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New thread - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981084/posts |
Posted on 02/01/2008 6:55:58 PM PST by nwctwx
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UPDATE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cables
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968145/posts
“Two undersea cables off Egypt, UAE, repaired”
Reuters ^ | Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:02am EST | Bharghavi Nagaraju, editing by Will Waterman
Posted on 02/10/2008 11:42:45 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
MUMBAI, Feb 10 (Reuters)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48917
Gates Connects NATO Afghanistan Effort With Terror Threat in Europe
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 10, 2008 – The war on terror in Afghanistan is Europe’s war, too, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
During a speech at the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, Gates spoke directly to Europeans about the dangers al Qaeda and other jihadist groups pose to them.
“The threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real, and it is not going away,” Gates said.
Gates said that while European government leaders understand the threats, public support in Europe for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is weak because many people on the continent don’t connect the mission with their own safety.
“Many Europeans question the relevance of our actions and doubt whether the mission is worth the lives of their sons and daughters,” he said today. “As a result, many want to remove their troops.”
All 26 NATO countries have forces in Afghanistan, and forces from 14 non-NATO countries serve under NATO command in the 43,250-member International Security Assistance Force, including about 13,000 Americans.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States galvanized Americans, and U.S. citizens realized that events half a world away could pose dangers to them, Gates said. Though Europeans have not experienced an attack of similar scope, he added, that doesn’t mean the extremists aren’t trying.
Europeans have been and are targets of this hateful ideology, the secretary said.
“You know all too well about the attacks in Madrid and London,” he said. “But there have also been multiple smaller attacks in Istanbul, Amsterdam, Paris, and Glasgow, among others. Numerous cells and plots have been disrupted in recent years as well – many of them seeking large-scale death and destruction.”
Islamic extremists planned to down airliners over the Atlantic that could have killed hundreds or even thousands of people. Other extremists planned to release cyanide in the London Underground, and another group planned a chemical attack in the Paris Metro. Terrorists planned to explode car bombs in Belgium, England and Germany.
“Just in the last few weeks, Spanish authorities arrested 14 Islamic extremists in Barcelona suspected of planning suicide attacks against public transport systems in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Britain,” the secretary said.
Law enforcement personnel foiled these attacks, but Gates asked people to imagine if some had been successful.
“Imagine if Islamic terrorists had managed to strike your capitals on the same scale as they struck in New York,” he said. “Imagine if they had laid their hands on weapons and materials with even greater destructive capability – weapons of the sort all too easily accessible in the world today. We forget at our peril that the ambition of Islamic extremists is limited only by opportunity.”
These groups take their lessons, inspiration and sometimes funding from al Qaeda and like groups in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa, Gates noted.
“Many who have been arrested have had direct connections to al Qaeda,” he said. “Some have met with top leaders or attended training camps abroad. Some are connected to al Qaeda in Iraq. In the most recent case, the Barcelona cell appears to have ties to a terrorist training network run by Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistan-based extremist commander affiliated with the Taliban and al Qaeda – who we believe was responsible for the assassination of (former Pakistani Prime Minister) Benazir Bhutto.”
Islamic extremists have built their momentum on an illusion of success, Gates said. “The only thing they have accomplished recently is the death of thousands of innocent Muslims while trying to create discord across the Middle East,” he said. “So far they have failed. But they have twisted this reality into an aura of success in many parts of the world.”
Europeans have to ask themselves what would happen if these terror groups had a real success by winning in Afghanistan or Iraq or toppling Pakistan’s government, Gates said.
“Aside from the chaos that would instantly be sown in the region, success there would beget success on many other fronts as the cancer metastasized further and more rapidly than it already has,” the secretary said. “Many more followers could join their ranks, both in the region and in susceptible populations across the globe.”
Gates insisted he is neither exaggerating the threat nor saying the terrorists are invincible.
“The task before us is to fracture and destroy this movement in its infancy – to permanently reduce its ability to strike globally and catastrophically, while deflating its ideology,” he said. “Our best opportunity as an alliance to do this is in Afghanistan.
“Just as the hollowness of Communism was laid bare with the collapse of the Soviet Union,” he continued, “so too would success in Afghanistan, as well as in Iraq, strike a decisive blow against what some commentators have called ‘al Qaedaism.’”
People who believe in freedom must stand together against terror, he said. “If we are willing to stand together, we can prevail,” said the secretary asserted. “It will not be quick, and it will not be easy – but it can be done.”
How NATO faces the challenge in Afghanistan will profoundly influence enemies in the future, Gates said. “Other actors in the global arena – Hezbollah, Iran and others – are watching what we say and what we do, and making choices about their future course,” he said.
