindy]

UPDATE:

Thanks to Calpernia for the ping to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1781811/posts


"Border-agent investigator had tie to smuggler"
worldnetdaily.com ^ | February 9, 2007 | Jerome R. Corsi

Posted on 02/09/2007 2:09:08 AM PST by ovrtaxt

[Cindy]

UPDATE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782162/posts

"Shops in clear on guns"
Post and Courier ^ | February 9, 2007 | NADINE PARKS

Posted on 02/09/2007 12:29:16 PM PST by Neil E. Wright

[Cindy]

A bit Off Topic...

JIHAD WATCH.org: "JIHAD UNSPUN PUBLISHES AL GORE" (February 8, 2007) (Read More...)

CNS NEWS.com: "READING, WRITING, AND GLOBAL WARMING FOR BRITISH STUDENTS" by Kevin McCandless (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "In addition to the new curriculum, the government also announced that it will send a copy of Gore's global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, to every high school in England." ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Gore documentary will form part of a year-long environmental program in state schools, although the QCA spokesman said it was not part of the new curriculum.") (February 9, 2007) (Read More...)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1782209/posts

"Understanding Jihad"
The New Media Journal ^ | February 9, 2007 | Raymond S. Kraft

Posted on 02/09/2007 1:59:28 PM PST by Capt. Tom

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Jihad cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. It cannot be treatied with. It is not amenable to diplomacy, which it will view (correctly) as a sign of weakness, timidity, fear, and unresolve. It can only be surrendered to, or destroyed. Its ultimate victory is certain, unless it is defeated, because it is certain that it is doing the will of God. And if Allah is with Jihad, who can prevail against it?"