Threat Matrix: September 2007

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[nwctwx]

The Birth of al Qaedastan

In the year 2016, the world may find itself gloomily marking September 6 as the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan. The Emirate received de facto recognition when the Taliban used the name on the ceasefire agreement they signed with Pakistan on that day in 2006. If things go terribly wrong in the coming decade, they could come to rule a mountainous fragment of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Emirate would be a nightmare state: Osama bin Laden as sultan, Ayman al Zawahiri as vizier, and Mullah Omar the spiritual leader. An economy built on smuggling and heroin. Primary export: terrorism. Welcome to ‘Al Qaedastan’.

Analysts say the rise of a terrorist state straddling the rugged area between Pakistan and Afghanistan is now viable. The reason is a number of troubling trends. One, the revival of a Taliban firmly in the control of Al Qaeda. Two, the seeming inability of either Kabul or Islamabad to defeat the new threat militarily. Three, and the most striking, the Taliban’s systematic supplanting of the traditional tribal leadership in the area. Full story...

	Lebanon: Tiny Country, Big Threats
	Islamist Web Site Explains 'How to Join Al Qaeda'
	The Ongoing Hunt for Osama bin Laden

Threat Matrix:
September 2007

August 2007

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Theat Matrix Handbook

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[Cindy]

ADDING 1 link to Oorang’s post no. 1790:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1899950/posts

[Cindy]

ADDING to your post no. 1779, Oorang.

UPDATE:

http://www.sheboygan-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070920/SHE0101/70920110/1973

Posted September 20, 2007

“Waldo man charged; allegedly made explosives at his home”
Sheboygan Press staff

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A 34-year-old Waldo man was charged today with a felony after authorities found homemade explosives at his house that included a beaker of nitroglycerin capable of blowing up half his house, according to a criminal complaint.

Police say Daniel L. Shilts Jr., of 720 W. Second St., mixed the chemical explosives in his home — where two young children live — and exploded many of the creations in the backyard, where investigators found a hole 15 feet deep and 3 feet across.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Officials responding Wednesday found a collection of explosive chemicals — including sulfuric and nitric acids, glycerin, potassium nitrate and Pyrodex powder — as well as a handbook for explosive making, the complaint said.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The man told investigators he became interested in explosives about a year ago and had put together three batches of nitroglycerin in that time, the complaint said.

“He had a fascination with chemistry and fireworks,” Adams said. “We do no believe his intention was to harm anyone or any property.””

[Cindy]

RECAP:

FOX NEWS.com (AP): Frederic, Wisconsin - "FBI: MAN ARRESTED IN WISCONSIN ON DRUG WARRANT, NOT TERRORISM" (September 12, 2007) (Read More...)

[Cindy]

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/102301.htm

#

http://globalpolitician.com/articleshow.asp?ID=3503&cid=1

“Anthrax Letters Still Being Sorted 6 Years Later”
Ross E. Getman, Esq. - 9/21/2007

[Cindy]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411456587&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Sep 21, 2007 9:14 | Updated Sep 21, 2007 9:17
“Police fan out ahead of Yom Kippur”
By JPOST.COM STAFF

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “As the IDF keeps its eye on the Syrian border, the Israel Police have deployed thousands of officers and volunteers throughout the country, especially at synagogues, ahead of Yom Kippur.

The Western Wall.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file]
In Jerusalem’s Old City alone, some 2200 police have been deployed ahead of prayers on the second Friday of Ramadan. Due to an IDF closure, Muslims from Gaza and the West Bank will not be permitted access to the Temple Mount.

Nearby, at the Western Wall, hundreds of worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur prayers.

Magen David Adom has also raised its level of alert, and will have a number of ambulances ready near synagogues.”

[Cindy]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3451986,00.html

“IDF arrests head of Hamas cell in Nablus
Military operation in West Bank city ends with foiled suicide attack, arrest of 49 wanted Palestinians”

Efrat Weiss
Published: 09.21.07, 09:18 / Israel News

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A senior Hamas leader in Nablus was arrested Friday morning by IDF forces completing an operation in the Beit Ilma refugee camp in the West Bank city.

Duvdevan unit forces arrested Niyad Shkirat at the end of a long operation which lasted for the past few days. Forty-nine other wanted Palestinians were also captured during the operation, and all suspects were trasfered to defense forces for investigation.
The Hamas official was hiding in one of the buildings in the refugee camp, and was forced out by the residents who feared the IDF would demolish their home. Shkirat was then taken in for investigation.

“The activity of IDF forces in Nablus thwarted a terror attack in the immediate future,” said West Bank Brigade Commander Colonel Amir Baram at the end of the operation.