The secretary said that the threats transcend political party in America and Europe.
“The threats we face now and in the future are real,” he said. “They will not go away. Overcoming them will require unity between opposition parties and across various governments, and uncommon purpose within the alliance and with other friends and partners.”
More Details Update:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48920
“Captured al Qaeda Documents Detail Shift in Support”
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2008
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48923
Forces Capture 6 in Central, Northern Iraq Operations
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2008 – Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists today during operations targeting al Qaeda networks operating in central and northern Iraq.
In Tarmiyah, forces captured an alleged associate of a senior leader for the al Qaeda in Iraq network in Baghdad’s northern belt. The network is responsible for bombings in the area as well as extortion, intimidation, weapons trafficking and facilitating foreign terrorists, officials said.
Two suspects were detained at an alleged terrorist safe haven east of Samarra. Further north, forces detained three suspects during an operation southeast of Tal Afar targeting an al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader directly connected to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s overall leader.
In other Iraq operations, coalition forces detained 11 suspects yesterday while targeting insurgent networks operating in northern Iraq.
During a series of operations southeast of Beiji, forces captured two wanted individuals and detained three additional suspects. One of the wanted individuals is an alleged leader of an al Qaeda in Iraq assassination group in Hawijah. The second suspect reportedly is a close associate of an al Qaeda leader responsible for financing terrorist operations.
Northwest of Mosul, coalition forces captured an alleged senior level facilitator for northern Iraq terrorist networks. Five suspected terrorists were detained in addition to the wanted individual.
Also yesterday, members of a “Sons of Iraq” citizen security force thwarted an attack at a checkpoint in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district. Three men opened fire on the guards manning the checkpoint. The guards returned fire on the approaching vehicle and forced the assailants to flee the area. None of the guards were injured.
In other operations yesterday, coalition forces detained two suspects southwest of Mahmudiya, including an alleged associate of an al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader for the southern belt network.
In operations across Iraq last week:
— The Iraqi Ninevah Special Weapons and Tactics team, advised by U.S. Special Forces, detained four known insurgents in an operation in the village of Athba on Feb. 8. The four are believed to be part of a bomb cell. The cell is believed to be responsible for an attack that killed a U.S. soldier in January. Six other suspects are being held for questioning.
— Two men newly registered in a “Sons of Iraq” citizen security group led coalition forces to an al Qaeda in Iraq safe house Feb. 8 east of Mansuriyah. Six insurgents were killed and one was detained when forces went to the house.
— Soldiers arrested six suspects and seized munitions in support of Operation Phantom Phoenix in the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital Feb. 8. The six were taken to a coalition detention facility for questioning.
— Also Feb. 8, during an operation east of Baghdad, coalition forces captured an alleged Iranian-trained “special groups” criminal element leader and detained another suspect.
— On Feb. 7, Iraqi security forces, with U.S. Special Forces advising, detained four suspected terrorists during three separate raids. Two were detained in Baghdad operations and one near Ramadi.
— The Iraqi army found two kidnap victims and coalition forces killed three al Qaeda in Iraq operatives and detained seven during Operation Blackhawk Thrasher near Qubah on Feb. 7. The operation was part of the countrywide Operation Phantom Phoenix.
— Coalition forces killed four terrorists and detained 10 suspects in other operations last week targeting al Qaeda networks operating in Diyala province. During the multi-day operation, forces discovered 13 house bombs and seven weapons caches, including 300 anti-aircraft rounds, and bomb-making materials, including 80 bottles of ammonium chloride, bags of ammonium nitrate and jugs of homemade explosives.
— A “Sons of Iraq” group discovered a weapons cache near Sabah Nissan, a village east of Baghdad, Feb. 5. The cache held two rocket-propelled grenades, a 130 mm artillery round, a 120 mm tank round, a 60 mm mortar round and a 57 mm mortar round.
(Compiled from Multinational Force and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968238/posts
“East Timor president wounded in attack”
Yahoo News ^ | 11 Feb 2008 | n/c
Posted on 02/10/2008 3:55:55 PM PST by BlackVeil
SNIPPET - QUOTE:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2918.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sun Feb 10 2008 16:06:34 GMT-0800 (PST).
TIMOR-LESTE
September 12, 2007
This Travel Warning is being updated to inform Americans of continued potential for violence in Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor) and to warn American citizens to defer travel to Timor-Leste at this time. Americans currently in Timor-Leste should evaluate carefully their safety and security situation in light of this Travel Warning. This supersedes the Travel Warning issued on May 11, 2007.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019890.php
February 10, 2008
“Pakistani jihadists fueling jihad in Europe”
placemark
Excellent news Cindy. I’ve been hoping they could nail him for something.
Yes — overdue.
Police have named a man whose headless body was discovered behind a shopping centre. Lakhdar Ouyahia, 43, was found wrapped in blankets by shoppers in a supermarket goods cage in Kingsgate Place, Kilburn, on Wednesday. Police have charged a 45-year-old man over the murder.
Mohamed Boudjenane, of Kingsgate Road, Kilburn, north London, will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Monday.
Excerpted
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1304801,00.html
Islamic Center Burned, Defaced in Tennessee
2/10/08
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) yesterday called on the FBI and Tennessee law enforcement authorities to investigate a fire and hate graffiti at a mosque in that state as a possible bias-motivated crime.
An official of the Islamic Center of Columbia told CAIR that the fire was discovered Saturday morning and "pretty much destroyed" the mosque. Several Nazi swastikas and the phrases "white power" and "we run the world" were sprayed on the outside walls of the mosque. The center had been clearly identified as a mosque. Local, state and federal investigators are at the scene.
The Islamic Center of Columbia is located about 45 minutes south of Nashville, Tenn.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=thallium
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968324/posts
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7237086.stm
Last Updated: Saturday, 9 February 2008, 20:37 GMT
“Poison cake kills Iraqi children”
By Jim Muir
BBC News, Baghdad
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The UK government has flown antidote medicine to the Middle East after some Iraqis became seriously ill from eating cakes laced with the poison thallium.
Two of the victims, both children, died after eating cake delivered to a military club in Baghdad.
Others are being treated in hospital in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
It is the first time the deadly toxin has been used since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, whose regime used it to kill its opponents.
At least two of the poison victims, the secretary of the Iraqi air force club and his daughter, are critically ill in Amman.
They and half-a-dozen other patients suffering from thallium poisoning were flown from Baghdad to Amman as the necessary treatments and antidotes were not available in Iraq.
Britain responded to a request for help from the World Health Organization and medication was flown out.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968329/posts
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http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34552
“Desk Job
How did Ameenah Franks defeat the post-9/11 security apparatus?”
By Angela Valdez
Posted: February 6, 2008
BBC NEWS: "POLICE NAME HEADLESS CORPSE MAN" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A decapitated body found behind a row of shops in north London has been identified as Lakhdar Ouyahia." ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mohamed Boudjenane, 45, of Kingsgate Road, Kilburn, is due to appear in court on Monday charged with murder. A man and a woman arrested in Alvaston, Derby, are being questioned on suspicion of assisting an offender.") (Last updated February 10, 2008, 22:26 GMT)
Note: The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3505204,00.html
2 Qassam rockets land in Sdot Negev Regional Council; no injuries
Published: 02.11.08, 07:50 / Israel News
Two Qassam rockets fired from northern Gaza Monday, landed in Sdot Negev Regional Council limits. No injuries or damage were reported. (Shmulik Hadad)
Note: The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3505212,00.html
Israeli lightly hurt near Nablus
Published: 02.11.08, 08:35 / Israel News
An Israeli was lightly hurt Monday when his car was stoned near the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus. (Efrat Weiss)
RECAP:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080208/ap_on_re_eu/germany_terrorism;_ylt=Ats80.yWUwgCmdjbcjr8fV10bBAF
“Germany sees online al-Qaida activity”
By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Feb 8, 10:41 AM ET
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “BERLIN - German security officials have seen an increase in al-Qaida activity on the Internet aimed at radicalizing, recruiting and training potential German-speaking terrorists, an Interior Ministry official said Friday.
Stefan Paris, the spokesman for Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, said that “German security authorities have seen a qualitative increase in al-Qaida activity on the Internet.”
Based on information studied online, Paris told reporters that German officials believe that al-Qaida has rebuilt itself among the Afghan-Pakistani border region.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=russia
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Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2008/s08020068.htm
Sunday, February 10, 2008
American Pastor being held in Russia for 60 days
Smuggling, trafficking charges brought against him
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (ANS) — A South Carolina pastor detained in Russia early this week after bringing hunting bullets into the country while on a mission trip will be held in a prison there for 60 days while prosecutors investigate smuggling and trafficking charges against him.
Pastor Phillip Miles
(Photo from www.myrtlebeachonline.com)
A story written by Robert Morris of The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (www.myrtlebeachonline.com) said that after a formal hearing Friday in Moscow, Pastor Phillip Miles of Christ Community Church in Conway, South Carolina, will be moved from a temporary airport detainment facility to a prison for the investigation, according to David Aylor, Miles’ nephew and a Charleston attorney.
Two Russian attorneys are representing the pastor and the U.S. Embassy is monitoring the situation, but the case is essentially in the Russian prosecutors’ hands for two months, Aylor said.