Baram said that some of the soldiers would be released for Yom Kippur, but that others would have to continue the fight against terror infrastructure even during the holiday.”

[Cindy]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297541,00.html

“Arabs to Buy 20 Percent of Nasdaq, Politicians Question Deal”
Friday, September 21, 2007
N

AP

NASDAQ MarketSite Tower, Times Square, New York
NEW YORK

[Cindy]

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP172107

Special Dispatch Series - No. 1721
September 21, 2007 No.1721

“Al-Zawahiri to the U.S.: ‘Do Not Ask President Bush When The Soldiers Will Return– Ask Instead How Many Will Return’”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Islamist website www.ekhlaas.org/forum/, which is hosted by Layered Technologies, Inc. in Texas, USA, posted, on September 20, 2007, an 80-minute video of Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri speaking on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of 9/11.

The video was produced by the Al-Sahab media company in the month of Sha’ban, 1428 (August-September 2007), apparently prior to September 11, 2007, and is subtitled in English.

The video opens with a still photo of 9/11 perpetrator Muhammad ‘Atta, and his voice speaking in English to the passengers of the plane he has hijacked, warning them to remain where they are and that anyone who does not will risk his life and endanger the airplane. Then the World Trade Center in flames is shown.

In the video, statements by Al-Zawahiri are interspersed with footage of jihad fighters in various places around the world, audio clips from Osama bin Laden’s speeches, statements by Western commentators and U.S. officials, and more. Following are the main points of Al-Zawahiri’s statements in the video:”

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1899994/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1899994/posts?page=4#4

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297551,00.html

“Police Hunt Suspect in Overnight Shooting of Two Students at Delaware State University”
Friday, September 21, 2007

E-MAIL STORY
PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “DOVER, Del. — Police are looking for one person in the shooting of two students at Delaware State University in Dover.

A news release on the university Web site says two students were shot near Memorial Hall about 1 a.m. The Dover Police Department is assisting the DSU Police Department in the search for the gunman.

The wounded students were sent to hospitals. A male student is in stable condition and a female student has injuries that are considered serious.

Classes at the Dover campus have been canceled for the day. Non-essential personnel are being told not to report to work.”

4 posted on 09/21/2007 3:25:15 AM PDT by Cindy

[Cindy]

UPDATE:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.extradite21sep21,0,884315.story

“Suspect expected to waive extradition”
Associated Press
September 21, 2007

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A suspect arrested in Maryland and charged in the execution-style slayings of three college students in Newark, N.J., indicated yesterday that he would waive extradition, authorities said.

Rodolfo Godinez, 24, was arrested Aug. 18 in Oxon Hill. He is one of six suspects in the Aug. 4 shooting deaths of Terrance Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20, and Iofemi Hightower, 20.

Godinez is the only suspect who has not been returned to New Jersey. He initially said that he would fight extradition, but he told a state official during an informal hearing yesterday that he would waive extradition today before a Prince George’s County judge, said Capt. Joe Aiello of the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office.”

[Cindy]

UPDATE - QUOTE:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1899996/posts

IDF raises alert level on northern border (Syria tensions high)
Jpost / AFP / Ynet / Haaretz ^ | Sep 21, 2007

Posted on 09/21/2007 3:24:19 AM PDT by maquiladora

JPOST : The IDF has raised the level of alert along Israel’s northern border out of concern that Syria will attempt to retaliate for an alleged IAF attack within its borders on September 6.

.....

AFP : JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli fighter pilots scrambled warplanes on Friday after radar spotted a potential airborne enemy flying from Syria only to discover the culprits were migratory birds, army radio reported.

.....

HAARETZ : Readiness on the Golan Heights remains high on the eve of Yom Kippur due in part to concerns Syria may try to retaliate for the alleged attack on a nuclear installation. Foreign media reported North Korea had helped construct the installation.

Battalions of the Givati Brigade, which normally operates in the south, were moved to the Golan Heights so that they could participate in a major exercise that ended yesterday.

.....

YNET : A senior official in the ruling Syrian Ba’ath party said Thursday there was growing consensus among the Syrian leadership for the need to launch a military response to Israel’s reported airstrike in Syria two weeks ago.

The official said the Syrian air force has been placed on high alert.

(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...

[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 Sep 21 2007 03:43:57 GMT-0700.

Worldwide Caution

April 10, 2007

[Cindy]

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297593,00.html

Police Arrest Woman Allegedly Wearing Fake Bomb at Boston Airport

Friday, September 21, 2007

BOSTON — A woman who walked into Logan International Airport allegedly wearing a fake bomb strapped to chest was arrested at gunpoint Friday, officials said.

Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board, wiring and a putty that later turned out to be Play-Doh in plain view over a black hooded sweatshirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.