“He’s at the mercy of the Russian justice system,” Aylor said. “It’s basically at a standstill at this point.”
Morris said that if the case goes forward and Miles is convicted, he faces three to seven years in prison for the smuggling-ammunition charge or up to four years for trafficking in ammunition, said Nicole Thompson, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman.
He went on to say, “Miles’ imprisonment began earlier this week as he prepared to return from a mission trip to the city of Perm, at the foot of a mountain range that borders Siberia. On his way into the country in late January, Russian authorities confiscated a box of hunting-rifle bullets, but allowed him to continue his trip.”
“It was a something that was brought as a gift to the Siberian preacher,” Aylor said. “It was something you or I could get from any local ammunition carrier in the United States.”
On his way back through the Moscow airport this week, however, Miles was prevented from returning to the United States as Russian authorities questioned him further. Even after the newly imposed 60 days are up, prosecutors can ask for more time to investigate, Aylor said.
“While the church is disappointed with this temporary setback, we are encouraged that Pastor Miles’ reputation of integrity and character will ultimately lead to his freedom,” read a statement posted on the church’s Web site. “Friends in Russia have told the church that his spirits remain high and that those around him have been very impressed with his attitude and demeanor during this difficult time.”
The story said that there has been no indication that Miles’ arrest is related to his missionary work, Aylor said. The Russian Orthodox Church is the dominant religion in Russia, and the State Department’s 2007 report on International Religious Freedom describes a slight decline in some groups’ right to worship in the country, but no particular pattern of harassment against foreign missionaries or evangelical groups was reported.
Because the U.S. Embassy is closely involved in the case, family members are not concerned that any harm will come to Miles in the prison, Aylor said. The pastor, who has a wife and three grown children in Horry County and other close family members throughout the state, has been able to call home since his arrest.
“Considering, he’s in good spirits,” Aylor said. “He’s a man of faith. He knows the Lord will lead him through this.”
Morris wrote, “Miles’ arrest made the front page of the English-language daily Moscow Times, a 35,000-circulation newspaper read by expatriates in the city. The newspaper cites several other international smuggling cases - including those of Soviet-era medals, rare Soviet posters and a turn-of-the-century crucifix - none of which led to prison time.”
“We all come up with crazy ideas for a gift,” wrote Justin Miles, the pastor’s son, in a letter to the Russian newspaper. “Please forgive my father for his mistake.”
An updated posted on the church web site on Friday, February 8, 2008, at www.christcommunitychurchonline.com says:
“A formal hearing was held in Pastor Miles’ case in Moscow on February 8th.
“At the hearing, the State requested that it be given an additional 60 days to complete its investigation of this case. The request was granted by the court. As a result, Pastor Miles will be held in jail in Moscow during the course of the investigation. While the church is disappointed with this temporary setback, we are encouraged that Pastor Miles’ reputation of integrity and character will ultimately lead to his freedom.
“The United States Embassy in Moscow is monitoring this situation and has sent representatives to visit with Pastor Miles. They assure us that he is being treated well and remains in good physical condition. Friends in Russia have told the church that his spirits remain high and that those around him have been very impressed with his attitude and demeanor during this difficult time.
“This website will be updated any time we receive official news about the status of this case. If you hear or read anything about this case that contradicts information on this website, please disregard it.
“The church asks that you continue to remember Phillip and Lynn, their children and extended family, and the church body, in your thoughts and prayers.”
Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 44 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
Travel.State.Gov - Country Specific Information: “RUSSIA FEDERATION”
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html
Bong. Bong. Big Ben Bong. Dingalingalingaling.... We have a STUCK ON STUPID award winner!
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Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1968363/posts
UK: Street lights to be switched off at midnight
The Telegraph ^ | 2/11/08
Posted on 02/11/2008 12:29:44 AM PST by bruinbirdman
Street lights in suburban areas are to be switched off after midnight as part of council plans to save energy.
A series of trial blackouts will be carried out over the next few weeks by local authorities in the Home Counties, Hampshire and Essex among others.
Buckinghamshire council is reported to be switching off more than 1,700 lights along 25 miles of road in an attempt to meet energy targets.
It says the scheme will save £100,000 and reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 600 tons a year.
If the trials are successful, all street lamps across the country could be turned off between midnight and 5am.
Other areas taking part in the scheme include Maldon and Uttlesford in Essex, while parts of Hampshire have already carried out pilots.
Residents’ groups, police organisations and motoring groups have expressed fear that the darkness could cause increases in crime and road traffic accidents.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “The councils are considering these schemes to both reduce their energy budget and cut down on emissions.
“Areas where street lights will be turned off will be on routes there is little need for them.”
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