After a Massachusetts Port Authority official notified State Police about 8 a.m., troopers tracked Simpson down outside Terminal C, where they arrested her and later determined the device was a fake.

“She’s extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used,” Pare told The Associated Press. “And she’s lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue.”

Simpson is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore from Hawaii, officials said.

[drymans wife]

This just gets more and more interester...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297546,00.html

Report: Portuguese Police Question Convicted Terrorist in McCann Probe

Friday, September 21, 2007

Steve Bird, David Brown and Patrick Foster

LONDON — Fresh operations in the hunt for Madeleine McCann have been authorized by a Portuguese judge, with police appearing to accept the original belief that she may have been abducted by a stranger.

A convicted terrorist was questioned by detectives yesterday about whether he had helped to dispose of the body of the missing girl, as police began a desperate hunt for new clues. Eef Hoos, who owns an incinerator about 20 miles from where Madeleine disappeared, claimed that detectives from the PolÍcia Judicia said that they knew he had spoken to the missing girl’s parents.

Click here to read London Times story.

The 61-year-old Dutchman said: “Two officers asked me if I had anything to do with her, and have you spoken to the parents, they asked me three times. They said they knew I had spoken to the parents – it’s not true.

“Everything in my furnace – I have the names of the people and I see what’s in the bags.”

Mr Hoos, who operates a business called Creon Starlight to dispose of pets in the town of Monchique, moved to Portugal after serving a seven-year sentence in the Netherlands for a series of bomb attacks in 1988 in which one person was seriously injured. He said yesterday: “The police said to me you have a very bad name. I am the biggest bomb-maker in the world.”

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297575,00.html

Columbia University Plans to Host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Friday, September 21, 2007

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

NEW YORK — Columbia University said it does not plan to call off a speech by Iran’s president despite pressure from critics including the City Council speaker, who said the Ivy League school was providing a forum for “hate-mongering vitriol.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling to New York to address the United Nations’ General Assembly. He was scheduled to appear Monday at a question-and-answer session with Columbia faculty and students as part of the school’s World Leaders Forum.

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297609,00.html

Plane Crashes Into North Carolina Restaurant

Friday, September 21, 2007

CLAYTON, N.C. — A small plane crashed into a restaurant in downtown Clayton on Friday morning, plowing through front entrance of McCall’s BBQ & Seafood Restaurant.

“The front is completely gone,” said Rhonda Hobbs, who lives behind the restaurant. “The plane is all the way on the inside.”

WRAL-TV in Raleigh reported that one person died in the accident on U.S. Highway 70 in Johnston County. No employees at McCall’s BBQ & Seafood Restaurant were injured, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported.

Messages left by The Associated Press with fire and police officials in Johnston County were not immediately returned.

Gordon Heldebrant, who manages a restaurant near the site of the accident, told WRAL that a small, single-engine plane flew over his business before it crashed into the front of McCall’s around 10 a.m.

Hobbs said she was inside her home when the crash “shook the house.” She said McCall’s was preparing to open at the time of the crash.

Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for FAA in Atlanta, said she did not yet have any information about the plane but said it “was a smaller airplane, flying low, out of controlled airspace.”

[Oorang]

Thanks for the update Cindy.

[Oorang]

How does green goo become a cigar box?

Green Goo On Subway Tracks Was Cigar Box (Manhattan)
Sep 21, 2007 11:45 am US/Eastern

No. 6 Diverted During Investigation
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK A suspicious discovery at a Manhattan subway stop disrupted train traffic during morning rush hour.

Officials first said they had discovered what looked like a suspicious green liquid on the tracks of the 14th Street station on the northbound 6 subway line. Trains ran express between the Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central station on the 6 line for a half hour between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. while the investigation continued.

Environmental officials were called to the scene, and police removed what they thought was the suspicious substance. Police said later the discovery turned out to be an empty cigar box.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_264084703.html

Police secure suspicious package found in downtown Charleston (S.C.)
Fri, Sep. 21, 2007

Charleston's police bomb squad has secured a suspicious package with a cell phone and wires attached that was found outside an office building downtown. Police spokesman Charles Francis says the package has been removed from the scene by the bomb squad, which is examining it.

Police are slowly reopening closed streets, offices and College of Charleston classroom buildings that had been evacuated earlier in the day. Francis says the area is considered safe. Customers at a coffee shop saw the package in some bushes before 9 a.m. and reported it.

http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/179980.html

[milford421]

Thanks for the ping Oorang.

Yes, I wondered too how green goo morphed into a cigar box. We had some trouble a few weeks back in the subway tunnels going into Manhattan. Something was “found” but we were never told what it was.